5 comments about Amelia Earhart's Shoes: Is the Mystery Solved?.

1. I saw one of the people involved in this project speak at EAA's big national air show in Oshkosh, WI last summer. It was the most popular lecture session I attended while I was there. Interested, I picked up this book expecting a thorough but dry, academic read.
   
   Was I ever wrong! This book is not only fascinating, it's funny! It's written with some dry humor that made me want to keep reading more. And the authors lay out a strong argument, to boot. It does make one wonder...



2. Who says historical research and science have to be boring? In Amelia Earhart's Shoes, Dr. Tom King and others take us on a winding (sometimes loopy, even!) journey that tries to answer the question: What happened to famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart and renowned navigator Fred Noonan in 1937 after they vanished during her around-the-world flight attempt?
   
   Amelia Earhart's Shoes does not pretend to solve the mystery - it does show that by applying the scientific method to a popular event, you can strip away all the myths and fables and assumptions and come up with relatively simple explanations that can be tested to see if they are true or false. That the scientific method may upset a few of those legendary apple carts along the way is proof that it works - something is either true or not true, provable or not provable. In Earhart's case, the truth may turn out to be much more mundane than some of the more colorful "solutions" to her disappearance would have us believe.
   
   There is a lot of information in Shoes, but it is presented in an easy to read, almost chatty style (think ghost stories around the campfire while making s'mores) that keeps you turning the pages to see what the heck is going to happen next. The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) has now been to the South Pacific eight times to try and prove or disprove their hypothesis that Earhart and Noonan missed their destination, tiny Howland Island, and landed on another deserted island, only to die (or perhaps be completely missed) before the frantic searchers could get to them.
   
   Amelia Earhart's Shoes is a great read that should be on the bookshelf of everyone interested in what really did happen out there in the vastness of the Pacific Ocean almost 70 years ago.



3. Those persistent TIGHARs are back with more suggestive but inconclusive research about what happened to Amelia Earhart, who disappeared in 1937 -- somewhere.
   Every so often, somebody shows up in Hawaii with a kooky theory about Earhart, ranging from shot by the Japanese as a spy to still alive and keeping house in New Jersey.
   The International Group for Historical Aircraft Recovery is far from kooky.
   For one thing, they appear to have managed the trick of being zealous without becoming zealots. As lead author Thomas King puts it, "Most people have more pressing things to do" than hunt for a lost airplane that, given the odds, would more likely than not be under three miles of water.
   The TIGHARs work, for free, in their spare time, on the assumption that, despite the geographical odds, Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan didn't just run out of gas and sink under the ocean. They think Earhart missed her target but may have crash landed on an intermittently inhabited (but in 1937 empty) island named Nikumaroro, where Earhart and Noonan might have either survived for a while or been eaten by crabs.
   It's "a mystery that can't be put down," King says.
   But hard to pin down.
   Since the publication of "Amelia Earhart's Shoes" in 2001, the TIGHARs have run down more physical evidence, including things that look a lot like panels from a Lockheed Electra, but nothing definitive yet. The revised, 2005 edition is preferred over the first edition.
   The story of the hunt also reveals a great deal of fascinating information about the South Pacific, which is big, mostly empty and weird.



4. "Amelia Earhart's Shoes: Is the Mystery Solved?", Udated 2004 Ed., Thomas F. King, et al., AltaMira Press, NY 2001, ISBN: 0-7591-0131-0, PB 374 pgs., plus 23 pg. Notes, 9 pg. Biblio., 20 pg. Index, & 104 B & W photos, illus. or maps., 6" x 9".
   
   This is an academic work by a contingent of skilled scientific experts whose writings & basic investigative work was coordinated, in part & on behalf of TIGHAR (Int. Group of Historical Aircraft Recovery) & updated 2004. The 27 chapters describe a forensic approach to solve the mystery of aviatrix AE's disappearance enroute 2,223 miles to Howland Isle from Lae, New Guinea, July 2, 1937.
   
   The book's format & length makes for difficult reading: -- it is based on best available scientific evidences & hypotheses of multiple disciplines of archeology, geophysics, aeronautics, anthropology, and review of both private & governmental archival information in addition to tabulating their search findings on tiny remote South Pacific Phoenix Isle "Gardner", but renamed Nikumaroro, or "Niku". Author was a principle TIGHAR investigator taking part in expeditions to Niku, & he writes with authority, -- having "been there, done that!"
   
   Inclusion of more than 100 photos, illustrations, maps, etc., makes the reading more easily understood & tolerable: -- for it is not a book one picks up and being enchanted 'reads from cover to cover' without pause. For readers who want an up-to-date analysis of AE's disappearance this book is best read after the reader is thoroughly familiar with AE's character, avocations, skills, life experiences's and accolades by the press, politicians & the powerful, -- for Amelia was a complex person living in exciting, changing times on the cutting edge of new technologies.
   
   Many of the chapters begin with stanzas of word parodies to be sung to certain melodies, attributable to TIGHAR but not author King. The parodies I found to be highly irregular, unsettling & not in best taste, so downgraded book from 5* to 4*.



5. An excellent book! It is so rare to find a book on a controversy in history and not have it be biased towards the conclusion the author wants you to believe. The people behind this book spend as much time trying to debunk their own evidence as they do the evidence of others! What a breath of fresh air.
   The authors belong to an organizarion (TIGHAR) which research topics related to antique aircraft (and their pilots.) Their biggest project for years has been the Earhart project. Members from around the globe have spent years examining archives and conducting archaeological surveys trying to find out what really happened. This book presents their evidence and was more engaging to me than any fictional mystery book.

3 comments about An Illuminated Life: Belle da Costa Greene's Journey from Prejudice to Privilege.

1. In 1911 one Bella da Costa Greene made New York newspaper headlines by buying a book from one of Britain's finest printers, succeeding at a high-profile auction which allowed her to walk away with the book for half of what her employer had authorized her to pay, despite aggressive bidding. She would spend some forty years at her employer's resulting library and become its first director - but the real story of her achievement, which includes her African-American heritage, lack of formal art education, and bohemian lifestyle, remained hidden until now. AN ILLUMINATED LIFE charts her rise to culture and prosperity and provides an extraordinary, gripping memoir of an amazing woman which is perfect for any general interest library strong in biographical memoirs, art history, or even Afro-American notable figures.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



2. When you read this book it should be clear to you that Belle Da Costa Greene was not "black" or "African American" but a mixed-race white or white person of mixed ancestry. Her mother and siblings also embraced their European heritage and rejected the forced "Negro" stigma that a racist government might have imposed on them if they had been subservient enough to allow it. Belle and her family should be praised for the bravery and self-respect that allowed them to live as they wanted to live. Imposing a forced "black" identity on Belle or anyone else accused of "passing for white" is the moral equivalent of endorsing the Nuremberg Laws that condemned Jews as too "inferior" to claim a German or other European culture and identity because they were only "inferior" Semites.
   
   It is amazing to me how people who claim to be against "racism" are often prepared (usually at the behest of the black-identified) to condemn other whites as too inferior to be white because of "black blood" (Note that Hispanics and Arabs are usually exempt from this stigma because of their political power and social cohesion). Of course, the "politically correct" terminology is to claim that the alleged "passer" rejected morally superior blacks for morally inferior whites, but "everyone" understands what is truly meant. Books that should be read in addition to this one in order to give a fairer picture: PASSING FOR WHO YOU REALLY ARE and LEGAL HISTORY OF THE COLOR LINE.Passing for Who You Really Are



3. Serious bibliophiles know that J.P. Morgan's Library (The Morgan Library & Museum is its current name) is the holy shrine of book collecting - the greatest archive of rare books, historical and literary original manuscripts, exquisite medieval illuminated manuscripts, music manuscripts, fine art drawings, ancient seals, etc... in the Western Hemisphere - and perhaps the world. Belle da Costa Greene, as one of the primary forces in molding the collection, and the institution's first director, would be worthy of note for that role alone. But Belle is far more. She was a brilliant art historian, whose tastes and scholarship made a real impact on bibliography and art criticism. She was also a coquettish beauty and epic flirt, whose long and literary infatuations (particularly the torrid one with the titanic art critic Bernard Berenson) are worthy of note. She's also worthy of note as a pioneering independent woman in a field dominated by men. Ultimately, however, it's her ambiguous and troubling racial identity for which she is best known.
   
   The fact is that Belle Greene's father, Richard Greener, was the first African American graduate of Harvard University. Greener had a distinguished but troubled career as a civil rights leader - ending up estranged from his family and serving as a diplomat in Vladivostok. Belle's mother took the family across the racial line in Belle's late childhood and they all passed as white. So Belle was raised as a black in her early childhood and as a white in her late childhood. She attended Amherst and Princeton as a white (obviously, since Princeton wouldn't have a black graduate until 1951). She worked very closely with J.P. Morgan - a man of very traditional racial and ethnic biases. (J.P. Morgan famously wouldn't meet with Joe Kennedy (JFK's father, and director of the NY Stock Exchange at the time) because he was Irish). She also had a close professional relationship with Jack Morgan - J.P.'s son and CEO of the Morgan empire through its period of greatest power - who had even more conservative views than his father. Belle traversed the world of high society, constantly attending the cultural events, parties, and dinners of the NY elite 400. How she reconciled race, power, prestige, and her own identity is a fascinating subject. Heidi Ardizzone treats the subject with admirable finesse - particularly her lovely postmodern racial sensibility that the label of "blackness" was prejudicial and punitive - that the notion of "passing" is limited and obsolete. No one should be quick to judge Belle for her actions, given that the question of which of her roughly equal mix of white and black ancestries should take precedence is a racist question to begin with. The issue of dishonor in not acknowledging race is complicated by the amoral quality of wrongful discrimination in the categorizing of race to begin with.
   
   Belle is a tough subject for a biography because she burned all her papers near the end of her life - a romantic and extravagant gesture for a romantic and extravagant woman. Ardizzone pulls a rabbit out of hat in creating a detailed biography by sheer grit and determination. She has combed all the archives of those who conversed with Belle (at a time when everyone was prolific letter writers and the letters of important people were often saved). Bernard Berenson's archives contained 400 of Belle's letters - but Ardizzone went far further. She takes historical sources of all kinds from the places she knew Belle was to reconstruct parts of Belle's life for which there are no primary sources. The end result has pockets of speculation, but a remarkable wealth of detail. The whole thing is rigorously end-noted. I'll confess that sometimes I found it had too much detail slowing the narrative pace - but Belles amazing life makes the bit of persistence necessary worth the (sometimes) effort. Ardizzone isn't too dry. I love the moment where she punctuates a combative exchange between powerful women with the decidedly un-academic narrative flourish "Meow"! Ultimately, it's easy to recommend this book to anyone with a taste for biography and an interest in art history, The Morgan, or identity politics.

5 comments about Catherine the Great : Life and Legend.

1. First of all, contrary to the review now on line, this book was not written by John T. Williams, whoever he is, but by John T. Alexander. This biography is a much more serious and learned biography than Henri Troyat's, which I read in 1987. This book has dull parts, but the story it tells is an incredible one. Catherine had an amazing career, and of course her parade of favorites is legendary. I found this book to be good academic history and it well deserves reading.



2. Alexander does a marvelous job retelling history without sensationalizing it. Many past biographers undertaking the job of writing about Catherine the Great have often focused too much on her sexuality, rather than her political prowess. John T. Alexander, however, thoroughly examines the political and cultural context of her life, and refuses to insult the reader's intelligence by dishing gossip or repeating long-held opinions. Having read four other biographies of Catherine the Great, I can assure you this one is probably the best. Impartial, informative, and interesting.



3. I have read history books more interesting than this book. When i purchased the book i thought that it would be an interesting work. The book started off interesting. Then, as it progressed it got worse. Rent the movie. It would be much better. Trust me.



4. I have read several books on the history of Russia, like Peter the Great, and the Romanovs, but this book frankly bored me. The author definetly knows his stuff about Catherine, but I got so tired of reading about all the political stuff in this book. I wanted to know more about her personal life, more details about her comings and goings, not about how she ruled her Russian cabinet officers. Also the use of vocabulary was way over my head, so it made it hard to enjoy reading because many times I needed to get the dictionary, and I feel I have a fairly good vocabulary. I would not recommend this book unless you want to know about Russian administration in her time.



5. This is a good book to read to get a handle on the reign of Catherine the Great and late 18th C. Russia. Alexander covers the court intrigues, the attempts at reform, the complexities of foreign policy. He also avoids treating Catherine's personal life in a sensationalistic way.

   So if you read this book, you will learn a lot. On the other hand, the book doesn't really come to life in the way Massie's "Peter the Great" or Avrich's "Russian Rebels" did. It is recommended only to those with a serious interest in the time of Catherine, such as students, and not the casual reader.

5 comments about Missy Hyatt: First Lady of Wrestling.

1. This has to be every man's worst nightmare-- a woman who has dated pretty much everyone has decided to write a tell-all. I
   can only imagine how nervous these guys were in the days leading up to the release date. The book can be defined as a cross between Missy's diary and her little black book. It's pretty much what anybody would expect it to be, dishing the dirt on some of the biggest names in and out of professional wrestling.
   
   Here's a brief rundown of the men with whom Missy has engaged in "sexual relations": Tommy Rich; Jake Roberts (gave her
   cocaine and halcyons); Hollywood John Tatum; Road Warrior Hawk (slept with him to get even with Jake for dumping her);
   Hotstuff Eddie Gilbert (the love of her life); Dr. Tom Pritchard (slept with him to get even with Gilbert-- see a pattern here?); Atlanta Falcons' Bill Fralic; Jason Hervey of The Wonder Years ("...money was a big part of our relationship."); The Philadelphia Flyers' Rod BrindÁmour ("...had to put a bag over his head- mentally..."), Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly (this poor guy really comes to take a beating in this book); Raven; Eric Watts (slept with him because "I didn't have time to do my laundry"); Brutus Beefcake; Scott Putski ("...like driving a Ferrari with a volkswagon engine. You rev it once, and it stalls."); Val Venis ("...shortest, lamest sex I'd ever had."); as well as numerous football and hockey players-- WHEW. If the rumor mill is to be believed, there are many more names missing from this list. Brian Pillman is never mentioned although she has appeared in a number of his memorial events, and Tom Zenk makes a veiled reference to a "menage" on the back of the book. My guess is that Pillman was excluded out of respect to his widow and children. Also, despite leasing an apartment just to be next door to Buff Bagwell, who had a girlfriend at the time, nothing sexual is ever mentioned.
   
   The sexual exploits aside (which bears mentioning in this review only because it comprises the bulk of the book), Missy is
   very candid in her views of the people and the goings-on in the business. For anyone who has read a wrestling biography you
   will quickly come (sorry Jim Kelly) to realize that these are not regular/everyday folks. Terry Funk --a legend in this
   profession who is just finishing his own book-- once told Missy that "...if (she) ever got stabbed after a match, (she) should take it as a compliment..." Years later Missy was almost stabbed before a match, and wonders aloud how she should take that. Ric Flair is referred to as a perv who loved to show everybody his penis. This is pretty much the same impression I was left with after reading Flair's own biography (a great read by the way). Even WCW owner Ted Turner comes across as a perv (surprise, surprise) as Missy recounts how he grabbed her ass and invited her to mud wrestle the first time they met.
   
   The most baffling story however, even by wrestling standards, was when Freebird Buddy Roberts was caught attempting to urinate on Missy as she was getting ready to shower. Apparently "...Freebirds always pee on people they like. It's like a privilege... a ritual, a sign of respect." I'm not quite sure how to respond to that.
   
   This was an enjoyable, easy read -- about a day and a half. Missy doesn't pretend to be anything she isn't which I appreciate in any autobiography. She openly admits that her in-ring persona was very close to the real life Melissa Hiatt. She admits to being a prima-donna who openly used her sexuality to get what and who she wanted. Arguably she was the hottest thing going before the days of Sunny, Sable and all the modern day Divas. The only glaring omissions that I thought should have
   been covered was the ridiculous amount of work she has had done to her face in recent years, and her venture into internet
   porn. It's a shame that such a beautiful woman has taken the path so many others have, and butchered herself in the quest to
   stay young-- you'll know what I mean when you see the pictures. Aside from that I'd say definitely pick this one up.



2. Missy Hyatt was a wrestling diva before there were wrestling divas. Yet still, many think she is the best of all-time and I would have a hard time arguing with that opinion.
   In her career, Missy has seen and done it all. She was worked with all of the greats such as Flair, McMahon, PS Hayes, and Eddie Gilbert. Missy tells many wrestling stories and many non-wrestling stories. While she does dish dirt, she never brings it to a sleazy level. I love the blurbs about Roberts, Duggan, Von Erich and on and on.
   She could feel bitter about being the one to set the table for today's divas, while never totally prospering like they are, but Missy just seems to have a positive outlook. Missy gives some opinions on today's divas without resorting to being catty.
   Missy had packed a lot into her life up to the publication of this book. She does a pretty good job in letting the reader relive the moments with her. She has also packed quite a lot into her life after this book and I am hoping for the sequel!



3. It was nice to read about the expereinces of Missy Hyatt in the world of Professional Wrestling. Up until the WWE became the monopoly in Pro wrestling, wrestling has always been my number one passion, and my favorite days were in the late 80s to mid 90's, although I grew up on wrestling in the early 70's with Ray Stevens, Pat Patterson, and Big Time Wrestling in the Bay Area.
   Anyhow, reading Missy's personal and professional life in the lime light was fun, and also to read about the tragedies of losing her ex-husband and the relationship problems that she endured helped to see her as a real person who was learning from the depths of life which leads one to grow, develop, and mature.
   Finally, the book is a nice blend of the excitement associated with life in the fast lane and coming to terms with the life fans don't see when the camera is off.
   
   Brian Jensen, Ph.D.



4. What I thought would be a tawdry tell-all, turned out to actually be a sweet look back at the career of probably the greatest valet/female manager in the history of professional wrestling. Like many other who have read it, my favorite recollections were of her love story with Eddie Gilbert. With the volatile nature of professional wrestling, I really believe that if Missy and Eddie had met under different circumstances and in a different profession...Eddie would still be alive and they would still be married, with children and enjoying a life together. And somehow, I think Missy would agree.
   
   A good book as far as wrestling publications go, but reading it disarmed me. I thought I was going to get a lot of dirt, and what I got was totally different...and refreshingly welcome.



5. Reading this book was what I imagine sitting down to talk to Missy Hyatt over coffee about her career in wrestling would be like. From her beginnings as the girlfriend of Jake "The Snake" Roberts to the present day, this book clearly shows why she is the "First Lady of Wrestling" in a way that feels like you are chatting with your best friend. The writers do not throw in too much technical lingo of the profession and they keep the information flowing in a chronological manner that has an organic flow so it should appeal to even non-wrestling fans who would like to read about a remarkable woman's career. I'm a fan of the old USWA shows out of Memphis, and reading about her and Gilbert's time there brought back a flood of memories of my childhood. If you are a wrestling fan, you must read this book.

5 comments about Nothing to Do But Stay.

1. The author is the youngest of six children of hard-working Norwegian-speaking parents, and the account of the struggles her parents went thru is awesome. Sometimes I thought the author indulged in hyperbole, and I would have appreciated a little more exactitude, but it no doubt is true that life during the twenties and thirties in northwestern North Dakota was a hard and demanding one. The first part of this book is the best, as the author relates the fantastic efforts necessary for the kids to be educated. There is a lot of discussion of Norwegian food, and those of you who are of Norwegian descent will gobble that talk up, but for me I could not get too interested in how her mother went to extraordinary lengths to prepare, under primitive conditions, the food she was so good at concocting. There is less talk of the interesting political events during the time than I would have liked. Appam, North Dakota, which was apparently a home town to the family during these years, has, according to my 1958 atlas, a population of 18. I would like to have learned whether it was a bigger place when the author was a child. But the upbeat attitude to her childhood was a real plus for this book--not the dreary catalog of hardship one sometimes gets from depression sagas. I liked this book.



2. I loved this book. Its a compendium of short pieces about the author's mother, who was a frontier woman with a wonderful outlook on life. I also loved the descriptions of her husband, who had to drive the children through snow, to get to their respective schools, and the descriptions about how the kids were settled in the schoolhouse overnight, while wild mustangs banged against the door. I don't know about you, but I'm not sure I would send my children to a schoolhouse way far away, with food for a week. Can you imagine what they did after school let out... all by themselves? I wanted to hear more about this. The descriptions of quilting are wonderful.It is a great book if you are in the mood to feel cold, hungry, and in North Dakota with the snow beating down upon you. Also if you enjoy descriptions of sumptuous meals at holidays, replete with Norwegian recipes!



3. I stumbled on this book in a used book store. It is the amazing story of the author's parents and their life in rural North Dakota. The book has adventures, anecdotes, and gives the reader a real sense of how families existed in the early 20th century. This was a very entertaining story, although perhaps you can't tell from this review. None of us who have read it could put it down, from my 78 year old mom to my sister who is reading it to her 7 year old daughter.



4. There's no plot here and certainly no white knuckle drama. The book is a series of essays, each chapter relating an event or way of life experienced by the author as a child growing up on the North Dakota plains during tbe early 1900s. From education to farm life to holidays, each was covered with love and humor. I felt like I was getting to know my own grandmother as a child. My only wish was that there were more photographs, but considering the time period it was wonderful to have a few.



5. It often happens that our own stories are intimately entwined with someone else's story, and that to understand who we are, we have to tell another person's story first. This is true for Carrie Young, who has written a marvelous memoir of her mother.
   
   This warm, hopeful testament to a woman's courage tells the story of Carrine Gafkjen, who--all alone, and with the single-minded, strong-hearted independence that is often obscured in men's stories about women--homesteaded 160 acres of North Dakota prairie. That was in 1904, and Carrine Gafjken spent the next eight years working for money in the winter and returning to her homestead in the summer. By the time she was thirty, she owned 320 acres of productive land. In 1912 she married Sever Berg. They sold his homestead and took up residence on hers, and over the next decade she bore six healthy children, the last of whom has told us her story in a style that is as strong, clear, and direct as Carrine herself. This is story with no frills or fancy lace, a story of hard work and tough times, but through it all runs hope and love for the land and a firm belief that perseverance will win out in the end.
   
   To my mind, the best books are like this one, valuable in ways too many to count. I not only learned important things about life on the Dakota prairie, but I learned some very good ways to tell a story, to give voice to someone who can no longer speak for herself and who must live--if she continues to live--chiefly in the words of a writer and the heart of a reader. Carrie Young is a fine teacher for any aspiring writer, and her stories about her mother's life are instructive examples of story-telling at its best.
   
   by Susan Wittig Albert
   for Story Circle Book Reviews
   www.storycirclebookreviews.org
   reviewing books by, for, and about women

5 comments about Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter.

1. An intriguing and fascinating look into the first years of and intellectual and a woman of genius. By reading this book you
   will be taken on a tour of young Simone's wishes, hopes, illusions, disappontments, strength and weaknesses. You will also get a living potrait of French society in the first part of the XX century. Are you curious about who were the friends
   of this great artist and philosopher, how she formed her character, what shaped her life and destiny? You will find it all here. Beware that Simone's mind had a strong tendency for
   abstraction so you won't find here lots of juicy details, or a sequence of emotional adventures like in Rousseau's Confessions.
   Principles, abstract thinking and reflexion had a great weight
   in Simone's life and this book is principally the biography of her mind. The force of Simone's drive to be someone, to find something important and meaningful to do, her stubborn desire to find a sense for her existence, her need to "tell to everyone what she felt she had to say" glows throughout the book and is probably its principal beauty.



2. Simone de Beauvoir was one of the rare women writers who overcame the odds against her sex in the early 20th century and got her work published. You can imagine how much focus and hard work it took her to be heard among the heady intellectuals on the Existential scene at the time. She had to be a tough woman with enormous self confidence to command the respect and admiration of intellectual giants like Sartre.
   When I first read MEMOIR OF A DUTIFUL DAUGHTER, I was drawn to the title and intriqued by de Beauvoir's interesting life story. And of course she is French.
   Simone de Beauvoir was a woman of extraordinary intellect and beauty. Her legendary love affair with philosopher Jean Paul Sartre was the inspiration for the personal story at the center of the famous Existentialist's ROADS TO FREEDOM. This riveting trilogy, which begins with the phenomenal AGE OF REASON was my favorite reading experience at Wellesley. The only other reading marathon that comes close to that memorable read is the months I spent immersed reading Japan and reincarnation in Mishima's tetralogy SEA OF FERTILITY a few years later.
   The French novel love affair started with a class at Wellesley in 1971 or 1972 with the late great writer George Stambolian where we read 19th century novels in the original French partnered with a history seminar where we studied the same period in France through history texts and novels. The pioneer scholar and advocate for gay writers and photographers M. Stambolian was exceedingly handsome and charming as well as brilliant. I fell in love with reading the French texts and kept going up into the 20th century on my own long after I left Wellesley.
   
   MEMOIR OF A DUTIFUL DAUGHTER is an important read for young women yearning to understand the meaning of their existence. De Beauvoir's complex contemplation of her life from girlhood to womanhood and her observations of how the political and religious institutions of her time affected women make this book basic reading for feminists and women's history scholars. That de Beauvoir's voice was ever heard is testament to her genius. That millions of women worldwide can read words she penned nearly a century ago is testimony to how far we have come.



3. and I was amazed at her perception, her understanding of what it is to see as a child and how ones relation with ones parents changes. This is must reading for anyone who has been a child or is a parent. Her intelligent articulation of our experience is a gift.
   
   I'm just about to re-read it, and I bet I'll have more to say then.



4. Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter is the first of Simone de Beauvoir's four autobiographies.
   
   "The most innocent conversations were full of hidden traps; my parents construed my words with their own idiom and ascribed to me ideas that had nothing in common with what I really thought. I found myself repeating Barres' phrase: 'Why have words when their brutal precision bruises our complicated souls'. As soon as I opened my mouth, I provided them with a stick to beat me with, and once more I would be shut up in that world which I had spent years trying to get away from, in which everything, without any possibility of mistake, has its own name, its set place and its agreed function, in which hate and love, good and evil are as crudely differentiated as black and white, in which from the start everything is classified, catalogued, fixed and formulated, and irrevocably judged; that world with the sharp edges, its bare outlines starkly illuminated by an implacable flat light that is never once touched by the shadow of doubt."
   
   In Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter, Simone de Beauvoir lives in a stark black-and-white world with no gray areas or blurred edges. Everything is stiff and rigid -- almost suffocatingly so -- she cannot breathe (philosophically speaking) and cries a lot. "Dutifulness" has a death-grip around her throat! She abhors blatant tradition, mindless religious rites and glaring absurdity -- but, she loves Paris, books, her first cousin Jacques, writing and nature!
   
   The Luxembourg garden in Paris (filled with picturesque fountains, diverse minds and fragrant flowers, near the Sorbonne university) plays a major (inspirational) focal point in her formative years. At a very early age, Simone decides she will become a world renowned writer -- but, in order to accomplish such a feat, must give up any idea of marriage and children -- at least in the traditional sense. She plans to focus all her creative energies toward her #1 passion, writing.
   
   A meticulous undertaking, satisfying -- very "Dutiful". --Katharena Eiermann, 2007, the Realm of Existentialism, Presidential Hopeful



5. I have read many biographies and autobiographies of influential and powerful women in history and many were good, but Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter is by far the best written I've come across. Not only is it very thoughtfully expressed, but de Beauvoir has me totally hooked on her writing.
   
   So much of what she wrote about in her youth I could relate to: the feelings of being oppressed and pressures to conform to behaviors and beliefs she didn't believe in, wavering emotions of joy and pain in interactions with parents, sibling, and friends, wanting to break away from a suffocating atmosphere, and being her own person on HER terms. Many write of the same things, but she expressed exactly how she felt and thought in such a way that I felt I was right there with her! Few authors have grabbed me in such a feverish manner as to cause me to want to read EVERYTHING they wrote. I'm glad to say she is one of them. Highly recommended!

5 comments about Candy and Me: A Girl's Tale of Life, Love, and Sugar.

1. A humorous yet at times poignant account of one woman's life, loves, and confectionary favorites, from her childhood addiction to a homemade sugar paste, to junior mints, to Petite Fruits, Jelly Fruit Wedges, and frosting eaten straight from the can (I thought I was the only one who did that!) A factual account that is as entertaining as any fiction story i have come across. I recommend it highly. A real sweetie of a book!



2. Funny, sometimes wistful, and surprisingly thought-provoking. For Hilary and me it's candy; for others it's various substances that fortify and amuse. This well-written self-examination packs a much bigger message than you might expect.

   I enjoyed reading it while killing a couple of half-pound bars of Cadbury Milk Chocolate.




3. Hilary Liftin's Candy and Me : A Love Story was such a refreshing read! I read this book fairly quickly and I found her stories relating to candy to be very entertaining. In life we often have things such as songs, smells, and places to which we relate certain memories. I'm very glad to have had the opportunity to read the memories Ms. Liftin relates to her love of candy. Bonus: For something fun and different, you can go to www.hilaryliftin.com to share your own sweet memories!



4. I feel so much better after having read this book. I am not alone in my obsession over candy. It's not often that a book makes me laugh out loud and call my friend to read her what I'm reading. If you end up liking this book, Candyfreak is a must read. Same story, but his obsession is for chocolate. Anybody who loves candy in an obsessive way will love and enjoy these books.



5. I just finished this book & I loved it! I'd give it 4.5 stars out of 5.
   
   If you like candy, have ever liked candy, have a favorite candy - then you gotta read this book.
   
   * Warning: Reading this book will give you urgent cravings for candy...I made myself sick from eating too many orange Circus Peanuts while reading it. :-D

No comments about A Black Woman's Odyssey Through Russia and Jamaica: The Narrative of Nancy Prince.

4 comments about Tori Amos: American Doll Posse (Pvg).

1. Great transcription to the Tori Amos album. The sheet music since "Scarlet's Walk" has been very accurate.



2. Love the book musically, very accurate transcriptions from what I can tell.
   HOWEVER
   The binding is somewhat cheap...
   The color inserts (pictures of the Posse) started falling out within a week of receiving the book (with moderate use, ~30 min. of practice everyday)



3. There are just a few little things that aren't right, but compared to the mistakes and inaccuracies of the previous Tori songbooks, this one is really fabulous. I've attempted to play most songs and I am really pleased! I'm like a young clown on the piano compared to Tori, so I try to stick to simpler pieces - if that's you too, then start with Big Wheel, Mr. Bad Man, and Smokey Joe. I don't think the intro to Beauty of Speed is accurate - it seems like Tori keeps both hands rapidly moving high on the keyboard in treble clef as opposed to simple bass notes, but does it matter - like I'll f'ing be able to play it!



4. The transcribing in this book is on the good side. None of the sheet music songbooks are note for note Tori, but all the songs stay in the keys they were written in. Nothing was transposed for easier play, so they all sound right. My biggest disappointment was that "My Posse Can Do", "Miracle", and "Drive all Night" are not included. The book does not like to stay open either. The included artwork is pretty but falls out easy, so be careful!

1 comments about Ida B. Wells-Barnett and American Reform, 1880-1930.

1. The end of the Civil War in 1865 marked a new beginning for freed slaves but merely having won their freedom did not guarantee their acceptance as equals by white society. In fact, southern whites almost immediately began a campaign to resubjugate blacks using every means at their disposal including lynching. While whites held out lynchings to be punishment for rapes of white women, they were in reality acts of terror by white mobs in the effort to reestablish white majority rule. Of those few who spoke out against these predations, one of the most effective was Ida B. Wells-Barnett. Patricia A. Schechter shows how Wells-Barnett, born a slave, became one of the best-known authorities on black lynchings and then a well-known activist and social reformer despite being a black woman with little financial support. And in doing so, she shows how Wells-Barnett worked within the restrictions of race and gender. While not a biography, Schechter includes sufficient details of Wells-Barnett's life to help understand her activist role in fighting lynching, working to help disadvantaged blacks, and win voting rights for women.
   
   Wells-Barnett's journey to Memphis after her parents died was an effort to keep her siblings with her as a family. She worked as a teacher to provide an income but she used her ingenuity to bring in extra monies such as by organizing a dramatic club and putting on shows. But as she was intelligent, well-read, and hard-working she quickly understood that writing and public life were the best avenues for her, as a black woman, to better herself and further her goal of social change. She developed a sarcastic, mocking sense of humor which she employed in her ofttimes scathing and provocative articles and pamphlets which helped draw attention to controversial subjects. She bolstered her points of view by supplying statistics such as in her paper, Southern Horrors, showing that less than 30% of lynchings of black men involved the charge of rape vice the almost 100% claimed by whites.
   
   As she was unmarried, she took great pains to ensure that her personal reputation was unsullied. She could not rely on male relatives to defend her honor so in addition to using her own rhetorical and writing skills, she sought the help of male friends. Having no husband to speak for her in a society which diminished the worth of an unmarried, black woman made her life difficult. As a black person, she demonstrated her concern with her physical safety as she sometimes carried a pistol and advocated armed resistance to defend against white predations. As part owner of a newspaper, she did not self censor her articles. In one she wrote just before she fled Memphis for New York, she asserted that black men who were lynched did not assault white women but rather were participating in liaisons. For this, her paper's office was attacked.
   
   She became an effective and charismatic public speaker in the U.S. and then in England as she purposefully eschewed an emotionalist and demonstrative type of presentation but rather adopted a restrained and dignified manner. Her informal training as an actress helped her in her speaking engagements, and her ability to speak through tears added a dramatic touch to some speeches. She always had to remain cognizant of the fact that she was stepping away from the traditional role of a married black woman into a role of a black spokesman so had to ensure that she maintained her dignity and composure.
   
   After she married in 1895, she continued her efforts in her new home of Chicago albeit her literary efforts after 1900 never equaled earlier ones. And male dominance of black civil right efforts intensified after WWI marginalizing her influence in antilynching efforts nationwide. Black men's and women's roles became different in the first two decades of the 19th century: "there emerged at the elite level a gender division of labor, which assigned political and intellectual leadership to men awhile entrusting to women a parallel role of prayer, education, and fundraising in female networks" (168). Her radicalism and uncompromising attitude further marginalized her as many male black leaders sought compromise and conciliation with whites versus confrontation while others urged blacks merely to uplift themselves. She "voted with her feet" when a church or organization pursued paths with which she disagreed. Also, while she helped found the NAACP, she withdrew her support as her activism was not appreciated as part of its progressive agenda. Wells-Barnett was marginalized as a militant leader and reverted to local or state venues for most of her work. She became very active in Chicago social and welfare groups to help poorer blacks emulating renewed black women's roles as wife and mother. Her participation in black women's suffrage was especially noteworthy even while her own political campaign failed. Her almost religious fervor to recruit all blacks to vote was one of her primary ways to fight white racism and terror. Clearly, Wells-Barnett did not willingly accept second class status to whites or to black men but her ofttimes confrontational approach, and uncompromising and provocative attitude, made her unpopular to some black men and organizations thereby diminishing her effectiveness.
   
   Schechter presents a thorough study of this important early civil rights figure emphasizing how Wells-Barnett's race and gender influenced and constrained her efforts. Written for an academic audience knowledgeable about black activism during this era, she succeeds in dissecting Wells-Barnett's successes and failures relating them to her color and gender. Schechter could perhaps have been more successful had she presented additional biographical details to better understand Wells-Barnett motivations and as a person not just as a black activist. But anyone interested in how black women responded to both white racism and gender discrimination during this time will find much value in this book.