5 comments about Ceilings.

1. Skip Mohatt was my teacher at Amador High School in Pleasanton CA in the late 60's. He was a remarkable teacher and person...this book certainly surprised me because I felt like I was peeking through a window at his life before Pleasanton.
   It is a terrific story of courage and will.
   SMN



2. Though I was a few years younger than "Skip" (Everett) Mohatt I grew up with him in Shaws Flat in the 1940's and thoroughly enjoyed his recollections of our daily lives and adventures during those years. I would consider it a "good read" for anyone who has an interest in life during that time period in a rural community. I am looking forward to the sequel and could easily see it being made into a movie.



3. "Ceilings" is an honest book about a childhood that was fraught with disappointments and tragedy and is honestly shared with the reader. What a joy to experience an honest sharing of a childhood during a gentler time in our nation when we knew our neighbors and we suffered through the depression years and the war years together.
   
   The author shares his friends, neighbors and family in a tiny community in the California Gold Country of Shaw's Flat. The name Shaw's Flat alone, gives you the flavor of the joy of becoming a confidant of the author's as he candidly shares the trials, joys, disappointments and awakenings of a lonely little boy in the early part ot the twentieth century.
   
   I understand this is volume one of a set of two books. I look forward to a second sharing of the author's life.



4. Skip Mohatt had a keen eye for the images that surrounded him as he grew up. He weaves those images deftly into this tale of a boy who grew up without the guiding hands of his birth parents, but who was surrounded by simple characters who touched his life, especially his strong, strong grandmother. They could almost make a TV series on this "boy's" life...much more real than Opie's and far, far more real than the Beaver's.



5. I really enjoyed reading Mohatt's Ceilings. It reminds me of my roughly similar rural hometown at a roughly similar time (focusing on 1934 - 1948). However, Mohatt certainly had a much rougher start, in the sense of challenging family history, a solitary upbringing, and a difficult childhood temper.
   
   The story is complete with the cars of that era and the Sunday radio programs. There is a good presentation of Depression-trained thriftiness & World War II impacts. We get to remember our own motivating grade school teacher, first job, first girlfriend, and the death of our loved pet.
   
   I especially liked the unlikely batting hero in the church ballgame and the heroic classmate who ripped off his cast and proceeded to nearly win the junior varsity baseball game. Skip Mohatt's own athletic low point and high point feature a catastrophic grade school "no hitter" and being compared to Notre Dame's quarterback Johnny Lujack by his favorite teacher.
   
   There is lots of flavor of the immigrant grandparents' small farm and personal conflicts and friendships. When Skip finally establishes his first real friendship, the friend moves away with a promise to write, but then never does. How the author survived all this, plus the final chapter, to become an admired coach is a wonder

5 comments about The Road South: A Memoir.

1. I don't know how to start this, but I just got to write something about this book. If this book don't affect you to the point of sadness or tears, I don't know what to say for you. This book was nothing short of a miracle. I have encountered people with similar backgrounds and they just get by, and expect you to feel sorry for them. With Mr.Stewart, you just want to applaud him. The fact that their father would kill his wife in front of his children with an axe and let her fall out the window onto a tree with not so much as remorse,well, I had no sympathy,no nothing for him, and like his sons, I felt nothing for him or that second wife or those aunts for that matter. What kind of woman feeds fried rat to children? Where is your humanity, where is your heart? what kind of man tells his son(a child) such heartless things, and allow such treatment that your own children leave you before puberty? what kind of woman mentally and physically break down a child just so the white man doesn't? Yet, it was a white man that took him in his own family when you didn't want to be bothered? This is just too much, and then here comes the military giving shock treatments just because you speak up for yourself and feel that despite your early life you should just go on? What kind of stuff is that? This is what happens in Shelley Stewart's life. He went through so much abuse, so much living from one pillar to post,so much betrayal(like the high school principal who wouldn't give him a chance at a scholarship despite the fact that he had the grades and know how to do so) yet despite all of that, he STILL makes something out of himself and is one of Birmingham's living legends..Folks, we hear of how we can't do this because of our background, childhood, someone said this or whatever, I say if this man can go through the stuff he went through and still live to tell the story, and is a man(and we know that men just keep their feelings to themselves and all),well, he deserves my salute, and I say GET THIS BOOK. You may want to scream, you may want to cry(Lord knows I did), but if the best thing you can do with this book is give it to some person who needs a lift in the right direction and say,"Read this",perhaps, we have made the life of one person better in order for him to make a contribution to this world.I reccommend this book highly, but, if you are faint at heart and always need a kleenex(which you may need), you have been warned.This ain't no pretty story.It's gritty,and if I could get this man down to my neck of the woods in lower Alabama, I would. Matter of fact, the book deserves 10 plus stars.



2. you think you had a bad childhood? Shelly Stewart had one that is hard to believe. This is shown in this wonderful book, and how he overcame this handicap. He is now a successful businessman and is helping other people. This memoir reads like a novel, I could not put it down.



3. Shelley Stewart is absolutely NOT the man he appears to be. As a member of his family, I have seen his astonishing greed and selfishness towards the family he supposedly cares so much about. He has poor relationships with his son, and most of his other children. He cares only for himself, and offers no help his family. Take it from me; buy another book. Large portions of this book were admitted to be largely fictional.



4. Wow, I started reading on a December 12th and finished on January 2nd. Not because the book was not intresting, but for the simple fact I started telling my husband about the book and he began to read it and finished it in two days then he handed it to my mother law who in between prepring the Christmas feast could not put it down. I was lucky to finally get my hands on it on News Years day to finish the last three chapters . This book tuged at my heart strings in so many ways. A picture of Shelly should be in the dictionary next to the word Preserveriance and Determination. I have had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Stewart and he is every bit of exciting,intelligent,hardworking, and personable as he appears in his book. Thank you Shelly for sharing your journey with the world, thank your for chronlizing a piece of history for all of the free world to appreciate.



5. This book was truly an inspiration to me! I read it in only two days because I just could not put it down! I'm saddened to read another review that gave a negative image of Mr. Stewart. Having met him and worked with him, I have only seen positivity and generosity in him. Anyone who thinks that they can use their past as an excuse not to go forward should read this book. You cannot dwell on the past, and Mr. Stewart is a great testimony! This book is a must read for all ages!

No comments about When I Was a Little Boy.

2 comments about Educating Nonny and Pops.

1. This book is a terrific read as biography/travel and adventure. From gourmet dining in the great cities of Europe, traipsing across the mountins of Iran to visiting the rooftop of the world in Nepal, Mr. Greenberg recounts a remarkable life replete with adventure. But what underpins all of it is an abiding love for, and commitment to, his family. With equal parts humor and humanity, Greenberg offers up a touching narrative pointing the way back for all of us to reflect on what matters most; a life surrounded by loving family and trusted friends. Proudly endorsed by his son,Harvey. Go get 'em dad!



2. Horatio Alger meets Jack Kerouac meets Frank Sinatra meets Sanford and Son(s). If you're looking for a literary classic you're barking up the wrong tree. However, if you'd like a primer from a role model that starts daily at 4am and lives REAL family values 24/7, on how to get more out of both work and play, then Educating Nonny and Pops is for you! Along the way Eddie Greenberg will show you how to hustle a buck, nickname anyone, completely eliminate stress AND administer the 'art of the duke'!! One last tip....DON'T mess with Nonny! Buckle up and enjoy. ...

2 comments about Escape from Despair.

1. A true picture of a difficult life, where dual standards are a daily practice, is at the core of author Katarina Tepesh well written and moving family history. The father, a chronic alcoholic, possesses some positive trends in his association with folks outside his family. At home, however, under constant influence of alcohol, he is a harsh and cruel person, lacking love and respect not only for his very religious and submissive wife, but also for his six children, three boys and three girls. Frequent mistreatments of his wife, often in the presence of children, is a heart-breaking insight into a family living under constant fear. The extreme poverty and no place to turn for help, left the family with a feeling of being locked into an impossible situation. A highly recommended reading.



2. Croatia has a wonderful and glorious history. My four grandparents came to America from Croatia. However, there lurks in some of the small villages is a destructive culture where alcoholism destroys the fabric of the family. The author takes us into her home with such descriptive words that I find myself seeing, tasting and feeling what she felt as a little girl. I was begging for a happy ending to such a horrible story and she did not disappoint me. A great book if you want to visit a village in Croatia with no support system for a mother who was trying her best to do God's will.
   
   Don Wolf

5 comments about I Was #87: A Deaf Woman's Ordeal of Misdiagnosis, Institutionalization, and Abuse.

1. I was so touched when I read Anne's book. She went through so much and I cannot tell you how brave I think she is. I wish her all the best. Thank-you Anne. Carole



2. I was #87 is a true story, neither my daughter or I could put this book down until we finished it. It is about a little girl who was severely abused and also diagnosed as being retarded when she was actually deaf and of above average intelligence. The determination and survival of this child is so riviting and also inspiring at the same time. It makes you thankful for what we do have in this life. You will realize that the day to day things we might think of as obstacles or problems are so trivial. I would reccomend this book to everyone. There is a limied supply since it is out of print but it is available through the library also.



3. I am not a fan of reading books, but the title of this book caught my attention. I could not put this book down once I started reading it and finished it over a weekend. I recommended this book to my entire family and I hope everyone gets a chance to read it. I was so moved on how Anne survived through all of the horrible obstactles she faced. It is sad to think that all of her "supposeable friends" during that time in her life took advantage of her the way they did when she needed them the most. I feel like I know her and forever I will think of Anne. I wish her the best and I hope the future for her is the most rewarding, for she has earned it!!



4. Anne Bolander suffered from congenital hearing loss which her paternal grandmother attributed to prenatal exposure to a certain medication. Anne and her twin brother, Peter, born in 1954 become part of a large family. Sadly, their mother dies in 1957 and Anne has trouble navigating in the hearing world. Unable to remain in preschool because of her hyperactive behavior and inability to hear directions, her father, stepmother and paternal grandparents are ill-equipped to meet her needs.
   
   Misdiagnosed as retarded in October 1959 at Johns Hopkins, Anne then serves a five-year sentence at the Stoutamyre School. The "school" sounds like a medieval torture chamber; the children are not educated in academics nor taught self-care. Margie Stoutamyre, the school's director made, in the words of Anne's co-author, Adair N. Renning, Nurse Wretched Ratched of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" infamy look like Mary Poppins. Dickensian workhouses pale in comparison to this place.
   
   Children were beaten by Margie at the drop of a hat; if one so much as looked at someone else being beaten, they, too received a beating. Belts, whips and a board with holes were used; children could only use the bathroom three times a day and even then Margie allotted them a certain amount of time which she monitored with a stopwatch. Illnesses did not exempt one from beatings. In one memorable passage, Anne was forced to eat another child's vomit simply because she saw him vomit at the table.
   
   In addition to the beatings, children were locked in the root cellar for days; kept in a windowless seclusion room and even strapped to a chair. Anne Bolander literally survived in hell. Mealtimes were rigid affairs where one had to eat in a certain way and keep a straight spine at all times. Failure to do so resulted in beatings. Anne describes how some children were literally beaten to death and she even recounts how she saw a boy being pounded to death simply because he had diarrhea.
   
   Her grandmother was the only person who was kind to her. In 1964 she takes Anne out of Stoutamyre for a few days to enjoy the World's Fair. By 1965 Anne's father and stepmother have her discharged. Anne, in her words has exchanged one Margie for another. Pat, her stepmother treated her in the same brutal and erratic fashion that Margie did. The only girl in a houseful of brothers, Anne concluded that being male was the way to survive and that "love" meant "being beaten" because she had been told by Pat how much Margie "loved" her.
   
   The one bright spot in her life during that period was the 1965-1966 school year she spent at St. Mary's. Kind, loving nuns nurtured her and helped heal much of the harm that had been inflicted upon her. Sadly, she is forced to leave the place because her father has been transferred to another state.
   
   Anne's secondary and adult years are marked by social unawareness. She is easily mislead by those who are not well meaning and this pattern of gullible trusting follows her into the workplace. She thinks the nickname "Retard" is an honor because she wanted a nickname "like the other kids," not realizing the stigma attached. She steals gifts so as to gain popularity and is willing to do anything to have people like her. While understandable, the results are no less devastating.
   
   Anne graduates from high school in 1974 at the age of 20. She spends a summer in a hospital training program at a college in N.Y., but finds that the adjustment was more than she was then able to make. Anne exceeds her father's low expectations of her by not only graduating, but buying her own car and paying for the insurance herself after taking driving lessons. She spends the next number of years living in her own mobile home and with friends, some of whom use her.
   
   Luckily, Anne meets angels, such as Ruth and Glenn, who help her navigate tricky social terrain. Ruth encourages her to fix herself up; Glenn tells her what certain obscenities mean so she will no longer fall prey to the rude and mean spirited jokes her co-workers play. In time, Anne learns these things.
   
   Setbacks occur, such as when Anne is raped by her father in 1979. She spends December of 1980 in a hospital, sorting out the problems in her life, starting with Stoutamyre. By the time she is released in early 1981, Anne is ready to put her life together. She moves out of one bad household where she was being monetarily exploited; becomes active in the deaf community and reconnects with her youngest brother. In March of 1984, her father remarries and Anne has by then realized that with the exception of her youngest brother, she has to cut her losses where her family is concerned. The final blow was when her father and stepmother argued over her brother's surgery when her father said he was not going to spend any money on his son as he was no longer a child.
   
   A hard, intense and much needed book, Anne is the voice of inspiration. She has survived in hell and, like the phoenix risen up out of the ashes. This book makes me think of the passage from Scripture and related song, "On Eagles' Wings."



5. This is an excellent recounting of the events of a life, but it is largely unemotional. The horrors of the primary school are not fully documented, leaving the reader with the impression that it must not have been all THAT bad - it was horrific, of course, but we don't see enough examples to really feel sympathy. Additionally, we never learn many personal things about the author, such as how she feels about her deafness (although this probably results from her stunted emotional growth) and why she felt compelled to write the book.
   
   It is a good book, however, and if it were not so difficult to track down I would recommend it to anyone interested in the subject matter. But because of the controversy surrounding its first printing, "I Was #87" is expensive and hard to find. Upon finally obtaining it, some readers may feel as I did - that the effort was greater than the book warranted.

No comments about Auntie Anne's: My Story.

5 comments about The Carny Kid: Survival of a Young Thief.

1. The human spirit is alive and well and living in Kenny Kahn! I had no expectations for the journey I would be taking when I opened this book, but while reading it, I was rapt in each step of the journey.
   
   Kahn's travels through his early years and especially his carnival "education" became my awakening from the Midwest values with which I was raised (though I will admit I have not just fallen off a turnip truck). I kept thinking how Dickensian this life appeared. I kept asking asking myself, do people really do these things? Do people really believe that it is okay to cheat and that it helps balance the world between the haves and have nots? I will never walk down the rows of carnival games and believe that I can actually win one of those adorable stuffed animals; but, I will probably still try.
   
   Though the book has a lot about carnival life and the story about Shorty is captivating; it is the life and the thoughts of the young man growing up in his challenging environment that is the intriguing story. Kahn is so touching in relaying his experiences and thoughts that at times I felt like a voyeur in a therapy session. Acts of kindness and small, incidental good deeds are remembered in detail.
   
   For those of us in education, we need to recognize how important even small details and actions are when we relate to students. Sometimes a simple smile and good morning at a classroom door may be the one shining moment in some of our students' days. Dedication and bringing all you can to support learning into the classroom is recognized by students. Kahn dedicates his book to Raymond V. Lopez, the teacher who made the difference in his life and career. Sometimes we forget that school is more than a place for learning--it is the safe haven from a threatening or uncaring outside world. Kahn reminds us of this in his book.
   
   Art Buchwald, upon being questioned about what makes a person like him funny, responded, "a very unhappy childhood". After reading Kahn's book, I know why he does stand up comedy and has a comedy routine he takes to law schools. Forget Kahn's being a highly successful and high-powered lawyer when you read this book as the only important thing you need to know about Kahn is what he shows us about the indomitable human spirit that is in all of us and how we all have the ability to impact others' lives, not necessarily with great deeds such as the cure for cancer, but with kindness that feeds the human soul.
   
   I will never take an orange and break it into its segments without thinking of Kahn and his inspiring book. You need to read the book to understand.



2. I met the author on a flight coming back from Brazil at the beginning of this year. He was an interesting person with a great sense of humor. He sent us his book to read. I was surprised when I read his book at the horrible things he had to go through - living in the LA slums, having parents that used drugs, and finally having polio. He makes his life story very interesting and keeps you engaged throughout the story. I was very fascinated with his carnival life. We had a carnival that came though the town where I grew up on the east coast, and I enjoyed going to it. My friends told me that there had to be some scam if you could win some big prizes for just a dollar. According to Ken, this is the least of it. His life in the carnival is a great story. However, this book is much more than just carnival life. It is book about kid who had many challenges growing up and has become very successful. I can't wait for the sequel to come out.
   
   One more thing - This book should be a must read for all the kids that go to Inner city schools. Sometimes in those schools it seems like there is very little hope of ever getting to prosperity. The carnival kid should give those kids hope that if Ken could do this so can they. I am surprised that I have not heard of other people (other than sport stars) that have made it out of the slums and into success.
   
   Hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I did.



3. The Carny Kid: Survival of a Young Thief is the true-life memoir of a young Jewish boy forced to grow up in a multi-ethnic ghetto with parents who are drug users and drug dealers. One summer the father leads the family on a vagabond life as thieves traveling the carnival circuit. Yet in spite of adversity, young Kenneth Kahn develops his people skills, befriends black and Hispanic ghetto residents, uses the library as his safe haven and draws upon the advice of teachers and coaches to excel, eventually becoming a successful Los Angeles criminal defense attorney. Kahn sees no need to condemn or moralize about most facets of the gang life he grew up around; he just tells his experiences as they happened, and lets the reader judge for himself or herself. A handful of black-and-white photographs illustrate the author's tenacious and amazing journey from struggling to survive to penthouse prosperity.



4. This book is enjoyable to read because the author as a kid is very likeable with an indomitable spirit. Imagine growing up the only jewish family in a mostly hispanic housing project. Kenneth ended up with this predicament because both parents were drug addicts who supported their habit by running crooked games during the summers on traveling carnivals. It seems like Kenneth was born with a survival instinct that can not be denied. Aside from trying to survive living in the projects, he also had to deal with constant poverty since the money went to his parents viens. When things seem to be looking up for Kenneth, being a football player, honor student and sorrounded by great friends, he contacts Polio and spend months recovering at a Children's hospital. It is amazing how this kid just keeps on going without so much a whine, just a sense of humour and wit that is infectious. The book is chock full of neat details about how these Midway carnival games are run and the characters around them. I thought the funniest part was when Ken gets home to his ramschackle abode in the projects during Christmas and finds it full of beautiful college girls. Apparently, it was a Jewish Sister Sorority that collected food and money to distribute among poor jewish families in the projects and seeing that Ken and his family were the only Jews living in Ramona Gardens they got to keep all the food, money and the warm wishes of a dozen college girls. Ken and his book keeps you glued and rooting for him in the next page. A really enjoyable book and to think this is a true story.



5. Kenny spoke at the high school I work at this past fall and what the students saw was that no matter how far down the ladder of life you are there is always the possibilty of making it out. I did not see this so much as the story of the only jewish family living in Ramona Gardens as much as the story of a determin young man who dealt with his surroundings, made friends and did what most other children of families living in the projects do, try and get ahead.
   
   What struck me as ironic is the section that tells of how he and his mother going to the the Jewish relief agency for help and being turned down because, as they said, " your to needy." I wish Kenny had named that agency.
   
   I would hope that he has kept in touch with the Delgado's who opened their home, even in the projects one can find solace and warmth and that is what I saw that he received from this family. The friends you make when growing up are forever family and Kenny will always be a part of East Los Angeles family.

5 comments about Fathering Words: The Making of an African American Writer.

1. This book is so beautifully written, so touchingly direct that I called Howard University to search out the author and tell him what a compelling book he had written. Anyone who is a father, about to be a father or contemplating being a father (whether African-American or not) will find this book touching in what it says about the frequently mute love between fathers and their sons. African-Americans families are often love mutes like Mr. Miller's-- too busy working, too focused on the quotidien to express love outside provision of food and shelter. Out of such silent, seemingly fallow ground, E. Ethelbert Miller heaps up words of love and power, fathering not only his own father, but his whole family in some of the most poetic prose you will ever read.



2. Fathering Words is a deeply moving memoir. Ethelbert Miller's description of his father will remain with the reader for a very long time. His decision to write the book using both his and his sister's voice is unique and it works.It's definitely a keeper.



3. If I had received this book five years ago, it would have saved me five years of pain and confusion. Fathering Words is the tangible witness of a man's journey into and through his writing life. Unlike many writing memoirs, it is not a how to, or even a how, but a detatched narrative of his life as a poet. He is eerily objective about the mistakes and choices he has made, and uses occasional passages from his sister to broaden the view he gives the reader.

   I learned more about the writing process, more about the yearning that true writers feel, and more about the lack of understanding that non-artists have about the whys and wherefores. If you know an African-American man who yearns to "father words", buying this book for him will be the best show of support you can give him.




4. Fathering Words portrays the grief and loss one man feels when his father and brother suddenly die within two years of each other. Their deaths cause Miller to recall how seldom he and his father spoke, and yet, he always knows his father loves the family. That singular way one person cares for and remembers another is at the spiritual core of this book. What does a son inherit from the men in his family when there are few conversations? Miller compares his life and his dreams to that of his older brother, and maps out the goals for his own future as he marries, has his own children, and embarks on his career as a poet. He punctuates the story with the gracious voice of his older sister, Marie, as he imagines how the family might have looked to her. Marie carries the secrets and stories that filter down to the younger son as rumors and tales. She becomes a source of information and verification of the family history. Using a network of subtle references to religion, classical and jazz music, basketball and baseball, as well as motifs from literary works, Miller provides a number of avenues by which a broad spectrum of readers will be able to enter and inhabit his poignant text.

   For those who want to write about their own lives, the book provides a model for creating scenes in small vignettes that become interconnected by the end of the chapter, as opposed to providing a direct narrative path from the beginning of a life to the present. For writers who aspire to become published, and perhaps even famous, Miller chronicles the encounters he has with a number of writers, revealing the history of African American literature in the past thirty years.

   I teach Fathering Words in a senior-level college course on autobiography at the University of Southern Indiana. Readers who want more information about the author might start with his website ....




5. Fathering Words portrays the grief and loss one man feels when his father and brother suddenly die within two years of each other. Their deaths cause Miller to recall how seldom he and his father spoke, and yet, he always knows his father loves the family. That singular way one person cares for and remembers another is at the spiritual core of this book. What does a son inherit from the men in his family when there are few conversations? Miller compares his life and his dreams to that of his older brother, and maps out the goals for his own future as he marries, has his own children, and embarks on his career as a poet. He punctuates the story with the gracious voice of his older sister, Marie, as he imagines how the family might have looked to her. Marie carries the secrets and stories that filter down to the younger son as rumors and tales. She becomes a source of information and verification of the family history. Using a network of subtle references to religion, classical and jazz music, basketball and baseball, as well as motifs from literary works, Miller provides a number of avenues by which a broad spectrum of readers will be able to enter and inhabit his poignant text.

   For those who want to write about their own lives, the book provides a model for creating scenes in small vignettes that become interconnected by the end of the chapter, as opposed to providing a direct narrative path from the beginning of a life to the present. For writers who aspire to become published, and perhaps even famous, Miller chronicles the encounters he has with a number of writers, revealing the history of African American literature in the past thirty years.

   I teach Fathering Words in a senior-level college course on autobiography at the University of Southern Indiana. ...

1 comments about The Unknown Bobby Fischer.

1. This book isn`t only about Fischer. It contains many stories about Fischer and other players. It contains many games of Fischer, but also games between other players. It contains pictures of Fischer and other players too. What i especially loved about this book was the stories, about Fischer and other players. It contains many games from Fischer`s 64 simul tour of the US, and quite a few stories from these simuls. It contains articles and other things. " A Bookstore in Argentina " was quite intriguing, but as was other stories and stuff. It also contains letters from Fischer to Larry Evans in the 70s. It is all in all a great book about chess. It isn`t a teaching book, but many stories about players in the 50s,60s and 70s. Combined with interwievs, pictures and other stuff. Many games are included, and in a sense i do believe we can all learn something from these games...you know what i mean when i say it isn`t a teaching book. This book is a true treasure, and while i admit i regret buying mnay of the books i own this one is great.
   It`s ashame it`s currently out of print, especially since it is a newer book ( 1999 ). If new copies arrive, or you see it in a used book-store grab it and never let go!!