Rating: 
Summary: A Charmed Life
Review: I read a lot. DeMille is far and away my favourite author. I feel saddened that I have now read all of his. I must say now having read all of DeMille's stories that Sam Hollis was my favourite character. This story had an emotional ending and is not soon forgotten.
Rating:
Summary: Train Recommendation
Review: I overheard two people discussing DeMille's books on the train ride home one night. I was finishing a book myself and decided to try one of his. They couldn't stop talking about The Charm School, so I decided to try that one. I was completly captivated by the entire novel. I was sad when I would get to my destination because I did not want to put it down. This book draws you in and you can see a vivid picture being painted for you. It felt as if I was watching a movie. Sam Hollis is my hero. I hope there will be another Hollis book in the future, I am dying to see what is going to happen next. I was so sad when the book ended. This is MUST read! I am currently searching for another DeMille!
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Read If You Are Willing to Wade Through the Diatribe
Review: Although this is a good novel, it does have the flaw of an anoying continuing diatribe of gloomy pessimism about Russia and doesn't let up. Obviously I don't want to live in a Communist country and most readers do know about the lack of freedom involved in these countries. For this reason I did not score the book higher. It states the obvious over and over again. Otherwise it was an intriguing story and very interesting as it progressed. It could have been done with fewer examples of pessimism and pages . It was written during the cold war however, and this has to be taken into account. I still consider it a good read. When I re-read it I usually take a break and read something else in between but this is because I re-read the book. I didn't do this the first time I read it. I have lent this book to others.
Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: Be prepared to stay up all night reading! This is may be the only book I've ever read that I HAD to finish (I couldn't put it down!) And, it kept me on pins and needles to the very last page. That is quite a feat! My hat's off to Mr. Demille.
Rating:
Summary: the best demille in my opinion
Review: i have read all of demilles books, except the last two written. this was my second demille i ever read - i think i read it in two days - it was so good. make sure you have the time to not put it down because it is amazing. you get a real sense of russia and what it is like to be there. intriguing, intersting and fun - an absolute must! it is my absolute favorite of all his books.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!!
Review: This excellent example of the writing and imagination of Demille starts out with a young American tourist making his way across Russia and stumbles into a man claiming to have escaped from a Charm School in which Vietnam POWs are held prisoner and forced to teach KGB agents to look and act like Americans. The American tourist has just enough time to get to Moscow, call the American embassy and inform them of what happened before he disappears and turns and turns up dead. Through this come the three main characters of the book; the CIA station chief at the Russian embassy, the air attache who happens to be a former pilot from Vietnam, and the Embassy journalist(who engages in a nicely written romance with the attache). Together, these three characters go head to head with the KGB and nose to nose with their own government to do what is right, not only for the prisoners of the Charm School, but for the purpose of humanity. The end shows a shocking truth about ourselves and our own government. I highly recomend this novel to anybody that enjoys being so caught up in a story that it forces you to finish the last three hundred pages in one night.
Rating:
Summary: Stick to Long Island
Review: I'm a fan of Demille but this one got lost in the translation or something. His Long Island "Gold Coast", "Plum Island" or Ohio "Spencerville" novels were much better. This one just seemed to go on and on. I stuck with because I knew he was a good author and it did get good at the end. Demille should have let Greg Iles write this one. Read Iles' "Spandau Phoenix" or "Black Cross" if you want to see how this should have been written.
Rating: 
Summary: Tepid Cold War Story
Review: I admit it: I'm baffled by the other reviews describing this book as a page-turner. I managed to force my way through the first 285 pages before I gave up on it, and skipped ahead to see if there were any interesting turns of plot that might have made it worth the while to keep reading. Nope, no surprises. I did enjoy some of the observations about Soviet life, which were interesting from a cultural standpoint. However, the characters are cardboard cutouts, and the story moves at a glacial pace. There are many long scenes composed entirely of dialogue that doesn't advance the plot. As you will see by reading the other reviews posted here, most readers found something very different in this book. However, I found it much less enjoyable than a Fredrick Forsyth thriller, or even an Ian Fleming novel. It's just too bland to be interesting.
Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Book
Review: This seriously has got to be one of my favorite books my grandpa recamended it to me and i fell in love with it i couldn't put it down until i was finished. This book would make a great addition to anybody's collection.
Rating:
Summary: The best of its breed
Review: I was sad when the book ended. I lost myself in its world, and was so entertained that I wanted it to continue. This book will grab you early, and it won't let go. It may go over the top in describing Cold War Russia as negatively as it does, but it is effective. You really get to know the place from all sides, and it is fascinating. The characters are well developed, you come to feel for every one of them. The book haunts you, and it will stay with you when you are done. The story begins with a chance encounter between a young American tourist and a mysterious man in the middle of the night. The stranger -- an American POW being held in Russia - tells the tourist more than heshould have known, and he frantically tries to get this information to the US Embassy. The message arrives in fragments, and it is up to a couple of embassy workers to get to the bottom of it. At its center sits "The Charm School", a place where young KGB agents are trained by American POW's to be American citizens. It is a chilling Cold War tale that is worth every penny. Read it!
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