Slim and None

Average customer rating:

Just for Fun...

Classic Jenkins, slightly tired story

Slim and Fun!!

Slim ans None

I Loved It!! Best Effort in Years!!

Slim and None
Dan Jenkins
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Sports | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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Shanks for Nothing: A Novel

ASIN: 0385508522
Release Date: 2005-05-03

Book Description

Introduced in Dan Jenkins’s previous uproarious novel of the pro golf tour, The Money-Whipped Steer-Job Three-Jack Give-Up Artist, Bobby Joe Grooves is now forty-four and still without a win in a major championship. A student of golf lore, Bobby Joe is well aware that only a small group of stars have ever won a major at his age or older, and among them are such immortals as Nicklaus, Boros, Irwin, and Trevino. It’s now or never for Bobby Joe, and excuse him for thinking that his chances are slim and none.

So it’s off to the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open, and the rest of the PGA Tour for Bobby Joe, who’s leaving behind the prospect of a third ex-wife. On the golf courses he’ll face familiar competitors such as Knut Thorssun and Cheetah Farmer, but the rival who may loom the largest is the game’s newest child star, nineteen-year-old Scott Pritchard. His talents are the talk of the Tour—so is his arrogance—and so, by the way, is his stunning mom, Gwendolyn, a shapely adorable woman who captures Bobby Joe’s full attention and threatens not to let go.

Long revered by his peers as one of the world’s best sportswriters, and beloved by readers for such classics as Semi-Tough and Dead Solid Perfect, Dan Jenkins is at the top of his form in Slim and None. It’s packed with authentic insider gems about each of the majors and hilarious sketches of many of the characters—touring pros, officials, media, agents, caddies, and ladies—who inhabit this outrageous and endearing world of sports.

Customer Reviews:

Just for Fun..........2007-03-31

A typical Dan Jenkins book---no real redeeming social value, but a good, quick and fun read...that's what makes Dan Jenkins great...Mindless, humorous fiction about a game that's easy to love and to hate..kind of like life and love....if you like the game of golf, like to laugh and ponder the sometimes somewhat raunchy side of life, especially golf, this book is for you...perfect book for spring when golf is picking up again!! And there's always the question--"How much of this is fiction and how much is fact?"

Not quite a "Dead Solid Perfect," but in that neighborhood.

Classic Jenkins, slightly tired story.......2006-04-05

The motivation to ressurect Bobby Joe Grooves is obvious: so much has changed since his previous stories in the world of golf, someone just had to poke a big hole in it. Snot-nosed prima donna teenage pros, women golfers plugging at the men's tour, Martha and her army at the door to Augusta, the old guard getting, well, old.

Much of how Jenkins rips into this is in dead keeping with his genius for actually making tales about golf, or any sport, entertaining. Probably the only drag is that Bobby Joe is more of himself. He's divorced, again, hooking up with a new girl, again, complaining about the same things, again... This could be because I came hot off of reading the earlier installments in The Money-Whipped Steer-Job Three-Jack Give-Up Artist, and was looking for more new than could be delivered.

If you're a Jenkins fan, and read Bobby Joe's earlier tale, this will be a good read. If not, pick up The Money-Whipped Steer-Job Three-Jack Give-Up Artist, wait half a year, and then delve in. You'll be happier, and more sane for it.

Slim and Fun!!.......2006-01-13

Figuring out how many stars to give a Dan Jenkins book requires some experience in reading this most entertaining author. I can assure you that you will most likely look a long time to find one of his efforts on the shelves at Barbara Streisand's home and Maureen Dowd probably hasn't had the pleasure either. However, from time to time there is just no substitute for a trip through the imaginitive mind of the various characters fashioned by Mr. Jenkins.

In this instance we are returning to the PGA tour with an older, somewhat wiser and thrice divorced Bobby Joe Grooves. We have been there before with Bobby Joe in "The Money - Whipped Steer - Job Three - Jack Give - Up Artist," and this novel is a decided improvement on that one.

Somehow, Bobby Joe has managed to stay on the tour for some time and now as he turns forty-four he realizes "forty-four is not a good age for a pro if he has never won a major...and I'd clean forgotten to do that in my eighteen years on the tour."

In addition to failing to bag a major, Bobby Joe has failed in his efforts to find a life partner other than his caddie, however things begin looking up in that aspect of things as he encounters Gwendolyn Pritchard, a major league "shapely adorable" and the divorced mother of a new teen age phenom on the tour, Scott Pritchard.

The story opens with these two lines, "It had to be the first bare navel on the Master's veranda. Luckily it came with a shapely adorable."

And it only gets better as we follow the twists and turns of Bobby Joe's efforts to become the winner of a major championship through the four venues where they are played that year. The story is replete with interesting and exaggerated characters and situations and you will find yourself chuckling and laughing through all 243 pages of Jenkin's latest.

Having read all of his other fiction efforts and some of his non-fiction books, I promise you that if you are a golfer, enjoy a healthy dose of non PC humor and have spent any time in Texas, there are just two chances that you will not enjoy this latest one...........

Slim ans None.......2006-01-05

May just be the funniest novel I have ever read regarding golf,
Agusta, and the game that keeps us all hooked. What a fun look from a insiders perspective. Hilarious!

I Loved It!! Best Effort in Years!!.......2005-08-04

I must first admit that I have been a Dan Jenkins fan for the past several decades. His recent books (according to some) have waxed and waned over the past decade but "Slim and None" in my view is one of his finest efforts ever--it should be ranked with "Semi-Tough", "Limo" and "Dead Solid Perfect" as his best works. True, it is not very long, but as one reviewer noted, there are numerous passages where you will spontaneously break out in audible laughter. I found this to be a lean, concise, hysterical read and I recommend it very highly.

Slim to None : A Journey Through the Wasteland of Anorexia Treatment

Average customer rating:

terribly out of date
Important voice to be heard
Like reading my own diaries from the past
If I could give it less than one star I would
A Sad Chronicle of a 10-Year Suicide

Slim to None : A Journey Through the Wasteland of Anorexia Treatment
Jennifer Hendricks
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Eating Disorders | Mental Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Drug Dependency | Recovery | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Pathologies | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Eating Disorders | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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General | Medicine | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0071410694

Book Description

A young woman's fatal battle with anorexia, in her own words

In the tradition of Go Ask Alice, Prozac Nation, and Girl Interrupted, Slim to None grants readers precious access to the emotional and psychological underpinnings of its author. Step-by-step, readers follow Jenny's long journey through a "wasteland" of failed treatments and therapies, false hope, and abuse by the mental health system that kept her captive most of her life.

Although this disease has been at the forefront of public awareness for years, anorexia continues to claim more victims than any other mental illness. Slim to None reveals the glaring inadequacy of the mental health system to treat and fully understand this disease.

The first journal of an anorexic to be published posthumously, the book discloses the innermost thoughts, fears, and hopes of a young girl stricken and fighting to recover.

Jenny Hendricks painstakingly recorded her experiences as she suffered from and eventually succumbed to this eating disorder. With candor, she recounts being shipped from one doctor to another and subjected to widely varying treatments--all of which ultimately proved unsuccessful. Her father, Gordon Hendricks, fills in this compelling narrative with his own memories of his daughter's struggle.

Customer Reviews:

terribly out of date.......2007-06-28

I am just starting down the long road of treating anorexia. Believe it or not, my father, at the ripe age of 86, has developed a severe case. Not knowing much about the disorder, I bought books and started reading. This was the third book I read. I got it because it was about a father/daughter and thought it might shed some light on what was coming for us. But by page 36 I was questioning the "treatment" Jenny was getting. I found myself, even with my limited knowledge of the disorder, questioning what kind of therapist would ever say or do some of the things that were happening here. Finally, by around 50 pages into the book it dawned on me that despite a 2003 publication date, these events must have happened decades ago. It was hard to find the years these things happened in, in her journal entries you see only months/days. Eventually, by mentioning a movie she went to see and by closely looking at the clothing and hair style on the cover photo, it became clear these events took place in the 70's and 80's. Now these ridiculous "treatments" and "approaches" made sense, the knowledge base and treatment facilities at that time was in it's infancy.

Unfortunately, I was not interested in knowing how things were done 25 years ago when this disorder first became public, I need to know what to expect today. So while it is an interesting read, the "wasteland" of treatments they speak of is from the 70's and 80's and not current. I feel that should have been made perfectly clear early on and it is not.

Important voice to be heard.......2006-08-13

Slim to none is the diary of an anorexia patient, Jennifer Hendricks. This is a difficult and frustrating read. Jenny is totally confused through must of the book, due, not only by her severe eating disorder, but also through all the crazy "therapies" to try to heal her. It is an important story to be told to see just how misunderstood the disease was, even by doctors. Everyone had a different idea on how to heal Jenny, and most of them exceeding is only making her worse. The worst shame of it all is that Jenny tried so hard for so long and spent most of those years that she writes about, in one hospital or another. The last years of her life are revolved around her troubled thoughts and lost hopes of a normal life. I think this book is important for all doctors and families of people struggling with eating disorders. Also, anyone who is studying about eating disorders. As far as the story part of the book goes, it is repetitious, especially in the beginning, but keep reading, it is worth it in the end.

Like reading my own diaries from the past.......2006-07-03

I am a recovering anorexic. I was hospitalized numerous times before something inside of my mine just snapped and I was ready to let go. Really ready. And I am one of the very few lucky ones.

I love this book. Jennifer's father reminds me of my own and the struggle he put up to keep me alive.

My father never gave up. Jennifer's father held on until the very end when he finally gave in and knew she was going to die. My heart breaks for him, and for Jennifer.

Eating disorder treatment has come a LONG way since Jennifer's struggle, but it is still severely flawed. Insurance companies are atrocious and refuse to pay for long term care. Families without means to pay for repeated and extended treatment are left stranded. Every single person in my family, including extended family, took out a loan and combined their money to pay for my treatments. One private hospital took me in for free after my dad pleaded with them and my doctors had said I would die. This hospital, my family's love, and luck saved my life.

It shouldn't be so difficult to obtain treatment for a fatal disease. That's the message Jennifer's father is trying to get across. I've read some other reviews who express concern that people criticize treatment, and may be less inclined to seek it after reading this book. But I think it is a powerful statement that has been a long time in coming.

When are we going to view eating disorders as biological illnesses that cause psychological illness? When are the doctors and hospitals and insurance companies, not to mention society in general, going to see eating disorders for what they are?

Medical. Fatal. Diseases.

Like cancer of the mind. They must be fought early and aggressively. And it must be POSSIBLE to do that. For anyone who suffers with an eating disorder.

Thank you, Mr. Hendricks, for writing this book. Thank you.

If I could give it less than one star I would.......2005-08-20

I'm sorry, but there is nooooooooooooo way this book is better than Wasted. As a memoir junkie, I read pretty much everything that comes out, and as an ED sufferer I of course read every ED memoir. I could barely even make it through this one; the only reason I did is that I paid for it in hardcover. It is ridiculously trite, annoying, and the dialogue is almost laughably bad. It's just absurd; I rolled my eyes so much I felt like I could twirl pasties with them.

Rock on with your bad self, Marya Hornbacher.

A Sad Chronicle of a 10-Year Suicide.......2005-08-06

Out of a sea of hundreds of titles on anorexia nervosa, Slim to None serves as a heartbreaking reminder of a cold reality. For every recovering anorexic who achieves long-term health, there are untold numbers of others who don't make it. There's an old saying among therapists that there are four barriers to recovery--health, wealth, youth, and brains. Unfortunately for Jennifer Hendricks, she had an abundance of all four. Part Shakespearean-style tragedy and part psychiatric case study, Jen's story is both fascinating and disturbing all at once. With the loving help of her father Gordon, Jen's voice rises from the grave through a series of journals kept over a ten-year period, from her high school days until her untimely death at age 25.

On the surface, the Hendrickses lived a life you see only on television. A close-knit family with five children (Jen is #3), the father had a nice steady job; the mother devoted herself to home and church. The two oldest children had already spread their wings and headed off to college. Jen herself was an honor student who later graduated valedictorian of her high school class. She had everything to live for. So what on earth would cause Jen to develop such strong pervasive feelings of disgust and self-loathing and to wish she were dead? There is no single answer, although her therapists certainly tried to invent one.

Jen bounced from many psychiatrists, therapists, and treatment centers. At one point she encountered a rather bizarre self-proclaimed faith healer, who attempted to perform a slipshod exorcism. Nothing seemed to help. Anorexia is like alcoholism in many ways. It is strong, chronic, and vexing, and it defies rehabilitation. There is considerable debate over whether anorexia has a biological base, is an outward symptom of deeper pathology, or is the result of external conditioning in a society obsessed with weight and beauty. Does an anorexic really "choose" to stay sick? Jen tries repeatedly to answer these questions herself. Maybe deep down she truly wanted death, because she lacked the inner resources to cope with life. Jen tried to hasten the process on a couple of occasions by cutting herself or swallowing pills. But she survived every overt suicide attempt, as someone always found her in time.

Although anorexia literally means "without appetite," Jen was hungry, hungry, HUNGRY. Starved for love and approval, she seeks them from an emotionally distant mother and equally distant and sometimes cruel psychiatrists and mental health workers. Jen often flashbacks to graphic images of profound physical and sexual abuse suffered at the hands of both relatives and family friends. In some parts though, it would appear that Jen developed a severe case of False Memory Syndrome. I personally believe she was somehow traumatized as a child; however, her memories may have been magnified and embellished in therapy. One reviewer surmised that Jen had Borderline Personality Disorder; while Jen may have displayed BPD characteristics, I am not qualified to make such an assessment. There is no doubt that Jen had Major Depression, and no one could come up with an effective treatment plan.

Jen may have reached numeric adulthood, but she remained a child, both in body and in mind, and a wounded child at that. She kept saying she wanted to get better, but anorexia was too ingrained in her very identity. And no one would or could help her carve out a new self-image that did not include anorexia. By the time Jen reached a real turning point--that she was "sick and tired of being sick and tired," and we see a true glimmer of hope for the first time ever, it is too late. Jen's body shuts down, tormented from years of abuse and having cannibalized itself just to make it to the next day. There was nothing left.

Overall, I am glad I read this book, for giving me new insights into the mystery of anorexia. Jen left us a valuable gift. However, my criticisms are based mainly on presentation and style. There were times when Jen went for months without a single entry. Gordon Hendricks attempts to fill in the gaps by recreating scenes and dialog that he personally witnessed, as well as hypothesizing what went on in Jen's therapy sessions. The connections are very choppy in places, and I had a hard time following--sometimes having to backtrack several pages to remind myself of where we were.

Also, while Jen's entries are dated, year stamps are noticeably absent. I suspect this was done intentionally, to give the book a "timeless" feel. However, there are clues as to the time period (e.g. references to movies, TV shows, etc.). My guess is that the action takes place from 1979 to 1989 or 1990. Anorexia was only just starting to come into the public consciousness. Without defending poor medical practice, which is pervasive throughout, if Jen's health team seems ignorant of anorexia, it's because they are! We have come a long way over the last twenty or so years.

For that reason, I am less concerned about fledgling anorexics using this book as a "how to" manual, and more worried that some people might see this book as Exhibit A of anorexia treatment. This in turn might prevent patients and their families from seeking the help that they so desperately need.

One other thing--we need to remember that Jen's story is viewed strictly through the lens of a sick girl and her grieving father. I would have liked some commentary from the mental health profession, like from a psychologist or psychiatrist who specializes in eating disorders. There were times when Jen's parents were advised to stay away from her, but that recommendation was likely more for the sanity of the parents than for the treatment of Jen.

Verdict: It's not a literary masterpiece, like "The Diary of Anne Frank." However, it deserves a spot in every high school, public, and medical library, as a chilling testament to one girl's life that went hellishly wrong and the betrayal by the very safeguards that had been set up to protect her in the first place.

Average customer rating:

Slim to None, Good Enough Odds
"It's like the Wild West out there."
exhilarating suspense thriller

Slim To None (STP - Mira)
Taylor Smith
Manufacturer: Mira
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Psychological & Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0778323323

Book Description

After losing custody of her young son, security specialist Hannah Nicks has one goal: earn enough money to retire and raise her child. The fastest way to accomplish that is to take on a covert, privately funded mission in the Middle East, and in a war fueled more by money than morality, Hannah is on only one side--her own. When the opportunity arises to do a little extra business, rescuing a kidnapped American doctor and retrieving a handsome reward, Hannah figures Why not? But when the mission ends badly, she discovers the price of her risks: the loss of a young ally, the reward money and her reputation.

Two years later, Hannah is back in Los Angeles, no closer to gaining custody, more uncertain of her fitness as a mother and even less in demand for employment.

But when a chance encounter leads to the man who ruined her mission in Iraq, Hannah plans to even the score. Now she's got another shot at unraveling a tangled web of lies and treachery that, she soon discovers, could drag America to its knees. Her only ally is a cop who has burned a few too many bridges himself, a man who understands that the odds are always better when you have nothing left to lose.

Customer Reviews:

Slim to None, Good Enough Odds.......2006-12-30

Hannah Nicks is an ex Los Angeles Police Officer who wants to regain custody of her eight-year-old son. She takes on very dangerous jobs, because they pay so much more than a police officer gets. In this story, she's working for a security group in Iraq when a young, female American doctor, whose father is a wealthy Bostonian businessman, is taken by terrorists. Daddy offers a huge reward and Hannah and her partner, a savvy and tough ex-marine take the job. Sadly, her partner dies, killed by a man she'll never forget, and she returns home with her reputation in shreds.

However, back in Amercia, she sees the man who killed her partner and now she is on alert. What's he doing in the States? She needs to find out. And from there on you'll be captivated by this explosive and informative thriller. You'll learn about a side of the Iraqi war you didn't know about. At least I didn't know there were private American security firms over there, with people in every bit as much danger as the troops. This is an excellent book by an excellent talent. If you haven't read Taylor Smith yet, it's time you gave her a try.

"It's like the Wild West out there.".......2006-12-03

Taylor Smith's "Slim to None" opens in Baghdad in 2003. Hannah Nicks is a former member of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department who spent six years as a patrol officer and undercover cop. She is divorced from her philandering ex-husband Cal, who has remarried and has primary custody of their son, Gabe. A bomb planted by a defendant in an undercover sting operation blew up Hannah's house and helped convince the courts that Cal, not Hannah, is the parent most able to provide a stable and secure environment for their child. Cal is wealthy and upwardly mobile, while Hannah grabs jobs in freelance security to make extra money. Her dream is to put aside enough cash to petition for custody of Gabe and devote herself full time to her child.

Hannah has some hair-raising adventures in Iraq, complicated by a shootout that ends in tragedy. She leaves the country with an indelible memory of a vicious white-haired man with cold blue eyes; Hannah secretly vows to bring this sadist down if their paths ever cross again. Part two of the novel fast-forwards to 2005, and the setting shifts to South Central Los Angeles. We meet a troubled homicide detective named John Russo who, like Hannah, is plagued by guilt and unhappy memories. He is currently investigating the murder of a young black man named Damon Shipley; it is a case that will bring Russo more heartache. Unbelievably, the Shipley murder case and Hannah's search for the white-haired man converge, and Russo teams up with Nicks to foil a potentially deadly plot.

"Slim to None" is a timely and exciting thriller, with a "ripped from the headlines" plot that explores the intricacies of geopolitical intrigue. Nicks and Russo make an appealing pair; they are deeply flawed individuals whose shortcomings are offset by their courage, toughness, and integrity. The plot, while not particularly realistic, is compelling and deliciously complex. Smith's spare writing style moves the narrative along at a rapid clip and, realistically, bad things happen to good people. For the most part, the author avoids the formulaic developments that too often ruin stories about tortured cops and spunky single women.

exhilarating suspense thriller .......2006-09-02

Two years ago security specialist Hannah Nicks lost her partial custody of her eight years old son Gabe. Instead of she reading Potter to Gabe, his stepmother Christie is the one to tuck him in at night. She does not fault her ex Cal or Christie though she is jealous. Now she is in the Middle East working as fast and hard as possible to earn the money to walk away so that she can raise her beloved offspring. Finally the chance to make big bucks occurs in Iraq when an abducted American doctor needs rescuing from terrorists. However, an ambush on the road near Al Zawra killed her partner Oz and destroyed her reputation. She gives the Fitzgerald reward money to Oz's family leaving her broke in more ways than one.

Two years later, Hannah resides in Los Angeles while Gabe remains with Christie and Cal. Hannah remains bitter towards George Kenner the man who betrayed her and Oz. a terrorist scheme involving a packed crowd at the Staple Center gives her a SLIM TO NONE chance to take down Kenner except he has her son and the audience as hostages.

This is an exhilarating suspense thriller that occurs in two parts; the first half of the novel focuses on the incident in 2003 Iraq while the latter happens two plus years later in Los Angeles. Hannah and to a lesser degree Kenner (or whatever name he uses) are the ties between the two interrelated "novellas". Fans will enjoy this tense cat and mouse thriller that takes the audience on an initial high then starts over to once again bring the reader to the stratosphere. Taylor Smith is at her best with this powerful fast-paced two in one thriller.

Harriet Klausner

Weir moves up, but not enough; Chances of victory slim and none.(Sports): An article from: Winnipeg Free Press

Average customer rating:

Weir moves up, but not enough; Chances of victory slim and none.(Sports): An article from: Winnipeg Free Press
Gale Reference Team
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000UIQZ9W
Release Date: 2007-07-30

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Winnipeg Free Press, published by Thomson Gale on July 29, 2007. The length of the article is 471 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Weir moves up, but not enough; Chances of victory slim and none.(Sports)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication: Winnipeg Free Press (Magazine/Journal)
Date: July 29, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: c4

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Average customer rating:

Slim to None

Manufacturer: MCGRAW-HILL BOOK COM
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GTEB0K

Their chances? slim and none: An ethnographic account of the experiences of low-income people of color in a vocational program and at work

Average customer rating:

Their chances? slim and none: An ethnographic account of the experiences of low-income people of color in a vocational program and at work
Glynda A Hull
Manufacturer: National Center for Research in Vocational Education
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Vocational | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Education & Training | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006OZL6I

Average customer rating:

Long on humor, short on surprises

Joan Hess has done it again!

The Maggody books are thoroughly enjoyable!

Dionne Warwick in Maggody?
Mischief in Maggody (Arly Hanks Mystery)
Joan Hess
Manufacturer: Onyx
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
Hess, Joan | ( H ) | Authors, A-Z | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
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Mortal Remains in Maggody (Arly Hanks Mystery)

Maggody in Manhattan: An Arly Hanks Mystery

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Martians in Maggody (Arly Hanks Mystery)

ASIN: 0451402537

Customer Reviews:

Long on humor, short on surprises.......2001-09-01

This is not your typical murder mystery. Although the victim, a moonshine making, ginseng picking, illegitimate baby producing mountain woman dies around chapter three, no one will realize that she is dead until about halfway through the book. The first half is taking up with the humorous goings on of the wacky inhabitants of Magoody who seem to include at least one example of every unflattering hillbilly stereotype in existence. When the mountain women goes a missing, her five wild children are dragged into town for their own good. The mystery is as much about who their fathers might be as who is responsible for the booby-trapped dope field that took their ma's life. In the end, or rather long before the end most readers will have figured out the answers to both of these questions. Fortunately, the mystery plays back seat to her large cast of crazed characters. If the authors raunchy sense of humor hits your funny bone you will be turning the pages faster and faster trying to find out what nutty thing will happen next.

Joan Hess has done it again!.......2000-12-31

Mystery and humor in one package. Great stuff. I hope she keeps writting about Maggody. -Sharice Lee-Author: "The Survivor's Guide."-

The Maggody books are thoroughly enjoyable!.......1998-08-24

I found the Maggody mysteries in a wonderful case of serendipity and now I can't get enough. They have me turning pages as fast as I can to find out what hilarious development is next. One of the few writers that make me laugh out loud, and frequently. Joan Hess has created characters that you would never admit to knowing, but secretly wish you had met. They are at the same time outrageous and very real.

Dionne Warwick in Maggody?.......1998-04-19

When a psychic and some hippies move to Maggody Arly once again finds her hands full. With their beloved Boone Creek under peril the locals decide to take matters into their own hands. Everyone and no one is a suspect when Arly takes the case. The people of Maggody must be getting nervous cause ever since Arly came back to town, murder seems to have become the towns most popular hobby

Customer Reviews:

Timeless Classic.......2005-08-16

As another reviewer wrote, this book was one of my first introductions to the world of Science Fiction/Fantasy more than 30 years ago. It was a turning point in my life. But that doesn't tell you much about the book.

The main characters, Krip Vorlund, Spacer, and Maelen, Moon Singer of Yiktor are brought to life under the uniquely creative pen of Andre Norton. The story of how they are brought together, the trials they undergo, and their triumphs, (some of which are double-edged), flow with subtle twists and turns of plot to keep the reader spellbound until the end. Then you realize that the story is not truly over. For those captured as I was by this story and it's characters, the next book is 'Exiles to the Stars'. A much later addition to the "series" is 'Flight in Yiktor' and the latest addition is 'Dare to Go A-Hunting'.

gripping, unforgettable.......2005-02-28

I read this book 30 years ago and never forgot it. After reading it again recently, I'm just as impressed as I was back then. This is one of Andre Norton's best books. It is creepy, exciting, and unpredictable. The writing is much more smooth and focused than many of Norton's more recent works.

"Moon of Three Rings" is the first of the Moonsinger series, followed by the equally good "Exiles of the Stars," and then the somewhat less interesting "Flight in Yiktor" and "Dare to Go A-Hunting." "Moon of Three Rings" and "Exiles of the Stars" are scheduled to be reprinted in May 2006 in a single volume called "Moonsinger."

The Moonsinger series is an integral part of Norton's Forerunner universe, explaining a great deal about who the Forerunners were and why they disappeared. (Click on my name to see the list of Forerunner books.) The first two books in this miniseries are told from the point of view of a spaceman named Krip and a shape-changing alien named Maelen, who is one of the strongest and most complex female characters in the Forerunner saga.

(MINOR SPOILER - plot summary)
*
*
*
Krip's starship sets down on Maelen's planet, where he encounters enemies who plot to kill him. To save his life, Maelen transfers Krip's mind and soul into the body of a predatory animal. The rest of the book follows their adventures as they try to evade the villains and restore Krip to his own body.

The Price of Pride.......2003-04-25

Moon of Three Rings is the first novel in the Moonsinger series. Krip Vorland is assistant cargomaster on the Free Trader ship Lydis. Maelen of the Kontra is a Moon Singer of the Thassa. Both have come to Yrjar on Yiktor for the great trade fair.

In this novel, Maelen has been approached by Osokun, son of Oskold, and an off-worlder, Gauk Slafid, of the Combine. They want Maelen to lure a member of the Lydis crew into a trap to gain off-world knowledge and weapons. Maelen refuses, yet is troubled by the plot. When Krip and a fellow crew member attend her beast show, she has her partner, Malec, approach the off-worlders, offer a tour of the show, and then bring them to her so that she might question them and better understand the conspiracy against the Free Traders.

After she has introduced all the animals to the Free Traders, she asks them about the possibility of a touring beast show among the stars, but then they are interrupted by a oddjob boy, who she has tasked with watching an animal dealer, Othelm of Ylt, suspected of abusing his creatures. When Maelen begs leave to go, Krip asks permission to accompany her and they go to the dealer's tent, where they find a badly abused barsk. As Maelen goes to the animal, Othelm tries to attack her with a poisoned snik-claw knife, but Krip paralyzes his hand with a stunner. Maelen provides a token payment for the beast and removes it from Othelm's custody.

Krip reports the incident to his captain. After checking the persona tape on Krip's belt, the captain absolves him of any wrong doing, but still limits him to the ship and the ship's fair booth as a precaution. Later the duty priest and fair guards come to take Krip for judgment. Since he is busy with important customers, the captain stays behind but retains Krip's stunner and sends along another crew member. The priest and guards escort Krip to the fringe of the fairgrounds, where they are attacked by another party and Krip is taken captive.

After recovering full consciousness, Krip finds himself in a pit within a Yiktor fort. Osokun has found another way to gain a captive for his plot to extort weapons and knowledge. While he is waiting for a reply to his demands, Osokun also has Krip tortured in an attempt to break the off-world conditioning. When Krip awakens again, he knows that the only way that he is going to survive is to escape his captors.

After Krip's capture, Maelen senses his condition and leaves the fair to rescue him, taking along the barsk and several other animals with useful capabilities and skills. She doesn't know where Krip is located, but follows the pull of her wand eastward.

Like some other novels by the author, this story is just barely science fiction, for it postulates powers that are much like the magic of Witch World. Some of these powers are beyond the present day speculations of psionics; switching identities between bodies, for example, is an old standby of fantasy tales, but not in the parapsychological repertoire. However, this notion has been used in a variety of SF tales, including Schmitz's "Resident Witch".

This novel also differs from most other works by the author in that the heroine initially appears less than lovable. While caring deeply for her animal friends, Maelen has little empathy for anyone who is not Thassa (and not much even for the Thassa). Moreover, she arrogantly believes that she is more capable than any other living Moon Singer, as evidenced by her belief that she will be the first to tame a wild barsk. However, these flaws of personality are quite deliberate, as the storyline takes a step beyond the coming of age tale to an account of developing maturity and wisdom.

Recommended to Norton fans and anyone who enjoys tales of personal and interpersonal growth in a space adventure setting.

Great book!.......2000-03-09

This book is great. It is one of the first sci-fi books I read as a kid. I became a fan of sci-fi in large part because of this book. I hope to get a copy for myself soon.

Moon of Three Rings.......2000-02-11

I found this book to be good reading same as the other reviews except no one mentioned a sequel Flight in Yiktor.

Moon of Three Rings (Moon Singer/Free Traders, Bk. 1)

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Moon of Three Rings (Moon Singer/Free Traders, Bk. 1)

Manufacturer: ACE Grosset and Dunlap
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0441541046

Product Description

The primitive world of Yiktor, evoked from myth and legend and ingeniously fused with the future, greets readers with medieval heroes and mysticism, singing prose and an eerie tales.

The Blue Moon Circus: A Three-Ring Novel

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If you just want to enjoy a great read, here's your book.
Perfect Circus Life Depiction
A great circus novel
When Life's A Circus

The Blue Moon Circus: A Three-Ring Novel
Michael Raleigh
Manufacturer: Sourcebooks Landmark
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1402200153

Book Description

For the boy, it was the first real chance for a future...
For the man, it was one last chance to triumph over his past...
Opportunities like these happen only once in a Blue Moon

Lewis Tully is a circus man, and he's seen his fair share of disasters. Lewis and his preposterous group of performers have survived sabotage, biblical-scale floods and even the occasional renegade monkey. Convinced that it's time to settle down, grow up and grow old, Lewis finds himself in an impossible predicament: go to jail or produce one last hurrah.

The year is 1926, and with little money and a broken-down big top, Lewis puts out the call to his friends for one more spin in the spotlight. He assembles the most unusual band of characters this side of the midway, including a master magician down to his last tricks, a clumsy snake handler who dies--quite literally--at each performance, a gruff Russian who trains housecats and an aging camel hell-bent on vengeance.

Along with Charlie, a nine-year-old orphan reluctantly in his care, Lewis embarks on a dusty odyssey across the American West. If he can just keep his last circus going, Lewis might be able to keep this peculiar family together.

At turns hilarious and achingly touching, and brimming with the authentic circus lore of the 1920s, The Blue Moon Circus brings to life a carnival of wild and wondrous characters from another time, in an absolutely unforgettable place.

Customer Reviews:

If you just want to enjoy a great read, here's your book........2005-09-18

At a time when book publishers are putting out way too many of the same things - international espionage, plucky heroines triumphing over romantic adversity, murder mysteries, deep dark intrigue, etc. - this book is a breath of fresh air.

It simply tells a good story that needs no plot twists, no obfuscation, no red herrings. Its strengths are its characters, its setting, and its straightforward story, all of which draw you in from the beginning.

I found myself looking forward during the day to getting back to the book in the evening, and I hated to see it end, and books that have that effect on me are few and far between! If Raleigh's got a sequel in the works, I'm ready for it.

Perfect Circus Life Depiction.......2005-02-18

I absolutely loved this book and hated to have it end. I have studied the circus and circus life and this book perfectly describes and brings to life what the small traveling circus in the 1920's was like. All the characters were so well developed and the story was total enjoyment. A must read for all!

A great circus novel.......2003-04-27

It's the "Lonesome Dove"of circus novels - without the sweep and epic scope of similar tomes, this is a character driven story with all the dung and sweat and mildewed canvas that the turn of the century big top held.
This is a great and intimate read, a decent and noble story about art and challenge and caring and,above all, the magic of the circus. Buy it and read it.
A genuine treat.

When Life's A Circus.......2003-04-17

In the hardscrabble world of the 20's, Lewis Tully opens circuses time after hardluck time because it's what he knows how to do. His small shows travel through Oklahoma, Wyoming and bordering states sometimes being blown away by the winds, sometimes flooding out but always being enjoyed not just by the audiences -- amazed to see this collection of fabulosity enter their dull lives -- but enjoyed by the performers as well. Not quite a family but certainly more than just a staff of performers; Harley the old magician (who has some wizardly scenes) as well as Sam Jeanette and Shelby Lewis are vividly drawn characters alive not only in their own designs but in the way they interact with Tully. But all characters from Helen the past flame to Lucy the bareback rider, none are bit players. In this novel's all-too brief 350-or-so pages author Michael Raleigh has generated more believable, alive, charismatic , well, people, then many another author in many of today's fat, unedited tomes.

Then a boy -- Charlie, a nine year-old orphan -- is sent to join up with the circus by Tully's sister. If you are thinking Toby Tyler you're not on the right track. Instead the way that Charlie's present life brings back Tully's past and allows Tully to reflect on and learn from his own life as it is lit by Charlie's candle makes for some of the most involving of scenes.

Oh, yes, there's a vilian named Hector Blaney who runs a circus that's as muddy as Tully's is clean. But even the setpiece's antagonist is painted with Raleigh's humanistic brush. Oh heck even Jupiter the pachyderm comes across as being more of a person than some of the central characters in today's best-sellers!

I hope that Raleigh gets the readership that this book deserves to bring him. If you are looking for a book that can take you out of yourself and make you feel the world might after all be a right enough place, pull up a chair and join The Blue Moon Circus. You'll come back for repeat performances.

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JUNE MOON. A Comedy. In A Prologue and Three Acts.
Ring & George S. Kaufman. Lardner
Manufacturer: Scribner's
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MZ8LUY

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June moon;: A comedy in a prologue and three acts,
Ring Lardner
Manufacturer: C. Scribner's sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: B0006AKWZW

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Moon Of Three Rings
Andre Norton
Manufacturer: The Viking Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JDWBEQ

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Moon of Three Rings
Andre Norton
Manufacturer: Ace
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000GQJIHY

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Moon of Three Rings
Andre Norton
Manufacturer: The Viking Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OB5SHK

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Moon of Three Rings
Andre Norton
Manufacturer: Longman Young
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000M64NAA

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MOON OF THREE RINGS
andre Norton
Manufacturer: Ace
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UH4UNG

Book Description

This gripping and controversial classic exposes the political and economic forces inside the cancer establishment.

Customer Reviews:

Dry but worth the read.......2007-09-10

I compare this book to the "cancer" of Fast Food Nation. Why? Because you understand the why's, how's, and will probably get good and angry by the time you're done. I wouldn't recommend this for anyone going through cancer, or even their family members (would hit a lot of nerves you may not want to touch during times of emotional stress), but when you're loved ones are healthy and you feel like putting up a good fight, this will certainly give you something to go by.

As a health care professional, I try to read books with an open mind, especially those pertaining to my industry. I feel this was a balanced, fair representation of what is going on in our health care industry, especially as relates to cancer. In and of itself, cancer is scary. Combined with the health industry, you want to bury your head.

Excellent Book Documenting the Business with Disease.......2006-12-20

Ralph Moss does an excellent job documenting the fraud and deception that has been going on in healthcare for years. This is a must read for cancer patients and anyone looking to educate themselves about the truth concerning the "business with disease!" Millions of people are dying needlessly due to the war on information going on the this country.

There are a number of alternative healing therapies that work so well and cost so little when compared to conventional treatment, that Organized Medicine, the Food & Drug Administration, and their overlords in the Pharmaceutical Industry (The Big Three) would rather the public not know about them. The reason is obvious: alternative, non-toxic therapies represent a potential loss of billions of dollars to allopathic medicine and drug companies. The Big Three have collectively engaged in a medical collusion for over 70 years to influence legislative bodies at both the federal and state levels. The ultimate objective of which has been, and still is, to produce regulations that encourage the use of drug medicine while simultaneously creating restrictive, controlling mechanisms (licensing, government approval, etc) designed to limit and stifle the availability of non-drug, alternative modalities. If your goal is to empower yourself with life-saving knowledge, "The Cancer Industry" is for you.

Dr. Matthew J. Loop

- Author of "Cracking the Cancer Code"

BEWARE THE MEDICAL-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX.......2005-10-04

The "war on cancer" is being lost and this book gives the primary reasons why. The current treatments - mainly chemotherapy and radiation - are largely ineffective and so toxic people often die from their treatment rather than their disease. There's been nothing new from the research community in decades, and the number of cancer victims keeps rising. Ralph W. Moss worked at one of the most prestigious cancer research and treatment facilities in the US - Memorial Sloan-Kettering in New York. He quit when that institution deliberately misled the press and public about test results for a promising treatment. That treatment was the much-maligned laetrile (vitamin B-17) that was finally banned by the FDA and its proponents forced underground. Interestingly, Moss reports that Sloan-Kettering's most respected researcher, Kanematsu Sugiura, stood by the efficacy of laetrile until his death.

In The Cancer Industry, Moss shows how institutions like Sloan-Kettering pick and choose what to test and how to test it, and operate with a bias toward those methods that are the favorites of their financial backers, even to the point of disregarding their own researchers, as they did with Dr. Sugiura. The medical staff at Sloan-Kettering had a bias toward chemotherapy, since their Board of Directors included corporate bigwigs whose business interests benefited from chemo profits, which are enormous.

Another promising treatment, hydrazine sulfate, suffered the same fate as laetrile, even though its backers had considerable success with it. Unlike chemo, which generally makes the patient sicker, hydrazine sulfate works by building the patient's strength. It was the result of a logical deduction, arising from the fact that cancer patients often die of "cachexia," a term that literally means "wasting away." Hydrazine sulfate is an anti-cachexia agent. It works with the patient's own resistance to restore health.

What really doomed these two approaches to cancer treatment is that both are natural substances and their use in cancer treatment is part of a nutritional approach. Drug companies cannot patent anything natural or profit from nutritional therapy as they can from chemical substances which they alone control through patents. Laetrile is a naturally-occurring substance found in many foods, including apricots. Hydrazine sulfate is a very cheap substance that is readily available.

Moss also examines in detail the treatment of William Coley (Coley's Toxin) Dr. Lawrence Burton, Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski, Linus Pauling and vitamin C, and Virginia Livingston with her germ theory. All of these people achieved some success, but their methods were rejected by the orthodox cancer establishment.

Moss does not suggest that there is a formal conspiracy to suppress alternate treatments, but he does suggest that the organizations that control the direction of cancer treatment, whether government agencies, private companies, or research and treatment centers, have interlocking personnel and the agendas that matter are those that keep the funds flowing. He also shows that big egos and personal rivalries play a large part.

The cancer establishment has consistently downplayed prevention and ignored evidence that environmental factors or poor nutrition can be a cause or contributing factor in cancer. The big money interests that support the large charities like the American Cancer Society are not likely to approve of programs that suggest their products contribute to cancer. Moss examines the controversy over asbestos as a case study and shows how little interest there was among government or charities to warn the public about known dangers. While the entrenched players in the cancer war do little to inform the public about how to avoid the disease, they go out of their way to scare people about the likelihood that they will develop some form of cancer in their lifetime. Scare tactics bring in donations.

The book is well-researched and full of details (names, dates, test results), but I would have liked more information about the efficacy of screening tests, which is another big money-maker for the medical establishment. Is it really worthwhile to have mammograms and colonoscopies? Moss suggests that the "find it early" philosophy often makes no difference in the ultimate outcome. Given the high price and potential dangers of some of these screening tests, do they really serve the public or only the pocketbooks of those who provide the tests? It seems to me that screening tests are pushed on the public as a substitute for a cure, which these organizations have failed to provide, despite the billions of dollars they have spent since America declared a war on cancer more than 30 years ago.

It also seems to me that money is the primary motivator in all things medical in the US. Moss does not say there is a conspiracy and repeats the old mantra that a cure for cancer "would be worth a fortune." But wouldn't a cure ruin a perfectly good business, the cancer business? Moss shows just how many vested interests are involved in cancer, and I doubt any of them want to lose their market.

I'm betting that if we ever have a cure, or even better treatments, that the innovation needed will not come from the bloated and greedy US health care system, but rather from some country that has government-funded health care... somewhere where the incentives are for bringing down the costs by finding a cure for a deadly and expensive scourge. If you continue to believe the claptrap about America having the best medical research, then consider that it was two Australians who discovered that ulcers are caused, not by stress, but by bacteria and can be quickly and cheaply cured. What American drug company would have had the incentive to make such a discovery? Dr. Barry Marshall, one of the Australians whose persistence resulted in the breakthrough, was quoted as follows:

"The idea of stress and things like that was just so entrenched nobody could really believe that it was bacteria. It had to come from some weird place like Perth, Western Australia because I think nobody else would have even considered it."

Precisely the point of this book.

Thank you Ralph Moss.......2003-08-14

Ralph Moss shows tremendous courage as well as scholarly dedication. His book exposes the cancer industry for its greed and cynicism toward patients. The cancer industry's position on chemotherapy is such a BIG LIE that it is almost impossible not to believe some of it. I have to read this book over and over for it to sink in. Every cancer survivor should read this book.

Prepare To Be Less Trusting After Reading This Expose.......2001-08-31

Moss has written a provocative book about how various factions in the cancer industry have become corrupted by the old, familiar struggle for money and power.
One of the more interesting chapters deals with the battle between a brilliant researcher in Houston named Stanislaw Burzynski and the cancer industry establishment. Members of the establishment are portrayed as favoring the use of patentable chemicals or synthetic drugs over any natural methods of treatment , such as that pioneered by Burzynski.
In discussing the cancer establishment Moss explains the make-up and activities of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, The American Cancer Society, The National Cancer Institute and The Food and Drug Administration.
My experience in reading this book has left me with even less trust in the people and organizations responsible for waging this country's war on cancer.

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