Authors II

David Liss
"The Coffee Trader Year 1657: The protagonist, a Portugese Jew is wiped out in the sugar market and joins forces with a Dutch woman to corner the market in a new commodity COFFEE. An intriguing story; learn about coffee.
"The Paper Conspiracy" A kind of a history of the beginning of the stock exchange, "the new money" in the 1800s. There is mystery, financial dealings and lots of interesting happenings.


Earl Biggers
Biggers wrote the famous "Charlie Chan" mysteries. "Slowly, slowly, katchee monkey". Hollywood and the fans had a great time with Charlie and his deductive police methods. Charlie went all over the world to solve crime, he often took one of his sons ( "this is number one son"). We didn’t have political correctness in those days and there were more than a few racist slurs. Two movie actors; Warner Oland and Sidney Toiler held the role for years. I have found only one book at the library.


D. H. Lawrence
"Lady Chatterly’s Lover" Published 1928 banned in the UK and US as pornographic but really mild compared to today’s writings. A wealthy, married woman has a torrid affair with her games keeper. When it was, finally published in the US (I got to read a copy long before) every one was tittering "did you read page —so and so?" It was a good story!

Kathleen Norris
"Forever Amber"
Called the naughtiest novel of 1944; a romp in the hay, in the street, and in the bedrooms of aristocrats. Amber was a "poor farm girl" who rose to a liaison with the King but lost her" true love", the one who got her in trouble in the first place.


Jules Verne
"Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea"
"Journey To The Center of The Earth"
"From Earth to The Moon"
Great stories for boys, a lot of prophecy too
Emile Zola
"J’Accuse"
In defense of the French officer, Alfred Dreyfus who was sent to Devils Island in French Martinique for treason.
"Nana"
About the sexual exploitation of prostitutes.

Richard Adams
"Watership Downs" A story about the quest of a warren of rabbits looking for a better home because a land developer has wrecked their home. A delightful and interesting story; the rabbits talked and interacted just like people. The leader was called Buckhorn, a few of the other names were Cowslip, Blackberry and Hazel. Everyone had to read this when it came out in1972.


Kenneth Grahm
"The Wind in The Willows".
The adventures of Toad, Ratty, Mole and Badger. I stole the characters for a .Christmas play


Thorn Smith
"Topper"
George and Marion (the Kirbys) are killed in a car crash and become spirits that can change their "ectoplasm" and reappear. They decide to go and harass their friendly banker, Cosmo Topper. A delightful comedy which came out in 1937. Thorn wrote several more "Topper" stories.


Peter Benchly
"Jaws"
"Beast" (A giant Squid)
"The Deep" Exciting diving story!
"Island" Pirates; bad guys!!
"The Girl From the Sea of Cortez" A favorite of mine and Claudia & Becca


Larry McMurtry
"Lonesome Dove"
"Streets of Loredo"
"Buffalo Girls"
"By Sorrows River"
"Dead Man’s Walk"
What a wonderful story teller! Strong and interesting characters. Many of these stories continue on with the lives of the characters from "Lonesome Dove". Remember when the lady told Gus that he was too old, his reply was "old violins make the prettiest music."

John Le Carre
"Smiley’s People"
"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"
Spies, double agents, moles, Le Carre wrote wonderful, taut novels. He wrote over 20 novels.


Herman Wouk
"The Winds of War"
"War and Remembrance"
"The Cain Mutiny"
Wouk is a very serious writer; he has written of the holocast, and the Jewish state and his novels always went into great detail of the trials of people in war. He is an historian and when he writes about Naval battles he describes the actual battle with real names and places.


Jean Auel
"The Clan of The Cave Bear"
‘The Valley of The Horses"
‘The Mammoth Hunters"
"Shelters of Stone"
"Plains of Passage"
Stories of Europe in the Ice Age. The adventures of Ayla, an incredible primitive woman who weaves, heals, controls animals and invents things and Jondalar her friend and lover (Auel puts lots and lots of " love" in her novels, very explicit stuff). Splendid adventure as the two meet other groups of people and interact. Well researched and presented: very ambitious works. I disliked the way Auel had her characters speak; she portrayed them as intelligent but she had them speak like retards.


F. Scott Fitzgerald
"The Great Gatsby" Really, his only successful novel

Thomas Hardy
"Far From the Madding Crowd"
Bathsheba Everdene a very strong willed woman inherits a sheep farm; three men want her. A rich neighbor, a fickle soldier and her hired hand. Strong personalities interacting. Good English story!


Charlotte Bronte
"Jane Eyre"
Orphan Jane is sent to a school where the mean and cruel headmaster mistreats his students. No place to go she stays with the school as a teacher until she gets a job as governess in a great house. She meets Rochester who, unknown to all, has a crazy wife locked up in the tower. Love, danger, disappointments and finally hope and happiness. Classic tale every one should read.


Emily Bronte
"Wuthering Heights"
Heathcliff on the moor, an angry story of jealousy and revenge, a twisted plot I did not like it.

Leo Tolstoy
"War And Peace"
"Anna Karenina"
Both are novels that every one should read. The scope of "War and Peace"is majestic, the characters are beautifully drawn and the story is intriguing. I am glad that Natasha realized the worth of Pierre, it took a long time. Wonderful history of the people the lands and the wars. Frequently rather grim.
The story of "Anna Karenina" and her affair with Vronsky is very interesting and we learn a lot about the Russian aristocracy and how they live but I believe that the novel is really the story of Levin and his love of the land.

Pearl S. Buck
"The Good Earth"
"Dragon Seed"
Pearl Buck was an American; her parents were missionaries to China where Pearl spent 40 years. She was very prolific; during her lifetime she wrote 70 books. I have only read the two. The "Good Earth follows the life of a young girl O-Lan who was sold by her parents during a famine. She later marries, has a child ,there is another famine ( they tried to feed the children mud soup) there was an exodus to the city where O-Lan found some jewels. This is a long and interesting story that tells the reader about the Chinese class system and how the peasants lived. I read it long ago.
"Dragon Seed" tells about the Japanese occupation of a small village. Pearl actually experienced such a thing when she lived in China.


Allen Drury
"Advise and Consent"
"A Shade of Difference"
"Capable of Honor"
"Come Nineveh Come Tyre"
"The Promise of Joy"
Drury wrote many others but he is probably best known for these five "political" stories. In the first
he created a cast of characters to represent the Executive branch, the court, the Senate and the House.
All of the individuals are very colorful people; Drury spent a lot of time developing each character. The President has submitted a name for Secretary of State and the Senate has to "advise and consent." All the political drama, the "back room" deals and the maneuvering that could go on in Washington is present; a wonderful Senator from the South wearing his rumpled seer sucker suit, wiping his brow with a white handkerchief and speaking with his Southern drawl is introduced and will play important roles in later books. Drury keeps these same characters and puts them in tense nation threatening situations including war throughout the rest of the series. If you can find them read them!!
Presidents change, Senators either die or are not returned to office and secondary characters move in and out but the game goes on. Magnificent!.


Kathleen Gear & Michael Gear
""People of The Mist"
"People of The Mask"
Novels about pre-Columbian North American Indians; very well done. They understand anthropology; they live in Wyoming.


Rudyard Kipling
"Kim"
"The Jungle Book"
"Captains Courageous"
"Gunga Din" (Classic poem)
"If" (Classic poem)
While Kipling wrote about the British in India and Burma, he went to the North American Continent for "Captains Courageous". These are splendid stories and I have always loved the poem. ...."Tho I’ve belted you an’ flayed you By the living Gawd that made you. You’r a better man than I am Gunga Din!"
When I was a boy, my Dad gave me a dollar after I memorized and recited Kipling’s "If" I have included a copy with this collection.


Dick Francis
"Hot Money"
"Long Shot"
"Bolt"
Francis wrote about race horses, "horsey" people and mysteries. I buy a paperback from time to time when I travel. Not bad.
W.E.B. Griffin


"Honor Bound"
"Under Fire"
He writes about the U S Marines and war stories. He did a lot of them. A bit too chauvinistic for me.


Arthur Hailey
"Hotel"
‘Airport"
"Overload"
Very popular author. Hollywood loved him. He wrote novels about just about every industry you can think of with interesting people, funny situations sometimes tense situations. One book dealt with the Automobile industry from manufacturer to the Auto dealer; he even detailed how the crooked dealers cheated banks by selling cars "out of trust".



John MacDonald
His character, Travis Mcgee, lived on a houseboat called "The Busted Flush" Spent a lot of time in Florida "finding things" for a fee. Archer was a good guy, had a lot of girl friends; girls just liked him. Had a good friend named Myer that he talked with a lot. There is a long series of Travis McGee books. He is an easy read and once you start him you will want more.

Ross MacDonald
He had a character called Lew Archer. He wrote "My Name is Archer", "The Blue Hammer", and "The Drowning Pool among many others.

Bernard Cornwell
Known best for historical fiction and the "Sharpe" series. A soldier in the 1800' during the Napoleonic Wars. The movie actor Sean Bean, did a TV series. Corn well also wrote "Arthur" stories; I read "Excaliber".He wrote a lot of books but I lost interest in him.


Thomas Costain
"The Silver Chalice" A Greek artist was supposed to make an elaborate cup for Jesus’ last supper. Nero and the Romans want it destroyed. The novel brings in an interesting historical figure; Simon the magician.
" The Black Rose" Set in 13th Century England and Cathy, a young Saxon is forced to leave England; he takes a friend who is expert with a long bow and has exciting adventures in Kathy. He finally goes back, home to redeem his land.
Costain was a very popular Canadian writer of the 40's;.


Sue Grafton
In 1983 she wrote "A" Is For Alibi" and she just published "S" Is For Silence". Grafton created a Southern California private eye called Kinsey Millhouse"; what a wonderful character, she is sexy and she is smart. Pick up any of her "Letters" and get ready for fast moving fun.


Jacquelin Susan
"The Valley of The Dolls" Every one read this one; sex, drugs, violence - It came out in 1966 and sold more copies than "Gone With The Wind"


Earl Stanley Gardner
We read the Perry Mason stories and then later watched them on TV


Rex Stout
He wrote the "Nero Wolf"series. Nero Wolf was the big fat detective who used an associate, Archie Goodwin to do his legwork. He was truly an "armchair detective".


Agatha Christie
The wonderful "Hercule Poirot" with the overworked "little grey cells" who frequently baffled and irritated his helper, Captain Hastings and the Scotland Yard detectives who came to him for help. Every one should read Agatha Christie if they like mysteries.


Herman Melville
"Moby Dick" "Call me Ishmael" It was one of those books we were required to read but it is a swell tale of Captain Ahabs tireless hunt for a white whale. I liked the characters "Starbuck and Queequeg. People try to read a lot into the novel; I don’t.


Nathaniel Hawthorne
"The Scarlet Letter" Puritan times; poor Hester Prynne pays for her love with a scarlet "A" on her dress and an illegitimate child that they try to take away from her. Cruel, bigoted people.
Tom Peters


"In Search of Excellence" every young (and not so young) executive and business man read this manual of management techniques. Words like "synergism" were introduced into our vocabulary. His management principals were very sound and still hold true today.


Miquel Cervantes
"Don Quixote" The chivalry of a demented old man who wanted to be a knight and set out with his companion Shancho Panza to kill monsters and aid ladies in distress. Who tilts windmills? We have in use, an adjective "quixotry" which means caught up in the romance of noble unreachable deeds.



Tami Hoag
"Still Waters
"Sarah’s Sin"
‘Cry Wolf"
"Dark Paradise"
"Ashes to Ashes"
She is one to follow! Just start anywhere in the list of her stunning suspense stories and you will want more.


Catherine Coulter
"The Cove"
"The Maze"
"The Target"
Coulter has over 50 novels; they are "thrillers" and "Romances" she is easy reading; good airplane companion.


Robert Heinlein
"Stranger in a Strange Land"
"Starship Troopers"
"The Puppet Masters"
"Invasion of The Body Snatchers"
Super science fiction. People read a lot into his novels; attitudes towards sex and politics - I just like the tales.


Arthur Clark
"2001 Space Odyssey"
Another "Master of Science Fiction" Some 50+ books. Many of his ideas were incorporated in the TV show "Startrek"


Sax Rohmer
A great mystery writer in the ‘30s and ‘40s. His protagonist, Nyland Smith and friend Dr. Petre who was enamored by an exotic Oriental girl fought the evil Fu Manchu. "----imagine a person tall, lean and feline, high shouldered with a brow like Shakespeare and a face like Satan, a close shaven skull and long magnetic eyes of the true cat-green—" I imagined he, also, had long pointy finger nails. When we were kids we would say "many men smoke but fu manchu" Ha-Ha-Ha!


Edgar A. Guest
A poet who wrote about success and positive things. I earned a dollar from my Dad when I recited "It Couldn’t Be Done" "Somebody said that it couldn’t be done
but he, with a chuckle replied, maybe it couldn’t but he wouldn’t be one
who would say so until he had tried"
I have included the entire poem with this collection.


Sara Teasdale
Another poet. When I read "The Coin" "Into my hearts treasury I slipped a coin that time can not take nor a thief purloin
Oh better than the minting of a gold-crowned king- is the safe kept memory of a lovely thing"
I sought her other works. I have included a few; one is particularly suited to a daughter or grand daughter the others are samples which may take the interested reader further.


Stephen Hawking
"Brief History of Time"
Professor Hawking is a genius who deals with science and physics. This book helps simplify some of the "time theories". Hawking works with the basic laws that govern the universe. He has worked with Einstein’s Theory of Relativity that implies that space and time had a beginning in the "big bang". Very interesting man whose minds functions brilliantly while his body functions hardly at all. This is "heavy reading".


Carl Sagen
"Contact"
Carl Sagen was a famous astronomer and lecturer; he explored the mysteries of the universe. He talked about "billions and billions of stars" His novel "Contact" tells about a brilliant female astronomer(himself as a woman ?) who is searching for extraterrestrial life and is met with criticism by religious fundamentalists, superstition, and scientific jealousy. Sagan was a very interesting and controversial scientist. He was very concerned that fundamental religious views would thwart scientific views and evidence; like the heroin in his story "Contact" he hoped that "alien culture" would contact and teach us.


Elmore Leonard
A very popular writer who started writing Westerns in 1939 and later went on th crime thrillers. His characters are well defined and laid back; the stories are slick and dialogue-heavy. Some of my favorites are:
"Hombre"
"The Hot Kid"
"Get Shorty"
"Be Cool"
"Tishimingo Blues"
"The Big Bounce"
Stuart Woods


Woods is a mystery/thriller writer. He cranks his novels out under a familiar formula; after I read a few which I enjoyed except for Wood’s treatment of women who he writes as slutty characters who can not keep their hands off his hero detective or, if the protagonist is a woman ,she has slutty ways. I got tired of him.