5 comments about The 33-Year-Old Rookie: How I Finally Made it to the Big Leagues After Eleven Years in the Minors.

1. I am typically not a reader, but finished this book in 4 days. couldn't put it down



2. THIS IS A GREAT READ AND A TRULY HEARTWARMING STORY. A TRUE TESTAMENT TO PERSEVERENCE. AN EXCELLENT BOOK FOR ALL BASEBALL FANS, NOT JUST PHILLIES FANS. TOO BAD THERE AREN'T MORE PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES WITH THE ATTITUDE AND VALUES OF CHRIS COSTE.



3. Sadly the business of baseball is painted in this self penned tome by Phillies catcher, Chris Coste. Certainly if Coste had been a professional football (American) player, he would have been in much worse shape. But spending a few years being a professional, albeit by today's standards underpaid, baseball player on his hometown minor league baseball team, the Fargo Morehead RedHawks, precluded Mr. Coste from being exposed to MLB as a teenager; as most who enter it are. The trials and trevails are explained to both the novice and the not-novice alike. A little like Muhammed Ali, making a movie while still a professional boxer, you hope the ending of this book is really just the beginning of a great career. Especially if you are a Phillies fan.



4. I tore through this book on the beach in less than 2 days. A credit to his wife Marcia for sticking with him and making sure he never gave up on his dream. Anyone with, or who once ad, major league dreams will appreciate this book. A great beach read.



5. I bought this for my husband for father's day. He's a huge Phillies fan, but he's said that even if he wasn't he would love this book. It's an inspiring story and a quick read. Would recommend to anyone, even if you're not a Phillies fan.

5 comments about The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary (P.S.).

1. Perhaps no where is that more in evidence, than in this story, the story of a man, Dr. Minor, confined to an insane asylum, becoming one of the leading contributors to the Oxford English Dictionary.
   
   His story, the story of Dr. Murray, editor of the OED, how they got together and how the dictionary was compiled and edited makes for fascinating, marvelous reading. An intriguing, fascinating story well told, well written. Surprises, twists and concerns every few pages.
   
   The book does deserve criticism for its sometimes long and laborous detail about putting the dictionary together, but as a story, the story of the two men, Murray and Minor, it is a worthwhile and fascinating read.
   
   Winchester tells the story well, with an eye for detail, then and now, and with an empathetic if not sympathetic perspective for the humanity and the odd twists and turns involved. Good read. Buy it. Read it.



2. This book was simply marvelous, if you are into the story of the origins of the Oxford English Dictionary, this is a book that captures the makings and includes the story of two gentlemen who's lives inevitably come together in bizzare but wonderful order of circumstances, if you Love words and their origins, you will be astounded by this book!



3. Simon Winchester has come up with a nifty little tale of the making of the OED. It's a fun little gem from history, and worth the read. My only complaints are: the book would have been more interesting if he had included some pictures, and the tale itself is pretty small. The publisher makes up for this by using large type, double spaced, with wide paragraph separation. But it's still a footnote in history, and you can't hide that fact.



4. There is a certain "Did you know..." factor about the "new" genre of creative nonfiction: we read it for both the informative componenet, and the fact that quite a bit of history is, well, interesting. Did you know, for example, that the main contributor to the Oxford English Dictionary was insane?
   
   Dr. W.C. Minor was an American soldier in the Civil War, who later moved to England, where he wound up shooting a man. He was placed in an asylum (not the greatest of places in those days), where he was given a few more perks than the other inmates, simply because he was non-violent (despite the reason for his incarceration) and intelligent. One day, he happened to come across an advertisement: Professor James Murray, along with an elite group of gentlemen, was creating the single-greatest compilation of the English language ever conceived. Minor, with nothing but time on his hands, decided to pitch in. Over ten-thousand words later, Minor was the single-greatest contributor to the single-greatest dictionary ever created.
   
   It is a compelling, surprising story, told in Winchester's usual novel-meets-nonfiction style. While I enjoy a good piece of creative nonfiction, I find myself time and time again returning to Winchester's work not necessarily because of the topic, but because I enjoy his style so much. (It just so happens he chooses interesting topics to write upon.) The "P.S." section of this book, as with the others, doesn't offer too much, though there is an intriguing little section: Winchester's favorite words from the OED. Still, you'll purchase "The Professor and the Madman" for the story itself--and it's a doozy. True, too. Funny, how facts can sometimes be more interesting--and harder to believe--than fiction.



5. Many academics and scholars border on creative madness, take Kierkegaard and Nietzsche for example. This book is marvellous reading since the dull subject of dictionary making is enlivened by eccentric personalities and mental disturbance. It reveals how a dictionary as prestigious as the Oxford English Dictionary was put together. Any author who can make such a dry subject as exciting as a murder mystery deserves a good deal of credit and acclaim.

5 comments about Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir.

1. Of what I have read so far, I really enjoy Ms. Goldberg's writing. Very down to earth and frank.



2. That's How the Light Gets In: Memoir of a Psychiatrist by Susan Rako, M.D. The title comes from a song by Leonard Cohen: "There is a crack, a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." Rako's book is inspiring, fascinating, remarkably candid, and brilliantly well-written. The writing just flows.



3. This is classic Natalie Goldberg. I have read most of her work and was not disappointed by her latest look into the heart of writing...specifically a memoir. She is the kind of writer you can and must read over and over again, not only if you aspire to write, but if you aspire to live your life well.



4. Natalie Goldberg has done it again! As a teacher of fiction and memoir, I recommend this book to all memoir writers. Natalie has prompts that will intrigue and spur writers to put pen in hand or fingers to the keyboard.
   
   By using these prompts, you can't do anything BUT write.
   
   Catherine Alexander
   Author and Instructor



5. This morning at 4:30 I turned on the light to read a few more pages of Old Friend From Far Away. I skipped toward the end and read about how at a celebration for the twentieth anniversary of Natalie's first book, a woman who took her writing class when she was a young student at an alternative school, stood up to speak. The woman told her story of how one Monday Natalie brought in a bushel of rich red apples she'd picked the day before at an orchard near the school. This was a family orchard where a month before the oldest son had been killed in a bizarre gun accident. The woman revealed that this young man had been her first love.
   
   When I got to the part where the woman explained how Natalie's writing class gave her an avenue for expressing her suffering and grief, I found myself sobbing (in a good way) with recognition of the truth of her words.
   
   After the woman finishes telling her story Natalie writes:
   
   "It's a holy thing to be a writer. It is why you want to write your memoir: to remember all of it. The good and the bad. To trust your experience, to have confidence that your moments and the moments of others on this earth mattered... It is a great thing you are doing whatever it is you are remembering. You are saying that life--and its passing--have true value."
   
   I hesitated to buy Old Friend From Far Away since I already have Natalie Goldberg's other enormously helpful writing books. But all the praise from other writers is well-deserved. Every page makes me want to click my heels with delight--even the pages that make me cry. I wholeheartedly recommend this book!
   
   --Suza Francina, author, The New Yoga for People Over 50 and other books for people at midlife and older.
   
   
   
   
   

5 comments about Thinking in Pictures, Expanded Edition: My Life with Autism.

1. Temple Grandin's book is amazing! I can barely wrap my mind around some of the things she says, but I really learned a lot about autism. I highly recommend this book to everyone - not just someone researching autism - but everyone. Our whole book group loved it.



2. Fascinating insight into the autistic mind and the different ways of being human. Also provides insights into how more "normal" minds work by contrast. Highly recommended.



3. A friend recommendeded this book for me. I hesitated for a while before buying it - but once picked up I can't put it down. The book brings me to scope of thinkings that is beyond my imagination. I can't wait to recommend this book to my friends even before I have finished it for the first time. I've now re-read this for two to three times, and each time my mind was further enlightened. Sometimes I give away books after reading but this will be a copy I will keep and read over and over again.



4. Excellent book and tool for those dealing with adult Asperger's. Until reading this book, there was no pragmatic connection with my brother, 53 years old, who has been isolated from family all his life due to his inability to see cause and effect. Visiting with psychologists in his early years did nothing to help parents understand his lack of emotional ties or connectivity to anything. He was labeled as very intelligent in certain fields (science, telecommunications, automotive knowledge)but had no common sense and kept repeating same mistakes over and over.
   
   He was incarcerated for 17 years for sexual abuse of a female girlfriend and we could not understand how he failed to get parole or help while in prison while some of those serving time for far worse crimes, including murder, were paroled after only half the time. We now know that sensory problems and being able to "go with the flow" in the prison system kept him incarcerated to serve his entire sentence.
   
   Luckily, family was able to run across articles about Asperger's and did research on it concluding that so many adults such as my brother had not been identified with this symptom. We are much more successful with dealing with him after reading Temple Grandin's book and have pegged her thinking to be very similar to my brother's--he also thinks in pictures but could not describe it and frequently did not know what we were talking about since he was unable to feel emotions as related by Ms. Grandin. He has read her book also and is reading it a second time. It has given the family insight into our brother's condition for the first time in 53 years and we are so very thankful for this book.



5. Dr. Grandin lectures on animal husbandry as well as autism. I've seen her speak in person. She's a very interesting individual. Her way of speaking comes through in the book. She writes very well for the layman.
   
   She covers her career, her interests, and her autism. If you are interested in animal husbandry, interesting women, autism, then this is a good book. If you have autistic kids and feel really under it, its very reassuring to see how this one autistic person has done very well for herself, thanks to early intervention by her parents as well as determination and intelligence on her part.
   
   I also like her personally, because I have had mixed feelings about being an omnivore and am glad she's out there making the experience of animals in our food production a lot less harrowing.

5 comments about The Seven Storey Mountain.

1. The Seven Storey Mountain is a true classic written by a humble genius. It is extremely well written and laid out. Thomas Merton being a highly intelligent man wrote it is a highly intelligent manner, and you can not help but sink into his wonderful narrative style and logical manner. It was written over half a century though and I at times had to reread sections because his writing style and use of words was not very familiar to me, and I wanted to insure I was understanding what he was saying.
   
   What really sets the Seven Storey Mountain apart is it gets better after reading it. It is often times in the years after my first read where idea and seeds that were planted when I first read the novel make themselves known. Thomas' search and discovery for religion and purpose will appeal to a wide audience, not just the uber religious. It is a wonderful novel of self discovery and change.



2. I just bought a copy of this book. It is so beautiful I finished reading
   it word for word from cover to cover in 2 days. I am hooked on Thomas Merton! Looking forward to more of his works.



3. This excellent book has been on my 'must-buy'list for some time. It is beautifully written - goes straight to the heart. I have read it twice, and always find something new, and interesting. ( I had the advantage of a borrowed copy). I read in the'Note to the reader'at the beginning of
   the book that some would have difficulty in understanding the 'outdated religious atmosphere' that pervades the book. I think that the reader would find it a part of its charm (if that is the word).



4. "The Seven Storey Mountain" is that rarest of gems: an articulate book about a lifelong spiritual quest.
   
   Its author, Thomas Merton, tells the story of his life, how his vague unease about spiritual questions eventually led him not only to Catholicism but to the narrow walls of a Trappist monastery in Kentucky.
   
   The writing is rich and thoughtful. Whatever your opinion of Merton's conclusions, you find yourself admiring his bravery and honesty.
   
   Surprisingly, the book is actually quite the multi-textured rumination on life in America in mid-century as much as it is the story of Merton's life. His gallery of characters and evocative prose never disappoint. Here's a sample:
   
   "It was a bright, icy-cold afternoon when, having passed Nantucket Light, we first saw the long, low, yellow shoreline of Long Island shining palely in the December sun. But when we entered New York harbor the lights were already coming on, glittering like jewels in the hard, clear buildings. The great, debonair city that was both young and old, and wise and innocent, shouted in the winter night as we passed the Battery and started up the North River. And I was glad, very glad to be an immigrant once again." (p. 151)
   
   I would recommend "The Seven Storey Mountain" to anybody who finds himself restless about spiritual matters, even if he has no particular interest in Catholicism or even Christianity. The book's reach is much deeper than that.



5. 
   
   Today I delivered a gift copy of this book to a widow, "Grace" whose husband had been my late father's closest childhood friend. A week earlier, Grace had asked: "Have you ever read Thomas Merton's SEVEN STOREY MOUNTAIN? I read it in 1953; and found it very moving. I'd love to find a copy and read it again."
   
   When I presented her with a new copy of this edition, I asked if I could read aloud my favorite passage (early in the book) concerning Thomas Merton's `little brother' John Paul (five years younger) who, like his older brother was a French-born, American citizen.
   
   Late in the book Thomas Merton tells us how John Paul was compelled early in WWII to join the Royal Canadian Air Force (and trained right here in Manitoba! John Paul Merton had been flying bombing runs over a real sandy desert on the prairie just outside nearby Camp Shilo, where today's Canadian Artillery Officers still train. My late father was flown at Canadian Army expense each year, late in life, to address the graduating officers at that camp: Small world!)
   
   Just before leaving for overseas, John Paul flew to see his older brother Thomas and, not incidentally, be Baptized, and welcomed into the Catholic faith. Then he left for England (and was killed in action the next year, when his RAF bomber went down over the English Channel).
   
   His death provides the moving culmination to this book - bringing the reader `full circle' from the moment (back on page 25) when Thomas Merton introduces us to John Paul. (What follows is the passage that moves me to tears when I read it aloud to a friend.)
   
   ------
   
   "One thing I would say about my brother, John Paul: My most vivid memories of him, in our childhood, all fill me with poignant compunction at the thought of my own hard-heartedness, and his natural humility and love.
   
   "I suppose it's usual for elder brothers, when they are still children, to feel themselves demeaned by the company of a brother, four or five years younger, whom they regard as a baby, and tend to patronize and look down upon.
   
   "So when Russ and Bill and I (older brothers all) made huts in the woods out of boards and tar paper . . . we severely prohibited John Paul, and Russ' younger brother Tommy and their friends from coming anywhere near us. If they did try to come and get into our hut, or even to look at it, we would chase them away with stones.
   
   "When I think now about that part of my childhood, the picture I get of my brother John Paul is this: standing in a field a hundred yards away from our hut, is this little perplexed five-year-old kid in short pants and a kind of leather jacket, standing quite still; his arms hanging down at his sides.
   
   "He is gazing in our direction, afraid to come any nearer on account of the stones, as insulted as he is saddened, and his eyes full of indignation and sorrow. And yet he does not go away. We shout at him to go away, beat it, go home, and wing a couple more rocks in that direction. We tell him to play some other place. He does not move.
   
   "And there he stands, not sobbing, not crying, but angry and unhappy and offended and tremendously sad. And yet he is fascinated by what we are doing, nailing shingles all over our new hut. And his tremendous desire to be with us and to do what we are doing will not permit him to go away.
   
   "The law written in his nature tells him he must be with his elder brother and do what he is doing, and he cannot understand why this law of love is being so wildly and unjustly violated in his case.
   
   "Many times are like that, and in a sense, this terrible situation is the pattern and prototype of all sin: the deliberate and formal will to reject disinterested love for us, for the purely arbitrary reason that we simply do not want it. We `will' to separate ourselves from that love; we reject it entirely and absolutely, and will not acknowledge it, because it does not please us to be loved . . . "
   
   [Thomas Merton immediately recalls an astounding event] "when our `gang' tried to antagonize the extremely tough Polish kids who had formed a gang in nearby Little Neck (approaching their headquarters) and "from a very safe distance we would challenge them to come out and fight" (but) "nobody came out - perhaps (that day) there was nobody home."
   
   But then came the day, Merton recalls, "one cold and rainy afternoon, when we observed that numbers of large and small figures, varying in age from 10 to 16, most of them very brawny" gathered outside the Merton home, "20 or 25 of them. There were four of us."[hiding inside].
   
   "The climax of the situation came when Frieda, our German maid, told us that she was very busy with housecleaning and we must all get out of the house immediately. Without listening to our extremely nervous protests, she chased us out the back way . . . we made our way through back yards to the safety of Bill's house" [a block away, with a clear view across a field, of the Merton home].
   
   "And then an extraordinary thing happened. The front door of our house opened. My little brother John Paul came walking down the steps with a certain amount of dignity and calm. He crossed the street (and) walked toward the Little Neck gang. They all turned towards him. He kept on walking and walked right into the middle of them.
   
   "One or two of them took their hands out of their pockets. John Paul just looked at them, turning his head to one side and then the other. And he walked through the middle of them and no one ever touched him.
   
   "And so he came to the house where we were. We did not chase him away."
   
   -------
   
   The book closes with a poem written by Thomas Merton upon learning of his brother's death in the North Sea: "I learned that John Paul was severely injured in the crash but managed to keep himself afloat, even tried to support the pilot who was already dead.
   
   "He was very badly hurt; maybe his neck was broken. He lay in the bottom of the dinghy in delirium. He was terribly thirsty. He kept asking for water. But they didn't have any. It didn't last too long. He had three hours of it and then he died. His companions had more to suffer, and were finally picked up and taken to safety five days later. On the fourth day they had buried John Paul at sea."
   
   The chapter concludes with Thomas Merton's poetic requiem for his "dear brother" asking their Maker to,
   
   "Take my breath . . .
   and buy yourself a better death . . .
   And buy you back to your own land
   The silence of Whose tears shall fall
   Like bells upon your alien tomb.
   Hear them and come,
   They call you home."
   
   Thomas Merton died 40 years ago (on the 20th anniversary of his book's first publishing) while attending a conference of Eastern and Western monks in Thailand (electrocuted by a faulty table lamp in his Bangkok hotel room).
   
   This "Fiftieth Anniversary Edition" includes a delightful "Note to the Reader" from William H. Shannon, founding president of the International Thomas Merton Society, who recalls that, from the very first day in print (October 4, 1948) the book was "an instant success: Hailed as a modern day version of the `CONFESSIONS' of St. Augustine, it has continued to sell and sell and sell."
   
   As Evelyn Waugh, no easy critic, wrote prophetically: It "might well prove to be of permanent interest in the history of religious experience."
   
   Buy a copy and see for yourself (I highly recommend this edition).
   
   Mark Blackburn
   Winnipeg Canada

5 comments about His Excellency: George Washington.

1. Too much of what is "known" about George Washington is based on myth rather than fact. This book strips away the glossy veneer and paints a portrait of a remarkable man who, despite his flaws, influenced the path that our early nation took more than any other person. Despite its relative brevity, this well written biography provides much insight into Washington. We learn how his business and personal dealings led to his disaffection with England and his support for the revolutionary cause. We see the evolution of his views on slavery. We understand how indispensable he was in establishing a strong and "energetic" (to borrow his words) federal government. I came way from this book with a much better appreciation for the "father of our country" and a clearer understanding of his contributions to the formation of our nation.



2. I just finished this book and truly enjoyed it. I love history and especially this era. A great overview of Washington's life without being overly tedious in the details as some biographies can be. I finished this book fairly quickly as I was hooked once I began. Loved the photos that were included also.



3. I found this book to be a refreshing look at the life of America's greatest founding father. Ellis does a fantastic job of getting to the meat of a seemingly endless list of resources including numerous pieces of personal correspondence, and provides a more personal look into the mind of the notoriously elusive George Washington. This work does what many other similar books don't, and that is look at Washington in the context of the broader social and historical realities of his time. Without this, many of Washington's actions seem illogical or empty. Some reviewers don't appreciate the more critical aspects of the work, but it is naive to believe that Washington was totally devoid of personal flaws and internal conflicts. In fact, I believe, as Ellis describes, that these flaws are part of what made him a great leader; what he learned from his mistakes helped guide him on his journey through a very uncertain and volatile time in world history. What is more impressive, is that Ellis is able to condense such a rich and interesting life into a relatively short volume that doesn't seem lacking. It provides enough insight for those who are looking for the basics, but gives enough for those looking for more in-depth analysis and provides a foundation for more intense study. Overall, Ellis has created a fantastic biography that I would recommend to anyone interested in early American history.



4. I was extremely disappointed in this book. This book was purchased as a gift for me, and I looked forward to reading it. From the beginning, I was disappointed by the tone of the book, which casts a negative tone on the father of our country.
   
   As I researched some of Ellis' sources, I found that in several parts of his book, he stated items as facts that were completely false.
   
   Ellis, following a popular trend of today, insinuates that George Washington was in love with his friend's wife, Sally Fairfax, and that he felt passionately in love with her throughout his life.
   
   Ellis admits that all we do know is based primarily on three letters Washington wrote to Sally (Fairfax). The last letter he cites was one Washington wrote near the end of his life. Mr. Ellis states that "in this letter, he confessed to an elderly Sally that she had been the passion of his youth, that he had never been able to forget her, 'nor been able to eradicate from my mind those happy moments, the happiest in my life, which have enjoyed in your company."
   
   I decided to research his references, and look up the text of Washington's letter on the Library of Congress website. They have actual images of all of the original letters of George Washington. What I found relieved me greatly and set my mind at ease. It also made me feel disgusted than an author who claims to accurately represent the life of such a noble man could be so purposely deceptive.
   
   The actual letter was written by Washington in his later years, with his wife. He talked about how he was remembering the times of harmony and friendship that he and his wife spent with Sally and her husband at their home. He describes these times as some of the happiest of his life. At the end of his part of the letter he says "Mrs. Washington is about to give you an account of the changes which have happened in the neighbourhood and in our own family."
   
   Mr. Ellis said that in this letter he confessed that she had been the passion of his youth. That is simply a blatant falsehood.
   
   Ellis also states that there is no evidence to show whether the relationship between Washington and Fairfax ever crossed the sexual threshold or not. Why does he even feel the need to include such a ridiculous statement? It is akin to saying that although someone spends some time at the local bank, we don't have evidence to show whether they were a bank robber or not.
   
   Attempting to insinuate that the framers of our Constitution such as Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin were immoral men, is happening more and more often in our country.
   
   In an excellent book "The Rewriting of America's History", there is an example of how deceitful this influence can be. The book explained how in an earlier edition of a school history textbook it stated that George Washington had a hot temper that he kept masterfully controlled. In a later edition of the same textbook, it simply said: "George Washington had a hot temper." I think that is a powerful example of how a subtle adjustment can completely change our thinking of his character.
   
   I have found that this is happening more and more frequently in our world today as I have studied the founding father's lives including Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and others.
   
   I could continue on with how careful research contradicts the opinions of Mr. Ellis, but I will simply recommend a much better book. "The Real George Washington", published by The National Center for Constitutional Studies.



5. It is sad. The author has made big bucks on a book that essentially is aimed at bringing George Washington down to the level of today's politicians. There certainly is an audience for this kind of interpretation of our Founding Father and it can only be accomplished by someone who has a perspective and wants to use his skills to slant the reader's view toward his own negativity. I much preferred to read David McCullough's history, "1776," which dwells primarily on Washington as a person and a leader, but without the hidden agenda (whatever it is) of the author of "His Excellency," which is really an attempt to rewrite history and bring Washington down to the level of a Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon in a colonial setting. Shame on you, Mr. Ellis, although you are entitled to your opinion -- which is what this book is all about.

5 comments about Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness.

1. This is the best book I have ever read on depression. I have read and re read it several times. The fact that Styron is such a good writer is what makes this so informative. And as someone else pointed out the fact that the book is small and short helps also. It is beautifully written. I always recommend it to anyone suffering from depression. I am sad to say I recently read somewhere that near the end of his life Styron's depression returned. He had not been cured of his depression. It just lifted for a time. I like that he explains how drugs did not help him but made his depression worse. By getting off the drugs he began to get better on his own. Everyone is different but not everybody needs drugs. I also recently read that depression is anger turned inward. Knowing that I suggest getting a punching bag and hanging it in the back yeard and hitting it hard everyday.
   Seriously I got a great deal of comfort from A DARKNESS VISIBLE. It is worth noting that Styron's depression hit him after he quit drinking alcohol after a lifetime of abusing alcohol.
   Seems to me that doctors should always recommend this book to their patients suffering from depression. The book offers hope to those afflicted by depression.



2. I can't thank William Styron enough for this book. Suffering from depression myself, I had days in which I was counting breaths just to make it through the day. This book got me through another day in the darkest of places.



3. This insightful book views suicide from the side of one who has suffered from a desire for self destruction. For the survivors of a suicide it is difficult to answer so many questions following the event, this book begins to answer questions of the thought process leading up to suicide.
   
   Another excellant book to consider reading on the subject is "No Time to Say Goodbye, Surviving the Suicide of a Loved One" by Carla Fine. It draws from the experiences of many who have been through it and offers counsel.



4. I'll admit it - the first few times I tried reading Darkness Visible was a disaster. That long, overdrawn anecdote about his trip to Paris was as dry as and enjoyable as sucking on cardboard. Then, I made (or skipped) it to chapter two. Bingo. From there Styron starts talking about Camus, Hoffman and Levi, all of whom had an impact on his life. From there, I started getting some perspective.
   
   Styron can write, that's a fact. And the guy employs more interesting adjectives than Microsoft does workers. But that is a plus and a minus. Sometimes the writing takes too long to hit a point. Other times, his verbiage is dead on and leaves you breathless. To his credit, he is aware as anyone that heavy depression lies beyond words. It's an experience and not one anybody should have to endure. As well, I don't think I've ever seen a better investigation of a man looking at his every emotion under a microscope. Reading up on medication, consuming the DSM-IV like a doctor; he understood his depression more than most psychiatrists can dream to.
   
   After I completed the book, I read it again and it got better. His description of depression will illuminate the sensory feeling of it for the depressed. If you have suffered from depression, I guarantee, you will find yourself here. For the layman, for those who don't know this cruel disease, it will offer, as best words can, a blow by blow account of how it feels day by day, hour by hour.
   
   I do recommend this book. Not as a study but a first hand account. If you want statistics and such, there are plenty of books out there to mull over. Depression, by its nature, can be profoundly confusing and nearly impossible to put into any cognitive thought or words. This is how it feels beneath the dreary emptiness, the inability to smile or make toast. This is the blueprint. If you've endured depression or are, this may offer you some insight to your condition. If you've escaped the black cloud of melancholia but you want to know, this is a good place to start.



5. It would be lovely to believe that depression can be cured as it was for him. That all it takes is hanging in there long enough, and eventually it will go away. I can appreciate that this author feels that having gone thru what he did, that he knows what he is talking about, but sadly he doesn't. I don't know if his depression was a result of alcoholism. The way he writes, I don't think so, I think that the alcoholism was a result of the depression. I also don't think you are ever "cured" from depression -- it will always linger in the back of your mind, waiting.....

5 comments about Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip--Confessions of a Cynical Waiter.

1. One of the best books of the past year was Stewart O'Nan's LAST NIGHT AT THE LOBSTER, a beautifully written novel, telling the story of a manager of a restaurant.
   
   Now, we have WAITER RANT to add to the new genre. It is based on a popular blog written by the anonymous "The Waiter". I wasn't familiar with the Waiter Rant website before reading this. Upon finishing, I headed on over.
   
   WAITER RANT is not what you might expect. It isn't vignettes about bad behavior witnessed by waiters in restaurants. It is instead a memoir of one waiter, in his thirties, realizing that this is the life he has gotten himself into.
   
   The book follows his early years and then fast forwards to after the site has become popular and he is negotiating his book deal. That few years absence is felt. We are told how popular the site is, but not enough about what was said on the site to make it so popular. I wish more of those middle years were covered. I guess since they are available free online, there wouldn't be a market for it.
   
   "The Waiter" has a great ear for dialogue. It is very funny at times. But it left me wanting a bit more.
   
   But then again, I'm comparing it to LAST NIGHT. Maybe if I hadn't recently read that, I would have enjoyed this a lot more.
   
   There are essays about the popular Holidays at restaurants (Valentine's Day, Mother's Day), substance abuse, celebrities, and financial problems of waiters. And if you aren't already a good tipper, it will make you become one.
   
   For fans of the site, and for waiters, this is a must read.



2. As I read "Waiter Rant", I couldn't help but think that this truly was a bit like the cult film "Office Space", but for the restaurant world. Parts of the book were just flat out funny, in that kind of way that Office Space is funny to those of us who work in the corporate world.
   
   I found I liked "the waiter" from the beginning. He is cynical, he is funny, he is smart, witty and above all not going to take a lot of "#%*%" from you if you start acting like a moron at the establishment he works at.
   
   In the book you get the real picture of what goes in the back, the tyrannical bosses, the mal-adjusted waitstaff, the psycho customers, the good, the bad and the ugly. There are stories of meat sent back one too many times, a roaming squirrel in the dining room, and the case of the coffee that just wasn't hot enough (until the waiter fixes that for good). As he says in the book "Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Waiter". Rule 1: Always be nice to the waitstaff.
   
   I must admit, that I had never read the waiter's prize winning blog before, so I was completely new to his writing, but hope that he keeps up the writing and entertaining us for years to come, in whatever direction his life takes him.
   
   Oh, and do NOT miss the 40 tips on how to be a good customer, noted in the back of the book. Not only are these written with humor, but are truly those things that many of us fellow diners wish that you would stop (ahem, hel-lo cell phone users.....we are trying to have a romantic dinner here and do not really need to know about your mother's kidney stones).
   
   Great Job "Waiter", I would give you a 25% tip for this one, and a smiley on the check to boot :)
   Wishing you much success with the book, it was a great read!



3. Waiter Rant is a memoir by an anonymous author who for the past few years has been writing an award winning blog [online public diary] about his daily experiences as a waiter in a New York City Italian Bistro. The blog, also called Waiter Rant, has been very popular. After being noticed and approached by HarpersCollins to make a book, this is the result. It is a sort of Cinderella story since most amateurs - the author is entirely self-taught and previously unpublished - only dream of such an opportunity.
   
   Since the author is anonymous, for the sake of the review I will call him "Phillip" after Phillip Marlowe, the private detective in Raymond Chandler's 1930s hard-boiled pulp-fiction crime novels. Chandler is "Phillips" favorite author and he credits him as a major influence on his writing style. Indeed Phillip seems to model his life as something of a wise guy - hanging out with prostitutes and drinking heavily after a hard days work, the all knowing waiter veteran who can see through customers with a thousand yard stare. There is a rough edge to it, but at the same time, Phillip is able to convey in parts some surprisingly insightful passages. His best writing is in the earliest and last chapters where he talks about his own personal challenges, history and demons. Chapter 21 "Demons" in particular made me pause long and hard. Phillip has a psychologists insight into himself and others and his honesty and candor are refreshing. However this comes at a price in other chapters where he tends to be the smart guy know it all at the expense of customers and staff - sometimes he takes it too far with a youthful bravado.
   
   It's a well written book and although I allocated myself three days to finish I had trouble putting it down and finished in less than a day and half, it goes very quickly.



4. In 2004 a New York area waiter started a blog, Waiter Rant. In it he provides a look at the life of a waiter dealing with sometimes difficult customers and management. The blog soon became hugely popular and won some awards along the way. "Waiter Rant" is an offshoot of the blog and gives readers not only a look at what happens in a restaurant but peeks inside The Waiter's life - his background, how he became a waiter, his worries about whether he is wasting his life, and his struggle to write this book. Also included at the back of the book are forty tips on how to be a good customer, fifty ways to tell you're working in a bad restaurant, and a list of items a waiter should carry at all times (or have close by).
   
   "Waiter Rant" is a wonderfully written look at the life of a waiter. It is a funny, sad, moving, and even at times disgusting look at the behind the scenes doings at a restaurant. The Waiter himself is at times likable (the way he treats a couple with very little money is compassionate as is the way he treats a woman who has had too much to drink) and unlikable in the way he treats certain customers. Some of the stuff that goes on behind the scenes is fascinating, if a little scary, and I'll certainly never feel the same way about eating out (or how I tip the waiter). The customers' stories are the most interesting part of the book, especially since we only glimpse them from The Waiter's viewpoint. Waiters see it all - the drug use in the bathroom, the newlyweds, the cheating spouse, celebrations, sadness. The wait staff also has their ups and downs that are chronicled in the book.
   
   By the end of "Waiter Rant" I felt like I too was working at The Bistro. The Waiter is a talented writer who can really make you picture restaurant life. While he can be a bit snarky at times, he is never truly cruel in his depiction of the customers or the people working at the restaurant and it's clear he cares about his job. In truth, anyone who works, even if they don't deal with the public, or eats out will know someone who is like some of the people in the book and will realize what The Waiter is dealing with.
   
   "Waiter Rant" is well done and certainly will make me appreciate my waiter the next time I eat out.



5. I must admit I have never read the WaiterRant blog. In fact until this book I had never even heard of this. My initial hope for this book was that it would be filled with funny light stories of the way customers act stupid in a restaurant. Instead the book is filled with very real, and sometimes funny, caricatures of customers and restaurant staff. The book is funny on the surface and is enjoyable at that level.
   
   But, for me the true enjoyment came from envisioning why the customers and staff act the way they do. The Waiter does a good job laying out this humorous picture of these characters that is often sad. The false smiles hiding desperation for larger tips fuels wait staff to always be looking for that cash cow. The bleak picture he paints of a group in our society that for many are living hand-to-mouth (which as he explains is usually their own doing).
   
   After reading this book I have gained a new understanding about waiters. The old adage, "Those who can do, those who can't become teachers" should be appended with "... or become waiters." It seems so many of them from his book have an outlook that they are stuck. This is a book that does not sensationalize, positively or negatively, a waiter's life. The Waiter paints a gray picture of a life that is just existing.

5 comments about The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir.

1. As I finished this amazing book Des Moines made the news by flooding today. Even though I have never been to Iowa, I felt sad due to having just read this memoir of Bill Bryson's who is from Des Moines. This is a wonderful valentine to Iowa and to Bill's childhood growing up in Des Moines. It is so funny that you will find yourself laughing so hard and so loud. I was born the same year as Bryson and could relate to everything he recalls while growing up in the strange world of the 1950's. He brings back what a very strange time the 50's were. How did we ever become such an interesting generation after a decade of jello,black and white westerns on TV,Dick and Jane books, sci-fi badly made movies and a long list of ridiculousness that our parents and government held up as rules for the good life in America. Bryson's talent of looking at things that at first seem funny(ha-ha) but underneath those events or things lie a lurking dark side of reality that is anything but funny.



2. I was very fortunate to grow up in this period in a small town. It was amazing that the kids in Iowa were doing the SAME dumb stuff as we did in Texas. I had the electric football game and never could figure out how to have fun with it. We went to the local fair and got into the stripper tent at age 15 (true). The stripper in Texas was probably on a circuit that went to Iowa. All in all, a fun book to read for anyone of that era. All the buildings are now gone, but the memories still remain. Bill did a great job bringing those back to life.



3. 50's nostalgia has been done over and over, but Bill Bryson hits a home run with this reminiscence of his childhood years in Des Moines, Iowa. Despite the efforts of modern novelists and Hollywood to cast a dark shadow over the decade of the 50's, it does truly seem like it was the best of times after reading this book.
   
   Being a "late boomer", born almost a decade after Bryson, I grew up with some remnants of this world myself, and I can personally vouch for the mayhem inside those movie theatres that showed Saturday matinees for the kids. If there's one chapter that made me laugh out loud it was the one entitled "Out and About". The theatres, the amusement park, the restaurants, the Iowa State Fair, hanging around a downtown full of stores, all of these places had stories which Bryson delights in sharing with us.
   
   The author describes Iowa as an idyllic place; smack dab in the middle of the country, with deep topsoil, huge stalks of corn, and frugal yet welcoming people who didn't worry too much about things they couldn't control. The world was a much bigger place then, and food items which seem pretty basic to us, such as "pasta, rice, cream cheese, sour cream, garlic, mayonnaise, onions.." etc. were somewhat exotic and to be viewed with suspicion back then.
   
   Those of us who have received a much circulated e-mail about how things were different in our childhood, how we could be outside at all hours of the day and didn't flinch at the cuts and scrapes we acquired on a daily basis, will get more reminding by reading this book. Even childhood mischief is portrayed somewhat benignly as Bryson looks through the haze of nostalgia; chemistry sets setting houses on fire, petty thefts of beer and candy, and dangerous practices like hanging off the back of tailgates of moving cars. Not to mention the threat of the polio epidemic of the time, one wonders in today's age of over-supervised kids how we ever survived our own 50's and 60's childhoods.
   
   Bryson looks at the 50's in the greater world as well, sometimes in a way that works, sometimes not. Bryson is at his best when talking about phenomena like comic books and TV becoming so big, and about publications of all kinds predicting various Doomsday scenarios (much like today actually). The chapter on the Red Scare doesn't fit too well into this book though, a bit of liberal preachiness creeps in that seems out of place here.
   
   There are parts where it seems as if Bryson might be trying too hard to amuse us, but overall I enjoyed this book very much. His affection for his sportswriter father and absent-minded yet cheery mother are quite heartwarming. The chapter about his rural grandparent's home was drawn very nicely as well. Bryson does the inevitable comparison between the Des Moines of his childhood and today and sees all that was lost, never to return. Was the world a better place back then? Bryson implies strongly that it was, and I won't disagree.
   
   For those fans of Bryson's books, or for those who are drawn to nostalgic remembrances, you will enjoy this.



4. Lots of great research (At least I can't remember that many details of my childhood from the same time period.) Not as good as the raving reviews but interesting and easy reading.



5. As a kid growing up in the Midwest in the 1950s, I totally related to Bill Bryson's recounting of his childhood in Iowa. He did all sorts of stuff kids today would never get away with - their mothers would be horrified. Of course, much of his recollections are exaggerated, but not so much so that they don't ring true to those who grew up in that post WWII era.
   
   Bryson's knack for creatively recounting minor incidents from his life - like working on a scab for months, until it was 1 1/2 inches thick and you could stick a thumbtack in it and not feel a thing - had me laughing out loud again and again. His imagination turns a day at the beach, or dinner and a movie with his mom, into one hilarious event after another. His was an era where getting stitches more than once was not only common but a measurement of bravery...or guts.
   
   I highly recommend this entertaining, feel-good, laugh-till-you-cry (complete with tears) experience, a baby boomer's delight and worthy of your time.
   50 Ways to Leave Your Mother

5 comments about FDR.

1. I chose FDR because I knew so little about him, he died before I was born and I had always been intrigued by what I knew of his life. I read it over a 2 month time span. I loved every page, it was so well written. When he died, I felt like I had lost a favorite uncle. We sure could use someone with his vision now!



2. A great book about a great and not so great man. I was surprised of his and his wife's treatment of their children. They both had so many other interests that I wonder who actually raised their children. Mr. Smith gives a well rounded, but very detailed account of FDR's life, including both the good and bad decisions he made. The only drawback I would note are the footnotes. I had to have a bookmark for the text and for the footnote section. In doing so, it took me a lot longer to read. I have recommended this book to several people since finishing.



3. This was a remarkably readable account of the 20th century's greatest president. Lord knows FDR wasn't perfect, and Smith doesn't shy away from discussing those points, which include FDR's court packing plan, the effort to squeeze out conservatives in elections, backing away from government assistance in the midst of recovery, and most importantly signing off on Japanese internment after the Pearl Harbor attacks. Stunning mistakes indeed. But FDR's successes were far grander. It's easy to recite the standard litany of Roosevelt successes, which Smith does well, but we also learn that FDR was a more caring, intelligent, and involved person than he has often been described as. Of some things that FDR has been criticized for, Smith offers evidence to support the need for a more nuanced appreciation of FDR's skills. First, though people often claim that the New Deal didn't end the Great Depression - it was WWII that did that - Smith accurately points out that millions of Americans benefitted from the New Deal. Second, realizing that everyone wishes FDR did more for black suffering in the US, Smith makes an interesting point in noting that FDR's true base of support for lending support to the British cause against Nazi aggression was Southern conservative Democrats. That is, if FDR pushed civil rights, he could not have taken important steps to help the Brits against Hitler. Third, though Smith didn't really go after the claims that FDR allowed Pearl Harbor to be attacked, it's clear from Smith's excellent summary of the lead up to the Japanese attack that FDR clearly allowed no such infamous thing to happen. Finally, Smith forcefully defended FDR's handling of the Holocaust. Ultimately there wasn't much more FDR could have done.
   If I had to point out any flaws in the book, I guess the last couple of chapters seemed to be more rushed than necessary. It's as if Smith became a bit tired of the project. I suppose there's some legitimacy to the approach, for FDR himself was worn down at the end of his presidency - and life. A nice epilogue summing up FDR's achievements would have also been sweet, but it wasn't necessary.



4. I bought this book because I wanted more knowledge of how a successful presidency is achieved. Historians have consistently ranked FDR in third place among presidents, behind Washington and Lincoln. I also wanted updated research, and a modern writing style.
   
   When I received the book, and saw conservative commentator George F. Will's praise on the dust jacket, I knew something was wrong.
   
   It went downhill from Mr. Will's comment.
   
   According to the book, Roosevelt rode in on his wealth and cousin Teddy's popularity. He was swept along by his political handlers.
   
   The book concentrates on FDR's failures and glosses over his legacy. For example, it devotes many pages to the court packing attempt, and scant paragraphs to the WPA or TVA or Social Security (or to the entirety of the New Deal for that matter).
   
   It discusses the minutia of his daily life, but provides no insight into the man. It discusses what time he got up in the morning (late) and what time was happy hour. Yet it gives no insight of how Roosevelt formed his political or social views, how he effectively worked with foe and friend to achieve his agenda, how he stabilized the financial institutions, and lifted America from the Great Depression.
   
   If you're looking for such a book, move along, there's nothing here to see.



5. FDR comes to life, his greatness and his flaws. Mr. Smith has constructed a marvelous one volume portrait of one of America's greatest Presidents. Like Lincoln he was the right man, at the right time for his moment in history. Tears welled in my eyes as I read the final passages about his passing. Highly Recommended!!