Amazon.com
"SHE WAS YOUNG AND BEAUTIFUL BUT NOW SHE IS BATTERED AND DEAD. SHE IS NOT THE FIRST AND SHE WILL NOT BE THE LAST." Few cases in the history of true crimeare as colorful and intriguing as that of Zodiac, the bizarre gunmanin an executioner's hood who hunted the streets of San Francisco inthe late 1960s and sent dozens of taunting letters to the police.Robert Graysmith provides ample details about the policeinvestigation, including the full text and photos of most of theletters. Zodiac is an excellent starting point not only forthe casual reader, but also for those interested in retracing theauthor's steps in order to pursue their own ideas about who thekiller may have been. This book has been praised by the SanFrancisco Chronicle, the very paper in which the Zodiac's eeriemessages and cryptograms were published: "Graysmith's taut narrativebrings the horror back with jolt upon jolt." Book Description
Who was Zodiac? A serial killer who claimed 37 dead. A sexual sadist who taunted police with anonymous notes.A madman who was never apprehended. This is the first, complete account of Zodiac's reign of terror. Is he still out there? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (89)

Political Cartoonist turned Wanna Be Cop
This extremely long-winded version of the Zodiac Killer investigation, as portrayed by political cartoonist Robert Graysmith, is full of detail; unfortunately, it has been saturated with detail that serves no purpose other to fill pages.

Graysmith, an apparent wanna-be cop, takes on the role of a "private investigator" and attempts to gather "evidence" on his favorite Zodiac suspect, Arthur Allen Leigh.However, readers are given some insight into other possible suspects while others that police favored are not mentioned at all.

While this book is filled with reproductions of Zodiac's letters, etc., readers are not invited to envision the victims as no photos of these individuals are included.I was only able to gain an image by Googling for information on the Zodiac Killer.

If one can weed through the usless dribble, there is an excellent story within; however, one most remember that this book was written based mainly on the author's opinion.And, to be quite frank, the opinion of a political cartoonist is not the first I'm looking to take; but readers can leave that up to their own judgment.

Early Impressions
After watching the movie twice & reading the first couple of chapters of the book, I offer the following observations. First, there is a lot of detail. One gets the sense that Graysmith put in every scrap of information he had (whether or not it was truly relevant). As an example, I offer below the list of characters introduced in Chapter Two alone. Second, his writing style is neither here nor there. It doesn't read like a fictional account of the same subject yet it is more than a summary of known facts in the case. If it were not a real case, I would not continue reading as the storyline is overcrowded with seemingly unimportant data. However, it's this same jumble of information that gives the reader a sense of what it must have been like for the detectives working the case.

1. Darlene Ferrin: shooting victim
2. Bobbie Ramos: Darlene's co-worker at Terry's Restaurant
3. Dean Ferrin: Darlene's current (second) husband
4. Dena Ferrin: Darlene & Dean's baby daughter
5. Bill & Carmela Leigh: Ferrins' landlords; Dean's bosses at Caesar's Palace Italian Restaurant
6. Karen: Darlene's 17 year old babysitter
7. Pam Suennen: Darlene's younger sister
8. Jim "Phillips" (assumed last name): Darlene's ex-husband
9. Bobbie Oxnam: previous co-worker of Darlene at San Francisco phone company
10. Leo Suennen: Darlene's younger brother
11. Mike Mageau: shooting victim; close friend of Darlene's
12. David Mageau: Mike's twin brother; also a close friend of Darlene's
13. Jay Eisen, Ron Allen, Rick Crabtree & Sydne: friends who attended Darlene's painting party
14. Richard Hoffman, Steve Baldino & Howard "Buzz" Gordon: police officers who attended Darlene's painting party
15. "Paul" the bartender (not real name): "creepy" attendee of the painting party; later a prime suspect in the murders
16. Linda Del Buono: Darlene's other sister
17. Leo: Linda (& presumably Darlene's ) father
18. Christina: Darlene's 15 year old sister
19. John Lynch: Detective Sergeant with Vallejo police
20. Harley Scalley: manager at Terry's Restaurant
21: Jane Rhodes: Darlene's acquaintance at Terry's Restaurant
22. Janet Lynne: Darlene's second babysitter
23. Pamela: Janet Lynne's friend
24. George Bryant: Blue Rock Springs Golf Course caretaker
25. Debra, Roger & Jerry: teens who came across the victims following the shooting
26. Nancy Slover: Vallejo P.D. switchboard operator
27. Ed Rust: Sergeant with Vallejo P.D.; John Lynch's partner
28. Richard Hoffman & Sergeant Conway: Vallejo P.D. at the crime scene
29. Arthur Ferrin: Dean's father
30. Officer Shrum & his partner: Vallejo P.D. sent to notify Mageau family of shooting
31. Evelyn Olson: Darlene's co-worker at Terry's Restaurant
32. Lois Mckee: cook at Terry's Restaurant
33. Carmen: Mike Mageau's mother
34. Detective Sergeant Bidou: Benicia P.D.
35. Jack Mulanax: Vallejo P.D. who inherited Ferrin case from Lynch

Disturbing truth
Well-written book, excellent research.Disturbing that several police departments were unable to solve the case and unwilling to share information to help bring down the killer.Disturbing that Californians apparently didn't demand better police work.Sad that Mr. Graysmith worked night and day looking for a killer while tax-paid police feigned interest but didn't join in.Sad that the SF's lead investigator blames others when he loses his job even though it was nine years and counting at that point with no one behind bars.How is it investigators get only one search warrant for a suspect with several homes?A sad and disturbing story all around.

Deadly Killer, Dull Book
A terrific new cover for the paperback edition, the legacy of America's most notorious uncaptured serial killer, and a tie-in to a well-regarded David Fincher film can't disguise the fact that "Zodiac" the book (first published in 1986) is one extremely slipshod piece of work.

There's ample warning from the first page in that truth is taking a holiday even if death isn't. Author Robert Graysmith channels the mind of David Faraday, taking in the sights of the Golden Gate Bridge just hours before being killed by the title figure, a serial killer who terrorized Northern California in the late 1960s. Faraday didn't have a chance to share these observations of his, so they can only be fictional constructs sent up by Graysmith to give his true-crime book a novelistic feel. It's a small moment of irritation that grows steadily as the pages turn.

First come accounts of each of the Zodiac killings. These are decently presented in some cases, with Graysmith delivering some of the same flair for setting that made his Bob Crane murder book "Auto Focus" such a good read. Unfortunately, he also reveals that book's difficulty with exposition was not a one-time thing. He mentions intriguing clues (an early victim's escapades with dangerous pals, a rumored recording of the Zodiac phoning in one of his crimes) and raises questions (why was one of Zodiac's victims dressed in several layers of clothing on a warm summer night?), but he drops these and other tangents just as soon as he picks them up, never tying them together or providing context within the larger scope of the crime.

What was Graysmith, a political cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle, doing at the center of this case? He notes the Zodiac's use of cryptic lettering.

"As an editorial cartoonist you develop a strong sense of justice, a need to change things, and as a painter and cartoonist I worked with symbols every day," he writes. "The tools of my career were being misused, appropriated by a murderer."

If that sounds less than convincing, Graysmith goes on to decipher one of Zodiac's cryptic notes to the media, explaining that he did so by taking his commonly-used words from other writings and grafting them onto promising-looking patterns. Then he discloses the message he got out of it, revealing a jumble of catch-phrases and clearly random words.

It's clear that operating without any professional sense of discretion or detachment, Graysmith became too enmeshed in the drama of Zodiac for his own good. He visits the former hangouts of suspects, like a movie theater where he talks to a guy he is sure knows more than he is telling. Meanwhile, he notes footsteps on the floor above.

"I had a feeling that at any moment a stocky man in a black hood could step into the room holding a pistol," Graysmith writes. This episode occurs in 1978, nine years after Zodiac's last known murder. Needless to say, no hooded stranger appears.

The whole book is like that, full of twists and turns leading nowhere. He spends a chapter on a psychic who comes up with the numbers "2" and "11" before leaving the case, and another on the phases of Saturn during each of the killings. By the time Graysmith finally begins to discuss a suspect he believes is the Zodiac, he employs the pseudonym "Bob Starr" because of the threat of a lawsuit. Here's an idea: Stick to the facts, then the guy can't sue you.

Well, now the guy can't, 'cause he's dead. Graysmith mentions his name now, in a long paperback postscript devoted to the movie. While authorities have apparently ruled him out, no one has mentioned another suspect to take his place. That gives Graysmith a sliver of credence, no one else has come up with a better. Yet it is likely the wrong name.

I didn't care so much about that. I just felt my intelligence insulted by Graysmith's poor writing style and overall turgidness. "Zodiac" performs the amazing feat of making murder as exciting as accounting, only this time the book doesn't balance.

Incredible detail
Robert Graysmith is no Vincent Bugliosi, but he does know more about the Zodiac killings than anybody else on the planet. The detail about each of the five known killings is incredible, and Graysmith unearths another killing that occurred in Riverside prior to the Zodiac killings that may have been committed by the same person. And he does come up with a likely suspect.

Prior to reading ZODIAC, I rented the David Fincher movie. I was expecting the movie to follow the book pretty closely, but there are some composite characters in the movie. Graysmith tells us about three main suspects; whereas, therewere only two in the movie. Graysmith also speculates (pretty much believes) that Zodiac went right on killing after the murder of cab driver Paul Lee Stine. He lists 41 possible Zodiac murders, the last one occurring in 1981. Graysmith also had access to the Zodiac letters in which the murderer claimed credit for many more murders than those generally attributed to him.

Graysmith has some annoying habits. For one thing, he describes every stitch of clothing one of the early murder victims is wearing. He's also awfully skittish about using real names. So many people are given pseudonyms this might as well be fiction. Later on he goes into elaborate detail about the phases of the moon, and how theZodiac could have been planning his murderers to correspond with them. Then there's the sycophantic description of Filcher's movie as an addendum to the book. Here's Graysmith's description of Filcher's attention to detail: "His eye is calculating, more precise than any mechanical optics."

Something else that I find puzzling was the police's inability to keep track of two of the victims who lived through Zodiac attacks, Mike Mageau and Kathleen Johns. Kathleen got a really good look at him. I would have liked to see a "where are they now" epilogue concerning some of the major characters. Mageau is barely mentioned, strange since he supposedly identified the man who tried to kill him. I would imagine that's covered in ZODIAC UNMASKED, the follow-up. ... Read more

Book Description
Aren't Cancerians fed up with being the mothers of the universe? Don't Leos become weary of being told they're just fun-loving party animals? Does a girl--or boy--ever get to flash their mean streak? Do they ever--in Darkside Zodiac, the book that exposes the hidden underside of the stars, and how they affect the dark side of everyone.

The zodiac definitely has a dark side that influences the nasty in every one under every sign:

When Scorpios shed their Ms. Manners persona out pops a sex-mad control freak.

Capricorns are really bean-counting misanthropes.

Aries are head banging psychos.

Aquarians can't wait to be beamed back to the mothership.

Darkside Zodiac covers personalities, rising sign, ruling planet, Moon, qualities, and elements. It also details lifestyle choices (jobs, vacations, fashion, interior design, partners) all from a gripping, yet rarely discussed perspective. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Fun read, some accuracy some hard to understand
A good friend of mine got me this book for Christmas, I love it, it's a fun read. It's pretty insightful, at the same time, some of the deep metaphor is really hard to understand, the author is kind of speaking in her own languge. Metaphor is fun, but the author took it a bit far without explaining in "normal" languge at times.

The moon sign look up chart in the back did not work for mine for some reason, it worked for my bro's. I should email the arthor about that one.

GENIUS!
This book provides hilarious insight into the darkest pits of the twelve sun signs.As depressing as that may sound, the book is really quite hilarious.Brilliant, in fact.It has given me many gut-bustingly funny hours through reading it to people.

The funniest part is, most people deny outright that they are anything like the book says, when they (and everyone else) knows that they are.I, for one, don't mind saying that I am a shiftless Pisces.

Overall, this book is a genius piece of work, and you should buy it, RIGHT NOW!

Amazingly Accurate & Entertaining
This is my all time favorite astrology book dealing with the negative side of the signs. The set up with colorful pages makes it a pleasure to read.The best part is that the book brings up planetary combinations such as Sun in Gemini/Venus in Leo which takes it a step further than most "dark side" astrology books that exclusively focus on the sun sign.Great bonus sections such as "What kind of Criminal are You?".I can also recommend the corresponding book for Chinese Signs- "Snarling Tiger, Dirty rat".

Accurate, but save your money and buy better.
If you are familiar with Stella Hyde's writing, you will know why I said accurate, but save your money.If you are not familiar, please know that she writes words but does not say anything.The accurate parts are the parts that can be understood.I do not know who taught this woman English, but it cannot be someone who was alive in the past 100 years.

Her other book, Snarling Tiger, Hidden Dragon was even worse!If you are a serious student of Astrology, go to an actual store and browse thru their books, then order it cheaper from Amazon (unless you can get it elsewhere, I can get a lot of books from 2 other suppliers at wholesale prices).

Hysterical - loved it
This book is ridiculously funny.

Caveat: as the author herself warns, this is not for the faint of heart.If you can't laugh at yourself (or your friends), this is not the book for you.If, however, you can deal with a little tongue-in-cheek cynicism and equal-opportunity send-ups of all 12 signs, this book will provide hours of teasing your friends and loved ones, while surreptitiously tearing out the pages of your own sign and hiding them where no one can find them.

Speaking as an Aries - I put up a good front.I have a carefully - very carefully - maintained facade as a sane, intelligent, enlightened human being, fit for civilized company.But once in a blue moon, while it's not what anyone in their right mind would call "flattering," it IS rather refreshing to see someone call me on it - someone who knows that under that thin innocuous veneer of decency lies a seething, rage-filled, carnivorous soul, bent on fire and destruction and entirely unreasonable, one which has no truck with such niceties as patience or logic, not when there's people out there who just... won't... do... what... I... SAY!!! *face turns red as fist slams through desk*

Ahem.Sorry about that.Where was I?

The information in the book is exaggerated and distorted (of course!) for maximum comic impact; the basis of it, though, is pretty astrologically accurate.My only complaint is with the quick-and-dirty moon sign chart in the back, which kept trying to put my moon in Taurus (it's in Gemini) - but then, the book does say it's only an approximation, and gives the address for a very nice website that will give you a complete chart for free.So that's ok then.

And again, the true value of the book lies not in pointing out your own hidden darkness (because you already knew all about that!)No, it's in what it has to say about *everyone else*.Point and laugh at your Cancer roommate when they get the sulks - again.Snicker behind your hand at the Taurean and his cake habit.Call your Gemini best friend on it when he tries to fast-talk you into a bad idea - AGAIN.Tell your Scorpio buddy - wait.Maybe that's a bad idea.Just... quietly back away from your Scorpio buddy.And don't make eye contact.

All kidding aside, it's a really fun book.If you have any interest in astrology, or just want a chuckle, check it out. ... Read more

Book Description
The San Francisco Chronicle hailed Robert Graysmith's Zodiac as "provocative...the taut narrative brings the horror back jolt upon jolt."

And that wasn't even the whole story.

When the Zodiac killings began in 1968, Robert Graysmith, employed at the San Francisco Chronicle, became fascinated with the case. Before the murder spree was over, Zodiac claimed 37 victims. His mocking notes to authorities dared them to catch him. They never did. Now after following the clues for thirty years, Graysmith provides the final chapter-with hundreds of never-before-published photos and the only complete reproduction of the Zodiac letters. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (59)

Compelling
I'm shocked by the reviewers who read this and didn't think Arthur Leigh Allen was the Zodiac. It reaches a point where an unbelievable number of coincidences, and identifications from witnesses and victims are too compelling to consider otherwise.

Yes, Leigh's fingertips didn't match. Yes, his handwriting didn't match. Yes, they never found a "smoking gun." Leigh was an intelligent person who took considerable precautions to ensure he wouldn't get caught. Plus, there is no proof the fingerprints in question were from the Zodiac. They could have come from a number of different people (they did not get elimination prints from everyone at the scene).

As for peoople who didn't like the way the book was written, keep it mind this is not a mystery novel. Events were written in chronological order and often required additional information so the reader would understand.

I agree that some material is repeated and could have done without some of it myself. If you're interested at all in this case, the overwhelming amount of research and information is worth such a minor flaw.

Sows Ear
After seeing David Fincher's film ZODIAC I got a craving to find out more about the crimes Zodiac committed, so I ordered a copy of Zodiac Unmasked, seeing as how the screenwriters adapted this book into the script.All I can say now is, the screenwriters must be geniuses for I have never read so disorganized and badly written a true crime book and I've plowed through some doozies in my lifetime.If you've seen the movie, you've seen Jake Gyllenhaal playing Robert Graysmith, this inoffensive, innocuous mousy cartoonist who hangs out all day at the Chronicle newsroom and little by little he becomes obsessed with the case to the detriment of his home life.

It's not that cartoonists can't write good books, but I wonder how good a cartoonist Graysmith was because as a writer, he's the bottom of the barrel.Not one sentence he writes make sense.Okay, some make sense but then the problem is that whatever interest you had at the beginning of the sentence evaporates by the time he gets to the end.Part of the problem is the hugeness of his topic.Not only are there literally hundreds of suspects, very few of whom ever come alive as "characters," but there are hundreds of cops, ditto, and witnesses, ditto, all of them a huge blur, and there also seem to be hundreds of Northern California towns all of which Zodiac knew well and left terror there.

We can never get an estimate of how many crimes Zodiac committed nor how many letters he wrote.Graysmith doesn't want to say "no" to any possibility, so all of them are left flapping in the wind like the monkey's gumballs.

And yet another part of the problem is that, halfway through the events he relates, he makes the central one the publication of his first book about Zodiac, in which he identified his main suspect under a pseudonym (the man was still alive at that time), so we get hundreds of new sightings based on readers who read #1, called up Graysmith, told him they knew who he was talking about, and he was right, that man is strange.Maybe the first book was better for it wouldn't have all this patting himself on the back in it.This one is nigh unreadable.However since it was the basis for one of the best thrillers I've ever seen, I'm bumping it up a notch or two.

BOOK A+, BUT TOO LONG
I enjoyed both Graysmith/Zodiac books, but ZODIAC UNMASKED was 100 PAGES TOO LONG.Plus much of the info was repeated 2-4 times.I was almost expecting a test at the end!

Not as good as it should have been
Author too long winded. I love true crime, but this book just couldn't hold my attention.

chopping, uninteresting, self-promoting
This is an awful book is myriad ways, but I'll try to mention the very worst aspects. Graysmith's style was choppy and very hard to follow. he frequently refers to events with no context at all and in random order - unless you have committed the entire Zodiac case to memory (and he seems to assumeeveryone has), you will be as lost as I was. The direct quotes are often difficult to make sense of, as is of course typical when quotes are taken out of full conversations, but a good writer provides elaborating text; Graysmith never bothers. The date format Graysmith imposes is probably intended to give some kind of structure to what really seems to be a bunch of random notes, but it doesn't work at allas he still jumps forward and backward in time and the dates don't seem to be related to anything in particular.

Graysmith's case for Allen as the Zodiac seems no more compelling than the cases for other suspects, and the fact that there was no DNA match, no fingerprint match, and no handwriting match make it clear his whole theory is pure speculation. If Allen hadn't been a pedophile you'd feel sorry for the guy. Whe middle of the book contains constant references to Graysmith's book "Zodiac" and how it was used as a "bible" by police, whom he states bought enormous numbers of copies to learn from, and how "Zodiac" was so wonderfully helpful to a wide variety of people. He also makes several statements such as "had there ever been a greater mystery?" and calls the unresolved hunt for Zodiac "one of the greatest mysteries of all time." Is he kidding? My only remembrance of the Zodiac was because of some old Clint Eastwood movie. If I were to rank eternal mysteries, Zodiac wouldn't even make the list. Graysmith seems to be so obsessed with this topic that he thinks the whole world revolves around it. Move on already. ... Read more

Book Description
Who you should flirt with, who you should marry, and whoyou should avoid!

Stella Hyde urges readers to take no notice of any of those cozycompatibility charts found in magazines. No one is actually compatible withanyone else; we just all get swept away by lust or, deafened by thethrash-metal tick of the biological clock, shut down all criticalfacilities.

Part 1 of Darkside Zodiac in Love is "I'm Your Venus," which isall about the planet of L.O.V.E. and Libra and Taurus--the signs it rulesdirectly--and the havoc they can play in our lives. Part 2 shows how lovehurts all the way around the zodiac. It identifies the cheaters, describeshow members of each sign conduct themselves on dates and perform in bed,and provides compatibility charts and blind-date guides.

Darkside Zodiac in Love will help readers take a cold, hard lookat all the shabby tricks, manipulations, lies, and cruel intentions eachsun sign tries to hide. It won't mend a broken heart, but it will tellreaders who they are compatible with and who is likely to murder them intheir sleep! It also tells readers what conniving, two-timing, icy-heartedlittle love rats they really are, but then nothing comes for free, doesit?!

* Snarky, snarky--we all take love too seriously and astrology notseriously enough. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

i've read so many better books
this book has many over exagerated negative views of every sign. for the most part most of these reviews are completely inaccurate. i have read many better books that may not be the negative points of each sign but have been quite accurate on their analysis. i don't recommend this book for anyone. i only have this book because i recieved it as a gift.

okay but not my favorite
this book was okay but it was sort of random in some ways to me. some of the comments seemed sort of esoteric. i didn't find the comments to be as accurate for my sign so that sort of made me feel a little less excited about this one. check out the sample pages to see if it's for you.

Follows suit!
This book is just like all the other darkside zodiac books, hilarous and all too true! ... Read more

Amazon.com
Believe it or not, some readers find Zodiac even more fun than Neal Stephenson's defining 1990s cyberpunk novel, Snow Crash. Zodiac is set in Boston, and hero Sangamon Taylor (S. T.) ironically describes his hilarious exploits in the first person. S. T. is a modern superhero, a self-proclaimed Toxic Spiderman. With stealth, spunk, and the backing of GEE (a non-profit environmental group) as his weapons, S. T. chases down the bad guys with James Bond-like Zen.

Cruising Boston Harbor with lab tests and scuba gear, S. T. rides in with the ecosystem cavalry on his 40-horsepower Zodiac raft. His job of tracking down poisonous runoff and embarrassing the powerful corporations who caused them becomes more sticky than usual; run-ins with a gang of satanic rock fans, a deranged geneticist, and a mysterious PCB contamination that may or may not be man-made--plus a falling-out with his competent ("I adore stress") girlfriend--all complicate his mission.

Stephenson/S. T.'s irreverent, facetious, esprit-filled voice make this near-future tale a joy to read.Book Description

Customer Reviews (89)

interesting yarn
My take: this was early in NS's development as a writer. It shows. The writer that he has developed into would do a much better job.

But the premise is very interesting. An 'analytical chemist(?!?!)' as the hero (okay, I'm an analytical chemist, one of the few, the proud, and this may be the first fiction book I've ever read with one as the hero...) sets it apart a bit. Obviously the science in parts is a bit sophomoric. But in places it shines. In cases the characterization of different people are good. And the setting of Boston makes it interesting. The twists and turns will keep you turning the pages.
It's just at times the writing is way too earnest, way too explicative. Not to complain too much. My writing is often earnest and explicative as well. But then again, I am not much of a writer, except for science journal reports (and I am sure those aren't generally page-turners for the general public). It's just not to the level of his later stuff, Cryptomonicon, and the Baroque Cycle. I'd like to see a rewrite in his hands, actually. Of course it would turn into an 800 pager, probably, if not a 3000 page trilogy.

At any rate, its in my wife's stack of to-be-read now, and she is neither as critical as me generally, nor taking an analytical chemists view of the analytical chemist hero, so perhaps she'll give it a better review.

A deviation from the standard stephenson menu.
Gideon's Fall: When You Dont Have a Prayer, Only a Miracle Will Do This novel was a light fun read. Much different than snow crash or diamond age. It will resonant any who came to age in the early eighties. In fact, it made me go out and purchase a zodiac....think of that.

Entertaining early Stephenson with a still-relevant message
Sangamon Taylor (ST) never has to worry about his job getting boring. He spends his life going after the companies that are dumping toxic chemicals into the water supply around Boston--and companies have been using Boston's harbor for waste disposal for centuries. Things get weird, though, when he discovers a huge concentration of an especially dangerous chemical, only to find that the entire seabed floor has been cleaned of it a couple of days later. There's no way an army of deep-sea scrubbers went down and cleaned things up, so what is going on.

ST might have had a chance to find the truth, but he's set up by executives from one of the dumping companies, framed as a terrorist, and sent on the run. That he happens to injest some of the poisons from the water he was investigating makes him that much slower to react. Still, when he finally learns the truth, he realizes that the potential for real disaster is even more dramatic than he had imagined.

ZODIAC is an early work by author Neal Stephenson and it lacks some of the richness of say, THE DIAMOND AGE. Still, Stephenson does an excellent job combining the adventure, science, and weird characters that are trademarks of his work. ST is an engaging protagonist. With a moral code that is more flexible than most, but that keeps the focus on the big things, ST keeps going no matter what the corporations throw at him.

We've come a long way in our ecological awareness since 1988 when this book was first published. Unfortunately, the corporate denial machines, the public's unwillingness to listen until they can no longer ignore the obvious, and the economic disaster that results from allowing public airways and waterways to be used for waste disposal without cost, linger on two decades after this novel was written.

thought provoking
Zodiac is a good read, but more importantly, altered my views on corporate ethics and responsibility.

Opposition
This is an energetic work of genre fiction telling the story of an attempted cover-up of massive pollution in Boston Harbor.One is reminded of the Dukakis campaign.Boston as a setting for an ecological crime novel works splendidly.Sangamon Taylor works for an environmental advocacy group.Admirers refer to him as the granola James Bond.The Zodiac of the title is an inflatable boat.

Lobsters show bioconcenration.Lobsters are important in ascertaining the cleanliness of Boston Harbor.No chemical crime is perfect.There are inputs and outputs and it is hard to make the outputs disappear.Pollution in the sea is an example of the tragedy of the commons.Common property is used to the maximum point and no one wants to clean it up.

The motivation for Sangamon Taylor's work is that his mother died of cancer.A near genius, he has always had trouble with authority.His time at Boston University was rocky.The MO of the miscreants comes down to poisoning the harbor, killing the PCBs with bugs, blowing up the evidence with bombs, and blaming the whole debacle on nameless eco-terrorists.

My review fails to reflect the sophisticated science underpinning this yarn. ... Read more

Book Description
To stop the army of Hades, Athena's Knights have unleashed forces beyond even their control. Hit by two cosmic blows of the forbidden Athena Exclamation, Sanctuary itself begins to crumble. But the battle has only just begun. In a desperate gambit, Seiya and his fellow Bronze Knights prepare to descend into the underworld and challenge Hades face to face. But Princess Sienna has a shocking plan of her own. To save the world from Hades, will she make the ultimate sacrifice? Or will she live to lead the Knights to a new level of power--the power of the legendary eighth sense?

... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

not the best translation, but still Saint Seiya
This is a great Manga!!! Anyone who likes saint seiya should definitely give it a look. There are some bad translations, and its up to you if you can stomach the many changes.
Saints have been changed to Knights (which isnt really a big deal because its the same in the other countries)
Saori's name has been changed to princess sienna(princess???)
Cygnus has been changed to swan
jabu has been changed to jab the unicorn
Mitsumasa Kiddo has been changed to lord Nobu
cosmo has been changed to universe (although they occasionally slip up and say cosmo)

At first the new names feel like knives piercing your eyes, but it wont bother you that much, the great story and artwork is intact. So I definitely reccomend this book, but if you cant stomach the translations I think you should either buy a different language version or the great saint seiya dvds by adv.

translation - C
The translation is good but the name changes are a definite negative, fortunately the comic only adopts the name changes from its cartoon network cousin...You wont find any saints, err knights saying dude here!
Artwork - B+
The artwork is crisp and I like the style Kurumada uses. Youll definitely see some eyecandy. I detracted some points for the crazy cloth desings.
Story - B
the plot moves a little slow but slowly start to pick up.

overall - B-
I reccomend

story is beginning to move again
I consider the second book as a filler between 1 and 3. This is where the story gets picked up. One of the central character is introduced, and the real conflict begins.

characters introduced...not much else.
The book 2 is used to introduce three more important characters to the story. There are lots of action, but not much else. It's not essential that you get this book to understand future books because there wasn't any new development in the story.

Quit Whining
Look, it's great that you know how to read Japanese or read the Spanish version, but most of us don't or didn't. Masami Kurumada is one of the very best and most creative story teller there is. I don't think the essence of his story is getting lost. Some existential topics like what it means to be a being in the universe and relationship between cosmos and self is discussed, but never in a boring way (Marin crushes a rock to illustrate this point). It's a fantastic book, and it sets up a greater story line.
My Japanese friend used to tell me about this book, and I'm so glad to finally have something I can read. If you are intested in getting a great book that's fun and exciting; pick this up.

Killing a Classic
Saint Seiya is a great Anime and Manga but there killing it when they brought it to the US why is it so poorly translated? they need to get some new people working for them. I wonder if Massami Kurumada knows how bad there tranlations are. Mexico did a better job of translation i'm glad i know spanish so i won't have to suffer the poor voice overs and translations. ... Read more

Product Description
Race long with Rat, Monkey, Dragon, and their companions while discovering the origin of the Chinese Zodiac. This bright and colorful book includes intriguing notes about the Chinese calendar, the festivals, and the animal that rules each year. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Fun Book
Cute story about the Chinese Zodiac and why the cat is not in the calendar.Fun illustations.My daughter who is 5, enjoys this book.

A picturebook retelling of an ancient Chinese legend
The Great Race: The Story of the Chinese Zodiac is a picturebook retelling of an ancient Chinese legend of how their annual calendar came to be. The Jade Emperor decreed a grand race between the animals to determine the order of the years. Thirteen animals raced, but the rat, eager to be first, tricked the unfortunate cat into missing the finish line completely - as a result, the rat and the cat remain worst enemies to this very day! Playful color illustrations by Anne Wilson add an enthusiastic touch to this adventurous narrative, rounded out with fun facts about the Chinese calendar and Chinese astrology.

Good Intro to Chinese Horoscope
I purchased this boook for use in a Third grade unit on China.I ended up using it with my Kindergarten and First grade social studies classes as well.It's a little wordy in parts for the very young children but can be easily abridged without losing the context of the story. ... Read more

Book Description
A Stimulating, Detailed Look at Astrology's Twelve Signs ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Top notch
This book is well written, thoughtful, and informative.The author fleshes out the meanings of the twelve zodiacal signs and discusses their interrelationships.I read a lot of books on astrology and this one stands out for the clarity and enjoyableness of its writing.I would highly recommend it to beginners as well as advanced students.It is a model for how to present the horoscope symbols to those unfamiliar with astrology.My only regret is that I did not write it myself.

A Top-Notch Book on Sign Combinations
Bil Tierney's latest book offers something seldom found in others: information about sign-to-sign detailed descriptions about sign pairings, like Taurus with Sagittarius, or Leo with Virgo.Yet such hard-to-find astrological material is here explained in ways that shed additional light on the qualities of both signs involved.

All Around the Zodiac is written in a clear and enjoyable style, and is loaded with insightful ideas.It is NOT a Sun-sign book, although parts of it could be used as such.The general influence of a sign on a house cusp (i.e., our "Leo" house) is discussed, along with samples of how natal planets may behave in every sign.I appreciated the author's effort to compare and contrast each sign with its ruling planet.

The introductory chapters on elements and modes are very informative.Each sign's main themes are also described, often in humorous, but thought-provoking ways.I feel this book is a major contribution to better understanding every sign's motivation.It's a practical, down-to-earth resource that should be read from cover to cover (rather than just for the parts that only apply to one's chart).Check it out, and get ready to learn a lot from a pro who apparently has been at it for a long time.

Excelent Astology Book!
This book was wonderful!It gave great detalis about astrology without it being in the Zoidac/Astrolgical lanuge.It's easy for any one to understand.For beginers or older students of the craft alike.

Something for Everyone
Finally a book about astrology that doesn't turn the topic into pablum. None of those misguided proclamations like, "Sagittarius, honey, you will NEVER get along with a Taurus!"
I have a large library of astrology books, and this one is a welcome addition. It has that rare blend of in-depth information that will interest people who have studied astrology for years, but it is written in such a readable, accessible way that even novices will enjoy it. Tierney provides material that will benefit professional astrologers when they interpret charts, while it will also give lay readers lots of insight into what makes them tick.
The first section on sun signs goes much deeper than your usual sun sign descriptions in popular books, which often skim the surface. Tierney gives a rich description of each sign's abstract
essence, its archetypal aspects. As Tierney says, "Signs are as profound in their meaning as our self-awareness allows, yet they're also as superficial as our own ignorance permits." I had some real "ah-ha" moments reading this section; it truly helped me gain a fresh perspective on some of my unconscious tendencies.
The book's second section, which addresses how signs interact with one another, shed even more light on my inner self, especially some of the conflicts that rage within me when I'm making decisions (the mundane and important ones). Instead of just using this section to compare two people with different signs, you can also read it to learn how your sun sign relates with your moon, how it relates with your ascendant, and how your moon and ascendant interact. In this way, Tierney provides us with yet another tool to understand our psyche's workings---why we sometimes feel in sync with our actions and at other times like there's a tug of war going on within us. But for readers who aren't into introspection, this section is just as illuminating in terms of doing chart comparisons.
In the last sections of the book, Tierney enables us to dig even deeper by discussing the influence of planets in signs, as well as how signs on house cusps color our attitudes. So the insignts go on!
I love the author's way with words -- his wit and humor -- but most of all his clear explanations of "things astrological" that I've been confused about for years. I also like the way you can use this book on different levels; after I applied the information to my own chart I began using it to better understand my family and close friends.
This is one book that's going to be on my Christmas "give list" for sure. Without reservation (or inner conflict) I highly recommend it!

What You've Always Wanted to Know About the Zodiac
This is a book that is guaranteed to become a classic because it brings a provactive & thoughtful view of the ancient zodiac into modern usage and interpretation. Whether you are a long-time professional or a student just starting out, you are presented with a living picture of the zodiac - the circle of animals - in such an informative manner, it's hard to put down. This is not a cookbook text, but a masterful presentation by one of the finest astrologers in the world. What I personally liked best is that the material is laid before you so each thing flows effortlessly into the next. And the author saves the very best to the last! I'm recommending this book to my students and colleagues because when I spot a winnner, I've got to share! This is a great book I anticipate reading more than once just for the fun of it! ... Read more

Book Description

Equal parts Light and Shadow, Joanna Archer must fulfill a destiny she never wanted. Once a photographer and heiress to a casino fortune, she is now dedicated to the cause of good . . . but susceptible to the seductions of evil.

Customer Reviews (30)

Quite an enjoyable read!
I just loved the "different" feel of this book... I found myself surprised by several twists and turns along the way... not just an old predictable read.I couldn't put it down!

A potato chip book...
This series so far is like junk food. It's not really filling, but you can't help yourself from coming back for more. In this book we see Joanna do more of what she does best: mope, brood, get angry, & generally not be a team player. It would get annoying, except it is so much fun to watch her act this way & all things considering, it's not entirely unreasonable for her to act this way. However, the one complaint I do have is that there has been no development in Joanna's maturity level. I do understand that it takes time to win over people (especially when they start off disliking her), but she doesn't seem to really understand the whole teamwork thing. Still, that is a huge plot point in the book that propels the events in the end of the book, so I guess we should just trust Pettersson to keep up the good work. Each book of hers gets better than the last one & I'm looking forward to the next book.

Edgy and Surprising
Well I fell in love with the idea, it so could be happening on some realm.The second was still struggles for our heroine and yet satisfaction and anxiety at whats to come next. I know that I like a book when I get frustrated and am yelling at the characters and then when its over I can't get the next one for months!!

These two books I have read and would recommend to anyone who has an interest in the supras of the world, old and new.One thing I really cant wrap my head around.. is the way she had to take the body of her dead sister and become her.Im waiting to see the action between her and the evil chick that took her boyfriend before all this happened and what about the baby???

OH dont make my heart wait.. well too long anyway.Oh and what about some payback for her newly found out not dad?The plots thicken and I'm ready.

Enjoyable Sequal
This is a perfect continuation of The Archer Saga.I found myself glued to my couch, transfixed, and in the end - transformed.I recommend this highly, and hope you enjoy it as much as I did too.

Joanna too unsympathetic. Not as good as the first.
_The Taste of Night_ begins a few months after _The Scent of Shadows_ ended, at a charity date auction where Joanna, masquerading as Olivia, meets a man who gloats that he's uncovered Joanna's secret identity. A fierce battle ensues, breaking the tenuous truce between Light and Shadow, and Joanna also meets a mysterious young Shadow initiate who may be an unlikely ally, or a secret enemy.

I'm really beginning to get a headache trying to keep track of who knows what information about Joanna's identity. Let me see if I've got this straight: The Shadows know the Archer is Joanna, but most of them don't know she's going around as Olivia now. Meanwhile, the heroes of Light know the Olivia identity, but most of them don't realize it's really Joanna. (Despite the fact that the comics call her Joanna.) I can't believe any superhero or supervillain worth his or her salt could miss these connections. It seems way too obvious. As poignant as the Joanna-as-Olivia plotline was in _Scent of Shadows_, it may be time for Joanna to take on a new persona now, because it suspends disbelief to the breaking point that Joanna's identity continues to be a "secret."

Anyway, Joanna's new Shadow acquaintance tips Joanna off to a diabolical plot being hatched by the villains, but Joanna can't figure out how to tell her own troop about it without revealing her illicit battle or her even-more-illicit chat with the Shadow agent.

I began to lose a lot of sympathy for Joanna in this book. Her silence was costly, and her singleminded obsession with her rapist, Joaquin, caused her to lose both common sense and any team spirit she might have had. ("We might have needed you!" complains Warren when Joanna dropped off the radar for a while. "I was safe," is Joanna's only response. Not a thought for anyone else.) She always had an acid tongue, and it gets worse here. I cheered Tekla when she told Joanna not to use her Shadow side as an excuse to be a jerk. Throughout _The Taste of Night_, Joanna shows an selfish, immature streak a mile wide. Hunter, too, displays behavior more appropriate to a high school student than to a grown man.

Might I also add that getting the "aureole" is starting to seem too easy? It was presented in _Scent of Shadows_ as an unusual event. Now it seems like Joanna gets it way too often.

Hopefully, the unsympathetic Joanna is on her way out and a newer, more mature one in the making. The events at the end of the novel show that she is beginning to consider her actions a bit more, to think of others, and to embrace goals other than revenge. I'll be waiting for the third book, and hoping. ... Read more

Book Description
Ever wonder why the sales department never gets along with theaccounting department? Or why some people always get a raise even thoughyou deserve one more? It's because of their sun signs! This self-evidentfact eludes know-it-all management, which explains why HR departments (aLibran invention) are always putting teams of incompatible astrologicalenemies together merely on the grounds that they all have HarvardMBAs--then they scratch their heads in wonder when the company goes intofreefall.

Readers will find out who goes with whom in office romances (do wereally need to ask what the Aries and the Scorpio are doing in that broomcloset?), why Leos are never late for work and Aquarians usually are, whyyou should beware of the Gemini's explanation for missing a deadline (mostlikely a lie), why Virgos color-code their erasers, or why Scorpios despiseCapricorns (duh, that is so obvious since Caps think they should be thenext V.P. in Charge of Everything).

Darkside Zodiac at Work is the book for anyone who wants to findout how the rest of the zodiac intends to rig the market, move theircheese, steal their thunder, rain on their parade, sabotage their businessplan, and generally ruin their workday (and how they can do it right back)then this is the book for them! They can always tell their boss it camefree with the latest subscription to Forbes.

* The book identifies the zodiac's bosses, sticklers, mavericks, andslackers.

* Wince-causing resumes for each sun sign.

* At-a-glance career charts (for readers who'd like to think theyhave a career, that is). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Intriguing Book on Astrology in the Workplace
This is an enjoyable sequel to Stella Hyde's Darkside Zodiac that shows how you can use astrology at work for fun and profit, but mainly for fun.
This is especially true for personal career management and it is here that this book offers a great many insights for workers.

At its heart, this is a handy reference work.It covers all kinds of "natural born" workers ranging from bosses to middle management to slackers and various points in between.

Perhaps the section that is both the most amusing and the most helpful is the instant career selector that begins on page 182.This is based on the various and sundry astrological birth signs such as Aquarius.The career choices include both legal options such as being a poet and also illegal options such as being a stalker.

Unlike most sequels, this book is every bit as enjoyable and useful as the original work.

If You Don't Read This Review (and Cast a Helpful Vote), I Will Nuke Your Psyche (Per This Book)
"Most of us spend most of our lives at work, and what help do we get to survive?...accurate information is the key to success, so here is the skinny on what your work colleagues are really like, according to their Sun sign, so that you can defend yourself, attack their weak points, and predict their strategies." - From the book

I was pretty hard on Stella Hyde's first book Darkside Zodiac (can I use "been hangin' out with Brightsider New Agers too long" as an excuse?), but the gloriously inventive cover of her newest book, Darkside Zodiac at Work, seduced me into taking another look at her blistering observations on the 12 Sun Signs.

Frankly, I'm thrilled that I did!

Whether I'm won over to the Darkside is still uncertain, but being a quadruple Scorpio--perhaps it's inevitable that I join the sewers with Ms. Hyde.

All joking aside, the glossy, colorful Darkside Zodiac at Work offers intelligent, albeit over-the-top, roastings of everyone from Ram to Goat. It's a thorough manual on everything from workaholic tendencies to office politics, brown-nose index to watercooler moments. Office romances are given their due, as are dream jobs, employability, workstation preferences, the daily grind, role models and conflict resolutions solutions (i.e. backstabbing).

Solid knowledge of astrology underpins the author's remarks as readers are taken on a rousing ride through Qualities, Elements and Opposites, as well as the three planetary board members and how each affects the workplace: Saturn, the boss; Mars, the CEO; and Mercury, the communications strategist.

Here are some of the snarky--and hilarious-- observations served up by Ms. Hyde:

* (On Aries' cheapest trick): "You are not one for complicated, cerebral, bitchy scams involving e-mails or IT; slapstick and old-school practical jokes are what you do best, and no one can stop you. Covering a grouchy colleague's cubicle with sticky notes, gluing all the mice to their mousemats, filling the watercooler with fake blood..."

* (On the Cancer workstation): "Bosses like you because you work hard and your Eeyore-ish presence prevents any outbreak of joie de vivre in cubicleland, but don't understand your complete inability to hit a deadline when it's standing right in front of you (you're afraid of angering the gods by trying to appear in any way in control of your gloomy little corner of the universe.)"

* (On Libra's dream job of Spin Doctor): "It's the old straw-into-gold boffo. Take any piece of info--especially the dull or damaging kind--and spin it into a web of silken verbiage until it gleams. You can do this in your sleep, which is your work mode of choice, after all."

* (On Capricorn's employability): "How employable are you? Boringly so. Goats will eat anything--and you will do any job--as long as it has a large enough workforce for you to feel self-important; a complicated hierarchy of advancement that saps everyone's will to live; and a proper name badge..."

And yes, even her treatment of my Sun Sign (Scorpio) is spot on (and funny). On Scorpio as Leader, Follower, Passenger and Grunt, she writes:

"Not really leader, more like Supreme Being, because people follow you whether you want them to or not, although you despise them for being so easily led. You'll only be a follower if it is more politically sound to be the invisible adviser to a puppet leader (usually Libra), but despise them for letting themselves be used. When in dumpster mode, you'll allow others to carry you as a passenger in return to your searing insights into the human condition, but despise them for being so slavish. You last three months as a grunt, through sheer willpower."

Honestly, the first thing I thought before I opened up Darkside Zodiac at Work was "If she doesn't say that Scorpios should be in business for themselves, I won't be able to take her seriously" (despite the nifty book cover). I haven't worked for someone for, gosh, over a decade! And I cannot--will not--see myself EVER working for anyone again!

So is Ms. Hyde's answer to the question "How employable are you?" for Scorpios?

"Not at all. Ruthless but cowardly bosses who hire you as the office Doberman soon regret it when you turn on them...Self-employment is the Only Way: you have to be able to respect the boss, after all..."

Ah, the sweet smell of autocracy! *wink*

Really, though, I learned quite a few things about working with colleagues on joint ventures by reading Darkside Zodiac at Work, and was laughing out loud when I saw family members, friends and, yes, myself in this book! If you're a low-level Scorpio (unlike myself--I like to think of myself as a high-flyin' Phoenix--the evolved I'm-above-revenge eagle facet of deep, mysterious, psychic Scorpio), you'll treasure all the ways to undermine, intimidate, hunt and crush your opponents.

You know I'm kidding, right? About the last part? (Oh yuck. Mars in Libra coming out. Sorry!)

Seriously, though, Darkside Zodiac at Work is eminently clever, but ruthlessly sarcastic. If you want feel-good Astrology, well, you'll have to look elsewhere. But if you enjoy delving into the secrets of the mind, crave a belly laugh, or perhaps need an unusual gift for a friend or special someone, this book may very well be what you're looking for. It would make a great book for the office break room, in fact (but only if there's intelligent life in your work universe)! ... Read more

Book Description
California was thrown into a paralysis of fear in 1969, distraught over the unsolved murders of the Zodiac killer. The Zodiac became the most elusive and frustrating adversary ever encountered by the law enforcement community in the San Francisco Bay Area. A series of letters, allegedly written by the murderer himself and published in local newspapers, only added to the mystery and panic. Over 30 years after he exploded onto the headlines of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Zodiac serial killer remains an enigma that is unparalleled in the history of crime in America, and the case remains unsolved. Violence expert Michael Kelleher and psychologist David Van Nuys attempt to provide a glimpse into the mind of this mysterious murderer. Kelleher and Van Nuys reconstruct the crime scenes, delve into the records, and psychoanalyze the Zodiac's letters to newspapers and the law enforcement agencies. The facts of the case and the fragmentary glimpses of the Zodiac's psychodynamics that came through his letters forced the authors, reluctantly, to draw a conclusion that is sure to be controversial-namely, that the Zodiac suffered from multiple personality disorder. They also debunk many popular legends and myths about the case, laying out the limited facts that we do have on the notorious Zodiac. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (33)

Analysis Paralysis
This is a fine book for those who know nothing about the Zodiac case. It presents only the most "accepted," "dispute-proof" evidence. In that regard, it is the polar opposite of the Graysmith books, which often contain "facts" from a large array of sources, not all of them reliable.

But does that make it a good Zodiac book, one that gives us possible insight into the true identity of this most notorious killer? Ah, no. In fact, it does just the opposite. It obscures the truth, rather than attempting to shed any light on it.

It's approach is classic criminal-profiler textbook murder-by-numbers. Data is compiled and analyzed, but drawing conclusions seems to be much too much of a stretch. Perhaps the authors fear reprisals. Perhaps they don't want to be wrong. For as much criticism as Graysmith has, at times, earned, he at least takes a stand and states an opinion based on what he has compiled. These guys don't take a stand on anything. If it doesn't follow their profiler recipe, they're lost.

And such is the Zodiac case.... disjointed, fracutured, plagued by rumors, apparent coincidences, and theories. And never solved.

Profiling may be a very effective tool for the top percentile of seriel killers, but Zodiac broke patterns in a very consistent way, even within his string of "claimable murders" in '68 and '69. When another murder or event comes close to fitting these patterns in many such cases, it's immediately dismissed by Kelleher and Van Nuys as "not fitting the pattern," yet they argue tirelessly that an incident such as the Kathleen Johns case (which many dispute the validity of) is somehow worthy of inclusion. That David Fincher took Kelleher's word for it and included it in the film version takes the story into bad made-for-TV movie hubris for the scant minutes we suffer through it.

The Bates killing, where the handwriting was positively ID'd as Zodiac's, and contained numerous other similarities to the Ferrin case; The Domingo-Edwards slaying back in 1963; and even the Santa Rosa hitch-hiker murders in the early '70s contain more similarities to Z than the Johns case. Yet this is intelligent detective work? To ignore all possible clues except that which fit your own preordained rigid template based on the psychoanalysis of the Z letters' text by an author who admits that, prior to doing the analysis, that he knew NOTHING OF THE CASE WHATSOEVER!???!!!!

Oh, and let's not forget that one sentence on the man many believe to be the prime suspect, the man who had reams of circumstantial evidence littered around him, who can be placed near the scenes of nearly every Zodiac crime (confirmed and speculated about) --- Leigh Allen. Yes, much of the evidence is circumstantial, but how much evidence do you ignore until you begin to cast some serious, reasonable doubts?

A truly intelligent sociopath, while rare, can sometimes outsmart the police, at times merely by playing to their own weaknesses. And the profilers, like Kelleher and Van Nuys, fit the description of Zodiac's dupes very well. They seem to fall back on cliches such as "let the evidence fit the suspect" so often that they end up drowning in their own paralysis. One approach does not a well-rounded investigation make, whether you are dealing in psychiatry or criminology. Would you go to a doctor who only diagnosed you based on physical symptoms?

If nothing else, these near-sighted investigators have an iron clad alibi on why the case was never solved. Their approach provides them with the ultimate excuse for their own inepititude. After all, it's easy to do a job you never have to finish.

Probably the best book about the Zodiac Killer
Flowing prose and a penchant for sticking to the established facts make this book a must for anyone interested in the Zodiac.DEFINATELY read it if you think that the recent film ("Zodiac") is some type of definitive presentation of the what really happened in this truly remarkable case.

"This is the Zodiac speaking"
Michael Kellehers book on the Zodiac killer is well worth the time and effort and money to obtain and read!
Having researched the Zodiac case since 1987(zodiacmurders.com) I would say his book is a crisp tight narrative that fully lays out the case with exactness as he makes the story interesting while giving the reader a multi-faceted view into all aspects of the killers mind and criminal activities.
Many have related they just 'couldn't put it down' until they read the entire book!
One correction I would like to make- while STILL focusing on this fine work-is that it says Bill Nelson wrote a book on the possible connection of the Zodiac to Charles Manson and some of his associate/s.Only a small portion of the book presents this link.The majority of the content in Nelsons (now out of print) book, is about the Manson Family.It is my book ,The Zodiac Manson Connection, that has, as its MAIN theme,a possible link to the Manson Family.
Get Kellehers book is all I can say-a must for the true crime buff and members of law enforcement!

BUYTHISZODIACBOOK
Look no further, this is the Zodiac book that is worth your investment of money and time. Simply excellent, both factually and as entertainment.

the zodiac speaks!
This is in my opinion slightly better than Robert Graysmith's Zodiac but it does get bogged down with the information of the analysis of the letters.However, this book discounts a few theories about the Zodiac.It denies that Zodiac was a brilliant killer. It denies that Zodiac intentionally created a Z around the city when he did his crimes, the author stating it was more a connect-the-dots connection that was weak by any stretch of the imagination.Another popular theory was that Zodiac onlykilled near water. This book discounts that theory too, saying that San Francisco is surrounded by water on three sides.Yet another speculation was that Zodiac was brilliant in eluding the authorities when there was evidence to the contrary. Two policemen stopped him after he killed Paul Stine, a taxi driver, and if it wasn't for a wrong description about the killer (the description was of a black man) Zodiac would have been apprehended.There is more speculation about that too, that Zodiac would not have been so easily arrested; he would have put up a fight.
I also think that the suspect in Graysmith's Zodiac Unmasked was not Zodiac because he was cleared through finger-printing. Zodiac had sloppily left two partial finger-prints on a taxi after he killed Paul Stine.
This book does more of a psychological profile than Zodiac and much of it made sense, I think the author got it right about the Zodiac.
The author, Kelleher, and David Van Nuys, Chair of the Psychology Department in a Northern Californian University, differ occasionally in their opinions about the Zodiac, but mostly agree.
Van Nuys claims that Zodiac had a multiple personality disorder, brought on from a childhood trauma. Van Nuys claims that possibly he was sexually abused and had a dominant father.He states that the normal well -adjusted personality didn't know what the Zodiac personality was doing and vice versa.
The book goes on to say that Zodiac, if he still was alive,he would be looking back on his crimes now and may have been horrified by them. Van Nuys claims that possibly the good personality might have won over the Zodiac personlity. Or possibly Zodiac had committed suicide or was dead as a result of age...if he was alive he would probably be in his mid sixties.
This book doesn't really come up with any good suspects although that has been done before with other books and failed to yield results. The suspects in Graysmith's book Zodiac, I believe were not Zodiac so this subsequent book doesn't go into suspects...I think it adds to the mystery.
****&a half. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Definite Buy!
This is a very good series, despite being so short. I love how the mysteries are incorporated with tidbits of astrology. It's really very interesting and engrossing. Another thing I love is the blossoming romance between Lily and Hiromi is so fun and you'll be screaming for them to get together the whole time. Lily is an astrology whiz who has just taken over her missing mother's job; Spica. Spica is a detective who uses her secret ring to call upon the spirits of each sign to help her solve the murder or mystery. The little spirits are adorable and each has a distinctive personality based on their representative sign. Throughout each book their will be author's notes telling you about the sign being investigated at the time. The mysteries themselves are varied and some (as in later in the series) can be downright frightening! This isn't a book that will scare you, however. It's a story about mystery, lost love, a missing parent, and fun. There are many funny bits to lighten the story up. The art style involves a lot of shading and screen tones. It is very detailed. This is a great series all around and I definitely recommend it!

Zodiac 4 ever
I searched everywhere for this book, and when I found it, I practicly lunged at it, and it was beyond worth it. Step into the life of the young sleuth, Lili, as she uncovers mysteries by finding the birthdates of the victims and the suspects, so she can use her mothers ring to solve the cases. I love the series; I bought all of the books within a month. Enjoy!

This series was my first and FAVORITE manga!!
I LOVE Zodiac P.I.! It's wonderfully written, with a awesome cast of characters and catchy plot! I've read all 4 of the books so many times that I accidently ripped the spine of the 4th volume...oopps.

~The Characters~
Lili (NOT Lily) Hoshizawa is a 13 yr. old astrologist on a search for her mother,Kaoruko Hoshizawa,who disappeared 2 years ago. In the meantime,she busts mysteries under the alias Spica P.I. and leaves the police, along with her own father, scratching thier heads as to who she is. She solves crimes with 2 things: the birthdate of the victim and the help of 12 zodiac spirits who give her clues and guidance from Lili's summoning of her Star Ring.
Hiromi Oikawa,however,is another story. Good-looking,yes, Hiro is also a detective(much to Mr. Hoshizawa's annoyance) and deals with the mysteries in a logical manner. At times, he's a regular pain in the behind. Hiromi is also allergic to girls, including his own sister, Megumi(whose vainity is VERY annoying..I'd like to do nothing more than kick her and Michelle/Sailor Neptune over a cliff. They're so AIR-HEADED...) I find that very funny.......poor Hiromi!!

Pretty good.
This is a good series. It's about Lili, a high-schooler who solves crimes with the help of a magical ring containing the spirits of the zodiac signs (Virgo, Scorpio, etc.), who give her clues to track down who did the crime, and how.

The art is pretty good, but not what I would call remarkable. The story is mostly meant for younger kids, so a 10-year-old would probably like it a bit more than a teenager. If you're trying to get a friend of yours interested in manga, (or want to find out about manga yourself) this is a good choice for fans of Nancey Drew and Encyclopedia Brown.

A great manga!
This manga is great! It has comedy, mystery and action. And the art is beautiful. Its too bad that there is not much on it on the web... Cause it never got turned into a tv show, and so it is not known very well :( I recommend that you buy this and introduce this to your friends, make them read it even though they might judge the book by its cover! my buddies say that they didnt like to read this because of the cover T_T! its a good manga! ... Read more

Book Description
Chinese Astrology: Exploring the Eastern Zodiac explains our "natural endowment" or "inner being"-our personality from the beginning. This 5,000-year-old art paints a remarkable picture of personality and potential using the archetypes of the 12 signs of the ancient Eastern zodiac. While each one of us possess some qualities of all 12 signs, we each have a dominant sign and birth element.Be prepared for some "ah ha!" moments as you explore this ancient art and gain insight into the characters of those you meet along life's path. You may notice interesting similarities to your friends and family, and you may never look at yourself the same way again. This is a timeless system that is as pertinent today as it was many centuries ago. In a book that will fascinate both devotees of Western astrology and those who have never even checked their horoscopes in the newspaper, you'll learn * The twelve signs of the Eastern Zodiac and what they tell you about yourself and others. * The Five Elements, and how your birth element influences your destiny.* Chinese love signs, karmic connections, and the secrets of soul mates. * Your Chinese birth hour "companion"-your other self.Shelly Wu has been called the "Dear Abby" of Chinese astrology. Her horoscope columns and feature articles have appeared in A. Magazine: Inside Asian America, The Rainbow News, Psychic Interactive, and Your Stars magazines, and featured on the Associated Press, ABC News, the BBC, and the Wireless Flash news services. Ms. Wu teaches Chinese Astrology at the Online College of Astrology and lives in the high desert of Southern California with her menagerie of pets. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Fun read
This was a fun read, but that's about it!It wasn't as technical as I wanted to be, but I enjoyed it none the less :)

This is THE BOOK on this topic!
I must respectfully disagree with the previous reviewers opinion and am wondering if he/she actually read the book? I have read the book and found it absolutely delightful! It was very enlightening and fun reading as well. In fact, the book is so above average, that it makes me seriously question whether the negative reviewer has an agenda of some kind. I thought Ms. Wu's book showed the greatest reverence for the spirit of the Tao, which is more than I can say for the mean-spirited reviewer.

No respect for real tradition
Sorry to be a wet blanket but the intro to this book is crammed with misinformation and touchy-feely, new-agey psychobabble. One has to wonder where the author got her training in classical Chinese Astrological systems, if at all. It reads like a High School paper and the spelling of the Chinese terms is totally confused.

Granted, that in itself is just nitpicking and I only mention it because it tells us something about the qualifications the author brings with her.

Is this book, as portrayed in the table of contents, just an extrapolation of the 12 animals as seen on place mats in Chinese restaurants? Those "archetypes", as described in the intro, don't even begin to scratch the surface of real Chinese Astrology.

I'm glad that a few people have enjoyed it and seem to have benefitted from it. In that respect, I give it a couple stars.

To get a glimpse into what Chinese Astrology is really all about, look up David Twicken and Derek Walters, among many others.

For a genuine understanding of Yin/Yang, Qi, Dao, etc., go look at the many fine translations of the Daodejing (Tao Te Ching) and the Yijing (I Ching). Try Eva Wong or Robert Henricks.

One point that I really want to clear up, Laozi was not a "recognized counselor and leader". Good grief. The very existence of a single author of the Daodejing (Laozi) is highly disputed, with the serious and reputable scholars coming strongly to the conclusion that, no, no such individual ever existed. There is no real record of "him", anywhere. To claim that "he" was a counselor and leader just demonstrates a level of ignorance on the subject that is almost unfathomable in this day and age when we have SO much information available to us.

Granted, there is also an abundance of misinformation out there and this book gives the impression the it goes along with that particular "flow".

In conclusion I want to stress that I'm all for anything that helps people deal with their lives better and especially if it awakens a curiosity of all things "Dao". In that respect, I'm glad that this book has been published. My wish though, is that read