No comments about Here I lie,: The memorial of an old journalist.

No comments about Fifty Years In Journalism: Embracing Recollections And Personal Experiences With An Autobiography.

No comments about An Enemy of the State: The Life of Erwin Knoll.

No comments about Looking West.

1 comments about Waking Nanabijou: Uncovering a Secret Past.

1. Waking Nanabijou is an outstanding piece of work, beautifully crafted and meticulously researched. More than that, it is clearly the product of a wonderful labour of love. The rich details of Jim Poling Sr.'s close family life as a youngster in northern Ontario are particularly rich in warmth and drama. Some readers may guess the secret that is the book's foundation before the author reveals it. Nevertheless, Poling's story line about following old trails until he came to the truth reads like a great mystery novel. The final chapter of Waking Nanabijou is disturbing in its unvarnished clarity about the stark situation facing Canada's First Peoples. Poling raises many questions here. They deserve answers.

No comments about Cobbett in Ireland: A Warning to England.

2 comments about Behind the Front.

1. I really enjoyed "Behind the Front." Instead of the typical blood and guts stories, this book showed me another side of the war, one filled with humor, passion and compassion. I would recommend this book highly. Kudos to the author. David Levine, Danbury, CT.



2. I just finished reading your book, "Behind the Front." The book brought back many memories. Your writing flows so comfortably it was a pleasure to read. I had the delightful feeling that we were just having a pleasant conversation.

No comments about Dias de ruido y furia/ Day of Noise and Rage.

3 comments about The Diary of a Mad Fat Woman: Complete Again.

1. Very interesting! I could totally relate to the lead character in this book. I have either been through the same things in my life or have friends I've witnessed go through it. Plus, we all have a few family members who grate on our last nerve and have those "special" occupations that don't draw a W2. We just don't talk about them. This book was very funny and down to earth. One minute I am applauding the lead character and the next minute I want to strangle her for her foolish decisions. I experienced a whole range of emotions throughout the book and by the end I was totally rooting for the lead character and her kids to be victorious.



2. This novel is very honest and complete. Leola Stafford's book is not a unique story, but she adds a touch of genious that puts her story above many. Anyone with any struggle should read Diary Of A Mad Fat Woman. It will show you how to get through your challenges of everyday life, conquer your demons and become the strong person that you want to be. I truly applaude this author for her boldness and the generosity to share her diary with others. It will surely help those who seem lost find their way.



3. As teenagers, most little girls will keep a diary of some kind, but when they are chronicling their whole life it is not to eventually share, it is to get it off their mind and chest. Leola Stafford shared with the world the diary of Nola Bradford, a woman searching for her life's purpose all the while making the wrong decisions. The Diary of a Mad Fat Woman...Complete Again shows one woman's determination to make a change.
   
   The Diary of a Mad Fat Woman by Leola Stafford is a series of journal entries over the course of many years telling a tale of low self-esteem, constantly making wrong decisions, being overweight and complaining, loving the wrong people too much and the right ones not nearly enough, and finally accepting the only help that would bring her to the next level in her life. Nola, an uneducated, mother of five, and desperately seeking love in all the wrong places tries to find herself. Life was never easy for Nola; her mother was not really a mother and once the only person who showed her any love died, life got worse for her. Her family was comprised of drug addicts, thieves and murderers.
   
   With no proper role models, no one to teach her to respect herself first, Nola was failing miserably at being a mother. She chose a man who had his own addiction over her precious children; the man who stole the few things they had to get his next hit. Would Nola ever look to God for the answers she prayed for every day? Or would she continue to pray for salvation, but turn her head every time God made a way?
   
   The Diary of a Mad Fat Woman...Complete Again by Leola Stafford is a sad look at what African American women or any woman with low self-esteem and no self-respect would sacrifice to find love. However, the sense of determination was eminent throughout. When Nola finally realized she had to depend on God to make a change, positive things began to happen. Aside from the author's need to address the reader, explaining things that should not be explained, the editing needed to be a bit more polished. In the current condition, I cannot comfortably recommend this book. However if you can look past the errors and see to the core of one woman's quest, this is the book for you.
   
   Jennifer Coissiere
   APOOO BookClub

No comments about Ambrose Bierce Takes on the Railroad: The Journalist as Muckraker and Cynic.