1 comments about The Life & Works of Chopin.

1. Not having known very much at all about Chopin, I cannot vouch for the accuracy in the Naxos entry in their CD and cassette Biography series; but I can vouch for the enjoyment (NA 421912) afforded me.

   Written and produced by Jeremy Siepmann, this audio-bio not only tells the strange story of Chopin's life but also includes generous examples of his music, drawn from the bottomless pit of Naxos musical CDs. An excellent idea was to use actors for the voices of Chopin (Anton Lesser), George Sand and other females in his life (Elaine Claxton and Karen Archer), and other male acquaintances (Neville Jason). It is the kind of reading that would fascinate even if the work were fictional.

   His letters are particularly fascinating, especially as they are read dramatically by the small cast; and one would rather hear about all his faults--physical and psychological--from people who knew him well. Perhaps his strange epistolary relationship with his Titus is dwelt upon a bit too much, but such are the times (then and now).

   My only criticism in a negative direction is the length of the musical examples. I do not really think the entire "Revolutionary Etude" had to be played or the entire "Funeral March"; a minute or two with a fadeout would have been fine, especially on repeated hearings where one wants the facts. Nevertheless, highly recommended.

   By the way, the listing above of this work as "abridged" is simply inaccurate since the text (I am told by the publicity person at Naxos) was written specifically for this recording and is by definition "unabridged."

1 comments about 84, Charing Cross Road.

1. Like many people I saw a movie first. Naturally due to media constraints, you expect certain amount of the book to be homogenized. So I wanted to read what was missing. To my amazement very little was missing or modified. I don't normally read this sort of book. So I was surprised at finding myself wanting more when it finished.
   
   Also until I read the book I did not realize that Charing Cross Road was a real place. The whole book is based on a collection of correspondence between Helene Hanff, an avid book reader, and Frank Doel an agent for British bookseller.
   
   My wife has taken this one step further and is collecting all the books that were mentioned in the correspondence. Some of these books appear to have been reprinted due to this publication.
   
   If you can find it there is a book called "The Library of Helene Hanff."
   I wonder what became of all the other people described in the correspondents after the book.
   
   The Library of Helene Hanff Limited Edition Signed

5 comments about Ugly Americans CD: The True Story of the Ivy League Cowboys Who Raided the Asian Markets for Millions.

1. Get's a little lost at times but a very fast read. Would make an interesting movie.



2. i heard from industry people that actually knew the person mentioned here, so the person does indeed exist, but the story isnt true. Lots of BS and conspirary that the author just puts in to entertain the reader...



3. This book is like Ben's others, a good read that keeps you wanting more. It is clear that the author enjoys digging deep into what these intelligent, elite Ivy Leaguers do with their connections and smarts. The book follows a Princeton grad on his deep dive into the Asian world and shows how the natives view the over-bearing visitors and how the visitors could care less about how they are perceived.
   
   Expensive motorcycles, ubiquitous sex, high dollar deals and a daily dose of living on the brink of the next big deal, keep you interested and amazed at what these young hot shots are exposed to and how they handle it.



4. Just finished this book and found it very entertaining. It is definitely not a book on how to trade. It is a very interesting story that I suspect is somewhat dramatized. Reads like a novel.
   
   I wouldn't worry about suspected minor innaccuracies. Maybe most people can't rent a car in Bermuda, but if you have $50 million I'll bet there is a way around it. As far as Ivy league schools not giving athletic scholarships that is not exactly true. It is a matter of semantics. Most people familiar with education in the Northeast understand that prep schools and Ivy league universities don't give "athletic" scholarships, but they do give "financial aid" that just happens to fall substantially upon good athletes even if their families are well off.



5. This was a quick read that gave an inside look into the industry in Asia. I found the book well-written and informative, as well as entertaining. I highly recommend.

5 comments about One L.

1. I thought this book is a good book to read before starting law school. Granted people must take into consideration that this is Harvard Law, set in the 70's and from one man's point of view. I enjoyed the book and found it interesting and insightful. I'm not taking everything he says in it as an absolute truth, but it does help to gain some insight into how one may feel while going through your first year of law school. I would recommend it to other people.



2. This book was a joke. I have no doubt that Turow and his fellows at HLS did indeed conduct themselves with the frantic lunacy that he so wearyingly describes in this book. I'm sure he simply told the truth and that law school was indeed that miserable for him, but that is exactly the problem. Having been through 1L at a somewhat less elite school, I can assure you that its only as bad as you make it. That HLS is an even more competitive school than mine only adds credence to the one thing I must say to Turow and the rest of the HLS graduating class of 1978: Get over yourself. You graduated from HLS. You could have finished with a 2.00 GPA and still drowned in the job offers that many top performers of other law schools can only dream about.
   
   "One L" is a severe disappointment. As I know that books about the law school experience are very popular gifts to students entering their own "1L," I have a duty to go ahead and tell you that for 99.992% of all students, this book is of absolutely no help in preparing someone for what they will face when they get to law school. Turow's view from America's tallest ivory tower not only presents an experience totally divorced from the real world, but does so in a ridiculously dramatized manner that forces upcoming law students to respond with either incredulity or sheer terror. Don't bother.



3. I hear references to this book all the time in the halls of my law school and on fellow student's face book message boards. I do not go to a top tier law school like the author (he went to Harvard). I also have a different background than the author and our political views are not similar.
   
   Nonetheless, this book does relate a lot of the experiences and attitudes a law student can expect to run across during the first year. The overly aggressive professor, the students who have a problem with those who succeed, the students who do not know how to succeed but annoy everyone with their efforts, the students who panic, the students who mooch, and the ever present fear that no person could ever master the amount of information a law student is expected to know by the time of the final...but someone will and they will push down the curve. Every law student has run across these types of people and experiences.
   
   I do not think law school is as hard or stressful as the author seems to think it was. I am not sure he played up that aspect of the school for dramatic effect, he just can't handle stress, or life at Harvard Law School is really just that much more intense than my own. Still, reading this book gives a prospective student a taste of what is to come.
   
   The book is very readable and I finished it quickly; however, it is not a classic I would recomend to everyone. I am not sure a person who has no interest in going to law school will really be that excited about reading "One L," but if you are thinking about going to law school, you should read this book.



4. I have read most of Scott Turow's books. This one is different, but extremely captivating. Reading of his life as a first year law student will be entertaining to anyone who contemplates law school or simply wonders what law students go through to obtain their degree.



5. This book was incredibly lawtastic. It's like fantastic, except with law in there too. If you like lawtastic things, this book is for you.

5 comments about Memory Slips: A Memoir of Music and Healing.

1. An absolutely stunningly clear account of losing memory- and many of the complexities within this experience- and of reclaiming resilience, balance, and self. As Cutting loses her memory of the music she is performing (music she has memorized and played over and over) in the process of working through her child abuse history, her story is a highly interesting account of the complexities of "memory slips" in an adult. Cutting navigates her history of child abuse with incredible strength and determination, and ultimately with great compassion for her family. Beautifully read by Cutting- some of her piano playing is on this audio cassette which is one reason I would recommend the audio version. Her musical expression is an important part of her story. The audio may be helpful for both women and men who have experienced sexual abuse as children/ adolescents as well as for those who want to understand the impact of this kind of an abuse history. In addition, this audio may be highly valuable in exploring the specific psychological dynamics that can arise with those who are or have been musical performers. The depth of this audio is difficult to articulate- the exploration of family psychological dynamics is worth every penny.



2. I have read many personal accounts of incest (and other forms of sexual abuse). I am also a survivor of incest (and other sexual abuse as well), and I am a dancer. This book very accurately depicts the effects of child abuse on art, memory, and expression. Linda Cutting achieves this through an honest memoir of her own experience of memory recovery in adulthood, and it's effect on her life and art. Often her words spoke my own experience, particularly in her descriptions of having a flashback. Severe child abuse alters the structure of our minds, but through truth we can transcend. This book is superbly written. With very little description of the actual incest I was transported into her world. I could see her as a child, and the life she lived in. My heart reached out to her. If I ever want someone to understand what life is like for an adult survivor of incest this will be top on my list of recommendations. After reading this book I felt as if I had sat down with Linda, and she had told me her story. I thank her for having the courage to share her story with us. Her book is a great help to other survivors and for anyone who seeks to understand the life of an artist who is also a survivor of child abuse. This book helped me to get in touch with my own strength and empowerment to stand tall despite my past, and to continue my artistic work.



3. This memoir of an extraordinarily gifted pianist who found the courage to get help for the years in which she was sexually abused by her clergyman father stands out among similiar memoirs. That she not only found the courage to heal but to report her father to the church is a remarkable testimony to what good therapy, support, one's dedication to their craft, and personal determination to heal can do. The author's brothers were likewise abused, and wound up dealing with depression and mental illness. That the author's piano lessons first served as a bargain between her and her father, as a bribe for not telling about the abuse, makes her journey both as a professional musician, a writer, and a human being especially poignant.



4. So very glad to have discovered this audiocassette in a discount
   bookstore nearby before making a long trip in my car. What glorious music! What a unique autobiography, I never hear such
   a perfect combination of writing and music - and some of my
   favorites! Schumann's Scenes from Childhood ... And the Beethoven and Rachmaninoff, a magnificent pianist to enjoy for
   hundreds of miles! I was also a prizewinning pianist, and had
   memory-slips galore, and other similar experiences to relate to!
   My most favorite audiocassette of all time.



5. This memoir described one month in the recent past of the author, while she was in therapy and one year in her less recent past. The convention of switching back and forth between the time periods and showing the correlations between events was less confusing than I thought it would be. The musical terminology and descriptions of pieces of music were much more confusing to me. She described her feelings a lot of times in terms of certain concertos and symphonies. I don't read music at all, and I had a hard time grasping the point of what she was trying to say.
   I also didn't feel that the book really resolved. She went through a lot of abuse and broken relationships and her therapy was all about coming to terms with that. She described the process of that very well, but even though the book includes a 'Coda' (Epilogue) that takes place 3 years later and then the entire work was copyrighted 2 years after that, the author does not say how she now relates to her family and whether her father continues to be an abusive clergy person. I'm glad she can play the piano again, but I'd like to know how other things are going as well....
   Possibly I shouldn't have attempted reading a memoir so steeped in musical theory with my lack of knowledge on the subject, but I was reading for the personal story, which I thought got lost amidst all the musical analogies. Also, I understand that this is probably a very difficult process, to write about one's childhood abuse, so I feel apologetic for judging the work rather harshly.

5 comments about Americanization of Benjamin Franklin.

1. Gordon Wood's biography of Benjamin Franklin doesn't give you any earth shattering new details, but the book is concise and well written. Wood takes you from Franklin's early life and loyalty to England through his transformation and realization that the American Colonies were going to rebel. Franklin's love for France (and for the women of France) are clear in this book as the author clearly argues that Franklin loved living in Paris and everything about that city. The author also argues that Franklin seemed to have a "love hate" relationship with the colonies as he saw opportunities, but he also saw the refined world of France and its cities such as Paris as something he was drawn to and preferred.
   
   It is a good read and I have grown to understand Benjamin Franklin a bit more. He was a diplomat, a scientist, an inventor and a more complex man than we sometimes like to admit and the author brings these points out in the book.



2. This is a well written story about Franklin with interesting insights on How Franklin evolved from being a lover of England, to becoming "American." The process evolved over Franklin's lifetime. Franklin had to undergo embarassment by England's political elite til he realized that England was not so benevolent to the colonies. There were moments I was wondering if Franklin was a Tory. But like a magician, Franklin changed his tune and became so radicalized that it ended up being an inspiration to others to bring the colonies together and declare independence from England. This was a well balanced biography that pointed out Franklin's warts along with his good points. I was impressed how fast the book read and how packed with info. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking at insights during the early formation of the United States.



3. When I saw Gordon Wood on Ben Franklin I thought look out! It's going to be like Ann Coulter on Bill Clinton. I was almost afraid to read because I adore Franklin so much. Alas, nothing new, nothing. (Spoiler!!!!!) Yes Ben cheated on his wife with numerous women, seduced wives, and may have even sold secrets to the British (that last one cannot necessarily be proven). But all Gordon did was write a GREAT little summary about the life of a great man. So why did I only give him only three stars? Well, when you see Mike Tyson you want to see a Pitbull off its leash. When I read Gordon Wood.... I want history off its leash. Now you know what to expect. Enjoy



4. The author does an excellent job of placing Franklin in the context of his time, and explaining his motives. There is an interesting account of what it meant to be a gentleman in the eighteenth century, and its significance to Franklin. The book is highly readable and not overly long.



5. I, like most, know the ideolized stories of Ben Franklin and use many of his quotes in my email messages, but it was the recent HBO miniseries of John Adams that got me more interested in the man himself. Gordon Wood is one of my favorite historians when it comes to the Revolution and it was a no brainer for me to pick up this book.
   
   Though it lacked with depth in many areas, it was a good starting point for further reading on the man. Where Wood fails is where he actually succeeds. His analysis of certain events did lack depth (his failure), but his use of events as they pertain to Franklin were very good (his success). It gave me a better understanding of the connections Franklin had with England (the working man attempting to become a gentleman in a British world that in many ways refused to accept him as such), his love of France (that truly embraced him), and his at best questionable memory in the American mind throughout the 19th Century. It is the final few chapters of the book that are by far the most interesting aspects of the book. The discussion of the strained relationship Franklin had in the nation he helped to create, his confrontations with Adams, and most importantly the struggles America had in its recognition of Franklin.
   
   Though Wood does lack depth in many areas, this book is well written and should be the starting point for anyone wanting to learn more about a man who has so much myth and legend surrounding him.

5 comments about An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963.

1. Well packed and arrived in a timely fashion. Everything as expected. A pleasure to do business with.



2. I very much enjoyed this biography of JFK. It is very well written and exactly what you want in a biography. It has a very detailed account of his entire life, from birth, through school and his travels, and on to his time as President.
   
   My only criticism is that for those of you who were not alive at the time of JFK (like me), you can get lost in many of the pages surrounding his Presidency. The author's accounts are so detailed, that I often found myself turning back in the book to refresh my memory about the many names and places that are referenced.
   
   Other than that, I highly recommend this book. The accounts of his young life (the privilege, the travels, the women) are fantastically interesting. The accounts of his many illnesses were also well done, and news to me.
   
   If you are like me and a big fan of biographies that start from the beginning and tell the whole story chronologically without leaving out a single detail, then this book is for you.



3. Thought that the book was an adequate one volume account of the life of JFK. The author talked alot about JFK's medical problems, more than I would have liked. He could have written a chapter about the medical problems JFK had with his stomach and back and about how the Kennedy's covered up those ailments during the run for the presidency and during the presidency.
   
   But overall I thought that it was a very good book and would recommend to anyone who is reading their first Biography of Kennedy.



4. Robert Dallek is a gifted historian. He is also a complete historian, because he writes extremely well. I wonder if he has ever won the Parkman Prize, because his apparent meticulous research is consumed by the reader with such ease. Of course, because it is Dr. Dallek, I have but one complaint. In the young, Kennedy years, prior to the presidency, the biography feels intimate -- as if we were talking to someone who was right in the house growing up with him -- almost if we were like Lem Billings. But when we get to the presidency there is a bit of opinionating that oftimes goes from historian to editorializing. For example, when speaking of the Berlin Crisis, Dr. Dallek opines that it is best that JFK was running the show because RFK, being a hothead, might have gotten us involved in a nuclear exchange. Other than that minor, minor complaint, (because he is probably right on his opinionating), I think Dallek is great. So is his new title about Nixon, (and Kissinger,too.)
   
   Joe Nichols



5. An extremely informative book. I came away from the book having only a little respect for Kennedy as a man or politician.
   
   1) He accepted a Pulitzer Prize for a book that was almost entirely ghostwritten for him.
   
   2) His daddy helped him cheat to win in elections and primaries.
   
   3) His primary accomplishment as a Senator was keeping the seat warm for the next guy.
   
   4) He, like at least one other President, lied about or withheld the truth about significant medical/physical problems.
   
   5) He appointed his brother to post of Attorney General even though RFK was completely unqualified.
   
   6) He treated his wife with blankfaced disrespect (openly philandering) in public and private.
   
   7) He was primarily responsible for the Bay of Pigs fiasco which made him look weak and emboldened Cuba and the USSR, thus leading to the Cuban Missle Crisis which he handled surprisingly well.
   
   8) He dragged his feet on Civil Rights because he was afraid of losing the support of Southern Democrats. (MLK Jr. said JFK's assassination was the best thing to happen to the Civil Rights movement)
   
   9) He freely admitted his first year as President was a miserable failure.
   
   10) He stepped up involvement in Vietnam without actually dealing with the problem. This forced Johnson and Nixon to make strategically terrible, morally insupportable and after-the-fact decisions.
   
   He was good looking and well spoken. Even his fiercest detractors admit he gave a great speech. He had a beautiful and cultured wife and adorable kids (Camelot). He was intelligent and erudite. He did his duty in WW2. As the President, he meant well but was inexperienced, naive & hopelessly out of his depth in high level cut-throat politics and completely lacking in moral courage. He did at least listen to the Civil Rights leaders and proposed bare minimum legistation. He got the space program off the ground (so to speak). He started the Peace Corp. He stared down the bombastic Khrushchev and the belligerent Castro. He encouraged Americans toward volunteerism and thinking of America 1st and themselves 2nd. All in all, a failed half-presidency with a few points of light redeemed by his martyrdom and subsequent mythology.

3 comments about Ripe for the Picking.

1. As a follow up to her first book Extra Virgin which I found delightful, i was even more entertained by Ripe for the Picking.Ilaughed myself to tears in parts. I was impressed by her descriptions of the italian people she had introduced to us in her first book and allowed the reader to get to know them intimantly.It is by far much more informative about the people in these villages than the other books around, such as Under the Tuscan Sun, which focuses more on the authors lifestyle than on the people around her.Hope to get another follow up book from this author soon.



2. Ms. Hawes tells an excellent story. I'm raring to start on her third book but it's not available from amazon.com in the US! Arrgh! This second book is indeed touching in more than a couple of places, and her subtle writing style conveys far more than the word count would have you imagine. Her writing reminds me of a light-hearted and slightly Puckish Joan Didion. The combination of her English roots and her Italian home are irresistable... highly recommended!
   
   btw -- don't be surprised when, after reading this book, you find yourself enjoying good olive oil, wine and bread and planting fruit trees and food crops in your garden... the book is thoroughly inspiring.



3. Annie Hawes' stories of her life in Italy are by the far the most down-to-earth and real and interesting of any that I've ever read. If you've never encounted Hawes, please have a look at "Extra Virgin" and work your way over here. Hawes doesn't patronize the people that she writes about, she loves and understands them, and, with time, the reader does too. She is by far the best guide to the real Italy and real Italians that I have encountered. And she's darn funny!

5 comments about The Politics of Diplomacy.

1. Soon after becoming secretary of state, George P. Shultz noted that � unless you do something about it, in the job of secretary of state you will spend 100 percent of your time on the Middle East. � �Every Secretary of State becomes a Middle East expert very rapidly, whether he wants to or not,� he also stated. . These observations remain valid today, when Warren Christopher has virtually become Secretary of State for the Middle East. Baker had a similar experience. Page one of his memoirs tells of Saddam Husayn�s invasion of Kuwait, the single most dangerous moment of Baker�s three-years-plus as secretary of state. Of the book�s thirty-four chapters, fully fifteen concentrate on the Middle East, primarily the Kuwait war and the Arab-Israeli peace process.

   Famously discreet when in office, Baker unbuttons a bit in the retelling. He captures the atmosphere of his endless travels (he went to sleep on the eve of his Geneva meeting with Tariq �Aziz, just before the outbreak of hostilities, as the �chants from antiwar protesters echoed quietly up to our block of rooms�) and the vagaries of dealing with Middle Eastern leaders (Asad treated his complaints about Syrian terrorism �the way one might react to an eccentric uncle at family gatherings�as an unavoidable nuisance to be endured politely�). Baker also provides some new information; for example, in March 1991, he raised to Yitzhak Shamir the possibility of stationing U.S. troops on the Golan Heights.

   Middle East Quarterly, June 1996




2. Baker's memoir is open and honest. He has put together an excellent narrative analysis of the foreign policy of the Bush administration. In years to come the usefulness of this book will probably decline as more scholarly work appears, but Baker's story continues to be charming and detailed.



3. Though I read this book in 1995, after reading Colin Powell's "My American Journey," and Storming Norman's memoir, it was nice to pick it up again, eleven years later.
   
   This is a communications book. And what can be more challenging than to influence entire countries, and even ancient adversaries to take even the most measured risks for peace?
   
   In this memoir, Baker shows readers how he uses the three questions below to prepare for his proposed ideas:
   
   1. Will we be able to build a domestic consensus in support of
   it?
   2. What kind of political reaction will it create in the
   capitals of our adversaries and allies?
   3. How will it change the nature of our political relations,
   internationally?
   
   Before communicating his proposal to the country or group that he needs to convince, Baker would "leak his ideals to the press" and to some other powerful sources, to get public reaction.
   
   And, though this book is 672 pages, the factual information is presented in a light way through a great deal of down home humor, such as those in the quotes below:
   
   "If the horse of the team don't move at the same speed, there'll be an accident," Francois Mitterand
   
   "Allowing the two Germanies to work things out on their own in that kind of situation was, in my view, a recipe for a train wreck." James Baker (Referring to the unification)
   
   "There's no end to what a man can accomplish if he doesn't care who gets the credit." Ronald Reagan
   
   "What comes through is that the Soviets don't know how to square the circle. They're wrestling with it." Eduard Shevardnadze
   
   "If a bullfrog had wings, it wouldn't scrape it's [a..s] on the ground." (James Baker sparring with Assad, in Damascus)
   
   "If the dog hadn't stopped running, he wouldn't have caught the rabbit." (James Baker still trying to get Assad back to reality)
   
   "The higher the monkey climbs, the more you see of his behind." (Meaning the bigger impact the decision, potentially has the more on will look at details. This could also mean that the more powerful your position is, the more you will be scrutinized)
   
   "Now it was yes or my dead cat." James Baker (meaning yes or you will be blamed, if you don't agree)
   
   This is a great source for negotiations, corporate politics, history, and Sociolinguistics.



4. I guess I am the scrooge of the reviewers of The Politics of Diplomacy by James A. Baker III.
   
   Given the positive things I have read about Secretary James Baker, I expected this book to be interesting, insightful and educational. I found the book to be as interesting as reading a phone book, with sentences aggrandizing Secretary Baker thrown in along the way.
   
   I can't believe that in his 12 years of high-level public service for Presidents Reagan and Bush, that Mr. James Baker was consistently the most crafty, astute, worldly and knowledgeable of the leaders of the world, which is the impression I was left with after reading this book.
   
   I did find one interesting tidbit in the book, however, which was that from the time George H. W. Bush was President Reagan's Vice President, Vice President Bush wanted to overthrow President Noriega of Panama.
   
   After he was elected President in 1988, President Bush had the opportunity to overthrow President Noriega, which he appeared to do by mishandling negotiations with President Noriega and provoking President Noriega into a belligerent state. This example of toppling a sovereign state for personal, rather than national interest, reasons was copied by President George H. W. Bush's son, the current President Bush, who seemed to follow the same playbook with Iraq with different results, sadly.
   
   I haven't yet given up on Secretary James Baker; I plan to read his new book, Work Hard, Study...and Keep Out of Politics! Adventures and Lessons from an Unexpected Public Life. I hope the book contains some insights about Mr. Baker's decision-making as well as insights about other personalities he met along the way. If the book is 480 pages of self-aggrandizement, I may have to reach for the Alka-Seltzer to keep my dinner from spilling out onto the floor.



5. The book is great, but this one line is worth its weight in gold for those who wonder why we spend $30 billion a yeear on diplomacy, $900 billion a year waging war, $60 billion a year on spies, and less than $600 million on open sources of information in 183 languages we don't speak:
   
   "in terms of fine-turning our own work, staying abreast of the press comments was particularly important."
   
   page 54.
   
   See also:Art of Diplomacy: The American Experience
   Preparing America's Foreign Policy for the 21st Century
   The Unconquerable World: Power, Nonviolence, and the Will of the People
   The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic (The American Empire Project)
   Vice: Dick Cheney and the Hijacking of the American Presidency
   Running on Empty: How the Democratic and Republican Parties Are Bankrupting Our Future and What Americans Can Do About It
   The Eagle's Shadow: Why America Fascinates and Infuriates the World
   Why the Rest Hates the West: Understanding the Roots of Global Rage
   High Noon 20 Global Problems, 20 Years to Solve Them

No comments about Brigham Young : An Inspiring Personal Biography.