1 comments about Iris.

1. I only read about 40 some pages--and that was enough for me to decide I had enough. I was very interested to read this memoir, but it let me down. I think this book uses too many big words that I get lost in--that takes away from the author's experiences. It was also hard to follow who the author is speaking about and his relationship to them.

1 comments about Managing for the Future.

1. It is difficult to know how much value it is possible to get from reading a book that examines future trends nearly 15 years after it was published. The earliest essay in this book was written in 1986. There is a nearly inevitable dated feel to this kind of selection that would kill the work entirely for lesser thinkers.
   
   Being Drucker, however, there is still an awful lot to draw from this collection. Divided into four parts (economics, people, management and the organization), there are a number of absolutely brilliant essays. Favorites are hard to choose, but I particularly recommend "The Poverty of Economic Theory" and "Permanent Cost Cutting: Permanent Policy".
   
   As usual from Drucker, darned good reading-- insightful and smart.

No comments about Simply Barbara Bush: A Portrait of America's Candid First Lady [UNABRIDGED].

5 comments about Into the Mirror: The Life of Master Spy Robert P. Hanssen.

1. Certainly Robert P. Hanssen was a difficult man to understand but the main problem that I have with this book it is impossible to determine whether you are reading real facts or fiction.
   
   After reading the book, I am not sure whether it was the excitement or the money that was the major cause.
   
   Anyway I was hoping for a study of what Robert P. Hanssen gave away. The effect on security etc. There is little of this.



2. The newspaper and television reports of Robert Hanssen -- the FBI agent who spied for the Soviets in a frightening breach of national security -- were fascinating. But this book by Lawrence Schiller is silly.
   
   Schiller has borrowed heavily from Norman Mailer's screenplay. And this is what spoils it. In a screenplay, you have to invent dialogue for the characters, and you can get away with invented dialogue if people know it is based on a true story. But in a book that is supposed to be factual, such as this one, invented dialogue becomes a barrier to credibility if it is used frequently in private situations.
   
   In The Author's Note at the front of the book, readers are told that neither Hanssen nor his wife could be interviewed for the book because of a plea-bargain agreement they made with the Justice Department. So how the blazes can the author give Hanssen's conversations with himself in his bathroom, private conversations with his wife, and even how Hanssen's dog behaved when Hanssen took it for a walk?
   
   Every few pages of this book talk about things that happened in private -- in Hanssen's office, at his home, in the park. Hanssen is quoted in all these places, even though the author wasn't there, and neither was anyone else who was interviewed for the book. I found this distracting and very unbelievable. Even worse was the author's obsession with sex -- even making up details of what Hanssen allegedly thought and did when no one but Hanssen could possibly know these things.
   
   I rated this book as two stars because I didn't find any spelling mistakes or typographical errors. But as for the believability of the dialogue and private incidents, it doesn't even rate one star.



3. Every page of this book is surprising and thought provoking. You gotta' read it. Lawrence Schiller's outstanding and concise writing is greatly aided by his research collaboration with Norman Mailer. They found a theme despite the fact that the deepest motivations of Robert P. Hanssen's behavior while turning himself into the spy who created the greatest breach of security in U.S. history--remain buried within himself. Critics of the movie of this book, cry out for a better peek into Hanssen's psyche, but it is unattainable. The book's theme had to be what it is, describe the observable conflict between Hanssen's psychosexual,religious, and political views, match them to chronological events, then put it all in such a way as to invite readers to pick up from there. I guessed that the doors to the Opus Dei group, to which Hanssen and his family were devoted, were barred to Schiller and Mailer. The most that could be written about it was written. (Opus Dei is also a subject of "Godfather III"). Schiller captures Hanssen's Moscow handlers, themselves conflicted between operating procedure and the collapse of the Soviet Union. The book left me thinking and imagining what Hanssen still keeps a secret, or maybe doesn't understand himself.



4. This is simply not a serious piece of work. It tries to be non-fiction while writing it within the style of fiction.
   
   It reminded me of those books that come out with a film saying "Based on the screenplay of the film."
   
   The Bureau and the Mole by David Vise was far better and revealed the same information.



5. The Robert Hanssen story is extemely bizarre and that's putting it mildly. Two contradictions stand out. First of all he was a religious zealot who dabbled in amateur pornography. Secondly he was a raging anti-Communist who used his position with the FBI to reveal critically important state secrets to the Soviet Union. Whether or not his hyper-religiosity and/or his adolescent attitude toward sex had anything to do with his treasonous acts may never be determined. One comes away from reading Master Spy by David Schiller believing that Hanssen initially betrayed his country for the money and later for the adrenaline rush associated with risking everything.
   
   This book is a "novelization" of Robert Hanssen's life. A number of liberties are taken with the truth. Many of the conversations that take place have been made up to reflect what certain individuals might have said. A number of important events are either given short shrift or omitted completely. Some of the supporting characters are not real people, rather they are composites assembled from actual Hanssen acquaintances. In short, Master Spy or Into the Mirror as the hardcover edition was originally titled is essentially a work of fiction based on the notorious Bob Hanssen case.
   
   When viewed as a reality based work of fiction, this book works reasonably well. The story is an interesting one, that point cannot be argued. The narrative flows relatively smoothly and gives the reader significant insight into the inner lives of Bob and Bonnie Hanssen and to a certain extent that of Bob's long time friend, Jack. It's a compelling tale, competently told. However, because it is a novelization, rather than a meticulously researched case study, Master Spy can only be a starting point for those readers wanting to know the factual underpinnings of this unique and highly disturbing episode in FBI history.
   
   I have only one major bone to pick with this book. Most of the dialogue Schiller puts in the mouths of his characters is not authentic sounding. Too much of it consists of formalized sentences that do not reflect the way people really talk to each other.

2 comments about Over Hill and Dale.

1. This book will be enjoyed by anyone who has a love of children. In particular anyone with any contact with the teaching profession will recognise immediately the situations recounted in great depth by the author.

   As an HMI inspector visiting countless schools, Mr Phinn's perfectly captured descriptions of the children, their teachers and the everyday school activities were a joy to read. His exquisite perceptions of the children put the reader into the classroom observing the joys, laughter and at times touching moments which managed to put a lump into my throat. I was there stifling my laughter as a young boy covers him with paint, I was embarrassed as a harrassed young teacher mistaking him for a care worker asks if he has seen the inspectors yet? and I was reaching for my handkerchief as a young blind child recounts a touching version of her understanding of sight.

   A thoroughly charming read, which you won't want to put down.




2. I enjoyed this book from the first word. It moves along with a very upbeat approach to life, pointing out the lovely, the poignant, and the humorous as the author goes about his interesting job inspecting village schools. As a teacher, I can verify the truth of his experiences, and he tells them in an engaging manner.
   
   The book does compare with James Herriot. If you enjoy Jan Karon,or Miss Read, Gervase Phinn will be pleasant reading, too.

1 comments about Confessions of Saint Augustine: Library Edition.

1. Aurelius Augustinus 354-430 AD.
   He was born in Thagesta in Numidia (North-Africa).The Confessions' has two parts. The first part is a kind of autobiography and the second part is a commentary to the first chapters of Genesis.
   He taught rhetorics first in Carthago in Africa, later in Milan in Italy. But after a while he developed an aversion not only for rhetorics ( he began to consider it as useless and conceited and as a pool of sins ) but also for his fellow-man.
   He began to show neurotic behaviour like having a fainting fit without apparent cause. It's for those reasons that psychologists like to study Augustine's Confessions.
   As a result of all this, Augustine became a Christian and he was one of the first to found a monastery. Later on he became bishop of Hippo in North-Africa.
   
   In the second part of 'The confessions' he tries to explain the first chapters of Genesis. His plan was to comment on the whole Bible but he soon understood that this was an impossible task for one man.
   Nevertheless he's is considered as the Father of modern Theology because of his comments.
   To give two examples: When the Bible says that God created man to His image, Augustine explains that it means that man knows the difference between good and evil just like God does, it doesn't mean a physical resemblance.
   Another interesting thought is about Creation. Creation is not limited in space and time: since God is everywhere, Creation is also everywhere and goes on till eternity.
   
   As conclusion I should mention that 'The Confessions'is also important because it is the first publication in Antiquity in which an author reveals his most inner feelings

5 comments about The Perfect Prince: The Mystery of Perkin Warbeck and His Quest for the Throne of England.

1. If you like real mysteries and have a taste for all the problematical aspects of real history and research, this is an incredible, masterful book. It is one of the most satisfying books I have ever read - satisfying on many levels and in many ways.
   
   I am surprised by some of the negative reviews. Obviously, there are people who did not read the book with suffient care and attention. For example, to quote Wroe on Perkin's final confession, as if this is her last word, is to show a woeful understanding of her style and the way the book works. This is not a short book, but it is a truly fine book. If you liked Barbara Tuchman's _A Distant Mirror_, you will love this tale as it is better written, more complex and mysterious, and about a historically more significant person.



2. I am a history buff and an avid reader of anything written about the Wars of the Roses, and in particular, anything written about Richard III and the mystery of the Princes in the Tower. This book, however, was hard to finish. The narrative style is so rambling and incoherent that it is difficult to follow. Facts, dates, and quotes are muddled, sentance structure is meandering and the author never seems able to make a point. How this book got past a copy editor, I'll never figure out.



3. I found the Perfect Prince to be a well written and superbly research book on Perkin Warbeck affair that plagued King Henry VII of England duirng the last decade of the 15th century. The research goes deeply into this blond pretender who claims to be Richard, Duke of York who somehow survived his days in the Tower of London while his older brother was murdered. The level of deception proves to be so great that many great monarchs of Europe gave their support of him and many English men great or small gave their support as well as their lives for him.
   
   Ann Wroe investigates this interesting sideshow of European history, trying to determined the true nature of this blond fellow who fooled so many, often with their lives and his origins. The study of motivation of Perkin Warbeck, aka: Ricahrd, Duke of York proves to be an interesting and indepth look. One of the important side subjects of this book remains the fate of the princes of the tower, a subject that continued to interest many during the last decade of the 15th century as well as up to the 21st century.
   
   If there was a weakness in this book, I believed it had a lot to do with the fact that the book was over written. Too many petty details were brought out in the book, too tedious at times in some sections. I thought the book could have been edited more tightly.
   
   Still, this book proves to be an interesting read although it tailored to a specific subject matter. Anyone who got any interest in the fate of the Princes in the Tower should read this book. Of course, Henry VII make a dour subject matter but this booka also reflects upon his rule as well.



4. When I first saw the synopsis of this book, I was very excited. The mystery of Perkin Warbeck (was he or wasn't he the younger of the Princes in the Tower?) has one that has always intrigued me. Besides, being a staunch Ricardian who firmly believes that Richard III is innocent of his nephews's murder, I thought to myself, if there's even a possibility that Perkin WAS Richard, Duke of York, then it goes to prove that the Princes in the Tower were not murdered at all, by their wicked uncle or anyone else (theories abound on who that someone else may have been, or if there ever was a double murder).
   
   On that last point I very quickly found out that Ms. Wroe thinks no such thing. In the first pages she describes Richard III as having been cut down "like a dog" (when in reality he fought bravely against overwhelming odds due to great treason, and his death caused a "great heaviness" in York and the North). That was the first disappointment. Still, it was moot to the story of Perkin himself, so I ploughed on.
   
   Well, you do need to hang in there tight, the book is overlong and overladen with totally irrelevant details (who cares about trade between Senegal, Portugal and Spain, what does the Aeneid have to do with the story, why spend so much time on Margaret Duchess of Burgundy's illuminated Book of Hours and her "visions", etc.?). When it does come to Perkin Warbeck himself, the narrative is thoroughly confusing. It takes some mental gymnastics to keep it all straight, between the boatman's son, the boy who was Brampton's attendant, the Prince who showed up in several royal courts of Europe, and who did what to him when. Same goes for his wanderings before he gets to Scotland. The narrative just doesn't flow. The sheer dryness of the writing, the contrived prose, the irrelevancies and the confusion make for the other disappointments.
   
   The only (almost) straight piece of narrative is when "Richard, Duke of York" does try to invade England after having married one of the King of Scots' kinswomen, up to his capture and "confession". Here I have another bone to pick. Ms. Wroe's contends that, since this confession was made just before he died, it must be true. I don't see the logic of that. Being tried as a commoner, he was probably "coerced" (to put it mildly) into confessing to almost anything. Bertram Fields, in his book "Royal Blood", devotes a chapter to Yorkist pretenders who tried to overthrow Henry VII, in which he casts serious doubts about Warbeck's confession and points out some inconsistencies that might impugn its reliability.
   
   Well, I give the book 3 stars simply as a reward for so much painstaking research. It's a pity that, so as not to have her time and effort wasted, Ms. Wroe crams all the results of that research, relevant or not, into her book, making it unwieldy, hard to follow, and a very dry read. The stars also go to having tackled an obscure historical figure and tried to shed some light in a 500-year-old mystery.
   
   If you're a history buff and are interested in the small footnotes of history, by all means read the book. If your interest is more in history-as-entertainment and an easy read, seek elsewhere. There are other non-fiction books on the period that are a lot more digestible.



5. This is an extremely well-researched, well-written biography of an intriguing young man who may have been the rightful King of England. I give Wroe full marks for her fascinating, open-minded portrayal of a confusing and turbulent period of history that in other hands has often been handled so poorly that it's impossible to follow. Her work is highly readable, and her research is original, cutting-edge, nsightful and thought-provoking. If a reader is really interested in this period, then Ann Wroe's book must not be missed.

4 comments about Now.

1. "Now" isn't as fulfilling as was "By Myself" but is still a good short read for anyone interested in Lauren Bacall. The book covers the 15 years after her first publication "By Myself." If you're new to Lauren I would suggest reading "By Myself" first and if you would like to see a more personal side of the actress give this book a try.



2. Read Bacall's "By Myself" before this - she writes as if she assumes that you have. She actually rehashes a lot of what she wrote in that book: her work on Broadway, people in her life, etc. I didn't necessarily mind that - I read this one directly after the other so it complemented it. I would've found it very slight by itself, though. In this one she also talks about putting together her dream home and finding it lacking, and about her grown kids and their lives, some other topics too.



3. Bacall, Lauren.
   Now
   New York: Alfred A. Knopf
   214 pp., $23.00. ISBN 0-394-57412-5
   Publication Date September 1994
   
   Lauren Bacall, is a screen legend, has been a star of movies, television, and theater for over sixty years and her book tells the story of how she feels about her work, her children,
   her homes, her acting, her friends, and more.
   
   The introduction of the book gives a glimpse into what her life was like between the ages of forty and sixty, how she has lived her life and the impact people she has met have had on her life. She views life at 70 as a survivor and considered herself lucky to still be acting at all.
   
   Ms. Bacall does not know what she would do with herself if she did not work. She views working as a reason to get up out of bed, if your working you can pay the bills. The most important thing is that when you work in a movie, on television, or on stage you'll always be doing something you love to do.
   
   She is grateful for being close to her daughter Leslie Bogart. She is more in love with her grandchildren from her sons Steve Bogart and Sam Robards then she ever thought possible.
   
   She has realized late in life that she needs her children which surprises her. She examines all the fears that she went through in getting a country house in Amagansett. Once she had it then she spent years continually making as many changes to it as
   possible. In the end when she sold it she realized she had spent more time living in other places than this house.
   
   She recognizes that the older she gets the more difficult it is for her to be able to still get great roles, she realizes that work is much harder physically. She is human and points out body parts that have changed and is really comfortable with this.
   
   She comes to terms with her own mortality and how hard it is to still be alive when so many of her friends are now gone. Her life has come full circle, her daughter Leslie got married.
   Her son Steve is married with 3 wonderful kids. Her son Sam's marriage ended, but she knows he will find someone else.
   
   In the end she is still alone and she is reconciled to the fact that she no longer wants that for herself anymore. She is always the eternal optimist and thinks that maybe there is someone out there for her. She is a strong woman who has done it her way and not followed all the rules of Hollywood.
   
   She still considers Humphrey Bogart to have been the love of her life and will never get over his death.
   Rachel D. Dvorkin
   Elgin, Illinois



4. Lauren Betty Bacall writes a very interesting memior about life and love in Hollywood. She doen't merely name drop. In fact she focuses on her life and the people that revolved into it. She met quite a few interesting people, but doesn't seem to use that to make her book more exciting. It was very interesting to read how the relationship with Bogie happened and how she struggled through the relationship with Jason robards. The book was enlightening as to how a real person in a time of great stress deals with loss and the breakup of relationships. It is a must for true biography readers.

No comments about Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare.

2 comments about The Life of Oscar Wilde (Classic Fiction).

1. This is the book that helped resurrect the reputation of one of the most tragic figures in English literature. When this book was originally published, Wilde was nowhere near the iconic figure he is now accepted as. Dying in poverty and disgrace in 1900 in Paris, (where all "bad" Englishmen went in the 19th century!) Wilde was still anathema to the "Establishment" for close to a half century afterward. Today, a bust stands in Westminster Abbey, and Hesketh Pearson's biography can claim a good measure of the credit for it. Comprehensive, detailed and sympathetic without being hagiographic, this book is essential to understanding the enigmatic genius of Oscar Wilde.



2. This book was given as a gift to me and although being not the only biography of Mr Wilde that I own it is definately one of the most comprehensive. It has an easily structured layout and a highly detailed reconstruction of the great writer's life; this is recommended to any fan of Oscar Wilde who doesn't know all that there is but wishes to learn it from a totally different point of view. It can at times be slightly prejudiced and the reader must remember the time in which it was written. However this does not detract from the book and should be enjoyed by any fan, giving in its outdated view an insight into the changes undergone in the last 100 years to the appreciation of his life and work. Enjoy Reading.