Eagle Reviews

This is by far the best concert DVD that I've come across in a long time. The quality of performance is simply matchless.

The set opens on a darkened stage with a few guitar notes played in tremolo style, then unto a guy setting the pace on a percussion instrument making way to Don Felder and Joe Walsh alternating on classical guitars that shortly turns into the familiar opening strains of 'Hotel California' - giving this rock standard a classical air so far removed from the electric treatment in its original studio version - before Don Henley takes over in his wailing vocals. What a way to open a concert!

Don Henley, Glen Frey, Timothy Schmit, Joe Walsh and Don Felder never sounded better. In fact the songs sound far superior in this concert than in the original studio versions, which in itself is a novelty considering that studio versions are supposed to be more polished and refined than live versions. This only attests to how great performers The Eagles really are.

Some of the Eagles standards are performed in this concert, from the high notes of 'I Can't Tell You Why' featuring Timothy Schmit to the fine harmony of 'Take It Easy' with Glen Frey taking the lead. Joe Walsh's rapid fire guitar work in 'Life In A Fast Lane' is a thing to behold, not to mention the mandolin-flavored 'Tequila Sunrise' with Don Felder tinkering with his stringed instrument. 'Desperado' is simply outstanding in its simplicity, with the bulk of the instrumental work focused on the piano ably played by Glen Frey.

New materials, some of them lifted from Don Henley's previous solo album releases, are also featured, showing to full effect Don Felder and Joe Walsh's guitar virtuosity, Don Henley's prowess on drums and Timothy Schmit's subtle but fine bass playing. Timothy takes the lead in the uplifting 'Love Will Keep Us Alive' and Joe does his thing in 'Pretty Maids All In A Row' before Don takes over in 'New York Minute', the somber 'The Last Resort' and the fast and exuberantly danceable 'Get Over It'. What a pleasant surprise that a rock band like The Eagles could be so effective doing a pure country tearjerker, the sad and melancholic 'The Girl From Yesterday', with Glen Frey emphatically taking the lead with full orchestral backing. The guy can obviously give those Nashville folks a run for their money! One has to wonder though why Don Felder did not take the spotlight as lead vocalist in any of the songs in this program, just contentedly concentrating on his electric/classical/slide guitars and mandolin.

As singers and musicians, The Eagles are difficult to match. In 'Hell Freezes Over', the group really soared to new heights!

'Hell Freezes Over' was recorded way back in 1994. The DVD however, didn't come out until much later, so fans quite happily listened to the normal CD of the concert ... not knowing that one day this fantastic concert would be safe and treasured on a DVD .... and for the lucky ones who did their homework, bought the DTS version. Even if you have the non-DTS version you can still enjoy this magic experience. What I love most about this album is Henley's incredible voice. On top of that, my all time favourite Eagles songs are here - Wasted Time, Pretty Maids, and the Final Resort. The Eagles album tracks have always been better than the singles, and they must know this too! That's why you'll hardly find many singles on this DVD.
Don Henley's voice is 100% perfect and I cannot rave enough about how clear it is! 'Wasted Time' is done so beautifully that it will send shivers right up your spine ... and you will get goosebumps for sure. And I almost cried when he did 'Last Resort' because it was so beautiful.
The DVD picture quality is amaazingly good considering its only video. Pity it's not widescreen, but the sound CERTAINLY makes up for it. For those who have DTS surround sound, I'm sure you will agree that this is the finest Music DVD out there. It's been out for nearly 2 years now, and it still sits at the No 1. spot on the Music DVD chart in Australia. For those who want an even sharper picture, order a copy from Australia because its been converted to PAL. And for those who are wondering whether to buy this - I can't recommend a DVD more. You will NEVER tire of this incredible experience. God bless the Eagles for bringing such a beautiful DVD to the world.

After a 14-year vacation, the Eagles still sound great. It's Hotel California sounds better than the original. You put this DVD, close your eyes and you feel inside the concert. This is a must have for everyone loves good music.

Forsyth sets himself a problem with the theme of this book ;it is about an attempt to assassinate General de Gaule and ,as is widely known ,the man died of natural causes .Thus Forsyth denies himself one central tension-excitement about the outcome.That he still writes a brilliant and suspenseful thriller ,by concentrating on process rather than outcome ,is a testimony to his skills as fiction writer and his background in journalism.
The book is written in a clinical ,detached style reminiscent of a police report ,or indeed non polemical investigative journalism.There are few stylistic flourishes and much technical detail .We are rarely made privy to the way characters think or feel and this gives the book a documentary mood ; events feel viewed as from a distance lending the book an eerie and chilling feel.
The right wing OAS -a real organization -who feel that de Gaulle has betrayed France by granting Algerian independence hire the Jackal ,a professional ,to assassinate him .We learn little of the Jackal except that he is a blond Englishman ,ruthless and efficient at his trade .As he lays his plans -new identity ,weapons ,location etc so the French authorities realise that he is an altogether tougher proposition than the fanatics who have tried to kill de Gaulle previously and the hunt is on.From that point on the book goes into overdrive and is almost unbearably suspenseful and gripping.
One of the very best thrillers ever and probably the best ever about a manhunt.

Day of the Jackal is not just Frederick Forsyth's best book; it's the best book in it's genre. A political killer code-named "The Jackal" is hired to assassinate Charles De Gaulle, president of France. He is the best, not appearing on any police file. But through one small twist of fate, the French authorities learn of this plot, and set Claude Lebel, their best detective to find The Jackal. From there, the race is on, and Forsyth gives the reader front-row seats. He has created a sizzling rivalry between the cold-blooded assassin and the one policeman talented enough to stop him, and the suspense never lets up. Through deception, betrayal, and luck, Lebel tracks the killer throughout Europe, ending in the climactic assassination attempt itself. Based on true events, the obvious outcome doesn't take away from the thrill of the chase. This is the book that set the standard for others to try and follow

They are the veterans of the futile war in Algeria. The President cares nothing for them, their cause or their forgotten colony. Attempt after attempt to take the life of the president have failed. Simply put: the OAS is dying. With informers at every level and no money left, they seek retribution.

The only man on earth capable of full filling their lust for vengeance is an anonymous, blond english man who calls himself -- The Jackal. Unknown to every police force and secret service on earth, The Jackal does not exist. With a price of half a million dollars The Jackal will assassinate the most heavily guarded man on earth-President Charles de Gualle.

With utmost precision and professionalism we follow the Jackal through his elite plan to kill his target.

This was a sweet novel. This book should be read by any would-be assassin and by every would-be writer who wants to write about Assassins...

This Higgins classic is a suspenseful tale of World War II intrigue. Interesting characters on both sides of the plot and an unpredictable conclusion. If you only read one Higgins book, this should certainly be it.

If there are two Jack Higgins books you absolutely MUST read, then this one and also EYE OF THE STORM are top of the list! This is perhaps his best known one in the UK - in 1943, Germany plots the ultimate undercover operation where an assorted ragbag of NAzi sympathisers and German paratroopers(Kurt Steiner being the main character here) clandestinely invade England to kidnap Prime Minister Winston Churchill. One of the main protagonists is Liam Devlin, an IRA fighter who teams up with the Germans and enjoys a romance with farmhand Molly Prior throughout the story. Everything seems to go smoothly until two children almost drown and one of the Germans tries to rescue them - and the residents of Norfolk village Studley Constable(where a lot of the action takes place) soon discover what exactly is about to happen. At this pojnt, the action moves swifty and builds up to an unexpected climax. One wonders if such a thing really did happen during World War 2, on reading the closing lines in the book . . . you never know! A real page-turner, which, although written in 1975, is still a winner today.

It's been a while since I read this awesome WW 2 adventure. I still remember the story though. A crack team of German paratroopers are sent to England to kidnap or kill Prime Minister Winston Churchill. There's also an IRA gunman helping the Nazis on their mission. He gets romantically involved with an English farm girl.
The story is very well detailed. The SS scenes are probably as realistic as they get. The Germans blow their cover when they try to rescue a boy from drowning in the English village of Studley Constable. This leads to the hold-up of hostages in a church. That's when the action really begins. Like Higgins states in the book, at least 50% of this story is documented historical fact. You have to decide for yourself how much of the rest of it may have actually happenned.
If you like this book, also check out "The Dark Side of the Island," one of Jack Higgins' lesser known books. It's another great adventure.

I expected to enjoy this book, since I love military and suspense novels. However, I soon realized that this book wasn't what I thought it was. The dialogue is truly awful, unless you enjoy comic book tough guy language. The heroes use flippant humor when they are in grave danger, not just once or twice, but continuously. I almost stopped reading, it was so annoying. And a Brit writing American slang dialogue for one of the characters is almost as bad as an American writing British dialogue. It just doesn't sound quite right.

The plot, although certainly creative, just wasn't believable. Maybe this type of novel isn't meant to be believable, but it sure is something I like to see. And there weren't just one or two instances of these improbable plot elements. They just kept coming and coming. For example: an escape from their German captors based on a brilliant improvisation. In another instance, an impersonation of a double agent based on unbelievable luck, gullibility of the SS (not generally known for this) and a few convenient added elements that seemed just too good to be true.

Now I should say that this type of book might appeal to a teenage boy. I think I would have enjoyed it at that age. But as an adult, I would look for better writing and a more realistic plot. If you are looking for something in the way of a 20th century military novel, I would recommend the following authors: Jack Higgins, James Webb, Tom Clancy, Patrick Robinson, Herman Wouk, James Jones, Larry Bond, Dale Brown, and Anton Myrer. _The Eagle has Landed_, _The Caine Mutiny_ and _The Hunt for Red October_ are among the best of these novels that I have read. Jack Higgin's books are probably most similar to MacLean's, with exciting plots and heroic characters, but with more realism and better dialogue.

I read all of MacLean's books when I was a kid, and although Where Eagles Dare is not his best, it is easily his most exciting. I remember being up at 4 a.m., unable to stop reading.

Unusually, this is MacLean's only book in which he wrote a screenplay first, then based the novel on his script (that's why the film seems such a faithful adaptation). As a result, the book is shorter and leaner then many of his novels, and it definitely works for the story. The suspense never stops building, the action sequences - especially atop the cable car - are some of the best he's ever written, and the characters have a very entertaining repartee between them, particularly Smith and Shaffer. Where Eagles Dare also features some of MacLean's sexiest female heroes, not always present in his books.

The Guns of Navarone had a greater scope and deeper character development, H.M.S. Ulysses was harrowing, gritty and deeply humanistic, Ice Station Zebra had a plot with more twists and double-crosses, but Where Eagles Dare was MacLean's all-time action/suspense fest.

Alistair Maclean's novel, 'Where Eagles Dare,' is a great adventure story that takes the reader back to the desperate days of World War Two. The story centers around a crack British commando team infiltrating a Bavarian stronghold to rescue a high-ranking American officer. From start to finish this is riviting fiction. Maclean's protagonists are the kind of characters that make you want to cheer and the plot contains enough twists to keep you guessing right up to the end. The movie version of this novel, which stars Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood, is one of the the most faithful film interpretations of a book ever made. Read the book and then see the film!

I've read this piece of "flawed, outrageous humanity" no less than a hundred times, and have yet to find anything more truly gorgeous, more terrible, more moving, or more hilarious. Pat Conroy chooses the most beautiful words of the English language and strings them together like jewels; the story crafts the lovely as well as the hideous. Mr. Conroy tells a story that is so engaging that it is nearly impossible to stop reading. Somehow this book is especially appealing to those people whose families and backgrounds are less than perfect-yet even these people are able to find something to identify with in this book. I would recommend this to anyone over 18, due to some mature subjects.

If you like short stories, you'll love this book--it's a compilation of them. If you like novels, I've never read anything so accessible yet so challenging. If you think your life was hard, read this book. If you love beauty, poetry, nature, words, literature, or the south, read this. Mr. Conroy's other books are also several notches above excellent.

PS-skip the movie. I've only ever seen one movie that was as good as the book, and this wasn't it.

Pat Conroy's novel, which is a long read if you've seen the book or if you've read it, is a rich and romantic story telling of the lives of Tom Wingo, a Southern man with a dark past, and his love affair with New York psychiatrist Susan Lowenstein. But then novel is much more than that. It looks at the world of children, innocent in play and fancy in imagination, their trauma with an abusive father, issues of morality and of parental love. The novel is very narrative, Tom Wingo is a character whose mind can fill an entire palace of memories. There are many elements of the story that people nowaday can relate to. Look at the characters of Tom's mother, his sister Savannah and the charming urbane Dr. Lowenstein and her father-deprived son and you will see how closely connected to reality this novel can be. It is a romance, and in fact, in its depiction of an affair almost close to Bridges of Madison County. This novel will make you cry, will make you think and will warm your heart. So pick up a copy and read it before bed, perhaps listening to the music of Bach, who is the favored composer of Dr. Lowenstein's son. You will fall in love with Conroy's imagery and romanticism. A five star read.

When I first read this magnificent book, I couldn't put it down because it always kept me yearning for more. I loved the story from the very beginning to the very end and the way that Pat Conroy wrote with so many different emotions, it really made me feel like I was there experiencing and observing everything that was happening on Melrose Island, South Carolina. This fascinating novel of love, abuse, humor, rape, and the ultimate struggle through life is about the very dysfunctional Wingo family and their experiences throughout life. Tom Wingo, the protagonist and narrator of the story, retold his life in the South with so much feeling and depth that I could not resist but to have empathy for his character. With his father, Henry Wingo, physically and mentally abusing the family, his grandmother, Lila and the amusing part in the story when she was pretending to be dead in the coffin, the most powerful scene in the novel which is a big part of the reason why Savannah is mentally ill, and Tom's constant effort to find peace with his past all showcase that this book is a must read for anyone and everyone who desires the beauty of life's lessons. Despite the length of the book, The Prince of Tides is definitely one that you can't put down after you have picked it up because it will captivate your every emotion and keep you guessing how the story will conclude. I ultimately recommend this book to everyone who enjoys being able to relate to what he or she reads and at the end learning from these experiences and knowing that even though we all go through hardships, life goes on. Please pick up a copy because I guarantee you will not be unsatisfied!

my first attempt at wilbur smith since reading river god which was great. this was just ok. fast paced, but not much too it.

This is a great book by Wilbur Smith! I have read other books by him, and this is definitely one of my favorites! I don't like stories where you can guess the ending, and this is definitely not one of them. The plot is full of twists and turns. The main character is very human, not some Superman-type character that the reader can't relate to at all. The villains are bad, but believably so. They aren't bad in a dorky kind of way.

This is a great sea adventure. The book is how Harry Fletcher and his friends have to beat Manny Resnick and his goons to "the eye of the tiger." They are looking for a treasure ship off the coast of Africa. Along the way Harry Fletcher falls in love with a woman who is not all that she seems to be. This story has action, mystery, romance, and a good plot. What else does a good book need?

When a friend found out that I am a big fan and avid reader of the Dirk Pitt novels, he said "if you like Cussler, you'll love Wilbur Smith." I followed his advice and tried out Eye of the Tiger. This is the first Wilbur Smith novel I've read, and it definitely will not be the last. I'm definitely hooked!

Why am I so hooked? It's an engrossing page-turner, it has lots of lively action, the bad guys are eminently hate-able without being cartoonish, the heros are believable and all the more lovable because they have such human foibles, and everything in the story is so believable.

The hero (Harry Fletcher) is a manly-man who is able to think and fight his way out of apparently impossible situations, yet at the same time never comes across as an invincible superman. I think I also like him so much is that he is a reluctant hero. Circumstances are forced upon him, rather than him being sent in to save the world because he's the only one who could do it. In some ways, he is almost like Hemmingway's Old Man and the Sea, except that Wilbur Smith likes for his Hero to come out ahead in the end.

But I think the part that I most appreciated was that there were so many unpredictable surprises and twists, yet in hindsight, all the clues were there. Let me explain. My wife refuses to watch a movie with me the first time she sees it, because the clues are so ibvious that I usually figure out who dunnit or what the big surprise will be early on, and can explain why. Either that, or I get mad because the clues are never presented at all and the hero figures it out only through knowledge of some totally arcane trivia or by way of some clue that the author never actually presents to us in the book (or movie). This sucks! At least give me a chance.

Not so with this book! There were some wonderful twists that I found myself very happy to see because, in hindsight, the clues were all there, and it was totally valid for the hero to catch them, and I should have caught them to. For example, I didn't have to know about Flame Coral to draw the same conclusion Harry drew - I should have understood the implications of the other diver not knowing what it was. (You'll understand once you read the book).

Bottom line: my friend was right. If you like Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt novels, you WILL definitely like Wilbur Smith's Eye of the Tiger. I have already ordered a bunch more of Wilbur's books to add to my stack of Cussler novels.

I found New York Dead to be a very good and exciting book. I have read a few Stuart Woods books and have quite a few more to read. I have started my collection of Stuart Woods books and I am looking forward to reading much more. This book New York Dead had me on the edge of my seat all the time, especially when Herb was about to do stone in and then Dino at the last minute came to his rescue. I thought it was very freaky how when Stone came into the dining area and seen all of the corpses sitting at the table. I could only imagine the look on his face. I never expected that to happen. That is what I like about Stuart Woods books, just when you think you know what is going to happen, something else does. I stongly reccomend this book to everyone who likes mysteries. All Stuart Woods books are keepers.

This review is about the abridged audiobook narrated by Efrem Zimbalist.

I have read quite a few of Stuart Woods' books. This is one of the best. Stone Barrington is a very appealing character. The book is quite suspenseful and a real page-turner.

The one negative is the narrator, Efrem Zimbalist. He uses the same voice for all the characters. This makes his narration rather dull. I have listened to many audio books and most of the narrators offer a variety of voices for different characters.

There can never be enough detective novels set in NYC for my taste (I could be bias since I live here). After reading this book I can say that I look forward to reading the rest of the Stone Barrington series. This book is very well written and the story was very enjoyable. Of course the most important thing was the the story flowed,the pages kept turning.

I thoroughly enjoyed the beginnings of Body and Soul - its descriptions of New York, Claude's relationship to his mother, Weisfeld, and Al; the education of a musical prodigy. But the more I read it, the more letdown I felt. The plot got too cliched, too unrealistic, too predictable. Claude seemed to jump from being a rather inwardly focused person to a more social person without much knowledge of how it happened. His relationship to Weisfeld and Lady were well drawn, but not his relationships with others. He seemed a little too perfect in some ways as well. Yet I liked the mood the book created of the music world, and especially enjoyed the jazz performance scenes.

Body and Soul was named best book of 1993 by Publisher's Weekly. There's a good-guy hero, and there's adversity for him to courageously overcome to reach his dream. Director of the Writer's Workshop at the Univ of Iowa, Frank Conroy avoided the easy-out of formula fiction in favor of crafting his novel with straightforward language and careful writing. We meet 6yo Claude, trapped in a NY apartment all day while his mother drives a taxi. He discovers an old piano in his basement apartment and learns to play. As his talent is recognized, interesting people come into his life and help him along the way toward recognition as a prodigy. As a bonus, the story is set in New York in the 30s thru the 60s, so weget a sociology lesson in inner city life of that era.
Also, read Conroy's engaging memoir, Stop-Time.

This wonderful book provides little known insight into the mind of a musician. I found that it had a generally interesting story, although it seemed a little melodramatic at times, especially toward the end. Frank Conroy knows a lot about the musical world, and ties all of the 'trivia' into relevant parts of the story. This book says a lot about the inner psychology of music, or any of the arts. One negative though: Conroy is WAY too hard on Schönberg!

I am surprised that this book is not mandatory reading for all education students. I had the pleaseure of reading Beach music this summer and chose this becauce I had enjoyed his other book so much. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Conroy had an early career in education.

As an 8th grade teacher I enjoy reading books about others in education, but quality teaching stories are hard to find.

I loved this lyrical tale of Conroy's year spent teaching on a remote South Carlina island. He faced immense challenges in this primative school, but loved his students and made a great impact on these young lives.

I found his stories both tragic and humorous. Aternatley lauging and crying. Conroy is a gifted story teller capturing the children, the island and himself woth poignancy and clarity. This was delightful to read!

Published in the 1970's, "The Water Is Wide" was the first of author Pat Conroy's novels to be adapted for the big screeen, that project being "Conrack," starring Jon Voight. Conroy's uproaringly hilarious and, at the same time, heartbreakingly honest and moving story-telling should be read first to catch the spirit that the film doesn't totally harness. Conroy spent a year on the improverished, virtually isolated and forgotten Yamacraw Island off the South Carolina coast as teacher to an economically and socially devastated group of children, most African-Americans, that the outside world seems to have cast off and neglected until Conroy reaches shore. Little does he know on arrival just how desperate his pupils lack even the basics of life, and he gets a clue when his children, unable to pronounce their teacher's name, instead come up with "Conrack." But through an ingenuity as an educator and an even greater gift to tap into the souls of his destitute pupils, Conrack manages to lift the veil of ignorance and instill in his wards a thirst for knowledge. In powerfully moving story-telling fashion that will invoke both laughter and tears, Conroy teaches us just how much one person can make a difference in a life of another who has been left behind. And at the same time, Conroy manages to instill in his readers a sense of compassion for the status quo that most of us are blessed enough not to endure. Well worth a read once and again, "The Water Is Wide" masterfully bridges the gap between classes and races and implores each of us to exericse our humanity for the good of the lesser of our children.

"The Water Is Wide" was Pat Conroy's second book, a non-fiction account of the year he spent teaching poverty-stricken children on isolated Yamacraw Island in South Carolina. Conroy went on to write four truly excellent novels over the next two decades, but this one is perhaps more hard-hitting. It combines his already remarkable prose with a brutally honest and telling look at the sad state of public education in an environment nobody wanted to fool with--in a racially-charged era.

Conroy readily admits that he was filled with white liberal guilt by his early twenties, and he was ready to save the world when he plunged headlong into the Yamacraw teaching position nobody else wanted. His task was all but impossible--teaching a classroom of poor, hopelessly uneducated black kids not only how to read, write and spell (many literally couldn't write their names), but to comprehend that there was a big, incredible world out there. As Conroy quickly realized, most of the kids had never even ventured off the small island.

Sadly, the biggest obstacle facing Conroy were the administrators and school board in neighboring Beaufort, Conroy's hometown. These were the folks who supervised the Yamacraw school, and to Conroy's disbelief, the harder he worked to enlighten his students, the more roadblocks were thrown at him from black and white bureaucrats. Standing up for his principles and calling attention to the problems of the poor island school eventually cost Conroy his teaching position--a job he desperately wanted to keep for another year, as he'd come to love the students and their families.

Brutally honest and beautifully written, "The Water Is Wide" is a tightly written novel which leaves a profound impression. Although relations between the races have improved tremendously since this book was written, its subject matter is still very relevant today, as educational politics still fester in school systems large and small, rich and poor. Strongly recommended for all Conroy fans, and for any past, present or future educators.

Captivating story of a young Roman soldier's search to find the Eagle and the fate of his father's lost legion, the Ninth Hispania. This was the first historical novel I ever read and it started my passion for Roman history that continues to this day. The fate of the Ninth Hispania has always been a mystery to Roman historians. Rosemary Sutcliff personalizes the story of how this legion may have met it's end and how a young man's love for his father drives him to search beyond the known limits of Rome to find the truth. One of the best books of a truly outstanding author. Intended for young readers it will be enjoyed by adults as well.

This was the first time I'd read about the Roman occupation of Britain from a Roman viewpoint. Before, I'd always seen it from the side of the British, but this showed a totally new perspective. The mood of this book reminds me of rain, I'm not sure why. Even when the are running for their lives, it always seems to be in slow motion, but considering the ending, I think this is appropriate. This is the story of a young roman man (Marcus) who was distchared from the legions after an injury. After he recovers, he decides to go on a quest to find out what happened to his fathers ninth hispana legion and his father. They had been sent to subdue the rebellious tribes in Scotland; they were last seen marching into the mists, and never heard of again. It is Marcus's goal, with the help of his British friend Esca, to recover the lost eagle of the ninth.

I think Rosemary Suttliff is one of the greatest authors ever and The Eagle of the Ninth is one of my favorites of her books (I love all of them). It is almost impossible to get good historical fiction and Suttcliff is one of the few great authors in tha genre. I really care about the characters in this book. I can really identify with Marcus's feelings. Esca is extemely interesting, and Cottia is not the typical female back-up. As you read this book you will believe that the characters are real. Suttcliff really understands how human beings think and act. That sounds really stupid but it's true. Suttcliff cannot only do good character development, she can also do good descriptions that create a picture of the scene in your mind without becoming tedious. If you only read one new book, make it this one.