5 comments about We're Just Like You, Only Prettier: Confessions of a Tarnished Southern Belle.

1. When I bought this book, I was looking for quality anecdotes with humor sprinkled throughout. However, while some content was mildly amusing, it all seemed a little forced. She is trying too hard to be funny and it does not come off as genuine. It is not what I had hoped for.



2. Classic Celia Rivenbark! She is intelligent, irreverent, and very funny - the kind of writer who makes you thankful you know how to read! As for this book, if you don't see somebody you know in these pages, you're not from the South.



3. Hands down this book is the funniest book I've ever read in my 68 years. You might need to be from the south to understand the humor, but it is priceless. I have sent six books to friends, and they love it as well. I truly laughed out loud.



4. Rarely have I enjoyed a contemporary novel as much as I enjoyed this one. I lived briefly in the South, and can totally relate to everything.
   Fun read! Made me forget about my flight being delayed.



5. You will NOT stop laughing.
   Celia Rivenbark has her finger on the pulse of life in the South!
   Do yourself a favor, and READ THIS BOOK!!!!

5 comments about Jane Austen: A Life.

1. Claire Tomalin is one of the foremost biographers in the world today, in an exclusive group that includes Peter Ackroyd, David McCullough, Doris Kearns Goodwin, and a few others. Having read and thoroughly enjoyed her recent books on Samuel Pepys and Thomas Hardy, I purchased this book to look at one of Tomalin's older works. I also knew next to nothing about Jane Austen. I was not disappointed on either count. The book is outstanding, and I am currently in love with Jane Austen.
   Jane Austen was a brilliant, witty, unsentimental woman who led a remarkably unremarkable life. One expects great writers to live dramatic lives, but this just isn't true in Austen's case. She had written her first three novels by age 24, but wouldn't publish them or write another for ten years. She would never get rich off of her writings.
   Though she certainly drew on characters and scenes in her own life, much of Miss Austen's novels come from her vivid imagination. For instance, Jane Austen didn't socialize with the rich upper crust, but many of her books are about them.
   It seems Jane was a bit of a tomboy as a youth, and her high intelligence and biting wit often intimidated potential suitors. She was apparently in love only once, and this didn't work out. So she became, like her sister Cassandra with whom she was very close, a spinster. At least she was able, in her thirties, to support herself through her writings.
   Jane Austen died young, at age 41. Thus her life, her career, and Claire Tomalin's biography end prematurely. But as Jane Austen herself wrote, "If a book is well-written, I always find it too short."
   This book ended too soon. It is a beautifully written biography, highly recommended.



2. Claire Tomalin in Jane Austen: A Life really delivers a wonderful story, not just a boring listing of events from the author's life. I've used this book for research before, and finally decided to buy it for my own collection and read it just for fun. I recommend this to anyone that has been curious about the author's life or any serious Janite.



3. 1997's "Jane Austen: A Life" is Claire Tomalin's highly readable, even dramatic account of the life of the popular romance novelist. Jane Austen left little for her future biographers beyond her published novels and some surviving letters and manuscripts. Tomalin addresses Jane in the context of her large and interesting family and their Hampshire friends and relatives. The result doesn't necessarily add a great deal to our limited store of knowledge about Jane Austen; it does provide some interesting insights into her context, and should bury forever any concerns about the source of Austen's acute understanding of human nature or the material for her novels.
   
   The good news about "Jane Austen: A Life" is that Claire Tomalin is a gifted writer and her book will be a page-turner for many fans. Tomalin has done her extensive research. In addition, Tomalin is not shy about speculating when it comes to the signficant gaps in our knowledge of Austen's life. Her speculation is generally reasonable and plausible, and almost always fascinating to read. It is less clear how much of the book is reasonable inference from the limited record and how much edges toward historical fiction.
   
   Tomalin includes her own literary criticism on Jane Austen's various works. This criticism is frankly hit or miss. Her comments on "Lady Susan" highlight its unusual leading character. Her analysis of the novel fragment "The Watson" explains why Jane Austen never finished it. However, she unfairly slights one of the main characters in "Sense and Sensibility", misreads the fate of Mr. Wickham and Lydia in "Pride and Prejudice", and perhaps misses the point of "Mansfield Park." Readers familiar with Jane Austen's novels can draw their own conclusions.
   
   Jane Austen is as vivid as Claire Tomalin can make her in this biography, a clever, acutely observant woman who must on occasion have been a little intimidating in person. She is very much a family person, at the beck and call of brothers, cousins, nieces and nephews all her life. We come to appreciation for how difficult Austen's life was after her father died. Her failure to marry lfet her, her spinster sister Cassandra, and her widowed mother in genteel poverty, dependent on support from her brothers and with few choices about where and how they would live. Unfortunately, Jane's writing did not begin to produce real income before her early death in 1817.
   
   "Jane Austen: A Life" is highly recommended as an interesting, even dramatic biography. The book includes an excellent selection of portraits of Jane Austen's family members. It is perhaps ironic that the one verified portrait of Jane Austen in life was said by her family to be inadequate, just as the person behind the novels continues to be elusive to biographers and fans alike.



4. A book with a panaroma view and lots of details about not only Jane herself, but also her direct family (sometimes even including her neighbours and her parents' cousins). Found it extremely useful in learning about Jane's experience as a woman living in the Georgian England. A page-turner indeed! Strongly recommend it!



5. Noticing that one review was very caustic of this book, I would like to say that I thought it was very well written - especially considering that there is very little documentation to go on. I found the author's explanation of child-rearing, at that time, very interesting. I did not feel that she was trying to put it into perspective to "today's standards", as one reviewer wrote.
   
   What was really fascinating, to me, was the difference in what her family lifestyle was like - compared to what her books portrayed. I realize books and plots are just that - but the lives and atmosphere was definitely not as "dark" as a lot of her own was. Just fascinating.
   
   I think she would have been an interesting person to have met because I came away with the impression that she wasn't really the "private" person her brothers and other family made her out to be. Sounds like she had quite a wit - biting at that.
   
   Anyway, thanks to the author for writing this and doing a great job with little documentation.

5 comments about My Life at Grey Gardens: 13 Months and Beyond.

1. I have to give this book three stars just because the writer shared her experiences with the public. But considering, as she tells us, that she ended up taking two of the many ghosts in the Grey Gardens house with her when she was packing to return to her home...Well, you don't get a lot of objective observation. You don't get much extra insight about Grey Gardens. What she writes about is pretty much what you already saw in the film "Grey Gardens." I hoped to learn more about the rooms and what happened to all the furniture. She treats her stay there as just another day in the life of and with no one in particular. REAL disappointment.



2. Jackie O's aunt and cousin lived in a Munster-type mansion in East Hampton. Edith Bouvier Beale (or 'Big Edie') was the sister of Black Jack Bouvier. Edie had a daughter, 'Little Edie', and both lived in harmony and dis-harmony in the ramshackle old house. Author Lois Wright, artist of questionable talent and palm reader, lived with the ladies for 13 months. The book is based on Wright's journal, which she kept during the 1970's. Big Edie, who was bedridden upstairs, had cats and the cats had fleas. Wright described the agony of the fleas, as well as raccoons climbing out of the ceiling (which Little Edie fed daily) and rats that jumped on the author and Little Edie on occasion. Wright wore boots and a hat 24/7 to ward off most of the critters. Newspapers were placed on beds, on floors, even in the Edies bathtub for the cats. Nevertheless, they were allowed to "go" where they pleased. If a cat or kitten died, Big Edie kept it on her bed for a couple of days, covered with a Kleenex. Contrary to past publicity, Jackie O and Ari stepped in and helped her relatives - Ari sending gifts, Jackie paying bills. The eccentricities of the three ladies are well worth reading about in this mesmerizing page-turner (Wright seemed a bit 'off' herself.) Just to let you be aware that there are DVDs available about Grey Gardens, starring the Beales, that are excellent. It brings Ms. Wright's pages to life, which completes their picture.



3. An interesting remembrance of months living at Grey Gardens by an offbeat friend of the Beales. Would be helpful to have read, which I have, or viewed the DVD Grey Gardens before reading this book. An interesting view of these most unusual mother and daughter combination.



4. Having been a fan of the play and documentary I found this book to be very revealing and touching at the same time.



5. Welcome back to Grey Gardens! I just received this from Amazon last night, and I am 1/2 through it already!It truly IS a page turner. A must for all fans of these fabulously eccentric,and theatrical ladies.It is a light,diary-entry style read.It will hold your interest, for sure. These women were fascinating characters, Lois Wright included.How wonderful it would have been to know Big and Little Edie.However, we must settle for just reading about them here,in this gem of a tell-all.I agree with the other reviewer....No mention of Jerry Torre (The Marble Fawn), was strange, as he seemed to be an integral part of Grey Gardens machine.

5 comments about Passionate Nomad: The Life of Freya Stark (Modern Library Paperbacks).

1. Freya Start was a pioneer in her day -- a remarkable and complex woman whose intellectual curiosity led her to explore a region --the Middle East-- where few Western women felt comfortable to go in company, let alone, as a solo traveler. THis book describes her character as it developed over time, headstrong, determined, and driven to compensate for her plain features and disfigured face with daring adventures. Her advise and counsel to the British foreign office proved to be amazingly prescient, though she was not always heeded. A very good book of historical and human significance.



2. Having just scrolled through the other reviews, I don't have anything to add except the comment that I am another fan of this book. I think the author did a good job of bringing this complex, interesting woman to life.



3. My Journey to Lhasa: The Classic Story of the Only Western Woman Who Succeeded in Entering the Forbidden CityForbidden Journey (Marlboro Travel)I don't understand why other great women travellers are not mentioned in any of these reviews. If you like this author, don't forget about Alexandra David-Neel who paved the way and Annemarie Schwarzenbach and Ella Maillart who traced their own unique paths. All but Schwarzenbach have been translated into English and are available from amazon.



4. A well written, well researched book about a fearless and adventurous woman who lived a most interesting life. Especially interesting--though not surprising--were how the insecurities she lived through as a child molded her as an adult. Her near financial poverty as a child in a world where peers and relatives lived sumptuous lives gave her a ravenous appetite for luxury as an adult. Her beautiful, emotionally remote mother and mostly absent father had her looking for love from the unlikeliest of men during most of her adult years. This book shouldn't be missed even if you aren't particularly interested in the part of the world she adored.



5. Remarkable testimony to an exceptional life. Freya Stark was an iconoclast in her time and ours, and her story is worth tracing, for a better understanding of one of the world's most enigmatic regions.

5 comments about Scars of Sweet Paradise: The Life and Times of Janis Joplin.

1. This is my fourth biography I've read of Janis' and by far the most well-written and informative. Instead of being filled with personal judgements and opinions it seems to document the happenings in Janis' life and the lives of those around her in a very easy to follow manner. Lots of history about other San Francisco bands and connections in the music world. Photos are great!!



2. I was never a big fan and I'm still not, but this well written bio seems to do full justice to its mythic subject. You don't hear Joplin much these days. Her voice is so over the top and she only managed to eke out three albums before she od'd on junk, so there isn't that much to hear. She didn't make it past 27, and it's no wonder, according to this account. She was either drunk or high most of the time. She didn't fit in in Port Arthur, Tx., but she did more than most of her generation ever managed. Bisexual and straight, Janis was a mess. You wonder where she'd be today if she'd lived. Of course, she'd never have been a misfit if she had been born a little later. Her quirks would barely register today. For that, in today's culture. Janis Joplin is probably one of the ground-breakers responsible.



3. An interesting read, both sad and sweet, about an interesting woman who lived during an interesting time in history. It lay heavy on my heart that such a tremendous talent as Janis, could never see it herself. This book would mean much to those who remember her and the time period. It would not mean much of anything to those who weren't part of those years.



4. If you want to know the basic facts about Janis Joplin's life and the cultural context in which she rose to fame and self-destructed, this book is perfectly adequate to fill you in. In some respects the book is quite exhaustive, especially in documenting Janis's relationships with various musicians and her series of bands. The author did a reasonably good job of showing how Janis fit in -- or didn't - with the cultural and political context of her day, and also gives some fun general background on the birth of the San Francisco rock scene. Most compelling was the author's description of Janis's tormented family life, and it was those sympathetic attempts to piece together her psyche that seem the most genuine. My complaint with the book is that the writing and editing are far from graceful. It reads more like an academic thesis, often dry, lacking in momentum, and wordy. I read a lot of biographies and I am sure it is very hard to write a good one, but it can be done. Writing about musicians is a special challenge because to really do it well requires deep knowledge and appreciation of the genre and a gift for metaphor. I found the musical criticsm aspect of the book particularly lackluster and it often sounded like the author was parroting others' musical opinions. The editing was a puzzle, too -- sometimes you would want more information on someone, sometimes there was just too much information. Not a page-turner, but I'm glad I read it.



5. There are a whole bunch of biographies of Janis, including the well known Buried Alive, but this late comer published in 1999 appears to be the most even-handed, well-researched, and scholarly. In fact Alice Echols is a scholar of the 1960s (without any personal connection to Janis) so there is a lot of contextual information to put the period in perspective - I've probably learned more about the 1960s San Francisco scene in this book than anywhere else, it's worth reading for that reason alone.
   
   This is my first "rock-star biography", a genre I have avoided because of the groaning shelves of narcissistic "tell alls". I choose Janis to be my first (something she would have loved) after seeing a couple YouTube clips: one showing her singing "Ball and Chain" live, the other a TV interview at her Texas hometown high-school reunion. In these clips I saw a deep, complicated and obviously brilliant person, her charisma on stage was memorizing and off-stage equally so. For me she became more than a raspy-kinda-scary voice on the radio from another era, and I wanted to learn more about who she was, and why she had become so famous and died so young.
   
   Joplin's personality was a wild horse who kept on the move, never finding but always seeking a new home and greener pastures, running from her personal demons while embracing her desire for living life in the moment to the fullest. She drank heavily (Southern Comfort), f...ed thousands of guys and hundreds of women, got in fights with Hells-Angels, shot heroin and was a mainlining speed-freak. She was a vulnerable, loving and kind child from a well-off Middle Class suburban family. She was a walking enigma. Her origins are with the beatniks and folksie scene of the early 60s, she was never fully accepted in the San Francisco scene as a hippie, yet she is widely imagined as one of its founding mothers with her "Perl" costume of boa-feathers, clunky bracelets and lots of beads.
   
   In the end her death was no surprise even to herself, she put her body on the front-line of the cultural revolution pushing the boundaries forward on many fronts. It is unfortunate she was largely forgotten in the 70s and 80s but I think with historical reflection on the 60s her life will find more prominence - if nothing else than an archetype of a generation, but also for being ahead of her time as a woman rock star in a male dominated industry.
   
   Echols does a good job of balancing the exterior fame with the interior truths of Joplin, a psychological profile that will remind the reader of other people they know like her, it's believable because she seems so "normal" (in a somewhat abnormal way). I came away both with an intimate understanding of Janis and a much stronger sense of the 60s having seen it through the life of a single person who was a central catalyst.

5 comments about Leaving Mother Lake: A Girlhood at the Edge of the World.

1. The lifestyle and cultural norms of the Moso people "one of fifty-six Chinese nationalities" of Tibet, who "number about 30,000" are much different than those of most developed countries. The women tend to engage in a series of monogamous relationships, resulting in matriarch family units with several half-sibling children. This one fact might cause people to describe them as sexually promiscuous and immoral. Others might look at the matriarchal, matrilineal Moso as an intriguing social entity not bound by the social constraints of most cultures. Although the Chinese government has encouraged marriage, the Moso people are overwhelmingly undeterred. Mothers tend to prize daughters, as through their offspring the family lines continue. Children may never learn the identity of their fathers, and if they do, will refer to them (as all men) as "Uncle." Children ideally remain with their maternal relatives their entire lives, dying in the same dwelling in which they were born. Men are needed "to herd the yaks in the mountains, to travel with the horse caravans to trade in the outside world, and to make the long journey to Lhasa to study the holy Buddhist scriptures and become lamas." Girls shift from childhood to womanhood by participating in a post-menarche "skirt" ceremony. They then move from a communal room to their own special chamber and are encouraged to engage in sexual relationships. Leaving Mother Lake is the story of Namu Erche, a member of the Moso tribe, who lived a life less ordinary. Her mother, "curious and restless," defied the norms of the tribe by moving from her own mother's home to settle in a village two days' walk distant. Namu cried so much as a young child that three attempts to trader her to other families were unsuccessful. An elder sister was instead traded for a male cousin, who was raised as her brother. At eight, she was sent to yak-herd with a great-uncle. Several years later she returned to her mother's home to participate in her skirt ceremony. When a group of Han Chinese visited her village to record traditional songs, they noticed her singing skills and chose her along with two others to participate in a singing contest. Successful in their first endeavor, they again succeeded in a bigger contest. Changed by her big city experience, she ran away from home to follow her dreams. She returned home, but only for a visit, after several years at a musical conservatory. Although Namu's story is fascinating, the writing seems overly simplified. Other good memoirs about lives less ordinary include: Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt, The Twelve Little Cakes by Dominika Dery, and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls.



2. A beautiful book ... truely inspiring ... no-one can fail to be moved into the (Moso) world ... so full of humanity ... I would recommend it to everyone .....



3. As with all young people, Erche Namu Yang--or just Namu--faced the traditional crossroads of forging her own identity when she was a teen in the early 1980s. While many authors have written about this important life turning point, Namu's book stands out because she faced her coming of age in one of the world's most unique cultures. As the book's extended titles notes, she experienced "a girlhood at the edge of the world." What she should have said was "in a Feminist Utopia"!
   
   Namu was born into the Moso (also Mosuo) people, who live near Lake Lugu (or Mother Lake) in remote parts of Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces, bordering Tibet. This area has been referred to as The Country of Daughters, with good reason. The Moso are one of the world's few remaining matrilineal societies. Mothers serve as heads of their families, daughters are favored, and property and leadership is passed down among the females. Sounds good! However, this culture has been described as a feminist fantasy as well as mistakenly understood as tribes of promiscuous women, because the women do not marry. They move from one relationship to the next when they wish, without any self-consciousness or guilt between either party. Male roles within the family structure are filled by the family matriarch's brothers and sons. The Moso believe that because the men in the household are all blood relatives, they will be forever loyal and helpful to their women kin. There's definitely something to that.
   
   No, I'm not making this up! The wealth of details Namu provides about Moso culture in her story will set the record straight about her people's lifestyle. Put on your cultural historian hat and remain aware that the Moso's socio-economic structure totally works for them, and you will learn a lot about an amazing group of people.
   
   Though it traumatized her family--especially her mother--Namu knew her destiny lay beyond becoming her family's next leader. This book is about a girl having the courage to fulfill her dreams and how these ambitions affect her relationship with her mother. The Moso cultural aspect provides a unique backdrop for a timeless story about personal growth.
   
   SIDE NOTE: I had the privilege of hearing Namu speak at the Shanghai Literary Festival one year. She is stunningly beautiful with a voice to match. She is so talented that she is successful at everything she does. When she couldn't sing anymore, she became a model. When she was too old to model, she became an author. To date, she has written 13 books--though only Leaving Mother Lake has been translated into English. Now she is trying to improve the quality of life in Lake Lugu and to be an ambassador for the Moso. She has opened the Namu Palace Hotel Museum at Lake Lugu, where artists can stay gratis if they create a piece to put in the adjacent art gallery and where guests can learn about Moso culture first hand. Hmmm. Definitely something to think about! But if nothing else, you can be inspired simply by reading her coming of age story.



4. A very inspiring and good book about moso culture. I highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to know a little bit more about it.



5. Yang Erche Namu, born in 1966 is a professional singer, model, socialite, author and basically a very famous person in China. She has written eight autobiographies in Chinese, none of which have been translated into English. However, from what we can gather from excerpta most of them narrate together with her life story the many relations she has had with men all over the world, with detailed appreciations of their virtues and vices. She is actively interested in women empowerment in China and has been investing in hotels in her home region in Sichuan. In 2007 she wrote a public letter proposing to Sarkozy, but evidently he preferred Carla Bruni. Her fame in China does not march together with public sympathy, and she says of herself that Chinese hate her almost as much as Mao's wife.
   However, this discussed public personality has a very interesting background, that has drawn the interest of an appreciated anthropologist Christine Mathieu (1954) who undertook the task of reconstructing Namu's childhood. This biography written in first person is not actually written by Namu but by her "interpreter" Mathieu. Namu was born in the Moso ethnicity, one of the 56 Chinese recognized minority groups. The less than 50,000 Moso live according to a matrilinear social organization. Women detain property and through the so called "walking marriage" procreate children that more often than not do not know their fathers. A woman's offspring is usually by different men. This kind of social organization is very rare, but still survives in some parts of the world and determines a peaceful and non violent environment. Until the 1980's this secluded society had had few contacts with the outside world and maintained its peculiar characteristics and represented an anthropologist dream..
   The spirited and intelligent Namu was keen to escape her limited life in a Moso village, and this is the story of "Leaving Mother Lake". The story of Namu's youth ranges from the description of her family and friends, sibling rivaltry, an isolated experience among the mountains with her uncle and basically a conflictive relationship with her mother Christine Mathieu has reconstructed and rewritten Namu's childhood from long conversations and memories of the protagonist, and after completion of the biography she submitted it to Namu, who recognized herself in the tale. Can this lead us to call this is an authorized biography, a biography by proxy, a false diary, an interpreted memoir? The definition is difficult, and the genesis of this book, which has been a world wide best-seller, is I think one of its drawbacks. The personality of the young Namu has been westernized, and probably for this reason it gains so much empathy. In some points Namu's story reminded me of "Caddie Woodlawn" " or "The Little House on the Prairie".
   Independently however from the description of the protagonist's character and her personal facts, the book is an anthropologic text full of stories, episodes, historical and religious analysis and correlations with history and sociology of the evolution of modern China. I was personally more interested in this aspect and found that Mathieu knows how to tell a story, and has aptly chosen Namu as her vehicle for a social analysis of the Moso ethnicity. The memoir is followed by a chapter on the discussions on the evolution of the Moso ethnicity and its possible historical explanations and another with a two voice interview with Namu and Mathieu.
   This book is very readable, it breezes along conveying by broad lines the sense of this social group, it also introduces us to the strong personality of Namu. But I suggest to look her up on from other sources, one of which is Michel Palin's "Himalaya" and reflect on who she really is and what she represents in modern China.

5 comments about Love My Rifle More Than You: Young and Female in the U.S. Army.

1. This war memoir reveals a smug, self-absorbed author. Kayla Williams castigates the military and her fellow soldiers to make herself look superior, an immature approach that detracts from the book's success. Readers are reminded repeatedly of her college education, which leads one to question why she enlisted and chose not to be commissioned as an officer. The female officers and enlistees I know do not talk or act like Williams, and she's done a disservice to them and our men with this diatribe.



2. I served with some of her former comrades...they said she's full of B.S....just proves they'll print anything nowadays. Sad...so sad.



3. I actually sought out writing a review on this book -- something I rarely do.
   
   I picked this book up one day and barely was able to put it down. It is gripping and honest, and it helped me to get a better idea about the war and our soldiers' experience and that of civilians as well. My husband is reading it now and appreciates it as much as I did.
   
   Do yourself a favor and read it. I learned about it from [...], where I bought an autographed copy, by the way.



4. I just checked and there happen to be two recent reviews of Clint Eastwood's "Heartbreak Ridge", NEITHER of which sees fit to mention the sub-plot, that occasionally macho-leader is seen reading Womens' Magazines somewhat clandestinely, trying to get inside the head of his semi-estranged partner.
   While I have to agree with the military reviewers that maybe the character thus revealed is not ideally what you'd want, the way it's told, even SHE had "I am not worthy" episodes at times. The most arrogant passages are about incompetent superiors. Of the incidents described, two of them just make you cringe, they are so egregious that they would not make it into a movie plot, it would not seem credible. Since many lives depend on their orders, there ought to be better procedures for challenging such officers - this was of course also an issue in the fictional "Heartbreak Ridge".



5. I have been in the Army for just over a decade. I have been deployed to Iraq and I'm sure I'll deploy at at least a couple more times before I retire. Personally, I found this book completely infuriating! Williams made money by fueling stereotypes that put woman back into the stone age. Contrary to what she would have you believe, not all male soldiers are trying to get into the pants of any willing female. Not that it never happens, but I would not consider it the norm. The majority of soldiers...men and women... are hardworking, self sacrificing individuals. The men I deployed with were very protective of the females, almost the the point of being annoying.
   
   This book went back and forth between Williams bragging about how eduacated and wonderful she thinks she is, and making a mockery of women in the Armed Forces.
   
   Please don't waste your time getting this book! If you do...please remember not to believe everything you read.

5 comments about Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay.

1. In this biography, Milford seems to be an historian first and a writer second. Or, perhaps, a prima donna first, an historian second, and then a writer. There is nothing wrong with either order unless one's prerogative in reading happens to be pleasure. Then, dear reader, it seems you have been "punk'd."
   While I reveled in the details of Millay's life there were a few I wish Milford would have omitted: the "dramatic natural beauty" of the New England where Millay grew up; the lack of transition between paragraphs; and, perhaps the most aggravating, Milford herself! While the author has undoubtedly waded through a great deal of documents and interviews, one feels she doesn't quite know what to do with them. Other reviewers have noted that Milford hasn't processed or analyzed much of the material, but simply dumps it on the reader to sort out. And I agree. Further, she parades Millay's surviving sister, Norma, about as a primary source. However, while Norma's reflections and recollections are used when convenient, she seems to serve largely as the vehicle for Milford to infiltrate her own subject's biography! Indeed, while Norma is portrayed as a loving and level-headed sister and human being in the text, the prologue paints her as fickle, selfish, and maniuplative while Milford is the one righteous and serene. Other scenes and dialogues involving Norma seem random until one realizes Milford is characterizing Norma or inserting herself (once, as the object of Norma's sexual advance. The vixen!) One is reminded of Boswell's "Life of Samuel Johnson" which scholars joke ought to be renamed, "Samuel Johnson, Friend of James Boswell." If Milford could get out of her own way, this would likely be a very fine read. Truthfully, I did not dislike it. Not entirely. I only wish it were friendlier to those of us not preparing for assignments on great American poets. And an homage to Millay rather than to Milford.



2. I picked this book up for the first time in a summer rental house. I couldn't put it down and I had to run out and buy my own copy when I got home. I was not familiar with Millay before reading this book, so I cannot compare it to the million other opinions of her, but as a narrative on its own I have been mesmerized. I think this is an extremely well written biography that captures the essence of the relationships we nuture and cherish. Everytime I pick it up again I slip effortlessly into a different place in time when one could simply be an artist, a genius, and be celebrated. The descriptions are vivid and the narrative is strong and engaging. It's simply a well written book and I loved it.



3. Surprised to find out she had a very active and interesting life. Would not know it by the writings she composed.



4. I was looking forward to this book, having enjoyed Milford's "Zelda" very much. But boy, you have to plow your way through seemingly every letter Millay ever wrote or received. Some details are relentlessly spelled out while other, more salient points don't get the attention they deserve. (What physical or mental problems were really at the root of her most serious breakdown? When, exactly, and why did her morphine addiction take root?) And I don't know what anyone else thought about it, but I felt Milford paid far, far too much attention to Millay's anatomy. It was off-putting to me. I also find it annoying when photographs are described in detail in the text but do not appear in the picture sections.
   
   Edna St. Vincent Millay's life certainly mirrored that of her most famous poem, "First Fig"; she did burn the candle at both ends. Her personal life was largely a sad one, but she brought a lot of her personal woes upon herself. Better to read the poems. . . they remain fresh as ever, revealing and possessed of a remarkable clarity and gift for the turn of phrase.



5. I was engulfed by the book in a profound sense. I like how Milford allows the reader to see exactly what the "players" wrote themselves. I don't like having things spelled out. Her method allows you to evaluate not only Mallay, but her siblings and mother, husband.
   The only reason Norma is so highlighted is that she gave over her own intention (probably not very strong) to write about her sister's life herself by letting Milford have all the papers. And Norma was, at the time, the only one left in the family.
   I came to some conclusions from the gathered details. It was a tale of women without men through the generations. I felt more sympathy for the mother, Cora, than for Millay herself. Cora's disire to be an established poet was completely thwarted, but she passed it on (or infected) her daughters with an overwhelmning desire for attention and recognition. Millay was the one chosen (or self-chosen) to carry on the literary hopes of the female line. She was cossetted and extolled, her mother and siblings made sure to elaborate her sense of destiny as privelged treatment. But the story isn't that simple either. Millay had a long lonely period in High School where she created an imaginary boyfriend whom she would regale with her stories, and she served him as a perfect wife, this boyfriend. It wasn't hard to see that she was longing for the return of the exiled father. The pitiful letters he would send, never able to send any money, the various excuses, would not make it easy for her to trust relationship in general.
   There is so much to this book. So many odd turns of fate. It was Norma who was directly responsible for Edna getting into Vassar. Norma was working for a hotel and insisted Edna come to a party there, where Edna read her poem: Rennaisance. A wealthy woman heard her and decided to pay her way to Vassar. This would not have happened without Norma.
   The Vassar years served to further deform Millay's sense of herself as special because she was older and more experienced than her peers. The other girls followed Millay around, lavished their love-lorn wishes on her and Millary developed a fine-tuned ability to manipulate and be the love-object without herself being moved. This did not work out as intended, but a reader can see many layers in this book, and draw many final conclusions from it.
   I recommend it highly as a psychologically profound study of a complex family.

5 comments about Hearts West: True Stories of Mail-Order Brides on the Frontier.

1. Chris Enss has done it again! Wonderful look at history. Her books are always a delight to read. Gets you hooked from the beginning. Great gift for a history buff in your life.



2. Interesting, but a little thin. I expected more, but perhaps this is due to the fact that not more info is available; or is it that this is just a brief compilation of facts gathered from more complete sources? If so, I would rather have read the originals.



3. This was interesting, quick and light. It was informative of the early days and realationships between men and women.



4. This is an excellent book of short stories. There are a lot of interesting tidbits included that even history buffs will find new and interesting.



5. THis is an excellent read for those who may be writting stories on Mail order brides.And for those of you who just like history too.Though all her tales are hardly fairy,they are real.You feel compassion for these women who were our forebarers.The book is laid out well and very informative.The sentiment of these stories is very touching.I very much recomend this for any history or womens history lover!

5 comments about Sophie Scholl and the White Rose.

1. SOPHIE SCHOLL & THE WHITE ROSE is, essentially, about the finest aspects of human nature. The White Rose members' integrity and their compassion for their fellow Germans and, more surprisingly, for the Jewish population who had endured years of prejudice and oppression followed by vicious persecution is very impressive.
   
   To mount a secret campaign against the Third Reich, a totalitarian regime of insidious oppression and unbelievable brutality against both the German people and its conquered populations, takes amazing courage.
   
   But to face up to that regime on an intensely personal level, without hesitation or - apparently - regret, fully aware of the consequences, is simply awesome. And it awes me that most of the White Rose members were students like myself! This is a very memorable book with a powerful message.



2. It is quite impossible to do an adequate job of reviewing this book.
   Knowing that these young German students really lived, daring to risk their young lives and, indeed, losing them, for their distribution of their printed words challenging German people to act against Hitler, is unbelievably humbling and cause for great hope for mankind. Passive resistence worked. Life triumphed over death. Good was stronger than evil.
   The authors, Annette Dumbach and Jud Newborn, became accomplished talents with the publication of this book alone.
   Their ability to combine the biographies of Sophie, her brother and their compatriots in the making and distrubtion of the White Rose and the requisite history and analysis of the political climate in Germany during The Holcaust is masterful.
   The book reads like a suspense thriller one could read in a few hours. However, their thoughtful, detailed insights into the minds and hearts of the protagonists, compel the reader to read and then reread many passages before being emotionally able to read on. This is a must read for young and old students of the human condition, a truly unforgettable book.



3. I bought this for research and it is terrific. It really gets into the mindset and political background of the story of the White Rose and helps the reader to understand the 'why' of the story. Not as personal as other accounts, it nevertheless is a wonderful background that will help you see Nazi Germany in a whole new light while telling the moving and touching story of Sophie Scholl.



4. This book was definitely a must-read, not only for those that are interested in this time period of study, but for anyone who wants to have a better understanding of world history. It's amazing, simply put. It reads so quickly. You are definitely drawn in from the very first page to the last.



5. If you have a restless conscience then you will better understand the members of the White Rose. Like most kids in Germany in the 30's Hans and Sophie Scholl joined the Nazi youth movement and bought into National Socialism. However through their father who opposed National Socialism and a God instilled restless conscience they soon saw National Socialism for the evil it was and is. The author does a good job of making you feel the tension and stress as the story unfolds. Their dileama was how do you mount a meaningful opposition to a totalitarian state from within. Who can you trust? Gestapo everywhere and all opposition to the State outlawed.By 1940 most of the 500 or so pastors who would not bow down to Hitler were in jail or executed. By the time the White Rose decided to take action in 1942 most Germans were scarred to death of the police state they had allowed to enslave them. But there was sporadic uprising against Hitler. One interesting story in the book was when the gov't banned all the crucifixes from the public schools in Bavaria in 1941. The parents signed protest letters and petitions and even threw the mandatory picture of Hitler out of classroom windows. The protest was so strong that Hitler backed down. Its scary to think that our gov't has taken Christianity out of the classroom but Hitler couldn't. As you read the book you feel that they felt they were going to get caught but their restless conscience would not let them turn from the course of action that would lead to their deaths. As we see our own freedoms of privacy (Patriot Act), speech (Hate Crime Bills) and other constitutional rights being taken from us by an ever growing central gov't we can learn a lot from this book. At her trial Sophie Scholl said "Somebody had to make a start". They certainly did and their pamphlets and death had a lasting effect on the German people. Hans Scholl's last words were "Long live Freedom". The essence of freedom is the limitation of gov't and requires eternal vigilance. The German people allowed Hitler to much power and he enslaved them. We still have the time and ability to limit the power of our gov't but it will take a lot of work and most importantly a restless conscience. 5 stars for this book.