Great American Short Stories: From Hawthorne to Hemingway (Barnes & Noble Classics)

Book Description

Great American Short Stories: From Hawthorne to Hemingway is part of the

Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:

New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriate

All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.

Book Description

HE HAD SAVED HER, BUT HE DIDN'T LOVE HER.

Katherine Marsh was practically a slave to her brother's family in the small English country village where she lived. Then she met Dr. Jason Fitzroy -- and fell instantly in love.

Dr. Fitzroy found her a job at the hospital and gave her a new sense of self-respect. He also gave her her first taste of the freedom missing from her earlier years.

But Katherine knew she could never be truly free -- not while her heart was a prisoner of love.

Book Description

After a decade in one South Seas mission, a London bank-clerk-turned-minister sets his heart on serving a remote volcanic island. Fanua contains neither cannibals nor Christians, but its citizens, his superior warns, are like children—immoral children. Still, Mr. Timothy Fortune lights out for Fanua. Yet after three years, he has made only one convert, and his devotion to the boy may prove more sensual than sacred. Mr. Fortune’s Maggot, Sylvia Townsend Warner’s second novel, is lyrical, droll, and deeply affecting, and her missionary captivated his creator as much as he did her readers.

Long after the book's publication, Warner began the novella The Salutation. Now adrift and starving on the Brazilian pampas, Mr. Fortune is rescued by an elderly widow, who delights in having an Englishman about the house. Her heir, however, may beg to differ.

Brilliant and subversive, Mr. Fortune's Maggot and its sequel are now available for the first time ever in one volume. They show Sylvia Townsend Warner at the height of her powers.

Customer Reviews:

The Love Laws.......2004-01-05

Gay? Or not gay? Let the reader decide. This very short novel about a Victorian-headed missionary who loses his head in the South Seas is a love story. The lover is the British man, the missionary, who gradually loses his balance. This is almost a spoof of "going native," because in this case, the natives are far more sensible and "civilized" than the missionary. The beloved is a native boy who is clueless of Mr. Fortune's torments, the guilts, and anguish. Forget about looking for "the good parts," if by that you mean the parts where they get it on. That never happens. What does happen is love. Mr. Fortune, against his will, loves Lueli, a young man who loves everything around him as easily as breathing and has no concept of shame. The novel invites us to think about guilt itself, about sexuality in any form, and about love. As Arundhati Roy wrote sixty years later, it is a novel about "the laws that lay down who should be loved and how. And how much." Like all of Townsend-Warner's novels, this one reminds the reader of impermanence. "For no reason he could see he had suddenly become immensely popular. And as he walked to and fro in the twilight waiting for his guests to take themselves off he heard his name being bandied about in tones of the liveliest affection and approval. He had one consolation: by the morrow he would be out of fashion again. As for Lueli, they scarcely mentioned him. If he had drowned they would have spent the evening wailing and lamenting: not for him but for themselves, at the reminder of their own mortality, after the natural way of mourning."

Mr. Lincoln's Wars: A Novel in Thirteen Stories

Average customer rating:

Couldn't get through the first half
I put it down and I love Civil War/Lincoln novels
Kathryn
Moving and Literary look at the Civil War and its Consequenc
Seek Another Book

Mr. Lincoln's Wars: A Novel in Thirteen Stories
Adam Braver
Manufacturer: William Morrow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 006008118X
Release Date: 2003-01-07

Amazon.com

Adam Braver's debut novel, Mr. Lincoln's Wars, is a faithful execution of a bright idea. Thirteen stories with various narrators give us perspectives on Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. We learn Mary Todd Lincoln's exhaustion and grief: "You're a pox, Abraham Lincoln, you bring tragedy to everything you touch. Kill all of the boys in this country, as well as your own." We hear from Zack Hargrove, the meanest, toughest Union soldier there was. We read an imaginary letter from a war widow to Mr. Lincoln, gloating over the death of her abusive husband. To all of these stories, Braver brings a boldly anachronistic writing style. His people speak contemporary language, and what's more, they feel contemporary (or at least post-Freudian) feelings. As Braver has it, the death of Lincoln's son defined and drove the President as much as the fight for abolition. The wildly violent Zack Hargrove had a dad who beat him, and John Wilkes Booth had father issues, too. Braver is determined to illuminate Lincoln's story with a new, more psychologically astute light. The result is carefully done and occasionally compelling, but in his efforts to expand our idea of Lincoln, Braver ends up with a strangely protracted, short-sighted view. --Claire Dederer

Book Description

Mr. Lincoln's Wars marks the emergence of a remarkably gifted writer. In this wildly inventive, highly ambitious collection, Adam Braver explores Abraham Lincoln's inner life and personal turmoils -- while also reflecting on the indelible impact Lincoln had on the nation during the last year of his presidency.

Writing with lyrical yet muscular prose, Braver brings Abraham Lincoln to life, not just as the strong and resilient president of history books, but as a griefstricken father, heartbroken over the loss of his young son. Narrated from the multiple perspectives of Abraham Lincoln and those whose lives he touched, Mr. Lincoln's Wars shows a president who is distraught over his inability to keep his country from destroying itself through civil war and a man who is fighting inner demons during a time of great crisis.

Across a rich canvas of truth and imagination, Mr. Lincoln's Wars reveals the president in his darkest hours within the White House walls. We see Lincoln as he explores the meaning of loss through a chance encounter with the father of a slain soldier. And a goodhearted young Union soldier is quickly turned into a killer in the name of President Lincoln. Finally, there is the assassination and the autopsy, as seen through the eyes of John Wilkes Booth, Mary Lincoln, the assistant surgeon general, and one of Lincoln's closest friends.

Brilliant in its depiction of the country during the waning days of the war, the book is an insightful and moving exploration of the myth of celebrity and the passions it arouses. More than anything, however, Mr. Lincoln's Wars introduces a talented new writer whose storytelling ability knows no bounds.

Customer Reviews:

Couldn't get through the first half.......2007-08-10

This book just doesn't have the feel and the raw emotion that can be found from the typical Civil War/Lincoln novel. It also lacks any great historical background. While those fallacies could be made up for with great character building and liteary wit, those cannot be found in this novel of short stories. These fictional short stories will leave you with a longing for real literature. In fact, I found myself reading along and realizing NOTHING was happening.

I put it down and I love Civil War/Lincoln novels.......2007-01-13

The sudden and unnecessary graphic passages, intended for "shock value", ruined the prose for me. There are too many other books that I want to read, so I put this one down. There's a reason it has a discounted price right now. It's not a good book.

Kathryn.......2005-12-13

Mr. Lincoln's Wars is a book filled with interesting anecdotes to help readers understand the Civil War on a more personal level. Divided up into thirteen short stories, this book is an easy and quick read. Rather than list facts and statistics about the Civil War, Braver uses interesting stories to depict the war in a way that is more personal and more moving. Each story tells of a different "war" of a different person to help readers gain an inside understanding of what the war was really like for Americans. Some stories describe what the relationship among the Lincoln family members is like, for example how Mary and Abraham get along with the stress of running a war-torn nation on top of the recent loss of a son. The relationship between them probably wasn't great, and this book helps to illustrate that. Some stories help the reader to see the war through Mary Todd Lincoln's eyes, and what other government officials possibly thought of her. Other stories also give the inside look on soldiers from both sides, nurses, fathers, and other Americans who lives were affected by the war. Stories depicted the way in which this war tore apart the families of those with sons. In addition, Braver has also concocted a story about what may have persuaded John Wilkes Booth to kill the president and what may have been running through his mind as he shot that fatal bullet. However, Braver does use graphic descriptions and word choices that some readers may take very offensively. Almost every story contains a explicit reference that could be left out. Though Braver does help readers gain an understanding of the emotional and physiological effects of the war on all different types of Americans, this understanding would not be hindered in anyway if certain scenes and words were not used.

Moving and Literary look at the Civil War and its Consequenc.......2005-04-13

I enjoyed this little book a good deal. Basically it consists of 13 short stories all revolving around Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War told from assorted points of view including ordinary soldiers, Lincoln, Mary Todd Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth. Like all good literary fiction, the point of the stories is not so much to describe events as to show the impact of those events on the protagonists. We see how Lincoln and his wife are affected by the tragedy of the death of their son, the demons that drove Booth to murder, the way in which war brutalizes the ordinary soldier. Like all good historical fiction, these stories bring characters of the 19th century to life in a realistic way. My only quibble with the book is with the portrayal of Lincoln. Very little is known about Lincoln's inner most thoughts. Although a most jocular man, he was actually somewhat closed and few of his friends or associates could genuinely say they knew him well. That is why Gore Vidal, in his great novel "Lincoln" gets inside the head of the people around the president but not Lincoln himself. There is nothing wrong with a modern writer making assumptions about the thoughts of a historical character in a work of fiction. But a number of the things Braver reveals about Lincoln are jarring and some are false. For example, Lincoln was known to never drink liquor, yet several of the stories portray Lincoln as having been a drinker in his youth and even taking a drink in the White House as president. This simply didn't ring true to me. And although there is no real evidence of Lincoln's sexual thoughts and feelings, I still found it jarring to see the specific, if not graphic portrayal of an historical figure's sex life, particularly when that figure chose to keep his sexual life to himself. In one scene Lincoln remembers the smell of Anne Rutledge's neck. There is no evidence that he was ever in a position to smell her neck although it is generally accepted that he loved the doomed girl who died so young.

Nevertheless, these quibbles do not much diminish the overall quality of this work. The stories are by and large moving and provocative and guaranteed to make the reader think about profound things. Yet the prose style is light and breezy and flows beautifully from page to page. I recommend it.

Seek Another Book.......2005-02-04

I found Mr. Lincoln's Wars to be both offensive and uninspiring. The stories are saturated with some of the most offensive and vulgar language, and the constant hurtling of those profanities at the reader becomes quite annoying and tiresome. Mr. Braver serves up some of the crudest descriptions I have been confronted with, and as an independent reviewer, I have read many.

Christian writers will certainly be offended by the author's misuse of the Lord's name as an expletive. He allows his fictional characters free reign. The sexually explicit content is also grossly unwelcome and serves no real purpose with relationship to the stories. Readers would do well to invest their money in a different book.

If this book is to be, as the quotes on the cover indicate, some new hallmark of literary fiction, then may God help us all. Were there a lower rating than one star I would certainly bestow it upon this piece of work.

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Mr. Adam: A novel
Pat Frank
Manufacturer: J.B. Lippincott
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: B0007DE150

The Fate of Mansfield Humphreys, with the Episode of Mr. Washington Adams in England, and an Apology

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The Fate of Mansfield Humphreys, with the Episode of Mr. Washington Adams in England, and an Apology
Richard Grant White
Manufacturer: Houghton, Mifflin and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Product Description

Richard Grant White (1822-1885) was a Shakespearean scholar from New York who published several novels. Several chapters were serialized in the Atlantic Monthly, and others were published in Edinburgh as "Mr. Washington Adams in England." Late 19th century novel of manners focusing on the "American character."

The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and His Friend Mr. Abraham Adams

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The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and His Friend Mr. Abraham Adams
Henry Fielding
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0393002748

Book Description

Mr. Joseph Andrews, the Hero of our ensuing History, was esteemed to be the only Son of Gaffar and Gammer Andrews, and Brother to the illustrious Pamela, whose Virtue is at present so famous. As to his Ancestors, we have searched with great Diligence, but little Success: being unable to trace them farther than his Great Grandfather, who, as an elderly Person in the Parish remembers to have heard his Father say, was an excellent Cudgel-player.

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Joseph Andrews and His Friend Mr. Abraham Adams (The Novel Library)

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Joseph Andrews and His Friend Mr. Abraham Adams (The Novel Library)
Henry Fielding
Manufacturer: Hamish Hamilton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Joseph Andrews and His Friend Mr. Abraham Adams (The Novel Library)

Manufacturer: Hamish Hamilton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Mr. Adam (a novel)
Pat Frank
Manufacturer: Lippincott Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NSFERI

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Christian in Complete Armour, by William Gurnall

incomplete

Don't leave this century wihout reading this book

revised English language preferred

The Christian in Complete Armour by William Gurnall

The Christian in Complete Armour, Vol. 1
William Gurnall
Manufacturer: Banner of Truth
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Christian in Complete Armour

Revival Praying: An Urgent and Powerful Message for the Family of Christ

Why Revival Tarries, repack

The Mortification of Sin (Puritan Paperbacks)

Overcoming Sin and Temptation

ASIN: 0851514561

Customer Reviews:

Christian in Complete Armour, by William Gurnall.......2007-09-11

I have to concur with the others, if I had only two books with me on a desert island, one would be my Bible, and the other would be this book (hedging out my other stand-by: The Institutes of the Christian Religion). I am awe-struck by the gifts of wisdom, insight and understanding that the Lord worked in the heart and mind of this saint, William Gurnall! I can't wait to get home to pick up where I left off, it is that dear to me.

I looked at the abridgement online, the one separated into daily readings, and I believe that this unabridged edition is definitely better.

If only every Christian would read this pearl of great price, this treasure trove of godly wisdom...

Read this manual of obedience and spiritual warfighting and you will inevitably draw closer to your Lord! Read it prayerfully and you will advance noticeably in your discipleship.

As you read this review, wondering whether to purchase this book, your unseen foes tremble with a trepidation that is most justified indeed.

incomplete.......2007-07-23

This is not the complete wotk. It is the first of three volumes. If you see the other two advertized let this reviewer know.

Don't leave this century wihout reading this book.......2007-05-13

William Gurnall is a writer for all seasons. His work, specially the modern abridgment, speaks so clearly and so directly to this generation. You can read a few sentences and pause because you have been amazed at the relevancy of His comments. This is a work that you will cherish reading. You will never be tempted to rush through reading it. Few writers have been able to hold my attention as William Gurnall. C.S Lewis would be the other one. But of course no book holds a candle to The Bible God's written revelation. Don't leave this century without reading this book.

revised English language preferred.......2007-01-05

The content of this book is excellent; however, the old style in which it is written made it difficult to read. The revised version in modern english is "an essntial addition to any Christians library.

The Christian in Complete Armour by William Gurnall.......2006-03-13

I can't put this book down, William Gurnall was truly a man inspired by the Word of God. How has this book be overlooked by our modern church? The this book should be a requirement for graduation from seminary. This book is a must for all Christians who feel something lacking, or for those who do not.
Besides the Bible, I have not read a book so powerful.

Customer Reviews:

Unique compendium of recipes for healthy & delicious dining.......2001-01-28

Illustrated with black & white photos and anecdotal words of wisdom, Edie Hand's Recipes For Life: A Cookbook For The Heart And Soul With Edie And Friends is a unique compendium of recipes for healthy and delicious dining. From Deviled Eggs with Red Caviar, Peppy Peanut Butter Bread, and Cuban Black Bean Soup, to Millet Muffins with Fresh Corn, Homestyle Ham Bake, and Sweet Potato Delight, Recipes For Life is as fun to browse through as it is to base outstanding family meals on.

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Fun Vintage Towels!

Stunning Illustrations!

Fun & Collectible Kitchen Towels: 1930s to 1960s
Michelle Hayes
Manufacturer: Schiffer Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Kitchenware | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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Colorful Vintage Kitchen Towels (Schiffer Book for Collectors)

Colorful Tablecloths 1930s-1960s: Threads of the Past

Collector's Guide to Vintage Tablecloths (Schiffer Book for Collectors)

Elegant Table Linens: From Weil & Durrs Including Wilendur (Schiffer Book for Collectors)

Collectors' Guide to Vintage Souvenir Tablecloths And Linens (Schiffer Book for Collectors)

ASIN: 0764323156

Book Description

Bright colors, cheerful patterns, storybook rhymes, art of every style has been printed on vintage kitchen towels. Today's collectors use these wonderful linens to add a decorative touch, whether displayed as a runner on a bedside bureau, used as a valance over a sunny window, draped over a bed post, sewn into kitchen curtains, or made into cheerful pillows. This informative reference contains over 350 beautiful photographs of printed kitchen towels and bathroom sets from the 1930s to the 1960s. The towel decorations are wide in scope, illustrating designs related to food, the outdoors, people, and childhood as captured by towel manufacturers Martex, WestPoint Stevens, Vera, Cannon, and more. Vintage catalog advertisements provide both original prices and descriptions, and current market values are included. The glossary, bibliography, and index are useful references. This is an excellent resource for textile and kitchen collectors and dealers, and an enjoyable browse for everyone who appreciates the beauty of collectible linens.

Customer Reviews:

Fun Vintage Towels!.......2006-12-08

What a cool and fun book! I love vintage towels and this book shows hundreds of pictures of them. Just about every design you can think of is printed on these towels, including Black Americana, children, desserts, floral, gardening, spirits and lots more, all from the 1930's through 1960's. Excellent information on the history of the companies that made these towels plus information on textile artists. Interesting to read glossary and a chapter on how to launder vintage linens. Also shows wonderful old catalog and magazine advertisements for these towels including their original descriptions and prices which I loved reading. Also recommended "Fun Linens & Handkerchiefs" by Scofield & Zalamea.

Stunning Illustrations!.......2006-11-28

Vintage tea towels: brightly colored roosters, radishes, red cherries, and aproned poodles are but a few of the cheery patterns that decorated kitchen towels in a by-gone era of Americana. Hundreds of charming images of homey innocence are documented and preserved in this beautiful book featuring high quality reproductions of a vanished art form. Highly recommended.

Book Description

Over 2000 decorative initials — most in full or partial alphabets — largely 15th, 16th centuries.

Historic Alphabets & Initials: Woodcut & Ornamental

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Historic Alphabets & Initials: Woodcut & Ornamental
Carol Belanger (editor) Grafton
Manufacturer: Dover Publications, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000S8AQ2G

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Build Your Own Custom Workbench: 13 Projects That Fit Your Needs
Mark Corke
Manufacturer: Popular Woodworking Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Furniture & Carpentry | Woodworking | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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The Workbench: A Complete Guide to Creating Your Perfect Bench

Danny Proulx's Toolboxes & Workbenches

Building Woodshop Workstations

The Workbench Book: A Craftsman's Guide to Workbenches for Every Type of Woodworking (Craftsman's Guide to)

Workbenches and Shop Furniture: Techniques for Better Woodworking (The Workshop Companion)

ASIN: 155870678X

Book Description

A workbench is a tool that every woodworker needs. This book provides an exciting variety of workbench projects that can make their time in the shop safer, more efficient and fun.

Inside readers will find workbench designs for every need: benches for woodcarving, for assembly, for tearing apart engine blocks, for potting plants and more. There are 10 projects in all, including a special design that's tricked-out to be the most flexible bench possible-a super bench for the woodworker who has everything!

Book Description

One of the goals of Modernism was the presentation of the essence of art, or pure form. Encouraged by theorists, modern artists found pure form in ornament which, though promising, was sullied by connotations of materiality, domesticity, and femininity. Jenny Anger demonstrates that the decorative significantly informed Paul Klee's art. She compares his work to that of another major modernist, Henri Matisse, to confirm the critical role of the decorative in Modernism. Anger also explores the relevance of the decorative for contemporary and, especially, women artists.

PAUL KLEE AND THE DECORATIVE IN MODERN ART

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PAUL KLEE AND THE DECORATIVE IN MODERN ART
JENNY (GRINNELL COLLEGE, IOWA) ANGER
Manufacturer: CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N5DDEW

Book Description

John Lennon was a legend in his own time. Deprived of life at a young age, Lennon has become a symbol of the '60s and '70s peace movement. But what do we really know about him as a person?

Customer Reviews:

So Many Facts Wrong, I Gave Up and Threw the Book Away.......2007-07-09

What a piece of garbage! Rarely have I read a book that purported to be "historical" in nature that had so many well-known facts completely wrong. Those who gave this book any more than one star obviously no nothing about the history of The Beatles or of John Lennon. I have read dozens of well-researched books on both subjects, and this is by far the worst of the bunch. I'm not speaking from a like or dislike of Lennon, or even Giuliano's approach (supposedly using Lennon's stolen diary, which I don't believe he used anyway). I'm speaking about his historical inaccuracies. Giuliano has John meeting Paul on June 15, 1956 in his chronology. I don't know where that date came from, but certainly not from the historical record. As all Beatle afficionados know (and Giuliano is supposed to be something of an expert), John met Paul on July 6, 1957. Towards the end of the book, he writes that Paul and Linda visited John and Yoko in John's apartment on March 22, 1978. Many incontrovertible sources will reveal that Paul and Linda were on a boat on the Thames River holding a press conference to discuss the release of their new album, "London Town", eating fish and chips, and having their photographs taken by a slew of photographers from the media on this date. In between, this book is filled with inaccuracy after inaccuracy, unprovable assertions, and flights of fancy. Giuliano even goes so far as to state that Lennon was having dreams of performing fellatio on George Harrison (or was it the other way around?) Where did he get this earth-shattering information? Why, from Lennon himself, who wrote it in his diary. I don't know... I suppose it could be true, but I never heard that "fact" from any other source in the 26 1/2 years that Lennon's been dead. This "biography" is a complete waste of time and money. Guiliano should hang his head in shame for putting photos of himself with Yoko and Sean in the book. He has done the Lennons a great disservice by writing this so-called "historical biography."

sex, lies and no videotape...........2007-06-18

I bought this book in Chicago when I was travelling around the country. It didn't take long to read and even less time to realize the author was clearly fabricating most of this. I wish I could get my money back. Reads more like an extended National Enquirer article, kept waiting for Aliens to abduct John.

IMAGINING DONE LITERALLY.......2005-11-28

I think all anyone needs to know about Geoffrey Guilliano is that this man faked his own death to avoid being chased after all the money he owed.
And he did it by taking advantage of the 9/11 tragedy where he had messages sent to dubious sources to say he'd been in one of the Twin Towers that day.After which his body was one of many never discovered thus saving any positive sighting of it and an obituary.
At first he got a heap of sympathy messages on a Beatles website
until he was rumbled
Its Reassessment Time here.
His Harrison book bears the blurb "Guilliano knows more about my life than I do"
Which is doubtful as Harrison threatened to sue him!
So he no doubt added that himself
1 Star is because you can't award lower

Poorly researched vendetta.......2005-06-30

The author plays fast and loose with basic facts. As others have pointed out, among other things Lennon supposedly had a blow-up with his father at the Magical Mystery Tour premiere in the latest '60s -- which John somehow forgave in 1964. John supposedly had sexual fantasies about Madonna, whose first album came out after John was killed. The author can't even get the spelling of Patti Boyd's name right. This kind of "reporting" calls into question everything in the book. When I read about John's mother's supposed sexual advances to him, the first thing I did was look around for a footnote or other indication of source material, but none was to be found. And of course, the book is unrelentingly vicious to Yoko Ono, but that's to be expected.

Shocking schlock.......2005-06-16

My review will be brief because I generally agree with the comments made by others who gave this book 1 or 2 stars. The opening chapter (oddly entitled "Prologue") gives you the flavor of what is to come. Clearly the author is on a mission to write the juiciest tabloid version of Lennon's life possible. The first chapter is not a prologue at all, but a description of John's alleged sexual adventures.

There are many things that trouble me about this book. Among others, the author claims to base it in part on tapes made by JOhn and Yoko as well as John's diaries. While some of what he writes rings true, how did he get a hold of these forbidden items? He claims he go the diaries from Harry Nilsson, something Nilsson's web site has contested over and over. How did Harry get these diaries or tapes? Who knows. Clearly the diaries were notes, written in John's notoriously bad handwritting. And abbreviated notes at that. If the author quoted the diaries or tapes verbatim, that would have been much more convincing than interpreting these items. If you have the tapes and diaries in front of you, why not just quote them? Or photocopy pages of the diary and put them in the book for all to see?

As I said, some of it is believable, but parts of it are not, and the author is clearly a man on a nasty mission.

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