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American Grace is a major achievement, a groundbreaking examination of religion in America.

Unique among nations, America is deeply religious, religiously diverse, and remarkably tolerant. But in recent decades the nation’s religious landscape has been reshaped.

America has experienced three seismic shocks, say Robert Putnam and David Campbell. In the 1960s, religious observance plummeted. Then in the 1970s and 1980s, a conservative reaction produced the rise of evangelicalism and the Religious Right. Since the 1990s, however, young people, turned off by that linkage between faith and conservative politics, have abandoned organized religion. The result has been a growing polarization—the ranks of religious conservatives and secular liberals have swelled, leaving a dwindling group of religious moderates in between. At the same time, personal interfaith ties are strengthening. Interfaith marriage has increased while religious identities have become more fluid. Putnam and Campbell show how this denser web of personal ties brings surprising interfaith tolerance, notwithstanding the so-called culture wars.

American Grace is based on two of the most comprehensive surveys ever conducted on religion and public life in America. It includes a dozen in-depth profiles of diverse congregations across the country, which illuminate how the trends described by Putnam and Campbell affect the lives of real Americans.

Nearly every chapter of American Grace contains a surprise about American religious life. Among them:

• Between one-third and one-half of all American marriages are interfaith;

• Roughly one-third of Americans have switched religions at some point in their lives;

• Young people are more opposed to abortion than their parents but more accepting of gay marriage;

• Even fervently religious Americans believe that people of other faiths can go to heaven;

• Religious Americans are better neighbors than secular Americans: more generous with their time and treasure even for secular causes—but the explanation has less to do with faith than with their communities of faith;

• Jews are the most broadly popular religious group in America today.


American Grace promises to be the most important book in decades about American religious life and an essential book for understanding our nation today.

• Sales Rank: #478479 in Books
• Published on: 2010-10-05
• Released on: 2010-10-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 9.25" h x 1.90" w x 6.12" l, 1.96 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 688 pages

From Publishers Weekly
This massive book eschews the narrow, monographic approach to sociological study in favor of an older, more useful model: the sweeping chronicle of national change over time. Harvard professor Putnam (Bowling Alone) and his University of Notre Dame coauthor Campbell (Why We Vote) argue two apparently contradictory theses persuasively: first, that a "new religious fault line" exists in America, a deep political polarization that has transcended denominationalism as the greatest chasm in religious life; and second, that the culture (especially its younger generation) is becoming so much more accepting of diversity that thesis #1 will not tear America apart. The bulk of the book explores in detail cultural developments--the boom of evangelicals in the 1970s and 1980s, largely concluded in the early 1990s; the rise of feminism in the pews; the liberalization of attitudes about premarital sex and homosexuality, especially among the youngest generations; and what may prove to be the most seismic shift of all: the dramatic increase of "nones," or people claiming no institutional religious affiliation. Putnam and Campbell (with their researcher, Garrett) have done the public a great service in not only producing their own mammoth survey of American religion but also drawing from many prior statistical studies, enabling readers to track mostly gradual change over time. (Oct. 5) (c)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* In recent controversy over the national motto, In God we trust, Putnam and Campbell see a symptom of profound change in the national character. Using data drawn from two large surveys, the authors plumb these changes. The data show that the tempestuous sixties shook faith in religion and that the seventies and eighties incubated a strong resurgence of devotion. But the two most recent decades add another twist, as young Americans have abandoned the pews in record numbers. Still, despite recent erosion of religious commitment, Americans remain a distinctively devout people. And devotion affects life far from the sanctuary: Putnam and Campbell parse numbers that identify religious Americans as more generous, more civically engaged, and more neighborly than their secularly minded peers. But the analysis most likely to stir debate illuminates how religion has increasingly separated Republicans from Democrats, conservatives from progressives. Readers may blame the Christian Right for this new cultural fissure, but survey statistics mark liberal congregations as the most politicized. But whether looking at politics or piety, the authors complement their statistical analysis with colorful vignettes, humanizing their numbers with episodes from the lives of individual Protestants and Catholics, Jews and Mormons. An essential resource for anyone trying to understand twenty-first-century America. --Bryce Christensen

Review
“American Grace is a monumental work, an elegant narrative built on a solid foundation of massive research. This surprising, absolutely fascinating, and ultimately uplifting portrait of the changing role of religion in American life deserves the widest possible audience. It is a triumph.”

—Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

“Religion is perhaps the most significant but little understood force in American life, and this new book goes a long way toward illuminating how faith affects our politics and our culture. Robert Putnam and David Campbell have produced an original and thought-provoking work.”

—Jon Meacham, author of American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation

“Perhaps the most sweeping look yet at contemporary American religion.”

—Michelle Boorstein, The Washington Post

“American Grace is an instant canonical text. It is indispensable for any grasp of our pluralistic religious culture. And it inspires us to deepen our ecumenical democracy!”

—Cornel West, Center for African American Studies, Princeton University

“This remarkable book does to religion what the Kinsey Report did to sex: document , dissect and assess the role religion—broadly defined to include disbelief and uncertainty—plays in our national experience. Whether you are a fundamentalist or atheist (or anything in-between) this book matters, because religion matters.”

—Alan Dershowitz, author of The Genesis Of Justice and The Trials Of Zion

“In American Grace, Robert Putnam and David Campbell analyze survey data and congregational profiles to give us a comprehensive look at religion in our country, and reach conclusions that will provide much thought for reflection. For those interested in the role of religion in society, this is an important book to read. It will be the topic of much discussion.”

—Jim Wallis, President of Sojourners and author of God's Politics and Rediscovering Values

“For anyone interested in the role of religion in America’s civic life, Robert Putnam and David Campbell’s American Grace is a must read. I am confident that their findings from rich case studies and sophisticated analysis of original national surveys will be of great value to academics, politicians, community organizers, religious and non-religious leaders, and American citizens who wonder about why and how religion continues to matter so much in American civic and private life.”

—Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, CSC, President Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame

“This is the best overview of American religion in the last half century that I have ever read. If you care about American religion, you must read this book.”

—Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, President, Union for Reform Judaism

“A big, multifaceted work. . . . Intellectually powerful.”

—Robert Wright, New York Times Book Review

Most helpful customer reviews

182 of 189 people found the following review helpful.
An Extraordinary and Unique Achievement - Read It !!!!!
By Richard of Connecticut
I for one was blown away by the contents of this book. Once I started reading, I found it difficult to put down and fascinating. I am now convinced that we are all walking around with presuppositions about religion and religious beliefs in America that are just plain wrong. Think about it. You're a smart, educated, well-read adult. You try to keep an open mind throughout your life, and then along comes this 550 page book and smacks you, and your belief systems right in the face. Everything I thought about our country's religious status is now subject to re-interpretation. Here's why:

The authors did very substantial research, over a period of years. It was painstaking, and brutally honest. They approach this project the way you would do a massive pharmaceutical drug research study. They did not inflict their own belief systems on what they found. There has been no study like this, anywhere approaching this effort in more than 50 years. At the same time, they made the book highly readable which for a research study is more than surprising.

If I had to compare this study to anything comparable, it would be the Master's and Johnson study on sexual practices in America published many decades ago. That study revolutionized our thinking about sexual mores in this country, and this study will do the same thing for religion. You do not have to follow this book in sequence. Go into the table of contents, find a chapter that interests you and you will be able to go into whatever depth you like. Read a few pages or read the whole chapter, just be prepared to realize that what we think is not necessarily what the rest of us are thinking, and believing.

Here are a few concepts straight out of the book that should pique your interest in reading more.

* One third to one half of all marriages in America are interfaith marriages. Wow, this is surprising. It is difficult to stay married to someone if you do not respect that person. These marriages are producing a powerful respect for other religions, and that's probably good for all of us.

* One third of all Americans have switched religions in their lifetime. I would never have dreamed the number was so large.

* The young are more opposed to abortion than their parents, and more accepting of gay marriage. I would not have believed the abortion statistic, but research is research.

* Fervently religious Americans believe that people of another faith can go to heaven. This is another mind blowing statistic because it implies that people are starting to treat other people's religions with the same respect they accord their own.

* I was completely taken aback with the following. I knew that in 1960 a number of Protestants (30%) said they could not bring themselves to vote for a Catholic (John Kennedy) for President. I was alive then, I remember. Did you know that in 2004 John Kerry, a Catholic took only half the Catholic vote in this country? The other half went for George Bush, an evangelical Protestant.

* Jewish people are the most broadly popular religious group in America. Statistics are clear on this, regardless of what the news media would have you believe. What's interesting also is that Mormons tend to like, and are most comfortable with other people's religions, and yet are the least liked religion themselves. This would imply that Mormons are the most accepting, and yet least accepted of the religions in America.

In summary I believe that you should be prepared to be amazed at your new understanding of who and what America believes in. It turns out we are the most religious country in the industrial world. Over 83% of us belong to a religion. More than 40% of us go to church almost every week, while 59% pray weekly, and one third of us read the scriptures every week, and 80% of Americans say that they absolutely believe there is a God. By way of comparison, 54% of the people in England never pray, that is true for only 18% of Americans. More than anything else, I was taken aback by the following. Almost 40% of Americans belong to a church or church group versus 9% for Italians, and 4% for the French. If you watch CNN when the Vatican elects a Pope, you see a million people in Vatican Square, you would think that 100% of Italians belong to the church.

Read this book and be prepared to be amazed at what you will learn. The authors did a superb job at wringing out their personal biases, and portraying religion in America in an honest, respectful fashion, and they deserve to be read for what they have accomplished in this highly readable book. Good luck, and thank you for reading this review.

Richard C. Stoyeck

58 of 60 people found the following review helpful.
Extremely good social science
By Wolf Roder
With 550 page of text and another 123 pages of appendices, notes, and index this is an extensive assessment of the role of religion in American society. The information is strictly factual, measured from two major surveys led by the authors. In addition they draw on many standard sources, Gallup, the General Social Survey, the Pew Religious Landscape Survey, and others. The authors present the data,- the cross classifications, the correlations, the trend lines - in half page, black and white graphs. Emphasis is on four major religious traditions, Catholics, main line Protestants, evangelical Protestants, and the not religious, i.e. those answering "none" when asked their denomination. The authors make it clear that most of the "nones" do in fact believe in God; only a tiny number of Americans label themselves as atheists or agnostics. These four groups account for 90 percent of Americans. The Authors can classify individuals by the extent of their "religiosity" on the basis of how often they attend church and other variables.

The authors examine the role of religion by ethnicity, gender, denomination, and race. They ask how the womens revolution has impacted religion. They examine religion and social class. Most of all they devote a chapter to "Religion in American Politics" to bring out how the current period seems to have divided Republicans from Democrats. Yet over the long run, that is since the fifties, religious adherence has varied greatly.

The authors also examine religion and civic virtues. Interestingly they find, - and of course document, - that religious Americans are more generous, more civically active, more trusting and trustworthy, in short, better neighbors. On the other hand, religious Americans are less tolerant of others' views and have difficulty accepting dissent.

This is a very good book. The authors are the first to point out where they think their assessment is fully supported, and also warn the reader where the data are inadequate, and therefore the conclusions tentative. This is must reading to understand the complexity of religion in America.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
Carefully researched. Perhaps a bit too many graphs and ...
By Amazon Customer
Carefully researched. Perhaps a bit too many graphs and charts. I believe he makes his case.

See all 73 customer reviews...

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* Ebook Blaze: A Novel, by Richard Bachman

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The last of the Richard Bachman novels, recently recovered and published for the first time. Stephen King's "dark half" may have saved the best for last.

A fellow named Richard Bachman wrote "Blaze" in 1973 on an Olivetti typewriter, then turned the machine over to Stephen King, who used it to write "Carrie." Bachman died in 1985 ("cancer of the pseudonym"), but in late 2006 King found the original typescript of "Blaze" among his papers at the University of Maine's Fogler Library ("How did this get here?!"), and decided that with a little revision it ought to be published.

"Blaze" is the story of Clayton Blaisdell, Jr. -- of the crimes committed against him and the crimes he commits, including his last, the kidnapping of a baby heir worth millions. Blaze has been a slow thinker since childhood, when his father threw him down the stairs -- and then threw him down again. After escaping an abusive institution for boys when he was a teenager, Blaze hooks up with George, a seasoned criminal who thinks he has all the answers. But then George is killed, and Blaze, though haunted by his partner, is on his own.

He becomes one of the most sympathetic criminals in all of literature. This is a crime story of surprising strength and sadness, with a suspenseful current sustained by the classic workings of fate and character -- as taut and riveting as Stephen King's "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon."

• Sales Rank: #306435 in Books
• Brand: Stephine king
• Published on: 2007-06-12
• Released on: 2007-06-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 8.50" h x 1.10" w x 6.10" l, 1.10 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 304 pages

Features

• First Edition Hardcover
• Publisher: Scribner
• ISBN-10: 073948463X
• ISBN-13: 978-1416554844

From Publishers Weekly
Written circa 1973, this trunk novel, as Bachman's double (aka Stephen King) refers to it in his self-deprecating foreword, lacks the drama and intensity of Carrie and the horror opuses that followed it. Still, this fifth Bachman book (after 1996's The Regulators) shows King fine-tuning his skill at making memorable characters out of simple salt-of-the-earth types. Clayton Blaze Blaisdell has fallen into a life of delinquency ever since his father's brutal abuse rendered him feebleminded. King alternates chapters recounting Blaze's past mistreatment at a series of Maine orphanages and foster homes with Blaze's current plans to follow through on a kidnapping scheme plotted by his recently murdered partner in crime, George Rackley. Blaze talks to George as though he's still there, and the conversations give the tale tension, with Blaze coming across as a pitiable and surprisingly sympathetic contrast to prickly George. Despite its predictability, this diverting soft-boiled crime novel reflects influences ranging from John Steinbeck to James M. Cain. Also included is a previously uncollected story, Memory, the seed of King's forthcoming novel Duma Key. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* Blaze—Clayton Blaisdell Jr.—is a big dummy, very big: six-seven, 270. But not exactly very dumb. He was a smart little boy until his drunken father threw him downstairs three times in a row. He relearned to read a bit, mostly comic books, but was thereafter an otherwise learning-challenged ward of the state with a horrendous dent in his forehead. Now a mid-twenties adult, he has just lost his bosom buddy and partner in petty cons, George, who still speaks to him somehow, especially about the big score, the one to retire on. Blaze realizes that George isn't really haunting him; in fact, Blaze possesses an excellent, though highly selective, memory. In honor of George, he decides to do the big one, the kidnapping of a wealthy couple's baby. He succeeds, albeit imperfectly enough that the state cops and FBI know whodunit within a day, and he surprises himself by bonding with the infant, which for readers makes the hunt for Blaze an Alfred Hitchcock–like exercise in moral ambivalence. It's impossible not to root for Blaze, especially since Bachman flashes back copiously and with maximal sympathy to the damaged man's past. Stephen King, who "buried" Bachman in 1985, here revamps a 1973 manuscript by his alter ego that he says is something of an homage to James T. Farrell, Jim Thompson, and Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. Powerful and moving, it's a worthy tribute, especially to Steinbeck. Olson, Ray
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
During the years 1966-1973, Stephen King was actually two men. Stephen King wrote (and sold) horror stories to magazines such as "Cavalier" and "Adam, " while Richard Bachman wrote a series of novels that would not be published until the early 1980s and were then collected as "The Bachman Books." Bachman died of pseudonym cancer in 1985, shortly after another of his novels, "Thinner, " was attributed to Stephen King; but a sixth Bachman novel, "The Regulators, " surfaced in 1995 and was published simultaneously with Stephen King's "Desperation, " to which it bore a weird resemblance. "Blaze" -- both brutal and sensitive -- was the last novel written during Bachman's early period. It is his legacy.

King's proceeds from "Blaze" will be donated to The Haven Foundation, which supports freelance artists.

Most helpful customer reviews

79 of 84 people found the following review helpful.
Old Stephen Kings Hits The Spot For Constant Readers
By Mr. Sinister
Those of us who have been Constant Readers of Stephen King for years and years (since I was 13 years old) we knew about the dead novel called Blaze. It was a trunk novel that King wrote before the likes of Carrie and decided not to try and publish because he thought it was crap. For a long time out of mind Blaze sat in a carton at the Fogler Library at the University Of Maine at Orono in there Stephen King archive. Well...we love King, right? But most of us weren't afforded the chance to hop a plane across America to head to Orono to read that little hidden gem. Most of us. So it became the legendary unpublished novel by the world's most popular author. Mysterious. Wow! All these years later, King remembers Blaze and decides to give it a second chance. A little sprucing up and here it is for all the world to finally see. Written in 1973, this is nothing new. This is old Stephen King, starving, unpopular, unnoticed King. This is King when he was still struggling to keep his family eating. Great!

The basic story is centered round the 6'7" Clayton Blaisdell Jr., an all around dumb-as-a-ditch-post petty criminal with a heart of gold. When his partner is killed in a craps game, Blaze remembers the idea of the big score. He decides it's time to go through with the plan of kidnapping the infant heir of a rich family. Everything goes down with a few complications and Blaze is on the run for his life and the life of his little passenger.

King calls the striking resemblances to Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men an homage, and maybe it was, way back when, or perhaps it was a still-shaky author trying to flesh out his own novel with the structure of an old favorite. Either way, it works pretty well. The ending is a little rushed and there are a few spots of gratuitous flashback sequences that lend nothing to the tale as a whole, but it is Old King and that is Good King. Right away I fell into the story and was hooked. I can't say that about Lisey's Story or Cell or the abortion that was The Colorado Kid. This is King at his most honest. We Constant Readers appreciate that. Definitely worth the cash. At the end is a short story called Memory which enlarged into an idea that became King's next novel, Duma Key out in January of '08. Hmmmm. It's ok. Nothing fancy. Kinda choppy. Overall, Blaze is a nice reminder of why Stephen is one of my favorite authors of all time!

Dig it!

119 of 135 people found the following review helpful.
Blaze burns bright! Early, and great, King tale.
By Beam Me Up
Back in 1988, when I was researching my book, THE STEPHEN KING COMPANION, I spent time at the Special Collections at the Fogler Library at Orono, Maine, where the original, typed manuscript of BLAZE had been deposited, along with a number of other unpublished novels. This was what King calls a "trunk" novel, meaning it's a book that he never published; he wrote it and put it in the trunk, thinking it was unpublishable.

Well, when I read it, page by page, from first until last, I felt differently: Unlike, say, SWORD IN THE DARKNESS (a novel about a race riot), which is another trunk novel by King, BLAZE shone with a gritty kind of storytelling that marked King's early fiction. Clearly a homage to John Steinbeck's novella "Of Mice and Men," the story centers on Clayton Blaze Blaisdell, who is party to the kidnapping, along with his party George Rackley; Clayton, whose checkered past -- in and out of orphanages and foster homes -- strikes a sympathetic tone with the reader, as he finds love (albeit one-sided) where he least expects it: the infant he has helped abduct. (You may recall the famous Lindbergh kidnapping in all this, as I did.)

The most difficult thing in fiction is to make the bad guy seem sympathetic, but King pulls it off. In spades. Just as we feel for Lenny in Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men," so, too, do we feel for Clayton, who is a criminal on the run; he has stolen the infant but, in the process, has stolen our hearts, as well. That is the art of fiction, the art of storytelling, and King's always had that gotta-read-the-next-page-to-see-what's-happened quality.

In King's fiction, the character comes first; the story then comes out of the character. King's modus operandi has always been that if you grow to care about the character, the story will mean something to you; but if the characters in the novel aren't sympathetic, you won't care about their fates and, by the extension, the book itself. So King starts with compelling characters believably motivated and pursuing their own ends.

What most readers probably don't know is that King's royalties on this book go to fund one of his foundations, set up for indigent creators who find themselves in dire financial straits due to no fault of their own. The Haven Foundation is the beneficiary of King's sales, and it's the only foundation of its kind. It's also King giving back to the community that supported him, which speaks of King's enormous generosity. (Wouldn't it be nice if the publisher matched King's donation dollar for dollar? Then the publisher could give back to the community, as well.)

At the Amazon discount, you can't afford NOT to buy this book if you're a King fan or you're a fan of good old-fashioned storytelling. And, as a bonus, your purchase will help, indirectly, freelance writers who these days are the true mavericks, the last of a dying breed. (Long story here, and this isn't the time or place to talk about it.) Suffice it to say that fans who want a taste of the early King will find their appetites more than satisfied with this relentless and unstoppable storytelling engine that propels the reader from first page to last: BLAZE is a meteor cutting a bright swath across the heavens, and you'll find a lot to mine in this early but wholly satisfying story by America's storyteller, Stephen King.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful.
Absolutely riveting!
By C. Williams
Imagine a man who's spent almost his entire life finding trouble. He's mildly retarded, is a con man and a thief, has been in and out of jail, and has a big dent in his forehead that makes him ugly to boot. Top all of this off with the bone-chilling fact that he decides to kidnap for ransom the child of a rich family--a completely innocent and helpless baby!

Now imagine this: you find yourself unequivocally liking the guy! It doesn't matter that he's a con man and a thief. All of the horribleness he engages in seems justified due to the many difficulties he's faced in life. Heck, you cheer when he beats up the headmaster at his school (actually Hetton House, a county home), and you're even rooting for him to kidnap the baby without getting caught!

So is the mastery of Stephen King, writing as his pseudonym Richard Bachman. Blaze is a book that will have you scratching your head in bewilderment over the fact that you have found yourself in like with a person like Blaze (aka as Clayton Blaisdell, Jr.). Additionally, you'll feel sadness and sympathy, anger and pain. The story of Blaze's unfortunate life will leave you filled with the utmost desire to lift up your head and unabashedly roar at the fates.

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A “captivating biography of Italian philosopher and playwright”*—Niccolò Machiavelli, author of The Prince—whose writings have outraged and inspired generations of readers.

Niccolò Machiavelli is the most influential political writer of all time. His name has become synonymous with cynical scheming and the selfish pursuit of power, but the real Machiavelli, says Miles Unger, was a deeply humane and perceptive writer whose controversial theories were a response to the violence and corruption he saw around him.

Machiavelli’s philosophy was shaped by the tumultuous age in which he lived, an age of towering geniuses and brutal tyrants. His first political mission was to spy on the fire-and-brimstone preacher Savonarola. He was on intimate terms with Leonardo and Michelangelo. As a diplomat, he matched wits with the corrupt Pope Alexander VI and his son, the infamous Cesare Borgia, whose violent career served as a model for The Prince. Analyzing their successes and failures, Machiavelli developed his revolutionary approach to power politics. His famous book is a guide that is based on the world as it is, not as it should be.

Miles Unger has relied on original Italian sources as well as his own deep knowledge of Florence in writing this fascinating and authoritative account of a genius whose work remains as relevant today as when he wrote it.

• Sales Rank: #459033 in Books
• Published on: 2012-06-12
• Released on: 2012-06-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 9.25" h x 1.30" w x 6.12" l, 1.00 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Review
"A captivating biography of Italian philosopher and playwright Niccolo Machiavelli. . . . Lively, well-researched portrait of a master political strategist."

--"Kirkus Reviews "

"Unger skillfully narrates the details of a life led during one of the greatest periods of artistic, political, and literary activity in Western history. . . . [He] does a wonderful job of bringing Machiavelli to life."

--Alan Wolfe, "The New Republic

"

"This is a superb biography, of interest to anybody -- not just management consultants -- trying to get along in the contemporary world. . . . Unger is superb at providing context, so readers grasp how Machiavelli's thinking was received during his lifetime, how it has been interpreted/misinterpreted through the centuries, and how it offers meaning in the 21st century."

--Steve Weinberg, "USA Today

"

"Excellent. . . . wonderfully readable."

--Jessica Warner, "National Post"

"A wonderful biography. . . . Unger includes details you didn't hear in World History 101, details that make fascinating reading and should put the book on the list of any history buff."

--John Monaghan, "The Providence Journal-Bulletin

"

"For most people, 'Machiavellian' means ruthless, the application of power without remorse. Thanks to a fascinating portrait by Miles J. Unger, the real Machiavelli comes across the centuries as something more: a man with whom many of us might like to spend a few hours in rich conversation."

--Repps Hudson, "St. Louis Post-Disptach

"

"An excellent analysis of the influential thinker and his renowned writings."

--"Booklist

"

"A thoughtful and well-informed study of the life of the Florentine diplomat and government bureaucrat. . . . Unger presents a side of the cynical and jaded diplomat rarely known by even those who had read Machiavelli's notorious collection of practical and often amoral advice to the prospective ruler."

--Karl Rove

About the Author
Miles J. Unger, a contributing writer to The New York Times and former managing editor of Art New England, is an art historian and the author of Magnifico, a biography of Lorenzo de’Medici. He lives in Massachusetts.

Most helpful customer reviews

40 of 46 people found the following review helpful.
A disappointment
By Bookfiend
I love biographies of historical and political figures, and was excited to read about this new biography of Machiavelli. In the past two or three years a number of Machiavelli's life-and- times books have been published. The ones I've bought are good reads, but they all tend to cover pretty much the same ground. Over and over we get the same old spicy bits of Machiavelli's correspondence, his encounters with bad Borgias and shifty Medicis, woven in with dollops of poetry. Most biographers seem to have more to say about Machiavelli's colorful times than about the man himself. I'd hoped this book would be different, but it's not. I learned absolutely nothing new. It's as if the author just read a selection of other biographies then rewrote the Machiavelli story in his own style, without adding any new insights of his own. Despite the academic-looking bibliography, the book's biggest weakness is its failure to engage with Machiavelli's ideas. Unger is a journalist, and doesn't seem to have the intellectual background (or interest) needed to confront some of the great mysteries about Machiavelli: how devoted was he to republican ideals, and why does the Discourses seem to contradict the Prince? Unger goes for the easiest answers to these questions. He basically recycles old cliches about Machiavelli's opportunism and cynicism. He insists that Machiavelli had no consistent system of thought, although there's not much evidence that he's actually read enough of Machiavelli's writings to be sure of that. He hardly mentions two of Machiavelli's longest and most important works, the Art of War and the Florentine Histories. There are other popular biographies that try to get past stereotypes in their discussions of what Machiavelli thought, even though their authors are not scholars. If you read this one before the others, enjoy the storyline, but take all the confident claims about Machiavelli's ideas with a big pinch of salt.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful.
Good but definitely flawed
By Jason Goetz
With most biographies of literary artists, there are three major categories in which the author can succeed or fail: 1) in giving context to the life and times of the author in terms of how they shaped his perceptions; 2) in dealing with the ideas that the author himself discusses in his works; and 3) in examining the author's works and legacy in the train of other great works of similar or equal merit.

I feel quite strongly that this biography succeeds greatly in the first, but has significant limitations with the other two, aspects of this approach. The context which Unger gives on Machiavelli's life, on the convoluted geopolitics of Italy and Western Europe at the time, on the social and religious worlds he lived in, and on the Florentine political system are all magnificent. For clarifying many aspects of Florentine Histories alone, I give Unger a ton of credit. But when he gets into the realm of political theory, Machiavelli's strongest field, Unger falters. Repeatedly he conflates the terms democracy and republic, and he fails to distinguish between different kinds of representative systems. To a careless reader this may not mean much, but to a sophisticated and engaged readers of Machiavelli's works--especially his great Discourses on Livy--this means a great deal. Is Machiavelli closer to Rousseau, or to Locke? To Jefferson, or to Madison? If he has no fixed moral "principles"--and certainly it is clear he does not, just as all four of those do not--then which route does he take? (He also did not mention Milton and the English Civil War at all, thereby avoiding mentioning the first consistent attempted application of Machiavelli's ideas on a nation-state level in Europe.)

Additionally, Unger's discussion of the ancients and of political theory before Machiavelli was grossly distorted. While it is understood that many of the ancients did not participate in politics themselves as bureaucrats, it is by no means clear, as Unger seems to establish for himself, that they were removed from the political sphere and could only focus on "ideal" government in an impractical manner. Like Machiavelli, many of the ancients' heads were on the chopping blocks, so to speak, when their ideas went out of favor; Socrates was murdered under the pretense of "justice," Aristotle was exiled, Xenophon was exiled, Thucydides was exiled, Boethius was handed the same fate (if more violent) as Socrates, as was Cicero (former consul and Senator), Tacitus was a Roman Senator, and so on. It is also by no means accurate that they were "simpler" than Machiavelli or that their ideas were too "moral." Their lines of thought were different, but, especially in the cases of Tacitus and Thucydides, they laid the foundation for Machiavelli's by giving him lots of factual material with subtle and understated interpretations which he would later adopt. In order to understand with any clarity where Machiavelli's works fit in and where they are different, it is important to understand the depth and range of the political philosophy of antiquity, and I felt that here that wasn't clear.

One last quibble before I go: Unger repeatedly reuses the same quotations, which I hate because it means that the book could have been more concisely organized around those quotations themselves, in which case they'd only need to be placed once and then fully examined, as opposed to analyzing a fragment of one quote, then moving on to another, then to a third, then going back to the second, then back to the third, and back to the first, and back to the third again, and so on. That's a huge structural flaw--or if not a huge flaw in evidentiary application--and ought to be taken note of. On top of what I already said about it, it also means he's not using as much evidence as he should, and is falling back on the same pieces of evidence in places where others might be better served or where other evidence might contradict what he's already used. I really do not like that.

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful.
Definitely worth the read!
By JamesCameron
In addition TO JUNEBUG'S review above, Unger has written MACHIAVELLI in a style that is neither myopic nor sketchy in nature. That is, some biographers get so bogged down into so much detail the s/he loses his/her readers' interest because of the excess and unnecessary details of the intended person's life. Similarly, some biographies are written in a watered-down style that, after one finished with the book, one wonders if this subject has been adequately covered within the confines of one book, and the reader gets an empty feeling in the stomach, saying, "Is this all there is?".

Not so with Unger. His style is flowing, with complex yet understandable ideas expressed in his sentences. This was an extremely complicated time in Florence's political life, and that of entire Italy, but yet the author presents all of the action in a clear and understandable manner. The reader really feels like s/he is a part of what is going on at that time.

I bought this book in a Kindle format, which was a mistake, and I am going to buy a hardback copy of the same book since it is very much worthy of many re-readings if one sincerely want to under this sincere, patriotic but complicated and contradictory person who lived during those turbulent times in Renaissance Italy.

This is the first review of this type that I have written (and it probably reads like it too), but, being a fan of various periods of history over the years, this was one book that placed pretty much everything at that time in its true historical place.

Absolutely worth the read!

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From the bestselling author of Fatherland and Imperium comes The Ghost, an extraordinarily auspicious thriller of power, politics, corruption, and murder. Dashing, captivating Adam Lang was Britain's longest serving -- and most controversial -- prime minister of the last half century, whose career ended in tatters after he sided with America in an unpopular war on terror. Now, after stepping down in disgrace, Lang is hiding out in wintry Martha's Vineyard to finish his much sought-after, potentially explosive memoir, for which he accepted one of history's largest cash advances. But the project runs aground when his ghostwriter suddenly and mysteriously disappears and later washes up, dead, on the island's deserted shore.

Enter our hero -- Lang's new ghostwriter -- cynical, mercenary, and quick with a line of deadpan humor. Accustomed to working with fading rock stars and minor celebrities, he jumps at the chance to be the new ghost of Adam Lang's memoirs, especially as it means a big payday. At once he flies to Lang's remote location in America to finish the book in the seclusion of a luxurious estate, but it doesn't take him long to realize he has made a fatal error in judgment.

The state of affairs is grim enough when the ghost begins to unearth the bone-chilling circumstances of his predecessor's death. And before long, he discovers that the ex-prime minister is not just a charismatic politician who made a few mistakes. He's a dark, tortured man with haunting secrets in his past -- secrets with the power to alter world politics. Secrets with the power to kill.

Robert Harris is known the world over as a master of his trade. The Ghost is yet another signature, brilliant tour de force that will compel, captivate, and excite readers to the very last shocking page.

• Sales Rank: #874659 in Books
• Published on: 2008-08-19
• Released on: 2008-08-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 6.75" h x .90" w x 4.19" l, .45 pounds
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 448 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Displaying enviable versatility, Harris, who first achieved acclaim with his alternative history, Fatherland, and who more recently showed his mastery of the historical novel in Pompeii, hits one out of the park with this dark paranoid thriller. Former British prime minister Adam Lang (clearly modelled on Tony Blair) is up against a firm deadline to submit his memoirs to his publisher, and the project is dangerously derailed when his aide and collaborator, Michael McAra, perishes in a ferry accident off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. To salvage the book, a professional ghostwriter is hired to whip the manuscript into shape, but the unnamed writer soon finds that separating truth from fiction in Lang’s recollections a challenge. The stakes rise when Lang is accused of war crimes for authorizing the abduction of suspected al-Qaeda terrorists in Pakistan, who then ended up in the CIA’s merciless hands. As the new writer probes deeper, he uncovers evidence that his predecessor’s death may have been a homicide. Harris nicely leavens his cynical tale with gallows humor, and even readers who anticipate the plot’s final twist will admire the author’s artistry in creating an intelligent page-turner that tackles serious issues.

From Bookmarks Magazine
Known for Fatherland (1992), Pompeii (**** Selection Mar/Apr 2004), and Imperium (*** Jan/Feb 2007), novelist Robert Harris opens his latest work with a derisive account of the publishing business. From there, it quickly gains momentum, merging a shrewd indictment of the war in Iraq with a literate, page-turning thriller. Harris, who was once a friend of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, offers a withering, barely disguised attack on Blair’s policies and his collusion with the United States in the Middle East. Some critics felt that the fictional backdrop weakened the political invective. Other complaints included some stock characters, formulaic plot points, and far-fetched twists, but most critics dismissed these as trivial and agreed with USA Today that Harris has produced "one of the most politically informed novels of the year."
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

Review
“Packed with seduction, power and manipulation. . . .”

—USA Today

“The Ghost has got the goods.”

—Stephen King

Most helpful customer reviews

59 of 67 people found the following review helpful.
Good Book...Great Ending
By Holden Caulfield
I own and enjoyed Harris' other works "Fatherland," "Archangel" and "Enigma." While this definitely is a bit of a different historical fiction, (set in present day or not so distant future), I found it to be a good read. Harris is a master of the thriller, and you won't be disappointed. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, I just happen to disagree with the notion that fans of Harris who enjoy reading intelligent writing should skip this book. The ending alone is worth it, as Harris employs an unusual and possibly original technique that leaves the reader satisfied. I usually don't review the books I read (this is my first) but I felt this book was worthy of defense against a one star rating.

61 of 73 people found the following review helpful.
When reading this latest work of his, you cannot avoid making parallels with the real thing
By A Customer
the former PM and his entourage, his political adventures and disasters, and so on and so forth. But the way Harris narrates his story is enticing and thrilling, issuing suspense right and left with a skilled hand: the ambience is right, the dialogue fits, the main characters tally, the spinning is familiar and the cynicism is sharp. I enjoyed the book in a single reading, and I think I'll go back to it with more attention to detail, since it seems to me this is a super parody of Blair and his retinue, and of the publishing world from which the author extracts true images surely derived from real experience. Also, if you missed reading Tino Georgiou's masterpiece--The Fates, go and read it. I'm reading it at a rapid pace because it's so addictive. There is something about his books that bring you in and get you hooked. and I'm loving this one. Highly Recommend!

47 of 56 people found the following review helpful.
A great novel with many levels
By C. Keith Conners
This book quickly draws you into its story before you realize why. The first level is probably because the writing is so witty and graceful that you immediately feel entertained.

At another level you feel drawn to the author-protagonist because of his self-deprecating humor and the acceptance of his fate, which is to be a ghost writer rather than a "real" writer. The politics of being a ghost writer, always humbly in the background, while nevertheless creating stunning works for celebrity non-authors gives insight into the mind of actual ghost-writers, whom Harris liberally quotes in each chapter.

Then of course there is a level of political analysis thinly veiled from the real world of a discredited (in Harris' mind) Tony Blair. Harris hits upon a deep sense of regret felt by many of us because of Blair's foolish entanglement with the arrogant American president in the Iraq war. As one who admired Blair's entertaining performances in Parliament (seen at home on C-Span)I can heartily share the sense of tragedy of a great man who, like Chamberlain, falls from grace by commiting a remarkable stupidity of judgment. While the Prime Minister in this story is fictional, the parallels with Blair are inescapable.

Finally, there is the plot itself, which starts off with a suspicious death, weaves its way into the private life of the fallen PM, maintains a sense of urgency and tension until the climax is revealed, in the best tradition of mystery thrillers. The value of this book is that it is much more than a thriller, without eroding the central plot.

A wholly entertaining, engrossing, and instructive book. This one immediately sent me looking for other books by this exceptional writer. None have been disappointing.

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* Free PDF The Laird Who Loved Me (The MacLean Curse Series), by Karen Hawkins

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The fourth and fifth exciting novels in New York Times bestselling author Karen Hawkins’s sparkling Scottish Regency series about two beautiful twin sisters who find romance with the sexy MacLean brothers.

The laird of the MacLean Clan, Alexander, is a handsome and eligible bachelor. The infamous Caitlyn Hurst, known in society as The Incomparable, would love to change that. After her plan to trick him into marrying her goes awry, she gets a second chance to woo Alex into matrimony in The Laird Who Loved Me.

• Sales Rank: #1106800 in Books
• Brand: Pocket Books
• Published on: 2009-08-25
• Released on: 2009-08-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 6.75" h x 1.00" w x 4.19" l, .40 pounds
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 384 pages

Features

• Great product!

About the Author
Karen Hawkins is a USA TODAY and New York Times bestselling author of some of the funniest and freshest fairytale-based Scottish romances. When not stalking hot Australian actors, getting kicked out of West Virginia thanks to the antics of her extended family, or adding to her considerable shoe collection, Karen is getting chocolate on her keyboard while writing her next delightfully fun and sexy historical romance!

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter 1 It takes a woman who dinna knows the word no to conquer a MacLean, especially one wit' a heart o' stone.
Old Woman Nora from Loch Lomond to her three wee granddaughters one cold evening

"A real, live duchess?"

Caitlyn Hurst laughed at her younger sister's wail. "Yes, a real, live duchess, not a real, dead duchess."

"Oh, you know what I mean." Mary threw herself on the bed with her sister's worn portmanteau, three ball gowns, a stack of freshly folded unmentionables, and a pair of well-worn ball slippers. "I wish I could go to a real, live duchess's house for a three-week house party!"

Caitlyn placed a pair of only-mended-once stockings into a small trunk on the floor. "Surely you're not begrudging me the only fun I've had in months?"

"No, I just wish I might go with you." Mary threw her arms out to the side. "The letter from the duchess said there will be walks through the park, horseback rides, archery, card games -- "

"Mother was not happy about that aspect."

"No, but Papa slipped you a guinea that you might play, so it can't be too bad. Besides, it wasn't the gaming that had Mother in a taking; it was the masquerade ball. I truly thought she'd refuse to allow you to go when the duchess wrote that you'd need a costume."

"I had to promise not to wear a mask and to behave as any gently raised young lady should."

Mary's brow rose. "Can you do that?"

"I will do it," Caitlyn said fervently, and meant it. She always did; the trouble was remembering she wished to behave herself when she lost her temper. She didn't have a burning desire to thwart society's rules; but when she was challenged or angry, her competitive spirit burned through all caution or thought.

Caitlyn stuffed a shawl into the portmanteau with more force than necessary. Blast it, if only she'd kept her temper three months ago and hadn't allowed Alexander MacLean to irk her into saying and doing things she shouldn't have. But there wasn't anything she could do about it now -- except use this incredibly fortuitous invitation to reestablish herself and her family into society's good graces.

Mary reached out to touch one of the new gowns spread upon the bed, ready to be wrapped in tissue paper before being packed. "Certainly no one at the duchess's house will have as beautiful gowns as these. You sew better than most of the modistes on Bond Street."

Caitlin smiled. "Thank you! That's quite a compliment. I'm very proud of the silver one; it's for the masquerade."

"It looks wonderful on you, even though Mother made you sew the neckline so high." Mary grimaced. "If she had her way, you'd go to the masquerade sewn chin to toes into a large burlap potato sack. Mother worries far too much, even though you -- " Mary's face pinkened.

Caitlyn's humor evaporated. "I will never allow my temper to get the best of me again. If I hadn't behaved so badly that Triona had felt compelled to come to London to rescue me, then she wouldn't have been forced to wed and -- " Caitlyn's throat tightened painfully.

Mary grasped her sister's hand. "It all worked out well in the end. Triona is deeply in love with her new husband and said she had you to thank that she met him. And you made Mam a very happy woman. She's excited as a lamb with a wool sweater about the match."

"Grandmother thinks anything having to do with the MacLeans is wondrous -- especially if it means she might get some great grandchildren out of it."

"Oh, that would be so -- "

A noisy thumping came from the hallway, sounding like a herd of romping calves. A fast knock later, the door was thrown open to reveal William, their oldest brother, followed by a surprisingly elegantly dressed Robert and a much-too-thin Michael.

They were all so tall, especially William, who, at twenty-one, had reached the impressive height of six feet four inches, his shoulders a proportionate width.

Michael, only recently recovered from another chest complaint, threw his lanky, sixteen-year-old length into the chair by the fireplace. "Well?" he asked, looking at the gowns and slippers and gewgaws placed on every surface of the room. "I thought you'd be packed by now!"

Mary grinned. "Caitlyn's only had two weeks to pack; you know that's not enough."

Caitlyn gave Michael a flat stare. "Have you all come to bother us? I assure you that we have enough to do without entertaining you."

Robert eyed the contents of the bed through a quizzing glass he'd recently taken to wearing. "Good God, woman! How much stuff are you taking with you?"

Caitlyn narrowed her gaze on her brother. "Must you use that ridiculous eyepiece?"

"It's the fashion," he said stoutly, though he looked somewhat uncertain.

"For a nearsighted Cyclops, perhaps."

Mary giggled while Michael and William snorted loudly.

Robert slipped the eyepiece into a pocket and said in a lofty tone, "Just because you don't appreciate good fashion -- "

"She does, too!" Mary interrupted. "You've seen the gowns she's made."

Caitlyn smoothed a blue morning gown on the bed. "If the list of amusements offered by the duchess is to be believed, I have fewer gowns than I need, but these will have to do. I can always change my wrap and shoes and make minor alterations so that my outfits look different."

"Caitlyn even redid her old riding gown." Mary reached into the portmanteau to touch with a loving hand the brown velvet riding habit. "When you return, will you help me make one like it?"

Michael snorted. "And where would you wear it? All we have to ride is the squire's old, fat mare."

Mary sniffed. "It doesn't matter what the horse looks like, just the rider."

"You spent hours making a riding habit you might only wear once or twice a month?" Michael appeared to be amazed at the thought.

"If it looked good on me, I might."

"Vanity is a sin. Father's told us that a million times."

"It's not vanity to wish to appear good; it's vanity if you think you look so good that it won't matter how you dress."

That opened up a discussion between Mary and Michael that grew in volume as Robert and William egged them on.

Caitlyn ignored them and tucked away a spangled shawl she'd purchased during her brief stay in London three months ago. Has it only been that long? The entire episode seemed a faded nightmare.

She couldn't clearly remember the balls and gowns anymore, or the sumptuous foods or town attractions, but she remembered every second she'd spent dangerously flirting with Alexander MacLean. She clearly recalled how she allowed him to teach her to ride. Though she'd made certain one of the grooms stayed nearby for appearance' sake, MacLean had quickly and easily dispensed with the man, sending him to fetch various "fallen" gloves or to look for a scarf that was blown away, even on days when there was no wind.

Her cheeks heated when she thought of her own participation in duping the servants. At the time, all she'd been able to think about was how much she wanted to feel MacLean's strong arms about her, how she longed for his heated kiss and -- She clamped the memories away. Those days were gone, and they'd meant less than the imaginary wind.

She forced herself to smile at Mary. "I'll make you a riding habit when I return. We can use the blue velvet from your old pelisse and that old gold opera cape Mother has in the trunk in the attic. The colors should be perfect, and if we place some silk flowers where the material is a bit worn, no one will notice. I did the same with one of my remade newer gowns."

Momentarily forgetting his jaded, man-about-town pose, Robert snorted. "You plan on hoaxing the crème of the ton with the clever placement of a few flowers? They'll be onto your hoax in a second."

Caitlyn folded a deep blue silk scarf and placed it into the portmanteau. "Oh, they'll never know. They didn't realize it before." She set a pair of satin slippers in the trunk beside the others. "Only three pairs of slippers. I wish I had two more."

William, who'd been lounging in the doorway, lifted his brows, a lazy twinkle in his eyes. "How many pairs of slippers are needed for a simple country house party?"

"It's not a simple house party at all," Mary protested. "It's at the castle of a real, live duchess!"

"I should have at least one pair of slippers for each color of gown. I shall just have to make do." Caitlyn placed the final gown into the trunk, carefully tucked it in, then closed the lid. "I keep expecting Mother to walk in and say she's changed her mind."

"She won't," Robert said, a superior tone in his voice.

Caitlyn eyed him. "How would you know?"

"I overheard her talking to Father. Mother thinks you will behave yourself for a few short weeks, and that you've made wonderful progress on your temper. You've hardly lost it at all in the last three months. Plus," he smirked, "she's hoping you'll meet someone eligible."

Caitlyn's cheeks burned. "I don't want to meet someone eligible." She just wanted the chance to reestablish the family name and prove to her parents that she'd learned from her horrible mistake.

Honestly, one thing that infuriated her about the incident was that no one seemed to place a bit of blame on MacLean, and he'd been just as much of a part of Triona's ruin as Caitlyn. If he hadn't been so intentionally intriguing, she'd never have paid him the least heed. But the second they'd met, he'd taunted and challenged her, and she'd discovered she didn't have the self-discipline to ignore him.

One thing was for certain, MacLean had been determined to kiss her: she knew because he'd told her so the third time they'd met. Of course, she'd then said something entirely inappropriate like "Just try it!" and that had been the beginning.

There'd been an unmistakable attraction between them, one that had flared hot and ready and left Caitlyn feeling things she'd never before felt. One kiss from Alexander MacLean reduced her to a quaking mas...

Most helpful customer reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful.
A disservice to virgins
By StdPudel
Normally I would give this light frothy historical romance three stars, not for any literary achievement, but for being an honest and enjoyable example of its genre. The Laird Who Loved me treads the well-worn theme of the young spunky heroine of disadvantaged background who falls in love with the older, rakish but wealthy hero. Alas, the Scottish background doesn't contribute much to the story except a fantastic cover image. I was very disappointed to discover that the hero only wears the kilt for a masquerade ball - actually the cover is quite faithful to the details of his costume. The Laird Who Loved me is part of family series, like the ones Nora Roberts and other writers do. I feel like this book stands on its own, although if I had read and enjoyed the rest of the series I might be more tolerant of The Laird's foibles. My two main issues with the book are that a) it went too quickly to be a beach read - I finished it in an evening, and I wouldn't want to take up suitcase space with a book that went so fast, and b) the character of Caitlyn is a disservice to virgins everywhere. I am a master at willingly suspending my disbelief, but Caitlyn has so much instinctive knowledge of the ways of love, despite Alexander being the only man she's ever kissed. Even when they have sex, she's so knowledgeable in the ways of his body and hers that only her hymen tips off Alexander to her (formerly) virginal state. Give me a break! It's one thing for the older hero to initiate the ingénue into the ways of love, and for her to be a quick learner. For an older, experienced man to find a sheltered young woman his equal in the arts of love is just too much. To all you hopeful virgins out there, I find this to be beyond fantasy.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
The Laird Who Loved Me
By Amazon Customer
In this fifth installment of Karen Hawkins's series involving the MacLeans, we meet again Alexander MacLean, laird of his clan, and Caitlyn Hurst, the young miss who started all the trouble in the fourth book, Sleepless in Scotland. Alexander is intent on getting his revenge on Caitlyn for causing his family embarrassment. He gets Caitlyn invited to a house party, specifically for the purpose of ruining her. He figures it won't take much to push her impulsive nature into doing something he won't regret.

Caitlyn has promised her mother she will control her temper and be as proper as can be at the house party. But then she discovers Alexander MacLean is there, too, and all promises become a lot harder to keep. As they goad one another into increasingly daring situations, the flames that were ignited before leap to the fore again. In an attempt at resolving their situation, they agree to complete three tasks based on a myth. But who will be the real winner?

I enjoyed this story of revenge and love, though not as much as the previous installment. Alexander is almost hyper-male, though incredibly sexy. His lust for revenge is a bit wearying, but Caitlyn is a joy to read as she reacts to his taunts. The heat between them nearly scorches the pages. The Laird Who Loved Me is definitely a fine addition to the series.

Niki Lee
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful.
Terrible Series Ending
By Chase
I have enjoyed the four previous books in the MacLean series and was hoping the last book would be just as good. Unfortunately, it was a failure. When I read the prologue and learned that the hero was twenty years older than the heroine, I was already very turned off. But, I put it aside and finished the book. I was disappointed that none of Alexander MacLean's siblings showed up in this tale, and neither did the heroine's sister (who was the lead in the last story)...Often times, the best parts of series novels is when previous characters show up to either interfere or offer advice. I didn't really LIKE the lead characters and didn't find myself rooting for them to come together at any part of the book. The plot seemed flat and the supporting characters boring. Sadly, this book gets two big thumbs down.

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? Fee Download Say Chic: A Collection of French Words We Can't Live Without, by Francoise Blanchard, Jeremy Leven

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SAY CHIC...C'est magnifique!

Ever wonder why some French words have become so common in English as to be clichés? Or why your witty repartee wouldn't be quite so witty without them?

In Say Chic, Françoise Blanchard and Jeremy Leven collect more than seventy familiar French words and phrases that have become a permanent part of the American vocabulary. In their clever, often amusing style, the authors explain the origin of each word, its meaning, and how it came to be adopted into English. Uniting the sensibilities of an American author and a French author, these surprisingly entertaining stories combine world history, pop culture, etymology, and pithy observations about Americans and the French, with no small amount of panache.

Featuring delightful illustrations, Say Chic will find its raison d'être on the bookshelf of anyone who has ever longed to be an American in Paris and hankers for a bit more of that irresistible je ne sais quoi in America.

• Sales Rank: #1736101 in Books
• Brand: Brand: Scribner
• Published on: 2007-08-14
• Released on: 2007-08-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 7.50" h x .50" w x 4.50" l, .33 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

Features

• Used Book in Good Condition

About the Author
Fraçoise Blanchard is a well-traveled French woman who spent several years in the United States, where she met coauthor Jeremy Leven. After three years of collaboration, primarily on film projects, she returned home to Paris to write. She now lives in Seoul, Korea, with husband, Jung-Soon Choi.

Jeremy Levin veered from a career in the field of neuro-psychiatry to become a novelist, a screenwriter (Creator, Playing forKeeps, The Legend of Bagger Vance, Crazy as Hell, Alex & Emma, The Notebook), and a director (Don Juan DeMarco, which he also wrote). He divides his time between Paris, Connecticut, and New York City.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Chauffeur

[ show fur / show fur ]

From the French verb chauffer ("to heat"), chauffeur literally translates as "stoker," referring to Françoise Blanchard and Jeremy Leven a person responsible for maintaining a fire or boiler. Back in the 1800s, a chauffeur was also a kind of robber who would burn the feet of his victims to extort money. Fortunately, the contemporary chauffeur's responsibilities are limited to operating a vehicle. While Englishspeakers apply the term specifically to one who is paid to drive a client around in a private car, the much broader French meaning includes any person behind the wheel of a vehicle.

While the French are certainly not the worst drivers in the world, they do have their fair share of reckless drivers and road hogs, called chauffards, an insulting term that depicts them as substantially less competent drivers than regular chauffeurs. When called this to their faces, the are known to become overheated.

Copyright © 2004 by Les Editions Diateino

Illustrations copyright © 2007 by Paulina Reyes

Gauche /

gaucherie

[ goÝsh / goÝsh uh ree ]

The origin of gauche possibly lies in the verb gauchir ("to bend," "to deform," or "to distort"), which comes from the Old French guenchir ("to make diversions"). It was long believed that left-handers, called gauchers in French, suffered from an unfortunate abnormality. The fact that gauche has been used to describe a socially clumsy action, conduct, or remark lacking tact and grace certainly didn't help their cause.

The word arrived into English during the mid-nineteenth century with its French meaning, and has since been employed as a synonym for "unpolished," when talking about a style or technique. From gauche naturally derived gaucherie, first recorded in French in the eighteenth century. The term, referring to awkward behavior or a blunder that betrays one's maladroitness, also included the sense of timidity.

We will leave it to the reader to explore which nationalities, when visiting Paris, for example, are seen by the good citizens of France to behave in a manner consistently gauche, being insufferably loud and poorly mannered, a deficiency attributed almost entirely to their tragic misfortune of not being French.

Copyright © 2004 by Les Editions Diateino

Illustrations copyright © 2007 by Paulina Reyes

Most helpful customer reviews

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
A fun book for ADD reading
By sfoio
Cute, lighthearted. A fun book for ADD reading.

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