Average customer rating:
- Like the Titanic -- smooth sailing -- until ...
- A real mystery? Worth 3.5 stars
- good writing, mediocre mystery
- My First Tey and the First Book of 2003 for Me.
- An All-Too Human Detective
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Man in the Queue
Josephine Tey
Manufacturer: Touchstone
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Binding: Paperback
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To Love and Be Wise
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The Singing Sands
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Miss Pym Disposes
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Brat Farrar
ASIN: 0684815028 |
Book Description
Outside a London theatre a throng of people wait unexpectantly for the last performance of a popular musical. But as the doors open at last, a man in the queue is found murdered by the deadly thrust of a stiletto.
Customer Reviews:
Like the Titanic -- smooth sailing -- until ..........2007-08-09
I had mixed feeling about Josephine Tey. I thought "Daughter of Time" was overrated, but I really enjoyed "The Franchise Affair" and "Miss Pym Disposes". So when I came across of copy of "The Man in the Queue" at a bazaar sale, I invested $.50 and gave it a read.
The story starts out with a clever murder. Inspector Grant faced with an unidentified victim and unknown motive begins bit by bit to glean pieces of information. This process is by far the best part of the book. Eventually, he identitifies and tracks down the prime suspect. Despite all the evidence, Grant remains unconvinced of the suspect's guilt and continues his investigations. Then "Deus Ex Machina" (translation: out of left field) comes the solution -- definitely not in the "fair play" category and very disappointing.
Historians and critics of the mystery/detective genre may like "The Man in the Queue". Ordinary readers like me should skip it.
A real mystery? Worth 3.5 stars.......2006-07-11
While there are mysteries so well written that one wonders if the author is just a great writer using the genre for fun or is developing from mystery writer to great author per se, these possibilities are frustratingly inapplicable here it seems. Tey becomes a very fine writer, but since this is her first novel, it doesn't reflect her later maturity. However, some of her "mystery" novels (I've read 4 others so far) seem more literary than mysteries. She regularly withholds information the reader would need to independently solve the mystery. She is not the only one to do this however--many modern "mystery novelists" do this as well. It's rare to be able to figure out a P.D. James novel's mystery either for example. This is one of the reasons that Agatha is so wonderful--she provides both the fine writing & a fair chance to the reader. So, to my mind, Tey is no Christie. In fact, in this novel, the reader is led down the garden path intentionally so that the author can pull something totally unpredictable out of a hat--a bit maddening to the diehard mystery lover. Also annoying to the American reader are her many (to me obscure) British colloquialisms & expressions, which are not understandable by the context, as well as her occasional use of an "I" narrator out of the blue. Also, the internal ruminations of the inspector (who is personable but a bit less able than one would hope) are sometimes trying. She's also a bit negative about foreigners--including America (p. 222) but that may just be part of the story. Her perspective may either be dated or simply dissimilar--p. 188: "It is indecent to pry too far into even a murderer's soul"--not true for the contemporary US TV show "Criminal Intent." Some reviewers take a character's perspective to be the author's perspective--this is an assumption on their part. Still, despite all, Tey has some wonderful turns of phrase--p. 63: "the waiting room was panelled in oak that extinguished the last valiant ray of light as it fought its way past the old greenish glass of the window-pane. The light died on the window-sill as the last survivor of a charge dies on the enemy parapet, murdered but glorious" & p. 76: "No one wanted a plot tonight. No one had ever wanted one. Quite a large number of the most enthusiastic habitues were unaware that there was such a thing, and few, if any, would have been able to give a lucid account of it. And tonight to insist on wasting time with such irrelevance was folly." The last (to a degree) may be Tey's view of her readers. She's an aesthetic writer IMHO.
good writing, mediocre mystery.......2004-11-15
Yeah, JT can write okay. The book wasn't boring. But as a mystery, this was a loser. The detective never solves the case, the killer simply confesses at the end. And there is no way a reader could remotely have deduced the outcome. I found it a big letdown after 200 pages of reading. Tey is highly regarded, but it probably isn't on account of this book.
My First Tey and the First Book of 2003 for Me........2003-01-02
I read, this my first Tey mystery, because all mystery afficiondos should at least sample her writing. She is famous in the mystery world, and you need to read her in order to determine how we got to where we did with mystery writing. I enjoyed the story. She certainly puts enough twists and turns in her plots. The book is somewhat dated (it was written in 1929) after all, but she has a lot of talent. I liked Inspector Grant even though he really didn't solve this puzzler, but it was fun following him around in his quest for the killer. This is a rather unique format for a "locked room" mystery since the victim was stabbed outside in a theatre queue, but it appeared that no one had the opportunity to do the deed. I want to continue to read the rest of her books. She writes fairly complex stories.
An All-Too Human Detective.......2001-05-03
Josephine Tey is often touted as a Thinking Man's Mystery Writer, a more literary version of such contemporaries as Agatha Christie and Ngaio Marsh. This is the first of her books that I've read, and she was indeed a splendid writer. But the mark of any good mystery author (as far as I'm concerned) is the ability to dazzle the audience with the denouement, usually at the hands of the brilliant amateur or professional sleuth who's trying to solve the case. Tey's Detective Grant seems remarkably able at the start of the book to pull together loose strands of information and reach those impressive conclusions that readers expect from fictional detectives. But the actual solution of the whodunit is literally handed to him (by a minor character who simply confesses out of the blue) and is due neither to his brains nor his instincts. It comes, in fact, at a time in the story when Grant is absolutely stuck and has no idea what to do next. By this time he's made as many mistakes and ignored as many important clues as he's followed. Perhaps this was Tey's way of showing us the fallibility and humaness of the police, but is that what we want in our fictional sleuths? Give me someone omniscient like Poirot or Peter Wimsey any day.
Average customer rating:
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Best of Laxman: The Common Man Stands in Queue
R.K. Laxman
Manufacturer: Penguin Books Australia Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Comics & Graphic Novels
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ASIN: 0140299297 |
Book Description
A collection of gems from India's best-loved cartoonist. From financial crises to the woes of householders, from political instability to rampant corruption, Laxman's cartoons capture the entire gamut of contemporary Indian experience. Hilarious and thought-provoking at the same time, this is a treasure house of humour from one of the most striking voices commenting on Indian socio-political life today. This is a revised edition of the 1994 original.
Average customer rating:
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IEEE Standards for Local and Metropolitan Area Networks : Distributed Queue Dual Bus Subnetwork of a Metropolitan Area Network (Man)/IEEE STD 8
Institute of Electrical , and
Electronics Engineers.
Manufacturer: IEEE Publications,U.S.
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1559370939 |
Average customer rating:
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The Man in the Queue
Manufacturer: Berkley Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HW0JS4 |
Book Description
Fate tosses the dice for Conan of Cimmeria, and they come up....death. Dimma, the Mist Mage, knows nothing of the muscular Cimmerian, but the vile necromancer's plans require his death. Thayla, beautiful Queen of the Pili, would rather take Conan to her bed, but her own plots mean he must die. The sorcerous changeling Kleg wasn't only to do his master's bidding, but Conan stands in his way. Even the lovely Cheen will let nothing stop her from recovering the sacred Talisman of her people.The game is deadly, the stakes are life, but whatever the risks, Conan of Cimmeria will play until the final toss.
Customer Reviews:
This is NOT Conan.......2007-08-05
This is not really a Conan tale. The character in no way resembles that of Robert E. Howard or some of the better authors in the series. Perry completely fails to capture the personality, mannerisms, speech and logic of Conan. The movie version of Conan was better than Perry's Conan, to put it bluntly. Perry's story is more like a cheesey 80s space story about a solitary human thrust into a conflict among two different species of aliens. The Pili and Selkie races are basically Saturday morning cartoon characters, only even less dimensional. There is no precedent for such characters in any previous Conan stories that I can find. They don't belong in the cast of characters that populate Hyborea. Perry's use of language lacks style and originality, not to mention this book could have used quite a bit more editing. I would characterize this book as juvenile literature if it weren't for the sexual aggressiveness of one of the characters. Perry also made an attempt at humor, but his jokes and puns are bland and obvious. This just isn't Conan as any real fan would know him.
middle of the raod for Perry.......2007-03-17
Steve Perry writes another fast pace Conan adventure. Perry has injected some humor again into the Conan series. But it is not the barbarian that is funny, but the circumstances he and his companions are put in. But there is still plenty of action to go around. Perry story is a quick read, that doesn't leave one bored, but it does start to stretch out at the end. A good ending for the post part, but the killing of the wizard was predicable along with the toad creature. The book was a like a summer block buster, quick, a lot a bang for the buck, but a little short on characterization.-ERIC
"Crom's Funnybone!".......2006-04-14
"What is good in life?"
Laughter!
Author Steve Perry attempts to bring humor to the grim world of the bronzed Cimmerian and succeeds well!
Though be it known, this is not a parody. Perry stays true to Howards creation. No changes were made to the charactor, Conan for the sake of comedy. Reading through the pages you can smell the dust on the road, feel the ringing of steel against your forarm, and the hairs on your neck prickle sharply at the intrusion of wretched sorcery in an honest thief's life.
Several times Steve Perry's book had to be put down to allow arms to grip ribs in side splitting laughter.
This story and other Conan tales by Perry have the same wit and style. If you share the appreciation of films like "Evil Dead" then this work should not be missed.
Wow, that was really bad........2006-02-16
Some of the non Howard Conan books are really fun to read. I'm glad they keep publishing new ones. That out of the way, this is the WORST of about 20 Conan books I have read. Just the cover art of Sharky the Sharkhead attacking Conan should be enough to keep readers away. I thought the sound I heard was me rapidly flipping the pages of this book, but I really think it was Robert Howard rotating in his grave.
Very cheesy book.......2004-08-12
I love my Conan books, but this one is horrible.
First, it's just plain cheesy. The writing - descriptions, point of view, etc. - is elementary. The descriptions are pathetic and vague: "The Kralix was one of a kind... It most resembled a thing that might have been born of wolf, bear, and toad, had the three somehow mated together..." (p. 124) The plot is predictable. There's no suspense, nor are the characters materially different. The point of view is ineffective, given that everyone thinks the exact same things. The repetition is almost unbearable.
Even a marginal editor could have reduced it by a third by tightening the grammar, eliminating repetition, and rewording the descriptions to be more descriptive and precise.
Oh, and despite having to read about it a few times, you never do get an image of a wolf/bear/toad.
Book Description
Now in paperback, the fastest proven memory improvement program from the doctor who pioneered the science hat did you forget this week? Your car keys? Cell phone? A friend's birthday? Now help is here! New research, pioneered by Dr. Gary Small, shows that you can improve your memory in just two weeks-with a diet high in omega-3 fatty acids, combined with exercise, stress reduction, and a 15-minute-a-day program of memory aerobics. This simple yet effective program is based on years of medical research at one of the country's leading memory loss institutions, and now Dr. Small enables readers to put the results to work for them through his easy to implement, step-by-step regimen than can be customized for each person's specific needs.
Customer Reviews:
a BIG PHARM representive making money off innocent people.......2007-06-12
I stopped reading the book after chapter 10 "drugs and supplements". Apparently the author has NO real understanding and NO clue how to improve the memory. He has read the research paper for sure but didn't NOT UNDERSTAND the meaning behind it. For example, he's promoting statin drugs for enhancing memory. OMG! we all know that statins deplete coQ10 level in your brain, as well as ALL steroid hormones/oil-soluble vitamins in your body! Every cell membrane in your body contains cholesterol, esp. BRAIN CELL! By depressing cholesterol , coQ10, vitE production, you're killing your brain. Ironically, he also listed coQ10 in his book as memory enhancer.
If you want to know which supplements can enhance your memory, I recommend Your Miracle Brain by Jean Carper. If you want to learn the technique in terms of how to memorize information, I recommend Quantum Memory Power: Learn to Improve Your Memory with the World Memory Champion! [AUDIOBOOK] [UNABRIDGED] (Audio CD) by Dominic O'Brien.
Stay away from the drugs! My regimen: PS 100mg/d, R-type alpha lipoic acid 100mg/bid, acetyl-L-Carnitine 500mg/bid, fish oil, 1 table spoon/d, B12 sublingual 1000mcg/d, B complex once/d, VitC 1.5 g/d, grape seed/skin exract: 60mg/tid. If you're older and have low energy, take American ginseng and royal jelly. also, exercise, exercise, exercise...
Neurologist Recommended.......2007-05-13
My mom has been having problems with her memory and her brilliant neurologist recommended this book. The book has been extremely helpful to my mom! It is a must-have for anyone with memory problems!
A surprisingly simple 14-day plan to keep memory alive .......2005-10-07
How can brain function be improved to contribute to improved memory? Dr. Gary Small provides a surprisingly simple 14-day plan to keep memory alive in The Memory Prescription: Dr. Gary Small's 14-Day Plan To Keep Your Brain And Body Young. Try the questionnaire which helps you rate memory function, or try some of the mental exercises. There's plenty of room for changing and customizing Dr. Small's plan -- an important key to improving individual needs.
A Program to Help Mentally and Physically.......2005-07-15
As you can see by the title, Dr. Small, Director of the UCLA Center on Aging, has developed a program of diet and exercise that he says will improve your memory significantly in a program as short as 14 days.
The exercises he prescribes include both physical and mental exercises. The physical are minimal, low impact, exercises that lead you to believe that this is intended for a somewhat older audience. The mental exercises are not unlike those on I.Q. tests where you do problems in math, complete sequences, and so on.
As you might expect, these exercises are intended to be maintained on a regular basis for the rest of your life, or at least as long as you want to remember things and keep your body alive.
As a doctor, he can't resist talking about the drugs that are available to assist the aging population. Some of these are more in the area of diet supplements, some are prescription only.
All in all, this is not unlike the programs advocated by many physicians, just a bit more about mental agility than most. It's a new book, and the information relating to the latest studies of the brain and the newest drugs is here.
Very Important reading.......2004-10-03
I've read somewhere that there are more than one hundred billion
neurons in the human brain, and that they all can communicate with each other via one or more linkages. For any of you who feel like your brain isn't linking up lately, try reading "The Memory Prescription" by Dr.
Gary Small. After following the Doctor's prescription closely to the
letter for a couple of weeks (okay, my diet strayed a little) and doing
all his recommended exercises, I can honestly say I'm pretty impresssed
with the results. I can't promise you that every neuron of the one
hundred billion in your brain will be positively effected after reading
this book. But I can promise you that your memory, as mine did, will
undoubtedly improve."
"Neuron" info from "Mozart's Brain and the Fighter Pilot" by Richard
Restak, which I also recommend.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Clinical Psychiatry News, published by International Medical News Group on October 1, 2004. The length of the article is 1860 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: Book's 2-week 'Memory Prescription' makes a difference in Brain metabolism.(Geriatric Psychiatry)
Author: Miriam E. Tucker
Publication:
Clinical Psychiatry News (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 2004
Publisher: International Medical News Group
Volume: 32
Issue: 10
Page: 50(1)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Internal Medicine News, published by International Medical News Group on October 1, 2004. The length of the article is 376 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: Lifestyle affects brain metabolism, scans show.(Geriatrics)
Author: Miriam E. Tucker
Publication:
Internal Medicine News (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 2004
Publisher: International Medical News Group
Volume: 37
Issue: 19
Page: 15(1)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Average customer rating:
- Swiss Cookbook by Nika Hazelton
- Swiss Cookbook
- Good Cookbook
- Very Enjoyable
|
Swiss Cookbook (Hippocrene International Cookbooks)
Nika Standen Hazelton
Manufacturer: Hippocrene Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Cooking, Food & Wine
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General
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Similar Items:
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Raclette (Quick & Easy)
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Cuisines of the Alps: Recipes, Drinks, and Lore from France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italy, Germany, Austria, and Slovenia (Hippocrene Cookbook Library)
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Austrian Cooking and Baking
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Fondues from Around the World
ASIN: 0781805872 |
Customer Reviews:
Swiss Cookbook by Nika Hazelton.......2005-09-13
I was so pleased to purchase three copies of my well-used cookbook, containing many family favorites, for my daughters! Since I believed my (signed) hardback copy was no longer available after so long, finding the softcover version online was a delight.
Swiss Cookbook.......2003-08-19
For anyone who loves Switzerland, this is not only a cookbook but a beautifully written tribute to that lovely country. Although it was published in 1967, most of the almost lyrical observations are still valid because the Swiss hold to their traditions steadfastly. It is an authentic description of the countryside, the Swiss and the cooking of that most charming place.
Good Cookbook.......2002-12-21
I would like to say that I remember this book from 30 years ago, when I lost track of my copy, and have been trying to track one down ever since (with temporary success -- now I'm finally buying a copy again, thank goodness it is STILL IN PRINT - can you believe it-haven't been so luck on other titles). So, I would like to re-writ my review AFTER I have read it again. Having said this, I will say this about the book. It had a wonderful description of the Tobler Chocolate factory and what I learned about chocolate, I think about every time I enjoy really GOOD choclate (in fact, that's how I know it's really good -- it's in the "conching." This book introduced me to Raclette, which I enjoyed immensely and often during the several months I lived in Switzerland a few years later. There is a memorable Neufchatel Wine Tart. The book was a great "read," as I recall; I just loved it.
Very Enjoyable.......2000-03-28
I really enjoyed this cookbook because it features a lot of authentic Swiss food. I worked in the area when I was in college and this book contains recipes for many of the dishes I enjoyed. This cookbook was originally published about 30 years ago, so some of the preparation styles are a bit dated. The food is delicious, but the fat content can be high.
Product Description
A selection of recipes, typical regional foods, characteristic aspects of the country.
Average customer rating:
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The Swiss Cookbook
Manufacturer: Athenium
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000BRNP86 |
Product Description
AQn authoritative guide to the Swiss Cuisine.
Average customer rating:
- Cooking the Swiss Way (Easy Menu Ethnic Cookbooks)
- Cooking the Swiss Way
|
Cooking the Swiss Way (Easy Menu Ethnic Cookbooks)
Helga Hughes
Manufacturer: Lerner Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 082250930X |
Customer Reviews:
Cooking the Swiss Way (Easy Menu Ethnic Cookbooks).......2003-02-24
This entire series is fantastic. I've been using it both with my Girl Scouts & 4H clubs for about 20 years now, but also for myself.
This is meant to be a children's cookbook, but unlike most on the market it doesn't talk down to them. A fantastic introduction to the regional cooking with lots of useful information regarding cooking in general & ethnic cooking as well.
Not for someone who is advanced in a particular cuisine, but it does what it sets out to do really, really well. Just wish they would put out regional American cooking books as well.
Cooking the Swiss Way.......2000-03-26
Cooking the Swiss way is a simple book with basic Swiss recipes. It also gives a broad explanation of some of the Swiss customs. It is a fantastic book (5 stars) for the young cook in the kitchen trying new cultural recipes although for the more advanced it misses its mark.
Product Description
5-1/2 x 8-1/2"
A Health cookbook by Swiss Gourmet Chef
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- Occam's Razor
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