No comments about Sir Edward Carson: A Dream Too Far.

1 comments about Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson of Kentucky: A Political Biography.

1. These authors exhibit no real literary feel for any aspect of Vinson's life: his participation in New Deal era, his roots in eastern Kentucky, the Supreme Court, or the personality of the man himself. His years in Congress, for example, or covered with endless quotations from mundane Congressional speeches, and excerpts from unremarkable constituent correspondence. This is biography-as-term-paper, rather than as a transformative effort to place a vital human being in the context of place and time, as the best biographers try to do. (Wikipedia would do just as well, and at less length). Granted, Vinson is not among the more "exciting" figures of 20th century American history, but still he was a man who lived (and achieved power)at a dynamic time. You do not get to know this man in this book.

No comments about Men and Books Famous in the Law, 1921.

1 comments about My Soul from Death: A Courtroom Resurrection.

1. This harrowing story is of a case where the justice system went wrong, horribly wrong, imprisoning a man for 18 years for an accidental killing in 1982, using a shotgun filled with blanks. In 1986, the case came up for review, and author June Cornelison, then a criminal investigator at the Riverside County Public Defender's Office in Southern California, put all the jagged pieces together, and interviewed as many people as were available to tell her what happened on the day of the shooting. The defendant, Eugene Sylve, had hired an attorney who as it turned out had severe financial and substance abuse problems, and Sylve and his family lost their 7 acre ranch and all they had, to provide for a defense that was never realized. Sylve's wife Betty, and their 5 children bore hardships during Gene's imprisonment that are devastating enough when there is just cause, but as the result of legal incompetence, a predicament hard to endure.
   
   Ms. Cornelison's research delved into anything that might be relevant to the case, and if you are interested in legal cases, "My Soul from Death" will fascinate you in its detail and description of how the wheels turn in the courts of law. There were times of despair, but faith kept Cornelison, as well as Sylve strong, and going "one step at a time on a road without streetlights," hoping that "some good would come out the bad." In Chapter 14, when Sylve speaks of his wife Betty, while sitting in the cramped booth at the county jail, one's heart aches for this family that was torn apart for so long. I have been blessed to know Betty Sylve, a woman of uncommon strength and intelligence (and a figure that makes her look half her age), and can imagine how much Sylve must have missed her.
   
   Cornelison fleshes out every scene and one can see it in detail, down to the way things look, feel and smell, and lets her conversations with Sylve include his Louisiana idiom. Her faith in God's ultimate triumph of mercy and justice can be felt throughout; it is what kept her working on this case, and kept Sylve's hopes up. As Cornelison writes on page 26, "He had slid from the comforts of home and freedom to the dregs. Yet his dignity and sincerity remained untouched. The worst had washed over him, and still he stood clean."

5 comments about Because Each Life Is Precious: Why an Iraqi Man Risked Everything for Private Jessica Lynch.

1. Being a Shiite Moslem, Mr. Mohammed Odeh Al-Rehaief has been a first-hand witness to savagery throughout his life. In his home city of Nasiriya, he had been an attorney, and was a wealthy man whose extended family owned properties and businesses. Yet, this did not shield him from the corruption and brutality of Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

   Who would ever have imagined that an Iraqi citizen would knowingly risk losing everything, including his own life and the lives of his family, in order to save one soldier; a soldier whose country was then engaged in bombing his city to pieces. Here, however, we are forced to believe it, simply because we know that it is true.

   It has been pointed out that Mr. Al-Rehaief is given but brief mention in her own book, but the fact is that Pfc Jessica Lynch does express that she will be forever grateful to him. That she does not recall the events as he describes them should come as no surprise, since she was barely conscious of anything except pain during her captivity. By Pfc Lynch's own admission, it is unlikely that she would be alive today if it had not been for the efforts of this Iraqi civilian, and his success in reaching the US Marines, stationed outside the city as they continued their attack.

   Maybe it is through his family that we can glean some insight into the character of Mr. Al-Rehaief and where his strong moral values originate: As the book ends, the rest of his family, headed by his father, the son of a sheikh, are waiting in international limbo, not knowing what will happen to them next. They have lost everything. Yet I detect no sentiment of regret, complaint or accusation in their descriptions of the hardships caused by the loss of their entire way of life. Such unselfishness seems unfathomable, but again we are forced to believe it, simply because it is true.
   Who among us...?




2. This book is destined to be a classic, in several genres. If you start reading it, be sure you can afford the time to read it all the way through -- it's hard to set down. The opening is intense, yet the reader's hope that that level might be sustained is exceeded -- the story just keeps getting more gripping.

   It's an adventure story, history, humor, sociology, a spiritual journey, and a patriotic work all together (it'll make you proud to be an American).
   
   Mr. Al-Rehaief has done more single-handedly to redeem the Arab culture than all of the rest combined.




3. So many reviews seem to center around whether the events were true or not or with they agree with Lynch's account. (Their paths only cross for a matter of minutes in the book so I don't know how much there is to dispute. Only a 3rd party witness could confirm.) I can say about the book that...
   - It was hard to put down.
   - It was more about the author's life than her rescue. I enjoyed this intimate look at an Iraqi's family life as much as the rescue.
   - It seemed at times too fantastic to be true but that may be simply because my everyday life is a cozy one in America compared to the author's in Iraq.
   - Some of the atrocities are hard to read about. I don't think this would be appropriate reading for young children.



4. This book was an extraordinary look at the life of an Iraqi citizen and the trials he went through before he found JL in the hospital and what he and his family went through after. For those who don't think very highly of JL, you won't read much about her in here. It was a very fast read and hard to put down. Kudos to the author for putting his life and the lives of his entire family on the line to save an American life.



5. Five stars for bravado and shameless self-promotion. The Guardian reported on the astonishing faked rescue of Jessica Lynch as long ago as May 2003 [!] including the fact that military video producers based their made-for-TV "rescue" on the story line and production techniques in Jerry Bruckheimer's fictional "Black Hawk Down." That is, Jessica Lynch's "rescue" was in fact inspired by a movie. Wow. How stupid are we?
   
   It has been clear for nearly four years that Mr. Al-Rehaief's reward for his part in the staged rescue was asylum in the US and a big book contract. Hey--knowing how grim the situation in Iraq has become--how the American war has devastated civil society and led to a civil war--can you blame Mr. Al-Rehaief for grabbing a ticket out of a hell on earth?
   
   If I taught journalism classes, I would use this book as an example of how effectively governments have learned to use media to hoodwink citizens. Shameful, sad, and cynical--what a perfect document for the war in Iraq.

No comments about The Stone Court: Justices, Rulings, and Legacy (ABC-Clio Supreme Court Handbooks).

No comments about Who's Who in American Law: 1998-1999 (Who's Who in American Law).

5 comments about Forever Young: My Friendship with John F Kennedy Jr..

1. Even though I liked Billy Noonan's book, at times he came across as very arrogant "I was John's confident, I was John's best friend, etc. as if he was John's hero and savior. The reader also gets the impression that the Kennedy's feelings and his loyalty were more important to him than his own family, especially when it came to his mother. Almost as if he was embarrassed to have his mother meet Jackie or go to Caroline's wedding reception which he refused to let her go to. Maybe he did not want to share the limelight with his family. Given that John had alot of respect for Jackie as his mother, that is not something that I would have put in the book or brag about. Other friends have wrote about John also saying they were his best friend too. I'm sure it was a privilige to be a friend of John's and he probably had alot of them since he had that charisma and charm that made him so likeable and "real". On a lighter note, I did enjoy the book and the writer made you feel as if you were right there watching everything unfold. One other thing in this book, everyone seemed to call him Billy Noonan in the book, not just "Billy" I found that odd!



2. I have been a lifelong Kennedy fan. I loved John Jr. I think this book is meanspirited. He has hurt so many by this book. I wonder whatever prompted him to write it....so long after John left us? We did not need much of the information, he so willingly sold.
   
   As mentioned by others, what he did to his Mom on Caroline's wedding day was disgusting. How dare he order his own Mom off the bus? His Mom was just fine when he had cancer and needed her. Over and over in the book..he comes off as a very self-centerd individual.
   
   I remember the quote.."What does it profit a man who gains the whole world but suffer the loss of his soul?" I would think old Billy Noonan could answer that one.
   
   I hope he is kicked to the curb by all the Kennedys, Shrivers and all the others that seemed to mean more to him...than his own famiy.



3. I bought this book with some trepidation since Billy clearly sold his soul to write it. But, I could not resist. I was always a great admirer of JFK, Jr. - he was such a classy guy - and such an immense force to try to harness for friendship. The book lays out in vivid detail their amazing friendship and the many happy and horrifying times they shared. This book basically makes you a "fly on the wall" witnessing one of the most profound and beautiful friendships ever put to print. I could not put it down - JFK, Jr. and I are exactly the same age and passed through some of life's milestones at the same time. I found myself comparing where I was in my life as the book unfolded. I am writing this review having just now finished the book and feel an overwhelming sense of sadness - I cried so many times - the great highs and thrills always seemed to be overshadowed by the immense burden of sadness, tradgedy, disease and death that surrounds The Kennedys and those close to them. I can only hope that during my life I will share such a stong, loving, and enduring friendship with another person. Maybe John is looking down on us now laughing at all this debate - I find myself missing him during this season of politics. The world should still have John in it - he lived well, richly and fully - never squandering what he had been given. Make sure you are in the right frame of mind to read this - it may impact you more deeply than you can know.



4. Bill Noonan (as his friend I call him Billy) has plenty o'soul! This book is a commemoration to his friend who happens to be John Kennedy, Jr. I suppose the title HAS sold more books. But I believe this is more a function of the publisher's need to sell rather than the writer's need to advertise his high fallutin relationship with John. I am bold enough to say that Billy left MANY-A-STORY out of this book that could have REALLY ruffled some feathers. But that was not his objective. His objective was to put into words a very natural friendship with someone that was quite special to him. In a way, to battle some of the bitter views this book has received, I wish that Billy would write a sequel with ALL THE DIRT! Maybe he could title it "If You're Blaming Me: You Might as Well Get the WHOLE Story" Billy has never been anything but respectful of John, and his family, from what I have seen. He probably would never publish all of the secrets he shared with John. BTW: I loved the book. It felt like I was sitting down with Billy having a chat. I could hear him laugh, cry, angry, sad, and everything in between. Write a sequel!



5. After reading this book it is apparent the William ( Billy ) Noonan is not the friend of John's that he claims to be. He was insanely jealous of John and Carolyn spending those last few months with his (John's) cousin Anthony Radizwill while he was dying of cancer. He talks down about John Barlow for "being the first one to always speak to the media"
   even though he had nothing but kind things to say about John no matter what the subject. Here comes Billy Noonan saying he is going to "set the record straight" trashes John and Carolyn's relationship (which he knows nothing about) makes caddy remarks about Anthony's cancer being deadly, as if Anthony and Carole (his wife), had and control over his disease (Anthony died less than three weeks after Jonh and Carolyn). He seems to be the kind of person that cannot allow his relationships' space for what is going on in their lives and therefore feels the need to write his own book and hurt alot of people by his own hurt feelings and personal jabs. I think he is just a big fake and I feel sorry for his wife.

No comments about Bitter Harvest: Richmond Flowers and the Civil Rights Revolution.

No comments about Sherman Minton: Indiana's Supreme Court Justice.