2 comments about Of Time and Change.

1. In this well-written memoir, Frank Waters shares intimate details of his friendships with many of the artists who lived in Taos, New Mexico during the Mabel Dodge Luhan era. A pulitzer prize-winning author, Waters uses his talent with the pen to acquaint the reader with his artist friends in Taos and tell his own life story. Waters also shares his exploration of the history of Native Americans in the Four Corners area. If anyone is qualified to write about the art world in Taos at that time, it is certainly Frank Waters. A must-read for those interested in the Southwest.



2. While I agree with Steffanie Gibbons' view that the Waters' memoir is well-written, in that it flows with the pen of an accomplished writer, but I cannot not agree with a rating of five stars. The "intimate" picture portrayed gives a thin image of his artist friends. Moreover this picture is one of, somewhat desperate, people seeking to be significant as artists, but coming off more like hangers-on. After reading the book, Taos has lost much of the well manicured luster as an artist center, and comes off more like a tourist trap.

1 comments about Knife Man, The.

1. This is an absolutely wonderful book. Not only is it about an explorer of genius, but it portrays an entire historical epoch - a crucial phase in the late Enlightenment - when practical achievements were being worked out, when what we call the modern era was being born. At the center of it is John Hunter, an irascible man of extraordinary energy and will, on a quest that would forever change the practice of surgery. But before his career as a surgeon, he was a comparative anatomist, fascinated with the variations of life.
   
   Hunter was the perfect Enlightenment man: rather than trust to ancient texts and their faulty though time-honored prescriptions, he developed his own method: he observed, experimented, and recorded the results. While this may sound like a no-brainer today, it was far from what surgeons were doing at that time. His boldness and compulsion to seek his own truth alienated many of his colleagues, who preferred to follow procedures used for millennia, such as blood-letting and the immediate removal of limbs and diseased organs by the crudest methods. All of their assumptions are wonderfully explained in historical context. Thus, you can see an illustration of what was changing during that period, with the establishment of methods for truly scientific medicine.
   
   Hunter worked 19 hours per day, seeing patients and then spending late hours dissecting and recording his observations. The amount of knowledge that Hunter generated, often stolen by others to advance their careers, is truly astonishing. He proved, for example, that embryos are not fully formed at conception, but that they develop through phases that virtually all animal species share. He noted anatomical similarities across species and even families, things that no one had observed because of the biases they learned in ancient texts, including the Bible. The lengths to which he went were incredible, including perhaps inflecting himself with deadly diseases (e.g. STDs) to study their effects. It is truly awe-inspiring. And all of it wound up in the museum he was creating, which displayed the best collection of comparative anatomy in the world at that time.
   
   In addition, his life held great drama. Starting from a poverty stricken background and without much formal schooling, he rose to the top of his profession with only a little help. From the start, due to a shortage of bodies to dissect, Hunter developed a network of grave robbers (and which may have actually inspired the Jekyll/Hyde story- the author does not shy from criticising his ethics). He fought the establishment and gained a devoted following, perhaps his greatest achievement as his 200+ students went on to disseminate his ideas (and skepticism) into medical education as well as surgical practices. He fell out with his older brother, whom he surpassed as a scientist but not as a professional operator. Finally, he had a happy and unusual marriage with a poet, whose circle included Haydn, Johnson, and Hume (a close relative).
   
   For me, this was the ideal vacation book: I was utterly engrossed by it as the writing style is compulsively readable, the narrative brisk, and the ideas fascinating. It is rare that I find such a first-rate historical and scientific narrative and I can only hope that the author produces more. This book is a gem, a masterpiece, and I will offer it as a gift to many people. Warmly recommended.

5 comments about Dearest Ones: A True World War II Love Story.

1. I came across this book at a local bookstore and thought it was a very touching and well-written account of love during wartime. As the author lived in my area, I was able to meet her and have her sign my copy. I'm so glad I did as she passed away August 22, 2002. What a great keepsake for her family and a wonderful book for the rest of us. So if you've been meaning to write your memoirs, don't put it off! It may not ever be listed on Amazon but it would probably mean a lot to your loved ones.



2. This is a wonderful book that I enjoyed the entire time I was reading it. It is one of those treasures of American history that should be read by anyone interested in WWII history. It is valuable look at the war from the perspective of an American Red Cross volunteer stationed in England. Not a nurse, as the author points out as the usual assumption, but one of those moral boosting "doughnut dollies" that sometimes were the last friendly female face a soldier would see before embarking for the battlefields of Europe.
   Mrs. Norwalk was a wonderfully skilled writer at the time she wrote the letters and journal entries that make up the book. And the book is equally well crafted and edited, giving a detailed look at the work of the Red Cross workers on the docks of Southampton, England, their everyday lives and yes romances as the subtitle implies. It also includes personal photographs taken at the time.
   An interesting item on page 99 is a list that explains the code used by the Red Cross to communicate the number of ships arriving or leaving, their sailing dates, and the number of soldiers to expect so they would be prepared and have enough volunteers, coffee, and doughnuts for them.
   My sincerest thanks to Mrs. Norwalk (now deceased)for sharing this personal history with us, it reminds me very much of the letters my father wrote my mother during WWII that I have published into a book entitled: All My Love, Forever: Letters Home From A WWII Citizen Soldier. - Dale Lane



3. Rosemary Norwalk left ardent swains and professional position to become a "doughnut dolly" with the American Red Cross. This University of California graduate and San Francisco native brings a disciplined eye to the social climate and
   the broad spectrum of Americans thrown together by World War II. Following training in Washington, D.C. where she had to be restrained from sitting in the back of the bus, to commentary on the bravery of the ordinary Londoner under the buzz bombs, to experiences managing the large operation at a major port, she is insightful and forthright. Her many letters home are tied together with good historical notes on military operations and progress of the war. Mistitled a love story, it is instead a story of women who dared to step up and take on great responsibility for providing troop support both departing and returning through Britain. An example: A new"girl" arrives and one of the current Red Cross "girls" rushes to Rosemary with misgivings over her attitude and different looks. " The new girl announces: I'm Lil...I'm a Jew and I'm from Brooklyn and I don't like to take orders.' It was a challenge, not a greeting. I took a deep breath in the silence, then stuck out my hand and smiled. I hoped cordially. 'Welcome, Lil. I'm a gentile, I'm from San Francisco, and,' I groped for the right words, 'I don't like to give orders, so we ought to get along fine.' "



4. I picked up "Dearest Ones" in a discount store and didn't expect much. There's a certain sameness to the World War II diaries of young women: young woman from small town bucks convention, kisses parents good-bye, and runs off to get liberated. She has some very mild adventures, makes a lot of friends, says "gee golly whiz" a lot, and swans on home at the end of the book. A postscript informs us that she settled down with a man named Bob or Hank or Earl, of whom we heard absolutely nothing in the course of the book except for a few mentions of "letters from So-and-So in the South Pacific," and is living somewhere in the midwest near her three grown children.
   
   Boy, was I surprised, and pleasantly so. Perhaps it helps that Rosemary Langheldt was older, in her mid-twenties, and already a career woman when she applied to join the Red Cross overseas. It also helps that she seems to have been a very curious and thoughtful person. As other reviews have mentioned, she takes notice not only of the glitz and fun of work abroad, but of Britain's sometimes stifling class distinctions, American racial prejudice, and the difficult moral compromises involved in the occupation of Germany. There is also plenty of romance, fun, and gee-golly-whiz adventure, but one never gets the sense that Rosemary lost track of her primary reasons for being in the Red Cross or saw her job as a mere means of adventure. Rather, she was there to work and the adventure happened along the way.
   
   She was keenly interested in other people, making this book a pleasure to read-- it can be incredibly frustrating to read a diary when the only "character" the diarist is able to make three-dimensional is the diarist herself. She had a skill for interacting with people (I get the sense that I would never in a million years have been able to handle her job) and trying to understand them, and that curiosity and interest in humanity permeates the whole book. (I also feel compelled to mention, as a reader, that I really appreciated the narrative cohesiveness of this book. If someone is introduced, then they will be around until a reason for their departure is given. A lot of diaries suffer from people and events appearing, disappearing, reappearing, necessitating either a lot of head-scratching or awkward footnotes. This book doesn't have that problem. Rosemary was a really excellent correspondent.) This is really a stellar example of the genre, probably one of the best I've read.



5. This book is the journal of Rosemary Langheldt who left her job and home in San Francisco to serve with the Red Cross in London and then Germany. The story is told through letters home and journal entries, and both are highly informative and well written missives. Mrs. Norwalk recreates what it was like to live in England during the last year of the war. She is an empathetic observer of the many tens of thousands of men (boys) who stop briefly at her Clubmobile for a donut and a cup of coffee after disembarking in England and re-embarking for the fight on the Continent. Once Rosemary is transferred to Germany, she sees firsthand the near destruction of many German cities. Her writings are true to the time: these people were our enemies a short time ago and they tried to kill the boys who I helped serve. It also offers an honest appraisal of the Occupation where the black market made many Americans rich. This book will be of interest to anyone who wants to know about life in England after the Allied landings in June 1944 and the early days of the occupation in Germany.

5 comments about Damages.

1. This is a wonderfully written and wonderfully worthwhile look into the healthcare and legal communities...it is a book that you won't be able to put down. The characters are well presented and you will find "knowing" them will enrich your own life.



2. I'm a medical doctor embroiled in a battle to expose a corrupt insurance company engaged in racketeering. I think (and have been told) that this is a story that needs telling. There are lots of twists and turns, corporate and government cover-ups, some drama, many sympathetic characters in the form of other victims of the abuses of this company, and lots of anguish. Thousands are suffering and some committing suicide because of the actions of this company. It will take me years to get to court, if that is even possible. Except for the Internet contacts I've made and a few friends, I am working practically alone. The legal profession has all but abandoned the public and their actions in covering these crimes up with confidentiality agreements, for those who can even afford lawyers, is allowing it to continue and worsen and spread, like a cancer.



3. This is a wonderful book for anyone involved in the litigation process or anyone involved in the health care field.

   I am a structured settlement consultant who works with personal injury attorneys and some insurance companies. This is the best book I have ever seen about the process.

   I have purchased over 200 copies of the book to give to trial attorneys, claims professionals and other structured settlement professionals. All love the book. It reads like a novel.

   Don McNay...




4. Well written, a gripping story and balanced. I am teaching a course on medical malpractice at the local law school. This book is the text. It provides a frame work to discuss numerous issues and the potential impact - or more accurately non-impact - of many tort reform proposals.



5. I am a college student studying to be a medical assistant. I had to write an essay on a specific medical lawsuit for my class "Medical Law and Ethics." I have not read a nonfiction book in years, but once I started reading this book I could not put it down. It is so stimulating, exciting, and brilliant. Mr. Werth had little to work with since there was no court room drama. He did a spectacular job with the resources he had. He is indeed an intelligent writer. I wish him well.

4 comments about A Tiger's Hide: Recollections of a foreign surgeon in the U.S..

1. This book combines an amazing story with some interesting descriptions of surgical procedures that Dr. Jun performed. It is written in clear, simple language so you don't have to be a doctor to understand it. Each chapter tells a story of its own, but the whole thing ties together. There's a lot of good homespun wisdom in it, too! Be sure to check it out.



2. This book defies easy categorization. It isn't a novel - it isn't a typical autobiography, either. The book has a little of everything - some thought-provoking proverbs from Doctor Jun's newspaper column combined with a series of interesting stories taken from his life. I found Dr. Jun's philosophy of the world -- basically to enjoy life, contribute something to society and not waste time -- to be quite approachable. The stories he includes of his various surgeries are pretty amazing, too. (There's one where he removes a tree limb that gets embedded in a boy's chest.) What fascinated me the most was the feeling I got reading it that no matter how different a person's culture is from our own, or what a person's occupation is, beneath it all they have perfectly understandable thoughts, desires, and emotions. I recommend it!



3. Dr. Jun's collection of remembrances and stories are told with a warmth which doesn't drip from self promotion or some other agenda. Dr. Jun paints the picture of what life was like as a child in North Korea before the Japanese occupation and the gut wrenching feeling of loss when forced to flee his homeland once the communists gained control. He shows the reader why he has not taken life for granted since he narrowly escaped certain execution at the hands of tyranny. These are a collection of stories. Some with great insights into human nature, some markers of hard earned lesson and many proofs what we have come to know as the American Dream.
   
   I highly recommend this book to anyone. It is an easy enough read. It can be read in any order and it is sure to touch your sensibilities.



4. Dr. Jung's life rememberances captivated both of us. He is truly a man of his time and all time.
   
   - Joseph and Marilyn Smith
   Citra, FL

5 comments about Dallas Doc: All the City and Country Critters in the Life of a Texas-style Vet.

1. This is a wonderful book that is well written and easy to read. The author gives great insight into his life as a vet. Readers of all ages will find this book entertaining and captivating.



2. Heartwarming, heart tugging and funny--it's a perfect book for any animal lover. Think Cleveland Amory meets Baxter Black. More like James Herriot's writing than anything I ever read. A fun and easy-to-read collection of short stories that truly describes the life of a Texas veterinarian. I couldn't put it down!



3. Any human that is owned by any kind of city or country critter will really enjoy this book...it is filled with hilarious adventures and heart warming, tear jerking accounts of the daily life of a citified rural veterinarian, just trying to do the work he loves the best he can, and still maintain his sanity. This book has earned a 'keep it and read it again' spot right next to my collection of James Herriot's memoirs.



4. This was the greatest book ever.
   I liked the stories cause they made me laugh and sad too.
   I think it was a very good book



5. Dallas Doc is a great book of anecdotes about being a vet in Dallas/Texas. I enjoyed the stories a lot but was left wanting more substance, thus the 4 stars instead of 5.

   However, if you like animals and the people who care for them you will like this book and the sequel, Texas Doc.

5 comments about James Herriot: The Life of a Country Vet.

1. The most positive thing about this book is that it shows you what Jim Wight (James Herriot's son) was up against when he wrote his memoir. I highly recommend Jim Wight's memoir for anyone who is interested in learning about James Herriot (Alf Wight).

   I think Mr. Lord may have been well-meaning when he wrote James Herriot: Life of a Country Vet but the book is really appallingly bad. Mr. Lord has no feel for the WWII period, has done no practical research, seems to have little to no perception of human character and relies almost exclusively on gossip and word-of-mouth. One gets the impression that Mr. Lord decided before writing his book what he was going to find and proceeded to twist or ignore any information to the contrary. He relies on those "witnesses" who will tell him what he wants to hear without taking into consideration the inherent complexity of human beings. Witnesses do not always tell the truth--it is a gross error in judgment to think that one person can fully, and accurately, explain another person.

   The lack of reliable facts results in Mr. Lord relying almost exclusively on guesswork, and the assumptions inherent in Mr. Lord's guesswork are almost all negative. For instance, he assumes that because he, Mr. Lord couldn't find evidence that Alf Wight's parents were musicians, ergo, they weren't, therefore Alf Wight was lying when he referred to his parents as professional musicians. The point may be debatable but in the interests of good writing, the assumption is not enough. If Mr. Lord wasn't willing to do the required research to prove the point conclusively one way or the other, he should have left it out.

   Mr. Lord strikes one as the kind of man who is continually surprised by the inconsistencies of human nature. He reports with something like glee that Alf once told someone that his father died in 1961, instead of 1960. This becomes evidence for . . . the mind boggles. I'm not sure Mr. Lord himself has a clue what he is trying to accomplish in this book. Whatever it is, it suffers from an utter lack of scholarship and is therefore deeply insulting both to Alf Wight's memory and to the reader.




2. Graham Lord is not a hack or a fraud, but he clearly wrote this book without any cooperation from the family of James Herriot (Alfie Wight), and it shows in an abominable lack of actual information about Herriot's life before meeting Lord or of Herriot's life as a vet. He also makes far too much about the fact that Herriot was writing compelling stories based on actual incidents rather than serving only as a journalist, but since his connection to Herriot was only through his books and some occasional personal contact, there was little else he could write. The book is infuriating in the extent to which it substitutes information about the times in which Herriot lived for actual information about Herriot: knowing nothing of Herriot's life growing up, Lord talks endlessly about the life of other people who grew up in the same neighborhood as Herriot, and historical records and newspapers were obviously his primary source, along with people who didn't live in Thirsk and who had limited contact with Herriot.

   The inadequacies of this book inspired Jim Wight (Herriot's son) to write a truly revealing biography entitled The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of My Father, and Lord is to be thanked for that. He did his best with what little information he had, but there is no escaping the fact that he had too little information, and having read the son's memoir, I quickly found Lord's book unbearable and started skimming after a couple of chapters in the hopes of finding SOMETHING I hadn't already learned from Wight's book. I was not successful.




3. I couldn't agree more with the other reviews posted about this book. It reminded me of the biography of John Lennon I once tried to read. After reading a very short time I put down the book never to reopen it, feeling as if I needed a shower. It's as if the author is trying to elevate himself by bringing down the subject by exposing all his "faults" to the world. Researching would seem to be the most important component to writing a biography (along with the ability to write), and neither are in evidence here. Graham Lord relies on information and viewpoints from only a few sources and none of them close family or friends. Much of the writing is spent on exposing Wight's inconsistancies between his real life and his writing. Why this is so important is beyond me. I believe Wight started every story with an idea based on experience, and expanded it into the charming chapter he presented to us in his books. I also believe many of the stories were accurate retellings of episodes in his career with only names and exact circumstances altered. Instead of focusing on what would be the central core to Alfie Wight's life and writing, Graham Lord has seemingly gathered all the peripheral innuendo and "juicy" tidbits surrounding that core and for some reason presented them here in his book. A real laugher for me is the chapter ending with the dramatic announcement of Wight's nervous breakdown. Simply awful, awful writing.
   You would think the movies and television shows would only have a very small part in a biography considering how long Alfie Wight lived, but in this book far to much is written about them and many of the photo's used are also directly from them.
   A book like this reminds me of a movie like "Plan 9 From Outer Space". It is so bad in all areas that you can almost derive some enjoyment out of reading it. If you want to read a real biography of James Herriot, done with real research, real writing ability and real inside information, read the biography by his son, Jim Wight. I find it interesting that this is Jim Wight's first attempt at writing and I find it quite good. Graham Lord has written many things and his biography is not so good. So you never know. Cheers.



4. This book is not even worth turning the first page! This is one of those books where you actually feel embarrassment for the author. The book is poorly researched, poorly written, poorly edited, and well...... words just fail me. While I am not a great Herriot fan, I do have to give him, Herriot his due, the man could write well and could tell a great story (isn't that what authors are suppose to do?). This guy though, Graham Lord, I suspect, has problems feeding the paper into his typewriter! The entire book is such a obvious ploy to make some quick money on the shirttail of a "dead" but popular author it is rather nauseating. Shame on the publisher for accepting such shoddy work! I did finish the book though (thank God I did not purchase the thing) because each page became worse and worse and I could not stop, my thinking being with each turn of the page "well it just cannot be any worse than that last page/chapter." How wrong I was! If you must read the thing, borrow it or check it out of the library. I would hate to see a person waste their money, and I certainly would not want the author and his publisher to be rewarded for a work such as this. Herriot's life, warts and all, could be such a fastinating subject. I do hope someone will turn out a good study of him eventually. We certainly did not get it here. I just hate having to give this one even one star. DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK!



5. Mr. Lord could have written a good book. He has the tools and the know-how, and he did his research. He made one fatal error, however. Actually he made not one, but two mistakes. The first mistake is that his starting point is wrong. As a trained journalist, he does as a journalist does - he keeps trying to find "dirt", or rather manufacture dirt - all in order to give us a "balanced view". One can't help feeling, as one reads interview after interview, that Mr. Lord has somehow picked only the disgruntled, caustic and jealous remarks to print. The second mistake was in underestimating "James Herriot"'s fans, and familys goodwill towards him. He treats his subject manner as just another subject, as routine grist for the gossip mill, but Alf Wight was not that kind of person. He was a person totally out of Mr. Lord's scope and understanding. He underestimated Mr. Wight's fans and family's tolerance for having his name besmearched, and, indeed, his son wrote another book in response, a beautiful book about his father, and in it he easily refutes all Mr. Lord's accusations - and turns Mr. Lord into a laughingstock. Because anybody who has read the two books side by side - which I just did - would realize that Mr. Lord has indeed made a laughingstock of himself.
   
   While there are some good parts to the book, they are very much overshadowed by the other parts. There are two good chapters - in the middle - which were written factually - the chapters dealing with the content of James Herriot's first books, and the publishing history. There is a good reason why this is so - Mr. Lord was indeed part of the publishing business and would have been privy to that sort of information.
   
   But much of the book is exactly what he accuses James Herriot of writing - pure fiction. It would take too long to point out every one of Mr. Lord's mistakes, but I would like to simply write just a few of the many mistakes Mr. Lord makes. The rest, if you still want to read this book, you could find out for yourself.
   
   The first accusation Mr. Lord makes about James Herriot is that Alf Wight did not write a semi-autobiography, but rather pure fiction. He maintains that even if this were so, it would not matter, because the books are still entertaining. With that salve to his conscience, he methodically starts to take apart many stories in an effort to prove them fiction.
   
   His first assertion - that it would not matter if it were actually fiction, is simply not true. It would matter, and matter a lot, to both his fans and friends and family. His son says as much in his book- that it would matter a lot if his books are fiction. Fortunately for us, Mr. Lord does not bring a single proof that could stand up to scrutiny. His method seems to be - I don't think this story is true, so it's probably not. That's it. Not one single proof. For instance, he says that Alf Wight's memoirs of his war years are fiction - because the dates are wrong. He says that Alf Wight joined the army in March, 1941, and was discharged two years later, and therefore his story that he was called up to the RAF while his wife was expecting their first child is a fictional story. His son, in his book "The Real James Herriot" explains that he enlisted in the RAF in March, but was NOT CALLED UP until 15 months later, in November 1942, when his wife was indeed, expecting their first child. Is it possible his son and wife might know when he joined the RAF better than Mr. Lord? Especially since Mr. Lord actually admits that he is going from hearsay - since the RAF would not give Mr. Lord access to their records, claiming that they were still classified? This should be enough of a blooper to discredit Mr. Lord; however, there are many, many more - so many that it would be funny if it were not also very, very sad that someone could so easily print a book full of lies and get away with it (by prefacing all his explanations with "perhaps" he covers himself from libel, I suppose).
   
   Another example of Mr. Lord's innuendos - he quotes from one of Mr. Herriot's books that James Herriot was taken aback by the red (and squished) face of his newborn son, and asked the nurse if there was something wrong with the child. Mr. Lord asks how can this story be true if he is a vet? Just so, explains his son, animals are born much more fully formed than humans are. (A horse is born already able to walk as soon as he is born). Mr. Lord falls flat in the mud.
   
   Mr. Lord quotes James Herriot as saying that 90% of his stories are based on real life. Mr. Lord asks how that can be - when the Herriot books say that he joined Seigfried's practice in 1937, when he actually started working there in 1941? Mr. Lord, I think we are ready for a lesson in English. Do you know what the words "based on true life" means? "Based" means "based", not "actually, exactly, fact". When he first started writing, he was hoping to remain anonymous, and therefore disguised his stories so that the people he was writing about would not recognize themselves. He changed the location of his practice to the Dales, he changed the dates, he even changed the characters - some from a man to a woman, for example. He put two stories into one, etc. etc. This all falls under the heading of "based on real life".
   
   There are many, many more examples of this in his book - where he "proves" that James Herriot was writing fiction - and he has no proof whatsoever. Not even one single time.
   
   If there is one person writing fiction, that person is Mr. Lord. Mr. Lord spends two entire chapters on a conjecture of how Alf's childhood might have been like - all based on the assumption that Alf had grown up in grinding poverty. These chapters become almost a farce when we read his sons portrayal of his real childhood - although his parents were not rich they were certainly never poor, and Alf had a very happy childhood. He also explains the economics of why this was so. Which puts Mr. Lord's two chapters of conjecture on how Alf's unhappy childhood might have been like in the category it deserves - pure fiction. While the poverty of the under-class in Glasgow in the 1920's is certainly very sad, it definitely does not belong in a biography of Alf Wight.
   
   Another mistake that Mr. Lord makes is that he constantly contradicts himself. For example, in one chapter he spends many paragraphs conjecturing on why Alf was always poor, when he should have had a thriving practice - and the fanciful castles he builds in the air are very elaborate indeed. And yet in another chapter he quotes a neighbor as saying - "oh, they claimed they didn't have any money but that wasn't true. They had money for everthing - a tennis court, ballet lessons for Rosie, etc." This came across as a vitriolic statement, but of course in contradiction to his earlier assumption that he was poor. Mr. Lord, you can't really have it both ways, can you?
   
   Another example - he constantly quotes Eddie Steanton throughout the book, with all kinds of outrageous comments, yet he himself quotes one of Eddie's colleagues "oh, Eddie always exaggerates, you can't believe everything he says". And later in the book it comes out that Eddie had had a falling out with Alf Wight, and I would assume that his "memories" might be somewhat tainted by those sentiments. And yet Mr. Lord accepts Mr. Streaton as a fully credible source.
   
   As matters stand now, this book is laughable and barely deserving of a review - except for one thing: if Mr. Wight's son would not have written his own biography, Mr. Lord's fictious book would have remained as the factual biography of Alf Wight. He would have succeeded in besmirching Alf Wight's name with his book full of lies (oh, excuse me, fiction). The fact that his son wrote his own biography, and a beautiful and moving one at that, has turned Mr. Lord's book into a joke, a book that his fans would not touch with a ten-foot pole, but Mr. Lord did not know that in advance. He tried to change James Herriot's fans opinion of their idol, by trying to find "dirt" on him, and that was a very low thing. The fact is that he fortunately did not succeed, but that does not take away from what Mr. Lord tried to do.
   
   Mr. Lord, shame on you!

4 comments about Waiting for Wings: A Woman's Metamorphosis Through Cancer.

1. I was deeply moved by this story of triumph over a disease that touches so many peoples lives. Heidi shares a fearless raw account of her fight to beat the odds of a very rare and deadly form of breast cancer. Her honesty and openess offers a real glimpse into the mind and soul of a womena struggling to beat the odds. It's a spiritual journey that left me wanting to do more for those who are suffering and for all humanity. I hope your experience is as rewarding and uplifting as mine... It's a must read!!!!



2. Recently I read, Waiting for Wings: A Woman's Metamorphosis through Cancer, by Heidi Marble. Through the pages of this phenomenal book, I found described all the patients that I have known in my career.
   Heidi's narrative, poetry, and the book's photography tell her story of how she found the light of life through the darkness of cancer. Living on the east coast when she was first diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer at the age of 34, Heidi, now a local Fairfield woman, chronicles her life during this time. As she begins to heal, she describes herself as a butterfly coming out of a cocoon, and she has metamorphosed as a type of healer to other women with breast cancer. Her book hypnotized me as I read her poetry that conveyed not only her thoughts and feelings but also those of women I have known who have dealt with breast cancer. The amazing photos by Cordetta Spells, as seen on the cover, is apropos for Heidi's butterfly association.
   As a Women's Health OB/GYN Nurse Practitioner and Nurse-Midwife for more than 28 years, I have never found an "easy" way to convey the "C" (cancer) word to any patient. I have tried to be matter of fact and clinical, but somehow it always gets messed up and I get emotional on some level. I incorporate a Holistic approach along with the Allopathic Medicine when working with clients.
   Heidi's account of her experience expresses the heart and soul of people who look to health practitioners to help guide them on a journey of emotions which includes loss, suffering, and redefining who they are.
   Family's lives also are transformed by their loved one's cancer and the various surgeries and treatments. The collection of letters written by family and friends shows us that we are not just treating the patient but those who also are important connections to our clients.
   Heidi created her cocoon from the time of her diagnosis, hair loss and Chemotherapy. Through the emotional and physical pain, her cocoon enveloped her and almost suffocated her until determination strengthened her will to live based on hearing her son's voice. The next moment she was overwhelmed with drugs, procedures, and pain. Heidi describes breaking out of the cocoon with a new perspective on life, and even reaching out to fly and help others as Heidi has done with this book.
   I recommend this book for all who want to know more about those who deal with cancer on a basic human level. It opens your eyes and your heart.
   



3. This book details one person's struggle to survive cancer, when her diagnosis was bleak. Heidi Marble makes it a struggle anyone can understand, and her personal triumph should be a beacon for any person or family struggling with the disease. The book is engaging, filled with facts the average person does not consider, and will not disappoint.



4. Heidi writes in a straghtforward manner, describing her ordeal with raw emotions. I feel like I know her and some of what she went through although I've never had cancer. Her courage shines through as we follow her through her journey. It's a wonderful book if you need to know the truth, and an even better book if you know someone who needs hope. I loved the poems and I usually don't go out of my way to read poetry.

5 comments about All Things Herriot: James Herriot and His Peaceable Kingdom.

1. I bought this book, sight-unseen, on the name alone. I was very disappointed to find that it read like a college term paper where the student has to fill up a given amount of space and spends most of there time stating the obvious. I feel this book just capitilizes on the Herriot name (a little irreverently, I might add) and nothing more.



2. All Things Herriot: James Herriot and His Peaceable Kingdom is just what its title implies: a comprehensive overview of all of the works of James Herriot (pen name of James Alfred Wight),skillfully interwoven with a biography of the famous veterinarian/writer. The book's author, Sanford Sternlicht, is a professor of English at Syracuse University and was for a time a Visiting Fellow at York University; his perspective on Herriot and on his beloved Yorkshire is informed and fine-tuned, and the tone of All Things Herriot is on the whole warm and appreciative. Sternlicht examines all of Herriot's major works, as well as his compilations and juvenile publications. He points out the unifying themes in all these works in a very clear and direct way -- the recurrent archetypal stories of birth, life, and death (which, as archetypes, will forever have universal appeal and will stand up well to repeated readings), and Herriot's message that suffering (animal and human) is "...the great, perennial challenge to all our humanity. Our response to suffering is ultimately how, as societies and individuals, we are to be judged." (All Things Herriot, p.76) Other facets of Herriot's appeal, which Sternlicht brings to the fore so well, include his beautifully-drawn and intricate portraits of the Yorkshire people, and of course, the animals, as well as Herriot's seemingly limitless store of heart-wrenching, gorgeous descriptions of the wild beauty of Yorkshire itself. This critical/literary biography never talks down to the reader, and more than once I pulled out my trusty dictionary to ascertain the full meaning of a passage -- but I enjoy learning new things and I'm sure that most readers will find this a stimulating read! Sternlicht's style is direct and immediate and colorful (not unlike Herriot's!), and I found it a joy to read. It made me want to re-read all the Herriot books, armed as I am with so much new understanding of Herriot and his world. This is a must for all Herriot fans and for those who have yet to discover his work. It is a fascinating and thorough portrait of not only a caring healer, a professional in his field, but (amazingly) a very gifted storyteller as well.



3. I would just like to say that I have been a fan of the great James Herriot and his writings for many years. His books have transported me to places of green pastures and bittersweet memories of the English countryside and the animals that lived there. This book, "All Things Herriot: James Herriot and His Peaceable Kingdom" has captured the reality behind the man who had brought us down those craggy pathways to the sweet, heartwrentching stories of our animal friends. Thank you for this book and for helping us to better know the man behind it all.



4. This book can not be considered non-fiction. The book is full of inaccuracies. So many in fact that the book is useless as a biography of Alf Wight aka James Herriot. Sternlicht shows Wight graduating college in 1937 but in another part of the book the date is listed as 1938. The correct date is 1939. The author also claims that Wight was in the RAF from 1943-1945 when it was actually 1941-1943. He even has the name of his son wrong listing it as Nicholas James when it's James Alexander. There are many more inaccuracies in this book which makes it wise to avoid reading it.



5. The author of this ' book ' is a part-time professor of English. You would think with this in mind that he might have bothered to get his facts correct. James Herriot was a wonderful man, and deserved his story to be told with accuracy. The author of this book should be ashamed. Don't waste your money, there are so many better things to read.

5 comments about Doc: Platoon Medic.

1. As a Squad Leader of 2nd Squad, 1st Platoon, reading Dan's book years after experiencing it brough back a floor of memories. We lost some good men in our battles, but we'ed lost a hell of a lot more if it hadn't been for him and the other medic's. I was honored to proof read his story before it was published and when I did, it was hard to hold back the tear's from the memories it brough. I'am honored to know him and to be part of his story.



2. I am a military physician and was serving in Afghanistan when I read Platoon Medic. I read the whole thing, cover-to-cover in a day and a half. It's simply a great book. It is a well-written, action-packed, gut-wrenching rocket ride through the hellish world of the combat medic in Vietnam. I felt like I was there in the rice paddies, watching Doc Evans patch up his bloody, dying comrades while the bullets were flying over his head. Dan Evans tells an astonishingly honest, important and poignant personal story. This book should be required reading for all Army medics and physicians. A great and important read.



3. Doc Evans not only tells it like it was, he makes his fellow grunts, like L. J. Henderson, and their heroism come alive in your mind. After reading Dr. Evans' book you won't want of miss two other books about the 4/39th during this same period; ...



4. Have you ever just known something you can't explain knowing? I have. I knew this book was going to be special before I even opened it. It has a vibe that I don't expect you to believe, but it does. Maybe it is because I share a sort of kinship with Mr. Evans. He was a corpsman who served in the Vietnam War. I was a medic myself for several years and though I have never felt a bullet whiz over my head or feared for my life, I have known the shame of not saving the life I had tried so hard to save. I have stood at a sink and kept scrubbing at the blood on my hands that had long since been scrubbed away and I can remember the screams of a father begging me to not let his child die. I have seen some things in my dreams that I do not need to share, but suffice to say Mr. Evans might understand. Sometimes only someone who has seen what you have seen can understand. I guess that is how I knew this book was for me.
   This is a very good book. As it turns out, it was way better than "just" a good book. To say that implies that it is merely flat and plain and words on paper, as if it is something to pick up or put down at your leisure. In fact, it is none of those things. Mr. Evans' recollections have a life of their own; they pull you in to his thoughts and feelings, take you back to a place where you can feel the mud, imagine the leeches and sense the suffering. The young soldier's story is so real you will feel it brush across your face like a cobweb in the darkest corner of the attic. You will be leery to look into the attic for all the forgotten memories, lost souls and pain packed away in boxes. You would prefer to walk away or pretend you don't care. But that won't work. It is time to unpack. And you do care, or you would not be at this website, or looking at this book. It isn't going to be John Grisham or Danielle Steele. It is about a war that still divides opinion in this country and touched the lives of generations before and after those who served in it. Even though you may know the history of the war in Vietnam, you will find yourself wanting a second chance to do the right thing and to stand up to honor those who served our country - not just for Mr. Evans and the men he served with, but for America itself.

   The author weaves his story the way a spider weaves its web: first one thread and then another, somehow tying each end together, forming a piece of art that is different than any other web. His web is strangely beautiful and a little scary at the same time. He is diligent, drawing each corner of his web to a proper angle, adhering it firmly to the doorway we must cross through to learn more. We are lucky indeed to find a man so willing to bare to the world what is so deeply, personally his. Imagine being a girl-chasing, car-loving, movie-going young man one moment and a hunted soldier the next? One moment being squeamish at the sight of blood and the next trying to treat a sucking chest wound. How can you explain to someone why something horribly and ghastly is hysterically funny? Do you tell them the truth - That laughing is the only way you can cope with such devastation and loss? How do you tell people that killing a man might be easy, when one moment it seems as if it is and the next it isn't? Can ordinary people understand how it comes to be that you don't recall what you had for dinner three days ago but you have instant and total recall of one single moment in your life in the jungle of Vietnam in 1968? Can they understand how the man you call your brother is no blood relation at all?

   I think Mr. Evans answers every question when he puts words to his story and little pieces of his life on every page. He is a teacher, whether he knows it or not. I believe that anyone who reads this book will feel as if Mr. Evans has given them some tiny little bit of something they never had before. It could be they will learn that the Corpsman is probably the bravest, most selfless creation ever touched by the hand of God, just like a firefighter, because no matter what, when everyone else is running away from danger, they are running or crawling toward it. Or maybe the reader will find out that the Vietnam War was neither won nor lost. That it is not really over for most of the men and women who served there. Or maybe they will change their minds about something they used to believe was true. After all, that is what a teacher is supposed to do: open hearts and minds.

   I believe Mr. Evans wanted to reach out to his veteran brothers to tell them he is still here, that he understands what they have gone through, because he went through it too. Maybe he is telling them they are not alone and there can be strength in knowing there are others to support them through a kinship and brotherhood. It seems to me Doc Evans is doing what he has always been destined to do: bandaging the wounds of his brothers.




5. Great reading... great story... As with all of us who started at "Ft. Sam", everyone has a unique story... From my vantage point in the 2d bde, I have neverending comraderie with all those, as "Doc Evans", who came before and after to do their job as circumstances required. This is the real thing. (Couldn't edit the rating...meant it to be 5 Stars!!)