Product Description
Program signed by Darren McGavin and Mimi Randolph. ... Read more

Product Description
Read by Darren McGavin
Six Cassettes, 9 hours

Includes: THE DEEP BLUE GOODBYE, THE LONELY SILVER RAIN & ONE FEARFUL YELLOW EYE

THE DEEP BLUE GOODBYE
Travis McGee: He's a self-described beach bum who won his houseboat in a card game. He's also a knight errant who's wary of credit cards, retirement benefits, political parties, mortgages, and television. He only works when his cash runs out and his rule is simple: he'll help you find whatever was taken from you, as long as he can keep half....

THE LONELY SILVER RAIN
Keeping himself alive is something detective Travis McGee has always taken for granted -- until his search for a wealthy friend's missing yacht places him square in the center of the international cocaine trade. Following a trail that leads him from Miami's lavish penthouse suites to a remote village in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, Travis finds himself the target of some of the most ruthless villains he"s ever met.

ONE FEARFUL YELLOW EYE
Travis McGee arrives in Chicago to investigate the theft of thousands of dollars during Glory Doyle's husband's last painful year and comes across a particularly sadistic blackmailer.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Darren McGavin is Travis McGee, I guar-on-tee!
The impact of this trilogy of "colorful" books on tape by John MacDonald is a tribute to the gravelly voice of Darren McGavin. To be sure, McGavin has been an actor for decades, so it should be no surprise that he continually gives so much life to the text that it sounds just like you're listening to Travis McGee and his characters in person.

You are right there with them. McGavin breathes, chuckles, pauses, clears his throat, sighs, yells, whispers, wheezes, and indeed acts out all the parts. You can just about feel it when he gets slugged! Doesn't matter that you can't see him, because in your mind's eye you really can.

The three mysteries boxed together are all good mysteries, and the enjoyment of them comes from the fact that MacDonald has created a character who is so human that he is completely believable. The guy talks to himself, he wonders what he's getting into, why he got into it, and how he's hoping to get out of it! He wonders continually about relationships, and why it is that he can't seem to build a permanent one for himself. He is self-enlightened, he knows about his shortcomings and his strengths. Yet he is also genuinely concerned about the others who come into and out of his life.

I don't even have to tell you about the three mysteries, they are all very good, and a little heartwrenching. Read or listen to these and you will go back for more. Luckily there are numerous other Travis McGee mysteries to tackle later, some even read by McGavin!

Travis McGee scores with Darren McGavin's winning narration
I had read the complete Travis McGee series many years ago, and had recently decided to revisit my "beach bum turned knight in slightlytarnished armor" hero once again. Faced also with an interminabledaily commute and inane radio chatter, I decided to kill two birds with onestone and order the audio package.Bravo!Propelled predominately by JohnD. MacDonald's elegant yet wistful prose and bolstered significantly byDarren McGavin's at times powerfully emotional narration, through my radioTravis McGee came to life as he never had before.The earliest fable,"The Deep Blue Good-by", written some thirty-plus years ago,suffers slightly from minor out-dated references, but rarely."TheLonely Silver Rain", the last in the series, is completely relevant,perhaps more today than when written.Highly recommended and it's a surething that all the books in the series that have been rendered to audiowill find themselves in my collection. ... Read more

Product Description
Seven cassettes, 9 hrs.
performances by Darren McGavin

THE BOURNE IDENTITY-He is a man with an unknown past and an uncertain future. A man dragged from the sea riddled with bullets, his face altered by plastic surgery-a man bearing the dubious identity of Jason Bourne. Now he is running for his life, the target of professional assassins, at the center of a maddening deadly puzzle. Who is Jason Bourne? To answer that question, he must find the secret buried deep in his own past. And the only one who can help him is a beautiful stranger-the woman who once would do anything to escape him.THE BOURNE SUPREMECY-The Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China is brutally slain in a Kowloon cabaret, and all the clues point to the legendary assassin, Jason Bourne. But Bourne never existed! The name was created as a cover for ace agent David Webb on his search for the notorious killer Carlos. Now someone else has resurrected the Bourne identity, and Webb is forced to use his murderous skills to stop him. Because once again, like a nightmare relived, the woman he loves is suddenly torn from his life. To find her, to trap his own imposter, Webb must launch a desperate odyssey into the killing fields of international espionage. THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM-Thirteen years have passed since David Webb was last forced to assume the alias of the assassin Jason Bourne. Thirteen blissfully peaceful years: time enough to raise a family with his wife Marie, time enough to begin to put the violence and betrayal of the past behind him. Now with one phone call Webb is thrust back into the madness. His greatest enemy, Carlos, is hunting again-determined to stalk and eliminate the one man whose reputation as an assassin approaches his own, a determination that promises pain and death for David Webb and those who mean the world to him.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Think twice
Darren Macgavin should be band from performing audio books. Very hard to hear and understand. he virtually mumbled the stories for the most part and shouted in others. Not recommended ... Read more

Product Description
McGee is hired to find the truth behind a man's disappearance. Is the man accused of murder guilty or the victim of an elaborate hoax? 2 cassettes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

No way for this to be fresh in 2007
I really wanted to like this book, but it really doesn't hold up well enough after 30 years for me to recommend it.There is very little suspense in it. After I discovered that even Agatha Christie just kept writing the same book over and over, I gave up on mysteries altogether. There are some main problems with them: 1) How different can a murder mystery be than all the others 2) In a series of books, like a TV series, the hero can be battered, but never really faces the possibility of death, unless it's the last in the series, and that is announced before you even read it 4) Television mysteries became so popular since the 70s ( and especially in the 70s) and ripped off all elements of writers like MacDonald that for a 45-year-old man (me) picking up The Empty Copper Sea, published in 1978, in 2007 there is no way for this to be fresh.I have to admit that some elements of this took me back to my junior year in high school ('78) but there were three Billy Carter jokes in this novel and that kind of thing just attached it too carefully to a fleeting time in history.The reason to read this book is if you have read many or all of the other McGee novels and you want to read the one in which he deals with the self-doubt and reanalysis of middle age.It's all about the character.Even the Macguffin of this book is that nearly everyone in it is having a midlife crisis.There is plenty of male fantasy going on (McGee has no trouble bedding women much younger than he, and they are never homely, fat, or crazy like in real life).Most disappointing of all for me was that the mystery wasn't that mysterious. SPOILER ALERT: MacDonald makes nearly everyone in the novel so convinced that Hub Lawless skipped to Mexico that it's obvious he didn't, and when one character says that, it sticks out like such a sore thumb that you know the guy is dead one way or another.MacDonald also makes weird decisions about what miniscule details to put in and what big scenes to leave out.He chickens out of sex scenes like an embarassed nun and lays on the blood and gore like a 14-year-old.He also writes in a fairly old-fashioned way that just doesn't stand up.I'm sure that before every TV private eye and mystery show stole much of his good material this was an entertaining book (the title is beautiful for one thing), but the passage of time and the evolution of crime fiction has not really been kind to John D. MacDonald.Much of the political and social concern he tries to put in the novel through his characters (Meyer's hilariously out of date rant about angel dust) has been deflated by history.Even in 1978 it was cornball to refer to marijuana as "grass" and it instantly makes his characters such squares that it's hard to think of McGee as this street-toughened, shadowy, crime-fighting advocate of the down-trodden when he sounds so out of touch and country clubby.I was hoping that delving back into the mystery genre with one of the greats would be a nice experience, but the truth is that if you read any literature outside this genre, the characterizations you come to expect from top-notch writers like Faulkner, Pynchon, Wallace, Amis, McGuane, Franzen, Chabon, et al, really make a novel like this seem more like a fluffed-up pamphlet in which you start looking for paragraphs you can skip over.Or in other words, like a script for a TV show, not a novel.

New copies available?
Can someone, anyone, explain to me why it is impossible to get a "new" copy of this mass market paperback?This book was supposedly re-issued in the mid-90s with the other 20 McGee books...you can find new copies of the other 20 anywhere (including on Amazon), but you can't find a new copy of this book anywhere (again, including on Amazon).

I don't get it.Does this have something to do with the movie studio withholding rights to publish or something (I know this is one of the McGee books that was made into a movie)?Again, would someone please shed light on this matter for me...I'd love to get a new copy.

Excellent as always
John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee books are something that current authors should try to emulate. They are usually 250 pages long, actually give the reader food for thought and tell a good story. There is no padding in the book, no gratuitous sex scenes (although Travis meets heaps of women) and violence is kept to a minimum.

In this novel, Travis is approached by an old friend in need of help. The story centres around the search for a man who has gone missing, presumed dead but doubts have arisen over the possible large insurance payout and rumours that the man is hiding out in Mexico.

This leads to Travis and Meyer setting out to gather more information and at the same time, making interesting observations about the human condition (a trademark of MacDonald's writings).

Warmly recommended.

Beach Book Extradinaire
What could be better than a beach book where a large chunk of the action takes place--you guessed it--on the Beach? Travis and pal Meyer endeavor to clear the name of ship captain, Van Harder.His client, Hub Lawless, was lost at sea and Harder was accused of being passed out drunk at the time of the accident.Van claims he was doped, not drunk, and now has lost his license and means of livelihood.Meyer engineers a neat scam whereby he and Trav get access to all the powers-that-be in Timber Bay, the town where the unfortunate Mr. Lawless was a king pin.His disappearance has left the town holding the bag and severely depressed.There is a serious question whether he engineered his own disappearance, and the insurance company is holding up the payment of a $2 million policy to the widow.

The book is fast paced with excellent dialogue, and if that isn't enough--Enter the Girls!First Trav hooks up with the lady piano player in a bar.He and MacDonald dance around for a few pages trying to absolve Trav of taking advantage of the dreaded, non-sensitive One Night Stand.Then come two good-time girls, Mishy & Licia who were on the boat at the time of the disappearance.Licia, though lovely, has a teeth problem.Much to her dismay one crude fellow told her "with teeth like that, you could eat a Big Mac through a venetian blind." (Not our Trav, of course).Then, saving the best until last, Gretel who brings Trav to his knees in instant adoration.I always get nervous when Trav finds true love; they seem to have a very short life span.

"The Empty Copper Sea" is vintage Travis McGee with more turns than a corkscrew and surprises to match.MacDonald sets up one of his trademark scenes of macabre horror right when you least expect it.He wipes that smile off your face, just in case you thought this was going to be only a lighthearted ramble.Recommended.

One of the best
Over the years I've read hundreds of novels in a variety of genres, but for pure fun and enjoyment it's hard to beat Travis McGee. Some of the books are better than others, but they're nearly all worth a couple of lazy summer days. They are the ultimate summer time, quick-read beach books. At their core, they're good mysteries and this is one of the best. But Travis McGee is such a great character, with such a wry outlook on life, that often the mystery seems secondary to McGee's views on whatever topic author John D. McDonald has selected for his soap box. Most of them take place in Florida, (a Florida no one will ever see again given they were written mostly in the 60s and 70s) and all have a color in the title. Don't take them too seriously, just have fun in the sun. ... Read more

Product Description
2 cassettes / 3 hours
Read by Darren McGavin

"...a master storyteller, a masterful suspense writer."
--MARY HIGGINS CLARK

"...a dominant influence on writers crafting the continuing series character."
--SUE GRAFTON


* All of John D. MacDonald'sTravis McGee novels are available from Random House AudioBooks*

Helena Pearson.Undeniably beautiful . . . indisputably rich . .incredibly wanton . . . the perfect client for Travis McGee.He did a big favor for her husband and then for the lady herself.Now Helena is dead, and McGee finds out that she had one last request to make of him: find out why her beautiful daughter, Maurie, keeps trying to kill herself.So, half-convinced that Maurie needs a good doctor and not a devil-may-care beach bum, McGee makes his way to the prosperous town of Fort Courtney, Florida, a respectable, booming, deadly little place. . . . ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

John D. MacDonald, Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper
Having recently discovered Travis McGee and MacDonald, I am more than impressed with his writing style and the character of Travis McGee.Having completed the Shell Scott series by Richard Prather I needed to find something to replace it with.McGee was the perfect replacement, perhaps even better.

Essential reading for mystery buffs
Surely you've read one or another of John MacDonald's "Travis McGee" novels. If you haven't, you might want to start with the very first, "The Deep Blue Goodbye." But you can also read them out of order, as I did, and "The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper" isn't a bad way to start. It's vintage MacDonald / McGee, a page turner worth every minute you choose to invest in it.

MacDonald was a master, a creator of characters, images, story lines, and profound concepts that you never really forget. A creator of prose that at times is unbelievably beautiful: elegant, deceptively simple, and often just perfectly constructed. He's the sort of writer other writers dream of being (exemplified by Stephen King's many heartfelt tributes to MacDonald).

This isn't really a review of the specific novel. I honestly don't see the point: the summary here at Amazon tells all you really need to know about the specific story. What you REALLY need to know is that -- with rare exceptions -- you simply can't go wrong with a MacDonald book. Every story is unique, and sturdy, and will leave you permanently affected.

Web of crime.
The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper finds Travis McGee visiting Fort Courtney, FL at the deathbed request of a former lover, Helena Pearson.Helena's daughter Maureen has, for unknown reasons, recently made multiple suicide attempts.As McGee goes about the task of learning about Maureen, her husband and their circle of acquaintances, he uncovers a sordid web of fraud, infidelity, blackmail and worse.Local law enforcement is largely clueless so it is left to McGee to unravel the layers of hidden deceit and see that justice gets its due.

First the positive aspects of The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper.John D. MacDonald knew how to write.Many of the characters are well fleshed out and believable.Also, many individual scenes are quite effective in moving the narrative forward.As always, there's plenty of Travis McGee's patented pontificating on a host of subjects, from the trivial to the most significant.Many reader's will find this to be thoroughly delightful while others may see it as tiresome and annoying.

On the distinctly negative side is the fact that the plotting is way too convoluted and based on a series of increasingly unlikely circumstances.Perhaps the weakest aspect of The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper is the plot device of using made-up medical treatments to explain away some obvious holes in the plot.The treatments in question would ordinarily only be found in works of science fiction.Bad ones.
Bottom line:Not one of the better installments in the Travis McGee series.

Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper
Travis really has his work cut out for him this time. Happily, he finally handles the dangerous situation perfectly.

Like meeting an old friend
I do not even remember when I first read this book, it is only that I like Mr.McGee's style of meetig the world face-on so much that I bought the book again. I liked it like before. It was like joining the gang on the Busted Flush for an easy evening of music and laughter. ... Read more

Product Description
From the author of A Purple Place for Dying and The Deep Blue Good-by comes the republication of the bestseller starring Travis McGee, a real American hero. Reissue.


From the Paperback edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

The beach bum and the movie star
After a couple books away from his home base, Travis McGee is back on the Busted Flush in The Quick Red Fox.While lounging about on his houseboat, he is recruited by Lysa Dean to deal with a blackmailer.Lysa is a big-time movie star with the ego to match, but McGee is too grounded to fall for her standard seduction techniques; he does take on the job, however, and is paired with Lysa's assistant, the more interesting Dana Holtzer.

The blackmail photos date back to a party a year or so earlier when Lysa had partied too hard and gotten involved in a drunken orgy (the exact act is never specified, but the reader can guess what's in the pictures).Travis starts to track down the others involved in the party and finds that several of them have died under circumstances that may be suspicious.He and Dana will crisscross the country looking for answers (so much for staying in Florida).

This is once again another very good McGee book.By this fourth novel, John MacDonald has pretty much hit his stride, and the results are good for the readers.

A thoroughly engrossing page turner.
The Quick Red Fox is entry number 4 in John D. MacDonald's highly successful Travis McGee series and is most certainly the best of the series to that point.
On this occasion, McGee is hired by a famous screen actress for the purpose of preventing some embarrassing photographs secretly taken at an orgy from ruining her career and reputation.As McGee criss-crosses the U.S. accompanied by the actress' ice maiden of a personal assistant, he learns some very interesting things about the other orgy participants and the disreputable photographer who took the pictures in the first place.
The narrative to The Quick Red Fox is unfailingly compelling as McGee encounters character after character whose lives have been irreparably shattered under a host of different circumstances.Each chapter is a page turning adventure in reading chock full of fascinating characters and unexpected plot twists.
This is not a "feel good" novel.Its underlying theme is that human corruption will invariably lead to ruined, shattered lives.MacDonald's dedication to this theme is so unflinchingly complete within the pages of The Quick Red Fox even the usually unflappable Travis McGee himself ultimately becomes a victim.Highly recommended.

Speaking his mind on various cultural conventions
As with virtually all of his works, MacDonald has Travis speak out against and in favor of various cultural realities (these will occupy much of my reviews on this page).The following two segments occur close to each other, as Travis and Dana home in on one of the suspects in Southern California.This first hits home with virtually anyone of the freedom persuasion:

"...I get the feeling that this is the last time in history when the offbeats like me will have a chance to live free in the nooks and crannies of the huge and rigid structure of an increasingly codified society. Fifty years from now I would be hunted down in the street. They would drill little holes in my skull and make me sensible and reliable and adjusted." -- 96

...

For my complete review of this book and for other book and movie
reviews, please visit my site [...]

Brian Wright
Copyright 2009

OK read.Nothing exceptional.
I picked this book up from the library.I chose it mainly because some group on some mystery site selected it in their 100 best.

After reading it I can't imagine it being a 100 best anything.It was a good read and a throwaway book at best.It's a typical paperback PI short novel.

I found the relationship between the main character and the woman he beds to be quite a bit unrealistic.Especially when she gets hit in the head and this causes her to dump him.Great reasoning there, but we must keep our hero unemcumbered musnt we?

It was a bit short on action.And when we finally do find out who did it, it seems a bit contrived to me.The lesbian thing was silly and wouldn't be allowed in a book published today.Not PC for sure.

Overall it was easy and fast to read.It is the only one of MacDonald's books I have ever read.I am going to try The Dreadful Lemon Sky because it is considered by a lot of lists to be a classic PI book.If it is more of the same then that is probably it for me for this author.

Saving not-so-maidenly damsels in distress

"Suddenly I knew what she reminded me of. A vixen. A quick red fox. I had seen one in heat long ago on an Adirondack morning in spring, pacing along well in front of the dog fox with a very alert and springy movement, tail curled high, turning to see if he still followed, tongue lolling from between her doggy grin."
- McGee's first impression of red-haired sex symbol Lysa Dean

A mutual screenwriter friend in San Francisco, one of two real male friends Lysa has, recommends Travis to her to resolve a very sordid blackmail problem: after wrapping a movie a year and a half before, she'd taken three weeks holiday with a now-departed boyfriend who, apparently out of spontaneous boredom, brought in several casual acquaintances of both sexes for fun and games, which a month later turned up in a series of very candid anonymous photographs.

Lysa paid off the anonymous photographer at the time, her reputation for professional reliability being a little too precarious and her conservative fiancee being *far* too rich for her to risk either by sending hired muscle after the blackmailer. But now a set of copies of the photos have begun turning up in Lysa's mail with threats that suggest a potential sexual predator has gotten hold of a set of prints and created new negatives, and that Lysa's life as well as her reputation may be at stake this time.

Travis' job is to find the blackmailer and account for all the photographs and negatives rather than to protect Lysa, who is *not* the female lead this time out. (Travis has a streak of the prude in him.) Instead, Lysa's confidential secretary/personal assistant, Dana Holtzer, is assigned to accompany Travis, assist, and monitor the situation. Travis misreads Dana at first as a repressed prude not worth his respect and is set firmly straight to his great embarrassment; she knows a *lot* more about some kinds of tragedy than he does.

Yet another fine example of Travis' adventures as a knight in tarnished armour; not only is Ms. Dean a far-from-innocent lady fair, but Dana has some very complicated issues herself, though of a more wholesome variety. Travis comes to respect Dana as being worth at least ten of her employer.

The story is a kind of morality tale, in a way, as Travis tracks down the other players in that orgy in the land of eternal summer and finds a trail of broken relationships and torn-apart lives, each tragedy apparently unrelated to the rest save that the kind of people who'd be involved in that sordid holiday might be expected to come to grief. Each is an interesting and individual problem, apart from the puzzle of how the blackmailer happened upon Lysa's indiscretion and why a second set of photos has now turned up.

Points of interest:
- Lysa turns up years later in FREE FALL IN CRIMSON with a separate problem and further information about how certain events played out.
- MacDonald does *not* turn Travis' cynical insight loose upon the Hollywood culture in general, but there's plenty of philosophical musing along the way.
- Meyer is mentioned in passing, but doesn't actually appear in a book until DARKER THAN AMBER, to the best of my recollection.
- Interesting photographer friend of Travis' is introduced in passing as a consultant.
- Rather negative portrayal of some female homosexual/bisexual characters herein may offend some readers. ... Read more

Product Description
"McGee has become part of our national fabric."

SEATTLE POST INTELLIGENCER

Beautiful girls always grace the Florida beaches, strolling, sailing, relaxing at the many parties on Travis McGee's houseboat, The Busted Flush. McGee was too smart--and had been around too long--for many of them to touch his heart. Now, however, there was Gretel. She had discovered the key to McGee--to all of him--and now he had something to hope for. Then, terribly, unexpectedly, she was dead. From a mysterious illness, or so they said. But McGee knew the truth, that Gretel had been murdered. And now he was out for blood...


From the Paperback edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

Great storytelling.
The Green Ripper, entry no.18 of 21 in the Travis McGee series, is an example of storytelling at its best.It's a tale of revenge told in straightforward fashion with just the right amounts of intrigue and action to qualify it as a real page turner.

Early on in the narative, Gretel Howard, the great love of Travis McGee's life becomes the victim of a sinister murder.McGee becomes emotionally distraught and can think of nothing else other than exacting revenge. Following the only lead he has as to the identity of Gretel's killers, McGee travels to California. Here, he links up with a group of well disciplined religious cultists that does double duty as a terrorist cell. Single handedly, McGee gets the better of the terrorists, thereby sufficiently satisfying his need for revenge.

The Green Ripper is a nicely paced, compelling novel which captures the reader's interest in Chapter 1 and holds it till the very end.MacDonald's take on the nature of latter day terrorism has proven quite prescient.I was surprised to see the term "targets of opportunity" in a book written in 1979.
One of the best of the Travis McGee series.Highly recommended.

Different From All Other Travis McGee Books
I am a huge fan of John MacDonald, and of the Travis McGee series in particular. So giving this book a bad rating is actually kind of painful to me. But I really didn't like this book, and -- given my general bias in favor of all things MacDonald -- I think it important to state my reasons. If you're already a MacDonald / McGee fan, then by all means read this book. But know what you're getting into. And if you're just coming to the McGee series, please start with one of the others. "The Deep Blue Goodbye" was the first in the series, and is a fine place to start. But almost any of the other books will do. I started with "A Tan & Sandy Silence," a heartbreaking book that is also a magnificent piece of writing; you'd do worse than begin with that one.

Since I would cheerfully give 5 stars to every other book in the Travis McGee series, it may seem strange that I down-rate this one so dramatically. It's especially odd since this book garnered more critical praise than almost any other in the series (including major national awards).

My problem is, simply, that this book just seems flat-out alien, an intruder into the Travis McGee series that just doesn't belong here. The first 20-25% of the book, to be sure, DOES seem like vintage McGee. But then it veers wildly away, onto an arc of a story that takes him far, far from his Florida stomping grounds, far, far from the moral underpinnings of the series, and far, far from the mystery genre that is his usual haunt. It seems to owe more to Rambo than to McGee.

The story in a nutshell: McGee has finally found love. Many times in prior books, MacDonald has McGee claiming that he isn't into the "Hugh Hefner thing," while nonetheless having him bed 2-4 beauties in every novel. This time it's different: McGee really is smitten, ready to marry and settle down. But then she's gone, killed in an apparent accident. But of course she was actually murdered. Through his grief, McGee figures it out, and figures out a lead to find the bastards and deal with them.

(This much is on the cover. Spoiler alert: you'll have to skip the rest of this review except for the very last paragraph if you want to know nothing more of what happens).

McGee traces them back to a religious cult. Shedding his entire identity -- and much of his personality -- he sets out to infiltrate said group. He gets into their Pacific Northwest compound, insinuates himself into their midst, figures out what's going on, and then as they close a noose on him he takes them all out, every last one. Leastways, every last one in that compound, although it's suggested that the group is international in scope.

Up until just a ways after the death of McGee's lover, this does seem pretty much to be a traditional Travis McGee book in tone and style. But then it changes, radically, into something different. There is a lack of finesse, and a surfeit of Rambo-esque confrontation. And almost none of it is in the least ways plausible. I can accept the idea that McGee would be dead set on revenge. I can accept (with some difficulty) the idea that McGee is so skillful that he can assume an entirely new identity. I cannot accept the way in which he gets into the cult's compound. I can't accept the way he is spared and allowed to join (while another member is murdered -- for seemingly trivial reason -- in front of him). I cannot accept the way that the group conducts itself (I know something about how cult groups operate, having once written about a real one myself, and this seemed all wrong throughout).

I cannot understand the explosion of unremitting violence at the end which -- again -- would be more suitable for one of those hopelessly dull-witted TV shows where the bad guys invariably fight to the death and the good guys never once show anything like PTSD (how about the execrable Walker: Texas Ranger TV series as an example?)

And I cannot accept the absurd, and rather anti-climatic, ending in which federal law enforcement allows McGee to walk away from a blood bath with but a casual interview in the field, his beloved anonymity preserved. Yeah, right, that happens ALL the time. (Except for The Green Ripper, MacDonald imbued the entire series with a dead-on sense of place and reality. Both big things and tiny details were rendered with loving precision -- they were REAL! -- which invariably allowed for easy suspension of disbelief when the stories, occasionally, took what in another writer's hands would be a bizarre turn).

Bottom line: dedicated McGee fans should read it -- naturally -- as it is part of the canon, and with a few portions that are classic MacDonald / McGee, well worthy of your efforts. Newbies to the series, however, should start elsewhere in the series.

Early Terrorism
THE GREEN RIPPER by John D. MacDonald was published in 1979, which is 31 years ago. Yet much of the story seems taken from today's headlines and current terrorism thrillers.
This isn't your standard McGee story, but a preview of much that we have learned about cults and fanaticism during the past 30 years since the story made its debut. Maybe we don't care for a McGee who steps out of character and becomes someone we don't recognize. The ability to chart the future through fiction is one of the skills that made MacDonald a much missed master of the heroic detective genre.
Meyer as a character shines in this story.
If you haven't read THE GREEN RIPPER, read it. If you have read it, then read it again.
Nash Black, author of Indie finalists WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESS and HAINTS.

An all time great
John D. MacDonald is arguably one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century, and the Travis McGee series certainly proves why.His ability to transport the reader to another time and place with just a few short lines is uncanny, and isn't that what escapism fiction is all about? Green Ripper is one of my personal favorites, and I have purchased many different editions over the years as I always seem to be loaning out copies that never make their way back home to me.MacDonaldis superb, McGee is immortal, and the Green Ripper is one of the best.

McGee as Bond
Not my familiar McGee guy.ButI did like his honest assessment of what a tackiness the dated Busted Flush seemed to be taking on as time was marching on and the lessened fulfillment of the lifestyle he was living as he was growing older.However one distressing aspect of the later MacDonald books is that he was becoming affected by the toehold that "political correctness"(though not the stranglehold of nowadays) was starting to have on the times and unconsciously reflected in all thought, word and deed.The appeal of the MacDonald books was the astonishing lack of political correctness to get a real picture of what was what instead of what should be what according to who lately is demanding it be so.

Just McGee's luck that in the late 70's women were coming into their career minded age and the house husband and Mr. Mom were getting to be the thing.Perhaps McGee could have lived in retirement with his new glamourous, successful, determined wife eventually pulling down some serious K for the rent and groceries and then he could ride off into the sunset as a permanent adolescent that would be fun for the kids he would be staying home taking care of.All except that she gets killed and then the plans change again and after settling that score he gets to return to his former lifestyle after that silly moment of thinking about moving on.

I'm not sure why McDonald didn't make this a separate book with new central character.It doesn't really fit the series and I wouldn't have bought this book had I known how far removed it was from the other books both in geography and appeal of the story.I much prefer the McGee who was in the small stakes salvage business and not trying to save the world. ... Read more

Product Description
THE BOURNE IDENTITY-He is a man with an unknown past and an uncertain future. A man dragged from the sea riddled with bullets, his face altered by plastic surgery-a man bearing the dubious identity of Jason Bourne. Now he is running for his life, the target of professional assassins, at the center of a maddening deadly puzzle. Who is Jason Bourne? To answer that question, he must find the secret buried deep in his own past. And the only one who can help him is a beautiful stranger-the woman who once would do anything to escape him.

THE BOURNE SUPREMECY-The Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China is brutally slain in a Kowloon cabaret, and all the clues point to the legendary assassin, Jason Bourne. But Bourne never existed! The name was created as a cover for ace agent David Webb on his search for the notorious killer Carlos. Now someone else has resurrected the Bourne identity, and Webb is forced to use his murderous skills to stop him. Because once again, like a nightmare relived, the woman he loves is suddenly torn from his life. To find her, to trap his own imposter, Webb must launch a desperate odyssey into the killing fields of international espionage.

THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM-Thirteen years have passed since David Webb was last forced to assume the alias of the assassin Jason Bourne. Thirteen blissfully peaceful years: time enough to raise a family with his wife Marie, time enough to begin to put the violence and betrayal of the past behind him. Now with one phone call Webb is thrust back into the madness. His greatest enemy, Carlos, is hunting again-determined to stalk and eliminate the one man whose reputation as an assassin approaches his own, a determination that promises pain and death for David Webb and those who mean the world to him. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Nothing like the movies
I am one of those Ludlum fans after seeing the three Bourne movies.other than some names and basic storyline, the books are nothing like the movie.I thought I could hop right into the next book written by someone else, and people that die in the movie are alive in the book...they were enemies in the movie and friends in the book.So I went back and wanted to do the audiobook thing and catch up on the story line in the books... this was helpful but remember it is an audiobook.the unabridged version of book 4 is longer then the unabridged version of these 3 put together.

If you have no problems with abridged audiobooks and like Ludlum and the Bourne story, you'll like this.You'll also like the Bourne Betrayl, Legacy, and Sanction (haven't read/listened to the new one...the Deception!!)

Absolutly Horrible
I picked up the "value collection" while on a road trip having already read most of the first book. I did not notice the Abridgment note in very small print on the back...

Right away I knew I hated the reader, he was god awful. But to make matters worse, I got about half way through the second CD. The Abridgment was so horrible that I actually thought I skipped a whole CD... WTF? I spent 10 minutes going back through the chapters trying to figure out what happen to my book.

It really does suck that bad. I just threw out the whole thing when I got home because the book store wouldn't take it back. Save your self and don't buy this Abridgment.

Be Careful
Only rarely does hollywood make a better movie than the original book-- as in this case.This audiobook is true to the original book, but probably not what most customers want.

Robert Ludlum Value collection
These CD's are great. I have most of Ludlums books but it is nice to be able to listen in the car or at home without having to look for the book.

Book or Movie?
Well the book is far superior to the simple plots of the movies. But there is Matt Damon....
This version of the "Bourne Trilogy" gets a lively reading by Darren McGavin. It will keep you at the edge of your seat.
So, for eye candy go see the movies....
For the edge of your seat reading stick with the book. ... Read more

Product Description
The world's two deadliest spies in the ultimateshowdown. At a small-town carnival two men, eachmysteriously summoned by telegram, witness a bizarrekilling. The telegrams are signed Jason Bourne.Only they know Bourne's true identity and understandthe telegram is really a message from Bourne'smortal enemy, Carlos, known also as the Jackal, theworld's deadliest and most elusive terrorist. Andfurthermore, they know that the Jackal wants: afinal confrontation with Bourne. Now David Webb,professor of Oriental studies, husband, and father,must do what he hoped he would never have to doagain—assume the terrible identity of Jason Bourne.His plan is simple: to infiltrate the politicallyand economically Medusan group and use himself asbait to lure the cunning Jackal into a deadly trap—a trap from which only one of them will escape.


From the Paperback edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (77)

Another good one in the series ...
I'm not a literary critic so I'm not going to deeply analyze the plot or compare Lustbader to Ludlum.However, having read ALL of the Bourne series from the original 3 written by Ludlum to the additional 5 I think it is now by Lustbader it is all good fun.If you like the Bourne character, the genre, and the general storyline then you will like all of them.I read for entertainment and for something to help me escape reality when I am frequently stuck in "cattle class" on a US air carrier, on a plane that is loaded to the gills, surrounded by screaming kids, and a beer will cost me $6.Cracking good read all, great for escaping air travel hell or enjoying a day at the beach.

The Bourne Identity
Lots of intrigue with more than its fair share of suspense.Well written with plenty of action, fast paced, but a protagonist who is a little more than slightly inept in his pursuit of Carlos when push comes to shove.

In the "Bourne Identity" Ludlum presents us with some confrontations between Bourne and Carlos that border on the exciting, but they seem to lack substance.There is some question of believability but all in all it is a pretty good read considering all the twist and turns you encounter.Ludlum had done better.

E.J. Walden, author of "Operation Snow Owl"

The Bourne Ultimatum: Ultimate.
Title: The Bourne Ultimatum by Robert Ludlum

Pages: 662

Time spent on the "to read" shelf: 5 years.

Days spent reading it: 8 days.

Why I read it: To finish off the Jason Bourne trilogy by Robert Ludlum of course!

Brief review: This final book in the Jason Bourne trilogy was what I guess I hoped the second book would have been. I enjoyed this last installment, but still spent most of my time scratching my head. Here are a few things I liked and did not like.

Liked: The final show down between Jason Bourne and The Jackal. This makes the book great. It is too bad that it happens as these two assassins are getting old and losing their skills. But the constant cat and mouse plays in this final installment were great. Finally Bourne is matched against someone who is a worthy adversary.

I also liked the fact that Jason Bourne is older. He makes mistakes. Sometimes really bad ones, and that adds to the credibility of this crazy adventure. Although the invincible Jason Bourne from the first two novels has disappeared, this weary Jason Bourne is a good character.

My favorite part of this book? Jason Bourne getting shot in the neck! That was awesome.

Did not like: Ludlum writes in cryptic phrases and has cryptic characters, this makes it difficult to follow the bigger picture sometimes. In this particular installment it seemed to happen more than in previous novels. I wish Ludlum would clarify what the heck is going on in many scenes.

I did not care for the secondary plot in this book either. I found it confusing most of the time, irritating some of the time, and had no real idea how it all tied together by the end of the book. This goes back to my other complaint of an excessively cryptic plot.

I would recommend this book to anyone who started their journey with Jason Bourne and would like to finish it. This book was superior to the Bourne Supremacy and reminded me of why I liked the Bourne series in the first place. Frankly, you could read the Bourne Identity and skip straight to this book and not miss much. The events in the second novel are rarely mentioned and add almost nothing to the plot (unlike the first novel which is frequently referred back to for the plot). The Bourne Ultimatum is a worthy final book in this series, and a definite for fans of Jason Bourne.

Favorite quote: "Why do you have to use a dozen words when one will suffice?"
"Because I'm supposed to be a scholar. We academicians never take a direct route because it doesn't leave us any offshoots to claim if we're wrong. What are you, anti-intellectual?"

Stars: 3.5 out of 5

Final Word: Ultimate!

bourne ultimatum
ty,,book in great condition, love Robert Ludlum
all pages there, great book
i look for condition, fair price, 1st printing/edition
purchased from amazon.com
tyvm Lauri

Making a Purchase
The entire process of ordering and paying for, and receiving the book "The Bourne Ultimatum" was very easy.It was good to be able to get such a fine product without leaving my home.Thank you for your prompt service. ... Read more

Product Description
What identity will Jason Bourne assume to match wits with his nemesis, a counter-agent known only as The Jackal? 2 cassettes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (310)

Falling apart.


I've only read a 1/3 of the book and the pages are already separating from the binding.I know lower quality glues are used, but this is outrageous.I'm a voracious, but careful reader.I don't stretch spines or crease pages.I expect better from a book that wasn't inexpensive for a paperback.
The story is great of course, but this is insanely poor quality control.
Sincerely,
Ralph Henderson

Cain is for Charlie, Delta is... SHUT UP!!
Like a lot of the other reviewers, I came to this book after I had already been a huge fan of the movies.I figured it would be productive to know the authors original character.Don't get me wrong, this book is good; it has lots of action and explains some things better than the movie does, but in the end, the movie simply has a more intriguing plot.

The beginning of this book explains something vital that the movie doesn't take time out to consider.How did Jason Bourne lose his memory?In the movie, he's shot in the back 2 times.How does that cause amnesia?In this book, however, he gets shot in the head, which makes more sense.Why the movie didn't simply have him shot in the head, the world may never know.

The Bourne in the movie is 10 times better than the Bourne in the book, partly because the Bourne in the movie doesn't talk much (which makes him macho); he gets right down to business.Even when he smooth talks Marie in the movie he keeps it short and simple."Marie:Keep writing things down, sooner or later you'll remember something good.Bourne:I do remember something good."See how sweet but yet macho that was?

The Bourne in the book, however, is a little feminine at times.Even when Marie's not around he says things to himself like, "Help me Marie.Help me."lol..He also makes a lot of rookie mistakes in the book, which the movie writers were sure not to carry over into the film.In the film, he's sharper and superior to everyone else, which is what I like to see.

Ludlum also makes his own mistakes as he describes Jason as a superior athlete, running 12, 5 minute miles a day, but then getting tired after short runs, or not even making an effort to chase cars or people, which would be easy for someone with the qualities Ludlum ascribes to him.And Ludlum gives Carlos way too much power.Carlos might as well be a deity in this novel.

Some things that annoyed me about this book were Ludlum's meticulous descriptions of trivial matters, and his constant repetition of the phrases "I am Cain, I am death; you are not helpless, you will find your way," and the most annoying of them all, "Cain is for Charlie, Delta is for Cain; get Carlos, trap Carlos, kill Carlos."Oh! that gets so annoying.And Ludlum says it 100 times!!You can just open the book and see it on every page...Shut up!!

There's also some annoying conversations between CIA officials and National Security Cabinet members where the men present on behalf of the president keep saying, "Tell me, the president needs to know; I think the president should hear about this; you owe the president that much."Dude, stop throwing the president into every line, we get it.

As for Ludlum's meticulous descriptions, they're basically things like this; "He began to run, the water on the ground splashing up in the air as his foot made contact with a puddle, his heart beating, his lungs breathing, the t-shirt sticking to his back from sweat, his hair combed neatly."Or, "He took the flare and put it in his left hand, he then lifted the flare in his left hand up to his mouth and bit the plastic top off with his teeth revealing the inner contents of the flare.He then took out a lighter, ran his thumb down the lighter and lit the wick to light the flare."That type of writing makes me weary.Just say, "he lit a flare."(maybe I'm used to writers getting to the point since my English professor would murder me if I wrote like Ludlum) And the book is longer than what it needs to be.It's almost like he just wanted praise for having 500 pages or something.

Conversely, there will be times when this book is impossible to put down.You'll be up all night telling yourself, "okay, last chapter... okay, one more."But in the end, the book is only average with some great scenes.And the ending was a little disappointing to me.*Spoiler Alert*Just kill Carlos instead of this stupid cat and mouse chase.And the way Carlos gets away at the end is totally unrealistic.The police bust in and he simply says, "there he is, get him."Come one now, Ludlum. *End Spoiler*

Anyway, read this book, it's not a complete waste of time.I also have the Bourne Supremacy, which I'll start soon.I've read the reviews on that so I have to get my mind ready for the middle 200 pages of the Bourne Supremacy to be pure drudgery.

I don't know why Ludlum takes the Lord's name in vain so often in this book; the words "Jesus, Christ," and "God" are used so often as cuss words, it's sad.But I do know one thing;

Jesus is God

Lots of action here and lots of inaction there
I don't remember whether I saw the movie first, or read the book. In either case, I have just re-read the book and I found it quite exciting in places and a little slow in others. The problem is that the reader gets used to the fast pace of the plot, and then at times when the plot slows down a little, it feels to the reader like time has stopped. This happened during Bourne's flashbacks to his service in Vietnam, as well as the small part of the plot that involved Treadstone agents discussing their strategy for capturing Bourne. The "love" angle incorporated into the plot--in which Bourne and Marie become dependent on each other--was a little less than satisfying. The reader knew the couple would fall in love and ultimately be together in the end, so the characters' thoughts and discussions about whether Bourne should forever leave Marie in an effort to ensure her safety got a little old. Enough already! Stop fussing about it Jason, and take her under your wing. There were a couple very mild love scenes and I think these should have been described with a little more enthusiasm. Note to the author: don't bother writing a romance novel!

I definitely liked Bourne's visit to the Swiss bank and his escape from the hotel conference center. Quick action with guns, fist-fights, knives, car chases, and uncertain identities. Very good.

Robert Ludlum hits a home run with Jason Bourne...
Robert Ludlum is not one of my favorite authors.His novels have been hit-or-miss for me.However, the whole Jason Bourne concept is a winner.A man wakes up after being shot, with no memories of who he is.It slowly becomes apparent that what he does remember would fit well in the category of... professional assassin.

Not the kind of thing you brag to Mom about, even if you could remember her name!

I enjoyed both the book and the movie, although there are some significant plot differences between the two.In the book, the focus is on a battle with international terrorist Carlos.In the movie, it is a battle between Bourne and his "handlers."

Beware of old men!

Who is Jason Bourne?
Robert Ludlum died in 2001, and for that I am profoundly sorry. It means no more of his superb books will be coming our way. I saw all three Bourne movies before I started reading The Bourne Identity, and I definitely recommend the books over the movies.

The Bourne Identity is reminiscent of Dan Brown's Angels and Demons or The Da Vinci Code, in the way that Ludlum starts you out knowing nothing, then feeds you little tidbits that keep you wanting to read more. My only regret is that I saw the movie first, so I know what happens in the end. I would have loved to read the book and find everything out at a slower pace.

The story starts when a small fishing boat happens upon a man floating in the Mediterranean Sea, near Marseilles, France. The man has been shot multiple times, and when the doctor at a seaside town manages to fix him up, the man remembers nothing. He slowly recuperates, and when several belligerent fishermen attack him, he finds out he has incredible fighting skills. He also has an intimate knowledge of firearms, and his face has been altered by plastic surgery. But he still remembers nothing.

He sets out from the small fishing village after five months of healing, and manages to make it to Marseilles. Following an address implanted in his hip, he goes to Zurich, Switzerland. There, he finds a bank account with his name on it- Jason Charles Bourne. Eventually he gets a set of instructions and substantial information regarding who he was before he lost his memory. But you'll have read the book to find that out.

Jason Bourne is an incredibly well-developed character, with emotions and reactions that one would naturally expect from an amnesiac on the run from assassins. The relationship between Jason and Marie is so believable, Robert Ludlum either put a price on his own head to see what his reactions would be, or has an incredibly vivid imagination. (I don't know about you, but I'm going to go with the latter.) The European locales are bright and easy to see, and his furious action scenes are face-paced and intense.

If you like books by Tom Clancy, Dan Brown, or any good mystery-thriller, I definitely recommend this book to you. It'll satisfy any need you throw at it.
... Read more

Product Description
(2 Audiobook Set) 1) THE TURQUOISE LAMENT: Travis McGee can't forget Pidge, she's special. He's known her since she was 17, and now she's a grown woman and married to an ex-football jock named Howie. When Travis gets a frantic letter from Pidge, he grabs the first jet to Hawaii. She claims Howie is trying to kill her, so McGee sets out to check on them both, only to discover what danger he's suddenly stalking. 2) FREE FALL IN CRIMSON: Eighteen months ago, an ailing millionaire was brutally murdered. Now, his son wants the killers tracked down, and he wants Travis McGee to do the tracking. The cold trail would spell a hot foot to nowhere for most, but not for the infamous, indestructible McGee...not usually. This time, however, the rugged detective nearly loses his status as a living legend when the investigation prompts him to renew his friendship with an oversexed movie star who leads Travis into a nasty nest of murders involving a motorcycle gang, pornographic films and a series of harrowing aerial escapades, from which there may be no escape. ... Read more