Brother Odd (Odd Thomas Novels)

Book Description

Loop me in, odd one. The words, spoken in the deep of night by a sleeping child, chill
the young man watching over her. For this was a favorite phrase of Stormy Llewellyn,
his lost love, and Stormy is dead, gone forever from this world. In the haunted halls of
the isolated monastery where he had sought peace, Odd Thomas is stalking spirits of an infinitely darker nature

Through two New York Times bestselling novels Odd Thomas has established himself as one of the most beloved and unique fictional heroes of our time. Now, wielding all the power and magic of a master storyteller at the pinnacle of his craft, Dean Koontz follows Odd into a singular new world where he hopes to make a fresh beginning—but where he will meet an adversary as old and inexorable as time itself.

St. Bartholomew’s Abbey sits in majestic solitude amid the wild peaks of California’s high Sierra, a haven for children otherwise abandoned, and a sanctuary for those seeking insight. Odd Thomas has come here to learn to live fully again, and among the eccentric monks, their other guests, and the nuns and young students of the attached convent school, he has begun to find his way. The silent spirits of the dead who visited him in his earlier life are mercifully absent, save for the bell-ringing Brother Constantine and Odd’s steady companion, the King of Rock 'n' Roll.

But trouble has a way of finding Odd Thomas, and it slinks back onto his path in the form of the sinister bodachs he has met previously, the black shades who herald death and disaster, and who come late one December night to hover above the abbey’s most precious charges. For Odd is about to face an enemy who eclipses any he has yet encountered, as he embarks on a journey of mystery, wonder, and sheer suspense that surpasses all that has come before.

Customer Reviews:

I just love Odd Thomas.......2007-10-10

I fell in love with Odd Thomas with the first book. Now there are three and I loved all of them. Dean Koontz is one of my favorite, but he really got me with this character. I think it got to him, too, as Odd has grown and come back to us in two more books. Will there be more? I will be watching for them.

Brother Odd.......2007-10-05

With a touch of humor and the talent for bring his readers the surreal, Dean Koontz leads us through another adventure of Odd Thomas. It will be interesting to see what lies ahead for our undaunted hero!!

Brother Odd.......2007-09-04

This is probably my least favorite in the ODD series of books. The first ODD book clearly is the best. The second one is pretty good, this is so so. It's a short read for a fat book. The print is large & the lines are spaced apart. Koontz's older works are far superior & well worth reading. Go back 10+ years & read those books, Watchers being a favorite of mine. Brother Odd is a book to borrow from a friend or the library, it's not worth purchasing unless you want it because you already have the other 2.

Brother Odd, Odd Plot.......2007-09-01

This is the first Brother Odd novel I have read. The plot is interesting, albeit very eerie and unusual, involving science and ethics and the existence of God. The plot is resolved in a satisfying manner at the conclusion, but on the way to that conclusion, Mr. Koontz wanders off on tangents, explaining details that are often unrelated to the storyline. The character development is effective. Who could not fall in love with meek and humorous Brother Odd and his ghost companion, Elvis?
It's time for me to give another Brother Odd book a chance.

Good not great.......2007-08-28

Any Koontz novel is worthing reading. Not his best work. Not even his best Odd Thomas book. Of course "Odd Thomas" (the first in series) is pretty hard act to follow. I thought it was better than the second in the series but by no means was it up there with "Intensity" (which may be the best/scarriest book ever written). All in all it's a Dean Koontz book so it better than most out there.

Average customer rating:

Great Koontz Novel!
Not for me
Refreshing
Okay Book
Another Koontz Masterpiece!

Odd Thomas
Dean Koontz
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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Similar Items:

Forever Odd (Large Print Edition)
Brother Odd (Odd Thomas Novels)
Life Expectancy
The Husband
Prodigal Son (Dean Koontz's Frankenstein, Book 1)

ASIN: 0553584499
Release Date: 2004-10-26

Book Description

“The dead don't talk. I don't know why.” But they do try to communicate, with a short-order cook in a small desert town serving as their reluctant confidant. Odd Thomas thinks of himself as an ordinary guy, if possessed of a certain measure of talent at the Pico Mundo Grill and rapturously in love with the most beautiful girl in the world, Stormy Llewellyn. Maybe he has a gift, maybe it’s a curse, Odd has never been sure, but he tries to do his best by the silent souls who seek him out. Sometimes they want justice, and Odd’s otherworldly tips to Pico Mundo's sympathetic police chief, Wyatt Porter, can solve a crime. Occasionally they can prevent one. But this time it's different.

A mysterious man comes to town with a voracious appetite, a filing cabinet stuffed with information on the world's worst killers, and a pack of hyena-like shades following him wherever he goes. Who the man is and what he wants, not even Odd’s deceased informants can tell him. His most ominous clue is a page ripped from a day-by-day calendar for August 15.

Today is August 14.

In less than twenty-four hours, Pico Mundo will awaken to a day of catastrophe. As evil coils under the searing desert sun, Odd travels through the shifting prisms of his world, struggling to avert a looming cataclysm with the aid of his soul mate and an unlikely community of allies that includes the King of Rock 'n' Roll. His account of two shattering days when past and present, fate and destiny converge is the stuff of our worst nightmares—and a testament by which to live: sanely if not safely, with courage, humor, and a full heart that even in the darkness must persevere.

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

Great Koontz Novel!.......2007-10-09

I loved this book! I think Dean Koontz is a great writer and I generally enjoy reading all of his novels. The end had me in tears.

Not for me.......2007-10-05

This was my first Dean Koontz book, and I was pretty disappointed given the rave reviews I have heard about him. I am not saying he is a bad writer by any means, but it turned me off to his books.
In this book I felt like I had to walk a mile to get 50 feet of story. He seemed to keep going on and on with descriptions of things that had no significance to the story. My main issue was his use of dialog, I'm sorry but people just dont talk like that. Let alone a couple of 20 year olds in some podunk town. The dialog between Odd and his girlfriend was very unrealistic and distracting. He is a great writer, but as said in my title, just not for me.

Refreshing.......2007-09-30

Odd Thomas is one of those rare books that artfully marry suspense, humor and writing as cripse as a new morning into one perfect package. Told in a pleasant first-person voice, the story unfolds to reveal a remarkably human character who can see the dead, but not talk to them. There is no pretense here; Odd tries to stop tragedy before it happens yet makes the mistakes that anyone else in his place might do. His tender relationship with his girlfriend, Stormy, and the harrowed and strained moments with his parents are perhaps some of the best moments modern novels can provide.

Okay Book.......2007-09-16

I listened to the audio book and the actor did a great job. Odd Thomas starts off intriging and amusing. As the story progresses , I have a difficult time maintaining interest in the story. I wish Koone's character Odd Thomas had more encounters with the dead.Odd Thomas is a good character, but I didn't care for the plot.

Another Koontz Masterpiece!.......2007-09-11

If you are not already a fan of Dean Koontz, you will be soon. His books are thoughtful, well constructed, intelligent, with likable characters and unexpected twists.

Odd Thomas is no exception. Probably one of his most likable characters to date, and that is saying a lot. Although I enjoyed the book from the beginning, I don't think I became emotionally invested until somewhere in the middle. It creeps up on you. Then all of a sudden you find yourself scared that something bad will happen to Odd, or to one of his friends.

I can't really comment too much on this book without giving something away, which I abhor doing. Once again Koontz takes us out of the mainstream, and makes up his own rules along the way. Read it for yourself, but make sure you have the other 2 books ready to jump into when you are done.

Average customer rating:

Great series
The Second Chapter of Odd
Not as good as Odd Thomas
Forgettable
Not as good as the first one.

Forever Odd (Odd Thomas Novels)
Dean Koontz
Manufacturer: Random House Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Odd Thomas
Brother Odd (Odd Thomas Novels)
The Husband
Life Expectancy
City of Night (Dean Koontz's Frankenstein, Book 2)

ASIN: 0739315595
Release Date: 2005-11-29

Book Description

Every so often a character so captures the hearts and imaginations of readers that he seems to take on a life of his own long after the final page is turned. For such a character, one book is not enough—readers must know what happens next. Now Dean Koontz returns with the novel his fans have been demanding. With the emotional power and sheer storytelling artistry that are his trademarks, Koontz takes up once more the story of a unique young hero and an eccentric little town in a tale that is equal parts suspense and terror, adventure and mystery—and altogether irresistibly odd.

We’re all a little odd beneath the surface. He’s the most unlikely hero you’ll ever meet—an ordinary guy with a modest job you might never look at twice. But there’s so much more to any of us than meets the eye—and that goes triple for Odd Thomas. For Odd lives always between two worlds in the small desert town of Pico Mundo, where the heroic and the harrowing are everyday events. Odd never asked to communicate with the dead—it’s something that just happened. But as the unofficial goodwill ambassador between our world and theirs, he’s got a duty to do the right thing. That’s the way Odd sees it and that’s why he’s won hearts on both sides of the divide between life and death.

A childhood friend of Odd’s has disappeared. The worst is feared. But as Odd applies his unique talents to the task of finding the missing person, he discovers something worse than a dead body, encounters an enemy of exceptional cunning, and spirals into a vortex of terror. Once again Odd will stand against our worst fears. Around him will gather new allies and old, some living and some not. For in the battle to come, there can be no innocent bystanders, and every sacrifice can tip the balance between despair and hope. Whether you’re meeting Odd Thomas for the first time or he’s already an old friend, you’ll be led on an unforgettable journey through
a world of terror, wonder and delight—to a revelation that can change your life. And you can have no better guide than Odd Thomas.

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

Great series.......2007-09-11

Love the Odd Thomas books and hope hope hope Dean Koontz comes out with more!

The Second Chapter of Odd.......2007-09-11

First of all, don't read this book unless you have already read Odd Thomas as it contains spoilers for the first book. Just as we don't read the last page first and first page last, or anywhere in between, we also should read books in order for the sake of the story :)

Forever Odd is a good book. With his usual artful style, Koontz flips your emotions as if on a remote control. You feel the fear of the situation, the tension, the thrill, and then flip right back into laughter... and awe. Koontz can tug at your heart strings, but leave you with enough humor that you aren't completely devestated and can smile in spite of it all.

Odd Thomas is a special character. He is one we should all strive to emulate. Compassionate, intelligent, humble, yet confident. And he is surrounded by special people, although they play far less of a role in this book than the previous book.

Not as good as the first, but a close second. Well worth the read and the space on your bookshelf.

Not as good as Odd Thomas.......2007-08-29

This book is average at best. It was a disapointment compared to Odd Thomas. Seemed like he was cashing in on the success of the first one.

Forgettable.......2007-08-25

This mildly entertaining sequel to Odd Thomas is told in the voice of the title character, a lonely and gentle man who can see and interact with the dead, even if they cannot speak back. When the novel opens, Odd Thomas is confronted with yet another dead person, this time the adoptive father of his close friend, Danny. When Odd follows him back to the house, he discovers a grisly scene. To complicate matters, Danny, who suffers from brittle bone disease, is missing, and an (overly) mysterious woman calls Odd to taunt him. Odd is haunted by his past heroic deeds and the loss he experiences as a result. The only dead person he wants to see eludes him.

While the final scenes of the book are suspenseful, the novel suffers from Odd's childlike narrative voice and a failure to make the reader care deeply about the characters. This makes the novel forgettable once the last page has been read. Koontz is good enough to know how to keep the reader turning pages; however, this time his story is too thin and, in some ways, self-indulgent. I could imagine Koontz chuckling over his prose as he reincarnated Elvis again and again. I would have rather done the smiling myself.

Certainly those who loved Odd Thomas should read this novel, as Koontz will, in all likelihood, return to this character. Maybe the next novel will be better.

Not as good as the first one........2007-08-09

This is a much simpler story. The original characters are there,but you feel the Author's angst to get the sequel completed more than the peril of the characters. The first book "Odd Thomas" is required reading before "Forever Odd".

American Roulette: How I Turned the Odds Upside Down---My Wild Twenty-Five-Year Ride Ripping Off the World's Casinos (Thomas Dunne Books)

Average customer rating:

If you don't how to read, then read this book
Great book, hard to put down
Cool Under Pressure? These Guys Are Icebergs!
entertaining autobiography of a casino cheater
A great book if you are interested in casinos

American Roulette: How I Turned the Odds Upside Down---My Wild Twenty-Five-Year Ride Ripping Off the World's Casinos (Thomas Dunne Books)
Richard Marcus
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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Dirty Poker: The Poker Underworld Exposed
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ASIN: 0312336012
Release Date: 2004-10-28

Book Description

In American Roulette, Richard Marcus tells his never-before-heard story, of ripping off casinos. The book follows Marcus, along with several of the world's great professional casino cheaters, as he travels from Las Vegas to London and Monte Carlo, pilfering large sums of money from casinos by performing sleight of hand magic tricks with gaming chips. As skilled cheaters, they back up their moves with psychological setups to convince pit bosses that they're watching legitimate high rollers getting lucky, while in fact they're being ripped off blind. With the exploding growth of casino gambling, heightened by Indian reservation and riverboat expansion, more and more elaborate casino cheaters are illegally assaulting the green-felt, getting rich off of novice casino personnel. Richard Marcus's insider story is a window into the hidden world of intriguing personalities and tense situations he encounters as a member of expert casino-cheating teams who use their wits to turn the odds upside down and "earn" millions. American Roulette is a fascinating story not only for those who occasionally casino-gamble, but for everyone with a little larceny in their heart.

Customer Reviews:

If you don't how to read, then read this book.......2007-04-12

I can see how this book got five stars across the board. I could not pout this book down. It was a fast paced read. I never heard of past posting until this book came out. It is interested to read the authors progression into the cheating schemes and how the schemes are improved over time. I highly recommend this book, especially for those who don't like to read or don't know how to read.

Great book, hard to put down.......2007-01-24

Very entertaining book. Just reading it, I could feel my adrenaline level rise. It felt like I was there in the casinos, trying to avoid the watchful eye of the security cameras. If you liked Bringing Down the House, I think you'll like this book too.

Cool Under Pressure? These Guys Are Icebergs!.......2005-06-20

As a big fan of caper movies and con stories (Ocean's 11, The Thomas Crown Affair, Catch Me if You Can), I can enthusiastically recommend American Roulette.

Richard Marcus (most likely not his real name, in fact, the name is the same as that of the actor in a TV series called The Pretender) tells of his successful career as a casino cheat. He started as a garden-variety gambler, lost all his money, found himself homeless in Las Vegas, and became a blackjack dealer.

Marcus was recruited by a well-to-do casino rip-off gang and rose to the top over the years. He tells great stories about which casinos the gang hit, how they engineered the con, the trouble they ran into, and how they were nearly caught several times. The gang even made their way to casinos in Europe and Australia, although their base was in Las Vegas. The opening of casinos in Atlantic City and across the U.S. made for some easy pickings as well.

American Roulette is not an instructional manual on how to scam the casinos. In fact, as Marcus points out, even if you were to learn the mechanics and technicalities of the scam, there is something more basic to the success of the con game and that is being cool under pressure. These characters are glaciers.

American Roulette is a terrific read, and would make a fantastic movie.

entertaining autobiography of a casino cheater.......2005-01-19

This book tells the author's story of how he lost everything he had gambling, took a crappy job as shill--promoted to baccarat dealer--at the Four Queens in Las Vegas, and then had the opportunity to join a group of gambling cheaters and thieves. The cheating moves described in the book are mostly "pastposting"--placing high bets after the outcome is known by swapping in a new stack of chips for the ones previously bet. The trick is that high-value chips are concealed underneath low-value chips, and the cheater often has to issue a "claim" by pointing out to the dealer that he's been underpaid for the bet. The book begins and ends with a move he calls the "Savannah" which is an opposite maneuver--a high bet is placed, with the high-value chips concealed by lower-value chips, and if the bet loses, the high-value chips are pulled off. With that move, the winning bets are legitimate and surveillance tapes show that the high-value chips were there all along.

The group also would occasionally make money with other scams, like "railing"--stealing directly out of the chip racks of their fellow players. They also narrowly avoid getting involved in a card-marking scheme, violating their own rules of not using any specialized equipment that could be incriminating.

The book is most interesting for the characters involved and how they dealt with "steam" from the casinos when they caught on to what was happening.

The author appears to have no guilt or remorse for his actions on the grounds that casinos are regularly "stealing" from people every day (though that certainly doesn't justify the thefts directly from other gamblers, and ignores that gamblers are willing participants who know the odds are stacked against them).

I read _Bringing Down the House_ about the MIT Blackjack Team about a year and a half ago, and the comparison between the teams is interesting--the MIT team's methodology was far more sophisticated (and wasn't technically cheating), but both had to use similar psychological techniques.

It's surprising that the casinos didn't come up with better countermeasures quickly (a rule that there are no payouts for high-value chips not announced in advance, for example), but I find Marcus' overall tale quite plausible, in part because of the factors he points out in the last few pages of the book--"practically all casino jobs are monotonous" (p. 369). The boredom results in lack of attention and the jobs' high turnover results in inexperienced people up against very experienced cheaters.

A great book if you are interested in casinos.......2005-01-09

While I am not sure how much of the book is poetic license, the author does a great job of describing his career as a casino cheat - down to the exact moves. What makes the book great is that you begin to really get a feel for what this life was like. While on the surface his life appeared glamorous, the work seemed to be constant stress. (you'll have to read the book to see why)
This book was almost as good as "Bringing Down the House" - just as well written, but the schemes themselves were slightly less interesting. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that has an interest in gambling and/or casinos. For those that don't, I would not suggest this book.

Allies at Odds?: The United States and the European Union

Average customer rating:

Allies at Odds?: The United States and the European Union
Thomas S. Mowle
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Allies At War: America, Europe and the Crisis Over Iraq
The European Union: How Does It Work? (The New European Union Series)
European Integration Theory
The European Dream : How Europe's Vision of the Future Is Quietly Eclipsing the American Dream
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization: The Enduring Alliance (Global Institutions S.)

ASIN: 1403966508
Release Date: 2004-10-07

Book Description

Why, despite their similar goals, do the policy preferences of the European Union and United States diverge on so many multilateral issues? To answer that question, Allies at Odds thoroughly examines recent international efforts in arms control, environmental protection, human rights, and military cooperation. Evidence from twenty separate cases supports the expectations of the realist approach to international politics, which focuses on the role of power above all. Neither cultural factors nor international institutions have as much influence as some expect. This finding was as true during the Clinton Presidency as during the current Bush administration, indicating that focusing on personalities overlooks more substantial and longer-lasting differences between the Atlantic allies.

Average customer rating:

How Odd (but very good)

Odd Thomas
Dean Koontz
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Similar Items:

Forever Odd (Large Print Edition)
Brother Odd (Odd Thomas Novels)
Brother Odd (Large Print Edition) (A Novel)
The Husband
The Taking

ASIN: 0739439324

Product Description

SHIPS NEXT POSTAL DAY W/FREE TRACKING; BRAND NEW, LARGE PRINT EDITION 2003;

Customer Reviews:

How Odd (but very good).......2006-09-12

When I first started reading this book, I thought perhaps Odd Thomas was mentally challenged. As I continued to read, I realized that he was quite intelligent, but approached the world rather simplistically, perhaps even naively. Odd has an unusual talent; he sees the dead. You can imagine it would be quite disconcerting to see Elvis walking around in your hometown, looking as he did in life, with the same taste in clothes. Unfortunately, the dead do not speak; at least, not to Odd.

It takes us only a little while to discover that something is wrong in Odd's home town of Pico Mundo. Odd sees a very strange character that he dubs the "Fungus Man," who is followed by a group of bodachs, which are spirit-like beings invisible to those of us that are unable to see the dead. In Odd's experience the presence of bodachs is an indication that something bad is going to happen to someone, somewhere, soon. Odd takes the opportunity to make use of a driver's license to break into Fungus Man's house, where he finds even more unusual and bizarre things. Fungus Man has a fascination with serial murderers and violence. The physical and psychic evidence mounts that something is going to happen in the town of Pico Mundo, and Fungus Man seems to be at the center of it.

Odd continues to gather evidence of Fungus Man's activities to help support action by the Police Chief of Pico Mundo, who is Odd's friend and who is aware of Odd's talent for seeing ghosts and bodachs. As we follow Odd in his gathering of information throughout the story we discover that Odd is far from being a storybook character, having bizarre parents, one of whom is severely dysfunctional, if not insane. Perhaps the biggest surprise is that Odd is so relatively nice and normal, except for being able to see dead people, when Odd had such weird parents. We are also introduced to Bronwen "Stormy" Llewellyn, Odd's girlfriend and, in Odd's opinion, the most perfect and beautiful woman on earth.

Dean Koontz wrote this story perfectly, continuing to build momentum from the discovery of Odd's talent, to meeting Fungus Man, to several dramatic and important events through the culmination of the story, when he pulls it all together. One other reviewer found fault with the introduction of Odd's parents late in the novel. However, in real life, as in this novel, Odd was searching for information, and he thought he might learn something from his parents. As it turned out, he learned a very important piece of information from his mother that aided him as the final events unfolded in the book.

Dean Koontz' recent novels have been a roller coaster of quality. While his books have been readable, their consistency has varied significantly. "Odd Thomas" stands out as the best novel that Koontz has written in quite a long time. The pacing is good, the building of suspense is steady, the novel is relatively short compared to some of the recent bloated works of some authors, and most important, Koontz manages to create a very original story with an ending that I suspected, but the details I did not. I suspect that "Odd Thomas" is going to show up as a movie. I hope it is done well, because this well-written novel deserves to be filmed well.

What Though the Odds: The Story of Notre Dame Tennis: The Story of Notre Dame Tennis

Average customer rating:

What Though the Odds: The Story of Notre Dame Tennis: The Story of Notre Dame Tennis
Thomas W. Fallon
Manufacturer: Diamond Communications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Leather Bound
ASIN: 0912083794

Book Description

No descriptive material is available for this title.

Charter Schools Against the Odds: An Assessment of the Koret Task Force on K-12 Education (Hoover Institution Press Publication)

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Charter Schools Against the Odds: An Assessment of the Koret Task Force on K-12 Education (Hoover Institution Press Publication)

Manufacturer: Hoover Institution Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Policy | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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Charter Schools in Action: Renewing Public Education.
Where Charter School Policy Fails: The Problems of Accountability and Equity (Sociology of Education, 12)
Courting Failure: How School Finance Lawsuits Exploit Judges' Good Intentions And Harm Our Children (Koret Task Force on K-12 Education)
No Child Left Behind (Peter Lang Primer)

ASIN: 0817947620

Book Description

The uphill battle faced by charter schools--and how they can overcome the odds Charter schools--born into a hostile environment--are publicly funded schools operated by independent groups under contract with government agencies that provide a valuable alternative to traditional bureaucratically operated school districts. But state laws and policies have stacked the deck against them by limiting the number of charter schools allowed in a state, forbidding for-profit firms from holding charters, forcing them to pay rent out of operating funds, and many other ways. Charter Schools against the Odds explains how these policies can be amended to level the playing field and give charter schools--and the children they serve--a fairer chance to succeed. The contributors show the ways schools have coped by improvising, relying on contributed time and money, avoiding the most hostile environments, and taking risks when the needs of children required it. They also present valuable ideas for policy changes, explaining how charter schools can be strengthened by a combination of changes in state law, public investments in performance-based school oversight, and private initiatives supported by philanthropy--and they tell why establishing a more level playing field would stimulate even more innovations in years to come. Perhaps most important, they suggest how charter supporters can organize to make changes happen. Paul T. Hill, a distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution and member of the Koret Task Force on K-12 Education, is a research professor in the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs and director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington.

Contributors: John E. Chubb, Chester E. Finn Jr., Paul T. Hill, Caroline M. Hoxby, Eric Osberg, Paul E. Peterson, Brad Smith, Nathan Torinus

Why Moths Hate Thomas Edison: And Other Urgent Inquiries into the Odd Nature of Nature (Outside Books)
Average customer rating:

For the child at heart

Very funny facts.

THE WONDERS OF NATURE

Great book of short topics

VERY GOOD BOOK

Why Moths Hate Thomas Edison: And Other Urgent Inquiries into the Odd Nature of Nature (Outside Books)

Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books
Natural History | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books
Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
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Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission

ASIN: 0393321509

Book Description

The best of Outside magazine's "The Wild File." Join longtime Outside editor and contributor Hampton Sides as he rollicks through the fascinating, quirky questions readers ask about the world around them: Do beavers ever get squashed by the trees they're gnawing down? Why are there so many worms writhing on the sidewalk after a storm? What good are goosebumps? Why do llamas spit? What is the oldest living creature on earth? Focusing on natural history and outdoor lore, this collection ranges from the gothic to the comic to the cosmic. It includes the sorts of questions that most of us stopped asking (at least out loud) when we were eight years old. "The Wild File" is what question-and-answer columns should be but seldom are: an often surprising, sometimes zany, always insightful and informative back-and-forth between a devoted readership and its publication. The result is an enchanting and enriching collection of answers that open windows to more questions. 60 black-and-white illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

For the child at heart.......2007-10-02

"Why Moths Hate Thomas Edison And Other Urgent Inquiries into the Odd Nature of Nature" is filled with all the stupid, ridiculous, silly, or `obvious' questions we're too afraid to ask, or feel we should already know the answers to. Best of all, the folks at Outside Magazine tracked down the most obscure of experts to get the answers.

So if you've ever wanted to know precisely why a tongue will stick to cold metal (and what to do about it if it should happen to you), you can find that out in here. If you want to know how goose down is collected, that's in here too. The book debunks common myths, such as the idea that eagles mate in midair and sometimes fall to the ground and die during the act. It explains the exact science behind that distinctive smell in the air when it rains, and the factors that have created the misconception that tornadoes are somehow attracted to trailer parks. Next time someone gives you guff over your male pattern baldness you can point them to the argument in here for why it's actually a sign of virility and fertility.

The editors turn seemingly dull questions into far more entertaining discourses. For example, the question of how high birds can fly becomes a catalogue of the highest KNOWN flights, most of which had rather... sudden... ends.

If you're the kind of person who hasn't given up their sense of wonder at the universe, this is a great book to have around. It makes a great conversation starter, but it's equally fun to just sit down and read for enjoyment's sake.

Very funny facts........2003-07-14

217 pages of funny answers to weird questions asked about the world, nature and, in general, the universe around us. Like, how many times can a stone skip on water? Is Pluto really a planet? What is foxfire? How do ducks float? Where does the white go when the snow melts? Are blue moons really blue? Why do worms always show up after the rain?
The book comes with an index, so you can look up facts fast, and the intro comes with an e-mail address because 'The Wild File' which the book is based on still lives on the pages of 'Outside' magazine and they still need questions!
Easy to read, funny and with answers anybody can understand. I would suggest this book for anybody, young or old.

THE WONDERS OF NATURE.......2002-06-13

Remember when you were a child filled with curiousity and wonder about nature? You asked many questions such as why do ducks float, do people go crazy during the full moon and why does do collect in the morning? All of those were great questions and some of them may or may not have been answered to your satisfaction. Now your children are asking the same questions and what are you going to say?

Never fear, dear friends. Outside Magazine's "The Wild File" has provided us with a book answering those various hard questions that we have about nature. Why Moths Hate Thomas Edison is a compendium of the best of The Wild File column. You are presented with five files dealing with various forms of nature. Each file has a question/answer format and cites the person who asked the question.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Some of the questions sounded stupid but in reality made sense. The answers were informative and hilarious. You would be surprised over the number of experts in such esoteric fields of wildlife. For example, one informant researched the number of pushups that lizards do in their exercise regimine. Yes, there are people who really do that.
What is also great about this book is its brevity and accessibility. You can share it with your children as they ask you the great questions of nature. You can spend time finding those answers to questions you had as a child. This is a delighful read. So go out and find out why lizards do pushups and why llamas spit.

Great book of short topics.......2001-12-05

This is one of those books that you read in one page sections. It is basically a collection of interesting questions that the author has answered while working for a magazine. The questions are fun and he gives pretty complete answers. The answers are usually about a page in length so if you want to read something for five minutes this book is perfect. The information is cool, I really enjoyed it. It gives you a lot of responces to questions you often hear.

VERY GOOD BOOK.......2001-09-27

this book is really good... i found it informative and interesting... i recomend iut to everyone

3 ODD THOMAS Titles By Dean Koontz (1-3) --- 1. ODD THOMAS -- 2. FOREVER ODD -- 3. BROTHER ODD

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3 ODD THOMAS Titles By Dean Koontz (1-3) --- 1. ODD THOMAS -- 2. FOREVER ODD -- 3. BROTHER ODD
Dean Koontz
Manufacturer: various
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000U912OE

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3 ODD THOMAS Titles By Dean Koontz (1-3) --- 1. ODD THOMAS -- 2. FOREVER ODD -- 3. BROTHER ODD, an Unboxed Set, in Hard or Softcover, See Seller Comments Description.

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