No comments about Coaling Station A.

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4 comments about Golden Afternoon: Being the Second Part of "Share of Summer," Her Autobiography.

1. At long last, the sequel to Sun in the Morning -- and as always, M.M. Kaye's writing is evocative, sumptuous, and addictive. (The Far Pavilions is one of the two books I always travel with -- the other is Gone With the Wind -- because I can start reading anywhere and become totally immersed, no matter how many times I've read it.) No one is better at evoking that time-lost period before the Second World War; the details are not only fascinating but reveal to us moderns what the world once was like (which in British India in many cases seems rather closely to resemble E.F. Benson's town of Tilling...). Since I owe not only my interest in, but my several-hundred-volume library on, India to reading The Far Pavilions, I must admit a certain partiality here -- and a burning desire to read the sequel to Golden Afternoon.



2. Ms. Kaye has the most wonderful way of describing scenes, colors, and events of an era never to be seen again. Her family led a story-book life of adventure and she makes it look so easy to overcome the forces of nature that were part of living there with very few, if any, modern conveniences. It was a delicious read and I hope Ms. Kaye is busily at work on the next book of her travels in China! I am grateful for this journey back into a gentler, quieter time.



3. This book is thoroughly enjoyable, with M. M. Kaye describing her idlyic days in India in a wonderfully interesting, humorous way, which makes this book a pleasure to read and a must own!



4. What a terrific book--nostalgic, romantic, funnny, poignant. I was utterly charmed once again by Ms. Kaye's writing. Her descriptions of visits to the Taj Mahal and spring in Kashmir are beautiful. I can't wait to read "Enchanted Evening."

4 comments about The Story of My Boyhood and Youth.

1. John Muir, one of the great leaders of the ecological movement in America, tells of growing up on a farm in Wisconsin. He gives detailed information about the wildlife he sees growing up, which is interesting but does get a bit tedious. It was interesting to learn how Muir became interested in being an inventor; before reading this book I hadn't known of his inventions. It gives some insights into how he came to love and appreciate nature, and hints at his later desire to protect all things wild. Near the end of the book he writes, "I wandered away on a glorious botanical and geological excursion, which has lasted nearly fifty years and is not yet completed, always happy and free, poor and rich, without thought of a diploma or of making a name, urged on and on through endless, inspiring, Godful beauty." Certainly Muir's writing recalls Thoreau, and his spirit has lived on through the writings of such diverse people as Rachel Carson, Jack Kerouac, and Adolph Murie. This book is not one of his classics, but if you're interested in Muir or life on the plains before they became completely tamed, it's worth reading.



2. I wouldn't recommend this as a first book for those who are interested or curious about Muir (try _My First Summer in the Sierra_ or _1000 Mile Walk_), but it gives a lot of insight, for me at least, on why Muir turned out the way he did. He had a cruel, strict father and had to endure a lot of pain and hardship, which made his latter wilderness travels so much easier and free in comparison.



3. The central symbol of Muir's abusive father is the father's decision to become a lay preacher, and thus his determination to study the Bible all day, while dumping all the farm chores on young John. This puts John at the bottom of a new well, hacking through the rocky ground in search of water. While the holy father urges him on between inspirational readings. One wonders if the father was reading of Jesus's encounter with the woman at the well, offering himself as the living water.

   John concluded it's time to get the heck out of Wisconsin and away from his dad, to roam around the mountains and forests of the great unexplored Western U.S., appreciating the water where God placed it in plain view.

   Muir's experience of being forced to work like a Calvinist, while his dad sat around like a pietist, presents a juxtaposition which can be applied to other relationships we all come across in our lives. That, and the lesson that you need not be a perpetual victim of a rotten childhood. Muir certainly overcame it.




4. John Muir was a genius of natural understanding, and this book doesn't really explain why. His life is beyond explanation. But he sure can tell a tale! It's a fascinating look at new immigrants to the U.S. in the 1800's. John Muir is such a man apart that every page is mindblowing. He has thoughts and experiences that will appeal to nearly every reader. His schooling was remarkable, his work ethic unrelenting, his desire to learn insatiable, his boldness irrefutable. He relates his thought processes in a way that opens the window to his soul, and you learn to know a man who you really want to know. His instincts, thoughts, motives, and wonderings guide the reader's mind to productive and beneficial thoughts.
   I loved this book!

No comments about The Echo of Memories: A Memoir from Both Sides of the Iron Curtain.

1 comments about That Could Never Be: A Memoir.

1. The is a heart warming story of a person who started life in an orphanage in Ireland. Unlike Angela's ashes, this book has no ill feelings towards the events and people that caused the hardships. Only gratitude for those who helped ease the pain and assisted on the path to 'things that could never be'.
   I grew up in Ireland and feel this book more accurately reflects the atmosphere and spirit of those times.
   It is refreshing to share the life of someone whose life has been dedicated to the betterment of mankind without regards for personal benefit.
   If you want to read a book that will leave you feeling better than you did before - this is the book for you.

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