5 comments about Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston (Lisa Drew Books).

1. Valerie Boyd does what most biographers cannot; she makes facts as savory as fiction. As a great admirer of Zora Neale Hurston--the woman, I had long been searching for a piece of work that captures her emminence and vitality. I stumbled across "Wrapped in Rainbows" at Borders and resolved then and there that I HAD to have it. I do not at all regret this choice. Order this book, and I guarantee that it will be one of the best investments you ever make! The chapters on the Harlem Renaissance and Zora's involvment with it are magical, and the sections detailing Zora's friendship and eventual fued with Langston Hughes are fascinating. I can't say enough positive things about this biography. If you admire the spunky and talented Ms. Hurston, you will NOT be disappointed.



2. Valerie Boyd blew breath into Zora Neale Hurston's remarkable accomplishments. I felt as if I was riding alongside Zora while Boyd narrated the different scenes;Zora was like a felt tip pen, as creative as could be. Of course, I wasn't ready to get off the ride, but I believe Zora lived a fulfilled life with little bumps and potholes or life lessons along the way.



3. This is a very good book on the life of Zora Neale Hurston. It is very detailed and written very well. If you are interested in the life of this famous author this is for you.



4. While Zora Neale Hurston was truly a great writer, she also did an amazing job of documenting her beloved Florida's history. Taking advantage of President Roosevelt's W.P.A. project and doing her best to get around Florida noting stories of black America that are still available to us today.
   
   'Wrapped in Rainbows' does a terrific job of wrapping all of this plus her excursions to New York and her otherwise sad life in this very well written book. Good luck getting out of this book without a tear shed. I feel this is a must-read for anyone wanting to know the life of an author or of life in Florida during Zora's lifetime.
   
   A side note: Something not mentioned in this book or anything else I've read about Zora is if she ever ran across her contemporary and, I feel Northern doppelganger, Dorothy Parker. Though both had different career milestones, both were also after certain career and personal goals that were never met and both were nearly the same age. This is something that really dogged me while reading the book and noticing the similarities. The big difference between the two is that Parker was a depressed sort and Zora did her best to keep looking up. As well we all should.



5. I had been reading about the genius of Zora for several years, but I had no idea of what she was about. I heard Valerie Boyd speaking about her biography on Zora C Span. She spoke about Zora with such love and respect that I felt that I had to get the book. In Boyd's hands, what is generally portrayed as a tragic life becomes a story of triumph. In spite of poverty, sexism, and racism, she was able to produce important literary work which is now being recognized as such. The story of her early life in the south, her life in Harlem, and her later years make a great read. I loved this book.
   
   Morris Johnson

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 Still Alive: A Holocaust Girlhood Remembered (The Helen Rose Scheuer Jewish Women's Series).

1. I really enjoyed reading this book. It was written in a way that went through Ruth's life during the Holocaust years. It starts at the very beginning and just talks about her whole experience. I like how Ruth mixed in experiences and comments from the future. This showed how the Holocaust still impacts her life and what she thinks about her surroundings. No one will ever be able to understand what Ruth had to suffer while in the concentration camps. But I feel that by reading her life story it makes it seem more of a reality and brings to life aspects of how the Jews were treated during this time period in American history. All the hardship and discrimination that Ruth had to endure shows the power and willingness she had to live. I liked how she never said it was strength that le ther live rather it was mostly luck. I thought that reading this book made me feel greatful for everything that I have. I would recommend reading this book if you want to realize what life during the Holocaust was like.



2. The author doesn't simply recount fact and opinion, she has truly analyzed her childhood growing up in Vienna and then through the Holocaust and concentration camp. What a treasure we have in this book to document one girl's life, living through a horrific time in history. It is a bonus that the author is such an outstanding writer. Kluger allows the reader to relate to her life through their own life experiences. She is certainly someone I'd like to know better. Highly recommend.



3. Ruth Kluger gives a remarkably lucid and thoughtful account of her experiences as WWII Austria, and eventually the concentration and forced labor camps of Germany. Even though English is not her first language, Kluger writes remarkably succinct and cogent English prose, and she confronts the moral and emotional complexity of the holocaust in her memory. "Still Alive" is loosely structured, as Kluger prefers to record the events as she recalls them as opposed to adhering to strict chronology, but the result is very interesting, she superimposes her thoughts and secrets as the horrible events unfold. She paints a vivid and, at times unusual portrait of the Nazi holocaust, often ruminating on the pain and humiliation (she wonders if her father trampled children when sentenced to the gas chamber), but also the sheer enormity of the camps as an historical event, she recalls that when she received her tattoo she felt glee because she realized that she was a part of something that was much larger than herself, something "worth witnessing." A third of the memoir is post-holocaust, Kluger recounts her experiences in New York after the war as she and her mother struggle to regain control of their lives, and look for possible meaning and redemption in their past-suffering.



4. There are many excellent memoirs describing the Nazi death camps, but this one touched me in a way that no other book has.
   
   My fiancé died in the World Trade Center, and this is really the only book that resonates with the deep, bitter grief I felt in that disaster's aftermath. I don't mean to compare 9/11 to the Shoah at all, but Kluger articulates many of the contradictory feelings and beliefs I myself have struggled with, including my frustration at being shaped by something that everyone knows about, but almost no one understands. I felt a shock of recognition when she complained about people visiting Auschwitz as a sentimental gesture, because I feel that same (totally irrational) discomfort about people visiting "Ground Zero". Though I have lived my life as an intellectual, Kluger spoke to the savage in me that still rails and howls at my loss.
   
   This is oftentimes an angry, bitter book, but she mentions in passing that she has grandchildren, so I believe she found some measure of joy in her life after her internment. After my tragedy, I was forced to ask myself how someone who doesn't believe in life after death can go on in the face of the gruesome injustice of existence. I never really found an answer, but I kept on living, and I don't intend to stop anytime soon. I heard a lot of my journey in Kluger's voice as well, and I am exceedingly grateful that she wrote this book.



5. I found this book extremely tedious, poorly edited, full of boring speculations and philosophical self centerdness. Am shocked at myself being able to say this about any survivor, but there you have it. I kept thinking, "OK, now when are you going to get on with the actual story", before realizing that it just droned on in this way. A much better book that I just read is 'A Jump for Life', a far more moving account and likeable woman.

5 comments about The Loveliest Woman in America: A Tragic Actress, Her Lost Diaries, and Her Granddaughter's Search for Home.

1. Bibi Gaston wrote this book about her grandmother, Rosamond Pinschot Gaston, a socialite and actress of the 1920s and 1030s who was once named "the loveliest woman in America" in a news story. Discovered at age nineteen by a theatrical producer-promoter, while on a cruise, Rosamond was best known professionally throughout her career for her first stage role. Her beauty and high social status combined with the unusual choice of an acting career kept her in the news, off and on, for two decades. Her life ended tragically with suicide in 1938 at the age of thirty-three.
   
   Intrigued by the little bit she knew about her grandmother and puzzled because of the family's suppression of facts surrounding her life and death, the author devoted herself to unraveling the mystery of who Rosamond really was and why her life ended as it did. The book is based mainly on Rosamond's diaries which came into the author's hands in 2003 after the death of her father, Rosamond's son.
   
   Early on, Ms. Gaston seems to focus on establishing the pedigree, privilege, achievements and connections the Pinschot family; integral to the story but rather dry because of the passing of time and the persons involved. After Eleanor Roosevelt, Elizabeth Arden, and George Cukor, not many others of the then-famous names included evoked more than slight recognition to this reader though certainly some others will have more reason to remember. The narrative gets off to a very slow start but improves in both style and content in later chapters when Ms. Gaston writes with first-hand knowledge about her father and other members of the family. The chronology of the story jumps back and forth in time from the 1920s to 2007.
   
   In the author's wistful account of the glamorous stranger who was her grandmother, her longing to understand and feel connected is palpable. To this reader, Rosamond is a personality faintly drawn; a rather sad figure always surrounded by stronger characters and a woman whose life was, for the most part, simply reactive. Had more actual excerpts from the diaries been included, the story may well have been invigorated. The question of why Rosamond committed suicide is still open to conjecture though a possible explanation is suggested. Who Rosamond truly was remains somewhat of an enigma.



2. It might seem that most of us come from dysfunctional beginings and this author's family is no worse than many of our own memories of childhood. Perhaps that is why there is something so very touching about the method in which this book is written. There are essentially three stories here begining with Rosamund and including her son and granddaughter. There is a great deal of the life of high society in the 1920's to be found here as well as the interesting life lead by Rosamund Pinchot. However, the most poignant section deals with the author's memories of her father culminating in his death and the behavior of family members in that painful aftermath. Actually it is the way families treat one another and the legacies of that treatment, that is truly the centerpiece in this well-written book of memories. Yet, the author remains tender towards all of her closest characters and makes us want to do the same with our own life. There are deft turns of phrase to be found and some sections that you want to write down in your own diary as the truest words you have ever heard about your own self.



3. A beautiful story, elegantly written. Reading like a grand fairy tale, the reader is reminded through photographs, letters and diaries that the story is indeed true. I think, perhaps, Ms. Gaston has given us a new expression for depression, sharing that her grandmother called it the "Cinderella Feeling". Artfully weaving past and present into the biography, Ms. Gaston shows us how personal passions follow generational lines, even when those passions are unknown to each other. Beyond the family history, this story includes government's and society's most important and famous with whom her grandmother interacted. While we tend to think of women's independence and strength as something of modern times, clearly Ms. Gaston shows us the current for this began in the early 1900s, with her grandmother unknowingly a beautiful torch bearer. I would highly recommend this book.



4. Bibi Gaston brings together many talents...writer, landscape architect, historian, psychologist when she shares the account of her search for her grandmother Rosamund Pinchot Gaston. This is a remarkable book, evocatively written, an incredible story of lives, events, and synchronicities and that illustrate..... what is too strange to be fiction is fact. I congratulate Bibi Gaston with enthusiasm on a unique accomplishment...a courageous overlap of memoir and biography...captivating beyond words, full of history and detail. The author invited the reader to join her on a journey of discovery....I was honored to be a companion.



5. Rosamund Pinchot was gorgeous and, some say, talented, though I haven't seen her one big movie (it's hard to say whether or not the author has seen it either), which she made in the wake of her stage success. She turned to films only after exhausting a round robin of other careers of which socialite was certainly the huge number one. George Cukor was impressed by her "look" and gave her a shot, but he was overruled when it came to extending Pinchot's contract. She was no longer the loveliest woman in America if ever she had been, but her granddaughter puts her shoulder to the wheel and tries to give back a smidgen of the fame she enjoyed while she was alive.
   
   It almost seems as though Rosamund is going to survive the debacle of growing older in the youth oriented 20s--and the disaster of getting kicked (politely enough) off the silver screen, and then came the double whammy of meeting Jed Harris and playwright Thornton Wilder. Harris was the nasty Casanova who broke women's hearts on purpose, while Wilder played the gay pal who advised and consoled his girlfriends through rocky romances. Somehow Rosamund really started to depend on Wilder for advice and moral support, and when his attention turned elsewhere (toward his upcoming drama OUR TOWN, directed by Jed Harris, but without a part for Rosamund, I wonder why) and then she just had a smash-up that shocked the tight little show world she lived in. Bibi Gaston sketches this all out with sympathetic skill.
   
   She's not as great at making her own torment interesting to the reader. The parts of the book that detail her own life and her reactions to her parents' divorce are, frankly, a snore. That one poem of Sylvia Plath, "Daddy," tells the whole story with commendable brevity; Bibi Gaston might have stuck to her last and just got on with recounting the grandmother's life and death, for it is more compelling than her own, which feels like she just tried to graft a dandelion on to the bark of a red sumac: the two pieces fail to coalesce.

5 comments about Crusade for Justice: The Autobiography of Ida B. Wells (Negro American Biographies and Autobiographies).

1. The historical merit of Ida Wells' story is profound: here we have a history of African Americans written from the perspective of a fellow A.A. at a time when black history was otherwise sadly neglected. This book provides information about the foundation of A.A. activist groups, such as the NAACP from the perspective of an insider. The events of Wells' life coincide with other great A.A. figures, such as Frederick Douglass. She also provides a candid and heartfelt commentary on the injustices suffered by blacks in her time, most notably episodes of lynching. Truly and inspirational story of a very strong and very motivated woman.

   In terms of readability, however, the book gets a little redundant and repetitive after the half-way point. The details of Wells' many meetings and interactions are sometimes hard to follow and...well,repetitive.




2. Even though some of the material in this book is redundant, this is an opportunity to read primary source material about the actions and reactions of a woman many of us know little about. Learning about Ida B. Wells in the first person puts you into the times in which she lived. There is no way a biography can give you the same experience. This is a book I would recommend to anyone wanting to understand this period of our history and the personalities--their strengths and limits--that dominated the crusades of those times. I like knowing about Wells' frailties as well as her strengths and the insights that she shared. And I like hearing her viewpoints about other leaders of her time. The three star ratings may say something about the readability of the book, but not about what you gain by staying the course.



3. This book sin't really anything special although it is interesting.The author describes her life all the way from her childhood where most of her family died, and through her success as a teacher and a newspaper editor who fought for freedom of speech in her articles.I recommend this book for those who are interested in the history after 1800s and how life went on at that time.Overall,it is a good book but I found it boring at times.



4. I read 'Crusade for Justice: The Autobiography of Ida B. Wells' as part of a class in ethical and prophetic witness for seminary. This was, frankly, not the kind of book I was likely to read apart from a class assignment. But I am very glad to have been given the opportunity -- sometimes things we have to do are in fact good for us!

   Ida B. Wells was an African-American woman of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. She was born and grew up in the South, born in Mississippi during the Civil War. It is significant the impact of the legacy of slavery on her life -- she recounts how her parents, who were married as slaves, remarried each other as free persons after the war. Wells was a determined and intelligent woman -- her parents died while she was young, yet old enough to be left with the responsibility of her younger brothers and sisters. At the age of 14 she found herself at the head of a household with five younger children.

   She worked hard to make sure that her education did not suffer, and eventually (a rarity for women of any colour in America at the time) went to work for a newspaper.

   In an incident that foreshadowed Rosa Parks, she was once removed from a train for sitting in the wrong section, despite her ownership of a valid ticket for the seat. She sued the railroad and won (newspaper headlines read 'Darky Damsel Gets Damages' without concern for the racist tone), but the judgment was overturned on appeal, and she later discovered her lawyers had been paid off by the railroads, and the appellate judges had thought she was just being uppity to pursue the matter.

   Such was the state of the African-American community that none came to her assistance as she pursued this fight. This made her more determined to organise and fight.

   Several of her newspaper partners and other friends in Memphis were lynched for these efforts, and Wells was threatened herself, and left the South, but did not give up her crusade. Where ever she went, through cities and towns in the North as well as over to Europe (where, she said, she felt like she was treated as a real human being equal with others for the first time) she decried the injustice of laws which dismissed charges or gave light sentences if victims were coloured, and prosecuted more strongly, gave out harsher sentences, or even resorted to lynch mobs if the defendant (who was often not guilty) was coloured.

   'She fought a lonely and almost single-handed fight, with the single-mindedness of a crusader, long before men or women of any race entered the arena, and the measure of success she achieved goes far beyond the credit she has been given the history of the country.'

   She continued speaking and publishing up to her death in 1931. She was never afraid of making herself unpopular, and often upset the African-American community by being critical of their complacency (especially the upper and middle classes). She became unpopular by standing against the military service during World War I, because of prejudicial and discriminatory practices, and never quite recovered in popular esteem from that.

   But Wells had courage and determination that is rare in persons, male or female, of any colour, of any time, to take on such a task as the exposition and combat of lynching in the South during the post-Civil War decades. Talking directly with governors and even a president, Wells made her voice heard, and it was a difficult hearing in a difficult time.




5. THIS IS ANOTHER BOOK ABOUT THE INJUSTICE OF THIS HYPOCRITICAL COUNTRY OF GOD FEARING BARBARIANS, WHOSE ANCESTORS PRACTICE GENOCIED OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF TURTLE ISLAND AND THE ENSLAVEMENT OF AFRICANS. WHEN THOSE AFRICANS TRIED TO VOTE AND TO EXPERIENCE THE SO CALLED AMERICAN DREAM, WHO THEY WERE VICTIMIZED, AND THIS BRAVE LADY HAD TO CARRY A SHOT GUN TO PROTECT HERSELF FROM THE euro-american TRASH, WHO THREATED HER LIVE AND HER LOVED ONES. IT'S ABOUT TIME THAT THE TRUTH ABOUT america BE KNOWN.

5 comments about Won by Love: Norma McCorvey, Jane Roe of Roe V. Wade, Speaks Out for the Unborn As She Shares Her New Conviction for Life.

1. This book is a good read. It discusses the whole issue of abortion in very detail begining from its roots. Its also about abortion and how Norma McCorvey's life revolves around it. Pro-life vs Pro-choice is a never ending controversial debate. But Norma is a good writer. She is sometimes very humourous (she uses a lot of her dark funny side). She also discusses how she fought with pro-life leaders in the begining and eventualy became their friend. The debate between pro-life and prochoice is written so that a layperson can understand. She has clearly depicted how abortion industry has killed babies. Nonsensical abortions should come to an end in the States.



2. After reading S. Fatina's review I was compelled to write this in response.
   
   Why must people make hateful remarks such as " rabid abortion-rights activists " and " Feminist-in-Chief Hillary Clinton ", as highlighted here? Its rude and discriminatory. Hillary Clinton doesn't represent the feminist movement, which isn't a outlandish idea at all. Feminism is derived from the (at the time) radical idea that women are people too. That we have hopes and dreams that aren't limited to running a household or being a parent. That we want the option of independence and opinion in society, just like men. That's all feminism is based on. And, FYI, there is no stance that I know of that is "pro-abortion" as you put it. That says too me that people haphazardly believe every pregnancy should be terminated, and thats just rediculous. It's called pro-choice for a reason. Women have and should continue to have, in my opinion, the fundamental right to choose a life of happiness whatever that may mean to them, under our laws and be free of persecution for that choice.
   
   I doubt that anyone having to make a choice of this magnitude is exbuerant or enthusiastic about having terminating a pregnancy, however, I also don't believe that a child born to a mother who is ill-prepared for the serious undertaking of becoming a parent before her time will have the opportunities or life that it deserves. The life and happiness of not ONLY the mother are at stake, the potential child must also be considered. The problem with doing away with abortions in our society is that we haven't addressed the issue at hand or the driving force to terminate a pregnancy. There is for some women no other forseeable option. When we as a nation are allowing government cut backs or the complete elimination of federally funded family planning organizations, which help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies to begin with, where we teach 'abstinence only' sex education, which is proven many times over not to be effective, where we cut wellfare programs for un-wed parents, we ignore reality and leave no fit option in many peoples lives. It's not a tax issue. The amount of money we are spending supporting a war that kills many innocent civilians and young soldiers is by far more than is spent or has EVER been spent supporting family planning organizations or wellfare recipients.
   
   How do you suppose, if all fetuses were born, they should be cared for? A teenage mother with no high school diploma has very little chance of gaining decent employment. Walmart and fast food restaurants in most parts of our nation don't pay a living wage. Many young, single fathers aren't held responsible for their actions and if they are, $200 a month for child support doesn't buy much more then diapers. So other than writing a check every month, he's off the hook. There is no such thing as forced visitation and I certainly don't see many young men jumping from their seats, biting for the responisiblity of caring for the child on their own. The parents of the unprepared or unwilling mothers should not be forced into having to financially, and most likely physically, care for these unintended newborns. Adoption is an option but the trauma of giving birth and moments later not seeing the child again is heart wrenching and pregnancy has far more potential health risks then receiving an abortion from a licensed provider. In addition, the average cost of a hospital delivery and 24-hours of care to the mother and a healthy child ALONE is around $9000, double that for cesarians. The average cost of an abortion and after care is $300-600. Besides if every child was born and placed for adoption in similar circumstance there would be far too few willing families to take in these children. The foster programs would be more overwhelmed than they already are. In my county alone there are multiple hundreds of children in the foster system available for adoption or placement with no person or family to take them in and thats just to put a roof over their heads. Those are just the monetary issues.
   
   Should a child, born to a young mother, have to bare the guilt or shame that is often associated with the life they had no choice in creating? Who will love and care for this child emotionally? Will they be doomed to repeat the mistakes of their parents if they are raised in situations where their mother has to compromise what's best for the family vs. what is feasible? Until society, individual states and the federal government address the reality of unintended pregnancy and come up with acceptable programs to address those issues, I feel that it is a choice of the potential mother or both parents that matter most and not the choice of a man, standing behind an alter, preaching about an issue he would never have to face, nor that of a man in a suit on capital hill. It is the decision of the potential mother and father; end of story.
   
   One last side note: "Jane Roe" never had the opportunity to have the abortion that she fought for. Her pregnancy came full term and she delivered the child during litigation. As for her not being invited to attend major pro-choice functions, perhapse being that she used a fictional name during her court battles it was believed that she wished to maintain her anonimity and privacy, not becoming a poster child for the issue. Though her opinion on the matter at hand has changed as she "found god", she still never had an abortion. I believe that the vast majority of women who terminate a pregnancy continue to believe in a womans right to choose, even years later, and do not regret the decision they made. Though the circumstances themselves are regretable, at the time, it was their decision to make and was made so they might be better able to achieve their hopes and dreams.



3. I didn't know much about Norma McCorvey ('Jane Roe' of Roe v. Wade) until just a couple years ago, and I knew absolutely nothing of Sandra Cano ('Mary Doe' of Doe v. Bolton - the case which extended abortion rights to the ninth month of pregnancy) until I read this book.
   
   I highly recommend this book to anyone who desires to know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about abortion in this country - anyone who wants to know the history of it, how we could go from the Hippocratic Oath to willfully taking the lives of 40+ million (and counting) innocent babies.
   
   There are facts and insights which this book revealed which will forever be written on my heart - life-changing and mind-changing information.
   
   I am thankful that Norma McCorvey was willing to tell the good, the bad, and the ugly - that she was willing to be honest and transparent. She is to be commended for not pulling any punches, but simply telling it like it was and is.
   
   This passage from her book stood out to me:
   
   "In the abortion movement, we always assumed that Christians were mean-spirited, judgmental, pleasure-hating radicals. If they opened their mouths at all, we thought, it was only to condemn sinners and deliver a sermon about the wages of wickedness.
   
   In fact, I found out we [the abortion movement] were the ones who were mean-spirited, self-righteous, and judgmental. It was those in the abortion movement who were ruled by hatred and spite. My entire frame of reference had changed."
   
   page 168 - Won by Love, by Norma McCorvey



4. Norma is a gifted writer. Like her first book, this one is interesting and thought provoking. I didn't want to put it down once I got started.
   
   However, I was disappointed at her portrayal of the abortion debate as a simple conflict between the "good guys" and the "bad guys." According to Norma, most everything ever said or done by the pro-choice camp is the result of malicious motives. The pro-lifers on the other hand are saints who, by definition, never do anything wrong.
   
   Some of her criticisms of abortion providers seem legitmiate. She correctly notes that abortion is not subjected to the same regulations as other similar medical procedures. She accurately points out that pre-abortion counseling is often perfunctory and slanted in favor of abortion. Patients who go to clinics for counseling are not encouraged to consider other options.
   
   On the other hand, Norma's claim that all pro-choice advocates are child-haters who want to live in a childless world populated only by adults is simply absurd. She also claims that the legalization of abortion is the cause of all the tragically "empty playgrounds." She makes this claim after observing an empty playground at a school which she acknowledges was closed for the summer. She makes it sound as if everyone stopped having kids when Roe v. Wade was decided.
   
   According to Norma, most, if not all, doctors who perform abortions do it out of pure greed and for no other reason. She refuses to recognize that many abortion providers and pro-choice advocates sincerely believe in the moral correctness of their actions.
   
   I also question the accuracy of some of her claims. She reports one incident where a woman came in and had an abortion at 6 months gestation because she found out she was carrying a girl and she wanted a boy. I suppose it could happen but it sounds far fetched.
   
   It is also clear from the book that Norma is often prone to volatile behavior and angry outbursts. She gleefully recounts one incidents when she stood next to a heating vent in the office of Operation Rescue. At the time, OR shared a wall with the clinic where Norma had been employed. She turned on a vacuum cleaner and shouted comments to the clinic doctor about "killing babies." This from the woman who claims she was "Won by Love" and that the pro-lifers always treat their opponents with nothing but love and kindness.
   
   Norma correctly notes that she was often manipulated and treated badly by the movers and shakers of the pro-choice movement. I'm not saying they drove her to the other side, but it is obvious that Norma was desperate for compassion and community. When she started hanging out with the folks from Operation Rescue she was seeking friendship and love.
   
   I keep wondering if there isn't some reasonable middle ground concerning abortion. Most of the folks on both sides are good hearted, sincere individuals who truly want to do the right thing and make the world a better place. I wish we could find some kind of compromise where abortion would be truly safe, legal, and rare. Where unwed mothers could get the help and support to make adoption a more viable option and where 2nd and 3rd trimester abotions would be unheard of except in cases of true medical necessity. This book won't do anything to advance such a compromise. But if you are troubled by the issues and want to explore different viewpoints, I recommend this book.
   
   I also feel compelled to point out that Christian is not synonamous with pro-life and pro-choice is not synonamous with anti-Christian. Pleanty of Christians are pro-choice and some non-Christians are pro-life.



5. There are people who will wish to discredit Norma McCorvey (nee, aka Jane Roe of "Roe v. Wade"), because she now maintains a Faith perspective. It is always difficult to counter bigotry. You will miss an extraordinary amount, if you dismiss Norma because of her faith.
   
   In this 1997 book, Norma provides an incredible insider's look. Here is a sampling:
   *"As Sarah Weddington presented my case, she used the fact that I had claimed to have become pregnant through a gang rape. The public had certain misgivings about abortion in the early seventies, but there was much greater acceptance of abortion in cases of rape, so even though I wasn't really raped, I thought saying so would garner greater public support. This means that the abortion case that destroyed every state lasw protecting the unborn was based on a lie" (Chapter 31).
   *"Some clinics were such a macabre mess that you wanted to do drugs just to escae. Most people do not realize how unregulated abortion clinics are. The legal-abortion movement has hidden behind the slogan, 'Keep abortion safe and legal,' but the truth is, the only thing we fought for was legal abortion, not safe abortion. In fact, we fought tooth and nail against any attempt to impose even basic medical regulations, arguing that the very nature of choice was being attacked when pro-lifers suggested the most modest of requirements" (Chapter 17).
   
   In regard to Norma's religious conversion, this 1997 book does not capture the complete story. While the video, "Reversing Roe: The Norma McCorvey Story" (from Norma's "Crossing Over Ministry" web site) may be slightly more current, you won't want to miss Norma's "My Journey into the Catholic Church" (also on her web site).

5 comments about Twist of Faith: The Story of Anne Beiler, Founder of Auntie Anne's Pretzels.

1. This was a great book and it was exactly what I expected.
   Everyone should read this book. I could not put it down.I loved it.



2. Anne Beiler's inspiring story of her life made it a very worthwhile book to read despite the layout of the book with mixing the past and present. The story about the tragic loss of her daughter cuts to the heart of any Mom. What I loved most was the tenacity to keep moving forward despite the many difficulties and challenges that she faced.
   
   As a Christian, I love the fact that she is not shy about expressing her faith in God and crediting Him for helping her through all the ups and downs in her personal and professional life. This isn't just about how the best pretzels on earth came about (although that part is fascinating) but it's about family, faith and finding fortune by persevering.
   
   After reading this book, what I realized most of all is that it's the journey that counts (not fame or fortune) and that's where you'll find your greatest blessings. Often they are right under your nose.



3. Book arrived in time and in excellent condition. I really enjoyed reading it, too. Not all that well-written it is still a fascinating - and amazin - true story of one woman's struggle to succeed.



4. I loved TWIST OF FAITH written by Anne Beiler. It was a great story of courage and faith. I would recommend it to everyone.



5. My wife loves Auntie Anne's Pretzels so I bought the book because I've been going there for the last few years. I knew they were from PA since we lived there when the company started. Great product by the way.
   
   But when you read this improbable and incredible journey of Anne and her family you know she built this company on a wing and a prayer with no background in business, being Amish and not graduating high school. It is not really a business book, other than to learn the value of faith in business.
   
   I was brought to tears many times reading it. She shares her painful business and personal journey, a journey of abuse by her Pastor and being the outcast of the family for telling. Big time read and I thank her for having the guts to share her journey of imperfection with the rest of us too afraid to do so.
   
   Great read.

No comments about Child of the Sit-Downs: The Revolutionary Life of Genora Dollinger.

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 ;).

5 comments about My Life With Bonnie And Clyde.

1. I really enjoyed reading this book. However, you must keep in mind that it was told by one of the participants and that self image and self preservation were apparent in telling her side of the story. I would advise doing what I did. I read the Knight book, "Bonnie & Clyde, a Twenty-First Century Update" and the John Neal Phillips book "Running with Bonnie and Clyde" at the same time as this one. I think by combining and sifting through the information in all three, you can come away with a pretty clear picture of these peoples lives.



2. This is about the best book I've read on Bonnie and Clyde so far. Although as Mr. Phillips states it is slanted in the favor of Blanche, it still is very well written and I think more historically correct than other books I have read on this subject. It was interesting to read how these people really lived on the run and how human they were. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Bonnie and Clyde.



3. I often wondered what had become of Blanch Barrow as the movie did not tell us much of anything. At the end of the book I found myself with tears in my eyes. I am not saying she was totally innocent in everything that transpired, but she paid dearly for the mistake of loving her husband and I being a woman can synpathize with her greatly. I can just picture her sitting in a chair, an old woman, forgotten, left with nothing but her cats and memories of days gone by...nothing is sadder than what might have been. What really made me realize how human these characters were was when Blanche tells us about bringing her dog Snowball on the run when she and Buck took off with Bonnie and Clyde and then loosing her dog during the shootout in Platte City, as the dog was spooked by the gun battle, he ran out of the house and this was the last she ever saw of her beloved pet. These were very much people like us that I firmly believe were victims of the times they lived and the desolation that surrounded them. I often wonder what would have became of those four people if they would have grown up in New England perhaps or New York where even though the depression was going on, there were more opportunities for work or perhaps they were born at the wrong time in history. Maybe if Bonnie and Clyde would have been born and came of age in the 80's or 90's, they would have been different people....but we will never know. This book is a must read for anyone, not just fans of Bonnie and Clyde, but its just a damned good book to read.



4. Blanche Barrow's account into the turbulent and volatile few months in 1933 she spent with Bonnie, Clyde and W.D. Jones on the run is fascinating reading. The one point which comes across over and over is her true love for Buck Barrow - which really supports that old saying: "Love is Blind". There was certainly nothing apparent which made Buck an intelligent or appealing type of fellow, but to Blanche he was everything. This lovely lady is very much a victim of circumstance - drawn into the dark scheming world of hatred and revenge of the law of Clyde Barrow. Clyde was certainly the orchestrator of their life on the run. For some reason, Buck Barrow was overwhelmed and dominated by his younger brother Clyde and Blanche was continually trying to get Buck away from this life of running and hiding. Bonnie Parker too was entranced by Clyde's domination as well. It seemed as though she was in awe of Clyde and everthing Clyde said or did was the gospel. It is very much an encaptivating read - however I was hoping to find out more what her prison life was like after the Dexfield Park capture which the book seems to skim over very briefly. The accounts of Joplin, Platte City and Dexfield Park in this book are excellent and you really do wonder how they all survived as long as they did. I thoroughly recommend it to all Bonnie and Clyde fans.



5. This book provided a fascinating look into Blanche Barrow's life as well as great detail into the lives of Bonnie and Clyde and their fellow outlaws. The author/editor did an outstanding job of compiling Blanche's memoirs into what was occuring in the world during her lifetime. I wasn't too sure if I would like this book when I ordered it because I normally don't read biographies/autobiographies about criminals. However, when I began to read it I became totally absorbed into this woman's ife and the pictures are great too (there's lots). I would definitely recommend this book to anyone.