3 comments about The Beginning of the End: The Crippling Disadvantage of a Happy Irish Childhood.

1. This is a terrific book. Deftly written, it is funny, moving, provocative and informative. It describes the author's upbringing in Belfast as the city descended into the violence known as 'The Troubles.' Although outsiders saw this essentially as sectarian, of Catholics against Protestants, Ellis describes a more complex situation, where Protestants could also oppose the division of Ireland and the allegiance of the north to the Crown. His friend Ronnie Bunting, a Protestant like Ellis, symbolised this complexity. Bunting joined a fanatical Republican group and became a ruthless terrorist, responsible for many deaths, including the murder of one Mrs Thatcher's favourite supporters. Ellis's relationship with Bunting dominates the book. Ellis struggled through childhood and his teenage years to break free of Bunting, which he knew he had to do. Only as a young adult embarking on what became a successful career as a journalist did he succeed. By now Bunting was doomed. He was later shot in his home in Belfast by masked men, whom Ellis believes were probably British special forces. This is a book about growing up, family, friendship, ambition and Ireland. I recommend it without reservation.



2. A terrific book. I agree with Mr Moore. It can be read on many levels: as a description of childhood and the challenges of the teenage years and early adulthood; as a treatise on friendship; as a rites of passage, without the glibness of Hollywood, and as an examination of The Troubles. I recommend it wholeheartedly. My only criticism is of Amazon, who do not appear to have not priced it. I had to order the book direct from the publishers in Scotland. This is a pity as it deserves to be available easily to readers in the States.



3. I was delighted to read Walter Ellis's book and have since passed it on to several friends. All agree that it is beautifully written and shows Ellis as a master of his craft, both as storyteller and narrator. I just wish more people had the opportunity to share it as it is a book which will touch the heart regardless of whether or not you have lived or visited Ulster during that period. It is refreshing also to read the Protestant view of the troubles seen, as it were, at first hand. Interesting also, as a female, to view the world through his eyes. I laughed and I cried for these are times which will never be seen again. I, for one, would love to read the sequel.
   
   Elaine Somers

No comments about Selected Journalism: 1850-1870 (Penguin Classics).

2 comments about George Orwell: A Life.

1. The book had every thing i was looking for. It showed his life in different episodes. It was very easy to research in it.



2. Having been encouraged from about the age of twelve to read the essays of George Orwell I read Bernard Crick's recent meditation on him with a sense of gratitude. I haven't read any other work on Orwell which so perfectly conveys his inexhaustibility.
   Crick's real achievement here is a mastery of Orwell's tone. Orwell's essays keep a reader up until dawn and this book did the same to this reader.
   I can't say I agree with everything in the book, and have to say that sometimes I didn't grasp Crick's arguments. The chief pleasure of this book is its style; learned from one of the greatest defenders of expressed thought.

5 comments about You Have To Stand For Something, Or You'll For Anything.

1. This woman can not write, her book has no substance, there is basically nothing to review. What is interesting is how much weight she has lost from then to now. Star claims she has not had a gastric bypass......... could have fooled me. My friend tommy met her, he said she is rude and smelly. She is the most annoying person on the view. who did she screw to get on the view?



2. Star Jones is an inspiration. Her bravery and courage, I'll call it "bravage," is the standard to which every American should hold themselves (and possibly some Canadians). In this book she chronicles her struggles with IBS, HPV, lycanthropy, fear of elves, crossing guard's elbow and having been born without humility. For the first time really, we see that Star's not just fabulous in fur, she's fabulous in print. If I could get my arms around her, I'd hug her. Star's spirit cannot be held down by her lack of any discernable talent! Bravo!



3. It is unclear what and why the author writes. She obviously has nothing of importance or substance to impart, and her personality is uninteresting by all standards. Most people overcome stronger adversities in life and they do it with infinite more grace. Why the author feels her life is more remarkable than others is really mind-boggling. Reading this book is a waste of time and buying it is a waste of money. There is really no message in this book and the author, despite her much self-praised legal training, fails to build any minimal argument on any of her potluck of topics.
   Simplistic, at best; merely stupid.



4. The first two chapters were extremely boring. She talks about a white lady who wants her black friend buried in the white cemetery. The lady stands for something, Star says. She also talks about her mom, who got pregnant with Star, then dumped her off on a crew of some very obliging relatives in North Carolina while she finished college at Rutgers University. Once graduated, and having obtained a "good" job she reclaims 6 year old Star and they live in the projects along with Star's new baby sister (who had not been dumped off on relatives). While living in the projects, little kids run back and forth across the street to the store, unsupervised. When Star is eight years old, she sees a little boy hit by a truck and killed. She's proud when her mom is arrested at a sit-in on the street to protest the lack of a light signal. Later, her mom marries and Star says that at first, her mom and her husband both have "low-paying" jobs. What happened to the "good" job? And if it's such a good job, why are they living in the projects?
   
   The rest is basically a brag-fest. Her whole family has done nothing but praise her to the skies her entire life, so that's why she's brimming with supreme self-confidence. So why is she writing this book? Well, to tell you that you too can be a diva. Star gives fashion lessons (but for full-figured women only - and she hates that term but adores her 42DD's) - wear a chiffon duster over your clothes, and never ride in a white limo because they are tacky, a black Mercedes limo is the best, but if you have to, a Cadillac will do. A red SUV will also display you to the best advantage. Star's role model is Erica Kane from the soap opera All My Children, which says something about her priorities.
   
   I do have one question. Star says she is disappointed one Christmas because her dad (who lives in NC) promised her a stereo. Her mom, seeing that no stereo is about to materialize, runs out in the middle of the night to purchase one for her with money that they don't really have. This would be about 1974 - before 24 hour Walmarts and KMarts. So where did she find this stereo in the middle of the night?
   
   But most of the book is about how great and wonderful Star is, and if you ever do anything to hurt her or make her mad, she'll never forget it. And she doesn't care who doesn't like her because her step-daddy told her she is fine!
   
   I think Star is leaving out a lot she doesn't want us to know.



5. I read this book before Star was popular I don't recall The View even being on the air or at least I wasn't watching it. But as an aspiring attorney I was compelled to read this book. I enjoyed it greatly; I understand why she was such a successful lawyer. In a day and age where "anything goes." The title of this book is excellent. It's a good read and gives you great insight into her life, before the glitz and glam. Great read and inspiration to someone that wants to "be somebody."

No comments about The Rights of Reporters: The Basic Aclu Guide to a Reporter's Rights (An American Civil Liberties Union handbook).

No comments about Frances Power Cobbe: Victorian Feminist, Journalist, Reformer (Victorian Literature and Culture Series).

1 comments about The Rise and Fall of the Press Box.

1. When it comes to sports books a book by writers such as Roger Kahn, Roger Angell, Fred Lieb, or Leonard Koppett you can be fairly certain you are in for a book that will educate as well as entertain you. If his final effort before his death Leonard Koppett tells us how the importance of the press box in which so many writers brought fans the news of the events on the field has changed over the last several decades. Print was the medium in which information was initially passed from reporter to fan. The advent of radio brought a new medium which supplemented newspapers. Now television brings information to us practically instantaneously, and many of the newspapers that used to serve the major cities in previous decades have gone out of business. The book is sprinkled with humorous anecdotes regarding some of the literary giants who populated the sporting scene throughout the 20th century. Koppett popularized the use of statistics in his columns written as a correspondent for The Sporting News, but he also provides examples how statistics can be misused or misleading. Ron Fairly and Koppett were discussing the high batting average of bunter Brett Butler when Fairly stated, "If you took away his bunts and dribblers he'd be hitting .260." Koppett answered, "Sure, and if you took away his outs, he'd be hitting 1.000." Pitch counts citing the number of strikes and balls is also deceiving, because it assumes every pitch swung at is a strike. He says the correct statistic should say, "96 pitches, 32 hit fair, 27 strikes (called or swung at and missed) or fouls, 37 balls." Koppett also covers the New York teams in all sports that he covered for the New York Times. After working in New York for several years he then moved to Palo Alto, California, and covered the New York teams when they came to play in California. This is not a traditional sports book, but concentrates on a newspaperman's view of the sporting scene and how the coverage of sports has changed over the years. The book contains 53 chapters, but each one is only from five to eight pages long. If you feel this subject would be of interest to you, I'm sure you would enjoy the book since you are reading it from a quality author.

3 comments about Move On.

1. Linda Ellerbee goes on and shows us more of her life. We learn of her friends, her life, and how these shaped her into the woman we've enjoyed for years on Overnight and telling us the real story where others just tell us what they want us to know.



2. This is nothing less than a work of genius, a beautiful story which is beautifully told. The thrilling exploits of this legendary giant of journalism are sure to enthrall everyone who reads about them. No other person, living or dead, could possibly have a more interesting story to tell, or be able to tell it in a more interesting way. Ms. Ellerbee is simply amazing, and her great talent continues to manifest itself on her wonderful news program which airs on Nickelodeon once per week, but which should be shown at least twice each day. Forget about Murrow, Cronkite, and all the rest - Ellerbee is the greatest!



3. Not as completely entertaining as Ellerbee's prior book "And So it Goes," which focused on her career in broadcast journalism, this follow-up is a collection of unrelated tales from her life - each opening a window onto a different phase of it. I prefered Ellerbee's first (and funnier) book, but two tales from this volume are brilliant enough to give it a ratings bump.

   Ellerbee's story of overcoming alcoholism at the Betty Ford Center is as real and honest as memoirs get. Entering the program with a witty cynicism (masking fragile fear), Ellerbee eventually surrenders to the therapeutic environment and is ultimately softened by it. It's just the kind of story you'd expect from an intelligent satirist who (at first) feels she's above the 12-stepping and soul searching, but finally recognizes it as the only way to heal and become whole.

   My favorite chapter, though, is the smart and funny tale of young Linda's first summer job, "We Reserve the Right to Refuse Service to You." Linda spends her summer working at a resort owned by a friend of her father. After several weeks of mingling with the other young workers - one of whom is a radical looking to unionize - Linda learns valuable life lessons and eventually "sticks it to the man," her boss. In the end, the tale (and the title) becomes a metaphor for prejudice and stereotyping. This story alone is worth the cost of the book. Buy "Move On," read this chapter, then make photocopies of the chapter for your friends... it's the kind of thing you'll want to share.

5 comments about William F. Buckley, Jr.: Patron Saint of the Conservatives.

1. Great book; very objective, almost a love feast of fascinating Buckley quotes, but also very critical. I recommend Mr. Judis' biography of William F. Buckley, Jr. as a great way to understand the course of American conservatism in the last century, going strong into this one.



2. I just really like Buckley and have ever since I saw him on one of those 60-minute type programs back in the early '90s. This book provides some interesting information about him from interviews with friends and family, etc. In general, it is quite poorly written and a little boring, relying entirely on the subject's inherently interesting life rather than on the author's skill. Buckley fans will enjoy. Biography fans will yawn.



3. It's been ages since I read this book, but WFB's death yesterday has got me browsing through books by or about Buckley, and I was reminded how much I liked Judis's book. It's a pleasure (and seemingly so unusual nowadays) to get to read someone writing respectfully about someone with whom he strongly disagrees, whether it's the leftist Judis writing about Buckley, or Buckley himself writing moving obituaries of those on the left.
   
   From the perspective of a WFB fan who finds hagiographies tiresome, this book was a real treat, and I recommend it highly.



4. I couldn't disagree more with cxlxmx's review of this book. John Judis has written a remarkably interesting book about one of the most important figures in the history of modern conservatism. It would be fair to say that William F. Buckley was the most important figure in the political history of the Right, as he provided an intellectual infrastructure for right wing thought.
   
   I read this book as part of a seminar I took in graduate school during the 90s, and fully expected to dislike William F. Buckley, given my own liberal politics. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Buckley played an important role in attempting to discredit the more crackpot elements within the Right, in particular, the John Birch Society. I was so intrigued by this idea, that I ended up writing my M.A. thesis on the Birch Society. This book was the original inspiration for my research.
   
   Judis gives a fair and fascinating account of a very interesting and misunderstood figure. I would recommend this book to anyone, and I believe it is an excellent source for understanding how Conservatives captured control of the federal government during the Reagan years and maintained their grip on power into the present day.



5. Buckley as Mephistopheles conniving for the soul of America - from enfant terrible' of the CIA's creature, the "Conservative Movement" - to old conjurer too pooped to Pope over the sinister Neocon realm he created.
   
   "Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven." -- John Milton

No comments about A Life With the Printed Word.