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		List Price: $129.99		Publisher: Homelegance Salesrank: 205710
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		List Price: $24.99		Publisher: Canon Released: 2005-07-18
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		List Price: $19.99		Publisher: Classic Erotica Salesrank: 106881
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		List Price: $14.95		Publisher: Coffee House Press Salesrank: 660440
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In the mood for a Faustian bargain?
Chilling and provocative, Open Line will leave you rubbing your funny bone, checking the cautionary goose flesh this well drawn portrait raises. Have you just encountered a surreal caricature or the real-life workings of a glib, amoral political black hole whose edge we are each just a stroke from falling into?

What if the Vietnam War was a hoax? What if it never happened? What if forces conspired to spread a media campaign suggesting that some other phenomenon never happened? Say, global warming? Say, (fill-in-the-blank.) Open Line gets out in front of critical questions such as these, in the form of a timely, wry, well-imagined novel. Like the canny main character, its author, Ellen Hawley is an effective social provocateur, slyly and convincingly using her own medium. Unlike the main character, Hawley does it for our own good.

You will want to read Hawley’s send-up of American political gamesmanship if you care about free media, first amendment rights, the legacy of war, and how issues near and dear to American hearts can get hijacked by special interests. Hawley puts a face on insider politics, and takes us behind the (imaginary) scenes into an all too believable world of deal making among old money, expedient trysts, and consummate (if quirky) planning by those with agendas. She does so through the lens of the parochial politicking of Minnesota nicemakers who are deadly serious, in a story that looms universal. You will want to read Open Line if you like to laugh, love meeting characters up close who operate in public-behind our backs-and want to be stretched while having a seductively good time. Read it this season.

superb satire
In the Twin Cities, late-night radio talk show host Annette Majors jokes on the air that the Vietnam War was a government hoax. Whereas before she made her sublime commentary, Annette seemingly was going nowhere in radio; after the remark she suddenly has more than fifteen minutes of fame as her show is so hot it goes into national syndication.

Even her personal life awakens when rich Republican supporter Walter Bishop begins to court her. Walter uses her “belief” to launch a presidential bid for a relatively unknown wannabe and radical conservative Stan Marlin who supports her stand. Heeding their advice, Annette refuses to back down from her stance that there never was a Vietnam War. While some Viet Vets thinks she is a buffoon; others protest; and some still reliving their horrors seek closure through her.

This superb satire showcases the power of the media in which misinformation, disinformation, omissions, and fabrications are the norm. The key to this terrific tale is the players seem genuine especially Annette whose eloquent defense of her radical revisionism rings true. For those who reject the underlying concept remember there is an Iranian president denying the Holocaust; many people disbelieving the moon landings and a prominent right wing talk show host who using clever questioning of the vice president made it sound like Richard Clarke was below the inner security sanctum before 9/11. It is not WHAT HAPPENED as McClellan has said, it’s the spin. Well written and entreating, fans who appreciate a biting condemnation of the news will understand that Eisenhower’s military-government complex omitted the third partner the media.

Harriet Klausner

From Sam Friedman
At a time when far too many Americans are clueless not only about American history (with many believing the U.S. beat Russia in World War II), but about current events as well (with ignorant voters believing Barack Obama is Muslim and perhaps even foreign born–even though one must be American-born to serve as president!), Ellen Hawley hits the nail on the head with her brilliant satire, “Open Line.”

The key to good fiction is whether a reader can believe the characters, as well as the story they live out in the book. Not only did I not have any trouble recognizing characters like those in “Open Line” as key elements of our politically-degenerated culture, but the tale Ms. Hawley weaves–about a bored radio host nearly setting off a national movement by off-handedly suggesting, tongue not so firmly in cheek, that perhaps the Vietnam War never really happened–was so realistic it was frightening.

In the old days of yellow journalism, shameless newspaper reporters and editors would say a writer shouldn’t let the facts get in the way of a good story. Unfortunately, we’ve come full circle, with thousands of mainstream news outlets fighting for attention, credibility and ad dollars with rogue bloggers and YouTube correspondents. The result is that journalism is being increasingly diluted and even polluted with unverified and unreliable “news” reporting, irresponsible speculation by “expert” analysts, as well as outright, often calculated lies.

In such a poisonous atmosphere, it is quite plausible that a desperate radio talk show host could propel herself to a national platform by riding a wave of paranoia (not all unjustified) about government “black ops” and full-fledged misinformation. Given the fact that Vietnam ended a generation ago, younger, more gullible listeners would not think twice about such crazy talk, while a significant, deranged minority who actually lived through the events themselves might actually believe America never really fought the war in the first place.

As a novelist, Ms. Hawley does a masterful job weaving her web of intrigue and doubt. The story builds a momentum all its own, until I had to stop and remind myself a few times that it was only fiction–the book, that is, not the war!

Ms. Hawley deftly draws right-wing fringe groups, striving politicians and opportunistic business leaders into the mix, until her main character becomes merely a pawn in a much bigger geopolitical game to confuse, enrage, and eventually motivate the easily misled American public to think and vote a certain way. It’s fear mongering fueled by ignorance–there is no shortage of that in real life today.

I did find myself more than once wondering where Ms. Hawley was going with all this, and how in the world she would resolve the story. But she pulled off a key plot twist that leaves you satisfied and opens the possibility of a sequel down the road.

Also, I think this would make a terrific movie!!!

Go get this book! It’s a quick, compelling read that will make you think long after you’ve put the book down.

Fun and fast-reading political satire
Don’t start reading Open Line unless you are ready to stay up all night until you finish it! Hawley creates a fascinating scene, pulls you right in, and keeps you there with a rich tapestry of details sprinkled with wit like, “you’d get arrested for malicious condiments” if you insisted on having a picnic in a forbidden public place.

With a few quick words, Hawley lets us into her characters’ inner conflicts: “No sane human being, she told herself, would take them for a couple, and then a few minutes later she had to tell herself the same thing all over again.”

The descriptions in Open Line are elegantly simple and highly evocative: “Her voice ran high on the scale, threatening to spin into the infrared.” Or “Annette closed the door, putting a slab of painted wood and a drywall sandwich between herself and that easy voice.”

All in all, an entertaining tale of how a handful of opportunists can use the media to make an idea — any idea — seem real and plausible.

		List Price: $34.99		Publisher: senyx
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		List Price: $107.99		Publisher: Linda Shier Photography
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		List Price: $5,845.50		Publisher: Amazon.com Collection Salesrank: 15115
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Very nice quality diamonds
I purchased these earrings and I am excited about the quality but not the size. To be fair, I knew little about diamond studs until I did research on Amazon and learned a bunch over the course of a couple of weeks, but the one thing I wish I’d seen was pictures of diamond studs in “actual” size next to each other -i.e. not blown up on the screen to look pretty. The 1/4, the 1/3, the 1/2, the 3/4, and the 1 carat total weight pairs would have been nice to see all at once. Had I seen this I might have opted for the larger size (and perhaps slightly lower quality so as to afford it). Yes, you can print the helpful “actual size” report from Amazon, but this does not have any small sizes except for the 1/2 and 1 carat studs (and nothing in between).

One more thing, the gemological report that I received was NOT as detailed as the “sample” on the website. There appears to be an actual photo of my diamonds on my report but you do NOT see the drawings that show flaws and occlusions. This would have been nice. Also, there are fewer descriptive terms in the ratings than I expected. For example, on my certificate it says “G-G/G-G” for Polish and Symmetry. Although it was bound and presented well, I had hoped for something more like the sample on the website.

On the flip side, these diamonds are really high quality. I compared them to a coworkers larger studs and it was immediately apparent that these were colorless and clear (to my eyes) while the others were a bit cloudy and not as nice.

The quality of the studs was as advertised. One stud was VS-1 and the other was VS-2 and the color for both was G-H. The Total Carat Weight was 0.72 (not the 0.75 as hoped for) but this was above the guaranteed minimum spec. of 0.70.

The product was received very quickly, and was well packaged and presented. I would absolutely purchase this type of thing from Amazon again…

Love my studs!
Just took delivery of these diamond stud earrings today (7/7/2004) and I am very very happy with them. First, the negative… but only a slight negative… I had to wait 2 and a half months for these But it was well worth the wait. Amazon shipped them complimentary next day air. The diamonds I received were beautiful. [...] I would definitely recommend Amazon for diamonds. Now I don’t have to trek all the way to Holland and Belgium for my diamonds.