5 comments about 1185 Park Avenue: A Memoir.

1. As with all of Anne Roiphe's books, 1185 PARK AVENUE is powerfully written. The title refers to the address of the apartment building in which she was raised.

   Still, as beautiful as her prose is to read, this is a difficult book. Her family was not a happy one, to say the least. And her personal history will not be of universal interest, appealing mostly to people of similar Jewish ancestry.

   Yet there is no question but, that on a broader basis, 1185 PARK AVENUE offers a singular examination of a particular population. Inescapably, Roiphe had a sad childhood.




2. I noticed this book on a friend's bookshelf in his 1185 Park Avenue apartment. Interested in the the building, its neighborhood, and its original milieu, I began to read. To my dismay, I found that Roiphe's book is primarily a recounting of a series of embarrassing and painful episodes from the author's privileged past: foolish and unlikable people hurting themselves and each other, again and again. Except perhaps as catharsis for the author, the point of the exercise is unclear: there are no insights to be found here.



3. I don't understand the negative reviews posted about this book. Granted, the author's style is a bit overblown at times, but the story and aspecially the characters were fascinating and honestly portrayed. The author has a wonderful eye for detail and captured a lot of the sense of assimilated Jewry with which I am familiar. This book deserves to be read, and I will be passing my copy around to my extended family.



4. Anne Roiphe wrote a brillant memoir that I can't stop thinking about, and a very interesting psychological portrait of her very disturbed family and odd upbringing.



5. Beneath the glamour of New York's Upper East Side in the mid-twentieth century lies a world filled with psychoanalysts, infidelity and lack of affection within families. Anne Roiphe poignantly tells her memoir in 1185 Park Avenue. Young Anne is the granddaughter of the Jewish immigrant who created the Van Heusen shirt company, who grows up on the privileged Park Avenue, her life filled with her mother's bridge games, her brother's asthma, two unloving parents and a nanny named Greta.
   
   Raised mainly by the nanny, Anne and her brother shared a bathroom yet were never close. Johnny, the terminally allergic and more serious sibling, often pushed Anne away, frequently expressing his resentment at her existence. Anne turns to each of her parents individually for love and acknowledgement but is consistently shut out. Her mother spends her days laying in bed or playing canasta with her Park Avenue confidants, while her father practically lives at the club, taking up company with various women.
   
   As Anne grows up and begins to experience life on her own, away from Park Avenue, she resents her former lifestyle and longs to live in a loft in Brooklyn. Throughout her life, she continues to cling desperately to men who cheat on her, men who steal her mother's money and emotionally abusive men, in her desperate attempt at love.
   
   A recurring theme of this memoir is Anne's desire to feel affection and her desire for true love. Despite never feeling these emotions from anyone close to her, Anne continues to speak affectionately of her mother, hugging her father when he shoved her away and laughing at her brother's jokes as he constantly insulted her. She is almost delusional in her perception on relationships, leading the reader to sympathize with her pitiful existence.
   
   The characters in Anne's family became well-developed, though quite unlikable, including her father, mother and brother, Johnny. However, her extended family played an important role in hers and her family's lives, but their characters were only described briefly. This could be indicative of her attitude towards her extended family; they were involved in her life solely because they were family, but she was completely apathetic to their existence.
   
   Overall, Anne Roiphe's memoir was insightful into the upper class life of Manhattan, but her lack of any meaningful relationships was disconcerting and leaves readers wanting more, wanting her to finally be loved. The memoir was engaging, grabbing hold of the readers' emotions, dragging them into the other side of the nation's upper crust.

5 comments about The Lady and the Panda: The True Adventures of the First American Explorer to Bring Back China's Most Exotic Animal.

1. Here's a biography that reads like a novel - a love story, a detective story and an adventure story, all rolled into one. Much of it plays out in one of the most peculiar and remarkable settings ever - 1930s China - and the characters, beginning with the irrepressable Harkness, are a combustible mixture of people who would never have come near one another were it not for . . . pandas. Originally motivated by romance and adventure, Harkness sets out to capture a panda and becomes world-famous; but in the ensuing years, the lessons she learns about people, animals and herself will turn her into a very different person. A great book!



2. If you want to read a hack writer glorifying a selfish, unscrupulous "explorer" who bankrolls the indiscriminate slaughter of pandas by hirelings while she lolls about in silks in a palace smoking opium, this is the book for you. Ruth Harkness was a vile, unprincipled woman of privilege who lied, drank, and fornicated her way into history by returning the first captured panda to the United States--after cutting a deal involving the shooting of other pandas--then spent months trying to sell it to the highest bidder. As soon as she did, she returned to China to wreak more death and mistreatment upon the species.
   
   Most of the reviewers here must have skipped over the scenes where these woeful victims are abused, mistreated, and left to die by Harkness when another, more promising animal comes along. Actually, this is not surprising, because no animal lover could finish this ghastly book, which is very poorly written into the bargain. I know I couldn't.



3. I found it hard to put this book down. Ruth Harkness, who was rich in bravado and adventure, stood out like no other woman in her time. When I finished, it did indeed feel like a great adventure had come to an end.



4. I loved this book! Adventure, history, romance, and the story of a
   woman who was 70 years ahead of our own conservation movement. I had
   heard of Ruth Harkness from George Schaller's book "The Last Panda," and
   from a World Wildlife Fund web page, but the details of this
   action-packed story blew me away. No wonder this book got the reviews it
   did. Superbly written and a page-turner to boot.



5. The Lady and the Panda is the story of love and greed - love between the Lady, Ruth Harkness, and the panda and the greed of the rest of the world. Harkness was an unlikely adventuress whose goal, contrary to the norms of the times, was to bring back a live panda. Her reasons and actions were sometimes questionable, but the end result has been the saving of a magnificent animal and a wonderful environment, which is probably home to many more plants and animals that have in the mean time also been protected.
   
   Vicki Croke has crafted an engaging read here. The prose is fluid and paints a vivid picture of Harkness, Western China in the 1930s, and greed for money and fame that surrounded the capture of the first live giant panda. She document's Harkness's struggles with depression, spirituality, alcoholism, and lust while still portraying a very unique and inspiring person. This book is well worth reading for those interested in either travel and wildlife preservation.

5 comments about The Happy Hooker: My Own Story.

1. As a modern twenty-something who wasn't even born when this book first came out in 1972, I enjoyed picking up what is undeniably a part of the history of American sexual culture. I tried to keep in perspective how shocking this book must have been in the 1970's, before our bookshelves and televisions were plasted with frank talk about sexual health and sexual deviance. To me, the opening lesbian girlhood fantasies and the nymphomania (of course all prostitutes love sex) seemed cliched, but I don't doubt Hollander's account of her early sexual life and introduction to the profession.
   
   Hollander had an fascinating life growing up in Holland and moving to America. She was well-educated and very intelligent, and she eloquently explained how a girl of her breeding could become absolutely trapped and imprisioned in an abusive relationship. Her insight on that relationship alone makes this book a worthwhile read.
   
   The book is a true page-turner as Hollander describes her sexual escapades in New York and the ways in which she earned money on her trip to Mexico. Hollander explains all the ins and outs of the high-end prositution business and the complicated formal relationship hookers have with their madam. The end of the book becomes a business treatise on the prostitution world, and it makes for compelling reading.



2. This book is a sexy classic. As a sex worker in New York, I found this book to be truthful and entertaining at the same time (although dated in many respects). You will find yourself liking her because she never feels sorry for herself and truly loves the business. She is street smart, funny, and feminine with no apologies. It's too bad they made such a bad movie adaption - I would love to see another one made!



3. I read this book at a friend's house in the 1970's - so many of us high school buddies grabbed it off his bookshelf that he barely noticed. There's even an autobiography interspersed between the pages of gratuitous sex, as Ms. Hollander describes her upbringing in Holland, and her life as a prostitute and madam in New York City. Then, ofcourse, comes more descriptions of her escapades with men, women, couples, etc., in those days before most people worried about safety. This book may be less stunning in today's era of DVD and cyber-porn, but that doesn't exactly elevate it to literature. Still, it's readable style helped sell 15 million copies, leading one to surmise that trashy books have an erotic effect on more men and women than will admit it.



4. Perhaps this is my second time to read it after more than 15 years.It has always impressed me.and i wonder how how a human being could express this level of honesty to tell the most private life which most of us are ashamed even to think about telling. I feel very few tell such story and is quite natural to be like her acording Freud'view.More over it is written in splendid literary flow and i really appreciate her for the top level work she produced for the reader.



5. Anyone who can sell well over 15 million copies of their book, must have something going for them. In Xaviera Hollander's case it's SEX! SEX! SEX!
   
   That subject always seems to sell, but what makes THE HAPPY HOOKER such a sinful delight, is just how much she enjoyed her work as the world's most famous madam and ever active prostitute. As so thoroughly and often clinically described, she really knows how to turn on both men and women and even both at the same time. And because of that she was bound to attract the attention of the not so understanding competition and the police.
   
   In 1960's New York, police corruption was rampant to say the least, Xaviera's co-author Robin Moore certainly knows that subject from having written THE FRENCH CONNECTION. I imagine he helped with that side of the book whilst MISTRESS Hollander concentrated on what she knows best. Her customer's tales and fetishes, their needs and demands, may not be everyone's cup of tea, but theres plenty on offer here for any reader whether at bedtime or on that break from work. Numerous studies show prostitution should be fully legal, controlled and regarded as any other "service" industry. Of course we're a long way from that happening. But pornography took a while to be fully accepted and look how well thats done, specially on wall street. Don't forget illegal gambling, off-track betting and the numbers racket and interest only loans becoming legit as well.
   
   Where would the everso righteous politicians be without the sex for sale industry. Xaviera's financial climax came in writing this book,not from running her brothel which at best had a hard job breaking even, what with all the police raids, lawyer exspenses, payoffs and bad debts she had to contend with in her business. As she saids and then there are the clothes`for the "sissy boys", the whips and chains, condoms, bed laundering and all that lubricant. With all that in mind, how how many of us can truely say we enjoy what we do? THE HAPPY HOOKER is both horny and honest about what she once did.

5 comments about An Uncommon Woman - The Empress Frederick: Daughter of Queen Victoria, Wife of the Crown Prince of Prussia, Mother of Kaiser Wilhelm.

1. You will feel great sympathy towards Vicky, the Empress Frederick, who was an unfortunate hostage to the intrigues of the German court. Sympathy will soon give way to awe at her courage and determination to do her best while having to perform the impossible: being all things to all people.
   
   Vicky was seen as the catalyst for change in Germany. Her parents, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert did not like the autocratic, militaristic way in which Emperor Wilhelm I was running Prussia. Instead, they visualized a united German nation with a government much like that of England. Their plan was to sow seeds of liberalism and constitutional monarchy through their daughter and her marriage to Wilhelm's son, Prince Frederick (Fritz). In preparation for the eventual match, Vicky was schooled in politics and German life by Prince Albert. Eventually, she and Fritz would be Emperor and Empress of Prussia, and could bring about German unity.
   
   Little did Vicky know that upon arriving in Berlin, she was at a disadvantage from the start.
   
   As the daughter of Queen Victoria, she was encouraged to retain her Englishness yet was expected to be a Prussian wife and princess. Her efforts to raise her eldest son Willy as Prince Albert had raised her backfired. Her tendency to over-criticize (a trait passed on from Victoria) turned the young Wilhelm away, and he grew up under his thoroughly Prussian grandfather Wilhelm. Otto von Bismarck had seen his own chance to manipulate the future emperor, and along with the groveling royal court, Willy was turned into a bombastic power fanatic.
   
   Her relationship with Fritz was not seen as loving, but as an English princess scheming to Anglicize the House of Hohenzollern. Vicky was painted as "die Englanderin", unfaithful to Germany and a demon on the shoulder of her husband, whom she 'manipulated'.
   
   Hopes that Fritz's mother, Empress Augusta, would watch over Vicky were dashed. Augusta was known to be very liberal and free-thinking, unusual for royal women of the time. In her they thought they had an ally, but both the Queen and Vicky would be sorely disappointed. The once-progressive Augusta had seen her marriage to Emperor Wilhelm unravel over the years, and as a result she became a bitter, self-absorbed woman. She gave Vicky little support in her new role.
   
   When they finally became Emperor and Empress, Vicky and Fritz had precious little time to implement any real changes. Fritz died from cancer of the larynx three months into his reign. Upon his passing, Vicky was left alone and devoid of support or influence. Your heart cries at the unfairness of brilliant minds wasted, while Willy becomes Kaiser Wilhelm II - egotistical, manipulative, and dangerous.
   
   Thankfully, Vicky did not live to see the destruction of the Hohenzollern dynasty when Wilhelm II pulled Germany and England into a devastating world war. After fighting his own relations across Europe, he headed into exile, never to see the throne again. Albert's catalyst did indeed create a change, but not in the way he had expected. Germany would be unified, but the reigning royal house would fall from power, never to recover. -MandysRoyalty.org



2. An Uncommon Woman is an excellent, first rate biography of Vicky, eldest daughter of Queen Victoria who, through marriage, became the Crown Princess of Prussia, and then Princess and later Empress Frederick of the German Empire. She played an influential (and one wishes a much more influential) role in German, and more broadly European, history during the latter 19th to early 20th centuries. Vicky strove to move German politics towards a more liberal, democratic, parliamentary form of government, but was successfully opposed by the autocracy of Chancellor Bismarck and even her son, who eventually became the Kaiser. The author persuasively implies that had this "uncommon woman" been able to prevail, European history may have benefited. The book succeeds as both an intimate, full-fledged account of this remarkable woman, her family members, and the many important historical persons of the times, as well as a comprehensive history of the creation of the German Empire, the rise of autocracy and militarism, and the lead-up to World War I. The writing style is excellent; the author is exceptionally skilled at presenting a thoroughly well-researched life of Vicky and detailed history of the times in a highly readable, well paced narrative. One of the most engaging and informative biographies I have read. Highly recommended.



3. Hannah Pakula did it again in another superb biography of one of the last great princesses in the sunset of European royalty. The high-minded, brilliant, passionate, beautiful oldest daughter of Queen Victoria was a woman fit to rule in her own right and yet she was shackled by the narrow, rigid Hohenzollern court. The very liberalism with which her father Prince Albert indoctrinated her ended up working against her ability to influence German political affairs in a positive way. Her great love for her husband and their passionate relationship is captured as well as the tragic dimensions of his death. It is horrible how Vicky dies, and especially the way her awful son treated her. A book that shows that sometimes marrying the handsome prince of your dreams is not enough. Highly recommended!



4. This was a great biography that made you feel the happiness and sadnest moments in Empress Frederick's life time. Although I must admit there were moments in the book, particularly when Kaiser Frederick as well as the Empress herself were on their death beds, that made me want to box the ears of Kaiser Wihelm if he were still alive today!



5. A very well written and interesting book on Empress Frederick who's mostly nowdays remembered in relation to her domineering mother Queen Victoria and her psycho eldest son Kaiser Wilhelm II. Her childhood was very interesting and it was fun to read about her courtship and marriage to a man she actually loved and loved her and how the death of her father impacted her life completely. Another wonderful addition to anyone's collection of royal biographies.

5 comments about Failure Is Impossible: Susan B. Anthony in Her Own Words.

1. This is absolutely one of my favorite historical biographies. This book really makes real what an influential person Susan B. Anthony was in her own day, and who she really was. The in-depth direct quoting from writings of the time and the extensive documentation together present a strong case. After reading this book, it's shocking to me that someone this important in our history would need a major struggle to have her statue drug out of the basement into the light of the Capitol Rotunda.

   I found the book very inspiring, because Ms Anthony devoted her life to what must have seemed to most people at the time to be a hopeless cause: women's suffrage. She constantly had to pitch her case to those who could grant suffrage; those who one might think would be least sympathetic: men. Her dedication to her cause and her success in making progress is a valuable lesson to anyone faced with a seemingly impossible task.

   I cannot thank Ms Sherr enough for this wonderful book, and beg her to continue applying her talents to fill in our women's history gaps




2. A complete, entertaining, informative, and poignant tribute to one of America's most self-sacrificing and spunky heroines. Full of quotes that make you want to laugh, cry, and stand up on a soapbox. Its best quality is the wide range of appeal: HERstory experts can find in-depth quptes and minute details, both women and men will be inspired by this courageous woman. Sherr does an excellent job of compiling the quote so that they flow almost by themselves, and fills in the gaps when necessary. After reading the book, you will truly believe that "Failure is impossible!"



3. My youngest daughter (7 yrs old) needed to do a biography on a famous woman for school and chose Susan B. Anthony. I must admit I didn't know very much about her other than she was the leader of the sufferage movement.

   I looked on Amazon and chose this book because of the reviews. The book is specatular. It is a collection of her speeches with connective writing from the writer providing historical perspective.

   The combination of Ms. Anthony's own words with the understanding of women's position in society at the time made for a very powerful book. The first chapter made the most impact on my daughter which begins with the facts about women in those days.

   I believe this is a book that needs to be in everyone's library.




4. Excellent book, a rare history book where the author allowed the subject of the book to speak in her own words, and not try to speak for the person. Anthony's letters and other correspondence are found in this book, and it's in reading these where we the reader get a more accurate portrayal of Anthony, then what we would read elsewhere. I used this book as one of my resources for a US History class, and it was very well received.I would recommend this book highly to anyone with an interest in the woman's rights movement, or anyone who needs to do a research paper on this remarkable woman. This is one of the rare history books that will always be interesting, as it was presented fairly and without predjudice from the author, or subsequent history. Modern Day Women take the right to vote for granted, but after reading this book, it's very unlikely that they will continue to do so. I know I had a whole new appriciation for my fore-mothers who sacrificed so much. A must read!



5. I thought this book was fantastic. I found Lynn Sherr made Susan B. Anthony come real to me. I loved the speeches and correspondence included in the biography...I would have loved to have met this woman...in her lifelong battle for the vote she went from a social oddball to esteemed matriarch of the cause. I really enjoyed the contrast between her a Mrs. Cady-Stanton. My previous knowledge of Ms. Anthony consisted of the 3 lines included in most high school history books....now I have a profound respect for her work and achievement and found her an inspiration.

5 comments about My Father's Secret War: A Memoir.

1. While many readers have criticized the author for pursuing her inquiry to the point that, as they see it, it inflicted on her father unnecessary pain, I see two positive outcomes. One is that she unveils for us all one of the most unusual military careers of all times and prepares for the father the recognition and the dignified military farewell accorded to him at the end of his life. The other is that by relentless personal and professional persistence she proves to him that she is not only his worthy offspring but also that she is maturing by leaving behing her youthful ideological adventures and moving closer to him by appreciating his outstanding skills and sacrifices for the country. They both get rewarded by her actions.
   As to the psychological and clinical interpretations of the story, I believe that talking of posttraumatic stress is an unproductive if fashionable analysis, that trivializes the uniqueness of this case. Instead, the man's withdrawal seems to be a case of disruption of the relationships the hero had formed with his larger than life assignments, the exceptional feats of skill and daring, the national and world significance of his services. Importantly, these successes had been part of his personal growth away from the stifling family environment and had helped him conquer the limitations of his introverted disposition. When he returned to the unpleasantness of his job and the confines of a home and a distasteful marriage, he simply withdrew. Where he could keep his accomplishments reasonably alive, i.e., in the company of Pat Rosenfield, he opened up, talked rather freely about them and found just about all the joy of which he was capable. Likewise, the alienation from the author/daughter during her youth paralleled her acting the role of a "commy," i.e. a proxy for the things he had fought against. Fortunately it resolved when she slowly grasped and accepted his "secret war."
   Better than with the current PTSD theories, we could perhaps understand Tom Franks' story in the light psychoanalytic concepts of "adaptation" to certain object relationships that anchor our adjustment and self image and whose withdrawal engenders conflict and neurosis.
   The only exception would be the episode of the concentration camp, a trauma unredeemed by the excitement of a task accomplished and by the satisfaction of a duty absolved. In fact, when the memory of it was stirred in the restaurant encounter, he reacted violently, more in keeping with the majority of the PTSD cases and clearly out of character with regards to his typical aloofness. This could be the exception that confirms the rule.



2. This book was absolutely amazing. I was drawn to it especially because my father, and the father written about in the book, were both at the Ordruf Concentration camp and liberated it at the same time.
   I loved how the author wrote so sensitively about her father's health and the issues that certainly changed him after his time in the war.
   Eileen Hale



3. This seems to be a book with the best of intentions.
   I liked Thomas Franks, and clearly Lucinda Franks is an accomplished journalist.
   But the story itself is all over the place. Too many quick episodes and incidents about too many irrelevant characters. All I really wanted to know was what happened to the author's father during the war.
   I didn't appreciate Lucinda Franks's decision to take us on her arduous journey of finding the truth about her father, either. "Did you do this, Dad?" "Did you do that?" "Were you serving here, Dad?" "Were you serving there?" All answered with a "Well, perhaps," or "Let's not talk about that now." A sentence or two along the lines of, "It took me years to get the most basic information out of my father, but finally I did: here is his story," would have made for much more compelling reading.



4. At first I did not like Ms Franks or her book. I was not sure why she was writing if she disliked her father so much. But as I read on you could see she was trying, not very well at first, to understand her father and what made him tick. It took a lot and several times I wanted to slap her for some of the things she said but in the end she found the father she had wanted all along and really had right there with her but she had to get tear down the wall he had built so he could servive with what he had seen during the war and her mother after the war.



5. This well-written, mesmerizing book recounts a true, deeply intense story of a daughter's 21st Century quest to uncover the details of her father's apparently clandestine military mission during World War II. It reveals, in riveting style, the impediments to the author's quest presented by her father's obvious sworn secrecy, his advancing dementia and, ultimately, his death. It places the quest in the context of the emotions that crowd the life of a "baby boomer" as she also raises her own children. Somewhat surprisingly, I found this book to be a real "page-turner."

5 comments about Hons and Rebels (New York Review Books Classics).

1. A view into the always fascinating Mitford family written by family member, and best-selling author, Jessica Mitford.
   The personal observations about the totally diverse life choices made made by the sisters boggles the mind and confounds the senses.



2. I was looking for a Jessica Mitford autobiography and discovered "Hons & Rebels". The original title of this (1960) book is Daughters & Rebels". Is anything other than the title revised/updated? I'm such a fan of Mitford, I'd rather read her memoirs than Mary S. Lovell's "The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family", which is supposedly more detailed.



3. I absolutely loved this book. I had just finished reading the very long and very good "The Sisters" http://www.amazon.com/Sisters-Saga-Mitford-Family/dp/0393324141 about the Mitfords, and wanted more when I was finished. Jessica ("Decca") was the most fascinating of all -- the one who ran away to Spain and America and became widely known for her politics and her book, "The American Way of Death." (and an Oakland resident, like myself, which is always intriguing!)
   
   "Hons and Rebels" is charming, witty, and in its pages is not only an interesting glimpse of life in upper class England between the wars, but a love story as well, as she retells the story the story of her romance with her first husband, Esmond.
   
   I never heard Mitford speak, but her voice comes through strongly in this book -- witty, determined, able to laugh at herself and family, but serious about her politics and trying to get by as a young idealistic couple in America. (And I imagine a very posh British accent...) What I also liked was how she treated the relationship with her closest sister, Unity, who, as a Nazi sympathizer, was the polar political opposite of Decca. What a family.
   
   Highly, highly recommended.



4. "I'm normal, my wife is normal, but my daughters are each more foolish than the other. What do you say about my daughters? Isn't it very sad?" Mary S Lovell has taken David Mitford's complaint to heart. She has a lot to say about his daughters. But after decades (it seems) of books on those mad, bad and sometimes dangerous-to-know girls, do we want to hear it?
   
   The six Mitford girls pursued lives which are footnotes to 20th-century history: Nancy, the socialist aristocrat, gentle satirist of the society she yet delighted in; Unity, conceived in the Ontario town of Swastika, destined to become Hitler's pet; Diana, whose marriage to Oswald Mosley set her at the fringes of acceptability; Decca, who ended up as a fiery Communist émigré in California; Pam, the country girl who married a scientist and lived quietly in Gloucestershire; and Debo, who declared her intention, and carried out the act, of marrying a duke.
   
   By drawing on new sources, Lovell presents a fresh version of the Mitford story. She fleshes out "Muv" and Farve" - the fictional Uncle Matthew and Aunt Sadie of Nancy's novels - and adds to our understanding of their progeny. David Mitford, "the most handsome man of his generation" according to James Lees-Milne, is as eccentric as his fictional portrait in The Pursuit of Love. He did regard almost all his daughters' suitors as "sewers"; but the word was Tamil, "soor", meaning pig. His wife, Sydney, achieves a Daily Sketch headline, "Peeress Saves Ha'pence", for her economies over home laundry (she used paper napkins).



5. Hons and Rebels, a memoir of the life of the "commie" Mitford sister, Jessica, details the authors life from her childhood in rural England up until the time she lived in Miami in the 1940s. The Mitford clan of six sisters (Nancy wrote The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate) and one brother was an unusual one, prone to playing tricks upon one another and outsiders. Jessica grew up to embrace the ideals of the communist party, while her sister Unity became a Fascist, hobnobbing with Hitler. Jessica then ran away with and married her cousin Edwin Romilly, later moving to the United States.
   
   It's a brilliant memoir, poignant and funny at the same time. Although Jessica's not always the most sympathetic character, she's always witty, touching her story every now and then with a hint of irony. Jessica describes everything in painstaking detail, from the Cotswold countryside to certain conversations she had with various people. The memoir is evocative of the time period in which Jessica lived in.

5 comments about Celine Dion: For Keeps.

1. I consider myself a die-hard Celine Dion fan ever since hearing her French-language Incognito (1987) album. I own all of her French-language recordings (including out-of-print LPs and singles from 1981-1988), have watched her early French music videos and numerous French-language biographies and TV specials, and have read her official MY STORY, MY DREAM. biography several times.
   
   When I saw Celine Dion: For Keeps, I bought it to round out my collection, erroneously thinking that when it came to Celine's early years in Quebec, I'd seen / heard it all. Not so.
   
   Background
   
   Similar to The Sinatra Treasures: Intimate Photos, Mementos, and Music from the Sinatra Family Collection, Celine Dion: For Keeps features rare photos and removable reproductions of important documents from Celine's career and personal life, such as an early Quebecois report card, the handwritten sheet music to her audition song Ce n'etait qu'un reve (written by her mother), tour schedules, Grammy nomination letters, and even a copy of Celine's ultrasound (translations are provided for all French documents).
   
   There are recollections that I'd never heard before, such as Celine touring the mall circuit in Quebec during her earliest years as a fledgling artist, and many remembrances from acquaintances, fellow celebrities, and music personalities. This combined the appeal of a text-only biography with multimedia; my only wish would have been for a CD with rare / unreleased performances as was done with the Sinatra Treasures collection.



2. OMG i LOVED this book. I couldn't put it down once i received it. It really brings her life together with all of the photos, scripts, letters etc. It is most definately a must read.



3. I purchased this book for my upcoming birthday, it is simply a beautiful book. You can see the great care put into making this book, from the pictures to the little insights. I have always loved Celine, for both her outstanding vocal abilities and her unwavering faith in love. This book is very touching, it brings the Dion Family, Rene, and little Rene Charles to life. This book contains lovely candid photos, one of my favorites is of her wedding, not the photo we usually see with Celine dressed formally to the nines, but one with her in a rather plain frock, and in Rene's arms as he carries her over the threshold, both with happy wide smiles. I would also suggest purchasing "My Story, My Dream", having read both myself it makes for a complete read.



4. This is a wonderful book. It is truly a work of art, any fan, especially collectors will love the beautiful pictures, inserts, letters and cards contained inside the book. The author did a wonderful job. You can tell that this book was written and put together with love, pride and devotion.



5. I bought this book because I was a big Celine Fan. I didn't think it possible to become a bigger fan but this book proved me wrong. I couldn't put it down, I read it in 2 days and then read it 3 more times right after another. I loved all the memorabilia and the detailed descriptions of the best singer in the world. BUY THIS BOOK, YOULL LOVE IT!!!

5 comments about Speak, So You Can Speak Again: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston.

1. Lucy Anne Hurston, the neice of Zora Neale Hurston, in a collaborative effort with the Estate of the great writer, has produced a beautiful tribute to her aunt and also a collector's item for fans of Zora Neale Hurston. Not only does it include biographical sketches of the famous author, but also live interviews, as well as a CD of folk songs sung by Hurston.
   
   The pages of this book are rich in heritage, painting a kaleidoscope of her life. Touching on her childhood, her days attending Howard University, and of course her writing, the reader is able to see that even though Zora Neale Hurston wrote about memorable characters, she too could have been one of the characters she wrote about. Because of the replications of original letters, maps, photos and writings, the reader is given a more detailed account of her life, told by someone who knew and loved her. Each of these are in pull-out sleeves and envelopes, easily removed from the book to allow closer inspection upon, or displayed vividly on the full color and black and white pages of the book.
   
   SPEAK, SO YOU CAN SPEAK AGAIN is a fascinating keepsake of a writer who means so much to not only the Harlem Renaissance and to African-American readers and writers, but also to literature as we know it. Through this collection, readers are offered an intimate portrait of a literary legend.
   
   Reviewed by Tee C. Royal
   of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers



2. This is sheer magic. Just magic. For teachers of Hurston, it's a fantastic opportunity to hook students further into the life and times of Hurston and the fascinating (albeit simulated) feel of working with primary documents.



3. This is really great addition to my library. I have several of Zora's books. The pictues ,copies of handwritten notes are great. I really feel more connected to Zora with this edition. Great as a gift!



4. An unusual but delightful collection about Ms. Hurston. Listen to her sing and talk. The book is beautiful. Her works are wonderful for everyone--not only women.



5. I came across this book at a Pamida drugstore of all places, so thank you Pamida book buyer. As a fan of Hurston, I am thrilled to have this beautiful labor of love by her niece. To have a CD of Hurston singing and talking, to hold in my hands copies of her letters and manuscripts tucked throughout this cleverly designed work of art, it just brought tears to my eyes. What an amazing and wonderful tribute this is. I may not know much about the black experience, but I can tell you that great literature leaps all racial boundaries and brings us that much closer to understanding each other. Thank you Lucy Anne Hurston!

5 comments about A Daughter of Han: The Autobiography of a Chinese Working Woman.

1. Ida Pruitt's biography of Ning Lao T'ai-t'ai (literally "old lady Ning"), a peasant woman of northeast China born in 1867, is a fascinating anecdotal retelling of Ning's personal history as she related it to the author over the course of their two year long friendship. The storyline of Ning's life: childhood, marriage, work, and children, is laid out in a chronological history, broken into separate sections at particular turning points; and yet a cohesive theme of hardship, oppression and poverty, of strong-willed women and weak men is carried throughout not only Ning's tales but also through the stories she relates of her ancestors and neighbors.

   Pruitt writes in the voice of Ning as if she is translating, but what she is really doing is recalling Ning's stories of her life in the first half of the 20th century. Ning was born into an educated middle class family which had fallen on harder times. Her father wants a better situation for her marriage, but the older husband he choses for her becomes addicted to opium driving the family into poverty. To survive and feed her children Ning must become first a beggar, then a servant to various households: military, Muslim, bureaucrat, and finally to Christian missionaries. And Ning's voice does come across clearly; speaking against concubinage and prostitution, about the penury of employers, the need to support and keep family together.

   By using a first person retelling of the stories Pruitt gives the impresssion of accuracy, yet there were 7 years between the conversations with Ning and the writing of the book. Also the apparent bias against Japanese in prologue and last chapter together with the pub. date of the book indicate a hidden agenda on the part of the author. Still, although limited to the view of this one woman's experience, Ning's story is reflective of the hardships of life for Chinese women before the Communist era.




2. I had to read this book for a core class in college and I thought that I would have hated it. Actually, I really liked it. It told of a Chinese working woman's life. It even gives the reader an insight into her lifestyle and her struggles during this tumuluous time in history. The story even touches on the japanese invasion. I didn't think this biography would be interesting but it was. I would recommended this book to anyone. It is a light read and it is very interesting.



3. Ning Lao Ta'i-ta'i. _The Autobiography of a Chinese Working Woman. Translated and Transcribed by Ida Pruitt. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1967.

   Every now and then I read an entire book in one for one or two reasons a) I have to read a book that I have put off for the time period in which I had to read it b) I become completely engrossed in it. I must say that, in the case of this book, it started off as the former and it ended up being the latter, although I still have to write a paper on it by tuesday.

   This memoir was was orally transcribed by Ida Pruitt over a two year period in which Mrs. Ning visited her from 1936-38. Pruitt was forced to leave Beijing in 1938 when the Japanese invaded the series. In the brief introduction of the book, Pruitt informs the reader that she does not know what happened to Mrs. Ning after she returned to America. The brutallity of the Japanese army was not as great in Beijing as in such areas as Nanjing and Shanghai,but one can not help wondering about Mrs.Ning who the reader, or at least I, becomes quite attached to.

   Mrs. Ning begins her tale by detailing how her family became established in the town of P'englai her family history is both entrenched in history and folklore and makes for a fascinting read. The book continues following her life from her childhood, marriage, hard times, working both for government officials and missionaries, and finally living in Beijing. The greatest thing about this book is the extraordinary detail Mrs. Ning goes into describing her everyday life. One can almost see oneself removing the fourth wall of the past and being able to see late Ching China. One gets to see a good picture of opium addiction and the dealings inside yamen, political offices, that are no longer controlled by skilled officials. A great book.




4. This riveting book details an area of Chinese life seldom touched by written records. The remarkable friendship between Ida Pruitt and Ning Lao Toai-Toai has led to this very readable, and beautifully textured description of Ning Lao Toai-Toai's life in the late 19th and early 20th century. I found it both an enjoyable read and a valuable source of information about my research related to Chinese family life.



5. China always seems to have a veil of mystery around it. This book give a rare glimpse of life at the turn of the 19th century as the empire was dying and the nationalists and communists were gearing up for battle. I read this book for a class on Chinese women and absolutely loved it. I will always remember the part of having her feet bound and how her mother would lay on her legs at night so that she could sleep. Unfortunately I lost the book after many years. It wasn't until now, as I was conducting inventory of our biography collection at the library where I work, that I came across the sequal to this book. For those who could not get enough of Lao Tai-tai, there is a second book by Ida Pruitt titled "Old Madam Yin: a memoir of Peking life 1926-1938." The copyright date is 1979. The Daughter of Han is now a wealthy widow struggling to adapt to the new order. If you can't find it on amazon you can always Inter-library loan the book, I know there's at least one library in the midwest that has it ;).