O'Leary, Patrick

The Physiologic Basis of Surgery
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Excellent basic science reference for the resident surgeon!
  • Basic Sciences
The Physiologic Basis of Surgery
J. Patrick O'Leary
Manufacturer: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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  1. The The ABSITE Review
  2. Sabiston Textbook of Surgery
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  4. Current Surgical Therapy
  5. Operative Anatomy

ASIN: 0781738393

Book Description

Now in its Third Edition, this reference work focuses on the physiologic mechanisms important to the practice of surgery. It smoothly integrates chapters that are contributed by high profile educators, all experts in their fields, who assist in preparing surgical residency curricula. Easy to read, organized and well illustrated, the clinical information contained therein is used only to illustrate the application of basic science as it relates to practice. A new topic to this edition is physiologic changes associated with aging. Eight additional major revisions to this edition include shock, nutrition, oncology, pulmonary, digestive, hematology, orthopaedics, and anesthesia.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Excellent basic science reference for the resident surgeon!.......2005-08-19

This book is a perfect reference book in surgically relevant physiology. Given the upcoming change in the ABSITE to emphasize basic sciences for the 1st and 2nd year resident, this is good addition to the library of a junior surgical resident.

Here is a review by, Jarrell, Bruce E. MD (Shock: Volume 19(2) February 2003 p 193):

"Reviewer's Expert Opinion:
Description:
This is the second edition of the authoritative text on surgical basic science for residents. This edition is more comprehensive than the first and includes new topics in shock, fluid and electrolytes, reproductive physiology, and geriatrics. It also has a companion computer CD program.

Purpose:
The purpose is to assemble the basic science information necessary for surgeons, particularly for surgeons in training. The basic science material is interlaced with clinical care principles, enabling surgeons to integrate basic science into their day-to-day clinical care.

Audience:
Residents in training and practicing surgeons are the intended audience.

Features:
There are 26 chapters that deal with broad areas of basic science. Each chapter is written by an authority in the topic. The chapter covers all of the pertinent basic science issues related to a particular problem with in-depth discussion, tables, and diagrams to help understand the concepts. It is also well referenced with certain excellent references called out in the text.

Assessment:
This is a significant improvement over the first edition. It has more detail and is more comprehensive in its coverage of topics. I read several of the new chapters as well as some of the revised chapters. The geriatrics chapter is an excellent addition and is very well presented. This is a topic that is not commonly covered in resident education. The new fluids, electrolyte, and shock chapters are clear and concise. The oncology chapter has also been improved, taking a very difficult and comprehensive topic and clarifying it well. I was also impressed with the surgical infection chapter. In fact, every chapter has significant revisions that are improvements over the previous edition. This edition is much more readable than the first. This is an outstanding contribution to our resident basic science education and will continue to be the benchmark for basic science requirements in surgery.

©2003The Shock Society"

3 out of 5 stars Basic Sciences.......2004-12-02

Purely a basic science perspective to surgery. If you are weak in this area, then it might be what you need. It is not designed as a clinical text. It is dense, slow to read, and a great sedative, but honestly, it is beneficial if you need to touch up you basic science fund of knowledge.
The Enneagram : A Journey of Self Discovery
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • One of the first is still one of the best...
  • The Enneagram - The Best Way to Understand Yourself
The Enneagram : A Journey of Self Discovery
Maria Beesing , Robert J. Nogosek , and Patrick H. O'Leary
Manufacturer: Dimension Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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  1. Jesus: A Contemporary Walk With Jesus (Vision 2000 Series)
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ASIN: 0871932148

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars One of the first is still one of the best..........2005-01-18

My sister turned me on to the Enneagram back in the late '80s before it had become so kool and trendy. Don't be misled by the lack of cover art or excerpts here...this was one of the first books written on the subject, and it's still one of the best. As the other reviewer noted, the "self-test" is one of the clearest and most concise and the emphasis in the book is on your fatal flaws or "sin-types" as the Catholic authors dub them. Rather than allowing you to wallow in self-congratulatory insight of some other books (and similar self-analytic tools, like horoscopes etc.), this book takes a direct approach to telling you why you are so screwed up - because of your type! It has a distinct Christian/catholic approach, including a chapter on how Jesus embodies all 9 types. So this is not the book to read if you couldn't care less about the spiritual implications of your personality. If you're a Christian, it is DEFINITELY the definitive work to own. Having read Palmer, Riso and all the other "experts", I still come back to this one, and I've personally ordered my third copy.

5 out of 5 stars The Enneagram - The Best Way to Understand Yourself.......2002-01-13

I have four different books and a set of audio tapes about the Enneagram. I have studied numerous personality profiling systems, most of which are based on two dimensions of personality only. The Enneagram is by far the most accurate and useful system I have experienced, and this book is the best of the ones I have studied. Its descriptions of the types are clear, insightful, and "dead on" accurate. I recommend you let this book be your first experience with the Enneagram.
The Impossible Bird
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • An Accidental Treasure of a Find!
  • Disappointing
  • Disappointing compared to previous books by O'Leary
  • Remarkable science fiction
  • Good story, but fire the editor
The Impossible Bird
Patrick O'Leary
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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  1. The Gift
  2. Door Number Three
  3. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: A Novel

ASIN: 0765303396

Amazon.com

Daniel Glynn is a quiet, responsible suburban father mourning the recent death of his wife. His brother Michael is a brilliant, hot-tempered Hollywood director. The only woman Michael ever loved left him--for Daniel. It's one of many secrets the brothers keep from each other, and from the world. But Daniel and Michael are rushing toward a strange reckoning. Unknown gunmen have shown up at their doors, claiming to be government agents and demanding that each brother find the other--or die. But both brothers are missing from the world they know, and the new universe they inhabit is a heavenly utopia--a utopia that everyone they meet wants to escape.

Patrick O'Leary's previous books are the novels Door Number Three and The Gift (a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 1997), and the collection Other Voices, Other Doors. --Cynthia Ward

Book Description

There is a place-a world-where famine and poverty do not exist. Nor sickness, nor misery, nor unhappiness of any kind. Is it Heaven? As two brothers are about to discover, it's more like Hell. Hotshot director Michael Glynn and his brother Daniel, an English professor, have been waging a private civil war, an emotional feud of deceit and dark secrets buried but not forgotten. Daniel's beloved wife and son are caught in the fraternal crossfire. When violent strangers force the brothers to hunt for each other, they enter upon an odyssey of discovery more bizarre than either could have imagined. It is a journey to a world of perfect happiness, a world without death, a world where life can be relived and mistakes corrected. Both have been given a second chance. But is a second chance what they really need? For Michael and Daniel, the answer to that question will be found by unraveling the mystery of the impossible bird.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars An Accidental Treasure of a Find!.......2006-04-20

This writer is a treasure. What a book! I stumbled upon it, purely by accident.
This work is not a frolic in an easy alternate reality, but disturbing and thoughtful and very original. It was hard to read before sleeping and affected my predream thoughts. Even my brain waves felt altered by the existential repatterning in this science fiction.
I never, never knew what would come next. I couldn't outguess him.
And, to my utter astonishment, he made me weep, scooped up the jewels of what is most precious in our lives and spoon fed them to us in his last poetic pages. I could feel my own heart beating in his hand.
A beautiful and profound story. Thank you and I bow deeply to Mr. Patrick O'Leary.
This is possibly the most profound author of poetic science fiction I have discovered in a long time and a rare compliment to my library. A book I will reread and pass thoughtfully into the hands of thinkers.

3 out of 5 stars Disappointing.......2006-03-18

This book is good, save for one page toward the end. I won't comment much on it but I thought it was a little over played and could have been completely left out and the book would have been great. If not for that one page. Thats why i gave it three stars and i was tempted to give it two. I know that sounds weird but really its just one page that ruined the book for me. Overall the book was pretty good, it doesn't really slow down, something is always happening.

2 out of 5 stars Disappointing compared to previous books by O'Leary.......2005-04-18

I bought The Impossible Bird based on my past experience with Patrick O'Leary, including his wonderful debut novel, Door Number Three, which I commented on here, and The Gift. O'Leary seemed to be some kind of cross between the wild ideas of Philip K. Dick with the literary sensibilities of Gene Wolfe, and in those two books the combination worked very well. And that's why the first 70 pages or so of the The Impossible Bird were such a surprise, and unfortunately, not a pleasant one, for it seemed to be all random violence in endless plot sequence without any textual beauty. I put the book down for weeks and only returned to it today because I had nominated for our monthly book club and the meeting was tonight.

Having now finished it, I still don't think it rises to the level of his previous books but I'm not as disappointed with it as I thought I'd be. I found the theme, that life is not worth living if there's no death to measure it by, to be interesting, if not necessarily something I would agree with, and there was some explanation for the rough violence of the beginning. But mainly I'm left with a sense that the novel suffers from the all too easy comparison to the movie, The Matrix, and while these themes and ideas were around long before that movie, it now looms large in the public consciousness.

The basic story, and I'm trying not to give anything away here, is of two very close brothers with a mysterious connection that goes beyond their familial relation and what happens after their deaths. This life-after-death plot is a lot like Jonathan Carroll's similarly flawed novel, White Apples, in that by removing the reader from the "known" world of reality, a loss of structure becomes very hard for the reader to grasp. It's as if there were no rules left for the writer to have to follow, nor for the reader to assume, and the result is a hazy world of dreams that quickly breaks down into a series of talking heads. O'Leary tries to spice this up with some "bullet-time" action (even going so far in one scene as to actually slow down the bullet so that a character can reach out and touch it), but without the framing world, it quickly becomes full of action and fury that ultimately means little to the overall story (in fact, the little logic of the world starts really breaking down when you start to question "why does it take these three things to escape the matrix, and why not others...").

The ending (and spoilers may be here) tries to resolve this, by working around to a reconciliation of the charaters to the main theme, but the gung-ho plot antics made me care much less for the characters when we got to that end. Like them, I was pretty much just ready for it to be over, which may have been what they were looking for, but isn't necessarily the emotion you wish to evoke from your readers.

5 out of 5 stars Remarkable science fiction.......2005-03-04

I always brag that I know the end of a book within the first 20 pages -- because there is little that hasn't already been used as a plot device. I must say, I certainly did not see this one coming! I found this story very original and well written. Two brothers, close in childhood but distant as adults, suddenly find that teams of people are demanding information about their whereabouts, threatening death, kidnapping, etc. And those people don't seem to stay dead when killed. Also, we are given hints that something quit strange happened in South America to one of the brothers -- something involving a tribal chief, and maybe a hummingbird. OK, that is all I'll tell. Everything else, you have to get from the book. Read it! It's pretty good!

3 out of 5 stars Good story, but fire the editor.......2003-08-18

O'Leary is a very thoughtful, inventive writer and I've enjoyed several of his books, but in this case the editor should really have kept a sharper eye for plot inconsistencies. In the chapter "The First Letter" (starts on p.92 of the hardcover edition), we learn of the character Michael's past affair with another man's wife--an affair which ended eight months before the birth of the married couple's son. But in the chapter "Please" (starts on p.189), Michael recalls "the first time he'd felt attracted to her"--which happens to be when her husband was tucking their son into bed! Such a plot glitch should never have been allowed to happen, especially when what we eventually learn about the characters' relationships with each other depends on the timetable of events. Shape up, editors. We still need your keen eye.
The Gift
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Great Cover Art, Good Story
  • Modern Myth
  • Disjointed and Unsatisfying
  • a story to keep you up late, unable to stop
  • ...what?
The Gift
Patrick O'Leary
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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  1. Door Number Three
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  3. Other Voices, Other Doors
  4. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: A Novel

ASIN: 0312864035

Amazon.com

The Gift is the second book from up-and-coming author Patrick O'Leary, and is quite a departure from his wonderful and zany first novel, Door Number Three. The Gift is largely a dark fantasy novel, focusing on a world where magic and storytelling hold sway, although there are some distinctive science fiction overtones. The protagonists are a young king named Simon, who has lost his hearing, and a young woodcutter named Tim, who has lost his family. Both are on a similar quest: they're attempting to find and destroy The Usher of Night, a twisted sorcerer who has unleashed an ancient evil, and who has caused both men great suffering. Although the quest might make this novel sound like a conventional fantasy, it's anything but. O'Leary clearly shows that he enjoys bending genre boundaries as much as he enjoys telling a good story.

Book Description

Inside this gift is a story of innocence betrayed and magic rejected.A boy named Tim is robbed of his childhood. A young king named Simon is tormented by hearing made magically acute. Both are victims of The Usher of the Night, once a boy like them but now pathetically twisted by his own ambition, and the malevolent creature of magic called Tomen. Together Simon and Tim must rid their land of the old near-forgotten magic perverted by the misuse of Tomen and The Usher. This Gift is one that will be opened, read, and treasured for a long time to come.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Great Cover Art, Good Story.......2005-06-22

Like many other reviewers, I was drawn to The Gift by the cover art (which would receive five stars). The story itself doesn't quite live up to the cover art, but that's still not too bad. There's a lot to enjoy in this story.

The Gift is about two young heroes. Tim is a child who has been deprived of his childhood and who possesses a certain magical innocence, and Simon is a tormented king who is cursed so that he hears others' darkest thoughts. Both of these heroes have their troubles because of a sorcerer called The Usher of the Night and a dark, malevolent, magical creature called Tomen. Of course, Tim and Simon have to figure out how to defeat these powerful enemies.

It sounds pretty ordinary, but believe me, it's not. There are many original elements to the plot that get lost in synopsis. And there are some strong characterizations here. There's also a bit of depth here as O'Leary expounds on the role of myth in everyday life (though at times he sort of pounds you on the head with his insights). O'Leary's writing is strong and original. He doesn't read quite like anyone else I've read. I guess he's somewhat like a Patricia McKillip without such elaborate prose.

Anyway, it's a good read. Enjoy the cover art and the story.

4 out of 5 stars Modern Myth.......2005-05-12

Myths are told and retold, generation after generation, not because people think that they are true (most are too fantastical even for a small child to take seriously), or because they are well told (most of the ancient Greek myths that I have read have been disappointedly bare bones). They are shared because they tap into something primeval within us. I think this story is a good example of a modern myth.

The book is self-consciously improbable. Early on the author tells us that the book is about "monsters." Most of the book is a tale within a tale, woven by a bard-type character on board a ship, so it seemed natural to me that he used character types rather than fully fleshed-out characters. Yet the story of courage, success, failure, loss, sacrifice, and friendship is one that can stir the heart and speak to all.

This story could also be looked at as a modern fairy tale, although it is closer to the Grimm's end of the Disney-Grimm spectrum (with Disney being the light, often saccharine version and Grimm being the dark, unnecessarily gruesome version).

1 out of 5 stars Disjointed and Unsatisfying.......2005-03-01

The story just did not fit together well at all. It also had a confusing narrative style that detracted from the overall storyline. I found it infantile, at best.

5 out of 5 stars a story to keep you up late, unable to stop.......2005-01-10

This is the first novel I have read by this author but will not be the last. It seems some of the negative reviews came from readers who took the structure of the story too seriously. The book is a brilliant meditation on the joys, pains, power, and responsibility of storytelling in all its forms. Whether it serves to strengthen a bond between friends, help a listener to understand and forgive, to expand the listener's breadth of experience, or to indict the guilty for secret crimes; storytelling is a part of what makes us human as well as an effective means of communication.
I read this book over two nights and in the days after became so aware of how often in conversation we are telling tales- not meaning that people are being dishonest- just that people paint a picture of "what really happened" based on what they feel is the message of the story. And it is in telling our own particular and unique stories that others come to know us.
I loved the characters, the story, the stories-within-the-story, and yes, the ending. I can see how one would think it contrived or too neat, but I felt as if O'Leary meant it that way as a perfectly fitting lid to this decorative box filled only with more boxes.

1 out of 5 stars ...what?.......2004-07-02

After finishing The Gift, I was inspired to undertake a seldom-done task: trying to think of any book worse - or even equally bad - as this one.

While the novel had potential and even some good aspects - I loved the intermitten stories - it failed to make use of either. The characters were cliché, the dialogue weak at best, the plot so sporatic and wraught with the bizarre that it really made no sense. And, frankly, it was boring.

It ended on a lecture that brought back memories of the anti-climactic Socialist diatribe that ended Sinclair's The Jungle. I think it might have been trying to send a message, but what is beyond me. As another reviewer noted, I am at a complete loss as to the point of this book.

I was barely able to finish The Gift, and by the time I had, I wished I'd never started it.
Lessons From The Japanese Masters
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Lessons from the Japanese Masters provides valuable philosophic principles
  • High Praise for Japanese Masters
  • LESSONS FROM THE JAPANESE MASTERS IS RIGHT ON POINT
Lessons From The Japanese Masters
Fred Neff , and James E. Reid
Manufacturer: Lerner Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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ASIN: 0822511649

Book Description

The book discusses martial art methods used by Japanese masters, which include fighting techniques drawn from ju-jutsu, judo, karate, kempo, ninjutsu, and yawara. There are lessons on the history, philosophy, principles of self-defense, physical conditioning, sensitive areas of the body, stances, movement training techniques, punches, strikes, kicks, grappling principles, takedowns, throws, escapes, effective combinations of fighting techniques and strategies for handling a variety of types of attackers.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Lessons from the Japanese Masters provides valuable philosophic principles.......2007-03-06

Lessons from the Japanese Masters is far more than an excellent book that compiles fighting moves. It delves into the Japanese philosophy that forms the basis for sports such as Aikido, Karate, Kendo, Judo, and Jiujitsu. The author Fred Neff introduces the philosophic principles of Jiko no Kansei, Bunbu-ichi, Mushin, Mizu no Kokoro, Tsuki no Kokoro, Hara, Kime, Suki, Seiryoku Zenryo, Kufu, Kyo-jutsu Tenkan Ho, and Bushido. He explains each principle in a simple and straight forward way so as to make the principle useful not only for fighting but for other matters as well. This book promotes thinking, which in turn increases the reader's ability to execute the lessons taught in the book. The text and photo illustrations of the book make the reader realize the wisdom of the Japanese Masters. Lessons from the Japanese Master supplies lessons on self-protection while either standing or fighting on the ground, with an emphasis on using your mind to out maneuver your opponent. The information on fighting strategy is especially useful. This book looks at all aspects of a potential fight including the often-dreaded occurrence of having to fight an adversary from a grounded position. Lessons from the Japanese Masters is a book that can be read and reread. It tends to cultivate a civilized attitude toward self-protection where a person is cognizant of the Bushido code of chivalry. I like the fact that this book by Fred Neff stresses Bushido concepts of justice, benevolence and politeness, that can make life better for everyone. The author Fred Neff believes in practicing what he preaches as can be seen by his extensive community involvement including as a teacher and lawyer that led to awards such as the city of St. Paul Citizen of the Month, a commendation from the Sibley County Attorney's Office, the WCCO Radio Award, Lamp of Knowledge Award from The Twin Cities Lawyers Guild and Presidential Medal Of Merit. Lessons from the Japanese Masters is a wholesome and non-violent book with lessons that teaches martial arts fighting tactics while encouraging a sense of social responsibility. The ancient Japanese Masters had a lot to offer us by way of wisdom and a great way to start to learn from them is to read Fred Neff's book, Lessons from the Japanese Masters.

5 out of 5 stars High Praise for Japanese Masters.......2001-07-12

Japanese martial arts way is intrigingly explored in Lessons From the Japanese Masters. The story of Japanese fighting arts unfolds through its history and philosophy in the beginning of the book. Philosophic concepts are explained that make the self-defense taught in later chapters more relevant. I especially like the way that author Fred Neff explains how the philosophic concepts can apply to not only physical conflict but life generally. Included is a superior cross-section of Japanese fighting approaches for description and depiction through pictures. I found the joint locks taught to be fascinating and plan to make them an enduring part of my martial arts practice. Throwing techniques are also well presented. There is even a part of the book covering how to defend with locks and throws when you are forced down on the ground. Commendable is the emphasis on ethics and safety in the use of fighting techniques. This is a book that should be highly praised and well received for use by children and adults alike.

5 out of 5 stars LESSONS FROM THE JAPANESE MASTERS IS RIGHT ON POINT.......2001-06-05

Ancient Japanese principles of fighting are well explained in Lessons from the Japanese Masters by Fred Neff. There are misconceptions spread about self-defense, that reading Lessons from the Japanese Masters can dispel. Having been invovled with Japanese Karate for many years, I get sick of hearing the so-called do whatever it takes crowd of self-defense theorists. Equally unrealistic are those naive people that say you do not ever need to take any offensive action in a fight just stand back and try to exploit and attack with a simple trick. Neither of these tactics work, because the former theory of do whatever it takes may not only be immoral but illegal. The later naive stand back and exploit theory, ignores the fact that you cannot always just evade harm or counter with something simple. Lessons from the Japanese Masters is all about real fighting situations including the need in an all out fight to use strategy to set up an adversary for techniques that may end the fight. The book provides concisely and in an easy to understand manner the necessary historical and philosophical foundation for the Japanese fighting arts and then proceeds to explain and show how to fight both standing and on the ground. It not only provides necessary lessons to prepare for a simple attack, but for an all out fight as well. Lessons from the Japanese Masters is right on point.
Door Number Three
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Very, very good
  • Why I stopped reading Sci Fi
  • Behind Door #3: the next Phil Dick?
  • Sci-fi that delves into personal relationships
  • Original, Suspenseful, AND Humorous
Door Number Three
Patrick O'Leary
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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  1. The Gift
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  4. Three Days to Never: A Novel

ASIN: 0312862873

Book Description

John Donelly's life is changed forever the day Laura, a young therapy patient, tells him that she has been left for a year on Earth by the Holock, an alien race. If she can convince one person - and she has chosen him - that she is telling the truth, she can stay when they come back for her. And she exposes her breasts as evidence, revealing square nipples. His least profound response is to drop his cigarette into the crease in his chair. So begins the wildest SF novel since the passing of Philip K. Dick. Patrick O'Leary's Door Number Three is a constant wellspring of surprise and wonder, a novel about a young man of today and a woman from somewhere else who is out to love or kill him - or both. The whole, apparently real, world and everything in it can never be the same again.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Very, very good.......2005-11-07

The highest praise in science fiction, it seems to me, is to compare it to the work of Philip K. Dick. This book definitely reminds me of some of Dick's work. The protagonist is a psychotherapist with serious mom/dad-brother issues that he is busy trying to work through in his life. Meanwhile, a patient appears who claims to have been raised by aliens and has one year on earth to convince someone. Suddenly the protagonist finds himself pursued by seriously drug addicted alien women (the drug is sugar; it overwelms them -- they keep purses full of it). He hooks up with some very good people living in a catholic rectory. Turns out that somehow prayer is effective against the aliens (even saying grace stops them at one point!). Also in the rectory is an utterly charming little bird. I don't want to give too much away, but the book is full of time travel, love, hate, and a world where people live in lime jello. What more can a reader want?

1 out of 5 stars Why I stopped reading Sci Fi.......2003-03-23

I purchased this book after hearing O'Leary's poem on the car commercial. While the poem was mediocre, it did provide a certain haunting quality I thought I'd find in the author's books.

Unfortunately, that one poem was probably his best work. This book is an example of why I quit reading Sci Fi in the 70's. It reads like a bad nightmare (and I don't mean a nightmare that is so real it is scary - I mean a nightmare from which you wake up and go "HUH?").

There is no real discernable plot in this book. It shows no imagination whatsoever on the part of the author. The author substitutes the shock-value of vulgarity, in actions and language, for plot and character development. It provided no comedic relief, no real drama or pathos, and left me not caring what happened to the characters.

Someone here compared it to HHGTTG by Douglas Adams. No way! Douglas Adams provides class-act comedy. O'Leary doesn't even approach the level of Three Stooges comedy.

5 out of 5 stars Behind Door #3: the next Phil Dick?.......2003-02-19

There seems to be a resurgence in time-travel novels, although they seem to be taking unusual shapes and forms. Or maybe I'm just hitting a bunch in a row: John Kessel's humorous take on time, Connie Willis' upcoming novel set in the same world as her award winning "Time Watch," and now this unusual novel, a combination of conspiracy paranoia, aliens among us, questionable reality, and time shuffling. It's a strange combo, but it works magically.

First off, I have to give credit where it is due. Lawrence Person told me to read this, and although we don't always agree on literature, Lawrence knows my taste in SF and can often identify books that I will enjoy (it was he who pointed me in the direction of Zod Wallop, I believe). This time Lawrence was number one with a bullet! Door Number Three pushes several of my buttons, most importantly the study of dreams and the fluctuation of reality.

The subject matter reminds me of Philip Dick. What is the nature of humanity? Why do we do the things we do? These are Dickian subjects (at least in the SF genre), and O'Leary tackles them within a framework that Dick might have used. However, the style with which he describes his world and ideas is what Dick would have used it he were still alive. Trying to describe this, I have to resort to the simple description of this as a 90s novel--in 20+ years time, we will be able to definitively identify this as being written shortly before the turn of the century.

The basic story concerns John Donnelly, a psychologist whose new client, Laura, claims to have been in contact with aliens and if she can convince one sane person of this, they will let her stay on earth. But the real story is about John himself, his life, his family, and his personal adaptation to life. As such, it is not "true" science fiction, or, at least, science fiction as it is assigned as a label by most people. If the fantastical elements were less, or if O'Leary had been a little more post-modern with his prose, this would have been the latest hip college novel, rather than a forgotten debut on the SF shelf.

It is a strong novel, which should appeal to most readers. Be open to it, however, because many things are not as they first seem. And at a little less than 400 pages, there's a lot of space for twists and turns.

5 out of 5 stars Sci-fi that delves into personal relationships.......2002-02-05


O'Leary uses this story, involving aliens, Feds, and time-travel as a framework to explore interpersonal relationships and how we are strangely tied to our particular perception of time and unknowingly shaped by psychological forces that we're unaware of.

The story is actually two stories in one; the first being a psychologist dealing with a patient who claims to be an alien, and the second being the psychologist having to confront messy family issues in an attempt to figure out why he is the way he is.

Overall, the writing is excellent and the story well-told and engaging. If you're the type that likes to ponder things this book is a great springboard to get you to poke around a bit in your own psyche to figure out what forces have shaped your own personality and perceptions.

5 out of 5 stars Original, Suspenseful, AND Humorous.......2001-01-31

A neurotic psychotherapist and his patient who claims she was abducted by aliens, a time machine, a Mad-Hatter-like inventor who hides out in a Catholic church rectory, a homicidal police detective who gets religion, deadly femme fatales addicted to sugar, an endearing pet bird with genetically engineered super-intelligence. These are some fo the elements of this stunning novel, which is as imaginative as Neil Gaiman's "Nevermore." By turns hilarious and suspenseful, with a surreal sense of humor reminiscent of Douglas Adams ("The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy"), this book is a wild coaster ride, full of surprises and revelations. But it is not purely plot driven. The characters are engaging, original, and come to life. If you're tired of the same old, same old, try this book!
Controversial Issues in Anglo-Irish Relations, 1910-1921
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    Controversial Issues in Anglo-Irish Relations, 1910-1921
    Cornelius O'Leary , and Patrick Maume
    Manufacturer: Four Courts Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    ASIN: 1851826572
    Door Number Three
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      Door Number Three
      Patrick O'leary
      Manufacturer: Tor: Tom Doherty Associates
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Paperback
      ASIN: B000JZIPQ2
      Infinity Plus One
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        Infinity Plus One
        Michael Bishop , Tony Daniel , Paul di Filippo , Mary Gentle , James Patrick Kelly , Garry Kilworth , Ian MacLeod , Kim Newman , Patrick O'Leary , Kit Reed , Keith Brooke , and Nick Gevers
        Manufacturer: PS Publishing
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        ASIN: 1902880234
        J. Marion Sims: a defense of the Father of Gynecology.(Editorial): An article from: Southern Medical Journal
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          J. Marion Sims: a defense of the Father of Gynecology.(Editorial): An article from: Southern Medical Journal
          J. Patrick O'Leary
          Manufacturer: Southern Medical Association
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Digital

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          ASIN: B00082KTYC
          Release Date: 2005-07-31

          Book Description

          This digital document is an article from Southern Medical Journal, published by Southern Medical Association on May 1, 2004. The length of the article is 2107 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.<BR><BR><strong>Citation Details</strong>
          <strong>Title:</strong> J. Marion Sims: a defense of the Father of Gynecology.(Editorial)
          <strong>Author:</strong> J. Patrick O'Leary
          <strong>Publication:</strong> <em>Southern Medical Journal</em> (Refereed)
          <strong>Date:</strong> May 1, 2004
          <strong>Publisher:</strong> Southern Medical Association
          <strong>Volume:</strong> 97 <strong>Issue:</strong> 5 <strong>Page:</strong> 427(3)<BR><BR>Distributed by Thomson Gale

          Authors:

          1. Olmsted, Marc
          2. Olsen, Tillie
          3. Omar Khayyam
          4. Ondaatje, Michael
          5. O'Neill, Eugene
          6. Orczy, Emmuska
          7. O'Reilly, Jackson
          8. Orlovsky, Peter
          9. O'Rourke, P. J.
          10. Orr, Gregory

          Authors

          Authors