Product Description
The Three Investigators must solve an old man's riddle to uncover a great fortune for their friend, Gus. But they're racing against a sinister bunch of treasure hunters who are also hot on the trail. Who will arrive first at the mysterious Fiery Eye? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Satisified customer
Item shiped in a timely manner and arrived in the described condition. Would use this seller again.

Great series for preteen and teenage kids...
If you're looking for a series to make your kids think without knowing that they are... this one is for them.Very well written series that will increase their vocabulary in leaps and bounds while thoroughly entertaining them and keeping them on the edge of their seats the whole time.

The Eye Is Fiery!
This book is the seventh in the Three Investigator series."The Secret of Skeleton Island" precedes this book, and "The Mystery of the Silver Spider" follows.As we learned in previous books, The Three Investigators are Jupiter Jones, Pete Crenshaw and Bob Andrews.Jupiter is the intelligent, sometimes inadvertently arrogant member of the group.Pete Crenshaw is typically the muscle of the group.Pete is usually quite fearless.Bob Andrews works at the library and handles records and research for the group.

This mystery finds the boys in difficulty.In the first mystery in this series, "The Secret of Terror Castle," Jupiter Jones had won the use of a gold-colored Rolls Royce for thirty days of twenty-four hour each.Unfortunately, thirty days has passed.Jupiter manages to convince the owner of the rental company to allow the use of the Rolls twice more, but the loss of the Rolls will be a serious blow to the aspirations of The Three Investigators.

The boys travel to the office of Mr. Alfred Hitchcock to meet August August.August's recently deceased uncle left August a valuable object, but to find the object August must solve a riddle.August enlists the aid of The Three Investigators.As we know from previous books in this series, The Three Investigators are quite good at unraveling mysteries and solving enigmas and thus their success rate has been absolute.

The boys believe they have solved the mystery early in the book when they learn that busts owned by August's uncle included a bust of the Roman emperor Augustus.However, Jupiter's Aunt has sold the busts and the boys have no clue as to the buyers or their addresses.Even Jupiter's superior intelligence is at a dead end.Eventually the busts are located, but finding the busts provides only more mysteries.

Unfortunately for The Three Investigators, two other groups also seem to be seeking the object August's uncle left behind, and these groups include men that appear to be coldly ruthless.The Three Investigators may, once again, be in danger for their lives!

I was a little disappointed with the previous book, "The Secret of Skeleton Island."That mystery was almost too simple and mundane for The Three Investigators.The Three Investigators almost solved that mystery accidentally.The danger was often accident related and perhaps a little bit of carelessness on the part of the boys rather than threats from enemies.However, this book came charging back with sinister enemies and a chilling curse on an exotic jewel.The mystery is nicely convoluted and layered and the boys solve one mystery only to find another.I also enjoyed this mystery because there were enough clues in the mystery for you to learn the hiding place of the Fiery Eye before The Three Investigators.This mystery is fun and fast paced!

Enjoy!

One Puzzler After Another
In yet another of a series of rip-roaring puzzlers from the mind of Robert Arthur, we now see Jupe and the Three Investigators triumph over a secretly coded message and a cast of assorted bad guys to solve yet another case.The puzzle of the coded message sent to August August (yes, that's his name) by his great-uncle proves to be even more perplexing than it at first appears.The boys seemingly solve the mystery several times, only to be rewarded each of those times with yet another clue to the location of that which they seek, namely a brilliant, long-lost, cursed ruby.Racing them to the prize are a mysterious man from India and a gang of rather foolish tough guys running around with fake black mustaches.I really admired how Arthur brought everything together at the end of the book, incorporating several small details I had dismissed as tangential at the beginning of the tale.As usual, you will find a chapter named "Trapped!" in the book, but, as is also quite usual, the boys find a way out of danger and prove that criminals are no match for the brains of Jupiter Jones and the steadfastness of his intrepid companions.This isn't quite as good as some of the earlier books in the series, but it is certainly an enjoyable story; also, it makes you think.Try putting the book down as you approach the final chapters, after all of the clues are known to you, and see if you can solve the mystery along with our heroes.

Turn back the clock.
I started reading the Three Investigators Mysteries back in the late 70's as a boy of ten. I believe that The Mystery of the Fiery Eye was the first and it hooked me in for many adventures to come. Now, as a man in his 30's, I am rediscovering just how wonderful these books really are. It is so refreshing to put aside adult matters for a few hours and return to a simpler time. I can't recommend this series highly enough to young and old alike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Classic chills
I discovered the Hitchcock young readers' series of anthologies when I was a kid, and I still enjoy them! The contents for this one are:
1. The Triumph of Death, by H. Russell Wakefield
2. The Strange Valley, by T.V. Olsen
3. The Christmas Spirit, by Dorothy B. Bennett
4. The Bronze Door, by Raymond Chandler
5. Slip Stream, by Sheila Hodgson
6. The Quest for "Blank Claveringi," by Patricia Highsmith
7. Mis Pinkerton's Apocalypse, by Muriel Spark
8. The Reunion After Three Hundred Years, by Alexis Tolstoy
9. The Attic Express, by Alex Hamilton
10. The Pram, by A.W. Bennett
11. Mr. Ash's Studio, by H. Russell Wakefield

A find for Raymond Chandler fans
This book contains an extremely rare short story by Raymond Chandler, called the "Bronze Door" A story that it only otherwise available in pulp digest magazines the latest being the magazine of science fiction and fantasy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

FROM BACK COVER
Sit down, relax and enjoy the rich aroma of 100% pure evil. Alfred Hitchcock, the Insidious One, has selected only the most chilling morsels for this unholy blend of choice tales of terror, all hand-picked from the fiendish fields of murder, mystery and mayhem. So take a break from the innocence and tranquility of everyday life and pore through this deliciously diabolic mixture.

Join the Insidious One in a refreshing taste of ingenious malevolence, brewed to criminal perfection such sages of the sinister as:

* Richard Deming
* Gil Brewer
* Syd Hoff
* Helen Nielsen
* C.B. Gilford
* Arthur Porges
* Henry Slesar
* Hal Ellson
* John Lutz
* Ed Lacy
* James Holding
* Dick Ellis
* Hal Dresner
* Jonathan Craig

AWESOME!
This book is a must read! Brief stories of mystery guaranteed to be breath-taking by the master Alfred Hitchcock himself... Anyone who liked "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" should read this book. ... Read more

Product Description
As the 1960s dawned Alfred Hitchcock was riding high ... hit movies, hit TV show, books, magazines and his face printed on it all. He was about to release his most successful film and embark on a roller coaster ride of a decade as he found the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. He was an icon and he would spend the remainder of his life trying to live up to expectations. Now, upon the 50th anniversary of the release of 'Psycho', rediscover the hits and uncover new details behind the unfinished films and the struggles of Hollywood's most famous director. WIth insights from the stars who worked with him, like Janet Leigh, Tippi Hedren, Paul Newman, Julie Andrews, Bruce Dern and more, rediscover the art of Hollywood's Master of Suspense. Includes many rare photographs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Honoring Hitch
The book aims to honor the master of suspense without a lot of heavy-handed introspection that some Hitchcock biographies layer on. Often Hitchcock books try to delve so deeply into the psyche of the director that the miss the fun and joy of his filmmaking. His later years show him using all the tricks he learned but plagued by the difficulty of competing against himself and all his successes.

Master of the Macabre
The impetus for author John William Law's book about Alfred Hitchcock is the 50th anniversary of the release of the movie //Psycho//.Right up front, in the introduction, Law advises the reader that his book is not meant to be yet another biography of Alfred Hitchcock--widely acknowledged as one of the motion picture industry's most talented directors.Rather, it is a careful examination of the circumstances and events that took place during the time when Hitchcock ascended to the status of an icon.This status was guaranteed by a full spectrum of creative endeavors encompassing movies filmed in Great Britain and the United States, the wildly popular television series //Alfred Hitchcock Presents// and numerous publications featuring Hitchcock's macabre sense of humor wrapped in tales of horror.

The most engaging aspects of this survey are the accounts of projects that Hitchcock failed to complete and the impact on the careers of the actors and actresses who played the unforgettable roles as his victims, such as Janet Leigh in //Psycho// and Tipi Hedren in //The Birds//.Fans of Hitchcock will appreciate the numerous back stories that provide new details about the making of these films.


Reviewed by Ruta Arellano ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Alfred Hitchcock...
An interesting mystery. My children enjoyed reading it.

It starts out as one story and winds it way around and around to come back to the original story. Any details and I would give the plot away. ... Read more

Product Description
A compilation of ghost and horror stories. The tales include "The Valley of the Beasts", "The Haunted Trailer", "The Upper Berth", "The Wonderful Day", "The Truth About Pyecraft", "Housing Problem", "In a Dim Room", "Obstinate Uncle Otis" and "The Isle of Voices". ... Read more

Product Description
The Three Investigators are assisted by a Greek youth as they search for clues to a mysterious thief on an island once inhabited by pirates. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Pirate treasure and a ghostly merry-go-round
Jupiter, Pete, and Bob fly east to help Pete's dad with a movie project he's working on.The production company wants to film an exciting chase scene on a roller coaster at an old abandoned amusement park on Skeleton Island, but things keep breaking or going missing.So, the boys are called in to do a little snooping around and maybe find out who's causing the problems.It'll give them the chance to practice their scuba diving, too, and maybe even look for some of that famed pirate treasure the locals claim lies in the nearby waters.

Quite exciting at times, but not one of my `most favorite' from this old favorite series I loved as a kid.Still, a good mystery with lots of clues to follow as the story progresses, and my son and I recently enjoyed it.As with a few others in the beginning of the series, a young foreign boy who faces local persecution figures prominently in their adventures as a sub-plot.But I thought this one was a little easier to figure out than some others have been (... or perhaps I'm just remembering from all the times I read it as a kid?).Still, a highly recommended series for kids who like a good mystery (try to find the Alfred Hitchcock versions over the Hector Sebastian ones if you can).

Get you kids to read these books... They'll love them.
If you're looking for a series to make your kids think without knowing that they are... this one is for them.Very well written series that will increase their vocabulary in leaps and bounds while thoroughly entertaining them and keeping them on the edge of their seats the whole time.

good mystery book
It was a very good book and it is refreshing that it can be read by all ages.

Treasure!
This book is the sixth in the Three Investigator series."The Mystery of the Vanishing Treasure" precedes this book, and "The Mystery of the Fiery Eye" follows.As we learned in previous books, the Three Investigators are Jupiter Jones, Pete Crenshaw and Bob Andrews.Jupiter is the intelligent, sometimes inadvertently arrogant member of the group.Pete Crenshaw is typically the muscle of the group.Pete is usually quite fearless.Bob Andrews, who began the series with a broken leg, works at the library and handles records and research for the group.Bob's cast is off now but his leg is still weak.

The three boys travel to Skeleton Island and discover that the island is home to a ghost.The ghost rides the merry-go-round at an abandoned amusement park.The amusement park is to be the site of a film, but the ghostly happenings on the island are frightening local workers away and impeding the progress of the movie.In addition, the island was also supposedly the location where a pirate abandoned his treasure.Local treasure hunters have a habit of trespassing on the island to search for the treasure whenever someone finds a gold doubloon on or near the island.As if these mysteries were not enough, crooks may have hidden their loot near the island.

As with most of the stories in this series, this book was enjoyable to read.However, this book is weaker than most of the previous books in this series.The mystery was relatively mundane and the threats to the boys were frequently accidental rather than intentional.I always recommend starting with the first book in this series, "The Secret of Terror Castle," and I make that recommendation even stronger in the case of this book.You will gain a much better impression of the Three Investigators by starting at the beginning rather than with this book.

Quite a few children's mystery book series have become classics.Most people are familiar with Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, and Tom Swift.Even the Boxcar Children are relatively well-known.However, Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators are well-written books that offer an intelligent, interesting and more contemporary alternative to many of the earlier classic series.Many people recall the earlier series well, but the Three Investigators series, which Robert Arthur wrote and debuted in 1964, has, for now, largely been overshadowed by the other series and generally forgotten.Fortunately, all of these books are available either from Amazon or from other internet sources.

Enjoy!

One of THE BEST books i've ever read!!!
This book is a suspencefull mystery that you'll want to read for hours!!
I loved this book and you will too!!! ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

Riiiiggghhhtttt.
Riiiiiggghhht.

This book is a fine example how people can twist something using texual and intertexual analysis into something to fit their own agendas.

I find, in the selection I read, that there is poor use of visual evidence.The author mearley asserts something and then asserts another based on the previous assertion - which is fine, I suppose, if you already agree with his viewpoint before you started reading the material.Whichmeans you can either try to pull out some snippits of insight or just nod your head like "yes men".

The conclusions are sloppy and questionable and while he asserts propoganda at every turn... his baises lead me to beleive his book is indeed propoganda itself.

Early-Cold War Attitudes about National Security and Gender
Author Robert Corber's assertion that homosexual men and lesbians were intentionally excluded from the early-Cold War consensus is not surprising because, in the late 1940s and through the 1950s, the message to gays and lesbians clearly was: Conform or you will be at least marginalized and, perhaps, demonized.What is surprising is Corber's main premise that liberals primarily sought to "manage and contain the demands of women and minorities for greater recognition."This is a provocative thesis, and Corber uses the films made by Alfred Hitchcock in the 1950s "to demonstrate how these liberals achieved and retained hegemony over American society in the 1950s by producing a united cultural front."I disagree with some aspects of Corber's interpretation, but this is very interesting, occasionally exciting, reading.

According to Corber, in The Vital Center, "one of the most influential books of the postwar era, when Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., wanted to emphasize the conspiratorial nature of the American Communist Party, he compared it to gay male subculture."Corber explains that Schlesinger's purpose was two-fold: "it helped to consolidate the Cold War consensus by making membership in the Communist party and other forms of political dissent seem `unnatural'" and "it helped to insure that gender and nationality functioned as mutually reinforcing categories of identity by suggesting that engaging in homosexuality and other `perverted' sexual practices was un-American."According to Corber: "Americans who thought of themselves as part of the gay and lesbian subcultures that began to emerge in the postwar period in large urban areas...could be seen as disloyal citizens engaged in a conspiracy to overthrow the American government."This is a provocative theory.

If, for the sake of this discussion, we accept Corber's thesis that both Communists and gay men and lesbians were perceived in the 1950s as conspiring to overthrow American government, his approach to gender issues in Hitchcock's films, which are at the center of this book, is fascinating.Corber's premise is "to emphasize the extent to which to which the construction of gender and sexual identity was governed by the discourses of national security."According to Corber: "Examining Hitchcock's films in the context of the emergence and consolidation of the national security state suggests that the juridical construction of `the homosexual' and `the lesbian' as security risks provided the American government with a mechanism for containing resistance to the postwar settlement."Corber seeks "to establish the crucial connections between gender, national identity, and national security in postwar American society."According to Corber: "I want to show that in the 1950s the construction of male and female subjectivity was conditioned by the identification of homosexuality and lesbianism as threats to national security." Corber makes his case most effectively in discussing two of Hitchcock's films: "Strangers on a Train" (1951) and "North by Northwest" (1959).According to Corber, the former was based on Patricia Highsmith's "blatantly homophobic novel, " and "identified individual conformity to the political and sexual norms sanctioned by the state as an act of supreme patriotism."Corber writes: "Strangers on a Train goes further than the federal government in attempting to police male same-sex behavior."In Corber's view, this film "shows that straights are...susceptible to blackmail.Because their sexual identities are fluid and unstable, straights are incapable of resisting the sexual advances of gay men and lesbians."Corber writes:"Hitchcock's film questions whether the threatened homosexualization of American society can be presented....The crisis over government employment of gay men and women who pass as straight appears to justify extreme measures."According to Corber, Strangers on a Train "helped to underwrite and consolidate the postwar settlement by ratifying the liberal critique of postwar American culture."

In Corber's view: "North by Northwest stresses the way in which gender and nationality functioned as mutually reinforcing categories of identity in postwar America." In thisfilm, in Corber's view, "Hitchcock shows how the discourses of national security operate so as to contain resistance to the postwar settlement."Corber writes: "North by Northwest shows that the construction of gender and national identity anchored and guaranteed each other in post-war America."Furthermore, according to Corber, "North by Northwest" helped "to underwrite and consolidate the link between communism and homosexuality in the discourses of national security."This is powerful film criticism, whether or not one accept's Corber's interpretation.

A large part of my disagreement with Corber involves chronology and causation.In particular, I expect we would disagree about the answer to this question: Was the McCarthyism of the early 1950s determinative, or merely illustrative, of deep-seated fears of Communist subversion?In the introduction, Corber refers to the "the wave of anti-Communism unleashed by the McCarthy hearings."In my opinion, this "wave of anti-Communism" began rolling several years before Senator McCarthy came to national prominence following a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, in February 1950.McCarthyism was, therefore, a symptom, as well as a cause, of a larger phenomenon of political intolerance.Indeed, Corber, himself, writes that Schlesinger'sThe Vital Center, which was published in 1949, "[c]ontribut[ed] to the anti-Communist hysteria then sweeping the nation."McCarthy clearly exploited, but did not begin, the domestic anti-Communist crusade of the early Cold War.Similarly, Hitchcock's films of the 1950s did not create, but merely reinforced, attitudes about the link between national-security issues and gender.

Corber is a very sharp, imaginative, and incisive analyst of popular films.Readers not intimately familiar with the films on which he focuses (and I am not) must, I suppose, accept his interpretations.I suspect, however, that Corber reads too much into Hitchcock.It is possible that these films were merely clever entertainments, without the deep and complex political content that Corber sees in them.Because Corber's grasp of the history of the early Cold War era is less assured, I believe that many readers will find Corber's comments about Hitchcock's films far more persuasive than his approach to the history of the era.But that does not detract from the fact that practically every page of this book is thought-provoking. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Yet another fine entry in the Three Investigator series
Author William Arden continues to impress in his 4th Three Investigators story, the 13th of the series as a whole. Series creator Robert Arthur chose well when illness forced him to seek other writers to carry on the series.

The plot revolves around a carnival. This is by no means a unique setting for a juvenile mystery but Arden seems to have done an impressive amount of research (or alternately, has an impressive amount of experience) so that the story doesn't slide into a familiar rut. The book is also very well written and very well plotted. It could easily have formed the plot of a standard mystery if it had a harder edge to it. As it is, there is an impressive amount of foreshadowing, the story is action packed, and the reader is kept guessing until the end. An example of the former: a fun house and a tunnel of love are casually mentioned at one point. Sure enough, our stalwarts end up in them later on.

For the young reader the only drawback to the series is that it is somewhat dated but that shouldn't be a big deal. For the adult who enjoyed them as a kid they still hold up well. For the adult who has never read them they are still an engaging read. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A GOOD ONE TO HAVE AROUND FOR A QUICK, GOOD READ
This is a collection of stories, strange stories, scary stories and odd stories by quite a number of authors.Ray Bradbury, Gerald Kersh, Dorothy Sayers, Raymond E. Banks, Carter Dickson, Hal Dresner and Jack Ritchie are but a few of the authors represented here.Most of the stories are quite good, some almost great.I did not find one that did not appeal to me.This is the sort of book I like to have handy to read when I have a few quiet moments and late at night.Can recommend this one highly.

great short stories
3 novelettes and a bunch of other short creepy tales by Ray Bradbury, Raymond E. Banks and a gem by Fredric Brown. 13 stories in total 190 pages. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A GOOD ONE TO HAVE AROUND FOR A QUICK, GOOD READ
This is a collection of stories, strange stories, scary stories and odd stories by quite a number of authors.Ray Bradbury, Gerald Kersh, Dorothy Sayers, Raymond E. Banks, Carter Dickson, Hal Dresner and Jack Ritchie are but a few of the authors represented here.Most of the stories are quite good, some almost great.I did not find one that did not appeal to me.This is the sort of book I like to have handy to read when I have a few quiet moments and late at night.Can recommend this one highly.

great short stories
3 novelettes and a bunch of other short creepy tales by Ray Bradbury, Raymond E. Banks and a gem by Fredric Brown. 13 stories in total 190 pages. ... Read more

Product Description
Published by Random House. Per the dust jacket: ...twenty-three stories, a novelette, and a novel guaranteed to turn your hair white overnight." Stories selected by Mr. Hitchcock include: Casablanca by Thomas M. Disch, Fishhead by Irvin S. Cobb, Camera Obscura by Basil Copper, A Death in the Family by Miriam Allen deFord, Men Without Bones by Gerald Kersh, Not With a Bang by Damon Knight, Party Games by John Burke, X Marks the Pedwalk by Fritz Leiber, Curious Adventure of Mr. Bond by Nugent Barker, Two Spinsters by E. Phillips Oppenheim, The Knife by Robert Arthur, The Cage by Ray Russell, It by Theodore Sturgeon, The Road to Mictlantecutli by Adobe James, Guide to Doom by Ellis Peters, The Estuary by Margaret St. Clair, Tough Town by William Sambrot, The Troll by T. H. White, Evening at the Black House by Robert Somerlott, One of the Dead by William Wood, The Real Thing by Robert Specht, Journey to Death by Donald E. Westlake, Master of the Hounds by Algis Budrys, The Candidate by Henry Slesar, and Out of the Deeps by John Wyndham. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

a passable collection of horror stories
This short story collection contains some jewels and duds.The stories are either American or English in origin, written sometime between the 1920s and 1960s.I found this book to be the perfect remedy for filling in some dead time by reading a short story.Also, the book contains a novel by John Wyndham.Unfortunately the novel, about underwater sea monsters, is not one of Wyndham's better efforts.It is also somewhat less of a horror story than a science fiction novel.


Bottom line: competent but generally forgettable.

Truly incredible!
I can't stress enough what a great anthology this is. Some amazing works are displayed, and though I am (was) not familiar with any of the authors here, there are a couple of stories that I believe are worthy of being called masterpieces.
For those looking for a jolt of raw horror, "The Road to Mictlantecutli", a classic tale of morality set against the desert of New Mexico, "Camera Obscura", about an introverted millionare's fastenating title device, "Party Games" about a not-so-innocent [...] child, and "The Knife" will fit the bill nicely.
Those looking for terror in the form of monsters need look no further than "It", a novellette about a highly-eveloved mold spore (written, fastenatingly, from the monster's perspective) "FishHead", a nasty little tale straight out of a Southern bayou, "Men With No Bones",and the bizarre "The Troll". Those who are looking for subtly-crafted tales will find pleasure with "One of the Dead" about a haunted house amongst the Hollywood mansions, "X Marks The Pedwalk", a disturbing tale about urban violence (apparently set in the future), "Not With a Bang",a post-apocalyptic tale with an ending that will leave you thinking, and the disturbing and strangely sad "A Death in the Family", about a man with a gruesome surprise in his basement.
If you like a dash of humor with your horror, the hilarious
"Tough Town", about a traveling salesman who gets a grim surprise after abscently striking a man's dog, and "The Canidate", about an organization working towards one common good--the death of a single, hated individual.

Now I would like to adress a few tales that I believe are true masterpieces: "Journey to Death". This story, about two men stranded in a tiny, air-sealed room in a sunken cruiseliner, is one of the most disturbing stories I have ever read, right up their with Stephen King's "Survivor Type". Then there is "Casablanca", a story that takes the reputably beautiful city and shows it in a disturbing, alien light. The final sentence of this particularly long short story is simply unforgettable.

The book concludes with the very good novel "Out of the Deeps", an interesting take on an alien invasion story. This novel is intelligent, but never allows for the suspense to drop. Recommened for late-night reading.

Of this entire volume, the only stories I can honestly say didn't really do anything for me were "Guide to Doom", "Two Spinsters", "The Kage", and the overlong "The Curious Adventures of Mr. Bond".
These four stories do absolutely nothing to hinder the otherwise excellent stories. The ratio of sucky-to-non-sucky (forgive my crudeness) stories is truly remarkable.
This is a very rare book, and one that sadly is widly unknown.
As another reader here has mentioned, it is a sin that a book this good is out of print.
Now--stop reading, and order this book. From Amazon, Ebay, wherever, I don't care. Just get it. You will never regret it.

Makes any "stranded on a desert island" list - a must have!!
This anthology is one of the most chilling and creepy collections of gothic horror and the supernatural.Quite incredibly, it is very unknown and hard to find.

I can still smell the thick, slippery river mud of "Fishead".The stark and surreal horror of "The Troll" is like the Twilight Zone episode with William Shatner.And why the novelette "Out of the Deeps" hasn't been made yet into a summer sci-fi blockbuster on par with Star Wars escapes me.

This is a must-have book for those who like a good scare.Get some cookies, make some tea, lock the door, and be sure to leave a nightlight on...you can't look away from this book once you pick it up.The 1-star rating above is CLEARLY a typo on the reviewer's part.

Want your skin to C-R-A-W-L?
"The curious adventures of Mr Bond" will probably leave you perspiring as you find out why the ...well I don't want to spoil it. The author weaves this tale so skillfully you'll want to find more of his horror. After all it scared Hitchcock! The novelette "The Deeps" will be one of those 'can't put it down til it's done' experiences. Why did this ever go out of print?

Keep the lights on!
This book is a magnificent compilation of stories including at least two that were made into movies.Hark, who goes there became "The Thing."The original and the remake were both based on the story butonly the remake came close to the story."A boy and his dog" wasalso made into a movie starring a young Don Johnson.All the other storiesare gripping as well. ... Read more

Product Description
"A wonderful collection, and ridiculously inexpensive for all these delightful stories."- Otto Penzler From Ed McBain to Sara Paretsky: a 50th anniversary celebration of mystery masterworks. For fifty years Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine has been one of the foremost magazines of mystery and suspense. This commemorative anthology features such bestselling writers as Lawrence Block and Jan Burke, just two of the esteemed contributors to have appeared in the magazine's pages over the past five decades. Published to coincide with the celebration of AHMM's golden anniversary, this anthology reflects the diversity of every issue of the magazine: historicals and police procedurals, cozies and noirs, humor and suspense. From Jim Thompson in the fifties and Donald Westlake in the sixties, to recent stories by S.J. Rozan, Martin Limon, and Rhys Bowen, this anthology documents a half century of great storytelling. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great Anthology!
Have never read Alfred Hitchcock's Magazine so have no idea if these are the best stories which have appeared in there but I can say I have read a fair few anthologies and would have to say this is up there with the best of them.You'll never come across a large collection of short stories by various authors where you love every single story inside but the great collections have a large percentage of stories you really enjoy, allow you to read stories you will have a pretty difficult time tracking down by authors who you are a fan of as well as introduce you to authors whose full length novels you have never tried.This collection does accomplish all this.

The best stories in here in my opinion are the first story Frightening Frammis about a hitchhiker con man who is returning to LA with his tail between his legs when he is given a lift by a couple and shortly after offered a scam by the wife if he will kill her husband.#8 although a bit predictable is a good old serial killer tale. Although most of Westlake's work is better Good Night Good Night is still a good read about a TV star who is shot while watching an episode of his show and wants to work out which of his co-stars shot him before death embraces him.The Method Sheriff, the tale of a small town bank robbery is one of those classic twist stories.New Neighbour is the story of how the elderly in a street react to a new bully neighbour who kills their animal companions when they complain about the noise and other matters. The Muse by Jan Burke along with being a great story also constantly pays tribute to Alfred Hitchcock with his films constantly referenced by the main characters who play games where the other must guess which film they are referring to unfortunately for them though someone else wants to play an even deadlier game.Sinkhole is another great tale of a man not able to divorce his wife who uses a sinkhole in the backyard to get rid of her only to find he is not the only person in the area who has had this idea.

Since Amazon doesn't give a list of who has contributed to this collection and which of their stories are in here, something which I personally find really annoying when trying to track down stories I haven't read by authors that I like. I will provide a comprehensive list at the bottom of this review.Buy this anthology it's good!Other great recently published anthologies are Dangerous Women edited by Otto Penzler, The Best American Mystery Stories 2006 edited by Scott Turow and Mystery Writers of America Presents Death Do Us Part: New Stories about Love, Lust, and Murder edited by Harlan Coben.

Inside this anthology you'll find:-
The Frightening Frammis by Jim Thompson
The Day of the Execution by Henry Slesar
#8 by Jackie Ritchie
Not a Laughing Matter by Evan Hunter
A Genuine Alectryomancer by Charles Willeford
Good Night! Good Night! By Donald E Westlake
The Cost of Kent Castwell by Avram Davidson
The Long Way Down by Edward D. Hooch
The Method Sheriff by Ed Lacy
Death of a Nobody by Bill Pronzini
Recipe for Murder by James Holding
New Neighbor by Talmage Powell
Historical Errors by William Brittain
A Candle for the Bag Lady by Lawrence Block
Making a Killing With Mama Cass by Wiliam Bankier
The Takamoku Joseki by Sara Paretsky
My Brother's Wife by Rob Kantner
Final Rites by Doug Allyn
The Search for Olga Bateua by Stephen Wasylyk
Hawks by Connie Holt
Unbearable Temptations by Jeffry Scott
Priests by George C Chesbro
Pusan Nights by Martin Limon
Body Englis by S. J. Rozan
The Muse by Jan Burke
Sinkhole by Carol Cail
Saturday Night at the Mikado Massage by Loren D Estleman
Lord of Obstacles by Gregory S. Fallis
Black Spartacus by James Lincoln Warren
Eries Last Day by Steve Hockensmith
Tabloid Press by Janice Law
The O-Bon Cat by I. J. Parker
Leaving Nairobi by Ed McBain
Voodoo by Rhys Bowen

An excellent mystery anthology
I'd never heard of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, though I am an avid reader of mystery and suspense novels. If this anthology is an indicator of what's to be found in the magazine, then the montly is definitely worth a look.

Most of these thirty-four stories are very well done. There were several that didn't quite hold my interest, but that wasn't because they were poorly written: they just didn't grab me.

There are several standouts in the anthology, including a wonderfully wry short by Ed McBain.

Many of the names in the anthology are familiar. Some stories represent early works, some later.

In any event, any mystery fan will enjoy this anthology. It will provide several evenings of fun mystery reading when you're not up to tackling the latest novel.

Jerry

For hard-core crime fiction fans only.
I recall reading 'Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine' in the '80s, and discovering quite a few of the now long out of print paperback anthologies, which purported to be 'edited' by Hitchcock himself, along with ghost-written introductions. All of this was in the manner of the classic 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' TV series, with which the magazine is the longest-lived tie-in.
The glory days of the magazine(and the anthologies) were filled with short, concise, suspenseful little tales in which the bad guy would reach a suitable end, with an appropriatetwist of fate (and plot).
Only a few such stories are in evidence in this volume, perhaps because the best work has already been reprinted in numerous places.
This 'comprehensive' 50th-anniversary collection suffers from the same problem asmany anthologies, with perhaps a few too many riches. Although there are a few well-known authors, and some occasional nuggets among the stories, nothing in particular sticks in the memory, and in fact, skipping a few stories altogether won't make too much difference.
The 'Hitchcock' magazine has somewhow managed to last half a century, so it must be doing something to satisfy a (relatively) small but loyal audience. As an example of a declining breed-the a short story anthology magazine-this is worth browsing through as a curiousity, but the reader would probably be better served to dig deeper into the works of the reprsented authors. I get the feeling all are capable of better things in a different forum. ... Read more

Product Description
While vacationing on a California ranch, three boys decide to investigate strange wails that come from a mysterious cave where a famous outlaw disappeared. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The Mystery of Moaning Cave
The Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds

That is the title that I think this book should be because there is another mystery going on at the same time that eventually involves the Three Investigators with the mystery of the moaning cave.The plot is trying to see how or what is making the cave moan only at night and not in the morning.I really liked this book because it kept me reading, even when I wasn't supposed to be reading the book.

Jupiter, Pete, and Bob solve the mystery of El Diablo
The tenth (10th) installment in the "Three Investigators" series finds the boy sleuths travelling to a ranch to try to solve the mystery of 'Moaning Valley'.They uncover clues leading back to an 18th centurybandit, and object of local folk legend named 'El Diablo'.The legend saysEl Diablo used the cave in Moaning Valley as his hideout, and disappearedinto the cave 80 years ago... But suddenly there are stories that he'sreturned!The cave gives off an errie moan that terrifies anyone who hearsit.The boys do a bit of scuba diving, and see an odd creature in thewater on the western bank of the mountain where El Diablo's cave islocated.The conclusion is both satisfying, and fun as they tie up allloose ends, and help the authorities solve a mystery at the same time.Ire-read this story to my 6 year old son last month - still one of myfavorites in the series. ... Read more

Product Description
Gathered here for the first time are Alfred Hitchcock's reflections on his own life and work. In this ample selection of largely unknown and formerly inaccessible interviews and essays, Hitchcock provides an enlivening commentary on a career that spanned decades and transformed the history of the cinema. Bringing the same exuberance and originality to his writing as he did to his films, he ranges from accounts of his own life and experiences to techniques of filmmaking and ideas about cinema in general. Wry, thoughtful, witty, and humorous--as well as brilliantly informative--this selection reveals another side of the most renowned filmmaker of our time.
Sidney Gottlieb not only presents some of Hitchcock's most important pieces, but also places them in their historical context and in the context of Hitchcock's development as a director. He reflects on Hitchcock's complicated, often troubled, and continually evolving relationship toward women, both on and off the set. Some of the topics Hitchcock touches upon are the differences between English and American attitudes toward murder, the importance of comedy in film, and the uses and techniques of lighting. There are also many anecdotes of life among the stars, reminiscences from the sets of some of the most successful and innovative films of this century, and incisive insights into working method, film history, and the role of film in society.
Unlike some of the complex critical commentary that has emerged on his life and work, the director's own writing style is refreshingly straightforward and accessible. Throughout the collection, Hitchcock reveals a delight and curiosity about his medium that bring all his subjects to life.Amazon.com Review
No one knew more about manipulating a movie audience than AlfredHitchcock, the legendary master of suspense. But while many filmdirectors have written books about their ideas and techniques,Hitchcock discussed his personal theories almost exclusively in theshort articles he wrote throughout his long life. Here, for the firsttime, most of these hard-to-find pieces have been collected. SidneyGottlieb's well-edited volume features Hitchcock's thoughts on actors("they should be treated like cattle"), effective film editing, thepower of the thriller, proper uses of a director's talents, and thekeys to any good suspense film: sex and murder. Gottlieb'sintroduction and running commentary is illuminating and helpful. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Good
This book was a good entertaining read that provided fascinating information, but did not get bogged down in the process.

The Master of Suspense becomes Master of Boredom
I'm a huge fan of Hitchcock movies and wanted read more about him. I was greatly disappointed with this book though. Like others have said, it is repetitive to the point of insanity. After I read the first half of the book I found myself just jumping ahead to parts of interest just so I could get the dang thing done with. Whoever put this thing together obviously had even less patience and regard for this book than I the reader. While there were a chapter or two that were interesting, overall it wasn't worth the time or effort.

Very good reading
Yes, some of it dragged a bit. But overall I found it very interesting indeed. There was a chapter on the making of "Rope", as well as a speech Hitchcock made at a dinner which is worth buying the book for. His sense of humour is very humourous. It was fascinating to read all the things he had to say about filmmaking and how to please the audience. I read it straight through except that once I jumped ahead and read the chapter on Rope, but it's more the type of book where you read a chapter here and another there - whatever interests you at the moment. I thought it very good and I recommend it.

A rare chance to read a great director in his own (!) words.
So few of the great directors from Hollywood's Golden Age wrote about theircraft, either its theory or practice, so this collection of articles, interviews, speeches, lectures and publicity pieces from Alfred Hitchcock is very welcome, even if most were ghost-written.

The volume covers his career from humble menial in 1919 to aging maestro in the 1930s, and includes his thoughts on acting, plots, the studio system, producers, production, technicians, genre audiences, Britain, and, of course, style.

There are some priceless anecdotes about Hitchcock's early directing days in the haphazard British film industry, a short story parodying Poe and sensationalist horror stories; the important essay 'Why I am Afraid of the Dark', acknowledging his debt to Poe and the Surrealists; an hilarious interview with a wannabe auteurist who doesn't even know what a cut is (Interviewer: 'our magazine is for 'the intelligent motion picturegoer''.Hitch: 'Are there intelligent picturegoers'!); and an intriguing transcription of a screenwriting session for 'Marnie' with Evan Hunter.

The great problem with this book is its editing.Firstly, Gottlieb's claims for the material are ludicrously disproportionate, and his lengthy introductions overstretch what is largely superficial material.Hitch's ruminations on the audience and narrative, say, do not look forward to the current interests of film studies as if he were some kind of soothsayer, but reflect the concerns of all film-makers working in the same periods.As Truffaut's book on Hitchcock proved in any case, it would be unwise to take everything the Master said at face value; and there is a typical unwillingness in these pieces to discuss the 'meaning' of his work.

More seriously, there is far too much repetition of material, as we watch Hitchcock recycling the same insights, stories and examples for different readerships; no amount of editorial sophism can prevent the reading becoming tedious.

Rambling And Forgettable
This should have been a great book. However, this collection ofinterviews, essays and writings from Alfred Hitchcock develops into analmost utterly incoherent mess that has no shape and is hard to getinto.

The editor clearly loves Hitchcock and his work, it's just a shamethis love is so poorly expressed. The constantly changing, unconnected'chapters' will leave you confused and losing interest in finishing thebook.

However, I endured all the way to the end. Whilst it's nowhere nearthe satisfying read it should be, there are a few - repeat a few -interesting tidbits of information. But unless you're a die hard Hitchcockfan you're better off avoiding this book. ... Read more

Product Description
Alfred Hitchcock is a fascinating look at the life of one of the most influential filmmakers in the world -- a man known for his portly profile and distinct, leery voice almost as much as for his groundbreaking movies. From Hitchcock's first film, Blackmail -- the first British movie with sound -- to his blockbuster Hollywood successes, Psycho, The Birds, Rear Window, and Vertigo, Alfred Hitchcock chronicles the Master of Suspense's close working relationship with his wife, Alma, who was an integral part of his filmmaking process, and the struggle to gain full artistic control over his work. With illustrations throughout and sidebars showcasing Hitchcocks techniques and directing style, Alfred Hitchcock reveals how some of the greatest films ever created came to be through the life and work of one of the most admired filmmakers ever. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great reading
This is a great collection of scary stories for intermediate-level readers. The stories are very much in the tradition of short horror stories, with clean and crisp narratives, surprise twists, and sometimes-dark endings.

Robert Bloch and Shirley Jackson make particularly good contributions, and give the book just enough of a hint of the literary as to make the collection rise slightly above its pulp roots.

The stories themselves deal with everything from a deal with the devil to a wishing well that allows people to work dark magic upon their fellow citizens. They are, as a group, very imaginative, and the caliber of the story-telling is pretty consistently high.

Sometimes a collection of so-called scary stories, especially when it's being targeted to younger readers, is nothing more than a quick way to make a buck by jamming the work of some company hacks between two covers.

But this collection, taken from a variety of sources, really seems to have been thoughtfully assembled with the reader in hand.

This series testifies to the name of Alfred Hitchcock as a hallmark of quality among horror and mystery writing. The introduction from the master himself is very brief, and doesn't add much to the book, but the book stands on its own.
... Read more

Product Description
Alfred Hitchcock called the silent "the purest form of cinema," and the ten silent films he directed between 1925 and 1929 reveal the young director’s mature artistry. Hitchcock’s silents have often been characterized as the work of a talented amateur, a young director practicing his craft during a pre-sound era of antiquated instruments and poor film techniques—the director experimented with myriad points of view, unique camera angles and movements, and special effects such as dissolves, blurriness, and violent cuts. These films, however, contain the first appearances of some of his greatest and most familiar techniques: the vertigo-inducing crowd scene, the symbolic use of inanimate objects, the manipulation of the audience's emotions, and the self-conscious, often macabre wit.

This work discovers Hitchcock’s early talent and skill through close readings of the films from The Pleasure Garden to the silent version of Blackmail, using shot-by-shot descriptions and interpretations. Each film’s chapter includes technical information, a summary of the critical response from the film’s release to the present, and detailed analysis of the camera techniques and themes Hitchcock uses. ... Read more