Book Description
In this definitive book, prominent archaeologist John M. Camp presents an up-to-date survey of the monuments of ancient Athens and Attica to create a complete archaeological tour of the area. Camp's lavishly illustrated work will appeal not only to scholars and students of Greek civilization but also to visitors exploring the ancient sites. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

THe First two thirds were good. the last third was great.
I really enjoyed this book. AS Kidd gets his assignment, hires Luellen and Dace, and begins his project, it is just fast enough to keep you interested.Then, right around the time Dace dies, it really picks up. THeplot centers around this Tarot-reading, Computer-hacking painter who ishired by a military defense company to sabatoge another company's computersystm. This book was areally good read and I can't wait to read 'theempress file'

Industrial sabotage by computer
I read this book until 3 am and finished it afer several hours of sleep.Kidd is hired to sabotage a rival company's computer system.He in turn hires a female cat burglar to help.I am a retired computer programmer and this book really held me.

Fast-paced, computer hacking mystery that kept my attention!
This book is part of a 2-book series.I read them out of order because of the publisher's comments on the back of each one.Itsaid that The Fool's Run was the sequel to the The Empress File.It's actually the other way around.........I love these two characters... Kidd and LuEllen.They are very intelligent, ingenious and fun-loving people.I can't believe they get away with all of the mischief they cause, but its a fast, fun read. I'd love it if John Camp (Sandford) would continue this series!John Sandford writes very intelligent, suspenseful books.I'm already hooked on his "Prey" series.Every year I patiently await the arrival of the next sequel ... Read more

Amazon.com
When a spring thaw disinters the body of a young woman who's been missing for over a year, Minneapolis detective Lucas Davenport doesn't have much to go on except the victim's rumored connection with an unnamed man, who may be an artist and also, perhaps, a priest. But then the deserted property where her body was discovered turns out to be a killing field full of other young blondes last seen in the company of a man with a nasty habit of superimposing their faces on pornographic drawings. Davenport begins to close in on a serial killer whose perverted hobby provides the clues Davenport needs to stop him in his bloody tracks. James Qatar isn't a priest, and he's not really an artist, but he's definitely a monster, one who's met his match in Davenport.

Davenport is a smart, thoughtful cop whose girlfriend is pressuring him to makea commitment to parenthood and whose boss is about to lose her job in apolitical turnover. While the search for the killer is handled in author JohnSandford's usual, crisp, procedural style, it almost seems to be a pretext for exploring the evolution of Davenport's relationship with Dr. Weather Karkinnen. This 12th adventure in the author's popular Prey series will undoubtedly rocket to the top of the bestseller list, though it's not a standout. The novel displays the solid craftsmanship and narrative drive Sandford's known for, but his hero seems a little dispirited and out of sorts. Perhaps fatherhood will give Davenport a new leaseon life. In the meantime, check out Sandford's backlist featuring his other hero, Kidd (The Fool's Run, The Empress File, The Devil's Code), who has a nice little walk-on here in which he begins a romance with Davenport's partner Marcy Sherrill. --Jane AdamsBook Description
A killer has some serious cleaning up to do to keep from getting caught--and Davenport's detection skills make him number one on his hit list. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (91)

Art and Murder combine in Suspense-filled Davenport novel
It all began with a drawing that was turned in to the police; a woman who was walking found a nude drawing with her face on it posted in several locations in and around the University of Minnesota.When the police run a newscast, several more women come forward with similar pictures.Then someone discovers that a missing girl had a picture like this as well.Eventually, a mass graveyard is discovered.Eight bodies are pulled out.

Lucas Davenport is called in and he has help from the uncle of one of the murder victims, who is a cop from Wisconsin (the uncle, not the murder victim) - and who was in a large part responsible for breaking open the case and putting the murders together with the pictures.The trouble is, no one has any idea who could be doing the killings, or the pictures - and it is just a matter of time before he kills again.

A suspense novel, rather than a mystery, the reader is kept more or less aware of the villain's activities throughout the story along with the activities of the police; however, that doesn't stop Sanford from keeping the tension ratcheted up as high as it will go.I somehow managed to get my hands on a UK version of this book (used book store - gotta love 'em), but as far as I can tell, there are no real differences outside of cosmetic.This is also the book where Lucas and Winter finally get back together.A recommend from me!

My first Sanford novel
I found this book in the discount bin at the library.. and now I'm hooked on John Sandford novels.Chosen Prey was an fast read, and Lucas Davenport's character as a detective is fantastic.The plot chases a small time art professor whose lessons go a bit to far, and its up to Davenport and his crew from Minnesota to find the source of the murders.Beware of this book... Sandford's novels are addicting!

Fast Paced Story
I enjoyed this fast paced story and I am a big fan of Lucas Davenport. I missed this book in the Prey novels, so I'm doing a little catch up. I found I got to visit with the usual characters and a few new characters. I thought that the characters were described extremely well and the plot kept me guessing throughout the book. This book is a real thriller and I always look forward to Mr. Sandford's new books. Highly recommend.

what a book....
What a book,Its a lot of reading(of course I dont get much time to read).But the book was very suspencefull and lots of mystery.Why didnt I rate it a 5 star Book? I didnt like it when james Quarter went and killed his own mother,I thought that was very morbid and a terrible thing to have done.This Book however saves the who done it to very,very end. So don,t read the last page before reading this Book.Its not a bad book,But certianly not the best book Ive Read....

Nobody does it better
Sandford is our generation's master of the crime novel. Read one of the Prey novels, you'll want to read them all. Lucas Davenport is a beautifully flawed good guy with a streak of badness about him. Sandford weaves his stories flawlessly and hauls you along like a fish on a line until the very last page.
-- Mark LaFlamme, author of "The Pink Room." ... Read more

Book Description
The archives of the American School excavations in the Athenian Agoracontain a remarkable series of watercolors and drawings—well over400—by Piet de Jong, one of the best-known, most distinctive, andinfluential archaeological illustrators of the 20th century. They showlandscapes, people, and, above all, objects recovered during manyseasons of fieldwork at one of the longest continuously runningarchaeological projects in Greece.

The aim of this volume is to bring these illustrations out of thestorage drawers and to assemble in color a representative sample ofsome of the finest of Piet de Jong's contributions. Along the way, thisbook tells the story of the Agora excavations and assesses theircontribution to scholarship. It includes essays by 16 scholarscurrently working at the Agora, and surveys the entire span of thematerial they are studying—from Neolithic pottery to the Late Byzantineand post-Byzantine frescoes from the Church of Ayios Spyridon. ... Read more

Book Description
The great public square known as the Agora was the living heart of ancient Athens, where citizens met formally to administer civic affairs, and informally to trade or discuss politics or to take part in religious processions and athletic displays. In the fifth and fourth centuries B.C., the Agora was the scene of some of the finest political, philosophical, and artistic achievements in the first flowering of Western civilization. John M. Camp brings together the results of sixty years' work by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Drawing on the wealth of excavated evidence, richly supplemented by literary and inscriptional references, Professor Camp tells the story of the Agora from Neolithic to medieval times. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A time machine, between two paper covers.
I have had the pleasure of excavating in Greece (as volunteer slave labor). I spent a good deal of time in the Athenian Agora. I felt that I had come to understand a lot of the layout and history of the location. But this book greatly magnified my understanding of what I had seen. For me, it was WONDERFUL to finally get the full story on the site that I thought I knew. The history of the Agora is very rich. This book will bring it to life for you. I'd give it twenty stars if it were possible.

Magnificent Overview of the Heart of Classical Athens
Just as much as the Acropolis was the religious center of ancient Athens, the Agora was its commercial, governmental, and cultural heart.Camp and Renfrew's book finally gives this crucial site the attention and analysis it deserves.

The authors draw on the results of over a half-century of archaeological investigation to relate 1500 years of the city's history. From Athens' rise from obscurity in the days of Homer to its flowering as a military/cultural powerhouse in the 5th century, to the Hellenistic Age and the days of the Roman Empire, to the city's slow decline to the status of Byzantine backwater, this book reveals the evolution of the Agora in hundreds of color and black-and-white illustrations which truly breathe life into the ancient stones and the people who knew them.

The illustrations are sumptuous, and are the true centerpiece of the book.Scores of photographs illustrate the surviving walls and foundations of the Agora's buildings, and careful, clearly-rendered site plans and architectural elevations enable the reader to readily relate disparate elements of the structures and artifacts to their historical and cultural contexts.Accompanying the illustrations is a clear and lucid text which explains the history and the society that the Agora reflected and served.

I heartily recommend this book to those interested in archaeology, classical Greece, the Roman Empire, and urban planning.Echoing Peter Green's review, it's difficult to conceive that this book could have been done any better, and it is unlikely to be superseded for the foreseeable future. ... Read more

Book Description
Kidd and LuEllen, a wining pair of lovers and liars, get embroiled in a deadly con involving false identities, small-town scandals, and big-time murder.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author

Get stung by con artists Kidd and LuEllen... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

a bit dated
it is a good sanford book but it is easy to tell that it was wrote 20-30 years ago by the products in the story, but as all sanford novels a good read

The Kidd Series
Sanford has written another in his laudable Kidd series. Taut writing, complex characters, and fast moving plotting provide high quality entertainment with a thoughtful edge. Each in the series of four unveils new aspects of Kidd, the artist who has some unusual and lucrative, if less than legal, skills. With LuEllen, his new twist on a sidekick and Bobby, who we never quite get to see as he guides them via computer, the plots twist and wind to satisfying conclusions. Read them all, and try to read them in order to enjoy the full effect.

Note Author Names: Camp and/or Sandford
Some printings of this book list the author as John Camp; others as John Sandford. Either way, it's a Kidd and LuEllen adventure. Don't be put off by the author names.

Another Great Kidd and LuEllen Adventure!!!
Interesting story in a sleepy Mississippi River town. Kidd and LuEllen doing what they do best, plus Kidd's use of his Tarot Cards to influence the Mayor. The down trodden citizens getting even with a corrupt City Council, makes the crimes used against them to justify the means.

Kidd and LuEllen are back!
This is the second book in the Kidd and LuEllen series. It is much lighter than Sandford's Prey series, but is quite good in its own right. The dialogue is great, and the plot is complex yet easy to follow. There are also some quite funny parts. The story shows that the lines between right and wrong, good guys and bad guys can often become a bit blurred. ... Read more

Book Description
Word count: 2787. ... Read more

Book Description
This colorful overview is intended primarily for visitors to the site, but also provides a useful introduction to the visible remains. After a brief history of the Agora, the principal monuments are described, and then the reader is taken on a counterclockwise tour around the site. The author is the current Director of Excavations at the Athenian Agora, and this guide therefore presents the most up-to-date information available. ... Read more

Book Description
The ancient Greeks set out from their mountainous land at the end of the Balkan peninsula to colonize and settle almost all the Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts. These remarkable people have left their imprint on virtually every aspect of modern politics, theater, art, philosophy, medicine, architecture, and athletics.

Here is their story, told within its historical and cultural framework. The eastern Mediterranean has always been a point of contact and conflict between East and West, and the book relates how the Greeks interacted, both peaceably and otherwise, with the surrounding cultures—Minoans, Phoenicians, Lydians, Persians, and Romans. Herodotus began his account of the Persian Wars in the fifth century BC by saying that the trouble started 700 years earlier, with the events leading up to the Trojan War. Over time the struggle surged back and forth across the Aegean: Greece against Troy, Greek migration and settlement in Asia Minor, Persian invasions of Greece, Alexander's conquest of Asia, Roman intervention in the Greek world.

The world of the ancient Greeks is presented here in chronological order, from the Bronze Age to the Christian era, a span of some 3,500 years. Athens plays a large role, but other Greek cities are given much closer attention than in standard accounts. Individual chapters look at the Greeks and their gods, and Greek art and architecture. The result is a sweeping and authoritative survey of a culture that made an unparalleled contribution to the rise of Western civilization. 280 illustrations and phtotographs, 90 in color.

Key features:

• Spread-by-spread layout
• Quotations from Greek authors
• The latest archaeological discoveries
• Numerous sidebars and special features
• Timeline and gazetteer of ancient Greek sites ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Welcome to Ancient Greece!
This book constitutes a superb visual tour of ancient Greece, beginning with the earliest artifacts and continuing through the Roman period. With abundant pictures, maps and drawings it is a feast. The text should not be slighted; it is up-to-date and highly informative, yet an entertaining and enjoyable read, and interposes many quotes from ancient sources to add depth.The book serves at once as a reminder or the glories of Greece, a reference for much of Greek culture, and a doorway to further inquiry. It is not an in-depth scholarly analysis, but a wonderful excursion through Greek culture that will lead you to greater understanding and a thirst for more. Finally, the book itself is a pleasure to see and hold. It will serve for many years as a reference and a place to browse through history.

A concise look at the Ancient Greeks with great details and illustrations
"The World of the Ancient Greeks" covers their history from the Paleolithic and Neolithic era, which is actually before the "Greeks" first showed by circa 2000 B.C., to the fall of Constantinople in 1453, when Greece became part of the Ottoman Empire. With the fall of the Byzantine Empire and the beginning of 400 years of Turkish control, Greece was no longer Greece (not until 1821-32 and the Greek War of Independence). When I learned World History the basic idea was that the Greeks created Western Civilization and were then taken over by Alexander the Great's Macedonian Empire and then the Roman Empire. But John Camp and Elizabeth Fisher take a different perspective and focus more on how the eastern Mediterranean has always been a point of contact and conflict between the East and West. However, while they point to a series of struggles back and forth the Aegean Sea, from the Greek war against Troy and Greek migration and settlement in Asia Minor to Alexander's conquest of Asia and Greece becoming part of the Roman Empire, the focus of this book ends up being more on the prominent role of the Greeks in making an unparalleled contribution to the rise of Western civilization.

That simply means we end up on familiar ground for most of this book, although certainly the authors pay more attention to other Greek city-states besides Athens in describing the world of the ancient Greeks. The volume is divided into ten chapters: (I) Who Were the Greeks? not only defines them but also lays out the written sources and archaeological discoveries that are the foundation for what we know; (II) The First Greeks focuses mainly on the Early Bronze Age in Greece and the point where the Greeks, or more properly their language, pops up in history; (III) The Heroic Age is where we get to the Mycenaeans, the civilization on Crete, and the historical evidence that exists for all of the myths that spring from the late Bronze Age, such as the sieges of Troy and Thebes, and the quests of Odysseus and Jason.

A key transitional period is detailed in (IV) The Age of Expanding Horizons, which starts with the Dark Ages following the end of the palaces that defined the previous era, and the key elements of colonization, Panhellenism, and the beginnings of Greek literature. (V) Polis: The Early Greek City is concerned with such basics as urban design, political structure, economic life, and regional diversity. The important cities of the mainland (Sparta, Thebes, and Corinth) are contrasted with the Eastern (Samos, Ephesus) and Western (Selinus, Syracuse, Massalia). Then, of course, there is a whole chapter devoted to (VI) Classical Athens, which covers its rise, government and law, commerce and business, religious life, theater, intellectual life, and private life. True, you can devote an entire book like this to Athens, but what we have here is nice and concise, while still providing some key details.

Mythology is covered in (VII) Gods and Heroes, although the focus is more on festivals, cults and shrines, which is fine. There are plenty of books on mythology and Greek drama, and this is more on the culture than the literature. (VIII) Greek Art and Architecture does a nice job of laying out architectural orders, but the attention to sculpture is even better. Too bad that when I visited Greece all of the museums were closed in preparation for the Olympics, so that the only "key" piece I got to see was the Charioteer of Delphi (it is in the outer part of the museum), but this section made up for that somewhat by showing me again what we missed. Pottery and painting are covered as well, and you can just never see too many examples of Greek pottery.

(IX) Alexander and the Hellenistic World tries to establish a sense of continuity between the Greece personified by Athens and the Hellenistic World of Alexander's empire, but once you get to Asia it is just not Greece anymore. Since the Macedonians conquered Greece, that does not seem particularly Panhellenistic to me. So I see what happened with Alexander to be closer to what comes with the (X) Romans and Christians, this last chapter being the shortest of all because there are Greeks but Greece is no longer Greece at that point. I also see what Alexander did to be closer to what the Romans did with Greece, than I see him as the student of Aristotle. At the very least, Alexander's Empire gives us a more reasonable point in history to stop talking about the ancient Greeks, much more so than the rise of the Ottoman Empire (the Romans at least considered Greece to be Greece, but that was definitely not the case when it became part of the Turkish sphere of influence).

"The World of the Ancient Greeks" is illustrated with 376 photographs and drawings, of which 107 are in color, and since I have actually been to Greece it was nice that I instantly recognized places I had been, such as Delphi and Olympia (how can you not at least walk to the end of the original Olympic track if you visit Greece?). The captions for these illustrations are as informative as the main text, and one of the strengths of this volume are the extracts from classical authors and inscriptions that are used to bring to life the events, people and places being covered. I really like things like that, especially when you are doing fragments or inscriptions and not just lines from the classic poets (we do not know who wrote "Oinopion" and "Hekabe" to win in 364/3 B.C., but we know that Arexis won as best actor for those tragedies). So overall I like the both the conciseness of all the topic covered and the attention to key details throughout the book. Plus, I find the illustrations to be excellent. I am always finding things to use from this book in my Classical Mythology course. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A must read especially if you live in the Mother Lode Area
This journal is, simply put, a home movie of a time and place during the Gold Rush of California that truly is one of a kind. If you are at all interested in how the Forty-niners lived and dealt with the issues that arose in one of the last frontiers of this world, then why haven't you read this book? My favorite parts deal with the Indians, alcohol, temperance, the costs of things at that time, and how dogs become a necessity of a gold miner's life for home security and frienship.I'm not related to the publisher, so I'm not going to profit from my raving review, though I wish I could. I never put it down until I was done. I, too, am from Calaveras County, but you could be from anywhere in the world and appreciate this diary.

John Doble's Diary
One of the best journals of the early gold rush that includes a series of letters written by Doble before and during the Civil War.Poor spelling, no punctuation as Doble recorded his day-to-day experiences as a miner.His descriptions of life and times, of bonanza and borrasca, of the wagon trains arriving, and especially his description of his cabin, are classic.I have lived in Volcano, and spent many hours searching out the places described.After reading of his anguish over the death of his good friend, I went to the cemetery and found the tombstone placed there by him.

Living history as many of the places described in the book remain, but written from a perspective long lost.

Gold Trackers Delight!
My father and I got excited when we ran across this book documenting the exploits of John Doble in the gold country of Pine Grove, California.

Doble's Journal documents his search for gold specifically in the Pine Grove, Jackson areas.One could take this journal and retrace Doble's steps to find the best areas to prospect.

I definitly would add this one to my prospecting reference library. ... Read more

Product Description
The story of a World War II Cantonment from its inception and history as an Army training camp. Four divisions used Camp Adair before their action in Europe and the Pacific Theatres. The story tells of Camp Adair as a World War II POW compound and it's use as a naval hospital before closure. ... Read more