Product Description

Wilmington, Delaware is one of those cities that feels more like a small town. Neighbors know one another, and businesses cater to the needs of the citizenry. But what happens when the local car salesman suffers one lost sale too many, when one more customer decides to buy from the competition because the price is too high, interest rates aren't friendly, or that shade of blue just won't work? In J. Gregory Smith's electrifying thriller, Final Price, Shamus Ryan's frustration works like a thorn under his skin until psychotic urges take over and he commits murder—serial murders, in fact—his victims chosen from prospective clients who dared to walk away. With Smith's chilling scenes of massacre, readers are pulled into the vortex of a warped mind, one man justifying heinous acts, and two detectives running a race against time, trying to solve seemingly random killings. Paul Chang, a Chinese-American homicide detective, is struggling to understand why these murders are taking place. Assisted by his neurotic partner, Nelson Rogers, Chang goes after the killer with logic, tenacity, and no small measure of fear.

Written from the perspectives of Detective Chang and Shamus Ryan, readers quickly find themselves seeing the world in unique—and often disturbing—ways they never expected. With dark humor and gritty suspense, Smith has crafted a refreshing and surprising thriller.

Amazon.com Review
A Q&A with J. Gregory Smith

Question: What initially inspired you to write this story?

J. Gregory Smith: Following layoffs in the PR industry, I worked for nearly a year selling cars. The industry is structured to foster distrust between the customer and the salesman and the aggravation that comes with reaching or losing a deal can be maddening for both sides.

I got the idea for this story during a 12-hour shift on a snowy day with no customers. What if, instead of venting about a lost sale in the break room, a salesman completely flipped out?What if he tracked down his most infuriating customers?

Shamus Ryan was born.

Wilmington, Delaware, is a city that feels more like a small town where everyone seems to know everyone else. But people from every walk of life come through doors of a car showroom, and Shamus knows annoying victims come in all shapes, sizes, colors and religions.

That set the table for a race against time for the cops to figure out the pattern before the next victim turns up.

Question: What authors or books have influenced your writing?

J. Gregory Smith: Stephen King, both as a reader and as a writer. I’m amazed at his output and variety of stories. Same goes for Dean Koontz. In terms of writing, King’s On Writing was both instructive and inspiring.I keep his phrase: "The story is the boss." at the front of my mind when I’m working on a book.

Also, I love the no-nonsense practical approach of James N. Frey, author of How to Write a Damn Good Mystery.

Question: What research did you do while writing your book?

J. Gregory Smith: I like to think of nine months of car sales as "in depth research," and it probably was, though I must admit it was due to lean times for me in the PR business.

I did more pure research when it came to building the character of Paul Chang. His personal history is a tightrope walk between traditional Chinese culture and American. As a result, he can function in both but is never entirely comfortable in either. I had to research elements of his culture and used that also to build the Shu and his mother’s characters.

Question: Is there any character you most identify with? Why?

J. Gregory Smith: I suppose there’s a bit of me in most of the characters, at least enough to connect and empathize with them. My neighbors looked at me a little funny when they knew I sold cars and then wrote a novel about a serial killing car salesman, but I certainly don’t identify with him.

I understand Shamus and can relate to his initial sense of frustration, but the killer lacks any sense of humanity for his victims and follows his psychopathic urges wherever they lead him.

I can identify with some of Nelson’s goofy traits, which I exaggerate for effect.Chang was the hardest character to build because I needed him to be edgy and complicated, even dangerous, but ultimately a force for good in the world. He’s a blend of people I’ve known from several different Asian cultural backgrounds, along with a healthy dose of material I made up.

Question: Have you considered trying your hand at other genres?

J. Gregory Smith: Yes. I think for now, my predominant style is thrillers, but I have written a young adult fantasy called Prince Dale and the Crystal Mountain. The first draft read like an insult to the intelligence of kids everywhere. When I stopped trying to write down to some preconceived level and just tell the story, I found the characters gained depth and personality and the book improved immensely. It made the Quarterfinals in the 2010 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, but at the moment I’m holding on to it while I work on some other projects. I really like the story, though, and I have some sequels in mind if it ever finds a home.

Question: Have you always wanted to be an author? What other careers have you pursued?

J. Gregory Smith: I’ve wanted to be a writer as long as I can remember, but other than some short stories never pursued it seriously until after grad school in 1993. It dawned on me (slow learner) that if I was ever going to be a real novelist, I needed to sit down and write one. Which I did. I finally finished a complete manuscript with a beginning, middle and end. It was green as grass and absolutely unfit for publication.

But it did prove I could write one. Final Price is my second, and the finished product is the result of at least a dozen re-writes, professional coaching and editorial expertise, and many patient, generous friends.

And one very supportive wife.

After receiving my MBA, my main career was public relations in Washington, D.C., Wilmington, and Philadelphia. I’ve also sold mortgages and, of course, cars.

Question: What's it like to have a book published for the first time?

J. Gregory Smith: It might be bad form to dip into the bag of clichés, but it really is a dream come true.

Question: What's next for you?

J. Gregory Smith: I have another completed thriller called Noblesse Oblige that I hope to get published, and right now I am writing the first draft of a sequel for Final Price, tentatively titled Legacy of the Dragon.

---

... Read more

Customer Reviews (38)

Entertaining, but lacking in writing style
The characters are very well defined and curiously interesting.The concept of the Chinese detective with hidden strengths he struggles to keep under control and his buddy Nelson who has the ability to "read" people and situations make a good story outline.The author has trouble fully realizing the potential of conveying to the reader exactly what is happening.A mention of some mythical or spiritual Chinese item or saying is then left unexplained.There are also many instances of "he said, he said, he said...", so that you lose track of who is saying what.It isn't "Chang says, Nelson says", etc., it is just the pronoun.Gets confusing!

All in all, a good book that could have been much better.I do recommend it to anyone who enjoys a light, quick read.

A Little Choppy, Difficult to Get Into
I'm always excited about discovering new authors and Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award site is one of the best places to do so.

That is where I first learned about J. Gregory Smith, so I was excited when I was offered an advance reading copy of his suspense thriller Final Price.

The plot centers around Paul Chang, a rather unique Asian-American who has recently re-entered law enforcement with the Delaware State Police after leaving a New York department following a personal scandal.

Chang's best friend, former law enforcement colleague, and psychically gifted, Nelson Rogers, also takes a job with Delaware as a computer technician.

When people who seem to have nothing in common with one another began dying in brutal scenarios, Chang is front and center to catch the killer.

With Nelson's help, of course.

What J. Gregory Smith has produced in Final Price is a terrifying plot that'll make you think twice about trying to negotiate with a car salesman again.

While the plot is a great one, the writing is choppy and difficult to get into. Each time I began to read again after a break, I had to go back a few pages and start over just to get the rhythm again.

And I could never figure out if some kind of phenomenon was going to take place when Paul Chang's character mentioned "the dragon," which is, at least in this book, only symbolic for his rage.

Toss all this in with loads of meditation and feng shui, and Final Price just wasn't my cup of tea. However, the majority of Amazon reviewers disagree with me.

But I'm not ready to put J. Gregory Smith on my list of "do not read" authors just yet, because I think he has great potential.

Worth staying up late on a work night for!
I read this book in two long and late nights, but let it sit with me for several days before offering up this review.Despite my unhelpful longing to pick at its continuity problems and editing shortfalls, I LIKE this book.I found myself thinking about the oddly matched sleuthing team of Chang and Nelson long after I finished the last page; J. Gregory Smith managed to sneak these characters into my psyche without my realizing it.

Even if this is not the most tightly crafted crime-writing, Smith delivers a very good story, and I did not find it as gruesome as others did.Things move quickly at 55 chapters in only 282 pages, perhaps too quickly, as certain plot resolutions spring up conveniently with little natural or believable progression.(Sorry, there I go again ...)

But overall, there is more content and character depth here than I assumed in the first half of the book, and I would hope that other readers would persevere and not sell this book short as I was tempted to do. I notice this book is from the AmazonEncore program which "identifies exceptional yet overlooked books, and works with the authors to introduce or re-introduce their books to readers".Final Price is definitely worth the encore.

Others have said this book has movie or series or sequel written all over it and into it - I do hope so!

Some people just don't handle rejection very well.
This was an interesting debut novel by J.Gregory Smith. Interesting because of its three main characters: Shamus, Chang, and Nelson...three flawed individuals who have difficulty relating to most of the people who come into their lives. Shamus is a New Car Salesman, who is a homicidal psychopath still trying to get approval from his dead "Gran" through acts of increasingly brutal violence (he keeps a picture of her and her ashes in the freezer of his fridge); Chang is a Chinese-American homicide detective haunted by the memory of the kidnapping/murder of a young girl he failed to rescue in time when he was a member of the NYPD; and Nelson, Chang's socially inept ex-NYPD partner,, has a unique "gift"...the ability to figure out what a serial killer thinks from the seemingly unconnected bits of evidence left behind by the killer after each brutal murder. The chapters switch from Shamus being humiliated by prospective car buyers who ultimately purchase their new vehicles elsewhere, which causes him to see red, as in a lot of the victims' blood, to Chang, who has his own issues with the DE State Police, his own ageing and ill mother, and his ex-wife (there are many references to Feng Shui, Zen, and Tai Chi...along with a few "Confucius Say,..." and "Ah, so." Charlie Chan-esque dialogue thrown in here and there when dealing with Sino-phobic "Round Eyes." , which just seemed silly to me.

While this was a fast-paced police procedural, the author didn't put me in the shoes of the characters. Most of the time, I simply didn't care much for them. For that reason, I gave it 3 stars.

Thriller with a twist
"Final Price" is J. Gregory Smith's debut novel.Set in Wilmington, Delaware, Shamus Ryan is a new car salesman that takes a lost deal very personally - he murders his customers that take up his time but go elsewhere to actually spend their money.Unlike most thrillers, the reader knows from the beginning who the killer is and what remains is for us to find out about the number of murders, who the victims are, and if (and how) he is apprehended.A different twist on the typical book of this type that added a bit of novelty but did create a lack of tension that I missed.

The reader is given some insight into the upbringing of our protagonist and that is helpful in understanding why he has such a disconnect with reality.We are also introduced to Paul Chang, the homicide detective in search of the killer and see something about his home life as well - learning he has his own demons which are channeled into the more positive side.Chang has an unofficial sidekick left over from his New York City days by the name of Nelson Rogers who ended up being my favorite character.

Overall, the novel is an interesting read and the author has a lot of potential.The premise is unique and worth the time to explore.My biggest complaint (and why it didn't receive a 5-star from me) is that I would have like more depth to the characters. You never really know what happened in NYC that caused Chang and Rogers to be dismissed, while introduced to Chang's mother I am not sure what she really added, etc.A good novel that had the potential to be great but just didn't quite get there.For a freshman effort, very nice and I would hope that as the writer gains more experience, the future novels (which I assume there will be some) will reach that elusive 5-star level.

A warning to potential readers - there is a lot of gore in this book and as the murders escalate, things get more weird and uncomfortable to read about.If you like James Patterson books, you will be fine.If you can't handle Mr. Patterson's books, I would recommend skipping this one.
... Read more

Product Description

Place- and community-based education − an approach to teaching and learning that starts with the local − addresses two critical gaps in the experience of many children now growing up in the United States: contact with the natural world and contact with community. It offers a way to extend young people’s attention beyond the classroom to the world as it actually is, and to engage them in the process of devising solutions to the social and environmental problems they will confront as adults. This approach can increase students’ engagement with learning and enhance their academic achievement.

Envisioned as a primer and guide for educators and members of the public interested in incorporating the local into schools in their own communities, this book explains the purpose and nature of place- and community-based education and provides multiple examples of its practice. The detailed descriptions of learning experiences set both within and beyond the classroom will help readers begin the process of advocating for or incorporating local content and experiences into their schools.

Customer Reviews (1)

A Must Read for All Educators who Care about the Future
If you care about children as people, if you care about the future of the United States as a viable society, read this book! It offers the only sane way to educate our youth to live intelligently on this rapidly changing planet. The outworn "conventions" embodied in "No Child Left Behind" only promote the same perspective on what education is for that has brought us to this stage of imminent planetary danger. What is needed, as the authors so ably demonstrate, is an approach to education that combines the social needs of a child's soul with the ecological needs of planet Earth. This is accomplished through introducing a curriculum based on local, community-centered areas of interest: environmental, social, and economic. It is easy to incorporate the knowledge from all disciplines into such programs, once the community, the school district, and the teaching staff all agree that it really is a brilliant idea. In fact, some of the greatest successes described in this book occurred in what once were among the most problematic of America's communities. ... Read more

Product Description
Gregory of Nyssa, one of the three most influential theologians of the early Church, offers a vision of suffering as part of our progress to final union with God. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Makes the Complexities of Nyssen's Thought Accessible
Taking Dr. Smith's graduate seminar on the theology of the Cappadocians first alerted me to his skill as a pedagogue.After perusing a few chapters of his book, I now know that this dexterity extends from the classroom to his ability as an author.Dr. Smith makes Gregory of Nyssa, a pedantic Neoplatonic aristocrat and bishop of fourth-century Cappadocia, actually understandable.The chapters of his book are well-defined, articulate, and unambiguous.Furthermore, an appendix for discussion makes this book a candidate for study-groups, whether under the auspices of the church, or for personal use.
I highly recommend this book as an introduction to Nyssen's theological anthropology.Don't be fooled by the title, though.The book, faithful to it subject matter, covers much more than just theological anthropology.This topic bleeds into many others, and thus it serves as an oblique introduction to many other aspects of Nyssen's thought, and late antique Christian Neoplatonism in general. ... Read more

Product Description

Facing a growing labor shortage of skilled workers, businesses are placing major importance on employee retention. Money and benefits are important, but the majority of people leave for other reasons and most of those reasons are preventable.

Customer Reviews (3)

excellent proven ways to retain employees
It is an excelllent detailed,relevant and useable information. Every leader must have a copy. I believe the information is relevant not only to retain best employees but to motivate all to be better employees as well.Thank you

Happy employee's favorite new co-worker
Greg's principles and strategies are demonstrated in clear-cut examples, which allow for exciting retention initiatives in today's high-turnover job market.

Great Book!
Greg did a great job of packing the book with ideas, suggestions and tips without a lot of "fluff." It is easy to use and to implement! ... Read more

Product Description

"Polished, clear, insightful, and meaningful.... This volume amounts to nothing less than a complete rethinking of what progressive education can be at its best and how education can be reconceptualized as one of the central practices of a genuinely democratic and sustainable society.... It is the kind of book that has the potential to be transformative."

Stephen Preskill, University of New Mexico

"The editors and contributors are pioneers in the field of educational theory, policy, and philosophy.... They are opening new areas of inquiry and educational reform in ways that promise to make this book in very short time into a classic.... The practical applications and experiments included reveal the richness of grassroots initiatives already underway to bring educational theory and policy down to earth. While spanning the richest and deepest intellectual ideas and concepts, the stories told are the types that practitioners and teachers will be able to relate to in their daily undertakings."

Madhu Suri Prakash, The Pennsylvania State University

This volume – a landmark contribution to the burgeoning theory and practice of place-based education – enriches the field in three ways: First, it frames place-based pedagogy not just as an alternative teaching methodology or novel approach to environmental education but as part of a broader social movement known as the "Anew localism", which aims toward reclaiming the significance of the local in the global age. Second, it links the development of ecological awareness and stewardship to concerns about equity and cultural diversity. Third, it presents examples of place-based education in action. The relationship between the new localism and place-based education is clarified and the process of making connections between learners and their wider communities is demonstrated. The book is organized around three themes:

• Reclaiming Broader Meanings of Education;
• Models for Place-Based Learning; and
• Global Visions of the Local in Higher Education

This is a powerfully relevant volume for researchers, teacher educators, and students across the fields of curriculum theory, educational foundations, critical pedagogy, multicultural education, and environmental education.

Customer Reviews (1)

Place-Based Education in the Global Age: Local Diversity
I needed this book for a class I am taking.It is a good book and I was happy to get it used at a reduced price. ... Read more

Product Description
Ecological Education in Action celebrates the work of innovative educators in North America who explore ecological issues in school and non-school settings. These educators demonstrate how to reshape the thinking of children and adults to affirm the value of sufficiency, mutual support, and community.

Courses in environmental education often focus on scientific analysis and social policy--not cultural change. Children are exposed to information regarding environmental problems and explore such topics as endangered species, the logging of tropical rainforests, or the monitoring of water quality in local streams and rivers. Some adopt manatees or whales, or create school-wide recycling programs. These topics and efforts are without question commendable, however, missing is a recognition of the deeper cultural transformations that must accompany the shift to a more ecologically sustainable way of life.

Contributors to this volume describe courses, programs, or projects that are transformative in nature, aimed at engendering the experience of connectedness that lies at the heart of moral action. The first six chapters describe educational efforts in K-12 schools throughout North America. The next six chapters consider the work of people in higher education and non-formal educational settings and their attempts to instill an ecological perspective into the learning of college students and adult community members. The book thus creates an image of what an ecologically grounded form of education for our own era could look like. ... Read more

Product Description
Martin Heidegger: Paths Taken, Paths Opened takes Heidegger's philosophy on its own terms and explores the pivotal significance of his phenomenology for political theory. Heidegger opposed, at the deepest level, everything that informs the global, technological civilization that seems to be the fate of humanity. Yet even in the liberal and technologically oriented West we cannot proceed without a confrontation with his thought. In this timely addition to the 20th Century Political Thinkers series, Gregory Bruce Smith shows Heidegger's thought to be an inescapable challenge to our current ethical habits and contemporary political institutions. ... Read more

Product Description
It seemed like any other accident, which happens thousands of times across the cities and towns, which make up America. But, this one on Highway 44 in St. Louis, Missouri was much different. So, different in fact, it changed the world.

St. Louis, population 3 million, the gateway to the west. But, within, its city limits is the home of drug companies seduced by vast profits. A population and a world unprepared for what happens next.

Unleashed without warning; an unknown chemical which when exposed causes the dead to rise and destroy the living. The results; a horrifying quick outbreak, which spares no one it encounters. Populations devastated, as the creatures destroy all semblance of society.

Left over, the aftermath is a realm that is molded after the new ruling species. Aftermath of the Dead concerns the plight of what happens to the residents of St. Louis. The story of how the residents are forced to deal with and somehow survive this new reality. Deep inside themselves, people have the same sense, that there is no way in which to overcome the creatures!

Customer Reviews (30)

Umm...yeah.
I love a good zombie book and I give mad props to the author for putting his pen to paper and adding to the body of zombie lit, but someone should have proof read this.

The story isn't bad if you can get past the awkward writing.

I gave up about half way through. It was like having my liver eaten by zombies.

Hard to read
I am a LOVER of horror books, especially zombie ones.I began reading this book and noticed, within minutes, the numerous spelling and gramaitical errors in the text.It is painful to read books that are so poorly edited.I do think the premise is a great idea but very hard to read with the numerous errors.If you choose this book, be prepared to muddle through it.

Seems like a Knock Off
This book reminds me of a poor knockoff of "The Phoenix Gene" by Terry Webb. In Webb's book the spelling is great and it was very, very well written. A engineered gene that helps Alzheimers is "accidentally" spilled on one of the scientists who leaves the lab somewhere in Texas. The diseas is suppose to awaken dead cells in the brains of Alzheimer patients but now we know it wakes up the dead cells in dead people also. The scientist dies, bites a medic, who in return dies and bites a cop, who then bites a bystander...etc. There are people hiding in malls, stores, trying to survive. Sounds familiar? Yep!

Pretty good
its a pretty good book,i think it could use alittle more work,but overall its fun to read,and i enjoyed reading lots of books.If you a reader, and "Love" to read you will love this

And the award for the worst zombie novel goes to......
It's hard to even know where to even begin with this book, but being that I foolishly paid full price for this travisty without first reading the reviews(a mistake I won't be making again)I feel i should at least give my opinion and hopefully save someone else their money. While the basic plot has the makings of a good story, the authors poor grip of the English language and proper punctuation make reading this book a real chore. Another problem is the horrible use of descriptive language such as "Michael rips into her pudgy flesh like boiling water over a full pot of spaghetti noodles"(page 11)now maybe it's just me, but when i think of zombies tearing into flesh I have never pictured boiling water and a pot of noodles. My biggest complaint about this book is that it reads like the first rough draft of a movie script, don't get me wrong, with a lot of proofreading and a little polish I think this has the potential to work as a decent movie, but as a novel it just falls flat.
I could go on and on about what's wrong with this book, but I think it has all been covered pretty well in the other reviews I have read, so I will just say this, save your money on this one and always read the reviews before buying, as I wish I had. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Easy-to-follow advice from two top-notch attorneys.

Any creator of visual symbols, images, slogans, or other insignia connected to a product needs to know how to protect his or her creation. The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to Trademarks offers the necessary information to do just that. Using easy-to-understand, concise language, this pocket guide simplifies the fast-paced, high profile, and complicated legal world of trademarks. Written by experts in the field, it explains everything from the origin and theory of trademarks to the different categories, laws, and ways to create trademarks.

• Written in clear, layman’s language
• Features a complete Internet and government resource guide
• Presents helpful examples of government filing documents
• Expert attorney authors ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A useful guide to those wishing to create and file a trademark image to brand your name and intellectual property...
Wanting to expand my knowledge of copyright law by learning more about trademarks and how they might offer supplemental protection to those with intellectual property, I was pleased to come upon this handy, but thorough guide by two top intellectual property attorneys.

Written in a straightforward, but interesting narrative, I recommend this $9.95, 202-page pocket guide to anyone interested in learning about the various types of trademarks (e.g. geographic, use of slogans, shapes, insignia, buildings, etc.), advice as to when to use the appropriate trademark symbol, whether the trademark should be registered and where (e.g. State or Federal or both), and when it useful to consult an attorney.

Two other -- more recent and moreexpensive - guides that layman readers might also find useful are "Patents, Copyrights & Trademarks For Dummies" ($25) by Henri J. A. Charmasson and John Buchaca (published in 2008) and "Trademark: Legal Care for Your Business & Product Name" ($40) by Stephen Elias Attorney and Richard Stim Attorney (published in 2007).

Recommended for academic and public libraries and individuals seeking a good overview of the protection that developing and registering a trademark for their business might offer.

R. Neil Scott (MLS/MBA)
Middle Tennessee State University
... Read more

Product Description
Red Tobruk, the war memoir of the Captain of HMS Eridge from late 1940 until August 1942 is a superb account of wartime action at sea. Frank Gregory-Smith¹s war started on the destroyer Jaguar and he saw action off Norway and during the Dunkirk evacuation, when she was hit by enemy air attack with 25 men killed.

Customer Reviews (1)

A RN World War II Destroyer Commander Remembers
I recommend this book because it describes the problems of comanding a WW II British destroyer.This book tells the story of HMS Eridge, which fought to bring convoys to Malta and Tobruk durring the low point of the Allied experiance of World War II.An excellant account. ... Read more

Product Description
Paulson puts the reader at the controls for a firsthand experience of just what it's like to fly one of the largest planes ever built. Dramatic color photographs and illustrations take young readers through each step in the task of piloting the jet. Includes scientific and technical information. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Freaky Coincidence
This is a nice and simple book for children on the 747 airplane and what it takes to fly such a vehicle.

This book was published in 1992.

The freaky coincidence can be found on page 31.There's a full page picture of the inside of the airplane cockpit. Out of the plane's window you can see the World Trade Center. It's a drawing of the two towers, but there's no mistake about what it is.
The caption on the photo says "The World Trade Center is normally avoided both night and day by commercial aircraft."

The text within that chapter says:
"...'Just take a look out the window there. See anything familiar?'
'Why, Chuck, it looks like the World Trade Center!'
'That's right. Of course, we wouldn't normallly fly this low in
a 747. But like I said, for you the sky's the limit...'
'Before we start turning, though, it might be a good idea for you to check the altitude. The World Trade Center is about 1,350 feet tall, and the altimeter says -'
'I guess I better pull up a bit.'
'Otherwide your wing might hit the towers as you turn.'
'And that would be bad.'
'Yes, that would be very bad...'

Weird!
... Read more

Product Description
It’s the hair-raising countdown to a new millennium, and Cosmo Dust watches in dismay as the wreckage of his life comes into garish focus in the glow of post-Sinatra Las Vegas. Surrounded by the simulacra of Western civilization, Cosmo finds himself strong-armed by the Golden Calf Casino into recreating the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel: a task that makes a mockery of both Michelangelo’s genius and Cosmo’s skill.

Just when Cosmo has decided to quit this job to search for something real, Reality trumps him by making him the chief suspect in the murder of a cocktail waitress. Joining forces with the daughter of the Pope of Las Vegas, the local mob boss, he tries to piece together who’s killing whom and why. Navigating a world that subverts rational motivation, Cosmo and the Pope’s daughter encounter film-noir homicide detectives, Gnostic monks, a Vatican Inquisitor, and a baby who may or may not be the messiah.

A masterfully written novel that is part romantic comedy, part dysfunctional detective story, The Madonna of Las Vegas exuberantly explores the quest for a genuine life in a world built on false appearances. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Reality (or Realities) Worth Exploring
I'm a former student of Gregory Blake Smith (Greg Smith back at Carleton) and I was curious to see what he's written (I've also read, and enjoyed, his first book, The Devil in the Dooryard).Anyway, I couldn't find a review of The Madonna of Las Vegas, so I figured I should write one.

The book is a postmodern playground:It's lots of fun to run around and play with the various features.Much of the pleasure of the book is derived from the whimsy of virtual reality suicide machines, Death Valley golf courses, and real Sistine Chapel ceiling paintings in phony Sistine Chapels.Meaning, if meaning is to be achieved, must be cobbled together by the reader, extracted from the characters, devices and motifs that populate Smith's simulacra.As a professor of literature, Smith excels at close readings, showing how a single paragraph or construction can offer insight into a book as a whole; in reading Smith's books, contemplation of small aspects is similarly rewarded.

The dramatic structure of Madonna does not come from the plot (it's more a parody of a plot).Instead, it comes from the process by which the main character, Cosmo Dust, and the reader learn about the world that has been constructed around them.Having taken Smith's "Postmodern American Novel" class, I know that his favorite feature of the postmodern novel is its instability, and he keeps his reader in a constant state of uncertainty.Smith wants us to explore, and delight in, the reality he has manufactured, but he makes it clear that it cannot be fully known or understood.

A final bit of insight I can offer from sitting in on Smith's class is the striking resemblance Madonna bears, in style and atmosphere, to Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49.The details, characters, etc. are different, but the feel of the books is the same.

Madonna is certainly worth a read, especially if it sounds like the kind of thing you're into.In the world of Amazon grade inflation, I would have given it five stars.But as Professor Smith never inflated me all the way up to a solid A, I give it the four stars it deserves.
... Read more

Product Description
This important book brings together eighteen cutting-edge research papers first presented at the Second International Conference on Braided Rivers. It includes the latest research on the dynamics, deposits and ecology of these rivers.

Product Description
Step back in time and see how prospectors, miners, merchants, investors, and families settled the mining towns in the gold and silver-rich San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. Telluride, Ouray, and Silverton are well portrayed, as well as many of the smaller towns that are now just crumbling piles of stone and lumber. P. David Smith has also added lengthy captions that explain and point out the particulars of each photograph. This book will really give you an idea of the way it was over 100 years ago in the San Juan Mountains. Featuring more than 250 rare and historical photographs from the private collection of Ruth and Marvin Gregory, this book allows readers to venture into the mines, ride the railroads, and share the catastrophes and celebrations of yesterday s West. Including well-researched and illuminating narratives, Images of the San Juans Revised, is the true life story of an awe-inspiring area, its inhabitants, and an ever-enduring pioneer spirit. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A most fascinating book!
I have a collection of more than 100 books relating to Colorado andits history."Images of the San Juans" is my favorite.

The largeand well-preserved photographs from the Marvin and Ruth Gregory collectionare fascinating as are the descriptions by P. David Smith.Most booksoffer only a sentence or two about a photograph but Mr. Smith gives adetailed description in a most interesting style.He points out smalldetails in many of the photos which might otherwise go unnoticed.Heanswers questions and even raises a few of his own.I felt like I wasbeing let in on some secrets from the past.

When I received the book, Ianxiously leafed through the pages and stopped on page 38.The first wordsI read were "A chance to look back into the past is always somethingspecial."

Indeed, I enjoyed the journey through time. ... Read more

Product Description
Fabulous letters from the vagabond Beat poet to his friends—among them Allen Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

For all his charm and intelligence poet Gregory Corso lived a vagabond life. He never held down a regular job. He rarely stayed very long under the same roof. He spent long stretches—some as long as four or five years—abroad. Many of his letters came from Europe—France, England, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Greece—as he kept in touch with his circle of friends—among them his best friend Allen Ginsberg and a steady supporter, Lawrence Ferlinghetti. He left (or was left by) a number of girlfriends and he fathered five children along the way. He was apt to raise a bit of a ruckus at poetry readings and other public events. No one could be sure what he might do next except that he would write poetry and get it published and that it would be widely read.

When the idea of a book of selected letters was first proposed, Gregory had some reservations about it. Would the book reveal too much of his private life? But then with typical hubris he said the equivalent of "let it all hang out" and "all" does hang out in An Accidental Autobiography. The book is indeed the next thing to an unplanned self-portrait and gives a lively sense of the life Gregory Corso led, marching to his own drummer and leaving in his wake such marvelous books of Beat poetry as The Happy Birthday of Death, Elegiac Feelings American, Long Live Man, and Herald of the Autochthonic Spirit.

Bill Morgan, who is extremely conversant with the Beats, has done an admirable job collecting letters from libraries and various individuals across the country and then selecting and organizing them in a progression that spans Corso's lifetime. In addition to Morgan's introduction and commentary, the book includes a special foreword by poet and rock star Patti Smith as well as a number of photographs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent
This book fills in great holes in Corso's biography.Not only do we get an account of major periods of his adulthood, but for the first time his childhood is explored.The letter to his father is especially revealing.A major biography still needs to be done of this poet, among America's most important poets, and almost certainly the most important surrealist poet America has produced.It is especially interesting to see earlier drafts of now famous poems.The drafts are not nearly as good as the finished works, which to my mind proves that Corso was a conscious artist, and not the naif that he is often portrayed.Corso said the most important part of writing a poem was the editing.This voluminous group of letters probably gives first drafts of something like eighty poems.They are nowhere close to the hard sharp brilliance of the finished works.This book is indispensable to anyone who likes Corso's poems.It offers a very revealing insight into the biographical background.I am still hoping an excellent biography will come forth, and especially one that deals with the Catholic church, and Corso's foster families.Sadly, many of the people that Corso knew are dying off, so this project looks more and more remote with each passing year. ... Read more

Product Description
An intimate portrait of the slow disintegration of a family documents the ordeal of everyone close to rapist and murderer Richard Daniel Starrett--the epitome of the all-American boy--who confessed to a two-year rampage attacking young women. Reprint. K. PW. Amazon.com Review
The setting is the progressive South United States of the 80s,where education and hard work offer hope for the good life--untilmental illness brings tragedy. This is an unusual true-crime bookbecause it's neither a whodunit, nor a manhunt, nor an account of atrial. Instead, it's a character study of a sadistic sexual predatorwho is all too human in his desperate need for love, and of his familymembers who need, just as desperately, to believe that their love forhim will make them whole again. Authors Steven Naifeh and GregoryWhite Smith are adept at teasing out the many-layered subtleties ofthe criminal mind. Here they create a thought-provoking portrait byalternating passages from the well-educated killer's own diary, withthe unfolding narrative of how the revelations of his crimes areaffecting his family. It includes a surprising twist, and a powerfulscene of confrontation near the end. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

A mother's perspective on her killer son
After reading the first three chapters of this book I ended up skipping
through the rest of it just to get the basic details of who and why Danny killed and molested so many young girls. I found the book to be mostly a ones sided perspective from his mother. She sounded like she was making excuses for her son's horrific deeds. The book kept jumping back and forth between victims and time line of events. I found myself having to re-read the beginning several times just to remember in what sequence the events occured. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone unless they were totally bored and needed some quick entertainment.

I Guess I'm the "Black Sheep"
First I responded to Paul C's review, thinking that he misread the book. But then I read all the other reviews and I guess I am the only one who read this book differently - NOT as a book to create sympathy for Danny or his mother, but as a book that shows you never know who is capable of what; i.e. even "golden boys" can "snap." We saw it with Scott Peterson, and we see it today on the Oxygen network with its show, "Snapped!" We see it every day.
I'll re-post my comment to Paul's review below:

Paul, I think you are misreading this book. You say: "We're supposed to feel empathy for Gerry Starret as she learns that her jailed son no longer has unlimited access to reading material; that he isn't eating and looks shrunken, "like a cadaver"; that he's been threatened in jail; that prison is too loud, and so forth."

I say: I think that the authors focused so much on Gerry's reactions to the ordeal because (1) she is the mother of the victim and (2) she liked to talk. And rather than feel sympathy or empathy for the woman, I felt her thoughts and words illustrated her never-ending DENIAL and served to show that she was OFF HER ROCKER in her persuit of maintaining the semblance of a "perfect" family, she literally could not deal with what Danny was accussed of doing. In other words, she's almost as messed up in the head as her son was.

Secondly, even the investigators and psychiatrists and psychologists, like Dr. Storms at the end, admitted that they thought Danny was B.S'ing them about his supposed other personality. There is no doubt that there is something wrong with the guy - seriously, disturbingly wrong. But we also know he is HIGHLY intelligent and HIGHLY manipulative and narcissistic.

I don't think the point of the book was to generate sympathy for Danny's family. I think the point of the book was to try to answer the question "HOW does a 'golden boy' committ such horrendous crimes, and why?" Questions that were never answered, because nobody really knows. In other words, the book produces fear because ANYBODY can be a secret psycho is essentially what it's getting at. And as we've seen with Scott Peterson, we know that just because someone is a 'golden boy' doesn't mean he's not capable of murder.

Poor, Pititful Gerry Starrett and Her Perfect Son
I am an avid reader of true crime, but this is the worst specimen of such that I have ever seen.This book focuses not so much on the crimes committed but how this serial kidnapper & rapist, once murderer, was treated so poorly behind bars.And the second story of this book focuses on how his mother worked dilligently to right those wrongs. The kidnapped, raped and murdered victims are but backdrops to this 400 page whine about the injustices suffered by the accused.This is the first work I have read by these authors and will most definitely be my last.Steven Naifeh & Gregory White Smith:Get out of the trime crime writing profession...leave it to the true professionals like Ann Rule, Corey Mitchell & Steve Jackson.

Last but not least, I must say this:many, many times we hear the accused blame negligent mothers, domineering mothers, or absentee fathers.Most times, I personally feel that this is one more attempt at ridding themselves of personal responsibility for their actions; more specifically, their choices.However, after reading this book I firmly believe that Danny Starret was the result of a over-worrisome, over-indulgent mother that, with her high-falutin' attitude, thought that her family was above evil doings. The statement that shook me the most was when discussing his case with defense attorney Bud Siemon, she made the statement "Danny is basically a good boy-"That one statement sums up the attitude of Gerry Starrett and her "perfect son."

Could This Be your Neighbor?
The authors of this book have researched this book very thoroughly, and their style of writing is excellent.They compare and contrast the views of both the main characters that leave the reader wanting to learn more.This is a page-turner book in which you don't want to put down until it's finished.

the victim was my cousin
That's right the victim Jeannie was my cousin.We went to the beach together several times when we were kids.Now I am 32 and finally found out the previously unspeakable (in my family) details through this book. We are the same age born one month apart. I was 15 at the time the murder happened.

We were very close friends, so it was interesting reading about her.Even if it was from the killer's viewpoint.It brought back a lot of memories. For example, she liked peach wine coolers, pringles chips, her favorites, just as the killer said.You could tell she was trying to please the killer with the lies she told him, typical for victims with the Hearst-like syndrome she developed after the trauma of being abducted from her home.

The last reviewer was mistaken when he said Chrissy was murdered, and the book never says she was.Also the reviewer before that didn't read the book well either, Starrett clearly admitted he killed Jeannie.She did not kill herself.There were two bullets in her chest, so how could she have killed herself anyway?

Anyhow, I knew her very well and she was a spunky young woman.Wild and crazy and a lot of fun.Had a lot of potential.Didn't have fear of anything, and like many teenagers believed she was invincible.She was brave and mentally strong. Once she got to know him, she never dreamed he would actually kill her.

The book didn't say how much she hated the name Jean and only used it in the "runaway" note to give clues for someone to find her.She also spelled letters in her name backwards which she normally never would have done.I knew her writing, as she wrote a lot. After her disapearance, the FBI called and interviewed all her friends, including me, looking for her.

True she could have escaped if she hadn't been so ballsy and if she hadn't had that "no one can hurt me" attitude.But I remember at that age I had the same attitude so I can't blame her.

What I find disturbing is the mother's lack of compassion for the family members of the victims.She wouldn't even provide a picture of her son to help in the search.Even if he had been innocent she still should have provided the photo to help investigators. The mother was so wrapped up in protecting her grown son that she lost sight of the fact that several girls were abused and one was killed. And throughout the book she seems to want people to feel sorry for her.How would she have felt if one of her children had been killed?She didn't bother to consider this.All she cared about was whether her murderer son would go to the death chamber, or whether he had adequate prison conditions.She should have been more concerned helping authorities throughout the case. If she wanted to do the right thing.But she was too selfish to help.

It is sad how the killer keeps making excuses for himself.He may have had brain damage from his childhood injuries, but lots of people, including myself had an untreated concussion as a child from a car accident, and I didn't grow up to be a criminal!He is a sadistic calculated rapist and murderer.Something went wrong in his brain but that does not mean he should be declared too ill to be executed.

I see Jeannie's parents (it's acutally her stepdad who raised her)usually once every year.After she died, they gave me a favorite trinket of hers which I still have to this day. They didn't have any other children.

She did want to become a lawyer as the book says, and I have no doubt she was more than smart enough.Too bad she didn't get the chance. She was also one of my best friends and it sure would be nice to have her around.We would have finished growing up together.I never had a large family, and most of the family I do have I am not close with.Those are other reasons why Jeannie was important to me. After we found out she was dead I was severly depressed.My grades got a lot worse and I acted out as a teenager, getting myself into a lot of trouble.Some of it I would have gotton into anyway and some I would not have. I can only imagine if it affected me so much how it affected her parents. It would be interesting to have a book from the victim's perspective, to compare.

Due to politics and the legal system this man was not put to death like he should have been.However, from the book Starrett seemed to dislike living in prison so perhaps his 10 life sentences will be a fate worse than death.I hope so. Even if he is "suffering" then at least, lucky for him, he gets to live out a full life unlike Jeannie who didn't have the chance. I can tell you his suffering in prison, of which he and his mother complain, will never equal the amount of suffering Jeannie's family has endured outside of prison.
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Product Description
Between Eternities deals with the future of the tradition of political philosophy. The author argues that this tradition can only progress after the postmodernist fragmentation of political philosophy has been realized as part of the grander scheme of the history of Western thought. ... Read more

Product Description
The scientific disciplines of hydrology and hydrogeology are expanding as the Earth's water is being recognized by governments and individuals as a shrinking resource-no entity can afford to take water for granted.At the present time, there is no single reference source for definitions.The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Hydrogeology is a practical, comprehensive reference guide with complete definitions of terms in hydrogeology and other fields closely related to water practices.This concise reference not only defines terms and concepts, but also provides a clear explanation of key elements so that an in-depth understanding of processes may be obtained.

*With more than 2,000 entries, from "absolute permeability" to the "Z-R relationship", this dictionary features the most up-to-date vocabulary in hydrology and hydrogeology.This dictionary would be of use to practicing scientists and professionals in all the fields of water science.
*More than 340 graphs, tables and diagrams complement the entries in order to clarify terms, methods, or processes
*Essential reference for students, academics, consultants, and practitioners in hydrology, hydrogeology, environmental engineering, environmental law, and the government ... Read more