Average customer rating:
- A great read from Luanne Rice
- Beautiful read!
- disappointing
- Wonderful read!
- Luanne Rice's First Book!
|
Angels All Over Town
Luanne Rice
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
 Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Romance
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Contemporary
| Romance
| Subjects
| Books
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Contemporary
| Romance
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Romance
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
All 4-for-3 Deals
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Sandcastles
-
Stone Heart
-
Crazy in Love
-
Summer of Roses
-
Follow the Stars Home
ASIN: 0553568264
Release Date: 2007-01-30 |
Book Description
New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice made her triumphant debut with this delicately drawn but emotionally powerful portrait of a woman’s extraordinary journey of the heart and soul–a timeless story of love, sisterhood, and the hope that emerges even out of heartbreak....
Una Cavan doesn’t believe in ghosts. But ghosts seem to believe in her. At least, her father’s ghost does, walking into and out of her life as casually as if he were entering and exiting a room. Una has always believed the Cavan women had the power of witches, and from the beaches of Connecticut to the bustle of New York City they’ve shared the special unbreakable bond of sisters. No man has been able to come between them…until Lily marries the “perfect” man and begins to drift away and Margo gets engaged. With another failed relationship behind her, and a thriving career as an actress ahead of her, Una wonders if she’s destined to be alone–or if there isn’t something more, something magical that life has in store for her. Then an unexpected encounter gives her the answer she’s been seeking….
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Download Description
LUANNE RICE is the author of twenty novels, most recently Summer of Roses, Summer's Child, Silver Bells, Beach Girls, Dance With Me, The Perfect Summer, The Secret Hour, True Blue, Safe Harbor, and Summer Light. She lives in New York City and Old Lyme, Connecticut.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Customer Reviews:
A great read from Luanne Rice.......2007-02-06
Luanne rice's first novel; this one begins a bit slowly, but by the time you are a third through the book, you don't want to put it down. this is the story of three sisters who grew up on the northeast coast. Each chose a different path to follow, and yet they maintained a very close relationship. If you don't have a sister, it makes you mourn the fact.
Ms. Rice's books make me want to travel to the scene of so many of her stories. She paints a picture of beaches and lighthouses, summer sun and fresh breezes, a feeling of ghosts and sea captain wives looking out to sea. You invest in her characters and want to know what will happen to them.
Beautiful read!.......2006-07-17
A very enjoyable story presented in a touching and sweet way.
The story grabs you and takes you on a gentle ride.
disappointing.......2006-06-17
As an avid reader from Luanne Rice books, I found this book to be rather disappointing. The story is soft and pointless. If this would have been my first Rice book I most likely would not have read another book from this author. Iam so very glad that she has improved on her books. She is one of my favorite authors for relaxing books.
Wonderful read!.......2006-02-27
The emotions of the characters in this book will resonate with anyone going through major life changes within themselves or in loved ones around them. Without a doubt,you will be drawn into the pages of this,Luanne Rice's very first novel.
Luanne Rice's First Book!.......2004-11-10
Angels All Over Town is the first book Luanne Rice wrote in the 80's. Since I have read all of her previous books I was curious about this book for sometime. It wasn't an entirely bad book but considering how much I've loved most of her other titles, I'm almost sorry I went hunting for, found this book and then read it.
This book does feature one of Rice's signature themes - three sisters and their realsionships within their family and other people. In this case the three sisters are all reachign the age when marraige is possible and when the youngest marries a stuffy doctor, it is as if the otehr two are eager to also find their mates.
While I genrally rip through a Rice title - I read Firefly Beach and Safe Harbor in a couple of hours, I foudn thsi book tedious boring and it took me several days to finally finish it. I had a hard time believing this was a first book by an author whose books I truly I truly love but I guess it happens. And luckily for me, I read this book last and not first otherwise I might not have continued reading this prolific author. But this is the third Luanne Rice book in a row I read which I didn't rate that highly, the other books being Beach Girls and Dream Country but I am planning on reading Silver Bells and hopefully this holiday title will be the charm.
Product Description
10 LUANNE RICE Books : 1) Crazy in Love / 2) Dream Country/ 3) Follow the Stars Home / 4) Silver Bells / 5) Dance with Me / 6) Safe Harbor, True Blue 7) Summer Light / 8) The Secret Hour / 9) The Perfect Summer 10) Angels All over Town (Unboxed Set of Contemporary Books), Shipped in one
package to save on shipping costs.
Average customer rating:
|
ANGELS ALL OVER TOWN
LUANNE RICE
Manufacturer: ATHENEUM
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Drama
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: B000NVMZUY |
Average customer rating:
|
Angels All Over Town
Manufacturer: Berkley Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000HKXY7O |
Average customer rating:
|
Angels All Over Town
Luanne Rice
Manufacturer: Berkley Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000VTPSP2 |
Product Description
Paperbacks
Book Description
When coroner Sir John de Wolfe is summoned to investigate the murder of a tin miner, he has little idea how difficult this new investigation will prove to be. The victim worked for the powerful mine owner, Walter Knapman, and the motive seems to be sabotaging Walter’s business. But the tinners have their own laws, and they are none too pleased at Crowner John’s interference. And then Walter Knapman disappears. Only Gwyn, Crowner John’s right-hand man, seems to be of any help—until he’s arrested for murder and put on trial for his life.
Customer Reviews:
12th Century England.......2007-01-12
This author not only provides a well written mystery, but I think that they are a great lead into the 13th Michael Jecks Templar Mystery Series. They are soundly based in the historical periods so one gets a social history of England at the same time.
Fifth Book in the Crowner John Series.......2006-12-17
Bernard Knight, or to give him his correct title, Professor Bernard Knight, CBE, was a pathologist to the Home office until 1980 when he was appointed Professor of Forensic Pathology at the University of Wales College of medicine, 1980. He has written the extremely successful Crowner John series of medieval mysteries, of which there are now ten or eleven books, His character Crowner John is certainly among my favourite characters in medieval mysteries.
Sir John de Wolfe, better known to both his friends and enemies as Crowner John, a name that refers to his post as county coroner of Devon, find himself out on the bleak moors investigating the murder of a tin miner. The moor is a cold and forbidding place, but anything that takes him away from his shrewish wife and her mood swings and constant nagging is a bonus in John's book. The victim worked for one of the most successful mine owner's in the area, Walter Knapman.
The tin miners have their own laws and rough justice and are none too please at the Crowner's interference and then Knapman disappears. Sir John realises that he will get little if any help from the miners. The only assistance he can rely upon is from Gwyn, his right hand man, but when he too gets arrested for murder and put on trial, Sir John's task becomes ever more difficult . . .
Pointless (includes spoiler).......2005-02-22
Well, perhaps if I had read any other in the Crowner series, I might have previously developed some kind of empathy for the boorish, self-centered primary character. However, I believe a good book should be able to stand on its own, which this absolutely did not.
After mulling through this entire story **SPOILER** the solution of the first (title) murder is casually tossed to the readers, with scant character development of the murderer or his motivation. And as for the more "primary" murder: you NEVER find out Who Dun It or Why!!!! Which might have been alright if there were any entertainment or educational value as it went along, but alas, there was not.
Next time I hear that inner voice saying "shut this book," I'll listen!
12th Century Exeter.......2003-05-17
Fifth in the Crowner John de Wolfe series, this book details life in 1194 A.D., including, as always, a glossary at the beginning. In addition to reality of sights, sounds and smells, the author ensures the reader's sympathy with the all too human Crowner, despite his moral failings, as he pursues justice. Enjoy a fascinating mystery as you increase your knowledge of medieval times.
Average customer rating:
|
Crowner John: The Tinner's Corpse (A Crowner John Mystery)
Bernard Knight
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster (Trade Division)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books | Anthologies | British Detectives | Canadian Detectives | Cat Sleuths | General | Hard-Boiled | Historical | Reference | Series | Sherlock Holmes | Women Sleuths
General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0684860694 |
Book Description
Emma McCune’s passion for Africa, her unstinting commitment to the children of Sudan, and her youthful beauty and glamour set her apart from other relief workers from the moment she arrived in southern Sudan. But no one was prepared for her decision to marry a local warlord—a man who seemed to embody everything she was working against—and to throw herself into his violent quest to take over southern Sudan’s rebel movement.
With precision and insight, Deborah Scroggins—who met McCune in Sudan—charts the process by which McCune’s romantic delusions led to her descent into the hell of Africa’s longest-running civil war. Emma’s War is at once a disturbing love story and an up-close look at Sudan: a world where international aid fuels armies as well as the starving population, and where the northern-based Islamic government—backed by Osama bin Laden—is locked in a war with the Christian and pagan south over religion, oil, and slaves.
A timely, revelatory account of the nature of relief work, of the men and women who choose to carry it out, and of one woman’s sacrifice to its ideals.
Customer Reviews:
Important subplot, forgettable protagonist, poor writing.......2007-01-15
The best thing "Emma's War" by Deborah Scroggins accomplishes is to highlight the often overlooked tragedy and strife that grips Sudan in particular and Africa in general. That's it though, and is the only reason this book deserves more than one star.
Emma herself, based on Scroggins' testimony, is an otherwise forgettable, if not pitiable, person. She had a lot of sex, did a lot of drugs, and reveled in the attention that her exploits attracted. She and her "safari companions" competed to outdo one another with their wild pursuits, and you get the sense that marrying a warlord was simply her ultimate one-upping of her friends. "Top that!" you can almost hear her say. As one prominent tribal chief put it, "If she were in a European setting, she would never even have been noticed." Nevertheless, there is a good story in Emma's adventure, captured in the book's compelling subtitle: "An aid worker, a warlord, radical Islam, and the politics of oil - a true story of love and death in Sudan." How could such a story not be a hit?
The real problem with "Emma's War" is Scroggins' unbelievably poor writing. From what should have been a page-turning adventure, she rendered a laborious manuscript rife with typos, suffering from dreadful research and incoherent structure, and displaying a general misunderstanding of the English language. For example, she puts the date of Charles Gordon's death at both January 25th and January 26th in consecutive paragraphs (even if the details are murky, such inconsistency is inexcusable). She will use an opening parenthesis but have no corresponding closing parenthesis. She routinely jumbles several disconnected topics into a single, long paragraph. Meanwhile she jumps forward and backward in the story with no warning or explanation. And she repeatedly refers to the list of passengers on an airplane flight as the "airplane's manifesto." Overall, "Emma's War" reads like a long, disjointed, carelessly written e-mail.
Fortunately, there are alternatives to this book. For instance, there is the upcoming movie starring (possibly) Nicole Kidman as Emma. More seriously, "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder is an excellent story of true humanitarian activism.
A tragic but compelling tale.......2006-01-21
I am firmly in the camp of reviewers who could not put this book down. I came to it after seeing the film of The Constant Gardener - something in the film stirred my memory of browsing and reading the back of this book. There are strong similarities between the Rachel Weisz character and Emma McCune, (so much so I wondered if John le Carre had had Emma in mind when writing his book) not to mention both stories being set in East Africa. Deborah Scroggins weaves the three strands of her narrative together beautifully and makes the complex situation in Sudan comprehensible to those who know nothing of the history.
The book does not purport to be a biography of Emma McCune Machar but uses her life as a lens through which to examine the inter-relationship between aid, famine and civil war, and the very tangled emotions and motivations that govern the dealings of first world governments, and first world individuals, with Africa and Africans. This book has made me pursue furthur reading in related areas and question my own ideas about aid and the "aid industry".
Many of the reviews are scathing of Emma McCune's motivation, character and actions. Scroggins delineates her character well so we see her in 3d, beauty and warts. We are none of us flawless and I felt that Deborah Scroggins captured perfectly that often naive and romantic idealism that many people (in the first world) have the luxury of going through in their late teens and early twenties; that passionate embracing of "causes" that the majority grow out of as the realities of mortgages and jobs kicks in. At that age, many of us rush headlong in to things that with the benefit of wisdom and hindsight don't look so good. Sometimes we discover we are in over our heads and escape is impossible. Having read both this book and the memoir written my Emma's mother, this seems to have been the case for Emma. There was no going back - none of which excuses her behaviour at times and in particular her attempts to apologise for the atrocities with which her husband's men were involved.
For those who may be concerned about Scroggin's anti- American bias - it seemd pretty mild to me. Don't let this put you off reading a wonderful piece of journalism.
For anyone else interested in good journalism about Africa - look for "Soldiers of Light" by Daniel....reporting on the war in Sierra Leone and making Sudan look like a vicars tea party - complete with floppy hat as worn by Emma McCune!
Genocide of two million people........2005-11-28
I very much enjoyed this book by author Deborah Scroggins. The book is about her journeys in the horn of Africa, the biograpthy of Emma McCune and the warlords who run the Sudan. I did't realize how horrible the situation was until I read this book. There is enough blame to go around for nearly everyone. First, the Islamic terrorists who run the country. These people condone starvation as a way to set up an Islamic state. Bashir and al Turabi are mass murderers and should be sent to the Hague for their crimes. Then you have the southern leaders of Garang and Riek who are not much better. Garang who just recently died in a plane crash recruited child soldiers and also was complicit in starvation. Throw into this mix the aid workers who are idealistic but at the same time don't quite understand the situation they are dealing with. Emma was one of those aid workers and it seems she was thrilled with the adventure of marrying a warlord and taking sides in a internal civil war in the SPLA (Sudan People's Liberation Army). Scroggins also relates her history of visiting this very troubled country.
As related in this book, Emma was idealistic and passionette about what she believed, but she was rather naive. Her entanglement with Riek led to her downfall. She may also have had personal problems due to her father's suicide. Her death may have been arranged. She had all the faults of aid workers believing she could save people. In the end, she may have been complicit in the deaths of many.
This is a good read shedding light on a very troubled land. Some of the writing was rather jumbled, and this is why I gave this book a four star. However this book focuses light on a little known conflict.
Emma of Sudan.......2005-01-06
This is an extraordinary book about two women told against the history of the Sudan Civil War, the longest lasting in African history. The first women is EMMA McCune, a beautiful displaced sole who discovers she has the "sole of Sudan" and desires to help as an aid worker. The second woman is the author Deborah Scroggins who interweaves her own memoirs as a journalist covering the war into a complex and detailed narrative. And finally this is a great overview to the whole of Sudan history going back to the death of Chinese Gordon in Khartoum. Emma eventually leaves aid work, marries an already married warlord who we discover is in collusion with the Islamic government he declares his enemy. (Did Emma know?) The whole book is like a house of mirrors demonstrating that aid is always political and in many cases resented and ineffective. (What can the west do for the continent?) Famine we learn is also often used as a political weapon and may in the end be all about "the oil" and/or personal power. To a small degree Paul Theroux covers some of these same topics in his splendid travel book on Africa, "Dark Star". But if you want to understand the horn of Africa, as told by someone who experienced it, and is also an unusually good writer with a marvelous adventure story thrown in then move this book up on your stack of reading material. I also recommend it to anyone interested in Osama bin Laden, and a view of one root of Islamic fundamentalism took hold and how this may be part of the "blow back" we are experiencing. This is just an excellent book. What is it about the English that they are drawn to such places? People like Richard Burton, Gordon of Khartoum, Lawrence and now Emma. (I understand there are plans to make the book into a movie with Nicole Kidman playing Emma.)
Glamour comes to wartime Sudan .......2004-12-18
If a proposed movie of "Emma's War" starring Nicole Kidman is made, Emma McCune may well become the most famous aid worker of all time. That's a shame because, as this book makes clear, her accomplishments were modest. Emma had a flair for drama and publicity and a pair of long legs instead of a brain. One suspects that she would have tired of the hardships of life in the Sudanese bush and gone back to England to become a fashion designer or some such thing.
The humanitarian aid workers are the modern day missionaries of Western civilization. All in all, they do more good than harm, although Emma may be the exception. Deborah Scroggins has written an excellent book about the brutal two decade long civil war in Sudan and the foreign aid workers who keep the innocent victims of the war alive. The politics are here in easily digestible chunks and so is a mini-history of Sudan since the time of the Victorian hero "Chinese" Gordon. The author includes some of her own experiences of witnessing starvation in Sudan.
One insight of this book is that Western governments want not so much to do anything about African catastrophes as to be seen to do something. Their indifference to African suffering is more than matched by African leaders. Two million people are estimated to have died in the civil wars in Sudan during the last 20 years, the vast majority of them noncombatants. A soldier with a rifle seems the least likely person to die in African conflicts.
Smallchief
Customer Reviews:
Women Warlords.......2007-04-08
As has already been said, only the cover is illustrated by McBride, but the text makes it worth every penny anyway. The book consists of the following chapters:
The True Amazons-Warrior Women of the Sarmatians and Scythians
Amazons of the Jungle-Elite groups of female warriors in topical African and South American armies
Braver than her Husband-The stories of Artemisia and Zenobia, not warriors personally, but skilled leaders of them
Celtic Queens-The mythical account of Medb, as well as the real histories of the cunning Cartimandua and the vicious Boudica
Women of Christ-Aethelflaed, Matilda of Tuscany, and Eleanor of Aquitaine-women in the Middle Ages who led men and armies
Hundred Years War Women-Jeanne of Montfort, Christine de Pisan, and the famous Jeanne d'Arc, Joan of Arc
Angus McBride alert!.......2006-10-14
Simply put, the newer paperback edition of Women Warlords has only a cover by Angus McBride. And that's all! Since the book has his cover, technically I guess he is the illustrator, but there are no interior color plates usually found in books illustrated by Angus McBride, and for me half the value of these and the Osprey books are in the incredibly researched and painted color plates.
The hard bound edition published in the UK in 1989 by Blandford includes 16 full page color illustrations by McBride, in addition to the cover, which features a different portrait of Matilda of Tuscany than McBride painted for the interior. While there are no explanations of the weapons and battle dress shown in the plates, as in the Osprey books, the pictures of the outfits, weapons and historical figures, in dramatic and fighting poses , with backgrounds, make the early edition of Women Warlords among McBrides' better efforts.
So if you like the color illustrations by the cover artist of this book, don't buy this paperback edition. Search out the 1989 HARD BOUND book.
A good solid effort with some great Ilustartions.......2005-05-01
A subject that until now that has not been covered well. The author has done some solid work and coupled with McBride is well worth the price.
Some Soldiers, Some Generals.......1998-05-27
Newark gives a good analysis of what one might call the Amazon influence. Rather than just being about female generals, he gets down to the trenches, compiling the evidence for woman warriors among the Steppe tribes of Eurasia, in South America (the reason they called the one river the Amazon) and in Dahomey. Also, he makes plain the sociological change from the Medieval woman warlord like Aethelflaed of Mercia or Matilda of Tuscany -- a feudal noble defending her turf -- to the modern "Joan of Arc" image, of the idealistic woman of the people fighting out of patriotism. He does not cover any of the lower-level fighting women of Europe, however, nor the female warlords outside of Europe.
Average customer rating:
- Distant Star
- Wonderful book!
- GREAT HISTORICAL RESEARCH - ROMANCE READERS CAN'T BE UNHAPPY
- I Loved this book!!!
|
Distant Star
Barbara Bickmore
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
| 18th Century
| 19th Century
| 20th Century
| African American
| Asian American
| Classics
| Collections & Readers
| Drama
| General
| Hispanic
| History & Criticism
| Humor
| Jewish American
| Letters & Correspondence
| Native American
| Poetry
| Short Stories
| Women Writers
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Historical
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Romance
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Beyond The Promise
-
The Back of Beyond
-
The Moon Below
-
Deep In The Heart
-
Whitethorn Woods
ASIN: 0345361091
Release Date: 1993-03-02 |
Book Description
China in 1923 was a far cry from the exotic land Chloe Cavanaugh envisioned; but Chloe was married to the Chicago Times' most famous correspondent, and this squalid, teeming land was her new home.
Yet the winds of change were blowing the sleeping giant of revolution was awakening. Chloe befriends Madame Sun, wife of Sun Yat-sen, the people's hero, who is fighting for modernization and for a government that will finally free China from feudalism. Chloe's friendship with Madame Sun will lead her to realize her own dreams -- as a famous own right. and as a woman whose soul is ignited by four unique men.
From the violent cities Shanghai and Canton, to the war-torn mountains from the private tables of Chiang Kai-shek. to the bitter struggle of a country at Chloe grows from being a naive girl in a strange, forbidden land being a courageous woman, whose ideals, enthusiasm. and to a land, a people, and the sweet calling of her heart lead her on a breathless odyssey.
Customer Reviews:
Distant Star.......2007-05-09
I used to know Barbara Bickmore when i lived in Mexico. We attended same course in Espanol in Ajijic.Jalisco,Mexico. i love all of her books,specially East of Eden and Below the Moon.
Best regards
GSH
Wonderful book!.......2000-11-10
It is too bad that this book is currently out of print, as it is an excellent story! I discovered Barbara Bickmore at the library!! I have currently read three of her books and enjoyed ALL of them! "Distant Star" is a BIG book and full of history of the Chinese Revolution. I didn't think I would even be interested in this topic, but found it absolutely fascinating! The book begins with Chloe as a young woman and you see her change and mature throughout the book. The romances Chloe encounters were all touching although this story is much more than a romance story/book. I loved this book and passed it on to another friend who also loved it! Search for Barbara Bickmore books. It is worth the search. An excellent book and one I highly recommend.
GREAT HISTORICAL RESEARCH - ROMANCE READERS CAN'T BE UNHAPPY.......1999-12-15
I have actually gone backwards with some of Bickmore's books. Read Moon Below first, the Back of Beyond - then East of the Sun. Found this book and loved it, however, I was surprised at her many - best loves ever! - episodes. I think she is a fine writer. In my mind she shouldn't have to push the romance so much.
I Loved this book!!!.......1999-01-09
I can't believe that I am the first to review this book. It was great. I loved it. I'm used to reading romances so when I saw this in a book club selection I got it just for the romance. But as I read it I was instantly caught up in the sweeping tale of love, trust, honor,and courage. I hadn't read a book this good in a long time and it made me remember why I loved books in the first place. It wasn't just a romance it was a story about human drama. It's the story of all our lives. The things you go through as an unsure girl and then as a woman to become simply who you really are. The story of Chloe's loves will leave you wanting more and the backdrop of revolutionary China will spellbind you and keep you up late at night. Read it and weep.
Customer Reviews:
The darkest book in an excellent series........2000-10-30
This is undoubtly the darkest and least "heroic" book in Hugh Cook's series: "Chronicles of an Age of Darkness", but it is a great read nonetheless. If you've ever wondered just how tough life would actually be for a women in a "realistic" medieval/fantasy world, look no further. The book never softens its grimly realistic tone by making artifical concessions to political correctness (which, in most modern fantasies, dictates that women should never be at a disadvantage to men, despite the implausibility of this in a typical fantasy/medieval world). Instead, we are given a believable account of a (determined and resourceful, but not super-human) woman's struggle to survive independently (i.e. without a man) in a very male-dominated and repressive culture. If this sounds like rather depressing reading, then you're not far wrong - this book is certainly less uplifting than any other in the series. However, it still contains the usual Hugh Cook elements in abundance - drama, excellent characterisation, invention and humour. Overall, it's not quite as good as some others in the series, particularly books 4, 9 and 10, but it's still a great read, and for a fan of the series, the future development of the careers of Morgan Hearst and Watashi is worth the purchase price by itself. Conclusion: well worth buying, especially if you're a fan of the series.
Average customer rating:
|
The Women And The Warlords
Hugh Cook
Manufacturer: Corgi
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Fantasy
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
| Alternate History
| Anthologies
| Arthurian
| Contemporary
| Epic
| General
| Historical
| History & Criticism
| Magic & Wizards
| Series
ASIN: 0552131318 |
Book Description
In the winter of 1664-65, a bitter cold descended on London in the days before Christmas. Above the city, an unusually bright comet traced an arc in the sky, exciting much comment and portending "horrible windes and tempests." And in the remote, squalid precinct of St. Giles-in-the-Fields outside the city wall, Goodwoman Phillips was pronounced dead of the plague. Her house was locked up and the phrase "Lord Have Mercy On Us" was painted on the door in red. By the following Christmas, the pathogen that had felled Goodwoman Phillips would go on to kill nearly 100,000 people living in and around London -- almost a third of those who did not flee. This epidemic had a devastating effect on the city's economy and social fabric, as well as on those who lived through it. Yet somehow the city continued to function and the activities of daily life went on.
In The Great Plague, historian A. Lloyd Moote and microbiologist Dorothy C. Moote provide an engrossing and deeply informed account of this cataclysmic plague year. At once sweeping and intimate, their narrative takes readers from the palaces of the city's wealthiest citizens to the slums that housed the vast majority of London's inhabitants to the surrounding countryside with those who fled. The Mootes reveal that, even at the height of the plague, the city did not descend into chaos. Doctors, apothecaries, surgeons, and clergy remained in the city to care for the sick; parish and city officials confronted the crisis with all the legal tools at their disposal; and commerce continued even as businesses shut down.
To portray life and death in and around London, the authors focus on the experiences of nine individuals -- among them an apothecary serving a poor suburb, the rector of the city's wealthiest parish, a successful silk merchant who was also a city alderman, a country gentleman, and famous diarist Samuel Pepys. Through letters and diaries, the Mootes offer fresh interpretations of key issues in the history of the Great Plague: how different communities understood and experienced the disease; how medical, religious, and government bodies reacted; how well the social order held together; the economic and moral dilemmas people faced when debating whether to flee the city; and the nature of the material, social, and spiritual resources sustaining those who remained.
Underscoring the human dimensions of the epidemic, Lloyd and Dorothy Moote dramatically recast the history of the Great Plague and offer a masterful portrait of a city and its inhabitants besieged by -- and defiantly resisting -- unimaginable horror.
Customer Reviews:
5 on details, 3 to 4 on story writting.......2006-06-10
Thoroughly researched and presented with details about the lives of the people living in London at the time and the statistics of those who fled, those who stayed, and those who perished; bravery and cowardice and greed; the brutal conditions of the poor, the lack of effective medical knowledge, the treatment of those not of the Anglican church (Quakers, Catholics, Jews). The rich could run away, and of the remaining population half or more died, faster than they could be buried, the church bells breaking because they were being rung all day long for the numerous dead. Using diaries, letters, church records and published works of the time the authors present life and death in London and the surrounding areas in the year 1645. The narrative relies heavily on Samuel Pepys diary, which is an excellent source, and the main part of the story is told without the knowledge of modern medicine and causes being introduced. That part is left to an interesting epilogue that tells the story of how the source of the plague was discovered, a very interesting section in itself. Recommended for the insight into medicine and the world of 1645 and to human nature under stress.
Many Intersting Facts, Yet as a Whole Almost Dull.......2005-06-12
A more complete story of the London Plague is probably not available. But the character's stories of survival, heroism, charity and cowardness are fractured; here their stories are begun, dropped, begun again without a clear feeling that the story should have been dropped. It seems almost in mid-thought that the authors decide to go on to something that suddenly catches their interest without regard that the reader wants a more convincing reason, or better understanding as to why the subject has been changed.
The Epilogue is a different matter. Clear, concise, flowing well, a steady exposition of the bacterial infection (a flea from a black rat) how it evolved and changed over time. The theory of why it has not returned is compelling and persuasive. It is interesting. The style used here would, if used throughout the book, have improved it immensely.
Mankind's continuous fight with the microbial world.......2004-09-11
Wow, talk about a depressing book.
The Great Plague is not the story of the Twentieth Century flu epidemic, or about the Black Death of the Fourteenth. It is about the bubonic plague of Seventeenth Century London during the reign of Charles II. This was the epidemic that drove Newton to return to his home town to confront the famous apple; it is the epidemic that preceded the Great Fire of 1666; it is the Pepys' Diary world.
Probably more than anything, this book, like that on the Great Fire of London, proves the value of diarists and their contemporary accounts. While the facts of the devastation could be adequately conveyed by graph and statistics alone, the emotional impact of the event can not begin to be demonstrated by numbers alone. The courage of the population at every level of society as they attempted to carry on their daily lives despite the devastation all around them was amazing. Even those who fled the city because they could afford to do so, provided financial support to those who could not. The psychological toll that months of death cost is evident in many of the diaries. Even the ever buoyant and optimistic Samuel Pepys, the civil servant's civil servant, began to show cracks in his armor.
One of the things that most impressed upon me the reality of the plague was the staggering demands for burial property. Churchyards were used and reused for single burials, and empty land around the town was used for mass graves. Just disposal of the dead became a major problem. It reminded me of the same issues that arose in the aftermath of the 1900 hurricane that hit Galveston, Texas, only this was a "hurricane" that lasted over a year and produced far more fatalities!
Another point that impressed me was the incredible competence and active involvement of James, Duke of York, the king's brother. While Charles II fled the city for safety, James remained in London to conduct both the naval war with the Dutch and to keep the city stable during the plague. He did much the same during the great fire that occurred shortly after the plague died out. He sounds like a very useful person.
As a health care practitioner myself, I found the alignments of the various elements of the health care world of the time of considerable interest. The conflict between the medical establishment, the pharmacists, the surgeons, and the herbalists during this time helped to define the hierarchy of health care as it is today. It also showed that when confronted by a pandemic of this magnitude society was pretty much helpless. That reality comes through in discussions of the flu pandemic of 1918 (for which see The Great Influenza, by John Barry) as well. With the rise of drug resistant strains of bacteria and viruses like HIV, one wonders if society will one day once again be helpless in the face of a virulent plague.
The Human Side of Plague.......2004-07-13
The word "plague" is one of the most dreaded in Europe. For over a thousand years, Europe was the victim of a series of epidemics which decimated the population. One of the last of these epidemics was the Great Plague of London in 1665 that killed probably a third of the population and left few families untouched.
Plagues are a huge subject. Even today there is little agreement between medical experts as to which pandemics were caused by Yersinia pestis (the bacillus almost certainly responsible for the 1665 plague); what was the contagiousness and morbidity of the various strains of plague; and what were all the ways that it could be transmitted to humans. Then there are all the complicated social questions to sort out: What was cause, what effect, and what coincidence? All this has to be carefully determined from the artifacts left by a largely superstitious and semi-literate society in desperate times.
The husband and wife team of Lloyd and Dorothy Moote have pooled their skills in European history and medical research to examine the human side of the Great Plague. By going back to original source materials, they have provided an intimate picture of life during the plague year that is as free as possible from the myths and misunderstandings that have grown up around the subject. Most valuably, their interpretation of events is sensitive to the knowledge and beliefs of the people at the time. This was an afflicted community only three hundred years after the Black Death - one of the world's greatest horrors - and two hundred years before scientists such as Filippo Pacini, Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch would connect disease to an "organic, living substance of a parasitic nature."
Other books on the plague have tended to concentrate on the epidemiological and political aspects of pandemics. "The Great Plague: The Story of London's Most Deadly Year" is a very welcome addition to the literature because of its careful and sympathetic treatment of the human side of plague.
Books:
- At Swim-Two-Birds (John F. Byrne Irish Literature Series)
- Blackbird House: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle)
- Blowing My Cover: My Life as a CIA Spy
- Call to Arms: Corps 02 (Corps)
- Can't Get Enough: A Novel
- Caucasia: A Novel
- Certain Prey
- City of Glass: The Graphic Novel
- Classic Japanese Porcelain: Imari and Kakiemon
- Creativity & Madness: Psychological Studies of Art and Artists (Creativity & Madness)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Biology, Sixth Edition
- The Higher Power of Lucky
- Romey's Place
- Perchance to Dream: Robert B. Parker's Sequel to Raymond Chandler's the Big Sleep
- Pictures of Nothing: Abstract Art since Pollock
- Soil and Aquifer Pollution: Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids - Contamination and Reclamation
- The Opium Wars: The Addiction of One Empire and the Corruption of Another
- The Art of Enigma: The De Chirico Brothers & the Politics of Modernism
- Plain and Simple: A Woman's Journey to the Amish
- Alexander Lednicki
