No comments about Living Biographies of Great Painters: Library Edition.

5 comments about Audiobook.

1. Whoopi is normally hilarious. But the language in this book really turned me off. People who use language (swearing) like that sound like common street trash.



2. I bought this to listen to on my daily commute. I had to listen to it at home because I kept driving off the road from laughing so hard. Whoopi Goldberg is honest, funny and real. Book was hilarious, but this is so much better from her reading and adlibs. Find a copy and share!



3. Much like George Carlin, in "Audiobook," Goldberg manages to obsess -- sometimes to the point of shrieking -- over such issues as picky eating, men's grooming habits, favorite popes, Christmas, drivers from a certain Eastern state and politically correct language. If you don't like authors or comedians who can't let something drop, don't purchase either "Book" or "Audiobook." However, if you love a good, sustained rant -- that isn't directed towards you -- that seems to end in catharsis, do yourself a favor and get it. I'd definitely lean towards "Audiobook," because Goldberg gets her point across as perfectly as if she was onstage.

   Yes, Whoopi does use "language," as she warns people at the beginning of the tape. If you didn't get the implication, it means that she uses profanity from time to time, saying the "s" word, the "f" word and a few others, too. She doesn't hold back, but says what she wants and expresses exasperation however she wants. If you want polite commentary on some of the same issues, there's always etiquette books. (Hey, Miss Manners is always amusing.)

   Goldberg addresses her relationship with Ted Danson (mainly the minstrel decible), her premature status of grandmother, Clinton's extra-carricular activities as well as those of a few other recent presidents, discloses how she got her name and some stories from her childhood. "Audiobook" is basically a series of essays about why she sees the world the way she does.

   I don't always agree with her opinions. Some of her essays are more serious than funny. However, I did find this glimpse into her mind fascinating and engaging. It feels a little like hanging out in the back booth of a diner while an outspoken friend holds court, which is probably one of the best statements I can make about what is essentially an autobiography.

   Whoopi G. was never an easy artist to experience. If you're not prepared to be uncomfortable or take issue with what she has to say, don't bother. She claimed to want this project to spark conversation between people and, like it or hate it, chances are you'll be talking about it for a while.




4. I bought this because Whoopi is great , her ideas are great her jokes EVERY THING. I dont usally shop from the internet but hey! I thought this was worth it and it was. This tape got me laughin' it got me to think about stuff. Yeah there is language but who doesnt use the "F" word every now and then?This is a collectable and a definatly a MUST HAVE. So WHY ARE u still reading this? GO AND BUY IT!



5. Whoopi Goldberg in her usual standup and movie routines is absolutely wonderful, so I was expecting big things from this audiobook. Perhaps my expectations were set a bit high.

   Instead of the string of jokes I'd been expecting, a full 2/3rds of the book was devoted to Whoopi expounding on her political viewpoints. Despite the fact I usually agreed with her political views, her soapbox-ranting style left me wanting a more eloquent spokesperson for her position. Much of the time, she simply comes off as a less thoughtful Dennis Miller.

   All of this would be bearable if she had some tiny shred of humility, but about the fourth time she assured me that she is, in fact, "a funny person," I was ready to toss the tape out the window.

5 comments about The Brigade: An Epic Story of Vengeance, Salvation, and WWII.

1. I met Howard Blum at a book signing at the JCC in West Bloomfield, Michigan. He was there for his book "The Eve of Destruction". He is an amazing story teller and has a powerful story to tell. This story is told thru the eye's of three men and a woman, Israel Carmi, Johanan Peltz, and Arie Pinchuk, Leah Pinchuk. The British in almost a regretfully way allow a Jewish Brigade to be raised from voluteer's from Palestine. A brigade of 5000 troops who fought the Nazi's in the Italian campaign. These brave men then take on another mission. Their most important mission in their lifes, rescueing Jewish orphan children. These troops stationed in Europe after the conflict were privately hunting down war crinimal's when almost by accident they rescued a ophan Jewish girl. Darkness had almost consumed these men in the never ending spiral of death when God stepped in and handed them the orphan girl.
   "The more he killed in cold blood, the more he ensured that the horror the Nazis had let loose would continue to triumph. His only hope was to make a movement away from this ruinous faith. And now he knew what he had to do. For the first time he started to envision the beginnings of a plan, an active strategy, that brought with it the possibility of a world beyond all the evil."
   Now you would think this would not be such a difficult problem, however the British were determined not to allow any more Jewish refugee's into Palestine!
   A thrilling true story that will keep you in suspense till then end! This was a little known unit that contributed so much to humanity.



2. Howard Blum has written a compelling true narrative of a small group of Jewish soldiers who fought the Nazis along side the British Army in WWII. This little known slice of history is conveyed persuasively in The Brigade.
   
   Blum discovered this small piece of history by accident when visiting the US Holocaust Museum. After he pulled together scores of interviews, he chose to tell the story through the eyes of three soldiers and one survivor, the sister of one of the soldiers. This telling is what gives this book its potency.
   
   The strength of The Brigade is that it reads as a novel, and the reader cannot turn the pages fast enough to find out what happens next. Blum's accurate portrayal and attention to details is what keeps us focused on the reality of this amazing story of courage and perserverance. He reminds us through his excellent storytelling that this did happen.
   
   The book is not another war novel that expounds on the accounts of military victories. It shows the sacrifices and the souls of these men who risked their lives to save their people. It reveals their struggles and their doubts as well as their triumphant spirits.
   
   The Brigade is a must read. It is uplifting and demonstrates the human spirit at its best.



3. It is excellently written. A true story. You do not want to let go.



4. How this book went under the radar is beyond me! Steven Spielberg should make a movie out of this, and it could be better than "Saving Private Ryan"! This is a true story, of the first official Jewish military fighting unit. It was formed, when the British government, agreed to send 5,000 Jewish volunteers to fight in Europe, during World War II. Let your heart, mind and soul, be put in the place of a Jewish soldier: Millions of Jews being exterminated in the concentration camps, and you aren't allowed to fight back, as a recognized official unit or brigade. Now your chance comes! This book, first delves into the different types of men in this group. The feeling of helplessness, even after being approved and organized, because they're kept away from the main fighting. I was deeply impacted, as I was told, that no one, had ever worn the Star Of David, on a military uniform before. What a wonderful contrast, to the Star Of David being put on all the Holocaust victims sleeves, as a means of humiliation. When the war ends, this Jewish Brigade, decides not to stop! They continue to go after Nazi officers in hiding, and people who stole Jewish citizen's artwork and valuables. Two individual scenes, brought pride to my chest, and tears to my eyes. One was when, two of the Brigade, finally tracked down one of the Germans, who had performed various atrocities against the Jews, and one member of the Brigade, said to the war criminal: "In the name of the Jewish people, I sentence you to death!" The other scene, was when members of the Brigade, came to the gates of a concentration camp, and the skeletal survivor's in pajamas, stood looking at them, and did not speak. One soldier said, "Don't be afraid" in Yiddish. "The survivors still did not speak" "The soldier felt guilty-of his health, his strength, his good fortune, to have been spared." "He tried again, "We're Jews," he said. "Confused, a man pointed to the Star Of David on the soldier's sleeve, and asked hesitantly, "You're Jewish angels?" I could not put this book down, and have tried to think of a million different reasons, why no one has made this into a movie. I bought the book for my son, who, with starting a new family, and a new job, doesn't have time to read. But after starting this book, he read it every morning before work, and at lunch, and finished it in a week. I bought a copy and sent it to my brother, who is the busiest guy I know. He never has time to read. He read it in a week, and then passed it on to an older gentleman where he works. I sent a copy to one of my best friends; he finished it in a week. We all still discuss, and quote this book today, and I read it over three years ago!



5. This is a history of the Jewish Brigade Group of the British Army, formed on 19 September 1944. They saw action in Italy in the spring of 1945 but did not have the opportunity to enter Germany until after the war was over, possibly because of the reaction some of them have to a group of German POWs - they attacked the POWs and the Jewish officers had to stand between the Jewish soldiers and the POWs. After the surrender of Germany, Sergeant Israel Carmi and Captain Johanan Peltz visit the survivors at Mauthausen and return to camp with revenge on their minds. Carmi requests a transfer to military intelligence and begins gathering information on the commanders of the SS - and forms an execution squad made of Jewish soldiers. Throughout the summer of 1945, they execute by their estimate 300 Gestapo. Then in July 1945, Peltz and Carmi go into Poland to execute a Gestapo agent hiding as a Catholic priest. As they enter the church, they discover the priest is conducting a class of teenage girls. One of the girls makes her way to them, sees the Star of David on the shoulder patch of their uniforms, and declares her wish to return to her own people - her parents had hidden her in a Catholic orphanage. They forget their original mission and take the girl back to a Displaced Person camp near their camp. This launches the Jewish Brigade Group into a new mission - rescuing Displaced Persons and smuggling them into Palestine. I recommend this book on how history can be changed by a small decision.

5 comments about West With the Night (Audio Editions).

1. Absolutely captivating personal account of times and places long gone. As a fan of "Heat of the Sun," this book was a treasure.



2. I agree with Hemingway that this is a piece of high literature that reads like fiction and spreads itself before the reader like a well-produced film. It drove me to learn more about the author and her life.



3. I read this book because someone suggested my family might have been related to Beryl Markham, which is not the case, but...
   What a woman - this is a true account of one of the first bush pilots in Africa, Beryl Markham, who was the first pilot to fly westward across the Atlantic from England. Although there is some dispute whether she actually wrote this autobiographical account (some say that her paramour, who edited the book, actually wrote it - she never confirmed or denied it), the stories are true and fascinating, encouraging the reader to learn more about her. The writing style is wonderful and interesting - no wonder Hemingway loved it. You wouldn't know this book was first published so many years ago.



4. An excellent book!
   Ernest Hemingway wrote, "She writes rings around us!" and he wasn't just being nice!
   A good story, well written; what more could you ask for?!



5. My grandparents went to East Africa in the 1920s. My grandfather, a Scotsman, was looking for gold, my grandmother, a South African was looking for romance. My mother was born in the year this book opens.
   When I was a child my mother regaled me with stories of scorpions, leopards amd pythons, and this book rekindled my memories of childhood.
   It is a well-written account of a wild child's life in Kenya, hunting with the local people, being hunted by the local animals, and seeing the tribes as they were before tourism took over.
   
   The author seems to take everything in her stride, and nothing seems to bother her. A bull elephant intent on killing her, flying blind over the Med, engine problems over Newfoundland, nothing seems to faze her.
   I wasn't surprised to see that this book flopped on its original release in 1942 - it was an every day account of life as it was then.
   
   But in 2008, things are very different and this is a very good account of early settler life in Kenya, White hunters and early aviation. I was sorry when I finished it, and wished it had been much much longer.

4 comments about Standing Firm: A Vice-Presidential Memoir.

1. Rarely do the media and the entertainmenr business ravage a person as thoroughly as they did Dan Qauyle. Everyone thinks that they know who Quayle is, but by the time that I was done reading this book, I felt as though he were my long lost uncle. His insights are uncompromising and clear, and he places blame where it should be in every instance, sometimes on the media, sometimes on his political opponents, sometimes on President Bush, and sometimes with himself. Quayle is honest with himself and his readers, making no unecessary apologies for the decisions that he has made or the reasons that he made them. He makes no bones about the influences in his life, starting with his God. Once a skeptic, I am now a full-fledged Quayle supporter, and I will patiently explain to anyone who says anything nasty about him that they simply need to find out what they are really talking about before they open their mouth. Reading this book is a good place to start.



2. Perhaps it is appropriate that Dan Quayle belongs to the GOP because in his public life he has displayed elephantine qualities-strength, courage,decency,loyalty,love of family and an ability to fight back from adversity. His book, Standing Firm,reflects his values. From the searing media attacks of the 1988 campaign,lack of support from GOP heavyweights like Jim Baker, and the bruising vice -presidential debates of that era, Quayle would have been less than human if he had not been unsettled. He admits that in that early period he quit trusting in himself.For some liberals he would never be trusted. In refusing to bow to trendy positions Quayle continued to attract odium.Yet, in his defence of the traditional family over the 'Murphy Brown position' he espoused eternal values. Some of his critics preferred to concentrate on his incorrect spelling of potato! ( Well, the rest of the English speaking world has always known that Americans are funny spellers-big deal!) In reading this book you quickly discover Quayle is a values-driven politician. Precisely because of the poverty of values amongst today's elites Quayle's views will continue to be ridiculed despite the fact that he articulates the views of middle America. This book give some idea of the challenges and loneliness that a Veep faces,particularly one under constant media pressure. In standing firm to his values Dan Quayle fought back-his performance in the 1992 vice-presidential debate (against Al Gore) mirrored the increased assurance of the man-and this book should be reflected on by his fellow Americans and perhaps those further afield.



3. Let me preface this review by saying that I am a conservative. I am a Christian (both of which can easily be verified by reading my other reviews). And until I read this book, I wanted to like Dan Quayle. He always seemed like the media's whipping boy, like the guy that couldn't get a fair shake. I remember watching Rush Limbaugh's TV show and seeing Slick Willy laughing at a funeral, and then after spotting a camera instantaneously becoming very sad. I wanted to know why other politicians weren't hounded like Quayle was?
   
   Unfortunately, Dan answered this question in his book: he really is as the media presents him. The media paints Quayle as a guy who's smarter than average, conservative, and something of a mistake-making dufus. I found nothing in the book to refute this portrait. Quayle goes into gaff after goof that he made in a very short time period, and one comes away seeing that, yes, he really does have a problem that would be the death of any politician. Now don't get me wrong, I'm sure Mr. Quayle is much smarter that I will ever be; he's probably also more charismatic, well connected, financially secure, etc.
   
   But none of these things can save Dan from himself. He's the Yogi Berra of politicians, and you can't blame the media for jumping on the chance to make a few dollars off of his persona. Mr. Quayle's a capitalist and a conservative, surely he understands that? (though, of course, he could point out the hypocrisy in the media's claim to be unbiased, when they have biases just like the rest of us)
   
   I don't know why, but it seems like conservative politicians--e.g., Quayle, Gingrich, Keyes, etc.--have self-imploded any time they have been given a chance to do well. Meanwhile, conservative pundits--e.g., Limbaugh, Hannity, etc.--have done astronomically well when given the chance. I suppose the Republican party needs another man like Reagan, who can be a bit of everything at the same time, and still come off as seeming like much more than just the sum of his parts.
   
   Whatever the case in real life may be, I do admit that I found this book to be somewhat entertaining (if somewhat self-promoting, as most biographies are). Unfortunately, the let down that came from realising that Quayle had hurt his own case made this book very unlikable in my own eyes. It's never pleasant to see someone shoot themselves in the foot.



4. As readers of my reviews may have figured out, I read many biographies and vice-presidential memoirs are within my purview (see my Amazon review of Richard Nixon's "Six Crises"). This one is a gem! Dan Quayle gives us an inside perspective on the first Bush administration, which presided over a crucial period in the lives of most readers. It is written in a style that is easy to follow and to understand. I know what some of you are thinking. Of course it is simple, it is written by Dan Quayle. Get off it! It is not written simply, it is written very well!
   
   In "Standing Firm" Former Vice-President Quayle provides the reader with his view of the administration lead by George H.W. Bush. While Quayle obviously has very high respect for President Bush, he is had on others in the administration including, at times, himself. It seems that the only ones above criticism are President and Mrs. Bush and Marilyn Quayle. There is plenty of honest assessment of others to satisfy any but the most sanguine reader.
   
   Mr. Quayle gives us an introduction to his early life, which disposes of the claim that he came was a trust fund baby who rode to school in a limousine. It sounds like he really came from an upper middle class family.
   
   These are times worth looking back on. He gives us his perspectives on the issues which confronted the administration and him personally. He begins the book with the call to be the running mate and the chaotic rush to get through the crowd to Spanish Plaza in New Orleans for the announcement at which he was, as he admits "too hot." He then steps back to us on a walk along the road leading to his selection. It wasn't something that just happened. He was a carefully thought out choice. After rhe announcement the press assault immediately began. The first to come to his defense were his neighbors at the "Battle of Huntington." He gives us his own impression of the famous "You're no Jack Kennedy" incident.
   
   With the election won, Quayle started to establish his own role. His analysis of the opportunities for a vice-president and the pitfalls, such as taking a position without the clout to be effective, give the reader a unique perspective on the office. He carved out a particular interest in Latin America. His perspectives on Desert Storm, the Clarence Thomas nomination, the saving of President Aquino and the nailing of Noreiga provide up close looks at crucial events of the era. He provides reminders of his prophetic calls for legal reform and recognition of family values. Remember the "Murphy Brown" speech?
   
   With victory won in the Gulf, the political juggernaut, seemingly invincible, started to sputter, stopping before crossing the finish line in 1992. Quayle gives us his viewpoint of what went wrong and why.
   
   Whether your interest is in the vice-presidency, the era or Quayle himself, this is a book you will enjoy. Even though the Bush 41 era is receding into history, it is a good time to take a look back.

5 comments about This Is Orson Welles.

1. As one who had just completed a viewing of Ciitzen Kane on DVD
   (featuring the excellent audio commentary on the film by Roger Ebert & Rudy Behlmer) I turned to Frank Brady's excellent biography.This is Orson Welles completes my examination of this giant of film directorship. Over several years and in many locals the Falstaffian Welles shares his thoughts on film, his own movies and life with his devoted student Peter Bogdonovich
   (himself a talented director best known for "The Last Picture Show'). If you want to know what Welles really thinks and believes this book is the Rosetta Stone for your investigation!
   As Truffaut was able to discuss his life and films with Sir Alfred Hitchcock so does Peter B. do the same thing for Welles.
   After all the reading and studying of Welles the man emerges as a titanic force of nature whose undisciplined genius is a wonder to behold. Any fan of Welles or Cinema should add this excellent book to your library. Well Recommended!



2. has a very distinct voice. It has the voice of Orson himself.

   Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the book was the voyeuristic personal insight I was able to get from Welles and-despite his relatively passive role of interviewer-Bogdonovich as well. In this sense, is quite unlike the other required texts, and I do not read too much into the title of "author" that is loftily bestowed upon Bogdonovich and Welles. Through a brief surface comparison between this book and several other texts on Welles, it's clear that there is a great difference between a removed, historical opinion and a defensive individual discussing his own life. Although much could be said about Welles' misleading-albeit thoroughly entertaining-statements, I cannot fault a man for being unable to have sound perspective on his own affairs. I can only read the book as a historical text, but Welles was being asked questions about his life, and I cannot fault him for his oft-grandiose replies. The sheer nature of an interview such as this places an enormous amount of attention on Welles, so I can only smile pleasantly at his recurring ego, wondering if I could be any more impartial or less boastful in his place.

   Back to the question of authorship though.

   While I readily disregard comparisons between and, say, Thomson's due to their drastic differences in intent, tone and content, the strong yet shadowy hand of the omnipotent editor is ever present in all forms of biographical text. Cut this, change that, add this, move that. A book like Thomson's may greatly benefit from such professional revision, but in the cases of I felt as though the authorship accreditation was misplaced. "Edited by Jonathan Rosenbaum" should have graced the cover, replacing the names of Welles and Bogdonovich. Much like any documentary invariably guides an audience along a certain path, Rosenbaum has reconstructed the interviews amidst other such historical documentation in a very calculated and meticulous fashion. In this sense then there is no author at all, and I find it very difficult to discuss the book as a biography written by anyone.

   In truth, this may be one of the worst biography's one could possibly pick up if they wanted to learn more about Welles and his life, and I doubt I would call it a biography at all. As required course reading, I am wholly appreciative that I was given the chance to "hear" the words of Orson Welles as he spoke of his own creations, idly gossiping about other actors and filmmakers. Is it all truth? No, it is laughably biased, but it is the bias of Orson Welles, and definitely a very unique variation on accepted truth. If I can trust that Rosenbaum left the integrity intact, then Welles' half-truths are just as important to understanding the man than commonly accepted "whole-truths" by some biographer.

   Whereas can never stand on its own as an investigative biography of the filmmaker's life, it remains as the text that helped me to understand the man behind the myth above all others.




3. As the cover quip suggests, this IS a treasure trove of insights.
   I have been totally inspired by this man's conviction and boundless enthusiasm. His conception of theatre is unique and phenomenal, I dont think we will ever see his like again, not with the dumbing down of the world and aesthetics, etc.
   
   I understand the rawness and points of many a play thanks to this man. His voice is hypnotising and authoritive.
   
   Can genius like this ever see the light of day again?



4. I enjoyed this book very much. It's a good read, informative and entertaining. Fans of Welles will feel that they are sitting in on a conversation between him and Bogdanovich (who asks insightful and pertinent questions, not noticeably obseqious), and that's lots of fun. You learn things about movies and about Welles, and even his evasive responses are interesting.
   
   What nobody has mentioned so far is the photographs. There seems to have been some problem with the printing, and they look, in my copy at least, like 12th-generation photocopies: washed-out, grainy and almost indecipherable. Too bad, because there are a lot of them, some of them historic, and they are just really hard to look at. I don't understand it.



5. THis book is a must, especially if you are in either Movies or TV.
   It's a text for making movies. I've learned more about movie making after I read this book than I have in the entire 40 years I've been in the business.
   
   John MoioThis is Orson Welles

1 comments about Memories and Adventures: Library Edition.

1. First of all let me give you a product description as not much is provided with the item.The book is about 415 pages,a big,black leather covered one.It doesn't have a cover photogaph and looks like the library editions of the victoria era novels.As it is a reprint of the 1924 edition it does not contain the last chapter "up to date",which doyle added later to the revised edition of 1930.But as it was an "addition",i don't think it matters much ,and had any organic link to the original edition.The book is expensive,but it looks so gorgeous that it is almost an event,and therefore a collector's item.
   Doyle lived a life of many adventures and this book chronicles all of them.Although it hesitates sometimes as it goes back it is still a fascinating account of the great man's life, in his own words.It gives us the magical charm of being able to know about sherlock holmes from the mouth of his own creator.The various adventures of doyles life are described with the usual storyteller's skill.The humourous prose of doyle makes it an unforgettable experience.
   Every autobiography is in a way or other biased.The reader can read Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyleby daniel stashower,the best biography in my opinion,for a more modern approach.

5 comments about Flags of Our Fathers.

1. I saw the movie first and later on read the book. The book has a lot of information that re-caps events that have taken place and explains places. Bradley did a remarkable job. The story is nice and an excellent piece of literature that all Americans should read.



2. This book is a poignant reminder that freedom is never free. The book is as much a tribute to the men who gave their lives on the island of Iowa Jima as it is an exploration of the lives of those who raised the flag in one of the most iconic photos of all time. Flags of our Fathers aptly illustrates the bravery of our servicemen in the bloodiest battle in the history of the Marines. Every American needs to read Bradley's description of this battle and the human cost of our victory in WWII.
   
   Bradley deftly humanizes the flag raisers, painting their lives with careful detail. He is always fair, portraying their successes and failures with an even, historical tone. At times there is a sentimental quality to his writing, but this doesn't detract from the book as a whole. Who would not have a certain level of sentimentality writing about their war-hero father and his comrades?
   
   This book is a captivating examination of all that is right, and unfortunately, all that is wrong with America and the WWII era. The selflessness of the servicemen both in combat and then as part of war bond drives is both heroic and admirable. The way the US government treated these men, and the way they preyed on their heroism is disgusting and shameful. The US propaganda machine, the racism suffered by the Native American Ezra Hayes, and the failure to offer our soldiers any real counseling or assistance with their mental health after their return to the States are equally disgraceful.
   
   It would be nice, if some 60 years later things had changed, but just go to a movie theater and wait for a National Guard commercial, and you'll realize that as a Nation we are still using our servicemen and women as pawns in political machinations. Research the way soldiers returning from Iraq suffering PTSD are being treated, and it quickly becomes apparent that we have many of the same problems now that we did then. We need to start acknowledging our soldier's bravery and sacrifice without entangling them in the dirty world of politics. We also need to take responsibility for their mental health after we send them to war.
   
   Flags of our Fathers does not take a stance on the modern context of these issues. It doesn't need to. It describes what America did well, what it didn't, and the very real consequences of both extremes in the lives of the men portrayed in the book. It should be a lesson to us all, and this is why I believe every American should read it.



3. I was very surprised after reading this book to learn that the flagraising on Mt. Suribachi in Iwo Jima was nothing more than a simple replacement flag implant. These six men were brought together from all parts of the country, assigned to Iwo Jima along with thousands of other young American men and women, and by sheer circumstance, helped one another replace a crippled original flag on top of the mountain. A photographer happened to snap a shot of the flagraising, and instantly became a national symbol of courage and eventually the monument of The Marine Corps Memorial. The book is filled with clear images of life for a World War II soldier (Pacific Theater), strength, love, friendship, humility, fear, courage, and extreme struggle. I recommend this book to every American citizen.



4. I gave this as a birthday gift to my husband and I finished reading it before he did. I thought it was well researched and written. Very sad, but helped me understand what they went through. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in the famous picture and statue.



5. Perhaps the best book I've ever read. This book captures the action, the drama, the immense human sacrifices paid by the soldiers, their courage, the brutality of war, the history of the era and the war, the biographical background of the young soldiers and their families both before, during and after the war. Superb isn't strong enough to describe how well written this book is as it tells an amazing story about our young men you go off to war to save their country and the world from ruthless military dictatorships. The stories are gut wrenching and tear jerking. You will travel into the belly of the beast that is war and be nourished by the courage and committment to the mission's success and emotionally devastated by the carnage and loss of life and limb that followed these poor souls 24/7. The men and women who fought in WW2 truly were American's greatest generation. Read this book.

No comments about The Education of Henry Adams.

5 comments about The Other Side of Deception: A Rogue Agent Exposes the Mossad's Secret Agenda.

1. This book is a factual account of events as they occurred before the publication of his first book (Chapter 28). The Prologue gives his family history, and why he joined the Mossad. Chapter 1 tells how a NATO sleeper cell was used to create atrocities that could be blamed on Communists, and destabilize the left leaning Belgian government (pp,4-5). Chapter 2 tells how they worked with an American company that had desired technology (p.10). Chapter 4 explains how the Jordanian peace initiative was stopped. In Chapter 6 Victor was kicked out of the Mossad, and immediately recruited into a secret organization. Chapter 8 tells how a new head of the Mossad was stopped from taking office. Chapter 9 tells of his secret mission to the KGB to offer himself as a spy (Chapter 13). This would expose a suspected mole.

   Chapter 15 explains how Libya was blamed for a discotheque bombing in 1986. The US retaliation kept Libya "out of the picture". Victor then learns how turmoil was created between Kuwait and Iraq. Chapter 17 describes the safe house system in London. Victor traveled to Jordan to advise them on detecting moles. Chapter 21 tells of "humanitarian assistance" to blacks in Soweto, using a Baltimore hospital for cover. Were they testing medications and diseases? Victor explains the Pollard affair, why Pollard knew too much. Pollard's information was traded to the Soviets to release Jews; Pollard was used and then flushed! Chapter 22 tells of his visit to Egypt, and their interest in Robert Maxwell. Maxwell bought media to influence public opinion, and to provide a cover for assets in other countries; page 204 tells how this worked.

   Chapter 23 tells how background information was obtained from strangers (p.208). The Vanunu affair is explained (p.209). In Chapter 25 Victor decides to write his book on the Mossad. Operation Hannibal sold military supplies to Iran. Page 228 tells how Kurt Waldheim was branded as a Nazi! Page 231 explains how a politician was smeared and defeated. When this politician tried to clear himself, he was lured to Geneva and given a heart attack (pp.234-5). In Chapter 26 Victor travels to Paris to tell the French secret service about the Mossad's links with fascist elements (p.242). They later asked Victor to investigate the leading advocate of privatization in the US (p.244). This member of the Libertarian Party sought to destabilize a French South Pacific island.

   Chapter 27 tells about the propaganda campaign against Saddam Hussein (p.247). Iraq targeted Iranian cities using information from American satellites. Pages 250-1 tell how a reporter (who knew too much) was lured into a fatal mission. Then there is the planted story of Iraq's "weapons of mass destruction". Page 259 tells of the safest sanctuary around - an airport! Chapter 30 tells of President George Bush's visit to the Madrid peace talks, and the failed assassination attempt. Chapter 31 explains Robert Maxwell's partnership with the Mossad, and why he had to be silenced. It was not that he knew too much, but that he began to talk too much under pressure of bankruptcy. Chapter 31 ends the book with his tour of Europe to promote his first novel. A problem occurred in Belgium; Victor knew of the corruption of the Belgian police force. Victor then realized that his connection in the Mossad was no longer reliable (p.290).




2. Without becoming one, that is.

   Alongside the author's previous "By Way of Deception." This book, also a best seller, contains a depressing and chilling expose of The Mossad, Israel's intelligence service.

   Unlike any other 'true espionage account' you might have hitherto read it is, as the saying goes, impossible to put down. Absolutely riveting. Though by the end the question is not 'Who are the good guys?' It's more like ' Who in The Middle East is NOT completely insane ? '

   Ostrovsky was a former colonel in the Israeli armed forces before he joined Mossad. No one contends that he was a field officer, well connected and in the know. He was fired after a fracas in Cyprus, in which he contends he was forced to take the fall for his incompetent superiors. This would never have happenned in the Israeli Defense Forces, not without a proper hearing. However The Mossad, as he never tires of telling us, is a law unto itself.

   According to the author it has become a 'rival state' comprised of good ole boys answerable only to the Prime Minister--at least in theory. In fact, it answers to no one.

   Dissatisfied intelligence officers who have been, rightly or wrongly, given the boot writing scathing memoirs is not news.

   However if, say, a CIA operative turned 'liberal' upon termination of employment alleged ONE TENTH of what Ostrovsky alleges, the scandal that would follow dwarf Watergate and Iran/Contra combined.

   Among a few:

   * The Mossad regards anyone in Israel who believes in peace with the Palestinians, or withdrawal from the occupied territories as little better than a traitor. It has sold arms and provided information to fundamentalist extremist Muslim groups via third parties in order to undermine the stability of Arab States and the credibility of their leaders with The West. Anything to keep the conflict burning.

   * The Mossad planned to assasinate president George Bush Sr at the Madrid peace talks in 1991, due to his policy of pressuring Israel to the negotiaing table by freezing their loan guarantees.

   A special Kidon (bayonet, i.e; hit men) unit took three Palestinian extremists from Beirut and set them up. The Mossad was to kill the 'perpretators' in the ensuing confusion after they had shot the president. Due to inside info Ostrovsky obtained, he was able to blow the whistle and the plan was cancelled--as were the three Palestinians, at the Nes Ziyyona facitlity, an ABC (atomic, bacteriological, chemical) warfare lab where the author contends top epidemiogical scientists routinely use enemies as human guinea pigs.

   * The Mossad, did indeed murder their billionare operative Robert Maxwell, let Jonathan Pollard hang out to dry, and (ready?) assasinated Israeli general Yekutiel Adam a.k.a. "Kuti" because he had been appointed its head and they didn't want an 'outsider' taking over.

   Now if all this---and much more---sound like the ravings of a lunatic, he's an extremely meticulous and detailed one.

   Still, one wonders if the Mossad is a loose cannon, why Ostrovsky chose to trust anyone in it, after fleeing Israel.

   He tells us that after getting sacked he got news that he was about to be made a liason to South Lebanon (as good as a death sentence) and a certain Ephraim---a higher ranking officer saved him by helping him escape to the U.S.

   Whereupon Ephraim called in the favor qnd talked him into 'reforming' the organization by doing everything possible to undermmine it, thus bringing 'liberals' like Ephraim to power.

   If we're not through the looking glass yet, here we go: The undermining consisted in Victor volunteering his services as an ex-Mossad agent to The British, The KGB, The Jordanians (!) and The Egyptians, among others.

   The KGB didn't bite because they had a mole inside--however their refusal confirmed Ephraim's suspicions--he uncovered the mole and became a hero. The Brits were more accomodating, but cheap. The Jordanians--well, you've got to read that chapter, suffice it to say that according to Victor he had to fly to Jordan, whereupon things got very James Bondian and even more surreal. The Egyptians threw him in a cell.

   In the end, Ephraim does take over but then he tries to assasinate Victor, to tie up loose ends.

   Compelling, well documented, and absolutely nuts.




3. This is an excellent book, probably one of the best ones I have ever read. In my opinion it says the real story about israeli intelligence, how they think, how they act, and how dirty they play with everybody, even with people who have helped them. You MUST read this book.



4. For a thinking person, the revelations in this book should spawn probing questions about the Mossad's part in geopolitics from pre-9-11 to 2004. Ostrovsky outlines how the Mossad, unlike any other secret intelligence service in the world, uses the vast Diaspora as "assets" to do their bidding. It is organized so that the Diaspora (over 50,000 strong) become temporary Mossad agents on an as-needed basis.

   This structure accomplishes two things:
   (1) By playing on the 'help the homeland' aspect of requesting help for Israel from the Diaspora through whatever the 'asset's' position or job skill can produce, it naturally compartmentalizes the significance of a job, and reduces costs. The Mossad has only 1200 agents worldwide, but calls on the considerable PR skills of the B'nai B'rith, JDL, and ADL to advance its aims on an as-needed basis. Ostrovsky shows in event after event how this is by design.

   (2) The Mossad can get away with meddling in the politics of foreign countries by labeling as "anti-semitic" any objection to its methods; or similarly, by labeling as "anti-semitic" any objections if its gets caught. Again, Ostrovsky shows in example after example how this is by design.

   The recent 2004 scandal in New Zealand is a case in point. This involved Mossad agents caught stealing New Zealand passports from paraplegics. Or the more disturbing US-based AP reports from Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida in the last five weeks in which Israeli agents were caught near nuclear sub and fuel stations, or trying to enter federal installations. The only reporter willing to follow up these stories is Daniel Hopsicker, a respected journalist, of online MadCowProd News. When you realize that these agents caused an entire Navy Sub station with nuclear missles to close down (May 20, 2004) because sniffing dogs discovered bomb material in their moving trucks, it makes Ostrovsky's detailed warning about what the Mossad is doing in the US all the more alarming.

   I think the information I found the most distressing was how the Mossad uses US national print and broadcast media and reporters as assets. This a propaganda machine that at this time can only lead to more US sons and daughters coming home from Iraq in body bags. I say this because Ostrovsky is adamant in this book, published in 1993 or 1994, that it has been the Mossad's express policy for years to get the US into war with Iraq.




5. This is a very worthwhile read but not as fulfilling as the original blockbuster 'By Way of Deception.'
   
   The ending is pretty weak, we are supposed to believe that Victors (book author) old friend send a kidon (Mossad assassins) group to 'take care' of Victor. It is also my opinion that the author over stretched when he vouched that Bush Sr had nothing to do with the Iran-Contra affair. Read 'Compromised' for a believable account of the involvement of many 'well placed' individuals in the Iran-Contra affair. Nevertheless, I find most of the book to present itself as being fairly credible.
   
   More thrilling stories of almost impossible levels of Mossad skulduggery. I'm sure most readers will find themselves very thankful for the fact that the Mossad is, mostly, thousands of miles away.
   
   The Mossad is simply too important to not get educated about. This is another good insider account by Victor Ostrovsky.