No comments about Memory Stories II.

5 comments about Boss of Bosses: The Fall of the Godfather : The FBI and Paul Castellano.

1. I would've liked more behind the scenes mob information. The book focused too much from an FBI perspective. Also, I got a little tired of the agents giving the mob boss, Paul Castellano, so much respect and sympathy! At times it was like they felt sorry for the guy because they have to do their job and arrest him. Hello! The guy is a leader of the mob! These people lie, cheat, steal and kill for a living!!!



2. This book purports to be the story behind the FBI's take down of big-time Gambino crime boss Paul Castellano. The authors, two ex-agents set themselves up as the heroes in this cops-and-robbers tale.
   
   It's too bad that the story ends up being an almost complete fabrication, because there's some truly entertaining "tales" told in this book. Forced to resign from the FBI, O'Brien and Kurins probably made more money from this sham of a book then they did in their crime fighting careers.
   
   Maybe they learned from the criminals they watched for so many years, eh?



3. This book covers the story of Paul Castellano, a weak boss of a very strong family. It shows a guy who shouldn't have been a boss, leading a group of killers who wanted to be boss. Also, it is a prime example of the cops abusing their eavesdropping privilages. I know the guy was a mob boss but they got all up in the man's business. I could have done without knowing so much about the live-in mistress. But this guy made a lot of bad moves toward the end of his reign.



4. From the start the 2 FBI agents,both of whom authored this book,seem to be apologetic towards Castellano about having to bug this criminal's house.When I read this I knew there was going to be some really gushy stuff and was I right (for once).The book has alot of info on Castellano's personal life.No body's in suitcases,nothing like that but more on the level of Hannah Arendt's "Banality of Evil".
   His life as the "top dog" of the Mafia pyramid,revolves around confusion over how to properly slice some loins of roast beef.As if this isn't crisis enough,then having to inflate himself while chasing a "golddigging" hispanic maid around his mansion,"Oh No Meester Paul".There is little in this book about Mafia goings on because Meester Paul is a few layers beyond where the bodies (and drug money) are flying.Castellano is enjoying his icing at the top with deep layers of deniability.If you're looking for a "Big Eddie sleeps with the fishes" you're in for a big dissappointment.More like a "Hey this damn#!&$# implant isn't working right".The FBI did a good job of making Castellano seem ridiculous,I can understand why they were so tongue in cheek apologetic.



5. This was written long before the Sopranos series made its HBO debut, but it could have been a blueprint for their series. The book, like the series, is filled with the appropriate mixture of sex, violence, and the more humdrum aspects of the lives of mafia boss Castellano and his associates.
   
   The writing is so-so, filled with opinions and dramatizations that wouldn't feel quite right in a more scholarly work. But the color keeps the book moving at a reasonable pace, and the recorded dialogue of the mob members is, by turns, horrifying and funny.
   
   Other reviewers have suggested that a little too much sympathy is extended towards the portrayal of Castellano, who is, after all, a cold-blooded murderer and therefore deserving of our scorn.
   
   I disagree, and I really thought that this was the book's greatest strength. The very men who have dedicated their lives to taking murderers like Castellano out of circulation have, through years of familiarity, developed an understanding of Castellano as a human being.
   
   This familiarity lends a terrific layer of moral grayness to the book that is missing from more sensationalistic writings, which either harshly condemn the crooks or laud them for their nasty achievements.
   
   Agents O'Brien and Kurins see Castellano as he is-- a murderer, someone who deserves to be punished, but also a human being who wraps his wrongdoing in justifications, some of which are actually valid points.
   
   We all have the capacity to do wrong, and Castellano is someone who was born into unfortunate circumstances and then proceeded to make a raft of very bad decisions. If he was a truly great man, he would have risen above his roots. If he was weak-willed and incompetent, he would have never gotten to his position of prominence. Instead, he was somewhere in the middle, and this gives him a level of humanity to which we can all relate.
   
   I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys true crime stories-- this book is at the top of that genre, even as it fails to completely transcend it.

3 comments about The Piano Shop on the Left Bank: The Hidden World of a Paris Atelier.

1. This is a wonderful little book for piano & music lovers. The storyline is simple, based on the rediscovery of the author's own love of pianos & piano playing, and is set against the backdrop of life in the heart of Paris. There is plenty of sensitive commentary on music and Parisian society, and of course lots of documentary-style descriptions of pianos, their history, various brands, and so on. But, as a piano lover myself, I must warn that some of the information rendered in the book is subject to counter arguments. For example: although 100 year old pianos are often beautiful pieces, I am convinced that modern instruments are vastly better, at least from a musicians point of view. So, read the book for enjoyment (and it is enjoyable!) but be careful not to use it as your guide to chosing an instrument....!!



2. This is such an enjoyable little book to read. In addition to information on pianos and music are the stories of quiet lives lived with a satisfaction and ordinary magic about them. One of the themes is simply the pleasure of playing the piano for oneself rather than in public and especially not in the yearly recitals of childhood. The structure of the book is ideally suited to bedtime reading; chapters just the perfect length that you can actually get through one before the book hits your nose, and chapters that weave stories in alternating threads, so that your interest never lags. This is a little jewel that readers will find themselves talking about with friends, and that does not require any previous personal experience with music or pianos to enjoy fully.



3. What a wonderful book, it is quirky and fun to read and you'll learn lots about the creation of the piano and how the life of piano's evolve. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

No comments about Flowers of the Fairest (Reminiscence).

5 comments about Basil Street Blues.

1. Michael Holroyd's "Basil Street Blues" is a marvelously readable memoir by the biographer of Lytton Strachey and others. Holroyd's early life in England before, during and after WWII was filled with a cast of eccentrics-- one grandmother occasionally sported a monocle, the other shouted the odd word in French; his mother was compared in every way to champagne; his father was "a most unlikely old Etonian;" and the waning family fortune came several generations back from Rajmai Tea, a company whose dramatic ups and downs proved "better than a seat at the opera." Holroyd cleverly explains how this oddball cast of characters ultimately led him into the profession of writing biography. This is a wonderful story, told not without pathos and humor. One hopes for a sequel.



2. Although Michael Holroyd had a difficult life growing up among eccentrics, his beautiful prose and gentle sense of humor show that he nonetheless emerged as a remarkably insightful, down-to-earth adult. His descriptions of the people who influenced him are wonderfully observant, and kinder than most of the people probably deserved. On page 142, he notes that what he can reveal "emerges more between the lines of my writing," and he gives us ample lines to read between. I would strongly recommend Basil Street Blues to anyone interested in the art of memoir writing, as well as anyone interested in knowing more about Holroyd.



3. Holroyd, a biographer, turns his skills as a researcher and writer onto his own family, and proves that the devil really is in the details, and in the telling of the same. The display of his skills as a writer in dealing with the homely eccentricities and dusty skeletons in the closet of his own life have convinced me that I must, at the very least, acquire and read his work on Bernard Shaw. Definitely recommended.



4. This is one of the most beautifully constructed books ....beginning slowly with an introduction too Holroyd's unusal ancestors .... his own shyness and youth among various estranged folks, and then building to a wonderful, generous, end.

   I was quite overwhelmed as the last few chapters came round. I am highly recommending it to readers




5. Holroyd may be a great biographer revealing the lives of the British authors, but he struggles to portray his own life which is the subject of this book. To cope with a world he doesn't understand, he wishes for invisibility as a child. He grew up in the dysfunctional home of his grandparents and elderly aunt, but as an adult delves into the fragments of their lives and the lives of his divorced parents.
   In this autobiography, he grasps as shreds of his family life, trying to piece together a coherent narrative. For the reader, the numerous relatives and switching of time frames, it becomes difficult to follow. Despite this, one feels drawn in to his search for meaning in the family's behavior.
   It's an interesting, though fragmented view, of a British family clinging to past glories and bemoaning lost wealth. I really wish it included a photo section.

No comments about Ridings High (Isis Nonfiction).

No comments about Granny's Village (Reminiscence).

5 comments about The Diana I Knew: Loving Memories of the Friendship Between an American Mother and Her Son's Nanny Who Became the Princess of Wales.

1. I've read most of the Diana books on the market, and this one is my all time favorite. The warmth, candor, and respect that Mrs. Robertson uses in describing her ongoing relationship with the late former Princess of Wales is refreshing (who else treats Diana with dignity anymore, anyway?), well paced (I can stay into it, even on the treadmill), and wholly respectable (staying exclusively in the realm of what Mrs. Robertson herself saw, learned, or experienced, and not crossing the line into lurid speculation, armchair psychology, or maudlin reflection). This is an idea purchase or gift with anyone having an interest in Diana, and I would recommend it wholeheartedly as a sweet (I know it's an overused word, but it's the RIGHT word) tribute to the relationship from one mother to another and their friendship which spanned 17 years.



2. I guess that I'd have to give this book about 3 1/2 stars if I could do that, it's an interesting little book to read. Written by Mary Robertson, the American woman who once employed Diana as a nanny, it isn't nearly as bad as some critics would suggest.The book starts with an Aug 31-Sept 6th recap of learning about Diana's death and attending the funeral, in the next chapter and for most of the book details Robertson's experiences over the years with the Princess. While Mrs. Robertson does talk about herself (not particularly boastfully)she tells a lot of harmless little details about Diana, various meetings & so on, that you just don't see elsewhere. I wouldn't put it at the top of your list of books to accquire but it makes a nice little addition.



3. I bought this book as soon as it came into the shops and have read it so many times. It is good to read Mary's account of her relationship with Diana. One of the most readable books I have ever read. I wonder if Mary has written other books?



4. I wanted to read this book for the longest but it was unavailable. I finally bought it used through Amazon.
   I was not disappointed! A truly readable and enjoyable book. Diana often was dismissed by critics as a shallow, self-serving woman who only "cared" about people when the cameras and press were recording an event.
   Mrs. Robertson refuted this often repeated attack of Diana's character by showing us that behind the scenes and away from the press, Diana continued a warm friendship with this American woman and her family. A common family who could in no way further Diana's reportedly selfish agenda.
   Why?
   The only explanation is that Diana truly was a very warm and caring person. The book captures that simple quality of Diana.
   Many books have been written to show the world what the real Diana was supposedly like.
   These books deride fans for believing in a media image of Diana and have attacked Diana's every move.
   Mrs. Robertson knew the "real" Diana and her memories are refreshing, honest and much in tune with Diana's worldwide image.
   Mrs. Robertson's friendship with the Princess of Wales was not based on a phony media image.
   Thank you Mrs. Robertson for writing this book and showing us the lovely "inner" Diana.
   Diana proved it was possible to be warm, unpretentious, radiant AND royal.



5. Mary Robertson tells of a Diana that could have been one of our daughters or the girl next door who babysat for us. She explained several incidents, such as Diana eating out of their refridgerator that were so human. One wanted to reach inside the book, pull out Diana, and hug her. The way she opened up to the Robertsons is detailed and the pictures are so special. Mary Robertson writes as she knew Diana; she doesn't brag about knowing the Princess, but truly explains "The Diana She Knew." Highly recommended-definately one of my most favorite Diana books because the author is not intending to capitalize or sensationalize.

No comments about Betty Boothroyd: The Autobiography.

No comments about Around the World in 81 Years.