5 comments about Me and a Guy Named Elvis: My Lifelong Friendship with Elvis Presley.

1. I ordered this product a MONTH AGO and still HAVEN'T RECIEVED IT. I contacted the seller and after a couple of dats finally got a response that told me to WAIT, stating that if I don't recieve in ANOTHER BUSINESS WEEK that I would either be shipped a replacement or given a refund. I paid fast, and have been patient, but this is ridiculous! I will NEVER buy from them again!



2. I have read this book awhile back and feel it's a nice story but alittle reserved for someone that was very close to Elvis. I like Jerry's honesty but prefer the reality packed Joe Esposito books like Remember Elvis and Elvis Straight UP. I have the sense that since Jerry is very close with the Estate , it might have had something to do with how careful he writes. At least he did not stoop down to the level of a Sonny West, Lamar Fike or that insane idiot Marty Lacker.



3. This book is a let down for all the hype it got. Jerry is obviously Priscillas poodle and it shows blatantly in this book. This soft soaping "careful to not break any eggs" writing is getting old. I am not saying to speak ill or write dreck like what Marty Lacker does. Just saying that the fans might appreciate you acting like you got a pair like your friend Joe who is not afraid to say his mind. Take Elvis Straight Up for example, Joe says it like it happened covers the raquetball lawsuit ,drugs,divorce, col parker etc without throwing Elvis under a bus.
   
   Is it too much to ask a representative of the Estate to acknowledge the intelligence of the fans?
   
   Jerry, If you would have told the story the way it really happened, you might start doing some good by putting those other trash authors like Nash and the likes out of business.
   
   Jerry, get back on the computer and put some kick bootie into this book. The fans will love you for it.



4. Jerry Schilling, original member of Elvis's entourage The Memphis Mafia, tells the events surrounding the King of Rock 'n Roll in this unique perspective, and from the opening chapter, you'll find yourself hooked. Schilling tells it all, from the beginning when he found friendship with Elvis by playing football in the park with him just as the rocker had released his first single, to the end, when Elvis passes away and Jerry's life continues. Jerry lived at Graceland and he was beside Elvis throughout the good and the bad, meeting legendary entertainers, taking care of the King, and generally having the time of his life. Jerry comes across as genuine and a true friend as he tells his story, and gives new insight into someone who lived his life inside a fishbowl.
   
   The book isn't without its flaws, however. Do I think Schilling glossed over a few of the major issues at times, including Elvis's drug abuse and the disintegration of his marriage? Certainly. Was Schilling overly careful in his descriptions of his fellow Mafia Members? Absolutely. I personally was very let down at Schilling's lack of information about the actual death of Elvis, though to be fair, he was no longer a regular employee at the time, having chosen to go into management (including managing both Billy Joel and The Beach Boys). I feel strongly that Schilling knows more about the death than he shared, but that's his perogative, and apparently he's not comfortable letting the rest of us know. I also would've liked him to address, at least briefly, the whole "Elvis is alive" myth and lay it to rest permanently. But overall this is a very well-written, well-remembered book, and I enjoyed Schilling's recounting of the life and times the rest of us could only observe from afar. Schilling seems like a decent guy and I enjoyed learning about him almost as much as I liked the glimpse into the side of Elvis the performer tried to keep to himself. If it were possible, I'd give this one 4.5 stars. Fascinating stuff.



5. Good addition to the bookshelf of Elvis fans, but as much as Elvis was a true legend, the phenomena has been a little over-done. This book does, however, offer a slightly different view on life with Elvis.
   
   Real Life Dramas - Volume One
   
   Darren G. Burton

5 comments about 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny: Life Lessons from Teaching.

1. Mr. Done was my fourth grade teacher. I was positively THRILLED when I realized he had written a book. He was, by far, one of my most memorable teachers to this day. His book is amazing, and brought back a lot of awesome memories I have of elementary school. Excellent read.



2. If you teach, this is a MUST read!



3. If you want to laugh until you cry, then read this book! Phillip Done captures all the joys of teaching and expresses it in a way that is hilarious. As I tried to share passages with my family, I couldn't get it out because I was laughing so hard. Anyone who has taught or is starting their first year of teaching should definitely read this. You will be truly inspired!



4. As a third grade teacher I just want to say that Mr. Done has put my classroom into words-thank you, it makes me feel good to know that all third grade teachers are in the same boat, and enjoying the ride....most of the time.



5. Phillip Done portrays life as a teacher in a humorous, enjoyable manner. His writing style is engaging and easy to read. As a teacher, it's easy to relate to many of the stories he shares. I enjoyed the book so much, I bought a copy to share with my co-workers. A fun, must-read for all teachers dedicated to the task of helping children build upon their self-esteem as well as grow academically.

5 comments about Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness.

1. Lincoln's Melancholy is one of the best studies of the mental depression that troubled Lincoln throughout his life. Author Joshua Wolf Shenk draws on both scholarship and personal experience with depression to produce a sensitive and insightful account of Lincoln's struggles.
   
   Shenk's research is so deep that he even examined changes in Lincoln's penmanship to reveal a mood shift while Lincoln was writing a letter. Such care is evident throughout Shenk's book.
   
   Readers interested in Lincoln's personality should find Lincoln's Melancholy rewarding. The book documents that depression is unpleasant but, in one case history at least, was no barrier to a productive and fulfilling life.



2. Over the years, Abraham Lincoln's story has been told so many times in a reverential, almost worshipful, way that he has come down to us as more of a larger-than-life demigod than as a living, breathing, human being. Putting all the tales together, one might easily conclude that Lincoln was simply a great leader; a brilliant orator; a humble humanitarian; and a man with few, if any, faults. But Abraham Lincoln was much more than that. He was once one of us: a man whose thoughts, feelings, fears, troubles and concerns were much like ours and, like us, he had to live his life day-to-day struggling with his own personal demons.
   
   This author takes us inside the living Lincoln and, based upon the recollections of those who knew him both intimately and casually, lets us see a side of Lincoln which is largely unknown today. To some extent, we get to see Lincoln as he saw himself and as he saw the world around him, much of it long before he came to national prominence. In a sense, we get to glimpse the real Abraham Lincoln up close and personal, warts and all.
   
   According to this author: Virtually all of Lincoln's friends, associates, and acquaintances perceived him as a man suffering from a deep sadness which most termed a "melancholy," but melancholy as the term was understood in the mid-19th century. According to the evidence, this melancholy often overwhelmed Lincoln, sometimes to the point that he locked himself away and at times considered suicide. This may, in part, be due to the fact that for most of his life Lincoln considered himself an abject failure and struggled mightily to overcome what we might now call depression.
   
   What appears to have kept him going was that he felt he had to do something worthwhile for mankind, although he had no idea what that something might be. Of course, as we all know, he eventually concluded that to save the Union slavery had to be eliminated one way or another. He hoped that this could be done peacefully over time, but his actions and words created an impression of him among Southerners which, upon his election as America's 16th President, precipitated America's Civil War.
   
   I truly enjoyed this book and learned a lot more about Lincoln, his life and times, and the sequence of events which brought about the Civil War. I must admit, however, that I found the book to be something of a difficult read, primarily because it cloaked Lincoln's mental illness in the language of the past rather than in modern day terminology and, as a result, would frequently would go off on lengthy explanations in relation to more modern theories. In my view, the book would be much more lay-reader friendly if the differences in language were explained up front and modern terminology then used throughout.
   
   In any event, although I don't think this book is for the casual reader, I feel it is a work which may very well help shape the way Lincoln is viewed in the future. So, if you are interested in Abraham Lincoln, I highly recommend it.



3. This is a beautifully written book about Lincoln--the complete man. Joshua Wolf Shank does a lovely job of describing how Lincoln learned from his bouts with depression and could only have persevered through his difficult, war-time presidency with the wisdom he gained from his melancholy. We often think of Lincoln solely as a pillar of strength; seeing him at his weakest paradoxically deepens his image of strength.



4. Shenk's study of Lincoln and depression is fascinating, and Richard Davidson does an excellent narration. I found the audiobook entertaining and thought-provoking.
   
   Shenk provides a detailed biography of Lincoln interspersed with musings on psychology and related topics. He points out that modern culture has unfairly criticized depressives as negative people, with only a minority of scientists pointing out that depressed people may actually be more realistic than optimists. In light of the threats facing mid-19th century America, Lincoln was more in touch with what was likely to happen than his happier peers. Shenk also shows that Lincoln's long-standing depression contributed to some of his outstanding character traits, such as his desire to be of service to his country and an unwavering determination to complete necessary tasks, no matter how unpleasant. This made him strong enough to lead his country through an incredibly bloody war.
   
   Shenk finishes the book with a discussion on Lincoln's biographers and how historians inject their own prejudices into published research. The final CD concludes with an interesting interview with the author.



5. Carl Becker said that every man is his own historian, and so it seems fitting that Lincoln be reinterpreted in the light of modern approaches to depression and mental illness. What is most admirable about this book is the author's respectful approach to Lincoln and the past; he insists on viewing Lincoln's behaviors in the context of the mores and culture of his time, which were far different from those prevailing today. The author persuasively argues that there was a romantic connotation to melancholy back then. This, combined with the cultural acceptance of greater emotion from single young men, explains some of Lincoln's publicly expressed emotional troubles as a young man
   
   On the other hand, the author insists on defining Lincoln as suffering two "breakdowns." It's not clear what relevance this modern term has, nor can the author distinguish between mental illness and the culturally acceptable level of melancholy and love-sickness a young man was permitted to manifest at the time.
   
   In short, given the lack of data (most notably the inability to interview the subject, Mr. Lincoln) and the different culture back then, why even try to import these modern day notions of depression to the 1830's-1860's?
   
   Still, the book does make three points exceptionally well, which makes this a very worthwhile effort.
   
   First, he destroys the idiotic notions that Lincoln was gay by virtue of close emotional relationships with men that were permitted and encouraged by the culture back then. Superficial modern day notions of sexual identity have no place in a different time with different (and perhaps healthier) approaches toward the permissibility of emotional intimacy between men.
   
   Second, he argues that Lincoln's struggles with melancholy were part of his larger struggles against adversity that toughened him up for the greatest trial faced by any American President since Washington. This is an old theme, but it is well constructed here. On paper, hugely successful men like Buchanan, Jefferson Davis, and General McClellan should have been the ones to lead successfully during this crisis. But in some ways their previous success was a curse. The depressive's realism and ability to solider on during adversity is perhaps far better preparation. A fascinating point and one that is completley lost in modern Presidential races.
   
   Third, the author argues that Lincoln's mental makeup allowed him to resist the compromises and stop gap measures that seduced men like Buchanan, Douglas, and Crittenden. Lincoln saw that the country had to recognize the evil of slavery and put it on the path to ultimate extinction. This was, of course, Lincoln's greatest insight, though I'm not convinced that his melancholia necessarily predisposed him to accept it. But there is some appeal in the contention that depressives can be curiously more disposed to realism in a world that is frequently evil and unfair.
   
   This is an insightful book, though the ability to analyze Lincoln's psyche given the absence of data and intervening culutural changes is, of course, a doomed venture.

5 comments about A Paper Life.

1. NIELSEN RATINGS 1974 1975 TV SEASON
   
   Here are the season average Nielsen ratings for the 1974-75 television season.
   Only series are included in the ratings.
   The number preceding the series name is the series ranking.
   The network carrying the series is in parenthesis, and the average rating follows.
   
   1. All in the Family (CBS) 30.2
   2. Sanford and Son (NBC) 29.8
   3. Chico and the Man (NBC) 28.6
   4. The Jeffersons (CBS) 27.6
   5. MASH (CBS) 27.2
   6. Rhoda (CBS) 25.9
   7. The Waltons (CBS) 25.7
   8. Good Times (CBS) 25.6
   9. Maude (CBS) 24.8
   10. Hawaii Five-0 (CBS) 24.6
   I I . Mary Tyler Moore (CBS) 24.0
   12. Rockford Files (NBC) 23.8
   13. Kojak (CBS) 23.5
   14. Little House on the Prairie (NBC) 23.1
   15. Police Woman (NBC) 22.9
   16. SWAT (ABC) 22.6
   17. Bob Newhart (CBS) 22.5
   18. World of Disney (NBC) 22.2
   19. Mannix (CBS) 21.7
   20. Cannon (CBS)
   -The Rookies (ABC)
   -Sunday Mystery Movie (NBC) each 21.5
   23. Streets of San Francisco (ABC)
   -Cher (CBS) each 21.3
   25. Paul Sand (CBS) 20.9
   26. Gunsmoke
   -Medical Center (both CBS) 20.7
   28. Adams of Eagle Lake (ABC) 20.6
   29. Carol Burnett (CBS) 20.5
   30. Tony Orlando and Dawn (CBS) 20.3
   31. Emergency (NBC) 20.2
   32. NFL Football (ABC) 19.8
   33. Barnaby Jones (CBS) 19.6
   34. ABC Sunday Movie 19.1
   35. NBC Monday Movie 19.0
   36. Caribe (ABC) 18.9
   37. NBC Saturday Movie 18.8
   38. Wesnesday Movie of the Week (ABC) 18.7
   39. Mac Davis (NBC)
   - CBS Thursday Movie, each 18.5
   41. Smothers Brothers (NBC)
   -That's My Mama (ABC) each 18.3
   43. World Premiere Movie (NBC) 18.0
   44. The Manhunter (CBS)
   -Harry 0 (ABC) each 17.8
   46. Apple's Way (CBS) 17.7
   47. Tuesday Movie of the Week (ABC) 17.6
   48. Petrocelli (NBC)
   -Happy Days (ABC) each 17.5
   50. Lucas Tanner (NBC) 17.4
   51. Six Million Dollar Man (ABC)
   -Movin' On (NBC) each 17.1
   53. Marcus Welby (ABC) 16.6
   54. CBS Friday Movie 16.2
   55. We'll Get By (CBS) 16.1
   56. Adam-12 (NBC) 15.9
   57 The Law (NBC) 15.8
   58. ABC Monday Movie 15.7
   59. Born Free (NBC) 15.6
   60. Sons and Daughters
   - Dan August (both CBS) 15.2
   62. Archer (NBC)
   - Baretta (ABC) each 15.1
   64. Sunshine (NBC) 15.0
   65. Bob Crane (NBC) 14.9
   66. ABC Saturday Movie
   - Planet of the Apes (CBS) each 14.8
   68. Hot l Baltimore (ABC)
   - Barney Miller (ABC)
   - Ironside (NBC), each 14.7
   71. Karen (ABC) 14.5
   72. Get Christie Love (ABC) 14.3
   73. Sierra (NBC) 14.1
   74. Kolchak (ABC) 13.6
   75. Sonny Comedy Revue (ABC) 13.2
   76. Odd Couple (ABC) 13.1
   77. Paper Moon (ABC) 12.5
   78. Nakia (ABC) 11.9
   79. Friday Comedy Special (CBS) 11.2
   80. Khan (CBS) 11.1
   81. Texas-Wheelers (ABC) 11.0
   82. Kung Fu
   - Kodiak (both ABC) each 9.9
   84. The New Land (ABC) 7.9



2. If even HALF of what she wrote (because there is always three sides to a story) is true then I think Ryan O'Neal is the worst type of father that there is. Reading this story made me realize why todays child stars (think Britney Spears) are in such a mess. Read this book and get the scoop on how it was to grow up as "Hollywood Royalty". It is definitely not the fairy tale story that you expect to read. I need to take a shower after reading this book.



3. Four days ago, June 2, 2008 before I started reading A Paper Life, I read a few of the reviews for the book. But even reading those didn't prepare me for some of the gut wrenching, heartbreaking periods of time that this strong and courageous woman has been able to endure.
   
   It seems to me that Tatum wrote her autobiography in a way that goes deeper than any film created could have ever done. I think her writing is full of unbridled honesty from a wild child. It's a tough book; she's had a real life. A private person has opened the door of her personal and professional life with her feelings, memories, excerpts from her own diaries, plus included photos. I felt as though she wrote as honestly as she would have in writing her own diaries, but with consideration for her audience. She possessed a cathartic key and unlocked the story in her heart and mind writing this book. The fact that she is a Scorpio and has allowed the world to read what she has revealed is a gift within itself. (I'm a Leo.)
   
   I had never seen the film, Paper Moon. I ordered it off of Amazon yesterday, ten minutes before I found the movie split in scenes on www.youtube.com. I just watched a few scenes, saving the movie until it arrives on DVD. Now I'm glad I never had the opportunity to watch it until now. I couldn't have appreciated it as much as I do now. I saw enough to know that it's everything Tatum said it is, "The film itself is a diamond, a work of art, just as beautiful and poignant and evocative today as when we made it." (p. 7)
   
   My favorite quote of Tatum's within her book is a confutation: "What I've learned is that love definitely doesn't mean 'never having to say you're sorry.'" (p. 279) I couldn't agree with her more. It rings true in my life. Do you remember the comic strip Love is ... ? That's what this quote first brought to my mind when I was considering the original source. One cartoon read "Love is... never having to say you're sorry". Also according to Wikipedia, it's also a line from the novel and film "Love Story":
   
   "The quote appears twice in the film. Once toward the middle when MacGraw's character Jennifer Cavilleri says it, and again as the last line in the film, repeated by O'Neal's character Oliver Barrett IV as a tribute to Jennifer." I'm glad I ran a Google search on the quote, because I'm assuming the latter is where the confuted quote came from.
   
   In the book Tatum stated, "The twelve-step community took me in, embraced me, as the AA saying goes, loved me until I could love myself. A lot of these twelve-step slogans are true. Miracles can happen." (p.272) I hope that she never forgets that, especially right now. Just like Sean said, "People make mistakes." (p. 279)



4. It takes true courage to disclose these intimate details of a person's life, especially if you are in the public eye. Seeing her in the news again brought me back to when I read this book and her life she has lived.
   
   I hope she finds the peace she is seeking soon. This book will help you understand her more and not judge her. Movie stars are people too.
   
   It will bring your compassion out when reading this book.
   
   Merna Throne
   
   Pocket of Pearls: A 30-day pocket workbook to start hearing a softer voice inside of you!



5. this is a very important book. what an extremely sad life. she suffered so much at the hands of horrendous parents and a drug-addled narcissistic hollywood culture that to this day still destroys everything that it touches. then (surprise) she marries a complete prick in mcenroe who does everything to destroy her. what an important expose on the hollywood culture that continues to destroy so many people. they sacrifice any chance of love and normalcy to be famous and get the cash. her father should have been arrested and/or institutionalized a long time ago. this is a great book because it completely destroys the hollywood myth and exposes it for the horrific juggernaut that it is- all smiles and lies and phoniness hiding the reality of addiction, emptiness, abuse and wholesale prostituion of the soul. before these people get a chance to really live they dive head-first into a profession and a culture that rapes their souls and treats them like financial institutions. they are rendered soul-less and rutterless, trees without roots, standing on the pier as their lives sail away from them. once you miss the train it can be hard to get where you need to go. in other words there is absolutely no substitute for being loved, protected and guided by parents who know the meaning of love and aren't using their children to get rich and become famous.

5 comments about David: A Man of Passion & Destiny (Great Lives from God's Word Series: Volume 1).

1. All the books are good ... this one was great. It hit home for me.



2. This is a well written, thought provoking book. I am currently using it as a manual for a Bible study class. It's not one of those "deep theological" biographies, but it speaks to the layman, in a very easy-to-understand style. Recommended for study groups, or anyone, who wants to know more about the "man after God's own heart".



3. Yet another great book in the series. Well worth the reading and study. I have ordered additional copies to give as gifts.



4. What I do like about Chuck Swindoll's is that he brings that Old Testament to life for Born Again Christians and makes it relevant to adult lives and problems. This book on David as well as his study guide did give me much food for life when I was having non-legal problems with the government after I had applied for the Federal Civil Service in 1985. I heard on TV that Reagan had to approve in signature even applications for GS-9 position and I was on the list for considerations for such jobs when I was in grad school. I think they just wanted to teach young men like ma a lesson in life the hard way!
   David had become a national hero by killing the Philistine Giant Goliath. Then the prophet Samuel had annointed David to be Israel's future king since Saul had committed an act of disobedience against him. Saul became paranoid how David become a military hero where "Saul has slain his thousands; David his ten thousands"! So, Saul in his madness set out to kill David.
   What I found so some food for thought was that when David was losing heart about Saul persuing him to kill him and he had to live underground and off the land, that David decided to defect to the pagan Phillistine army-kind of like seeking Political Assylum with the Soviets or the North Koreans! When I was being persecuted on Park Street in North Toledo, I did seek assylum with several foreing nations. But nothing happened. I told myself who is "America's Philistines"-Russia, China, North Korea and Iran. I even sent them all resumes through my shortwave radio hobby. I had a big foreign address book called THE WORLD RADIO TV HANDBOOK! Plenty of people to complain to there!
   Other things I liked about David was that he had a thing for the ladies; and I also like pretty girls, but never seem to make it with any of them. David had an entire Harem of seven wives. You cannot find the definition of the word "Harem" in my Bible Dictionary; so sexless and loveless is America's Christianity! He was such an opportunist that he picked up the wife Abagial from a dead enemy Nabal who denied him and his men food when they were on the run from Saul. God stuck Nabal dead with a heart attack for his stinginess. I used to say that my former father in law was liewise a hard man like Nabal-yet God did not strike him dead. And of course David was a Prophet and a Man of God. He wrote about 50 of the Old Testament Psalms, some of which prophesy of Christ;s crucifion on the cross and the coming Millennial Kingdom of God. God had taken David from tending the sheep to becoming Sheperd of Israel! David was a man after God's heart as David did what God had wanted him to do during his reign as King. I found that defining verse in Acts.
   I liked the folk guitar in high school and in the Army. I read that David played the small harp, which was a forerunner of the modern folk guitar. Me and David liked music and pretty ladies. I was just thinking the other day that when I die and go to Heaven I will really like to meet this man, as though he was my friend!



5. Worthy of the reading and study whether this is by itself or part of the series.

5 comments about Kingdom of Fear: Loathsome Secrets of a Star-Crossed Child in the Final Days of the American Century.

1. By far simply one of his best collections. It seems the good doctor saw what was on the horizon and unforunately he was right. The world is a lesser place without him and we should all cherish every word. His insight was frightening an accurate. BUY THIS BOOK!



2. It's true, there are lots of parts of this book that can be found in other books, but this is still the best HST book I've read. It's sort of like a greatest hits. The new parts however, are the best part of this book.



3. This book (2003) and "Hey Rube" (2004) appear to be the last of HST's books. While "Hey Rube" contains lengthy discussions of gambling on professional football and basketball (including "March Madness"), this book is more far-ranging, containing everything from Thompson's reminiscences of his youth to his (highly negative) thoughts on George W. Bush. There's even a chapter from "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail 1972," one of the finest political books ever written.
   
   The quality of the writing on the recent pieces is not quite up to that of his best from the past, but is still infinitely better than the mindless slop produced by other contemporary "writers." The man was an artist.
   
   As always, one of the disturbing things about Thompson is his ability to assess politics correctly in real time. Reading back, you think "Why didn't people take this man seriously at the time?"
   
   "Indeed," as Doc would say.



4. Mr Thompsons autobiography is somewhat lacking compared to his other works. It seems, that he in his later years didn't have that much new to say, and this volume shows it very clearly. It deals with the legend of HST, not the man Hunter Stockton Thompson, and only plays the same tune that we've been hearing since F&L in Las Vegas, only in a strongly diluded form.
   
   A great drawback is that he recycles a lot of stuff from his earlier work, which if you're a fan/reader of his you can't help but feel a bit cheated about. The book isn't that long as it is, but when half the material already has been printed before, and therefore probably, for fans at least, is on your shelf already, it gives the feeling of the good Mr Thompson not really making an effort writing this volume.
   
   It's not all bad though. There are highlights in the book. His description of his childhood is enjoyable and very biographical. The last chapter is also very enjoyable, although not that good as biographical material, it does for a good reading.
   
   It starts out legitimate enough, but quickly turns to his rambling and at times incoherent style of writing. Worth reading if you're a completist. I would recommend the compilations of his letters "The Proud Highway" and "F&L in America" as biography instead. They are much better.



5. Make no mistake the late, lamented Hunter Thompson was always something of a muse for me going way back to the early 1970's when I first read his seminal work on outlaw bikers, The Hell's Angels. Since then I have devoured, and re-devoured virtually everything that he has written. I have reviewed many of those efforts elsewhere in this space. As I noted recently in reviewing his 2004 work Hey, Rube, a screed on the misadventures of a gambling freak (himself), not all his efforts have been equally compelling. That was the case in my panning of Hey, Rube but here we are back on much more solid `gonzo' style from the old days. Maybe it is because this work is in the form of a memoir and thus intentionally places the good Doc's actions in the center of the writing that puts this effort in the mold of his better compilations like the Great Shark Hunt and Songs of the Doomed.
   
   Thompson uses his patented stream of consciousness trope to create amusing stories starting from the then present (early 2000's) and his then current doings and splices them together, in some segments randomly, to events as far back as his childhood in Louisville, Kentucky. Along the way we find him at age nine in trouble with the FBI, and none the worst for the confrontation. Later, it is down and dirty in Rio with the crazies. Throughout, we find him incessantly testing his beloved guns and various `hot' motorcycles at various and sundry appropriate and inappropriate times.
   
   Additionally, we have some compelling and insightful stories as this radical journalist tours the news breaking global spots, taking trips to places like Vietnam just before the fall, Cuba, Grenada just after the invasion and elsewhere wherever the journalistic action might be and a story, in the Thompson style, might develop. Needless to say there is plenty of ink about sex, drugs and rock and rock including his deeply affecting and traumatic tangle with the law in Aspen the early 1990's. That, my friends, was a close call.
   
   And throughout, as usual, there are pithy political comments about the various idiots-in-chiefs, their henchman and hangers-on that he spent his life hammering. Maybe not hammering your way, definitely not my way, but his way. His fateful run for Sheriff of Aspen on the Freak Power ticket in 1970 probably accurately set the tone as a lifelong description of his politics. For those who have read other works by Thompson some of the signature language may be old hat as he meanders along in this volume. For others it is a chance to learn the lingo. Damn, especially this election year, I miss him. Read on.

5 comments about Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith.

1. If you've read the book it reads like a foolish tale of a pretty emotionally disturbed, possibly narcissistic and paranoid person. The Mormon Church wire tapping her phone, espionage, ex-CIA operatives, death threats left and right I mean come on please... I especially loved the part of when she wanted to cut her hair to show her uber feminist pride and the male hairdresser said to call her husband and ask if it's O.K. (because male hair dressers are so patriarchal and orthodox LOL...). I have no doubt that never happened at all. It's sad, Martha was probably dealing with her own conflicts over her homosexuality and found a crack pot therapist who implanted false memories of abuse into her brain (because most crackpot therapists immediately think only sexual abuse would lead a woman to therapy). This was thankfully a brief fad that was exposed quickly before too much damage was done, but unfortunately many families were destroyed (read the book 'Mistakes were made but not by me' for a great chapter on the damage done by crackpots and implanted memories).
   
   There was a study where psychologists interviewed 10,000 holocaust surviors who were children at the time of the holocaust. Not a one had any repressed memories uncovered later about the trauma they endured, not one. In fact it was the opposite, they remembered the trauma in frightening detail, the smells, the heat, the colors of rooms from when they were only three years old. Repressed memory syndrome doesn't exist without corresponding brain trauma... No I'm not LDS, in fact I've been called an "anti-Mormon" more than once, but let's call a spade a spade here, Martha Beck has some issues and being ritualistically raped by her father isn't one of them.
   
   The book screams of unbelievability, like the entire spiel of her wondering if her new Therapist Mrs. Grant is related to a past General Authority of the same name, and this causes her great distress and she's worried she won't be able to tell her story (she worries about this often but always ends up telling everyone who will listen, rooms full of people). but in reality the womans name isn't Mrs. Grant at all, it was changed for the story making this entire diatribe completely nonsensical (the real womans name is not that of any General Authorities at all). the entire book is full of nonsense like this, from beginning to end.
   
   The near death experiences, the white light, and being filled with peppermint flavors that she knew was God, being a leaf in a stream blah blah blah come on now. This woman had so many otherwordly mystical experiences and one on ones with the all powerful God of the Universe it has to tip the reader off to the fact that the author is either pulling someones chain or disturbed. It screamed of a new age crackpot and an emotionally disturbed angry person. That's what killed me, she writes like she's at such peace with herself and the Universe, but there is this seething anger underlying everything she writes, even when laying underhanded compliments to the people in her life she is really insulting and incredibly angry at everyone. And what exactly was the faith she found? Do whatever you want and there aren't any consequences for any of your actions?
   
   Don't waste your money, I can't believe I actually finished it...



2. I am an active member of the Mormon Church, come from good old pioneer stock, was married in the temple and my Father is a former Bishop and Stake President.
   I absolutely LOVED this book. I grew up in Provo and Martha Beck has older siblings who were my age. How she described living in Utah, getting married in the temple and other aspects of being a Mormon couldn't be more accurate.
   I have also read much about SRA (satanic ritual abuse) and what Beck described in her book is identical to many other victim's memories who grew up in the Catholic Church, Jehovah's Witnesses and other religions.
   I have read John Beck's review and find it to be extremely bitter, distasteful and misleading. Martha is very kind, gracious, and complimentary to him and his parents in the book. Someone in the church (along with someone in the Nibley family) must have gotten to him. His review must have hurt Martha a great deal which I'm sure was John's intent.



3. Anyone who knows both Hugh Nibley and Martha Beck knows who is telling the truth--it isn't Mrs. Beck.



4. I'm always intimidated to write a review for a really good book because I'm afraid I won't do it justice. This woman is one hell of a writer. If her father had one half of her talent for language I can understand how, through the "apologies" he wrote, he would be able to keep people faithful to a religion that is KOOKY at best. I'm sure this story of Martha's successful journey through her dark night of the soul into true spiritual peace and understanding will be a beacon for others who have experienced any kind of personal tragedy or challenge. The insider's view of the history and workings of the Mormon Church is enough of a reason to read it.



5. I found Martha Beck's book very healing. Having grown up near Provo Utah, I could really understand and identify with the situations and challenges she talked about. Seeing Mormonism from a more objective viewpoint I could let go of some of the guilt I have felt and understand why some of the beliefs just didn't feel good.
   Thank you Martha, I can't believe you really said that.

5 comments about The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir.

1. I had the privilege of reading a pre-publication manuscript of this book. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Kao Kalia Yang tells the story of her family--which in Hmong culture extends far beyond one's nuclear family. From the jungles of Laos, where her family lived before she was born, across the dangerous Mekong River, into Thailand's Ban Vinai refugee camp, and ultimately here to the United States, Yang tells us of the alliance her Hmong people made with the United States, the dangers they experienced as a result of the US's withdrawal from Southeast Asia, their harrowing flight from the only country they had ever known, and the indignities suffered and hopes and dreams shared while living an uncertain life in a refugee camp. At the center of this unforgettable tale is Yang's grandmother, who struggles to keep her family together in the camp, but must ultimately surrender to the inevitability of their parting. Through Yang and her family we are connected to the challenges, pains, joys, and triumphs of the refugee/immigrant experience and the love and dedication of a family unlike any we have met before, yet as familiar and comfortable as any we are likely to know. We are drawn into the seductive prose of Yang's words, the poignancy of her family's and her own circumstances, and the hope that their suffering, including that of her grandmother, who ultimately comes to America, will somehow be redeemed in this new country that in many ways necessitated their flight from Laos. This irresistable and moving debut--and its author--deserve a wide and appreciative audience.



2. I would like to thank the author for writing such a lyrically beautiful book about our human experiences. This is a necessary reading for those of us who care about each other--through this book, we learn about cultural beliefs of the Hmong, their political experience, and spiritual beings. This book will find its place next to the great literature of this country and will be read for generations to come. It is truly a gift.



3. What a beautiful book. Although the emotional experience may be felt among many Hmongs who endured the Secret War and migration era, each detail and descriptor of the author's experience is raw, fresh, and beautiful. One of a kind and completely respectful and true to the Hmong. I would recommend this book for everybody and especially those who had forgotten or suppressed the Hmong in them. Great preservation of Hmong culture and experience post Secret War for future generations.



4. I found this memoir to be well written and authentic. My daughter in law is Hmong and she agreed with my assessment. Coincidentally her last name is Mua also. I have done extensive reading about the Hmong, the "secret war", the need to leave Laos, etc.. This book brings it all together in a very readable manner. The pictures are a wonderful addition.



5. I urge you to read this beautiful and moving memoir, The Latehomecomer by Kao Kalia Yang, published by Coffee House Press.
   
   This is the story of a Hmong family whose amazing journey goes from the war-torn jungles of Laos, to the overcrowded refugee camps of Thailand, and then to St. Paul, Minnesota. Written by the second daughter born to Chue Moua and Bee Yang, Kao Kalia writes about more than the family history; she writes about what it means to be Hmong.
   
   Not only is this a story of one Hmong family experience, it is a universal story of the homeless Hmong people, told with the original, compelling and haunting voice of Kao Kalia. She uses the English language, her language from age 6 when she moved to St. Paul, to convey the struggles, hopes, dreams and lore of her family and culture. Her writing is fluid, and she has a way of putting ideas and sentences together that convey a unique view of the world. Her inner narrative is woven seamlessly through the framework of the story, giving the reader a sense not only of what happened to her Hmong family - and many others- but what it means to seek peace after war, to seek security, to seek a home.
   
   If you have any interest in knowing more about the proud and loving Hmong culture, if you have any interest in reading a moving and unique memoir, if you have any interest in reading a book by a talented new writer, you will want to read The Latehomecomer by Kao Kalia Yang.

5 comments about The Scalpel and the Silver Bear: The First Navajo Woman Surgeon Combines Western Medicine and Traditional Healing.

1. I picked up this book and I could NOT put it down. What a wonderful journey described here....how she interlocks traditional medicine with Navajo, how harmony and positive spirit is such a process in the healing world. You will not be disappointed with this read. I have shared this with all those close to me. Make it part of your list



2. --Dr Alvord writes about her journeys as a Native American student and physician. The book seems clearly designed for non-technical readers rather than the professional medical community, and there's little medical jargon. She uses her own difficult pregnancy and the death of a beloved grandmother as case studies in integrating Western medicine and Navajo ideas.
   --On the one hand, it's worth reading this book just to hear such an inspirational story from such a role model. Dr Alvord tells her story with dignity and courage and she has many good ideas about listening to patients and integrating Balance and Harmony in our profession (although these ideas don't seem as radical or as rare within the medical community as she seems to imply, and I don't think she does anyone a great service by implying they are).
   --On the other hand, the authors remained disappointingly abstract, even given the limitations of confidentiality and space. The stories of Navajo healing barely scratched the surface and the book was pretty scanty with practical advice that would help non-Native healers understand Native American patients. I'd love to have heard her perspectives on the magnitude of Native American health problems, how she handled the constant pressures of time and funding, or how she successfully used traditional Native American methods to help manage serious medical-social problems (i.e. alcohol use, diabetogenic diets, family pressures, basic compliance and responsibility issues, etc). In short, I'd like to have heard more about her successes.
   --The book's perspective gives a good counterpoint to those who criticize Western medicine as too impersonal/sterile/uncaring/whatever, while they fail to demonstrate how to predictably improve things and still efficiently deliver technically competent health care to people with different levels of motivation and understanding. Western medicine works beautifully in its own niche, but it will be made to work less efficiently if we mess around with the wrong things. Perhaps medicine will improve if we balance the responsibilities of patients to live a healthy lifestyle with the responsibilities of healers to carefully listen to patients and then help them heal.
   --This book did not practically help me to do this, so I cannot give it five stars despite my respect for her credentials. I do look forward to a sequel.
   --Other books which may be of interest include Blessings (by Dr. A. Organick), The Dancing Healers, and Primary Care of Native American Patients.



3. I am full-blooded Navajo, I was taught to believe in my traditonal ways and it disappoints me that she has talked about very scared ceremonies.



4. Daughter of a full-blooded Navajo father and white mother, Lori Arviso Alvord grew up on a New Mexico reservation in a family that took pride in its native heritage, but followed few of the traditional ways. She attended Navajo schools but never learned the language; she knew her clan relationships and enjoyed the security of tribal connections but seldom attended ceremonies or understood the depth of meaning in the Navajo concept "Walk In Beauty."
   
   Such a person might expect to shed the remnants of tribal culture on leaving the reservation to become a high-powered surgeon, a career that by its very nature flies in the face of Navajo precepts like privacy and self-effacement.
   
   Indeed, throughout her memoir, co-authored by Elizabeth Cohen Van Pelt, Alvord seems to straddle two worlds separated by an uncomfortable gulf. She first looked upon the deepness of that gulf at Dartmouth.
   
   "For a girl who had never been far from Crownpoint, New Mexico, the green felt incredibly juicy, lush, beautiful and threatening." Unable to see the horizon, she felt claustrophobic. But the culture shock was worse. "I thought people talked too much, laughed too loud, asked too many personal questions, and had no respect for privacy." Navajos do not put themselves forward and cooperation is valued over competition. Not a good prescription for success at an Ivy League school.
   
   At Dartmouth she began to feel her tribal identity more strongly and wonder if a kinaalda ceremony (a celebration of womanhood) would have helped empower her in such alien surroundings. But not until after medical school at Stanford, where she was forced to break numerous taboos (Navajo never touch the dead, for instance) and joined a profession where it is essential to ask prying, intimate questions and invade another's personal space at will, did Alvord really begin to explore the philosophical grounding of Navajo culture.
   
   Becoming a surgeon at the Gallup Indian Medical Center, close to the reservation, Alvord notices that her patients do better when they are calm and relaxed, that harmony - even in the operating room when the patient is unconscious - is important for recovery.
   
   She grows more interested in the Navajo philosophy that "everything in life is connected and influences everything else." To "Walk in Beauty" a person strives to live in balance, symmetry and harmony with everything and everyone else.
   
   While this is an ancient precept, held in common with many other cultures and enjoying something of a renaissance in American medicine today, Alvord comes up with a particularly striking example. One of her surgery patients, a young woman, was the first to die of a strange illness that swept through the Navajo nation, killing 11.
   
   A doctor working for the Centers for Disease Control, Ben Muneta, visited a medicine man, a hataalii, who told him "the illness was caused by an excess of rainfall, which had caused the pinon trees to bear too much fruit." There was "a significant deviation from the natural harmony of the world."
   
   The medicine man showed a sand painting of a mouse and said that twice before in years of excess rainfall a similar disease had struck. " `Look to the mouse,' " he said. Weeks later the CDC determined that the Hantavirus was contracted from the droppings of infected deer mice. The deer mouse population had surged due to an excess of pinon nuts. "It was the rain."
   
   Alvord's tone is quiet, reserved. It does not seem easy for her to describe the alcoholism of her charming father or the difficulties and generosity of her (married at 16) mother. Though she takes us to a nightlong ceremony for the sick and celebrates the strength her patients draw from medicine-man visits, she never explains why it takes her so long to visit a hitaalii during her own pregnancy. Or why she never approaches a medicine man to discuss cross-cultural treatments despite her growing conviction of the efficacy of the "whole body" approach.
   
   While most of the book concentrates on her work and her struggle to reconcile cultures, she provides a wide, sad look at reservation life, beset by poverty and "white mans'" diseases. The long grief of history resides in the alcoholism and the self-loathing of so many - a balance that can never be put right.
   
   At last Alvord leaves. Seeing it as the next natural step in her own "life trail", she returns to Dartmouth as a surgeon and a dean of minority and student affairs. At Dartmouth, she hopes, she can teach the Navajo "Walk In Beauty" principles to new doctors as well as working within the established system to bring better care to her own people.



5. Lori Arviso Alvord walks in two worlds. Raised on the Navajo reservation in New Mexico -- "the rez" -- she is the daughter of a Navajo man and a white woman. Carrying this dichotomy into her education and career, she went from the reservation high school to Dartmouth College, then found her path to Stanford University School of Medicine and a surgical residency in New Mexico.
   
   As the first Navajo woman surgeon, she learned to integrate the science-based world of medicine and the spirit-based Native American culture. The importance of the singing cures, native healing practices, and other spiritual traditions was brought home to her when she observed her patients' outcomes. Surgical skill was often not enough when delivered without respect for the language, culture and spirituality of the Navajo patients.
   
   The main focus of this memoir is Dr. Alvord's path to acceptance of the first Navajo principles: balance, harmony and wholeness, known as "Walking in Beauty." Along the way we learn a great deal about Native American history and culture, sensitively presented.
   
   Dr. Alvord speaks of the cultural bases for Native American alcoholism and the prevalence of gang culture, monumental threats to the health and well-being of her people. The healing of these ills will never be achieved in the operating room alone, and many patients' stories illustrate this lesson effectively.
   
   The outcome of Dr. Alvord's journey is signaled from the beginning, as is often the case with a memoir. While this may dilute the dramatic tension of her story, we're rewarded with a thoughtful and inspiring look at one woman's life and work, in all its contexts. I recommend this book to readers young and old who have an interest in the cultural aspects of medical care.
   
   Linda Bulger, 2008

5 comments about Emergence: Labeled Autistic.

1. I really liked the book. It offers great insights into the life of autistic children.



2. Good book if you are looking for a view on autism from someone who has had it.



3. With the recent success of the novel "The Curious Incedent of the Dog and the Night Time" - a novel written from an autistic's point of view - we should remember that this book, "Emergence," was the first autobiography written by an autistic. Quite literally, it was Temple Grandin, more than any other person, who brought autism into the spotlight and gave us the "insider's perspective."
   
   Before I go on, it should be noted that anyone reading this will be reading the story of a quite high-functioning autistic. Sadly, the majority of those diagnosed with full-blown autism will be worse off than she (even if they can use language), and that, after having seen her live a few times, I question whether she would have fit the diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome (very mild autism) better than "autism."
   
   That being said, this woman's life was obviously no walk in the park. Even if her autism is mild, this story is one of humungous triumph over towering obstacles. She recalls, for instance, how it was not until her elementary years that she was really able to use speech. Her middle school years are rushed over because, she says, they are simply too painful to recount. (She tells us that other students used to taunt her by calling her "tape recorder" because she would endlessly repeat phrases because she liked their sound. She tells us of her obsession, starting in high school, with walking through doors and her creation of a "squeeze chute" which would allow her to experience physical pressure against her skin in a way that would not overwhelm her senses.
   
   Sound unconventional? Welcome to the world of autism. Autism, for those who don't know, is a developmental disorder that affects one's sensory intake (often, sounds, smells, and tactile sensation can be overwhelming), expressive abillty (having trouble verbalizing thoughts and feelings), and impairing social "instincs" (those unwritten rules "neurotypicals" take for granted. Grandin's story is one of learning to deal with, and adjust to, all three of these impairments enough to function in the world as a "normal" person, which is something that, sadly, many autistics can never quite do.
   
   But Grandin is a firm believer that autism can be "cured" (the quotation marks are because I think she means "dealt with" or "adjusted to fit the world," rather than "cured." Towards that end, the introduction and epilogue of the book are deveoted to lessons on how to deal with autism which can be extrapolated from the book.
   
   Another reviewer mentioned that this is a book that can be read by teenager and adult alike. This is one of its greatest assets. Autistics, when they use language, tend to use very literal and direct language (autistics have trouble with things like metaphor). This book is concise, to the point, written in very simple language, and would be easily aceesible to a teenage. As I teach teenagers, some with autism, I am just waiting for the chance to have some of my autistic and Asperger's kids read this book, because I know they will be able to draw much inspiration from it.
   
   If you are at all concerned about autism, Asperger's syndrome, and how the autistic thinks, this is a must read. Grandin is candid about her failures and her sucesses. This is a book that will entertain, educate, and inspire you.



4. Anyone who has any contact with an autistic child should read this book. For everyone else, it is an education about this dreadful condition that has become a household word. Temple is one of those very rare people who was clearly certified as autistic, but has broken out of her cage well enough to communicate to the rest of us the inner feelings of an autistic person. Essentially, it is an autobiography detailing her hypersensitivity, temper outbursts, anxiety attacks and inability to function as a social being. Through the efforts of her mother, loving teachers, structured environments and her own doggedness, she has emerged well enough to become an acclaimed professional animal scientist.



5. I enjoyed this book so much. As the mother of a daughter with aspergers and not knowing quite what to expect I hung on every word. Temple brought me into her world so beautifully. Even though no two people with autism are the same there are so many similarities. I took what I could use and still found interest in the things that didn't apply to my daughter. The world of autism has interested me since I was a child, Temple in her fun yet blunt way (so typical of aspergers!!) took me into her world. I devoured the book in a few hours. My entire family is now fighting over who gets to read the book next. Great book!!!