5 comments about To See You Again.

1. I am a high-school student in Arizona. We had to read this book for school, and the Schimmels came to our class to talk about their experiences as Holocaust survivors.
   I didn't really care that much about the Richie love story once I met them in person. Mr. & Mrs. Schimmel are people devoted to each other and, no matter how it happened, found an incredible love story of their own. I hope someday to have a relationship like theirs is now.
   Their survival really made a difference to the world, since they are here to tell their story. There are a lot of people my age that think the Holocaust never happened. I know it did because I met people who lived through it and spend all their time telling students about the war. It was really touching, and a lot of us were crying hearing about all the terrible things that happened to them and we were all thinking about how we might have been in the same situation.
   I guess the best part of the book is what people will do to survive, but the really cool thing is that Betty took the time to write it and tell everyone about her story.



2. I have read most of this book and it is amazing! Before i read or even heard about this story i met otto and Betty. Their stories are truly amazing and i believe it is wonderful that they are sharing with the future.



3. What an amazing true story. Incredible, I could not believe how Betty's life has unfolded. I truly great story to read and I highly recommend it.



4. I have never ever read a book that touched my life like this one, I read this over 12 months ago now and it still has a place in my heart, I wanted the end to be different but I could understand why she did what she did, loved it that much, I am going to visit the area, to anyone thinking about reading this, don't think no more, it is the best book you'll ever read.
   
   Love Amanda



5. An avid reader of historical fiction and non-fiction, especially pertaining to the Holocaust, I found Betty Schimmel's story to be a strong, engaging read. The story of her survival in a concentration camp as a teenager is nothing short of miraculous, as well as the way she rebuilt her life in the years following the war's end.
   
   However, the one thing I *didn't* care for was Schimmel's romance with Richie Kovacs -- the key plot description on the back cover and the situation referenced by the title. Essentially, Richie is young Betty's first love. The two meet when she is only twelve, and their relationship intensifies by the time she is 14. When wartime relocation of Jews caused the couple to become separated, Richie is the only thing that keeps the traumatized Betty going. If only they could find one another, she believes, they'll have their storybook wedding and live happily ever after.
   
   Soon after the war's end, Betty meets Otto Schimmel, another young Holocaust survivor who begs her to marry him. She agrees -- largely because her family adores him, and she believes Richie is dead.
   
   As the years pass, Schimmel remains emotionally withdrawn from the marriage. Her husband slaves away, working endless hours trying to earn enough money to give her and the children a good life, but Schimmel seems to act like she's doing him some kind of favor by sticking around. Otto Schimmel is not Richie Kovacs and never could be, so obviously he's not worth any love or affection.
   
   Eventually, Schimmel does realize that her relationship with Richie is in the past, and that she has a good man in Otto. But overall, her "reminiscing" about Richie tends to take on the feel of sappy teenager, not really looking at reality. Perhaps Richie Kovacs was indeed Betty's "one true love"; or, more realistically, she simply idealized him, because he symbolized the happy life that was so horribly snatched away from her.
   
   Regardless, Schimmel's memoir *is* written in a strong, clear voice, and is truly a story readers are bound to remember for years to come. It would just be much better without focusing upon the Richie angle so much.

5 comments about The Life of Samuel Johnson.

1. This is an abridged version. If you want an unabridged version, get the Life of Johnson (Oxford World's Classics) [UNABRIDGED.



2. Typically, I have a bias against abridged editions of literary works. Nevertheless, prudent editing and abridgement enhances the casual reader's appreciation of this literary tome. Undergraduates working a required reading list for English Lit classes are on their own. Anyway, Samuel Johnson was a noted author and editor of the 18th century English literary scene. Instead of an exhaustive study of Johnson's life as author and editor, biographer Boswell compiled a series of anecdotes, quotations, and correspondence that is held together by his friendship with Johnson. Boswell's purpose was to capture the essence of the man. Johnson was adept at articulating pithy remarks with surgical precision. For example, "...a woman's preaching is like a dog's walking on his hinder legs. It is not done well; but you are surprized to find it done at all." The 18th century spellings, etc. remain intact. We have Johnson to thank for the familiar "...hell is paved with good intentions," and "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel." Boswell takes care to portray Johnson as sexually moral. After the death of his wife, Johnson (according to Boswell) was apparently celibate. Johnson rebuffed "women of the town," and said he wasn't interested in their carnal delights. Johnson told David Garrick, the actor, that he would not go backstage at the theater because "the white bubbies and silk stockings of your Actresses excite my genitals." As an interesting aside, the editor's introduction speculates that Johnson's relationship with the widow Thrale may have been sexual, with bondage overtones. Who knows? The description of London coffeehouses, theaters, and gathering places are heavy with 18th century atmosphere. Bottom line, reading this book is interesting as a curiosity. Its relevance for 21st century readers may seem limited, but don't let that stop you from sampling the fare. ;-)



3. I liked this but prefer the unabridged edition published by Oxford University Press (in their Oxford World's Classics series). If you're willing to read Boswell, spend a few dollars more for the OUP edition.



4. The Life of Samuel Johnson is the most famous biography ever written in the English language! Its author was the Scottish lawyer James Boswell
   (1740-1795). Boswell was an intemperate soul enjoying boozing it up in taverns; whoring and wenching with ladies of the night; gossiping and quarreling with his rich Dad back in Scotland. Boswell was often a widely travelled worldly man who had visited the likes of Voltaire, Rosseau and Paoli the liberator of Corsican independence. Boswell's words allow us to see what eighteenth century London must have been like for the relatively affluent. Boswell only spent around 300 total days with Johnson from the first time they met in 1763 to the death of the Great Cham in 1784.
   I have read the 1300 page complete diary which I recommend. I also recommend that for rereading this Penguin Abridged Edition will do just fine. In it you will find such quotes by Johnson as "The road to hell is paved with good intentions"; "Patriotism is the last refuge of a coward.:;
   "We shall receive no letters in the grave." and countless philippics against the United States of America and Scotland.
   Dr. Samuel Johnson was born in Lichfield near Birmingham, England in 1709. He was best noted in his lifetime for his monumental work, "A Dictionary of the English Language." He also wrote plays, essays and newspaper columns. Among his friends were the painter Sir Joshua Reynolds, authors Oliver Goldsmith and Colley Ciber and the famous Shakespearean actor David Garrick. Johnson was clubbable soul who had a cat named Hodge; had poor eyesight and was the widower of a much older woman. He had no children. Johnson was a devout Christian adherent of the Church of England, a monarchist and a rabid Tory. He had many prejudices and was not tacit in expressing them aloud.
   Anyone who expects this famed biography to be a strict life following Johnson from cradle to grave will be disappointed. Instead it is poorly organized consisting of meetings between Johnson and Boswell over the years of their long friendship. It is a great book because of its quotablility and the quirky genius seen in the complex figure of Samuel Johnson. Boswell was also an author of genius whose detailed eye gives us a fascinating glimpse into a different age. This book is one of the essentials of English Literature.



5. Note: I made some immature Mormon angry because of my negative reviews of books that attempted to prove the Book of Mormon, and that person has been slamming my reviews almost as fast as they are posted.
   
   I must have really burned him or her because I've deleted this review and re-posted it and within an hour, I had a "not helpful" vote. Give me a break. That person's faith must be very fragile, indeed. Oh, well.
   
   I'm trying to be "helpful," and you can see that it took some work to put this review together.
   
   So, your "helpful" votes are appreciated. Thanks, and I hope you find some enjoyable quotations (below) from Boswell's wonderful book, but first a little history.
   
   Samuel Johnson, the irascible but generous lexicographer of the eighteenth century, is mostly remembered because of Boswell, and Boswell is remembered because he wrote Johnson's biography.
   
   At the time, Johnson was already famous for his "Dictionary of the English Language," an impressive work for the year 1755. Among many other writings, Johnson put out an edition of Shakespeare's works (1765), with valuable notes that are still referred to today.
   
   Johnson published a "series of grave and moral discourses" in the periodical called the Rambler, but when it was translated into Italian, it came out as the ludicrous "El Vagabondo," something far from Johnson's pious intentions. And of good intentions, it was Johnson who said, "Sir, Hell is paved with good intentions."
   
   "(Johnson's) defense of tea against Mr. Jonas Hanway's violent attack upon that elegant and popular beverage, shows how very well a man of genius can write upon the slightest subject, when he writes, as the Italians say, con amore."
   
   Johnson despised Americans and was prejudiced against Scotland. He said, "Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel."
   
   Johnson was a male chauvinist. Yet, he was "a king of men." He was a "robust genius, born to grapple with whole libraries," and although "indolence and procrastination were inherent in his constitution, whenever he made an exertion he did more than any one else."
   
   As a person who is afraid of death in the normal sense, I was surprised that in spite of being very religious, Johnson had an extreme fear of death. "'The better a man is, the more afraid he is of death, having a clearer view of infinite purity.' Said Boswell, "Johnson owned, that our being in an unhappy uncertainty as to our salvation, was mysterious; and said, 'Ah! We must wait till we are in another state of being, to have many things explained to us.' Even the powerful mind of Johnson seemed foiled by futurity."
   
   Boswell's commentary brings to mind a story told by St. Augustine in his monumental City of God. A philosopher was abroad a ship captained by a bad man, and after a violent storm, the fearless captain jeered the philosopher for his terror. Said the philosopher, quoting from a similar incident that occurred to the pagan Aristippus, 'A rogue need not worry about losing his worthless life, but Aristippus has a duty to care for a life like his."
   
   "Johnson knew more books than any man alive. He had a peculiar facility in seizing at once what was valuable in any book, without submitting to the labour of perusing it from beginning to end." But he also held that it was important to "read diligently the great book of mankind."
   
   "Why, Sir, I am a man of the world. I live in the world, and I take, in some degree, the color of the world as it moves along."
   
   Johnson was also the one who said, "When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully."
   
   "I love Blair's Sermons," Johnson said. "Though the dog is a Scotchman, and a Presbyterian, and every thing that he should not be, I was the first to praise them. Such was my candor," he said with a smile."

5 comments about In the Shadow of the Moons: Library Edition.

1. Pay no attention to the negative criticisms by those who are obviously Moonies. This is should be required reading. Nansook Hong had the courage to endure and to finally escape the clutches of this dangerous cult led by the Korean flake who thinks he's God. Not only is it run by one of the worlds most selfish and greediest families, they stand to gain even more under the President's Faith-Based program. Your tax dollars at work.



2. === quote
   
   Pay no attention to the negative criticisms by those who are obviously Moonies. This is should be required reading. Nansook Hong had the courage to endure and to finally escape the clutches of this dangerous cult led by the Korean flake who thinks he's God.
   
   === end
   
   Funny, so people should not listen to the story of those who are still within the UM, why is this?
   
   Also Rev. Moon himself doesn't claim to be God, this is always said by others, Rev.Moon stresses the point without God he would be nothing...



3. == quote
   But, as Nansook Hong reveals in this devastating tell-all account, Sun Myung Moon does not live up to his own teachings. He has frequent affairs, which he rationalizes as "providential", that is, mandated by God.
   
   == end quote
   
   == quote
   
   "My own parents saw no evidence of sexual misconduct when they were each recruited independently to join the church in Seoul."
   (In the Shadow of the Moons, pp. 26-27)
   
   == end quote
   
   I know the UM since the mid 1970's and for a quite a long time the only accusation leveled against Rev. Moon was that he was married 4 times (while in fact he is only married 2 times) later those allegations of just being married 4 times was changed to having had sex with female followers.
   
   Chung Hwa Pak, one of Rev. Moon's first disciples, caused
   considerable controversy by confirming these accusations in a text widely circulated by critics (and later published in Japanese) called The Tragedy of the Six Marys. Pak, who had left the Unification Church, claimed that Rev. Moon practiced during the church's early years sex rituals with, among others, six married female disciples ("the six Marys") who were to have prepared the way for the virgin who would marry him and become the True Mother. The church vehemently denied the allegations. Pak eventually returned to the fold and, shortly before dying, recanted all the accusations in a second text he authored in 1995, called The Apostate.
   
   Similar accusations were discussed earlier in libel cases in Korea and not proved. In 1989, after a ten-year legal case, the Seoul District Criminal Court (79 ko dan 3372) convicted a protestant minister, Rev. Shin Sa-hun, of criminal libel after his accusations of sexual misconduct could not be proved. In another case decided by the Seoul District Civil Court (83 ga hap 3012), damages were paid by Tak Myung-hwan, a well-known critic of the Unification Church, to a woman who had been accused of having an illegitimate son with Rev. Moon and to her son.
   
   Corrections were published by the Christian newspapers Gidok Shinbo on October 8, 1983, and Hanhook Gidok Gongbo, on October 1, 1983, after printing similar accusations of sexual misconduct in the early Unification Church. Part of the retraction stated, "The article 'The Secret Sexual Practices of the Unification Religion' was a repetition of information published during the 1950s, and we have found it to have no basis in fact."



4. The only people who can dismiss a book like this are the misguided followers of the hypocritical cult leader, Sun Myung Moon. As an atheist who currently attends the University of Bridgeport, I ate this book up in a day. It bears striking resemblance to Jon Krakauer's "Under the Banner of Heaven," which documents the underpinnings of another cult, Warren Jeffs' FLDS of Colorado City, AZ.
   
   I should be careful in my use of the term 'cult,' however. What is a cult? What is a religion? They are the same entity. That judgment simply lies in the eyes of the beholder. Just as Nansook Hong points out in the epologue, all religions claim that their way is the true path to heaven. The only difference between major religions like Roman Catholicism and Judaism, and 'cults' such as the FLDS, Jonestown, and the Unification Church is their size and level of acceptance by the public. In this way, the Pope and Sun Myung Moon are both equals. They are both equally nothing.
   
   It is clearly obvious that Sun Myung Moon is a madman who takes advantage of the socially vulnerable. This is he has such a hatred for communism - he preys on those affected by tragedy by giving them some type of bright future to look forward to. He prays on the weak. He is a con man. He claims to have spoken directly to Jesus in Korea as a young man, and has duped thousands around the world into believing he IS the second coming.
   
   The extremely brave Nansook Hong stood up for herself and left the Moon Compound to have a better life for herself and for her children. Any unificationist who claims to be a loving human being who would argue with her motives needs to look deep inside themselves. Sun Myung Moon's son Hyo Jin is an awful person. Nansook writes about being arranged in a marriage as a 15 year old girl, being coerced into coming to America as an illegal alien, being held against her will at East Garden, being abused, raped, and cheated on by the supposed 'Son of the Second Coming of Jesus,' and having to put up with drugs, alcohol abuse, and neglect for fourteen years of her life. Sun Myung Moon preaches to his followers about the importance of family and lineage, while his own dysfunctional family is the only one he should be paying any attention to. It is even documented in this biography as well as many other publications that Sun Myung Moon himself cheated on his wife and has a child with another woman. Both Sun Myung Moon and his eldest son are criminals, and need to be locked up. In my opinion, Moon got off light with his one year in prison for tax evasion.
   
   Unfortunately, I can hear the unificationsists already in my mind dismissing this book as 'the work of satan,' as I am going to try to show it to them next week. All I can really do is educate as many people as possible about how mentally ill and irresponsible Sun Myung Moon is and hope that his end is nearing...before more unfortunate people like Nansoon Hong are forced into a world of destruction at the hands of this 'True Family.'



5. Nansook Hong paints a painful picture of her marriage to HyoJin Moon, but she does not own up to the full truth of her parents' machinations to get her married into the Moon family. Eyewitnesses tell of Nansook visiting the Moon household and knowing full well of HyoJin's excesses in advance of her marriage. The Hongs wanted desperately for their family to be entwined with the Moon family, and after arranging for one child to be wed to the first Moon daughter, they pushed Nansook to marry a Moon son. Though I don't know all the motives, the point is that there was an agenda behind her marriage and probably this book that Ms. Hong has not been honest about. It is only too easy to paint an unflattering portrait of Rev Moon and his wife but at least some of this is suspect, given her own deceit.

5 comments about Marie Antoinette.

1. If you are looking for a good histoical book on Marie Antoinette, this is it! It is well written and provides plenty of historical facts. Fraser also manages to paint a rather sympathetic portrait of Marie Antoinette as a human rather than a royal, without blurring the lines of history vs. folklore.



2. Over halfway through in a just a few days. I love this book! I'm definitely looking into purchasing others by the author.



3. I really liked this book and finished it in record time--even though I knew how MA's story would end, it was fascinating to see that she was not entirely the arrogant and unapproachable Queen of lore. Yes, she made some mistakes and was extravagant at times, but certainly no more extravagant than previous Queens of France. Minimally any reader will say after reading this book that it is sad she was a Queen who did not pay more attention outside the walls of Versailles so that she might be less oblivious--but even then, I'm not sure she could have escaped her doomed fate.
   
   The treatment of the family during their captivity and particularly the treatment of their children is startling (not to mention the legendary treatment of the Princesse de Lamballe). In the end, I'm not sure what was worse--the royal family or the revolutionaries.



4. Hard to get into. The movie is better except the movie leaves out one of the children and I am sure alot more. Maybe onday I will be able to get into it.



5. I have read many books on the Dauphine over the years and this is one of the best.
   It covers in detail all of the daily life of a queen and the sacrifice she made by becoming a queen.
   It seems that the paparazzi today are angels compared to what the people of France and all of Europe did to their monarchs.
   The book is well researched, and well done and like all good books on her, this one doesnt speculate but clarifies the life of this often misunderstood young woman.
   I recommend it highly.
   But be warned - it is very detailed and there are tons of people to keep track of,
   Even so, it reads well and you never get bored with it.

3 comments about Duke: The Life and Image of John Wayne.

1. Though very in-depth in explaining each movie John Wayne appeared, the book lacks somewhat in explaining who John Wayne was. In comparison, Donald Dewey's recent biography of Jimmy Stewart gives the reader a more detailed examination of Stewart than Ronald Davis does of Wayne. Ronald Davis also relies too much on the self-centered Pilar Wayne, the third Mrs. John Wayne, for anectdotal information. Davis's use of interviews with Harry Carey, Jr. are quite valuable and illuminating. It's a shame that Davis didn't thoroughly interview other actors who shared the screen with Duke, including Ron Howard, about whom Duke thought highly or Kim Darby (Mattie in True Grit), who didn't like the Duke (remember, True Grit was filmed in 1968). Mr. Davis does an excellent job explaining Duke Wayne's desert years in the thirties doing one-reel westerns. One has to admire Wayne's persistance. One note Pilar Wayne reveals through Ronald Davis that puts Wayne in a very bad light and has changed my personal views toward him to the strongly negative, was Duke Wayne's insistance that a pregnant Pilar get an abortion. The baby was inconvenient as Duke was in the divorce court with number two wife Chata in a highly charged divorce battle. The baby was killed but Duke Wayne received a fairly good divorce settlement. A conservative icon, when the chips were down, was capable of a selfish, dishonest, sordid, dirty act. The Duke was a great actor and icon but was not a good person. He was not a great American.

   --Derek Leaberry




2. This biography succeeds in its evenhanded portrayal of John Wayne. No doubt some will criticize it because Davis doesn't spend his time eschewing Wayne's politically incorrect opinions, but neither does the author lionize Wayne the man. What you have left is a concise and readable 400 page biography that covers all the movies and all the wives. Davis gives his opinions as to why the Wayne legend still survives, and what his fellow actors thought of him way back when.

   Interesting is the story behind the making of the ALAMO, a film he produced, directed and starred in, the subsequent Oscar campaign, and the aftermath. Also interesting is Wayne's relationship with director John Ford, whom he loved, and their disagreements.




3. His friends & fans simply call him Duke.
   
   More than 20 yrs. after his death he is still coming in 1st or 2nd in polls askings Americans who their favorite actor is.
   
   Why is this?
   
   Come on, he's dead already!
   
   Beginning in 1930 with THE BIG TRAIL & ending in 1976 with THE SHOOTIST, DUKE has been bigger than life, a symbol to the world of the ruggedness, tough independence, personal conviction, & courage that make up the American character.
   
   I love him not just because he was a great actor, but because he played roles that showed us an America to be proud of. He was the type of guy you wouldn't mind sitting with in a bar for a few drinks &, definitely, you'd love him at your back in a fight!
   
   The author of this book will help you understand & appreciate John Wayne the way I & millions the world over do.
   
   You will never look at John Wayne, the actor & the man, in the same way ever again.
   
   He is my favorite American Actor of all time, and, before I sold the collection a couple of years ago, I owned nearly all his films on Video.
   
   Not the best book out there, but still informative.

5 comments about The Last American Man.

1. 
   This book is more than the biography of an American eccentric. It allows us to look at our own, peculiarly American, mythologies through the lens of one person's life. Many American men aspire to the kind of skills and challenges that Eustace Conway provides for himself. We have a long tradition of reinventing ourselves by way of trials-by-nature. And we are running up to the end of an oil-based economy that has given many Americans unprecedented freedom and mobility, as well as the luxury of ignoring the limitations imposed by natural systems. It is good that Gilbert, with her gentle sense of humor, has documented Conway's achievements and philosophy for us by way of the durable technology of the written book. It may come in handy in years to come.



2. I have purchased approx. 10 copies of this book-- I find it entertaining, amusing and cannot decide if I liked this man at the end or not. As I live in North Carolina; not far from the subject- guests often think it would be fun to meet him and see how he as aged. Great gift book for -mostly the men in ones life.



3. I really enjoyed this book. It gave an unbiased account of a man, who even in his best intentions, falls short of what he wants to be. Contrary to some of the negative reviews, Gilbert DOES see all that is not right about this man, and she tells us about it.
   This book is a journey through the mind and heart of a troubled man and those people who were raptured by his personality and then inevitably disappointed. I loved it!



4. I enjoyed reading this book and I have often dreamed of living the type of lifestyle that Eustace Conway lives, though not quite so harsh. It seems to me that his many hang-ups have created a personal "river" that no one is able to cross and join him. He seems to be a carbon copy of his father, with just enough minor differences to convince himself that he is nothing like him. Sadly, he has decided to turn away from the only source that could give him true happiness, a relationship with Jesus Christ. I think the old saying, "no one is as blind as he who refuses to see" fits Eustace well. His desire for acceptance from his father has blinded him to the joys of life. The disatisfaction that his apprentises experience and which Eustace cannot understand appears to stem largely from his use of them as slave labor. The expectations of those who come to work on Turtle Island are not the expectations of Eustace himself, which seems to be based on a phylosophy of, " hey, I dug a one hundred foot long ditch, three feet deep through solid rock! It took me two months and nearly killed me, and though I didn't really learn anything about living off the land, by golly I know I can dig a ditch through solid rock and knowing that gives me a warm feeling about who I am." No. The book gives the impression that the apprentises thought they were there to learn how to live off the land but Eustace failed to tell them that they were there to find out what he himself had always practised, "I will do one thing no matter how hard or how impossible it may seem until it kills me or I master it. Then I can stand straight and in my mind know that I am worth something if to no one but myself."
   This is somewhat of a harsh review of a book about a man I've never met but it is based on the impression I got from the book. I wish you eventual happiness Mr. Conway. You've certainly strived for it.
   I recommend this book.



5. This is the biography of a man who has spent his whole life in the woods, living off the land. The difference between him and the many others who live off the land? He has flourished. Plus, he does it partially to convince others to give up the trap of luxury and return to a simple nature-centric lifestyle. The author gives us a solid background then weaves interesting tales about the "last american man" and how hardworking and different he is compared to an average man. A well-written book that drags a little in the end reiterating the same dogma that keeping up with the joneses is futile. However Elizabeth Gilbert hadn't quite polished off her writing style as she does in Eat, Pray, Love. A worthy read for anyone disinterested in suburban sprawl along with Into The Wild.

5 comments about Adventures of a Psychic.

1. A common sense approach to life-keep it simple.Many of the things she
   wrote about were things I felt I already knew on some level and this was the first time I had seen them in words.
   Reassuring,comforting,thought provoking and humorus.



2. I have to say that I was somewhat disappointed with Sylvia Browne. I have watched her for years on the Montel Williams Show. When I first bought this book, I was disappointed once I started reading about Francine who I come later to know as part of Sylvia Browne's psychic abilities. By studying psychics like Sylvia Browne, I gain a better understanding of myself more than her. I don't agree with her a hundred percent of the time but it doesn't mean that I don't love her or admire her ability. She's here to help us. Her life has been traumatic, difficult, and messy at times. That's because psychics too are human and make mistakes. We're terrible with predicting ourselves but we can guide our family and friends to better lives if they only listen to advice. Maybe the book is beneficial in helping us unload the stress of our lives. No, being human and alive is not easy. Psychics tell me that I'm going to live to be about 90 and I'm scared. I don't want to live that long. I'll outlive all my family and friends and be all alone. If Sylvia Browne might be outrageous, outspoken, and opinionated, it doesn't mean that she gets it wrong most of the time. All psychics make mistakes and are not perfect. But if you love Sylvia Browne, you will love this book. But by reading it, i had to seek out my own knowledge and it's been a whirlwind adventure of trying to become more psychic, intuitional, and better atuned to natures and our surroundings. We don't have to pack up and move to find serenity, peace, and love. We just have to close our eyes and let your mind go there. This book and other books about the paranormal are not suggested for skeptics, atheists, and those who seek to disprove her claims. That's such a waste of energy!



3. What a load of tripe! This Browne lady is not only a felon, but a liar when it comes to her education, psychic abilities and being a non-smoker. She doesn't even write the books her name is attached to. Even watching TV is more entertaining than this garbage.



4. I've seen Sylvia Browne a few times on the Montel Williams show
   and have always been amazed by the gift she seems to
   have . . . so when I came across the CD version of her book,
   ADVENTURES OF A PSYCHIC, I decided to give it a listen.
   
   Doing so enabled me to learn about her fascinating life
   story . . . I also appreciated the point she made several
   times; i.e., that despite her desire to help others, her abilities
   have not enabled her to guide her own actions.
   
   Brown contends that all people have psychic abilities . . . I'm not
   sure that listening to and/or reading ADVENTURES OF A
   PSYCHIC will help you discover yours . . . yet if you're open
   to what might be a new way of thinking about yourself,
   you will gain better insight into the events that help shape your life.
   
   That Browne was also the narrator of this program added
   to my enjoyment.



5. This is an incredibly awful book. I clung to every word she said and honestly felt enlightened. That was before I did some more research on the book. Now I feel sick to my stomach and can't believe that I ever liked this book.

1 comments about Taking Heat CD: The President, the Press, and My Years in the White House.

1. 
   
   
   
   You probably knew before listening that this would not be an unbiased view. Hearing that he sometimes felt like a "pinata" reinforces this opinion. Well, everyone's entitled to have their say and so this is Ari Fleischer's take and now it's his turn.
   
   Whether one agrees with his views or not, Fleischer served as the White House press secretary during some of our country's most momentous days, from 9/11, the prelude to the war in Iraq, and more.
   
   The author/reader has no love for the press and reiterates what he feels are some of their more frigid exchanges. He has high praise for his former boss, Mr. Bush, extolling his leadership abilities. No surprises here.
   
   While not a seasoned actor (some may take issue with that), he gives a straightforward, listenable reading of his story. Condemn him or praise him, his story is sure to be fodder for debate, diatribe, and discussion.
   
   - Gail Cooke

5 comments about Rise, Let Us Be on Our Way.

1. This would be a great book if written by any other person. But, relative to other books I've read that were written by other Popes, it fell short of my expectations - but, it certainly rates a sound 'good.' One might consider the other side of the 'John Paul Coin' - the liberal side - Albino Luciani or John Paul I - the valiant champion of basic human dignity for women, the handicapped. orphans, homosexuals, the remarried and others who are scorned in their everyday lives by doctrine. I would suggest a look at Lucien Gregoire's PAUPER WHO WOULD BE POPE - the only existing complete biography of John Paul I. Two good men - two very different sides of the coin.



2. This book follows up where Memory and Identity had left off, through the episcopacy of John Paul II up to his pontificate. Like all his writing it is beautiful. There were only a few passages where the style changed somewhat and it became more of a laundry list (and then I did this, after that I did that, then I did that) rather than a flowing narrative. Overall though this is a beautiful book. It's amazing to see so clearly how God acts in any given life. It is a useful reminder though, that just as freely and clearly as we can see his actions in the life of John Paul, so too must he be acting in our life, it may just be more difficult to see.



3. The cover of this remarkable book, published less than a year before Pope John Paul II's death, shows the Pontiff nearly hidden while looking up at Christ's cross. It reminds us again the man called "John Paul the Great" raised Christ even as the world raised him during his legendary papacy's final months.
   
   "Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way" could not have arrived more timely. Here the Holy Father (once Archbishop Karol Wojtyla of Krakow) wrote for and about bishops, a position and vocation many lay Catholics see as administrative and hierarchical, and others criticized after Church abuse scandals. In easily readable, autobiographical meditations he addresses bishop's roles as shepherds and emphasizes relationships they need to have with their cultural influences (philosophy, science) along with diocese, parishes and people they serve.
   
   Many Catholics will find JPII's description of ceremonies and ceremonials associated with the bishop (metier, crozier, ring, his Install Mass) intriguing and informative, especially when many only see their bishop at sacramental events like Confirmation. But JPII's reflections on his years as bishop make "Rise" a must read.
   
   The Pontiff writes warmly of years nurturing and growing Church traditions and feasts amid Nazi, then Communist occupation and hinderance (even attempts to marginalize St. Nicholas and disrupt church processions). He refers to saints he admired and who inspired him: St. Stanislas (to whom he wrote a poem quoted here), St. Leonard, St. Queen Hedwig. He mentions saints he recognized and canonized: St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, St. Maximillian Kolbe and others murdered at Nazi hands in WWII. He then saves kind words for Joseph Ratzinger, his successor. (Of the future Pope Benedict XVI he writes, "I thank God for the prescence and the assistance of this great man...a trusted friend.")
   
   Pope John Paul II also reflects on pilgrmages to young people in the Philippines and Krakow's Oasis movement(quoting a still-popular hymn sung to him on that trip.) Love for and outreach to the young, a theme of his papacy, leads to a dissertation on St. Joseph as model for fatherhood and leadership for laity and bishops alike.
   
   It also leads the Holy Father to a philosophy eschewing the anonymous crowd for a more personal term "multitude," and removing "my" from his vocabulary to focus selflessly on Christ. When he says, "Personally, I have never felt lonely," you can only sense the closeness to Christ allowing few, especially in a position the world reveres, to feel such.
   
   The title quotes Christ's words to His apostles as they go from the Garden of Gethsemane to His Passion and death. As with nearly everything Pope John Paul II wrote, spoke, and lived, it's reflection on the past and call to action. This book comprises quick, easily readable meditation, reflection, teaching, and philosophy, and merits space in any Catholic library.
   



4. Kristoffer Tabori did an outstanding job reading this book. He captured the essence of John Paul II and it felt as if the late pontiff was telling me his story. A great performance -- such feeling and warmth. I loved the book. Thank you for such a beautiful performance.



5. I was absolutely amazed by the method of writing. I have never read a book in which the ancient past, the near past, the present and the future are all contained in one sentence...and this actually makes sense. This is an amazing book at any price.

5 comments about Joan of Arc.

1. How amazing it is to find the usually sardonic, faithless Twain so moved to write a work as glorifying, uplifting and devoted as this novel! In fact, I read this book just to find out what Twain's angle might be. There is no angle, no slant to the story.
   
   It is told in beautiful and moving prose, with Twain using his skills to their utmost, proving by eyewitness the sanctity and goodness of a peasant girl raised to the level of a saint by the blessing of God. Twain, inspired, is quite unmatched in his use of imagery and emotional appeal. The novel is quite stunning in places.
   
   On a historical note, though the words Joan speaks and the events are true, Twain takes liberty with minor characters and their lives in order to follow Joan more closely and give some much-needed comic relief.
   
   Also, on the flip side of the story of the beautifully pure maiden turned warrior, is an indictment against the church who allowed an archbishop to carry out an evil scheme in order to further his own career, and against the King of France who failed to save the girl who saved him.
   
   I will never forget this story, or the faith and courage of Joan of Arc that shone so brightly against the corruption and sin of the church in that age. I am so glad I read this novel.



2. The master storyteller, Mark Twain, used his immense talent to create this fictionalized account of Saint Joan's life. Even though it is fiction, it is still very historically accurate and stays true to the story of Saint Joan of Arc. Because it is fiction, Twain is able to bring out Saint Joan's personality in a way that reminds us that she was a beautiful, vibrant, passionate young woman who sacrificed everything to serve God and save her country
   
   I think the very fact that Twain would even choose to write a biography about Saint Joan is a further testament to her greatness. Twain was personal friends with U.S. Grant and could much more easily have written a biography about him. He also lived at a time when some of the greatest military leaders ever lived like Lee, Jackson, etc., so if all he had been looking for was a famous military leader he could have also chosen one of them. Obviously, he was looking for someone even greater to write about. I think his own words probably explain why he chose Saint Joan when he said that: "She was perhaps the only entirely unselfish person whose name has a place in profane history."
   
   Whether you are a Saint Joan devotee or not I think you will enjoy reading this book. It is well written and easy to read and covers one of the greatest stories in world history. If you already know about the life of Saint Joan, I also think you will end up loving this account because of the way Twain brings her to life. Definitely one of the best of all the biographies written about Saint Joan of Arc and considered by Twain himself to be his greatest work. Five stars are probably not enough.



3. This is one of Mark Twain's best books, in my estimation. It was the last book he wrote. He also wrote it under an assumed name, for fear that his reputation as a humorist would detract from the seriousness with which he hoped his readers would approach the topic. Moreover, it is a highly spiritual book written by a self-described atheist.
   
   The book is narrated by Joan's aide-de-camp, and childhood friend, as an old man telling a story to his grandchildren. And what a story he tells. Of the transformation of a poor village girl into the military savior of France from the English invasion, while hardly more than a child. A transformation which not only resulted in the military hero of the century, but which is at its center based on Joan's love for God and trust in his miracle. My book buddy Marcia Makepeace read Joan of Arc, as her 21st book, in this the 30th day of our 60 day readathon. I'm close behind with 18, reading furiously in San Francisco.



4. I am not sure what got me interested in joans' story but i was pleased to find that twain had taken on the subject. the genius of this book is twains narrative gimmick; a translation of a fictional characters first hand account of the life an times of 'the maid of orleans'. the use of a fictional narrator allows him to stick to the bones of the story without endless digression and and scholarly citation that would have dried up such a wonderful story. while staying true to the important historical facts(except the physical description of joan) the trick allows twain to cobble together several years of research into a story that is readable and moving. some complain that twain made no issue of joans' divine visions, believing that the events the book describe become uninteresting to those who are of a skeptical nature. i too am skeptical but if she did have visions the story is amazing if on the other hand she made them up the story is all the more profound...



5. Never thought that Mark Twain would have written this book. It shows his admiration for Joan of Arch. It is a great portrait of her life. Excellent reading for our youth now a days. With God on our side, we can conquer the impossible!