2 comments about Love Is Blue.

1. This is the second volume of Joan Wyndham's war diaries covering her time in the WAAF and her cascade love affairs with men ranging from the blue-blooded cousin of Lord Lovat to a beautiful Norwegian torpedo-boat sailor, a scarred pilot and some very raffish artists. Her description of the poet Dylan Thomas is, by itself, enough to justify buying this book. I didn't find it as compelling as 'Love Lessons', it feels too truncated and compressed, but if you enjoyed the first book you'll want to read this too.



2. In this book Joan Wyndham continues the saga of her wartime life and loves begun in 'Love Lessons', and this one is as funny and fascinating as the earlier book. Joan has joined the WAAF, and is still having encounters with a variety of different men, artistic Petya, pretentious Zoltan, aristocratic Hamish, Norwegian Hans, and the very sexy Kit. One of the funniest bits in the book is her encounter with a very drunk Dylan Thomas, who first kisses her in a taxi, then tries to break into her apartment. She encounters him again the next morning while sober, and tries to talk to him about his poetry. But he isn't interested, telling her that poetry isn't the most important thing "I'd much rather lie in a hot bath sucking boiled sweets and reading Agatha Christie." She decides that Dylan is very nice provided you only see him in the mornings. Then there is Vlady, the dashing Polish pilot who makes a pass at her while flying his plane "it's the first time I've ever had my bottom pinched at 3,000 feet." Hilarious, fascinating and gripping from beginning to end.

5 comments about Sahara.

1. I listened to this book on CD while I wallpapered my bathroom and it made the time go so fast! It is beautifully written and so easy to listen to. Palin is a master story teller and brings Africa to life with this book. Wonderful!!



2. Michael Palin, who did such a marvelous job with his Hemingway and Himalayan travel adventures in both TV and book forms, brings similar success to a less palatable subject: Sahara. This lovely book, filled with colorful and excellent photography, is Palin's very personal story of his 9 country/10,000 mile odyssey. He is a wonderful raconteur and guide.
   
   The Sahara, as beautiful and vibrant as it is dangerous and deadly is exquisitely revealed...warts and all.



3. having never read michael palin's work, i found his style refreshingly easy to read. whereas some travel journals get bogged down with loads of facts and figures that i could find in any encyclopedia, he keeps up the pace with a well written, concise, yet entertaining, tour through the sahara. i really enjoyed his views on the political and social aspects of the north african culture as well.



4. Another great travelogue by Michael Palin who beyond being a comedian is also a very detailed, although typical humorous, professional writer. Always with a gift for detailed descriptions, as noted in his recently released Monty Python Diaries, Palin captures the people, the land, history and customs while traveling from Gibraltor in a broad circuit through numerous countries along the Sahara. Perhaps not as light, as one reviewer notes, in contrast to earlier books but that is not relevant as Palin and his film crew (usually made into a TV series) migrate from Morocco, the disputed western territory of Western Sahara through numerous countries along the desert and infamous Niger River among people who are friendly but with limited means. What makes Palin's travelogues so unique is aside from his excellent observations, he has a self deprecating humor that amuses the different people along the way, generally creating bonds that the typical explorer or tourist could not have. This travelogue is a bit more serious as Palin and crew observe and experience some extreme levels of poverty along the way. However, virtually all the people they make contact with share their resouces no matter how simply or limited. Palin crosses the desert at one point in a camel train for 5 days and one of the many great pictures along the trip demonstrates the unique bond that palin forms with all who he meets as there is a picture of Palin being playfully grabbed by the camel drivers trying to keep him from leaving. From intermingling with the Polisario military in the disputed Western Sahara through Algiers and their Civil War and into Libya, the trip covers multiple cultures, modes of travel and an uncanny ability to stay supplied thgat could use some explanation.
   Athough being quite careful with water they consume, Palin and crew often share food with their guests with Palin ocasionally making the gross error of using both hands as opposed to the restricted single right in the land of limited water. The latter of the book turns serious, as it does when learning of the horrific 9/11 terrorist attack, when they re-enter Algiers along the coast with the increased security required of any level of celebrity. As always, well written, excellent color phtographs and Palin even quotes the notable explorers that had come before him including those that did not survive the journey. Also comes with a two page large map to help you figure where the crew is along the way.



5. Although not a travel book per se, there is a lot of useful information on the areas and people that Palin visits. His sense of humor makes this book entertaining without trivializing the information on local customs and peoples. The book is also a perfect companion to the DVDs.

No comments about Tales of the Old Woodlanders (Reminiscence).

No comments about John Gielgud (Isis).

1 comments about The Wise Man from the West.

1. If one had the option to read just one book about China, the Catholic Church, Jesuits, missions or anything related, this would be the book. Cronin's style is enchanting and romantic. That is not at all to say that he exagerates or romanticizes his subject, Matteo Ricci. Rather, Cronin tells the facts and the truth of Ricci's life and work better than I've read in ages. It was really a joy to read.

   Although it was written many years ago, it is not out of date and still well respected. It is a great book, as said in the headline, to introduce yourself to Ricci.

   There are other good books about Ricci and the Jesuit missions in China, including 'The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci' (which is excellent) but it would pay to read Cronin first to set the background for the rest.

   After reading "Wise Man Form the West" you will have a much better sense of those first tentative steps of Orient-Occident relations, a deep respect for the old Jesuits Missionaries, the Chinese who welcomed and taught them, and most especially, for Matteo Ricci himself. This is, of course, the purpose of Cronin's book, and he does so magnificently.

5 comments about Revolution from Within: A Book of Self-Esteem.

1. I've read this book at various points in my life and it never fails to ring true. In crappy times it was the voice of clarity and confidence, and with the existing empowerment in the day-to-day, it serves as validation and a nice boost to want to do more. This book should be required reading for every teenaged girl.



2. After undercover work as a bunny in Hugh Hefner's Playboy Club, Gloria Steinmen's expose of world of wearing a rabbit outfit and 6 inch shoes with tight corsets made her the Queen of Feminists. This came out when I was a teenager and her vision and mission made an impression even then. A must have book for any feminist's collection.



3. "The Nature of This Flower Is to Bloom" - a quote by Alice Walker, quoted in this book.
   
   Steinem writes "Without self-esteem, the only change is an exchange of masters; with it, there is no need for masters." Steinem discusses how to identify patterns and definitions that are familiar and feel like home, yet are counter to our higher priority intents and health.
   
   "The universe is made of stories, not of atoms." Muriel Rukeyser, quoted in this book.
   
   Steinem honors her mother by saying, "She managed to break the pattern of her own upbringing and pass on something quite different to us . . . my mother did her best to make us feel unique and worthwhile . . . 'Children don't belong to us,' she used to say, paraphrasing what she had learned from this blend of many world religions . . .'we don't own them. We help them become who they are.' "
   
   Steinem writes "Hierarches try to convince us that all power and well-being come from the outside, that our self-esteem depends on obedience and measuring up to their requirements." Conversely, she points out that in Greek philosophy Allotriosis, "Self-alienation," for instance, was the greatest evil . . . and oikeiosis ("self-love," "self-acceptance,"or "self-contentedness") was the greatest goal. Plato called "rational self-love' crucial to progress because it alone 'requires a man to be concerned for his own future condition.' Aristotle equated self-contentedness with happiness."
   
   After reading this book, I believe more strongly an idea I believed before reading this book: I don't primarily define Steinem as a great feminist thinker. Rather, she is a great social philosopher across many non-gender, non-race, non-religion, non-nationality, and non-era dependent disciplines. If I ever have a daughter, I will make sure she studies this book.
   
   "Freedom is what you do with what's been done to you. " Jean-Paul Sartre, quoted in this book.
   
   Steinem asserts: "The art of life is not controlling what happens to us, but using what happens to us."



4. Great book, great service. Very fast shipping and cheap, great value. No complaints at all. Thanks a bunch!



5. This is the first book I read by Gloria Steinmen and I thought it was excellent. I remember a couple of years ago watching an interview with Gloria Steinmen who stated that there was no biological difference between men and women. Right away I thought she was crazy - of course there are biological differences between men and women - it's a scientific fact. But after reading this book, I understood the reason she had said that.
   
   Throughout history, people have used "scientific" reasoning to differentiate between men and women resulting with women being the "weaker" sex. Take for example, craniometry - which skull size and shape determines brain size which determines such things as intelligence and capacity for moral behavior. Of course we know now today how ridiculous and inaccurate it is to determine a person's intelligence by their skull size. But craniology was used in the 19th century by the British to justify racist policies such as Irish and black Africans (which the British considered to be inferior races.) Craniology was also used in France to demonstrated that women are inferior to men because of their smaller crania (implying that small brains equated inferior intellingence.) This book had a section about craniology as applied to women and different races, as well as other examples of how society has used many explanations (scientific or social or moral) to keep women in their place.
   
   So when Gloria Steinment stated that biologically men and women were not different in physical strength and ability, she was questioning our perception of the sexes based on "scientific" research. Basically, we can't always accept what the scientific community has to say about the sexes because much of their reasoning will be based on social expectations - veiled with a "scientific" explanation.
   
   This is a very empowering book. It questions a woman's role in society through history. This book reminded me what we all had learned in our education - to question everything that is accepted in society, because the reasoning is not always as "scientific" as they claim.

5 comments about Rothstein: Library Edition.

1. Author David Peitrusza deserves plenty of kudos for his sweeping biography of Arnold Rothstein, the mad credited for fixing the 1919 World Series. In "Rothstein" we have an overview of the man and his times with perhaps too much of an emphasis on peripheral people and events. The reader will be regaled by stories of turn-of-the-century through prohibition era gamblers and big time criminals. Readers will acquire a greater knowledge of the East Coast underworld and some of the prominent figures who walked the line between criminal and legitimate. From casinos, race fixing and high society's degenerate gamblers to crooks both small time and big, "Rothstein" is an excellent account of the times of the famed gambler. Rothstein surely ranks as one of this country's most notorious criminal master minds.
   As much as I enjoyed the book I would have liked getting to know the man himself a little better. While readers will enjoy an opportunity to learn what AR, (as Rothstein was sometimes called) did, where and with whom he did it you cannot be sure to understand what made him tick. His childhood and early years are skimmed over while great detail is given his murder and its subsequent investigation. Hopefully someone can come along who will provide a fuller view of Rothstein. For that biographer and anyone interested in a man immortalized by F. Scott Fitzgerald in "The Great Gatsby" Petrusza's book is a must-read. Whatever "Rothstein's faults as a biography, it is still a good read and highly recommended.



2. 
   Tackling the biography is Arnold Rothstein is not like undertaking to deal with the life of most equally known men of even the same time. Rothstein was covered, as can be seen in the bibliography, in hundreds if not thousands of articles of the time in newspapers, magazines, books, and legends. The problem is not lack of words written, but lack of actual knowledge of the subject. Simply put, much of what has been written is legendary, apocryphal, repetitive, speculative or downright false, and it must have been an overwhelming task to wade through the junk to find the goods. Pietruszka has done as good a job of it as likely can be done at this remove.
   
   Further complicating the task is the personality of the subject, in this case a man who was clearly highly intelligent, charismatic, and industrious, but was missing some kind of chip to his personal makeup that would have made him fully human. Judging from the book, AR loved the multiplication of money in any way possible, judging everything and everyone useful or not useful based strictly upon the expected financial return. Associates passed in and out of his life and he had no compunction about lying to them or ripping them off or leaving them hanging out to dry, to take whatever heat might come down in his wake, and he'd pick them back up again if there was money to be made with no personal feelings entering into it. It must have been hard to resist his charismatic pull, but harder to actually like the man.
   
   Before reading this book I had known a little about Rothstein, mostly from the gambling/World Series angle. I had been unaware of his deep involvement in drugs and similar financial adventures. I wonder to what degree some of the crimes ascribed to Rothstein are simply a case of saying that because he was involved in this, with so-and-so, he MUST have been involved in that, with so-and-so. Notably, Rothstein's own little black book of records may well have been `edited' by the cops after it was found, and of course the missing sheets are missing. There seems to have been little actual written proof of much of anything Rothstein did, and there are so many conflicting stories and points of view it is hard to know the man's actual deeds with any certainty.
   
   Rothstein's relationship with his wife stands in complete contrast: the one person from whom he did not intend to make money he put on such a pedestal that he found himself unable to approach her as a wife, as a woman, and of course this created further suffering.
   
   I think that this man was a very one-sided genius, essentially an amoral machine. Pietruszka has done an excellent job of trying to separate fact from fiction of his fascinating subject.



3. Without trying to repeat what has already been said, A.R. comes alive in reading this book. He really didn't have many friends, just business associates. His life was all business and that business was making money! He was the ultimate gambler seeing an opening and taking it (no matter who you were - family, friend or foe). A.R. was involved in all types of scams, legitimate and illegal, for the sole purpose of turning a profit. After reading this book - you also find out a few undesirable traits about A.R. such as him being a welsher, and not paying debts on time. He wasn't the most honorable among thieves. This was an interesting characteristic of the book for it isn't one-sided. It gives you the facts about A.R. whether good or bad. This book paints a true portrait of the extent of vice which involved politicians, mobsters, athletes, policemen and of course actors and actresses. There is extensive research with regard to who killed A. R. I found this part of the book to be very interesting to see all the facts and the "behind the scenes" work unravel. It reveals the motives: the who, what, when, where, why and how. The last chapter keeps you very motivated and wanting for more. There were some great quotes from some old timers and I think one can learn a few things from reading this book. The book is recommended to other readers.



4. A glimpse into history and a ruthless time in America. Not only a good baseball story but a great read for anyone wanting to learn more about the time period.



5. Although the 1919 Series is in the title, the book goes beyond that, so if you're a curious baseball fan this book might have more than you are game for. Pietrusza seems to know his New York criminal element of the era, and the books travels down spokes out from the Rothstein hub into these areas, which certainly helps to put Rothstein into perspective, at least from a "buisness" standpoint.
   
   I have uncovered additional info about Rothstein's personality with simple google searches, and in other books; the sources seeming to be reliable. Presuming these are accurate, they do help to supplement what we learn about Rothstein here. That's no big criticism, but the book left me with some unanswered questions about Rothstein's personality -- answers that might or might not be difficult to answer.
   
   Rothstein was not a well-kept secret, even in his era, and there seems to have been enough written about him that I would think it might not be difficult for an author to give us more about his personality. This author choose to focus on dozens of peripheral characters, and if you're a history fan that proves to be illiuminating, but does not always illuminate Rothstein, just places him in a context. Still, readers can argue the "business" of Rothstein and his fellow criminals is the compelling part of his personality, and speaks volumes itself.

No comments about Clinging to the Wreckage.

5 comments about Under the Wire: The World War II Adventures of a Legendary Escape Artist and "Cooler King".

1. When I began reading UNDER THE WIRE, I expected a story of heroic "derring-do", recalled with a sort of misty, stiff-upper lipped nostalgia by a Grand Lion in the winter of his remarkable life.
   
   Instead, I got so, so much more.
   
   Bill Ash's life is remarkable by anyone's yardstick. From his earliest childhood in Depression-era Texas, he was a hero, ready and eager to take on any bully. While America watched as Europe fell to a maniacal Hitler, he made a decision to personally take on the biggest bully in modern history.
   
   Remarkable? Brave? Courageous? Yes, all of these adjectives describe the heroic life of Bill Ash.
   
   But his life, and his story -- told so extraordinarily well by Ash and his co-writer, Brendan Foley -- is also funny, human and a lesson in living one's life with heart and a true moral compass.
   
   There is as much Huck Finn and Jack Kerouac in Ash's war stories, as there is John Wayne.
   
   Like all great tales of history, UNDER THE WIRE does more than offer adventure after adventure (and WOW, what adventures Bill had!)
   
   The book offers a sense of the times, a sense of the politics, insights into the dangers, the choices, the cat-and-mouse existence of a Prisoner of War.
   
   Bill played cat-and-mouse with the Third Reich, and did it brilliantly.
   
   And I have never read an adventure story with so much genuine humor!
   
   UNDER THE WIRE is a glorious tribute to the sort of person we long for, but never really see anymore: a true hero.
   
   And it's a great, entertaining read.



2. "Under The Wire" by William Ash (with Brendan Foley). Sub-titled, "The World War II Adventures Of A Legendary Escape Artist And `Cooler King'". St. Martin's Press, New York 2005.
   
   William Ash was raised in Depression-Era Texas, where he learned the hard way that life is rough. Those lessons stood him in good stead when he became an expert escape artist from the POW camps of Nazi Germany. As he said, on page 22, his "twilight actives" prepared him by: "...being an unwelcome nonpaying passenger, learning how to avoid the attention of guard dogs or the authorities, sharing food and political discussions with men just as badly off as myself , and sometimes just learning to laugh in the face of everything the world could throw at me." He calls his younger days as "An Apprenticeship In Escapology".
   
   Building on the first two chapters, he then relates the story of his decision to fly for the RAF, his aviation training, first in Canada, and then in the actual combat zone in England during the Blitz. Because of his flying for the RAF, he had to renounce his American citizenship. There are vivid descriptions of London under the bombs, with destruction and fire seemingly everywhere. Then comes the chapter that changes everything: "The Day Of Reckoning". (page 85): "I cut my engine, since it was clearly full of holes and not doing much good".
   
   Shot down over occupied France, William Ash is helped by some French farmers, who struggle with his high school French but help him to find the underground resistance. He is, however, captured in Paris in June 1942, but not before he was able to enjoy the city of Paris as any tourist would do. The bulk of the book, from page 101 (the capture) to page 307 (his return to London) deals with his experiences with German Prisoner Of War system. The Gestapo threatens to shot him as a spy, as he is in civilian clothes, etc. He is "rescued" from the Gestapo by the Luftwaffe, as the German Air Force claimed all air force type POWs as their responsibility. Ash then relates his travels from camp to camp, through bombed out German cities, and finally arriving in a POW camp about as far East as the Reich went. His escape attempts are recorded in detail and his punishments, each time he was re-captured, made him, as the book flap recounts, the "real-life `cooler king'". This book documents a real-life "Great Escape" story.



3. The subject matter for this book sounds grim: Ash starts off talking about life in the Great Depression, and ends up talking about his experiences being thrown into (and escaping out of) German POW camps. In fact, though, this is one of the most thrilling, funny, suspenseful and inspiring books I've read in some time. Ash's optimism, indomitable spirit, and wonderful sense of humor got him through the war, and they're all on display on just about every page.
   
   Ash is also a keen observer--a trait that no doubt helped him pull off his daring escapes, and one that enables him to bring the characters he met along the way to vivid life.
   
   In short, "Under The Wire" reads like a great thriller. The fact that it's all true makes it all the more gripping and inspiring.



4. I was ill and needed some light reading and found this on the cheap rack at my local bookstore. As one who's best memory growing up was reading The Great Escape I'd read most accounts of those involved. I didn't think a peripheral player in that drama would have anything new or give much insight but I was wrong. His strength was escaping but you read where he probably lacked a bit on the other side of the wire. It's to the readers' benefit.
   
   Ash doesn't waste the readers time with unnecessary personal history but that which he shares is interesting - especially the parts about riding the rails as a college graduated hobo. He was one of the earliest Americans to go to Canada and volunteer. His perspective of his training is unique and you get an Americans perspective of what life was like living in England during the darkest days of WWII. When he finally gets shot down he gets very lucky then unlucky. His account of his interrogation/torture is more detailed than what I've read in most other POW stories.
   
   His time as a POW though is the real meat and potatoes of the story. What's truly insightful and interesting are his profiles of the early escapers. I was fascinated with his description of the original Big X (Pre-Roger Bushell), Jimmy Buckley who was unfortunately killed - it's touched on in the Great Escape. Getting the idea that escape would be easier from an NCO POW camp, he made the switch and his account there provides some original and amazing stories. I thought the NCO's would not have been as resourceful as the officers but this book proved me wrong. The NCO's were some of the most colorful and inventive escapers of the war. Certainly more needs to be written on their experience. Particularly the story of the incredibly heroic George Grimson was worth the book alone. I've had to re-read his story in the book a few times.
   
   One mass escape at the NCO camp was amusing. The POW's fooled the Germans into believing none had escaped, then only those caught were missing and so on until the Germans became thoroughly confused. The POW's even fooled the Gestapo many times without serious recrimination.
   
   Ash's final days as a POW are some of the best, most descriptive I've read and he ends to book perfectly. I enjoyed the easy prose and his is a story that deserves all the acclaim it gets.



5. This is a hero. Really. Anybody that can come through all he did-and laugh about it-MUST be a hero. I rather expected to be bored when I saw how long it was going to take him to actually get to the prison camp. Uh uh. Not at all.
   
   As a member of the younger generation, I take off my hat (if I wore one) to Bill Ash. He has a brilliant sense of humor-and yet doesn't belittle or diminish the severity of his situation. Something that could very accurately be called a fire, despite the clichedness (word?) of that phrase, is conveyed, very modestly, as burning inside of him. Somehow he gives some of it to the reader-that calmness, that strength. If he can go through all of that-and not be bitter-surely I won't complain about all the little molehills bothering me. Right?
   
   However, even all of this might not be enough to commend a book, some books that should by all rights be amazing aren't. But Bill Ash and Brendan Foley together make something magnificent.
   
   In summation:
   Amazing book. Couldn't put it down. Don't miss it.

No comments about Gull on the Roof.