Bond Reviews

I am quite the Barry Bonds fan, so I looked very forward to reading This Gracious Season. Unfortunately the story was nearly impossible for me to focus on through all of the mis-punctuation, misuse of words, and failed attempts at lace. I think, that Josh Suchon, must have received, a royalty, from every, comma, used.
Yes, the story was a good one. But that has little to do with the author, being as this was a biography. I like that he threw in personal tidbits, but they were drowning in a sea of Josh Suchon's attempts at using a thesaurus, and showing off his ability to look up sports stats. One of my favorite movie lines (paraphrased) is applicable here: Sometimes more isn't better; it's just more.
Barry, I love you. Josh, stick to the papers.

As I began to read the book, This Gracious Season, by Josh Suchon, my initial reaction was that this was more than I ever wanted to know about baseball - or Barry Bonds, for that matter. But it didn't take long to really get into it as I counted each and every homer and read about all the other records he shattered. The author has an engaging style and a superb way of integrating the past with the present so that by the end of the book the reader has a complete picture of Barry Bonds - the man, the career and the records. I look forward to following Barry Bonds this season, and to another book by Mr. Suchon, in the not too distant future.

Okay, I'll admit it. I DO like Barry Bonds, so I looked forward to reading this book. Was Josh Suchon a Bonds fan? Well if he wasn't when he started, he was by the time he was done!

I think the book was written fairly, without bias, and it was very exciting, moving, and a great read. I knew the outcome, but I couldn't put the book down. And I didn't want it to end.

If you don't like Bonds, don't buy this book. If you are on the fence, you ought to give it a try, because it may change your mind. Suchon did a great job recreating a fabulous season, during a very trying time in our history. I will read this book again and again. Thanks for writing it, Josh!

As background: I've seen all the movies at least 4-5 times each, and read all the Ian Fleming books and short stories. That being said...

I thumbed through the book, and it's... OK. I'm surprised no one's put together a book of lists like this before for the 40-year-old franchise, but, much like the lists you see in Entertainment Weekly magazine or on the E! Channel, it's really a set of lists with not much in the way of in-depth, behind-the-scenes stories or newfound information.

Many of the lists are of the "Top 5" variety/ Trivial Pursuit variety; the only, all-film list is the ranking of the films themselves, and even there, it's subjective. Indeed, the critiques of each film are but a few short paragraphs long; one could easily fit each review in the weekend movie summary section of their local paper or -- again -- in the summary section of EW.

Also, unlike the recent books "James Bond: the Legacy" and "The Essential Bond" there's not much sense of context for these films. It may be a "guide' to one fan's choices for the best of Bond, but the organization is so casual, and the layout so cluttered, that it'd be hard to just sit down and read certain sections to point out to someone why they would like a particular film/ character/ plot/ scene/ etc.

Clearly, the author is a fan, and I can respect any fan of anything who can get a book published about the object of his or her devotion and admiration. While this book is worth some casual reading in the book store, I wouldn't recommend it all that much.

Di Leo's book, THE SPY WHO THRILLED US, for me, made interesting reading. Sure, there were some debatable items, but anytime I pick-up a book, and an hour later, I'm still thumbing through it, it (the book) has passed my test. I thought that his opinions were not "heavy handed," and quite frankly, I agreed with most of them. And unlike the Bond "Encyclopedias," et. al. publications, this one wasn't so dry that it put me to sleep.

If you're new to the movie series, or just like them, this will be a welcome addition to your bookshelf. It also would make a terrific present.

My pal (who's also a Bond fanatic) recommended I buy this book. And he was right on the money. Author DiLeo slices the thick Bond topic with a refreshingly different serrated knife. And doesn't apologize for his candid and sharp opinions regarding the series -- yet always manages to entertain and enlighten us with his abundant knowledge and love of BOND. Great book! Pick it up!

Is Unbelievable How some one can be conciderd an Expert, when Her own family life has been in shambles, I guess practice what you preach is not something they teach you in school.
The book is based on clinical mumbo-jumbo. and has no basis in reality.
Just my own opinion

I read the previous negative reviews of this book here, and I decided to read this book from cover to cover. Kudos to Charney Herst! It's about time someone said, "give mom a break" and to quit guilt tripping mothers so much. It's time for these adult daughters to take personal responsibility for their own actions. Things have gotten so out of hand in society today, there that it almost seems like a rite of passage for daughters to "hate" their mother in this day and age. I never could understand why is it people are so quick to blame mom's parenting for everything from drug abuse to international terrorism but if a person is a "success" a mom's influence is totally ignored. When was the last time you heard an Oscar winner thank their mother? While my adult daughter is not a "failure" or bad, she has made some lifestyle choices I'm not too happy about, and have had people say you should be ashamed for "letting" her do things. Thanks to Herst, I know I didn't "fail." I took comfort in the fact that Herst was not a "perfect" mom..only one who did the best she could. Herst never excused truly abusive and bad mothers for horrendous behavior, she only helps ordinary moms get rid of misplaced guilt, so that healing really can take place!

How could I explain one child that was easy to get along with and another child that was not? They were raised the same way. I made parenting mistakes, but there weren't severe. Our home was loving, our marriage healthy, the children loved. Why was it so hard? This book offers solace to mother's who feel lost and terribly saddened by their difficult relationship with their daughter. It also offers excellent tips for improving your relationship with your daughter, without blaming either party. In my case, it was as simple as learning to hold back on offering advice and learning how to make sympathetic noises instead. Within just a few months, her screaming outbursts had stopped and I was no longer being wounded. One and a half years later, my daughter calls me her best friend. I learned how we all have a "perfect" daughter imagined in our mind and we must let go of those images and learn to love who our daughter is. It sounds simple, but it is not. People are born with different personalities and some people are naturally prickly and irritable. I appreciate the author who helped me see this and helped me see that I did not fail the daughter I love so much.

This was my first experience with the "modern' James Bond. I strongly suspect that the only people who like Gardner (or Benson) are the ones who have never read Fleming. This one dimensional book had a weak villian, the 2 key plot elements had no apparent connection, and an uncharacteristically dumb action by Bond which led to the deaths of 2 allies. This last was only a plot device to prolong the novel. And Bond falling in love with some incompetent woman he just me, get real. This Bond is just a poor copy. At least the movies are fun.

Beginning with the murder of two members of a VERY well-organized spy ring known as Cabal, Bond teams up with another MI6 agent to try and find out what happened to the remaining members of the organization and find out who was behind it.

Wow! John Gardner has a masterpiece this time. This is one of the best espionage novels I've read. Bond goes up against some of the most sinister and ruthless villains, and in this novel almost nobody can be trusted. The amount of double-crosses and plot twists is astounding, and unlike the more recent Bond movies, the plot is complex and (gasp) logical! As Bond unravels more clues as to who is killing Cabal's agents, he must use every means available to survive, and to stop a cataclysmic event orchestrated by a ruthless organization.

Because of the rich and twisting plot, Death Is Forever captures the more sinister elements of the spy world with nothing short of brilliance. HIGHLY recommended.

Maybe I checked this out from the library expecting not to like it. (The Raymond Benson ones I got I really didn't like.) But as soon as I read the first page, I was hooked. It felt like I was reading another Fleming novel, with agents mysteriously dying with means that would have been used in his day. The more modern era and the relics of the past (the CABAL network and what it's up against) are blended together seamlessly. It kept me hooked until the very end. If you like the Fleming novels and plot-changing surprises, read this. If you prefer the new-millenium Bond, well, I can't say much for your taste, but whatever floats your boat...

The meat is in Charlie D's lecture, a little foreplay before, nothing later on. The rest of the book looks like it is written for the Sports Illustrated book of the month club.

"The principles of trading are the same if you're trading 10,20,50 or 100 contracts at a time, or if you're simply trading one. But it takes less time to make more money when you're a larger trader."

When Charlie figured out trading calendar spreads was the most consistent way to make money he mastered the concept and started trading 50-lots at a time instead of always living in fear of losing money trading 1-lots.

He took little blips out (of the market) with enormous size.

Everybody's trading price relationships, you have to have a position on to earn a living. The bigger the position the less time it takes and the more you earn. Always challenge yourself to do it bigger and better and with more size.

"The longer time you serve ... with a position on, the more you know about yourself and the more you know about trading."

"One of the most important things you learn with positions on is how to get out of a trade. You have to take losses today so that you can come back tomorrow."

"The time you know you've become a good trader is that first day you were able to win by holding and adding to a winning position."

---0o0----

The meat is in Charlie D's lecture, a little foreplay before, nothing later on. The rest of the book looks like it is written for the Sports Illustrated book of the month club.
"The principles of trading are the same if you're trading 10,20,50 or 100 contracts at a time, or if you're simply trading one. But it takes less time to make more money when you're a larger trader."
When Charlie figured out trading calendar spreads was the most consistent way to make money he mastered the concept and started trading 50-lots at a time instead of always living in fear of losing money trading 1-lots.
He took little blips out (of the market) with enormous size.
Everybody's trading price relationships, you have to have a position on to earn a living. The bigger the position the less time it takes and the more you earn. Always challenge yourself to do it bigger and better and with more size.
"The longer time you serve ... with a position on, the more you know about yourself and the more you know about trading."
"One of the most important things you learn with positions on is how to get out of a trade. You have to take losses today so that you can come back tomorrow."
"The time you know you've become a good trader is that first day you were able to win by holding and adding to a winning position."

Charlie D is a wonderful biography that I could not stop reading. It helps put things into perspective. Investing and making money is one thing, but you have to live life as well otherwise you won't be able to appreciate your work and money. This book will give some motivation and help your psychological frame of mind, but will not directly help your stock picking and trading like the other books.

This book scores big points with me, as it has a lot of interesing reading & great pictures. On the other hand, it sports a couple of glaring errors in the writing which undermines one's confidence in the rest of the book. The author who covers the chapter on the F-14 Tomcat for example, seems to have made up the section on deployment. In big, bold letters at the beginning of the chapter, and again on a table of squadrons, he announces that all but eight F-14 squadrons have been decommissioned. A quick check with the Navy (I highly recommend their web site) confirms that no less than 13 squadrons presently exist. Is this a "nitpicky" detail? Possibly, but the people who publish these books are supposedly aviation experts....I'm glad they're not writing medical references... Creative writing notwithstanding, this is still an interesting book.

This volume is a good mix of detailed history and other information on USAF fighter and attack aircraft of the 1960s thorugh 1980s (A-10, F-15, F-16, F-18, etc.) along with some rather sketchy data on late-model Soviet craft and stealth craft. The photos of the Soviet craft are particularly disappointing; most of them look like long-range surveillance photos shot in the Soviet era rather than the clear views seen at major air shows in the last decade.

As a definitive reference it falls short, but as an enjoyable read for buffs, it's a good value. I bought a copy for an aviation-obsessed nephew, and he's mad about it. Owners of more complete and detailed libraries might be more subdued in their enthusiasm.

I am not an entirely experienced Aviation reader, so for a starter reference for buffs, this is a great book. It is very detailed and goes well in-depth on the American warplanes. While some better coverage of foreign warplanes would be nice, I am personally most enthralled by American warplanes, so it's fine. A great coffee table book, great for anyone who wants to be able to learn about their favorite jet well enough to talk about it, but not too detailed to be cryptic.

John Gardner doesn't do much with the James Bond character in License Renewed. Look elsewhere for a good read.

John Gardner's first James Bond novel is outstanding, a magnificent achievement!

He has completely revitalized Bond. The worldly agent that Ian Fleming created is back here to stay. Bond is an even more dangerous and brilliant on these page than he ever was! He puts his life on the line and lets it role!

The villain, Anton Murik Laird of Murcaldy, is an enduring version of the classic Fleming scoundrel. He is a worthy opponent, for the new daring do Bond.

Gardner definitely has something of substance to add to the Fleming library.

I love this aabook. they need to make it a movie.

Cold Fall's plot isn't terrible, but John Gardner did a shoddy job of writing. There were a bunch of discrepancies that a diehard Bond fanatic would notice. Bond's character did a few things he has never done before, like ordering beer instead of a martini. Like loving two women he had sex with. Like not being the hero because he called in "the cavalry" at the end of the book. Gardner is past his prime. Many of his Bond books have been enjoyable, but Cold Fall signals the demise of John Gardner. I can only hope it doesn't signal the demise of James Bond.

The plot is a little to Americanized because it has bond fighting COLD, a militia type group in the United States. Also you will have to read Nobody Lives Forever and Seafire to understand this one. Bond also gets over Fredricka Von Gruse a little to easily, but the sex and violence that make James Bond James Bond were plentiful.

After reading some of the previous reviews, I thought I was in for a big letdown. It just goes to show you that you can't believe everything you read! READ THE BOOK! Cold Fall is an espionage masterpiece and I totally enjoyed it! I have been reading John Gardner's James Bond series for over ten years now and I never grow tired of them, although the last two installments (SeaFire & Never Send Flowers) were not up to par with some other the earlier ones. Cold Fall features not one, but FOUR Bond women, a really nasty megalomaniacal villian, plus all of the usual cloak & dagger action that makes James Bond a favorite literary character!

The only problem I have with Cold Fall is that it ended too soon! What will happen to James Bond and the newly reorganized British Secret Service? Will Gardner write another installment? One can only hope so.

I havent read any of gardner's books. but from what i hear leming rules all bond novels. I say stick with fleming forget gardner. Benson's allright.

This was the first John Gardner 007 book that I read. I really enjoy James Bond stories and movies as well. However, in the books and movies that I have seen, James Bond was more of a ladies man and was free from commitment. In this book, James is pretty much tied down and very much in love with one woman. This was something that I did not particuarly agree with, coming to know James Bond as a bachelor is how I would much rather keep it. Neverheless, I did enjoy reading this book and getting into the story.

The story was a little weak because it had Bond fighting a Nazi plot which is something every suspense novelist has their hero do at one time or another. This novel is worth reading however because of Bond's marrige proposal to Fredricka Von Gruse and it's emotional ending. It's a good showing of Bond's human side.

The fundamental flaw in this book is that it is written by an American. For any Westerner to presume that they can, with authority, describe what makes Chinese tick is ludicrous. The book is all the more damaging because it is written in a style that leads some readers to believe it is based on scientific study by a well-healed professional.

I know the author of this book. I have seen him as a client, and was dismayed by his lack of understanding of Chinese people. He is an American who has lived in Hong Kong for over twenty-five years, but has retained his American viewpoint. When his book came out, my Chinese husband and I both read it. There are so many Western-style generalizations about Chinese people in this book that it is an insult to all Chinese. I was very surprised to see it still on the shelves of the foreign language section of Xinhua Book Store the last time I was in Beijing.

I have now been working in Hong Kong for nearly four months. A colleague lent me 'Beyond the Chinese Face' in my first week here in Hong Kong. I have lived in several different countries and cultures, and so have at least an intellectual understanding of different perspectives and ways of seeing the world. But it is amazing how unhelpful one's intellectual awarenesses are when faced with understanding actual events or situations in a new cultural setting. What 'Beyond the Chinese Face' managed to do for me was to assist me in building a framework in which to understand what I observed on a daily basis. By enabling me to feel that I understood more about the context I was in, I felt more relaxed, and so was able to engage with different customs and rules more easily. Even Hong Kong bureaucracy became more comprehensible! I liked the fact that the book made it clear that many of the existing research studies are flawed, but the overall patterns emerging from research were clearly laid out. It was refreshing also to read a book that was based on academic research but was written in a style that was accessible and easy to read. If only more academic writing were like this! This is a valuable resource for all newcomers to Hong Kong. Thanks, Michael.

I think the reader from Victoria, BC, Canada was probably most right here in this forum. You have to know what you can expect and what you cannot. What you cannot expect here, is a guide to the thinking of around 1,5 billion people, because that is the number of people we're talking about.

And they are very very different, I would dare to say more different than any other ethnic (can we say so?) group worldwide: you have ABCs (American born Chinese), their parents and certainly CBCs, Aussie BCs and so on. There are Singapore-Chinese and overseas Chinese in other Asian countries. Taiwan Chinese and Hong Kong Chinese. And then there is this huge mainland area with around 1.3 billion Chinese, where the living conditions differ so greatly that it's hard to imagine for anyone who hasn't been there.

All those people are Chinese, but the all have different backgrounds: capitalistic system or planned economy (though even the mainland is shifting very quickly towards capitalism, stronger than outsiders usually see), freedom of speech or getting killed for speaking out the truth, diversity or open hate from other societal groups (e.g. Indonesia) and so on and so on. And then there is the fact that people differ even within a society, with the result that you could very easily meet Chinese people from, say Beijing, who are very open sexual and have more sexual experience than, say, an American 30 year old who never had a girlfriend. Nevertheless it's a fact that most Chinese are not like that but instead having less sexual experience than their western counterparts (I'm not judging this, just stating the fact as the book says it and also as my own experience supports it).

Now, one could say (and 3 other readers did so) that this book is therefore useless. I strongly disagree. First of all the author states exactly this fact at the beginning and warns about generalisations (as every psychological book should do so). Second the information he gives is in around 95 % of the cases supported by my own experience (nationality: German; 8 months living in Hong Kong, studying Business and Chinese and working, travelling on the mainland to Shanghai/ Beijing/ Guangzhou/ Shenzhen, also having lived in the US for 6 months meeting quite a few ABCs,).

So use this guide as a background information but not as a "now I know everything about Chinese"- guidebook. Nobody will ever know everything about the Chinese, simply because there are no "Chinese" as such. But this is the general problem of all social sciences where there is no 1+1=2 like in maths. Knowing that, this book helps you a bit and gives you quite a few "I see!"s on your journey into the fascinating Chinese culture (which is indeed possible for a non-Chinese although the reader from San Francisco obviously doesn't think so). Therefore I rate the book 5 star because it delivers what it promises and this is how I define quality.