5 comments about Charles Darwin: Voyaging.

1. This is one of the best biography books that I have ever read. It is factual and beautifully written



2. Un libro estupendo. Erudito ,informado , ameno y riguroso.¿Que mas podemos pedirle a Janet Browne?



3. Exceptional book, if in doubt, buy it. I knew it would be great after reading so many positive reviews, for some years, and was not disappointed. Unlike some overly detailed biographies, every word seems worthwhile here, from that first glorious sentence to the last. Here is the great adventure story of all time, biology-wise. All I can do is add my two cents worth to what is said elsewhere, don't miss this one.



4. I actually first checked this book out from my university's library and liked it so much that I went ahead and bought it for my personal library. Browne explores Darwin's life in the text in an extremely compelling and easily comprehendable manner. While I don't believe Charles Darwin: Voyaging is explicit and detailed enough to negate the need for true Darwin enthusiasts to discover Darwin for themselves through reading his autobiography, collected correspondence, and great scientific works (The Origins of Species, Descent of Man etc...) I do think the text accomplishes what it was meant to do--give those curious about Darwin's life and works the basic overview they need before pursuing the topic in more depth.



5. interesting biography of the life of Charles Darwin...great insights on his childhood and early experiences.

5 comments about Vincent Van Gogh: Sunflowers and Swirly Stars (Smart About Art).

1. This is what my daughter called the famous painting when I first bought her this book. She is almost 4 and has owned this book for about 9 months and it is regularly a favorite that she likes to read...well, more often she likes to look at the pictures and name the paintings. This is a great intro to art book for young children. I highly recommend as a first book for your little art-lover, or art-lover-to-be.



2. I wanted something to spark my 6YO son's interest in art. This book sure did. He asked me to read it to him a 2nd time right on the spot. He also spotted a Van Gogh print that I brought home. This is a fine series. I also got the Degas which wasn't quite as interesting but he still liked it. I just ordered Picasso and a few others. Get the Van Gogh and if your child loves it, try some of the others. (I also liked that this mentioned Van Gogh was very depressed once at loving a woman who didn't love him back.)



3. My five year old was so inspired reading this that she went to the basement and proceeded to make her own copies of his works. It is nice and simple, but with a decent amount of info and great pics.



4. My 5, 6 and 8 yr old kids are entranced when I read them the Smart About Art books. After reading one, I came back to Amazon and ordered as many as I could.
   
   They are written as a student would write a book report, but are humorous, touching and extremely informative with plenty of examples of the artists' work. I attended Art School 20+ years ago and it was a refresher course for me as well. It includes background/personal info about the artist, but only as much as a child can comprehend and as it pertains to his art. These books have just the right amount of info on the artists and their work.
   
   I wanted to share the world of art with my kids. Though my youngest two still use coloring books and my oldest reads chapter books without illustrations, these Smart About Art picture books are the perfect mix where they all can gain something from them--this series is neither too young nor too advanced.
   
   After years of reading picture books, my kids often ask "can that really happen?" or "is that person real?" I wanted a break from the imaginative world of children's lit and now I'm happy to finally answer "Yes, this person really existed, this really happened!" after reading the Smart About Art books.



5. Great book to introduce Van Gogh - nice reproductions and storyline, but then I'm biased as this is my favorite artist!

5 comments about Brother One Cell.

1. Heard Thomas on a pod-cast of the Diane Rehm show. Thought it was interesting and got a copy. This is one of the best books I have ever read. I was so captivated with his writting that I had a hard time putting it down to get other things done. The writting is easy on the eyes, flows well and just slips off the page. In this coming of age story we not only have the story but a true transformation. Highly recommend it.



2. This book is incredible! I agree with the other reviewer who pointed out that one particular negative review on this book seemed grossly uninformed. To sum up just how that review errs, this book is not at all "uneventful"; the entire point of the memoir is just how humbled Thomas *did* feel by his experience; and while he does comment on ethnic diversity in the prison, he by no means sees his fellow convicts as "losers." Please don't do yourself a disservice by assuming that this book is nothing more than some whiny, poorly adjusted, rich boy's lament.
   
   As for my own reactions to Brother One Cell, I feel that everyone can take something from it. While receiving a prison sentence is obviously no small deal, the appeal of this book is broader than many might assume. Some readers who never had to deal with a jail term may still find that it strikes a chord, have they ever found themselves faced with a prolonged set of difficult circumstances far away from home. The soul-searching that Thomas does, the way he articulates his pain over being kept apart from his loved ones, his insistence on "going it alone" despite his feelings of isolation, and his discussions of the fear of losing himself (on a fundamental and psychological level) are all of universal interest. He talks at length about the internal change that leads him to value the most mundane of acts -- things that he does not have in jail -- such as reading whatever he wants, looking at members of the opposite sex, walking around outside, and so much more.
   
   I feel that there are probably a number of people out there who could relate to the types of emotional and psychological changes explored and documented in this book. He even mentions (in varying amounts of detail) experiences such as phantom pains, flashbacks, and his unique relationship with Korea and feelings about the time he spent there. The author starts off by showing us the aimless vagabond he once was, allows us to accompany him very intimately through his periods of rage and depression following his arrest, and concludes with a sense that Korea is now very much a part of who he is.
   
   I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the following
   -prison memoirs
   -unique glimpses into seldom-seen aspects of Korean culture
   -anyone familiar with Korean culture who is interested in outsiders' impressions of it
   -stories of self-discovery
   -culture shock
   -autobiographical accounts of the profound personal changes borne out of unrelenting hardships faced in relative isolation (as well as the changes in an individual's perspective on said hardships as time wears on)
   
   The latter reason to read this book appeals not only to those who have been forever changed by circumstances that their loved ones will never truly know, but it could also be of immense help to anyone trying to understand their loved one's experience and the depth of the impact it has left.
   
   Brother One Cell is fascinating--this book is raw, yet compassionate and, above all else, honest. Just as other reviewers have noted, I too can see this book taking a place on required reading lists; it is only a matter of time before it becomes a classic.



3. This book is riveting. It chronicles a worst nightmare come true with a tone that is wise, witty and utterly accessible. I can't recommend it highly enough. I was entranced by the various transformations of optimism that this author traipses through on his seemingly horrific yet 'can't look away' journey.



4. First things first. If your name is listed in red ink, and almost everybody else's is in black, it does not mean that you've won a prize. Do not try to collect your package from the window. Cullen did and he wound up serving 3 and a half years in a series of Korean Houses of D.
   
   Ever since I read a Giant Robot article about Asian and Asian-American inmates stockpiling ramen, ketchup packets, soy sauce packets and other odds and ends to create ersatz versions of the dishes they craved, I've been fascinated with prisoner resourcefulness. In this respect Brother One Cell is a very satisfying travelogue. Cullen is a big, unseasoned foreigner, not yet fluent, completely inexperienced as a criminal, who must learn to survive as a prisoner - how to talk to people, how to make sure he gets his mail, how to deal with mosquitos, extreme cold and fluorescent lights that stay on 24 hours a day...
   
   Even more satisfying is the transformative mental and phillosophical journey upon which the author embarks, at first unconsciously and then with growing determination. The appreciation and grace at which he eventually arrives is a good reminder for those of us who've been spoiled by taken-for-granted freedom, cooshy living conditions and Get Out Of Jail Free cards we didn't necessarily deserve.



5. Loved this book. As a prison memoir, it does not shock or scare. Korean prisons, despite their lack of heat, cannot compete with Thai, Turkish or American prisons on the fear scale. This book delivers much more; it is the best that I have ever read on the subject of foreigners negotiating, stumbling, fubmbling and bumbling their way through South Korea. Thomas captures the maddening dualities, how he is constantly faced with both special treatment and petty humiliations. One minute, he is in awe of the maturity, cohesion, the genrosity, gentleness and, above all, the charm of Koreans. The next he is driven up the wall by their uniformity, closed-mindedness, bullying, brutality and pride. Every foreigner that has lived in Korea on Korea's terms has lived Thomas's story. Obviously, few have lived as much on Korea's terms as Thomas. And fewer still have written about the experience with more intelligence, even-handedness and wit.
   
   The most touching and disturbing part of the book deals with the author's friendship with a character identified only as Green. Green, married to a Korean prostitute, is serving time for murdering his own half-Korean children. Upon his parole, Green is deported and immediately relocates to Koreatown in Los Angeles, finding a home where outsiders are not supposed to have a place. Why would he choose to get as close as he possibly could to his former captors? After reading Thomas's extraordinary book, you will understand why.

5 comments about The Want-Ad Killer (True Crime).

1. Harvey Carignan is a prime example of why the US Constitution so frequently works against victims while offering loopholes for perpetrators; often setting them free to repeat their crimes as is this case with Carignan. On the side of the fence, readers develop sympathy for Mary Miller, whose daughter was the first known victim of Carignan after most recent prison release.
   
   Ann Rule, despite this being one of her early works, does an outstanding job of providing an in-depth look into the childhood, teenage years and adulthood of Carignan. Much of what we learn is based on Carignan's "accusations" and Rule does a superb job of noting that, most likely, this are just what they are...only accusations.
   
   While the title is a bit deceptive (Carignan only murdered one young girl, that is known, from a classified ad), the overall content of the book is intense and intriguing; so much so that I completed the book within 24 hours.
   
   This is the last of the Ann Rule books I had not read to date. This early work is proof that Rule has a natural talent for writing about America's worst citizens....rapist and/or murderers.



2. If you like true crime at it's best you have just met the master.



3. I've read other books by Ann Rule, especially NO REGRETS and GREEN RIVER RUNNING RED, so I was intrigued by this title. I had previously heard about scams involving "help wanted" ads, where unwitting people are lured into danger by scam artists looking to take advantage of people who genuinely need work, so this book seemed worthwhile reading.
   
   THE WANT-AD KILLER describes the disappearance and murder of Kathy Sue Miller, the victim who finally was responsible for bringing Harvey Carignan, a longtime "career criminal" to justice. Carignan had hit upon the idea of luring women to his gas station on the pretext of applying for a job. He placed ads in the local paper. When the job applicants refused his sexual advances, he killed them, usually with blows to the head, in a homicidal rage.
   
   Kathy Sue Miller, aged 15, was one of those girls who applied for the job she saw in the paper. Despite her mother's warning that she should not go off in a car with an unknown man for a job interview, Kathy Sue Miller got into Harvey Carignan's car, ostensibly to go to his gas station to apply for the job, and was never seen again. She had originally called the number in the paper for a job for her boyfriend, Mark, but Carignan convinced her that she could get the job herself, and she was excited at the idea of having some money of her own. Rule points out that Carignan's idea of putting a "want ad" in the paper gave him a steady supply of victims who walked right into his hands.
   
   Rule's book is skillfully written, with good insights not only into the emotional effects of this crime on the victim's family, but also on the detectives in charge of solving the crime. It serves as a well-written cautionary tale to anyone who is looking for a job, but also wants to make sure that he or she remains safe in the process.



4. I'm a big fan of Ann Rule, so I have read a lot of her books and stories. Although the Want-Ad Killer was good, I like some of her books better. I still would recommend the book if you like her work.
   
   She did a good job illustrating this slimy, sleaze-ball, nut job, sicko from hell. No other way to describe him!



5. This is an early Ann Rule true crime story about Harvey Carignan who used the want ads to lure unsuspecting, young female victims.
   
   Ann Rule goes back to the cases in Alaska where Carignan beat a hanging sentence on a technicality.
   
   Carignan is a sociopath,but far from insane. He is intelligent and knows criminal law and constitutional rights well enough to have written papers on the subjects during an earlier stretch in prison.
   
   The author defines the difference between a sociopath and a psychotic.
   
   She mentions the possibility that Carignan may have been involved in the Piper kidnapping, although the evidence is weak.
   
   The maps with the interesting markings showing some known burial sites gives rise to the concern that he vented his hatred of women far more times than has been known. The numerous unexplained markings loosely match some unsolved murders with similar M.O. in areas that Carignan passed through. He may have been an earlier version of a roaming killer much like Tommy Lynn Sells. One difference between Carignan and other notorious serial killers is the physical nature of Carignan, he was large,muscular and didn't shy away from fights with men.
   
   "The Want-Ad Killer" may not be Ann Rule's best book, but it is fast-paced and an interesting choice of subject in Harvey Carignan.

5 comments about The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down.

1. You might think a person interested in pirates would get into the historical records to learn more about those rough wanderers. Colin Woodard came at it from the other direction: he has a fascination with history and "got into" pirates as a vehicle to bring U.S. colonial history to life. "The Republic of Pirates" is the fascinating product of his research.
   
   Woodard focuses on what he calls "the Golden Age of Piracy," a ten-year period from 1715 to 1725. The few thousand men -- and a few women -- who populate this story were a different breed from the government-sanctioned privateers of earlier times. As Woodard describes them, they were " ... engaged in more than simple crime and undertook nothing less than a social and poitical revolt. They were sailors, indentured servants, and runaway slaves rebelling against their oppressors: captains, ship owners, and the autocrats of the great slave plantations of America and the West Indies." Some of them were set up as a rebel navy by supporters of James Stuart, the half-brother of Queen Anne, exiled after her death in 1714.
   
   Woodard's three main pirate subjects -- Samuel Bellamy, Charles Vane, and Edward "Black Beard" Thatch, grew up in an England made harsh for the lower classes by the waning of feudalism, the enclosure of public grazing land, and the flight from rural regions to London. The fourth focus of the book is Woodes Rogers, a Bahamian governor and former privateer who would eventually be the downfall of the pirates' Golden Age.
   
   Funded in part by the wreck of a great Spanish treasure fleet off Florida in 1715, the pirate bands began to congregate in the Bahamas and to grow in strength and daring. They roamed up and down the coast, finding safe harbor in Virginia, Long Island, Cape Cod, and the islands off the coast of Woodard's native Maine.
   
   While the pirate bands were based on a model of democratic decision-making and equal sharing of booty, Woodard leaves us with no doubt that life on the main was harsh and dangerous. "The Republic of Pirates" is a lively look at the realities of life in England and America in the eighteenth century, and is a great example of dry records and correspondence giving up their treasure to one who knows how to search them out.
   
   Colin Woodard is a native of the tiny Maine town where I live now and he spoke last year at the local library, a rare and precious event for the town. He lit the room up with his passion for those old days, both the wild adventures and the mundane relationships. Three hundred years ago -- but as real as yesterday in this wonderful book. Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys seeing history brought to life.
   
   Linda Bulger, 2008



2. From the author's introduction I was prepared to find pirates of the golden age like the heroes of my childhood. Although some never abused or killed their victims, they were not nice in their theft of goods, impressments holders of needed skills, and wanton destruction of ships. Granted, as the author points out, they were rootless, onetime privateers, escapees of an exploitative merchant marine and cruel navies, but they were still thieves in the night bankrupting small merchants, and impoverishing townspeoples and farmers who were not their oppressors. Some may have been polite to their captors but others were vengeful sadists. Although I was tempted to romanticize the earliest of the golden age pirates, I ended up disgusted with them and feeling (though I have reservations about capital punishment) they deserved the gallows and gibbet.
   
   Piracy is such a romantic topic, I would love to find a book that puts it in a world historical perspective. Woodard gives us a good tale of the golden age. I would love to know more about its rise with the coming of long distance maritime trade three thousand years ago, its role as an economic, political, and military weapon of leaders and political entities, like cities, or empire and piracy as a form of thievery. Woodard's book is an exciting read, but piracy has always been with us. What has it been all about?
   Charlie Fisher author of Dismantling Discontent: Buddha's Way Through Darwin's World



3. If THE REPUBLIC OF PIRATES is the first book on historical pirating that one has picked up, it should be put right down again without being opened even a crack lest one be tempted to read it through. No, shelve it at once and pick up EMPIRE OF BLUE WATER instead, for it portrays the true beginning of the "Golden Age" of pirating in 17th century Caribbean waters. EMPIRE ends in the waning years of the century with the death of Henry Morgan and the destruction of Port Royal in a massive Jamaican earthquake, which is almost exactly where THE REPUBLIC OF PIRATES begins. The two books complement each other perfectly and, between them, give us a comprehensive view of pirating from the 1600s into the early 1800s.
   
   The writing styles of both authors are entertainingly readable. The historical events that they relate are as fascinating as any fictional novel could be, making their books both instructive and captivating.
   
   REPUBLIC does develop occasional textual problems about halfway through. For instance, on page 168, we are told that the ships for one expedition were stocked with "enough salt, bread, flower, and preserved food" to feed its sailors and soldiers. I'd like to know how they preserved that "flower." Page 202 has sentences erroneously using "them" for "they" and "affect" for "effect." Page 209 has Blackbeard's men "ascribed to a number of attacks," whereas the intent is obviously to ascribe the attacks to the men. The syntax is utterly reversed! Pages 214 and 222 both misspell the Antilles islands as the "Antillies," a particularly ironic error in a book dealing with seafaring. Finally, I sm still searching for the definition of "paridor" that appears on page 236; granted, it is in a quotation dating from about 1718 and may now be an obsolete term, in which case, an explanatory footnote would have been valuable. Not counting the obscure quoted term, almost all the grammatical and syntactical errors occur in a span of 54 pages and do not afflict the remainder of the 332-page book (not counting the endnotes). Perhaps the proofreader somehow missed those pages.
   
   I do not find the occurrence of grammatical errors so numerous or so frequent as to weaken the book significantly, but I would hope that the few that do exist will be corrected should the book be reprinted for future editions, for they are distracting when they do occur. The book also lacks a bibliography, and, while the reader can ascertain the author's sources by reading though 37 pages of endnotes, a concise listing of published sources and additional books on the subject would be potentially useful.
   
   Despite its occasional flaws, REPUBLIC easily receives my rating of five Amazon stars. In addition to continuing the historical saga of pirates where EMPIRE leaves off, the book gives us glimpses into early bribery of colonial officialdom, affords us glances of life in the eastern seaboard of 18th century America (North, Central and South) and the islands off that seaboard, and even shows us the real-life source of Daniel Defoe's fictional Robinson Crusoe. Benjamin Franklin also makes an appearance as a youthful poet writing about the death of Blackbeard (a snatch of which comprises the title of this review). We are reminded of (or perhaps learn about) the English monarchical lines of the Stuarts and the Hanoverians, the Jacobite uprisings, the War of Spanish Succession and even the well-forgotten War of the Quadruple Alliance, and especially the impact that all of these had on the New World. Descriptions of the wildernesses that became today's Florida and the other seaboard states to the north remind us that an extensive history of settlement, trade, banditry, and the fluctuating fortunes of war played out on this continent long before the establishment of today's nations. Best of all, this intriguing history plays out before our eyes in an engaging manner that will captivate almost any reader.
   
   I recommend both EMPIRE OF BLUE WATER and THE REPUBLIC OF PIRATES (to be read in that order) to every reader who enjoys unusual history, tales of adventure, and generally well written narratives about the men-and a couple of women-who helped form the New World.



4. Because of the popularity of Pirates of the Caribbean, many books about pirates have been published in the past few years. Most are light-weight works.
   The Republic of Pirates is a real history which puts the pirates of the early 18th Century in perspective, concentrating on the Bahamas.
   This is one of several excellent books I've read recently about pirates.
   My interest was originally sparked in 1995 with David Cordingly's "Under the Black Flag" because this book pictured the privateers/pirates as sea-going guerrillas.
   Beside "The Republic of Pirates", the following are worth reading:
   Peter Earle Pirate Wars
   The Sack of Panama
   Stephan Talty Empire of Blue Water
   Benerson Little The Sea Rover's Practice
   The Buccaneer's Realm
   Richard Zacks The Pirate Coast
   Frederick C. Leiner End of the Barbary Terror
   
   Together these works cover piracy from the late 16th to the early 19th Century.



5. This book was very descriptive and detailed. All the pirates, their crews, and ships were all named, and a few of the ships were pinned down to the port they were made at and the type of wood they were made from. Somehow the author was able to compile all of this data and turn it into a real story.
   
   I couldn't put it down.

5 comments about 26 Fairmount Avenue (Newbery Honor Book, 2000).

1. In reading this book to my first grade class, Tomie always left them wanting to know more about his life. This first book in the 26 Fairmount Avenue series takes Tomie from the summer before kindergarten through his first year at his brothers "big" school. The story focuses on experiences dealing with moving in to a new house and neighborhood, having his teacher mispronounce his name, starting tap dancing lessons and many other events that shape his beginnings at his new life at 26 Fairmount Avenue. My students enjoyed every page of this new series, cover to cover and ended up checking out the book at the library all year! We continued to read the next four books throughout the year and continue to discuss them when we see each other around school. This new beginning biography series is a must have for every primary grade classroom.



2. My son was sick for a few days while the rest of the class was reading this book at school, and we needed to have this book to help keep him up on class and understand what was going on in the story. The book wasn't available anywhere locally, so we ordered from Amazon, and it got here QUICKLY! We were able to get him caught up on his work, and we could also explain the story in a better one-on-one setting than any classroom could do, and he did well.
   
   I have to say, the story was also enjoyable for a parent, as it brought back a lot of memories from my childhood. Although I never lived where the story took place, and we didn't have grandparents in the house with us (as is the case in the story), there were a lot of fun perspectives from a child's point of view. Tomie dePaola has a very good writing style, and the artwork is fun, too. I recommend the book for anyone who enjoys childrens' books - especially those books about life in 1938. It would be a superb grandparent-to-grandchild book.



3. 26 Fairmount Avenue (Newbery Honor Book, 2000)I am honored to write a review for this first book about Tomie dePaola's life. I have always admired his other works and now I have a new reason to respect him. This autobiography is a short chapter book written for children by an author who writes for children. How appropriate is that? So many times we parents are asked to find autobiographies for our kids to read but there are none that are at a child's reading level, let alone appropriate for children to read. We have to content ourselves with watered down biographical writing. Not so with "26 Fairmount Avenue." Welcome to the world of Tomie who remembers the things of life that kids remember and perhaps you will remember as well.



4. This is the story of young Tomie as he waits for his new house to be built. The narrative is easy and light, with fun stories told about school, building a new house, family, and grandparents.
   
   This is a great book for upper elementary students to read and a great book for adults to read to younger students.



5. I think that all of the books in the series of ''26 fairmount ave'' are so cool I suggest them for anyone and hope that everyone likes them.

5 comments about R. Crumb's Heroes of Blues, Jazz, & Country.

1. What a gem to find on your doorstep on a sunny afternoon. Book-CD full of mystery and joy. I passed it around at a picnic and everyone had a personal take on it. The music took me way back to my early childhood and me dad playing that early jazz stuff on Swaggy records. Dock Boggs music is chilling - always sends shivers up my spine. Jaybird Coleman is a revelation. It would be worth it for these alone but theres much much more.



2. I have the original jazz card set by R. Crumb, so I was very happy to receive this re-compendium as a gift. The reproductions of the artwork are better than the cards, and Zwigoff's introduction is amusing. The CD is a great bonus, also. One goof I noticed is that the final cut is not Jimmy Noone's "King Joe," but Paul Whiteman's Orchestra with Bing Crosby's vocal, "From Monday On," featuring a good Bix Beiderbecke solo.



3. Wow! Every so often you run across something that knocks your socks off. R. Crumb's Heroes of Blues, Jazz, & Country left me barefooted.
   
   In the 1980s, Robert Crumb, whom Robert Hughes appropriately once called the "Breughel of the 20th century," created sets of trading cards featuring some of his favorite blues, jazz, and country musicians. (The plan was to include one card per LP sold by innovative record firm Yazoo.) This collection, edited by Terry Zwigoff, the same guy who directed the documentary "Crumb," pulls together the illustrations from all three sets. They're wonderful. The blues and country illustrations are drawn, and are vintage Crumb: crosshatched, brooding characters. The jazz illustrations are water-colored. They're identifiably Crumb, but have a definitely different feel to them.
   
   Crumb is a fascinating genius. Although his art and comics tend to be avant-garde (a term he might well disdain) and iconoclastic, Crumb also has a real affinity for late 19th and early 20th century American culture. Part of this love for an earlier time, no doubt, stems from his intense dislike of the fast-paced, loud, and garish American culture he eventually fled in the 1990s (Crumb now lives in France). But part of it is that he thinks the music produced in the early 20th century represents folk art at its finest and purest, before music became an industry. Crumb began collecting old 78s when he was still a teenager, and his love for the older music has never waned.
   
   And so to the piece de resistance of this book: the accompanying 21 cut CD. Crumb personally chose the pieces, and they're absolutely fantastic. Except for a couple of the blues and jazz musicians, all of the artists are virtually unknown except to the afficionado. But man oh man, are they wonderful. Skip James' rendering of "Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues" is a heart-breaker. Dock Boggs' "Sugar Baby" and Burnett & Rutherford's "All Night Long Blues" are haunting in their strange but beautiful ways. And no matter how bad things get, Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra's "Kater Street Rag" will pick you up. My son and I have listened to the CD over and over and over, and we never get tired of it. He prefers the blues and jazz, I'm in love with the hillbilly blue grass cuts. But the whole CD--well, it just knocks your socks off.
   
   Wow.
   _____
   * From R. Crumb's essay "To Be Interested in Old Music is To Be a Social Outcast!", The R. Crumb Coffee Table Art Book, p. 191. "You play old records for most people, and, if they listen at all, after the record's over they turn to you and say, 'So what is it you like ab out that old music?' You just want to throw up your hands."



4. Richard Nevins of Rounder Records first came up with the idea for Robert Crumb to illustrate a series of early Blues, Jazz, and Old Time Music and Bluegrass greats along the lines of the baseball cards of his childhood. Crumb went for the idea and produced what became three boxes of cards with illustrations taken from old photos on the front and write-ups about the players on the back (many of them by Nevins).
   
   Now the famous fine arts publisher Abrams Books has designed and published a superb volume that includes the Crumb artwork as never before -- in brilliant color and on a larger scale than the cards -- along with expanded bios and a bonus CD that samples some of this great American roots music. Anyone interested in high-level cartoon art and this powerful expressive music will want to own this book.



5. In 20/20 hindsight (or hindsound?) I bought the book intending to learn about music. Taken purely as an introduction to three genres of early American music, the book is a success. The pictures (and introduction to R. Crumb the artist) were a huge bonus. Wow! The CD with it completes the trifecta.
   
   This is a fantastic introduction to multiple artistic elements - perhaps a few that will catch the reader/viewer/listener off guard. Enjoy!

5 comments about Around the World in 80 Dinners: The Ultimate Culinary Adventure.

1. This is a true gem of the travel and food narrative genre. The authors spent three months traveling to some of the most exotic locations in the world, they share their unforgettable experiences via humorous and insightful descriptions which come alive to the reader. I especially enjoyed the story of their Grand daughter's Flat Stanley being eaten by a rouge monkey in the sacred forest and the hilarious reincarnation ceremony that followed. And as your enjoying the humor, you are unwittingly being exposed to such fascinating cultural encounters. The book is based upon their 80 dinners and the intricate meal descriptions will have your mouth watering, they have even included recipes to some of their favorite meals. This book covers all bases, travel, food, humor and culture and in my opinion is a must have.



2. Another outstanding "can't put it down" book by the Jamisons. It's different than their award winning cookbooks, and shows how truly versatile they are! They travel around the world on frequent flier miles (how lucky is that!), and share their extraordinary adventures along with their culinary experiences. They select their favorites and provide you with recipes to try, while sharing in how much fun they had, even with those unexpected colds that sneak up on you. And the Flat Stanley episodes are a hoot! Who wouldn't dream of having such a wonderful time - and you get to be transported there through their book, with great wit and insight. Bravo to the Jamisons again!



3. The Jamison's have a hit again. I have always enjoyed the Jamison's cookbooks and have found their travel books helpful and spot on with their ratings. Now, their latest book `Around the World in Eighty Dinners' combines the Jamison's in depth knowledge of food, cultures, and world travel much to the reader's delight. `Around the World in Eighty Dinners' is educational, insightful, and humorous.
   
   The Jamison's itinerary included countries with unique national and local cuisines. The two of them saved their frequent flier miles, put together a small basic wardrobe (that would be black), complied all their research and set off. Oh least I forget, there was a third making the trip with them. They had their granddaughter's Flat Stanley along for the adventure. You will find it hilarious as you read about Flat Stanley's demise and reincarnation early on in the journey.
   
   Whether you actually travel the world or vicariously travel the world, you will enjoy the eating adventures and travel escapades as the authors make their way around the world. The detailed descriptions of the dinners will create the visual that may make you green; that is, green with envy or green with the thought of sharing what they were eating!
   
   This book is a must for anyone who loves travel and/or food. So, that includes most of us. I know you will enjoy this book.



4. This is such an enjoyable book!!! It helped me relive good memories from a few places I've already visited and sparked my interest to visit a few new ones. Cheryl & Bill have a wonderful knack for making the story flow with such culinary insights tied in with humor and location highlights. The experiences and flavors of their 3 month journey come alive in the words.



5. I do so love to read about travel and food - so much the better if they're in the same book! I did enjoy the Jamison's book but did have a two minor woes that stole one star from the review.
   
   First, the changing perspective. The narration changes from third person (Bill packed his suitcase, Cheryl chased the monkey...) to first person (we planned our trip...) which I found difficult at the beginning (Who is this mysterious third person on their trip? Who's talking now?) but managed to overcome by about mid-point.
   
   The second sticking point came, unfortunately, at the end which left me frowning instead of closing the book with a bittersweet sigh. The last chapter wraps up the Jamison's return home and plans for the future. A couple of pages in they make some sweeping statements about the food scene here in the US that I thought were unfair and using an awfully wide brush to paint such a big country as ours. I'll bet if the Jamisons spent the same planning time and then three months traveling the US they'd find some of the same high quality, creative food they found abroad. I know I can find it here in my own little corner of Cleveland!
   
   Other than that, it's hard not to be swept up in Bill and Cheryl's enthusiasm for food and travel and their obvious delight in being together on this grand tour.

5 comments about When Broken Glass Floats: Growing Up Under the Khmer Rouge.

1. When Broken Glass Floats is the author's journey to find the magic of a world lost as a result of the Khmer Rouge. This book, as a personal account of the Khmer Rouge regime, is also my personal journey as a reader and a Khmer person. Through this magical journey, my own forgotten memories are awakened and many traditional beliefs that I have pushed to the back of my mind resurface.
   
   I was too young to have memories of the Killing Fields, but I have heard enough stories to feel connected to it. There were gaps missing in my memory and this book filled those gaps. When Broken Glass Floats is poetic and touching, a book rooted in the author's desire to let the world know about the tragic death of her family. It begins when her memories are awakened as a result of her work as an interpreter and interviewer for the Khmer Adolescent Project, studying post-traumatic stress disorder among Cambodian survivors. This is a story of triumph, survival, and hope written from the Khmer soul of a Cambodian-American woman.
   
   When Broken Glass Floats is a book with two moving and powerful purposes: one, as a therapeutic tool for the author, and, two, as a reminder of an event that should never have occurred. The author describes her book as a way "to use the power of words to caution the world, and in the process to heal myself" (p. 23). The process of writing the book became a trek to the Himalayas, "a search to recapture the long-lost magic in [her] life" (p. 23). My travels have taken me to the Himalayas. I have been seeking magic for my own healing like the author of When Broken Glass Floats. The process of reading her book and other autobiographies has provided much healing. I recommend this book for everyone who is interested in this subject, but in particular to Cambodian-Americans, because this book can take you on a journey into yourself, your soul, memories, and past.



2. This was an entirely good read. One of the amazing things I kept realizing as I read is Chanrithy Him has condensed a number of harrowing years of into just ~300 pages, so the reader only hears about some of her experiences - there's probably much more that didn't make it to the pages of this memoir. Also, Him's story is only one out of myriad others . . . thousands of thousands of Cambodian people who could tell a story even more devastating than Him's.
   
   When Broken Glass Floats kept me interested from cover to cover, and I enjoyed Him's writing style. It's likely I can't say anything positive that hasn't already been said, so I'll pick out a couple of things I wonder if other readers noticed.
   
   For one, the black and white family photos included in the book did not resemble the images I had of disease-stricken, starving children Him described. For instance - granted he is wearing a shirt in the photos, none of the pictures show Map (Him's youngest sibling) with a protruding belly - although towards the end of the book Him tells her readers Map fails to lose this effect of starvation even after his diet improves. Similarly, the photo of Ra on her wedding day shows a young woman who looks healthy (nice complexion, full cheeks, hair in an up-do, clean floral shirt), so I couldn't help but feel confused because this is far from how Him described her physically weak, skinny sister who was barely recognize at times. I realize the photo was taken during better times, but do people so sick and hungry recover to that degree so quickly? Also, the memoir chronicles countless dizzying days, months, and years of walking, working, and barely surviving from severe dehydration, starvation, infection, diarrhea, disease, and depression; personal belongings (books, valuables, etc.) were stolen, taken by the Khmer Rouge, and lost along the way. Under those conditions, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of doubt as I read about the photos Him had "managed to keep safe during the Khmer Rouge time" (p. 330) and the "cream lace blouse from Phnom Penh, which she (Ra) managed to keep safe during the Khmer Rouge time" (p.286). Given the circumstances described, this just didn't seem plausible. But who knows . . . not a major problem for me, it just caught my attention - as did the typographical errors I found from time to time.
   
   Great book . . . would have enjoyed a bit more of a history lesson. If that's what you're seeking you might look elsewhere, because this is a tale focused on a very strong and intelligent young girl's survival.



3. A great book. A very sad account of a young girl that reflect the experiences of million Cambodian refugees. Also showed what perseverance and setting goals can achieve. If Miss Him can survive and succeed, so should everyone.
   Highly recommend this book.



4. When Boken Glass Floats tells the story of a young girl and her experiences and life as she lives in Cambodia with the Khmer Rouge. It is very emotional as she weaves the story of her family in the labor camps and then the periods spent in the refugee camps in Cambodia and Thailand. I recommend it as a five star book.



5. After reading this I somehow felt changed. Written so well that you feel her emotions immensely throughout the book. I didn't want to put it down.

5 comments about A Writer at War: A Soviet Journalist with the Red Army, 1941-1945.

1. I'm very glad I've read this book, because it is truly one of the greatest, if not the greatest eye-witness account of the war on the eastern front. The chapter about the liberation of Dachau and the writer's thoughts about the Holocaust made me shiver, I've read dozens of books on the Holocaust but nobody ever put it to paper like Vassily did. If you haven't read this book, please do. You will never forget it.



2. Parragraphs of intense live experiences on the Eastern Front are interspersed with the introduction and analyses of historian Mr. Beevor. If it had been in a linear sort of narrative, so we could feel the progression of the drama, and we could get used to the comings and goings of our narrator, it would have been a great book. But we have only scattered pieces, fading images of a soul soaked in the pain of war, glimpses of horrors witnessed and stories that remain untold.
   
   It's what it hints at that gives it its precious value: the authenticity and honesty of the man, Grossman. But it lacks a linear storytelling; it leaves a chaotic impression of imprecise locations and hard-to-pronounce names. I'm the first to be sorry about this impression, nevertheless it is what it is. I would have packed the best passages into a short book, made it more concise and more precise.



3. Vasili Semenovich Grossman was a decorated Soviet military journalist best known in the West for his epic novel, Life and Fate (New York Review Books Classics). In 'A Writer at War' editors and translators Anthony Beevor (Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943), an esteemed historian and author in his own right, and Luba Vinogradova, follow Grossman's progression through the war by piecing together stories from his notebooks and writings. At times one would have liked a bit more context to be provided by Beevor, but that is a minor quibble.
   
   Grossman, while still a loyal Communist at this point, managed to maintain a relatively objective viewpoint. He often pushed his editors to allow him to write stories they did not want written, in particular regarding the fate of the Jews in the Ukraine under German occupation and the role of the Ukrainians.
   
   While at time the stories have to be stitched together from bits and pieces, `A Writer at War' is a gold mine and provides a rare view into the inner workings of the Soviet military and Soviet military journalism in particular. Grossman experienced the initial German onslaught and the Russian flight from it, Stalingrad, the tank battle at Kursk, and the death camps. The book includes an extensive article on the workings of the German death camp Treblinka. Earns the highest recommendation.



4. 
   Grossman, most famous for his Tolstoyan work, 'Life and Fate' was, first and foremost, a journalist. He spent the majority of the Second World War on the front lines, witnessing some of the most violent confrontations of the war. He was in Stalingrad, widely acknowledged as the bloodiest battle in history. He was at Kursk, the major tank battle of the war and the military turning point-Stalingrad being the psychologic hinge-of-fate for Nazi Germany's imperialistic and ideological ambitions. He was at Treblinka during it's liberation and in Berlin during the final death-throes of the Nazi beast. In other words, he was an eye-witness to all the major events on the Eastern Front.
   
   This book, cleverly and unobtrusively edited and translated by Vinogradova and Beevor excerpt relevant segments from Grossman's diaries. These wartime diaries were kept at great personal risk, since such activities were prohibited by the Stalin government. While many of the depictions of the attitudes and behaviors of Soviet soldiers seem redolant of 'socialist realist' propaganda, the descriptions of Treblinka and the author's sentient observations on Soviet military men are obviously the product of a gifted writer and psychologist.
   
   The reader should recall that these diary entries were not intended for publication but rather were kept by Grossman to provide source material for future literary efforts. Unfortunately, Grossman fell afoul of Stalin, largely for his efforts to publicize the fate of Jews at the hands of the Nazis and secondarily for failing to sufficiently promote the role of Stalin's leadership and the Party in the Battle of Stalingrad. As a result, 'Life and Fate' was only published posthumously and stomach cancer claimed the author's life before much of the raw materials presented in this book could be crafted into a final literary effort. Any serious student of WW-II should read this book, as it is a major contribution to understanding the Soviet perspective on the 'Great Patriotic War'.



5. Like the other books of his I've read (Black Book -- really great book), this book manages to be extremely factual yet at the same time emotionally gripping. Grossman's reporting narrative puts you in the time and the place and gives a strong sense of what it was like to be there - the senses, the feelings, the despair, the players, the impact to real people. If you are interested in the Soviet side of the war, or WW2 in general, this is a must read.