Customer Reviews (5)

The best biography out there for PG fans
Unlike some other reviewers, I found this book to be highly readable and very informative.I think Bright does a great job getting into Gabriel's motivations and interests and this makes for a very good biography.

Gabriel has so many interests outside of his own music and it's especially nice to get these viewpoints in the biography.He is involved in human rights, world music, multimedia, alternative health, and psychological therapies.These other interests do tell you more about the man than just a standard "Gabriel-released-this-album-and-toured" work.

The only complaint I have is about the some of the extremely long chapters.The book could be logically broken in better places to make keeping your place easier!

For the serious and patient fan only
For years I searched store shelves in vain looking for a quality book on Peter Gabriel.When I at last looked online, I thought I had found what I needed. However, this biography reads more like a textbook than a warm orinteresting biography.The author spliced the book together usingavailable quotes and interviews, and seems to never have talked to Peterhimself.And while there are many interesting tidbits, such as the factthat a schoolboy Gabriel once made a hat worn by Keith Richards of theStones on TV, it really drags.Even I, a serious fan, found myselfskipping through many sections. Worth the read?Yes.If you thinkof yourself as a serious fan.An enjoyable read?Not really.Infact, you may be disappointed in your hero when you learn how distant hewas from his wife and family.

more the man than the music
A welcome update to his previous work, Bright's new book still has the same positive and negative sides of the first edition. Excellent research is his finest point (he talked to people who knew the subject well and didgive great insights), but the stress on all matters personal and privateseems to me a bit over the top. Sure we want to know what kind of a personPeter is besides his rock-star persona, but the text doesn't always succeedin connecting this with Gabriel's musical output.

A life that unfolds like a sunrise...
This is definately the best biography about Peter Gabriel that exists. I was surprised at how intimate it was especially in a sexual way, but PGhimself I believe advocates openness. So... He also appears to haveendorsed this book about himself. I was glad also to come to the positiveending aswell. May happiness continue... A satisfying read all round andbest piccies.

Excellent in-depth assessment of a fascinating man!
Mr. Bright has created a work that is readable andinsightful about a man whose creativity and experimentation with rock sounds and textures is extraordinary.Especially interesting to this reader are the artist's ownexplanations of his lyrics, which are sometimes obscure (deliberately) butalways interesting.Mr. Gabriel doesn't talk down to his listeners; he hasmatured and assumes we are maturing along with him.A definite must-readfor anyone who is a fan of this long-term rock legend. ... Read more

Book Description
From the critically acclaimed author of Ash Child, the tenth in this popular series set in Montana A wealthy millennial cult from California relocates to the outskirts of the Montana badlands-the dry and windy dead zone-and the Toussaint townsfolk are none too pleased. The cult members keep to themselves, but Gabriel Du Pr soon learns that seven of their recently defected members were killed-each shot to death. When another shooting incident occurs just outside of the compound, Du Pr finds himself blindly searching for a killer and an explanation for the murders-for which there seem to be no answers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Benetsee Sang
When a series closes in on a dozen volumes, the challenge to the author is to keep his characters believable and avoid repetitive formulas.In other words the author must find new ways of being creative while each new book adds more constraints to the overall story.Truth be told, I know of no author who manages this with complete ease.Thus many of the contributing factors of Badlands will be familiar to Peter Bowen's more loyal readers, while newcomers will find the story completely original.

Thus one can predict that Gabriel Du Pre, Metis Indian and frequent agent of a higher justice will be lectured by his mate Madelaine, manipulated by Benetsee the Shaman, and stubbornly determined to try his own way first.He and his own are the truest natives of northern Montana, living at peace with the other long term residents of Toussaint and jealously guarding the inner nature of a lifestyle that still reflects the wilderness about them.

When The Host of Yahweh, a yuppie religious cult, mysteriously descends on Toussaint and proceeds to build a closed community at a local ranch, this gets a lot of attention.Especially when they show signs of killing of the local wild horse herd as pests.Benetsee and Du Pre step in, and soon the violence escalates.The FBI believes that the Host is implicated in the simultaneous killing of 7 ex-members, Du Pre is enlisted and an investigation that is more like a small war ensues.

There really isn't a mystery here other than how Du Pre will manage to overcome the Host, but there is a lot of Bowen's warm respect for the Metis Indians.He captures beautifully the strange English dialect that is part fractured French grammar, part salty word selection, and part sheer attitude.Du Pre is surrounded by characters that Bowen generally keeps entertaining us, even if they are not always using fresh material.Benetsee steals the book this time with his own magical mystery tour.As Bowen writes, "Him, he will make his joke.Always does.Us, we get to be the punch lines."

I would advise starting earlier than this volume in the series, not because it can't stand on its own, but because of the amount the previous volumes contribute to the context.

Veiw it as a novel first, a mystery second
As noted by another reviewer, there really isn't much mystery in this book, but there is one heck of a good story.Like any good serial, a mysterious cult, shadowy leader, stolen arms, and murder are all just a framework for the characters to act around. I will say that the death of the woman on the four-wheeler hit me as particularly disturbing, and I wish we had gotten a little more about Bart's kidnapping, but all in all the story satisfied and stayed true to the series.
Not all questions get answeres, and not all plotlines get neatly tied off, but that seems to be part and parcel of Bowen's style.
As always, those familliar with the series will get more from the book than a first time reader.
I really enjoied seeing the relationship develope between Pallas and Ripper, as well as the interplay between Ripper and Harvey.Who is Pidgeon in love with?Will Pallas grow up and join the FBI - pushing Harvey into early retirement and chasing Ripper back to Brazil?
I eagerly await the next instalment.

Little plot, lots of color
Aficionados of Peter Bowen's Gabriel Du Pre mysteries already know that life is grim in the Big Sky Country. It doesn't matter whether you're a bankrupt rancher, a fiddler, or a member of the strange religious sect called the Host of Yahweh--they're sort of like the Amish on steroids with a bunker full of Kalashnikovs.

Bowen's detective-hero, Gabriel Du Pre is a laconic fiddler who lets his music and his deeds speak for him. He and his long-time mistress, Madelaine are Metis descendants of the French Voyageurs and Plains Indians.

Du Pre's rich friend Bart can't figure out why the bankrupt ranchers didn't come to him for help before selling their homestead to the Host of Yahweh. Then Du Pre and his FBI buddies discover that the rancher's family actually joined the secretive sect. Du Pre sneaks onto the Host of Yahweh's land to do damage to a man who is going to slaughter a band of wild horses. Then he stampedes their buffalo herd. Finally he blows up their weapons cache. In between all of these illegal goings-on, the Host of Yahweh invite all of their neighbors over for a barbecue.

Alas, it's a bit late to try and make friends with the very people who wish your weirdly-dressed church members had picked another state to live in. Preferably in the Netherworld.

"Badlands" is really a series of interesting, sometimes horrifying vignettes strung together in the fashion of a Montana tourist brochure, rather than a mystery with a plot. Du Pre gets caught in a buffalo stampede. He fashions Madelaine a pair of reading glasses, outrageously rhinestoned. The Feebees motor around in their jet-propelled helicopter. They arrest cult members. Cult members go free. Scores commit suicide. Several commit murder. Du Pre's granddaughter makes chocolate chip cookies for the FBI agent she is determined to marry, once she is of age. His name is Ripper and when he gets himself a Humvee, he says "It makes me want to invade something, Ireland, Iraq, Indiana...some foreign land." Two more cult members commit suicide. Bart and an undercover cop are infected with a mysterious virus. The book ends.

The medicine man, Benetsee has a wonderful time in "Badlands," actually saving Du Pre's life at least once. You will have a wonderful time, too as long as you can live without a plot or a definitive conclusion.

Whoops.
I'm a big fan and have followed the du Pre series since its beginning, but I can't help feeling disappointed in this one.It was seriously flawed.The cult in the story is supposed to play the role of "bad guy," but at first, I couldn't tell that anything was wrong with them, except that they dared move to Montana. Even later, the cultists weren't really fleshed out. It was hard to tell just who they were or what they were like - the dialogue was often hard to follow - and the end was extremely unsatisfying; it left too many unanswered questions.

I remember reading an interview with novelist Robert B. Parker in which he said that his first draft was pretty much what got published, and I couldn't help feeling like the same was true here, and what it needed was another polish.In fact, it needed a whole new ending.

Don't get me wrong - I'll read every one of these that Mr. Bowen cares to write, they are that rewarding - but if you're curious and want to try one, don't start here.

refreshingly original
In Toussaint, Montana, the townsfolk host a going away party for a family who owned a ranch for over a century, but forced to sell to the well funded The Host of Yahwah.A white priest leads the cult and decrees his followers will be picked up by alien spaceships just before the world is destroyed.

Gabriel DuPre learns through his FBI contacts that seven men who left the cult were all killed on the same day at the same time in various places around the country by female members.Gabriel tries to help a woman trying to escape but when she sees that members of the cult are about to capture her, she kills herself in front of her children.When Gabriel sneaks into the compound and sets fire to an ammunitions dump, the resulting explosions are enough to get the FBI involved.The FBI surrounds the compound but nobody wants another Waco so the Federal agents are prepared to wait them out until Gabriel comes up with an idea to break the back of the resistance.

The tenth installment in this series is refreshingly original due in large part to the protagonist who though a grandfather fourteen times over, lives life to the fullest.He is not afraid to take chances and puts his life on the line to try and get some information on the cult that can be used by the FBI.In BADLANDS the federal agents are the good guys who act with restraint while the cult members pursue their sinister agenda.Peter Bowen does for Montana what Tory Hillerman does for New Mexico.

Harriet Klausner ... Read more

Book Description
A vanful of praying, protesting fundamentalist Christians has arrived in Toussaint at about the time that Gabriel Du Prs precocious granddaughter Pallas returns from her studies in Washington, DC. A young soldier follows, just back from Iraq missing a leg, an eye, and his grip on reality. Du Pr suspects that hes going to have his hands full for the forseeable future. First, graffiti appears on the door of a local church, and then a cryptic phone call from a missing girl causes concern in town. When a confluence of these strange events and even stranger people threatens problems that even laid back Du Pr cant ignore, another quirky, compelling, and purely enjoyable mystery unfolds in Peter Bowens Montana, a land trouble tends to visit often, with unpredictable but fiercely entertaining results. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Nails
Any Gabriel Dupree mystery by Peter Bowen is a literary gem, and this novel is no exception. Aided by a wonderful cast of eccentric family and neighbors, Dupree again unravels a knot of murder, greed, and human folly. I particularly enjoyed the prominent role played by the loveably klutzy priest, Father Van Den Heuvel, in this book.

Gabriel Dupree...
is one of my favorite characters.Peter Bowen really shows what the West was all about in writing these books.I grew up in Central and Southern Oregon which is still cow country with authentic cowboys who wear pistols and carry rifles in their rigs.Gabriel Dupree and his friends are a little overdrawn but not by much.The language, characterizations, plots, and landscape are all entwined to create a sense of place and time that is fast disappearing.The story "Nails" has to do with horse racing and the use of young teens as jockeys.There is also a sub plot having to do with white supremists and certain individuals who have too much money and not enough brains.This book fleshes out some of the characters that have been floating through the earlier stories, such as Gabriel's granddaughters and Booger Tom.

A good read
This is not the best of the Gabriel Du Pre Mysteries but is still a good read.

A Dying Place
Peter Bowen alternates between serious detective fiction and a more lighthearted style the often makes gentle fun of life in upstate Montana.I like both, but lately Bowen has been more humor than mystery (consider Stewball, for instance).Nails is a return to the harder fiction style of Wolf, No Wolf and Notches and once again proves that Bowen is a writer to be reckoned with.

The subject is a touchy one.A group of Evangelical Christian has moved into the Toussaint area, and trouble starts happening.Graffiti starts appearing on the door of Father Van Den Heuvel's church.For those of us who have become fans of the clumsy priest who habitually shuts is head in the car door, Nails is a special treat.The good father gets a real part and some surprising facets of his character come out.But, as Van Den Heuvel himself points out, this is hardly the real problem.

A young girl calls 911 and begs for help, a body found, and gradually a series of strange events centers around the evangelicals and the local people who have welcomed them.Not just a spate of graffiti, pop-up sermons, and minor larceny - child abuse of the worst sort is feared, and Dupre is once again on the hunt - and complaining about the lack of help from Benetsee, the local shaman.Even without spiritual help, Dupre is inexorable.He smells evil and intends to root is out.

As I've already said, Bowen focuses on a sensitive issue, and he doesn't pull any punches.It is interesting that I read this book just as several stories about excessive discipline appeared in the news.Most of us don't realize that what we see - what actually gets report - is the very tip of the iceberg.Bowen takes the issue head on, mixing in enough local color to provide a stark contrast.

Dark as the world of man
I'm not sure where Peter Bowen got the title for his latest Gabriel Du Pre mystery, but it might be from a poem by Dame Edith Sitwell:

"Still falls the Rain---
Dark as the world of man, black as our loss---
Blind as the nineteen hundred and forty nails
Upon the Cross."

Of course there are more nails now.More like 2006 in this grim Evangelical-bashing novel.Bowen doesn't go after all Christians: just the ones who accuse their own daughters of witchcraft and lock them in small rooms until they repent; and the ones who disrupt the teaching of science in schools with their rants on 'intelligent design'.

I'm surprised Pat Robertson hasn't issued a fatwa against the author of "Nails." Bowen tries to show sympathy for the down-trodden ranks of fundamentalists--the murder that is the grim centerpiece of this novel is committed almost by mistake.But maybe the author tries too hard, because the bad guys exude stupidity rather than pathos.

Aficionados of Peter Bowen's Gabriel Du Pre mysteries already know that life is grim in the Big Sky Country.It doesn't matter whether you're a ranch hand, a fiddler, a rich alcoholic, or just a science teacher who is struggling to educate her class using the standard textbooks.

The small town of Toussaint is slowly losing population--there's very little in town anymore except for a bar and a Catholic church--but an influx of fundamentalist Christians temporarily reverses the trend.Bowen's detective-hero, Gabriel Du Pre, a laconic fiddler who lets his music and his deeds speak for him, thinks the newcomers are up to no good.For one thing, their appearance coincides with the discovery of a young girl's body in a road-side ditch.

He and his long-time mistress, Madelaine, Metis descendants of the French Voyageurs and Plains Indians, also have to wrestle with a few family problems.Madelaine's son returns from the war in Iraq, minus a few body parts, with nothing to look forward to except the false solace of alcohol.Madelaine's brilliant granddaughter, Pallas is back from her posh Eastern school and trying to deal with her own demons.

"Nails" is the best of the Gabriel Du Pre mysteries to hit the shelves in quite awhile.It is grim, and I fervently hope that Bowen didn't take his story from a true-life incident, but some comic relief is provided by ancient cowhand, Booger Tom, his two mules, and the hopelessly klutzy, Father Van Den Heuvel, Toussaint's agnostic priest.

Just don't get Booger Tom started on the topic of the current Administration in Washington D.C.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

HE IS NOT ONLY A MUSICIAN
So you think Peter is dead? well don't just expect to see a CD released every year under his name.He is a serious musician, composer and human rights front man.So if you think he didn't do anything in the past six years well just take a look to his Real World catalogue.He also works and compose for others.Please before talking about him check his background.He help developing groups from all around the world.PETER IS THE BEST.Still growing up...

Not the best book about The Master, but worth having
If you are a serious fan, as am I, then you will want this book, because you will want everything you can get your hands on about The Master, the greatest vocalist/lyricist/composer of our time. Please ignore the first review above, which was obviously written by someone who only knows about Peter's hits. Peter is a serious musician and unequaled in his passion for creating serious music as well as being involved in myriad other projects. His latest album, UP, is a masterpiece! And his concerts are a religious experience! OK, I will quit gushing and review the book. Actually it is NOT well-written. The author is clearly not a writer, as it just does not flow very well. However, it is still worth having, because of the content. I have been a fan for 25 years and I learned quite a few little nuggets of info that I hadn't known b4, and these made it worth the price of the book.

1-7-06 update: Most of the 'tasty gems' of info can be found in Spencer Bright's PG biography, a much better read.

flummy
No."The man is dead, the man is dead. ..."What's hedone the last 6 years?

A Story Worth Telling
Chris Welch's book "The Secret Life Of Peter Gabriel" is a well written book about a legend in the music bussiness that goes by the name of Peter Gabriel.This book only helped to confirm what i had already knownabout Mr. Gabriel; that being that he is the best Singer/Songwriter in themodern day world. I have been a huge PG fan for some years now and thisbook pretty much gave a step by step analysis of Gabriels life.What ididnt know about Gabriel was what intrigued me most about this literarywork. Gabriel deserves to win a life time achievement award for the thingshes done in his life time, not only being a hero to his die hard musicfans, but for always trying to help those in need and always trying to makepeople happy. His mind is a asset to the world and we should all bethankfull for the genious that he has produced and bestowed in everyone andeverything around him.. The book was extremely well written from a firsthand approach in many instances. Well worth Reading... ... Read more

Book Description
Gabriel Du Pr, the old Mtis fiddler at the center of Peter Bowen's atmospheric, engrossing series set in the dirty, dusty Montana that's rarely featured in travel brochures, has a knack for finding trouble. Or rather, trouble has a knack for finding him. There's a rumor going around that Du Pr and his old sorceror friend Benetsee have come across a parcel containing the lost journals of Lewis and Clark, and outsiders, drawn by the spirit of the legendary explorers, are beginning to invade Toussaint.Du Pr won't say whether he's got the journals or not, preferring his usual routine of cigarettes, a whiskey ditch or two and a few fiddling gigs up and down Montana's highways to getting involved in this controversy. Benetsee isn't talking, either, but when a journalist goes a little too far in trying to get the story of the lost journals, and the two men's friends and family are put squarely in the face of danger, Du Pr doesn't have much choice but to wade in and set things right.The Gabriel Du Pr mysteries have become required reading for fans of the vanishing West, and Peter Bowen's storytelling talent continues to thrive in The Tumbler, a dazzling entry in what has become a classic series. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Up above the world you fly...
It is easy to get accustomed to Peter Bowen's mysteries starring Gabriel Du Pre.In a sense, the Metis Indian is someone we all want to be.Smart, deeply in tough with his community and its environs, a man with strong relationships, good friend, and a wry, penetrating wit.Equally at home with the mysticism of medicine men and FBI agents.And very determined to see his way to the truth.

The truth is what is most elusive in The Tumbler.Du Pre and Benetsee (the ageless medicine man) have discovered some important Lewis & Clark artifacts (or have they?) and the government is suing to get them, people are dropping money in an effort to buy than, and someone seems perfectly willing to murder to get their hands on them.In the midst of this Julie, the niece of Bart Fascelli (Du Pre's rich friend) shows up in Toussaint to work on her own issues.All this makes for a rich, multi-layered stew of motives and priorities.

In retrospect, the story is even more of a tapestry than Bowen's previous efforts.Thieves, murderers, the law, sorcerers and gymnasts are the threads, and Du Pre, with the help of his companion Madelaine and the mysterious Benetsee must find where the knot is and untie it before the worst happens.Bowen's stories are noted for luring you in with light banter and intriguing characters only to his you firmly over the head at the end. And The Tumbler is no exception.Be prepared.

One thing I had not realized is that Peter Bowen is a private person.I was curious about why this particular title was chosen.Young Julie and her boyfriend are gymnasts, which is part of it, but my intuition tells me that there is more.Something like the sacred clowns of the Navaho.After scouring the web I can report that other than book reviews and short bios, Peter Bowen has a very light network footprint for this day and age.Yet another mystery in a book that asks more questions than it answers.In many ways this is the most thoughtful and, perhaps, the best written of the Du Pre stories.Enjoy.

Fans will enjoy it
The latest installment in the DuPree mysteries was a little more convoluted than I expected.Even when I finished, I had to go back and reread parts of the story to figure out just why/what happened.Bowen never spells it out, he leaves you to work it out for yourself, much like Benetsee does to DuPree.
As far as the mystery goes, it's not my favorite in the series, Ash Child and Notches worked better in that department.But for pure enjoyment,the storytelling was superb, the humor wry, and the people so real you feel you could eat at the roadhouse next friday.
As to the other reviewer who disliked the book, I think this story would be more enjoyable to people who are already somewhat familliar with the series than to a first timer.The relationships of the characters are more important to the story than the mystery.If you can start with the first book and work your way through, you'll get far more out of it.
I did like the cast of players in the front.Finally we have a count of and names for Madaline's 4 (+-) children (Although I have to wonder what happened to Stephanie, her oldest from Coyote Wind, Simon and little Sebastian, and the two or three other children named earlier in the series...maybe I'll just chalk it up to DuPree or possibly Bowen having one too many ditches...)
But as for The Tumbler, fans of the series will definitly enjoy this latest installment. I look forward to the next book.

Much Ado
My husband gave me this book for my birthday.It was the only book I took with me on a business trip to Vancouver.I REALLY wanted to like it.I actually wanted to love it.I was completely frustrated by it:not the language, which I found the most interesting part of the whole thing.I just thought the characters were smug and full of themselves and the mystery wasn't very compelling and all the good stuff happened in between the chapters.And if Du Pre went out to see if the wise old Benetsee had come home ONE MORE TIME I think I would have started ripping pages out of the damn thing.Bowen needs to write a book about the music of the Metis (the only exciting parts of the book were when Du Pre and Bassman and Pere Godin were playing their music) and forget about the "mystery" since he's not any more involved in it than we aren't.

Excellent and thoughtful
Violence is never far removed from Gabriel Du Pre's life. It starts when an angry girlfriend breaks in on Du Pre's band and starts shooting the bass player. But things get worse when someone attacks one of his friends and maces the friend's daughter. And the legal troubles Du Pre finds himself in over the journals he's discovered from the Lewis and Clark Expedition suddenly explode when someone starts offering big bucks for the journals--no questions asked. Du Pre isn't selling, but Indian wise man Benetsee tells Du Pre that his troubles are only starting. Before long, there will be death. And Du Pre and his friends will be in the middle of it.

Author Peter Bowen tells a fascinating story of old treasure, modern greed, Indian wisdom, and the west. Du Pre, Benetsee, and several of the other characters ring absolutely true and Bowen paints a vivid picture of rural life in Montana.

As with the other books in the Gabriel Du Pre series, THE TUMBLER is both a fascinating mystery and an even more fascinating look into character and the land. Du Pre and the other characters don't speak much and when they do, their dialect takes a bit of getting used to, but I found charm, wisdom, and a nice sense of humor combined in what they had to say. THE TUMBLER is a definite winner with plenty of red herrings, lots of people with more money than sense, and an ending that is exciting and satisfying, while being as wistful as is Bowen's picture of the dying west.

Great mystery
Peter Bowen has a knack for capturing the language and customs of the Metis in a way that makes you feel you are really there -- then throws in a mystery that keeps you guessing until the last page. ... Read more

Book Description
Peter Bowen's unique Montana mysteries featuring cattle-brand inspector and occasional sleuth Gabriel Du Preacute; have always received the critics' highest praise. Now these two highly acclaimed mysteries in the series, Wolf, No Wolf and Notches, are brought together in one volume. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Montana, Its Glories, Its People
Wolf/No Wolf is on the sad juxtoposition of those who have lived on the land and loved it, trying to eke out a living, and those who would like to return the Earth to its natural wonder.Interesting to point out that some environmentalists might be a tiny bit control-oriented, and that those against them may have agendas other than just protecting a way of life.Notches takes up serial killers, who prey on young people who may have been bounced from home or run from an abusive situation and are not just spoiled brats.Du Pre's solution to problems recalls Tony Hillerman's Jim Chee and Ellis Peters's Cadfael in which justice prevails, perhaps ignoring externally-applied laws.Additional is telling of a way of life of the Metis, of whom I never learned in school.

Notches is the book worth reading!
Notches is the book that saved me from giving this whole thing a bad review.

Wolf, No Wolf is about how a bunch of tree huggers (yes I have Montana blood in me!) end up dying. Du Pre and Bart (the sheriff in this book) know its one of the locals, but they aren't sure who. Benetsee is his mysterious self and theres a couple of new characters that play a fairly large role. They don't last long, but they are interesting to see.Bart and Du Pre wrap this case up in usual fashion.

Although some might think that Notches is a bit grim, I did enjoy it.Notches is the story of how Du Pre takes matters into his own hands regarding two serial murder's (skinned little girls keep showing up along Highway 2 and another highway that runs north and south...can't remember the name right now).This book is a quick read and the pace keeps things moving along.

Four-legged and two-legged predators
"Wolf, No Wolf" will never make the Sierra Club's list of recommended reading.It is third in a series of mysteries starring Gabriel Du Pré, the Métis descendant of French Voyageurs and Plains Indians, and it is rabidly anti-environmentalist and pro-rancher.

"Notches" is the fourth in the series, and while the former features four-legged predators, the latter concerns itself with the two-legged variety.

Rabid or not, such is the power of Bowen's writing and the nobility of his characters in "Wolf, No Wolf" that even clean, green bunny-huggers (like me) might end up voting for the ranchers and against the re-introduction of wolves into Big Sky Country at story's end.

All of the regulars at Touissant Bar are part of the action.Du Pré, master fiddler and part-time brand inspector is cast in the role of peacemaker. With help from his friends, the Shaman Benetsee, Bart the rich-guy-turned-sheriff, Du Pré's long-time mistress, Madelaine, and Booger Tom, the ancient, homicidal cowhand, he braves avalanches, gunfire, and false medicine men in order to prevent open warfare between the ranchers and the Earth First! crowd.

There are good ranchers, and there are really evil ranchers who sell dead horses for dogmeat.

There are good FBI agents (not very many) who are either Montanans and/or part Amerindian.The vast majority of agents are feeble, clueless, and from out-of-state.Some of them are so dim-witted as to try and arrest the Shaman Benetsee, who plays a wonderful joke on them with his coyotes.

All of the environmentalists, New Age mystics, and Yuppies in "Wolf, No Wolf" are easily identified by their expensive, crassly-colored, mail-order garments of many pockets.They are even dumber than the FBI agents, and are easily led astray, even unto death, by the book's villains.

And die they do, by avalanche and grizzly, by gunshot and knife, and by freezing to death in Alberta Clippers.The ranchers rescue as many as they can, but winter in Montana is truly hell-frozen-over.Some of Bowen's leanest, most vivid prose is devoted to descriptions of out-landers and cattle that venture out into the jaws of a Blue Northerly.

Better to stay in the Touissant Bar and drink fizzy, pink, screw-top wine, and listen to Du Pré fiddle the sad, old Voyageur songs.

On the other hand, if you're still in the mood for mayhem, follow him into "Notches" where he is asked to assist police on the trail of two serial killers.

There are good reasons why the police might not want Du Pré at the scene of a crime.He spits a lot as he circles the corpse, rolls his own cigarettes and mashes them out beneath his boot heel.A forensic specialist would find traces of him all over the scene.In "Notches," he even hides evidence because he wants to track a killer without interference from the FBI.

On the plus side, nothing at the scene escapes him.If he is called in to examine one body, he may find two others near by that no one else has noticed--which is exactly what occurs in "Notches."Someone has been killing girls and dumping them "like old guts in the brush for the coyotes to eat," according to Du Pré's long-time mistress, Madelaine.

There are two serial killers on the loose in "Notches" which makes for a confusing plot. There are also two FBI agents (see above "Wolf, No Wolf") who add to the scenery, but don't do much more than engage in slanging matches with Du Pré. Madelaine finally presses Du Pré into tracking the killers down when her own daughter runs away from home.

Du Pré is laconic to the point of partial sentences, but the interrupted staccato of his speech is a perfect counterpoint to the harsh Montana landscape and to the sometimes abbreviated lives of its inhabitants.Over 150 corpses form an even grimmer than usual backdrop to Du Pré's musings on the long history of his people and the land.

"Notches" is not so much a murder mystery as it is a complex landscape of hell from the pen of a Montanan Hieronymus Bosch. ... Read more

Book Description
It's dry season in Montana, and fires blazing west of Touissant have spread to the Wolf Mountains. Meacute;tis-Indian fiddler, tracker, and reluctant sleuth Gabriel Du Preacute; suspects the fires have been intentionally set and are linked to the recent murder of Old Maddy Collins, an eccentric woman found in her living room, her head beaten in with a cast-iron hatchet. Du Preacute;'s suspicions are heightened when two teenagers snooping around Maddy's house turn up dead in the mountains, buried beneath ash and riddled with bullet wounds.With its sly wit and comic touches, combined with colorful characters and lyrical prose evocative of Montana, Peter Bowen's Ash Child makes for an exceptionally rich and deeply satisfying novel. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

"For he is like a refiner's fire"
When an old and crazy woman is killed in her house Gabriel Du Pre, Montanan, Metis Indian, and Peter Bowen's primary adjuster of fate, is drawn into the investigation.Just out of the hospital, Du Pre is promptly knock out cold while the woman's cabin and a friend's dog are burnt to ashes.What unfolds is a story that gradually shifts from Bowen's usual light-hearted style to something grim and terrifying - all of this playing against a menacing firestorm that threatens to spill all over the Wolf Mountains.

There is always a grim side to Bowen's detailed stories of rural Montana life, where attitude plays stronger than ethnic background.But usually the interplay between Du Pre, his woman Madelaine, and the countless, gemlike characters that people the stories keeps the reader smiling, fascinated by the strange array of the Metis dialect and the ever-present sense of music that it portends.But Ash Child sneaks up on you.At first the crimes seem like they are little more than troublemaking gone awry, and then, suddenly, you sense a dark intelligence using the worst form of murder weapon.

An interesting development in this story is the extensive involvement of Madelaine, whose usually role is as a contrast to Du Pre.This time Benetse, a zany old medicine man, maneuvers her into the position of spiritual investigator and hunter.Du Pre conflicted by his love for her and his undeniably macho mental role barely manages to cope with this.But Madelaine proves every bit as tough as her companion, and it is really she that opens the gates to hell, with Du Pre in tow.

My only criticism of the novel is that the final arc turns like the barb on a fishhook - sudden and deadly sharp.You think you're heading in one direction and suddenly you are elsewhere.Bowen intentionally keeps his novels short and pithy, but this time I wish there had been more of a transition.Even so, this is a brilliant story, full of the things that make the author's idiosyncratic work catch and compel the reader.

Great color but the mystery isn't exactly solved
I was so puzzled by this book's ending, I picked up the Gabriel Du Pre mystery that comes after it ("Badlands") and read it just to see if it clarified "Ash Child."

It didn't.

It is frustrating to read even a good author like Bowen, when he winds down the end of a mystery without explaining exactly who the villain is, and why he committed his villainies.

Dang, Peter, I've felt like I've just been dragged through a seance in the sweat lodge with the inscrutable Benetsee. Maybe the solution will come to me in a dream.

Meanwhile the Forest Service comes out of this book nearly as whupped as the readers. Bowen relishes taking on any bunch that restricts the freedom of Montanans, including environmentalists in "Wolf, No Wolf," Yuppie tourists in "Cruzatte and Maria," and the FBI in nearly all of his Gabriel Du Pre mysteries. This time the Forest Service comes under attack for not managing its land correctly and for preventing the ranchers from bulldozing fire breaks on their own property. Smokey the Bear's green-shirts endure some pretty scatological commentary, especially after one of them tries to make Du Pre put out his cigarette.

It's the author who's a'growlin and a'prowlin in "Ash Child."

Even Bowen's serial detective, Gabriel Du Pre takes a beating. In this book, he busts his appendix, gets his head dented in, is zapped by a taser, and is nearly burned alive. If you've ever fantasized about living the good life in rugged Montana, you should read all of Bowen's Du Pre mysteries before making your move. Newcomers and old hands alike die by avalanche and grizzly, by gunshot and knife, and by freezing to death in Alberta Clippers. They are burned to death in forest fires and poisoned by evil industrial magnates. It's a tough life even for a tough Metis brand inspector like Du Pre.

In spite of all my negative commentary, if you are already a Du Pre fan you should read "Ash Child." The Big Sky Country is choked by the smoke and ash of deliberately-set forest fires as Bowen's laconic detective sets out (between stays in the hospital) to discover who murdered an old woman with a single, vicious hatchet chop. Do not let yourself be deflected by plot elaborations involving arsonists, drug dealers, and meth addicts. Concentrate on Du Pre's patient tracking of the murderer of old Maddy Collins, and you will find "Ash Child" to be a very satisfying read.

Couldn't figure this one out
Maybe you have to have read the previous books in the Gabriel Du Pre series to know all the connections and relationships that make up this novel. I couldn't figure out whether Du Pre and Madelaine were married or just lovers and the book never made it clear. Du Pre runs around in a police cruiser complete with a light bar, is allowed by the local police to sleep in a crime scene, but has no police powers or offical status. He drinks ditches, whatever they are, and the only clue given by the novel is that they have whiskey in them. His reaction to almost anything that happens is to nod. "Du Pre nodded" must appear at least two or three times on every page.
I hate to be negative in the face of all this praise but this book just doesn't do it for me. I like a bit more clarity in what I read. I can put up with the unusual dialect but I'd like to know who's married to who and why Du Pre drives a police cruiser but isn't a law enforcement officer and please, for God's sake, somebody tell me what a "ditch" is!

Powerful and rewarding novel
Wolf Mountain is dry and the fires are starting. It will be a fire of the century, Gabriel Du Pre knows. But when the fires actually start, there is more than simply nature. Du Pre may live in the boonies of Montana, but even the most remote part of America isn't immune to murder, arson, or drugs. When an old woman is murdered, Du Pre is thrust into a strange world where no one is exactly as they appear, but where the danger is incredibly real.

Author Peter Bowen uses a powerful and distinctive voice to describe the lives of the Metis Indians and the ranchers who survive in the harsh lands of Montana. Du Pre relies on a combination of bull-headed bravery, investigating, and Native American magic to learn the truth. In Bowen's novels, the magic is real, and the result is often close to magic itself.

With its wealth of intriguing characters and its vivid descriptions of the land and people of Montana, ASH CHILD is a fine and compelling novel. I would have liked to see a stronger connection between the drug angle and the rest of the mystery, but it is hard to quibble with Bowen's work.

a few gleams in the ashes
Do not be cozzened by the fulsome praise of #1 into buying this book. Despite her claim, Peter Bowen does not do "for Montana what Tony Hillerman does for New Mexico". Nevertheless Ash Child contains some shiny nuggets of writing that may justify carting it home from the library.

Bowen's central characters are Gabriel Du Pre and Madelaine Placquemines, Metis (people of mixed Native American and European ancestory) living in "Toussaint" in central Montana. Gabriel has no visible means of support (we are told he used to be a brand inspector) and Madelaine works in the local bar. Bowen says he chose to use Metis because "the Metis are a great people, a wonderful people, and not many Americans know anything about them." Unfortunately Ash Child does little to alleviate that deficiency apart from rendering the dialogue of Gabriel and Madelaine into dialect. The reader learns nothing about the history or culture of Metis -- unless one assunes they all subsist on a diet of bourbon ditches and "pink fizzy wine" like Gabriel and Madelaine.

In Ash Child, Montana is beset by a disastrous summer of forest fires (as in 2000), a raging Methamphetamine epidemic and a rash of murders. Bowen's pair of unlikely Metis sleuths tackle all three problems with some help from a mysterious shaman named Benetsee who communicates with the "old ones" and has the power to make fire do his bidding. Perhaps one shouldn't expect a logical plot in such a setting, but it takes more than supernatural manifestations to explain away all the loose threads in this story.

There are some traces of real gold amid the clinkers -- vivid word-pictures and arresting phrases. Example: calling the thick ash on a burnt-over hillside "the shadow of the fire". Bowen slips obscure bits of western Americana, almost like inside jokes, into his story. i.e. the Democrat wagon and using the name of a priest who was important in 19th Century central Montana for Touissant's current priest. At the same time he embraces some of the tinniest myths of Rocky Mountain libertarianism. to wit: Local ranchers and cowboys know more about fighting wild fire than the US Forest Service; vigilante justice is better than court-administered justice; millionaire ranchers are the protectors of the less fortunate citizens in their communities against the highhanded behavior of federal bureaucrats. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Leaves much to be desired...
I bought this book to learn more about one of my favorite musicians.Instead, this book simply provides random quote after quote.I didn't learn anything from this book that I didn't know before, it provided verylittle insight into the artist himself.It was also very short (only 95pages).Hardly enough to describe anything in detail.One plus though,were the photos.Seeing pictures of Peter Gabriel in concert was a greatquality of the book.If you want a light read about a great musician, thenthis is the book for you.If you really want to learn something about theartist himself, look elsewhere.

Peter Gabriel - the man himself
In this book, Peter Gabriel talks about everything from his childhood experiences, musical influences, the inspirations for his music and gives the meanings to his music and songs.An all-round excellent book for those interested in music, world music, and musical advances or even the man himself ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

PETER GABRIEL
I OWN ALMOST ALL OF ARMANDO GALLO'S BOOKS. BY FAR THIS IS WORTH ITS WEIGHT IN GOLD. IT IF FULL OF PICTURES BOTH COLOR AND B & W.
IT IS MY PRIZED BOOK NEXT TO MY LEATHER BOUND AUTOGRAPHED 'I KNOW WHAT I LIKE'.
PLUS ARMANDO HAS A HEART OF GOLD.[I'M PARALYZED] I GET STRENGTH FROM READING HIS BOOKS AND LOOKING AT HIS WONDERFUL PICTURES. IT REMINDS ME OF ALL THE GREAT GENESIS CONCERTS I HAVE BEEN TO BOTH BEFORE BEING [JULY 13 1982] PARALYZED AND AFTER. IF YOU CAN GET ANY OF HIS BOOKS YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED. PLUS HIS DAD IS GREAT PAINTER IF YOU LIKE ART. MAY GOD WATCH OVER HIM AND HIS FAMILY. I HOPE TO SEE MORE BOOKS BY ARMANDO AND PAINTINGS FROM HIS DAD. THANK YOU ARMANDO,
JIM KISTNER

peter gabriel by armando gallo
i want buing the book : peter gabriel by armando gall

peter gabriel by armando gallo
i want buing the book : peter gabriel by armando gall

Peter Gabriel by Armando Gallo
This is THE best book on Peter Gabriel ever done, mostly because it was written by Peter's close friend. Armando Gallo is a professional photographer, so the book is HEAVY on not just photographs, but excellent photographs of the man and his music. Peter also answers quite a lot of questions in his usual unusual way. Makes you PROUD to be a PG fan! The best part of the book is seeing PG in an apron doing the host of a party's dishes. Everyone else was smoking pot and Peter decided to wash pots. Good luck finding an intact copy of this--most owners of a copy would rather sell their firstborn than this. I knew one fan who sold INDIVIDUAL PAGES of it and made a small fortune. I myself do not have a copy--just got to borrow it. (Hint, hint ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

"Good country, this."
We're back in another trip to the world of the Metis, who inhabit Montana and parts north, and have a culture uniquely their own - full of music, a love for the independent life, and a fractured grammar that makes backwards, everything.Peter Bowen has spent a lifetime telling the stories of Gabriel du Pres, cattle inspector, brilliant fiddle player, and solver of mysteries.Don't get the idea that Gabriel is a superman.He is carefully herded and guarded by his woman Madelaine, his daughters, madeliane's daughters, and Benetsee the shaman.

In Stewball, Gabriel sets out to find Auntie Pauline's latest boyfriend, and finds a corpse instead.Badger, Gabriel discovers, was doing the FBI a favor, and apparently ran into something bigger than he expected - big stakes horse racing and right wing militancy.Gabriel decides to get involved.Soon he and Booger Tom are the front men in a sting operation that seems to involve the FBI, the ATF, and any other law enforcement organization in the neighborhood.

As always, this story is more about the people than it is about the crime.Of everyone who appears though, the star of this story is Lourdes, Madelaine's oldest daughter, a natural horsewoman, and every bit as frightening as the other women in our hero's life, including Lourde's sister, Pallas, 10-year-old genius and evil spirit.

It is Lourdes' riding skills on Stewball that enable Gabriel and Tom to appear as wealthy horse racers so as to infiltrate the secret brush races and expose the doings of a closed circle of plotters.But men have died already, and the members of the club are wealthy enough to buy their way clean.The forces are evenly matched, but never count a determined Metis out of any fight.

For all its serious moments, Bowen tells this story with a very light touch and vivid characterization.I have come to love all the du Pres stories, but Stewball is special, full of all the things that makes this series entertaining.For all that this is the twelfth book in the series, you could easily start right here.Most likely you will go back and read them all.

Ole Stewball was a racehorse
I was as puzzled by this book's ending as I have been with all of Peter Bowen's endings since "Ash Child."I finished it, but I felt like I'd been dragged through a séance in the sweat lodge with the inscrutable Benetsee.Maybe the meaning of "Stewball"s conclusion will come to me in a dream.

At least the rich neo-nazi ranchers come out of this book nearly as whupped as the readers.Not that I think they don't deserve a good bashing, but I wasn't quite sure what the evil rancher intended to do with his vintage World War II P-38.He goes wooshing around in it at the end of the book, but he has no specific target that the readers need to worry about like an NAACP Convention or an American Civil Liberties Union picnic or a Navaho Tribal Council.

Nobody out on the prairie, Mr. Blackmore, except us chickens.We're all Aryan chickens so don't be pointing those cannons at us.

Oh well, I get the feeling the author wrote "Stewball" on automatic pilot.It consists mainly of non-expletive-deleted dialog between characters from his previous books.Luckily, Bowen provides an index of characters at the beginning of this book; otherwise new readers will never be able to figure out who's who.

Booger Tom, one of my favorite characters from previous novels in the Du Pré mystery series, gets lots of face time in "Stewball."He is pretending to be a race horse trainer.Bowen also clues us in on this old ranch hand's background: he earned the Congressional Medal of Honor for valor at Heartbreak Ridge in Korea, and also fought in France and Austria in WWII.

This old guy should be writing his memoirs, not mending barbwire and worming cows!

Anyway, Du Pré, the retired brand inspector and Booger Tom team up to race an Australian Quarter Horse named Stewball in brush races attended by neo-nazi ranchers.Du Pré's FBI buddy, Harvey Wallace asks them to discover who murdered one of his snitches, who was passing counterfeit money at a brush race.The snitch also happened to be married to one of Du Pré's aunts.

That's about all the plot there is.Benetsee holds a couple of séances in his sweat lodge and dons his war paint.Du Pré laces on his Cree running moccasins and rubs dirty engine oil on his face.He shoots a couple of bad guys with his MP-40, sets fire to a bunch of aviation fuel drums, and drinks a whole lot of bourbon.

Stewball wins a few races.

That's it, except for some long-winded, expletive-not-deleted lectures on the American far-right.

P.S. Mr. Bowen, if Stewball is a blue roan, he has a black mane and tail, not gray or white.

Stewball's fast paced and perfect Gabriel du'Pre
All of Peter Bowen's books are a fast, furious, and a fun read, including Stewball.I love Gabriel's friends and family.I also love the focus on Metis and their culture, because I am familiar with it, and also with the geographic areas the stories tend to be set in.The characters are pretty much like real people seen though a sardonic eye, with a bit of poetic license thrown in.They are real enough to draw you into their concerns but exaggerated enough to make it fun.May the ink never dry in Mr. Bowen's pens.

terrificMontana mystery
Gabriel Du Pre meets with his Aunt Pauline at the Toussaint Saloon.She tells him her latest husband Badger has gone missing for two weeks and that the FBI is somehow involved.She wants him to call his FBI friend to find out what happened to her spouse.Du Pre does exactly that and finds Badger was caught coming across the Canadian border with ten thousand valium tablets.Badger agreed to infiltrate a white supremacist and the charges against him will be greatly reduced.

There is heavy gambling at these races and the FBI supplied him with marked money that turned out to be counterfeit.The group killed Badger but the Feds still wants someone to infiltrate the urban theorist group.Du Pre has his granddaughter ride a horse in the races in the hopes that he will be accepted by the group and learn who the real leaders are.It is a dangerous situation but Du Pre has it under control until the leader escapes during an FBI raid.Du Pre is determined to be the one to find him no matter how long it takes.

Du Pre is a unique, independent and ageless protagonist who goes his own way and doesn't let anyone stop him from doing what he wants.It is lucky for law enforcement that he is on the side of Justice because he would make an untouchable crook.Peter Bowen does for Montana what Tony Hillerman does for New Mexico.Perhaps the most delightful character in this novel is STEWBALL, the horse that is in love with Du Pre's granddaughter Lourdes.

Harriet Klausner
... Read more

Book Description
One of the most successful rock acts of all time, Genesis enjoyed a longevity exceeded only by the likes of the Rolling Stones and the Kinks, and provided a launching pad for superstars Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins. Turn It On Again is the first book to document the complete history of this popular and influential band, bringing their story up-to-date while placing them in the context of their time. It explores the relationship between the band and the remarkable solo careers it spawned. Drawing on dozens of exclusive interviews with band members past and present, as well as the musicians' friends and associates, author Dave Thompson chronicles Genesis' evolution from progressive-rock visionaries to mainstream rock stars, and the continuing careers of its most famous alumni. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Gabriel rules (but even Collins sounds okay)
I didn't expect to get past the Peter Gabriel years when I started reading this... who cares about Genesis after that, after all?But Thompson's writing style is so engaging, his humor is so strong and his passion so contagious that the band had broken up before I put the book down, and I was actually calling up my sister to borrow her copy of Abacab.Recmmended to everyone who actually cares about the music (and doesn't just want the dirt on their private lives...)

Reads Like a Discography
I've been fascinated with Peter Gabriel since I was 12 years old.I bought this book hoping to get some insight into the man and some info on those early Genesis albums.The book got off to a great start; discussing the early days of Genesis as school chums.But as the book progresses it begins to read like a discography.So-and-so made a solo album with these musicians, Genesis made this album, here's how it did in the market.The writing is marked by british style humor and language. But this does nothing to make this book any more interesting.It lacks insight into the bands characters and barely discusses what's going on in their lives.For example, at one point the book mentions Peter Gabriels wife Jill.Uh, no one told me he got married! who's this jill person?what does she do?Later the same thing happened with phil collins.When did he get a wife?early on there are some good stories but later all we hear about is that they put out a new album, who was on it and how the album did.a little about the sound too.oh well, they'll stay mythic in my mind. ... Read more

Book Description
From the reviews:
"... They (Gabriel and Roiter) are pioneers in this subject and they have included proofs for statements which in their opinions are elementary, those which will help further understanding and those which are scarcely available elsewhere. They attempt to take us up to the point where we can find our way in the original literature. ..." The Mathematical Gazette, 1993
"... The standard of this text is high and will be definitely appreciated by the algebraic community." Monatshefte Mathematik, 1994
"..This book is very welcome because it presents some basic material and at the same time it presents some new insights of the theory. ..." Zentralblatt für Mathematik, 1996 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent Book
Having admittedly bought this book at a Phar-Mor "bargain books" section in 1989-ish for one or two dollars (those were the days!!), this book immediately entered into the (literally)"bang for the buck" category!Kamin's extraordinary photos, though somewhat biased toward the "trio years" and 1980-84 in general, well capture the theatrics and imagination of Genesis' and Peter Gabriel's stage shows, and its commentary by Goddard, though somewhat equally biased toward this period, is equally evocative.The good but overly short interviews of Collins, Rutherford, Banks and Gabriel (PG in "Plays Live" mode; Collins only a year away from the success of "No Jacket Required") are also of interest, clarifying the misunderstandings (no pun intended!) on the group's shift from progressive rock pioneers to superstar intelligent-pop trio of the 1980's, and the making of the trio's self-titled 1983 release.

Excellent Book
Having admittedly bought this book at a Phar-Mor "bargain books" section in 1989-ish for one or two dollars (those were the days!!), this book immediately entered into the (literally)"bang for the buck" category!Kamin's extraordinary photos, though somewhat biased toward the "trio years" and 1980-84 in general, well capture the theatrics and imagination of Genesis' and Peter Gabriel's stage shows, and its commentary by Goddard, though somewhat equally biased toward this period, is equally evocative.The good but overly short interviews of Collins, Rutherford, Banks and Gabriel (PG in "Plays Live" mode; Collins only a year away from the success of "No Jacket Required") are also of interest, clarifying the misunderstandings (no pun intended!) on the group's shift from progressive rock pioneers to superstar intelligent-pop trio of the 1980's, and the making of the trio's self-titled 1983 release. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

I was drawn to it!
I was walking around the bookstore, and this book popped out at me! I'm not normally an art fan, but I'm big on pop culture, and I had to pick it up to look at it!

I found it a strange book, which I loved. It's just filled with ordinary and not so ordinary items that we may have used ourselves. (or not)

Example: Do you remember Squeez-its? I remember drinking those juices in elementary and junior high. What happened to them?

There were Japanese "blood type" condoms that are said to sell 2 million every year in Japan.

One very interesting item I found was "Doti," which is hardened termite excrement, believed to give strength because they are rich in minerals. Women in Zambia eat it during their pregnancy.

One very disturbing picture I found was of an Aryan doll that KKK members give to their children to play with. One good thing I read was that the membership is dwindling, from five million in 1920, to two thousand, five hundred in 1998. Not perfect, but getting better.

Basically, it's a good small coffee table book that will generate some interesting conversations. It's written in French and English. I think that it would be good for all cultures to read, in order to understand each other better.

Don't forget to look up the "edible cow pie!" Which is really chocolate, caramel, and pecans, which is destined to turn some heads. ... Read more