Product Description
The #1 bestselling author of The Collectors and Simple Genius returns with STONE COLD...an unforgetable novel of revenge, conspiracy, and murder that brings a band of unlikely heroes face-to-face with their greatest threat.


Oliver Stone, the leader of the mysterious group that calls itself the Camel Club, is both feared and respected by those who've crossed his path. Keeping a vigilant watch over our leaders in Washington D.C., the Camel Club has won over some allies,
but it has also earned formidable enemies-including those in power who will do
anything to prevent Stone and his friends from uncovering the hidden, secret
work of the government.


Annabelle Conroy, an honorary member of the Camel Club, is also the greatest con artist of her generation. She has swindled forty million dollars from casino king Jerry Bagger, the man who murdered her mother. Now he's hot on her trail with only one goal in mind: Annabelle's death. But as Stone and the Camel Club circle the wagons to protect Annabelle, a new opponent, who makes Bagger's menace pale by comparison, suddenly arises.


One by one, men from Stone's shadowy past are turning up dead. Behind this slaughter stands one man: Harry Finn. To almost all who know him, Finn is a doting father and loving husband who uses his skills behind the scenes to keep our nation safe. But the other face of Harry Finn is that of an unstoppable killer who inevitably sets his lethal bull's-eye on Oliver Stone. And with Finn, Stone may well have met his match.


As Annabelle and the Camel Club fight for their lives, the twists and turns whipsaw, leading to a finale that is as explosive as it is shattering. And when buried secrets
are at last violently resurrected, the members of the Camel Club left standing
will be changed forever.


With unrelenting pacing, stunning reversals, and two of the most compelling characters in modern fiction, STONE COLD is David Baldacci writing at his breathtaking best. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (179)

Haunted by the Past
Filled with suspense, thriller, and excitement, Stone Cold is everything I expected from a Baldacci's novel. The author grabbed my attention right from the beginning and held it until the very end of the novel.

Oliver Stone is the leader of the mysterious Camel Club. The Camel Club consists of three other men with different personalities and jobs ranging from a librarian, ex-soldier, and a genius with OCD. In the past, members of the Camel Club have band together to carry out esoteric missions that have saved the life of their leader. The Camel Club may be called on again to help their leader and friend. Stone's past life is threatening to catch-up with his present life. Some of Stone's co-workers from the past are turning up dead. Is it possible that these deaths are not coincidental and that the person/persons responsible for the deaths knows about Stone and wants him dead too. Will Stone's secret life be exposed because of this scandal?Thanks to the former head of the CIA, Carter Gray, Stone might get the opportunity to find out. Gray's connection with a secret ploy to have two of Russia's head of state leaders killed may haunt him and Stone.

I have enticed you enough. You will have to read the book to find out what happens :-)

Stone Cold Large Print
The book was exactly as advertised.It was in very good condition. It arrived quickly.

Baldacci is Best
Very pleased with the condition of book.Prompt in delivery.Will by again from this seller.

Excellent Read!
I could not put this book down from start to finish. Can't wait to read more of Mr. Baldacci!

Stone Cold
The book arrived really quickly and in very good shape.Haven't started reading it yet, but know it will be another great book by David Baldacci. ... Read more

Product Description
Controversial and compelling, "In Cold Blood" reconstructs the murder in 1959 of a Kansas farmer, his wife and both their children. Truman Capote's comprehensive study of the killings and subsequent investigation explores the circumstances surrounding this terrible crime and the effect it had on those involved. At the centre of his study are the amoral young killers Perry Smith and Dick Hickcock, who, vividly drawn by Capote, are shown to be reprehensible yet entirely and frighteningly human. The book that made Capote's name, In Cold Blood is a seminal work of modern prose, a remarkable synthesis of journalistic skill and powerfully evocative narrative. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

good condiditon
this book came is pretty good condition
shipping was decent.
it came exactly as described in context.

How did this become a classic?
Written well, but just not very interesting.I went out of my way to write this up (never did this before).Scott Brick did an fine job on the audio version of this, but it just isn't very good text..... I expected to be entertained, instead I fought my way to the end.

Brilliant Classic Fades with Age
Capote's 1965 book about the murder of a family in America's mid-west relates with great precision all of the details of the case as it happened in the late 1950s. What must have been shocking to 60s readers pales a bit in a modern context where far worse crimes have been exposed for public consumption which dates the book- unfortunately. Capote handles the characters well and tells the story competently enough but the book's sensationalistic aspect having deserted it leaves the reader to pick up too many of the flaws in the writing.
A good read and a classic for fans of old crime writing but no longer has the shock value that it had in 1965.

Never showed up.
My book never came. And I needed it for school. I contacted the people who were supposed to send it and nothing ever happened. Money wasted.

My favorite book
This is honestly one of my favorite books.I grew up in the Mid-West, and the way Capote writes about Kansas is so realistic.I've recommended this book to many people throughout my life.An absolute classic. ... Read more

Product Description
From avalanches to glaciers, from seals to snowflakes, and from Shackleton's expedition to "The Year Without Summer," Bill Streever journeys through history, myth, geography, and ecology in a year-long search for cold--real, icy, 40-below cold. In July he finds it while taking a dip in a 35-degree Arctic swimming hole; in September while excavating our planet's ancient and not so ancient ice ages; and in October while exploring hibernation habits in animals, from humans to wood frogs to bears.

A scientist whose passion for cold runs red hot, Streever is a wondrous guide: he conjures woolly mammoth carcasses and the ice-age Clovis tribe from melting glaciers, and he evokes blizzards so wild readers may freeze--limb by vicarious limb. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (26)

Brrrrr!
(Note: This review is of the hardcover edition.)

"Take a pair of cotton jeans, throw them in a mountain stream or a pond or a bathtub full of water, and take them out. They are heavy with water. Cotton kills because the fibers hold water. They will suck the heat right out of the unfortunate victim foolish enough to wear them in the cold. For survival in the cold, naked skin may be better than wet cotton jeans." - from COLD

With COLD, Biologist Bill Streever has penned another of those popular science books about the environment we live in that I personally find so informative and entertaining, especially since I'm not expected to be tested on the material afterwards.

In twelve chapters sequentially entitled with the year's months beginning with July - "It is July first and fifty-one degrees above zero" - and ending with June - "It is June twentieth ... and 60 degrees Fahrenheit", Streever delivers a wealth of stories and information about cold and its effects on more things than you'll ever need to know to stay warm and snugly. Actually, it's an amiable jumble of anecdotes, historical references, and facts where the only connecting thread, besides "cold" itself, is the progression of named chapters and the vantage point from which the author generally observes and writes, which is Alaska where Streever lives (though he personally manages to get out-of-state some).

The span of Bill's cold-related topics is chilling, but not in the frightening sense. (Cold - chilling. Get it?) After beginning with accounts of the hardships and deaths of various arctic and Antarctic explorers just to establish the understanding that lack of heat needs to be taken seriously, the author ranges far and wide. Recent and long, long-ago glaciations, animal hibernations, bird migrations, frozen mammoth carcasses, the effects of hypothermia on humans, frostbite, permafrost, climate-determined tree lines, the scientific quest to achieve absolute zero, the cold-mediated deterioration of roads and buildings, cold-resistant clothing materials, igloo construction, Bose-Einstein condensates, cryogenic body storage, infamous blizzards of history, ice wedge formation, the evolution of refrigerators, the physiology of shivering, and so much more. And let's not forget the pet caterpillars Fram and Bedford.

At times, as when Streever dwells on the heaviest hailstone (2 pounds), or the largest snowflake (15 inches across?), or the weight of quviut (underfur) shed by a musk ox each year (5 pounds), I feel like I'm being prepped for a trivia quiz. But it's all good stuff.

COLD contains no photographs; a couple here and there would've been useful. There are two maps in the back, one of the Northern Hemisphere from above the pole, and one of Antarctica from above the South Pole; the former illustrates the tree line, which is the most interesting feature of that particular map.

Most useful, perhaps, is a 35-page Notes section should the reader wish to do further research on aspects of the overall topic.

In a book about what is basically climate, it would be surprising if the author didn't touch upon the climate-warming controversy. He points out that geologists tend to be naysayers, but climatologists and biologists "tended to camp with the climate change kooks." Since the author is a biologist himself, it's not surprising which side he falls into. Happily, though, he doesn't get preachy about it so I'm not forced to deduct points for zealotry.

I'm knocking off a star for the complete lack of photos and the rather haphazard presentation of the material. Otherwise, COLD is an engaging narrative about what happens when it gets colder than a witch's ... well, you know.

excellent
i loved this book. it is wildly entertaining and full of fascinating information. i highly recommend it to anyone.

Interesting Lens to View our Natural World
"Cold" is an excellent companion to other general-interest natural history books, such as ones written by Scott Wiedensaul.I am fascinated by the history of the ice ages, and living in northeastern Pennsylvania, by the incredible changes that take place when the warm seasons turn into winter.My part of the world was largely covered by ice during the most recent glaciation, with the end of one of the ice sheets only 30 or so miles to the south.Ice-age conditions sculpted and still influences the natural world I live in, and winter itself (the remnants of the ice age we're still in) changes and affects everything around us.This is a book about the grand scale of how cold affects all living and non-living things on our planet.A daunting task to be sure, but the book is accessible, interesting, and educational.

It is *not* a book about global warming, although you can't write a book about cold without addressing the fact that it is sometimes warm, and that the Earth may very well be getting warmer because of human activity.I am still a skeptic of global warming, and this book doesn't lead us in one direction or another, that's not what the book is about - and it doesn't serve to try to convince you of it.It does, however, assume that it *is* happening.

I just want to point out that there is a fundamental inconsistency with books like this, in that it freely admits based on scientific evidence that the world has had periods of warmth and cold, but the period of warming we are in now can only be caused by human activity, i.e., the "greenhouse effect".Maybe 100,000 years from now, when ice sheets again cover Pennsylvania, will we know whether we are in a cycle, or in the midst of a global calamity.

Streever goes into fascinating detail about the "Little Ice Age" that existed from about 1550 until 1850, recognizes that we are now in a period of general warming, but strongly hints that it may not be caused by factors out of our control.It very well might, or it might not.Again, I am not a "nay-sayer" on global warming, I just don't know, and frankly, it's confusing.Isn't it reasonable to say that we are in a warming period that may exist from 1850 until 2150?These cycles, as Streever points out, have happened before and that we may be in one again, but accelerated by global warming.I remember something Al Gore said in his "Inconvenient Truth", that the recent warming we have seen has been so rapid that is is unprecedented in the history of science.Fair enough, but Streever has made up his mind.Thankfully, it doesn't distract too much from the topic at hand in this very good book.

I think the whole issue of global warming misses the point anyway for those that care about our natural environment.Macro issues that are difficult to understand or comprehend that are affecting, say, polar bears, are just not as important as problems we face in our local areas such as Superfund sites.I'd rather see policymakers pony up the dollars to take care of those, or fund our National Parks, rather than tackle something so abstract that it doesn't seem to matter much to most people.

trudge to the finish
I felt like a french soldier staggering back from Moscow upon completing this book - mislead, weary, and sorry I went on the trip.A badly written book.Read the real guys instead.

Cold Beyond Belief...
In his book COLD Bill Streever explores the anatomy of cold. In a straight-forward narrative style Streever explains the facts of cold, its effects on the planet and life. Surprisingly there is much to learn here, from the physiology of frostbite (frozen extremities) and hypothermia (cooling of the body's core)to how wildlife adapts to regions of extreme cold. The author recounts the polar expeditions of, among others,Amundsen, Byrd, Robert Falcon Scott and Robert Shackleton which, in Streever's words "...become[s]one long accident report mixed with one long obituary." COLD parallels explorers experiencing frigid conditions with the early attempts to create cold in the laboratory, in particular the quest to achieve Absolute Zero (the temperature at which molecular motion ceases: 459.67 degrees below O degrees Fahrenheit). All human beings experience cold to some degree--not to the extent of a Shackleton or Byrd, or "107 degrees of frost" the protagonist of London's short story "To Build a Fire" suffers--but we know what cold is. Streever, however, puts cold in perspective: our cold is warm compared to that created in the laboratory setting, a cold so extreme that 1995 Nobel Prize co-winner Eric Cornell said of it:"this state could never have existed naturally anywhere in the universe. So the sample in our lab ['a packet of rubidium atoms to ten-thousandths of a degree above absolute zero']is the only chunk of this stuff in the universe, unless it is in a lab in some other solar system." Streever concludes his book with a discourse on global warming and stresses how cold is essential to a healthy planet.

For those wishing to explore Streever's subject further, the author cites several references in the "Notes" section of the book. (I found this section nearly as fascinating as the text itself.)

Read COLD and chill out. To rate this book less than five stars would be cold-hearted indeed. ... Read more

Product Description

"A compelling story you won't want to miss! Well told and deeply true to its time and place."
-Haywood Smith, author of Queen Bee of Mimosa Branch and The Red Hat Club

Customer Reviews (52)

A book to touch your heart
I read this book in 4 days as I read it every free moment I could find. It broke my heart and brought tears to my eyes, while at the same time it brought so much joy as well. I love the way the author showed so many different sides to her characters. I especially love the way that she showed us the loving and tender side of Buck and Verna. The story and characters will linger with me forever and my 17 year old granddaughter who is reading it now has tears in her eyes as she reads it.

Jackie Miles is always good!
From the first page you know you can't put the book down! I found myself laughing out loud and other times I was reaching for a tissue. You'll never forget the characters in this novel! Cold Rock River is the remarkable journey of two young brides born a century apart. Adie reads the journal of a slave girl, Tempe. The journal was so gripping because it told the story of the horrible things that happened in Tempes life. I love this author's heartwarming work!

Other good ones are FLY AWAY HOME, EXPLOSION IN PARIS, LET'S TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME.

Tragic but warm.
The author is able to tell a sad tale but leave the reader feeling good.I enjoyed the main character.Good story for book clubs.

Touching Southern Fiction
Set in the early years of the Vietnam War,Jackie Lee Miles' Cold Rock River is the story of Adie, seventeen years old, and quickly married after becoming pregnant. Befriended by her neighbor Murphy and midwife Willa Mae, Adie attempts to make a life for herself and baby Grace Annie in Hog Gap, GA, while her husband Buck continues with his lover-boy life. Unlike those around her contented with their lives, Adie wants more for herself, and definitely for her daughter. Adie finds comfort and sisterhood in the journal of Tempe, a slave ancestor of Willa Mae, whose story of her life and motherhood during the Civil War draw Adie into new ways of thinking about her Southern heritage.
Like many Southern writers, Ms. Miles uses vivid descriptions to bring her landscape to life: In the distance, Cold Rock Mountain rested like a fat king on his throne. The sides sparkled like jewels as the sun bounced off chunks of granite embedded along the edges., as well as dialogue thick with regional sayings and accents. Sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes inspirational, and always true to the characters, Cold Rock River is a story of unusual friendships and hope within the realities of life.

A great summer read.
Adie Jenkins was full of folksy wisdom as she adapted to her life as a young wife and mother.There was a parallel story she read of a young slave's life at different points in the story.It gave her inspiration to meet her own challenges as she read about the life of the slave.The two stories were intertwined and made me want to keep reading to find out what happened next.It was realistically protrayed because life certainly had its ups and downs for both.I found it hard to put down because the characters were so real, that I wanted to read more. ... Read more

Product Description
If information is power, Take the Cold Out of Cold Calling is ''power on steroids!'' Know more than you ever thought you could (or should) about your clients, prospects, and competition. No more winging it. No more guessing what the other person cares about. Take the Cold Out of Cold Calling is a fascinating journey into the world of information, how to easily find it, and how to apply it to make sure you are offering relevant solutions. By practicing the techniques taught in the book, you will make a great first impression during sales calls and you will provide value and build meaningful and mutually beneficial client relationships. Once you master Warm Call techniques, you win more business, establish deep relationships with clients, and have more fun.

In Take the Cold Out of Cold Calling you'll discover the secret world on online information, how to find it, and how to use it. You'll get step-by-step instructions along with real examples. You'll learn...
- Tips and tricks for popular search engines get it right the first time.
- How to use Google like a pro -- it's scary what this amazing search engine can help you find.
- The ''Invisible Web'' -- sites most people and search engines don't know about and can't find.
- How to access premium information resources at no or very low cost.
- The theory of the ''Fourth R'' and value-based ''warm call selling.''
- How to massively increase your credibility with prospects and existing clients.
- How to use the ''Customer Data Aggregator'' and expert ''Warm Call Scripts'' to organize information and make a great first impression.

If you are involved in business development, sales, or account management in any way, you've ''cold called.'' Any time you meet with a prospect or existing client without knowing about them, their issues, and how your company is relevant to something they care about, you run the risk of losing credibility and worse, losing the deal. The top 1% of business development pros and sales people understand the value of information, how to access it, and how to apply it and win. With Take the Cold Out of Cold Calling, you'll get the tools and training you need to join the club.

The book includes access to online Warm Call Resource Center.

Awards:
Sales Book of the Year Medalist
USA Book News Book of the Year

Aximon Business Book Awards Medalist ... Read more

Customer Reviews (46)

Use this book to build relationships!
I am currently starting a business as an independent sales rep.I've been wondering how to get my foot in the door at the companies I'm going to call on but I'm not wondering anymore!This book is SOLID GOLD!I am aware of nobody else who either a) Knows all this information or b) Has compiled and shared this information to the world like Sam has taken the time to do.

Business is all about relationships today.Witness the rise of social media to promote not just your company's brand but also your own personal brand, regardless of who you happen to work for currently.Executives and all types of workers are busier now than they ever have been.If it's true that one has only 5-10 seconds to grab someone's attention and keep it in a first-time conversation, then you need to do your homework beforehand if you're going to make the sale.This book tells you how to do that in simple and entertaining language.

Bottom line: if your idea of gathering information is to simply "Google" it, you NEED this book!

Keith Hruby
Maximum Profit Group
[...]

Bought it for the search engine clues
I do research for an executive recruiter. I bought this book for the search engine clues and it didn't let me down. It's a great resource for learning the tricks to drill below the surface layer of a web search to obtain such pertinent information as resumes, email addresses and direct phone numbers for individuals at corporate organizations, government institutions, universities, etc.

Every marketer and sales person needs this book
This is a got-to-buy book. Readers of my reviews may have realized that I am not a fan of"Cold Calling " as practiced by too many companies. In order to call effectively I encourage and show my clients how to find information about their markets and prospects/ businesses before calling/contacting.Well Sam Richter puts everything I have ever taught and on steroids.Harvey Mackay says, "A must -have resource for anyone involved in sales and business development," and I agree.Every marketer and sales person needs this book on their deskand the copy will soon be well thumbed and well used.There is no book out there like this one for immediate and direct utility for more effective sales.As marketing realizes that their job is to drive sales,buyer information becomes key - and this book provides the tools, lessons and examples of how to do that research job.What a find!Check out […] !

Best Tool for every Sales Person
I have been in the field of IT for more than 20 years and have been selling for the last 12 years. Never in my life have I come across such wonderful information packed in a book. When I read about this book, I wanted to buy it immediately, because I did not want to wait for the book to come to me, I bought an e-book instead. Reading every single page made me feel I wish I knew all this before, but better late than never. This is one of the best books on sales that I have read.

I now know for sure that I need a Hard copy of this book which will be a great reference for me when I travel on my job. I am so thrilled with this new found knowledge that I have started implementing it and was successful in getting an appointment with one of my target companies.

I am going to recommend this book to my company and request that a copy be given to all our sales staff.

Great Book, worth its weight in Gold.

Awesome resource for non-sales folks too!
Recently saw a standing-room-only presentation by Sam at a national conference and was taking notes furiously. He said that everything he said was in his book and I couldn't get to it fast enough. I am not in sales; I am a journalist and author (Building for Boomers) and a person who uses the Web a lot personally too. I wish I'd known this stuff years ago! Sam is a generous person, giving away his toolbar, which he updates regularly, to help us find info with just a few clicks. It's at takethecold.com under "warm call center." The book is worth 10x its selling price, though I'm happy we don't have to pay what it's worth. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! ... Read more

Product Description
When his buddy Hawk is beaten within an inch of his life, Spenser infiltrates a ruthless mob in the name of friendship--and revenge. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (108)

MERELY AVERAGE--NEITHER WELL DONE NOR REALLY BAD
The good news is that COLD SERVICE (2005) is a bit better than BAD BUSINESS (2004). The bad news is that it isn't much better.

COLD SERVICE is basically a fantasy book--a macho revenge fantasy--in which Spenser assists Hawk in killing the men who shot Hawk in the back and killed the man Hawk was hired to protect, as well as that man's wife and two of his three children.

Basically about 87 percent of this story is a paint-by-the-numbers piece, and we get the usual Parker touches--events recapped with Spenser telling his girlfriend what has just happened and her providing minimal queries of a moral-psychological nature; scenes with Spenser's dog trying to join the girlfriend and Spenser in bed; scenes with Spenser cooking for his girlfriend; and of course dozens and dozens of comments about the weather and traffic and seagulls and pedestrians to help Robert Parker pad out some of the chapters from 2 or 3 pages to a weightier 4 or 5 pages.

As usual, the local police and the Feds (who allow Hawk and Spenser to do their vigilante-killing-spree thing without any objections) all belong to a fantasy land. Only the street names and store names of real Boston have a close connection with this imaginary "Spenserian Boston."

But that's okay--if that is where you want to spend a few hours instead of playing online in Facebook's Farmville or some other cyberspace fantasy land. After all, in the 1950s and '60s, Ian Fleming's James Bond Thrillers provided basically the same sort of macho "time out" from reality for many people, including Pres. Kennedy--and me.

Three things that seemed to be improvements over BAD BUSINESS were (1) the kind of crime/criminals involved were somewhat more realistic (though very stereotyped), (2) Hawk&Spenser (as a unit) basically committed fewer crimes (although there WERE a lot of people murdered by Hawk), and (3) the brief descriptions of how it feels to be recovering from serious injuries/wounds rang fairly true (I judge from my own experiences).

As for "plotting," it seems more than a bit shaky. Even Spenser seems to notice at times; dialogue OFTEN runs like this: "We go in there and kill 'em all." "How do we do that?" "Through the front door." "What's the rest of the plan?" "That's the whole plan." (Am I the only person reminded of Beavis and Butthead cartoon episodes?)

SEMI-SPOILER ALERT: Very few readers will be happy with the way Hawk's final showdown with the Chief Bad Guy is presented at an abandoned shopping mall--two men go in; one comes out--you already know which one--and neither Spenser nor we have any idea what happened inside the mall. Nor does Robert Parker.

Finally, the REALLY good news is this book can be read so quickly that nobody will be wasting many precious hours of his or her life on it.

SAME-SAME-SAME
TYPICAL PARKER---IT'S ALL IN THERE---SAME OLD--SAME OLD---SAME OLD.

BBBUUUTTT-----WHAT IS GOOD ABOUT READING A PARKER ""SPENSER""???

THEY ARE JUST FUN TO READ---FOR A BREAK---NOTHING SERIOUS---JUST FUN.

Spenser helps Hawk exact revenge
Having been shot 3 times in the back, it takes quite a bit of time for Hawk to recover. Eventually he is ready to seek out the shooter and the killers of the family that left behind a small child--a family he was hired to protect. Hawk's investigation, with help from Spenser, reveals a corrupt group of Ukrainians supported by the mayor of the Marshpoint. A simmering territorial gang war in the area further exacerbates the situation and Hawk realizes that revenge is rather complicated. Needing to acquire money from the mayor to help the small child but also desiring to kill those involved with the initial shooting, Hawk and Spenser devise a plan to kill the Ukrainians, get the money, and slow down the budding violence in the area.

The story progress along quickly with the easy banter of Spenser and Hawk shining forth as well as the occasional moral dilemma of killing people being mentioned. Hawk's own relationship is in question and we find several insightful psychological moments scattered throughout the book.

It is a fun read full of Parker's concise language and terse dialog. Unnecessary descriptions are avoided and while we don't know these people in depth, we do know enough to understand how they will react in certain situations. Once again, we connect well to Spenser, not as well to Hawk, and we cheer for the cause of helping the little boy. This makes for a feel good kind of story in spite of the pervading violence. In the end, the bad guys suffer and the good guys win.

Yet, the story did not seem very original, nor even plausible. We have heard it all before and from the beginning, we knew how it would end. The anguish of indecision, those heart-wrenching moments of man against himself, did not come through in any kind of emotional sense. This made for a predictable read without much depth of thought. Not one of my favorite Parker books. Perhaps the same story set in a Western would have been more appealing.

Superman Bromance in Boston
I'm an enormous fan of this series who somehow fell out of the habit of reading it.Now I remember why.In the first dozen or so books Parker was equal to Chandler, after whom he clearly modeled himself.Unfortunately the work has deteriorated to a couple of notches above a comic book.In this offering the iconic laconic Hawk gets shot in the back and Spencer has to help him get his revenge.The ultimate bad guys are---wait for it---Ukrainian mafiosa backed by an Afghan heroin lord who've taken over an entire eighty-thousand-person Massachusetts town.Something like Dr Doom and Latvania or wherever it was.So of course Spencer and Hawk, aided by a couple of other guys, have to clean up Dodge.En route they encounter a mysterious CIA agent, a mysterious FBI agent, and a mysterious foreign assassin, all of whom pitch in to help, pausing only to express their undying admiration for Hawk and Spencer.Whose dialogue, incidentally, seems to consist exclusively of intimations of mutual esteem and preening over their toughness.Their bromance is actually getting kind of weird----what's next, Provincetown?But even worse than the relationship between the men is their relationship with women----Spencer's mooning over Susan would make a cat barf, and his endless repetitive explanation of Hawk to the latter's current girlfriend borders on the pathological.On top of it all by my estimate Spencer---a Korean war vet---has to be at least 73.Formerly Parker at least nodded to Spencer's age; here he completely ignores it.

I used to read and reread the earlier books.This one goes straight from airport to tag sale.

Characters have lost their roots
I have read all of the Spenser books up to this one, and always enjoyed them as a change from my normal reading.They are always witty, quick and I like the characters.But this book has begun the spin into the zone of the unreal.The plot is not realistic.The doors all open without hestation, the knowledge is gained without sweat, the friends are coming out of the woodwork to help, Hawk and Spenser are taking on a huge organization in Marshport but there is no drama from it.The characters of Hawk and Spenser have crossed the line - once they were the outcasts, the rebels on a cause, now they are the mainstream with police, mob and the FBI helping and looking the other way.It's too much.

The story starts after Hawk is gunned down and moves to his convalescence.The psychologist in Susan and Spenser is front and center on the emotional rehabilitation.A little more of Hawk is revealed and that sets up a conundrum:With this information, as small as it is, is it too much?Has Hawk become too human?Not sure that I like knowing more about him.

The verbal banter is still topnotch and the wisecracking enjoyable.The storyline, while a very large stretch, is still entertaining.I hope that Parker comes back to the roots of the characters and gets away from this type of plot in the next Spenser.
... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (15)

Warmed over Body Heat
Lisa York must be a brave narrative artist to take on this novel of a Black Widow killer. Why must she be so brave? The Beverly Barton novel's text drones on the same points over and over. It is easy to fall into a trap of boredom. York tries to keep the listener awake most of the time.

Once you get past some of the text's repeating verbiage, the mystery seems a slimmer version of the filmBody Heat. Ms York tries to audio channel Kathleen Turner and in some spots, it does work . . . but overall. It stuns this crime noir. Barton may want to read some old copies of Black Mask to combine romance with crime.

Since this audio is more than eleven hours, I suggest you may take this on small trips. It tends to recap itself hourly for the mystery challenged.

So instead of buying, renting or downloading this one, rent Body Heat or The Postman Always Rings Twice.


Bennet Pomerantz AUDIOWORLD

Nail biting suspense
Wow - I must say this book was excellent. I can see where it may figure in to an earlier series, but I read it as a standalone and no real clues were given away to what took place in the earlier books (besides the one married couple). I really liked Rick and Jordan as characters and at times it could be frustrating watching them fight their feelings, but you understood they had good reasons. The suspense was built really well. I went back and forth on who I suspected and really didn't get it right at the end. Ms. Barton was great at throwing the suspicion on every one that made sense in the story and keeping you guessing. I honestly had a hard time putting this one down (but work, cooking and the kids kind of demanded some of my attention). This wasn't my first by Ms. Barton and it definitely won't be my last. I enjoy her romantic suspense immensely. She has a good balance of romance with the suspense.

BORING
This was just awful. After 200 tedious (repeating the same things over and over) pages, I started to skim. One of the worst books I've read.

Cold Hearted
Jordan Price was married to Senator Dan Price until his recent death - a suicide.But was it really?That seems to be the question his family is posing.Jordan doesn't know what to believe, but if Dan was murdered she wants to know it and have the murderer face justice.Putting herself in the middle of the investigation while trying to keep her ragtag family under control pulls Jordan in several directions at once.

Rick Carson is an investigator for the Powell Agency.He is going to be the lead investigator and he has an instant conflict.On one hand he knows that the surviving spouse if the most likely suspect and on the other hand for some reason he doesn't want Jordan to be anything more than she seems, the caregiver and nurturer for her entire family.

As Rick discovers more of the Price family and the others in Jordan's immediate circle, he finds many secrets are being kept from the public.As these secrets come out, two things happen - they point even harder at Jordan but someone is also trying to get to her.Jordan doesn't want to believe anyone she loves could be responsible for everything going on.As the layers are unwound, Jordan and Rick face danger and a madman who can strike anytime and anyplace.

I love figuring out who-dun-it on suspense's before it is revealed.With Cold Hearted I changed my mind several times and still didn't have the right person or the right reason.Jordan pulls at your heart and then you start to wonder if it is really an act.Rick has to work hard to separate his mind from his emotions while trying to find a killer.Watching Rick and Jordan try to figure out what they feel and how they can act on it put icing on the top. The actions, danger and red herrings that Ms. Barton put in kept me flipping pages and my brain searching for the answers.Since I can usually figure out where the clues are leading, I have to give major applause to someone who can totally lead me in the wrong direction.Ms. Barton did that with finesse.Cold Hearted is a mystery and suspense lovers dream and will keep you guessing until the final page.A true keeper for your suspense collection.

Jo
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Didn't like!!
I didn't like this book at all it was annoy, so I stop reading to flip through a couple of pages and turn to the back. I don't know if I like the author just, because of this book, so I might do what one of the review said just pick up one of her another books. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (27)

Buddhism brought into daily life
I came across this book by accident and I purchased it because it seemed relevant to a workshop that I was about to teach (Finding Our Selves at Home) at the International Women's Writers Guild conference this past August.I began by reading the chapter on "The Good Dishes:The Life We're Saving For" since I had a day in my workshop where we were going to examine our relationship to objects.Anyway, I could not put it down...I kept picking up and reading other chapters and then I would read them aloud to whoever happened to be in the room.I was completely pulled into her writing which was full of easy self-effacing wit, great parables from real life, and a underlying seriousness that does not ever become dogmatic.I have a fairly wide collection of books by Buddhist writers and what makes Karen Maezen Miller's approach stand out is that her main focus is her real life not how it relates to Buddhist principles.The principles are certainly there, but they live in her examples and what she makes of them not as mere foodnotes to a list of the four Noble Truths and the seven thises or thats.This is a great book for anyone who wants to appreciate the preciousness of the life they have and to learn how to be a more fully aware participant in it.So after reading it and talking about it to so many people, I ordered five more copies to have on hand to give away...yeah, it's that kind of book. Treat yourself and then pass it on and treat someone else you know.

HAND WASH COLD
The second book by Karen Miller did not fail to deliver.
It may be a small book but it is a big read. Insightful,and delightful,


Chris

I LOVE this book...metaphors and all!
I stumbled upon this book and devoured it in two days.I then began reading it again.The writing is inspiring, witty, and wise.Karen Maezen Miller is my new favorite.

Simple and Simply Profound
Karen Maezen Miller author of Hand Wash Cold is a teacher for sure.The generous sharing of her personal profound moments and epiphanies leaves me steeped in gratitude and a greater awareness than I had before I read this wonderful little book.She captures the truth that anyone who is looking for deeper meaning, experiences through rich metaphors presented in life.These metaphors are found in nature and our day to day lives-- and Miller artfully reveals some of our often overlooked but greatest teaching metaphors-- and yes that includes washing clothes, tending the garden and raising a child.What is remarkable is that Miller uses this framework with such art, wisdom and insight that it never feels tiresome or predictable.

Metaphors teach us as nothing else can and this lovely book is gentle, honest, profound and is steeped in truth as well as the wisdom of the ages.Her insights about meditation, spiritual teachers, attention to what matters most and living authenticity/truthfully offers a powerful grounding for the reader regardless of religious affiliation or personal spiritual practices.

Rena M. Reese
Founder, Soul Salon International

Why you need two copies of this book
As I read this book - in restaurants, on breaks at work and at the breakfast table, I made a tiny bend in the passages that I wanted to share.Some sections I wanted to gift to my mom, others my best friend, and one for my co-worker.Too many bends in the pages later, I realized that I needed a second copy.Treasured books need to be shared, and I usually don't mind passing books forward after reading them without expectation of getting them back.This book, I want to keep on my shelf though, so a second copy to lend was neccessary!

Karen's simple honesty is so accessable, but not in a way that is saccharine or generic.I'd refer you to look at the passages available to read online, but if you want a real treat, do what I did and just ignore them - read the book in its fullness unspoiled by previews. ... Read more

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Praise for SMART CALLING

"Finally, a sales book that makes sense! As a master sales trainer, Art nailed—no, obliterated—the number one fear of selling in this great book: cold calling! Let him teach you to stop cold calling and start Smart Calling!"—LARRY WINGET, television personality and New York Times bestselling author

"Smart Calling is the benchmark as the highest professional standard for effective cold calling. Take the initiative to read and implement Art's rational principles and you will sell much more and develop a prospect base of potential customers who will call you when they are ready to purchase or graciously take your future calls. This is THE BEST sales text I have read in the past twenty years."—REX CASWELL, PhD, VP, LexisNexis Telephone Sales

"You get only one chance to make the right impression in sales. If a top prospect gets a hundred calls a week, you want to be the one he remembers and buys from. Art's proven methods create a unique brand for you and position your offering as the best option. Art's advice isn't just smart, it's priceless."—BOB SILVY, VP, Corporate Marketing, American City Business Journals

"Smart Calling effectively enables inside sales reps and organizations to accomplish a top priority—acquiring new customers. Art's pragmatic and actionable techniques will increase productivity, success, and professional satisfaction."—BILL McALISTER, SVP, Inside Sales, McAfee

"A must-read, must-own book for anyone who wants to increase their sales right away with less effort and more fun. I'm so sure this book is a winner for anyone who needs to call prospects that I'll personally assure you that your results will increase noticeably after reading it, or I'll send you your money back."—MIKE FAITH, CEO & President, Headsets.com, Inc.

"If you need to make a first call to anyone, for whatever reason, this book is for you. More than common sense, it's a real-world, no-fluff, simple approach that anyone can use to be successful."—DARCI MAENPA, President, West Coast Chapter, American Teleservices Association; Director, Member Support, Toastmasters International ... Read more

Customer Reviews (33)

Sales After the first 2 Chapters
I read this book in hopes to hone my over the phone sales.It sure worked.First I viewed Art's video on his website, then tried his methods.I signed a $250 ad in the first day!I was really excited.I need to get back on the phones.Whata great book and I highly recommend everyone try it out.

Great service. Teaches a skill
Excellent service. The book is excellent. The first 60 pages gave me some great tips.

This could be a lifetime skill for someone to always be able to make money.

Has my highest recommendation.

For Retail or Corporate
One of the best sales books I have ever read along with SPIN selling, and SPIN selling field book. Sales has three stages: Getting the appointment, the presentation, and follow up & closing. This guy has loads and loads of practical information regarding Getting the appointment. I am an individual life insurance salesman, and if you are calling 100 people to get 5 appointments, then after you read this book, you'll get 50 or 60 appointments (imagine how much would that affect your income). Get it without even thinking about it.

Smart Call Your Way to the Bank
Art Sobczak is more than just a great guy who truly cares about your success as a sales professional, he's the "real deal". Smart Calling is by far the best sales book I have ever read on how to make cold calls intelligently and authentically.

Art's practical strategies helps elevate the professionalism of everyone who earns their living selling a product or service.

Buy, read and apply everything Art says in this book and you'll Smart Call Your Way to the Bank!

A "must have" for inside sales professionals!
Finally, a book that provides current and effective, prospecting and cold calling techniques that don't rely on shady and manipulative tactics.

Art really hits the nail on the head in Smart Calling, and delivers his information in a fun and easy-to-read manner.

I started using his "seconday objective" technique, and have noticed that I don't hesitate as much between calls anymore, and his opening statement/questioning tips have helped me uncover hundreds of thousands of dollars in new opportunities in the past 2 weeks alone!


This is a must buy book for inside sales professionals. ... Read more

Product Description
Hannah Shay has finally shown the town of Black Falls what she's worth. Her Three Sisters Café is a success, and she's soon to become a prosecutor. When the café becomes an epicenter for investigators trying to pierce a violent crime ring that's leaving bloody trails on nearby Cameron Mountain, Hannah suspects a man from her past is involved.

Sean Cameron returns to the snowy cold of his Vermont hometown to unmask his father's killer. Sean has the skills and resources to mount his own search, but he must convince the resistant Hannah to cooperate—because the killer is ready to strike again…and closer than anyone ever imagined. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Romantic Suspense Done Right!
The characters in this book are keenly developed and strong, but it is the suspense that kept me turning pages until the end.I like the books in a series but didn't think it was a problem if you hadn't read the first one.This book hits the perfect balance for me between a strong plot and the great relationships between the characters.Cannot wait for the final book and expect it will provide all I hope for!Neggers is on my "must read" list!

Now I'm waiting for the next book!
Carla Neggars never disappoints me and yet again she has left me wishing her next book was already on the shelves.Cold River is tense, exciting, and every character jumps from the page whole.Each time I expected a little lull in the action, the screws got tightened even more!A completely satisfying story.

Backstory Dump
Neggers really needs to stop writing this series.She feels so compelled to tell you over and over again about what's happened in previous books that there's no real plot or character development in this one at all.The first time she mentioned the villain, I thought "oh, that's the villain," and sure enough, it was.Why did I know that?Well, because it's the only character who's not patently "good" she spends any time on, the only one we see anything new about.

I'd be surprised if more than 20% of this novel were actually new material and not a rehashing of things that took place in previous novels in the series.OK, maybe that's an exaggeration.It FELT like 20%, but maybe it was 30% or even 40%.

Neggers can write--her sentences go together fine, and her dialogue works (except when characters are telling each other things everyone, including all the characters involved, already know--a cardinal sin for a writer) and there's nothing wrong with the basic plot.There's just not enough there to qualify for a novel.

Carla Neggers
Carla Neggers does it again. She is someone I can count on for the very best romantic suspense! She never disappoints.

AN EXCELLENT READ
I read this book non-stop.I loved the hero and heroine and the small town feel about it.The suspense was an extra bonus!

I have enjoyed each and every Carla Neggers' book that I have read.As one reviewer said, she just keeps getting better and better.

Can't wait for the next one to come out!

... Read more

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Customer Reviews (18)

Gritty thriller
I could say that this is just a great popcorn thriller, but it's more than that.

Yes, while it's true that you don't learn very much about each character as they are introduced, there simply isn't time for that. Lives are stake as Nate and his pregnant girlfriend, trying to drive ahead of a snowstorm, stumble upon a mysterious man in need of a ride.

Then, a bit further down the road, they all get stuck and become forced to ride out the night in a motel with even more strangers. And things go downhill from there...

Written in first person and biting dialogue, Rector shows an assured hand as he tells his tale. This writer has more to say and you'd do well to get in on the action now.

This is A Very Impressive Debut
THE COLD KISS is definitely one of the best debuts I've read this year.If you enjoy dark, leanly-written suspense, this novel is definitely something you should try.

The plot of THE COLD KISS is pretty straightforward.A young, struggling couple gives a ride to a sick-looking stranger in exchange for $500.Stopped by an incoming blizzard, the three of them end up stranded at a small motel in the middle of nowhere.At the motel, the young couple quickly discover two things: (1) the stranger no longer has a pulse, and (2) he's carrying a suitcase with millions of dollars in cash. The rest of the novel deals with the couple's decision to keep the cash and all the complications that ensue.

Admittedly, this plot is nothing new, and borrows heavily from earlier books like Scott Smith's A SIMPLE PLAN and Scott Phillips' THE ICE HARVEST.But what THE COLD KISS lacks in originality it makes up for with pure thrills.Author John Rector knows how to build a suspenseful plot, and I spent much of this novel on the edge of my seat.Rector is also quite adept with dialogue, and uses it to create a set of vivid, colorful characters.In short, Rector makes the most of a tired formula here, and I was impressed with the results.

I think John Rector is an author with a lot of potential.I look forward to his future books.My only hope is that he comes up with a fresher plot than what I found in THE COLD KISS.

Hard-Boiled Cold
If you're looking for an old-fashioned jolt of adrenaline charged entertainment, John Rector's debut "Cold Kiss" is a good bet.Young Nate and his pregnant teenage fiancé Sara, en route to Reno looking to start a new life, cross paths with a visibly ill man in a deserted Nebraska diner.Nate doesn't want to get involved, but the sensitive Sara intervenes, agreeing to ferry the man - Sylvester White - to Omaha.For $500.It's the dead of winter.A blizzard is bearing down."Syl" is feverish, coughing up blood, deliriously rambling about "Lilith", and not looking like he'll make it through the night.As conditions near whiteout, the motley trio limps into a motel as seedy as it is desolate.Meanwhile, Syl has died in the backseat.Uh oh.

What follows is a white-knuckled little suspense fest with Hitchcockian tones - random people thrown together in stressful situations, shady characters with shadier backgrounds slowly revealed, and the discovery of a large sum of obviously illicit cash.Tensions mount and mysteries build as Nate finds himself falling ever deeper into his own treachery.

You may find a bit of déjà vu in reading "Cold Kiss" - Scott Smith's excellent "A Simple Plan" comes to mind, or in style and pace, either of James Siegel's sparse thrillers.But Rector is a no-nonsense writer who uses lean prose as a weapon to jar the reader - keeping eyes glued to the pages - while snapping through murder and mayhem at a Lee Child or Robert Crais clip.Rector is refreshingly straightforward, unburdened by agenda or message, focused only on spinning a simple, brutal yarn that doesn't have to be unique to be enjoyed. Great first novel - looking forward to the encore.

Fast paced, psychological thriller

John Rector's The Cold Kiss opens up in a café and introduces us to the main characters, Nate who is contemplative and reserved & Sarawho's talkative and extrovert. They wish to escape their previous lives and get away from Minnesota and all the snow. Their destination is Reno and they can't seem to go there any faster. On a routine pit stop at a café, Sara notices another customer who's coughing as if he were terminal ill. She asks Nateto check him up and though her partner is a bit reluctant, he complies. However his cordial questions are rebuffed and the man leaves.

As soon as they fill up their gas tanks and are about to leave, the man with the cough returns and introduces himself as Sylvester White and offers them five hundred dollars for a ride to Omaha. Nate is still hesitant, but Sara jumps at the opportunity and agrees to take him along.

On the way, Sylvester's cough worsens and they have to make a stop as the snow storm catches up with them. They find a slightly rundown motel which luckily offers them succor. Checking upon Sylvester, they are surprised to find blood soaked bandages on his chest and the mystery man appears to be near death's door. What is extraordinary about the situation is that they also find almost two million dollars upon him & now they have to make some hard decisions as to what they will do regarding the cash and the near-dead man with them.

From here the story kicks into high gear as the choice Nate makes, leaves them suspicious about everyone. What further complicates their stay in the motel is that the people around them appear to be equally laconic and a bit strange. The plot then kicks in as the reappearance of a certain thing causes even more grief for Nate & Sara.

The story virtually explodes as circumstances keep on changing and suspicions arise about Nate and Sara. They are forced to make harder choices which keep on unraveling. Also what goes against them is the fact that both of them are young people who have had previously troubled lives and therefore are damaged in their own ways. Psychologically, they aren't equipped for such circumstances, especially Nate who is haunted by his headaches as well as his past mistakes.

As the story unfolds there are revelations about his past which showcase him in a totally different light. The night wears on and the other characters in the motel start interacting with Nate & Sara and perhaps get a clue as to what might have happened to Sylvester. Finally in this mix is also the name which Sylvester keeps on muttering to himself before his lapsing into unconsciousness - Lilith who is the woman that Sylvester is running away from.

John Rector has delivered a very taut tale which will keep the readers on their strung nerves as frequently the tale twists and then turns making it very hard to guess the eventual outcome. The added claustrophobia of the snowed-in motel, the devious nature of the tale and the quite difficult to decipher characters were main draws for me. The novel is set within the space of 2-3 days and the author keeps an unrelenting pace.

I read The Cold Kiss within one sitting as the story kept me hooked from its beginning, all the way to its gruesome end. The prose is very effective and manages to draw the reader in, whilst not being overtly dramatic. John Rector is a superb storyteller and this book along with "The Grove" will convince most readers about this fact as well.


Overall rating = 4 & Half stars for a very worthy & twisted thriller!

Motel Hell ("The Cold Kiss" Is A Sizzling Crime Drama From John Rector)
Nate and Sara are a young couple driving from Minnesota to Reno, Nevada.All their belongings are piled inside their car.At a roadside diner, they meet the mysterious Syl White who is coughing up blood.Greed overrides good judgment and they agree to give him a ride to Omaha, Nebraska for $500.A blizzard forces them to stay at the secluded, rundown Oasis Inn.Soon afterwards, Sly appears to die from a bullet wound he`d been concealing.Nick and Sara are a little too eager to dispose of his corpse, especially after finding two million dollars in his suitcase.Unfortunately, they learn their motel contains several dangerous psychotics who turn their snowbound visit into a living hell.

John Rector`s "The Cold Kiss" is a highly suspenseful, highly provocative crime drama that moves at a fast clip.The love of money and its ability to corrupt seem to be major themes of this violent, gory yarn."The Cold Kiss" has elements of the teen horror film "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and the classic, groundbreaking "Psycho."The employees and guests of the Oasis Inn are very strange.Some of them are psychotic killers.None of them can be trusted.

Snowbound settings are a favorite of mine.In "The Cold Kiss," we have a secluded motel where everyone is trapped by a raging snow storm.Phone lines are down and cell phones don't work.The electricity is also off.Thank goodness for natural gas, which is used to cook food and keep the cabins warm.Unfortunately, a killer is breaking into the cabins, looking for the stolen two million.

The main character is Nate.We never learn his last name.The story is told in the first person from Nate's point of view.An ex-convict who's morally weak, he's not the type of person I strongly admire.At times, I found his actions rather despicable.However, let's not judge Nate too harshly.After all, he's young and foolish.The reader can't help but wonder how he/she would react upon finding two million dollars in a dying man's belongings.I can only hope that I wouldn't repeat Nate's actions.

Sara (we don`t know her last name either) is engaged to be married to Nate.Serving as his conscience, she keeps insisting they go to the police, but he refuses.Soon Nate becomes so ensnarled by his own deceitful lies that it becomes impossible for him, an ex-convict, to contact the authorities.Someone has been watching Nate ever since he arrived at the motel.That someone will soon be blackmailing him, forcing him to commit more crimes.Sara, meanwhile, remains isolated in the cabin, too nauseous from guilt to mingle with the others who are also trapped in the motel.

The motel owner is Butch Sollars.He is very protective of his strange nephew Zack who is a religious fanatic and a hypocrite.An ex-convict like Nate, Zack appears at times to have a split personality.An elderly couple, Marcus and Caroline, are also trapped guests at the motel.Marcus is easy going whereas his wife is a snooping, domineering woman who is determined to learn Syl's identity when his body is discovered.A lonely Russian nurse, Megan, rounds out the cast.There is also a dangerous woman, Lilith.Syl cringes in fear when he speaks her name.He swears she will come looking for the two million.It is unknown whether Lilith is a real person or a figment of a dying man's delusional mind.

As the title suggests, "The Cold Kiss" has a strong romantic element.Sara likes to kiss Nate.In fact, she is often asking him to kiss her for good luck.However, Nate doesn't believe in luck, and he doesn't believe in God.Nate, who is haunted by the death of his fifteen-year-old brother Vincent and suffers migraine headaches because of an injury inflicted on him in prison, doesn't seem to believe in much of anything.Considering his apathy and the freezing temperatures, it's no wonder his kisses are cold.Despite his stubbornness to relinquish his hold on the two million, Sara continues to love him.At the novel's conclusion, Sara gives Nate one last kiss for good luck, a kiss that appears quite sizzling.

"The Cold Kiss" is highly recommended reading for fans of crime drama, especially if you like cold, isolated settings with howling winds and freezing temperatures.Some of my favorite horror films have isolated motels and creepy employees and guests; ranging from the classic to the modern, these films include "Psycho," "Motel Hell," "Mountaintop Motel Massacre," "Identity" and "Vacancy."If you enjoy reading horror and mystery novels with snowbound settings, then I recommend reading James Thompson's "Snow Angels," Ronald Damian Malfi's "Snow," and "Snowbound" and "Abandon," which are both written by Blake Crouch.These novels are guaranteed to add a chill of suspense to you hot summer.


Joseph B. Hoyos
... Read more

Product Description
Secrets of the Cold War' focuses on a dark period of a silent war and offers a new perspective on the struggle between the superpowers of the world told in the words of those who were there. The author, formerly an expert in counterintelligence in US Army Europe, weaves together exciting true accounts of allies collecting enemy information in the East and fighting spies and terrorist in the West. Amassing Soviet military information by Allied agents in the East is at the forefront! Learn the bizarre method a British agent uses to obtain the muzzle size of a Russian tank as he risks his life jumping on a moving train in East Germany. A French officer drives into a Soviet tank column and escapes undiscovered by cunning methods. In West Germany, terrorist attacks and spies are rampant. Communists shoot a rocket propelled grenade into a General's occupied limo and terrorists kidnap another General. From the espionage files, an American soldier is nearly recruited in a downtown bar to be a spy and a First Sergeant is lured by sex to be an unknowing participant in spying. Behind-the-lines images are historic and intriguing. See photographs of a French officer and a Soviet officer relaxing in the East German woods in a temporary unofficial peace; 'James Bond' type cars with their light tricks and their ability to leave their Stasi shadows 'wheel spinning' in the snow will amaze readers. A Russian translator for the presidential hotline recounts a story about having to lock his doors in the Pentagon, separating himself and his sergeant from the Pentagon Generals when a message comes in from the Soviets. When he called the White House to relay the message to the President and stood by for a possible reply to the Soviet Chairman, he stopped working for the Generals and started working solely for the President.In another riveting account, a US Berlin tank unit goes on red alert when the Soviets stop a US convoy on the autobahn between West Germany and Berlin. The Berlin Command orders the tanks to rescue them, "If anything gets in your way, either run over it or blow it away!" Young US Berlin train commanders recount their encounters with their Soviet counterparts aboard the Berlin Duty Train. In an unusual train incident, one male Soviet Officer places a love note in a young US female Train Commander's pocket, touching her leg. The note is in the book.Containing a host of first-person accounts that lift the lid on previously untold clandestine activities, this is a major contribution to Cold War history, and exciting reading for all those who have an interest in the real-life world of military intelligence, counterintelligence and espionage. Francis Gary Powers, Jr: "Well written and informative, the book is a magnificent assessment of the Cold War history." Retired four Star General Kroesen, of US Army Europe: "Given the criticism, bad news and alleged malfeasances associated with our intelligence services during the past decade, it is most refreshing to find a book relating a far different story." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A book for any vet interested in the intel ops in Europe
My first assignment in the Army of the 60s was in an Armored Division headquarters near Stuttgart (4th Armored Div) and my recollection of the monthly intel briefings and that everyone has a responsibility to be aware of the surroundings whether on post or off.I returned to Germany almost thirty years later as a civilian (GS) and the warnings hadn't really changed except for the terminology and some computer related issues.Lee McCaslin does a great job relating his time in Berlin and Heidelberg at the Headquarters of US Army Europe.My recommendation is that the book be required for all Intel officers, NCOs and civilians assigned to intel units worldwide.Perhaps when more declassifications occur, Lee McCaslin can issue eiher a sequel or second edition with deleted information.

We were there
We were there!

As one of Lee's compatriots, I welcomed the news that Lee was fulfilling his long-time desire to write about the cold war.We were both fortunate to work and practice our trades within the Army Headquarters in Heidelberg, in addition to serving at other "cold war" posts.

I greatly appreciate Lee's effort, which brings to mind my involvement in many of the same activities, not to mention many other similar activities which are still cloaked by the mists of time and security.

Congratulations, Lee, and Thank You!

So Very Exciting!
Having great interest in the political and military struggles and intelligence work of today, it only makes sense to further investigate some of the inner workings of intelligence activity of the recent past.It's amazing to read the first hand accounts of some of these real world activities!!!Thank you Mr. McCaslin for your service! ... Read more

Product Description
Whether your winter blows with snow and rain or is just a sunbelt state of mind, a trove of delicious, soul-warming fare awaits in COLD WEATHER COOKING, from the author of The Nantucket Open-House Cookbook with over 214,000 copies in print.

Guided by a sense that winter is the season for seasonings-from ginger, garlic, and rosemary in Mixed Winter Squash Provencal to the cilantro and walnut crust on a dazzling Roast Rack of Lamb-this gifted cook and author provides dishes that are even gutsier than her summertime favorites. She pays special attention to the late harvest, helps cooks make the most of fall fruits and vegetables, offers chapters on winter grilling and cooking over the hearth.

More than 300 recipes range from bracing drinks for the first sign of autumn to glorious spring dishes for an Easter celebration. Warm Tomato Pie. Wild Rice, Mushroom, and Oyster Bisque. Pasta with Gorgonzola and Spinach. Plus Scallops in Sweet and Hot Lime Sauce, Deviled Beef Ribs, Broccoli with Toasted Hazelnuts and Pancetta, Sweet Potato Pancakes, Pumpkin Bread Pudding, Chestnut Mousse Cake, and Christmas Truffle Tart. Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club's HomeStyle Books. 112,000 copies in print.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

my default cookbook
I am considered by friends and family to be a very good cook.Believe me, I have no particular talent and I don't work very hard at it.I simply have great recipes - and they are all from this book.We all collect cookbooks that catch our eye.But, it's the one or two that you always grab and are never disappointed by that actually have a tangible impact on your life.And, this cookbook is exactly that!

Good Eating
This cookbook is fantastic - wish I had time to create something out of it every day. It's divided up nicely - easy to follow. A lot of hearty fare - which is exactly what one wants to eat in colder temperatures!!! I will say that the mulled wine is a standout - there is something for everyone though - appetizers through desserts. You won't be disappointed!!

My favorite cookbook!
This is by far my favorite cookbook.We've loved almost every recipe, although she seems to be a better cook than baker (baked goods are good, but food is great!).Better than Open House cookbook b/c the portions are smaller (family-sized as opposed to banquet sized) and the recipe descriptions are less flowery.

Cold Weather Cooking
I have used this cookbook for 2 years and found every recipe to be delicious.It calls for lots of fresh ingredientsbut if you don't have them, often the recipes don't suffer.Many of the recipes are variations on old New England favorites.The title says it correctly!

My favorite cookbook
Of all the cookbooks I own (and that's a lot) this one is probably my favorite.Sarah Leah Chase's style is friendly and charming.Her love of food is apparent on every page.Her ability is apparent in the first recipe you prepare.The Chocolate Raspberry cake is wonderful........for years now it is my most requested recipe.I wish she would write another cookbook! ... Read more

Product Description
Charles Todd returns to the world of Scotland Yard’s Inspector Ian Rutledge in a series that the New York Times Book Review called “harrowing psychological drama” and the Washington Post Book World hailed as “among the most intelligent and affecting being written these days.” This time the embattled Inspector has met his match hunting a brutal killer across a frozen hell and the one witness who may have survived a crime of…

A COLD TREACHERY

“You’ll hang for this–see if you don’t! That’s my revenge! And you’ll think about that when the rope goes around your neck and the black hood comes down….”

Called out by Scotland Yard into the teeth of a violent blizzard, Inspector Ian Rutledge finds himself confronted with one of the most savage murders he has ever encountered. Rutledge might have expected such unspeakable carnage on the World War I battlefields, where he’d lost much of his soul–and his sanity–but not in an otherwise peaceful farm kitchen in remote Urskdale.

Someone has murdered the Elcott family at their table without the least sign of struggle. Was the killer someone the young family knew and trusted? When the victims are tallied the local police are in for another shock: One of the Elcotts’ children, a boy named Josh, is missing.

Now the Inspector must race to uncover a murderer and to save a child before he’s silenced by the merciless elements–or the even colder hands of a killer. Haunted and goaded by the soldier-ghost of his own tortured war past, Rutledge will discover the tragedy of war that splintered one marriage–and pulled together another.
Love, jealousy, greed, revenge–or was it some twisted combination of all of them? Any one could lead a man or woman to murder. What had the Elcotts done to ignite their killer’s rage? With time running out, Rutledge knows all too well that such a cold-blooded murderer could be hiding somewhere in the blinding snow…
preparing to strike again.


From the Hardcover edition.Amazon.com Review
Integral to most crime tales is the unearthing of concealed and unfavorable facts about suspected malefactors. But the mother-son duo who write under the nom de plume "Charles Todd" are particularly adept, in their historical novels featuring Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge, at exploiting painful secrets as tools in developing both character and plot. It's rare, in a Todd tale, that even the innocent should escape unscathed. The authors demonstrate their skills once more in A Cold Treachery, which sends the shell-shocked and lonely Rutledge to probe the winter massacre of a sheep-farming family in northern England, at the same time as he searches for the missing and only witness to that chilling savagery.

"It was beyond comprehension," we're told of the December 1919 violence, near the rustic Lake District town of Urskdale, that left Gerald and Grace Elcott and three of their progeny shot to death. A fourth child, 10-year-old Josh Robinson, is nowhere to be found. He's thought to have fled from the scene, only to have perished in a recent blizzard. Coming off the grim proceedings recalled in A Fearsome Doubt, Rutledge--shackled as always to the nattering ghost of Hamish MacLeod, a Scotsman he'd ordered executed on a World War I battlefield--must determine whether the murderer was a passing stranger, or a local who'd previously concealed his or her aptitude for barbarity--and might kill again. Gerald Elcott's less-successful brother, Paul, has ample motive (he’s next in line to inherit their clan's farm), as does Grace's sister, Janet Ashton, who just happens to arrive in Urskdale with a gun in hand (supposedly to protect her sibling from Paul's anger). Yet there's another, more frightening possibility--that Josh, Gerald's stepson, upset by the breakup of his parents, committed these atrocities. Desperate for clues, and with his impatient superior threatening to replace him on this case, Rutledge still can't claim to know who, or what, was behind the carnage.

After their disappointing standalone, The Murder Stone, it's a relief to see the Todd pair return to the "gloomy, defeated and exhausted" postwar England of Ian Rutledge, where no end of dire dramas appear to lurk. Like its half-dozen predecessors, stretching back to A Test of Wills, A Cold Treachery satisfies with its copious period details, characters traumatized by fate and failures, and a bedeviled young protagonist who must solve other people's problems before his own. And even as Hamish seems here to slip further into the background, there's finally the prospect of Rutledge finding companionship of a more corporeal sort. --J. Kingston Pierce ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Dark Terrain
My great-grandmother grew up in Westmorland, not far from the setting of A Cold Treachery and my grandmother often spoke fondly of "The Lake District," painting a word picture of an idyllic, always spring-like countryside. Maybe Gran was never there in the winter! Charles Todd is particularly adept at scene-setting, in this case portraying a cold, dark, and inhospitable corner of "The North of England" (a phrase in a title heading that I appreciated--my grandmother would never have called it "Northern England"). As was the case with Cornwall in Todd's [or maybe, because this is a team, that should be Todds'] Wings of Fire, the fictional Urskdale's residents are every bit as difficult as the terrain.

This is the second of the Rutledge series that I've read. Unlike some other reviewers of this series (although not of this book), I didn't find Hamish to be especially annoying. I was able to think of "him" as Rutledge's subconscious or his conscience. Rutledge seems like a lonely man who often talks to himself, trying to work things out.

I've been looking at my other reviews and I seem to worry most about whether a book is believable or not. I had no problems with that here, except for buying into Hugh and Grace's amicable settling of their marital predicament. How many men could have accepted that? But, WWI tore a lot of lives and psyches apart, so maybe it could have happened. [SPOILER HERE] I did not guess who the murderer was until the end, unusual for an avid mystery reader. Given the opening chapter, the identity of the murderer seemed obvious and the only real mystery was the motive. Surprise, surprise.

Great Combination of Setting, Character and Historical Period
"A Cold Treachery" is rich. The combination of smart, dogged investigator with rugged, interesting setting and interesting period of history (post World War I) make for an undeniable read.I picked up "A Cold Treachery" having not read previous books in the Ian Rutledge series. It's easy enough to start here, but I'm sorry I didn't start at the beginning.

"A Cold Treachery" is set in the remote, harsh environment of northern England and Charles Todd milks every bit of atmosphere from the setting.Todd throws Scotland Yard Inspector Charles Rutledge into the remote village of Urksdale to find who killed a family--all but one missing son--in their home.
As Rutledge probes the villagers and the village, and as the search party combs the countryside in search of the missing boy, Todd renders the setting in vivid relief.

Throughout, Rutledge trades thoughts with Hamish Macloud, an ever-present ghost at Rutledge's side who chides, warns, cautions and questions Rutledge at every turn. Sound corny? It's not. "Hamish" is another side of Rutledge's character. "Hamish," the ghost of man Rutledge was ordered to execute on the battlefield, is Rutledge's baggage, psychiatrist and inner voice all wrapped up into one.

The writing is sharp. Inside the houses and inns, you feel the drafts and taste the simmering stews. When Rutledge ventures outside, you are tempted to put on a coat in sympathy."But as the darkness encompassed him, isolating him in the bright beams of his headlamps, he could feel the mountains again, out there like Russian wolves beyond the campfire's light. It was a trick of the mind, nothing more, but he was thrown back into the war, when in the darkness an experienced man could sense movement in the German trenches, even when there was no sound, nothing to betray the congregation of enemy forces before a surprise attack."

As Rutledge continues to stir up old feuds, uncover family secrets and stir the pot of gossip in Urksdale, the natives grow alternately weary and restless. Rutledge stays focused and the mystery unravels--after a fairly lengthy middle section--with a few swift jolts of action at the end.

"A Cold Treachery" is highly recommended for those who savor a well-drawn historical setting and a complicated, fascinating lead detective.

I love Ian and Hamish!
There are plenty of reviews about this title, so I won't rehash the storyline.I do want to say how very much I have enjoyed this series.The characters come to life so much that you feel for them. The stories are set in an era and location that has always interested me; post WWI Scotland & England. Inspector Rutledge of Scotland Yard and Hamish, the inspector's mostly friendly ghost that haunts him constantly, go about solving murders and saving the day....delightful reads.
I only wish the publishers would make the entire series available for kindle....but that doesn't have anything to do with a book review. I will be reading all of them that I can get!

Post WWI Mystery
The inspector's struggle with PTSD adds to the turns in themystery. Good read.

Expertly written
In Charles Todd's "A Cold Treachery," Inspector Ian Rutledge of London's Scotland Yard is dispatched to the cold and snowy north country of England, where sheep outnumber people and the rocks on the mountain slopes outnumber the sheep.

Sheep farming is the principal occupation around the small Village of Urskdale, which is situated next to a lake with the equally hard-sounding name of Urskwater. The houses, barns, and sheep pens of the outlying farms are scattered on the steep rocky slopes called fells. Snow makes the fells slippery and conceals treacherous crevices.

The mountainous terrain, the cold, and snow permeate Todd's story. People in these parts all know their neighbors and are wary of strangers. A horrible, bloody shooting of an isolated farm family -- mother, father, little daughter, and twin babies -- in their kitchen scares everyone into distrusting everyone else and to start locking doors.

Only one family member, a 10-year-old boy, is missing. Is the boy the murderer? Or had he escaped or been killed elsewhere by the madman? Search parties have begun scouring the area for the boy, who could not survive long in the bad weather. The local police know they need help. Inspector Rutledge drives from London, facing a blizzard that is making many roads impassable and will make his job more difficult.

All the elements of the story are finely drawn -- plot, suspects, other characters, the weather, the sheep, the farms, the fells. Expertly written. A most satisfying read (400 pages).
... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (15)

one false move
Probably four and a half stars, but that doesn't seem possible to do. I think the person who compared it to "All Quiet on the Western Front" is very astute; very similar. Writing is really beautiful at times, oft times, very lovely way of describing nature too, again and again; and there's a lovely bit how Iman's clothing, in separate bunches drying in front of the fire, were like items in a museum, each given their own space and value. Numerous examples of seeing things in a unique way. If I followed things correctly -- plot giveaway, minor though it is -- if that is Iman's child at the very end, playing around the fire, I could have done without that. Iman should live in Ada's mind only as a memory, a season.

A masterpiece
This is the most powerful anti-war novel I've read since "All Quiet on the Western Front.'' Wounded physically, emotionally and spiritually by the Civil War, Confederate soldier Inman decides to walk out of the hospital where he's recuperating and hike hundreds of miles home to Ada, the woman he loves. Frazier switches between Inman's perilous journey and Ada's story back home near Cold Mountain, N.C. She's a spoiled city sophisticate from Charleston, S.C., who finds herself penniless and responsible for a ramshackle farm when her father dies. Coming to her rescue is a rugged near-orphan named Ruby, who has a somewhat fantastical ability to get practical things done. Frazier writes in an archaic style, filling his narrative with words and phrases I don't think I've ever seen before. When a woman masturbates, Frazier describes it this way: "She took the easement of a maiden, spinster, widow.'' But Frazier's words and phrasing are often beautiful in their own way. And he creates moments of astounding power: a great blue heron taking off in flight; an impoverished widow singing a lullaby to her dying baby; a good-for-nothing drunk finding a measure of redemption in his fiddle. Cold Mountain deserves all the praise it has received.

"A critic is to an author as a fungus to an oak." - Edward Abbey, Vox Clamantis in Deserto
Keats wrote "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer."I might write "On Finishing Frazier's Cold Mountain."I am stating upfront & at the onset that I loved this book.

Cold Mountain is essentially a war novel.Observation is its major theme.Then survival & what it means.For some reason, the publisher decided to market it as a romantic love-against-all-odds novel.It is not.Romance, as a theme, is probably tertiary at best.Even food, & the getting of it, take on much larger importance than Love.

Cold Mountain takes place during the American Civil War, and so describes scenes of brutality and horror.A writer, given war as his subject, could epically sound the bugle and rally the troops.Frazier does not do this.His war is a grey one, confused by its own momentum and purpose.His Spartan imagery conveys the apocalyptic backdrop of war, and he uses his minimalist language to the advantage of the reader's imagination."The glance reveals what the gaze obscures," said Emerson.It is elegantly rich in its sparsity.

This is Frazier's first book.Its contents must have been simmering for years, reducing & reducing, becoming rich & stocky.Salted with wonderfully archaic cadence & vocabulary, his hard-nosed language drives like a plow, a rich long furrow sprouting prose-poems.Pommes de Terre.Earth apples.Brown & rich.

An example of his antediluvian tongue is his use of the word `sputcheon'.I have a habit of looking-up any new word I come across in my reading, & call me old fashioned, but I like to use an actual dictionary (Google doesn't do it for me).I looked in the many dictionaries I have on my "reference shelf", & none contained it.I went to the library, & even the multi-volume tombstone-sized dictionaries were silent on the meaning of this elusive word.I finally did what I should have done in the first place:I consulted the mighty Oxford English Dictionary.For those who don't know, the OED (as it is affectionately referred to by almost everyone who is familiar with it) is the world's largest dictionary, containing every English word to ever exist.The Second Edition is a 20-volume work weighing over 137 lbs & contains more than 2.4 million quotations.The OED had this to say:"Sputcheon- [of obscure origin]Mouth-piece of a sword-scabbard."The first appearance of this word in print is from an 1842 Naval & Military technical dictionary in an entry on the Battle de la cuvette.

The prevailing feeling of the novel is listlessness, the sense of being unmoored- the hawsers thrown off & the tide & current captain.The reader is in the role of Observer, & Life's dramatic events play out.

The book's detractors will say it could be edited down to 200 pages instead of the 400+ it is, but I say those critics have no idea of the Soul of the book.Like one of the many long twisted dusty brown roads Frazier writes about, the novel is seemingly endless in parts.The overall narrative ceases to matter, & the microcosm of the scene takes over.The prose-poetry is its own justification, a pleasure to read.That it rambles is not a bad thing: like taking the scenic route on a drive, you do not want to get from A to B in a straight line.

Cold Mountain is not cerebral but visceral.It is a work of bravura, lusty & evocative along the lines of Whitman or Wolfe, but stunted & plebeian.It drips with hog lard & wood smoke & blood & flame & stove ash.It is blood & mud pooled `til they become indistinguishable, one ferrous liquid screaming "death!"

Though the book deals with division & fratricide, Frazier's message is that under the thumb of war, hunger, thirst, & cold, we are all American brethren.

I recommend this book to anyone willing to trudge through swamps & deep dank mossy forests.In fact, if ever wondering how to spend that next beautiful summer day, my advice is to stick Cold Mountain in a back-pack & head out to the nearest neck of woods, find a nice lonely spot & plop down.

Couldn't Finish It
There are some parts of "Cold Mountain" which are beautifully written, but beautiful writing just cannot compensate for a lame plot (it's modeled on Homer's "The Odyssey") and stereotypical, lame characters:a sensitive poetic stud in love with an independent and strong-willed southern beauty.Halfway through I did not see the point in continuing, and I just stopped reading.

NOT FOR CHILDREN!
This was on my son's 11th grade reading list.It is absolutely full of profanity and the most crude words you've ever heard.There is one scene where a woman is described in vivid detail.If you are considering this for your school age child, please review it yourself first.I wish I had known the content ahead of time.Cold Mountain: A Novel ... Read more

Product Description
Lincoln Rhyme recognizes the calling card of the notorious Watchmaker—and realizes that the killer has more murders planned in the hours to come. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (126)

TWISTS AND TURNS
It is difficult to review a suspense novel without giving away too many details.My initial impression, however, was that the novel included two story strands that were inartfully combined.Then the plot heated up and all the individual situations started to be woven together.What one thinks is the primary story does not become the principle situation.The story continues to go deeper until three new scenarios are played out.There might be too many variations as the reader could become confused trying to analyze the action.Deaver had to write this book from back to front.I thought is was a masterpiece of story telling and would recommend it for readers that want a light adventure.

mystery
RJeffrey deaver is one my favorite authors.Cold Moon did not let me down.truly a page turner. I read all of his novels.If u r looking for an excellent #1 novel to read please order Cold Moon.

An enjoyable thriller
An evil killer is murdering innocent people, and leaving a ticking clock at the scene of the crime. Rhyme and Sachs are on the case, trying to track down this ruthless killer, before the person can strike again. But, as usual, with Jeffery Deaver, all is not what it originally seems!

I thought this book was a very enjoyable read for the most part. It seems the author has created a very devious and evil killer, in the Watchmaker. I really enjoyed how Rhyme, Sachs and the rest of the gang, slowly put together the evidence, in order to capture the ruthless killer.

However, in the last third of the book, the twists and coincidences, became a bit too ridiculous and far fetched for my liking. For this reason, I am giving the book four stars, instead of five.

The Cold Snooze
This book starts with great promise about a sadistic serial killer but becomes so unbelievable I could not continue and gave up 3/4 of the way through - and I am glad I did after learning the ending. Deaver's need to literally 'info dump' massive plot twists is a damning testimony to the ridiculous and unworkable plot. Do not invest your time in this unbelievable story. I should have learnt my lesson after the epic snoozefest that was 'the bodies left behind'.

First Time
This was the first Jeffery deaver book I've read.
It's a nice surprise. He keeps you guessing with twists and turns until the very end. I'm adding Deaver to my lists of writers to watch. ... Read more

Product Description

In this long-awaited history, Neil Sheehan, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, describes the US-Soviet arms race through the story of the colorful and visionary American Air Force officer, Bernard Schriever.
 
This never-before-told story details Schriever’s quest to prevent the Soviet Union from acquiring nuclear superiority, and describes American efforts to develop the unstoppable nuclear-weapon delivery system, the intercontinental ballistic missle, the first weapons meant to deter an atomic holocaust rather than to be fired in anger. In this sweeping narrative, Sheehan brings to life a huge cast of some of the most intriguing characters of the cold war, including the brilliant physicist John Von Neumann, and the hawkish Air Force general, Curtis LeMay. Melding biography, history, world affairs, and science, A Fiery Peace in a Cold War transports the reader back and forth from individual drama to world stage.

Customer Reviews (68)

It did more than we expected
The often maligned missile program is justified in this book; the program did work; it may have been expensive,but it was a "peacekeeper" and there was no Third World War.And the benfits to the Space Program were enormous.

Decent read...keep your political opinions to yourself
As an AF space officer I read the book on a recommendation from a coworker.A bit dry but a good history of the ICBM program and, more importantly, the very capable father of our nation's spacelift capability Gen Bennie Schriever.Neil Sheehan leans way too far to the left for my taste so his shots at Donald Rumsfeld and George W. Bush seemed unnecessary, petty and detracted from his well written book.I think I'll pick up Warren Kozak's book on Curtis LeMay now.

Fascinating Topic, Boring Book
Sheehan's method is to investigate a broad topic through the lens of one particpant's story. It worked brilliantly in Bright Shining Lie, but fails here. I wanted more of the technology and drama, but the book is mainly a series of mini biographies structured like this:

[Male human] grew up in [region]. He entered [education institution] and studied [some technical field]. He joined the army air corps in [year]. He served in the [WWII theatre] as a [military specialty]. After the war, [Army general] noticed his talents and he joined [missile development team].

There must be two dozen such bios and their repetition is tedious.

Sheehan's predictable Cold War revisionism is restrained, and only occasionally annoys.

Two stars for inherently interesting subject matter and a smattering of high points.

Ah, the good old days
Mr. Sheehan takes us back to the last days of the last five star general and the only Airman to hold that rank, Hap Arnold; he saw the future, needing command engineers, not just bomber commanders, those daring ops men of old.Enter Benny Schriver, not the only German-speaking gun of post-war America.Not a sailor, he was of Bremerhaven.I will forgive Mr. Sheehan for his biographically suspect device of tracing the importance of golf among the winning traits of this central figure.He reasons that this solitary pursuit of competitive excellence accounts for Benny's (as the golfing press dubbed him) staunchness under fire while creating America's Intercontinental Ballistic Missile program; after all Mr. Sheehan could hardly have foreseen the timidity of the Tiger in our woods, so to speak.Post hoc, propter hoc is his growling error.But biographical astuteness is no requisite for another fine book of his.I had not known that Texas A&M had been an all-male military school.Benny bounced into flight school at Kelly Field, home of Air Corps advanced training, to solo after just six hours.His depression era pay was already much above average because a fifty per cent kicker for flight pay - a.k.a. the crash and burn differential.Mr. Sheehan is now in stride as Benny gets another leg up by falling in with Tooey Spaatz, who would become the first A. F. Chief of Staff.You will be relieved to know that officers during the Great Depression did their part by working only half days, which does wonders for your gold handicap.

After the start of the war, Lieutenant Schriever studied aeronautical engineering at Stanford; his sad father-in-law, George Brett had the bad luck to be the Air Corps general assigned to MacArthur, whose combat experience consisted of shooting American Veterans against the direct orders of his Commander-in-Chief (this turned out to be good practice for later) at the Anacostia debacle.Mac had refused to admit Brett to his staff meetings because he was not "Regular Army".He must have missed the memo on Pearl Harbor.Mac did not want anybody talking to somebody like Hap Arnold.As a result, Brett was denied permission to bomb the Japanese Air Force, caught on the ground.The Japanese General was sure it was a divine omen.Mr. Sheehan merely says George Kenny replaced Brett; and in general shows little interest in the Pacific War. Otherwise this hefty volume would add another couple hundred pages.

After the war came the early days of espionage, when the focus was political instead of practical.Because Robert Oppenheimer was a political target, enormous energy was spent hounding him.This smear campaign left generous cover for the real spies, who, as real spies, knew to keep a low profile.Oppenheimer was merely an activist, open and forward, always playing by the rules.The political baboons completely overlooked the treacherous agents who were in the same laboratory, Hall and Fuchs.Hall's brother was an Air Force big shot, and Fuchs played the good little ex-Nazi ex-pat.They efficiently and quietly passed atomic secrets to the Soviets of far greater impact than anything the hapless Rosenbergs were ever accused of and executed for.It should not make us feel any better, but the vaunted British counter intelligence was hardly any better.It was they who vetted Klaus Fuchs and sent him to Los Alamos in 1943.

Did you know Stalin was his stage name?It means man of steel.His real name was the lilting Tjzhugashuili.By 1950, Ole Huga and his NKVD chief, Berea had some 200,000 German slave laborers mining uranium.They later died in the gold mines to preserve secrecy.He attributed the deaths of millions of Ukrainians he had murdered during the war to the German Army.He just swept their bones under the capacious Nazi rug.But Mr. Sheehan's point is that Stalin was not an expansionist like Hitler.Stalin preferred to keep his atrocities in his own yard.The U. S. assumed he was bent on world domination.Europe was only a buffer zone.We watched Soviet adventurism in Iranian Azerbaijan and in Afghanistan.It was all Stalin could manage to keep Czarist trophies in the south and east under control.

Mr. Sheehan spends a considerable number pf pages following Schrieber's early career; and through him, those of a number of Air Force luminaries: Jimmy Doolittle (the Great Misnomer); Carl Spaatz; Hap Arnold and Curtis LeMay.If you are reading this book with a focus on the nuclear aspect of the Cold War, you might grow a little impatient with all these colorful side shows through this longish section.More likely, you will enjoy his style and tid-bits.I had not known that General Jack D. Ripper was fashioned after LeMay in "Dr. Strangelove".Nor did I understand the Jet Stream rendered the Norden bombsight useless because the tail wind did not allow time for set-up.So Jack, er, Curtis simply ignored the military targets, dumped explosives for gasoline and petroleum gels, better know during Vietnam as Napalm, and went straight for the wooden residential areas.

LeMay was a myopic captive of the last war.Remember the Bomber Gap?LeMay again.He completely missed the Soviet change in direction away from bombers.They had a couple of hundred, the CIA figured from their photographs of tail numbers.They may have circled the same parade of all they had in successive loops on the May Day company picnic in Moscow.Eisenhower capped the B-52's at 744, which Kennedy upheld.At 30 megaton each that worked out to 20 billion tons of TNT, or 10 kilotons of TNT for each Soviet subject.Eisenhower quipped, "I do not know how many times you can kill a man, but about three should be enough.

LeMay sat in Omaha and sulked.And he hated Schriever in the worst way, pulling stunts like having him assigned to the motor pool in Korea to get him the heck away from Ike Eisenhower and the like.That one caused a scurry of brass all over Pentagonian creation to track down those petulant orders and rescind them to the circular file.

My one beef with Mr. Sheehan is his occasional quickness to confuse notoriety with excellence.He sometimes overestimates famous men, his biggest departure from his previous magnum opus, "A Bright Shining Lie".He does it with MacArthur, Edward Teller, and even with LeMay to an extent.On the other hand he does a panoramic job of parading this cast of characters in vivid little bio's between the heavy action.The magnificent von Neumann is remembered on his deathbed, listening to his brother read Faust.Impatient with the gap in poetry as the page so slowly turned, he, without missing a foot of meter began reciting the lines from the next page.

These were the glory days of American engineering, imported and home grown.Simon Ramo, born in my old stomping grounds at Salt Lake City, was lured to those of my parents, back East in Schenectady, New York by General Electric.The recruiter had told him he would enjoy playing in the city's symphony, as most of their musicians did.Simon became the Concertmaster, and then he became the "R" in TRW.

Mr. Sheehan takes us to the next big event following the hydrogen weapon:the Atlas Missile project to throw it with.Those were the very days when corporate treason led Eisenhower to understand that continuing assault on our Republic, that of the military-industrial complex.His last speech to us as President made it as clear as clear can be.

But it was off to that other gift of Atlas, the manned space program.Huh, turns out it is rocket science after all.

Unsung Heroes
I couldn't put this book down and give it five stars partly because I knew many of the people who are in it.There were a lot of things I wish had been in the book but were not.Vince Ford was my next door neighbor for years, and I heard all the stories and more first hand.Vince and I went everywhere and did all kinds of things together well into his nineties.He was always a delight to be with.There was never a cross word between us, and I never tired of being with him.There was never a hint that he was other than scrupulously honest and forthright.He was of extraordinary high character.

The first time I met Bennie Schriever, I got into an argument with him.Hell, I didn't know who he was, yet.He was visiting Vince, and as it later turned out, he was right and I was wrong.I came to love Bennie the same as all the others who knew him.His abilities, his courage, his tireless dedication to our country made him a true hero to me.He was above all, a straight-shooter.

I came along after Trev Gardner and Johnny Von Neumann were gone, but I heard everything about them from Ford.What I find a little disappointing is that there were so many anecdotes and little asides that would have made delightful additions to the book that were left out.For example, Vince Ford was known as "Grid" (as in "you may fire when ready, Gridley") to Bennie and all the insiders.It characterized so well his role for Bennie.There were so many little stories to tell.One time we were out, and I ordered a martini straight up.Vince said, "You're supposed to sip those things, aren't you?"I nodded.He went on to say that he had had lunch with Von Neumann in Princeton one time, and "Johnny" brought Oppenheimer along with him."Oppenheimer ordered a martini.I turned my head for a moment, and, when I looked back, Judas!It was gone!He put down three more of them the same way."

Sam Cohen is prominently missing from the book.Sam is the only member of the inner sanctum still alive, and although Sheehan lists him among those he interviewed, he has nothing else to say about him.Sam was a nuclear physicist and is known as "the father of the neutron bomb."He was an integral part of Bennie's team.Sam is almost ninety now and still tough, brilliant, forthright and at times testy.He loved Bennie and served him well.Sam is prominent by his absence.

Vince Ford enjoyed personal friendships over his long life with such folks as Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Stewart, Charles Lindbergh, Hap Arnold and many more.He had many adventures and served the highest levels of our military and government with honor and excellence.He never set out to talk about himself; all these things just came out in context of our discussions.

Bennie, Vince, Trev, Johnny and all the other guys on Bennie's team were of inestimable service to our country at a time of great danger. Tragically, most people today never heard of them. ... Read more

Product Description
Does this sound familiar? "If I can just get in front of more qualified prospects, the rest of the selling process becomes easier. It's just getting in front of them that's the challenge."

You're no idiot, of course. You can talk shop with any customer who enters your store, asks questions over the phone, or seeks out your specific product or service. But when comes to prospecting for new customers, you'd rather have a root canal!

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You will also discover how you can:

* Create your MVP (Most Valuable Proposition) that separates you from your competition.
* Craft the compelling reasons that would motivate a prospect to speak with you.
* Prevent and defuse initial objections such as, "I'm not interested," "We don't have any money now" or "Call me back later."
* Develop the right questions and uncover new selling opportunities in seconds so that you can stop wasting precious time on the wrong prospects.
* Compose winning voice mail messages that will ensure more return calls.

So, whether you are an entrepreneur, a business owner, a non-selling professional, a seasoned sales veteran or are just beginning your career in sales, after reading this book you will actually want to prospect! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (30)

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cold Calling
I'm about half way through this book and am enjoying it very much.It offers lots of tips and "how to's".It been very helpful to this very new salesperson.I've used up one highlighter already!It breaks things down to very easy-to-understand techniques and usable ways to cold call.If cold calling is uncomfortable for you, try this book out - it has changed my perception of the process!

The best I hadn't read
Here is the best sales book I hadn't read. I bought the book back in late 2004, and it somehow ended up in a box in the garage, along with numerous other sales books I have read over the years. I recently started a new business and decided to review some old sales books as a refresher and came across `Guide to Cold Calling'.

To digress, I have been working with an executive coach to take my performance to the next level and learn more about myself and others. To my amazement, this book contained most of what my coach has taught me over the past year... why people do what they do, fear as an obstacle, needs, process vs. outcome, if/then statements, etc.

May I suggest reading this book twice, once straight through with a highlighter and notepad, the second, completing the exercises as you go.

As a top sales rep for most of my past employers, I wish I would have read it back in 2004. I would have killed it even more. I was so impressed with `Cold Calling', I just bought Keith Rosen's other book on Amazon, `Guide to Closing the Sale'.

In comparison, there is a better book
I bought two books about cold calling, this and another one called Smart Calling. This book has some nice ideas, like being process driven instead of results driven, time blocking to have discipline, and maybe one more. In comparison, the book written by Art Sobczak - Smart Calling has much much more practical advice, covering many more situations, and much more applicable in the real world. For its content, this book is very big but without that much of a juice. If I would do it again, I wouldn't buy it. try Smart Calling instead.

Idiot's Guide to Cold Calling aGreat Prospecting Primer
I manage a small sales team.I purchased this book, read it first myself and then purchased additional copies for the team.It is a great prospecting primer with lots of useful tools that will help my sales reps become more comfortable with prospecting and ultimately more successful in bringing in new business.

Cold Calling Review
In my opinion,Keith's book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cold Calling, is the most comprehensive book out there. Keith breaks it down into the simplest terms for ANYONE to understand. Keith breaks down the mental aspects, so that you can put yourself in a more positive position no matter the outcome. I found, once you change your way of thinking, mental preparation, shifting the focus on the client not yourself, the way you present and talk to the clients, how you question and answer them, is extremely knowledgeable and important.I believe that if you apply everything in Keith's book, there is no doubt in my mind that you (and I) will be a success. From Beginners to Sales Pro, Keith'sbook, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cold Calling is THE book to get. I personally would like to thank Keith Rosen for providing such insight to cold calling because there is much more to it than just picking up the phone or whatever means and talking to a client.The knowledge in his book has allowed me to psychologically and mentally prepare for clients in a completely different manner.

... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Non-fiction, But It Reads Like A Wonderfully Crafted Novel
Saw the movie Capote (I gave it 3 out of 5 stars) with Philip Seymour Hoffman and thought that I would read the book that plays such a prominent role in the film.The book is non-fiction, but it reads like a wonderfully crafted novel.Capote's style is a little dense at times, but he handles a gruesome subject quite well and it becomes a page turner. ... Read more