Product Description

Four men seize a New York City subway train and hold its passengers hostage. Their escape would seem inconceivable. Only one thing is certain: they aren't stopping for anything.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #62098 in Books
• Published on: 2009-05-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780425228791
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"Hurtles along like a runaway express train. Harrowing, terrifying, and so, so good."
-BUSINESS WEEK

"This one rates all the adjectives... grippingly suspenseful, chillingly real."
-NEWSWEEK

"A cliff-hanger...fast-moving and believable."
-NEW YORKER

"Enthralling."
-LIBRARY JOURNAL

About the Author
John Godey is the pen name of Morton Freedgood, who achieved commercial success with the books A Thrill a Minute With Jack Albany, Never Put Off Till Tomorrow What You Can Kill Today, and The Three Worlds of Johnny Handsome. The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, his novel about the hijacking of a New York City subway train, was a bestseller in 1973 and was made into a hit movie starring Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw in 1974. A remake starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta is scheduled to be released in summer 2009.

From AudioFile
Hijack a New York subway, hold 16 passengers hostage, collect a million dollars ransom from New York City--then implement a daring escape plan. What a caper! THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123 is presented, for the most part, as a narrative that delves into the thoughts and fears of the crooks, hostages, cops, and subway authorities involved. The novel was originally published in 1974, the era of Black Power, the antiwar movement, and the emerging sexual revolution, and these trends are reflected in the story and characters. Mark Bramhall is a master of modulation who provides just the right tone and pace to give listeners real insights into the lives and characters of the people caught up in this tragic affair. His cover-to-cover narration is smooth, engaging, and genuine. T.J.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

Interesting and Suspenseful A great book
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, although it has a confusing and long title is one of the best books I've ever read. The plot is simple: Four desperate men hijack a subway train and hold sixteen people hostage for $1 million. If they do not have their money by the designated time they will beging to kill hostages. This book reads fast with short sections that describe the thoughts and actions of individual characters. The highly detailed novel points out the flaws of the individuals hijacking the train, and how this is a very desperate but well planned attempt to get money. Tension builds as the hijackers have quarrels amongst themselves, and with the passengers. One may ask, How do they expect to get off of a subway train and get away? Well they do, at least some of them. The ending is kind of a letdown since I found myself cheering the hijackers on in a way, but it still fits the book and the character very nicely. If you are looking for a good hostage/terrorist story, this is the best of the bunch

Showing its age
One of the more interesting things while reading this book was how people thought and reacted before terrorism became something we all now live with. The increased security and surveillance we now accept as the norm would have been tossed out as a crazy idea by the characters of the book.

I had read the book many years ago and remembered it as enjoyable and did enjoy reading it again, it is an easy read but not a book you can't put down.

A train can be a scary place for a hijacking
IMAGINE: You are on a train to work one day, you know, just your usual, typical day. All of a sudden, three men who would not look like terrorsts take over, stop the train, and hold everyone on the train Hostage. If a ridiculous amount of money is not delivered to them in 90 minutes, every minute after that they kill someone. That would suck being on that train, would it?

I didn't even know this was a book until back in May, when the movie was to be released next month. I saw the trailer and it looked quite cool, something worth watching in the theater on A Saturday afternoon. I eventually did see the movie, but before I did I decided I would read the book after seeing it on a shelf in the bookstore.

This is not a bad book. It has an interesting concept behind it, though nothing original- it has been done before. It's your typical terrorist suspense novel, and has a lot of suspense in it. It also provides some good insight into the characters, especially Ryder. He's a cool character, and there seems to be quite a lot going on surrounding him.

Unfortunately this book suffers from being boring in a lot of places. While I like the flashbacks, there seems to be a bit too many of them- and half of them are too long. And the dialogue was ridiculous in places too ("I hope my c--- smells pretty for you"?????). Also, Godey seems to go on and on forever about one thing too. What was with the whole thing about Ryder's past? That was... in a word... unnecessary.

In short, It's not a bad book, and it's worth it for a rainy day crime read.