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Read about Books : Content , Reviews and abstracts:
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Most of these books reviewed and abstracted are available on www.secondhandbooksindia.com , Please log in to find the book of interest. We have reviewed a cross section of books to give the reader a insight into different authors and writing styles. We hope to stimulate more reading and improve and widen the readers choice of authors .
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Title: Topaz
Author: Leon Uris
This intriguing novel is set against the backdrop of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 . It revolves around four remarkable people : Michael Nordstrom , the American Chief of ININ , Inter-NATO Intelligence Network ; Boris Kuznetov , top Russian KGB defector ; Andre Devereaux , the chief of the French Secret Service SDECE and the captivating and beautiful Cuban aristocrat Juanita De Cordoba (who heads a resistance network against the Tyrannical Castro regime).
We are taken form the streets of Paris and Copenhagen to Washington DC to the hell-on earth that is Castro’s Cuba soon after the 1959 Revolution that swept the Communist regime to power. France is being manipulated and the Soviets are playing a great game of deception to ensure that NATO is weakened .While John F Kennedy is simply referred to as the young President one can be certain that the Imperial President of France Pierre De La Croix is based on none other than Charles De Gaulle . The action is swift , decisive and brutal as the Soviet objective becomes slowly clear. One man – Andre Devereaux , stands between the Soviets and success .
Politics , espionage , fast paced action , manipulation is the name of the game of this thriller.
A must read ……
Title: Raise the Titanic
Author: Clive Cussler
This book has it all : mystery, adventure, espionage, with a dash of romance . Dark Pitt has to single handedly take on the task of taking on the task of ensuring the safety of the United States .
At the height of the Cold War, America lives under the threat of nuclear attack by the Soviet Union. A brilliant American scientist has designed a defensive shield that can make the U.S. invulnerable to nuclear attack. To make it operational, he needs large quantities of a rare mineral. Unfortunately, the only stockpile large enough went down with the Titanic. To recover it, Dirk Pitt must bring the famously ill-fated ocean liner back to the surface. He must raise the Titanic.
The Soviets will do anything to stop this expedition . They try sabotage , assassinations , treachery and almost succeed in destroying the preparations that have gone into developing the infrastructure required to raise the Titanic from its watery grave. Dark Pitt , must single handedly work to save the situation. He turns out to be the superman and the perfect agent , America requires to the man of the moment. Even nature conspires against him , but is thwarted by his powerful will.
The book is a good fast read , with action and romance. Dark Pitt has little to do as the technical preparations are underway , but once the action starts , he is unstoppable. A must read for Cussler fans .
Title: Weep No More , My Lady
Author: Mary Higgins Clark
A mystery thriller best describes this book. Mary Higgins Clark writes the best mysteries where the reader finds dark and scary thrills as the protagonist moves towards solving them.
This book is about the untimely death of a glamorous actress and her sister's mission to discover the truth. The story begins in a small town in Kentucky, As the eight-year old Elizabeth waits for her nineteen-year sister, Leila, to return home from work, their mother's boyfriend comes close to molesting Elizabeth. Fortunately, Leila comes home and stops him in the act. Leila, who has been planning her escape from her alcoholic mother, realizes that she cannot leave her sister behind. It is too dangerous as the mother is an addicted to alcohol and is abusive. They both move to New York, where Leila becomes a star. Nineteen years later, Leila lies dead on the concrete courtyard of her penthouse. The accused ,is Leila's fiancé, millionaire Ted Winters, someone who Elizabeth and Leila loved and trusted.
Then, Elizabeth is invited by a dear friend to come to Cypress Point Spa, an exclusive spa where the rich and famous stay. Elizabeth decides to go to the secluded spa, hoping to escape from all of her troubles. When she arrives at the spa, she is confronted with Ted Winters as well as some of Leila's old friends. As Elizabeth begins to discover clues about her sister's murder, she finds her own life to be in danger. Will Elizabeth be able to find the truth about Leila's death before it's too late?
In the end, Elizabeth must find out the truth because as key witness in the trial she holds Ted's life in her hands, hands that yearn to avenge her sister's death. As she tries to understand the people and motivating factors that could have led to her sister’s death , she comes across jealousy, greed, hate , love and some dark feelings which are better left unexplored , hidden behind benign exteriors……
Exciting fast moving story with an astonishing denouement…
Title: Caravans
Author: James E . Michener
Michener uses the unique style of writing a story on a large canvas of people . cultures and society…His descriptions of various lands ,their natural beauty, the people, the culture and the society woven around those people is accurate and well researched …
In this story , he uses the land of Afghanistan to develop his story…
A young woman is missing in 1946 Afghanistan. Mark Miller of the State Department is dispatched to locate her and rescue her. Ellen Jaspar, who is not so much lost as she is aimless, is a selfish girl, bored with her life in middle America. She impulsively marries an Afghan student and moves with him back to Afghanistan. When she gets bored with him , she starts to drift aimlessly and is declared missing…..
Michener takes this opportunity to guide us through the Afghan culture. He touches upon various topics including crime and punishment; debauchery; irrigation; brutality; untamed land; the low status of women; desert dangers; lack of medicines and poor health ; Genghis Kahn; religion; the Afghan macho image ; the desire for respect and the inherent toughness of the Afghan people.
The natural beauty and the harsh nature of the land are both highlighted and one gets the feel of this wild untamed land ..
About half way through the book, Miller finds the girl, Ellen Jaspar, who is not so much lost as she is aimless, traveling with a tribe of nomads. Through her experiences, he realizes that he is in a land that is culturally not in sync with the 20th century. It seems to be still existing in the early 19th or late 18th century.
Written in the 1960's it's clear Ellen was to represent the wayward youth of that era, caught up in the quest for freedom; getting back to basics; and rejecting any kind of modernization to a region stuck in the stone age. Ellen is willing to spread her legs for anyone she thinks can benefit her. The American culture of the 60’s finds expression in her actions in Afghanistan. To say the least , she is a misfit and must find her future else where…This is a book of contradictions , the clash of the West and the antiquated and extremely ‘backward’ Afghanistan. The story is woven skillfully and keeps the interest of the reader.
This is one of Michener’s earlier works , but the sure touch is quite apparent…