No comments about The Rambam Premiere: Rabbi Berel Wein's Opening Words.

No comments about I Saw the Glory: My Relationship Wiht Smith Wigglesworth.

5 comments about You Got to Dance With Them What Brung You.

1. I read this book and I can tell you that Stalin would be proud! If you are looking for comic relief you might get it from this liberal fossil, but don't read it looking for any relevant information!



2. Whenever I see a Molly Ivans piece on the op-ed page of my morning paper, a warm feeling of anticipation comes over me. So when I came across this collection of her essays at an airport ``bookstore'' before a long trip home, plunking down the $12 was a no-brainer. I wasn't disappointed.

   The pieces in this book are full of Texas charm, humor, and just plain common sense, but also the facts that so often go unreported in today's news. Her topics are many, but three that come up often in this collection are media ethics (got that? media ethics debated by a journalist!), hypocrisy (Al D'Amato conduct an ethics investigation?), and her favorite, the U.S. campaign financing system (which she refers to as ``legalized bribery'') and its fundamental effects on our society. ``The truth is that there is no political story more important than campaign financing. It's not just the hottest political story---it's the only story. It's the key to the real source of class warfare in this country.'' Not only are these issues and many others addressed intelligently with an eye toward ferreting out the truth, but they are often a laugh riot!

   The introduction to the book was written in January, 1998, just after the Lewinsky scandal broke, and all but one of the pieces were originally published from 1993 to 1997. Some of the events Ivans refers to are thus a bit dated today (early 1999), but her writing still packs a wallop.




3. Molly Ivins is simply a top-notch columnist who documents her opinions with facts that cannot be denied. So, her detractors resort to calling her "liberal" as though that word has the Magical Power to transform sense and reason and humor and documentation into a negative.

   The far right, filled with paranoia and mistrust, needs to resort to name calling when they deal with this witty, tough, and very well-informed treasure. Why? She's got the goods on them. (She has been a thorn in Bush's side relentlessly cutting through his misdirection to reveal what he does. And, oh, how that annoys those who want to revive the House Committee on UnAmerican Activities -- that wonderful little gang that brought blacklisting and mud-slinging to the halls of congress.)

   Ivins is a patriotic writer -- too in love with her country and its Constitution to sit by quietly while it gets dismantled in the name of "security" by those who use fear as their political cover, and too sharp to allow the politics of destruction to go unpunished.

   Thanks to Molly Ivins, there is something to love about Texas after all!




4. After reading this authors book on George Jr. - Shrub, I was excited to pick this one up. I figured I was going to get non-stop chapters of defense and support of President Clinton. Unfortuantly what I wanted only covered 50% of the book. The other half of the book covered Texas politics and personal columns on people she admired. The book is just a few years of her columns arranged by topic into sections of the book. This did make it easy for me to skip through the areas I was not interested in.

   Overall the book was funny and interesting. I found that when she was writing on national political issues, I tended to be with her step for step. She is not a blind supporter of President Clinton, but takes a more practical approach to her politics. She does not just disagree with all things Republican and agree with all things Democratic. I found that I even liked it when she did give Bill some grief about some of his many missteps. So I really enjoyed half of the book, and given the title was surprised that anything-other then national politics was covered. I just was not that interested in reading about a local Texas Senator working on a road project.




5. 
   I must admit, right off the bat,I've never heard of Molly Ivins;but I sure know who she is now.I loved this book from beginning to end.What this book is,is a collection of her columns from a Texas newspaper 'The Fort Worth Star-Telegram' during the 1990's.She cut her teeth on journalism working for peanuts on a little Texas leftist paper called 'The Texas Observer'.
   She is an avowed left wing liberal and makes no bones about it;and you can't fault anyone for being honest;which more than anything else she is.If you ask me,I would call her down home Texas Redneck.She came from an upper middle class family.Her mother was a lifelong Republican;but as she maintains on page
   118 that "there's nothing you can do about being born a liberal-fish gotta swim and hearts gotta bleed".On page 206,she also talks about a group of people who want Texas to separate,as being "born in a state of high indignation and profound misunderstanding". So it seems that this trait in leftists is inbred;I guess that explains a lot.
   When her columns deal with Republicans,she can see no good and when she deals with Democrats she sees no wrong;and even if there is,it's the devility of the conservatives at work.Hey,I'm not faulting her for that,that's where she comes from,and more power to her.At times I get the impression she is a Texas Redneck and strives hard to be a liberal at the same time;not an easy course to sail.
   She's at her best in writing about Texas politics and comes up with much better lines when on home turf.If she comes up short sometimes ,it's that liberal trait of believing that politicians and government will look after her and all the ills.This is an approach that always leads to disappointment whether one is left or right wing inclined.
   This book was published in 1998,while Clinton was still President and little did she know what disappointments were lying in wait.She was also very surprised that Richards had lost to George W Bush as Governor of Texas.The liberals are great in deluding themselves,and that was just the start of things to come.If someone told her at the time, that GW wound not only win the Governorship of Texas but would go on to win the Presidency--twice;she would have thought them ridiculous.Again,they deluded themselves over Gore and Kerry being unbeatable.Let's not even talk about the Terminator and his Democratic wife in California.
   There is no reason to lose any sleep over why things turned out that way.All she has to do is to call Rush and he will explain it to her.But therein lies the problem,she knows what he would tell her,and since she could never believe him, the libs will continue their worn out tactics.
   Another thing she had no inclination of when she wrote this book is that something even more prepostrous was in the future.Kinky Friedman is now running for Governor of Texas and he says if elected he will put his friend Willie Nelson in charge of ATF(Alcohol,Tobacco &Firearms).Willie has been pretty opposed to Bush,so that must make him a liberal and Kinky is a Jewish boy from the Village in New York come Cowboy and writer and that sounds kinda liberal as well;so we could be in for some interesting times.Hey,Jessy Ventura,The Terminator---and now the dynamic duo of Kinky and Willie.Buy the way, Kinky tells us the Jews and Cowboys have something in common---"we both wear our hats indoors".He also has a idea of replacing the Star of Texas with the Star of David.
   Molly reminds us on page 200:
   "Before you accuse me of hopeless parochialism,consider the
   one great truth that all Texas liberals grasp in their cradles:Things Can Always Get Worse.In fact,they often do.Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to rejoice now,because these will turn out to be the Good Old Days".
   Hey,it ain't over yet.I am going to read another book by Molly published in 2005,"Bushwacked",this should be a humdinger too.And if I'm not mistaken,I think I saw another at the bookstore a couple of days ago.

No comments about Hopping Freights: A Wild '60s Adventure.

5 comments about The Most Reluctant Convert: C.S. Lewis's Journey To Faith.

1. Downing does well in his concise and colorful account of C.S. Lewis' progression to faith -- thus leading to a joyful life. Primarily Downing is helpful in allowing the reader a glimpse into the patient ascension of Lewis to discovering an intimate and substantial faith in Christianity. The reader is not simply walking blindly in this telling of Lewis' conversion, but is led by Downing with a careful examination of Lewis' own thoughts through this spiritual and thoughtful pilgrimage. Thus, Downing allows Lewis to speak for himself on many accounts through highlighting his own letters; and the writings of others close to Lewis, including his brother. The reader will also recieve a luminous lesson on 19th and 20th century thought; they will be intoduced to Rationalism, Romanticism, Idealism, Modernity and a host of other worldviews and religious expressions Lewis engaged in his early adulthood.
   This book affirms the reason why so many find solace and stimulation from this Christian literary giant. Lewis' genuine and ardent quest for faith should not be overlooked and can only command respect and admiration.



2. David Downing has achieved something quite remarkable with this book: He has succeeded in making a thoroughly researched, philosophically-heavy, intellectual biography an engrossing read.

   This is by no means a CS Lewis biography. It is, rather, a biography of Lewis' mind before, during and immediately after his conversion to a belief in Christ. Downing explores several avenues of Lewis' philosophical quest, none more so than his unceasing pursuit of "Joy." This pursuit leads Lewis, and the reader, through all stages of Lewis' intellectual and religious development--from atheistic materialism to the occult to philosophical Idealism to pantheism and finally to Christ. Along the way, the reader is introduced to many of Lewis' spiritual, philosophical and intellectual mentors.

   This could have easily (almost predictably) become a dry, excruciatingly dull narrative with all the readability of a poorly-written freshman philosophy text. Instead, it is a true page-turner as Downing relates Lewis' intellectual pursuit of the aforementioned concepts. One-by-one the philosophical challengers to Christianity are discovered, honestly scrutinized, shown be intellectually wanting, and ultimately rejected.

   Don't be put off by the centrality of philosophical discussion in this book. It is an easy read and it is actually quite fun to see how Lewis used his monumental intellect to punch irreparable holes in philosophical concepts considered sacrosanct by preening, self-important atheistic egotists. Though an atheist during his teens and twenties, Lewis never stopped pursuing iron-clad intellectual arguments which would quench his thirst for "Joy." His intellectual honesty never allowed him to be satisfied with answers which rested on shaky philosophical ground. And part of his restless pursuit of "Joy" was his search for a firm and unassailable theoretical foundation on which he could build a consistent belief system.

   Bravo to Mr. Downing for writing this marvelous book. Perhaps no other work allows us to peer more deeply into the mind of this magnificent intellect.




3. I'm not quite sure how to classify this book. It's not exactly a biography, because it does not attempt a thorough inspection of CS Lewis's life. It's not literary criticism, because it mentions most of Lewis's works only in passing. I suppose this book is rather an examination of the various steps of CS Lewis's departure from, avoidance of, and eventual return to Christianity. In this book, Downing explores and evaluates all the stages of Lewis's philosophical and religious thought-from materialism to idealism to pantheism to Christianity, with brief stops along the way to consider spiritualism and theosophy.
   
   Lewis's time away from Christianity was a very interesting time in his life. He toyed with many systems of belief, and struggled to come to grips with reality as he found system after system of philosophy to be flawed. Downing does a good job of exploring the influences that aided Lewis's development-his teachers, mentors, and books he read all played an important part in this. For that, at least, there is merit in this book, and Downing also uncovers a few (but they are few) details which Lewis himself leaves out in his autobiography, `Surprised by Joy.'
   
   Anyone who has read `Surprised by Joy,' however, will find that this book is basically just a rewording of what Lewis himself said in that work. There is little in this book which cannot be gleaned from Lewis's own sketch of his early life, and Lewis's work has the added advantage of being both better written and written from his own point of view. This book provides a decent summary of Lewis's autobiography, but little more.
   
   For the most part, Downing's insights are helpful, if not unique. The narrative is sometimes confused, with Downing jumping (for example) from a period of doubt in Lewis's life to a scene from The Chronicles of Narnia or other of Lewis's fiction which illustrates what he later came to believe on the subject. And the greatest flaw of this book comes in the last two pages of chapter 8, when Downing attempts to describe Lewis's spiritual experience while riding to a zoo with his brother. Lewis describes that something happened (though he admits he doesn't know what) on that ride, and that he believed in Christ as the son of God when he arrived at the zoo, but hadn't when he had set out for the zoo. Downing, in analyzing this experience, waxes psychological and attempts to get inside Lewis's head. The result is a flowery blurb of supposed thoughts which Lewis had, told mostly in the first person (as if Downing had access to a level of Lewis's conscious which even he, Lewis, did not have) and reeking of an attempt at literary prowess rather than narrative fidelity. Those two pages alone ruined the entire book for me.
   
   Despite these flaws, however, this book deserves three stars for its interesting look at Lewis's Journey to Faith (as the subtitle implies). As I said, there is nothing new or groundbreaking here, and longtime fans of Lewis will find little which is unique, but this book is nevertheless merits a quick perusal.



4. C.S. Lewis was a complex man, and it would be easy for a biographer to bog down in the details. However, David Downing deftly weaves together an engaging and fast-moving story that follows various threads in Lewis's life, his writings, the major intellectual trends of the early 20th century, and Lewis's gradually unfolding Christian belief. Downing draws from Lewis's well-known writings, but also from letters and unpublished works to create a complex and intriging portrait. I found the book to be intellectually and spiritually nourishing. All in all a good story and a good read.



5. If a book has any connection to C.S. Lewis, I am predisposed to like it. And though many have been published, I have never read a Lewis biography. So, I began this book with high expectations, which were not quite met.
   
   My criticisms of this book are two-fold. First, it felt very uneven. Some chapters were very biographical in nature, while others (especially Chapter 4) read essentially like a book report. While it is obviously necessary to point to Lewis' writing to understand his thinking, I was very bored with the play-by-play, plodding description of an uncompleted work from Lewis' teen years. Indeed, Downing spent much time throughout his work picking apart fragments of Lewis' writing (published and unpublished), and it felt very tedious to me. This might be more appropriate for an academic publication, and scholars of Lewis might find such an approach to be gripping. But this regular Joe who just likes to read Lewis was not especially engaged.
   
   My second critique, though hard to verbalize, is that the book did not seem to flow well. Downing admitted that he could not tell this story strictly chronologically because the progression of Lewis' religious thoughts was not linear. Nonetheless, I felt rather tossed about while reading this book.
   
   Admittedly, I probably would have appreciated this book more if I had read previous Lewis biographies that covered different parts of his life. And my general unfamiliarity with most of Lewis' fiction (especially the space trilogy) allowed Downing's references to those works to be rather foreign to me.
   
   As promised, Downing limited himself, as much as possible, to C.S. Lewis' intellectual journey from atheist to Christian. Though I learned a great deal, I can't say that I especially enjoyed the ride. At the very least, I now want to read more Lewis to observe that journey first-hand. But if you're looking for a primer on the life of C.S. Lewis (which this book never claims to be), I'd recommend looking elsewhere.

5 comments about The Chieftains: The Authorized Biography.

1. Irish music is very hot. It is amazing how many successful Irish bands (of all types) have emerged from this tiny Island of 5 million. Yet in no small way can they all point to a single pioneering band that helped put Irish music on the map.

   The Chieftains are more than simply a successful collection of great musicians who have toured the world for over 30 years. When they started, in the mid 1960's, there was little interest in traditional music in Ireland. In Ireland, Irish music wasn't considered to be "hip" and broadcasts were limited to relatively unimaginative ceili music. The most famous Irish musicians of time, the Clancy Brothers, were not even living in Ireland when they began.

   The Chieftains took traditional Irish music and infused it with a new energy and style. They soon developed a cult following, but after doing the sound track for the movie Barry Lyndon (early 70's) their popularity exploded. Even after upwards of 30 albums, they and constant touring, their popularity never falters.

   The Chieftains : The Authorized Biography by John Glatt tells the story of how it all happened. If it weren't all true, it would sound wildly improbable.

   For anyone interested in Irish music, this book is a must.




2. Nanci Griffith does a fabulous job narrating the audio version of the Chieftain's autobiography. Her voice is as sweet and flowing as the melodious tunes she sings.



3. I purchased this CD because of my interest in Nanci Griffith as a songwriter, musician, and performer. Nanci does not disappoint as she breathes life into the narrative of fellow musicians and collaborators, the Chieftains. It is her familiarity with them as friends and musicians which adds to the excitement of the performance. Nanci has already won three grammies, been nominated for seven, and this should have been her fourth.



4. Mr. Glatt appears to have enjoyed carte blanche access to these fabulous musicians but his book reads like he spilled his notes and put them in the book in random. One moment he's praising founder Paddy Moloney for his computer-like brain, the next we're supposed to laugh that Paddy is five hours late for a major recording session.

   There's some fun stuff here, but the weeds are thick!




5. This is a wonderful history book of the Chieftains. The book is very informative about their love of Irish heritage, the traditional music, and all the wonderful groups, singers, musicians that they have shared the stage and recordings. Paddy has a great sense of humor, and he is the glue that holds the group together and make them what they are. I own a lot of the Chieftains recordings, videos, and I look for more products that they have made. We were sadden for the loss of their great harpist, piantist, Derek Bell. We all miss him.RIP

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2 comments about Koop: The Memoirs of America's Family Doctor.

1. C. Everett Koop is a man of strong opinions and firm actions, yet who places high value in attempting to be fair in his judgments. This book of memoirs tells the story of a courageous and admirable man's career, focusing most of the text on his eight years as surgeon general. I found the book very easy to read, not tedious or pedantic, and I give it a rating of 9 instead of a 10 because I wish he would have devoted a little more space to his career in pediatric surgery (which lasted 35 years). It's good reading.



2. For anyone who is a physician, this is a wonderful book with great anecdotes. I gave a copy to my daughter, who's in med school.

1 comments about Superhero: A Biography Of Christopher Reeve.

1. Christopher Reeve's acting career alone is probably not interesting enough to sell books. It was his determination to recover from his crippling riding accident that inspired me to listen to the audio version of Superhero: Ahe Biography of Christopher Reeve, by Chris Nickson.

   Other than his rise to stardom at an early age with Superman, and his tragic accident, there is nothing much to say. This becomes evident when the author runs out of words and starts using the same phrases over and over again. By the middle of the book I was annoyed and tired of listening to it. It left me feeling that Christopher Reeve was a well to do, preppy actor who made it big, then squandered his stardom and made excuses for his otherwise mediocre acting career.

   Sadly enough, it takes his paralyzing riding accident to pick up the pace of the book and make it interesting enough to finish. His life after the fall is certainly more notable and the book depicts a couple of really moving moments.

   Perhaps in another 20 years his life will have expanded enough to make a really worthwhile book. My opinion is they should have waited until then to write this one.

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