5 comments about Wait Till Next Year : A Memoir (AUDIO CASSETTE).

1. Ms. Goodwin knows how to tell a good story. In addition to telling us about her childhood in a New York City suburb in the 1950s, she also talks about the changes America was going through in this time period: economic development and the impact on the family, the beginnings of the civil rights movement, the "end" of baseball as the American pasttime. The book is well-written and very enjoyable.



2. Most interesting for me since I am a "wait till next year" Red Sox fan. She's an excellent writer and commentator and this lives up to her standard.



3. Wait Till Next Year is about baseball and life. It is the title of Doris Kearns Goodwin's memoir of childhood. Set in suburban New York in the `50s, and lived before the backdrop of baseball, the account follows Goodwin through her childhood ending when she is fifteen at the death of her mother Helen, and the move from the family home. The opening line: "When I was six, my father gave me a bright-red scorebook that opened my heart to the game of baseball."
   
   When Thomas Kearns teaches his daughter to keep a scorecard on each Brooklyn Dodger game he initiates her love for baseball, as well as for telling a compelling narrative. Baseball bonds their relationship. With careful records Doris relives each game with her father after he comes home from work. Baseball permeates other relationships. Doris listens to games on the radio after school with her mother. Her first boyfriend shares her love for baseball; her best girlfriend Elaine does too, although she was a rabid Giant's fan. The repetitive disappointment about the team's poor results demanded optimistic philosophy. Ever hopeful of winning a pennant, "wait till next year" became the family theme at the close of a season of defeat.
   
   Defeat overwhelms the Kearns' family when Helen dies. For a time Thomas' grief was inconsolable. Doris threw herself into activity and study. One of the final scenes in the book takes place in the attic. Doris and her father are looking at a box of old scorebooks. Thomas admits he cannot live in the house anymore without his wife. It is time to move on. Baseball continues, as does their family. Cycles repeat. In the final pages of the memoir Doris initiates her own sons into the culture of baseball teaching them, like her father had taught her, how to keep a scorebook. Like her father she opens her sons' hearts to the game of baseball. "Wait till next year" prevails.



4. Doris Goodwin is a Pulitzer Prize winning author. She is a democrat and mostly she writes about politics. However several years back she took part in Ken Burns documentary film on baseball and portrayed her memories and love of the Brooklyn Dodgers of the 1950s and later as an adult in Massachusetts, the Boston Red Sox.
   
   This stimulated her to reflect on her childhood days as a Dodger fan and she decided to write a book about it. But as she carefully researched her memory and her past she found that it was all intertwined with her life groing up as an impresionable girl on Long Island in the 1950s. Her parents her friends and her future wriing career were all tied togehter. So this delightful book is a memoir of her childhood growing up and living and dying for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
   I am 55 years old, slightly younger than Goodwin but I too grew up in the 1950s on Long Island and can relate to many of her experiences. She discusses how she started learning about baseball and the Dodgers when her father taught her how to fill out a scorecard. In the evenings during their quiet time together she would use the scorecard like a cue to narrate the game she listened to on the radio that day. This brought the game to life for her father and created an interest in her in narration that carried on into a career of writing.
   
   The book flows marvelously and you see the world from the eyes of an impressionable grammar school girl. Goodwin is somehow able to go back and put herself back in the mind of that little naive child. We see her devotion to the Catholic church, the fear of polio in the ealry 1950s before the vaccines. I know this so well as I contracted polio in the summer of 1953 though I never got it so bad as to need an iron lung. We here of her confessions as she admitted to her priest that she wished harm on the Dodger opponents. We learn about the kids in the neighborhood, all Dodger, Giant or Yankee fans. I was a Yankee fan but my brother and all my friend that I played ball with as a kid were Dodger fans. The Dodgers were the most popular team in New York. They were the underdogs and the team for the common working man.
   
   Goodwin's first boyfriend was a boy she got to know because he was a Dodger fan and they could talk so comfortably about the Dodgers. This is a story about the Dodger players she admired; Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider, Don Newcombe and Carl Furillo and the Yankees and Giants that she dispised, Mays, Mantle, Martin, Berra and others. It is a story about devotion and heartbreak; Bobby Thomson's home run, the story of Mickey Owens' dropped third strike. Billy Martin's heroics is 52 and 53. But it is also the thrill of 1955 when Dodger fans finally didn't have to say wait till next year.
   
   As all this goes on we also hear about her mother's health problems and her childhood girlfriends, the beginning years of television, the Army - McCarthy hearings, the cold war, the civil defense drills and the fallout shelters, memorable events for those growing up in the 1950s.
   
   



5. As a college drop out I am not what many people might consider well read. While school was never my strong suit, and studying was an event that rarely ever happened, I did manage to read a few great books along the way. My first and best semester of college I read Wait 'til Next Year. While I am not a fan of sports and am not competitive at all, this book was beautifully written and takes the reader on a tour through the author's life, all in the language of baseball. Using the sport as a way to framework the personal story was a wise choice as it gives great metaphors and context to the tale. I suppose I also have good memories tied into the novel as well, considering that I did really well grade-wise that semester and I remember really enjoying this book when I read it at that time.

5 comments about Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, Library Edition.

1. I love anything by Barbara Kingsolver and this book was no exception. She made a believer out of me and many of our bookclub members. Even though many of us do not have gardens (this year anyway), we're all haunting the farmers' markets in town and stocking up on organic, locally grown produce, meats, eggs and dairy. The writing was just as mesmerizing as any of her fiction -- one of those books that you just don't want to finish because you don't want to not be reading it.



2. I don't even remember how i came across this book, but it was definitely a good read. Not 5 stars as the book was a little repetitive and slow at times, but definitely 4 stars. The book is another of the typical "i'm going to change my life and write about it plus add in statistics and side stories and such". Which is fine because i like books like this. I felt that one of the strongest points of this book were the short essay's and recipes from the authors husband and daughter. These helped the book move along and provided a break from all the local food statistics and preaching. I'm your interested in reading about local food, gardening, and rural east coast life this book would be for you.



3. I avoided reading this book for a while, because I had the feeling that I wasn't going to like it. And then a friend brought it to my house. Well, I was right. Two stars for some (but not many) good anecdotes. A bad review for a humorless, avuncular tone. We, consumers, are getting clobbered over the head from every direction with the "locavore" message anyway. Although I am in agreement with the idea that it is important to support our local farmers, it really is a conceit to think that this food is accessible to everyone. Also, I'd like to know more about the economics involved. Is it really more fuel-efficient to have dozens of farmers drive to the farmers market and hundreds of people make a special trip, compared to the economies of scale present in our big grocery store system? Just wondering. . .
   
   You won't find answers to any difficult questions in this book. Instead, Ms. Kingsolver uses the money that she's made from her loyal fan base to look down her nose at us and write a santimonius, preachy book about how we all should be eating. I fail to see how her year of intensive gardening on her large farm in Appalachia has any bearing on the problem of how we average folks can actually best spend limited food dollars. It seems to me, that if she really wanted to make a difference, she would have spent the year dipping into her sizable bank account to buy local farm products from people who truly are trying to make a living that way rather than just ramping up her gardening efforts. Don't buy this book unless you love being condescended to.



4. I enjoyed reading this book as a story about a family and how they chose to eat for a year. It certainly inspired me to cook more often, and to head to the farmer's market up the street a little more often. The sections I didn't like were those by Kingsolver and her husband broached bigger societal issues like subsidies for big agriculture companies, problems with feed lot animals, etc. These are all very real problems, but I wish the book had given more details, some statistics, references and footnotes from where her info came from, etc. Also, as a well-informed vegetarian of 17 years, I found the section about how vegetarians are all delusional to be very demeaning and her arguments weak.
   
   Anyhow, read it for the family and farming story. But also pick up "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan for a much better explanation of the bigger issues.



5. Barbara Kingsolver's lyric prose is so fun to read, and it's good for you too! It's heartening to see the locavore movement get such attention on a national scale. Maybe American food culture isn't doomed after all. The inserts from her family are entertaining, but sometimes awkwardly placed. I can't wait to lend this out to my friends.

5 comments about Storyteller's Daughter.

1. This book is one of the best books I have read. It was touching and made me realise what an amazing life Saira Shah has led. After I closed the book, I could not pick up annother book for a couple of days - I did not want to spoil the feeling it had left me with. This book will move you, make you think and touch you.
   I loved it!



2. Part memoir, part reportage, this beautifully written book is also an inquiry into the nature of myth, identity, and the limits of human endurance. Born in England and raised on the memories of her Afghan father's homeland, the author journeys as a young journalist to Afghanistan during the Soviet Occupation in the 1980s, traveling with the mujahidin rebels, who with massive infusions of weapons from the CIA eventually drive out the Russians and then quickly succumb again to an equally destructive civil war and the inevitable tyranny of the Taliban. A witness to these struggles and the widespread human misery they caused, Shah is present again in 2002 as the Americans retaliate in response to the 9/11 attacks.
   
   Through it all, she ponders her deep identification with the people of this war-torn land, fired by the cultural myths that have sustained them through millenia of invasions, occupations, and civil strife, where fierce tribal allegiances and a fatalistic fearlessness make death, brutality, and suffering a common experience. Over a period of 15 years, her belief in the myths is tested, and she begins to fully comprehend not only the immensity of the human cost of the war but the extreme difficulty of making a difference for those of its casualties most in need of help.
   
   Writing with a skilled reporter's powers of acute observation and an ability to convey images of people, places, and events in vivid and compelling prose, Shah interweaves stories, Afghan poems and sayings, and even humor, with accounts of her work as a journalist behind the lines. Readers unfamiliar with the last 50 years of Afghan history may be disoriented as Shah tells her own story, skipping as it does from one point in time to another. But read along with books like Christina Lamb's "The Sewing Circles of Herat" and Jason Eliot's "An Unexpected Light," she provides insights into her subject that are revealing, moving, and often riveting. Definitely recommended.



3. I am currently in Kabul, and have read almost every English-language book on Afghanistan that is popularly available. I have also lived in Kabul and traveled to Feyzbad, Kandahar,Mazar-e-Sharif, Jalalabad, Kunduz and along the Uzbek Border. I speak mediocre Dari. Among the books that I enjoyed were those by Saira Shah's grandmother (try "My Khyber Life") and her father, Idris Shah. The same cannot be said for Saira Shah's. Shah' work, however. Part of my complaint was that the book isn't about anything much - its just a list of what she claims were her experiences in and near Afghanistan. I would compare them to a series of interesting letters detailing what I did on my afghan vacation. What they don't provide is insight into what was happening in Afghanistan or Peshawar, why, or what is going on now, or much cultural or historical information.
   
   My other, more serious complaint, is that I think most of the book is not true, and that Ms. Shah either made it up entirely, seriously exaggerated or "borrowed" the story from someone else's experience. The issue is not that the book was not entertaining, because it was, but that I strongly suspect that it is entertaining only because she changed (or created) the facts to make it so.
   
   Too much of what she claims were her experiences in Afghanistan are general stories one hears here (such as the time she met a Mullah who spoke Arabic while claiming to be an Arab man. She says that he started faking speaking Arabic, and she pretended to understand him, so he declared them Arabs to keep his lie of Arabic proficiency and prestige that went with it. This story of two language frauds is heard in many incarnations. I even heard one in a German-language book I read 10 years ago in Austria. Also, some mountain mullahs do speak some Arabic. They may not be fluent, but they know a little bit and would spot someone who didn't, the same way you would if the only Spanish you knew was "what is your name?" and when you asked someone who claimed to be a Spaniard they didn't understand. She might have also been expected to talk to her companions and pray in Arabic - it would seem strange if she did neither, and if there is any Arabic people know here, its prayers).
   
   Another example of an improbable event is when she tells of a Buzgashi game during which the players rode their horses into the tent holding "the Great and the Good" and collapsed the tent on them. I'm guessing all of the spectators weren't the "Great and the Good," but it makes a better story if they were. Also, although Buzgashi is compared to polo, but it is really a lot more violent. All of the horses are stallions, and taught to kick and bite each other. The only rule for the players is no eye gouging. The game set-up is sort of like a race, as the player holding the goat as to ride around certain points before he can make a goal, and the others ride alongside trying to stop him. I play horse polo and have watched Buzgashi, and although a horse might run away, the whole group of players could avoid running into a spectator's tent (I've also never seen a tent for spectators, but maybe they really had that in Pakistan). If they were out of control, horses by instinct would head for open space or for home, not into an unknown tent full of people. If by some fluke a horse or horses did run into the tent, it would not have been funny. People would have been hurt, and probably killed - the same goes for the horses. If the horses just took out the tent supports, they still would have tripped, fallen and seriously injured themselves and their riders.
   
   
   Other stories just don't make sense - Dari is an older version of Farsi, it's true, but it''s not so ancient that people say "entomb thyself' instead of "take cover" as Ms Shah claims Afghans do. If Ms Shah met an Afghan who wanted her to take cover he would say "Hide!" "Get Down!" or "Cover!" He would only tell her to entomb herself if he wanted to her bury herself. It makes a quaint story about ancient languages and confusions cased by language, but it isn't true (I asked one of guards who work her at my office in Kabul, and who was previously a soldier for15 years and he agreed). By Ms. Shah's own admission her Dari wasn't so great, which makes me question if she would have understood an archaic command such as "entomb thyself," even if someone had spoken it. I also doubt that Ms.Shah spent so much time in men's clothes without anyone noticing - if she didn't have a beard, or stubble, or know how to pray with the men, they would eventually notice. From a distance I'm sure she blended in, and it would work short-term, but if she kept up for too long her secret would be out. I'm sure she did travel in men's gear, but I'm also sure it wasn't for as long as she implied, or as successfully. I used to "cross dress" in Saudi and it took abut 20 minutes before the strangers around me in the junk souk were certain I wasn't a man. There are may other such instances I doubt Ms. Shah truthfulness and stories that are too good to be true. (I was so angry when I was reading the book that I kept a list), but in the interest of a somewhat shorter review I'll stop at those examples. More generally, I find it unlikely that Ms. Shah's experience always fit so neatly into a "story,"or that her stock character friends (the rebellious Afghan girl who wants to be free, the prescient professor who sees the dangers ahead but is ignored by leaders etc.) always had the "inside scoop" and told it to her in short sound bites capturing the entire situation, or that she so frequently found herself in a situation so perfectly primed for maximum effect.
   
   
   The only part of the book that is not like this is near the end, when Ms. Shah brings a television crew to film two girls (she included them in an earlier news piece after their mother was raped and killed in front of them, and the resulting interest in their fate from paying news agencies promoted a return trip to try and help them and tape said efforts for a TV channel), by providing schooling for them, only to find them afraid to leave home and their father reluctant to let them go. This was messy, morally compromising and a without a real resolution, which makes me think it is the most true section of the book. The rest is neat, pat, a little funny sometimes tragic, and, in my opinion, almost always "enhanced," if not completely fabricated.
   
   In short read one of the many, many good books out there by the many, many truthful writer based in fact. They might not be quite so perfect and their writers not quite so in the middle of thing, but they are also more likely to be true, and you will therefore get more out of them.



4. An absolutely delicious story! Afghanistan's lore and legend come to life in the author's own accounts of her bold adventures as a woman on the fronts of danger in Afghanistan. It being true made it all the more fun. I really could not put this book down; it is a fascinating tale that includes intrigue, suspense, and a uniquely satire sense of humor sprinkled throughout. Saira Shah transports the reader to a foreign land, a foreign way of life, a foreign way of thought. Yet, the tales echo familiar as she gives a spectacular presentation of the clash between mystical historical lore, modern day realities, and the blend of these two realms on humanity's culture, mind, and heart.



5. The Storyteller's Daughter is a tale of high adventure--a tough-minded, fearless and obviously incredibly fit woman travels with the mujahaddin in Afghanistan as they fight the Soviet army. What is even more compelling about this book is the insight we get into the growth of radical Islam and the woeful lack of understanding by western participants/observers as this struggle was going on--with enormous consequences for today, of course.

4 comments about And There Was Light (S03) (S03).

1. It shows that we all, by remaining open and without fear, can remain in touch with the Light within. I admire J L tremendously, as a writer, a poet, a spiritual person, an antinazi, and an all around good guy.



2. Upon becoming blind at 8 years of age, Jacques Lusseyran discovered a deep inner joy that henceforth illuminated his entire life and never left him, not even in the horror and despair of Buchenwald. He was a daring, courageous French Resistance fighter who taught people not just to see but also to experience that life beyond all life and that joy that surpasses all human understanding. Even the evil of Nazism sweeping throughout France could not dim this ever-shining light. Jacques lived life to the fullest every moment of his waking hours with an enthusiasm that is astonishing, energizing, and almost unbelievable. To read this book is discover anew that light which the darkness has never been able to extinguish.



3. This book was recommended to me in 1970 by Marshall McLuhan. He was greatly impressed by this book, as was I. Lusseyran's experience with the human voice was particularly intriguing. I tried to contact him at the university, but he had left. Does anyone know what happened to him?



4. Startling in its intelligence, moral power, and sheer beauty, this text is a treasure for both the seasoned wise and the passionate young. Lusseyran was a man of rare talent and courage; his untimely death in 1971 saw the loss of one of Earth's freest and wisest souls. May our children and our children's children have the privilege of reading his remarkable story.

5 comments about Mistrial of the Century: A Private Diary of the Jury System on Trial.

1. This book is not necessarily about the O.J. Simpson trial. It is about how the Justice System treats the people that are assigned to be on a jury. I think this book should be mandatory reading for every trial attorney and trial judge. I realize that this trial had more press converage than any other trial, but I would think twice about being on a jury and subjecting my family to that kind of torture.



2. This book was not what I expected. This book is not about the O.J. Simpson Trial. These book goes into the way jurors are treated in our Judicical system, how jurrors are guarded and have the same rights as a person in jail. This book should be mandatory reading for all judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys who will have to select a jury that will be sequestered.



3. Kudos is due Tracy and Judith Kennedy for making the content of "Mistrial of the Century" more substantial than the title. The O.J. Simpson case is the nominal subject matter of this book, but the Kennedys do not simply toss another empty tome upon the already excessive pile of books that express outrage that Simpson was acquitted or framed, depending on the author's point of view. Rather, the Kennedys discuss the sequestration process and its horrific effects on him (leading him to a suicide attempt) and, necessarily, on her.

   The Kennedys' descriptions of former juror Tracy's ordeal are frightening as they describe the nearly complete absence of rights the jurors were forced to undergo. Kennedy describes random searches of all his belongings, monitoring of his phone calls, and other indignities that even the accused did not have to suffer. The book seems brave and honest, particularly in the description of Tracy Kennedy's suicide attempt.

   At the same time, the reader should be cautious about drawing the conclusions the authors obviously intend. First, the book mentions possible criminal action against Tracy Kennedy for various offenses, and any book by an accused, honest though it may be, must be viewed in light of the accusations (or, in this case, possible accusations, though time has suggested that none will be forthcoming). Second, and more important, the book is an attempt to bring to light a perceived injustice in the jury system. The O.J. Simpson case, however, was an anomaly among anomalies. Sequestration is itself used in only a minority of cases, and almost never for as long as was the case in the Simpson trial. The problems described are almost certainly not typical. That being said, the Kennedys' book makes it clear that, regardless of one's view of the correctness of the jurors' verdict, they were mistreated, sometimes by each other, but mainly by the forces that gave them their positions as jurors.




4. I am glad that I bought this book at a thrift store. I was disappointed in the content. The title should have been more closely associated to the content. I believe that the author was merely trying to ride on the sensationalism of the trial, contrary to his written statements within the book. Although I can sympatize with the author's anguish, while associated with the trial, a different title should have been chosen. As an adjunct professor,of Criminal Justice, I may make a passing comment in class about the content of the book. However, I certainly would not recommend it to my students.



5. For years I have avoided picking up any book related to the OJ Simpson criminal trial. However, this book is only marginally about the Simpson case and centers almost entirely on the experience of being a sequestered juror.
   
   The book provides a fascinating look inside the criminal justice system, from a unique perspective. We hear plenty about the criminals, but not so much is ever known about the non-criminals who find themselves caught up in the system as jurors, especially in high-profile cases.
   
   In my opinion, this book should be required reading for anyone involved in the planning of a jury trial that is expected to involve a sequestered jury.
   
   I was saddened to learn that the author recently committed suicide, after he shot and killed his wife. Very sad.

5 comments about The Coalwood Way (The Coalwood Series #2).

1. A story told first time can be fasicnating. As Rocket Boys was. The same story told second time is just boring. The first one had a backbone: boys trying to achieve the goal despite the circumstances. The second one - ranomly selected stories about this or that - I simply don't care. Meaningless and boring



2. I'm not sure where the below reviewers are coming from. The Coalwood Way, although including the Rocket Boys, is very much different from the first memoir. And it is not a bunch of disconnected stories, not at all! The Coalwood Way opens with Sonny Hickam in a strange depression a year after the death of his grandfather who had lost his legs in the coal mine. It is a depression he struggles with throughout the book and is the core thread. How he determines what is causing that depression really fills out a part of the original memoir that was left out and provides us with insight as to how he ultimately succeeds. Hickam reveals how that last winter in Coalwood so much is happening to him and his friends. His rockets are starting to work, but nothing else does. He even lets Chipper, his mom's beloved squirrel, escape into the winter cold and snow. He also meets Dreama, a young woman also struggling, and wanting Sonny to be her friend. Dreama is considered something like white trash, and is living with one of the most detestable men in town. Sonny also falls for Ginger who dreams of being a professional singer and provides an interesting counterpoint to the coal miners' sons of Coalwood with their dreams of spaceflight. "Dad," or Homer, Sr. is also struggling, trying to open a part of the mine that has defeated previous mine superintendents but upon which the future of Coalwood depends. "Mom," or Elsie, struggles with her failure to win the annual Veteran's Day parade (Coalwood's float has always won before), as well as her continuing attempts to get Homer, Sr. to quit the mine before black lung kills him. Elsie also identifies very much with Dreama and wants to help her but is held back by the "Coalwood way". The story is told with Hickam's tradmark humor and there are as many laugh out loud moments as tears. The dramatic arc of these threads to the story all join in a night of murder and mayhem when Coalwood is also buried in a huge snowstorm and cut off from the rest of the world. This is followed by another night of hope and amazing redemption on Christmas Eve that will cause even the hardest heart to melt. In many ways, this is Hickam's Coalwood Christmas story and it's a great one. You will love it.



3. "The Coalwood Way" is the part 2 contiuation of the "Rocket Boys", AKA:"October Sky". I just really like the way Mr. Hickam tells his story in his books. I find them to be "Americana" like- a success story from a humble start. I think the series could be a must read for middle and high school students as a way to see their potential in their own future and not just the here and now. A great book (and series) to read!



4. Dr. Werner von Braun once said, "Matters of faith are not really accessible to our rational thinking. I find it best not to ask any questions, but to just believe..." These words are truly conveyed throughout the second of Homer Hickam Jr.'s memoirs, The Coalwood Way, originally published in 2000. Although following his acclaimed, Rocket Boys, this compelling story does not continue where the last left off. Portions of the memoir take place during the same time period as the last, however, this tome portrays the life of Homer "Sonny" Hickam in a different light. This particular memoir focuses on Sonny's senior year in high school and the hardships he must go through when growing up. In addition to working diligently on creating improved rockets, Sonny must focus on achieving A's in school. Most importantly, he must focus on his family. In 1959 Coalwood, West Virginia is a ticking bomb and as it becomes more and more difficult to keep the mines running, the bomb seems to always be the verge of exploding leaving the people out of jobs, homes and, even worse, their town. Sonny must now try to keep his family together while the town falls apart and yet keep alive the dream of leaving in order to join his role model, Dr. Werner von Braun, at Cape Canaveral.
   Sonny Hickam is on his way to fulfilling his dreams as the book begins. However there a few obstacles on the way. Troubles in his family prevent Sonny from leading an easy, carefree life. His mother, Elsie, is growing increasingly impatient with Sonny's father. Sonny's father, Homer, is the mine superintendent and with the opening of a dangerous new mine, 11 East; ultimately, he is home even less often than usual. The strain on the marriage becomes too much for Sonny's mother and she insists on leaving Coalwood to escape to Myrtle Beach in order to sell real estate. In addition to his domestic hardships, Sonny is having troubles with himself. Every so often, although only lasting a few minutes, Sonny will find himself engulfed in an unexplainable grief. This mystery baffles Sonny day after day. As he searches for the origin of this mystery grief, he learns more than he ever imagined. Sonny's emotions and adventures are vividly depicted through a truly sentimental story, splashed with humor in all the right places. The writing style of Homer Hickam in this memoir is once again captivating and absolutely unforgettable.
   Although one may think memoirs aren't written well due to the lack of an experienced writer, The Coalwood Way reads like an old time fable. It is written in such a way that you are taken from your own world and thrown into the small town in West Virginia. Hickam depicts Coalwood in such a way that the image of every part of the quaint town is etched into your mind. His method of writing will bring you to tears when tragedy strikes and laughter when Sonny finds himself in a humorous predicament.
   This memoir is all about finding yourself and realizing that whenever life trips you up, someone will always be there to catch you when you fall. Throughout this lucid story, Sonny tries to find himself, and while looking down on his beloved town, he finally realizes the answer to what he's being puzzling all along. He understands his feelings, thinking: "My parents, and all the people of Coalwood, had given me the only true gifts they could ever give, that of their wisdom, and of their dreams, and of their love. All fear, sadness, and anger inside me had vanished. I knew who I was and where I came from and who my people were. I was ready to leave because I could never leave." Once Sonny realizes he can let go of the past, he is able to finally leave his hometown with the closure he needs to succeed.



5. Another excellent book by Homer Hickam, If you don't read the trilogy you're missing a true West Virginia experience

1 comments about After the Light: What I Discovered on the Other Side of Life That Can Change Your World.

1. This author tells her spiritual story in a very readable and entertaining way. This book will keep you reading all night!

5 comments about I Never Had It Made (Wild Bears!).

1. They say to whom much is given, much is expected. In Jackie's case he didn't ask to take on this feat- but nonetheless he accepted the mission and gave it his all- and succeeded- perhaps at the expense of his own personal life and serenity. This man had a huge task and he never shirked when it seemed to be insurmountable...the crux of the challenge was that jackie was told that he would be up against jeering crowds, small minds, hostile people that would do their best to get his goat- and that it was imperative that jackie did not resist and defend- and he upheld his end of the bargain.Jackie shows us all the high road.I am no sports fan but I did love this book- because it is about focus, strength and grace in the face of opposition, and a trailblazer personality that lit the way for many many people.



2. The autobiography of Jackie Robinsons Life "I never had it made" was an inspiring book to not stop trying. I enjoyed this book as a learner of the old ages and as a young fan of baseball. Jackie inspired millions of African Americans to do what they always have dreamed of doing. The only reason I did not give it 5 stars was because I thought they talked too much about his life after he retired from baseball. The book talks about the hardships Jackie went through and the journey he made to become such a phenomenal athlete and role model. Some of the people that Jackie worked with were greats known as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. After retirement Jackie opens up his own charities and organizations to help the not so fortunate African Americans of today's society. I recommend this book to anyone that has trouble with their self-confidence because this book makes you appreciate your life more. Unfortunately Jackie will be remembered just because of his baseball accomplishments and not what he did off the field.



3. This was just dynamite. Jackie holds nothing back. I've read a lot of baseball books, and I've read a lot of autobiographies. This was hands-down the best, period! If you only want to read about his baseball accomplishments, go elsewhere. He covers his entire life, and there was a lot more than just baseball. The incidents from other episodes of his life serve to quantify what an advocate he was, and how difficult it was to take the abuse heaped upon him in his first two seasons with the Dodgers without responding. Bravo to a well-lived life, Jackie!



4. I read this book when I did a research paper on Jackie Robinson in 11th grade English class back in 2003. It was a great autobiography and I couldn't put the book down. Not only tells the story of the man as a baseball player, but it tells how he struggled being a "black man in a white world." If you are interested in baseball, civil rights, or even just want to read a good book and learn more about the time, I highly recommend this book.



5. A very positive role model for our youth (and adults!) Jackie Robinson was courageous man. I learned about the barriers and obstacles he faced as well as all African-Americans faced during this era. And still face today.

5 comments about The Iacocca: An Autobiography.

1. I have been playing golf for over 45 years and have read many books related to the golf swing. Joe Laurentino in his book takes a lot of the "mystery" out of teaching the golf swing. He specifically puts you at ease by stating that you don't have to swing like a pro to play a decent game of golf. The chapter on golf club path and golf club face angle are particularly enlightening. This book is a must read for anyone considering trying to improve their golf swing without going through a major overhaul.



2. He supported Bush, while saying Gore was a nut for believing in global warming. Thanks for your help, Lee... you Republican imbecile.



3. Lee Iacocca was a brilliant salesman, a workaholic, and a resourceful businessman. Throughout history, at the heart of the American automobile industry there have always been men of advanced practicality that shaped the nation as a worldwide power; Iacocca clearly belongs among its best.
   
   Iacocca's autobiography details early childhood, his entry as a salesman into the auto industry, time with Ford including overseeing the development of the Mustang, and saving Chrysler including details on the government bailout loan he negotiated to save the flailing company. There is no doubt the auto industry would look far differently had Iacocca never existed. His footprint will be forever felt and his life lessons should be part of any business study. Iacocca presents his life story in detail using a presentation style that is both appealing and unrestrained. I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in business history.



4. Lee Iacocca is best known for bringing back Chrysler from the brink of bankruptcy and taking $1 a year as a salary to show his commitment to the cause.
   
   This is an important part of the book, it needed to be told. Also, Iacocca is a story of a man driven to work hard and become a leader. It is a bit egocentric at time, but that can be forgiven with the richness of the material. I found the book enlightening, entertaining and inspirational.
   
   The inspirational part of the book is that when Chrysler is faced with impending tragedy the people all put together as one. It is disheartening that tragedy has to be a huge element in the success equation for many companies. This would be a tremendous book to explore.
   
   Iacocca has some strong common sense weaved through this work. For example, Iacocca would prepare to hit the ground running by preparing for the week on Sunday evenings. Also, he notes that the speed of the boss is the speed of the team.
   
   In another telling example during the almost collapse of Chrysler, Iacocca reduces his own salary to $1.00 a year to get support from the Chrysler workers and management. He says:
   
   "Leadership means setting an example. He goes on to say: "I didn't take $1.00 a year to be a martyr. I took it because I had to go into the pits. I took is so that when I went to Doug Fraser, the union president, I could look him in the eye and say. "Here's what I want from you guys as your share," and he couldn't come back to me and ask: "You SOB, what sacrifice have you made?" That's why I did it, for good, cold, pragmatic reasons."
   
   Overall, an excellent book with many powerful ideas worth embracing. Highly recommended!
   
   The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking



5. Suprisingly, the life of a CEO can be just like our own. The numbers are bigger. But I don't mean money. Lee Iacocca doesn't come off as someone living in luxury, even though I'm sure he's rich. Rather, that when he would get up in the morning to solve a problem for Chrysler employees, he was thinking about 420,000 of them. Still, the same worries: career progress, don't get blindsided by personal politics (he did, by Henry Ford II), and make sure to be home to enjoy family. And do a good job. If you want an uncompromising paean to capitalism, read Ayn Rand. But if you want a successful view, balanced by doubts and compromises, Iacocca's your man. The book's a page-turner too, and with all credit to William Novak, I sense that it's Iacocca's real life, and real character, that make for the exciting plot.

5 comments about Charles Kuralt's American Moments (American Moment Series).

1. Kuralt is an American treasure. His essays, word pictures ofAmerica, take on a special quality when heard on tape. All of his essays are his legacy--to remind us of the amazing nature of American society and of the need for a new crop of American writers to find the hidden jewels of Americana.



2. Great reading! As I read the pages of American Moments I can hear the voice of Charles Kuralt. I recommend it for all ages and it is very uplifting.



3. Great reading! As I read the pages of American Moments I canhear the voice of Charles Kuralt. I recommend it for all ages and it is very uplifting.



4. The editing for 90 seconds of television was too severe for the treasured scenes to work as effectively in book form. Am I just still too sad at our loss to fill in the gaps? Though disappointed I read on and on. No doubt you will too. Kuralt was a quintessential American treasure himself.



5. This book is filled with short accounts of diverse "American Moments" grouped in ten areas. This is a sampling. Each reader would do a completely different review as there is so much to choose from to make an interesting account.
   
   The Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, built in 1914, was a beautiful railroad palace through which half the soldiers of this country passed Dec. 7, the day word came of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The interior, from the insert photograph, looks a lot like the magnificent station in Washington, D.C. Back then, the idea was to create grand buildings for everyday citizens. At the street entrance, there on the sidewalk, stood a tall ornate black clock like the one which graced Knoxville's Gay Street for several decades. Ours was recently moved by the owners of a jewelry store to the new location west of town, a lavish edifice, and yet the clock has yet to be put up. They claimed it because it had stood in front of the downtown store. There is now a campaign to replace it there among the brew pubs, martini bars, and loft apartments where the downtowners hang out. Somehow, it will lack the 'dignity' of the original.
   
   There are two photos of Becky Davis of Tennessee making cotton candy at a Fair. Invented in the 1920s (Karault says by a dentist), it is sticky spun sugar in pretty colors. It takes experience to flip it just right to keep from being covered by the gooey stuff. He wonders what folks ate at fairs and carnivals before cotton candy came along. In the 1980s, funnel cakes made an appearance at the World's Fair in Knoxville. I have yet to eat my first one (not even a taste), though I was tempted at the 2004 Fair -- missed the chance as time was short and I had to run to catch a bus.
   
   The country's smallest p.o. is shown free-standing about the size of a well house in Ochopee, Florida. It may be tiny but has its own historical marker on a stand right outside on the road; a regular size postal drop box is beside the building wher it is encouraged the customers use for mailing their post cards and envelopes. Inside, of course, Naomi Lewis will be glad to sell stamps. From the photo, I see they had room by her counter for the "most wanted" criminals pictures, a staple of post offices everywhere. Our smallest here is at Knoxville Center mall in a corner beside the offices where you can get your driver's license and car tags. It even has room for packages which I usually mail there, as one of the two 'old' postal clerks told me, "here, you can be first in line." Now, that's a plus.
   
   Before that, U. S. A. had The Pony Express which began in St. Joseph, Missouri, to deliver mail overland all the way to California, 2,000 miles in ten days. At the Pony Express Museum, on the wall is an early want ad: "Wanted -- Young, Skinny, Wiry Fellows. Not Over Eighteen. Must Be Expert Rider. Willing to Risk Death Daily. Orphans Preferred." This enterprise lasted only a year and a half until the completion of the telegraph. There is a bronze statue of a young rider on a horse (in flight) there at St. Joseph where Gary Chilcote, director of the Patee House Museum, explained: "they rode through Kansas and Nebraska, dipped into Colorado, and across Wyoming, Nevada, Utan and dropped down into California.
   
   This historian tells the story of Jesse James' demise. Jesse was the first outlaw in the American West, right after the Civil War. He and his gang robbed trains and banks. There is a photo of the small house where Bob Ford, one of the gang members, shot Jesse behind the right ear as he attempted to straighten a picture on a wall on April 3, 1882. Kuralt wrote, "Die a law-abiding citizen and you will be remembered for a time. Die a desperado and you will be remembered for all time." The last of Jesse James, killed by one of his own gang, was an American Moment to Remember.
   
   It looked bigger than life in the movie version. A hatmaker he interviewed shows a bow being put on a cowboy hat for which the movies made popular. "All self-respecting cowboy hats have bows on them" (similar to those little things you see on the front of most bras). They have to or you're not a cowboy. That's as close as you can get to the meaning of this symbol in a word. A cowboy hat demands respect.
   
   My favorite cowboy, Lash LaRue, included me in his program at the East Tennessee Fair when Al Curtis brought him here (a big thing back then). Lash dressed in black and always wore a black hat. Our local cowboy, Marshal Andy Smalls, advises his t.v. fans to 'wear a white hat, so we will know the good guys.' I've always yearned for a blue one, but bought it for my little cowboy (Justin at age 4 or 5) whom the girls all liked at the library costume party.
   
   This fact-filled book, published after Charles Kuralt's death (7-4-97), was edited by Peter Freudlich, his friend and writer-producer for CBS News, where Charles worked for 37 years. He won many honors for his "on the road" journalism, and I enjoyed his features on 'CBS Sunday Morning.' In the Foreward, written by Charles Osgood, he calls Charles Kuralt, native son of North Carolina, an 'explorer' as he covered the back roads of this country to find real Americans and their unique stories.