Product Description
In the dramatic conclusion to the New York Times best seller Her Mother’s Hope, Francine Rivers delivers a rich and deeply moving story about the silent sorrows that can tear a family apart and the grace and forgiveness that can heal even the deepest wounds.

Growing up isn’t easy for little Carolyn Arundel. With her mother, Hildemara, quarantined to her room with tuberculosis, Carolyn forms a special bond with her oma Marta, who moves in to care for the household. But as tensions between Hildie and Marta escalate, Carolyn believes she is to blame. When Hildie returns to work and Marta leaves, Carolyn and her brother grow up as latchkey kids in a world gripped by the fear of the Cold War.

College offers Carolyn the chance to find herself, but a family tragedy shatters her newfound independence. Rather than return home, she cuts all ties and disappears into the heady counterculture of San Francisco. When she reemerges two years later, more lost than ever, she reluctantly turns to her family to help rebuild a life for her and her own daughter, May Flower Dawn.

Just like Carolyn, May Flower Dawn develops a closer bond with her grandmother, Hildie, than with her mother, causing yet another rift between generations. But as Dawn struggles to avoid the mistakes of those who went before her, she vows that somehow she will be a bridge between the women in her family rather than the wall that separates them forever.

Spanning from the 1950s to present day, Her Daughter’s Dream is the emotional final chapter of an unforgettable family saga about the sacrifices every mother makes for her daughter—and the very nature of unconditional love. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (37)

A REAL TEAR JERKER
You have to read the first book to this sequel (A Mother's Hope) to see the pattern carried over to this sequel A Daughter's Dream. Because of Marta's past she was determined not to make the same mistakes her mother did in raising her daughter who was completely dependant on her. Marta was a strong woman and had no choice but to stand on her own which is why she raised her children the same. The only downfall was how Marta's strong will to help her quiet, shy and dependant daughter to stand up for herself was interpreted as though Marta didn't favour or love her which was farther from the truth. The feeling of not being loved between mother and daughter continued in the next generation, and if not resolved will destroy the family. Between the tragic experiences, loss and misunderstanding almost cost this family, but due to the grace of God and how he worked through a child to bring the family together.

Her daughters dream
This book is incredible!!Her books just keep getting better. When I finished reading the book I wondered what I was going to do.... It really captured me.

Great Seller
WOW!Ordered this book and it came 2 days later in perfect condition. I would definitely go with this seller any time!

Love it!
This book is awesome!Francine Rivers' books always take me to a "different place".Couldn't put this book down until I finished!

Francine Rivers' most recent work
I am enjoying "Her Daughter's Dream"...close to the end. It isn't my favorite of the two-part series, but good nevertheless. I'm enjoying watching each individual grow spiritually. ... Read more

Product Description
Nora Roberts continues the romantic saga: the story of three women who shared a home and a childhood-but grew to fulfill their own unique destinies.Amazon.com Review
This book is the second in a trilogy. Raised together, Kate,Margo, and Laura are as close as real sisters, and when in need theyreturn to Templeton House, their home and sanctuary. Kate findsherself running there when she is accused of embezzlement. That is notthe only trial Kate faces; she suffers silently with afamily secret she recently discovered. Practical to a fault, sheintends to handle things her own way and in her own time, even if herstubbornness makes her ill. Byron De Witt, however, has otherideas. Nora Roberts is truly a gifted storyteller, and none of herbooks will disappoint. If you missed thefirst book in the trilogy Daring to Dream, hurry and get it. Youdon't want to miss Margo's story. Laura's story, Finding theDream will be released in August 1997. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (33)

Same Old Same Old
If you've read Nora Robert's Unfinished Business, then you've basically read this book too. There are many similarities between the two, each as predictable as the next. I've realized that a lot of Robert's older books have the same plot line as some of the newer ones, just with different character names and a different setting.

Read Holding the Dream only if you want to read it after Finding the Dream and before Daring to Dream, but don't expect too much or an exciting read.

Holdinhg the Dream
Great summer read.Part of the triology of books that Nora Roberts has writeen,Holds your interst.Lots of twists and turns.Definite a summer beach book.

Gotta love Nora and her series...
What can I say besides I love how Nora developes her characters and their stories.This one had a smart woman go through some healh and fraud at work that could easily happen to any normal person.This was very down to earth and again I loved the love story!Can't wait to read about Laura in the third book though!!!

"Holding"... just ok for me.
"Finding A Dream" to me was not as good as ("Daring To Dream") the first book in the trilogy. Maybe it's because Margo was a little more exciting and Josh was a little more...Josh (what a great character he was!). Kate's story was ok, but I guess to tell Margo's and Laura's story Kate's has to be told as well. Now I'm onto "Finding The Dream" (Laura's story), and I can't wait to see what kind of man Roberts has in store for her.

Holding the Dream
As usual, Nora Roberts at her best.Great book.I didnt realize that it took place just miles up the road from where I live.Made it even more intersting. ... Read more

Product Description
This is Lucy Montgomery's last book of the Anne series. Gilbert has become a doctor and now Anne has a wedding day set. Anne has found her "House of Dreams" and decides to leave Green Gables. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (47)

Anne's House of Dreams
This is my definete favorite of "Anne of Green Gables." My favorite characaters were the Fords and Capt. Jim. Anne and Gilbert were great, too (who would have known that Anne married the person who called her 'carrots'?!). I liked the entire story-line, and it wasn't boring or pushed or anything. "Anne of Green Gables" is one of my favorite series.

Anne and Gilbert, Together At Last...
"Anne's House of Dreams" is the fifth book in Lucy Maud Montgomery's superb "Anne of Green Gables" series.At long last, Anne and Gilbert return to Avonlea, she from three years as principal and teacher at Summerside, he from medical school, for a wedding among family and friends at Green Gables.They will begin their married life at the remote village of Glen St. Mary, in the seaside cottage that will become Anne's house of dreams.

In Glen St. Mary, Anne and Gilbert will make new friends: their beautiful but embittered neighbor Leslie Moore, the ancient lighthouse keeper and storyteller Captain Jim, and the abrasive but good-hearted spinster Cornelia Bryant.Anne's talent for deep friendships will be put to the test as the unique stories of each of her friends play out in "House of Dreams."

Anne and Gilbert will learn new roles, she as wife, housekeeper, and mother, he as husband, father, and as the new doctor in town.They will experience their first argument, over one of Gilbert's patients, and their first tragedy as a couple, regarding their first child.However, their love for each other will carry them, and the reader, to real joy in the life they will make together.

Thanks to Montgomery's superb prose and honest characterization, Anne is as irresistable in her newly married life as she has been in earlier books."Anne's House of Dreams" is very highly recommended to her fans of all ages.

Anne Has New Dreams
Anne's House of Dreams is the fifth book in L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series. The book begins with Anne and Gilbert's wedding at Green Gables, and chronicles the first few years of their lives together through happiness and hardship.

Despite the fact that Anne and Gilbert finally seem to get their happy ending in Anne's House of Dreams, some of the magic of the earlier books is lost in this novel. I can't really put my finger on any one thing and say, "that's it - that's where it went wrong," but something is definitely missing.

Anne, of course, is still Anne - a young woman with a enviable zest for life, who seems to touch the lives of everyone around her - but one thing has changed: she's forsaken her creative dreams for a set of different dreams. It was a switch from the Anne I've come to know and love, and I didn't really care for it. Montgomery has also created another fabulously eccentric cast of characters, but they don't seem as well-drawn as past characters.

Thankfully Montgomery's writing is still beautiful. She was a master of descriptive and lyrical fiction:
"The garret was a shadowy, suggestive, delightful place, as all garrets should be. Through the open window, by which Anne sat, blew the sweet, scented, sun-warm air of the August afternoon; outside, poplar boughs rustled and tossed in the wind; beyond them were the woods, where Lover's Lane wound it's enchanted path, and the old apple orchard, which still bore it's rosy harvests munificently." Can't you just picture it? The one thing that remains wonderful about this series is Montgomery's wonderful style of writing.

Although it is not my favorite, Anne's House of Dreams is still worth reading. This novel has lost a little of the "feel" of the earlier books, but still makes a good addition to Anne's story.

What I was looking for, exactly!
I am so very, very pleased that the book that was sent to me is identical to the cover shown on the product page! When I was younger, I only got the first 4 books of the series, and have only held off on purchasing the final 4 until I could find the matching cover style. I am VERY pleased with the book, as it is precisely in the condition it was described to be, and have the cover art I was looking for!

Anne's House of Dreams
For those who love Anne of Green Gables, this book is one to cherish. It is the fifth book in the series. In the books between Green Gables and House of Dreams, Anne grows up, quarrels with Gilbert, goes to school, teaches, makes up with Gilbert, and gets engaged. In House of Dreams, Anne and Gilbert finally get married and settle down with a small medical practice in a cove on Prince Edward Island. They meet an interesting old lighthouse keeper with many stories to tell, Anne makes friends with Gilbert's patients and the townspeople, and gets pregnant. This is a marvelous love story, and one of the best of the series. I have been reading and re-reading these books since I was a child. I own the whole set, some in first editions, some in reading copies for friends. If you have read Anne of Green Gables, you will definitely love this book. ... Read more

Product Description
The daughter of a wealthy hotelier, Laura Templeton had always known comfort and privilege. But when her storybook marriage ends, she is determined to rebuild her life without the Templeton fortune and discover who she really is...Amazon.com Review
The third book in the Dream trilogy concludes the saga of three best friends raised together in a wealthy California home. Laura Templeton is the daughter of a well-to-do hotelier. At 18 she believes her dreams are simple and easily fulfilled: she wants a good marriage and a healthy family. When Peter proposes, she believes her life will be perfect. But her dreams are short-lived. Peter doesn't prove to be the kind of husband or father material Laura has dreamed of, and when she finds that he is a lying, philandering thief she divorces him. Like her two best friends, Laura discovers that she must look beyond her obvious talents to discover who she is--before she will find success and happiness. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (38)

Just what I would expect
A must read - but read the other 2 first. This Trilogy is great one and Nora Roberts knows how to keep your interest

The best one out of the three in this series!
You can usually predict that the third one is the best but this one was especially wonderful because there are a lot of single moms out there that the dads just don't do what you expected of them as fathers...I'm one of them.Although like in my story this story has a knight in shining armor to take charge with Laura and her darling daughters!!!Perfect ending to this series!

Trilogy of Dreams....
I can't seem to find the right words to express my love for the "Dream" trilogy, so I'll just say if you don't read it you're doing yourself a great injustice. I never thought I would find another series like Nora's "Born In" trilogy, but I did, and I have to say that I enjoyed this one more. I'm once again so very sad that I will never be able to read these books again for the very first time. Keep dreaming!!!

Loved it!
I absolutely loved all three books of the Dream Trilogy! All in all, I was sorry when the last book came to an end. I felt like Margo, Kate, and Laura were my friends and I hated to leave them. I would have liked to have read a fourth book incorporating Laura and Michael's marriage and the arrival of their children; Tommy and Susie's story; and more of Annie's story.

When an author writes a story that makes you want more, you can say that he/she is a great success. Needless to say, Nora Roberts is one of my favorite authors.

book luver
As a die-hard book luver and Nora Roberts fan, I can't say enough about this book-I loved it and so will you! ... Read more

Product Description
"The most consistently brilliant science fiction writer in the world."
--John Brunner
THE INSPIRATION FOR BLADERUNNER. . .
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was published in 1968. Grim and foreboding, even today it is a masterpiece ahead of its time.
By 2021, the World War had killed millions, driving entire species into extinction and sending mankind off-planet. Those who remained coveted any living creature, and for people who couldn't afford one, companies built incredibly realistic simulacrae: horses, birds, cats, sheep. . .
They even built humans.
Emigrees to Mars received androids so sophisticated it was impossible to tell them from true men or women. Fearful of the havoc these artificial humans could wreak, the government banned them from Earth. But when androids didn't want to be identified, they just blended in.
Rick Deckard was an officially sanctioned bounty hunter whose job was to find rogue androids, and to retire them. But cornered, androids tended to fight back, with deadly results.
"[Dick] sees all the sparkling and terrifying possibilities. . . that other authors shy away from."
--Paul Williams
Rolling Stone
... Read more

Customer Reviews (244)

Typical weird sci fi
It's different.If you don't want the aliens invading thing or a fantasy escape, this may be for you.It's been around for years and gotten good reviews for a reason.I found it entertaining, mildly amusing in places, and thoughtful in others.Want something different?Try it.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
America's Galactic Foreign Legion - Book 1: Feeling Lucky

I am a fan of the clasic movie:"Blade Runner."But forget that!Do not read this book expecting to just read a version of the movie.Just read for the enjoyment of great science fiction.

Not bad, but failed to really pull me in
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is one of those rare works where the movie that is based on the book (Blade Runner) is actually better than the book. This book is decent enough, but it never really pulled me in.

The world is in a post-apocalyptic state as a result of a nuclear war. Many animals have become extinct or are rare so just owning one is highly desirable, not just because of the rarity but also because of the emotional attachment. Some humans, like the protagonist Rick Deckard, have problems affording a real animal so they go for an electrical equivalent, but owning one (if you're found out) is frowned upon and worse yet there's no real emotional attachment between the animal and human. Able-humans are encouraged to emigrate off of Earth, though some refuse. The promise if you emigrate is that you will receive an 'andy' or android robot. Some andy's are emigrating back to Earth because they no longer want to serve humans. The problem is they are very hard to tell apart from humans so bounty hunters like Rick Deckard make it a mission to 'retire' them. Deckard is awarded $1,000.00 for each retired andy. The most reliable way to distinguish humans from andys is to administer the 'Voight-Kampff' test, which tests empathy. Since andy's aren't humans their empathetic readings differ. Retiring andy's starts to become a moral issue for Deckard.

This is all a great setup and right in the beginning I was hooked. The problem is that this book starts with a bang, but it quickly fizzles into somewhat weak prose. I never felt attached to any of the characters and many of the moments that were supposed to be exciting, including the climax of the book, just fell flat for me. It was like going to Denny's when you're craving a real steak dinner. Sure, it might be edible and taste fine enough, but it just doesn't 'hit the spot'.

This is a breeze of a book and it's certainly not terrible, it just wasn't wholey satisfying for me. I still recommend checking it out.

Wrong Book
Frankly, I find it freakish that the one version of this novel available on Amazon is not written by Philip K. Dick, though it appears to be.The original is spectacular; however, this re-written version by Andy Hopkins and Joc Potter is a watered down, sanitized, ersatz-version of the original. And by the way--it is extremely hard to tell that this is NOT the original version.Philip K. Dick, however, would probably belch a dark laugh at the irony.

Yech!!!
I absolutely hated this book.It was just a little too weird for my tastes.I'm more of a traditional Heinlein, Asimov, H.G Wells fan and I just didn't get it.I know it is a popular book, I just can't understand why. ... Read more

Product Description
The beloved Fannie Flagg is back and at her irresistible and hilarious best in I Still Dream About You, a comic mystery romp through the streets of Birmingham, Alabama, past, present, and future.

Meet Maggie Fortenberry, a still beautiful former Miss Alabama. To others, Maggie’s life seems practically perfect—she’s lovely, charming, and a successful real estate agent at Red Mountain Realty. Still, Maggie can’t help but wonder how she wound up in her present condition. She had been on her hopeful way to becoming Miss America and realizing her childhood dream of someday living in one of the elegant old homes on top of Red Mountain, with the adoring husband and the 2.5 children, but then something unexpected happened and changed everything.

Maggie graduated at the top of her class at charm school, can fold a napkin in more than forty-eight different ways, and can enter and exit a car gracefully, but all the finesse in the world cannot help her now. Since the legendary real estate dynamo Hazel Whisenknott, beloved founder of Red Mountain Realty, died five years ago, business has gone from bad to worse—and the future isn’t looking much better. But just when things seem completely hopeless, Maggie suddenly comes up with the perfect plan to solve it all.

As Maggie prepares to put her plan into action, we meet the cast of high-spirited characters around her. To Brenda Peoples, Maggie’s best friend and real estate partner, Maggie’s life seems easy as pie. Slender Maggie doesn’t have to worry about her figure, or about her Weight Watchers sponsor catching her at the Krispy Kreme doughnut shop. And Ethel Clipp, Red Mountain’s ancient and grumpy office manager with the bright purple hair, thinks the world of Maggie but has absolutely nothing nice to say about their rival Babs “The Beast of Birmingham” Bingington, the unscrupulous estate agent who hates Maggie and is determined to put her out of business.

Maggie has heartbreaking secrets in her past, but through a strange turn of events, she soon discovers, quite by accident, that everybody, it seems—dead or alive—has at least one little secret.

I Still Dream About You is a wonderful novel that is equal parts Southern charm, murder mystery, and that perfect combination of comedy and old-fashioned wisdom that can be served up only by America’s own remarkable Fannie Flagg.
  ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Charming ...
I love Fannie Flagg and have read every single one of her novels, which is why I picked up this one. It's charming but not as good as her others. There is something missing in this novel ... something like sass and a sharp wit that is evident in her other novels. There is a spark to Maggie but it took forever for Flagg to lead us to the moment when Maggie, a former beauty queen, finally stopped whining about how miserable her life is and how much better being dead would be.

This book is more depressing than funny and sweet, and it is incredibly predictable, which takes the charm of the book out of it for me. The book focuses on Maggie, a woman who has a dark secret in her past and how it overshadowed everything positive in her life, leaving her at the age of 60 still single and childless and floundering at this big realty firm that is being stalked by a ruthless woman named Babs (so predictable!). Maggie had also lost her best friend, Hazel, who was the one person in the world that kept it brighter and still turning on its axis. Then there's Brenda, her other best friend, also a single woman but determined to enjoy life in its all fatty goods.

Maggie decides that the world would be better off without her and planned an elaborate suicide that she had to keep putting off because of an event that she was supposed to attend with Brenda; then a gorgeous antique mansion fell into her lap and she had to sell it and on and on. It got to be annoying instead of funny ... because I do not find suicide a laughing matter. Then there was a skeleton found in the attic of the house she is commissioned to sell and it came with its own set of mysteries that she never completely discovered (though Flagg did reveal it to the reader).

It would have been a fantastic book if it weren't so depressing and predictable. It is with disappointment that I write this because I have waited such a long time to read another one of Flagg's books. She really is one of my favorite authhors and if you're a fan of hers, you might still enjoy this; just don't expect it to be of the same quality as her others.

11/2/10

Fannie Flagg Rocks!
So here's the dilemma: how can a respectable Southern woman, who wants everything neat and orderly, who has a responsibility to always look her best, and who cannot bring shame either to the South or to her former title of Miss Alabama, neatly commit suicide?Particularly when her condo doesn't have a gas stove, she can't use a gun (because the newspapers will be all over that--Southerners and their guns, you know), and her car is leased by her business so she can't wreck it. And to make matters worse, life keeps interfering with her perfect plan.The Whirling Dervishes come to town. A hair appointment looms (and that pesky 24-hour cancellation policy), parking tickets and bills need to be paid first, there's too much goat cheese in the refrigerator, and there's a mystery to be solved in one of the old mansions on the hill.

Such is the dilemma for Maggie Fortenberry, a former Miss Alabama beauty queen who has endeavored to create a picture-perfect life--a "neat orderly way of being" that she envies in other people's lives.She is so busy admiring everyone else's seemingly perfect existence and punishing herself for her private transgressions that when we meet her in this story she is composing (on perfect stationery- with unfortunately a less-than-perfect pen) her suicide note. She approaches her suicide plans in the same calm, orderly way she has tried to live her life: making a list and being careful not to leave any loose ends or mess.

What a wonderful book.Fannie Flagg has such a gift for writing quirky, funny, and compelling characters including the eternally optimistic Hazel, the "biggest little real estate woman in the world", super-smart but ice-cream addicted Brenda, and Babs Bingington, the New Jersey-born real estate agent who is marching through Birmingham like "Sherman taking Atlanta." Not to mention Leroy, the love-struck goat. Flagg has nailed Southern culture and Southern womanhood for all its strength and silliness.And beneath her humor is compassion-- for the characters, their lives, and their stories.

This is a book about dreams--dreams lost and dreams found.The dreams of youth--and how to find new dreams when you are no longer young and "have nothing to look forward to" as Maggie laments. Maggie grew up in "Magic City" above a movie theatre called "Dreamland" but her life hasn't been magical or dreamy-- or maybe it has and she just doesn't see it from within her depression and the seething rage just under the surface of smiles and perfection.Even her home doesn't reflect a real life: it must be immaculate because it is the model home for the condo complex shown by realtors to potential buyers.

Ironically, the act of ending her life is what ends up saving it: as Maggie puts an end to all the activities she's hated but did because she was supposed to (canceling her gym membership for example) she finally starts to own her true self.Where that leads makes this book a wonderful adventure.

Fannie Flagg, who has written two of my favorite books, Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man: A Novel and Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe: A Novel, has done it again."I Still Dream About You" is another funny, sad, heartfelt story.I realize it's trite to say that you'll laugh and cry--but you will. Enjoy! ... Read more

Product Description
Nine years before the Senate campaign that made him one of the most influential and compelling voices in American politics, Barack Obama published this lyrical, unsentimental, and powerfully affecting memoir, which became a #1 New York Times bestseller when it was reissued in 2004. Dreams from My Father tells the story of Obama’s struggle to understand the forces that shaped him as the son of a black African father and white American mother—a struggle that takes him from the American heartland to the ancestral home of his great-aunt in the tiny African village of Alego.

Obama opens his story in New York, where he hears that his father—a figure he knows more as a myth than as a man—has died in a car accident. The news triggers a chain of memories as Barack retraces his family’s unusual history: the migration of his mother’s family from small-town Kansas to the Hawaiian islands; the love that develops between his mother and a promising young Kenyan student, a love nurtured by youthful innocence and the integrationist spirit of the early sixties; his father’s departure from Hawaii when Barack was two, as the realities of race and power reassert themselves; and Barack’s own awakening to the fears and doubts that exist not just between the larger black and white worlds but within himself.

Propelled by a desire to understand both the forces that shaped him and his father’s legacy, Barack moves to Chicago to work as a community organizer. There, against the backdrop of tumultuous political and racial conflict, he works to turn back the mounting despair of the inner city. His story becomes one with those of the people he works with as he learns about the value of community, the necessity of healing old wounds, and the possibility of faith in the midst of adversity.

Barack’s journey comes full circle in Kenya, where he finally meets the African side of his family and confronts the bitter truth of his father’s life. Traveling through a country racked by brutal poverty and tribal conflict, but whose people are sustained by a spirit of endurance and hope, Barack discovers that he is inescapably bound to brothers and sisters living an ocean away—and that by embracing their common struggles he can finally reconcile his divided inheritance.

A searching meditation on the meaning of identity in America, Dreams from My Father might be the most revealing portrait we have of a major American leader—a man who is playing, and will play, an increasingly prominent role in healing a fractious and fragmented nation.



Pictured in lefthand photograph on cover: Habiba Akumu Hussein and Barack Obama, Sr. (President Obama's paternal grandmother and his father as a young boy). Pictured in righthand photograph on cover: Stanley Dunham and Ann Dunham (President Obama's maternal grandfather and his mother as a young girl). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (592)

Dreams from My Father
It was very interesting to see what was going on behind doors of the Senate.The Barack Obama in this book has the same personality of the person (people) my Mother told me to be in the company of.A foward thinking person, by looking at how things were in the past in order to get it redirected in apositive direction.It is good to know that there is someone out here doing for the children of the future.I would call Barack, my older brother, because of how he goes about doing things, except for the fact that, I am much older than him, he has a better memory than me.
Enjoyed the book but, keep a dictionary handy.

inside the mind of the us president
This book will help many realise that being president doesnt start with a genius baby. This is not to say that president Barack isnt special. With every page i turned, i watched him grow, from a boy with confused emotions to a young man trying to make his way in the world. Very well written and genuine

A must read for every one that thinks presidents are a "different specie"
:)

race
Love reading this book,very interesting,when you start reading you can't put the book down.The book let you know that anyone can succeed in life regardless of your color.

A Good Read
This book is an enjoyable read for pretty much anyone, liberal or conservative, American or otherwise.

Obama's story (I sure hope it's all true) is compelling and inspiring and is something that his daughters will be very proud of one day.

I had thoughtPresident Obama to be narcissistic when he first came on the public stage.
This book--and now the audio version of it--has given me a perspective of the man, his dreams and his politics, as no other autobiographical book by any other author has ever been able to do.Even his "no-drama Obama" persona (the face we see on our television screen) makes sense in light of his zigzag journey through countries, continents and conflicts (personal, ancestral, household, religious, academic ... and even language and culture) and at least one mentor at Harvard who helped shape an understanding of American law and politics from the jumble that he brought to Harvard's prestigious Law School from almost a quarter century of what had to be a confusing and difficult growth from childhood to adolescence to adult.

It was at Harvard, I believe, that he was taught to think things out and look at opposing views from all sides--something that could not have otherwise arisen from the mishmash of experiences and combinations of acceptance followed by rejection followed by acceptance followed by rejection followed by ... ad infinitum.

His two to three years as a community organizer in Chicago helped, but the discipline of the Harvard Law School was paramount, from my reading of this book.

Interestingly, I knew more about John McCain's father, having worked as a science advisor for him while he was our CINCPAC in the late 60's, but knew far less about young John (McCain)--other than that he was an honorable (and jack rabbit) Navy pilot who spent torturous years at the infamous Hanoi Hilton--than I feelI've come to know about Barack Obama in the last couple of weeks while reading one book that he originally wrote more than a full decade before he became our 44th president.

He is not narcissistic!

He is a unique product of a beautiful and diversely populated country--a country second to none in its ability to produce leaders such as Barack Obama ... who, I believe, will be considered one of our very best looking back from the Twenty-second Century and beyond.

One small nit: The full title (Deams from my Father) didn't seem quite right, considering that he had almost no connection with his father and seemingly very little from his mother, who although she was an influence of sorts, was seldom around to assist in molding his character.Dreams from God-Knows-Where would have been a more appropriate title, I think.

Still, that one nit is not worthy of reducing my rating by even half a star.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (233)

Like a piece of music, this is subjective.Lacks substance.
Spoiler alert.The reality of this movie is that is simply that, a movie.It does not materialize into anything believable, nor credible.The acting was as good as this script could hope for.OK, so we get some ghosts coming back to create some nostolgia but to what purpose?This movie tries to build on the mystical assumption of a dual world where characters seem trapped in a purgatory of thier own interest and worldy failures.The movie Ghost had this story as well.It means to hit an emotional reaction based on pure unrelateable fiction.Is it a bad movie, absolutely not.Is it a great movie, hardly.This movie is like a childhood Stephen King attempt at a sport story about the game he loves so much.No, King did not write this and I believe if he did it would have been halted at the editor's table until the 3rd revision built the characters and plot into something intriguing.

Can relationships be rebuilt in an instant on fantasy, maybe, probably not.Especially not if you ruin your farm, do not pay your bills, drive your wife to the point of divorce, and talk to ghosts hitting real baseballs.Whatever turns you on.Movies like Nobody's Fool, Hurt Locker, Deer Hunter, provide a real statement on relationships.This is weak, ethereal, and fails to hit it out of the field.How many times have we seen baseball movies that try to materialize into something with real meaning?When you build the foundation for your movie on assumption that your audience must care about baseball, you are bound to see it become predicatable and like a child's story, limited.

If you love this movie, that is wonderful.It's subjective.I did not have a "wow" moment even once in this movie and I doubt anyone was truly surprised or learned anything from this.

This is a dollar rental, not a Blu-Ray investment.

DVD Field of Dreams
I ordered this DVD on Saturday and received it on Wednesday. I was pleased with the fast return. It was packaged good and in good shape when I received it.

Not from this seller
I ordered this for a frend of mine and what I got is a burn copy in AVI that can only be played on a computer, Not happy at all.

Exposing new generations to a Wonderful movie!
This is a great movie! Kevin Costner is awesome in this film. I have always enjoyed this story and now I have passed it down to two younger generations to enjoy.

Field of Dreams, a timeless, sports classic.
Field of Dreams is a timeless, sports classic, especially if you love the game of baseball. It's also a very well written story about dreams and pursuing them at all costs. Each character has a dream and we not only get a glimpse, we get to see the reason they have them and in some cases we even get to see them come true. This is a great family movie and one you'll love to own. Field of Dreams (Widescreen Two-Disc Anniversary Edition) ... Read more

Product Description
Margo Sullivan had everything she could ask for. The daughter of the Templetons' stern housekeeper, she was treated like a member of the family. But money could not buy the thing she craved most-her mother's acceptance...Amazon.com Review
Set in Monterey, California, this first novel in the Dream trilogy features Margo Sullivan, the feisty and beautiful daughter of a wealthy family's housekeeper. She's been offered the same privileges as the Templeton children, but Margo resents handouts. She feels she has much to prove to herself, her surrogate family, and her mother. Margo dreams big--she wants wealth, fame, and success--but she doesn't want anyone else's help. Her plan is to go as far away from home as possible, so she starts with Hollywood and then moves on to Europe, where she finds fame as a supermodel. But when her world comes crashing down around her, Margo discovers that reaching out for help--especially to your family--can be just as challenging and rewarding as solving your problems on your own. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (58)

Heroine annoyed me
I loved this book, except for Margo. I think the other characters were great and couldn't wait to get to their books in the trilogy. If you are on the fence about reading the other two books in the trilogy after reading this one, don't be, they are worth it.

A thought provoking start to a new trilogy
I am a big fan of Nora Roberts, especially her trilogies - there's something utterly delicious about knowing that when you finish one book, there's another one ready for you. I was a little unsure of how I would enjoy this book. Like many of the reviewers, I wondered if I would ever warm to Margo. She probably encapsulates everything most women dislike about gorgeous model types, however as I stayed with the story, I found that Margo did get into my heart. Yes, she's brash, cocky and totally beautiful but when you get past her facade, to me she is a woman that I would be proud to call a friend.
I loved her spats with Josh and her vulnerability at times got to to me. Her desire to be someone, to be a success because she thinks it's the only way the people around her will really think anything of her reminds me of a lot of people and I enjoyed the ride I took with Margo. She made me laugh out loud at times and I loved her for this. (I don't normally laugh out loud when I'm reading!)
A book that you will enjoy and be sorry to put down.

domestic violence is so sexy
I'm not familiar with the Romance genre.I thought I'd try something new, recognized Roberts' name from the bestseller lists, and bought this thing. Mistake. I only got to page 256, so read my review with that in mind.

This book features: poor writing (unsignalled point of view shifts happen multiple times), shallow and unlikeable characters with little or no actual emotional attachment to one another, and a control freak hero who constantly demeans and belittles the heroine.During arguments he also grabs her, slings her around like a caveman, topples her into a full bathtub and holds her head under the water.

But its not violence because he looooves her?It's okay because it just shows how passionate and out of control he is over her?Or maybe its okay because he's being playful.As long as he doesn't *intend* to hurt her that makes it all right, right?Seriously, I cannot imagine in what world anyone would find this behavior romantic.It certainly isn't legal.

Anyway, I threw the book in the trash.

Enjoyable
Very easy read. I have never read nora roberts but this book will keep me coming back for more. It is very seductive and has alot of very sensual scenes in the book. I really enjoyed it.

UGH!---
Two shallow people end up together after a lot of whining and bickering. They deserved each other and I deserved a better story that didn't waste my time. ... Read more

Product Description
Bestselling author Bruce Wilkinson shows how to identify and overcome the obstacles that keep millions from living the life they were created for. He begins with a compelling modern-day parable about Ordinary, who dares to leave the Land of Familiar to pursue his Big Dream. With the help of the Dream Giver, Ordinary begins the hardest and most rewarding journey of his life. Wilkinson gives readers practical, biblical keys to fulfilling their own dream, revealing that there's no limit to what God can accomplish when we choose to pursue the dreams He gives us for His honor. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (139)

eye opening
This book opened my eyes to things in my life I didn't really understand and this cleared it right up.It was a wonderful easy read.I recomend it to everyone!

The Dream Giver has been there
While writing Jesus My Son: Mary's Journal of Jesus' Early Life, a friend gave me a copy of The Dream Giver. I stopped everything to read it. I had been through everything in the book. The giants, the valleys, the naysayers, the river-were all familiar experiences. Knowing that someone as successful as Bruce Wilkinson had gone thorugh the same experiences was comforting.
Jesus My Son: Mary's Journal of Jesus' Early Life

It's Never Too Late To Pursue Your Dreams
This is a great motivational book that helps the reader believe in his goals and life purpose again. Putting myself in Ordinary's shoes, leaving his town of Familiar and starting his journey, his struggles and faith, related to my life so closely that I simply felt gratitude that I am on the right path. I loved how the author detailed the nerves and frustrations of the character in the book in addition to the blessings he received from the Dream Giver. I highly recommend it to someone who is struggling or doubting in his or her life purpose because this book can help put those thoughts at ease.

This is a great foolwup to the slight edge
I listened to this book & a friend read it.We compared note & I recommend listening to it & reading it.It is a great followup to the slight edge.It was also true of my life.Whenever I did something people thought I was crazy to do & then succeeded people were there to provide me with resistance.

the dreamgiver
this is an amazing book
i guaranty you will relate your own life experiences to the story line in this book. it is creatively written and an easy read, yet contains so much of life truths in it that one immediately associates themselves in the adventure.

i especially loved the chapter on the wasteland, how insecurity, failure and struggle can be transformed with simply a change of attitude

you wont regret reading this one

ed :)
wondoloski ... Read more

Product Description
A business parable about how companies can achieve remarkable results by helping their employees fulfill their dreams

Managing people is difficult. With disengagement and turnover on the rise, many managers are scratching their heads wondering what to do. It’s not that we don’t dream of being great managers, it’s just that we haven’t found a practical and efficient way to do it. Until now . . .

The fictional company in this remarkable book is grappling with real problems of high turnover and low morale -- so the managers begin to investigate what really drives the employees. What they discover is that the key to motivation isn’t necessarily the promise of a bigger paycheck or title, but rather the fulfillment of crucial personal dreams. They also learned that people at every level need to be offered specific kinds of help and encouragement -- or our dreams will forever remain just dreams as we grow dissatisfied with our lives and jobs.

Beginning with his important thought that a company can only become the-best-version-of-itself to the extent that its employees are becoming better-versions-of-themselves, Matthew Kelly explores the connection between the dreams we are chasing personally and the way we all engage at work. Tackling head-on the growing problem of employee disengagement, Kelly explores the dynamic collaboration that is unleashed when people work together to achieve company objectives and personal dreams.

The power of The Dream Manager is that simply becoming aware of the concept will change the way you manage and relate to people instantly and forever. What’s your dream? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (53)

The Dream Manager
The Best Book I have ever read about the relationship between employees and employers... a life changing reading...

Changed me!
This book changed the way I think about a lot. Not only my workplace but my life! It's such a simple book with a profound message! I would highly reccomend it to all Sr. Level Managers!

Very inspirational!
I bought 3 copies of this book so that I would have one and could give the other 2 to my managers.It is tremendously inspirational and reminds me that my employees have lives that go beyond the work day when I see them.Their happiness and contentment with life ultimately translates into better service for my clients which translates into a bigger, better business for me.We all win!

A must read for every manager, executive, or other leader faced with solving the challenge of high turnover and low morale.
"The Dream Manager" is a leadership fable in the same spirit as the excellent books written by The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable (J-B Lencioni Series).The story part of the book takes the reader into the day to day operations of Admiral Janitorial Services.Like many companies today, they have serious difficulties with employee morale and rampant turnover.Simon, the general manager suggests an out of the box idea to improve the morale and turnover problems through helping their employees realize their dreams.Thus, the Dream Manager initiative was born at Admiral Janitorial Services.The rest of the story details how the program was rolled out and the successes realized because of it.The latter part of the book challenges the reader to begin writing and pursuing their own list of dreams and encourages managers, CEOs, and other leaders to consider introducing these practices into their own organizations.As a manager, I know firsthand how difficult it can be to retain and motivate staff.I am excited to say that the concepts I learned in "The Dream Manager" may be just what I've been lacking in my leadership toolbox.

Why Dreams Matter

Dream Manager shares in a facinating way how a decling, deteriorating company is
revolutionized and refocused when a new manager comes aboard. He listens to each
individual share their dream, encourages them to move foward with their dream, and
provides a dream atmosphere.Not only are individuals energized and changed, but the
entire organization becomes a dream organization that impacts their employees,
their community, and their culture.All managers, and others who work with
people would benefit from this exceptional motivational book. ... Read more

Product Description
The Wheel of Time turns, and Robert Jordan gives us the eleventh volume of his extraordinary masterwork of fantasy that has captured the imagination of millions.The dead are walking, men are dying impossible deaths, and it seems as though reality itself has become unstable: all are signs of the imminence of the Last Battle, when Rand alThor, the Dragon Reborn, must confront the Dark One as humanitys only hope. But Rand dares not fight until he possesses all the surviving seals on the Dark Ones prison. And he faces other dangersthere are those among the Forsaken who will go to any length to see him deadThe winds of time have become a storm, and things that everyone believed were fixed in place forever are changing before their eyes. Now Rand must ride those storm winds, or the Dark One will triumph.Amazon.com Review
About the Author
Robert Jordan lives in Charleston, South Carolina. He is a graduate of the Citadel.

Amazon.com Exclusive Content

Amazon.com's Significant Seven
Robert Jordan kindly agreed to take the life quiz we like to give to all our authors: the Amazon.com Significant Seven.

Q: What book has had the most significant impact on your life?
A: The King James version of the Bible. That seems a cliche, but I can't think of any other book that has had as large an impact in shaping who I am.

Q: You are stranded on a desert island with only one book, one CD, and one DVD--what are they?
A: The one book would be whatever book I was currently writing. I mean, I hate falling behind in the work. The one CD would contain the best encyclopedia I could find on desert island survival. The DVD would contain as much of Beethoven, Mozart, and Duke Ellington as I could cram onto it.

Q: What is the worst lie you've ever told?
A: It's hard to think of one since I am genetically incapable of lying to women and that takes out 52% of the population right there.

Q: Describe the perfect writing environment.
A: Any place that has my computer, a CD player for music, a comfortable chair that won't leave me with a backache at the end of a long day, and very little interruption.

Q: If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say?
A: He kept trying to get better at it.

Q: Who is the one person living or dead that you would like to have dinner with?
A: My wife before anybody else on earth living or dead. That's a no-brainer.

Q: If you could have one superpower what would it be?
A: That depends. If I'm feeling altruistic, it would be the ability to heal anything with a touch, if that can be called a superpower. If I'm not feeling very altruistic, it would be the ability to read other people's minds,to finally be able to get to the bottom of what they really mean and what their motivations are.

See all books in the Wheel of Time series. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (546)

Great series of books
This is my second time of reading the series and I still cannot get enough of it.The series makes you want more and to find out what is going to happen next.Like many others have said this book is better than the last two.I have to agree with this but I still have enjoyed them all.I am rereading the series to get caught up to be able to read the last three books.It is a shame that Robert Jordan is unable to see the series completed.

Come together...
Larger prophecies are being fullfilled - not the little harbingers but the big indicators of Tarmon Gaidon! The puzzle is coming together, but the final image is not yet resolved...and my appetite is whetted!

Robert Jordan
I have read numerous Robert Jordan books and almost all the wheel of time including Knife of Dreams is horrible.Why would anyone waste their time reading these books.Its like a bunch of women talking about rumors that may or may not happen, no action just talk.Apparently none has read Brandon Sanderson or they would find these books lifeless

Favorite Wheel of Time book so far
This book has a lot more action and a lot less drama. I have been going nuts with the
drama some of the previous books build. I am also a big fan of Mat and this book has plenty. Definitely a great read.

Why, Robert, why...
This book is terrible. There have been bad books in the series, but this one tops my list because it marks a huge shift. Faithful main characters are turned into archetypes. Plotlines are not only predictable, they are broadcast, you know, just in case you miss the subtle hints. The male female dynamic has been totally obliterated, and that was one of my favorite parts. Even Cadsuanes character has been generic'd into shrewish stereotype. And what's up with all the exclamation points? Stephen King did this same thing to me one time. He ruined The Dark Tower series. Everything was going fine until that pink book came out...

Quit now and keep your fond memories. ... Read more

Product Description
From #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Sherrilyn Kenyon

The spellbinding Dream-Hunter series continues!

Hades doesn’t often give second chances...

Xypher has one month on Earth to redeem himself through one good deed or be condemned to eternal torture in Tarturus. But redemption means little to a demigod who only wants vengeance on the one who caused his downfall.

Until one day in a cemetery...

Simone Dubois is a medical examiner with a real knack for the job. Those who are wrongfully killed appear to her and help her find the evidence the police need to convict their killers. But when a man appears and tells her that she’s more than just a psychic, she’s convinced he’s insane.

Now the fate of the world hangs in her hands...

It was bad enough when just the dead relied on her. Now’s there’s the seductive Dream-Hunter Xypher who needs Simone’s help in opening a portal to the Atlantean hell realm to fight insatiable demons. The future of mankind is at stake—and so is her life. The only question now is: Who is the bigger threat: the demons out to kill her, or the man who has left her forever changed?

“Brisk, ironic, sexy, and relentlessly imaginative.”—Boston Globe ... Read more

Customer Reviews (72)

good read
Xypher made a deal to help Katra to save the world if Hades gave him a reprieve from his prison In Tartarus. Hades granted him a one month reprieve, if in that month he found his humanity he would not have to return to Tartarus. He did not need a month, all he wanted was enough time to have his revenge on the one who betrayed him and condemned him to be torture for crimes he did not commit. He vowed nothing will sand in the way of his revenge.

Simone had lost everything in a blink of an eye. Her brother and mother were killed right before her eyes and he father soon followed suite and killed himself over his grief. Then later after being adopted she eventually lost both her adopted parents to a car crash. The only constant she has ever had in her life has been Jesse,a teenage ghost who died in the 80's and found Simone after her parents death then stuck with her ever since. Besides Jesse and her friend Tate another medical examiner, she did not form lasting attachments to people. They never stayed long.
Wail out checking out a crime scene where a young woman was murdered, she stumbled upon some daimons trying to attack her. She held her own but then this large sexy yet deadly man stepped in only to be attacked buy the daimons who slapped a gold cuff to Xypher then one on Simone. Xypher did not know what they were but he knew instinctually that they bonded them together and if she died so would he, so he rushed her out of danger. So with the two of them bonded together they had no choice to stick together.

Xypher had a rough angry demeanor. Any time any one shown him kindness he would scuff it away. Simone continued to reach out. There was just something about him that just begged her to reach out and sooth him.

Xypher only wanted his revenge he did not want this complication with this difficult woman who insisted one teasing him .... No one teased him, they only feared him as they should. But there was just something about this woman whose tenderness and caring touched something I side him no one had ever touched.

Can they survive this bonding together? Will Xypher get his revenge before his month is out. Will his heart remain in tacked after this? Or will she betray him like everyone else?

Xypher is a very hurt man as with most men in this series he was brutally betrayed buy the one he thought to love,but if that wasn't bad enough he spent centuries in tartarus being tortured daily for this betrayal. He was soo reserved and sweet . Even though he was ruff and rude and at times impossible he had a heart of gold and he tried to hind it but you'd see it peek out around Simone. I thought he was sweet.
Simone was great too she never back down to Xypher . She would get in his face and stood up to him when no one ever in his life would have dared.I loved when she took him shopping for clothes he was soo funny. Especially when Simone was talking to the sales lady about his body and he was confused and had to ask Jesse what they were talking about. I loved Jesse he was hella funny with all his 80's music and stuff. I loved how he and Simone would banter back and forth. They were hilarious. This book had a few surprises I didn't see coming but they were cool surprises that made the story that much better.

Dream Chaser by Sherrilyn Kenyon
This is an excellent book.I like the fact that you do not have to read her books in their written order.

Xypher
Xypher isseductive and Simone is perfect for him.I enjoyed her story as well.Based on so many bad reviews on the first two Dream-Hunter series , I started with this one, book three. I will probably just go ahead and get the first two and judge for myself.Great story!

dream chaser
loved it so much i had to read almost the entire sherrilyn kenyon series...cant wait for the next installment

great i love this author
i do not want to ruin the plot so i wont tell you what happens,but if you like any of sherrilyn kenyons books u gotta read this one she is one of the best wrighter i have ever read and i have read every book she has writen ... Read more

Product Description
Yesterday, Special Agent Pendergast still mourned the loss of his beloved wife, Helen, who died in a tragic accident in Africa twelve years ago.

Today, he discovers she was murdered.

Tomorrow, he will learn her most guarded secrets, leaving him to wonder: Who was the woman I married? Why was she murdered? And, above all . . . Who murdered her?

FEVER DREAM

Revenge is not sweet: It is essential. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (150)

Preston Child novel
This is another great collaboration for the two authors; enjoyed it immensely; can't wait for the next installment

Unjumps the shark?
In my review of the previous Agent Pendergast novel, _Cemetery Dance_, I wondered if the series had jumped the shark. As a potential remedy, I suggested authors Preston and Child take Pendergast back to New Orleans, explore his wife's death, give us a side of the agent we've not seen before, and write more compelling settings. Now I doubt that the authors read my Amazon review, but they did go a long way toward filling those exact lacks in _Fever Dream_.

Readers finally get to pierce the inner veil that has walled off the mental workings of their favorite pale crusader for justice. Understanding Pendergast's grief over his wife's bizarre death in Africa adds a layer to the character, as does his subsequent "to hell with discipline" approach to resolving the crime. Pendergast goes old style, adds a bit of thuggishness, and lets caution be damned. All needed stuff.

Some fans will say this diminishes the character, as that intriguing sense of Pendergast's perfect control suffers in this novel. The series needed this jolt, though, just as Daniel Craig's James Bond gave us something new in _Casino Royale_.

But just as the Bond series has headed into limbo after a promising reboot, Preston and Child, in a letter to readers, state at the end of _Fever Dream_ that they'll begin exploring a new hero. Despite promising not to abandon Pendergast, it seems the handwriting may be on the wall for our favorite FBI agent.

And this is too bad, because _Fever Dream_ showed promise as a direction for Pendergast and the series that leads away from some of the silliness of the last few novels. Readers get an earthy plotline that has been lacking in recent books, while also regaining the skewed reality that made earlier books in the series must reads.

PROS:

* Great settings and descriptions. Bayou country makes for a spooky, visceral locale. You can feel the muck on your limbs and the mosquito bites in the swamp scenes.

* Revelations about Pendergast's past help flesh out the character.

* The Audubon/disease connection is an interesting idea.

* A sense of genuine creepiness and suspense is back.

* The page-turning quotient is much higher, making this a tough book to put down.

* The authors seem to enjoy themselves.

* How can one not like Pendergast's manhandling of a pack of snarling rednecks?

CONS:

* The villains in this novel are no match for Pendergast, which makes the hanging ending all the more disappointing for the future of the series.

* Readers love Pendergast for his wisdom in escaping problems, not for being lucky, which he is far too often in this story.

* The Rube Goldberg-like plot that snuffed Helen Pendergast strains credulity and smacks of something concocted by the Joker in the old _Batman_ TV show.

* Pendergast's return to Africa added nothing to the story.

* The major subplot of recovering the lost Audubon painting ultimately reveals nothing of why Helen died or why she went to great lengths to recover the artwork, as she already understood the nature of Audubon's profound change.

* The usual cast of supporting characters shows up, but they add nothing. This novel should have been "lone justice," as seeing Pendergast take on his wife's case singlehandedly would have made for an even more compelling read, even if it taxed the author's skills.

*Despite being something of a positive return to form, the writing in _Fever Dream_ still pales compared to earlier works, such as _The Cabinet of Curiosities_, which may have been the high point of the series--a long time ago.


What makes this novel a frustration, despite being better than the previous few, is the knowledge that Pendergast has no good foe. Rather than developing the enemy they've selected, Preston and Child need to give us a more sympathetic villain who may have arrived at his villainy through circumstance or no fault of his own. In addition, he needs to be Pendergast's superior in some ways to make him a genuine threat. None of those traits come through in what appears to be the series's new bad guy. He's not only dull but also something of a repetition. Ho hum. (I'd like to see Pendergast in Russia fighting an intelligent, powerful, mixed-race villain who comes with heartbreaking baggage. But that's just me.)

So while _Fever Dream_ is a marked improvement in the canon, it nonetheless missed several important marks. It may have leapt back over the Great White for a moment, but the future still looks uncertain for Agent Aloysuis X.L. Pendergast.

excellent book
Have read all of Preston Childs books. They never fail to entertain.
The ending will leave you hanging by your fingernails from the cliff while waiting for the conclusion in their next book

There were many twists and turns along the way, and they all kept me guessing until the very end of the story.
Heard the CD version of FEVER DREAM by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, the engrossing tale of a special agent who mourns the death of his beloved wife. She had died in a tragic accident in Africa 12 years ago. Or so he thought.

When he learns that there is more to the story and that she had been murdered, agent attempts to find out her most guarded secrets: Who was the woman he married? Why was she murdered? And, above all, who murdered her?

There were many twists and turns along the way, and they all kept me guessing until the very end of the story.

In reading more about the authors, I found out that there have been other books featuring the main character (Pendergast). I was very much impressed by that fact, given that it did not interfere with my listening pleasure at all. I did not feel that I was missing anything by not having read those other books, though I now may well seek some of them out.

Rene Auberjonois, the Tony Award-winning and Emmy-nominated actor, did a fine job with the narration of FEVER DREAM.

Mr. Auberjonois Amazing
Yes, this latest addition to the Pendergast series is better than several preceding novels.I listen to the series rather than read it, and René Auberjonois is by far the best reader of the series.He outdid himself on FEVER DREAMS.Even if you have read FEVER DREAMS, I urge you to listen to the audio book read by Mr. Auberjonois who proves himself once again a consummate actor.You will enjoy the novel all over again. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (10)

Good, but should have been great!
I gave this book 3 stars, because, quite frankly, I expected a great book and got only a good one. I have read the other two books in the series and they were very good, well written, good stories and they helped set up the great premise in Scoundrel in My Dreams. Given that the premise was built up over the period of two books and it really is an excellent premise, I expected a lot of the third book. It didn't quite deliver though. For starters, this book should have been longer, given the intricacies of the story. Secondly, some parts of the story felt too rushed. I definitely felt the ending was too rushed. However, there are some really good parts of the book that would have lead me to give it 4 stars, if my expectations hadn't been so high. First of all, the backstory/premise was great. Secondly, Melody journey is interesting, I loved reading about her and her character was well developed. Thirdly, the characters of Laurel and Jack were well developed - but as I said their story in this book was too rushed.

Overall, it was a good book and an enjoyable book. I had just expected more. I'm also hoping Miss Bradley will write the story of Melody and Evan as a fourth book in the series. I think it can be a great book (hopefully it won't be too short again).

intriguing Regency romance
At the Brown's Club for Distinguished Gentlemen, Lord John Redgrave recognizes the abandoned little girl Melody as his offspring.He assumes the mother is Amaryllis Clark who he was courting before he went off to war.She came to his room, had sex, and the next day rejected his proposal.

Jack confronts Amy only to learn that wonderful night was with her then seventeen year old sister Laurel.As he went off to fight, Laurel was ruined.Now she wants Melody back but nothing to do with Jack.However, she does not know Jack as he wants his daughter and the woman he cherishes in his life permanently.

The third Runaway Brides Regency romance (see Rogue In My Arms and Devil in My Bed) is an intriguing historical because of Jack who is so atypical of the sub-genre; he brings a sort of boorish but fresh personality to the mix as he does not intend to be crude or insensitive he just is.Fans will enjoy his efforts to win Laurel's head as he owns her heart and dreams, but she has doubts about her scoundrel being there for her and precocious (perhaps too cute) Melody.

Harriet Klausner

Extra spicy...
I have anxiously awaited the third book in the Runaway Brides series and was a bit disappointed.
If you read Regency romance, you need to expect to have to overlook premise issues, otherwise you will be continually frustrated.The plot was a bit thin, but the main characters, Laurel and Jack were well written and very sympathetic.I loved how Jack came back to himself after the war and how he reached out to Laurel to help make him whole. Lady Melody was wonderful, as were all of the peripheral characters.The dialog was good and Wilberforce made me laugh aloud a couple times.
What I really was unprepared for was how sexy this particular book was.A couple times I thought it was erotica rather than a regular romance.The language got a bit salty and there were quite a few more sex scenes than usual.Like another reviewer, I found myself skipping these parts to get back to the story.I hope that future Bradley offerings are toned down a bit because her previous books are wonderful without the extra spice.

Slightly Disappointed
So this is the last in a series and I waited for months for the book. The books have such a well planned plot that links them all, but I feel like celeste bradley didn't quite deliver.It was good, but I expected great.

Jack and Laurel's story
I really loved Bradley's Runaway Brides series (even though they weren't ACTUAL runaway brides), especially Colin and Pru's story in the second installment.I'm not sure if it was how Scoundrel In My Dreams was written, or if I just had extremely high expectations for the finale, but I wasn't head over heels with Jack and Laurel.Their story was just shocking, sad, and lamentable.

As with all of Bradley's novels, there were many cute and quirky moments in the book.Melody's groom is *exactly* who it should be, and Lamenteur/Button (LOVE this character) has a very important role in this novel.Even sweet Ballywick gets a happily ever after! What I didn't enjoy was the incomplete storyline with Amaryllis and Nanny Pruitt; it would have been fitting if Laurel had spoken up about what her family had subjected her to.I was also a bit bothered by how Jack initially treated Laurel and her own reaction to their odd courtship.

Overall, this was an easy read and more than adequately wraps up the series. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (140)

Love this series
Arikos is a dream-hunter a race of gods who were cursed by the Zeus to longer feel any type of emotions. After centuries of searching he finally found a woman whose dreams are so vivid he could feel her emotions as his own. He comes to her in her dreams over and over till it becomes an obsession. After being told that he has spent too much type on one human and that he must leave her and move on. He finds he can't and the strangest part for him is the fact he wants more than just what he can have in his Dreams. He wants to be part of her life feel her as a human man would. So In order to become human he must make a deal with a god and no god in Olympus would dare help him so the only one who he could ask to help is Hades. As with any deal with a god there is a steep price to be paid , And the price Hades is asking is the soul of the one person In This world he covets more than anything else.

Dr. Megeara kafieri has watch most of her family searched for Atlantis and many died for the search. Her father died a laughing stock the world never believed his findings. On his death bed Mageara promised she would not let his research go to waste and would continue on he's quest to find the lost city. This promise was given half heartedly with no intentions of following though. Till she received a few items that he father left for her. They were irrefutable proof that the city was real and obtainable. Through her own need to proof her father right and the guilt of not believing him herself she set out to uncover his secrete city.

Arik fell into the voyage with Geary quite latterly. After his deal with Hades he found himself drowning Geary jumping in to save him. Now he must help Geary on her quest to uncover Atlantis to gain her trust. But the gods have other plans they refuse to allow Atlantis be found and Apollymi inadvertently released causing an apocalypse.

Arik is a bit stiff and how naïve he is of the real world is hilarious. He has a cute little boy charm and he finds more than what he thought he would in the real world.Geary is very driven a bit of a prude you know she wants Arik but she will not let down those guards wail she is awake. But my favorite is Solin he is soo funny. He sarcastic and he bring out a fun teasing personality in Arik. He tries to pretend that he doesn't care about anyone but himself but you can tell underneath it all he has a heart of gold. I hope to see more of him in the future. This was not my favorite book in the series but I must say even the slower books that are not my top favs they are still some of the better books I've read. There is not one book in this series I did not like.

Did not meet my expectations
This book is not as good as I would expect from this author. I couldn't connect with the heroes and I felt no love between them. I really didn't like the time limit, and the way he went about winning her. She was so reluctant at first, but once she found out he only had two weeks as a human she suddenly decided she liked and wanted him. I had problems with the hero's initial bargain. OK, I know he wasn't supposed to feel, but to trade the heroine's life for two weeks as a human? I don't know... Then, the love just didn't develop. First it wasn't there, then it was there. What about falling in love?
All in all, I wasn't very impressed with this latest effort by SK. But I'm still looking forward to reading more of her work.

To Each His/Her Own
I enjoy Sherrilyn Kenyon but sometimes her story line zigs when it should zag.The Dream Warrior series I like because when they are referred to in the Dark Hunter series, I was curious to know what there stories were. They are entertainment.No one has to write a dissertation on why they don't like them because that could be the very reason someone else DOES like them and won't recommend them out of fear of sounding stupid.The only complaint I have is the same as one other reader.There is so much going on in her latest books that I start getting really tired and have to put the book down.She needs to keep her characters memorable.

Awful "Mary Sue"....with ancient gods....gag.
Very little history, lots of sex....vanity novel, the author is "Mary Sue" with the main male character.Boring and dull...don't waste your money.

Dream-Inducing (not a compliment)
This book didn't do it for me. I love Kenyon's Dark Hunter series as a whole, but this, the first book in the Dream Hunter series was boring. I didn't care for the hero and the heroine was annoying. The premise was truly intersting, but the execution just didn't work for me. Pity, really. ... Read more

Product Description
A modern classic, Einstein’s Dreams is a fictional collage of stories dreamed by Albert Einstein in 1905, when he worked in a patent office in Switzerland. As the defiant but sensitive young genius is creating his theory of relativity, a new conception of time, he imagines many possible worlds. In one, time is circular, so that people are fated to repeat triumphs and failures over and over. In another, there is a place where time stands still, visited by lovers and parents clinging to their children. In another, time is a nightingale, sometimes trapped by a bell jar.

Now translated into thirtylanguages, Einstein’s Dreams has inspired playwrights, dancers, musicians, and painters all over the world.In poetic vignettes, it explores the connections between science and art, the process of creativity, and ultimately the fragility of human existence.Amazon.com Review
If you liked the eerie whimsy of Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities,Steven Millhauser's Little Kingdoms,or Jorge Luis Borges's Labyrinths, youwill love Alan Lightman's ethereal yet down-to-earth bookEinstein's Dreams.Lightman teaches physics and writing at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology, helping bridge thelight-year-size gap between science and the humanities, the enemycamps C.P. Snow famously called The TwoCultures.

Einstein's Dreams became a bestseller by delighting both scientistsand humanists. It is technically a novel. Lightman uses simple, lyrical, andliteral details to locate Einstein precisely in a place and time--Berne,Switzerland, spring 1905, when he was a patent clerk privately working onhis bizarre, unheard-of theory of relativity. The town he perceives isvividly described, but the waking Einstein is a bit player in thisdrama.

The book takes flight when Einstein takes to his bed and we share hisdreams, 30 little fables about places where time behaves quitedifferently. In one world, time is circular; in another a man isoccasionally plucked from the present and deposited in the past:"He is agonized. For if he makes the slightest alteration inanything, he may destroy the future ... he is forced to witness eventswithout being part of them ... an inert gas, a ghost ... an exile oftime." The dreams in which time flows backward are far moresophisticated than the time-tripping scenes in Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five,though science-fiction fans may yearn for a sustained yarn, whichLightman declines to provide. His purpose is simply to study thedifferent kinds of time in Einstein's mind, each with its own lucidconsequences. In their tone and quiet logic, Lightman's fables comeoff like Bach variations played on an exquisite harpsichord. Peoplelive for one day or eternity, and they respond intelligibly to eachunique set of circumstances. Raindrops hang in the air in a place offrozen time; in another place everyone knows one year in advanceexactly when the world will end, and acts accordingly.

"Consider a world in which cause and effect are erratic,"writes Lightman."Scientists turn reckless and mutter likegamblers who cannot stop betting.... In this world, artists arejoyous." In another dream, time slows with altitude, causing richfolks to build stilt homes on mountaintops, seeking eternal youth andscorning the swiftly aging poor folk below.Forgetting eventually howthey got there and why they subsist on "all but the most gossamerfood," the higher-ups at length "become thin like the air,bony, old before their time."

There is no plot in this small volume--it's more like a poetrycollection than a novel. Like Stephen Hawking's A Brief History ofTime, it's a mind-stretching meditation by a scientist who'sbeen to the far edge of physics and is back with wilder tales thanMarco Polo's. And unlike many admirers of Hawking, readers ofEinstein's Dreams have a high probability of actually finishingit. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (232)

Time and Time Again
This is a very special and important book. I read books quite often and resell nearly all of them - but never ever this one. I own a hardcover and a Kindle version, as well. It is a book for a flight, a rainy day with a cup of good coffee, and some time to kill, no pun intended. I love how the surface layer of simplicity contrasts with the depth of the concepts presented. I have seen the book referred to as a series of connected 'thought experiments' and tend to agree with the description, hastening to add the experiments most certainly are well drawn and full of meaning, as opposed to trivial silliness that sometimes comes with this territory of writing. The author assumes the reader wants to be engaged, not entertained, as such. It is a thought-provoking read, and re-read. I keep it among the classics.

Einstein's Dreams
A very interesting book. The chapters leave a lot left open for you to expand upon should you choose. There are three epilogue chapters that all relate to each other, but the rest of the chapters (maybe 30 of them or so?) are only a few pages long and don't relate to each other. It can be tough to wrap your mind around some of the ideas, but once you get it they are very interesting. A great book for upper intermediate to advanced readers.

Much better as material for finding flaws in fantastic time theories
The book is a collection of 3-4 page thoughts experiments involving time and human memory. Its back cover claims it's a "fictional collage of stories dreamed by Albert Einstein in 1905", but if Einstein could have peered into the future and had seen this book, he would have probably hanged little Lightman from the hour hand of a giant clock.


The thought experiments are set in picturesque Berne, Switzerland, in 1905. However, ideas are naively, narrowly and summarily explored, and inconsistencies abound. For example, in one story, time is stopped, and people only experience images: dinner on the table, the touch of a lover. But how would they evolve to experience any image at all, if time is stopped?

Another story, on the locality of time (p. 120), could explore the idea of connecting locations where time passes at wildly different rates via electrical or even radio signals (which had already gone commercial by 1905), but fails short.

The story on page 107, which asserts that time is discrete and stops every micro-second before resuming, but for a short enough interval that the pause is imperceptible. However, this misses a major point, discussed by Greg Egan's Permutation City: the rate at which consecutive quantum events occur in a closed universe is irrelevant for a consciousness existing in that universe. In other words if we simulate an AI in a computer, the speed of that computer doesn't matter for the AI (as long as it doesn't communicate with the outside world). Indeed, the AI could be simulated on an abacus and have the same perception of "time".

Given the (necessary) superficiality of the thought experiments, the book is much better as material for finding out why various fantastic theories about time would be self-contradictory.

Great Page-turner
I first encountered Einstein's Dreams as an audio book borrowed from the public library. Listened to it driving to Miami and really enjoyed it. Decided I had to have it in print and ordered at a very good price through Amazon. You can read this slim book in a couple of days. The author was very imaginative and many of the dreams have an element of irony. I find this book thoroughly enjoyable in print or audio. Already loaned it out to a friend.

Amazing read
What an amazing read...time, something in day-to-day life we never think about, influences every aspect of our lives, our psychology, our relationships. In this book, during each chapter time functions differently (each is a dream of Einstein's), and so people are almost alien. They suffer and love in their worlds in ways to which we can relate, however, all the same.
It's written in prose, but it leaves one with the feeling of poetry - a somber, but thoughtful heightened awareness of what's truly magical about our existence, but often hidden in plain sight.
Highly recommended. Read it in a cafe while drinking espresso or having bread and cheese, the European feel/imagery will truly come alive! ... Read more

Product Description
Anita is pushed to her limits-both professionally and passionately-when she is called in on what appears to be a case involving a vampire serial killer preying on strippers.Amazon.com Review
As Incubus Dreams opens, Anita Blake may be America's most powerful vampire hunter and necromancer. So it's no surprise that the Regional Preternatural Crime Investigation Team seeks her assistance when a St. Louis stripper is murdered and the evidence points to unusual serial killers: a group of seven vampires. It appears a master vampire has gone rogue--and may prove too powerful for Anita Blake, even if she can gain help from not only her vampire consort, Master of the City Jean-Claude, but from the wereleopard king Micah, her other lover, and the alpha werewolf Richard, her bitter ex-lover.

It would be an exaggeration to say that Laurell K. Hamilton's Incubus Dreams is just one sex scene after another. This twelth novel in her bestselling Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series presents a wedding, a murder, and a lot of relationship angst before getting down and dirty on page 89; and the sex scenes pause on page 377 to let the mystery plot resume. The series deftly blends elements of alternate history, horror, romance, erotica, and mystery, but anyone reading Incubus Dreams for the murder plot is going to be frustrated. However, Incubus Dreams is a considerably stronger and more interesting book than its talky predecessor, Cerulean Sins, and fans will enjoy the many new developments in Anita's complicated love life. --Cynthia Ward

Amazon.com Exclusive Content

Interview with the Vampire Writer
With two bestselling series featuring supernatural heroines under her belt, one has to wonder if Laurell K. Hamilton is truly in touch with a world beyond ours. Hamilton spoke with Amazon.com about her work, her characters, and her plans for the future. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (780)

oh Anita, what happened to you???
I absolutely LOVED the Anita Blake novels up until they all became about sex and little else.If I wanted a romance novel I would buy some of those cheesy things my grandma used to read!Anita used to be about the action and complex stories, I couldn't wait to turn the next page.Even the parts that hinted at sex or resulted in sex were well written and made the reader want more.Now, the whole stinkin' thing is about sex!Whenever Anita is around a new male character you know she'll eventually sleep with him and then complain about how disgusted she is that can't help herself for the next 50 pages.I can't believe this book is as long as it is.It could have been cut in half and still been too long.I really liked this series and truly wanted to enjoy the rest of it, but I found myself just wanting this book to get over with so that I could start a book by a different author.I find myself not even interested in the same genre anymore since the Anita Blake story, that which had so much potential, went horribly wrong.Unfortunately I will avoid purchasing any additional Anita Blake novels.

Read it a month ago, forgot it already.
Another Anita power is discovered, she has more sex. Richard's still whiny, she has more sex. Throw in more vampires, and she has sex with them too.
Not even good sex. More like sterile porn.
She's become a sociopathic nymphomaniac with god-like powers. And yet, her character could not be more boring.

Was there even a point to this book??

Great plot and suspense, but no finalization in the relationships
Incubus Dreams by Laurell K. Hamilton, Book 12 in the Anita Blake Series. Great plot and suspense. Anita's powers continue to grow stronger and new one's emerge, especially after forging a new triumvirate with Damien and Nathanial. Will Anita go the next step with gorgeous Nathanial? Will she finally become Jean Claude's biting post? Is Richard still going to be a part of her life now? Those were some on the questions I asked before I read this. Although some of my questions were answered, most of her open-ended relationships with the men in her life are still left with no finalization. I still enjoyed the book, but I am still left needing some concrete "something" with all of the men. This book is certainly not as good as the last eleven volumes, but I will continue to read this series, because I love the main character, and am interested to see how much she changes in the next.

Last one for me...
I really enjoyed the first 10 books of this series.They got a little too gory for me at times, went a little overboard in the shock value from time to time, but I still enjoyed the characters and the story behind it all.I keep trying, thinking she'll get back on track, but this book officially ends my interest in Anita Blake.I don't mind some sex scenes here and there if they expand the plot and continue the story.The past few books have increased from being good stories to being hard core porn.Nothing is left to the imagination, every little detail is included and they are not subtle.I find myself skimming over half the book because all the sex just doesn't matter.Anita finds herself "needing" to bonk every male she comes in contact with because of this convenient beast she has in her now.She's not even her anymore.LKH should've just started a whole new series with a new character to carry this Ardeur BS and have sex every five minutes.I'm bored and I'm done.

Outstanding
Laurell Hamilton does it again. I've read all the previous books of hers and this is awesome. I love how Anita has been changed into a promiscuous man chaser who can't get enough sex. Jean Claude, Asher, Nathaniel, Jason etc. She has bedded them all and total strangers quite frequently. I can only hope that she manages to get it on with Dolph. Wouldn't that be the best!!!! Laurell's imagination and how she grows Anita's character is without equal. I can't wait to get started on the next book. Maybe with the ardeur she might test her sexuality with Ronnie!!!! OMG would that be cool!!!! Go Laurell, You rock!! ... Read more

Book Description
Understanding the Dreams You Dream: Biblical Keys for Hearing God’s Voice in the Night not only provides insight into your dreams and life, but also includes a comprehensive dictionary of dream symbols!

You will be guided through the complex world of dreams by a minister with decades of experience receiving, understanding, and interpreting dreams of his own and for others.

I have received many helpful messages from God through dreams. In addition to being helped through my own dreams, I have seen many other people obtain help and comfort by using their dreams as an aid to healing in pastoral counseling. –Ira Milligan

Through Scripture-based meditation, much can be understood about your dreams, but many Christians don’t know how to meditate. This problem is addressed in three different ways:

• Specific, detailed directions are given on how and upon what to meditate.
• Personal examples of dreams from the author’s own experiences.
• Practical dictionary of symbol definitions is included.

This book presents both normal and not-so-normal dream situations. You will learn that to apply only one type of dream interpretation to all dreams is restricting each symbol to only one possible definition, which is incorrect. And you will learn how to tell the difference between a dream from God—and those from evil sources. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (33)

Book Purchase on Amazon
I was always very pleased with the purchases made on Amazon, mainly because of the extreme price cut.Unfortunately, on my last purchase of the books, my checking account was compromised and erroneous charges were made for other purchases.Needless to say, all monies were expended in my account, sending the account into a negative balance.I am yet trying to recover from this.Jp

HIGHLY RECOMMEND
After Praying and asking God to help me to interpret the dreams and visions that He has been giving me and also READING MY BIBLE, I purchased this book.It is very clear and to the point........I highly recommend this book!!!!!

I love this book
I love this book and refer to it often. I have not only referred to it for insight and interpretations of my own dreams, but also that of my children, family and friends.I keep it handy in my night stand.The only thing that would make it better is a lengthier key word dictionary, as there have been occasions where I could not find a word I was looking for.

dreams
GREAT dream book.This book will help you understand and interprerate your dreams.We all dream at night and want to know the meaning of our dreams.This book will help guide you through them.

Limited scope
I hardly dream at night. But on 3 occasions I had dreams, of which 2 of them were a warning of what was happening at that time. I was searching for an answer to my recent third dream and a friend passed this book to me.

This book covers on the possible interpretations of colors, animals, places and numbers in dreams, without giving any contextual or environmental contents or conditions. After reading through this book, I felt each of us has to interpret the symbols in our dreams in the right context. And the interpretation of symbols given by this book may or may not be valid to your dream. So be forewarned to merely use this for references. Eventually, you have to pray and let the Holy Spirit guide you in your interpretation of your dreams.

The giver of the dreams holds the key to the messages behind the dreams you dream.
... Read more

Product Description
WHAT IS JESUS WORTH TO YOU?

It's easy for American Christians to forget how Jesus said his followers would actually live, what their new lifestyle would actually look like. They would, he said, leave behind security, money, convenience, even family for him. They would abandon everything for the gospel. They would take up their crosses daily...

BUT WHO DO YOU KNOW WHO LIVES LIKE THAT? DO YOU?

In Radical, David Platt challenges you to consider with an open heart how we have manipulated the gospel to fit our cultural preferences. He shows what Jesus actually said about being his disciple--then invites you to believe and obey what you have heard. And he tells the dramatic story of what is happening as a "successful" suburban church decides to get serious about the gospel according to Jesus.

Finally, he urges you to join in The Radical Experiment --a one-year journey in authentic discipleship that will transform how you live in a world that desperately needs the Good News Jesus came to bring. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (149)

Calling all Christians
Must read for all Christians, especially leaders. Very challenging. Serious reading and putting into practice will change the face of the church, the nation and the world.

How Grateful are u
Im not even done reading yet but...man the first to chapters where defiantly sets the rest of the book. Once you start reading it's so hard to put it down. My goal before I died is to go as a family (my kids & husband ) to travel southern east parts of Asia & hearing what its really like is amazing but yet heart breaking.

Everyone needs to read
If every God fearing Christian would read this book and take it to heart our world would be a better place.

What is GOD up to?

INITIAL IMPRESSION

My assessment from reading the dust jacket of "Radical" was exactly the same as that of the critical reviewer whose review has been deemed most helpful.

However as I read "Radical," reflected on it's message, and saw its impact on myself and my friends, my perspective changed completely, and I was led to a deep conviction that God is working through this book in an unusual way. Subsequently I volunteered to analyze and review "Radical" for "Mission Frontiers," a major mission strategy magazine. This task me to in-depth research into Dr. Platt and the impact of his book and other ministry. For a more detailed analysis than fits here, Google "Mission Frontiers Radical".

For those interested, my personal experience with "Radical" is appended here, after my Book Summary and Conclusion.


BOOK SUMMARY

David Platt's book "Radical" reflects a wider move of God through which He is stirring His people to finish discipling all nations (Mt. 24:14 and Mt 28:18-20).

"Radical" overlaps heavily with Francis Chan's "Crazy Love" in urging God's people to live "all out" for Jesus, but "Radical" puts forth a much clearer picture of the global purposes which God is working to accomplish through His people, and a more practical suggestion for how God's people can intentionally engage together in obeying God and impacting His world.

Dr. Platt starts in his first chapter with Dietrich Bonhoeffer's quote "[the first call every Christian experiences is] the call to abandon the attachments of this world." Throughout his book, Platt urges us to discover Jesus (not heaven) as our sole treasure, to lay aside everything that keeps us from pursuing Him above all else, and to realize that "It's Not About Me." (Google the free book excerpt available on line at "mission frontiers radical not about me".)

Dr. Platt starts his final chapter:
"Throughout this book we have explored a variety of bold claims about our purpose in life that are contained in the gospel yet contradicted in the American dream. Claims such as these: Real success is found in radical sacrifice. Ultimate satisfaction is not found in making much of ourselves but in making much of God. The purpose of our lives transcends the country and culture in which we live. Meaning is found in community, not individualism; joy is found in generosity, not materialism; and truth is found in Christ, not universalism. Ultimately Jesus is a reward worth risking everything to know, experience and enjoy."

Having presented such a challenge, Dr. Platt then takes a radical departure from most "high commitment" books by suggesting the starting point of a growth path which any group can embrace together to pursue greater passion for Jesus and obedience to His global purposes.

The "Radical Experiment" is not radical in where it starts, but in the direction it leads. It is much more like Jesus' initial call to Peter and Andrew in Matthew 4:19--to follow Jesus and let Him change us into effective disciplers--than it is to the kind of radical Luke 14 challenge I and my colleagues like to present.

In my opinion, the low initial commitment required in the "Radical Experiment" has misled some reviewers, including myself initially, into dismissing the book: "What is radical about reading through the Bible in a year, or giving 2% of your time or to a specific cause?" But such a dismissal misses the whole thrust of Dr. Platt's book.

"Radical" will challenge most readers in the healthiest of ways, not simply to agree with what is wrong with the Western Church, but to take practical steps to join others in living for God's global kingdom. As the Chinese proverb says, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

Yes:
- Some may read "Radical" as a guilt trip or an appeal for wealth distribution,
- others will question Dr. Platt's motives, lifestyle or position, and
- those who love money will mock the idea of living sacrificially as the Pharisees did. ["The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus" (Lk 16:14 NIV).]

But those reactions seem generally to be the result of existing bias or careless reading.


WEAKNESSES

I find two major weaknesses in the book itself:
1. Extracted from the caring overtones of Platt's audio presentations, some will experience the book as a guilt trip. For those I recommend the audio book, or the free original sermon series (which I found much richer) [to find this, Google "Brook Hills Media Radical"].

2. While Dr. Platt effectively develops God's intention for those He has blessed to join Him in caring for the poor, inexperienced Western Christians far too often translate this simplistically as "giving to the poor." And this creates more problems than it solves. Unfortunately "Radical" does nothing to address this problem, but to his credit Dr. Platt has all of his small group leaders reading Fikkert and Corbett's When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor. . .and Yourself.


CONCLUSION

"Radical" is most suitable for three audiences:
- those disillusioned with self-centered "Christianity Lite" will generally find "Radical" both challenging and refreshing.
- those who have never considered Biblical obedience as an alternative to self-serving religion will find "Radical" a healthy challenge.
- and most real friends of the True King will find value in "Radical" and want to share it with others.
[Toward multiplying the circulation of this valuable book, "Mission Frontiers" has negotiated a simple way for its readers to buy "Radical" in bulk at great savings. Google "Mission Frontiers Radical" to find the details in the excerpt from "Radical."]

"Radical" is NOT likely to be appreciated by those who
- are prone to feelings of guilt,
- want to justify their attachment to the things of this world, or
- are not prepared to give their lives to drawing close to Jesus and joining Him in His global purpose.

NOTE: If you have found this review helpful, please note that below. Thanks!


----- My Personal Story

For those interested, the rest of this review describes
- my own "conversion" regarding this book,
- how God is using "Radical" like He has used "Crazy Love,"
- my unusual involvement in promoting "Radical,"
- related free resources to help you live radically for our King, and
- how to find my more extensive research and analysis related to this book.


PRELIMINARY MISCONCEPTIONS

When my wife first read "Radical" and told me we should share it with our friends, my reaction was like that of many of the negative reviewers: "What is radical about urging people to read through the Bible, spend 2% of their time in ministry, or give to a specific cause?"

After all, the True King demands wholehearted commitment!

[Thirty years ago, while still a student at Caltech, I dedicated my life to "seeking first God's kingdom" and to working with others to "disciple all nations." I (with the later inclusion of my family) have sought to live out that calling faithfully, and for most of that time I have read the Bible through twice a year. So my response to my wife was "What would I gain from such a book?", and "Why would I recommend such a weak form of obedience to others?"]


READING THE BOOK REVERSED MY PERCEPTIONS

My view of "Radical" changed completely once I read the free download of chapter one from "RadicalTheBook" and discovered how closely Platt's passion parallels my own. I read the remainder of the book in a single sitting.

Thrust suddenly into a position he wasn't seeking, I found Platt inviting me as the reader to join him in wrestling honestly with:
- how we have twisted Jesus and his teaching into something He wouldn't recognize, and
- how we are misusing on ourselves most of the resources He has entrusted for our use in reaching the lost and serving the poor.

From my own experience and that of many friends, I believe Dr. Platt's transparency will draw most open-hearted readers into serious consideration of the life-changing conclusions he draws, and help many discover the radical nature of giving up our own small ambitions (comfort and security) to pursue the bigger purposes in which God seeks to engage His people.


WHAT IS RADICAL ABOUT THE "RADICAL EXPERIMENT"?

With further prayer and reflection I came to see Platt's "Radical Experiment," not as a concession to the low commitment of our culture (as I had originally assumed), but as a brilliant starting point; simple enough for any individual or group to embrace, yet challenging enough to start making a real difference in the lives of people who are ensnared by our present church culture.


HOW RADICAL AFFECTED ME

Once I too had read "Radical," my wife and I bought 100 copies to give to friends, one of whom is the editor of "Mission Frontiers" magazine. Seeing the same value my wife and I do, my friend and his wife then bought 25 copies to give to their friends.

And we aren't unique. Within five months of its publication, sales had driven 18 printings of "Radical" (375,000 copies--enough for roughly 1% of U.S. Evangelical households). At the time of this review "Radical" has been on the New York Times best-sellers list (paperback advice) for four and a half months, risen as high as 18th on Amazon's "Top 100 in Books," and is being promoted by Amazon as a loss-leader special (selling 63% off retail for up to 3 copies).


DIGGING DEEPER

Shortly after I introduced my editor friend to "Radical," he and I were together at the Navigator headquarters for DNA-21--a discipleship experience which Dr. Platt had also planned on attending and for which he had been asked to be a guest speaker. My friend and I both found Dr. Platt's spoken message more challenging than his book, and I was stirred to start taking advantage of the 250+ messages which his church, Brook Hills, has made freely available.

Note: I have found Dr. Platt's free audio messages are even more challenging than his book, and I commend these to you as a good antidote for the tendency of any book to lose its impact over time. [Google "Brook Hills Media", or find "Brook Hills" under Podcasts on iTunes.]


MORE BACKGROUND

Last month (September of 2010), my editor friend asked me to write up Dr. Platt as the cover story for "Mission Frontiers." ["Mission Frontiers" has a print circulation of 100,000, and is available free on-line: (Google "Mission Frontiers Radical")]

You can read there
- the results of my research into Dr. Platt's background and motivations,
- an exploration of the strengths, weaknesses and significance of "Radical" ("A Radical Shift in Mobilization"), and
- practical suggestions for maximizing the value of "The Radical Experiment".


DISCLOSURES

I have no financial or other interest in "Radical"; only a desire to see my King fully exalted throughout the earth. [In the most common pattern of missionary funding, my allowance is paid according to the size and needs of my family rather than my credentials or labors, so my volunteer work on this issue of Mission Frontiers in relation to "Radical" did not affect my income by a penny. Also, I did NOT receive a copy of "Radical" in exchange for this or any other review.]

Similarly, Mission Frontiers highlighted "Radical" as part of its continuing ministry of fueling the effective obedience of God's people to Mt 28:18-20, and did not receive a penny for promoting Radical. [Mission Frontiers is a subsidized ministry of the U.S. Center for World Mission (USCWM), the world's largest collaborative center for mission strategy. And while I worked with the USCWM for many years, I have no continuing relationship with that organization beyond friendships and a shared passion to fill the earth with the knowledge of God's glory.]

Also, as noted in the title page of "Radical," Dr. Platt is receiving no royalties from this book; those royalties having instead been dedicated to "promoting the glory of Christ in all nations."

P.S. If you find this review helpful, please mark it that way below. Thanks!

David Platt, like so many of us, is Desperate for the Truth
David Platt has lived the American Dream, has seen what it produces and was shocked into action after being convicted by the Holy Spirit for being a willing participant in the disgusting change that occured in his heart.We have all seen it, over and over again...however it is rare for someone in his position to blow the doors off of the cover-up we all know too well.
Kudo's to David for having the courage to tell us what we already know about Jesus and his commands to believers.These weren't light suggestions, these are demands (orders) from the King of Kings.
I am certain now that the Truth, and there is only one, has been blasted out there from a trusted pastor, and I highlight the word "Trusted"...there will be many more to follow his lead.
There are numerous others that have done what he has done before, however they have been labeled as heretics and false teachers.I am not going to focus on his suggested tactics or activities...they will be based on each persons gifts.
Bravo David...don't stop now...you are just getting warmed up...Jesus demands the Truth...bring it!
I was also once on a Desperate Highway (title of a book) now I want only the truth as it is written in God's Word. Amen. ... Read more