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The Judas Strain: A Novel 107 reviews
James Rollins
William Morrow, 2007
And critics still say he comes in second...well I wonder if they are reading something else...because it can't be this
James Rollins is amazing. I love his stories. Clive Clusser starts off great but his endings are a bit predictable and repetitive. Besides Dirk Pitt seems a bit too unrealistic with his super heroism and his bachelor ego. Give me one of James Rollins' heroes any day. Rollins is definitly number 1 in my charts on action and suspense novels. Where is his movie? Sahara was an awesome movie, but ...
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The Plague 153 reviews
Albert Camus, Stuart Gilbert
Vintage, 1991
Find meaning in a meaningless existence / Camus is one cool cat
To an extent, all of Camus' novels are vehicles for his philosophy. Camus' philosophy begins with a simple idea, that life is absurd. Camus did not believe in God -- did not believe human actions hold any ultimate higher meaning -- he thought "death would undermine the value of anything that precedes it." From this, Camus drew that life was "absurd." In The Stranger, Camus illustrates this ...
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The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story482 reviews
Richard Preston
Anchor, 1999
Fantastic!
Hot Zone is one of my most favorite books ever. I read this a few years ago, and made my husband read it only recently. He loved it as much as I did. It's such a compelling read and I was fascinated from the first to the last page. You won't regret picking up this book.
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Plague Ship (Oregon Files)53 reviews
Clive Cussler
Putnam Adult, 2008
One of Cussler's best novels
I have read many of Clive Cussler's novels, and I consider this to be one of his best. Since other reviewers have discussed the plot, I will comment on other aspects of the story.
The characters or larger than life, but not ridiculously so. The same is true of the Chairman's ship. What I liked most about the book was that the authors challenged the reader to think about real problems--over ...
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Thunder and Ashes (The Morningstar Strain)31 reviews
Z.A. Recht
Permuted Press, 2008
Satisfying Second Entry
Thunger and Ashes (The Morningstar Strain) is a very satisfying second book in the "Morningstar trilogy". It has action and suspense, a plot which flows well from the first book, and leads well into the third. The book is fast paced and hard to put down. It keeps the story line going from the first book and ends in a way which leaves you with just enough closure so you're not hanging off a cliff, ...
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The Plague of Doves: A Novel32 reviews
Louise Erdrich
Harper, 2008
The interconnectedness of everything
THE PLAGUE OF DOVES was stitched together from a number of short stories, many of them previously published in "The New Yorker". There is a bit of disjointedness, but it is remarakable how well the patchwork comes together to make a whole, integral quilt (a metaphor that I see has occurred to other reviewers as well).
The novel covers a century of life in North Dakota, focusing on the lives ...
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Company of Liars32 reviews
Karen Maitland
Delacorte Press, 2008
obvious homage to the Canterbury Tales
In 1348 England, many believe the devil is everywhere as the plague has killed numerous people and torrential storms seem endless. Hope is gone whether one is aristocratic or peasant as are crops adding to the vicious cycle of death.
Nine desperate travelers with no connection except fear band together on a journey to the south where it is reported the devil has not landed. As they make ...
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Year of Wonders308 reviews
Geraldine Brooks
Penguin (Non-Classics), 2002
Beware the Black Death!
"Year of Wonders" is a fantastic book by Geraldine Brooks that chronicles a severe outbreak of the Bubonic plague in an isolated English village during the year 1666. The story revolves around Anna Frith, a housemaid who loses her two young children to the plague and emerges as a heroine during this terrible time. Anna assists the town rector and his wife, Michael and Elinor Mompellion, and ...
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Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague (Fablehaven) 42 reviews
Brandon Mull
Shadow Mountain, 2008
Fablehaven:Grip of the Shadow Plague
Brandon Mull continues to surprise me with his latest installment of the Fablehaven novels. His writing is simple but continues to captivate attention. And yes, questions are finally answered. There is however, the on going plot to save Fablehaven from immediate distruction, But there are many sub-plots and twists that add to the novel as a whole. I am a fan and will continue to read Fablehaven ...
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Plague of the Dead (The Morningstar Strain)68 reviews
Z. A. Recht
Permuted Press, 2006
Great Zombie book!
This is a great story and a fun book to read. The sequal is even better!!!
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Infections and Inequalities: The Modern Plagues8 reviews
Paul Farmer
University of California Press, 2001
Where are the Virchows of global public health?
The context of epidemics is important. What happens to the poor people who have drug resistant tuberculosis? Market mechanisms do not serve the interest of global health equity. The cost-efectiveness argument is weak. Poverty limits freedom of choice. AIDS education falls short. Arguments about limited resources should not prevail. There is a global web of unequal relationships. Structural ...
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The American Plague: The Untold Story of Yellow Fever, the Epidemic that Shaped Our History27 reviews
Molly Caldwell Crosby
Berkley Hardcover, 2006
Good Bio!
This is a very interesting true scientific mystery and good bio on Walter Reed.
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Plagues and Peoples44 reviews
William H. McNeill
Anchor, 1998
Amazing How a Few Invisible Germs Changed the World
The main thesis of William McNeill's "Plagues and People" is that disease states and the general health of various regions of the world throughout history have shaped social practices, religious thinking and political structures -- even leading to the rise and fall of entire civilizations.
MacNeill's startling, well-defended claims are fascinating, eminently quotable and worthy of re-reading. ...
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The Plague, The Fall, Exile and the Kingdom, and Selected Essays (Everyman's Library)5 reviews
Albert Camus
Everyman's Library, 2004
Love, Exile, and Suffering Illuminated by Life around Death
What is the meaning of life? For many, that question is an abstraction except in the context of being aware of losing some of the joys of life, or life itself. In The Plague, Camus creates a timeless tale of humans caught in the jaws of implacable death, in this case a huge outbreak of bubonic plague in Oran, Algeria on the north African coast. With the possibility of dying so close, each ...
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Justinian's Flea: Plague, Empire, and the Birth of Europe 34 reviews
William Rosen
Viking Adult, 2007
`Plague, Empire and the Birth of Europe'
It took me a while to get into the rhythm of Mr Rosen's writing, but once I did I couldn't put this book down. I was fascinated by the building of the Hagia Sophia, interested in the presentation of the life, times and achievements of the emperor Justinian during the 6th century and engrossed by the possible impact of the flea on the building of empires.
In this book, Mr Rosen provides a ...
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The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance68 reviews
Laurie Garrett
Penguin (Non-Classics), 1995
This Should Be Required Reading HS Level
I first read this book shortly after it came out about 12 years ago. I was so angry and scared after realizing the real situation for global disease and treatments or lack thereof. I recently was sorting through books to sell and came across this again. I reread it and became even more angry and frustrated and scared. I think this should be a required text for high school history/science. I ...
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The Decameron (Penguin Classics)11 reviews
Giovanni Boccaccio
Penguin Classics, 2003
Bawdy tales of love
This was required reading for a graduate course in medieval history.
The "Decameron" is a collection of 100 novellas by Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio, probably begun in 1350 and finished in 1353. It is a medieval allegorical work best known for its bawdy tales of love, appearing in all its possibilities from the erotic to the tragic. Other topics such as wit and witticism, practical ...
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The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America27 reviews
David Hajdu
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008
As engrossing as any four-star comic-book
David Hajdu's "The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America" begins with the sad story of Janice Valleau Winkleman, who retired to Florida after losing the comic-book-artist job she had begun at age 19 and worked for over a decade.
Winkleman was among hundreds of such artists -- mostly social misfits who found a common bond in a new art form, toiled for millions ...
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Summer of the Apocalypse18 reviews
James Van Pelt
Fairwood Press, Inc, 2006
excellent eotwawki book
If you like a well written, well thought out storyline that is post apocalyptic, then you should like this story. I like that the author doesn't feel the need to leave you with warm fuzzies at the end, and it really makes me roll my eyes at the people who complain about the ending. It's the end of the friggin world people, it's not supposed to be happy. I particularly enjoyed the circular ...
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Gregor And The Curse Of The Warmbloods (Underland Chronicles)42 reviews
Suzanne Collins
Scholastic Paperbacks, 2006
One of the best series I've read
I am a K-5 school librarian and am always looking for good books to recommend to my students. This series is truly excellent!
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