Product Description
The Day of the Defenders first gathered Doctor Strange, the Hulk and the rest of Marvel's legion of loners - but can they survive "Defenders for a Day?" If the second team calling themselves Defenders doesn't finish them off, the third one just might! Plus: more non-stop action when the non-team faces team after team - including the Emissaries of Evil, Zodiac and the Headmen! Demons and gods alike threaten humanity, leaving its outcasts to defend it! Guest-starring Iron Fist, Ms. Marvel, Havok and Polaris, the Son of Satan, Hercules and more! Collects Defenders #40-69 and Annual #1 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

I'm a Gerber baby!
Oh yes, the Defenders, my favorite Marvel non-team. At least they're a non-team for the first half of the book. From Issue 31-40 something they are still meeting in Dr. Strange's rumpus room instead of a place like Avenger's mansion and using New York's back alley's as a Danger Room. Eventually they take up residence in one of Kyle Richmond's equestrian estates, settle down, become domesticated, gain a few pounds and lose a little of that special Defenders "something". They become more of a formal super-group and less of an informal collection of loose-knit fly -by-the-seat-of-your-pants heroes thrown together to halt off the wall menaces that no single hero could stand against. But there are till some pretty engaging and involved stories in the back end of this volume with writing chores shared by Steve Gerber, Gerry Conway, Chris Claremont and Dave Kraft. Pencils are pushed by the likes of Carmine Infantino, Klaus Janson, Keith Giffen and Sal Buscema.

This book never got the credit for being a bit more of a thinking man's super-team, but it proves it here. You've got some social issues, some mysticism, some psychological drama, marital and friendship issues, all wrapped up in superhero spandex. It's a nice mix. Plus you get the mighty Marvel 70's flavor to spice things up even more.

Here's a peek at what you get in Defenders 31-60 and Annual #1.

Defenders # 31***Nighthawk's Brain!*** A lot happens. Valkyrie goes to a carnival, Hulk stumbles onto some drunken deer hunters, an elf with a lugar kills some tourists and the fabulous Headmen (All have "Head" related powers) put Nighthawk's brain in a bowl. And that's just for starters.

Defenders # 33***Webbed Hands, Warm Heart*** Only Steve Gerber would give Bambi super-powers! Also, the Headmen keep transplanting brains(where's Nighthawk's?), aliens invade Central Park, the fourth Headman shows her "face"(with tentacles) and Nebulon the Celestial Man tips the scales in a whole other direction.

Defenders # 34***I think we're all Bozos in this book*** Nebulon has the best hair in the business, Nighthawk may finally get his brain back in his body and the Defenders attend a self-help seminar entitled "Celestial Mind Control"

Defenders # 37***Evil in Bloom!*** The Defenders take on the Plant Man. Really?....the Plant Man? O.K. The Plant Man...Luckily Luke Cage is around to save them. Plus, why are the Eel and Porcupine smiling like that?

Defenders # 46***Who remembers Scorpio?*** Dr. Strange gets sick of Nighthawk and the Hulk crashing on his couch every night and Valkyrie constantly leaving the toliet seat up so he resigns from the Defenders, kicking the non-team out of his sanctum sanctorum. If finding a new pad isn't enough, Scorpio strikes with his cadre of Zodiac themed henchman. And it's got Nick Fuuury!

Defenders # 50***Scorpio Must Die!*** The final, and I mean FINAL resolution to the Scorpio Saga. Keith Giffen honors Jack Kirby with his artwork. And Nick Fury offers a super villain a beer, a Schlitz to be exact. You remember Schlitz, don't ya? Sure ya do. It was the Zima of the 70's, bunky.

Defenders # 52***Defender of the Realm***Super-herodom's answer to Beavis and Butthead, the Hulk and the Sub-Mariner, are together again! This story also features a nuclear explosion that may rip Europe in half, and Valkyrie going to the theater with some new friends to see "Death Wish" and "The Man Who Fell to Earth".

You've got some prime Defenders action on your hands here. Gerber's stories are the best, the most satisfying and the most revealing of character (Millionaire Nighthawk tips his paperboy 5 bucks at Christmas. 5 bucks! And with a check yet! Sheeesh! No wonder he got killed off. Several times!!!) But the quality of any serialized fiction will ebb and flow, and in this volume even the slow spots are still kind of interesting. If your taste in super heroes runs to the somewhat offbeat and Marvel 70's-ish, then it doesn't get much better than this book.

Pretty bad
I'm a die-hard Hulk fan so I like to pick up some of these Essentials to see the classic Hulk in action but they really lost me with this one. I was starting to lose interest with Vol II but they hit rock bottom with this one. All of the added characters were boring and repetitive. It seems like they added characters to the team for no other purpose than just keeping a filled out roster. The stories and villains were a total borefest with junk sorcery that was just plain foolish. There were a few entertaining stories in there (written by Gerry Conway/Chris Claremont) but the rest were totally forgetable and quite ridiculous. I honestly got the vibe that the writers were tripping when they wrote some of those whacked out stories. What was the deal with that Elf or Scorpio offering everyone a beer? If those were attempts at humor, they fell flat. The Hulk nailed it when he said, "Hulk always thought team was a dumb idea." He's smarter than people give him credit for. As a matter of fact, if he wasn't even in the issues, I don't think I could have forced myself to finish it.

Graphic SF Reader
Hellcat, Nighthawk and the Red Guardian?


Not exactly the Silver Surfer, Submariner and Doctor Strange.However, those are characters you get at times here, after Doc decides he needs a leave of absence to get his mystic mojo back to the top level.

Clea appears a bit as a stand-in, and you have guest stars such as Moon Knight and Nick Fury in the latter half.

The artwork with Janson, Buscema etc. in the earlier issues is certainly superior.

In general, this is a whole lot of crazy madcap never stopping superhero stuff, especially with the 'Headmen' - a guy with a gorilla body and a human head, someone whose headbones have shrunk, a woman with a malleable android head, and you get the idea.

Very silly, with plenty of Hulk smash, Hulk hate water, Hulk crush bad man who hurt friend, Hulk bash friend if he feels like it.Along with the Valkyrie and the soap opera between her and the husband of the woman whose body she now inhabits.


3.5 out of 5

This is the good stuff!
After a long wait, Marvel finally publishes the "meat" of Steve Gerber's run on Defenders. When people talk about Gerber as being the 'Grant Morrison of the 70s' (as they do, occasionally), this is the sort of stuff they're talking about.

Gerber is mostly remembered today for his quirky work on non-superhero titles like Man-Thing, Howard the Duck and Omega the Unknown. But this volume shows that he could write intelligent, exciting superhero comics that were on a par with the best of Marvel's 70s output.

Ten years before Dark Knight Returns or Watchmen, Gerber was exploring the sort of "superheroes in the real world" themes that are commonplace today. One hero, Valkyrie, gets locked in prison for wrecking a restaurant while fighting a super-villain with her sword. The villains are less concerned with destroying buildings and killing people than they are with gaining power through sociological and political means: Nebulon sets himself up as a self-help guru while the Headmen run one of their members as a presidential candidate.

All of this takes place over the course of an epic storyline that takes up the first eleven issues printed here. Unlike today's "decompressed" comics, however, each individual issue still presents you with a complete episode in its own right. This isn't a case of pacing a storyline to meet the publishing requirements of the company's trade paperback division, but rather, of a complex story that Gerber developed subtly throughout a year's worth of comics, each chapter flowing smoothly from the preceding one. Along the way, he throws in some unforgettably quirky touches -- Nighthawk carrying his own brain around in a dish, Bambi the killer fawn and, of course, the legendary Elf with a Gun -- until he brings the whole story to a satisfying climax in Defenders Annual #1.

Unfortunately, Gerber left the title shortly thereafter (after issue #41) and left a few loose ends hanging around. The remainder of the book is written by Gerry Conway and David Kraft, and while it isn't up to the high standards of Gerber's material, it does represent the best of the post-Gerber era (especially Kraft's inaugural "Who Remembers Scorpio?" storyline).

About half the book is drawn by the always-sublime (and underappreciated) Sal Buscema (often inked by Klaus Janson). The rest features work by up-and-comer Keith Giffen and industry legend Carmine Infantino, who had recently left his publisher's post at DC to draw at Marvel. The volume also includes a handful of covers drawn by another legend, Jack "King" Kirby.

In short, if you only want to read one volume of The Defenders, this is the one to get. These are some of the best superhero stories Marvel published in the 70s.

Excellent collection of stories from Marvel's lesser-known team.
This third collection of stories from the Defenders finds the team in an odd place. The original guard is all but gone and the new faces take over. Namor and Silver Surfer are already gone (though Namor shows up again for a few issues toward the end here), Doctor Strange leaves, and who can really count the Hulk as a member of any team? Still Nighthawk, Hellcat, Val, and the Red Guardian step up nicely to keep the pace moving. There are some nice moments wrapped up in here, including a cool Nighthawk solo story against the Ringmaster (not the greatest villain, but at least we have a story).

Unfortunately, taken as a whole this collection shows the weaknesses of the group as well. For one, Nighthawk spends literally over a dozen issues held captive or brain-swapped at some time or another, making this the only team in Marvel history whose leader is actually its weakest link. It gets laughable after a while when almost every time he gets into battle he's captured by someone. Val changes costumes three times in this collection. Jack Norriss either is or isn't a traitor or a SHIELD agent or a double agent posing as a SHIELD agent or a wannabe secret agent of his own making (you figure it out and let me know). Prince Namor uses a superpower he'd only used once before and it's never been mentioned since. And for several issues we have this little elf killing folks at random...and then suddenly his story ends with no explanation of any kind. Why was he in there? It's like the writers said, "Why were we doing this again? You don't remember either? Well, just forget it and we'll see if anyone notices".

But even with the weak points, this is great storytelling. When the team fights together (it does happen every so often), the dynamic is great. I couldn't be happier to see these stories collected together and look forward to the next volume. ... Read more

Product Description
Successful lawyer Sidney Archer finds her life turned upside down when her beloved husband is killed in a fiery plane crash, a nightmare that escalates when she discovers that the FBI believes that her husband was responsible for the bombing--and that he might still be alive. Simultaneous. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (189)

Total Enjoyment!
With his thriller novel titled Total Control, David Baldacci succeeds in building up a tremendous amount of tension and intrigue in the world of high tech business takeovers.

The protagonist, Sydney Archer, is a lawyer with a prominent law firm and she is involved in the takeover deal between the company her husband's is working for, a leading technology business, and a cash-filled buyer.Sydney's husband, Jason is a rising executive at his company, but is involved in some secret project at his office, which keeps him busy day and night. He does not confer any details of the project to his wife, but tells her that, when it is completed, it would make all their dreams come true.

But then suddenly Sydney's world shatters apart. Jason is reportedly killed in an air crash. At first, it seems just like an accident, but the FBI gets involved when sabotage is suspected -- and then Jason's name is linked to the sabotage and a multi-million dollar fraud scheme. Although the FBI tries to help her, but is very suspicious of Jason's recent activities, Sydney tries to solve the case on her own as she wants to clear her late husband's name. She gets pulled deeper into trouble as she gets closer to the real perpetrators, and her life is threatened. Furthermore, she has a disk with encrypted information that Jason had sent to her before his death, only she cannot decipher it and is frantically trying to find someone who can break the code for her while the antagonists are right on her heels in the process, trying to get hold of the disk themselves and stopping at nothing or no-one to get what they want.

After many twists and turns, the story climaxes with Sydney, her young daughter and her parents in grave danger and the diligent FBI agent fruitlessly trying to come to her aid.

I certainly liked the fast pace, the tension, the suspense and the many twists and turns in this great book, although I had a few problems with the handling of the technology (keeping in mind that the book was first published about 13 years ago). One example was where an email message appeared on a computer screen and then suddenly disappeared again -- gone forever. But for the rest, I can only comment that this thriller novel provided me with 'total' enjoyment!

Good book
This is the second Baldacci book I read (after Absolute Power) and while I enjoyed Absolute Power more, this is still a solid book. For people who like thrillers with fast-paced action, this should be a satisfying read for anyone who is already a fan of Baldacci or just a newbie looking for a good read. If you've never read David Baldacci, I recommend you try Absolute Power first. The tale of the Archers here and their trials and tribulations are a interesting read, and there were quite a few parts where I had no desire to put down the book. Solid 4/5 stars for a book written by a good author.

Baldacci at the top of his game
Synopsis

Sidney Archer's near-perfect world implodes when her loving husband Jason reportedly dies in an airplane crash. Questions arise when attorneys working on an international high-tech merger worth hundreds of millions of dollars reveals that Jason was stealing corporate secrets that would put the merger in jeopardy.

A savvy FBI agent investigates the crash and becomes suspicious when the evidence suggests that Jason not only sabotaged the plane, but engineered a multi-million dollar embezzlement plot. The loving wife is crushed at the allegations, but is even more shocked when she discovers that her husband had switched planes at the last minute and was likely alive, but missing and thought to be held captive by a group whose ultimate goal was to move in on the action and acquire the corporate merger for a rival company.

With the aid of her lawyer, Sidney sets out to rescue her husband and reveal the truth. She proves to be a capable heroine, outwitting the murderous goons at every turn and uncovering an immense conspiracy that holds Jason's future in the balance. * * *

My Two Cents Worth

My fifth Baldacci in the past month, you could call me a fan. Okay, I am a avid fan, but for good reason - he knows how to tell a story. His research is remarkable, allowing him to write with discipline and precision.

The industrial espionage theme of the book moves with an electric pace and I found myself completely captured by the plot. I read 140 pages in the first sitting, which was enough for me to find it difficult to get out of my mind. I actually got out of bed, unable to sleep, and read another 92 pages. This is a rare event for me. I was also aware that I did not read nearly the 100 page per hour that I usually average for the standard size paperback.

The only problem I had with the book was with the character of Sidney Archer late in the book. I was with her until the action found its way to the east coast and she left home to save her man.
She morphed from a young and intelligent mother of a two-year-old girl into a mercenary that would have make Rambo blush. I applauded her mission, but found it a stretch to believe that she had more lives than an alley cat.

If you are a fan of espionage, intrigue and high-action, give Total Control a read.

Paperback
694 pages
8 hours

rambling
This book was way to long and rambling. Wouldnot have bought if I had known.

Baldacci's major gift is dialogue.
I am surprised that not more of his books have been put to film because Baldacci is a master of dialogue. I imagine that it may be due to the fact that "Absolute Power" was so badly mangled as a film and by the Clint Eastwood no less.

I put down Philip Margolin's "Sleeping Beauty" and opened this book up trying to catch up on some novels that were lying around.I rarely don't finish a book but Margolin's dialogue was so terrible that I just could not finish "Sleeping Beauty" even though the plot was semi interesting.So Baldacci seemed like a breath of fresh air.The criticisms about the plot implausability from many other reviewers is somewhat true, but it is well crafted and reads well because his characters come alive with their always spot on dialogue.A lot of the internet dot com intrigue seems a bit dated already, but it still is an excellent page turner.Highly Recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
From the Book :

"Some persons, in looking upon life, view it as they would view a
picture, with a stern and criticising eye.He also looks upon life as a
picture, but to catch its beauties, its lights,--not its defects and
shadows.On the former he loves to dwell.He has a wonderful knack at
shutting his eyes to the sinister side of anything.Never beat a more
kindly heart than his; alive to the sorrows, but not to the faults, of
his friends, but doubly alive to their virtues and goodness.Indeed,
people seemed to grow more good with one so unselfish and so gentle."
--Emily Foster.

....authors are particularly candid in admitting the faults of their
friends.

The governor, from the stern of his schooner, gave a short but truly
patriarchal address to his citizens, wherein he recommended them to
comport like loyal and peaceable subjects,--to go to church regularly on
Sundays, and to mind their business all the week besides.That the women
should be dutiful and affectionate to their husbands,--looking after
nobody's concerns but their own,--eschewing all gossipings and morning
gaddings,--and carrying short tongues and long petticoats.That the men
should abstain from intermeddling in public concerns, intrusting the
cares of government to the officers appointed to support them, staying at
home, like good citizens, making money for themselves, and getting
children for the benefit of their country.

It happens to the princes of literature to encounter periods of varying
duration when their names are revered and their books are not read.The
growth, not to say the fluctuation, of Shakespeare's popularity is one of
the curiosities of literary history.Worshiped by his contemporaries,
apostrophized by Milton only fourteen pears after his death as the "dear
son of memory, great heir to fame,"--"So sepulchred in such pomp dost
lie, That kings, for such a tomb, would wish to die,"--he was neglected
by the succeeding age, the subject of violent extremes of opinion in the
eighteenth century, and so lightly esteemed by some that Hume could doubt
if he were a poet "capable of furnishing a proper entertainment to a
refined and intelligent audience," and attribute to the rudeness of his
"disproportioned and misshapen" genius the "reproach of barbarism" which
the English nation had suffered from all its neighbors.
" ... Read more

Product Description
The Boxcar Children are spending the summer in an enormous New England farmhouse. There's an old woodshed near the house that holds a surprising secret--a secret that dates from the Revolutionary War. Suddenly their summer becomes an adventure. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Fantastic
My daughter loved reading this book.I t was in great shape when we received it also.

An Interesting Mystery Book!
I would recommend this book to a reader who loves reading mystery books. The person who doesn't like mystery books, I would still recommend it to them because after they read it they would love reading mystery books. My thoughts about the protagonist were that they really wanted to solve the mystery about the woodshed. They wanted to know what was wrong with it. They were not afraid to go down and look. I really loved this book because it had mysteries in it and I love reading mystery books.

One of the best Boxcar Children books
Have read the first eight Boxcar Children books and think this is one of the three best with the other two being The Yellow House Mystery and The Blue Bay Mystery. This book could stand alone although an important character is from The Mystery Ranch book and might be more fun to read after reading that book. This is also the only book of the first eight to have a dedication. The Boxcar Children books are all good reading and can't think of a good reason not to read them in order. With the Box sets 1-4 and 5-8, four books are available for the price of two and a half. I read these books in order and there are references in the books to events and characters in previous books but not enough that the books could not be read out of order or as stand alone books. Gertrude Chandler Warner wrote the Boxcar Children books over a period of many years from the 1940's to the 1970's. She must have enjoyed writing them and that spirit comes through in her books.

One of my all-time favourite Boxcar Children adventures
Like "Mike's Mystery", this is a mystery with a solid foundation and never once drags.

I first read it when I was about eight and learnt several things I didn't know before. I learned what ammunition meant. It also was my first introduction to any information about the Revolutionary War.

The story takes place primarily on a farm in New England that dates back to the 1700's. Grandfather and Aunt Jane grew up there, and he buys it back for her to live in. But everyone seems to think something is wrong with the house, and the children set out to find out what it is and clear the air of all secrets. And they are pretty sure the woodshed holds an important clue.

Read this book to your children - I am sure they will like it.

the Boxcar Children #7
Would you think that you would find a trap door in the potato pit in your aunt's basement or in the wood shed in her back yard? Well, the Boxcar Children didn't, but they found the trap doors, they had things from the Revolutionary War! They found strange letters about what was going on in the house during the Revolutionary War! Find out what mysterious things they find!

I think this book is so good because you never know what will happen next, like when the children find the trap door in the woodshed and then they find the trap door in the potato pit! The moral of this story is never play with some thing that isn't yours. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

Ask Jesus to Forgive you for your sins and to save your soul and He will........
This is a very great product. I play a different cd to my son at night when he is asleep. This is a great spiritual treat for any one but even better for babies. Before they start hearing the lies and garbage of this world they should be hearing the truth, I love this porduct. The readers put together nice voice dialogs and add character to their reading. This product is also good for calming your child when you play it to them softly. If you don't beleive than thats to bad all I no is it works for mine........

KJV Old Testament
Lots of problems - some chapters missing - had go to publisher to get corrected.Maybe alright now, haven't listened to all of it. ... Read more

Product Description
This collection includes two suspenseful and action packed stories by an author who has been called "the dean of science fiction." The work of William F. Jenkins, writing under the name of Murray Leinster, is especially distinctive in its rich character development, transcending typical science fiction writing. It earned Exploration Team the Hugo award in the novella category. Leinster's impressive lifetime portfolio includes such brilliant creations as the Parallel World. Exploration Team chronicles a giant company's illegal colonization of a planet populated by a savage race of predators. When a mystery ship discovers the lone survivor of the expedition, the legal and species consequences play themselves out to a stunning conclusion. In First Contact, a solitary Earth ship and a solitary alien meet for the first time in a nebula remote from the home planet of each. Neither is prepared for this first interspecies contact. Any mistake by either could cost billions of lives. Leinster explores an unfolding and complex moral dilemma of epic proportions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

great!
I am not writing a review. I just want to point out that the reveiw you have printed from The NY Times Booklist 9/1/98, if for "First Contact; the Essential Murray Leinster" and not for the video tape "FirstContact" ... Read more

Product Description
Contains: Student Edition, Annotated Teacher's Edition, Spanish and English Audiotapes, Activity Book, Review and Reinforcement Guide, Test Book and Laboratory Manual with Anotated Teacher's Edition ... Read more

Product Description
Designed to guide managers and administrators through the complexities within student administration, this text covers issues from judicial review through to the question of why examination desks move. It explores how managers can balance the needs of the student with those of the institution. ... Read more

Product Description

Providing students with a commonsense approach to the solution of engineering problems and packed full of practical case studies to illustrate the role of the engineer, the type of work involved and the methodologies employed in engineering practice, this textbook is a comprehensive introduction to the scope and nature of engineering.

It outlines a conceptual framework for undertaking engineering projects then provides a range of techniques and tools for solving the sorts of problems that commonly arise. Focusing in particular on civil engineering design, problem solving, and the range of techniques and tools it employs, the authors also explore:

• creativity and problem solving, social and environmental issues, management, communications and law, and ethics
• the planning, design, modelling and analysis phases and the implementation or construction phase.

Designed specifically for introductory courses on undergraduate engineering programs, this extensively revised and extended second edition is an invaluable resource for all new engineering undergraduates as well as non-specialist readers who are seeking information on the nature of engineering work and how it is carried out.

Product Description
David Warner takes readers on an impressionistic journey back in time, back to the Tuscaloosa, Alabama, of his childhood. Nostalgic without being sentimental (even ribald at times) these vignettes of growing up and losing innocence in a small town will provoke nods of agreement and understanding among readers of all ages. Like the radial lines rippling outward from a stone dropped into the water, so does every personal, specific moment radiate in time, to every person of every generation--such is the message of David Warner's prose. Though Chip Cooper's specially commissioned photographs were taken in present-day Tuscaloosa, they resonate (as does the work of any great artist) with meaning outside of time. The marriage of these two elements result in a dynamic and unique book experience. ... Read more