2 comments about Wheel of Things (Large Print Library).

1. This to date has been the best biography on L. M. Montgomery, as most of the others simply re-hash each other both in content and in photos. This one covers new ground though, and covers old ground in a new and more insightful and thorough way. I especially liked how Mollie Gillen brings out Maud's contradictory nature, showing us that the public Maud (cheerful dutiful wife of a minister) was often at odds with the private Maud, a woman who often felt repressed, depressed, and stressed over events in her life.

   A new comprehensive biography for many years now been in the process of being written by Mary Rubio about the life of L. M. Montgomery, and I read somewhere that it's supposed to be published later this year. I can't wait. It'll be interesting to see how it stands against this book. I have high hopes.

   David Rehak
   author of "Love and Madness"




2. As a big fan of L.M. Montgomery's books I looked forward to reading a book about her life hoping to get a better idea of what she might have been like. Perhaps it was the author's style of writing..lots of silly quotes about birds, trees, etc. Also very little about her family other than her husband's melancholy but hardly anything about her two sons. I hope the next bio will have more substance.

5 comments about If I Am Missing or Dead: A Sister's Story of Love, Murder and Liberation (Thorndike Press Large Print Basic Series).

1. This book was okay, although not what I was expecting. The first 3/4's of the book are mostly about the author's life with little snippets of her sisters, which is where the catchy title actually comes in. I kept waiting for someone to go missing; I thought it would be more about the search for her sister but it was all about her own abusive relationships. Overall it was an okay read, although hard for me in some places because I just couldn't identify with the characters and the way they would put up with so much for so long.



2. This book may seem heavy and undesired to one who has not experienced this type of relationship before but it is surprisingly raw and heart provoking. I myself have never experienced anything like this and yet I found myself involved and in relationship with Janine and Amy. The story touches a deep part of my heart connecting me to the struggles that many women face. The story inspires a fight for the cause to protect the real lives of women who experience this every day. I will never forget this story. It has inspired strength and courage of heart.



3. Clearly Janine Latus has used her sister's death as a lever to enter the book publishing world. As many others have noticed, the title leads one to anticipate a tale of Amy's life and death. Half way thru the book I began to realize that Amy's murder was just a come on so that Janine could tell the story of the most important person...herself!
   
   It was at this point that the writing became redundant and the author unlikeable. After Janine gives us the basic outlines of her marriage to Kurt, she incessantly belabors the points with tale after tale. I almost wanted to shout 'I get the point already!'.
   
   It is clear that Janine was too caught up in her own psychodramas to notice her sister's slide into a destructive relationship. From this book, it appears not much has changed.



4. I just finished reading this Janine Latus book and I was very surprised that this book had little to do with the murder of her sister Amy at the hand of her boyfriend. Rather the book drones on about Janines relationships and her boring marraige.
   
   She mentions Amy a few times and doesn't get to her murder until like page 200..
   
   PASS!!!



5. Janine Latus does a fabulous job of describing the slippery slope of abuse. This book is written beautifully and captures 2 stories of abuse that many can relate to.

5 comments about Frank Lloyd Wright.

1. This was written not as a biography but as a project for the Penguin Lives Series by Ms. Huxtable who previously had published THE UNREAL AMERICA: ARCHITECTURE AND ILLUSION. Being an architecture critic, you'd think she would have concentrated on his varied styles and master creations. But she dishes the dirt about his personal life and that of this parents.
   
   He was born on June 8, 1867, in Wisconsin and named Frank Lincoln (after Abraham) Wright, later changed to Frank Lloyd Wright which was a maternal family name brought over to America from Wales in 1844. He has been dead since April, 1959, and the Archives have been opened for perusual by 'scholars' so that his real life is becoming known for scandals instead of innovation.
   
   I was expecting a treatise about the complicated and varied buildings he designed. Chicago is full of them, (as is California) a whole neighborhood in Oak Park on the North Side. The week I stayed with my son when he was a student at the University of Chicago, we passed one near the campus and Jeff wanted me to go inside. I didn't see anything unusual about it, but was assured that the interior held a host of beauty, and unique corners, mantles, etc. He was never able to entice me to stop and go inside. After all, there is so much to see in the Windy City and one week left me craving for more.
   
   Ms. Huxtable claims that his surface life was a creative act and manipulated facts -- no truth whatsoever. Instead of praising his talent and achievements with his architectural wonders, she dealt on his 'painful search for love (some of her "illusion"); he married more than once and suffered the destructive impulses, revenge, destruction and emotional ambivalence of his second wife. The man had no peace. Even with his trouble-filled personal life, he lived to be an old man.
   
   Why bring a big name master builder down to ordinary terms in which she wants to prove that his whole life (as presented) was a lie. This writer believes in airing a celebrity's dirty linen. It was his second wife whose crazy antics ruined his finances and almost his professional life. In 1927, he had opened an office in Los Angeles and started designing his unconventional houses. He was not only an innovator, but a hands-on builder as he dictated every detail.
   
   Russian immigrant Ayn Rand wrote THE FOUNTAINHEAD, which became a movie starring Gary Cooper, about an architect modeled on Frank Lloyd Wright. He appeared to be an architectural Don Quixote. Wesley Peters, who married Stalin's daughter, figured in on his 'afterlife' in Arizona at Taliesin West where Wright's third wife formed a commune after his death.
   
   Others in this series include: ROBERT E. LEE by Roy Blount, Jr., CRAZY HORSE by Larry McMurtry, JOSEPH SMITH by Robert V. Remini, ELVIS PRESLEY by Bobbie Ann Mason, and ROSA PARKS by Douglas Brinkley.



2. A briskly written, concise biography of Frank Lloyd Wright that manages to be very even-handed about both his enormous talent and his nearly-as-enormous ego. It's not a thorough study of his life and work (I particularly thought it was skimpy on Wright's later projects; for that reason, I'd probably give it only 4.5 stars if Amazon allowed half-star rating increments), but it is an excellent, quick-read introduction to an incredible architect.



3. Heather Carolyn Riehl holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Textile Design from Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York and is currently seeking her Master's degree from Edinboro University in Edinboro, Pennsylvania.
   
   Frank Lloyd Wright, a biography by award winning architectural critic Ada Louise Huxtable is a very insightful novel about a man who made such an impact on the art of architecture during his lifetime. Huxtable focuses both on the life of Frank Lloyd Wright both personally and professionally. Although it seems at times to steer more towards a personal biography, it is essential to understand Wright's background and beliefs to truly appreciate him as the artist that he was.
   
   Huxtable takes us all the way through Wright's life, from birth to death. She briefly touches on the impact that Wright's architecture had following his death as well as some unfortunate family matters concerning the placement of his remains.
   
   Frank Lloyd Wright is depicted in this biography as somewhat of a rebel. He lived by his own rules and detested establishment. It may be fair to say that Wright was somewhat of an egotist, but had he not possessed the confidence that he did, it may not have been possible for him to think outside of the box as often as he did. It was his ambition to create his own style that made him stand out from the rest, and no one was able to get in his way from doing so.
   
   Huxtable explains how Frank Lloyd Wright was influenced by Japanese art and the philosophies of Viollet-le-duc. Sculpture reproductions of the Winged Victory and Venus de Milo were often used in his interiors. Wright was a very intellectual, knowledgeable man although he had no formal training in architecture.
   
   Being involved with several different women, marrying three of them in his lifetime, it would appear that women were very important in Wright's life. Conceiving six children in his first marriage and two in his third, one might see Wright as a veritable family man although this assumption could not be further from the truth. No matter what was happening in Wright's family life, his architecture always took precedence.
   
   Huxtable examines several of Wright's architectural triumphs, including his many prairie homes which lead to a domestic revolution in the Midwest, Fallingwater which was built for the Kaufmann family in Pennsylvania, the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, and his two Taliesin estates, one of which endured a murder rampage and three tragic fires.
   
   Frank Lloyd Wright comes across in this biography as a beatnik architect, if there ever was such a thing. Being educated on the subject of architecture, unexplained references to such people as Mies Van Der Rohe, Le Corbusier, and Frank Gehry; I was able to understand the passages, where as a reader completely uneducated on the topic may be confused by some topics in this novel. Subsequently, I would recommend this novel to anyone interested in art or architecture as it is a very interesting look into the life of this magnificent architect.



4. There is so much that is right about this handy and elegant little biographical volume that anyone who wants to know about Frank Lloyd Wright would find themselves in good company with the brilliant Ms Huxtable.
   
   She knows architecture (her skyscraper book is a classic) and her appreciation of Wright comes through. So does her awareness that the same genius that made such serene spaces also led a wildly tempestuous life.
   
   Having read this book, the reader wanting more that is Wright would want to read Brendan Gill's "Many Masks" and Meryle Secrest's bio of the great architect, too.



5. Books about Mr. Wright, especially those that delve into his personal life, tend to grow like kudzu. Their authors start out intending to present a coherent, concise picture of the man, but they find themselves overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information, controversy, and innuendo that swirls about him even today. Too many authors abandon any pretense of order and just splash it all down on paper, leaving the reader to hack through the resulting jungle alone.
   
   Ms. Huxtable's admirable book is the first Wright biography I've seen that resists the temptatation to make the reader do all the work. She tells more about Mr. Wright and about his important buildings in fewer words than any other author. Of course there are errors here and there--most of the principals are long dead, and who can reconstruct a conversation that took place eighty years ago with any accuracy? All Wright biographers, except the syncophants associated with the Taliesin Fellowship, disagree on various points. One must also remember that the Fellowship's mythmaking apparatus started up shortly after the Fellowship began, and went into overdrive after Mr. Wright's passing in 1959, making it difficult to separate fact from fiction. Having to see through this smothering blanket of hagiography makes Ms. Huxtable's accomplishment all the more remarkable.
   
   Even those who think they know all about Frank Lloyd Wright may learn a thing or two from this book, and it would be hard to imagine a better introductory book for those who know they do not.

5 comments about Giving Up The Ghost: A Memoir.

1. This is a hard book to comment on, as it is both excellent and incomplete. As all memoirs- to an extent- probably feel somewhat unfinished, "Giving Up the Ghost," is particularly hard to reflect on with any sense of conclusion. Whether this adds to or detracts from the book's strength changes from day to day after reading it, but the work, and its content, does keep you thinking for a long time afterwards.
   
   It seems that, with the exception of "A Place of Greater Safety," this is a quality shared by her earlier fictional works and, here, her non-fiction. In a few cases, as in "An Experiment in Love," the ending feels abrupt rather than simply inconclusive. This is preceded by a good 200-odd pages of bulldozer honesty, however, and the force of the revelations are only never quite relieved. Her shorter books read most of the way through as if you are being pushed blindly towards a cliff, and are only pushed off in the last few pages. The final paragraphs, then, which seam up an ending, feel like the thoughts you are having on the way down. In theory, the novel would be incomplete, but while they don't feel settled, you never exactly complain that you haven't reached the bottom yet.
   
   "Ghost" is more gradual, even measured. Her insights are both condemning and self-questioning, and the most beautiful writing finds itself where she returns to previous conclusions and reevaluates them. I am probably stupidly young to be applying a critical view to the majority of the book's described experience, but Mantel creates a familiarity with her characters, and herself, that is at once both painful and comforting in its imperfection. Any perceived fault in her writing is never in character development or settling you into their place, but in adhering to the arc defined as "fiction making sense". She seems to stick to a disarming incoherence, which follows and develops with each novel. If her shorter works feel incomplete in themselves, there is continuity between them as a whole. There are great truths, but nothing didactic upon which to hang an definitely instructive ending. This is true in "Ghost," where she gives an honest experience that cannot be constructed into a moral, so there is none made of it. What we do want at the end, though, is a connection between the experiences she presents us with. In "A Place of Greater Safety," the length allowed for a thorough examination of the incongruities within and between characters, which gives a shape to the irresolution. I recommend buying "Ghost", simply because it is a great book, but I found myself here again wishing Mantel's work had been longer.



2. Only one review for this????
   This is the first of hers I've read, but she's wonderful! Small (no denigration there), but wonderful. The details, the juxtapositions, the starkness, the pain, the wonder...



3. This is a book to be read and re-read; Hilary Mantel's prose is so spare and sharp that at first glance it conceals the depths that unlie her descriptions of events and people throughout her life. The "ghost" takes many forms; her reactions to them become her life. Although she has led a life of hardships and pain, she tells of times of pleasure and inserts wry and very amusing lines as counterpoints to dark and dramatic moments. Women in particular will understand much of what Mantel has been through both physically and emotionally as she wrestles with disease and doctors. I recommend this highly to anyone who has read and enjoyed Mantel's novels.



4. The cover on the hardback edition and the cover on the paperback caught my attention..but you can't judge this book by its cover. I complete dud!!



5. I love the way Hilary Mantel writes. Her imagery and descriptions are so true, so evocative, sometimes I need to put on a sweater or snuggle deeper into the duvet just to cope. She strings me out and keeps me roped in. I have no other way of expressing just how fine her writing feels to me. When I'm reading her work, I feel that she has tapped into the great reservoir--the man-made basin brimming with pain and suffering, dreams and devils. This book is haunting and grim--yet one identifies so strongly with the author, risk and all.

No comments about Lives of Girls Who Became Famous (Large Print).

4 comments about Caesar's Hours: My Life In Comedy, With Love and Laughter.

1. I wholeheartedly recommend Caesar's Hours. Not only is this book an autobiography, but also an encyclopedia of sorts. Sid eloquently writes of his early years growing up in New York, his numerous tries at breaking into show business, his service to the country during WWII, and finally, his years on 'Your Show of Shows' and 'Caesar's Hour'. Along the way, Sid shares some of his favorite jokes and sketches that he has used during his reign as TV legend.

   What makes Sid even more commendable and the book even more facinating, is how Sid gives credit to all those who helped him along the way. While most entertainers take all the credit, Sid carefully notes his comedy writers and fellow actors who, together, are the reason for his and the shows' great success.

   I recommend this book to anyone wishing to read about Sid's life, and all those who want to know just how difficult it was to produce a show a week, in an entertainment medium that was in its infancy.

   A magnificant work from the last of the Televion Legends!




2. Sid Caesar was the star of Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour, two of the most innovative and popular programs in the Age of Television and a creator of some of the greatest comedy writers of his times. This informative autobiography tells how his routines were fashioned and performed, and examines the methods and creations of the writers who made him famous.



3. This is a wonderful memoir that takes the reader down memory lane. As anyone one reading this biography knows, Sid Caesar was one of the foremost comedians of his time. In fact, he was actually ranked the third all time great comedian (after Jackie Gleason and Lucille Ball) by a documentary about the greatest comedians of all time, which documentary was featured on the A & E cable television channel.
   
   I know that my parents used to watch Cid Caesar's ground breaking television program, "Your Show of Shows". I myself was too young to have any recollection of it. I do, however, recall that as a young child, together with my family, I watched his subsequent show in the latter half of the nineteen fifties, "Caesar's Hour". Sid Caesar was the then king of comedy, and he broke trail for many of the comedians that were to follow him. Many of the greatest comedic writers to ever write for television started out writing for his shows. Greats such as Neil Simon, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, and Woody Allen were among some of his writers. No wonder that era was heralded as the Golden Age of Television!
   
   In his memoir, Sid Caesar talks only a little about himself on a very personal level. Still, he comes across as an intelligent man who dearly loves his wife of over sixty years. He acknowledges his personal foibles, such as a drinking problem that, at times, threatened to overwhelm him, as well as a never ending quest for creative perfection. This book is not so much about Caesar, the man, but rather about Caesar, the performing artist. Consequently, Sid Caesar the man remains a bit of a mystery. On the other hand, Sid Caesar, the performer, comes vividly to life. This is more of an artistic autobiography rather than a personal one.
   
   He lovingly reminisces about how he got his start on the road to fame and fortune. Born in 1922 in Yonkers, New York, to Jewish immigrants from Poland and Russia, Sid was an accomplished musician who could play the saxophone with the best of them. Having started out as a musician, Sid Caesar would cut his comedic teeth in the borscht belt of the Catskill Mountains. It was there that he would also meet Florence, the love of his life. At the onset of World War II, Sid would play with a number of orchestras in Manhattan, before signing up with the Coast Guard in 1942, and in 1943 he married his beloved Florence.
   
   While in the Coast Guard, Sid became part of a successful revue for the troops, which raised his profile. This propelled him to Hollywood after his discharge from the Coast Guard, where he would become involved in the movie industry, starring in a number of comedies. From there, he would go on to perform for the nightclub circuit on the East Coast. Sid was not a stand-up comedian, but rather, a comedic sketch artist. From there it would be a short trip to Broadway, where Sid would achieve tremendous success in a revue called "Make Mine Manhattan", in which he would turn in an award-winning performance. This would lead him right to television, which was still in its nascent stage, and into the homes and hearts of millions of Americans.
   
   This book is chock full of information on the early days of television, which had more in common with theatre and stage work than with film, as it was live television. Undoubtedly, this factor was responsible for much of the frenetic pace and spontaneity which existed. Today, television is more like film rather than stage work, as very little is shot live. Sid Caesar lovingly lays out for the reader many of his comedic sketches that were his special shtick. He meticulously explains how his comedic routines were fashioned and performed.
   
   He speaks glowingly about his wonderful professional partnership with the late Imogene Coca, the googly-eyed comedienne, with whom he would be in perfect comedic harmony. They would make beautiful music together with their hilarious sketches that parodied slices of life and the human condition. Together, these two would touch a chord among audiences that would forever enshrine them in television history, making them the golden couple of the Golden Age of Television.
   
   This is an engaging artistic biography that will appeal to fans of Sid Caesar and to those with an interest in the early years of television. Those readers who enjoy memoirs and biographies will likewise find this to be a worthwhile and interesting book.



4. Here is a man that not only made the world laugh, he could poke fun at himself. Sid Caesar set an example for countless comedians to follow. He makes the history of early television come alive. This is a wonderful way to spend a few hours.

No comments about When Blind Eyes Pierce the Darkness: A Mother's Insights.

2 comments about When It Gets Dark: An Enlightened Reflection on Life With Alzheimer's.

1. Book illustrates that people with alzheimer's are human. Baggio , an Alzhiemer's victim) takes us on a journey of his life long affair with gardening. This sensitvely chronicles an ordinairy life as being something special. It lets us know that all of our lives are special and to be handled with care. This reader developed a bond with the author through his well chosen words. Worth reading if you are pre-disposed to alzheimer's though family history, have it or know someone who does. This is a delightfully sensitive and artistic book on a dreadful disease. It certainly helps with coping with it.



2. I really liked this one. It tells about the story of a 57 year of man who has Alzheimers,his love of gardening, his wife, son, love of cats,and his Italian family roots. It was a nice story about a man dealing with the disease and his family. I read this book in one night. Well written and a great choice of words. Parts of this book took me back to the old days when he talks of his family.

No comments about Horace (Large Print Edition).

No comments about Life of Luther (Large Print Edition).