Product Description
Your Days Are Numbered…And Clay Ryker Knows It.

Clay Ryker is a man with a dark past and an uncertain future. A failure in both business and marriage, he has come home after a decade away, hoping for a fresh start in the small Pacific Northwest town where he grew up.

But Clay harbors a terrible secret, one that even those closest to him don’t know. When increasingly sinister notes appear in the folds of his morning paper, Clay realizes that the truth is not so secret after all. Then people around him start dying and, with a serial killer on the loose, he discovers a terrible gift: he can foresee the timing of a person’s death–his or her expiration date.

As his newfound ability proves both a blessing and a curse, Clay’s foreknowledge could cost more than he can bear to lose. Working with ex-cop and investigator Vince Turney, Clay has no choice but to face up to the truth of his past. Will he find the courage to overcome an unspeakable evil, one that he himself may have empowered? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (38)

My first taste of Wilson's literary cuisine
I interviewed Eric on my blogtalk radio program. He was fascinating to talk to so I ordered a couple of his books. I finally got around to reading this one. This was a very ambitious project, with a combination of plots so thick, you'd need a power drill to stir them. There were more twists and turns than on a mountain road. At times it seemed like perhaps Eric tried to juggle too many balls at the same time. In the end, he was able to satisfactorily tie down the majority of loose ends and stick the landing. There were times when my attention lagged, but there were other parts of the book that delighted me to the point of understanding why Tricia Goyer has inked Eric's name on her favorite author list.
Donald James Parker
Author of Against the Twilight

A Gosh Darned Good Story, Scary too
Twenty-nine year old Clay Ryker, a man who has been living with a tragic secret, is failing both in business and in his marriage. The drowning death of a friend years ago has haunted him, the guilt almost at times too much to bear. With that ever present guilt and the present haunting him as well, he decides to return to his hometown of Junction City, but on the bus on his way he meets a woman he went to high school with and she reads his palm, thus giving him the power to know when others will die, or more aptly put their "expiration date", by simply touching them. With a serial killer on the loose, his knowledge of when people are going to die, plus the fact someone else has apparently learned of his power, you can imagine that Clay is in trouble deep.

Okay, now you have the premise of this fine horror story, which I must admit is a Christian novel. This is a term that as a reader and writer, I'm not very comfortable with. I believe fiction should stand on the story alone and Mr. Wilson's work certainly does. As do the romance novels of Janette Oke and Lori Wick. I don't read them because they are Christian writers, I read them because they are good writers.

I am a sometimes practicing Catholic, very liberal and not at all comfortable with the Christian Right. I'm saying this only so you don't think I'm recommending this book because of Mr. Wilson's faith or because it's a book Christians might recommend. I'm recommending EXPERATION DATE because it's a gosh darned good story and that is the only reason, in my opinion, why anyone should read fiction. If you are a Dean Koontz, Richard Laymon or Stephen King fan, I really think you'll love this book.

Thoughtful and interesting.
As a writer, I love it when I can keep reading a book and not have to wonder "why?" What I mean by that is that I can take off my "writing analysis" hat and am able to just enjoy the narrative of the story without pause, steadily progressing, drawn along and intrigued, until I finally reach the end.

Such is the type of books Eric Wilson writes. Much of this has to do with his fully realized characters. His characters are real people with very real problems. He doesn't try--like some Christian authors--to live in a sin and guilt-free world. His story worlds are just like our own. Filled with hurt and suffering people, capable of both incredible good and shameless evil.

Expiration Date is one such novel. It involves an interesting premise--what if you had the ability to know someone else's date of death?--and superb characterization. Particularly well written is the main character Clay Ryker and his friend Mylisha. Much of the story deals with events that happened earlier in their lives and how those events still affect them today.(Seriously, how many people allow themselves to be forever stuck in high school? Too many, I think.)

Another thing I enjoy about Eric's novels is the frequent touches of history. Expiration Date is no slouch here either. There is a strong subplot about Russian history that I found intriguing.

The only fault I would find in this book is that there was one big reveal that surprised me. That could be because I missed some of the clues Eric had given (small children mean lots of interruptions in my life) or it could be because there weren't enough clues.Regardless, it wasn't a biggie, and didn't detract from the narrative as a whole.

Also, there were elements of the ending that seemed to beg for a later book. Since I'm a latecomer to Eric's work, some of these could have been addressed in later writings. I look forward to finding out.
Overall, a good effort and an enjoyable read. Well done!

Hard to put down
I found EXPIRATION DATE difficult to put down.Eric Wilson's characters have a lifelike quality that surpasses the characters in other books, so it's always a pleasure to read about their lives and adventures.EXPIRATION DATE is no exception, but the plot twists and the pulse-pounding ending make this novel one that I raced to reach the end of.It was an enjoyable race!

If you've read other novels by Wilson, you'll find some familiar faces in this particular journey.But if you haven't yet read any of Wilson's novels, then I would say this would be an excellent place to begin.You won't be able to put this down, and you'll want to read the others (there are seven total) in order to get the full story lines for all of these great characters.

Two thumbs up, definitely!

This should be a movie!
What a thrill ride. I especially loved the ending. Eric keeps me guessing and on the edge of my seat! ... Read more

Product Description

For millennia, two groups of immortals have roamed the earth in a spiritual chess game for human souls. Now they enter the time of Final Vengeance.

On one side are the Collectors--unholy, undead entities who feed on misery and blood. In opposition are the Nistarim--saints raised from their tombs during the Nazarene's resurrection, who work to protect mankind.

Natira, a powerful Collector infused with Judas's blood, is on the verge of finding the last of the Nistarim. To destroy them all in one master stroke, he must find the Nazarene's Crown of Thorns which is believed to be buried near Jerusalem.

But the Nistarim have a potent weapon of their own, a boy who carries immortal blood. He has been hiding and waiting until now, when both sides collide in a battle of biblical proportions at Israel's historic Valley of Bones.

The Jerusalem's Undead Trilogy takes readers on a riveting journey, as imaginative fiction melds with biblical and archaeological history.

Customer Reviews (21)

The best yet!
The best in the Trilogy!!! Each one just got better. This could be because of the attachment to the characters and getting to know them better, or because of Eric's growth and development as an author! I have read all his novels and can't wait to see what he has in store for us next!

I love the symbolism in the Undead Trilogy. The use of the vampire image, since it is so popular now, was a great idea! But weaving the blood of our Savior and the blood of Judas into the story was so imaginative! This trilogy would work well for a christian reading group to discuss!

Thanks Eric Wilson!!

TheLast Chapter to a Unique Trilogy
A series about a young girl, a romance, a battle, werewolves,and vampires--haven't we already seen this before?

No. You haven't seen anything like this for far too long.

The vampire lore has been used over and over. And thanks to the recent Twilight infatuation, they have been overused and milked dry of anything new or creative. We see the same demonic creatures drain the helpless victim try in too many different stories to count, we see people love to hate these batty ''badguys''(or just plain love 'em), and we have fallen into a sort of love/hate relationship with the fictional freaks.

For most story-lovers, we've come to groan at seeing ANOTHER monotonous, stereotypical series about vampires. There's no longer an originality, no creativity, nothing new.

So, what's in this series that should earn our interest?

Imagination. Eric Wilson doesn't settle with changing around the vampire lore just a little bit to fit his needs--he re''vamps'' the entire myth, molding it around biblical truths. Taking historical fact, biblical elements and fiction, and grounding them together to make one, invigorating series, Wilson adds new life to the myths we've heard of ever since Bram Stoker put pen to paper to create Dracula and flesh out the foggy haze of the vampire lore. Wilson breaks Stoker's rules, but not without adding his own, submersed in his own fantastic story-making.

In the spirit of Richard Matheson's I Am Legend, Wilson takes the myths into his own hands, fashioning horror creatures out of the death of Judas Iscariot and other biblical elements.

The premise starts off in Field of Blood, hits its peak in Haunt of Jackals, and gradually sinks in by Valley of Bones, no longer amazing the reader, but still impressing him/her.

The dialogue for Valley of Bones, like it's predecessors, is snappy, clever and lifelike. The characters (especially Gina) seem to be so real at times, you almost want them to be real. The interaction and the drama of the story has the potential for tears, and certainly some subtle smiles along the way.

However, I found some of it to be cheesy in this one. Particularly the conversations of living as Those Who Resist, and the interactions found within those parts of the book. They tend to get a bit too preachy, in contrast to his subtle allegories in Field of Blood and Haunt of Jackals. The pace can be a bit slow at times, for character development that does seem to drag slightly. (I've found that to be present in all of his novels that I've read.)

All in all, I certainly recommend this book, and I couldn't recommend this series any stronger. If you want fascinating characters, interesting allegories, fantastic stortytelling,
look no further then the Jerusalem's Undead Trilogy.

J. R. N.

Awesome Series!!
There are some books that the author puts to much research into and the book drags along so slowly.There are also books that you can tell the author didnt do enough research and there are mistakes.Then there are books like this where the author does his research and is able to put it in the story where it flows and brings everything to light.Eric Wilson just keeps getting better with each book and brings the Jerusalems Undead series to a close with this the third book in the series.

The vampire story has been told numerous times especially in the last few years. But Eric Wilson brings a refreshing breath to the genre and to the struggle of good and evil.Gina Lazerescu prepares for the final showdown with the Akaldema cluster.She also finds out that her son is still alive and tries to rebuild her marriage with her husband Jed. I love the way the author mixes all of the research both the historical and the theological.

Eric Wilson also works in characters from his previous books and gives little nods to their stories.You dont need to have read them to enjoy this series but it does make the read more enjoyable.Im sad to see this story end and will miss the characters as I have grown really close to some of them.

A Fitting Conclusion
Eric Wilson holds nothing back in the heart-wrenching finale of his Jerusalem's Undead trilogy, as Gina Lazarescu and the rest of Those Who Resist continue in their struggle against the vampiric Collectors of the Akeldama Cluster.

Ever since news of this trilogy reached my ears in 2007, I have eagerly awaited Wilson's take on the vampire legend. Wilson was catapulted to the top of my favorite authors list as soon as I set down his first book, Dark to Mortal Eyes--my first foray into the works of Eric Wilson. And although I have never been a big vampire fan (especially not in this Twilight-saturated culture), I knew that Wilson would turn this new series into something special. Needless to say, when I received an advanced copy of the first book, Field of Blood, in 2008, I was captivated. And now, at last, the journey ends in this stunning conclusion, Valley of Bones.

I won't really say much about the plot, here, as Wilson does that far better in the novels themselves, and if you're reading this review, you need to go out and read this trilogy, anyway. Don't let the whole vampire thing scare you away, because that isn't the point of this series. Instead, Wilson uses it as a catalyst to explore deep issues of faith in a refreshing new way. In fact, I would say this is the most eye-opening, faith-reviving series I've read since Dekker's Martyr's Song or Blessed Child novels.

The author put a phenomenal amount of research and imagination into this series, and the connections he makes between these stories and his other novels are absolutely mind-blowing; and yet, he makes them in such a way that it isn't necessary to read the older books to understand this series. Instead, it acts as the icing on the cake, the "easter eggs" to his fans, the little--and sometimes big--details that make his books so much fun to read. But for those who have read his previous works, Valley of Bones acts as the finale for them all, bringing back old characters and drawing their storylines to a fitting conclusion, and I think that is one of my favorite parts about this book.

I will admit that it takes a little while to really "get into" these books. The storyline doesn't always go in chronological order, jumps around between the good and bad characters, and at first glance just seems so bizarre...but when you grasp what is really going on, you won't be able to put these down. The characters seem fully alive (even the undead ones...ha), the story is epic in scale, and the concept is just so darn cool--and cleverly written, to boot.

I really encourage you to give these books a try. If they're not your cup of tea, then try his other novels (2 supernatural suspense books, 2 general mystery books--all 4 excellent and very well written). Eric Wilson is an enormously talented storyteller, and it pains me to see that he doesn't have more readers. He certainly deserves them.

Sad to see this series end!
What a great Trilogy. I was so happy for the characters at the end but so sad for the story to be over. If you have not read the first three books, do not start here. This Triology flows from its pages and into your bones. It is hard to find Christian Thrillers and this is one of the best. ... Read more

Product Description

Judas hung himself in a place known as the Akeldama or Field of Blood.

But what if his death didn't end his betrayal?

What if his tainted blood seeped deep into the earth, into burial caves, causing a counterfeit resurrection of the dead?

Gina Lazarescu, a Romanian girl with a scarred past, has no idea she is being sought by the undead.

The Collectors, those released from the Akeldama, feed on souls and human blood. But there are also the Nistarim, those who rose from their graves in the shadow of the Nazarene's crucifixion--and they still walk among us, immortal, left to protect mankind.

Gina realizes her future will depend on her understanding of the past, yet how can she protect herself from Collectors who have already died once but still live?

The Jerusalem's Undead Trilogy takes readers on a riveting journey, as imaginative fiction melds with biblical and archaeological history.

Customer Reviews (71)

Face Your Personal Vampires...
I just finished this book.

At one point, completely engorged in these God-breathed words, I noticed I was craning the book away from my face as if it were something that could physically reach back to me. The climax was riveting. As I joined the heroine to face the confrontation with her enemy, I was drawn in as Wilson explained her need for forgiveness and found common ground with my own struggles.

Not far from the end, I paused for a break to consider the implications. I put this book down on my foreleg and I wept for us. I wept for all of the people that do not believe and for those of us that do who wrestle with our own vampires. I wept for those I left behind when choosing a life of following my savior. I wept for my small children who's stories have yet to be written and I couldn't help but wonder what flaw in their hearts they would be forced to wrestle with. Without real prayer, I took a moment to acknowledge Him. I gathered myself to finish.

We may not know it, but we need stories like these--parables that speak truth when truth is hard to swallow any other way. Any disparaging comments that tear at this story, no matter the credentials of the administrator, are either the ramblings of someone who has not truly ever dealt with his or her vampires or a Christian fortunate enough to have been redeemed early enough in his walk that he can not relate.

In this story Eric Wilson has created something beautiful and timeless. Although relatively unknown, my prayer is that this and its successive novels find their places alongside C.S. Lewis and Tolkein as historical treasures to be read over and over.

Eric Wilson has done it again!
This book was very entertaining. Historically and biblically accurate, with vampire lore mixed in, Wilson takes the reader to Akeldama (Aramaic for field of blood) where some construction work is about to begin. This site also happens to be where Judas Iscariot, Jesus' disciple, reportedly took his own life, after betraying Jesus. It is also where the "souls" of the demons called Legion, are laying in wait for new hosts to invade.

The "souls" invade and excitement and horror ensue. I'm very much excited to read book two, and have passed this book on to perhaps the biggest vampire critics I know, my teenage daughters.

Field of Blood
Field of Blood is the first installment of Eric Wilson's epic Jerusalem's Undead trilogy, and it is by itself, at once brilliant and addicting. Each page "sinks it's teeth" deeper into the mind of the reader and leaves us breathless and thirsting passionately for more. Wilson takes the worn out vampire theme and makes it feel new, relevant and, quite amazingly, believable. With Field of Blood, he masterfully takes on the task of introducing us to an entire alternate version of our world, that is so well-researched and detailed that it leaves one wondering really how far from reality the story actually is. Eric Wilson's passion for the redeeming Blood of Christ, oozes from between the words and is integrated so well into the story, making it extremely potent. Christians and non-Christians alike should greatly admire the passion and hard work that Mr. Wilson has obviously invested into this powerfully written story.

Who thinks up this stuff?
This book was incredibly creative. My imagination was taken for a ride and I enjoyed it!

Field of Blood
Vampires and demons combined in a host of evil. This book is not for the faint of heart. If you like Ted Dekker's darkness, Frank Peretti's depth of character, and John Olson's penchant for symbolism, this is the book for you. I was enthralled by this tale, and horrified as well. Seriously, this deals with mature themes, so be warned! But it is a Christian novel to the core. Deep and terrifying, it shows the muck we humans live in, the sin that entangles us. No holds barred.

I won't try to sum up this one's plot--I'll just make a jumble of it. Let's leave it at this: Gina is raised by a fanatically religious mother whose beliefs are more than a bit skewed from the truth. A mark appears on Gina's forehead on her twelfth birthday, drawing the attention of both the good and evil supernatural beings around her. (The evil ones being the vampire/demons of course.) She does find help in a mysterious man, but it doesn't save her from the hardest loss she could ever suffer. ... Read more

Product Description
“Spare your soul,” he ranted, “and turn your eyes from greed.…”

The tattoos on his arms still reading “Live by the Sword” and “Die by the Sword,” Aramis Black is ready for a fresh start. Determined to set aside his violent tendencies, he opens an espresso shop in Nashville and begins to put his childhood memories behind him. The past isn’t finished with him, though. One ordinary day at the shop, a man is shot before his eyes, speaking dying words to Aramis that are all too familiar.

Aramis realizes that his path to freedom will demand forgiveness–forgiveness from God and forgiveness of others. Along the way, he must uncover the conspiracy behind a centuries-old mystery and the shocking truth of his mother’s death. The question remains: Will Aramis be able to conquer his past, or will evil get the best of him?
... Read more

Customer Reviews (40)

Perhaps the Best of Class
Ever try reading a book at an airport and then later on a plane?My average reading speed is usually about a page an hour in those situations.The distractions of people-watching, shuddering jets and people climbing over me to reach the restroom usually pry me away from the written word, causing me to spend half my reading time searching for the sentence that was half digested when my attention was diverted.I encountered no such problem with The Best of Evil. My eyes were riveted to the pages both on the way to my destination and on the way back on flights that seemed to end too soon. I arrived home at 5:30 AM after almost an all night journey. Before succumbing to sleep, I was compelled to return to this book to find out how this story ended. Like performing a successful gymnastic routine, "sticking the landing" is imperative for an author to receive high marks. Eric Wilson finale was flawless, leading me to the conclusion that this is one of the best books I've encountered in Christian fiction, perhaps even Best of Class.

Authors are often advised not to write in first person since the challenges are many. Wilson took on those challenges and ascended the slippery slope nicely. I really like first person POV (point of view) novels and think they offer readers an intimate look into a person's life.That technique in this story allows us to get to know Aramis Black very well. He certainly is no choirboy, Eagle Scout type, but despite his rough edges, he is a character who attaches himself to a reader's heart. A debate sometimes rages about whether a plot driven novel is better than a character driven one. Either can be good, so doesn't it stand to reason that a combination of those two would present the best of both worlds? This story has combined those paradigms seamlessly.

I was once told by an acquaintance that she knew a person who could speak twelve languages but couldn't say a thing of worth in any of them. I think some writers are like that. Their mechanics and manipulation of language is superb, but the value of the message they convey is of dubious worth. Like cotton candy, their prose possesses beauty but, in reality, contains no substance. In my opinion, Eric Wilson could never accurately be accused of producing cotton candy fiction. His penchant toward Proverbs type down-home philosophy and wisdom is never far from display. His insight into life and people is very evident. His style occasionally wanders from straight forward and concise to eloquent. His humor is low-key but very effective when employed. The salient nuggets of wisdom pass the fools-gold test.

I share this passage from The Best of Evil to give you an idea of the depth of Wilson's writing:

She gave a cautious laugh - that of a bereaved mother trying to wear a strong face for her little ones. Some who lose loved ones never rediscover that spring of genuine mirth, while others lay their stories of grief in the water's path, creating richer sounds of bubbling, gurgling life.
I believe the spring's out there, a source of heavenly strength.
Each day, in my own fumbling way, I look for it. And I listen.

I'd venture to say that Eric Wilson's The Best of Evil is a book that has plenty to say to you - if you're prepared to listen.
Donald James Parker
Author of All the Voices of the Wind

Great read!
So much to like about this book. The plot is tightly constructed and the pacing is great. The setting is terrific too--a coffee shop for a murder? Why not!

Mr. Wilson clearly picked locales that he is familiar with (Nashville, Tennessee and Portland, Oregon) which works to give the book an authentic feel. I also enjoyed the dash of American history stitched into the plot.

What I liked best, though, were the characters. Aramis Black, his family and coworkers really drive the story. They are fully flushed out and seemingly real--rivaling the best works of Stephen King. The true mark of a good writer, IMO.

I look forward to reading more from Mr. Wilson!

Get the coffee ready---you're not sleeping til you've finished this book!
I am so excited to "discover" Eric Wilson.This book has a deep meaning (don't let evil get the best of you, you get the best of evil) but the action is so fast moving that it's almost too exciting to think about what the story really is all about.The characters are so real but the story line keeps you guessing til the very end. Best of Evil is the first in the Aramis Black stories; Shred of Truth is the second and every bit as thrilling as the first.Can't wait to read all of Eric Wilson's Undead Trilogy also. If you like Ted Dekker, you'll absolutely love Eric Wilson.

Eric Wilson's Mission
I had the pleasure of meeting Eric Wilson at the 2008 Southern Festival of Books -- a serendipitous event!I think we saw in each other a basic goodness and honesty that made us mutually interested in looking a little more deeply into each others souls -- through our novels.

We traded books, and as he read mine and uncovered my mysteries of plot, character, and personal demons, I did the same with his, and here are my reactions.

I think Eric Wilson is on a mission to make the world a better place through his books, as I am.In Eric's case, he creates a world in which the main character is both flawed and likeable, and altogether redeemable, in which the supportive cast is deftly drawn (my favorite being Mrs. Michaels, mother of a murdered son, a sloppy-heavy woman with too much eye makeup and who makes the best biscuits this side of Tennessee, and who keeps on trucking no matter how much pain life throws at her).His world is also one of intrigue, a historical slant worthy of any good southern scholar, and plenty of good old-fashioned fist fights, gun-toting bad guys, nice girls gone bad, and a mystery that twirls and twists in so many ways the reader has to tap dance to keep up.

My favorites parts were:the story line of a beloved son, a bonding of brother to brother, and a reconciliation with a father who never knew how to love.The book will linger long in my mind -- Eric Wilson is a true talent.

tricky title
I was almost put off by the title of this book (The Best of Evil, Eric Wilson) but decided to give it a try anyway.It was an enjoyable read.

Aramis Black moved to Nashville to start a new life, far away from the drug culture and the radical group with which he was involved in the northwest.Now he's living with his brother Johnny Ray Black, an aspiring musician and health food afficionado.

Aramis is operating a espresso shop, named Black's, in honor of his mother, Dianne Lewis Black.When he was six years old, she was murdered in front of him and even now, twenty years later, she is never far from his thoughts.He blames his uncle Wyatt for not preventing the tragedy.

When a man is murdered in Aramis' shop, things start to happen, odd things.His mother's handkerchief, entrusted to him just before her murder but then stolen, turns up briefly and disappears again.Clues start hinting at a relationship between Aramis and the famed explorer Meriwether Lewis. Suddenly a reality TV show crew shows up with an invitation to try out for their new show, The Best of Evil, in which someone is given the opportunity to "get the best of evil" by repaying another with good instead.

Aramis summarizes his constant struggle with this:"Evil, I believe, is a choice.We embrace or reject it.It comes at us in insidious guises, and we make decisions that push it back or let it edge closer.It never tires and never sleeps; it's there every day--crouching on our doorsteps, hoping for a cozy place to shack up.After a while, it seems easier to give in.Just a little."

Like each of us, Aramis faces daily choices to embrace or reject evil.Each seemingly small decision moves his life along the path to clarifying his past and directing his future.


... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (31)

against kitsch, not happiness
If this is how Eric Wilson sees the world around him, perhaps he should turn off the T.V. and move out of the suburbs.Wilson validates his thin premise with a very narrow definition of happiness (shallow, narcissistic, avoiding sadness) and applies it to anything that is remotely connected to positive psychology.Wilson's critique is really on kitsch, artificial artifice.If he took the definition used by the researchers themselves, he'd have no book.In fact, his definition of melancholy is curiously similar to Gretchen Rubin's (The Happiness Project) definition of the pursuit of happiness.Wilson defines melancholy as, "a perpetual longing to create new ways of being and seeing."Rubin says, "being happier requires you to think about feeling good, feeling bad, and feeling right, in an atmosphere of growth."

I was looking for an accurate, even-handed rebuttal to the empirical studies behind positive psychology.This is not it.Anybody can dismiss hype that is not grounded in science.All in all, a very disappointing read.

An extended essay
My book group selected this and in spite of it being a slim volume, only a couple of people finished it.
He has a point, a good one, but it doesn't take a book to make that point. This feels like padded out lecture notes.
I would have enjoyed it more in a collection of essays.

Depression is in the eyes of the beholder (and happiness is non-partisan).
This is an excellent book - and it was probably rather brave of the author to have it published, considering the character of some of the much-too-happy people I know (they can become rather vitriolic--although still happy with themselves--when people try to tell them that being happy all the time isn't good for them or for society as a whole).I must say, however, that it would have been a good deal better without the comments that seemed to indicate the author believes most (or at least a majority of) overly-happy people are seemingly evil, self-satisfied, capitalist, war-mongering Republicans (for an example, see page 29).I honestly cannot think of many conservatives (that is, out of all the conservatives I know personally) who view the world in an abnormally light-hearted manner--yet almost all liberal democrats I know are insufferably "happy-go-lucky" all the time, and many (perhaps most of them) are on medication to further that personality-deadening attitude.Regardless, I'm sure that there are enough perfect examples of happy-happy-happy individuals on both sides of the U.S. political divide to justify a non-partisan approach to this topic.Especially considering the state of the economy and the number of psychologists who are willing to accommodate patients with medication to ease the pain of crisis-induced melancholy. (You don't have to be an evil capitalist to worry about the results of large-scale and long-term monetary loss.) Still, the book was well worth the read for anyone with enough spine to consider a life of anything less than never-ending bliss.

plodding thru muck
I thought I could read this book in a day, three weeks later I returned it to the library. Every dozen or so pages, maybe, Eric G. Wilson has something interesting to say, but I couldnt even get halfway thru, just too monotonous and boring. Eric Wilson with his prolix soliloquy just trivialized what I consider an important subject matter.

An ode to the power of negative thinking
In this candid and unconventional book, English professor and humanist Eric G. Wilson positions himself as melancholy's champion. He does everything but wave gloomy pom-poms as he extols its role in creativity and invention. As counterintuitive and loopy as his view may seem, Wilson makes a strong, lucid case for feeling glum. Indeed, reading Wilson's book may inspire you trade in your grin for a wholehearted frown. If you seek a change from the deluge of cheery self-help tomes, or if you want to expand your outlook, then step out of the sunshine and into the shadows with this iconoclastic book. Although Wilson sometimes rambles or digresses in making his argument, getAbstract finds that his book thoughtfully affirms the power of negative thinking. ... Read more

Product Description
In The Best of Evil, Aramis Black uncovered family secrets and historical conspiracies, hoping that his own dark past had come to certain resolution. But now, in the dark of night, he finds his brother unconscious and tied to a statue in Nashville’s Music Row …with the initials AX carved into his back.

A shadow from his former life has reappeared, casting threats of violence and retribution. And soon the attacker is swinging his blade of self-righteous judgment directly at Aramis, calling upon him to “face his sins.” Can Aramis finally break free from the guilt of his old ways… or will he succumb to the vengeance of an arrogant sociopath? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

History, mystery and action!
I love the way Eric writes. I could easily see this as a movie. What a great concept and deep characters. What's Eric going to come up with next?

A Shred of Truth
After reading the first in the series, "Best of Evil," I had high expectations for this most recent installment in the saga of Aramis Black. I was very pleased to find the edgy, immersive tempo was not at all diluted, yet as with the series' introduction, the world of Aramis Black stands in stark contrast to most fiction in that the world it presents is difficult to distinguish from our own.

I hesitate to ever visit Nashville for fear of it not living up to the glamor of the ever noir perspective of Aramis--or worse; to discover no espresso shop on Elliston Place.

Many authors toil in attempts to suspend belief, but somehow Eric Wilson has managed to do the opposite and create belief due to immensely compelling character development with interaction that is very true-to-life. Many suspense tales pass their peak with weak or forced plot devices which weakly flutter toward the climax, and I confess I was fearful that may have been the case--that Eric Wilson had out-done himself--and anticipated a dismal and disappointing ending. But I was wrong. Few authors are able to dupe me, but I would be remiss to say I saw the ending coming. The plot is truly a masterful crescendo of twists and turns.

Very seldom am I captivated by the simple if gripping telling of a mundane story as I am an action movie buff, and honestly I am often annoyed by first-person mystery yarns, but the raw and gritty vitality of this tale extends beyond the reader's imagination into the daily perception of truth itself. Or at least a shred of it.

Eric continues to keep us hooked!
With so many novels flooding the market on a weekly basis, it's hard to decide where to spend your money. Fortunately, you can't go wrong with anything Eric Wilson writes. Aramis Black, the tattooed hero from "The Best of Evil" is back and tougher than ever in "A Shred of Truth".

This novel really grabbed me from the opening because of the violent attack on one of my favorite characters from the first book. I don't want to give anything away, but let me say this sets the tone for the story. No one in Black's life is safe, and the enemy he faces this time has no mercy. The suspense is ratcheted up several notches and you can really see how Wilson has grown as a writer with each novel.

Easily placing as one of my top ten favorite thrillers of the year, "A Shred of Truth" is a great story that will keep you pulled in until the last page.

Struggle of good and evil
Aramis Black returns in this gripping new installment from Eric Wilson. Aramis, owner of Black's Espresso Shop in downtown Nashville, finds himself once again neck deep in a mystery that is tied to his family's dark past. Wilson wastes no time in getting started, as Aramis finds his brother, Johnny Ray, unconscious and strung up on a statue in Music Row. The letters "AX" have been crudely carved into his back. As Aramis hunts for Johnny Ray's attacker, he soon learns he is dealing with a madman that is orchestrating a deadly game. Aramis must play the game in order to protect his loved ones and unlock a vital family secret. As Aramis searches for the truth he must battle with his own dark past that is full of vengeance and rage.

We first met Aramis Black in The Best of Evil, where Wilson turned a coffee shop owner into a rich and engaging character that readers can't help but love. In A Shred of Truth, Wilson takes us deeper into Aramis' life, and what a ride it is. All of the great elements of storytelling are here: engaging dialogue, perfectly executed plot development, fascinating characters, not to mention a classic "whodunit" element that will keep reader's guessing until the end. Wilson also does a superb job of bringing the city of Nashville to life, making it familiar to readers who have never been there. This is Eric Wilson at the top of his game.

Eric Wilson continues to churn out quality fiction that effectively explores man's struggle between light and the darkness that threatens to consume. From his Five Senses novels to the Aramis Black series, Wilson continues to excel at his craft. Recently he has signed on with Thomas Nelson, who will be publishing his highly anticipated Jerusalem's Undead Trilogy due out in fall 2008. Wilson's next project is the novelization of the film, Facing the Giants, which will be available in September.

Armchair Interviews says: Dust off your bookshelf and make some room for one of the best up and coming writing talents out there.

BELIEVABLE!
I was fortunate to come upon an Eric Wilson book on vacation and was doubly fortunate finding it to be his first! I have been hooked on his writing since then and A SHRED OF TRUTH shows that he can keep it coming.

His characters become old friends and one wants to read more about them; they are also fallible but hold on to beliefs through the trials they must walk to get to the truth.

Even his sociopath is believely evil.And, Eric Wilson always has clues added to his stories to spice it up even more!

I work in a library and am always on the look out for 'new good' talent and Wilson is a consistant author. An author of whom you want his next book, next series, next and next and next.Keep writing Eric! ~ Paula Shene, author of Mandy The Alpha Dog: The Chronicles of the K-9 Boys and Girls on Locus Street ... Read more

Product Description
In his best-selling book Against Happiness: In Praise of Melancholy, Eric G. Wilson challenged our culture' s blindly insistent pursuit of happiness at all costs. In his harrowing yet ultimately hopeful memoir, The Mercy of Eternity, the author turns an unsparing eye on his own continuing struggle with bipolar depression and finds, within the very illness that causes so much suffering, the resources for hope, forgiveness, and love.

Although it is Wilson s illness that brings the featured virtues into sharper relief, The Mercy of Eternity charts challenges that any reflective person must consider in his or her lifetime. As a bright student-athlete on his way to West Point, Wilson seemed to be well on the way to a fulfilling life. Yet from his teen years he was haunted by overwhelming feelings of his deep insignificance. As he grew older, the traditional means of fulfillment marriage and professional success did nothing to assuage the descents into darkness and destructive behavior.

As a scholar of literature, Wilson often encounters the biggest question of life: Is this suffering meaningful? From the Book of Job to Oedipus Rex to Hamlet to the poetry of Emily Dickinson and beyond, writers have wrestled with a similar question. For most of his life, Wilson has tried to eradicate the either real or imagined sources of suffering. Therapy and medication have offered some relief, but the birth of his daughter ultimately forces his hand. In some ways, the answer has been in front of him the whole time, for Wilson finds in the literature of Coleridge, Blake, and others the lessons that depression might teach. When he comes upon negative theology the school of thought that finds God in the dark night of the soul Wilson discovers the framework for a radical call to forgive depression. Only by forgiving this capricious, impersonal force is Wilson able to find the grace to move beyond the cycles of destructive self-absorption.

In a refreshingly honest coda, Wilson explains his title, based on this passage from Blake: Time is the mercy of eternity . . . without Time's swiftness, which is the swiftest of all things, all were eternal torment. Wilson admits that he continues to struggle, but in facing his depression instead of trying to escape it, he finds wisdom and grace. Beautifully and accessibly written, The Mercy of Eternity is a brief yet profound meditation on the largest question of life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Out of the classroom and into the life
Thanks to a gifted university scholar for having the courage and the resourcefulness to apply what he learns from reading great books to helping us through some of life's great valleys.
EHW. ... Read more

Product Description
When Jesus was resurrected, ancient scripture says many rose from the grave. Today, 36 from this group of undead remain. Known as the Nistarim, they are here to watch over the world.

When Judas hung himself, his blood mysteriously gave rise to another group of undead: the unholy Collectors. Now very much alive, they feed on souls and human blood.

Both groups of immortals still walk among us in an eternal struggle. Now both are after a single target--a boy named Pavel who may possess the key to the Collectors' unlimited power...or ultimate downfall.

Gina, a woman fleeing for her own life, is determined to protect the boy at all costs. She has survived one battle with the undead already, but has no idea how long she'll be able to stay a step ahead of them.

The Jerusalem's Undead Trilogy takes readers on a riveting journey, as imaginative fiction melds with biblical and archaeological history.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (35)

Haunt of Jackals
Haunt of Jackals, the second installment of Eric Wilson's Jerusalem's Undead trilogy, picks up where Filed of Blood left off, with twice the intensity and brilliance. I was already sold after reading Field of Blood, but Haunt of Jackals, from page one all the way through, simply blew. Me. Away. In Haunt, Wilson reveals plenty more twist and turns that I did not see coming and the story continues to unfold at breakneck pace, getting more and more ridiculous and haunting. I'm scared to even give a brief synopsis, at risk of taking away from the reader's experience. I'll just say that it leaves Field of Blood in its dust. If you loved Field of Blood, like I did, or for some reason just thought it was okay, Haunt of Jackals will for sure leave you in astonishment and in even deeper anticipation for the epic conclusion.

Strong Middle Chapter
Haunt of Jackals is the middle chapter in the Jerusalem's Undead trilogy. It picks up right where Field of Blood left off and pounds forward to a cliffhanger ending. We follow Gina Lazarescu, Cal Nichols and the rest of the surviving cast from the first Jerusalem's Undead book as they continue their epic struggle against the Akeldama Collectors, demonic vampires released from the Field of Blood where Judas killed himself. Adding menace, the Collectors from the first book are joined by an uber-Collector named Natira who takes over leadership of their "cluster."

As in the other books of this trilogy, Wilson sprinkles the story with powerful images that will give readers plenty to think about. He has a knack for symbolism and allegory that lends spiritual depth and resonance to his stories. The research is also strong--readers will be able to tell that Wilson knows the locations and subjects he's writing about. The pacing is good too, though the story sometimes feels like one long action sequence with no real beginning or end. However, that's a minor problem and one that may be unavoidable since this is the middle book of an integrated trilogy. Overall, this is a strong book that won't disappoint fans of Field of Blood.

A note on reading this book: If you haven't already read Field of Blood already, you should. Haunt of Jackals isn't so much the second book in a series as the second third of a larger story. It has a helpful introduction that summarizes the plot to date, but it really isn't a stand alone novel.

My New Favorite Author (don't tell the others)
I waited - it's a trilogy- so I waited until they were all out before beginning the series. I absolutley got sucked into the plot in minutes. Dishes piled up, the laundry sat, kids? what kids? I couldn't put this book down. The characters depicted were real people, in the sense that I could relate to their struggles. All the hurt we carry around like a physical presence- our pain and unforgiveness that we feel so helpless to win against and the evil in this world that is out to manipulate our humanity to destroy us-it is all in there- with the message of hope that we are not alone. The Nazarene made a way out, and the unfallen are fighting on our side. The plot thickens as I reach for book 3 only to have my hopes dashed because the stupid "free shipping" is taking too long!!!

Even better!
I loved the first of this series; however, this was even more of a thrill ride since the action never stopped! This is possibly my favorite of Erics books... Hard to say, but probably his best to date. I can't wait till August or whenever the next one comes out!

love it!
There are quite a few long reviews on this book, so I will keep mine short and sweet. If you love Christian fiction with a few "Vampires" you will love this book!I pre-ordered the 3rd in the trilogy and am excited to recieve it. This book is scary, entertaining and makes you think! There is a great web-site attatched to these thrillers. Must read! ... Read more

Product Description
What You Can’t See Can Hurt You.

Returning to the hometown of her birth parents, rebellious 23-year-old Josee Walker seeks answers to long-held questions about her childhood. Her biological father, wealthy vintner Marsh Addison, wants nothing to do with her. But a determined Kara Addison sets out to meet the child she gave up years before, despite Marsh’s passionate opposition.

Five Days of Hell for a Glimpse of Heaven

When Kara disappears and her car is discovered at the bottom of a ravine, however, Marsh becomes the prime suspect. Suddenly, Marsh and Josee are forced to unite in their search for Kara–and for the truth. But there’s more to their family’s past than meets the eye. What could the mysterious canister that Josee found in the woods contain? What does it have to do with her mother’s disappearance? When an ancient evil rouses, each member of the Addison family becomes enmeshed in a terrifying supernatural battle–one with global consequences. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (31)

Great story, supernatural distracting
I keep going back between a three and four star rating.I very much liked the overall story and chess match construct that framed the action and characters involvement in the plot.The characters were believable and the faith dialog weaved very well into the story.

However, I found the supernatural elements unnecessary and a bit forced.The story could have excluded the snakes and apparitions entirely.I actually found myself getting confused by these elements and wondering why they were included - there was enough action, motive and plot without them.Dropping these elements while keeping everything else the same would have resulted in a more compact, engaging story.

Deep and Intellectual
There is a battle of monumental proportions raging just beyond the skin of this world. Inevitably, this battle seeps into what we can see in this physical realm and confronts us, confounds us, and disturbs us. While we must deal with the consequences of this supernatural battle, the reasons, nature, and occasionally the existence of this battle remain dark to mortal eyes. Earth's tension between heaven and hell. Marsh Addison is discovering what exactly that means.

Dark to Mortal Eyes is a plot-twisting, page-turning, intense thriller that could be or could not be labeled Christian fiction. The themes of spiritual warfare, redemption, the power of prayer, grace, forgiveness, and sin are play a large part of this book. But Wilson manages to avoid some of the blatant preachiness that seems to define what is called "Christian fiction". And I think that's a good thing. This is not to say that "preachy" fiction with blatant Christianity are bad, but I think Wilson intended his debut novel to appeal to a much wider audience, and thus let the reader choose whether or not to treat the story as one of natural or supernatural warfare.

Wilson's use of metaphor and imagery to capture the spiritual themes force the reader to think...something which is evidently frowned upon in most of today's "Christian" circles. Perhaps we would do well to remember that Christ himself spoke in metaphor and imagery,

What a first novel
You'd never know that this was Eric Wilson's first novel.This read like something written by a pro.

A lot of writer's are afraid to tackle the spiritual side of life.But Eric's not.In Dark to Mortal Eyes he does an amazing job showing how real, how powerful, and how deceptive the enemy is.And how one simple name can be so much more powerful.The name of Jesus.

He does an awesome job at showing how it is in real life.Evil doesn't always just storm down upon us (although at times it seems that way), just like Trudi it's patient, calculated, and is tailored to what will hit us the hardest.And sometimes the answer isn't always what we expect or want it to be.

Eric Wilson did a marvelous job with his first novel and I would recommend it to anyone who would ask me.GREAT JOB ERIC!

It's a roller coaster, not a train.
As an avid roller coaster rider, I know there are some things that are inevitable.If the ride is a good one, then I must wait in line.I must endure the loading process and safety procedures.The beginning of the ride is usually very slow and horizontal.The cars must make the slow ascent to the top of the first peak.That's when the fun begins.So it is with Dark to Mortal Eyes.

I also waded through the plot development.Complex plots and subplots are difficult to develop.I sometimes enjoy reading novels with simple plots.But those are trains and I really like roller coasters.

I was also a little confused with the blurred lines between the "reality" and the "spiritual" (By the way, isn't real life just that way?)

I also had some technical difficulties but I will not discuss them here.Maybe the next time I see Eric, I will ask him some questions that are a bit more specific and pertinent.I may even reread the whole book for clarification before I continue with Expiration Date.

But once I got past all that, I was not disappointed with the ride/read.The twists and turns have serious G-force; the free-falls are breathless; and the revelations are mind-boggling.I may even reread the whole book just for fun.Hey, I ride the same roller coaster more than once.

Keep up the good work Eric.See you at the next peak!

Peretti for the next generation
In "Dark To Mortal Eyes," Eric Wilson shows us how the spirit realm can collide with the physical realm.He tells the story of Josee, a 22-year-old adopted "misfit" who is getting ready to meet her birth mother, Kara.Kara's husband, Marshall, wants nothing to do with his(?) daughter.However, the reunion is spoiled when Kara is abducted by someone who wants something only Marshall and Josee have, something that has to do with a secret Nazi shipment that was received in the US right after WWII.Encountering both human and spiritual foes, Marshall and Josee try to find Kara and her abductors before it is too late.

Wilson tells a good tale.His evil spirits appear as snakes - big, green and extremely dangerous.In his intro to the book, he likens his story to a parable or metaphor, and he did a good job of that without being too obvious or predictable.The struggles and temptations of the characters, from food to sex, were portrayed very realistically.I did find the plot a bit far-fetched, but it was told in such a great way I didn't mind being taken along for the ride. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Quest for the Poles as Romance and Imagination
For humanity the Earth's Poles have been mythological in both concept and fact. Our obsession with them has been discussed in several outstanding books that explore the place of the Arctic and Antarctica in the human imagination. An excellent place to start any investigation of this issue is Eric G. Wilson's "The Spiritual History of Ice: Romanticism, Science, and the Imagination." Wilson asserts that near the end of the eighteenth century scientists, writers, mystics, and others combined to reinterpret ice, glaciers, and cold places as something beyond a traditional wasteland, indeed, a place of romance and spirituality.

While much of this reinterpretation represented wishful or even wrongheaded thinking, the romantic imagination inspired by it energized Western Civilization's quest to explore it. Focused on the literary heritage of ice as mythical place, Wilson offers a convergence of crystallography, esoteric glaciology, group psychology, and polar exploration into a portrait of an age and its fascination with frozen phenomena. His principal characters are the many writers, poets, artists, and popularizers who created an aura about the ice of the Poles that prompted Western Civilization to engage in its exploration and subjugation. There is less in this book about Frederick Cook, Robert Peary, Ernest Shackleton, Roald Amundsen, and other explorers than there is about romantic writers who popularized the endeavor.

"The Spiritual History of Ice" represents an interesting approach, offering a literary turn in the analysis of polar exploration. Like many other such efforts at postmodern analysis, however, it is only partially successful. No doubt, Wilson is correct in laying the popularization of the Poles at the feet of the great communicators of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. But there is more at play here. Much of the exploration was motivated not by romance but by a hardheaded quest for economic gain. The search for the Northwest Passage, which actually did not exist but had long been hypothesized, prompted a lion's share of effort in the Arctic in the nineteenth century. All of the romanticization of Thoreau, Poe, Emerson, Shelley, or anyone else cannot overcome the basic fact that expeditions were pursued for a practical reason.

Still there is a real value to this work, showing especially the relationship between the act of exploration and the belief system that fostered it. "The Spiritual History of Ice" serves as a useful analysis of this relationship. ... Read more

Product Description

Never Give Up. Never Back Down. Never Lose Faith.

After six consecutive losing seasons, high school football coach Grant Taylor believes things can't get any worse. He's wrong. With fear and failure defeating him in football and in life, the downtrodden coach and husband turns to God in desperation. Trusting that God can somehow do the impossible, Coach Taylor and his Shiloh Christian Eagles soon discover how faith plays out on the field.

Customer Reviews (13)

Also for non-football fans
This book is great! A totally enjoyable read and I couldn't put it down. I loved Eric's development of the characters and all the little details which I'm sure weren't in the movie, though I didn't see it.

I must admit this book was on my shelf for a couple of months before I decided to read it. Although I was born in the U.S. I haven't lived there for over 30 years and forgot all the football rules and am not interested in football culture.

But I was looking for something to read and picked up Facing the Giants. It gripped me from the beginning. So I want to encourage any other non-football fans out there to give it a try. The plot and characters will pull you in and you may develop a new appreciation for high school football.

A Wonderful Story
My wife and I sat down after renting the video 'Facing The Giants' with no inkling of just how good this show would be. The Book is wonderful too! We started to watch it and quickly realized that these are excellent characters, and with a good story line. Some may think this Book/Film to be a little syrupy--but I say 'NO WAY!' This movie/book will melt the 'hardest of hearts' If you can read the entire Book or watch the film without shedding a tear, then you would have to be emotionally bankrupt. When the little field-goal kicker came onto the field to kick the field goal, his crippled father stood to his feet with his hands raised in the air. He was doing two things: Giving Glory to God and secondly inspiring his son showing him: 'you can do it!' Many of the characters in the story exemplify how America really should be. Great stuff!Reverend Kenneth GriffithsAuthor of ''Oh God Change This Scene!

The Director's Cut
Herein lies the rest of the story.

These days every successful movie is either preceded by or followed by a companion novel, but many novelizations fail to stand on their own. Poor or lazy writing, failure to understand the onscreen characters, failure to add something new to the original--these errors and others weaken the majority of movies-turned-books.FACING THE GIANTS suffers none of these troubles and stands to widen the movie's already sizeable audience.

Wilson's novelization of Stephen & Alex Kendrick's screenplay is as enjoyable, moving, and inspirational as the original film, and it provides an excellent way for fans to re-experience FACING THE GIANTS for the first time and for first-timers to finally jump on the bandwagon.What's more, the book version not only expands a few scenes and adds a few others, but allows the reader to see inside the heads of several key characters--something even the best actors can't perfectly convey.

Just as Dan Reeves said about the movie (see front cover), this story is one that every Christian, athlete or otherwise, should experience in one media form or another.

It is all about the motive.It is all about the heart.

Great combination; the DVD and the book
I received this book Saturday and read it all the way through today, after watching the movie again yesterday.I think the book and the movie make a great combination.I had seen the movie several times, and I think the book added some details that are not seen in the movie.While I was reading the book, I was able to visualize what took place in the movie.Eric Wilson did a wonderful job of putting the movie on paper.I will often return to the book, when I need encouragement, and probably later on watch the movie again.
I think it is important to understand the whole plot before jumping to conclusions.It's easy to think this is nothing more than a feel good Christian book/movie, but after a couple times, you start to get the message.I found myself actually identifying the emotions where I was hyped up at times (especially the game for the state title), but the extra details in the book really helped; for example when Larry Childers wheeled himself to the end zone and stood for his son when David was about to kick a field goal to win the state championship.From the book, I could see the encouragement a father provided for his son, and that gave David the encouragement to give it his best.I could say much more, but I was very happy to see this in print.

Facing The Giants
Coach Grant Taylor's life seemed to be running in reverse. As a high school football coach, Grant had yet to have a winning season after 6 years. Angry parents were pushing for him to leave.
On the home front, things weren't much better. The Taylors' attempts to start a family had failed. They had financial problems,their house was in constant need of repair, and their old car left them stranded more often than not. After an encouraging conversation with an older man who had been praying for the school and the students, Grant decided to give it all over to God. I won't spoil the story for you by revealing what happened after that, but believe me, things did begin to happen!
I am not a big sports fan so I didn't know how much I would like "Facing The Giants". I didn't see the movie until after I read the book. Wow was I ever surprised! I LOVED this book! I laughed, I cried.....it is so much more than a sports story. It amazed me to see what really is put into motion when an individual,then a whole football team,gives their best to God and trusts Him for the outcome.

... Read more

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Customer Reviews (59)

Well written, for kids.
I was expecting this to be a sequel to Fast Food Nation, but it reads a lot like a middle school report-- each paragraph begins with a topic sentence, has some supporting details, and a closing sentence.Many paragraphs begin in ways that would have been very clever in middle school--the very first paragraph has the reader imagine going to eat fast food.There are many "since the beginning of time..." statements-- like "The human craving for flavor has always been an important force in history." (p.110).Well, has it?Probably.But does the "rise and fall of corporate empires" REALLY compare to all of history?It's all pretty dramatic.

Having said that, I think this book is great for its intended audience.Schlosser and Wilson did a terrific job of relating all of the information to younger people--almost every topic is directly related to kids somehow.There are so many stories about kids...one girl campaigned to have soda removed from her elementary school; another boy has a gastric bypass; two girls grow up on a ranch; there's a whole section about kids taste-testing for companies; another story tells of a middle school that involves kids in gardening and cooking.Plus, stories that don't actually seem to be about kids are turned into stories about kids because they incorporate details about when the person was a kid, or how the neighborhood kids participated, or things are compared to other kid things.

The pictures and drawings included are all very good for this book; they bring concepts to life without being too disgusting.Also, many of the pictures include kids (or babies, or toys...), which you wouldn't usually expect from a book like this.

I highly recommend this book for kids that are about at grades 5-8.I think the book encourages kids to think about what they are eating, and it empowers kids by showing them other kids who have made a difference in their own communities.

Chew On This: Everything You NEED to Know About Fast Food
Finally! A book revealing to the public the horrors of our nation's ignorance and heartlessness, and what major corporations are becoming. Chew On This is a wonderfully writen book successfully made to inform the reader on the unnecessary and sinful processing our country partakes in. Chew On This helped to open our nation's eyes to the unsustainably harvesting and genetically modifying major processing companies support, and how they treat their workers while doing so. When it comes to a topic such as this, no news really is good news for our country. With major companies paying millions to hide the truth, the general public pays no attention to the horrific actions they are supporting. Chew On This allows its readers to take a stand against the companies that truly rule the food production, and to give the public the option of having the knowledge they deserve.

Great Book for Teens
I read Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation several years ago and loved it. It opened my eyes to specific problems in the fast food industry. Chew On This is the teenage version of that book, and I bought a class set to teach to 8th graders next month. It should be fun, and I think they'll like it, mainly because of the gross-out stuff.

My favorite part of the book is the history of the key players. Like the computer industry, I love reading about how these world-changing companies were started by some key personalities. Ray Kroc is the Steve Jobs of hamburgers.

Best parts: history of the industry, slaughterhouse descriptions, advertising campaigns

Weakest parts: too much time with the Yupiks in Alaska, the blow-by-blow account of one girl getting a soda machine removed from school, and the Edible Schoolyard narrative. Kids will skip over these dull parts, and I wanted to as well.

My main criticism of this book (and other books and articles that attack the power of big companies over what people buy/eat/consume) is that they ignore the other "forces" out there that attempt to manipulate culture. Where are the outcries about what TV shows teenagers watch, about the popular music with violent or sexual lyrics, about over-protective parents who try to be buddies over mothers and fathers, or about allowing kids to have three televisions, cell phones, and any other electronic device they whine loudly enough for? The Saw series of movies and the Kim Kardashians provide a generational numbness that disturbs and frightens me more than the methylphenylglycidate in strawberry shakes. These produce something far worse than overweight teenagers with pre-adult onset diabetes; they produce a morally anemic, self-serving, and self-obsessed generation unable to look beyond their digital navels.

I'd take the fat kid any day.

Great Insight
I had to read this book for school, and I'm glad I did. However, the terrible, nasty, and disgusting things that I read in this book will not stop me from eating in a McDonald's, but every time I do I will remember the pain that every worker and animal went through to give this food to me, and how ruthless the companies we take for grated really are. I don't eat at fast food restaurants much, but the fact and things that I have learned have given me more insight into an already dangerous and horrible situation.

Very Chewable!
I really had a hard time putting the book down. It was so interesting and informative on fast food places. What an eye opener. I really enjoyed this book because it was an easy reader and interesting. Its facts were placed in such a way as not to drag. I thank the author for a job well done. ... Read more

Product Description
On a trip to California with her aunt, Liz Austen becomes involved with Latin American terrorists. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Excellent Read
Liz Austen and her brother Tom are detectives. They've solved everything from kidnappings to murders. Now Liz is going to have to solve a hostage situation, without the help of her brother.

While Liz Austen is on a trip to California to visit Universal Studios (City) and Disneyland with her Aunt, they run into a charming man known as Kingsley. He soon becomes a quick friend and escorts them to the amusement parks. But when Liz notices someone following her and her friend Serena they realize that something bad is going to happen. It's now up to Liz to save the hostages, and bring peace to the people visiting Disneyland before someone gets hurt.

This was my first book by Eric Wilson, and I must admit I was very impressed. I like how he doesn't drag sentences out or keep you guessing. This is a great book and I recommend it to any mystery readers.

"Disneyland Hostage" Is A Pretty Good Book
I just read "Disneyland Hostage" by Eric Wilson.It is about a girl named Liz who travels with her aunt to Universal Studos (City) and to Disneyland. They meet a young man on the plane who accompnies them on their trip.She meets a new friend at Universaal and they hang out there and at Disneyland.While at Disneyland they become hostages by terrorists who want to end poverty where they came from.I was first attracted to this book because it was placed at Disneyland( ny favorite place)but it contained so little of the sights of Disneyland and so I was turned off by the book. It was an exciting read but I wanted to hear more about Disneyland.

I just read this book and loved it
This book is abput a girl named Liz who goes to Disneyland with her aunt and gets taken hostage by a group of young men and woman form Latin America. One of the other hostages arrests the leader.I liked it because itwas very exiciting ... Read more

Product Description
As recently as 1874, no laws yet existed in this country for the protection of children. In New York of the same year, it was the widely publicized case of Mary Ellen Wilson—a nine-year-old girl who had been a prisoner in her tenement home, enduring unimaginable cruelty—that was the first to draw national and worldwide attention to both the social issue of child abuse and to the notion that children are entitled to humane treatment. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) founder Henry Bergh and his attorney, Elbridge T. Gerry, intervened on behalf of the abused little girl. Following this case, the first child protection agency was founded: the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

This examination of the child abuse case begins with a look at Mary Ellen Wilson’s life and provides background on the events surrounding the case. It draws upon—and reproduces within the text—numerous primary sources. Mary Ellen’s famous court testimony, queries urging Henry Bergh’s ASPCA to continue work on behalf of children, articles describing the courtroom scene, pleas from Mary Ellen’s family appealing for her custody and published documentation of the trial itself are all offered here for the first time. The extensive amounts of newspaper coverage, family letters, judicial orders and court transcripts presented in this work chronicle the historical case and its effects which have since provided hope for millions of abused and neglected children. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Everything about the Mary Ellen Wilson case is here!
Dr. Lazoritz and I are very excited to see this book released to the public.When we wrote Out of the Darkness, publishers did not know where to place it.With this book, there is no such problem; it's clearly the definitive book on the Mary Ellen Wilson/Mary Connolly abuse case.A fascinating piece of American history, and a crucial trial that changed the way we view and treat our children.Please, if you buy this book, come back and write your own review so others can trust someone other than the author!:-) ... Read more

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Explores the cultural significance of androids. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Awesome!
This is one of my most favorite books. It's not large but Eric G. Wilson packs a lot in. It's about androids, mummies and golems. But it's about a lot more. He discusses mythology, religion, philosophy, films, fiction stories and popular culture. He provides many insights in how he connects these diverse ideas. I love this book and have returned to it many times.

I'd recommend reading this book along with The Secret Life of Puppets by Victoria Nelson as Wilson was influenced by her work. I'd also suggest reading this along with the non-fiction of Philip K. Dick such as The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick: Selected Literary and Philosophical Writings because he comes up in both books, or you could read Pink Beams of Light from the God in the Gutter: The Science-Fictional Religion of Philip K. Dick by Gabriel McKee which is the most clear introduction to Philip K. Dick's ideas. Furthermore, maybe check out Thomas S. Hibbs' Arts of Darkness: American Noir and the Quest for Redemption which is about Noir and dark tales of redemption but also brings up Philip K. Dick.

All of these are great authors that cover similar territory. In particular, these books all share focus on the subject of gnosticism especially in terms of American culture. If you're interested in any of these subjects, then there are no better books out there. ... Read more

Product Description
This text introduces engineering students to the principles and practice of engineering hydrology and shows, through examples, how to approach the apparently intractable problems which hydraulic engineers meet. The last decade has been a time of considerable activity in the subject, following the publication of the Flood Studies Report by the Institute of Hydrology. Examples of this on-going work include advances in urban hydrology, published as The Wallingford Procedure; the Low Flow Studies, the Flood Studies Supplementary Reports and the World Flood Study from IOH and the Manual for Estimation of Probable Maximum precipitation from the World Meteorological Organization. Short descriptions of some of these subjects have been included in this edition and the opportunity has been taken of enlarging the lists of problems, re-organizing chapters, updating references and including relevant new material. An ELBS/LPBB edition is available. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (3)

Innovative and courageous social science
In this recent volume by Pluto Press, Eric Wilson (Monash University) has assembled an all-stars team of politologists with the objective of changing the face of social analysis. This effort stems from the urgency to redefine the conceptual spaces within which we perforce corral our daily experience as citizens of what has become, in fact, an international polity of overwhelming, as well as highly disquieting, complexity. This is not at all to say, however, that the project limits itself to adding "epicycles," as it were, to the Ptolemaic vulgate of British constitutionalism--i.e., the standard model of the "Liberal State"--which has imposed itself as the sole lens through which one is to contemplate the social dynamics for every single political reality of this world. Government of the Shadows (GOS) represents in this regard an honest and brave swerve away from the mainstream in two fundamental respects. First, it wishes to rethink political science entirely, by rejecting definitively the puritanical dichotomization of society into its predominant and "clean" edifice versus the latter's more or less corrupt "covert netherworld" (p. 228)--the prescriptive implication of conventional analysis being that delinquents need only be jailed, and their activities repressed, as the given regime is in the meantime steered (hopefully) toward the eventual and complete assimilation of Liberal institutions, which will naturally cure it of the criminal deviancy. Second, and no less important, this project seeks to re-endow the movement for social justice of a unity of intent and of thought, which has lately been shattered by an excessive methodological preoccupation with multiplicity and diversity. By denouncing with reason and cogency the inequities suffered by a majority of innocents--throughout our recent history and all over the world--at the hands of identifiable, responsible parties within the power apparatuses in connivance with the world's mafias, and by ordering all such phenomenological mass into theory, this book, as a collective endeavor, acts as a vigorous reminder that realistic sociological analysis is also very much an instrument of pacific dissent. In this sense, GOS stands as a first and decisive installment of a modern anti-oligarchic theory.
To compass the reality of modern power games in its full spectrum, GOS innovates by proposing the new discipline of "parapolitics," defined in Robert Cribb's introductory as "the study of criminal sovereignty, of criminals and sovereigns behaving as criminals ina systematic way" (p. 8). The idea issues from the need to embed in conventional analysis the insuppressible evidence of the last fifty years of Pax Americana, which has conclusively shown thus far that high-level political matches, rather than through the official channels of diplomacy and institutional exchange, are actually played out by clans of vested interests whose (transversal) range of allegiances and objectives often seem to transcend the strictly nationalist agendas of their host countries. In its quest for a modern theory of power, GOS thus identifies the actual modus operandi of incumbent power systems as one reliant on hidden State-mandated maneuvers carried out by an unholy connivance of Intelligence nuclei and crime syndicates. In other words, it attempts to single out the so-called "strategy of tension" as one of the chief instruments of world governance in our epoch. This pattern is seen as sealing de facto a capital and essential alliance between the oligarchs of the modern "democracies" and the entrepreneurial delinquents of skid row for the twofold purpose 1) of keeping the middle- and low-cohorts under control (by means of drugs, prostitution, and gaming), and 2) of thwarting regenerative forces of progressivism or unwanted nationalist orientations in a colonial environment via the destabilizing tactics of terror, which are perpetrated by low-class desperadoes according to scripts penned by the screen wrights of psyop divisions.
This bold work of sociological investigation is effected by organizing its treatments in two sections: part I of GOS is devoted to theory, part II to special case studies, which unfold as persuasive illustrations of the conceptual argumentations. The program is evenly distributed: six general essays, dealing in sequence with the ontology of governance, the institutional conundrum of the "dual state," globalised crime, money laundering, and the geography of parapolitics; followed by six individual country/region analyses -of Sicily, Mexico, Afghanistan, Colombia, Philippines, and Italy.
This balancing act of facts and ideas in support of a novel model succeeds. The heuristic power of the original formula of parapolitics is especially felicitous in Eric Wilson's scholarly tour de force on the notion of governance--which he strips, expands, and recomposes in the course of an exploration of several centuries of jurisprudential and political speculation; as well as in Ola Tunander's clearly argued piece on the physiognomy of the "deep" pattern of State-sponsored subversive activity for the sake of reinforced social control. Because of its conspicuously fettered and highly heterogeneous social development, whose landscape has offered to the clinical eye of the sociologist the crucial species of the Mafia and of the Strategy of Tension, the centrality and inspiring force of the Italian experience to this new field of inquiry is duly acknowledged with three essays entirely devoted to these themes. Part II is rich in stories, names and intrigues, and of extraordinary interest are the respective pieces of what are, in fact, two of the revered pioneers of "deep politics": these are Peter Dale Scott's article on the collusion between the CIA and Mexico's intelligence and drugs traficantes, and Alfred McCoy's captivating account of gambling as a key source of power brokering in post-colonial Filipino history.

Where's the Beef?
This book has an incredibly important topic.It focuses on parapolitics, or the relationship between criminality and politics.In turn, one can roughly divide this topic in two--on the one hand, the relationship of very powerful governments (the US, most of all) and various criminal elements or covert operants working outside of the law, on the other, the turn towards illegal forms of money-making (above all drug dealing) by very weak actors, such as seperatist movements.The introductory essay flirts with some very interesting ideas, such as the notion that international legal regimes constitute criminality, and that separatist movements might be regarded as unrecognized states (there is also a present, although undertheorized, critique of the overemphasis on discourse and consensual hegemony in much contemporary political theory as compared with the reality of violence and covert behavior).But, especially considering that the book emerged out of a conference and sustained discussion among the authors, it does not really cohere.
The first part, Theoretical Perspectives, includes two essays--one by Mark Findlay about the use of crime rhetoric on the global scale, the other about prospects for separatist movements by William Reno--that only tangentially touch on the provocative themes ostensibly covered by the book.The second part, a series of case studies, is better, but it is unfortunate that it is primarily done on a country by country basis.I learned a certain amount, about ways to think of mafia actors without conspiracy, about the ways in which criminal bosses mediate between communities and political actors, the role of illegal gambling in funding political campaigns in the Phillipines--but didn't feel like my world view was that thoroughly disrupted.The book evades too many more relevant topics--what is the relationship between various contemporary terrorist networks and government parapolitical networks, for example?What is the relationship between historical transformations of global capitalism and transformations of the role of parapolitical networks?Or the relationship between UN peacekeepers (or, for that matter, any of the foreign country occupying forces)and parapolitical networks? The question of whether these researchers believe invoking the Italian 'strategy of tension' (i.e. production of terrorist acts by right wing forces blamed on the left) has any relevance to 9-11 looms large and unanswered. This research is often difficult, if not impossible to carry out at standards considered appropriate for academic publishing, although these questions are quite significant.Future scholars of the topic may find some of the theoretical insights of the first part and the case studies in the second part useful; but they need to be a whole lot more audacious in their willingness to assert that these networks matter on the most central issues of world politics.

Disappointment
Many people have been eagerly awaiting this collection(delayed many times) from Pluto Press, because of some of the authors involved and absolutely because we're all in the midst of the greatest financial crime in world history. (Perp: lead mob family Goldman Sachs.)

Unfortunately, the collection is a serious disappointment. Divided into two parts, the first lays out theoretical discussions of exactly what is meant by the terms "deep state" and "deep politics". Reading these essays is akin to that day you had both eyeballs removed. Impenetrable, opaque, repetitive, terribly written. and just plain boring. It's hard to imagine how these subjects in 2009 could be this dull, but the authors in the first section use every academic means at their disposal to make them so. If you're like me and must read every book from beginning to end, the odds are very long against you getting to the much better second part.

Yes, the second part is better than the first, but that's like saying Barack Obama is better than George W. Bush. (Yes, let's give the man time.) The best essay is by the greatest deep political historian ever, Professor Peter Dale Scott. His subject -- again, amazing relevance -- is Mexico and drugs. Just when you thought you knew everything about E. Howard Hunt. . . Here's hoping Professor Scott expands this jaw-dropping piece into his next book. Another necessary essay is Daniele Ganser's precis of his monumental Operation Gladio work "NATO's Secret Armies". (Hopefully this will lead readers toward that masterpiece, one of the most important releases of modern times.)

The rest is not worth bothering with, frankly. The great Alfred McCoy's contribution seems to be motivated as much by moving the world of "deep state" studies away from conspiracy theory, as much as detailing the influence of gambling on Philippino politics. (Actually, there is nothing in either sections -- apart from the Scott & Ganser essays -- which would disturb the likes of Gerald Posner or Chris Matthews.)

So don't bother. Instead, pick up Scott's "Deep Politics and the Death of JFK", his "Road to 9/11", and most certainly Ganzer's book on Gladio. (If you can find it.) ... Read more

Product Description

Inside burning buildings, Captain Caleb Holt lives by the firefighter's adage:  Never leave your partner.

Yet at home, in the cooling embers of his marriage, he lives by his own rules.

Growing up, his wife Catherine always dreamed of marrying a loving, brave firefighter . . . just like her father.  Now, after seven years of marriage, she wonders when she stopped being "good enough."  Countless arguments and anger have them wanting to move on to something with more sparks. 

As they prepare for divorce, Caleb's father challenges him to commit to a 40-day experiment:  "The Love Dare."  Wondering if it's even worth the effort, Caleb agrees, for his father's sake more than for his marriage.

Surprised by what he discovers about the meaning of love, Caleb realizes that his wife and marriage are worth fighting for.  His job is to rescue others.  Now Captain Holt is ready to face his toughest job      ever . . . rescuing his wife's heart.

Customer Reviews (63)

There's Always Hope....
This book is written after the movie "Fireproof"

I had no idea what it was about and was expecting a man's fire drama but was deeply surprised.It's about Captain Caleb Holt who is a firefighter who is in a bad his relationship with his wife Catherine who wants a divorce.

When Caleb tells his father, John, about the impending divorce, John challenges Caleb to commit to a 40-day test which he calls the "Love Dare", which Caleb agrees to try. Initially Catherine doubts Caleb's sincerity in his attempts to win her back due to his half-hearted attempts at completing the Love Dare, but Caleb continues with encouragement from his father and his close friend Michael who also encourages him to become a born-again Christian.

In the meantime, Catherine begins flirting with Dr. Keller (he doesn't know she's married), at the hospital where she works informing him about her mother's medical situation. Caleb is brought to Catherine's hospital Caleb after he is injured while rescuing a girl in a fire, where a nurse inadvertently says in front of Dr. Keller that Caleb is Catherine's husband.... Read the book to find out what happens!

Patience Prence Author SCARS: An Amazing End-Times Prophecy Novel

Better than the movie...
When I saw the movie, I had already read the book. There were parts of the movie I think just didn't make enough sense without reading the book. I really enjoyed both. At the end of the movie, everyone stood and applauded! However, I still like the book better. It built more of the relationships and seemed to connect the dots better for me.

A must read!!!!!
A must read for all couples married for 1 year to 50 years. I am excited to participate in the "Love Dare" and have purchased this book for my parents, my in-laws and friends. Why wouldn't I want to see my family dare to love each other as much as I dare to love my husband... Do you "Dare to Love"?

Great-- Yes, Really!
Great support of marriage as a commitment and not a relationship, great support of husbands putting their wives first and not being a juvenile butthead.Abosolutely.If you've seen the movie, read the book made along with it-- lots more of the same stuff.

BEST BOOK EVER
I hate to read, but was soo curious to read this book.
Best book in the world .. buy one & read it! ... Read more