5 comments about Avoid Boring People: Lessons from a Life in Science.

1. On p. 70 the author concludes "I was descovering that most high-powered minds do not daily generate new ideas". That is the conclusion I came up with about the author himself after reading this book. This is a book replete with minutae (some people call this anecdotal information!) and includes just a handful of interesting thoughts. It could have been written in 50 pages or less. However, this wouldn't have been sufficient to allow for the numerous self-promotional statements provided by the author or the mud that he throws towards other very well respected scientists. The author sets an example to avoid for whoever decides to write his/her memoirs.



2. An enjoyable trip down Memory Lane, where the sometimes stream-of-consciousness narrative ties events with memorable individuals during a remarkable career inside academia. More like a flat stone skipping across a lake's smooth surface, with few topics covered in depth, and a lot of name dropping, it is a light review of a personal journey starting with early curiosity as a small boy, his early teamwork leading to the elucidation of DNA, through developing talent, and on to managing a leading research institution, using Harvard University as the ultimate point of reference. One of the more interesting observations is the important role of personality in the pursuit of Big Science, particularly the politics of it all. A chronological order of Dr Watson's career in fifteen chapters, with important lessons, both personal and professional, at the end of each, all recapped in a separate section at the end. Many of the names dropped may not be well known now, so the section describing them is very helpful, not only for their own sake but also for a recognition of their contributions that are a part of Dr Watson's life, work and career.



3. If one looks carefully at the book jacket, another word is inserted in the title which then reads Avoid Boring Other People. Watson was so impressed by his own career and activities that he was truly boring. It is sad that an individual who has been at the heart of his field and who must have had memorable interactions with others spent time trying to make himself interesting.It didn't work.



4. Avoid Boring People...he definetly bored me though. This book had so much unneccessary detail that it really made the book boring and I disliked it a lot. I would not recommend the purchase of this book, but the 'lessons' learned at the end of each chapter had wisdom behind them and I did like those. There are some interesting parts of the book, especially when he pretty much admits that he did nothing to get the...didn't want to spoil it for the people who will read it.



5. Best known for his Nobel Prize winning work on helping identify the double helix structure of DNA, scientist James D. Watson presents his autobiography Avoid Boring People: Lessons from a Life in Science as an anecdote filled instruction manual - chunking off different segments of his career and then reflecting on the points to be learned from his experiences. The titular phrase "Avoid Boring People" takes on two meanings in the book. Watson advises young scientists to avoid boring people (with the middle word as an adjective) saying that those early in their careers should associate only with people engaging in exciting new science. The second meaning comes as advice to older researchers and Watson warns that in the twilight of their careers, scientists should avoid boring other people - with boring now becoming a verb.
   
   (One wonders if Watson has taken this second piece of advice too far to heart as in recent years his public appearances have kept him newsworthy not for any breakthrough work he has accomplished, but in his ability to anger audiences with racist, sexist, atheistic, and anti-establishment comments. It is only by putting aside my knowledge of his recent personal beliefs that I was able to even open this book for reading, let alone reviewing.)
   
   With that said, Watson does tell an engaging story. The history and science presented are told with a light anecdotal feel and some of the most interesting chapters were the portions of Watson's experience - for example, his work as a presidential science adviser - that were not as highly publicized as his Nobel winning work. I would have enjoyed the book more if Watson had more respect for his female associates. Though some of them are described as "bright" or "intelligent" more often than not these adjectives are proceeded by "cute", "stunning" or "blond". Unlike for his male coworkers, the women in the book have their minds and intellects overshadowed by their looks. Overall, I think the book presents an adequate picture of the life of James Watson which, while intriguing and intelligent, lacks likability.

5 comments about Evita: The Real Life of Eva Peron.

1. This book puts into perspective many of the myths and half-truths surrounding the life and death of Eva Peron. If you believe that she was 1/4 of what the musical and the movie said she was, for heaven's sake, read this book! This is the fifth book I've read on this subject and it is by far the best. I would encourage you to follow it up with "Evita In My Own Words" - which is her alleged deathbed manuscript.



2. The book is written with a rather academic tone of detached interest. There are few personal opinions, and the position regarding Evita is neutral. This could be either an advantage or a drawback, for Evita was both worshipped and hated by millions. In the words of one Life reporter at her death, "They were genuine and deep and demonstrated that Evita, who had contributed so strongly to the totalitarianism and bankruptcy of her country, had also won its love." There's been a lot of controversy regarding her actions during the Peron presidency. She campaigned for her husband; she chaired numerous organizations to help the poor, and appeared on one end to be the giver of goodwill. On the other end of the spectrum, she got rid of all political enemies, spent lavishly.
   
   In account of what she achieved in her life, it's really surprising to think that Eva had no education past the 8th grade; she arrived in Buenos Aires at the age of 15 with nothing but the clothes on her back, endured years of misfortune as an actress, to be permanently entombed as the savior, the termagant, the heroine, and villain, but always, Evita, the legend. In fact, at her death, the phrase, "permanently entombed" became rather literal. She was embalmed by Dr. Pedro Ara, Professor of anatomy, who specialized in what, at the time, he called, "the art of death". Years later, as Peron was ousted from power, her body, a monument of the age of Peronism, a symbol from which her supporters could rally, was hidden away by political rivals. The entire process increased the enigma that had always shrouded Eva, and will continue to do so into eternity.
   
   As much as her biography does her no justice, it highlighted the main points in her life, gave information regarding her ambiguous past and even more ambiguous future, and was a wholly well written, well documented book. It's not a book for pleasure reading, even less for research. It's simply a book for a person who is curious about a subject and truly wants to learn. Because it has no plot, nor any high points of drama, it's not a book that has you "racing through the pages", but plowing stolidly through it. Eva Peron is strangely reminiscent of both "From Emperor to Citizen", the autobiography of last emperor of China, and "the Stories of my experiments with truth", the final work of Ghandi. Although both are written from different perspectives, both reflect the lives of national leaders, who during their time changed themselves and others. Today, Eva lays in an unmarked tomb in Recoleta Cemetery, supposedly bomb-proof, fire proof, and buglar proof. It reflects a fear, a fear that the body of the woman who had inspired so much hate, and love, would disappear, while the woman herself, or rather her insuppressible myth, would live on.



3. Very interesting and well written but somewhat biased toward Juan and Evita Peron. There was no mention of their Swiss bank accounts and little mention of the many schoolgirls (some as young as twelve years old) that he bedded after Evita's death.



4. One of the most misunderstood, adored, reviled women in the 20th century ... Eva Peron's fierce anger and rage against injustice fueled an ascent from third rate actress to First Lady supreme. Many myths, rumors, outright lies surround her legacy. This is one book that attempts to deconstruct it all.



5. When I was assigned to read this book I was afraid it was going to be a boring biography that went nowhere. I was pleasantly surprised at how well written and interesting her life is. Evita shaped the culture of Argentina and brought the country on the world stage. She was laughed at in the capitals of Europe on the Rainbow tour and her society was riddled with corruption. Her life is well shown here and it provides an excellent look into the culture of the country. Fraser's translation is very well done and Navarro's work is the definition of academic scholarship. For those who want to learn about Evita there is no better book.

5 comments about The Acorn People.

1. I only paid a couple dollars for this book, but the shipping was $5 something. It also took about a week to get my shipment, even though I paid for express delivery. I should've just bought it at my university bookstore.



2. Camp Wiggins was not a place for medically sanitized facilities, safety rails, or strict activity schedules. It was a place for memories to be made, accomplishments, and fantasies to be fulfilled. By no means were the handicaps of the teens attending this camp would burden this in any way. The Acorn People, by Ron Jones, tells a story of how a camp of handicap teens grow together and accomplish more than they could ever dream of doing at a camp made for boy scouts. In this true story, Ron Jones, the camp counselor of a group that goes above and beyond the expectations of camp, ables these teens to work together to climb Mountain Lookout, swim for the first time, and then struggle with getting the approval of the camp owner Mr. Bradshaw. Over all, this story was emotionally filled as well as giving you a new look on people not as fortunate as those not handicapped.
   
   The kids in Ron Jones group whom he counseled each were very unique. They all had their different disability as well as something that they were good at. Martin was blind. He was one of the most mobile in the group. He always seemed to have a smile on his face, as well as all the other blind kids at the camp. He always was in motion. Then there was Benny B. Polio had taken both of his legs. He was a speed freak. He could do wheelies and many other things in his wheel chair. Spider was another kid in Ron's cabin. He had no legs or arms. Spider was always alert and loved to talk. He was a so-called "jukebox". Then there was Thomas Stewart. He had muscular sclerosis and weighed about 35 pounds in all. He never talked and you never could tell what he was really thinking. Aaron or "Arid" had no way of the waste in his body to be exerted out of his body. His smell was horrible causing him to not have too many friends, and getting the nickname "Arid". Throughout this story, you saw how each character developed from handicapped boys into outgoing, dream filled young men. This occurs when Thomas actually talks to them for the first time, when Spider shows them all how he's such a great swimmer despite having no limbs, and when Aaron gets crowned King at the dance.
   
   The Acorn People gets its title from a conversation that Benny B. and Ron had. Ron was making a necklace made of nuts because he was feeling extremely stressed out. Ron did not have the job as a counselor because he wanted to work with handicap teens, but he had the job because he needed one. He was not prepared at all to have to change sheets every night from the bed wettings that occurred, or to feed many of them individually. He decided to make this necklace of acorns to express how "nuts" he felt being there. While he was doing this, Benny B. walks over asking him what the necklace was for. At first Ron didn't answer him but then, after constantly being asked by Benny he told him how he felt a little nuts being here and so he thought the necklace to be appropriate. Benny B. responded with saying, "So do we counselor, we all feel a little nutty here! You might want to call us the nut people, yeah, that's a good name for us." After this, Ron's whole group made these necklaces and then eventually made them for the whole camp. The name "The Acorn People" got around the camp quickly.
   
   The kids in this story experienced many new things that they had never been exposed to before. Ron and Dominic (the other counselor) heard an old announcement that was for the boy scouts that said something about climbing Lookout Mountain. Benny B. heard it as well and said to Ron if the boy scouts could climb it then why couldn't they? So eventually the group ends up taking a hike up to the mountain and then stops, looking up at it pondering how they will get up it. Martin steps out and starts up Mountain Lookout, experimenting ways they could possibly get up it. He finally finds a way that would be possible. They would have to scoot up the mountain on their bottoms and Thomas would sit on Ron's lap and Spider on Dominic's. This scene in the book just puts forth a new perspective to the kids in that group. It shows how much, despite their disadvantages, they want to accomplish things that regular kids are able to do.
   
   Throughout this book it shows different instances which state that they aren't different but they are just like those not handicapped. When they had the dance and the boys and girls were dancing together showing emotion for each other it showed this. Who says handicapped people can't have crushes on the opposite sex? I would suggest this book to those that have had experience with those handicapped. They would most likely get the most appreciation out of this book. This book brings forth so much emotion and a new perspective on those handicapped. I have much appreciation for this book and the view it is written from.
   
   -H. Cooper



3. Very realistic! Your opinion of campers can change in less then a day. The very first time you see campers getting out of the car you do wonder what the heck you have gotten yourself into but then by the time you have dinner you have already realized what is special about each one of them. This was an excellent book to quickly describe children with various different disabilites.



4. I was appalled to read some of the ignorance in the reveiws of this book about someones experience. I think he captured the spirit and importance for camps for people with special needs. THe point of the camp wasn't trying to "make' these kids be normal at camp the point was they were haveing a great summer despite their challenges. It wasn't about saying "all the things your suppose to say about handicapped persons" as one review read it was about sharing the initial fears and concern that often people deal with when faced with such a task and showed how it turned to great blessing. I didn't feel this book was about the children but about the change and growth within the writer because of the children. Its a beautiful message that is just a little rough around the edges with the writing skills of the author.



5. this book changed my view on haddiecapped people. i think every kid should have to read it. it is one of the most life changing books i have ever read.

5 comments about To End All Wars.

1. Formally published as "Miracle on the River Kwai" and renamed to coincide with a new movie. This book was written by Ernest Gordon a Scottish Army officer who served in the South Pacific During the war.
   
   Back Story
   During that time the Japanese advanced on Singapore, and Gordon and a few other officers try to escape on a chartered sailboat. After being captured at sea, he was incarcerated and sent to a work camp in Thailand, building the infamous railway of death, where nearly 80,000 prisoners lost their life in a little over a year. This railway and the Chungkai prison camp are the real back story to the Oscar winning film "Bridge On the River Kwai."
   
   What the classic movie doesn't tell you is the horrific condition and constant death that the builders of the bridge met with on a daily basis.
   
   The Book
   The story is a recount of Ernest Gordon's experiences at the camp and his witness to that camps transformation from what he called "the worst that man could be" to the "best that man could be."
   
   The book starts with Gordon laying in the hospital at Chungkai, called the "Death House" by the prisoners as there was very few he came back from the hospital. Gordon then flashes back to what led him here, and then continues from that point and tells of the camps transformation. Before Gordon wound up in the hospital the camp was very much "every man for himself" animal instinct and the law of the jungle dictated who lived and who died. During Gordon's stay at the hospital while he was suffering and near death with Beriberi, Tropical Ulcers, Malaria, and Amoebic Dysentery, he propped himself up, void of hope, and penned a last letter to his parents. That was his low point. He was nursed back to health by two other POW's Dinty Moore, and Dusty Miller. Both bartered for food and medicine, cleaned his ulcers, massaged his legs to reverse the atrophy and gave him encouragement to give him the hope he needed to recover. These two men became an inspiration to the rest of the camp, and like Ernest Gordon, many started to emulate their kindness willingness to help others. Dusty Miller a devote Christian also read the bible to Gordon which inspired him. Gordon then started to hold bible studies with other in the camp; they often shared bibles that men had smuggled in. This led to a spiritual revival of the camp, where men helped each other to survive. The camp changed from a group of individuals to a community that served each other with the same love that Christ had shown them in the bible. Many more survived the wrath of the Japanese as a result of the selfless acts of the camp members, in one part of the book one enlisted soldier, admits that he stole a shovel (which he didn't) just to save the lives of his co-prisoners, that soldier was immediately beaten to death, but his sacrifice as well as others, were what changed to mood of the camp.
   
   The Legacy
   This spiritual revival, not only led to many surviving the camp, but transcended into their life after the war. Gordon's epilogue was probably the best part of the book where he paints his perspective against the backdrop of the post-war error.
   
   "We returned to a world divided by hatreds. We thought we had come home to a world at peace; instead we found a world already preparing for the next war. Having had as much reason to hate as anybody, we had overcome hatred."
   
   "We had seen a vision of far horizons and caught a glimpse of the City of God in all its beauty and this vision seemed to be part of a different world."
   
   Summary
   Overall the book is very interesting, and is an intriguing story of suffering and hope. Gordon's style is very easy to read, almost like he's sitting next you telling the story. The descriptions of the people and the camp are genuine and I had no problem understanding and even "knowing" many of the characters in the book.
   
   Editorial
   It's one thing read about the word of God and the acts of Jesus, it's an entirely different think to witness it first hand as Gordon does and writes about with stunning detail. If found this to be an inspiring story of the grace of God that is given, by giving up selfishness. I have learned a lot about what true Christian's look like after reading this book. If you want my opinion, Christ looked a lot more like Dusty Miller and Ernest Gordon, than the face of modern evangelical minister today.
   
   I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to see the how God's Grace can transform the most desperate situations



2. It's a difficult, but true message. The author takes an unflinching look at the evil that men are capable of through his own personal experience in Japanese prison camps and carries you through the experience on to the brilliant hope on the other side of his own personal pain. The underlying truth you discover is the genuine potential to be found in one man's selfless, sacrificial care for another. It's an excellent read.



3. This is one of the best books I've read so far... Though it may appear repetitive at times (there's really little else the author could write about beside what's happening in the POW camps along the Kwai), the reflection on the human condition and the supreme virtue of self-sacrifice in the footsteps of Jesus Christ is written with much poignancy and profundity. The epilogue is a tour de force for its penetrating criticism of the 'civilised' society the author returned to after the war. The reverse culture shock he experienced is a haunting reminder of how that still small voice can be so easily drowned out in the cacophony of modern society.



4. My wife and I had watched the movie a couple months ago (be warned: it is incredibly brutal) and been moved by the power of the story. Unfortunately, as it turned out, the book and the move are not the same story. In fact, other than the similarity of the major premise (a British officer in a Japanese POW camp during WW2), they had almost nothing in common.
   
   However. . .
   
   That was only disappointing insomuch as I kept waiting for certain events from the movie to show up. The movie had colored my expectations for the book, which meant I couldn't take the book on its own merits. Which is too bad, because, upon completing the book, I would say it is as powerful as the movie, perhaps even more so. But you have to let the book speak for itself. The story is truly miraculous, as this band of prisoners devolve into a wild bunch of animals at the hands of their captors, only to be transformed by the Spirit of Christ into a true Community of compassion and care. Somehow, in the midst of hell, these men found the power to love each other, to care for each other, to even forgive their Japanese tormentors. When people ask "Does Christianity work?", the story of this book says "absolutely!" And in a day and age of spiteful attacks, divisive language, polarized religions and selfish money-grubbing politicians and religious leaders, there is a real lesson here about what being a True Follower of Christ is all about.



5. This was one of the most moving Christian testimonies I have read. It is the amazing biography of Ernest Gordon, a British POW in Japanese occupied Thailand. The book is more than that though. The personal and historical account of To End All Wars provides the reader with tremendous hope born in the midst of suffering. In the same spirit as Corrie Ten Boon's the Hiding Place, this work writes about the difficulty of finding and protecting the value of human life through the power of God's love and forgiveness. Such was the key to Ernest Gordon's end to the war and for many of his fellow inmates, and it is a message that is repeated throughout the account. There are many moments when such self-sacrificing love is put to the test. One defining moment was when the prisoners administered aid to wounded Japanese soldiers who were previously their captors at the very end of the war. The title of my review comes from a quote from Mr. Gordon taken from this event. The book itself is a testament to the grace and mercy of God, which offered these defeated men a restoration of their souls through forgiveness rather than maintain in their hearts the bitterness of hatred despite the cruelty they suffered. A truly powerful and soul-stirring book!

5 comments about The Day the Voices Stopped: A Schizophrenic's Journey from Madness to Hope.

1. I chose to read this book as part of a group project at school. I was slightly apprehensive about the choice at first, but I finally decided to go for it and I'm glad that I did. "The Day The Voices Stopped: A Memoir of Madness and Hope" is the life of Ken Steele, told through his own words, about his struggles with schizophrenia. It details his journey from place to place, hospital to hospital and along the very edge of suicide. It describes the abuses he suffers in mental wards and how people took advantage of his position. It also describes his recovery and his life afterwards as a mental health advocate.
   The book begins with the day the voices came to Ken. "The voices arrived without warning on an October night in 1962, when I was fourteen years old. Kill yourself.... set yourself afire, they said." I found this a very gripping way to begin his story. We get to see what happened from day one and what things the voices say to him from the start. I think that, by letting us in on all 32 years of his struggle, he lets us into a new way of thinking about mental illness.
   I thought that the book and its content would disturb me, but it didn't disturb me at all. The only thing it did was make me think and question my own views on the issue, which I find to be a great quality in a book. The book is slightly depressing, but Steele does offer the reader rays of hope throughout the text to keep it from being one large pit of spirit lowering material.
   The book helped me to develop my position involving the care and treatment of those with mental illness and helped me to understand mental illness better. He takes his current feelings out of the picture (most of the time) so that we focus on the moment and what he was going through at the time he's telling about and can understand the hardship mental illness brings to those who suffer from it and their families. I think that everyone should read this book, whether they have a direct connection with mentally ill patients or not, for this reason. "The Day the Voices Stopped" is a very eye opening book and lets us into the minds of the mentally ill so that we can have a better understanding of them. There is, however, some very adult content within the text so the book is not appropriate for children, and parents should also be there to discuss it if their teenager is reading this book. As a teenager, I felt that it was important to be exposed to this so that I don't form the wrong conclusions about the mentally ill and their care, and my parents agreed with me.
   This is definitely a book that I would buy, if not for the educational value of it, but for the story itself. Ken's fight for sanity and his miraculous recovery thanks to a new line of anti-psychotics, and his later fight for rights for the mentally ill is an amazing story. I was constantly wondering where he would go, what he would have to deal with, and what the voices were going to tell him to do next. In exposing his story and sending out his voice, he has become a real hero for many people who have been silent for too long.



2. I chose to read `The Day The Voices Stopped: A Memoir of Madness of Hope' by Ken Steele and Claire Berman because I was interested in reading a book on the subject of mental illness. `The Day The Voices Stopped' is about Ken Steele's battle with schizophrenia; along with all the work he's done to better the care and treatment of mental health consumers. Before I read the book, I thought that the book would depress me, and that I would want to stop reading when some of the really bad parts came. But as I read, I got pulled into Ken's life. The bad parts still depressed me, but I kept on reading, desperately wanting to see Ken's happy ending. The book starts with the sudden arrival of Ken's voices; Voices that are constantly harassing and abusing him. Ken jumps from place to place, institution to institution, experiencing tragedy and joy. There are moments in the book when everything in Ken's life seems absolutely dismal, which makes his recovery and triumph over his illness all the more inspiring. The book doesn't stop on the day that Ken's voices stopped; it goes on to chronicle his advocacy for the rights of mental patients, and his struggle without the voices.
   
   I found `The Day The Voices Stopped' to be very enjoyable. Ken bears all, not sugar-coating anything in his struggles. It's a hard, truthful look into the life of someone with schizophrenia], and someone who has been constantly abused both by his voices and people around him. Ken's story is moving and inspirational. It makes one stop and look around at the world with new eyes. The story is written for Ken's point of view, sharing both his thoughts and what his voices said. He retells his story in a detached sort of view, distancing the view from his emotions he's feeling while looking back on his life.
   
   I highly recommended this book, but not to everyone. It is definitely not for younger kids, someone should be at least 15 if they are going to read this book. I highly recommend this book to anyone who knows someone with a mental illness and anyone who has a mental illness themselves. It really shows the thought process and emotions of someone with a mental illness, and helps us to relate to them better. I think it would be a good idea for a parent to read along with the book if their child is reading it, to help explain some things that the child might not understand.
   The book is not meant to depress someone. It is meant to give people a window into the mind of someone who is mentally ill, to help them better relate to them, to offer hope. It's meant to move people without mental illness, and to inspire those who do have a mental illness, telling them that they can find their way out of the confusing fog in their minds. In sharing his experiences, Ken has given a voice to those who have been silenced.



3. I recommend this book to all people who want to understand mental illness better or to anyone who just needs to be inspired. Ken Steele gives you such a gripping and vivid picture of his extremely difficult life as a mentally ill person, I felt like I was experiencing it with him. Never before have I been brought to tears from reading a book, nor have I ever felt so much hope that I can overcome adversity in my own life.



4. The book writtten in a simple style, is nonetheless extremely moving. It was very interesting to read how a schizophrenic views the world around him, and how we appear to him. An excellent read.



5. This book presents an incredibly honest insight into the experience of a paranoid schizophrenic. Ken Steele invites his readers into the most personal spaces of his mind and walks us through his life experiences. The book left me in tears. A must read for anyone who works as a mental health provider or seeks to understand what a friend or loved one is going through.

5 comments about Whale Hunt In The Desert: The Secret Las Vegas Of Superhost Steve Cyr.

1. I enjoyed this book as it informs the reader how the behind the scenes casino hosting business works. What a job to have!



2. As a gambler, I learned alot from the book. I never realized my casino host's bonus was tied to our losses. I always thought they were sincere. The book covers most subjects is good detail, however, it seems to loose steam towards the end. It is worth reading, especially if you gamble.



3. This is a book about an egotistical, self promoter. If you want to read about how great Cyr believes he is buy this book. You would think this guy was working on the cure for cancer rather than getting people that already want to come to the casino to actually come to the casino.
   No new stuff here.



4. Although the last few chapters are clunky, the rest of the book is so good that I really didn't care! What a fabulous glimpse into the good, the bad, and the truly ugly sides of the cream-of-the-crop gamblers and their relationship with the casinos who host them.
   
   I just was fascinated to peek behind the curtain (or in this case, above the ordinary hotel rooms and inside the high-roller gaming areas).
   
   The next time I'm in Vegas, I'll be doing a lot more than looking for a "fun" slot machine or table game to try out ... I"ll be whale watching!



5. Take a spectacular author writing about a spectacular person and you end up with a spectacular book!! This is an incredible read...it is by far the best book on high rollers and their hosts ever written. It is an "insider" view of Vegas that is both fascinating and revealing: a high octane blast of Superhost Steve Cyr and his multi-million dollar casino "whales" (high limit players) that will keep you turning pages faster than a blackjack pro can deal cards. If you want a glimpse of how a top casino host operates, the kinds of comps and treatment afforded high rollers, and the lifestyle and gambling habits of the truly wealthy...this book is for you. It's the next best thing to a seven figure credit line! Enjoy.

5 comments about If This Is a Man and The Truce.

1. Primo Levi is the most insightful, pragmatic realist of all holocaust authors. I have read more than 50 books on the subject, and his insights into what happened, human nature, the (bad) luck of the draw, and the tragedy of his experience are brilliant and by far the most articulate. Somehow, perhaps with his scientific mind, Levi was able to maintain his awareness through an experience that is utterly beyond the scope of imagination. He somehow emerges from the ashes of this horrific epoch like a literary phoenix. He doesn't dwell on the inhuman acts and suffering, although he has a perfect right to do so, but instead offers his account almost from an omniscient perspective. This book contains the best of Primo Levi, but his other writings demand to be read as well. And, if you haven't seen The Truce, starring John Turturro, you should do so. It's not a hundred percent historically accurate, but it is a great presentation.



2. A truly amazing book - I cannot promise that you will enjoy it, in fact I can almost guarantee that you will find most of it heart-breaking and painful.
   
   It is a little like watching Kieslowski's A Short Film About Killing - on many levels you do not enjoy it but it enthrals you. The subject matter is so important and it is so beautifully made and eloquent that you feel compelled to watch (or read in the case of Levi).
   
   Levi tells the story of his own internment in Auschwitz - he concentrates on the details of everyday life slowing building a vivid picture of how the Nazis were intent on not just killing them but breaking their spirit, humiliating them, degrading them. He captures many moments so well that they live on in the mind, for example when he describes how the terrible regime made Jew turn on Jew. He even manages to raise a guilty smile occasionally. For example, he describes the second worst thing that could happen at night was to take out the toilet bucket as it was always full to overflowing and would spill on your feet. The worst thing was when your bunkmate took it out as they shared bunks sleeping head to toe.
   
   Levi is a fantastic writer (try the Periodic Table if you want to read something easier and more enjoyable) with a light touch. He describes his time in Auschwitz calmly, clearly, with great compassion but remarkably objectively; he gives the reader space to think and understand.
   
   A work of heart-breaking genius



3. It's been a while since I read this book. My girlfriend pulled it off my shelf of her own accord, and she's reading it now. It's one of those books that every thinking person should read. Other reviewers have conveyed its gist very well. It's not really like other Holocaust literature, as important as that school is. It's more concerned with the capability of human beings to absolutely degrade one another. Auschwitz is a stewpot in which the worst of human nature bubbles to the top and sets the bar.
   
   One would think the average camp prisoner would have put his head down numbly and hoped to get out alive. Levi somehow was able to observe and work through the ramifications of nearly every aspect of camp life, not with numbness, but with serene clarity (at least as he writes it later). Everything related in this book is literal and symbolic, mundane and profound, degraded yet fundamental. Levi doesn't spare himself, either. As he put it, to die in Auschwitz, all one had to do was play by the rules. He cheated, stole, and turned his back on his fellows in order to stay alive, and no fellow prisoner who knew the rules of Auschwitz would have held it against him. So much for uniting against one's oppressors.
   
   I should add that "The Truce" tells the story of Levi's very circuitous journey home from Poland to Italy, through a post-war Europe that was barely functional on any level. It is less bleak by far than "If This Is A Man", but the insights into human nature are similiarly profound and essential.



4. If This Is a Man offers a powerful glimpse into life in a concentration camp. It is emotional as well as inforamtive.



5. A truly wonderful book by a great author. In this volume you get Levi's If This Is a Man, his story of his trials in one of the satellite camps of Auschwitz, and The Truce, the story of his long journey from Auschwitz back home to Turin. In the "Afterword" included with this edition (Abacus edition of 1987) you also have Levi's answers to the questions his readers had posed to him over the years. These are also revealing.
   
   I've read many books about the Holocaust and WWII. I could not put this one down. I picked this up after reading Levi's The Periodic Table (also excellent). Here, Levi bears witness to the horrors of the Lager system of Nazi Germany. He is very specific about bearing witness. This is not a history or a commentary, though he does give his opinions. You can't call this a memoir really: it is testimony. In The Truce, he describes the long, strange journey he took back to Italy, through Poland, Russia, Bjelorus, Ukraine, Rumania, Hungary, Austria, and Germany, in the care of, mostly, the Russians. This is also a fascinating tale and follows on naturally: If This Is a Man ends with the arrival of the Russians to liberate the Auschwitz Lager and you want to know how he gets home and gets on with his life.
   
   Levi was a master story teller. You just want to keep reading and hear what will happen next. He was obviously a very intelligent man. These books are very restrained and humane, towards all the people in them, even the evil-doing Germans. Levi states that he does not want revenge and doesn't hate the Germans. His concern was that civilized people everywhere do not allow this to happen again. (We've let him down there: Cambodia, Myanmar, Rwanda, The Balkans, Darfur, ...)
   
   I've read numerous books on the Holocaust, and I find some of them just too tough (emotionally) to read (especially after my kids came along), for example The Nazi Doctors. Levi tells you the bad stuff but somehow makes it bearable and a thoroughly wonderful read.
   
   When I finished this book, I was very moved by my admiration for the humanity of Levi (not to mention the wonderful writing.) I kept repeating to myself, "that was a real man ..." Too bad we lost him at such a young age.

5 comments about The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones.

1. It is not often that any writer/biographer is given such unlimited access to his or her subject as Stanley Booth was given in 1969 to the Rolling Stones. As an invited insider with the world's greatest rock and roll band at their musical apex, Booth ate, drank, took drugs, and traveled with the band and its entourage. What great interviews he could have done! What amazing revelations about the Stones and their often oppositional creative processes he could have shared with Stones fans!
   
   Granted, most people who have reviewed this book have really liked it. Maybe I missed the point, but I did not come out of this book feeling like I knew the Stones any better, and certainly did not learn any more about the dynamics of their musical collaborations and clashing personal and creative styles. What I got was a good look at a writer hired to write a book about the Stones who ended up writing a book about himself writing a book about the Stones, and five hundred pages of insider gossip, most of which doesn't even border on historically significant or interesting.
   
   C'est la vie.



2. STANLEY BOOTH HUNG OUT AND PARTIED WITH THE STONES. HE BECAME FRIENDS WITH AND WAS A KINDRED SPIRIT TO KEITH RICHARD. THIS IS AN EXCELLENT ACCOUNT OF THE MONUMENTAL 1969 STONES TOUR. HE ALSO SEEMED TO HAVE GOOD INSIGHT INTO BRIAN JONES AND THE STONES DYNAMICS WHILE HE WAS IN THE BAND.
   HIS EYE MAGAZINE ACCOUNT OF BRIANS 1968 DRUG BUST WAS A MUST READ CLASSIC.



3. There is no stronger, clear-minded, and focused writer of American Music Culture than Stanley Booth. He never writes from a distance. In fact, sometimes he writes from too close, within firing range, as with The True Adventures of The Rolling Stones, also published under the title of Down & Out With The Rolling Stones. Booth says it took him years to recover from the experience. I say he hasn't recovered yet. When you are from Georgia and live in Memphis, you learn to survive, but you don't recover. The True Adventures of The Rolling Stones is a historic, deep panorama of a different violent time in America. In order to create, you have to go through the fire. Stanley Booth has done just that.
   
   And when you finish with The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones, pick up a copy of Rythm Oil, I think his best book, and then Keith.
   
   There is no one writing about music with the grit and guts of Stanley Booth. All others, with the exception of damn few, are just playing.
   
   



4. To book eventually goes from a chapter to chapter switching from the old days (interesting) to the 1969 tour and back. I skip over any parts that don't have to do with the Stones directly and that helps keep it interesting. Entirely too much time spent on the question "Will I get the rights to do this book?". Want to just get the stories. He runs hot and cold but generally when he talks about the Stones (or quote Keith), it is a good read, especially if you read it while listening to old Stones records.



5. This is a decent rock and roll book about the Rolling Stones that traces their history up until Altamont. As others have noted, the first part of the book is dragged down by the author's ongoing trouble with securing a contract (who cares?). It's worth sticking it out, b/c the book gets more interesting. The stuff about Brian Jones was new to me. He was more wacked out than I realized.
   
   One odd thing is that it seems the author describes incidents that he witnessed, but their descriptions are straight out of the Maysles' doc "Gimme Shelter". If you watch the film while reading the book, you'll see what I mean. Maybe he used the movie as a way to jog his memory. Maybe the clips in the film were the most interesting things to highlight. It's hard to tell. But you see the author at a few different points in the film, notably when the band is listening to their new record in the hotel room. It's pretty cool.
   
   All in all, this is a great book. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Some of it is beautifully written. But don't go by the blurbs in the back of the book stating it's the "best book about the 1960's". But worth the time, nonetheless...

5 comments about A Year in Van Nuys.

1. This is a good - not great - book that generally entertains, but goes too far in an effort to keep the reader amused and interested. The author writes at a higher intelligence level than your typical best selling author does. The downside is that she knows it, and it effects her work. More importantly, however, is the prevalence of eye bag references that nearly made me throw this book in the trash, something I have never done in my life. Six weeks after having finished the book, I sit here editing this review with one prevailing thought in my head, the less-than-enjoyable eye bag references.
   
   The book is presumably about a year in the life of the author. While I don't know how much resonance there is between her real life and what we read on the pages, you can tell there is some. There are too many passionate outbursts for all of this to be fiction. After all, what writer doesn't reveal some of their soul in the words they create? This is what makes it so real and easy to read. As someone once said somewhere, write what you know. But then, what if you know nothing? I digress.
   
   The author clearly knows more than nothing and for the most part, the contents of what she does know are enjoyable to read. Some of the events in the book are resonant with things I've experienced in my own life, despite the fact that I'm a man. I'll go ahead and say the eye bags are *not* one of those things. Still, the struggle to be an author and her ultimate decision in that endeavor are thoughts close to many I have had before. Her final decision, entirely contrary to the fact she authored a book, is something I've also come to adopt. Maybe it this freedom has led her to this work? Again, I digress.
   
   It's a refreshing book, light yet intelligent to a point. It's a quick and enjoyable read. You could certainly do a lot worse. What's more, it has diagrams for those slow on the uptake. All in all, it's generally entertaining and contains real-life insights that can be applied to life and used to learn a little about yourself. Well worth the time spent reading it.



2. I am flabergasted that so many people liked this book. I had to force myself to keep turning the pages to get through this whinning drivel, and in the end I regretted not giving up sooner. Most of Sandra's problems appear to be entirely her own fault. She gets too drunk at a Fox party and screws up her sitcom deal. She gets a new editor at her online magazine who doesn't like her style. Welcome to the real world - none of this is special or interesting because it's Van Nuys and the entertainment industry, and not just some shmuck in a cubicle. And here's a shocker - in real life, Loh was fired from her cushy radio commentary job for cursing on the air, and has blamed everyone at the radio station for it. No one feels as sorry for her as she apparently feels for herself.
   I like one reviewer's comparison to the comic strip Cathy - this was like having to listen to Cathy complain in complete chapters instead of a few frames. By the end of the book I not only wanted the $5 I paid for it at a used bookseller back, I wanted to personally find this woman and give her a good slap across the face.



3. I've been told that it's important to "step outside your comfort zone" every once in a while, and that's exactly what I did by reading this book. The experience was, well, a little bit weird.
   
   FULL DISCLOSURE: Sandra's female, I'm male. She's Asian-American, I'm your basic WASP-American mongrel. She's a product of life in metro LA, I'm a Midwesterner living in a small city. I don't particularly care for southern California and I'm sure she'd be bored to tears by Battle Creek, Michigan. And so forth.
   
   For me, reading "A Year in Van Nuys" was like stumbling on a diary that someone accidently left at the airport. Sandra is spilling her guts throughout most of the book about her marriage, career problems, friends, therapist, money issues and somewhat desperate life in suburban LA. She mixes regular narrative text with e-mails, cartoon drawings, diagrams, photos, confessional essays and some other strange stuff to make it read like a confidential journal. I loved the use of "strike through" type to show earlier versions of her thought process.
   
   Whether you like it or not, Sandra forces us to be voyeurs. That can be funny and also annoying. For example, her take on the role of religion in weddings is hilarious, as are her riffs on life as a freelance writer. On the other hand, her obsessions about eye bags and cosmetic surgery are just kind of boring. The last few pages of the book bring some sense of resolution to her free-floating self-loathing, but not enough to matter, in my opinion.
   
   Ultimately, "A Year in Van Nuys" is a quick, silly, moderately entertaining read -- just right for that wait between flights. To find Sandra's REAL comedic talent, you'll have to listen to one of her commentaries on NPR.



4. Tsing Loh is a new talent in the essay genre, and she will appeal to anyone in their 20's or 30's who is post-college but still searching for themselves, while watching annoying overachievers from college become television anchors. Some readers find her a bit too whiny, but she really hit home with me, and I loved her way of examining the world. The book has some terrific hand-drawn illustrations and diagrams expressing Sandra's feelings (one winner is a pie chart comaring ideal time spent together by a married couple, actual time spent together by hetero couples, and actual time spent together by gay male couples).
   
   The end of this book didn't sit well with me, because the message seemed to be to abandon your dreams, and it was depressing. The journey to the end definitely had its high points, though.
   
   Tsing Loh has some other great books about living in LA, and anyone from the area will be able to identify with the places and events she talks about. Fans of Tsing Loh will love essayist Laurie Notaro, who writes about the same age and experiences, but definitely in a less whiny voice. Check out Notaro's The Idiot Girls' Action Adventure club.



5. To be honest, there's so much stuff in this book, subjects all over the map, that I'm having trouble writing a review. Every subject hit me a little differently. I found myself getting extremely bored on one tale, and then immensely enjoying another. That I had trouble getting past the first 30 pages had no bearing on how much I enjoyed the middle 10, or indeed that story about the writing workshop, which came near the end and was one of the best. R.A. Salvatore said that you know you are really a writer only if you just can't stop, and Sandra Tsing Loh makes this point wonderfully.
   
   One reason I read this book is because it was apparently about Van Nuys; however, that suburb of Los Angeles did not figure into the book nearly as much as I thought it would. The author devotes too much time and energy on Hollywood, which is a very different place from the San Fernando Valley (which Van Nuys is part of), so the title may be misleading.
   
   You don't really need to know much about Los Angeles to understand this book, but a good knowledge of pop culture of the time helps. Recommended if you like those things and amusing streams of consciousness as well as the subjects of writing and aging.

5 comments about Write it When I'm Gone.

1. A wonderful read about a good and great man. If only this country had more such men, then maybe there would not be the huge political schism in Washington today. Ford was a healer, who could be bipartisan and establish a rapport with his political enemies. Maybe, that was because he had no real enemies, and many on both side respected him for what he was: a smart, honest politician who did not have a huge ego.
   
   In this short book, DeFrank shows that Ford was really who he said he was. He loved the Republican Party and would not tear it apart for his personal ambition. He loved his country and tried to find common cause with some polical opponents like Carter and Clinton. He loved his home city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was like most people: an average man thrust into the leadership of the free world.
   
   This is a nice read about a true American Gerald R. Ford. His presidential service was short and his life long, but he made a difference in American political life. DeFrank captures the true spirit of Jerry Ford.



2. Who ever knew that Gerald Ford could be so interesting? I read over 70 pages in just the first day I got it and did not want to put it down. This is not a straightforward biography for a change-there are plenty of those out there. This is personal insight into a man that rarely let us see that side of him. He was a man of good morals, was extremely intelligent, and if you can get past the whole Nixon pardon, he really did deserve a second term in office. Even though his presidency was short, those were some very interesting times and Gerald Ford was a big part of bringing the country back together after Watergate and Vietnam. It is great to have the authors perspective of traveling with him for so many years and interviewing him, and even building a friendship with President Ford. You feel like you are along for the ride. I am glad I purchased this as it is a totally different kind of political book than anything else I have ever read. It is an easy and quick read, and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone interested in US history and/or the Office of The President. My only wish was that it was longer- did not want to get through it so quick !!!!



3. I dove in to this book expecting new and exciting revelations only to find.. not so much. Yes, it was interesting to learn what Jerry Ford really thought about his fellow Presidents (especially Reagan), but where are the bombshells?
   
   It was obvious that Mr. DeFrank admired Mr. Ford greatly. I too remember the healing effect Ford had on the country after Watergate and admire him. However, this author did not have enough material for an entire book. Redundancies abound. The same sentence often appears in different chapters. His description of the pivotal meeting with (then) Vice President Ford appears verbatim several times throughout the book.
   
   If this had been an article in a magazine, I could have rated it higher. Even without any real revelations.



4. Like many baby boomers,I was grateful Gerald R. Ford was there when the nation needed him. After the god-awful Watergate mess revealed a President at his worst, it was comforting to have Ford, a man widely liked and respected, assume the Presidency. Ford's reputation as an earnest, unpretentious and decent individual able to laugh at himself survived and even thrived in subsequent years when compared to those who followed him into the White House. That image is borne out in WRITE IT WHEN I'M GONE, Thomas DeFrank's touching memoir based on years of private interviews with Ford. DeFrank's book gives us a much deeper and illuminating portrait of both the man and the politician.
   
   While Ford's take on the American political scene from the 1970s on made for interesting reading and confirms him as an astute analyst, I was much more taken with the insights on the man. Though he loved politics and was an ardent spokesman for the Republican Party, Ford's values and innate courtesy caused him to be circumspect in his public comments. Unlike today's slash-and-burn politicians, Ford viewed his Democratic colleagues as friendly adversaries worthy of respect. If he had critical or harsh views of others, he kept them largely to himself...that is until he talked with DeFrank.
   
   Over the course of the book's 250 pages, I grew to like and admire Ford far more than I had in the past; the Nixon Pardon still rankles! DeFrank shows us a normal guy who loved to laugh and toss down a few with the boys; a genuine and genuinely kind man who never lost the common touch; a straightforward, old-fashioned ex-football jock appalled by the underhanded machinations of various politicos; a devoted family man who never cheated on his wife. Yet Ford has his moments of anger and pique as documented in the book. Likewise DeFrank doesn't shy away from some questionable aspects of Ford's life such as his merchandising of himself after he left the Presidency. After all is said and done though, you like Jerry Ford; reading of the decline of such a gregarious, active individual in the closing chapters is hard. He was a good man.
   
   Though I enjoyed DeFrank's book, I thought it could have been more tightly edited. Various redundancies occurred throughout the book.
   
   Whether you're a Jerry Ford fan or not, you'll want to read WRITE IT WHEN I'M GONE. It offers an unvarnished look at the unique life of a kind and decent man who gave America hope and stability during the worst of times. Historians will have the final say on Gerald R. Ford but, for me, I can only echo DeFrank's closing line: 'Thank You, Mr. President.'



5. A very good book of Ford related memories. Excellent photos inside. The passages read very smoothly here.