5 comments about My Bloody Life: The Making of a Latin King (Illinois).

1. This is a great book. It'll let you feel the truth behind the "hard core" thug image. It will blow any preconceived notions of "gang banger" out! They are still kids, struggling to stay alive, this proves it. Not an easy read for anyone with any empathy for others, Reymundo Sanchez will force you to feel and experience some of what he did!! Extremely commmendable- I wish there were more books like this.



2. For all of those people who ask -- Why gangs? This book exists. This boy who really didn't even want to be a gangster gets pulled into the undertow and becomes one of the most violent. If all teens could read this, gang activity might keep slowing down.



3. This is one of the best books I've ever read. once you start reading, you just don't want to stop you want to find out what will happen in the next chapter. It's such a great real story.



4. I was definitely interested in reading this book, but the fact that the "spanish" written in the book was more like spanglish, incorrect grammar, with spanish definitions completely inaccurate made me believe that this was not truly an autobiographical memoir. But when the author proceeds to state that Puerto Ricans were being deported back the island during this time of his life in the book. That is when I finally said ENOUGH!!! Puerto Ricans are AMERICAN CITIZENS BORN TO A COMMOM WEALTH NATION THAT BELONGS TO THE USA!! Before an author begins to write a "true autobiographical/memoir" get your facts straight! A proud Puerto Rican knows his/her facts! Interesting book to read, but please, take it with a grain of salt, and remember; all that you read is not always true!



5. A great book! Once you start reading the book you can't stop. Open your eyes to reality and helps you not to judge people and see what they act like that and why is the reason behind the life style they had taken.

5 comments about Heroes: From Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar to Churchill and de Gaulle.

1. 
   We all love heroes, brave ones, achievers we can admire, try to emulate, and set forth as examples. To a greater or lesser degree, the lives of many of these men and women are known to us yet there is always something to learn as we revisit their accomplishments and the challenges they faced.
   
   Noted British historian Paul M. Johnson is a prolific author having written some 40 books ranging from Modern Times to The Quest for God. He has lectured throughout the world and often contributes to the New York Times and Wall Street Journal among numerous other magazines and periodicals. His choice of subjects for Heroes is eclectic and, to some, may be surprising. Lord Nelson is almost to be expected but Marilyn Monroe? She is noted along with another blonde bombshell in Chapter 12, Heroes Behind the Greasepaint.
   
   You see, Johnson's heroes, whether they be Samson, Caesar or Margaret Thatcher, are very human thus flawed. They are not presented to us on pedestals, not as stone figures but as flesh and blood beings, subject to all the temptations and constraints that mortality entails.
   
   The author begins his stories of heroes with God's Heroes - Deborah, Judith, Samson, and David, noting that "No people were more in need of heroes than the Hebrews." Next we meet The Earthshakers - Alexander the Great and Caesar, and from there his subjects are presented in chronological order, closing with the present day. Thus, we are privy not only to entertaining and enlightening visits with those who made a difference but to mini history lessons as well.
   
   Radio host, author, and managing editor of London's Sunday Times, James Adams, has narrated a number of books for Blackstone Audio. He's the perfect voice for the work of British historian Johnson as the slightest bit of a British accent can be detected in Adams's clear, crisp diction. Enjoyable listening!
   
   - Gail Cooke



2. There is no doubt that Paul Johnson is one of the great historians of our time and one of our leading public intellectuals.
   
   In this volume, Johnson attempts to explain heroes and heroism within the context of historical setting. The effort is a mixed success. Consider, for example, his use of Mae West and Marilyn Monroe as examplars of female heroism in the 20th Century.
   
   Both portraits make their point and make it well. Both West and Monroe were more accomplished than most might give them credit for. West was a dynamic self-promoter for all of her life and an accomplished writer, actress, comedian and business person. But Monroe was a different story. She never fully actualized the person she wanted to become, though Johnson leaves no doubt that she did want to be viewed as a different kind of person. Does Monroe's failed effort make her a hero? Not to me, though Johnson draws a sympathetic portrait.
   
   Overall, Johnson's portraits do indeed make the case that heroism comes in many guises and that men and women can be heroes. As well, the qualities of heroism remain constant, a steady moral compass regardless of what the crowds are doing.
   
   While interesting, though, "Heroes" is never totally engaging. It is a pleasant and informative read, but not a particularly challenging one. Johnson is telling us his views here set in historical context.
   
   Jerry



3. Paul Johnson, the well known historian, writes a less weighty book that looks at heroes through the lens of history and these peoples contributions to politics, culture, religion, and yes, entertainment. All of these things are often intermix, yet, they can also be studied in isolation if needed.
   
   Johnson starts off with the Hebrew (or Jewish) heroes. It must be of some interest that Moses is briefly mention and is Judaism's greatest heroes and prophet, Johnson spends more time on Deborah and Judith, Samson and probably rightly so, David. His analysis of Samson is interesting and it goes beyond the Sunday School version or the solely negative critical and sees Samson as a hero with great strength and "tantalizing weakness."
   
   The next Chapter, "Earthsakers" is tied for one of the best in the book. Foibles and greatest are revealed when the reader is once again acquainted with Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar. Johnson provides a quick bio, yet, highlights enough "heroism" and "villainy" to make this more than an encyclopedia version of these two men and make them leap of the page. Hopefully, it will spark others to read more on these two, arguably great and fallen figures.
   
   I have always liked the story of Joan of Arc. Every movie has failed in bringing her to life, although many have tried. Johnson briefly reminds me why she is so spectacular a heroine. She is the proto-Wonder Women, except she was real, alive, fighting for France. Yet, she may have been a proto-Protestant, yet, in many ways still distinctly Catholic. She was such an enormous figure that today many English Churches are named after this French heroine.
   
   There is more of course such as interesting work on Churchill (whom Johnson met in 1946) and Reagan, Thatcher, and Pope John Paul II. Lincoln was necessary for this book, but Johnson here didn't bring anything really engaging in a way I hadn't read before. I found, however, the chapter with Mae West and Maryland Monroe to be a bore - I just didn't care. Maybe it is because, there are better "Hollywood" heroes such as Audrey Hepburn, Sean Connery, Alec Guinness, or Bruce Lee not too mention possibly Cary Grant, Charleston Heston, Angelina Jolie, or Christopher Reeves.
   
   In total, this is a great book. It is difficult to provide so many stories on so many figures on 300 pages; but, Johnson does a pretty good job of it.



4. This is the first book I read of Paul Johnson and I really enjoyed it. In this book, we are introduced to well-known figures in history who are regarded as heroes. But a hero to one might be a villain to another. Genghis Khan was a hero to many, but a murderer to many others as well. Paul Johnson uses the example of Samson. Samson is a heroic figure in old Judaic scriptures. He was a Nazirite, and God had blessed him with extraordinary strength. However, in order to keep his superhuman strength, he had to make sure he never cut his hair. One day, however, he admits to Delilah that the secret to his strength is his hair. She then lulled him to sleep on her knees and called a barber to shave off his hair. The Philistines then seized him, gouged out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. There they bound him with bronze fetters. Eventually his hair grows again, unnoticed by his enemies, and his strength returns. When the Philistines take him to their great feast in the Temple of Dagon to taunt him, he gets a little boy to guide him to the central pillars. Calling on God to give him the power, he pushes aside the pillars from their bases and brings the entire temple down, killing all the people who were in it. According to the author, this ruthlessness in heroism makes Samson the first suicide-martyr-mass killer, adumbrating the suicide bombers of today's Middle East. Samson's act was a brutal unconcern for human life, whether guilty or innocent. Samson kills all the Philistines, including the innocent child who had befriended him and many of those in the crowd who had nothing to do with his capture or blinding. Nonetheless, Samson was honored, and became a hero in the teeming biblical pantheon. The Jews loved Samson, and still do. (p. 18-20). The author says, "Anyone is a hero who has been widely, persistently over long periods, and enthusiastically regarded as heroic by a reasonable person, or even an unreasonable one."
   
   A hero is also created by our own perception of him, and might not be at all the way we perceive him to be. The author gives as an example President Ronald Reagan. Reagan gave back to the United States the self-confidence it had lost, and at the same time tested Soviet power to destruction. He is credited with ending the cold war. He cut taxes, freed Americans from unnecessary burdens, and enlarged freedom whenever consistent with safety and justice. He had a great sense of humor, his smiles were genuine, and he was a charismatic leader. He was viewed as a hero by the American people and the rest of the world. However, according to the author, Reagan was superficially, and also profoundly, ignorant. He did not seem to know how bills were put together or passed through Congress, or how the entire budget process took place. He had little education, and no desire to acquire much more in a general sense, at any rate through books. He was intellectually lazy, and he did not read one word of the carefully prepared briefing book on the eve of the world economic summit in 1983. During his presidency he spent more time watching movies than doing anything else. Sometimes he believed in fantasies, such as that the United States really had much larger hidden oil reserves than the whole of the Middle East. At other times he appeared incapable of speaking coherently about the simplest matters without reference to the cue cards in his left pocket. In some ways he was ill-equipped to run anything, let alone the mightiest nation on earth. He was deaf and sometimes could not hear what his staff was telling him, even with the volume of his hearing aid switched right up. He confused names and faces. He thought his own secretary of commerce was a visiting mayor. He believed Denis Healey was the British ambassador. He addressed the Liberian president Samuel K. Doe as "Chairman Moe." (p. 256-258). Yet despite these deficiencies, he is viewed as an American hero.
   
   This is a really fascinating book that will show you a different side to well-known heroes. The author discusses the human flaws of such heroes as Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Henry V, Joan of Arc, Thomas Moore, Lady Jane Grey, Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I, Walter Raleigh, George Washington, The Duke of Wellington, Lord Nelson, Emily Dickinson, Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, Mae West, Marilyn Monroe, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and Pope John Paul II.
   
   I really liked the chapter on Mae West, and feel encouraged to read more of her books. Mae is really a fascinating character study. I was surprised though that the author included Marilyn Monroe as a hero. I learnt things I never knew about her, like the fact that she suffered from Syphilis and severe depression.
   
   One beautiful quote from this book will be stuck in my head for the rest of my life. Henry Ford once said, "It is a disgrace for anyone to die rich." I truly believe in giving, and being a philanthropist. For this reason, I view Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, among many others, as true heroes. Here's the irony: Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, among just a few, are viewed today as heroes, despite the fact that they killed millions of people. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, among a few, are also viewed as heroes, but for different reasons: they save the lives of millions!
   
   I recommend this book to all readers who are fascinated by the lives of great people (and some not that great but still viewed as heroes).



5. Paul Johnson remains one of the few serious writers who combines an immensely accessable prose style with an intellect rarely encountered in contemporary non-fiction. In his vivid snapshots he compresses larger-than-live historical figures into human beings while simultaneously making the case as to why they are "heroic". Many of these insights are cleanly fresh and restorative to a reader like myself who has read biographies of them all. Johnson explains his criteria for judging who and why he chose who he did as a hero. And in the process makes a powerful case for each individual, even those who are frankly a little tough to swallow. Among them deGaulle.
   From other works (Malraux's "Felled Oaks" for example) and lengthy biographies, my own assesement of deGaulle never changed. I'd always considered him a mostrously egotistical chauvanist who'se WW2 credentials mainly lay in his lucky proximity to true greats like Churchill, Roosevelt and Eisenhower, who in one way or another tolerated his insufferable ego and pretentions.
   Louis X1V presumably said, "c'estate ce moi" I am the state. In a seventeenth century king it's one kind of conceit, but in a 20th century military and politcal leader of a free democracy, it is a disgrace. Or so was my conclusion. However, Johnson's book brought me a new veiwpoint. I didn't conclude I'd been totally wrong, but Johhnson made me see that had deGaulle not existed, he probably would have had too be invented. And in a way, it wasd probably on balance, more fortunate for France that he was the invention, rather than some of the absurd French leaders who preceeded and
   succeeded him. Johnson made me see that. And in that respect and in all the other sketches, ever new lights went on.
   Paul Johnson is one great writer, historian, thinker. And to me, in this age when so much garbage flows from the media.
   Strongly recommend it and all his other books.

5 comments about Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards: Memoirs of a Rock 'N' Roll Survivor.

1. Al Kooper's 'Memoirs Of A Rock 'N Roll Survivor' makes for an extremely enjoyable reading: it's funny, loaded with very interesting anecdotes and behind-the-scenes stories and is very well-written.
   One of the best books ever about the music world.
   Highly Recommended!!!



2. Backstage Passes & Backstabbing Bastards by Al Kooper is 1 of if not the best book written about Rock"n'Roll, this guy has done it all & by him noT even being considered for the Rock Hall of Fame shows what a shame that orginazation is. I always thought this dude was one cool cat & this books proves me right,just look up some of the things this guy has played on,produced & for me The Blues Project & Bllod Sweat & Tears are enough to get him into the "Hall of Sales" as he calls it, this book came out in 1978 with an updaye in 1998 & another update in 2007,hope he can update it again in 2017. If you love Rock this is a must read.................Greg H



3. I first discovered Al Kooper in 1966 at a local record store in rural northern Maine. I think it was the Jaquar (or was it a Jazzmaster) Steve Katz was holding on the album cover which drew me to it. Whatever...but, it was the crazy schizo guitar of Danny Kalb and keyboards of Al Kooper which really impacted on me. Later, I recognized this guy "Al Kooper's" name on Dylan albums, his face on the debut album of the first Jazz rock band (with horns, no less)and then his work with guitar virtuoso Mike Bloomfield. Decades later I actually met Mr. Kooper briefly (not that he would remember me)at the Redding Roadhouse in Connecticut and was releived that he was a gracious nice guy, more tolerant than most with fans. Enough about my experiences.
   
   Al Kooper is a musician's musician. His experience spans the history of good popular music from the late '50s to the present. It is intriging to figuratively be a "fly on the wall" as Al relates his experiences with the Blues Project, Dylan, BS&T, Bloomfield, Skynrd, Jimmy Vivino, the Beatles, Stones...shall I go on? His wit, objectivity about himself and down to earth perspective on events which (although many of us see in mythic proportions - Dylan's Highway '61, for instance)he actually lived, make this book a uniqely honest portrayal of the period. If you are a guitar player who grew up during the mid-late '60s in America, you probably were either a Bloomfield or Kalb fan. Well, Al played with both of them. If you are a Hammond B3 player who grew up during the same period, well, you must be aware of Al's work. For you other people who may not know about Mr. Kooper's contributions,you you are in for a surprise, a big one!! Mr. Kooper, as a working musician, provides inside details of events only someone with his experience could. This book is highly recommended for anyone who has even a passing interest in rock, blues, culture or just likes a good read. "Dr." Kooper is one of the good guys and really delivers with this one!!



4. Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards: Memoirs of a Rock 'N' Roll Survivor
   Anyone who grew up with sixties Rock 'n Roll should find this funny yet
   incisive retrospective highly entertaining.
   Al Kooper, a man with 50 years in the music business as back-up, and a
   Magna Cum Laude graduate of the School of Hard Knocks, manages to relate
   his memoirs in an easygoing, good-natured and often hilarious manner. And,
   despite the title and events behind it, he hardly has a bad word to say about anyone (which would seem somewhat incredible). As a bonus, he's a pretty good writer.
   Here is a man who, for a half century, has been ubiquitous in the Rock business, mostly in the background but never from the sidelines, yet is largely
   unknown outside of the music industry fraternity. And while it appears that credit for his enormous contribution to the medium has been difficult
   to come by, he has to a large extent gained the RESPECT he so rightly deserves. Perhaps this is because he comes across as a real
   person and not some untouchable Rock legend. You'll like him.
   I had a great time reading this book and recommend it highly.



5. I did not want this book to end. I have been a fan of Al's since the Blood,Sweat,and Tears days and this book filled in so many unanswered questions I had. I recommend that anyone who likes him in any capacity read this book and see him live.

5 comments about Trial and Triumph: Stories from Church History.

1. Very informative and wonderfully written stories of the heroes of the Christian faith. Riveting and inspiring! I've used this with my own children, in teaching Sunday School and in my 4th grade class. It's always the preferred book, even when reading from several other sources. Every Christian should read this book.



2. Many people have a bias against history, thinking it is either boring or that it has no application and value for the modern time. As a result, many people of the past and their contributions to what we are now are never known. This book can change that. Its well written and engaging style warmly introduces the reader to many important people in Christian history, giving a brief summary of the lives of 46 Christian men and women, beginning with Polycarp down to the modern time ending with Richard Wurmbrand. We've been reading a chapter a week in our church's Wednesday night studies to a mixed crowd of adults and children. I think it says something of the author's ability to communicate when both adults and children say that have been blessed and inspired by the witness of these saints as Hannula tells their stories.



3. I'm not sure that there's a time or a place for hagiography. Anyone other than a Christian from a reformed tradition will have difficulty with the biographies here. In general they fail to show the full human-ness of the subjects -- tho' the specifically Catholic or liturgical traditions are, if not condemned outright then certainly have a disapproving eye cast upon them. This work, like others of this kind, fail dismally in that they sanitize the lives of real, sinful human beings -- a standard even the Bible does not aspire to. Yes, many of these Christians have served God faithfully -- but in many more cases God has worked in spite of their failings -- some of which count among the serious sins -- abuse of fellow creatures, adultery etc. To set these people up as some kind of standard to which all Christians should aspire is a real problem, especially when the whole story is not presented. Frankly I find it much more inspiring to know that God can work through little old me, in spite of my many sins and failings. Faithfulness in the midst of sometimes significant short-comings is a much more realistic and holy goal. I bought this book as part of our homeschooling program, but I shall re-sell it. I'm not about to subject my children to these misleading stories.



4. I use this book for homeschooling my ninth grader. It gives a great selection of short biographies on historical figures in church history. we used it regularly when studying the Dark and Middle Ages. Excellent buy.



5. This book is so informative. I have learned so much about church history from it. Although I wouldn't recommend reading it to a child under the age of 8, I think it has many good facts and lessons for a child to learn. I read this to my kids and they are always asking questions afterwards. It's thought provoking and inspiring.

5 comments about Andrew Carnegie.

1. On Feb. 4, 1901, Andrew Carnegie sold his steel-making business for an unprecedented $400 million (worth about $120 billion now). With that sale, he became "The Richest Man in the World," according to J.P. Morgan, who bought Carnegie's company and used it as the basis of U.S. Steel. But if you want to learn how to become the richest person in your part of the world, that's not the purpose of this biography. Instead David Nasaw minutely depicts an authentic tragic comedy in more than 800 pages, the life of an impoverished, painfully short immigrant lad who succeeded during the Gilded Age of capitalism, becoming a robber baron, philanthropist and "peacenik." The author uncovers many of the secret operations Carnegie used to exploit his early employers and, later, his gullible investors. This account corrects biographies that omit Carnegie's shady railroad bonds and union busting. The author also explains how Carnegie used his wealth to become one of the world's greatest philanthropists, a significant legacy that endures through the institutions and libraries he endowed. We highly recommend this detailed history for its iconoclastic scholarship, profound soul-searching and fascinating portrait of a unique, contradictory person.



2. A mentor of mine once told me that 'to learn history, the only books you really need to read are great biographies'.
   
   His point was, of course, that within the confines of a well written story of one life the reader unearths a much larger landscape of the times, events, and issues that surround the subject. Having just finished David Nasaw's excellent 'Andrew Carnegie' I think my teacher would be pleased and fully approve as the book meets any objective criteria of quality and excels on every level.
   
   Here, we follow the figure of Andrew Carnegie from birth and each subsequent chapter of his full life. Carnegie's actions and thoughts are fascinating and Nasaw paints a masterful portrait of his subject. He uses a clear and concise tone to convey all of what is important and none of which that is not. You really feel like there is not a wasted word in the entire narrative.
   
   Along the way we get in depth -but never tedious- lessons on issues as wide ranging as the immigrant experience to a particular brand of evolutionary philosophy to the history of labor to turn-of-the-century American foreign policy....Frankly, I was hooked from the beginning and thanks to the writing style and its intriguing subject the book's 800 pages fly by.
   
   If I have a small criticism it is that in the final couple of hundred pages Nasaw seems to grow slightly, but still discernibly, annoyed by Carnegie's eccentricities and his tendency towards self admiration that developed in retirement and in his relationships with US presidents. In one case he editorializes an admittedly weird Carnegie quote by summing up 'whatever that meant' at the end of a paragraph. This tone is scarce in the book, and who knows, it may be more my problem than anything else but to be fair I bring it up here.
   
   Another positive is the way Nasaw gives the reader credit for being intelligent enough to decipher the facts he provides and then let the reader form his or her own conclusions. I appreciated the linear narrative approach as well, as too many current biographies tend in their laudation of their subject to 'do too much' own and jump all over the place. That's not the case here as Nasaw never loses his compass- in fact he never even sets it down.
   
   'Andrew Carnegie' by David Nasaw is a book so full, so complete, so well done - and ultimately so wide ranging- that the reader is constantly entertained while absorbing vital information about one of the most important eras of American history and one of that period's most important public figures.
   
   Five Stars. Read it.



3. This book flows well and is elegant in its prose. Some biographies can be quite tedious this one isn't.
   
   This book is full of insights such as that Teddy Roosevelt although he sought for Carnegie's support he didn't like the man. Because Carnegie was an intellectual and a manager but Roosevelt hands on in the trenches type manager.
   
   For good or evil Andrew Carnegie is right up there with Washington and Lincoln in his impact to the United States. Through his management skills he drastically cut the price of steel. This allowed for cheap consumer and industrial goods. The low cost of steel allowed the US to build the its fleet of battleships, skyscrapers, bridges dams and other large scale public and private works projects. Carnegie's mills alone had a greater output and at lower cost then England and Germany.
   
   The second reason why he transformed the US was the Gospel of Wealth. He was the impetus of charitable giving. It wasn't until after Carnegie's vast sums that his peers such as the Rockefeller's started to contribute. While others focused on art, which has a small but important impact on this country. He focused on education and funding the retirement of thousands of professors from all over the country. 2,500 public libraries. Including 5 million dollar grant to the New York Public library system.
   
   The great cultural institutions of this country Carnegie Hall the Metropolitan Museum of Art by JP Morgan National Gallery by Andrew Mellon were all funded by Republicans. The same is true today see Bill Gates.
   
   Nassaw states that 5 million dollars circa 1900 was approximately 3.5 billion today. If this is true Carnegie gave away 20 to 30 million dollars a year a sum greater than the total assets of Bill and Melinda Gates foundation.



4. A fascinating biography of the exuberant Scottish-American tycoon and philanthropist.
   
   Nasaw covers all of Carnegie's life from early boyhood in 1830's Scotland, to ambitious telegraph boy in Pittsburgh, to iron and steel magnate, to philanthropist and finally to international peace advocate. Most of the 800 pages go swiftly. Nasaw writes well and I generally found his very detailed account valuable, especially for Carnegie's business adventures and for his final peace activities, although perhaps rather less so for all the details of his family life.
   
   In Nasaw's account Carnegie comes across as much more of a "businessman" than an "industrialist". His initial fortune was made in his twenties through insider dealings from his role as a key aide to railroad magnates who were making their own fortunes by tricks such as awarding lucrative contracts to companies that they themselves owned. But starting in his late twenties Carnegie did build a mighty iron and steel empire, with remorseless business logic.
   
   Carnegie in his middle age inevitably comes across as a great hypocrite. He had given speeches extolling the virtues of unions and of the need for employers to treat workers fairly, but he went on to mercilessly repress workers at his own plants, including cutting wages, extending hours, and suppressing all unions. He denied responsibility for the climactic Homestead lockout which was designed to break the steel unions, but Nasaw shows that he was kept fully informed and must have either made or supported the key decisions. Nasaw explains how Carnegie rationalized this harshness to himself, as a necessary part of business and of social evolution, but still his deeds fit poorly with his words.
   
   However in his later life, especially after selling Carnegie Steel, Carnegie became indisputably a genuine exuberant philanthropist. He lived well (very well indeed!) but he also gave away a vast fortune, founding an astounding 2500 libraries, plus many Institutions, the Carnegie Hall, various Hero funds, and many peace organizations.
   
   In his latter years, Carnegie's incessant lobbying for international peace is truly striking. Nasaw sometimes deprecates Carnegie's endless expressions of optimism in the face of repeated failures and his ceaseless lobbying of presidents, monarchs, and statesmen. But given that Carnegie believed war would be a disaster (as WWI proved all too well) and was committed to doing whatever he could for peace, then his behavior seems both entirely rationale and commendable. Yes, he was often grasping at straws and he did aggressively pester and "name drop" to try to move things forward, but given the stakes it is difficult to condemn his donning of a bold face and his trying again and again in the face of failures and cynicism. Alas, his efforts were probably inevitably doomed, but given his beliefs and commitment, it seems hard to criticize him for trying as hard as he did.
   
   Overall, Carnegie's life is a fascinating one, involving many contrasts and apparent contradictions. Nasaw captures it well and succeeds in making Carnegie a surprisingly sympathetic character, without concealing his flaws.



5. How to describe Andrew Carnegie? Certainly he would have to be one of the most fortunate individuals to have ever been born. Son of a hardscrabble weaver from a small hamlet near Edinburgh, Scotland, Carnegie and family immigrated to Pennsylvania whan he was a young man. Perhaps never before in history, has a particular man, with certain skills, found himself at the right place, at the right time and under the right circumstances as did Andrew Carnegie in 19th century western Pennsylvania.
   
   Despite having no formal education, Carnegie was certainly a very intelligent man. He educated himself over the years to the extent that he was considered a very philosophical author and sought after speaker on many of the issues of the day. He hitched his wagon to the right horse when he became assistant to an up and comer in the Pennsylvania Railroad. From an early age, Carnegie discovered the beauty of dividends and compound interest, money earned not by virtue of labor, but solely by virtue of having money. Due in large part to his connections, he was able to parley inside information into increasingly lucrative investments, to the point that he was soon able to turn over daily operation of his several businesses to very able lieutenants while he enjoyed the good life. These lieutenants, assisted by a series of unique events and developing technologies, made Carnegie the richest man in the world.
   
   While it may sound as if Carnegie was merely an observer and accumulator, he certainly deserves much credit for his success. He was an early pioneer in the concept of cost accounting and through a ruthless system of unit cost reduction, both in the areas of vertical integration and labor cost, was able to successfully grow his business and survive numerous economic downturns which bankrupted his competitors.
   
   Many decry Carnegie's business practices, most notably in the areas of labor/manangement relations and anti-competitive practices. However, this demonstrates a very common failing in many commentators; holding historical personages to current standards. The same people that condemn Carnegie's labor practices, denigrate George Washington for owning slaves, or Harry Truman for making racist comments. Each of these, though immoral by current standards, were men of their times.
   
   Owners of manufacturing entities were expected to battle with labor. Labor, in the mid-late 19th century was heavily connected with the burgeoning socialist movement which was looked upon with disfavor by much of society. In fact, it is no coincidence that those of Carnegie's competitors whose labor forces became organized, were largely those that failed in the repeated economic panics of the day. Carnegie succeeded, and grew, as a result of reinvesting profits and maintaining low unit cost. Ironically, though his Homestead steel works became the symbol for labor/management violence, he considered himself one of the most enlightened managers of the day.
   
   Carnegie is viewed, with Rockefeller, Morgan and Vanderbilt in the class of "Robber Barons" which sprang up during the era, however, Carnegie is vastly different than each of these individuals. While many of his contemporaries benefited and suceeded largely due to watered stock and market manipulation, he was very proud, and quick to point out that he never operated a corporation and never sold a share of stock. He was definitely NOT a monopolist (U.S. Steel was formed as a result of his sale of Carnegie Steel to J. P. Morgan and investors). He was simply a supreme capitalist and the first of his type and scale.
   
   He is condemned by others for taking advantage of political and business connections not available to others. Again, that was common practice in the era. Many things that he did, while legislated against now, were perfectly legal and accepted business practices of the times.
   
   All that having been said, I get the impression, especially in the later parts of the book, that Carnegie could be an insufferable prig. I imagine it becomes easy to view ones self as omnipotent and all wise, when everything one touches turns to gold and one is constantly praised for his good works. However, it is telling that he constantly bragged of being successful while only working 2-3 hours/day, lecturing his many employees to enjoy leisure time, while at the same time instituting a 12 hour/7 day a week work schedule. It seems almost unbelievable that he was unaware of the hypocrisy of some of actions, but after reading the book, I actually believe that he was. By letting his managers do the dirty work of making his money, he was able to "keep his hands clean" and disavow any unpleasantness that might result.
   
   Though hopelessly naive, it is difficult to condemn a man who literally pioneered the concept of philanthropy and spent his last decade in a never flagging crusade for world peace. He tirelessly advocated the formation of a League of Nations/United Nations style world arbitration body, with military enforcement powers, well before any of his contemporaries. While he would doubtless be overjoyed to learn of the existence of the current United Nations, he would nonetheless be less than pleased with its corruption and lack of effective authority.
   
   All in all, a rather good treatment, not just of Carnegie, but of the period itself and many of the historical figures of the era. At times, the book dragged and became tiresome, but not exceedingly so. I would highly recommend the book for anyone interested not just in Andrew Carnegie but in late 19th century American and British history.

5 comments about Autobiography of a Yogi, 2nd Edition: The Original 1946 Edition plus Bonus Material.

1. I read this book several years ago for the first time, after many years of reading somewhat similar and associated material. Since then I have heard and read so many accounts of what this book has done for people, and it's true for me as well. For so many it has been a launch vehicle into a kind of magical world of unlimited possibilities. A world where reality is not set in stone, but is a product of the individual, and limited only by the individual's willingness and capacity to hold more. And once you have entered this world there's no turning back, even if you tried, but you won't. However, this is a very limited review intended only for those who are ready and waiting to launch. This book is a long proven and reliable space ship.



2. I have read Autobiography of a Yogi about a dozen times. I saw an unedited version was released, and so I bought and read this. It is very much worth reading.



3. Great reading. Helped me deal with the passing of my Mother and gave me the perspective I needed to better understand life in general. Open the book anywhere and become engrossed in your reading. Yogananda certainly has no reason to make up the stories he relates...really heavy stuff about re-incarnation and the holy masters who have lived and are living in our time. I sent copies to many of my friends.



4. Alright, this book is too cool. That's it, I'm going to India, to become a Yogi. or wait.... can I have those inner experiences here? hmmmm, maybe my India is right in front of my nose, all around me...



5. This book was highly recommended by a friend as something that would change my life. I expected something else. The author lost me in the first chapters with his descriptions of people seeing and talking to gods, reading minds, predicting the future, levitating, teletransporting, appearing in two places at the same time, fighting tigers with their bare hands, amongst other fantastic stories. Just a little bit too much for me, a long time atheist.
   
   Other people might have a kick out of it, not me.

5 comments about Journeys Out of the Body.

1. Very grounded and easy to understand narrative concerning sudden OBE and what its potential use for your spiritual growth can become. Good luck getting as proficient as Mr. Monroe :)



2. I think you are interested in this subject before you bought this book. Monroe is one of the pioneers in OOBE and books about it. It is well written and will hold your attention and you just might read it twice if it takes you where you want to go. I recommend this book and should be #1 in everybody's OOBE library.



3. This book is a great overview of what Robert Monroe's experiences with Astral Projection, as well as how to induce them yourself. In the book, Monroe didn't intend to have them, they just happened one morning while he was experimenting with memory retention and audiotapes. He does not try to push any agendas or lead the reader to believe something is absolutely true, he leaves that to the reader themselves.
   
   He did some experiments with AP at a university, he goes about analyzing his experiences with a non judgmental attitude. He tries to convey his experiences without over analyzing them.
   
   Robert Monroe's experiences with the beings he encountered are very informative, especially if you want to attempt an OBE. He says that 'like attracts like' in the afterlife, as it seems to do in this dimension as well. Thoughts are very powerful 'over there' and when you are out of your body you can't hide your true self.
   
   I would definitely recommend this book if you want to have an OBE yourself, and want to read about the many entities and experiences he encountered, as well as how he dealt with them, like the black hole that appeared in front of him, and the hand that grabbed his when he stuck it in there!



4. In the simplest possible way the author tries , and I think with success, to give his experience and the long way he had to pass through, in order to accept his new normal abilities, everyone's ability as he states.
   Its also surprising how through reasoning try to convince that his experiences are not dream or fantasy. Additionally gives some guidelines for those who want to give a try.....
   A fascinating trip and a concise guide.



5. This book describes an unusual (to me) series of experiments whose effect is to confirm the existence of a relationship between OOBEs and events in the physical world. While it would be possible to create such an account as fiction, the author pays attention to this problem of repeatable verification, making the book interesting to read.

2 comments about The Word of the Lord Is Upon Me: The Righteous Performance of Martin Luther King, Jr..

1. The Word of the Lord is Upon Me is perhaps best described as a biography of the rhetoric of the century's greatest orator. Rieder mentions that part of the aim of the book is to reclaim the true Martin Luther King from the shallow appreciations of St. Martin that occur every January. King's medium was speech, and he was less saint than maestro, sampling from cultural traditions across the spectrum, recasting, remaking, and retelling.
   
   Through King's words -- often plagiarized, borrowed, or written by others, then spoken in his inimitable voice and made his own -- Rieder's academic study and close reading becomes compelling. Rieder has a keen ear for language, bringing out the subtle nuances in the maestro's recombined rhetoric in beautiful prose of his own. "Righteous performance" in the book's title captures the extent to which King's inspired prophecy was carefully calibrated; his themes and voices often reflected the audience; and he was always keenly aware of his desired effect.
   
   The one thing missing from the book is the voice of King himself, the instrument that animates the pages. As Rieder points out, absent his voice the words themselves can be uneven, as in King's published work, which was invariably heavily edited for white audiences. King's genius was in speaking to audiences across racial lines, connecting with each within their own tradition, and then analogizing that with the African-American struggle with civil rights. King did this with audiences from Southern Afro-Baptist congregations to Reform Jews, from white liberal Protestants to the AFL-CIO, bringing his audiences into his fold by the power of his charisma.
   
   He was able to reach all these disparate listeners in part because he himself contained multitudes: his love of opera, weighty theological discussions, and language were no less authentic than his love of soul food, his bawdy sense of humor, or his deep belief in the redemptive power of a Christ who loved all humanity regardless of race.
   
   (Full disclosure: Jonathan Rieder is an old friend.)



2. This book is very informative. In this time where sounds bites seems to define who we are, this book takes a deep look into Dr. King's complete "personhood". A must read for those who want to understand Dr. King complete ministry.

5 comments about The Mascot: Unraveling the Mystery of My Jewish Father's Nazi Boyhood.

1. Many times I'm asked why I study history, specifically that of the Second World War. This book is what they should read if they want to understand my answer. Even today, over half a century later, the Second World War affects lives and more so helps make up national character for a multitude of countries throughout the world. This story first attracted me when I read an article about it online, a Jewish child used as a Mascot by those fighting on the side of Nazi Germany? Was I surprised? No, reading "Europa Europa" was more than enough to convince me that history is more powerful than any human imagination. Thus, while I wasn't surprised I was intrigued, how did the child survive?
   
   This book, while starting out slowly (I kept yelling at it to pick up the pace and get to the point within the first hundred or so pages) picks up pretty quickly after that, 2-3 days reading is more than enough to tackle all of its 400 pages. The beginning of the book is mainly a rendition of memories, by bits and pieces, of a man who is trying to recall who he was in an almost past life. By the time one gets to the end, much of what seemed like it couldn't possibly mean anything takes on a whole new meaning. I would hate to ruin any of it for future readers so I'll only say a few words.
   
   A boy escapes into the forest and witnesses the death of his mother, brother, and sister. He survives to be found by Latvian soldiers in the service of the Germans and is raised partly by them and partly by a rich Latvian and his family who owns a chocolate factory. It took him over half a century to finally tell his story to his family and with the help of a few people the mysteries that he could never understand, words he could never put into context, were all solved for him. Easily one of the better books I've read in a long time about the Holocaust, even though the concentration is less the Holocaust as a whole and more a struggle of one 6 year old boy to survive and over 60 years later to find out his true past and identity. Highly recommended.



2. Like the reviewers before me, I cannot praise this book highly enough. It's an absolutely riveting story, filled with twists and turns and has a remarkably satisfying ending, if one dare to say that. The interweaving of the son's reactions and the father's revelations that join together finally in a concerted search for the father's origins and the validation of his memories is spellbinding. Like others before me, I couldn't put it down. As these belated stories of survival surface, particularly regarding those who were children at the time, one can only stand in awe again at the variety of human experience (and resilience). The father paid a heavy price for his silence to his family all those many years, but he was caught between Latvian complicity with Nazi crimes (which local Latvians tried to suppress) and his own shame at an identity he could neither abandon or verify. The father and son were interviewed on NPR in November (it's archived on line) and well worth a listen.



3. After reading a highly favorable review in the New York Times, I rushed down to the bookstore where a friend works to see if they had this book, and was shocked to find that they did not have it and that no one had been asking about it.
   
   It's such an amazing story--a young boy escapes death in just the first of an unusual set of circumstances and developments, twists and turns, leading to events that cripple him later as a husband and father until he feels compelled to reveal his story to his son, the author of this book.
   
   I have read a number of "survival" books about the Holocaust. Surely this is the most unusual. It reminded me in some ways of Martin Gilbert's THE BOYS, but this is a completely different story. This is a Jewish boy who was adopted by Latvian troops collaborating with the Nazis, and as an adult, he has clearly suffered from guilt and confusion such that the reader experiences the journey as well. As I read on, I found myself wondering if the truth would turn out to be different from what the boy's memories were, just as the author clearly did as he listened to his father's story, a tale slowly revealed over the course of a few years in the late '90s, almost fifty years after the original events in Russia and Latvia in 1941-45.
   
   And there are several levels on which this story works. In the WWII period, you get a feeling for village, or shtetl, life in Russia through the initial memories of the boy as well as later when he and his son do further investigations. You get what seems to be a likely accurate picture of the soldiers, higher officials, and collaborating civilians the boy came to know. There are vivid depictions of the later war years.
   
   Later on, after the author begins to find out the fuller story, father and son confront mixed reactions from scholars and Jewish organizations as well as the Latvian community in Australia, where the author grew up not knowing he was Jewish until his father felt compelled to find out who he really was and where he came from.
   
   I really liked the way the book was organized, mostly short chapters, and here, the author or his editors really did well in observing that sometimes "less is more". Thus, there is not an extensive discussion of some minor characters, colleagues, friends, and others whom the author consults and confronts as the story of his father unfolds, yet we understand pretty well where these characters are coming from.
   
   Finally, I commend the book for its helpful index, maps, and of course the fascinating photos that are reproduced showing the young "Alex" in his SS uniform. It's a little puzzling that the modern photos are rendered in the same grainy way as the old ones, but that is a minor complaint.



4. I could not put the book down. It's amazing what a 5-6 y. old can remember after hiding it away and not talking to anyone about his past for 50 years. Written very well, thought provoking, and makes you wonder how one should define a "Holocaust Survivor."



5. Our author, Mr. Kurzem, Australian-born, of Latvian Jewish descent, finds out in his late adolescent that his father has been hiding his true childhood story for over 50 years. The son had been raised to consider himself a Latvian, as were others who emigrated to Australia via the German DP camps at the end of WWII. His father had been a reluctant Latvian, who married an Irish Catholic woman, but still, our author did consider himself to be Latvian until he got a call from his father. He was doing research at Oxford, so he was no slouch academically.
   
   AS this very absorbing book progresses, we learn through the son that the father is himself unsure of who he really was, as he stumbled through the Latvian forest until adopted as a "mascot" (age 6) with a Latvian troop. He quickly learned Latvian, and later GErman, as these troops were working with the Nazis in expunging Soviet Communists, i.e. Partisans, from their country, after Germany came to liberate them from the Soviets. The remarkable story unfolds slowly, but with a wonderfully satisfying ending, as the son and his father go back to Latvia in post-Soviet 1990's, to see if the few clues can lead to his village.
   
   Sure enough, through hard pushing and some sheer amazing lucky coincidences, they finally determine that the father is a shtetl Jew, who was spared death in a mass shooting by escaping in the night into a forest behind the village. The photographs in the book are very interesting, showing the details of clothing, houses, people's faces in those terrible times.
   
   The final chapter condemns the Latvians for cooperating with the Germans, which is a slap in the face to anyone who knows the Latvians' miserable history. When they lost their independence to the Soviets, had their farms collectivized, their property stolen, their families shipped to Siberia and so on, most Latvians knew who controlled the Kremlin: the Jews, a fact none can deny. They appointed their own brethren in Riga to bring Communism with an iron fist, forming councils to destroy everyday Latvians' lives. When German soldiers arrived to destroy Communist control, there was no Latvian hesitation in wreaking revenge on the perpetrators, including the women and children. Jews became Partisans, running through the forest to escape arrest, often fleeing to Communist Russia. Many were innocent of any political involvement, as is true in any country.
   
   However, our author, an educated man, omits this critical part of Latvian history, wipes them all with one "brown" brush, yet the Latvians did exactly that: call all Jews "reds", regardless of their true allegiances. Many were true Latvian nationalists and complete capitalists, who would never tamper with the rights to property against anyone. Too bad for these, it seemed; the devastation was too great.
   
   I highly recommend this book for serving up a very exciting page-turner, as one wishes to see exactly how this young boy survived such a strange experience. You can understand how he waited until very late in life to reveal his story to anyone, including his children, because he could be persecuted by both Latvians and Jews, and above all, those millions who suffered at the hands of Communists. Their descendants are still angry!
   
   Poor man! What a terrible time and place he was born into! But he was lucky to get down to Dresden, survived its bombing, get into a DP camp, and achieve an emigration visa to Australia. Imagine if he, like so many of the troop he'd joined, had been stuck back in the Communist land! His son would never have been born, for he would have been shot by Commies.
   
   The son shows bitterness, but the father knows himself to be VERY LUCKY!!!

5 comments about Write it When I'm Gone.

1. There are plenty of books worth 5 stars on Amazon, but this just isn't one of them. I'm a Republican, and found this book to be pretty interesting all in all. It really sheds some light on how the Party operates, what kind of a person President Ford really was, and what his true thoughts were on a number of subjects. You probably aren't going to find a better book on this subject.
   
   However, I have read many awesome books that deserve 5 stars, and this one just isn't one of them. But if you're into politics, you'll find it pretty interesting. I listened to this unabridged audio version on a very long drive, and found it interesting enough to hold my attention, but easy enough to be able to listen and drive at the same time.



2. For those of us that had lived through this series of events this book does nothing to render it "remarkable." The information is well known. The book could have been written with far fewer pages with the elimination of redundancies - ad nauseam. The author and President Ford enjoyed a relationship that might have been better defined in an article or two. Sorry! I find nothing "remarkable" in this book - except maybe the price.



3. There are descriptions galore on this book already, I just wanted to add that this was a "can't put it down" book for me also. I was in my early teens when Watergate was coming down. I had no idea just that Ford was such a principled man but also had the ability to get to the heart of a matter in few words and in most cases with no malice. As I was reading the last couple of chapters I felt like I'd really missed out by having neven known this man. He may not have been a Lincoln but he was certainly one Ford that never needed to be recalled. What a great read!!



4. This audio book far exceeded my expectations. The reader is very talented and the story is so honest. You come to realize that Gerald Ford was quite the public servant, leader and consumate gentleman. I highly recommend as it brought so much history to my own experiences.



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