Wrong Place, Wrong Time: A Novel

Book Description

New York Times bestselling author Andrea Kane's gripping new page-turner, Wrong Place, Wrong Time, bolts out of the starting gate and straight into the winner-take-all world of competitive horse show jumping, where drugs, alcohol, money, and egos collide and two strong-willed families risk everything to protect the ones they love.

Sometimes bad things happen to good people . . . especially when they're in the wrong place at the wrong time.

What begins as a romantic weekend in a cozy cabin turns into a deadly nightmare when Sally Montgomery's companion, Frederick Pierson, is murdered. But instead of regarding Sally as a victim, the police are after her as their prime suspect.

To evade the authorities and a brutal killer, Sally goes into hiding, relying on her wits and basic survival skills to stay alive. Desperate, she calls Pete Montgomery, her ex-husband and former NYPD detective turned private investigator, for help. With Sally's life on the line, Monty recruits their daughter, Devon, to work on the case with him.

Devon has her father's cop instincts. As she probes deeper into the murder, the investigation brings her closer to uncovering a dangerous Pierson family secret -- one that could destroy the family empire and its heir apparent, Blake Pierson. Though powerfully attracted to Blake, Devon isn't sure if he's friend or foe. She does know that he'll do anything to protect his family. With Devon's heart and Olympic show-jumping gold at stake, how far will his family loyalty extend?

Time is running out. Danger is closing in. Can Devon prove Sally's innocence before she becomes the killer's next victim?

Download Description

Sometimes bad things happen to good people . . . especially when they're in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Time is running out. Danger is closing in. Can Devon prove Sally's innocence before she becomes the killer's next victim?

Customer Reviews:

Great Read.......2007-05-31

This was my first book by Andrea Kane, and I'm looking forward to reading more. I found the story to be very suspenseful. I never saw the culprit's identity coming, which is always a great thing in a suspense book.

I didn't care for how fast the relationship between Devon and Blake progressed, particularly with everything hanging over them. I thought the author should've slowed that whole thing down a bit, although I realize she only had a certain amount of time and pages to bring the relationship together. But, it just didn't come across as realistic or believable, in light of how close Blake was with his family, that he was so quick to switch sides.

I also couldn't stand the character of Monty. I found him to be arrogant, obnoxious and condescending, particularly to his children. He came across like he thought he was in charge of the whole world, barking orders to cops, other detective, his kids and ex-wife, and even his employers, the Piersons.

I look forward to more books by Andrea Kane.

Fantastic.......2007-04-18

This is a great book and for those who like to try and figure out who did it you can guess until almost the very end, with little clues here and there, if you get them. I thought it was written well and am looking forward to reading another book of hers.

Enjoyed It.......2006-12-12

I'm not going to write a plot summary since so many others on Amazon have already did it. I really enjoyed this book. I didn't know anything about show horses or competition jumping/riding. I like the idea of getting a wealthy family together and throwing in some mystery. I enjoyed how the main characters interacted and felt like you got a good picture of them. I've never read anything by Andrea Kane but I believe I will pick up some more of her romantic mysteries. I didn't like how the ending wrapped up in like 20 pages. I felt it left some things unexplained and wanted to find a happy ending for all the characters but other than that I would recommend this book to the romantic mystery readers out there.

Moving Towards The Mainstream!.......2006-10-04

Sally Montgomery accompanies Fredrick Pierson on a weekend getaway that turns horribly wrong and Fredrick ends up dead, and Sally is left for dead. She runs into the woods and manages to contact her ex-husband and begs him to help her. She has no idea who killed Pierson but she's scared.

Devon is Sally's daughter and when she finds out about the attempt on her mother's life she reluctantly agrees to help her PI father with the investigation. She's a vet not a cop but she wants to bring her mother out of hiding so this looks to be the best choice. She will manage to worm her way into the Pierson family using their combined grief as a vehicle. What she ends up finding is she is drawn to the handsome Blake Pierson but he seems to have secrets and an agenda. Did he have something to do with his uncle's murder? Or does he know who is responsible. Has she fallen in love with the enemy or has she become the target of a killer?

Ms. Kane has penned a strong suspense who-dun nit read with a colorful cast of prospective suspects. I have been a long time fan of Ms. Kane's dating back to her wonderful historicals. She is a very adept storyteller who seems to be making the crossover to mainstream. Still she manages to include the romantic elements in her latest effort that her long time fans will hunger for. Ms. Kane is a must read if you are a fan of the suspense novel.

Pretty good plotting; light on suspense.......2006-02-01

A heated conversation in a barn between the new man in her life and his father does not really register with Sally Montgomery, but she agrees to accompany wealthy widower Franklin Pierson to a mountain retreat. But when she returns from a walk, she finds Franklin dead, and is knocked out by the assailant, who sets fire to the house and flees.

Now Sally has gone into hiding fearing for her life, and calls on her ex-husband Pete, a former NYPD detective to help her. Hired by the Pierson family to protect his family, Pete gets veterinarian daughter Devon to reluctantly join him in the investigation into the wealthy Pierson family that leads to corruption, drugs, genetics research, and murder.

Sally manages to capture the attention of both prodigal grandsons, who vie for her attention. Though she finds Olympic equestrian hopeful James attractive, it is Blake that sets her pulse running. While James is traveling, she and Blake get more involved, as they work on opposite sides of the investigation.

While not as strong (in terms of plotting and suspense) as some of her previous novels, including the excellent "I'll be Watching You," author Kane captures the reader's attention and manages to do something that few authors can do - surprise us with the revelation of the killer.

Wrong Time, Wrong Place (Lesley Choyce Kids/YA Novels)

Average customer rating:

Wrong Time, Wrong Place (Lesley Choyce Kids/YA Novels)
Lesley Choyce
Manufacturer: Formac
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0887803407
Release Date: 1995-01-01

Book Description

Corey's told over and over in a hundred different ways where he doesn't belong. What's worse, he doesn't know where he belongs himself: his mother's black and his father's white; his mother thinks he should hang out with white kids; his girlfriend dumps him for another guy because he isn't "black" enough.

So when Corey gets in trouble at his racially-divided high school, he doesn't know which way to turn. A chance meeting with an old man in a battered pick-up truck changes his life, however. With his experience and help, Corey comes to see the complexity and diversity of the community he lives in, and eventually comes to realize where it is that he really belongs.

Set against the background of Halifax's rich and long-established black communities, Wrong Time, Wrong Place is the story of one young man's struggle to know and appreciate his own identity.

Average customer rating:

Wrong Place, Wrong Time: A Novel
Andrea Kane
Manufacturer: William Morrow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OEQ81W

Book Description

EVERY SHROUD HAS A SILVER LINING

Abigail Timberlake, owner of the Den of Antiquity, has never been happier. She is about to marry the man of her dreams AND has just outbid all other Charlotte, North Carolina, antique dealers for an exquisite English tea service. Then Mama (who is running off to be a nun) stops by to deliver an early wedding present, and it rains on Abby's parade. The one-of-a-kind tea service Abby paid big bucks for has a twin. A frazzled Abby finds more trouble on her doorstep -- literally -- when a local auctioneer mysteriously collapses outside her shop and a press clipping of her engagement announcement turns up in the wallet of a dead man. (Obviously she won't be getting a wedding present from him.)

Tracing the deceased to a small town in the Pennsylvania Dutch country, Abby heads above the Mason-Dixon Line to search for clues to the origins of faux tea services. Accompanied by a trio of eccentric dealers and her beloved but stressed-out cat, she longs for her Southern homeland as she confronts a menagerie of dubious characters. Digging for answers, Abby realizes that she might just be digging her own grave in -- horrors! -- Yankeeland.

Customer Reviews:

Purnell Purvis Pushes up Posies.......2005-05-25

As in the previous books in this series there is a mystery to be solved and Abigail Timberlake can't wait around for the police to do their work so she begins to sniff around. This time however, the crime that starts her sleuthing is fraud and not murder, although there are eventually a couple of murders just for good measure. Abigail first finds that there is a possibility that she has been the victim of fraud when her mother drops by with a present for her. In the last book Abigail's mother wanted a tattoo on her fanny while in this book she has decided to become and Episcopal nun. I didn't even know Episcopalians had nuns but that is beside the point. Abigail's mother is one of the more delightful characters ever created for this kind of fluffy mystery series and it is characters like her that make this book and the series worthwhile. There is also Wynnell who blames all misfortunes on the Yankees, the Rob-Bobs, partners both at work and at home even though they agree on nothing, and CJ who has a story for every situation. Taken altogether they make quite a cast.

Abigail, as in previous books is just a little too confrontational but I am beginning to get used to that. The plot in this book was a little more discombobulated than normal but I was able to overlook that. I was even able to forgive the fact that the spelling of Tweetie Byrd had changed to Bird in this book although I am something of a stickler for such small details. I just was not able to completely forgive the ending however. There were just absolutely no clues as to the solution; it just came flapping into view right out of nowhere. There wasn't the first clue to be found previous to the criminal mastermind's confession and if it weren't for the confession, our heroine would have never solved the mystery. There was also no reason for the confession because Abigail was as ignorant of the facts as I was.

Its not that this book isn't fun to read, because it is. The characters that the author has created go a long way toward making up for the ending and the disjointed plot although the setting of this book is for the most part in Pennsylvania instead of the usual Carolina background, and the secondary characters are much darker than usual. Abigail's cat Dmitri does however play a larger role in this book than in the past and his appearances always seem to lighten the mood. If you are a fan of this series you will most likely enjoy this book, although not as much as some of it's predecessors. If, on the other hand you have never read a book from this series do not start with this one. So far, this is definitely the black sheep of the Antiquity family.

So annoying.......2004-11-15

If it weren't for the cat in this story, and the fact that I've actually read a worse mystery lately, this book would have gotten only 1 star.

Basically, the character is annoying and the writer is clearly overly enamored with herself. Abby lies for no reason, jumps to frustrating, ridiculous conclusions - getting huffy for no reason except, presumably, for the reader's amusement. It is not amusing. She's so annoying, I am not surprised her husband ran off with Tweetie.

The author clearly thinks she's a humorist - she is not. The combination of Abby and Magdelena is predictable, annoying (again), and pointless. Also, I'm so sick of the celebrity jokes/references in the Penn-Dutch mysteries I could scream.

I agree with the other reviewer who commented on the author inserting herself into the story line (and having Abby state she's a good writer no less). This behavior distances the writer from the reader. It is not cute and it is, yes, annoying.

What I'm finding more and more in cozies is that the heroine never actually solves the mystery. She just stumbles around with little or no plan and the bad persons identify themselves. What is this? Why can't we have the quirky characters AND a substantive mystery?

I encourage you to read a Bernie Rhodenbarr mystery instead (maybe "Burglars can't be choosers").

Escape into an American "Cozy" and a life to envy!.......2004-02-19

The joy in reading "So Faux, So Good" is getting to experience the heroine's life. She's a smart, clever, wealthy antique shop dealer with a cat and many friends, both male and female. Her world is auctions, beautiful antiques, attending to her cat, having talks or outings or fun times with other clever, successful antique shop owners. Her mother gives her fabulous, expensive presents, lives her own life, and doesn't request or nag--and certainly entertains. She has a gorgeous, slightly jealous boyfriend, good jewelry, and kids who actually listen to her and obey her orders when she interacts with them (rarely). She manages to get rooms when none are available, cars when none are available, and to win competitive auctions. Her friends all want to come to her parties and go on trips with her. Men she doesn't even want are attracted to her and offer her special treatment. In other words, the fun of the novel is experiencing the fantasy of such a beautiful life, that of America's version of the local squire or his lady: a wealthy local business owner who has an important position in the community and lives the American dream. The murder and art fraud just add to the ambiance--this is the American version of a British cozy. If you value excellent plot and character development, this isn't the novel for you. This novel is for sitting down with a cup of tea, your cat, and your beautiful throw to enjoy "me time," savoring the pleasure of momentarily sharing the good life with the heroine. Even better, the killer is difficult to predict, and there are some good laughs along the way.

Loose Plot in this one.......2003-12-17

I have always found the Magdalena Yoder series to suffer from loose plot syndrome, but up to now the Den of Antiquity series didn't seem to have this problem, but it sure was apparent in this book. Ms. Myers' characterizations are usually quite good, and that doesn't disppoint in this book, but the plot is definitely disjointed, and when the real murderer is found I couldn't help but think, "Where did that come from?" There is simply no way that the story led to that murderer. It was a real surprise, but not a surprise that made any sense at all. The one unique thing about this book was that we got to see Abigail Timberlake and Magdalena Yoder in the same book, as Abby goes on a road trip to Hernia, Penssylvania on the trail of her murderer and forger.

It IS Good!.......2002-05-28

What a delight! When Abby finds someone is selling reproductions as the real thing, her sleuthing takes her to Hernia, PA. Abby meets Magdalena - the main character from her Penn/Dutch mysteries. I couldn't wait till she got there. The book is fun reading all the way thru, with Ms. Myers staying on top of her trademark humor. However, a couple things are bothersome. A look-alike for Abby is added into this book, which was better suited to save for another book - it seemed like too many coincidences in the story, having that plus Hernia. The handling of Greg Washburn does not make a lot of sense and makes us like Abby less, which is not good for series writing. This book also made me wonder if the editor was on vacation. Quite a few typos, which were distracting. Still it gets high points for the entertaining read that it is. I hope Abby and Magdalena meet again some day.

Average customer rating:

SO FAUX, SO GOOD (DEN OF ANTIQUITY)
TAMAR MYERS
Manufacturer: Avon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000IZAO26

Average customer rating:

Wonderful, hard to put down.

Captives of the Savage Empire
Jean Lorrah
Manufacturer: Berkley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Savage Empire: Prophecies (Savage Empire series)

ASIN: 0425064654

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful, hard to put down........2001-10-15

Two Kingdoms in deadly battle. One has the power of sight and the other the gift of destruction...

Average customer rating:

Captives of the Savage Empire
Jean Lorrah
Manufacturer: Berkley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000GRA9GC

SAVAGE EMPIRE: Book (1) One: Savage Empire; Book (2) Two: Dragon Lord; Book (3) Three: Captives; Book (4) Four: Flight to; Book (5) Five: Sorcerers of the Frozen Isles; Book (6) Six: Wulfston's Odyssey; Book (7) Seven: Empress Unborn

Average customer rating:

SAVAGE EMPIRE: Book (1) One: Savage Empire; Book (2) Two: Dragon Lord; Book (3) Three: Captives; Book (4) Four: Flight to; Book (5) Five: Sorcerers of the Frozen Isles; Book (6) Six: Wulfston's Odyssey; Book (7) Seven: Empress Unborn
Jean (with Winston A. Howlett on two titles) Lorrah
Manufacturer: Berkley Books; Signet Books; Playboy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NRS07K

Average customer rating:

Why stress is good for us

Fantastic!!!

Groundbreaking!!!

A lot of theory, few specific tools

Bible of Balance

Toughness Training for Life: A Revolutionary Program for Maximizing Health, Happiness and Productivity
James E. Loehr
Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Running & Jogging | Exercise & Fitness | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Family Health | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
Running & Jogging | Individual Sports | Sports | Subjects | Books
General | Sports | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The New Toughness Training for Sports: Mental Emotional Physical Conditioning from One of the World's Premier Sports Psychologists

Stress for Success

The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal

Stress for Success: Jim Loehr's Program forTransforming Stress into Energy at Work

Mentally Tough: The Principles of Winning at Sports Applied to Winning in Business

Accessories:

Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor

ASIN: 0452272432

Customer Reviews:

Why stress is good for us.......2007-10-04

I'm tired of self-improvement books that coddle the reader by focusing on relaxation and self-affirmation exercises, teaching us to shut out the trials of life instead of embracing and learning from them. This is not one of those books.

Instead this book teaches that stress is key to personal growth. Loehr defines a "Toughness Response" to pressure - biochemical, psychological, and behavioral - and instructs us on how to develop it. The author's sports performance background is readily apparent: the book, while easily readable, alternates between scientific discourse and a life coaching tone.

Loehr makes it clear that if we want to perform ideally under pressure, we must be willing to train for it. The essential message is that we can achieve the "Toughness Response" by carefully monitoring, understanding, and finally managing the ebb and flow of stress in our lives through discipline, training, healthy habits, and positive thinking. For those who are interested, Loehr even suggests a specific regimen in which readers take dozens of daily personal statistics from low and high pulse to productivity level to sleep quality to emotional state to exercise levels. But this book will still benefit those who are not willing to make that organizational commitment.

While it's common sense, I was refreshed by the reminders to strive for an ideal balance of challenge and rest and to make an effort to benefit from life's unexpected variety.

Fantastic!!!.......2005-08-05

This is one of the best books I have read on positive (what the author calls "tough") thinking, especially when feeling overwhelmed, stressed out, etc. It has piqued my interest and I will be doing more research into sports mindset training to find out what I can learn and apply for myself. I found this book as helpful or even moreso than THE POWER OF FULL ENGAGEMENT, which he cowrote much later. It has many of the same themes, but more focus on how to be confident, tough, and relazed and having fun.

Groundbreaking!!!.......2002-04-13

Using competitive sports (particularly tennis) as a model, "Toughness Training for Life" defines toughness as 4 principles: flexibility, responsiveness, strength and resiliency which apply to everyday life and to a person's physical, mental, emotional and overall well-being. The overall effect one is looking for is creating balanced waves of expending and recovering energy and the avoidance of under- and over-training. There are some real world examples of out-of-balance lives (for example, overtraining physically, undertraining emotionally) and specific steps to correct the problems.

There are 2 other principles that I found particularly useful: 1) If you're having fun, you most likely are in-balance and operating at IPS; conversely, if the fun stops-pay attention and 2) Pain is merely a signal of an unmet need - interpret it correctly and respond appropriately and the pain goes away.

If you've ever heard the cliched wisdom about drinking plenty of water, getting enough rest, finding the silver lining in every cloud, etc. but wondered why or how it helps, "Toughness Training For Life" explains it thoroughly. Using a modified version of Maslow's pyramid, all aspects of toughness are covered, including specific sections on the physical, mental and emotional components plus special sections on the education system and on toughness for women.

Highly recommended! Also try; "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" (another paradigm of happiness); "Egoscue Method" (more on physical alignment); "The Bodies Many Cries for Water" (a very overlooked recovery strategy) and "Mastery" by George Leonard.

A lot of theory, few specific tools.......2000-10-12

I picked this book up after reading an article about Loehr's program in Outside Magazine. Unfortunately, the article had more specific, day-to-day advice than this book does. Loehr's ideas are very interesting and ring true, but he spends a great deal of time justifying his theory and reviewing brain biochemistry and physiology experiments. Then he throws in some case studies and some vague recommendations - eat multiple small meals a day, target your heart rate during exercise, reframe your inner dialogue, etc. Based on the magazine article, I was expecting a program to help you identify your weaknesses when it comes to implementing these changes and structure a program around that. I was expecting a realistic look at why people fail to become tough and how to work around it. The book starts to do that, but never really follows through with specifics.

Bible of Balance.......1999-11-24

We are taught through life that "we are strengthened by trials." That is not true. We don't grow stronger by adversity. We are made stronger through _healing_ from trials. The same applies to Nietzsche's popular sport/war chant "that which does not kill us makes us stronger." Anyone who has seen a homeless Vietnam Veteran knows that Nietzsche was wrong. "That which does not kill us, which we heal from, makes us stronger" is perhaps a better saying. WWII did not make us stronger. It made us dead, or at best, bitter. Yet a few were able to be strengthened by the combined process. What separated those few? What kept them alive, submissive to their captors, and able to transcend their adversity and use it to their advantage? This is the subject of Loehr's book.

How do we balance our stress and recovery cycles so that we maximize our growth potential?

This is one of my favorite books, because I, like everyone, am constantly seeking order and battling frustration...

He has other books along these lines, but this is the newest and most comprehensive.

--Colin Jensen

Average customer rating:

2 sides to every story

A good celebration of the drink

Very informative and easy read

Thirsty work

some very interesting material plus a lot of filler

Rum: The Epic Story of the Drink That Conquered the World: The Epic Story of the Drink That Conquered the World
Charles A. Coulombe
Manufacturer: Citadel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Bartending | Drinks & Beverages | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Spirits | Drinks & Beverages | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
History | Gastronomy | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | World | History | Subjects | Books
Social History | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Rum Rum

Rum: A Social and Sociable History of the Real Spirit of 1776

And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails

Caribe Rum: The Original Guide to Caribbean Rum and Drinks

The Complete Book of Spirits : A Guide to Their History, Production, and Enjoyment

ASIN: 0806525819

Customer Reviews:

2 sides to every story.......2007-06-11

The author urges us not to buy cuban rum bcause it 'props up a dictatorship'...mmmn people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Most countries have some darkness in there past and or present...also the pompous reviewer who wants to toast the imminent death of Fidel Castro??? Disappointed Amazon would print that.
Read Ian Williams book "Rum a social and socialable history of the real spirit of 1776" and get another perspective see page 292. And any way Cuban Rum Cuban cigars...they just taste better.

A good celebration of the drink.......2006-03-07

Rum is all too often overlooked as a great drink but this book certainly does its bit to help put that right. It succeeds in making rum interesting, with great accounts of the history of the drink that are nicely interspersed with plenty of top recipes for fans.

However, I would agree with some of the other reviewers who found themselves having to plow through some parts, particularly where the author seems to digress. In this vein, I felt Coulombe's (current) political views were superfluous and only detracted from the book's respectability. And one other point - I was surprised to see almost no mention of Venezuela, a tropical country which has a long tradition of fine rums, including some of today's best, such as my own favorite, Ron Santa Teresa!

Very informative and easy read.......2006-01-05

Mr. Coulombe has written a very good book that is perfect for those who want a general overview of the history of rum and its direct effects on world history. I especially enjoyed learning about early American history that is hard to find elsewhere. This book was not only informative but a fun read as well. My only criticism would be when, on occasion, Mr. Coulombe makes reference to contemporary politcs - it not only deviates from the story but is unnecessary. For example, when he cautions about purchasing Cuban rum because "..profits prop up the oppressive Castro regime" but then fails to realize that the average Haitian (which has effectively been under US control for the last 100 years) would trade their lives with the average Cuban in a heartbeat.

Thirsty work.......2005-11-04

Charles A Coulombe's "Rum: The Epic Story Of The Drink That Conquered The World" is an excellent exposition on practical economics and is deceptively understated in giving superb lessons in history, religion, trade policy, politics, military history and methods, and holidays. To pack so much into a work that is also a delight to read, and in addition provides a welcome addition to the bartender's bookshelf is as generous as a round on the house.

This book is about rum. But we must keep in mind that this centerpiece is well chosen, and very much after the "Wall Street Journal" style of journalism, and selecting a commodity and nation to explain economic history. The discovery of the new world, and of sugar cane and the production of high volume spirits from the bountiful plant, truly shaped the entire fabric of history and western civilization for centuries. The importance of rum cannot be overstated when applied to looking at American and European history.

This is a non-fiction work, and is comparable to Mark Kurlansky's "Salt" and his equally good "Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World" in scope and structure in following the life of the commodity subject. However, we must be realistic: reading a book about rum is a lot more fun than reading a book about fish and a Margarita garnish, and so Coulombe wins the crown for topical economic history.

This is an excellent, readable, exciting book, and Coulombe is to be thanked for writing it. But "Rum: The Epic Story of The Drink That Conquered The World" does promote a thirst. I'm normally a vodka and white lightening man, myself. Nevertheless, no one could resist making a nice Cuba Libra with a fresh wedge of lime when reading this delightful book. Do not forget to toast the hastening arrival of Castro's death.

Moving on to a discussion of Mojitos....

some very interesting material plus a lot of filler.......2005-09-28

I bought the book for the listings in the back of the rum producing countries, their distilleries and the specific rums they produce.

In addition to that, there is a lot of great information in the book on the specifics of how rum was made historically and how it is made in each country, I was quite happy to find the recipes and some of the historical background - I had no idea so much rum was produced in colonial America - for example.

However I think it would have been a better book if it was ~20 pages shorter, some of the background material is not really related to rum.

Book Description

Paulding Farnham (1859-1927), one of America's most talented jewelry designers, rose to fame in the final years of the 19th century, winning gold medal after gold medal at the era's great world's fairs. This stunning book is the first devoted to Farnham and his too-brief career, spent entirely at Tiffany & Co., where his dazzling, highly original jewels and silverware brought the firm-and America as well-worldwide recognition.

Tiffany design director John Loring, author also of Abrams' Tiffany Jewels and Tiffany's 20th Century, here revives the reputation of this long-neglected genius. Reproduced here are watercolor-and-ink drawings from Farnham's sketchbooks, period photographs of his creations, and new, specially commissioned photographs of Farnham's exquisite jewels, including the 24 gold-and-enamel orchid brooches that were the sensation of the 1889 Paris Universal Exposition. Sumptuous and surprising, this volume will bring Farnham's work, until now solely known to connoisseurs, scholars, and savvy collectors, to a wider audience.

JOHN LORING, design director of Tiffany & Co., writes on art and design and is the author of Abrams' Tiffany Jewels and Tiffany's 20th Century, and seven other books on Tiffany style and entertaining. He lives in New York City.

184 illustrations, 147 in full color, 815/16 x 1115/16"

Average customer rating:

Excellent Examples

creative three-dimensional decoupage

3d decoupage

Creative Three-Dimensional Decoupage
Debbie Sellers
Manufacturer: Search Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Papercrafts | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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Three-Dimensional Decoupage

More Paper Tole

The Paper Tole Book

Collage Lost And Found: Creating Unique Projects With Vintage Ephemera

Collage Discovery Workshop: Beyond The Unexpected

ASIN: 0855328363

Book Description

This book includes six poppy prints. It contains all the basics, with tips on enhancing images with seeds, moss, twigs fabric, glitter and wire. Cut and match, add texture, vary backgrounds with sponging and painting.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Examples.......2006-08-17

This is by far a wonderful book and excellent examples of what to expect when you do these techniques.I love them for scrappbooking and card making..There are some beautiful pictures in this and excellent examples of framing.B.W.

creative three-dimensional decoupage.......2005-10-12

i first obtained this book from my local library a book i didnt want to take back, so i bought my own copy which i had sent to me from america as its out of print here in england, if you want to learn decoupage then this book is a must, beautifully illustrated and easy to understand it shows you in easy stages how to create beautiful decoupage

3d decoupage.......2000-05-04

a good book giving ideas about how to decorate several things that don't look very nice to you any more by a real simple way that w'nt cost to look more elegant.

Average customer rating:
Design Is in the Details: Outdoor Spaces (Design is in the Details)
Brad Mee
Manufacturer: Sterling/Chapelle
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

Using dozens of inspiring color photographs, designer Brad Mee takes his creative talent outdoors and reveals how to fashion a personalized garden haven that's vibrant, unique, and serves its purpose--whether it's for entertaining or relaxation. For Mee, it all begins by thinking of the space as an integral part of the house, with the same decorating considerations as any other room. Choosing an overall style (formal with elegant statuary; Zen, graced with placid pools and stone walkways; Mediterranean) is the first step: that provides the foundation for selecting surfaces such as floors, walls, and ceilings; elements from water to fireplaces; and furniture, accessories, and lighting. With Mee's invaluable advice, anyone can create fabulous outdoor rooms.

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With information culled from press clips, interviews with Chaplin's friends and contemporaries, and previous biographies of Eugene O'Neill, Scovell's book paints an engaging portrait of a privileged, potentially fabulous life gone way wrong. Most fittingly for their subsequent tortured relationship, Oona's parents--Eugene O'Neill and writer Agnes Boulton--met in a Greenwich Village bar dubbed the Hellhole. Eight years into their marriage, in which they flitted between Greenwich Village, Bermuda, Provincetown, Maine, and New Jersey, O'Neill abandoned the family life for the erstwhile actress Carlotta Monterey (christened Hazel Neilson Tharsing). Oona was two at the time. O'Neill, a boorish father, saw her only a handful of times before she turned 18; at that point, he disinherited her because he wasn't happy with the oozy publicity she was earning as a New York debutante. That same year, Oona moved out to Hollywood (in the hopes of pursuing an acting career), and met and married Charlie Chaplin, who was facing a scandalous paternity suit at that moment. Chaplin was 54, Oona was 18. She never worked again, and he was at the end of his career. They had eight children (the last when Chaplin was 72), and she stood by him till his death in 1977, spending most of their years together exiled in Sweden, where Chaplin had gone to avoid a host of problems with the U.S. government. After Chaplin's death, Oona returned to the U.S., where she lived 14 depressed, alcoholic years before dying at age 66 of cancer.

There's a breezy, slightly superficial tone to this book, despite Scovell's attempt to elucidate fully the potholes and vistas of Oona's dramatic roadmap. None of Oona's eight children, or close family members, seems to have talked to Scovell, nor did Scovell have any significant access to Oona's correspondence or other writing. Though her dramatic fade is well captured here, Oona never completely blooms in this book. --Jean Lenihan

Book Description

Like Jackie O, Oona O'Neill (1925-91) captured public attention for two reasons: her impressive familial/marital alliances (she was the sole daughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill and the last wife of filmmaker Charlie Chaplin) and her elegant, raven-haired beauty. The two women also shared vitas that were filled with childhood disappointments, humiliating public attention during crises, and the wrenching deaths of loved ones. But as Jane Scovell's new biography clearly shows, Oona O'Neill Chaplin lacked both the stoicism and personal passion of Jackie Onassis. Hers was a spirit too tender--and fundamentally fragile--to assert itself fully or survive independently for any period of time. Hence the book's apt subtitle, "Living in the Shadows."With information culled from press clips, interviews with Chaplin's friends and contemporaries, and previous biographies of Eugene O'Neill, Scovell's book paints an engaging portrait of a privileged, potentially fabulous life gone way wrong. Most fittingly for their subsequent tortured relationship, Oona's parents--Eugene O'Neill and writer Agnes Boulton--met in a Greenwich Village bar dubbed the Hellhole. Eight years into their marriage, in which they flitted between Greenwich Village, Bermuda, Provincetown, Maine, and New Jersey, O'Neill abandoned the family life for the erstwhile actress Carlotta Monterey (christened Hazel Neilson Tharsing). Oona was two at the time. O'Neill, a boorish father, saw her only a handful of times before she turned 18; at that point, he disinherited her because he wasn't happy with the oozy publicity she was earning as a New York debutante. That same year, Oona moved out to Hollywood (in the hopes of pursuing an acting career), and met and married Charlie Chaplin, who was facing a scandalous paternity suit at that moment. Chaplin was 54, Oona was 18. She never worked again, and he was at the end of his career. They had eight children (the last when Chaplin was 72), and she stood by him till his death in 1977, spending most of their years together exiled in Sweden, where Chaplin had gone to avoid a host of problems with the U.S. government. After Chaplin's death, Oona returned to the U.S., where she lived 14 depressed, alcoholic years before dying at age 66 of cancer.There's a breezy, slightly superficial tone to this book, despite Scovell's attempt to elucidate fully the potholes and vistas of Oona's dramatic roadmap. None of Oona's eight children, or close family members, seems to have talked to Scovell, nor did Scovell have any significant access to Oona's correspondence or other writing. Though her dramatic fade is well captured here, Oona never completely blooms in this book. --Jean Lenihan

Customer Reviews:

Excellent book presents a wonderful woman.......2007-05-02

I really like Oona O'Neill Chaplin. What a wonderful woman she was! This book quotes person after person who knew her, from all periods of her life. They say that Oona was a woman who radiated a sort of grace, who had an innate elegance that set her apart, but who did not lose a down-to-earth quality, who loved to fuss over her brood of children, who literally basked in having babies and loved having her children around her (she had eight children altogether), who possessed a radiant and fragile beauty, an almost elfin quality, a naturalness, an easy sense of humor, a lack of ostentation, with a sly calm and native sweetness, who again and again is described as creating for everyone around her a sense of serenity and well-being. People would travel to Switzerland to see Charlie Chaplin - but they came away remembering Oona. Even as a young teenager she was intellectually curious, a girl who would go out on a lake in a boat with a friend or two and read plays aloud to each other; she was popular and social, but in a shy, slightly sorrowful way; she always kind, not exciting jealousy in other girls. Was her father, the famous playwright, justified in rejecting her? No, not at all. He never tried to get to know her, and he looked at everything she did in the worst possible light. His negative view of her was contradicted by everyone else who knew her - and I mean, everyone. Oona maintained life-long friendships with women and with men, and not once in her life did she intentionally try to hurt anyone emotionally, financially, or physically. Not the slightest hint of cheating on Charlie, or of cheating anyone in any way. She helped her brother Shane and his family, her mother, and her step-"son" Sydney Chaplin. The worst that can be said of her is that she failed to intervene fast enough on occasions where Charlie was being overbearing and abusive to a child or a visitor, and some of her children felt overlooked. As to those children, probably they were a bit overlooked. But in this age of multiple divorces, I suspect that many thousands of children today are far more overlooked by their parents than any of Oona's were. And Chaplin was too demanding; she had to balance him against them and such balances will never leave everyone satisfied. Frankly, this books shows that Chaplin was unworthy of her - he was overbearing and doctrinaire in the way older men can get, and his opinions weren't very insightful or sensitive. For example, he had the "Christmas is too materialist" crotchety-ness of those who care more about feeling superior than for their children's enjoyment, while for Oona Christmas was a favorite holiday filled with presents and tree-decorating. Other reviewers here seem to think that this book fails to show us Oona. But in fact she shines forth on every page. Perhaps their problem is that they don't consider a person such as she was to be very much of a person. But this reflects the biases of our times, which discount unfairly the wonderful kind of person she was. The same people who say it takes a village to raise a child somehow devalue an individual who actually dedicates herself to creating a nurturing emotional environment for children, for spouse, for guests, for friends, and for extended family. Oona was a very special person and this book is a clear, easy way to get to know her. Highly recommended.

Tabloid .......2006-12-24

While I desperately wanted to like this book and was tremendously excited by the topic, I find it difficult to write nice things about the book. While the book has many handsome pictures, I find it difficult to pass other compliments. It would seem difficult to write a biography of somebody while avoiding talking about that person's life, yet Jane Scovell has managed to do just that.

The life of Oona O'Neill had a tragic beginning as she was largely abandon by her father, Eugene O'Neill. The author of "Oona" manages to spend much of the early chapters focusing on the evolution of the O'Neill family. There is no substantial writing on the life of Oona until she meets Charlie Chaplin. Yet even these chapters focus largely on people other than Oona. While Oona did live in the shadow of her husband, why write a biography if you can not present facts about the main character.

It is also quite clear that Scovell is not a fan of Charlie Chaplin. Chapter 9 seems larely devoted to bringing Charlie Chaplin's character into question. While Sir Charles Chaplin was far from a model citizen, this fact would not be a logical choice on which to focus the book. In this Chapter 9, the author suggests Chaplin slept with 2000 women. Endnote 6 reveals her source to be a not so famous historian named Milton Berle. Her source is a comedian with little documentation suggests Charlie has any significant dealings. In this same chapter she uses a letter from Oona's former love interest J.D. Salinger to further debase the actor's legacy. I am not certain what place a scorned lover's opinion has in a focused biography other than to raise character questions. Perhaps the most absurd statement of the book is made on page 173 in which another book is sited as evidence that the United States government had no interest for prosecuting Chaplin for being a communist, but "the government was more upset about his morality ...". The idea that he would have been welcomed back to the country if he agreed to be interviewed not seems proposterous, but it avoids the point of his exile entirely.

With such obvious inaccuracies, it is hard to give credit for much else that Scovell writes. When Scovell does devote her writing to Oona in the waning pages of the book after Charlie's death, it is only to write of her alcholism and love interests like a tabloid photographer. This book seems targeted to exploit the legacy of Oona Chaplin and her husband.

In the shadows of this book as well..........2004-01-29

Being very interested in the life of cinematic genius Charlie Chaplin, and knowing what a difficult person he could be, I became interested in the one woman who stuck by him and adored him until his death, then mourned him for years after. However, this book was a disappointment and lacked a great deal of information about it's subject, Oona. Scovell also made too many assumptions, and forced her own opinion under the guise of psychology and lacked the objectivity which one expects in a well written biography.
The book opened with droning on and on about her family geneology, which bored me to tears, but I read on, expecting to soon read about Oona, which never happened. With the exception of brief information about Oona here and there, the book focused on Eugene O'Neil, and Chaplin himself (even worse, some of the "facts" written about Chaplin were false). Sadly, Oona was left out of her own biography.
This book was somewhat of a painful read and lacked professionalism from it's author.

Oona?.......2003-01-07

This supposed biography of Oona O'Neill Chaplin spends much of its time discussing Eugene O'Neill and Charlie Chaplin. Certainly Oona lived in the shadow of Charlie, but she doesn't emerge as a person in this biography. The book is poorly written. Too much repetition of points made, some really silly sentences of superficial statement. And no depth. Nonetheless, it's an interesting read because of the people and the lives narrated.

Very interesting subject, really bad writing.......2002-03-23

The subject matter is, needless to say, very interesting. But the book reads like it is written by someone whose entire literary education centered on cheap romance novels. The author doesn't seem to have any access to any of Oona's friends or family while researching this book. Almost all of her historical data seem to have been hearsay and 2nd hand. Remarkable and unfortunate on the author's part.

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