5 comments about Touching from a Distance: Ian Curtis and Joy Division.

1. This was a rather matter of fact book which takes you through a timeline of Ian Curtis's short life from Deborah's perspective with some well chosen quotes from others. "Touching from a Distance" is a most appropriate title as I felt that Deborah really only touched lightly on her feelings, maintaining her privacey and a distance from the reader. I was expecting a 'deeper' read and as such this is not a book that will draw you into the 'characters'. . I assumed that, being written by Ian's life partner, it would make the book stand apart from other biographies but this was not so. However, Deborah's writing style is adept and the short sharp additions of details regarding Ian's personality quirks etc were welcome. A good third of the book (at the end) is made up of song lyrics and concert dates etc so be prepared for an ending that comes much sooner than expected (no pun intended). There is not much foray into how those left behind continued on without him.
   Unexpectedly, this book really highlights how expectations of marriage and partnership have shifted over the years - it's an interesting social study in this sense.
   This is a book worth reading but really only for fans.



2. Excellent book.... also in excellent condition.. will get more books from here more...



3. When I was a suicidal teenager, my favorite band was Joy Division. There was something so soothing about singing along to lyrics like, "Directionless, so plain to see / A loaded gun won't set you free / So you say" or "Existence, well what does it matter?". In fact, my entire teenage experience could be summed up by a couple of Ian Curtis verses:
   
   "Oh, how I realized how I wanted time
   Put into perspective, tried so hard to find
   Just for one moment thought I'd found my way
   Destiny unfolded, I watched it slip away"
   
   "Now that I've realized how it's all gone wrong
   Gotta find some therapy, this treatment takes too long
   Deep in the heart of where sympathy held sway
   Gotta find my destiny before it gets too late"
   
   Luckily, I was able to find my destiny... er, is that was this is?... before it got too late. Ian Curtis was not as fortunate; he hung himself on May 18, 1980. That's a date that I know from memory; Ian's suicide was a signalpost of my youth. I knew somewhere in the back of my mind that it was probably not a good idea to worship a suicide, but I couldn't help myself. My doomed romanticism was at its most sharply tuned during those dark days in the 1980's and I spent my days cloistered in my room listening to Joy Division, reading Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, and writing my own gloomy (and piss-poor) poetry. It wasn't much of a life, but it was a living...
   
   I've weathered a lot of rugged emotional terrain since those teenage years, and although the specific schoolyard scenarios that tormented me back in those days are now a distant memory, the painful emotions that accompanied them still ring true. However, one thing has definitely changed in my medicated mind: I'm not particularly impressed by suicide any longer. I am far more likely to feel sympathy for the loved ones left behind and forever scarred by the suicide than I am for the desperate individual who committed the act. I look back on my own nearly-successful suicide attempt with more embarrassment than pride these days, and I'm not nearly as likely to show off my abundant scars as I used to be 10 years ago. Is this what they call "maturity" ... or am I just a boring old Comtesse? Who can say?
   
   So, it is with this changed perspective that I read "Touching From A Distance: Ian Curtis and Joy Division" by Ian Curtis' widow Deborah. I'm not sure what I was expecting from this book, but I thought I would get some understanding of how Curtis' family and friends could just stand by and seemingly do nothing while his obvious suicidal tendencies went fatally unchecked. The book doesn't really answer that question - except to reinforce just how isolated Curtis had become in his final days, and how estranged he was from his family. If you believe Deborah's account, Ian was almost zombie-like during his last few months, as the strain of his personal problems (a broken marriage, a doomed love affair, and increasingly uncontrollable epilepsy) became unbearable. After reading this book, I understand why Curtis killed himself, and in some ways, I can't say that I blame him.
   
   The book also presents Curtis as a very unlikeable personality. He is cold, controlling, uncaring, and indifferent towards his wife. I have to take that presentation with a grain of salt, since a lot of it smacks of 'Embittered Ex' syndrome. Deborah doesn't seem to have the slightest understanding of her husband, and doesn't offer any explanation of his motivations or his artistry. They don't communicate, don't seem to have anything in common, and they don't really seem to like each other either. It's a pretty depressing read, but not for obvious reasons.
   
   There is one additional thing that I cannot forgive Deborah Curtis for - and that's refusing to publish Ian's suicide note in the book. She makes reference to it as being "deeply personal" - and I suppose this is her excuse for not printing it. But she sure had no problem in exploiting her personal life with Ian when writing this book! Yes, I know I'm being voyeuristic, but I can't help myself - I want to read the note! I want to know what his last thoughts were as he approached his "last fatal hour". Instead I'm left with continued frustration.
   
   My next read on this subject will be Mick Middles' book "Torn Apart" which presents the perspective of Curtis' girlfriend Annik Honoré. It's supposed to be much more enlightening than anything his wife could offer. I certainly hope so!



4. This book reveals a lot of personal moments between Deborah and Ian Curtis' courtship leading to their marriage as Joy Division developed.
   Deborah Curtis writes this biography in an eloquent, bitter-free chronological manner, with witty, emotionally poise undertones. The first person writing style is more personal and less historically tedious than a typical biography. Overall, a very good read if you are curious about the man behind the music.



5. I received what I ordered, on time & in good condition. However, it was mailed to my billing address and not the shipping address I indicated. As this was a surprise gift for my boyfriend, I was disappointed that it did not ship to the correct address.

5 comments about Hiding in Hip Hop: On the Down Low in the Entertainment Industry--from Music to Hollywood.

1. This book was boring and terribly written. I took it back after finishing it. It would have been so much better if he'd named names, but he didn't so it was wack!



2. Hiding in Hip Hop: Confessions of a Down Low Brother in the Entertainment Industry by Terrance Dean is an intimate account of the author's experience as an undercover brother. As a child, Dean was forced to cope with issues surrounding drugs, abandonment, AIDS, and molestation. As an adult, those issues still plagued him, but he was able to add sexuality to his list of problems. His fulfillment in having sex with other men would not have been so huge had he not been a part of the entertainment business. But because he was flooded with images of masculinity and saw how the rich and famous treated those who were openly gay, he contrived an artificial existence as a heterosexual man ultimately hiding in Hip Hop.
   
   Dean was not the typical down-low guy though. In actuality, he loathed the way some down-low men lied to their women. He also was not too keen on playing second fiddle to men who wanted to have their cake and eat it too. Dean wanted much more. He wanted real love. And he wanted to know how he could attain that love and still be accepted in a business that was all about images and facades. Through his desires to love freely, dealing with his estranged family, and attempting to find a way to overcome his conflict with his sexual preference, Dean started Men's Empowerment where he invited his peers to discuss the stressors that came with celebrity and/or power. Men's Empowerment became a seed flourishing into other groups that helped communities in New York and ultimately helped Dean do some serious soul searching.
   
   Hiding is Hip Hop was a decent read. It garnered so much attention that by the time I read it, I was so intrigued by the celebrities Dean was not naming and almost missed the point of his book. He did an excellent job of protecting the innocent, as I was unable to positively identify anyone he described, but I had tons of fun trying to figure them out. Because he used fictitious names, and so many of them, I often lost track of who was who and why they mattered. There were a few name glitches complete with misspellings and the timeline was a bit off. Sometimes, I could not tell what time period he was speaking of, but it may have been to protect celebrity's anonymity. Overall, Hiding in Hip Hop is an entertaining read if you enjoy playing guessing games. Readers who like memoirs and stories that delve into the struggles of human nature would also find this story fulfilling.
   
   Reviewed by Darnetta Frazier
   APOOO BookClub



3. 
   Terrance Dean dances gingerly through glass as he journeys from self-loathing to self-loving in a memoir that is at once brutally forthcoming and surprisingly discreet.
   
   He assigns aliases to the major and minor down low players in the entertainment industry, a world, as any insider knows, is about as gay as pink ink. And it's a good thing he does. Some are so thinly disguised that only the fear of self-outing is, perhaps, preventing legal action.
   
   "Hiding In Hip-Hop" is crammed with enough superstars with cover wives, rappers rolling in the hay with their homies, and enough stellar celebrities and big buff athletes same-sexing it to line a mile of red carpet. Same-sex orgies in private Hollywood Hills abodes and pick-you-out-a-man sex parties in the penthouses of Eastside Manhattan are mere weekly rituals for these brothas (and a whole lot of sistahs) who belong to an exclusive fraternity where effeminate men, overly butch women and openly gay anybodies are strictly forbidden.
   
   These hide-in-plain-site undercover homosexuals believe that they are having their cake and eating it too, but alas, the dark cloud of dishonesty, self-hatred, and the fear of discovery loom furtively above their heads.
   
   And therein lies Mr. Dean's thesis. He judges no one but himself, and in his self-disciplining he does not spare the rod.
   
   From the very beginning, his life, if it were not so tragic, seemed a cruel joke, a set-up for the kind of self-loathing that can prevent a man from loving himself as himself. Mr. Dean's early years factor greatly into his loathing of his sexual nature, just as surely as some others come to hate their dark skin, kinky hair, big noses, African roots.
   
   The first part of the book is gripping melodrama; chronicling events no child should have to go through. Born into the slums of Detroit to a prostitute mother, he was four-years-old when he had a gun put to his head by his mother's rapist when he and his grandmother happened to walk in on the assault. An adult male neighbor later sexually assaults him. His mother contracted AIDS and died of the then deadly disease while he was away at school(he was the first in his family to attend college). His baby brother, born with AIDS, died shortly thereafter.
   
   Arrested for car theft, Dean spent eight months in a Tennessee penitentiary. He remained estranged from his family, except for his beloved Grandmother Pearl. Broke and downtrodden, he resorted to drinking.
   
   Believing that his same-sex attraction was just another tarnish on his young life, he fought his desire for men with a passion.
   
   In spite of all that was going on in his life Dean had been a good student, made admirable grades and, after college, determined that he was going to turn his life around. He ended up in Hollywood, aligned himself with a female friend who was a writer's assistant on the TV show "Friends." He finally landed a job as a production assistant on the set of a porn movie.
   
   Being a hard worker who had made a Scarlet O'Hara vow to himself ("As God is my witness, I'll never go hungry again!"), Dean moved quickly through the ranks, each job better than the next, networking with the movers and shakers of the industry, where he found that most of the black men he knew had the same sexual secret as he. Once it was realized that he could be trusted, he was invited into the inner sexual circle where he found himself routinely getting it on with some of the most recognizable black male stars in the business.
   
   He soon discovered that the down low syndrome was even more pervasive in the hip-hop community, where homosexual hook-ups seemed more the rule than the exception.
   
   Eventually, the constant hiding in this secret society and constantly monitoring his conversations, careful not to use the wrong pronoun, was taking its toll. He began pulling away from the scene and meeting more openly gay men. This was beginning to have a positive effect on him. Dean writes:
   
   "These men were not hung up on what others thought of them. They were proud black gay men who lived their lives without fear or shame...They refuse to be unheard."
   
   The death of a down low friend, Kenny Greene, lead singer of the group Intro, who had broken his silence and admitted to being bisexual and having full-blown AIDS in a Sister 2 Sister magazine article convinced Dean to come out.
   
   As the founder of Men's Empowerment, Inc., an organization dedicated to self-empowering men of color and different sexual natures, Terrance Dean has turned his lemon of a life into lemonade for so many, and his book "Hiding In Hip Hop" is not simply a naughty Hollywood tell-all. It is a life lesson. In these pages we all find another way to look at that man in the mirror and like what you see. Looker: A Novel



4. I first read about this book last year and I decided right then and there that I HAD to get a copy when it came out.I have had some of my suspicions of Hip Hop artists confirmed by this book-and it is very thought provoking,too.



5. I have this book and I haven't finished it yet. It's pretty much about one mans struggle with what is so obvious (that he is so gay). It's pretty frustrating because he goes back and fourth so much. Then there is a point where he is only with men and describing his sex adventures. Then there is the whole spirituality struggle that he is dealing with. This book so far has really upset me with how much denial this person is in and everyone who he describes in his book. They surely don't care about the what they are doing to the black community by being on the "down low". I mean seriously if your mother and little brother had HIV/AIDS I don't think that you would be out here living this secret life, just because you want to be selfish. Like I said though I haven't finished this book and from what I hear I am only in the beginning of this book (page 123) this is still day one but I doubt I will finish it just as I tried to read that other DL book.

5 comments about The Real McCain: Why Conservatives Don't Trust Him and Why Independents Shouldn't.

1. The author Cliff Scheter was a guest on Cashin In on Saturday 6-14-08. He came across as a complete idiot whose ideas where just so ridiculous
   that you wonder how this man ever graduated from any college.



2. A bit long winded in some areas but makes its point well. It openned my eyes on several issues.



3. uses, gets by on the free pass issued him due to a collective guilt associated with the Viet Nam War. It's a masterful piece of fraud coming from a man who graduated from the lowest 5 percentile of his class and who wants us to believe he's the best qualified to solve social security, the economy, make sense of an illegitimate war, serve as a world leader. Stacked up, his deficits are, should be, far too numerous for him to be a serious contender. The GOP made a huge mistake in offering him up.



4. Any interested in current affairs and politics will find THE REAL MCCAIN: WHY CONSERVATIONISTS DON'T TRUST HIM - AND WHY INDEPENDENTS SHOULDN'T makes for a hard-hitting, critical analysis of the gap between McCain's public record and his media image. Numerous sources blend with the author's sometimes humorous observations to make for an involving survey of McCain's history of flips on major public issues and policy.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



5. I am privileged to number among my friends, acquaintances, and relatives several people who are fairly high up in politics, government, and the military who have dealt with Senator McCain in one capacity or another in their lines of work. They represent points of view ranging from conservative to moderate to liberal to staunchly apolitical. They've all told me privately that the image of John McCain as a principled, consistent, reforming maverick is a myth based on very little truth - and that he's got a wicked temper and an "it's personal" approach to politics, too. Cliff Schecter's THE REAL MCCAIN is one of several recent books which (finally) are starting to deconstruct the McCain myth. From immigration to Iraq to taxes to the Religious Right - and even his signature issue, campaign finance reform - Schecter documents McCain's always-shifting, often unclear positions and inconsistent votes. He also notes how McCain deftly uses his (admittedly genuine) war hero status to get a free pass from the media, the public, and other politicians. All in all, Schecter portrays McCain as a skillful opportunist who holds very few genuine principles of any kind.
   
   Unfortunately, Schecter's personal biases (leftwing/partisan Democrat) intrude upon what could have been a more objective narrative and tone; such a balanced style would have lent his revelations much greater authority and credibility among the independents, conservatives, and moderates of both parties who may be considering whether or not to vote for McCain. Instead, Schecter gratuitously fires off cheap shots at McCain and other Republicans, and also tries to pass off several extremely biased sources as objective and nonpartisan. Sometimes he criticizes McCain just for not being liberal enough, without any effort to relate this to what I thought was the focus of the book: the man's character. These types of things aren't necessary to make Schecter's point, and in fact end up detracting from it.
   
   The nasty, partisan style of this book - reminiscent of a leftwing Anne Coulter -- is not surprising when you look at who exactly Schecter and his publisher are. Cliff Schecter is a hardcore liberal, with a resume that includes NPR, Air America, the Huffington Post, and organizations affiliated with the AFL-CIO, among other things, so he's hardly an unbiased, nonpartisan source. And Polipointpress, the publisher, also prints such objective, nonpartisan books as: WHY I'M A DEMOCRAT; JACKED: HOW CONSERVATIVES ARE PICKING YOUR POCKET; and HOUSE OF ILL REPUTE: REFLECTIONS ON WAR, LIES, AND AMERICA'S RAVAGED REPUTATION, among many others.
   
   That doesn't necessarily mean the things written here about McCain are necessarily false, any more than the ideological bent of Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity means that the things they say about the Clintons or Barack Obama are always false, either. But it does mean that moderates, independents, and even many principled conservatives who have genuine reasons to dislike McCain will be turned off by the way Mr. Schecter presents his case here. I've never remotely been a McCain fan, and even I was bothered by it.

5 comments about The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness.

1. This was a great story of one womans struggle with coming to terms with mental illness and trying to maintain her life. It was both encouraging that she was able to finally overcome the illness to create a successful career and personal life, and at the same time discouraging that it took her over 15 years of struggle and denial to do so.



2. Excellent book! Gives a better understanding of what goes on in the mind of a schizophrenic; thus helping others be more compassionate and less judgmental.



3. Ms. Saks uses poignant analogies and metaphors to really drive home what it feels like to be mentally ill. She is obviously a tireless advocate for those among us who are unable to represent themselves, or defend themselves in some cases. It was scary, but identifiable in a way. She did come off as a bit self-centered and childish in some instances, like when she would describe how she would run home and hide and cry and have a psychotic break if a professor or colleague didn't do back flips over how great her work was. But overall it was a good read.



4. We often associate mental disorders with people who cannot function in life. Getting this insight from a person who is not only very intelligent but able to live a productive life provides the reader with a new outlook and understanding of this disruptive disorder. In addition it is well written and keeps your attention from beginning to end.



5. "The Center Cannot Hold" by Elyn Saks, is well written by a brilliant woman, herself a mental health comsumer. As a bonus, it is easy to read. I highly recommend it.
   My son has Schizophrenia and this book helped me to understand a lot of what he experiences but cannot or will not express to others. I immediately passed the book on to other parents whose child has this illness, to expend their understanding of what he lives with.
   No, our loved persons with mental illness are not lazy, nor to they deliberately ignore us nor our requests of them. They are heroes for getting through the day. Their every day struggle with Schizophrenia is unbelievable. The side effects of meds often make waking up a major accomplishment.
   The author shares in detail her experiences. She tells of the alternate approach to treatment she experienced in Great Britain, having been offered choices, to medicate or not, to be hospitalized or not. Throughout her life, she has engaged in ongoing psycho therapy.
   In this country treatments are forced on the person which in many cases, diminishing his/her personhood, even it we think it is for his own good. She talks us through choices, meds or not, therapy or not.
   Elyn Saks is the exception,

5 comments about Memories, Dreams, Reflections.

1. Jung's work is often difficult to read. This is an excellent introduction to his thinking, and a fine outline of his life. Man and his Symbols is also a good intro to Jungian thought.
   
   However, over long, somewhat pompous comments are really not appropriate. Jungians would call this inflation.



2. This book is sublime, a GEM. In his subjective view of the world -"with half closed eyes and somewhat closed ears, to see and hear the form and voice of being" he arrived at an inspiring insight about life: supreme meaning of being can consist only in the fact that is,not that it is not or is no longer; nature, the mystery of love, the psyche, life, human beings, a state of lively contemplation of images is divinity unfolded (the greatest of miracles)-being conscious of this can come to you not through emptiness, imagelessneess or wanting to be freed from nature or yourself.
   Here's a passage of the book that reflects the quintessence of his wisdom:
   No language is adequate for this paradox. Whatever one can say, no words reflect the whole; for only the whole is meaningful...love "bears all things" and "endures all things". These words say all there is to be said; nothing can be added to them. For we are in the deepest sense the victims and the instruments of cosmogonic "love"- a unified and undivided whole. Being a part man cannot grasp the whole. He is at its mercy. He may assent to it, or rebel against it; but he is always caught by it and enclosed within it. He is dependent upon it and is sustained by it. Love is his light and his darkness, whose end he cannot see. "Love ceases not"-whether he speaks with the "tongue of angels", or with scientific exactitude traces the life cell down to its uttermost source. Man can try to name love, showering upon it all the names at his command, and still he will involve himself in endless self-deceptions. If he possesses a grain of wisdom, he will lay down his arms and name the unknown by the more unknown- ignotum per ignotius-that is, by God. That is a confession of his subjection, his imperfection, and his dependence; but at the same time a testimony to his freedom to choose between truth and error.
   If we understand and feel that here in this life we already have a link with the infinite, desires and attitudes change.



3. As much as I would have liked to learn about Jung's life I just couldn' finish this book. Jung comes across as so incredibly self-absorbed - it's only me, I, me, I and me again. He writes hundreds of pages about his most detailed inner experiences, yet there is not a single word about his relationship to his wife, children and mistresses. If I hadn't known that he was married with five children I would have assumed he was a complete hermit. Loving relationships seem to have meant nothing to this man. I honestly wonder how he could have been a good therapist. I also wonder why so many women have followed his teachings when quite obviously he held them in such low regard. I only hope that the reality was better than this book makes him out to be.



4. Wow!
   
   I've always admired Carl Gustav Jung, and this book, a biography of his inner life, has helped me to understand him much better. It was fascinating to read about his boyhood, his adolescence, his days as a student, his time as a doctor (most all of his adult life) and his travels. And the best part was the insights he shared about his inner life.
   
   Perhaps the biggest surprise in reading this book was the extent to which I identified with him. As a child I had a rich imagination and sometimes thought that I was some kind of an odd-wad. And like Jung, not only did I have trouble with algebra when I was in junior high, I also, like Jung, had thought it was a plot! It was nice to find out that a highly intelligent person like Jung had experienced many just-like-it-only-different events as I had.
   
   The biggest thing I appreciate about Carl Jung is his attitude towards the individual. I think he has one of the best treatments of individualism that I've read. The "individuating" process he outlines will make us better members of the community. Like Jung, I have always felt that the community is only as healthy as the individuals in it.
   
   I continue to learn about his approach to dreams and to learn new insights from this book. It's very much worth reading.



5. "Memories, Dreams, Reflections" is the most insightful autobiography of Carl G. Jung's life and his humble experiences. I have read his other works, including Man and His Symbols and Dreams, and never fully understand them until I read this last book of his to which brings it all together in terms of his scientific approach. This 400-page book is a window into his inner world, and it is such a remarkable read.
   
   In this book, Jung revealed much wisdom and insights from his early years up to his remainder of his life. One even can learn about oneself from his life. It is very much worth reading. It is both fascinating and inspiring.
   
   My favorite line of Jung from this book:
   
   "As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being."

5 comments about My Life on the Run: The Wit, Wisdom, and Insights of a Road Racing Icon.

1. It's been a special several months for running months. Late last year, Ben Cheever's STRIDES came out and now Yasso's book.
   
   Less polished than Cheever's book but every bit as special, buy it if you're a runner and buy it for a runner if you're not - they will THANK you.
   
   Many people say they have the greatest job in the world, but through these pages Yasso makes you believe he deserves the honor and - even more so - makes you see that he believes he deserves the honor. Simply put, a classic from a classic.



2. I loved this book! It made my plods along the local trail seem so much more meaningful knowing that the sport can lead to such amazing experiences. And it made me look forward to what stories my own running will bring.



3. All in all, I thought this book was very entertaining. I am an intermediate runner, who loves to hear the experiences of other runners. The stories contained are all well written and entertaining. This will motivate current runners to try and experience new races and novice runners to get off the coach.



4. I loved reading Yasso's book. I didn't want it to end, and it is a book I will reread. Yasso both inspired me and entertained me.



5. This book, captures the essence of what a runner can experiance, and hope to be. Bart is a great story teller, who's compassion and grace shines through!

5 comments about Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road.

1. Having been a Rush fan for over 20 years, I was somewhat familiar with the purpose and topic of this book - Neil's processing of the grief and sorrow associated with the 1-2 punch of losing his daughter and then his wife. Also, I ride a motorcycle as well, so I was interested in reading about his journeys along his healing road.
   
   At first as I read this book, I felt like it was very repetitive. The more I read, though, I realized that what I was reading is just the cyclic processing of grief - and yes, that *is* repetitive. Having not experienced any losses as great as his, I am not familiar with how something of that magnitude gets processed. After realizing that, I had a new perspective on the book and the courage it took to publish these thoughts after completing his motorcycle journey.
   
   There are some interesting "ride report" type aspects to this book as well, but largely, I would classify this book as someone's story of overcoming grief as opposed to telling a story that focuses on a motorcycle adventure.
   
   What I found kind of paradoxical about this book is that Neil proclaims repeatedly to be a very private person who isn't comfortable with people approaching him or recognizing him, however, he pours his heart out into a novel. From my perspective, a book that reveals so many facets of his personality only serves to empower the casual fan with that feeling of really "knowing" him - and should they perchance encounter him somewhere, it is only natural that they are going to want to at least say some "hellos" or what not - but if they were to do that, they'd probably be very unwelcome to be doing so.
   
   If someone is THAT private of a person, I am confused by the fact that they publish not one, but several books, that lay it all out there for the world to read.



2. Thought provoking and insightful, this truly comes from the heart. It is difficult to imagine someone having to go through the tragedies suffered by Mr. Peart but he is able to put together a riveting account of the turmoil he suffers while grieving over the loss of loved ones. If this book does not cause you to shed a tear, you aren't paying close enough attention.



3. 
   I had high hopes of this book when I first heard about. I thought we would get deep insight into the mind of the Ghost Rider and how he would deal with the tragic loss of his family. Perhaps in a certain way, we did, he road his bike thousands of miles, which is fine, but there is so much missing from it. The author is a very private man who chooses only to give us an edited version of his pain, misery and redemption. The book is simply a traveling manuscript that lists places where the Ghost Rider cruised to and where he stayed and dined. It deviates at times to more intimate settings such as with his wife's family and friends but they are so few and are never given ample room.
   There is also a bizarre array of letters to the Ghost Rider's friend Brutus that is filled with inside jokes and highlights that the reader never connects with and is left out of. The editing of the book was also poor - examples include the letters (perhaps they should have been deleted altogether) and the conclusion was done too loosely. There were too many events that were hurried over.
   I do not see how others could rate the book so high - perhaps they are fans or they enjoyed it as a travel book. I did leave with a deeper appreciation of traveling after reading it and noting the sound wisdom of "keep moving," in order to stay focused at the task at hand, which was to...finish the ride?



4. Fred and Chris' review is shockingly disturbing. I read this book 3 times and wept uncontrollably at Neil's losses. I cannot believe that you would complain that he is shallow, and complained about the number of pages it took to tell of the events. How much more does he need to tell? Selena lost control of her vehicle, flipped it, and it killed her. It was a terrible accident without cause. Jackie fell into the worst depths of a depressive state and it killed her along with the terminal cancer. A disease I battled personally for 2 years but actually ended up in remission.
   
   To complain that this book reads like a Mapsco means neither one of you understand or care about how most readers like myself want to know everything, every description, every detail of what he is seeing and feeling. Neil writes so that you feel you are right there with him and that is what I love about his writing style.
   To say that he cares more about his friend who is in jail for marijuana possession, (not HARD DRUGS) instead of Selena and Jackie is very callous. If he cared about his friend over his family, he never would have been in seclusion for so long and would have probably returned to drumming a lot sooner. HE LOVED HIS LITTLE GIRL MORE THAN ANYTHING!!! Look at the way he talks about her in all of his books. He was a very doting father and very involved in her life.
   The fact that he did not just take a bottle of pills and end it all after those tragic events shows how much courage and strong character he really has. And just because he can handle his liquor does not mean he is teetering on the brink of alcoholism. Sounds like something a member of the infamous AA would say.
   Saying that he has a diminishing respect for humans individually and as a whole just means that you don't like the way he looks at some people and situations. After reading all his books I realize that I think and feel the exact same way as he does. You just don't like his observations because he tells the truth and tells it like it really is, and no one ever wants to hear the real truth.
   He can't help it if he does not really like being famous, nor can he help it that he is pretty much the best damn lyricist and drummer ever!! Its a little nerve racking to have people running after you all the time.
   
   This book takes you through his private hell and emotional wreckage that feels like he will never come out of, and in a lot of ways he never really will. Yes he has found a new soul mate and has a renewed zest for life, but one never gets over the loss of their baby and you can see it in his eyes in recent pictures, he is not completely the same person he was before and never will be again and to say he is in need of some personal work makes me feel the both of you need personal work a lot more than he ever did!! Let's see how you handle it when you loose your loved ones.
   I have more respect and admiration for Neil Peart than a lot of peope I personally know and I am glad that he was able to find the will to live.



5. This book was inspirational! It provides a good reality check when you feel like life is handling you more than you can deal with.

5 comments about Manic: A Memoir.

1. In reading this memoir I saw a lot of my wife in the pages of torment and in the roller coaster ride of mania and depression. My wife committed suicide in 2006 and Terri Cheney offers loved ones and other lay persons an insight into the mind of a person suffering from bi-polar disease.
   
   Thanks Terri.



2. Cheney's book elicits a catharsis of emotions, similarly to the effect "Blues" music has--kinda like.



3. I was not aware of this book, but a friend of mine read it and recommended it highly to me , and that was good enough reason for me to pick this up. I would not be disappointed.
   
   In "Manic: A Memoir" (246 pages), author Terri Cheney brings the vivid tale of what it's like to live with bipolar disorder, the highs of mania and the lows of depression all compressed in one body and person. It is simply astonishing what the author goes through, all the while holding down what appears to be a very successful legal career for a number of years. The author struggles with various medications and treatments (and that's putting it mildly). Towards the end of the book, through trial and error, she comes to the conclusion that what was wrong with her was "a strange place on the bipolar spectrum called mixed state. It's the most dangerous condition possible, the one in which the most suicides occur".
   
   From what I can make out, the author (who appears to be in her early 40s now) has found some middle ground, although I imagine that it is not possible to be ever completely cured from bipolar disorder. In all, this is a fantastic book, which you cannot put down once you are reading it. Be aware that there are several pretty graphic scenes in the book, even if they are described tastefully by the author.



4. Here's what I got from this book: if you're really, really beautiful, you can make enough money and friends during the manic phase to carry you through the depressive one, where even if you call in sick for weeks at a time and refuse to answer your phone, you won't lose your high-paying, highly competitive job. Yeah, right. I was left with so many unanswered questions from the many disjointed and confusing episodes. This book is a frustrating read and hard to believe.



5. I applaud Terri Cheney for the courage she has shown in living and surviving a personal nightmare of a life with manic-depression. By the end of the book, she seems to have found medications that keep her mostly stable, and I hope that continues. Ms. Cheney's prose is vivid and powerful. It makes me wince to think she actually went through all of this mental and physical turmoil. Hopefully, this book will increase public understanding of mental illness and encourage the medical field to keep working for more effective treatments. Another excellent book I read about manic depression is "His Bright Light: The Story of Nick Traina" by Danielle Steel - the famous author. It is Ms. Steel's eulogy and toast to her son Nick, who was manic depressive, and tragically took his life when he was only in his teens. Warning -- Ms Steel's memoir is a real tear jerker. But attention needs to be given to mental illness, so we can better help and suppport the many who are afflicted. I hope Ms. Cheney continues to write and publish, and am so glad she escaped the horrible plastic lawyer life she was subjected to for so long.

5 comments about Valley Boy: The Education of Tom Perkins.

1. One of the icons of Silicon Valley tells his story. It's great for an outsider looking in.



2. this book has more substance than is typical for the genre, and i was hooked on every page; wish there were more pages and illustrations :-)



3. Tom takes the opportunity to get his view of events in his life on the record. Very doubtful as biography, this book is more of an attempt to sway public interpretation of events in his long career, spanning early years in Hewlett Packard, the formation of the Kleiner Perkins venture capital firm, his sailing exploits, his marriage to Danielle Steele, and how he chose to use his vast wealth to influence events and people he encountered. Right up front he deals with the spying incidents at Hewlett Packard when Pattie Dunn was the chairwoman (very condescending), as well as his relationship with Carly Fiorina (very confrontational and rocky), but most of it comes off as self-serving and slanted to his view. Yet, the book is interesting as an peek into the restless and eclectic mind of the ultimate bootstrapper, a man who leveraged his times and opportunites into one of the most successful careers on record. Despite this, it also serves as a warning to those who believe great wealth is matched with great wisdom, since clearly, his wealth was poured into his world class collection of toys and houses. Take heed.



4. The book is a few interesting stories from his life told as if it were over several dinners and several glasses of wine.
   
   I personally like the conversational style and flow of the book and so highly recommend it.
   
   These are just a few vignettes from his life and I'm sure there are many more stories to tell.



5. Perhaps I'm the only one, but I found this book to be basically unreadable. (As such, I have only read a small part of it.) Tom Perkins is an impressive person with a successful career by many standards, and I am interested in what he does for a living even, but suffice it to say he is not one of our nation's best writers.

5 comments about Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72.

1. For me this is Hunter's masterpiece - Its what crystallises all of his skill and insights as a writer. Fear and Loathing is an excellent book but its also a head trip which gives first time readers the wrong impression of Thomphson but its Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail that will show you the real Hunter in all his savage intelligence and wry observational skill - its a tour de force which shows so often the sharp mind behind the stories of drugs and debauchery - if you've only read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas then you don't know Hunter at all - this is a good starting point.
   
   Its a picture of an America which has torn itself to pieces - the 1972 elections were a watershed in American politics, the death of Bobby Kennedy at the hands of Sirhan Sirhan in 1968 tore the heart of out the Democratic faithfull and was the major hinge of a series of events that led to the election of Richard Nixon in 68 when a country burned out on the divisive LBJ presidency voted Republican. The failure of the Democratic party to present a strong candidate in '68 led to the McGovern collapse in '72 as the party tore itself to pieces internally, consumed in infighting and political infighting that left it weakened and damaged.
   
   Thompson's insights into the system go beyond mer reportage, he has an ability to get inside the process and lay it bare and clear and at the same time present a picture of the US on the eve of a recession and worn out from a long and divisive war. Oh and somebody mentioned how Hunter seemed unfair on Humphrey in the book - On the contrary he more than explains his reasons why he dislikes the candidate and some reading on Humphrey and history would enlighten - for one thing he won the Presidential Nomination in '68 without winning a single primary - Thompson and other democrats were quite justified in seeing him as the a political hack controlled by the likes of Chicago's power broker Mayor Daley.
   
   Seriously. Read it. Distilled Hunter in so many ways and if youre expecting some sort of balance then youre in the wrong place - Hunter is here as always un comprimising - bitching about bias is missing the point - he never sets out to be balanced.



2. As I write this review, a dozen and a half presidential candidates are revved up to fly around the US, spending (all told) billions of dollars of Other People's Money, talking out of several sides of their mouth, slinging more mud than a construction crew, and falling over each other to get into the TV and newspaper spotlight.
   
   It is astounding how much this book, written 35 years ago, can teach us about what is going on today. I have vowed to read this book again in 4-5 years.



3. Another classic from HST, in fact maybe my favorite work of his. The setting for the book is the presidential campaign of 1972 pitting Gorge McGovern against Richard Millhouse Nixon. It begins with Thompson being sent by Rolling Stone to be the Washington D.C. correspondent for the magazine. From there the rollercoaster ride begins. HST chronicles the campaign from first, covering the Democratic primaries and running to the nomination of McGovern at the Democratic National Convention, and finally the Presidential election itself.
   HST pioneered his own unique style of gonzo journalism and this book, along with the classic Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, defined him and his craft. Stark in its style and approach, the prospective provided by HST of what it is like to be out there on the campaign trail is unique to my knowledge. A dramatic inside story of the battles of the campaign trail emerges and fills in significant gaps in other press coverage of the time. HST's quest for truth, politics, and the eternal buzz paint a picture that the straight press never could because of restrictions like `objectivity' and the like. The result is perhaps the best account to date on what is really going on behind the scenes of a campaign for the highest office in the land.
   The only drawback about reading HST is that it always gives me an incredible urge to drink and act in a semi-crazed style. It is says something about the infectious nature of his work and one often finds oneself wishing there were more gonzo journalists writing today.
   This book is essential reading for anyone interested in politics and the machinery behind it. Even if politics aren't your cup up tea, HST brings a new dimension to any subject that he writes about, one that can be appreciated for its raw truth as well as its unconventional delivery. Although HST only provides one way of looking at politics out many possible, readers would be doing a disservice to themselves by passing over this book. Other views are widely espoused by many journalists and pundits, but to my knowledge no one else has tread where HST has dared to go.
   This one gets 5 stars for being original, highly entertaining, and remaining relevant to this day.



4. I read this book as an appetizer for the current US presidential election campaign. And what an appetizer it is - akin to a halopenio shrimp cocktail with mescalin! It would have been an even better starter for the 2004 election, with which the 1972 election (featured here) shared many features: An incumbent hated by all the progressives at home and everybody in the rest of the world, an opponent who stands for nothing but not being that incumbent (defeated in the primaries in 72) and a murderous, immoral and expensive war on the other side of the world, which nevertheless didn't cost the US president his job.
   
   When the great HST covers the 1972 campaign, the verb "cover" takes on a whole new meaning. He immerses himself in the broadcast of a pro football game in order to adopt the same mindset as pro football fanatic Richard Nixon. He almost drowns in the Atlantic ocean in Miami in sight of his friends at a democratic primary-night party. At the republican convention, he joins the young republicans and talks to them about acid (they think he is referring to proton donors, like hydrochloric acid). Not despite, but rather because of this famous "gonzo" style of journalism, HST's book is rich in insight about US politics and politics in general. He goes so much further than the horse-race type coverage commonly fed to the public. Thompson provides an intelligent assessment of the moods and trends in the US population and a really smart analysis of why people vote for whom. He has excellent insight into the dynamics of the individual campaigns and how they are molded by the characters and agendas of the candidates, the interactions with their campaign workers and their relations to the party apparatus. HST doesn't think of elections as some kind of stunt happening every couple of years, but he explains them as deeply interwoven with the social and demographic workings of the USA.
   
   Some of my most favorite political quotes are from this book. Thompson really loves his country, he says "it could have been a testament to some of man's best instincts", but he is in despair over the crocks (Nixon and cronies) who have taken it hostage. This emotional state of his and the worry about the direction the US will take in '72 got him to write an intense and fiery book.
   
   Do yourself a favor - stop following the electoral coverage on the corporate media for a week, use your time to read this book, and then go back to the current campaign and you will view it in a new light.



5. This book's setting is eerily similar to the current state of affairs going on in with the 2008 Presidential Election, with the Democrats picking themselves apart while the Republicans sit back and enjoy the show. Richard Nixon is shown as the abomination that he was and HST's writing is as animated and humorous as I have ever seen it. This book surpassed my expectations and was a surprisingly fast read at 496 pages. I was left begging for more political insight and HST wit. A must read for any HST fan or anyone interested in the inner workings ( mostly the dark side) of politics. A great book that shows that HST was and is probably better than his already sizable legend permits.