Jeffrey Archer : Short Stories : A Quiver Full Of Arrows

A Quiver Full of ArrowsThis short story collection by Jeffrey Archer has 11 stories bundled up.


Story 1 : The Chinese Statue
Sir Alexander Heathcote rose from an officer in the British foreign office to become an Ambassador. He was deputed to china to represent London. He took great pride in his new assignment because it gave him the opportunity to see a vast and beautiful country. Alexander is a great admirer of Ming dynasty and appreciates the time and life of Ming dynasty.
One day he sets out into the inners of Chinese village, along with his interpreter. He meets a sculptor who is busy going about his job. Alexander is fascinated by the old man's job and expresses so.
The old man, not used to praises, let alone by a foreigner is floored. Out of sheer happiness he takes Alexander inside and shows him a statue from 15th century Ming dynasty.
What follows next is the rest of the story.


Me thinks
=========
This is my first Short Story collection of Jeffrey Archer. After reading his novel First Among Equals, I had great expectations from this book. But I was slightly let down. I was expecting a great punch. An arrow from the Quiver should have shot me through. But nothing of that sort happened. The story started and got over with a small twitch by a needle.
I was saddened that the first story did not start as I had expected.

I would give it a 5.5 out of 10.

--------------------------------------------

Story 2 : The Luncheon
The first person, is an author. The whole story is from the eyes of the Author. He is pleasantly surprised when he sees a lady waving at him and greets him with a hug in a literary guild party. Author is not able to place the lady. In the nick of time he remembers her as Susan whom he had met sometime back.
What follows is the recollection of the past encounter.

Me thinks
=========
I was totally dejected. How can you call this a story. It was a simple narration of an incident. It lacked the punch, the anxiety factory, the aaha factory. I was thoroughly disappointed to say the least.
It also proved my long held notion that "In a short story collection the second story will be a compete disaster". This book simply reiterated my belief and that too with full force.

Should I rate this story !!! anyways I would give it a 2 out of 10.

---------------------------------------------

Story 3 : A Coup
Senhor Eduardo Francisco de Silveira has come to Nigeria on an ambitious project. He is planning to build the capital of Nigeria. It is a very huge project even by Edurdo's standard. He is leaving no stone unturned.
Eduardo's company is the largest construction company in Brazil. However his rival Manual Rodriguez claims his company Rodriguez International is the biggest.
On landing in Nigeria, he heads to his hotel room. When is about to step into the elevator, he freezes in his path when he notices Manual in the lift.
What follows next is an interesting sequence of event that take place in Nigeria.

Me Thinks
=========
This story brought back some color on my cheeks :)
This story felt as if it deserved to be called a story. It had the punch and the strength of an arrow. Though it could not pierce me as I had built a shield of hopelessness. But it did crack the shield.

I would give it 6.5 out of 10.

----------------------------------------------

Story 4 : Old Love
William Hatchard Philippa Jameson have joined New College under James Blake to study English Language and Literature. Far from being good friends they were bitter rivals who competed ferociously in each and every class, each and every competition.
By the end of first year, every one had a feeling that these two will never compromise on anything. Their rivalry brought out the best out of both of them as they put in all their efforts to be on top.

What follows next is an interesting tale which looks at the lives of both William and Philippa across generations.

Me Thinks
========
I was totally floored by the story. I was completely absorbed in the story.
When the story finally got over, I could not believe that the story actually ended...
I was almost in tears at the end of the story.
Very touching and very hear warming story of two people and their lives.

I would give 9 out of 10

---------------------------------------------

Story 5: The Perfect Gentleman

The first person, journalist and author from London, is in New York chasing a writer for a biography. He meets Edward Shrimpton in the Metropolitan Club which occurred by chance. The journalist and Edward decide to have a lunch the next day.
Late in the evening the journalist meets his father's friend Eric McKenzie at the Metropolitan club. During their dinner the journalist mentions to Eric about his meeting with Edward. Eric gets interested. Eric tells him that Eric was a national champion in Backgammon gave. Edward was an undisputed champion of backgammon until he played the game on that fateful day.
Eric asks him to question Edward about the game as it was still unknown why he lost the game on that day.

What follows is the conversation between the journalist and Edward.

Me Thinks
=========
An interesting story. I liked the story. Not as powerful as "A Coup" and "Old Love" but great read nevertheless.

I would give it 6 out of 10.

--------------------------------------------

Story 6 : Broken Routine
Septimus Horatio Cornwallis has one of the most boring lives. He is an insurance claim settler and his daily routine is fixed to the dot. Right from the time he gets up till he sleeps his life is so monotonous that if you follow him for a week you would know what he must be doing in the next few years.
One fine evening his routine gets broken when his boss asks him to stay little longer and he misses his train. He takes a different train which is completely packed. He gets hold of a seat and settles down only to find a teenager sitting in front of him.

What follows is an interesting non-verbal communication between the two.

Me Thinks
==========
Awsome !!!
This time the arrow hit with a bang, and pierced me through. Though I have read about this punch in a different context, in a different story somewhere else but i was not prepared for the ending and it took me by surprise.
Considering that this short story collection was first printed in 1980, I feel this particular punch was created by THIS story and it has been used by others in their stories.

I would give an 8.5 out of 10

--------------------------------------------

Story 7 : One Night Stand
It is the story of Adrian and Michael. who are very close friends and have literally lived together their entire life. They share a perfect bonding until they meet this lady.

Me thinks
=========
A passé story.

I would give it a 4 out of 10.

-------------------------------------------

Story 8 : Henry's HiccupHenry is the son of Pasha of Egypt. The wealthiest person in Egypt.
The story revolves around Henry's live pre and post pasha's death

Me thinks
=========
There was no story here. Except the realization by Henry that life is not the same as he thought it was.

I would give it a 5 out of 10.

---------------------------------------------

Story 9 : A Matter of principle.Sir Hamish Graham runs a construction company and is pretty successful at that. But the downturn has affected his company and one of his managers asks him to take up the Mexican project for which Mexican government has put up advertisement.
The story revolves around the Contract and the discussion between all the stakeholders of the project.

ME thinks
=========
Amazing story with a personal Mexican touch, that Hamish fails to pick up.

I would give it a 7.5 out of 10.

----------------------------------------------

Story 10: The Hungarian ProfessorThe first person, sportsman is in Hungary to participate in a sports meet where he has a chance meeting with an old man who has great interest in England.
They keep chatting about England, their culture their climate, interesting places.
The old man invites the sportsman to his house for a dinner.
What follows next is an interesting conversation between the two about England.

Me thinks
=========
Awsome !!
I was totally absorbed in the story. The arrow will hit you only if you are careful in reading the last part of the story and keeping the context of the story at the back of your mind.
Brilliant protrayal of the old man.

I would give an 8.5 out of 10

----------------------------------------------

Story 11: The First MiracleTo say anything about the story would be to give away the story.
Lets just say that history is made up of many interesting twists and turns.

I would give the story an 8 out of 10
( I had to Google around to understand the significance of the story. Great story indeed!!!)



Summary
========
A great collection. A must read.
My Favourites: 4,3,6,10,11,9

Over all I would rate the book at 7 out of 10. It is a must read.

Zindagi Mein Kabhi Koi

This is one of those songs which i just adore. Though i am not a big fan of the video, but the music and the song are simply mind blowing :)

Video 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g2zgnPcH4Y

Video 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GexV_uoyyrk

There is a male version of the song as well...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr3yfTVDbAU&feature=PlayList&p=F99E2C220D35D6B0&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=7

Movie : Musafir


Lyrics:
Zindagi mein koyi kabhi aaye na rabba
Aaye jo koyi toh phir jaaye na rabba
Dene ho gar mujhe baad mein aansoo…
Toh pehele koyi hasaaye na rabba) -2
Toh pehele koyi hasaaye na rabba

Sukhwinder:
(Dil ke jo armaan the, dil mein hi reh gaye
Aashiqui jo kee toh ham, ashqon mein beh gaye) -2
Gham ka fasaana hai, dard ye puraana hai -2
Itna bhi koyi yaad aaye na rabba
Zindagi mein koyi kabhi aaye na rabba
Aaye jo koyi toh phir jaaye na rabba
Dene ho gar mujhe baad mein aansoo…
Toh pehele koyi hasaaye na rabba -2

Krishna:
Ashq aankhon mein bhare hain, jigar jalta hai
Kya qayaamat hai, kya qayaamat hai
Kya qayaamat hai…
Bhari barsaat mein ghar jalta hai

Sukhwinder:
(Yahi sochta hoon kaise usko bhoolaaunga
Na woh kabhi aayegi na, usse bhool paaunga) -2
Jeene ka thheekaana hai na, marne ka bahaana hai -2
Itna bhi koyi bhi sataaye na rabba
Zindagi mein koyi kabhi aaye na rabba
Aaye jo koyi toh phir jaaye na rabba
Dene ho gar mujhe baad mein aansoo…
Toh pehele koyi hasaaye na rabba -3
Zindagi mein koyi kabhi aaye na rabba
Pehele koyi hasaaye

Source : http://www.hindilyrix.com/songs/get_song_Rabba%20(Agony%20and%20Ecstacy%20Mix).html

Novel : Agatha Christie : Murder On The Orient Express

An urgent telegram has arrived in the hotel room for Hercule Poirot To return to London. Poirot who is in another location finds it strange as the telegram was unexpected. Nevertheless he asks the hotel staff to book a first class seat.
The only train available immediately is the Istanbul Triestate Calais.
But the coach which goes to london is surprisingly full. This is a strange co-incidence for this time of the year.
M. Buoc who is a director of the company which runs the train, is also travelling on the Train. Buoc is a friend of Poirot and inspite of his influence, he can only get a second class seat for Poirot, with a promise that he will be immediately shifted to first class when the first person gets down at the next station.
On the Second day of the trip the train makes an unexpected stop because of a sudden snow fall. It is also discovered that Mr Ratchett has been murdered the night before. Mr. Ratchett had a room next to that of Hercule Poirot.
It falls upon Hercule Poirot to solve this case.

Poirot decides to interview the first class passengers one after the other to know the whereabouts of each and every passenger at the time of murder.
Starting from the Wagon Lit Conductor Pierre Michel, he interviews Ratchett's Sceretary MacQueen, Ratchett's Valet Edward Masterman.
Daughter fixated Mrs. Hubbard is interviewed, Sweedish lady Gret Ohlsson's details are taken.
Russian Princess Dragomiroff (who is supposedly the ugliest...) is also called in to give her whereabouts at the time of the crime.
Count and Countess Andrenyi, who are on this train are interviewed as well.
Colonel Arbuthnot, who is returning from India, is also quizzed.
Mr. Hardman, a typical american who is returning after a business triep, is also asked about his whereabouts.
26 years old Ms. Debenham, who is a care taker by profession, is also quizzed. Poirot finds her rather aloof and unsmpathetic.
The German Maid of the princess is asked to provide details of her whereabouts at the time of murder.

After interviewing the potential all the passengers, Poirot is confused. They are not able to pin-point the suspect.
The story takes interesting turns towards the end, leading into a dramatic and over the top ending.

Me Thinks
=========
It was an interesting novel. Agatha builds up the story really well. The plot is interesting but unbelievable.
Touted as one of the best by Agatha, it is indeed interesting. One cannot guess the murderer till the end.
But as I said the ending is unbelievable and there are far too many co-incidences.

I will go with 7 out of 10 for the novel. It deserves atleast one reading.

NS2 Simulation : Traffic Generators

PART 1

Simulation of Networks
Traffic generation in ns
Traffic generation is described in Chapter 32 of the ns Manual.

Some extracts:

32.5 Applications objects
An application object may be of two types, a traffic generator or a simulated application. Traffic generator objects generate traffic and can be of four types, namely, exponential, pareto, CBR and traffic trace.

Application/Traffic/Exponential objects
Exponential traffic objects generate On/Off traffic. During "on" periods, packets are generated at a constant burst rate. During "off" periods, no traffic is generated. Burst times and idle times are taken from exponential distributions. Configuration parameters are:

PacketSize_
constant size of packets generated.
burst_time_
average on time for generator.
idle_time_
average off time for generator.
rate_
sending rate during on time.

Application/Traffic/Pareto
Application/Traffic/Pareto objects generate On/Off traffic with burst times and idle times taken from pareto distributions. Configuration parameters are:

PacketSize_
constant size of packets generated.
burst_time_
average on time for generator.
idle_time_
average off time for generator.
rate_
sending rate during on time.
shape_
the shape parameter used by pareto distribution.

Application/Traffic/CBR
CBR objects generate packets at a constant bit rate.

$cbr start
Causes the source to start generating packets.

$cbr stop
Causes the source to stop generating packets.

Configuration parameters are:

PacketSize_
constant size of packets generated.
rate_
sending rate.
interval_
(optional) interval between packets.
random_
whether or not to introduce random noise in the scheduled departure times. defualt is off.
maxpkts_
maximum number of packets to send.

Application/Traffic/Trace
Application/Traffic/Trace objects are used to generate traffic from a trace file. $trace attach-tracefile tfile
Attach the Tracefile object tfile to this trace. The Tracefile object specifies the trace file from which the traffic data is to be read. Multiple Application/Traffic/Trace objects can be attached to the same Tracefile object. A random starting place within the Tracefile is chosen for each Application/Traffic/Trace object.

There are no configuration parameters for this object.

TRACEFILE OBJECTS Tracefile objects are used to specify the trace file that is to be used for generating traffic (see Application/Traffic/Trace objects described earlier in this section). $tracefile is an instance of the Tracefile Object.
$tracefile filename trace-input
Set the filename from which the traffic trace data is to be read to trace-input.

There are no configuration parameters for this object. A trace file consists of any number of fixed length records. Each record consists of 2 32 bit fields. The first indicates the interval until the next packet is generated in microseconds. The second indicates the length of the next packet in bytes.


======================================
Link: I found this article at the following Location:
http://www.it.usyd.edu.au/~deveritt/networksimulation/trafficgeneration.html
======================================




PART 2

=============================
Code
=============================
## tg.tcl
## simple example to demonstrate use of traffic generation modules
##
## topology consists of 6 nodes. 4 traffic sources are attached
## to each of 4 'access' nodes. These nodes have links to a single
## 'concentrator' node, which is connected by the bottleneck link
## to the destination node.
##
## there are 4 source agents that generate packets
## 1 generates traffic based on an Exponential On/Off distribution
## 1 generates traffic based on a Pareto On/Off distribution
## 2 generate traffic using the trace file 'example-trace'.
##
set stoptime 10.0
set plottime 11.0

set ns [new Simulator]

set n0 [$ns node]
set n1 [$ns node]

set n2 [$ns node]
set n3 [$ns node]
set n4 [$ns node]
set n5 [$ns node]

set f [open out.tr w]
$ns trace-all $f
set nf [open out.nam w]
$ns namtrace-all $nf

$ns duplex-link $n0 $n1 1.5Mb 10ms DropTail

$ns duplex-link $n0 $n2 10Mb 5ms DropTail
$ns duplex-link $n0 $n3 10Mb 5ms DropTail
$ns duplex-link $n0 $n4 10Mb 5ms DropTail
$ns duplex-link $n0 $n5 10Mb 5ms DropTail

$ns duplex-link-op $n0 $n1 orient right
$ns duplex-link-op $n0 $n2 orient left-up
$ns duplex-link-op $n0 $n3 orient left
$ns duplex-link-op $n0 $n4 orient left-down
$ns duplex-link-op $n0 $n5 orient down

$ns duplex-link-op $n0 $n1 queuePos 0.5

#$ns trace-queue $n0 $n1 $f

## set up the exponential on/off source, parameterized by packet size,
## ave on time, ave off time and peak rate

set s1 [new Agent/UDP]
$ns attach-agent $n2 $s1

set null1 [new Agent/Null]
$ns attach-agent $n1 $null1

$ns connect $s1 $null1

set exp1 [new Application/Traffic/Exponential]
$exp1 set packetSize_ 210
$exp1 set burst_time_ 500ms
$exp1 set idle_time_ 500ms
$exp1 set rate_ 100k

$exp1 attach-agent $s1

## set up the pareto on/off source, parameterized by packet size,
## ave on time, ave off time, peak rate and pareto shape parameter

set s2 [new Agent/UDP]
$ns attach-agent $n3 $s2

set null2 [new Agent/Null]
$ns attach-agent $n1 $null2

$ns connect $s2 $null2

set pareto2 [new Application/Traffic/Pareto]
$pareto2 set packetSize_ 210
$pareto2 set burst_time_ 500ms
$pareto2 set idle_time_ 500ms
$pareto2 set rate_ 200k
$pareto2 set shape_ 1.5

$pareto2 attach-agent $s2

## initialize a trace file
set tfile [new Tracefile]
$tfile filename example-trace

## set up a source that uses the trace file

set s3 [new Agent/UDP]
$ns attach-agent $n4 $s3

set null3 [new Agent/Null]
$ns attach-agent $n1 $null3

$ns connect $s3 $null3

set tfile [new Tracefile]
#$tfile filename /tmp/example-trace
$tfile filename example-trace

set trace3 [new Application/Traffic/Trace]
$trace3 attach-tracefile $tfile

$trace3 attach-agent $s3

## attach a 2nd source to the same trace file

set s4 [new Agent/UDP]
$ns attach-agent $n5 $s4

set null4 [new Agent/Null]
$ns attach-agent $n1 $null4

$ns connect $s4 $null4

set trace4 [new Application/Traffic/Trace]
$trace4 attach-tracefile $tfile

$trace4 attach-agent $s4

$ns at 1.0 "$exp1 start"
$ns at 1.0 "$pareto2 start"
$ns at 1.0 "$trace3 start"
$ns at 1.0 "$trace4 start"

$ns at $stoptime "$exp1 stop"
$ns at $stoptime "$pareto2 stop"
$ns at $stoptime "$trace3 stop"
$ns at $stoptime "$trace4 stop"

$ns at $plottime "close $f"
$ns at $plottime "finish tg"

proc finish file {

set f [open temp.rands w]
puts $f "TitleText: $file"
puts $f "Device: Postscript"

exec rm -f temp.p1 temp.p2 temp.p3 temp.p4
exec touch temp.p1 temp.p2 temp.p3 temp.p4
#
#
exec awk {
{
if (($1 == "+") && ($3 != 0) && ($9 == 2.0)) \
print $2, 2
}
} out.tr > temp.p1
exec awk {
{
if (($1 == "+") && ($3 != 0) && ($9 == 3.0)) \
print $2, 3
}
} out.tr > temp.p2
exec awk {
{
if (($1 == "+") && ($3 != 0) && ($9 == 4.0)) \
print $2, 4
}
} out.tr > temp.p3
exec awk {
{
if (($1 == "+") && ($3 != 0) && ($9 == 5.0)) \
print $2, 5
}
} out.tr > temp.p4

puts $f [format "\n\"ExpOnOff"]
flush $f
exec cat temp.p1 >@ $f
flush $f
puts $f [format "\n\"ParetoOnOff"]
flush $f
exec cat temp.p2 >@ $f
flush $f
puts $f [format "\n\"Trace1"]
flush $f
exec cat temp.p3 >@ $f
flush $f
puts $f [format "\n\"Trace2"]
flush $f
exec cat temp.p4 >@ $f
flush $f

close $f
exec rm -f temp.p1 temp.p2 temp.p3 temp.p4
exec xgraph -bb -tk -nl -m -x time -y "source node" temp.rands &

puts "running nam..."
exec nam out.nam &

exec rm -f out.tr

}

$ns run


exit 0


====================================
Link: Found the above code at the following link:
http://www.it.usyd.edu.au/~deveritt/networksimulation/tg.tcl
====================================

Novel : Agatha Christie : The Mystery Of The Blue Train

Van Aldin is a millionaire. He has achieved lot of name and fame in his profession and is respected and admired all around. He leads a very simple life and does not have desires like the other millionaires.

Ruth is the daughter of Van Aldin. She is an easy going lady who enjoys her life. Van Aldin seems to have some influence on her as she listens to him to an extent (at least that is what Van Aldin Believes). Van Aldin loves his daughter and frequently showers surprises on her which she loves.

Derek Kettering is Ruth's husband. He has not been an achiever in life. He does not have anything to show to the world. Moreover he is in deep debt. Van Aldin Hates his son-in-law and often wonders as to what made him accept Derek as his son-in-law. He wants here daughter to divorce Derek.



Knighton is a secretary of Van Aldin. He takes care of Van Aldin's official responsibilities. Van Aldin is impressed with Knighton's sinceriarity. Knighton also does small errands for Van Aldin when required.

Katherine is a care taker of an old lady called Emma. Emma has passed away and has left all her fortune in the name of Katherine. This has created headlines in newspaper. Katherine who till now led a very simple somber life is bombarded with messages and calls from her relatives whom she had not heard of since ages. She also gets a message from Mary Ann, cousin of Emma to meet her. Mary wants a pie in the treasure left by Emma. Katherine very well understands that.

Lady Tramplin is a relative of Katherine who has heard of the money that Emma has got and she to desires to get a part of the pie. She invites Katherine to her home to stay for some time. Katherine, inspite of knowing the intentions of Lady Tramplin, decides to go to her house. She has booked a ticket on The Blue Train to visit Lady Tramplin's house.

Lenox is Lady Tramplin's daughter who is straightforward and forthright and does not like the way her mother is behaving of late. She is a no-nonsense girl and wishes not to be part of any of Lady Tramplin's plans.

Comte de la Roche is a French guy who is a master swindler. French police have suspicion on him on various accounts but are not able to catch him red handed. Comte de la Roche is good at his job and chooses his prey carefully. Before Ruth got married to Derek, she was madly in love with Comte de la Roche. Her father had taken great pains to prove to her daughter that Comte was a swindler. But of late Van Aldin had got news that her daughter was seeing the guy again. Von Aldin has a feeling that Derek is aware of Ruth's new found closeness to Comte. Von Aldin feels that this might create problems during the divorce.

Mirelle is a dancer. She is good at charming people. Derek has fallen for Mirelle and wants to marry her. But Mirelle is a shrewd lady. She does not want to fall into the trap unless she is going to get something substantial.

Ruth has also boarded The Blue Train on the same day Katherine has taken the train. She has told her father that she wishes to visit the Riviera. However Van Aldin is not aware of the true intentions of her daughter. Derek is also on the same train unaware that Ruth has boarded the train as well.

On the fateful night there is a murder on the train.
What follows is an interesting story.


Me Thinks
=========
TO be frank I got to know the killer halfway through the novel. So the who-do-it suspense was kind of lost. After I went through the end my suspicions were confirmed twice over.

Who-done-it novels hinge one final punch. But if the blow is taken out of the punch, mid way through (not by the author, but by the reader), what follows next is mere corroboration of facts.

Agatha Christie, Earl Stanley Gartner, Edgar Wallace are masters of who-do-it novels. You pick any novel by them, it will be very entertaining.

The Mystery Of The Blue Train is an interesting murder mystery and should be read for the tactfulness and resourcefulness of Hercule Poirot. Hercule Poirot will not disappoint you in this Novel. This is probably my 5th Agatha Christie. I am a big fan of hers and I will be digging more into her Repertoire.

I would give 6 out of 10 and a thumbs up for the novel.
One should read the novel for Hercule's cunningness and occasional Slips.

Novel : Jeffrey Archer : First Among Equals

Charles Seymour was unlucky to be born 8 minutes later to his brother which deprived him of the earl status,a castle in Scotland, 22000 acres of somerset. But Charles had the potential of both the brothers put together, and the desire to succeed in life. He understood early in life that he would have to work that much harder to earn his place in history.

Simon Kerslake was born to a solicitor who did everything possible to get his son educated in the best of schools. Simon was known for his tanacity. He was not one of those who would leave things the way they were. When he applied to Oxford and missed a seat in History, he was determined and waited in front of the Admissions office. At the first opportunity he met the admissions officer and convinced him that the seat left vacent by one of the other students should be given to him as he narrowly missed a seat at oxford.

Raymond Gourd, aka Ray, was born to a butcher. He used to stay with his Grand Mother in a room on the first floor. She was the person whom he admired the most. His father could not afford his education. His mother somehow managed to squeeze him through. The day he gave his first speech in front of the audience he got a standing ovation, the first ever. Every one was so moved that the clapping continued for a very long time. It was the story of his grand mother. And the title of the speech was, the day I become the prime-minister.

Andrew Fraser was a born politician. His father was from teh Conservative party and represented one of the sections of scotland. It was taken for fact that Andrew would one day inherit his father and represet the reagon as a conservative. Little did his father know that Andrew had different plans.



My Impression
=============
I have been reading 30 pages each day for the past 15 days. I was so involved with the novel that I felt as if Charles, Simon, Ray and Andrew had become my second family.
I could easly realte to the characters. I became part of their desires, ambitions, success, failures.
I could feel the happiness, sadness of Louise, Kate,Elizabeth, Joyce, Fiona, Dunkinn, Amanda.
I could appreciate the characters Ronnie, Reynolds.

The Novel effortless moves between the private and public lives of these Conservative and Labour Party MPs. The desires of each of the 4 MPs. The election results which lift or dampen their hopes of gaining a bigger foothold in the British Parliament.

The rise and fall of the First among equally indeed.I was totally Involved with their activities.
I would consider it a fine piece of work by Jeffery Archer. Very Engaging.

I would give an 8 out of 10 and a thumbs up for the novel.

Elaine Morgan Says we evolved from aquatic apes

Below i9s a 17 minute video in which Elaine Morgan talks about Harvey's theory that we evolved from Aquatic apes rather than chimps.

She gives 5 arguements why she believes in the theory.
http://www.ted.com/talks/elaine_morgan_says_we_evolved_from_aquatic_apes.html

A very interesting view.
4 of them that immediately come to my mind are:
1. We are hairless and naked compared to chims
2. We can speak because we can hold our breath
3. We can walk on 2 legs
4. We deposited fat just below the skin like a whale unlike a 4 legged animal who deposits it near kidney and other internal organs.

She believes that the scientific community has to open up to this Idea. She hopes and believes that there will be a fusion of Darvin's theory and Harvey's theory just like there was a fusion of Mendel's theory and Darvin's theory.
She hopes that the scientific community takes up this piece of idea and the acedemia accepts it early :)