In The Place of Last Things Blog

“I’m sorry about your dad.”Russ gave a short nod at the highway. Earlier, Grant had said the same thing, and could barely get the words out before he had started to choke up. Since Mike died Russ himself hadn’t yet fallen to weeping, or talking as if to expel the pain. He’d been crazy for a few days and scared one or two people who needed scaring, but he hadn’t so lost his judgement that he’d tried to talk anything through, and now he was impatient with anyone who did try to, anyone who said any of the usual things, in the usual ways.

This passage from the novel completely shows the main traits and motivations of Russ Littlebury. It says that when his father died, Russ didn’t cry or talk with anybody to get any feelings or emotion out. He had just kept his emotions bottled up inside of him. He did expel some emotion in other ways which was quite violent and not the right way to deal with situations such as this. We can see his anger in different parts of the book such as when he decides he would fight jack marks.


“He extended his hand. The dog consented to sniff it. Its tail swept vaguely. Then Marks stood and leaned over and scratched the animal with one hand, while with the other he took the cigarette from his mouth and cupped it. He brought it in from behind the dog’s head and then pressed it fast into the animal’s ear.”

This is an excerpt from the novel involving Jack Marks and an innocent animal. Russ is watching these events unfold from a hidden vantage point. It shows that Jack Marks can be an extremely cruel person for no apparent reason at all. He abuses his power of charm, uses people, and then abandons them. This is exactly what he did to Lea and showed no emotion for her even after hearing about her feelings for him. He is a cruel manipulative person and these two instances prove it.


"I know you're committed to your students, Russ, but it's easy to forget what's at stake for them. And John's the oldest one in each class. He won't make it without some help."

This is a quote from the novel when Tara is speaking with Russ. It is when they are teaching together and they are discussing an illiterate student of theirs named John Overstreet. He is unable to do well in their courses as he is incapable of doing much of the work. Tara ends up giving him a good mark in the course. This shows that she has ethical values of that of a Utilitarian. They believe that the end justifies the means, so in her case, even though giving that mark might not have been the best decision at that point, in the end, everyone was better off for it.


“You were never pregnant. You know that now"

This is a quote from the novel that is said to Lea. She thought she was pregnant when she actually was not. This shows that she is not the most intelligent person. It also shows that she is a strong person as she was willing to risk a lot for what she believed. Jack Marks is the supposed father which is a major occurrence in the plot.


" Your mother was a good woman, That's all you need to know. Don't ever live in the past, son. You sure won't catch me there." Russ had never known his father to fear anything, and the comment returned now as he sat over him. He understood that Mike didn't fear death, or even hell, having known them. He feared only judgement, and had lived his last decades against that moment to come.

This passage from the novel is Russ and his father in conversation. Russ’s mother died before he was born so naturally he is curious about her. His father tells him to never look back in the past and always live in the now. This shows that he is a very spiritual person and is also very wise. He wishes to pass on his own beliefs to his son.

White Death, A Kurt Austin Adventure by Clive Cussler and Paul Kemprecos

The Islanders of the Faroe Islands are killing whale in frightful numbers. A group of determined whale rescuers try and stop these ignorant hunters. During the mission off the Faroe Islands the rescuers lose control of their vessel which sends it crashing into a Danish ship. Many men on the Danish vessel are trapped inside and their air supply is running out. This whole incidence occurred because of an unknown helicopter above took control of the vessel via a strange transmitting force. Half way around the world Kurt Austin and his team of search and surveyors are testing a brand new device. They are aboard the NUMA ship in the Berents Sea analysing a new machine that will greatly help their cause. The contraption will be able to attach itself to the hull of a ship, cut a substantial hole into it, which will enable the men to enter and salvage the remains of the ship. Kurt hears of this event and immediately, in hero fashion, wants to go try out his mechanism in order to save the lives of these trapped seamen. The only thing holding him back is that he must travel a large distance in order to make it to the point of this shipwreck. With the help of the Russians he is able to do this but Kurt and his crew soon realise that these men aren’t exactly helping to save these men. Instead, they have very different interests in mind.

Clive Cussler and Paul Kemprecos are the authors of the exhilarating novel. They really do know how to write with suspense making the reader nervous with every twist and turn that takes place. The novel had a healthy mix of dialogue and descript. This was great idea for the type of novel as it really showed how the men communicated with each other but would also describe scenes well. A couple of Mr. Cussler’s novels have been transformed in to movies and while reading I could really see how a style like theirs could be put onto the screen with ease.

“Admiral James Sandecker, the driving force behind NUMA, sat at a long conference table, his head enveloped in a purple cloud that belched from the fat cigar in his hand.”

This quotation from the novel really portrays the Admiral very well. He is an old, near retirement, leader of a government organization, bearded man, who is sure of himself, and has a lot of pull within the government. He also smokes about 10 cigars a day. To me, this is a perfect description of a man in his walk of life, and this quotation demonstrates the calmness of such a character.

“To quote the great Yogi Berra, ‘This is like déjà, all over again’”.

This quotation appeals to me because it shows that the characters are very real. Many people, even in real life might refer to situation like this. I thought it was interesting that the author, Mr. Cussler, decided to put this in.

“His assignments for NUMA, and before that for the CIA, took him all over the globe.”

This quotation appeals to me as is shows that the protagonist or hero, Kurt Austin is a well traveled man. I believe that travelling the world gives you a great perspective on life and is something that I hope to do as I get older.

Busting Vegas by Ben Mezrich

Busting Vegas is a book that chronicles the exhilarating story of a bunch of MIT students and grads who, "brought the casinos to their knees!" The mastermind of the scheme was a MIT graduate named Victor Cassius who created and patented the techniques used in the casinos. This mathematical wizard with the personality to pull it off was Semyon Dukach. The young women who had the looks to catch your eye coupled with the smarts to take down casinos was Allie Simpson. These three, along with a few other teamates, won millions across the globe at casinos in: Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Aruba, Barcelona, London, and Monte Carlo. All this success would come at a cost as they would later be harassed, beaten up, and banned from many casinos.


The author was skilled at setting the scene and creating an environment where you could almost see the casino. At the beginning of the novel, he skipped around a little which made the novel a bit difficult for me to follow, but once I got into it, the story really flowed. He obviously researched the events well, and spent alot of time with these individuals, because the stories and scenes were very vivid. They way he described the casino scenes provided a great illustration of these colourfull casinos and made you really believe the reality of the situation.



"Make money over the summer. Play with the MIT Blackjack Team. Saturday morning, April 12. Room 262."



-This quote appeals to me because it is how the blackjack team began. Victor posted this sign on a message board at MIT and about 25-30 students showed up. Even if you are not the greatest math student, or the best card player, this would be very appealing as "make money" would make many people excited.



"Nogov. You can call me Nikolai. This is my friend Sonya."



-This is Semyon in response to the pit boss asking who he was. Nikolai and Sonya were names and characters that Victor had thought up for Allie and Semyon. In order to throw around such hoards of money, they had to act like high rollers, and a young, rich, Russian hot shot was the perfect disguise. To the casino, he was stupid rich kid blowing away his money, but what they didn't know was that they had a fool proof plan.



"Ladies from the right! Ladies from the left!"



-This is Semyon at the famous brothel in Nevada. One of the only places where prostitution is legal in the United States, and a place where lonely high rollers go. A place where the brilliant run of these MIT students came to an end.

Moneyball by Michael Lewis

Moneyball is a biographical narrative chronicling the life and strategies of the great baseball general manager, Billy Beane. The story begins with a history of Billy's life, as he was once a promising ball player himself. It discusses how he was supposed to be the next "phenom", as many would call it. He was drafted and signed to the New York Mets right out of highschool, even surprising himself as he made a promise to go and play at an American University, but like so many others, the money got to him. This part of his life shaped the way he would later manage his baseball team, the Oakland Athletics, to incredible success.



The author of the novel, Michael Lewis, is a great writer and kept the reader interested through the telling of numerous stories from Beane's life. Although he did not create these stories as they were true events, he wrote them as vividly as if you had a front row seat watching these events unfold. Lewis' blend of well-researched sports statistics, dug-out humour and vivid storytelling were the perfect match for the telling of such a life story.



"We're going to run the organization from the top down. We're controlling player personnel. That's our job. I don't apologize for that. There's this belief that a baseball team starts with the manager first. It doesn't." Billy Beane

-This quote really epitomizes his philosophy of running an organization. He wanted full out control of his baseball team. Many people believed that the manager was just Billy's puppet who did whatever he wanted.

"Whom the gods wish to destroy they first call promising." Cyril Connolly, Enemies of Promise

-This is a quote that Billy uses to show his fall from baseball stardom. Scouts praised his skills, said he was major league ready, but in the end he was not.

"The selections made are, from the A's point of view, delightfully mad. Eight of the first nine teams select high schoolers. The worst teams in baseball, the teams that can least afford for their draft to go wrong, have walked into the casino, ignored the odds, and made straight for the craps table."

-This quote is a subtle reminder to Billy of how he came straight out of high school and did not flurish into an Allstar like many had once thought. This shows how he strongly believes his decision was wrong and that university players are much more developed than young highschoolers.