5 comments about To School Through the Fields: An Irish Country Childhood.

1. I'd rather read this book than have Irish bread w. freshly whipped butter, w. farm-fresh eggs, tomato, sausage and Irish breakfast tea! And that's a lot! This affectionate novel is a jewel. A very special woman wrote this book and shared with us her very special childhood. If you're Irish, of Irish descent, have been to Ireland, or enjoy a charming, well-written, enchanting true tale, you'll love this book and keep a copy and recommend it to loved ones. Did you enjoy the LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE books as a child? Or have you read, THE ROAD FROM COORAIN by Jill Ker Conway? Then you'll truly enjoy this book



2. If you love the simple life (not to be confused with easy), nature, simple people and their idiosyncracies, then you will love this book. Alice Taylor takes us back to the communal farm life of Ireland. She "shows" us vividly how she grew up in County Cork Ireland in a rural farming community where the community came before the individual; unheard of in our current paradigm. Everything that nature had to offer was used in daily life, including the grease from cooked geese to oil leather boots. Life was about pulling your weight, helping your neighbor, integrity, and respecting God and His creations. This book sooths my soul and slows me down. If you live a busy "city" life, but long for nature and simplicity, I highly recommend this book. It will make you smile and comfort your spirit.



3. I laughed, I cried, I remembered my own childhood in County Ireland as I ran barefoot through the daisies. I especially loved the bit about 'Old Dan'who loves to be near children. I knew a guy JUST like that when I was seven. Alice Taylor's book is a TRIUMPH. It is nothing less. We need more books about the poverty and ignorance of Ireland, written by an ordinary housewife like Alice, in her deceptively accessible style. In these weary times, her book is like three hundred milligrammes of morphine to a man with a headache. She deserves the pulitzer! Well done Alice!!



4. If Angela's Ashes and it's clones is your only taste of Ireland during the economic hard times, you're only getting half the story. This best seller speaks of the Ireland our grandparent's held dear to their hearts. It's short vignette structure makes it an excellant read for those using public transportation. Warning: people who feel good writing must be driven by inner turmoil will hate this book. To all others Taylor's work is breath of fresh air!



5. What a delight this little book is! Within the space of only 151 pages of standard typeface, Alice Taylor has told many a tale, charmed us with her warmhearted stories from her childhood.

No comments about The Way of All Flesh Volume II [EasyRead Large Edition].

No comments about The Bevin Boy: A History of the Use of Young Boys in British Mines During Wwii (ISIS Large Print).

No comments about Oscar Wilde, His Life and Confessions (EasyRead Large Edition).

5 comments about In My Sights: The Memoir of a P-40 Ace.

1. James Morehead's autobiography of his World War II experiences is a very good addition to the genre. Anyone with a general interest in the subject will like the book, but those with a deeper background in Pacific War literature will appreciate it even more. It should be noted that Morehead had a very unusual perspective on events. He was one of the first US fighter pilots to arrive in the Pacific theater and consequently, along with a handful of other young men, was given the dubious honor of facing the Japanese juggernaut when it was at high tide. The book has a hard edge to it as befits a very hard period of the war for the US. For my money, Morehead's discussion of the strange but bloody war in Java and the early battles over Darwin when the Allies were usually on the short end of the stick is worth the price of admission. He describes the fragile nature of morale when defeat has shaken the very young men fighting a seemingly invincible foe. His descriptions of aerial combat are vivid. Although his tour in the Pacific ended as his men were slowly stabilizing the situation, Morehead attacks the technical inferiority of early war equipment and US preparations for war in general. There is a hard edge to the narrative that is most appropriate to an account of the period that Morehead flew over the Pacific. As counterpoint, Morehead later in the war flew a tour in the Mediterranean. Piloting a fine P-38 with well trained comrades, the physical and psychological balance had turned on it's head - the US was winning and its pilots knew it. This experience only made Morehead's early tour seem more wasteful of brave but ill-prepared young pilots. As well as a fine memoir, In My Sights is a sobering reminder to what can happen if a nation gets involved in a military campaign without proper preparations and underestimating a dangerous enemy. I certainly recommend this account.



2. I was most interested in reading about the air combat experiences and they certainly are spell-binding. However, I became engrossed in just the historical content of the book as well. I felt like I was living during the war years. A very good book.



3. It was a rare and cherished opportunity. During the course of Eric Anderson's reunion in Big Sky, Montana as a number of members gathered in the hospitality suite, I found myself sitting beside Colonel Morehead. He was striking in his dress white uniform and warm in his conversation. He started talking about his childhood in Oklahoma, the dust bowl Oklahoma during the Great Depression. His spellbinding telling of those days and times so took over my consciousness that the rest of the room ceased to exist.

   In My Sights starts in those Okie years and lays the foundation for the war years to follow. The skills learned, hardships endured, and tenacity gained all pay later dividends for Colonel Morehead.

   Jim introduces us to his flight cadet time wherein some humor is found. He describes various assignments and one where he is forced to parachute to safety. This captivating book takes us to the South Pacific and lets us fly along in P-40s facing the Japanese Zeros. Challenged by vast distances, inexperienced pilots, and an enemy with superior equipment, Jim, with keen insight, discloses how he and his fellow pilots managed to survive.

   After duty in the Pacific culminating with two Distinguished Service Crosses, Colonel Morehead volunteered for duty against the Luftwaffe. He describes the duty in Europe and contrasts it to the desperation he felt in the dark days of 1942 in the South Pacific.

   In February 1944, through a succession of transfers, Jim ended up in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. He had acquired the rank of major and was ready for a command. Circumstances created by inept leadership at a higher level caused him to have to share a command and expose himself by flying in the least favored position. Read how he hangs on and eventually prevails against bad policy, bad training, and poor execution. Flying over the Ploesti oil fields on D-Day contributed immensely to his feeling of satisfaction.

   This is a book worth reading; it is a story worth telling, told by a natural story teller. A pleasure to read. ~ M. G. Worley




4. I have a unique circumstance in writing this review in that I was priviledged to meet the author a few days after reading the book. Colonel Morehead was being inducted into the Hall of Fame for the American Airpower Heritage Museum for which I am a volunteer. I was asked to be his attache during his visit. After learning of his book, having been released just a few short months before, I purchased a copy on Amazon and read it in preparation for his visit.

   Col. Morehead was born and raised in rural Oklahoma during the height of the Great Depression and knew at a very young age that an education was the avenue to climbing out of destitution. His desire and tenacity to improve his life is the story within the story. He even joined air corp flight training to qualify for more scholarship money. As a result, he was highly trained as the war began and was stationed in Australia when Pearl Harbor was attacked.

   When duty called, he accepted it with the same vehemence of gaining an education. Truly an inspiring read for anyone wishing to improve their lot in life. I also recommend this to any student thinking that life is too hard, or that earning an education is not expected of them.

   I recommend this book to anyone interested in history; especially the WWII era as well as the Great Depression. I ranked this book a four star vs. a five as the publisher, for reasons I do not understand, cut several areas that would have added to the content. I know this as I was given a copy of the original manuscript to read. I made several remarks to Col. Morehead during our visit that prompted him to give me a copy of the original. Hope that you enjoy it.

   Sincerely,
   Blake Cowart




5. This book is not written like a history of what happened, it is written with the feelings and thoughts of the man that flew the plane. He doesn't say that they were heros, just that they could do a better job later in the war because they had more experience. You can see him flying the plane from the descriptions in the book. It was a nice change from just facts of war, it was good to get a pulse of what the men that fought that war felt.

5 comments about Vivien: The Life of Vivien Leigh (Transaction Large Print Books).

1. As a fan of Vivien Leigh, I was hoping for a biography that would delve more into her personal life. Instead, it dragged with pages and pages dedicated to mostly her career. However, if you can breeze through the boring parts, the rest is worth it.



2. .
   In this seemingly fair and accurate portrait, common pitfalls of a celebrity biography are avoided, such as a gossipy tone, sensationalism, and gushing admiration. Such writing shows respectable restraint, as Miss Leigh's life has all the makings for a tawdry tale.
   
   The only faults are that at times the business end of Ms. Leigh's career is overemphasized, such as contract and agent negotiations. However, facts more interesting to a movie fan take up less space. For example, there are only a few backstage stories on the making of "Gone With the Wind", with even less on "A Streetcar Named Desire". One interesting story told is that Vivien Leigh refused to perform Scarlett O'Hara's retching sounds, as it would be undignified.Olivia De Haviland therefore filled in the sounds. Perhaps the author felt this kind of backstage story is available elsewhere and does not belong in a biography. Though I accept that, I would have preferred more backstage stories than the business end of Ms. Leigh's career, which slowed down the reading.
   
   Also, Ms. Leigh's erratic behavior is often understated. Some incidents are told as if a friend was telling you dinner recipes, then informs you that her daughter set fire to the school, followed by more recipes. In the way you would say, "She did what?" to your friend, I found myself rereading certain paragraphs, because I did not fully capture the extent of Miss Leigh's behaviour on a first read due to its factual presentation. More vivid descriptions would have been appropriate, without necessarily being sensationalistic.
   
   Perhaps the author was too restrained for this fan of both movies and Vivien Leigh. But I felt this to be a worthwhile read, because more importantly, I felt as though I had gotten to know Ms. Leigh, as a woman who loved deeply, suffered much, worked hard and at times acted thoughtlessly, while happening to act in movies.



3. This book is a great journey into Vivien's life. It describes her life from beginning to end in a delicate and true way, making the reader really feel her struggle against her desease, so little known at that time. I have always loved Vivien as an actress and after reading this biography I got to love her even more. She was a great actress!



4. Writing about Vivien Leigh's life is a difficult task, as I'm sure any author would tell their reader contemplating the idea of researching this fabulous woman's life. The reason is because those who know details about her and knew her best don't say much, leaving a lot to be desired sometimes. However with that said, `Vivien: The Life of Vivien Leigh' by Alexander Walker is a tremendously satisfying read about an actress's life `Gone with the Wind' all too soon from us all. I find this work exemplary and worthy of anyone's attention. Still there is comfort to be found in the films she leaves behind. I've only seen three of them so far, those being `Gone with the Wind', `A Streetcar Named Desire' and `Waterloo Bridge'. I have read that `Waterloo Bridge' was a favourite film of Vivien's. I absolutely adore her in it as well so that will continue to be a favourite of mine too. I'd love to see more of her films but I am so happy with the films of hers I do have. Before reading this, I read `Audrey: Her Real Story' by Alexander Walker and loved it. I loved `Vivien' equally. I could see a lot of myself in Vivien. I found we shared some of the same interests. She loved to act on the stage and I do too. She really didn't enjoy making films or her time in Hollywood she really loved the theatre more, but not really suited to musicals. However I'm sure she was fabulous in whatever she pursued as her rather short but worthwhile film career suggests. The novel `Gone with the Wind' remains to me one of my all time favourite books. Margaret Mitchell was an author without equal. I do enjoy however like Vivien William Shakespere, and Charles Dickens. Vivien read all of Charles Dickens's work. When it comes to Shakespere Laurence Olivier and Vivien seem to have just about gone through his entire work on the stage as well as some on the screen. They were like royalty. I think they would have made a wonderful couple for the twenty years they spent together. Before Laurence Olivier, Vivien was married to Leigh Holman and Leigh became her stage name instead of Vivien Hartley. Vivien had one child called Suzanne Holman, and two miscarriages. Later in her life Jack Merivale was very important in her life. Joan Plowright interested me with Laurence Oliver, and Vivien's school friend later actress like Vivien, Maureen O' Sullivan. Maureen was Jane Bennet in `Pride and Prejudice' in 1940 with Laurence Olivier and many other films I'd love to see. Another marvellous edition to an already spectacular book is the introduction to each chapter with a quote by Vivien Leigh, with I believe two or three exceptions "Walking Corpses" being really a joint description of both Laurence and Vivien and "What time is it in London?" In any case I find them an added touch of genius to an already incredible biography. A chronology of Vivien's life is another excellent feature of a busy life included here. I would have loved to see the `Romeo and Juliet' play Vivien and Olivier put on. The pictures are excellent! I love them all. The shot from `The Skin of Our Teeth' play in 1945 is one picture I find particularly wonderful and Olivier's favourite photo is absolutely stunning! Vivien wanted the lead in `Rebecca' but didn't get the part. Other films that interest me are `Anna Karenina', and then there is `Ship of Fools' Vivien's final film. I'll watch anything of hers I can find. There is so much packed into this book but it's all good. I read this when I was twenty-six a very exciting year for Vivian Leigh. The year she got the role of Scarlett O' Hara, a role always disputed and unclear how she exactly got the lead. The explanation in `Vivien' seems perfectly fine to me. When I was twenty-six I thought I had a pretty lucky year too. If anyone were to write a biography on me and if Alexander Walker were still alive I'd want it to be him. Instead I'd like Beverly Gray to write a biography on me or better yet I'd try my hand at my own autobiography. I truly believe this is the best biography on Vivien Leigh's life. Alexander Walker was very fortunate enough to meet Vivien Leigh for this biography an outstanding accomplishment for him, worthy of praise, even though she was in ill health at the time, and had electroshock therapy throughout her life. I love Vivien's gift giving. I'm sure Vivien and I would have got on famously together. It was very difficult for me to find a copy of `Vivien', because they were out of print. Now that I have one I can't imagine living without it. Vivien lived an outstanding life on stage and screen worth emulating. I hope to find other Vivien Leigh fans who admire her life as I do. Irreplaceable.



5. This biography was very intimate and gives you a good look at what Vivien Leigh was and went through. She was the most dedicated actress even at the cost of her mental health. We come to see the two great loves of her life: Laurence Olivier and acting. For those who want to know more about her I would recommend this book. It makes you feel like you know her personally. She is one of my favorite actresses of all time and I now have a new found respect for her.

No comments about In My Own Time: Almost an Autobiography (ISIS Large Print).

1 comments about Catherine Cookson: The Biography (Charnwood Library).

1. Lots of before unknown information on thenlife of one of my favorite authors - Catherine Cookson

5 comments about The Best That I Can Be.

1. I was expecting much more from this book



2. I grew up hearing and reading about Rafer Johnson all of my life. Track was never a sport I paid much attention to before Johnson. He made it bigger than life for me, as Tiger Woods does for golf. A few years ago I was introduced to Rafer and was stunned to find him remarkably shy and guarded, very much unlike the dynamic man I saw as an athlete. I could tell that he was warm, but very, very careful. It wasn't until I read THE BEST THAT I CAN BE that I understood the man, that I understood how much one's background can flavor an entire lifetime. This book not only gave me his remarkable story, it left me with an insight that I carry with me everyday.



3. It was nice to learn about what has happened to Rafer Johnson over the years. The Best That I Can Be was a wonderful reminder of a marvelous athlete and competitor from years past plus an added bonus of hearing Rafer's incessant optimism and enthusiam. Gold Medalists come and go but few do so with the class and human decency that Johnson has displayed over a long period of time. If ever one is looking for a role model who demonstrated overcoming adversity with a smile on his face, it was Rafer Johnson. I only wished I had read this sooner.



4. I was so glad to learn that you've finally come out with a book, Rafer! I have always been fascinated with your decathalon vs CK YANG, and wish that there could be more films and pictures (book) just on the 1960 Decathalon, alone! I remember old tv ads with you in them years past and your roles in TARZAN movies. I knew from watching you that you would always be my life's role model! The "new" generation we live in today has so much technology and modern tech toys; but something "REAL BIG" is lacking! True greatness and love of (SPORT) for the love of it, from your heart, and not big money! Men were real men then, and athletes were real athletes! I have always dreamed of meeting you in person oneday! You and Ethiopia's ABBEE BIKILA were, are and always be two of my all-time favorite role models and athletes, forever! Sure wish that more could be done and written(pictures and films) of 1960 Olympics, especially the decathalon and marathon! You're truly a "great" man, and a "fine" american athlete of our time and the 20th century! write more books soon!



5. Rafer Johnson, to me, exemplifies the perfect American athlete. Besides winning the 1960 Rome Olympics Decathlon in record points, he also won gols at the 1955 Pan American Games and took silver medal at Melbourne, AUS Olympic Decathlon! Rafer was known for promoting special olympics, and won numerous awards for sportsmanship over the years! Mr Johnson was one of those few in every million or so that truly set and still sets the standard of what being a true American, athlete and humanitarian is all about!!!!!!!!!! Rafer excelled in high school in football, averaging 17 yards a carry, batted .400 in baseball, averaged 17 points a game in basketball and averaged over 9 yards a carry in football while in high school. But Rafer's specialty was track and field. Going to UCLA, Rafer was offered a scholarship to play football but his real love was track and field. His high school coach took him to a decathlon meet near where 2 time decathlon winner Bob Mathias lived in Tulare, CA. Rafer told his coach:"gee coach, I could have beaten most of those guys there"! Rafer took on and beat such greats in the 50's as Russian decathlon whiz Vasily Kuznyetsov and fellow UCLA teammate and later his arch rival in '60 Rome Olympics CK Yang. Mr Johnson was flag bearer for USA Team in '60 games and also lit the torch at '84 Olympics in Los Angeles Games. Mr Johnson also acted and has done much in his lifetime promoting great charatible events and things for America's youth and good sportsmanship!!! Rafer Johnson is about the best example, to me, of an American, a true American and sportsman. A real leader, sportsman and humanitarian now and always!!!!!!!!!!!!! He has always and will continue to always inspire my life and millions of others the world over now and forevermore!

5 comments about Morrie: In His Own Words.

1. The shipping to Guam was VERY FAST although it was only USPS priority mail. If you are a Mitch Albom fan, this book is literally in Morrie's own words. So the style is not quite the same. If you just want a little more in depth of him (Morrie), this is must. My 17 yr old has to do a project quarterly and read all of Albom's books, and this is the last one.



2. This book makes you realize that Morrie was such an amazing person. It makes you wish you had known him. But it is also more a book for a person who knows he is dying. Or for someone who loves someone who is dying, you could read it together. It offers positive thinking for a person who has already accepted his imminent death.



3. I wish I had read this book when my husband was dying of ALS. It should be a must for everyone who'd been given a Medical Death Sentance and their family who have to stand by helplessly while their loved one diminishes and then dies before their eyes. It's compelling and would at least ease the sorrow that becomes part of their life.



4. After reading the wonderful 'Tuesdays with Morrie' I was craving for more wise lessons from Morrie Schwartz. Eventually I came across this little booklet written by the man himself. It's filled with the same inspiring wisdom and lessons you'll also find in 'Tuesdays', but there's one big difference. In 'Tuesdays' Morrie was teaching his old student Mitch how to live a better life. As such that book is enormously relevant to everybody who reads it. In 'Morrie in his own words' the focus is more towards helping the dying and terminally ill deal with their situation, settle some important relational 'unfinished business' and reach acceptance and closure. About 75% percent of the book seems to be aimed at this specific group of people.
   
   It still includes valuable lessons and especially Morrie's interpretations of Buddhist concepts appeals to me, but for most people this book will be less relevant than 'Tuesdays'. Having said that, Morrie remains a remarkable man and among his inspring lessons is one about accepting that we'll eventually all die, so we better learn to accept it and make the best of the days that are given to us. So, even the lessons in dying in this booklet will become relevant sooner or later. As such it certainly doesn't hurt to have this little booklet in your collection for when the time comes ...



5. The book is a companion read of "Tuesdays with Morrie." Although both books cover similar material, the difference is the originality of the material. Morrie explains his prospective living and dying in addition to his other life experiences. The reader will get insight on such topics as "handling frustration" and "reaching acceptance" to "relating to others" and "being kind to yourself" or understand Morrie's view regarding "It's not too late to develop new friendships or reconnect with people." Or "It's not to late to...ask yourself if you really are the person you want to be, and if not, who you do want to be."