5 comments about 'Tis: A Memoir.

1. Many reviewers have noted that the first two-thirds of this book is strong, while the final third falls flat. I'd agree, and I think I know why: by the time the memoir reaches the late 1960s, McCourt has become a New Yorker and the book loses the premise: the fun of seeing New York and American society in general through the eyes of a naive outsider. The first two thirds are like all of Angela's Ashes: insightful, funny, bittersweet, tragic, and the book finds the power of its voice in the ironical gap between the perceptions of the naive young man and the understanding of the knowing older man who wrote the memoir. In the last third of the book, McCourt is not a stranger in a strange land -- he's your average New Yorker in a midlife crisis, with an increasing estranged wife, the difficulty of caring for an aging mother, questions about his career choice, etc. Nice to know how some of the story lines played out, but the final third is not really of any inherent interest in itself, and since there's less of a gap between what McCourt perceived at the time and what he perceives now, it is lacking in that quirky ironical voice that made what went before so captivating. On the basis of the first 2/3rds, I recommend it highly. The last 1/3 may be significantly less interesting, but is not objectionable.



2. This book is a continuation of the story, Angela's Ashes. I enjoyed the writer's style and insight into Irish immigrant life. I recommend these two novels to anyone interested in real Irish life.



3. although this book is long, and often times it shows the mundane life of a teacher, it truley makes me want to move to ireland! i love this book! it's so hard for me to put it down.



4. This book was great and was definitely more light-hearted than Angela's Ashes. You don't need to have read his first book (Angela's Ashes) to enjoy this part of his memoir; in fact reading the first book made me enjoy this one less simply because there was just no way for it to compare to the first.



5. I ordered this book USED/GOOD CONDITION. It came in Very good condition. I was very pleased and will not hesitate to order a used book again.

5 comments about First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (P.S.).

1. Loung Ung does an excellent job of describing what happened to her family growing up in the killing fields of Cambodia under the Pol Pot regime. She is an excellent writer. Although her story is very tragic, it is one that we all should hear. God is truly using Loung's tragic life to create something good and meaningful. Loung is a fascinating person that I feel honored to have met within the pages of her book. Thank you for sharing your story Loung. Your book has changed my life.



2. Some people have criticized this book because they believe some small historical detail might be wrong. I say, who cares about that? The horrors that are described in this book eclipse any small misconceptions or tiny errors in fact. Cambodia's people were starved, enslaved, murdered, and robbed by Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge. It's a most outrageous and horrific story, but it was the truth for millions. Miss Ung did an impressive job pulling the story together into book form. My heart breaks for her family and hundreds of thousands of other families there.
   
   This should be required reading for high school students everywhere.



3. The book is very well-written. Loung Ung wrote with compassion,spirtual, and horrenic activities growing up under the Khmer Rogue regime. She experiences tortues,stravation, and execution of her parents. This book is very interesting to learn what the author went through live under a horrendous communist movement. The author wrote this book in a sense to give the reader an image on the conflict of war that is going in Cambodia. Readers would not be able to put this book down since it give the readers a hint of life growing up in the Khmer Rouge. Ung had to move from different works camps at a young age, and she experienced a hardship growing up in Cambodia during the 1974 to 1979. Between these two years, she watch baby brother died of stravation and the loss of his parent by the Khmer Rogue. Having to travel a large distance to Vietnam, Loung experience the execution of her people. The book will change your prespective of life and the mistery of what the cambodia people been through during the killing field years. Highly recommened to any type of readers.



4. When I started to read the memoir, it was very hard to put down. It is written in first person tense through the eyes of a young girl struggling through the Khmer Rouge insurgency in Cambodia. I am a 1st generation American whose mother grew up in war torn Vietnam, so I had an interest in the Southeast Asian set memoir. Now I am trying to find ones as good as this one, but set in with my mother's experiences. This book was an in depth way to learn about the people & the recent history of struggle which many Cambodian Americans no doubt have also lived through but not spoken of. It really reinforces that family and love are the most important things in life. It's a must read.



5. I read all but a couple chapters of this book on a flight across the US. It is easy reading and I could not put it down. The horrors this author went through will make the reader pause to count his blessings. I think this is a must read for anyone who is unfamiliar with Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.

5 comments about Why Women Should Rule the World.

1. I enjoyed this book. The beginning starts out a bit angry but she quickly moves into a compelling, interesting, and balanced book about the role of women in helping to change the world. Myers does not disparage men in this book, but rather offers a balanced look at the contributions women have made.
   
   Myers offers a number of eye opening examples of womens positive influence in business, politics, education etc. She speaks to the importance of educating women around the globe. One paragraph reads, "When Larry Summers was chief economist at World Bank, he argued that educating girls probably produced better returns than any other investment in the developed world....If fact, when women's incomes go up, child survival rates improve by an astonishing twenty times more than if a mans income increases by a similar amount....And children's weight measures improve eightfold."
   
   Myers addresses the role of women in the corporate arena. She writes "Women make the vast majority of consumer decisions in this country - by many accounts, more than 80 percent. But we still don't have enough influence at the top of corporations that make and sell those goods and services. True, women now fill about half of all managerial positions, but among Fortune 500 companies, women account for only 16% of corporate officers, 5% of top earners - and an anemic 2% of CEOs".
   
   Myers uses Revlon as an example to illustrate her point. The company is known for making womens products and yet "all of the company's senior managers and all but 3 members of its board were men".



2. dee dee myers is brilliant in everyway.the thing that bothers me is women know this.really women knew this for over 100 years or more.im having my daughter and my girlfriends read this cause even though we know everything dee dee is saying.nothing is done and why oh why?i if we women voted to our potentiel wede be running this country rite now.maybee the more women that read this and other books like this they would understand that its not fantasy but fact.women should and will rule the country.its just a matter of us taking back what was once ours and if we do and it shouldnt be to hard im laughing .then it will be the same as now only women will set the laws and that would(have)to be better then what man is doing now.i read somewere on the net oh i wish i could remember her name .women are gaining fast while men are becoming the women of the 1950 s.that is soooo true.read it.see it.hear it.man kind is shrinking at a rate so fast it seems womankind has really already surpassed the still shrinking male role.i remember a long time ago my aunt telling me dont blame the men.we made them.lol yup.now its up to us women to take control.thank you dee dee



3. Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2SW8VFXLFH3QQ Here's my video review. I should warn readers though that Myer's book is more a memoir than an analytical work. Thanks for clicking in, Bernard



4. I bought the book for my wife, who was complaining about how unfair the world is to women--and quite rightly so. Speaking for myself, I agree with Dee Dee Myers thesis, but it is hidden behind a lot of wonky poli-sci verbiage.



5. I have followed Dee Dee's career since she worked for Bill Clinton, and i find her book funny, and informative. I'm certain that if women ruled the world, we would be in better shape then we are. Thanks Dee Dee for putting my beliefs on paper.

2 comments about The Slaves' War: The Civil War in the Words of Former Slaves.

1. There are many excellent studies of black Civil War soldiers and equally good editions of letters and reminiscences from black veterans. (In fact, following the 1989 release of the film "Glory" about the black Massachusetts 54th, there was something of a flood of such books.) But until now, there really hasn't been a good study of the reactions of southern slaves to the war. Andrew Ward, familiar to Civil War buffs from his excellent River Run Red (2005) has changed that with his The Slaves' War.
   
   Mr. Ward's book is perhaps best described as a hybrid between straightforward narrative and oral history. In ten well-written and organized chapters, he transcribes the chronological reminiscences of slaves from both eastern and western theaters of the war. The witnesses come from all walks: house and field slaves; skilled and unskilled; men, women, and children; slaves who eagerly followed the course of the war, and slaves who wanted nothing to do with it; slaves who were rented by their masters to dig fortifications, and slaves who remained on the farm while their white owners went to the front; slaves who remained convinced until their dying day that they'd met Lincoln on an incognito journey through the south he made before the war, and slaves who actually did observe Jefferson Davis on a regular basis (one black preacher humorously prayed: "Shake Jeff Davis over the mouth of hell, Lord, but don't drop him in"); slaves who welcomed blue-coated soldiers as harbingers of Jubilo, and slaves who, frightened by their masters' tales of northern barbarism, were frightened; and slaves, always and everywhere, distrusted by masters worried that all the northern-spawned talk of abolition would spawn rebellion south of the Mason-Dixon line.
   
   Ward tells us that he surveyed thousands of recorded interviews, memoirs, obituaries, diaries, and letters in compiling The Slaves' War. It's both remarkable and a bit disconcerting that this material hasn't been mined until now. Hopefully Ward's revitalization of these slaves' voices, with all their eloquence, hope, fear, pain, joy, anger, pride and even humor, will spark more research into this too neglected Civil War perspective.
   __________
   * This joyous cry was raised by plantation slaves upon the news that the Confederacy was defeated. But as would prove all too often the case in the post-war years, the joy of freedom was quickly shadowed by threats. Immediately after the slaves shouted their thanksgivings, "a white man come along and told them that if he heard them say that again, he would kill the last one of them." From Addie Vinson's reminiscences, p. 263.



2. This is a superb telling of the story of the Civil War with running commentary in the actual words of slaves who saw it, fought it, endured it and lived to tell about what it was like for them and their fellows before, during and after the war. For anyone interested in the war, it provides a unique and invaluable perspective never seen before. For anyone interested in African American history, which of course should be every American who wants to be politically awake, this is a wonderful opportunity to let the people speak for themselves, a most welcome change in historical writing about these terrible and awesome events. Must read.....

5 comments about Service Included: Four-Star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter.

1. I picked up this book because I am a former waiter, chef and caterer owner. I have never worked in a 4-star restaurant, but have dined in a number of them. Having spent countless time in restaurants, it was fun for me to read about her experiences and they brought back memories. (Although I basically hated waiting tables, the fun began after work.)
   
   what I liked most about the book was when she wrote about eating high quality food that is organic, free-range and local.
   
   As an environmentalist who eats organic and local food, this was very appealing. For example, her description of artisan cheese from a small farm in Vermont was terrific.
   
   Author ofaward winning book, Harmonious Environment: Beautify, Detoxify and Energize Your Life, Your Home and Your Planet



2. This was an excellent book. I'd highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the food world and in the effects of food on the human experience. Phoebe had me laughing from the first page to the end. Her writing style is honest and clever, and delightful to read. If you're looking for a biography of Thomas Keller or a historical account of the Per Se restaurant, go read an encyclopedia. This is, as the author describes it, "creative nonfiction," and in my opinion, this book is one of the best.



3. I took this book camping and finished it in a day's time. Phoebe is really quite funny, and keeps your interest throughout the story.



4. I thought this book was flat-out boring, and a long, long way from what was promised. There is little very singular about Per Se, nor about Keller. There's not much drama, either, and you might expect more given the kind of clientele they have. To compare this to "Kitchen Confidential" is criminal.
   It is a kind-of sweet story about a young woman and her New York job---which could be in almost any upper-end restaurant from the way the book is written. There seemed to be much more about her romantic relationships than about her work, which is fine---except the book is supposed to be about her work.
   She's not a bad writer, and probably has a future writing other chick-lit books. But if you're looking for an entertaining read about this very famous restaurant, you need to look somewhere else.



5. What i really want to say is that someone who is brave enough (not afraid of being blacked-balled in the restaraunt world), needs to write what restaraunt workers are really like.
   
   You get a glimpse of the truth in Bourdain's writings....but the place for the misfits, the addicts, the alcoholics, the nearly homeless: your favorite restaraunt. Doesn't matter what or where it is. That waiter who looks so dapper and well-schooled at 9pm.....will be a buzzed and boozed wreck at 3am.
   
   I know this. Family members are the real eavesdroppers.

5 comments about All the Way Home: Building a Family in a Falling-Down House.

1. Just finished "All The Way Home" by David Giffels and what a wonderful book it is! Mr. Giffels tells a very heart-warming and poignant story of his quest to purchase and rehabilitate a condemned Tudor mansion in his beloved hometown of Akron, Ohio.
   
   Moreover, as his quest continues, Mr. Giffels explores what it means to become a good father, husband, son, and friend. I thoroughly enjoyed every page of this book. It is as much a tale of home renovation as a tale of growing up and taking on the all of the hardships and responsibilties that home-ownership and fatherhood entails.
   
   This book is also hillarious. In many places I laughed out loud. The pop culture and rock music references are priceless. Mr. Giffels is indeed a fine writer and has a very humble and self-effacing style with a keen eye for detail and introspection. All in all this is a very sweet and in many ways an inspirational book.
   
   It reminds me somewhat of a very funny book by the famous writer Micheal Korda called "Country Matters" ( Country Matters: The Pleasures and Tribulations of Moving from a Big City to an Old Country Farmhouse ) This book tells the story of Mr. Korda's trials and tribulations after moving his family from New York City to an old run-down farm north of the city in my neck of the woods in Dutchess County. I highly recommend this book also.



2. I picked this up after I saw it on Oprah's "Fantastic Summer Reads" list. My husband and I are renovating a house, and I thought I'd find a kindred spirit. But this is so much more than the tale of a rundown fixer-upper. It's a beautiful, funny, heartbreaking true story that reads like a novel, and a strikingly honest memoir of a young man growing up and a young family finding its shape in the context of a home that becomes a character in itself. Any family that's ever faced a challenge will find itself reflected here. Just a great, great book.



3. I initially picked up this book because I know David and think he's a great writer and figured it would be interesting to learn more about that house he's been working on for so long. But I found so much more than that. It's funny, heartwarming, compelling, brutally honest at times and just wonderfully written. I highly recommend it for an engrossing read.



4. This wonderful book isn't just the fascinating account of a man's obsessive, hands-on restoration of his dream home. It's also a story about growing up, about finding one's place in the world, and about love. All the Way Home is often laugh-out-loud hilarious, such as when Giffels describes his many attempts to rid his house of varmints. In other places the book is deeply moving--I came close to tears several times. This is the only non-fiction book I've ever read in one shot, staying up past midnight two nights in a row because I couldn't put it down.



5. It is not often these days that I can find time to read a book, and yet I finished "All The Way Home" in just 2 days! I, too, live in Akron and know David a little bit, and my husband and I have worked on a couple of houses ourselves over the years. Yes, I expected to like this book, but I LOVED it! It's romantic yet unsentimental, genuine and genuinely funny, deeply moving and triumphant. I want to meet his family and friends and all the contractors (especially the tall wild-headed drywaller). I now have a new-favorite word and have been reminded of an old-favorite joke.
   By the way, David's wife Gina wrote three chapters, and it was good to hear her voice as we learned about some of her most intimate and deeply personal experiences. I applaud them both for opening up and sharing this story. And I envy them for that hand-holding ride on the Goodyear blimp! Golden ticket indeed!

5 comments about The Writing Life.

1. While this book is sometimes inspiration, as I would hope it to be, it also wanders off subject in ways that are only distracting. Any book on the craft of writing is liable to have lofty portions that make great analogies between the craft and other things, but Dillard stretches things much too far while spending much too much time on it. Hearing the details of a writer's life, their quirks and struggles, is heartening and it is in this that Dillard enlightens, but I also expect a book on craft to spend more time on craft. While I want to hear how hard it was to find time to write and how priorities shift when in the throes of creative vision, but I also want to consider the details. I want to hear what other writers think about the use of first person, on whether or not one must like or at least sympathize with a protagonist. The Writing Life did none of these things. It left me feeling pretty hollow. At least it is a thin little book.



2. This is a charming little book--honest, somewhat lucid, and, at times, helpful. "The Writing Life" is Dillard's reflections on her writing life, written in a way that is quite conversational. For those of you who are finding your way through your own writing life, and, as I do, often need a little encouragement, then this is a neat little book to have on your nightstand. Relax, pour yourself a cup of tea, and read a chapter or two; perhaps then take a little nap--you'll feel better in no time.
   
   My only caution is that this 'genre' of writing is growing in strength, summoning forth both astute and sophomoric writers to join its ranks. You'll find yourself spending more and more precious time reading about the 'theory' of writing, rather than working through the pain of your own creative process. Hence, I'd suggest only engaging in this type of writing once in a while; and perhaps have only two or so of these books in your library. I recommend both this one, and a little gem by the great Canadian writer, Margaret Atwood, entitled, "Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing".



3. The 'Paris Review Interviews' which were started by George Plimpton interviewed over at least two decades scores of writers on questions of their writing habits and practices. Hemingway sharpened dozens of pencils before beginning the day's work, and Faulkner told us about how he read no contemporary authors but only returned again and again to the eternal favorites to Shakespeare and Cervantes. In her essay here Annie Dillard discusses her own unique habits as a writer, and tells how she thinks about it, and practices her craft. She discusses the difficulties for her of the writing life, and the intense and painful practice of bringing work to the level she finds right. A longtime reader and interpreter of Thoreau she has something of his devotion to nature, and his solitary reflectiveness. She hears her own drummer and has beaten a path to the heart of many readers.
   But every writer has of course to find their own way. So not the whole of the story but some hint or suggestion along the way might well prove useful to the many aspiring writers who might read this work.



4. I recently received this book in the mail.
   
   I opened the package and sat at my desk in my college dorm room; I had no idea what was about to happen.
   
   The clock read 11:46 pm as I started into this short read, and I seemingly did not take a breath until I was finished with the last page over an hour later. Annie Dillard once again captured every exciting aspect of writing in one of her works, and she managed to contain it all in little over a hundred pages.
   
   Dillard is one of the best American writers of our time, and this book proves it. It is worth ten times what you will pay for it.
   
   If you have any passion for writing, you will love this book.
   If you would like to get inside the head of the great Annie Dillard, you will love this book.
   
   Buy it, check it out, borrow it; read it somehow.



5. This book is a gem - the best book I have yet had the privilege of reading about the craft of writing. When finished, you are left with a sense of many aspects of being a writer - the mystery, the satisfaction, the needed humility, the sublimity... and most of all, the work and the waiting.
   
   Though it may seem at times that Dillard makes the craft of writing too ethereal, too abstract, this is counterbalanced by austere sensibility. Her voice, though exceptionally beautiful and intelligent, is surprisingly conversational. One feels as though she is not writing artificially.
   
   My favorite quote from The Writing Life has to be, "Write as if you were dying. At the same time, assume you write for an audience consisting solely of terminal patients. That is, after all, the case" (68). Though Dillard does not write from a noticeably Christian perspective, this rings true for me in so many ways, including spiritually. She says, "Why are we reading, if not in hope of beauty laid bare, life heightened and its deepest mystery probed?" (72).
   
   And just when you think she is becoming too sublime, she says something like, "It is no less difficult to write sentences in a recipe than sentences in Moby-Dick. So you might as well write Moby-Dick" (71). She has an enviable power to say things in simple, precise, but imaginative terms. Her analogies are strong and brilliant - biting at one moment, dazzling at the next. She is a master at showing instead of telling.
   
   Full of personal anecdotes, colorful imagery, and striking insights, The Writing Life is the perfect companion for anyone who cares about giving voice to his or her way of looking at the world.

5 comments about Three Weeks with My Brother.

1. This book was a wonderful way to get to know Nicholas Sparks and his family. It was very interesting to go on the adventure with he and Micah, but I loved the childhood stories and finding out what Nicholas Sparks is all about! Read before you read any more of his books! You won't be disappointed.



2. This is by far one of the best books I have ever read. I couldn't put it down. Fantastic tale of two brothers and their stuggles in their life. I say this is a must read. You will fall in love with the book and the family. I totally recommend this book.
   Thanks



3. I own every Nicholas Sparks book there is, so I really enjoyed this book. I wouldn't recommend it to someone who has never read his books. I was interested in the type of person who could write such interesting books and I wasn't let down. I definately had laughs and tears with this book. If you like his books, read this one. It makes you appreciate all his other works much more.



4. I am a huge fan of Nicholas Sparks. I have every book he has written. I used to read his early books and wonder why sometimes they seemed so sad. Now I understand. I read this book in two days. I could not put it down!



5. Warning. Don't read the front cover flap of this book. It is a plot buster.
   
   This book is for anyone who ever had a brother or sister or ever wanted one. It describes a trip around the world in three weeks to some of the oldest buildings on this planet. While it seems like they spent more time on the planes than actually in the countries, and they saw more museums than they could handle, they also stood in awe of the world's greatest man-made treasures. Interspersed with the stories of old buildings, there were stories of old relationships: between two brothers, to their parents, to their sister, to their spouses and to their own children. In short a great read.
   
   Just don't read the front cover flap before reading the book.

1 comments about Magnifico: The Brilliant Life and Violent Times of Lorenzo de' Medici.

1. Sometimes, it seems to me that it would take a committee to produce an adequate biography of Lorenzo de' Medici. He was a many-sided jewel of a man, flashing his facets in so many directions that no single author could be the master of all of them. He was a sportsman, diplomat, political boss, essayist, poet, musician and connoisseur of all the arts. On the personal level he was a dutiful husband and loving father of a large family; he also had a reputation as man with a voracious appetite for extra-marital sex. Some 2,000 of his letters survive, along with more than 20,000 addressed to him by people from all over Europe: ambassadors, popes, princes, dukes, kings and their consorts, as well as friends and ordinary people from all walks of life. The sheer volume of material by and about Lorenzo is overwhelming.
   
   Doing justice to such a complex and many-sided life in a single volume intended for the general reader would be a tall order for any writer, and I suspect that scholars of Renaissance history in general and the Medici in particular will look down their noses at this effort. Most of the author's sources are in English, thus ignoring much of the voluminous biography available in Italian; he makes very little use of archival materials (only two such sources are cited, both available on-line), and worst of all, for scholars at least, he doesn't use footnotes. Although there are some notes annoyingly appended to the bottom of some pages, and other notes hidden at the back but not indicated in the text, many sources for the "facts" (if they are indeed facts) presented are undocumented and may leave even the general reader wondering where the information came from.
   
   But despite these criticisms (which may not matter to most readers) this is a very well written and absorbing narrative. Unger is especially good at telling the various dramatic stories that punctuate Lorenzo's life. He emphasizes the political side of Lorenzo, however, perhaps to the detriment of the many other aspects of his life. I would have liked to have read more about Lorenzo's poetry and other literary works; seen more attention to his patronage of music, and perhaps read more about his complicated love-life, commented on by many of his contemporaries.
   
   

5 comments about Brilliant Madness: Living with Manic Depressive Illness.

1. I just finished this book, and I thought it was very readable and an excellent memoir describing issues related to bipolar. The honesty with which the book is written is commendable. I highly recommend it for anyone wishing to learn more about this disorder and how helpful appropriate treatment can be.



2. If you want to know some of the unbelieveable, unbearable pain and suffering of an un-treated manic-depressive, read this book. How Patty Duke lived to tell her story is a miracle. Thank God she finally found her way out of her madness She gives hope to her fellow sufferers. From the perspective of gut-wrenching pain just reading her account, the book works wonderfully. But as a narrative, I found it hard to follow. I felt jerked around from eposide to eposide. There didn't seem to be a timeline I could follow to know what happened, when. Also, it was very distracting to have to plow through the pages of medical, technical information that were dispersed throughout the book. Overall, it's a fine description of the illness, but frustrating to read.



3. Celebrities who come out about a physical or mental illness help us get past shame, but Patty Duke does a lot more in this autobiography where she alternates her memories with professionally written chapters about bipolar illness. As a mental health advocate, I recommend this book especially to give to people with the illness who aren't ready for technical or self-help books.



4. Can someone please give this book to Britney Spears? I'm not joking. I first read this book about 9 years ago when I was studying psychology in college and it was always one of my very favorite books on this subject. Because Ms. Duke is able to speak to the reader in such simple (yet interesting) words. Except for the old-fashioned term "manic depressive illness" (according to the APA, the correct term is bipolar, which sounds way more PC) this book is totally on the money. Another great book I recommend is Undercurrents: A Life Beneath the Surface. In 2008 it seems rather common for celebrities to discuss their dementia, and anything else that the public wants to know. So it may seem hard to fathom that less than thirty years ago none of this was discussed publicly because it was considered "career suicide." But Patty Duke was the very first star who candidly discussed her own mental illness in her autobiography . In my eyes, she is a true shero.



5. Anna ( Patty Duke), is a great lady! This book, An excellent and sad look at what a bipolar person goes through with and without help, I*m so happy that there is a name and treatment for this very sad illness. Anna tells it like it is and does it with class! May God Bless Anna Duke!