5 comments about The Secret Art of Dr. Seuss.

1. I've always been fascinated by Dr. Seuss's illustrations & the art pictured here just adds to my interest.



2. Ted Geisel, more widely known as Dr. Seuss, was a consummate writer and illustrator. His children's books have sold millions of copies; it is a near certainty that few children grow up in the United States without being exposed to Seuss books. This book contains some of Seuss's art that has not had a great deal of exposure. Most are paintings, although there are some works of three-dimensional art.
   There are some very subtle messages in these paintings. On page 67 the image has the title "A Man Who Has Made an Unwise Prochess (sic)." A sad-looking man is walking from a distant building along a trail where there are sharp drops on both sides. The image caught and held my eye as I tried to determine what was so familiar about it. Then I realized that the man looked a great deal like Adolph Hitler. The eyes, hair, mustache and shape of the face all match.
   Most of the other works contain characters similar to those that have appeared in his books. They are all well done, exuding a brightness and joy so typical of the Dr. Seuss books. Geisel was just as much an artist as he was a writer, perhaps even more so. If you examine this book, you may also reach that conclusion.



3. This book gives you some of the everyday images from Dr. Seuss' children books and sketches for those characters, but also invites you into a secret world of other at that he created, some reminiscent of his popular books, but some much more abstract and interesting.
   
   This book is a good buy for those who want to see more of who Dr. Seuss really was and what other art he created.



4. this book is moving. in the way that a rainy day or a kitten effect your mood, this book too, will leave you changed.
   
   i love this book.



5. A visually stunning body of work. This book shares rare and unusual images not seen in the series of children's books Dr. Seuss penned. Some of the images are dark and disturbing but then that's what makes it worth seeing. A wonderful and beautifully written forward by Maurice Sendak, another children's author, adds an interesting insight to the quirky and unique personality, of my beloved childhood hero, Theodore Geisel aka Dr. Seuss.
   
   I recommend this book for kids and adults and anyone interested in animation or comic art.

5 comments about West from Home: Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder, San Francisco, 1915.

1. This is a very sweet and interesting book. Laura is visiting Rose in San Francisco for a few months and writes letters to Manly to fill him in on all she is doing and seeing.

   The letters are detailed and filled with much information about San Francisco at the time. This is very interesting since it was 1915 and the Panama-Pacific International Exhibition was in progress.

   I was thrilled to read it as I can't seem to read enough about Laura and her entire family! This is another wonderful and interesting book with the spirited Laura Ingalls Wilder as the star!




2. In addition to Laura's detailed letters to Almanzo describing her adventure, this book includes over thirty photographs featuring Laura, Rose, the Pacific Ocean (ships, beachgoers, etc.), San Francisco, and many scenes of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition including an air show and night-lit festivities. Though in black and white, this pictorial insight into what was behind the letters is wonderful.
   
   The book also includes an introduction telling how and where the letters were found and a lovely description of San Francisco at the time of Laura's visit. The letters themselves beautifully showcase the art of letter writing: Along with Laura's vivid descriptions of the technological marvels of the expo, her words are full of charming details to make us smile such as the price of eggs, hat shopping, and her favorite foods of the expo. Laura's expertise in writing compositions, as portrayed in the original Little House books, is very much evident even in these personal letters.
   
   This book is a must have for Little House enthusiasts. Also recommended: On the Way Home: The Diary of a Trip from South Dakota to Mansfield, Missouri, in 1894.
   
   J.H. Sweet, author of The Fairy Chronicles, and longtime Little House fan



3. I love all the little house books. I am buying these so I can read them again and also to build up a library for my grandchildren.



4. Laura Ingalls Wilders makes a trip by train to visit her daughter, Rose, in 1915 in San Francisco. It was during the 1915 World's Fair. Laura visited for two months and wrote interesting, detailed letters back home to Almanzo about what she saw and did.
   Some of her descriptions were captivating in their detail. The book fills in gaps and answers questions about the years following the events of the Little House books. The reader meets Rose, the daughter, as an adult, and begins to learn about her amazing life as a successful writer.
   It was during this visit that Rose begins to help Laura learn how to better write for publication, such as how to block-out a story.
   The reader gets an insight into Rose's fierce loyalty and sense of responsibiity to her parents.



5. I found this collection of letters written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (author of the "Little House" series) to be fascinating. The letters were written to her husband when Mrs. Wilder went to San Francisco to visit her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, in 1915.
   
   The reader gets Mrs. Wilder's description of a San Francisco that is recovering from the earthquakes and fires that took place earlier in the century and is now hosting an International Exposition. Mrs. Wilder's description of her first encounter with the Pacific Ocean is wonderful.
   
   The reader also gets a glimpse into the life of Mrs. Wilder. She is very concerned about finances and things back on the farm. She has yet to write her first "Little House" book, but her daughter, who is already an accomplished journalist, is helping Mrs. Wilder get a feel for writing.
   
   This book will be a treat for readers interested in the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder and those interested in a portrait of San Francisco in the early 20th century.

5 comments about Crow Killer: The Saga of Liver-Eating Johnson (Midland Book).

1. The author has put together from varying pieces of history the story of a true mountain man whose legend is grown to larger than life. The early west was a brutal and harsh environment, not the romantic scenes that are painted in most novels. This is a good glimpse into the reality of the time and the people who shaped the country as we know it today.



2. There is alot of good info in this book anyone who is into the per1840's will like this book.



3. Crow Killer is a book of the tales of Johnson. Without those stories, Johnson would not be remembered this day and age. The movie Jeremiah Johnson would not have been made. There would be no interest of finding out more of Liver Eating Johnson. There is a site.....johnlivereatingjohnston.com that covers the real man and there is a picture therein of him circa 1877. He does not look like Redford.
   Crow Killer covers his adventures and various peers of a time from primitive living to the modern age.



4. If you're looking for a quick-reading, action story with colorful characters then this book is for you. If you're looking for accuracy, you better keep looking.
   
   As many reviewers have already mentioned, this book is based upon third- and fourth-hand information from old mountain men. Mountain men were famously known for telling "tall tales" and spinning "yarns". They took great delight in telling exagerated stories to "flat-landers". That, alone, should cause one to be skeptical of the authenticity of this book. I can't help but feel that the old mountain men who related these stories to the authors were laughing up their buckskinned sleeves the whole time.
   
   Two specific points regarding the lack of authenticity in this book come immediately to my mind... First, Johnson is said to have purchased a .30 caliber Hawken rifle before heading into the mountains. I seriously doubt the Hawken brothers ever made a .30 caliber rifle for mountain men. As an owner of several .30 and .32 caliber blackpowder rifles, I can testify to the fact that they have about the same ballistic performance as a modern .22 rifle. Blackpowder is not as powerful as modern smokeless powder. As a result, rifles intended for hunting and fighting were typically .50 caliber or larger. In those days (as well as today) a .30 caliber blackpowder rifle was considered a "squirrel gun" and was definately not a mountain man weapon.
   
   The second point that comes to my mind involves Johnson's escape from Blackfoot captivity. After biting through his rawhide bonds, and knocking his Indian guard unconscious, Johnson used the Indian's knife to cut his leg off at the hip. Facing a winter trek of hundreds of miles, he needed the human leg for food. In the book, the Indian is said to have survived this trauma. Ummm, excuse me, but cutting off a human leg at the hip involves severing the femoral artery. It's one of the biggest arteries in the body, and when severed, results in death in just a couple minutes. I don't doubt some mountain men occassionally resorted to cannibalism to survive, but the idea that this Indian could survive such an injury is hard to believe.
   
   There are many other points in this book that I feel are highly questionable, but I won't belabor the point. As I said above, if you like action-packed adventure stories, this book might be right up your alley. Otherwise, it's best to take this supposedly true tale with a very large grain of salt.



5. I have read many books and biographies about trapper and traders and this one although a fictional biography (hearsay and letters to the author) was fantastic; many true items; I'm sure. John Johnson - the main character; inspired the movie Jeremiah Johnson, that Robert Redford stared in. Quite the read!

5 comments about The Diary of Anais Nin: Vol. 1 (1931-1934).

1. This is one of the most profound works of literature I have ever read. Nin leads you directly into her life, the nature of the people around her, her feelings and internal conflicts. She writes delicately and powerfully and womanly. Everyone should have a chance to read this.



2. I recomend reading Anais Nin's diary. The book is such poetic prose. Some sentences really took my breath away, the way she can captivate something so beautiful and human in simple words. Since it is a diary, its main focus is her life, but its not selfish, infact she mentions herself very little. The main focus is Henry (Miller) and June, his wife. When Ananis Nin falls inlove with someone, so does the reader. Her descriptive skills gave me goosebumps, you really can see it in your minds eye, hear the music or feel the softness of skin. I highly recomend this to anyone thinking about reading this book, you will come away with a slice of life from 1930's France.



3. ANAIS has been someone who has carried me through some tough times in the past...I read her at twenty...and twenty-three and twenty-six. Her troubles were my own and we were kin. She is meant to be read by anyone who loves life...in it's full fleshy sometimes heart rending reality. She writes with the open-heart of a poet, and leaves the reader feeling more than fed. READ ANAIS NIN!



4. ...with "Tropic of Cancer." For newbies, read the synopsis of Anais Nin and Henry Miller at "wikipedia." Then start reading Volume 1 of Anais Nin's diaries (1931 - 1934). After a while, maybe 30 - 40 pages you will want to take a break. So, pick up "Tropic of Cancer" and read the first couple of chapters. Anais had Henry read her journals; Anais and Henry helped each other with each others works. The preface to "Tropic of Cancer" was written by Anais Nin (at least it was signed by her; legend has it that Henry actually wrote it). "Tropic of Cancer" was published (and immediately banned in the United States) in 1934. (By the way, off topic, Henry Miller reminds me a lot of Hunter S. Thompson, at least "Tropic of Cancer" and "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.")



5. This is truly one of the cult pieces of literature, right up there with Tropic of Cancer and even Fight Club. The writing is beautiful and erotic, and Nin comes across as a mature individual with special needs and insights. While every woman should read this book, guys will enjoy seeing things from the "other side."

5 comments about Fallen Founder: The Life of Aaron Burr.

1. That is, in conjunction with other works such as Chernow's on Hamilton. My most wasted hours in High School were the idealized histories taught about the founder's. This book, and others, tell a much more compelling story of American History that our young people should hear.
   
   To the book itself: Burr like many of the prominent men (and women) of the late 18th Century, was ambitious. I believe the author focuses her thesis to strenuously on protraying Mr. Burr as a heroic victim (partly due to his early progressive-feminist beliefs), but this may be necessary to break the negative mind-set so ingrained in conventional history. The reader must also parse the "could have been" and "one could assume that" kind of statements where the author is conjecturing based on limited factual information. These opinions are where the "Rose-colored glasses" come in to play, however, there is compelling evidence supporting her argument without these interpretations adding dubious gloss to his reputation.
   
   The author does a tremendous job shedding light on the early politics and rancor that that suffused our country at its birth, and set the stage for the Civil War.
   
   Another highlight is the cavalier way in which rumor was disseminated by the press which makes one cognizant of how far Journalism has come (except, maybe, for the NY Times, and parts of the internet), and it's still great influence on the country. Imagine the impact the internet would have had on the election of 1800. It would have been interesting blogging indeed.
   
   Overall, the factual information in the face of the conventional historical interpretation of Burr, as well as the little known actions of otherwise revered founders in all their vindictiveness, ruthlessness and greed is worth the read.
   
   You don't have to buy into Dr. Isenberg's positive characterization of Burr to enjoy this book, but, if you truly idealize Jefferson and Hamilton, you may get a little indigestion along the way.
   



2. The myth of evil Aaron Burr is not the only myth demolished here. The larger myth of our founding fathers as philosophers and statesmen of an extraordinary stature has long dominated. These men who led the American Revolution were fighting to avoid taxes and other responsibilities in the British Empire which nurtured and protected them. They were not fighting for liberty although they claimed that. As Samuel Johnson queried: whence the talk of liberty from the drivers of slaves?
   
   Our Jeffersons and the rest were often partisan pipsqueaks, no better than Aaron Burr. They sought power and would resort to any scheme to do in their rivals and opponents. This myth of the providential and wonderful United States needs demolition and Ms. Isenberg, though her purposes are rather more narrow, has accomplished this quite well.



3. Much like other reviewers, I find that Isenberg's attempt at classifying Burr as a "Founder" fall a little short.
   The value of this study lies in the authors research and presentation of Burr's life before his arrival on the National scene of politics. The account of Burr's early political life gives a us glimpse of a gifted, progressive lawyer and brilliant orator. A man with so much flare for the dramatic that he stood apart from his contemporaries in a day and age where bombastic debate was the norm.
   With some deeper analysis we can also see that much of Burr's erratic and treachorous political maneuvering were inappropirate only for the day and age. Burr's ability to continously "play the middle" and make himself accessible to whatever faction served his interest can not help but remind us of modern politics. His progressive methods of campaigning and election strategy were foreign and seemingly "dirty" in the days of the disinterested politician. Perhaps it was Burr, more than any other character of the generation, that possesed the clairvoyance and foresight to understand what politics would become.
   Isenberg's constant attempts at exonerating Burr become tiresome and at some points it appears as if the author is grasping at straws. Nowhere is this more evident than in the authors attempt at clarifying Burr's intentions and motives for his ill-fated foray in the American West. Just as Isenberg seems to uncover a legitimate argument that pardons Burr's behavior, she digs up (unintentionally) another issue that repudiates her previous attempt.
   I might also add that I was disappointed in Isenberg's treatment of "the Duel". While this particualr incident has been studied ad nauseum, this book seemingly glosses over the interview at Weehawken.
   Though there has been a historic "piling on" of Aaron Burr, it is not without validity. Burr fits best in his role of ideological foil to the majority of the Founding generation. His personality and behaviors do not lend themselves to the portrait of Burr as casualty of conspiracy and political martyr.
   While it drags at times, this book is a pretty good read and excellent counter balance to the popular view of one of America's most fascinating villains.
   I would recommend that any student of early American politics and history give this work a read.



4. Poor Aaron Burr. For all of his adult life he was picked on, first in the Continental Army, then by the evil Federalists, and later even by those in his own, Republican, party. All because he was smarter, nicer, more urbane, and more progressive than they were. At every chance they were mean to him (history doesn't record whether they ever tried giving him a wedgie) and accused him of all sorts of terrible things for no good reason. And don't get me started on the worst bully of them all, Alexander Hamilton, who spent his every waking hour thinking of ways to ruin poor little Aaron, culminating in Hamilton's devious plan to trick Burr into killing him in a duel, thereby ensuring that it was his puss and not Burr's that would be on the ten dollar bill. Clever, that Hamilton.
   
   That pretty much sums up this book. At every available chance, no matter how strained, the author goes out of her way to make personal attacks on Burr's critics and to defend - heck, to deify - him. Either Burr didn't do what the meanies said he did, or if he did do it, well, everyone else was doing it too. Is she right? Darned if I know, I wasn't there, but after a while the constant praising of Burr gets pretty annoying. Isenberg would have made a stronger case for Burr if she'd come across as at least a little bit objective, but I guess it just wasn't in her. She simply couldn't miss an opportunity to paint him as one greatest of the Founding Fathers.
   
   What's that you say? He wasn't a Founder, great or otherwise? Well, let's see . . . Declaration of Independence? Nope, wasn't within miles; that was mostly that ingrate Jefferson's doing. Constitutional convention? No, Burr must have been busy that summer, maybe he had reservations at the shore. The ratifying convention in his own state, New York? He apparently had "other priorities," as a more recent vice-president would someday say. So why the book's title? Got me, she doesn't say. Maybe her editor just liked the alliteration.
   
   The book contains a lot of information, about Burr of course but also about the era and the other people of it, but the deeper I got into it the harder it was to give credence to anything the author said, given how obvious she was in defending Burr and assailing his critics. The book isn't totally worthless, but I'm sure you can find some other book that's more deserving of your time.



5. Mrliteral raises a worthwhile point in discussing Isenberg's reliance on material that some readers may find less than riveting. In a long biography relying on letters and primary sources, one is bound to fall back on letters to relatives and children that deal with subject matter that is less than interesting. This is not a unique fault of Isenberg, but a common trend of an over-inclusive biographer. Be that as it may, this book is a long-overdue defense of Burr that does not put him on a pedestal, but also does not excoriate him as virtually everyone in early antebellum America did.
   
   Unlike CBaker's review, I did not find Nancy Isenberg's book to fail to make the case that Burr was not an intriguing operator - in fact, it is precisely his enemies in the Federalist and Republican parties that failed to make the case that Burr was anything but a person who valued transparency and integrity. He was raked over the coals because he would not stoop to the levels the two parties had at the turn of the century in slandering each other.
   
   Isenberg's book should be read in conjunction with Joseph Wheelan's "Jefferson's Vendetta," which focuses more on Burr's treason trial over the "Western Conspiracy." Whether you are a modern-day supporter of Federalists or Republicans, you are bound to find something to hate in the combination of these two works. Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson both come across as despicable characters in their own ways, despite the value they brought the republic. If anything, revisionist histories should remind us that we have no right to put national heroes on pedestals, as very few such heroes can withstand careful scrutiny. Hamilton may be the worst scoundrel of the Federalist-Republican battles of 1790-1810, but Jefferson does not come off very well in his legal scrapes with John Marshall. It would be ironic if Aaron Burr, the man long remembered as an early "bad guy" of the nation, was really the best of a largely rotten bunch.

5 comments about This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen (Penguin Classics).

1. Will you enjoy reading this book? The answer is no. But if you were to ask me if you should read this book then I would have to say absolutely. Borowski wrote with an honesty that I found amazing. He gave me a small window to look through and see what my grandparents might have gone through. This book while often shocking and always disturbing allows a little understanding into what life was like inside the death camps. Not for enjoyment but education.



2. Imre Kertesz, a concentration camp survivor and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature often asks in his work: is there life after Auschwitz? Can one live with the ineffable guilt that accompanies survival against all odds? For Borowski the answer appears to be no. On July 1, 1951, at age 29, Tadeusz Borowski opened a gas valve, put his head in an oven and took his life. There is no small amount of irony in the fact that after escaping the gas of Auschwitz and Dachau Borowski would end his life in this manner.
   
   Borowski was born in Soviet occupied Ukraine to Polish parents. His father was sent to a Soviet work camp, building the White Sea Canal, but was released in an exchange of prisoners with Poland. Upon his father's release, the family settled in Warsaw. Although not Jewish, Borowski was arrested by the Gestapo in 1943 for subversive activities when he was caught surreptitiously printing his own poetry. He spent the rest of the war in Auschwitz and Dachau. The first piece of luck or fate that saved his life was the decision by the Nazis to stop exterminating non-Jewish prisoners two weeks before Borowski's arrival.
   
   The series of stories contained in This Way for the Gas are all written in the voice of one prisoner, Tadeusz. Not unexpectedly the stories appear to be loosely autobiographical. Borowski's writing is not overloaded with emotion. It is descriptive and matter of fact. The day-to-day tone of the writing, writing that describes death and deprivation as normal events adds an emotional impact to the stories.
   
   For example, in one scene the prisoner Tadeusz describes a football (soccer) match played by the prisoners. He served as goalkeeper and described his walk to retrieve a ball that was kicked way over the net. As he walks to the ball he sees through the barbed wire fence truckloads of prisoners being herded through the gas chambers. Later in the match he has to retrieve another ball. As he returns to the goal he matter-of-factly estimates that 5,000 prisoners have been gassed between his retrieving the two balls. It is powerful storytelling.
   
   Equally compelling are stories that describe the numerous decisions Tadeusz and his fellow prisoners made every day in order to survive. Taking clothes from the luggage of prisoners destined for the gas in order to trade the clothes for bread. People fight for survival and despite a certain ethical code amongst prisoners (there are some things even the dying won't do) they all know that the steps they take to survive often means that someone else will perish. Borowski does not flinch from subjecting his alter ego and his fellow prisoners to a critical self-examination of these choices. Both Borowski and his narrator survived Auschwitz. But as you can see from these flawlessly executed stories the question of how much of one's humanity remains is a difficult question. The emaciated bodies of the survivors could often be repaired. But the sense of a moral inner flame extinguished by the acts required for survival is not so easily relit. The reader cannot help but wonder whether the lingering impact of those choices in Auschwitz somehow invariably led to the choice he made in July 1951.
   
   Tadeusz Borowski's "This Way for the Gas Ladies and Gentlemen" is a wonderful example of how fiction can portray the horrors of genocide with an emotional clarity that non-fiction sometimes lacks. This book ranks with Varlam Shalamov's Kolyma Tales (the Gulag) as a monumental piece of remembrance presented in the form of short stories, vignettes of life in a place with little mercy and less humanity. They each stand as stark testimony, even though they are works of literature and not history, to the "evil that men do."
   
   Upon finishing "This Way for the Gas Ladies and Gentleman" I found myself wanting to repeat the words "never again" as a refrain. Yet upon reflection one looks at subsequent world events: Bosnia, Cambodia, Chechnya, Sudan, and Rwanda (among others) and asks whether humanity makes the phrase "never again" a futile gesture. It has been said that those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it. Anyone who reads Borowski's testament will long remember the prose that, hopefully, will keep us from forgetting.
   L. Fleisig



3. 
   In the annals of holocaust literature, this is one of the more unflinching collection of death camp stories, as it depicts the stark reality of the desperate situation of those ensconced in concentration camps, where the final solution was frantically put into play. The stories are of the unimaginable and the nearly unendurable, replete with the inherent pathos of the situation of the truly desperate. It is shows the desensitization that takes place in order for one to survive the horrors of a death camp. It is an unapologetic dissertation of what camp life was truly like for those for whom surviving was the bottom line. It also shows how the Jewish people were clearly singled out for mass extermination.
   
   The author himself survived two death camps, Auschwitz and Dachau, where he had been imprisoned from 1943 to 1945, as a young man in his early twenties. Born in the Ukraine in 1922 to Polish parents who spent time in Siberian labor camps, the author was no stranger to hardship. Yet, he was little prepared for man's inhumanity to man. His time in the death camps was to form an indelible impression on him, resulting in this collection of stories, which chronicle man's inhumanity to man. It shows how camp culture made all those within its sphere participants in its reign of terror and in the final solution. In the end, having survived the unimaginable, the author committed suicide in 1951, choosing to gas himself to death. The irony inherent in his choice of death is not lost upon the discerning reader.



4. It is difficult, with a moat of sixty years and an intellectual barricade of countless other World War II and Holocaust-related reading, to adequately begin to review this collection of short stories from Tadeusz Borowski. Falling back into the same reiteration of virtually all Holocaust/post-war writings is almost too easy: "This book serves as a reminder of the atrocities of war ...", "this book demonstrates how terrible man can be..." etc, etc, ad infinitum. Ad nauseum. The sorts of blanket recognitions and statements about Holocaust writing do not, in general, do either post-war mentalities, nor the atrocities of the event, justice: they provide an automated recognition of the war, but without truly instigating thought, consideration, and insight of what actually happened.
   
   In many respects, This Way for the Gas ... establishes itself as a remarkably unique piece of post-war Holocaust writing. While Borowski himself was a kapo in Auschwitz, his experience there was vastly different from many others who passed through the camp. His lifestyle was comparatively luxuriant: he was afforded packages from home, 'organised' (stolen) goods from around the camp, and generally held a position of relatively power over the fellow inmates. Because he was a Pole (rather than a Jew or a Russian), Borowski possessed a substantial advantage over many of the most barbaric treatments at Auschwitz. Additionally, being selected as a kapo forced his participation in many of the very atrocities occurring at Auschwitz: Borowski was likely feared and despised by many of the inmates under him in the camp's hierarchy.
   
   The writing is terse, resigned, and strikingly detached. Concurrently with This Way for the Gas ..., I was reading 'Auschwitz' (by L. Rees). In this latter book, Rees stipulates that how many concentration camp workers managed to survive, despite the crushing mental and physical burdens, was in effectively detaching oneself from the surroundings. The behavior of detaching oneself from ones' environment is exemplified throughout 'This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen.' Borowski himself creates a mental barricade between himself and his surroundings; in one scene he discusses playing keeper during a football game with other inmates. Between one out-of-bounds and a second, he sees a trainload (approximately five thousand) of people sorted, selected, and gassed only a few hundred meters from where he is playing.
   
   The frankness (and, to us, callousness - though at the time, such responses were likely appropriate and acceptable given the circumstance) of the prose makes Borowski's works difficult to read. Inevitably, there is the comparison to Wiesel's 'Night' (another magnificent piece of writing), but the similarities, outside of being narratives of concentration camp survivors, are few. While Wiesel's writing is humane, gutwrenching, and almost impossibly difficult to read, Borowski's is so lacking of humanity, warmth, and compassion that it's nearly more difficult to read than Wiesel's writing. Borowski doesn't seem to be completely devoid of humanity, but the demonstrated acceptance of the conditions around him do not provide as distinct a demarcation as Wiesel's writings: inmates are not consistently helpless victims, nor are SS guards always the most brutal of characters.
   
   Borowski's writing remains one of the most complex pieces I have ever read. There are many levels to what he has written, and his reflections and thoughts are inconsistent with their acceptance and understanding of his environment. Like much else written during the time, he ultimately is an individual trying desperately to cope with a decidedly inhuman, catastrophic situation as best he can.



5. An Auschwitz survivor tells us how the people the Nazis deported to this concentration camp lived, tried to survive and how mass murder by the Nazis was organized and carried out. Other former victims of deportation to extermination camps have told us the same stories, but the author of this book, the famous Polish writer Tadeusz Borowski, in particular succeeds in describing the terrible inhuman situation the camp inmates had to endure and the cruel treatment they suffered. I think it is impossible to imagine the real horror of Auschwitz and the suffering of the victims, but this book gives us the closest possible idea of reality there. My father was an Auschwitz survivor and did not talk much about his experience there. This book helped me to understand him better

5 comments about Blue Rage, Black Redemption: A Memoir.

1. If you read this book with an open mind, you would learn that the Crips gang started out as just uniting other gangs around South Central. Stan was a mischivous little boy who I believe had potiental to do great things if only he was given the opprutunity. He says that living in South Central you had to have the mentality of "Survial of the fittest". And that's where the fights with other males really began, I believe. Much of the information about his case is left out but there are clues that connect someone else to the crimes. Hint: The people who let him keep his weights at their house after not having a permenant place to stay. Right before his grandmother died she said she had a feeling that Stan needed to get outta LA because something bad was going to happen.
   I'm going to stop there and hopefully this information has interested you enough to read this wonderful book that will hopefully open your eyes to a positive light.



2. This book is seperated into two sections. The first half being, Blue Rage and the second, Black redemption. Their's different titled chapters compiled into each section. The first half of the book is about Stan's life from being a child in Lousiana until he gets arrested in South Central Los Angeles in 1979 for the four murders he was convicted of commiting. The second half is about his educational and spiritual transition in prison along with certain events and situations.
   
   Stanley's views are extremly intresting and worth thinking about with an open mind. Things like his views about what "dys-education" is, religeon, brotherhood, spirituality, drugs, cultural education and it's importance.
   
   His thoughts about his friend's Buddah, Evil and Treach are sad, and even uplifting at times. His educational studies on death row with Treach and Evil along with his exercising disiplines are very thought provoking also.
   
   We outside of prison seem to be getting a school-based education for the sake of financial success. Stan can't do that. His transition is based on studies we need to perform here in our daily lives along with our children.
   
   This book is not your typical urban-entertainment about being a gangster or a rap song compiled into book-form. This is a very articulated insight into the cycle of poverty, racism, violence, redemption, edification, transition and enlightenment.
   
   A must read for everyone.
   
   Rest in peace Stan. I miss you.



3. The other reviews are correct in that you have to read this book with an open mind. It appears all the reviews for this book were written by followers and friends of Tookie. Like I said, you have to really keep an open mind when reading it, knowing that it was written by a murderer who claims redemption but doesn't admit to his crime. Even the things he does admit, and profit from, lilke forming the Crips, he never fully achieves redemption. If so, then he would have cooperated with law enforcement to help dismantle the very gangs he preaches to children about not joining. He has not even so much as given up any other gang-bangers that he witnessed committing crimes. Its clear to see where his loyalties still lie. If I had to do it again, I would borrow the book to read so I wouldn't have to spend my money on it.



4. tookie lets you know a lot in this book on how it all got started. i always wondered how in LA it was many gangs but mostly bloods and crips. this book lets you know about the crips. but, then you can pretty much figure things out with the bloods. this is a good book to read to me. he started it him and some other guys. then new comers take it to another level. usually how it always go.



5. This is the life story of Stanley "Tookie" Williams, the legendary founder of the Crips street gang turned America's foremost street peacemaker. This book greatly expands and clarifies the story told in "Redemption", the excellent cable movie starring Jamie Foxx
   
   "Blue Rage, Black Redemption" is an incredible piece of well-written literature in its own right---notwithstanding the ultimate fate of the author---and it is a damning indictment of a cold, callous society. It describes the unchecked poverty, violence and broken schools of South Central that spawned the Crip phenomenon. And it describes Tookie's Herculean efforts to redeem himself from within the walls of San Quentin.
   
   [The added material in this reprint by Tookie's friend Barbara Becnel is especially welcome in the context of today's ongoing debate over capital punishment in California.]

2 comments about Who Was King Tut? (Who Was...?).

1. The Tut exhibit is in town this summer and I wanted to be able to provide some information to my seven year old before we went. This book was absolutely the right amount of information for the 7-10 year old age group. We enjoyed it so much that we have purchased additional books in the series and are racing through those as well. I highly recommend the series as a great introduction to biographies!



2. My 8-year old had a class project to read a biography, chose 4 objects to represent the person in the biography, and talk about these objects to the class. Since we are Egyptian and own several ancient Egyptian replicas, we thought we'd try this book. We couldn't have been happier! Just the right amount of information for my son's age, presented in a captivating style supported by lots of diagrams. After reading the whole book alone, he asked me to read it again with him "because it is such a nice book" he said! Looking forward to getting the rest of this series!

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 Shadow of the Almighty: The Life and Testament of Jim Elliot (Lives of Faith).

1. This is my absolute favorite book of all time. In an age when I struggle to find like-minded people around me, Jim Elliot encourages and inspires my heart. In an introduction recently added to the book, Elisabeth Elliot says it all. She describes how HUNDREDS of young men over the years have come up to her at conferences or book signings and told her "that book changed my life." God answered Jim Elliot's prayer that he would be "A testament to the value of knowing God." It's so amazing to me to think how God could use this one man to reach so many people. Great book. If you are a young guy like me and wanting to live earnestly for Christ, you've got to read this book.



2. Shadow of the Almighty is by far the best biography I have ever read!!! It has been said that "You will be the same today, except for the people you meet and the books you read", I have found this to be very true in my life.
   
   I feel you can glean so many spiritual nuggets from this book. From raising kids, praying for them, allowing God to use them, the importance of eating healthy and exercising, the value of education and when education is taking the place of God and true knowledge of Him....
   
   Reading this book, almost makes the movie End of the Spear seem shallow. Unless you know the history of these men's lives before they went into missions it is easy to be disillusioned and think that a group of over zealous guys decided to go and reach the savage Auca Indianans, which is not the case. It was an absolute calling of God on each of their lives that God had been preparing them for most of their lives (at least this is the case with Jim Elliot). Even Elizabeth Elliot, Jim's wife, had the calling on her life. They were spiritually, intellectually, and physically prepared. Yes, they were a group of young, good looking, and fun guys, but they also were spiritually mature beyond their years and they knew their calling.
   
   Elizabeth Elliot began compiling journal entries and letters of Jim's immediately after his death to begin the writing of Shadow of the Almighty, while the hurt and sting of her lose was still fresh! You will not find regret, resentment, bitterness or anger in her writing; only a life devoted to God even unto death. So while the book focuses on the life of Jim, remember it was his newly young widowed wife who wrote the very words contained within its pages.
   
   I guess what so impresses me about this book, is that it is more than the retelling of Jim's life. Throughout the book are original writings of Jim's, you see what makes his heart beat, his passion, his frustrations, his surrendered obedience, his incredible faith. You will see God's sovereignty, His hand, leading and weaving Jim's life and death.
   
   The story begins with his childhood, and continues on up to his death. Really his story still carries on today. How many people has Jim's life impacted even now 50 years later? While in college ,Jim at one point lets His grades suffer a bit so that he can focus on earning the Degree of A.U.G. (Approved Under God). I am so impressed with chapter 3, here you will find a handsome, athletic, intelligent young man keep his focus on the Lord in an atmosphere that pulls most people away. At this point he doesn't even take his parents advice, if it is not what he is hearing from the Spirit. His obedience to Christ makes him a true leader among his classmates.
   Following is a journal entry of Jim's, it show the wisdom and insight he had as a young man. "No one warns young people to follow Adam's example. He waited until God saw his need. Then God made Adam sleep, prepared for his mate, and brought her to him. We need more of this 'being asleep' in the will of God. Then we can receive what He brings us in His own time, if at all. Instead we are bloodhounds after a partner, considering everyone we see until our minds are so concerned with the sex problem that we can talk of nothing else when bull-session time comes around. It is true that a fellow cannot ignore women-but he can think of them as he ought-as sisters, not as sparring partners!"



3. The insight, sensitivity, and nobleness of character found in these pages would be notable if they were found in the words of a novel. The fact that they also serve as a historical record and the loving tribute of a devoted widow make them profound. The challenge offered to the reader by the example and set by Jim Elliot further enhances this book to palce it among the very finest I have ever encountered.



4. I highly recommend reading this book. The passion for being a missionary starts here in Jim Elliot's life. Don't miss this wonderful story and testimony of Jim's passion for witnessing about Christ.



5. Jim Elliot is in many ways the very model of the modern major missionary, especially since he died so young and in the course of complete and utter commitment to his faith. "Shadow..." is a well-written and passionate account of a fanatic Protestant martyr.
   
   I read this book long ago when I was on staff with Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship after hearing his widow (and the book's author) speak at the triennial missionary convention held at the University of Illinois at Urbana. Even though Elliot's entire family were considered evangelical royalty (not my description of the Howard clan), reading this book in the context of the fervor of a missionary convention that had more than 10,000 college students in attendance was, in retrospect, a major turning point on my journey out of evangelical Christianity.
   
   Elliot was crazy -- crazy for the Lord! Yee Hah! -- and his craziness was held up as a positive model of the "100% committed Christian," dedicated to the salvation of native peoples through intrusive proselytizing. His wife was even crazier than him since she went in after him and successfully "converted" the tribe that had killed him.
   
   What a waste of a brilliant young man, and what an arrogant obliteration of native culture in the name of Christ. It occurred to me that Elliot and his ilk are perfect illustrations of the impact of Eric Hoffer's "true believers." Far from being heroes to be emulated, men and women like Jim and Elizabeth Elliot are examples to be avoided at all costs if we are to survive as a species. The absolutism and consequent monopolism of such faith -- which comes into inevitable and deadly conflict with ANY sort of fundamentalistic religious, political, or cultural philosophy -- in the end destroys rather than builds.
   
   Please, PLEASE, read this book as a cautionary rather than a laudatory tale and I hope it helps scare you away from evangelicalism as it helped scare me.