Rating: 
Summary: OK , but needed more action!
Review: I look forward to another book by this author as he develops his style. I thought this book was just short of its potential and could have been much better if Mr. Harlow had just spruced it up with more action. I think the character Jim Schmidt, was generally uninteresting, and his involvement at the upper levels of Presidential Decision Making was utterly unbelievable. However, the boat Captain, Bill Schmidt(and Jim's younger brother), was exciting and worth further adventures!
Rating: 
Summary: Highly enjoyable military novel!
Review: I loved the Schmidt brothers. The story was engaging and entertaining. It was believable and I could handle the abbreviations etc. once I got into its rhythm. I hated Ellsworth - which is probably what the author wanted. I wish Ellsworth got his due at the end. I'll watch for new books by this author.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Fun, Read it
Review: I read the wildly entertaining "Circle William" over the weekend. As was the case with other readers, I simply couldn't put it down. Its author, Bill Harlow, has a real comedy talent. While the thriller plot moves along at a thundering pace the book's real merit lies in the humor that Harlow throws at us with both hands. I spent 30 years, active and reserve in the surface Navy and retired as a Captain. Harlow's take on life aboard a destroyer is about as accurate as a reflection of life throught a fun house mirror -- but "Circle William" is also about as much fun as a trip to an amusement park. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Kirkus Is Krazy!`
Review: I took the time to write this review because I thought the reviewer from Kirkus is way off base.I READ A LOT. I bought this book at a dollar store for one dollar. That does not speak well for it. I bought it because it came well recommended from people who have been on the inside-- Navy Secretaries, Press Secretaries. They couldn't put it down. I think it is the best piece of modern fiction I have read in a long time. It is funny. It is way beyond those Tom Clancy dreary soap operas where everyone has such cute, perfect and extremely well-documented lives. It is about PEOPLE who are well sketched (in a brief format of a 300-page novel). The story is just part of the lives of these people. I think I know why this book has struggled. It is politically incorrect. He slams National Public Radio for being a bunch of windbags. Now, how are you supposed to get reviewed by effete pace setters if you slam them in your book? Also, Mr. Harlow makes the outrageous suggestion in 1999 that America could conceiveably come under attack by a bunch of crazed terrorists. Admittedly, this is far-fetched. At least it was far-fetched in 1999. This is an outstanding work for a first novel, yea, a one hundredth novel. Note: it is not Henry James. Thank goodness, it is not Tom Clancy either.
Rating:
Summary: electrically magnetic - an absolutely brilliant book
Review: I was recommended to this book by a friend of the Author; also an ex USN Capt who served in London, UK where I am a Metropolitan Police Officer. I ordered the book via him and it awaited my arrival in Minneapolis when I was visiting family. I started reading immediately and stopped after 2 hours but continued for a straight 10 hours to complete it in one go! Having a personal insight to many of the ships mentioned gave me a head start but, the Author kept me glued to my seat and my reading glasses. I just loved all of it. Words cannot describe the plots involved but some people, even though real names were not given, can be identified albeit not accurately by me but they certainly sound like Navy personnel I have met over 10 years. WELL DONE Capt Bill Harlow.
Rating:
Summary: Pleasantly Surprised
Review: I was searching throught the book store one day looking for a new book when I came across Circle William. The back cover described a generic techno-thriller and seeing nothing else I picked it up to buy. Later that night in my hotel room I was transported to the Mediterain Sea on-board a modern DDG. Missiles were flying, planes were dropping, and the world seemed like it was taking a turn for the worse. Luckily the Schimdt's were there to cover for us and bring us back to the happy go lucky lifestyle we have today. Harlow's style was gripping and very entertaining. The love interest very subtle and infact only implied. The action was believable and stated very simply without overloading the reader with jargon. So here I am now checking out Amazon to see if he has any more titles out there. To Mr. Harlow: I hope your next novel is just a gripping and exciting as your first.
Rating:
Summary: Simply amazing
Review: If you're looking for humor, action, a good plot and insider knowledge, you won't find any better than this. The author achieves this, by the way, without as much technical drivel as Clancy gives you in an effort to prove he did his research. I can only hope Capt. Harlow will write again. Best of all, the ending is worth the time invested in getting there (rare for a first-time novelist these days). Instead of repeating what others have already written, I'll just add this: I rarely read a particular novel more than twice. I've read this one seven or eight times.
Rating:
Summary: Highly enjoyable military novel!
Review: It's amazing to me how a handful of major book reviewers with an attitude can affect the market's reception to an otherwise stunning work. It's hard for me to believe that the reviewer from "KIRKUS" and I read the same book called "Circle William." As a longtime fan of Tom Clancy, Michael Crighton and John Grisham, I'd like to think I have a nose for hugely commercial works. "CIRCLE WILLIAM" is the greatest undiscovered political-military-terrorist-White House-suspense thriller in the past ten years. Someone at Scribner Publishing has a great eye for talent with Bill Harlow. But someone in Scribner's publicity and marketing department should be reassigned to Libya for allowing this terrific read to end up on a "remainder's table" at [local store]. With the right marketing and publicity, this should have been one of the top ten bestsellers of 1999. If you ask me, I think some jealous and bitter wanna-be novelist at "Kirkus" unfairly excised their bile on this great novel, and this may have tempered the publisher's enthusiasm to support the book. What a shame for book consumers, and what a shame for Kirkus. Will somebody out there please get Bill Harlow to write another superb thriller?
Rating:
Summary: A remarkable and thoroughly engaging read!
Review: It's amazing to me how a handful of major book reviewers with an attitude can affect the market's reception to an otherwise stunning work. It's hard for me to believe that the reviewer from "KIRKUS" and I read the same book called "Circle William." As a longtime fan of Tom Clancy, Michael Crighton and John Grisham, I'd like to think I have a nose for hugely commercial works. "CIRCLE WILLIAM" is the greatest undiscovered political-military-terrorist-White House-suspense thriller in the past ten years. Someone at Scribner Publishing has a great eye for talent with Bill Harlow. But someone in Scribner's publicity and marketing department should be reassigned to Libya for allowing this terrific read to end up on a "remainder's table" at [local store]. With the right marketing and publicity, this should have been one of the top ten bestsellers of 1999. If you ask me, I think some jealous and bitter wanna-be novelist at "Kirkus" unfairly excised their bile on this great novel, and this may have tempered the publisher's enthusiasm to support the book. What a shame for book consumers, and what a shame for Kirkus. Will somebody out there please get Bill Harlow to write another superb thriller?
Rating:
Summary: A Great Read! This story could happen.
Review: Most novels that tell stories about the navy, or international conspiracy or what goes on in Washington, DC leave much to be desired when read by people who have "been there, done that." In many instances the books either bear virtually no relation to reality or they're often seen as "insider" books-not to be understood or enjoyed by people outside the "club." Not so with Circle William. Bill Harlow has done a masterful job of weaving these seemingly diverse elements into a great read that can (and should) be enjoyed by all. Excitement, intrigue, humor, suspense, the foibles of human nature--Circle William has all these, and much, much more. Harlow's special talent, obvious experience and easy storytelling style has made Circle William at the same time entertaining for the non-insider, and one which even the most jaded reader will enjoy. -This story could happen. Circle William is a must read.
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