5 comments about God Grew Tired of Us: A Memoir.

1. In a book-buying market flooded with simple, homespun philosophy and content-free theology, reaching back to Everything I Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, to the Chicken Soup series, to The Tao of Pooh, and Living Buddha - Living Christ, to Deepak Chopra's entire body of work, right up to the nauseating Eat, Pray, Love, comes this pleasing book by John Bul Dau.
   
   It's a true story of his life growing up in The Sudan, his travels and death-defying hardships escaping that country's civil war, his friendships, and his final emigration and fairly successful assimilation into The United States. Peppered throughout his memoirs are nuggets of African tribal wisdom and bemused observations about modern American life.
   
   However, what shines through most is his indomitable spirit, his positive attitude, and his gratitude toward America for giving him, first, a "hand out", and then allowing him to work his way up through a series of minimum wage jobs, and finally to go on to college, graduate, and find a job commensurate with his KSA's.
   
   Therein lays the reason for the ambivalent reception this book has received! If he had written a book highly critical of the United States and especially of the evil Bush administration, the liberal hoards, to include the mainstream media, would have carried this guy around on their shoulders like he just scored the winning touchdown - or better yet, the winning goal, in "the world's game", futball. He would have been brought up on stage at DNC's Mile High coronation confab, during Obama's speech, and been given a standing-O!
   
   But the fact that he's calling the world's attention to the two million black Christians, who have been killed by light-skinned Muslims in Africa, is not nearly as important as say, Abu Graib, or "warrant-less wire-tapping." The latter two being true crimes against humanity!
   
   For that reason I admire this guy. Also because of his faith, his work-ethic, his will to live, and his (almost) total lack of malevolence towards the murderous despoilers of his land. Furthermore he seems downright appreciative to the people of America who have welcomed him with open arms and given him a new lease on life; something impossible for the truly aggrieved, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, to grasp "Where's the outrage?" I hear him ask. "GD AMERICA!, GD AMERICA!, It's in the Bible"
   
   I applaud his English language skills, they're better than my Dinka. Still, it did make for some strained reading. Overall, an inspiring story, well told, by a man who is happy (and lucky) to be alive!



2. God grew tired of us was too me a very strong story it's hard for me to rate a memoir of someone's life reason being it makes me realize how u think you have problems and reading memoirs about people from different countries and what they go through there's no comparsion



3. Every comfortable American should read this book. It's a quick read and a moving one. As other reviewers have mentioned, even though life was horrifyingly grim for much of John Bul Dau's adolescence and young adulthood, the gentle humor he brings to so many of his experiences makes the book an easy read. More important than his humor, however, is the overwhelming sense of hope that shines through even as he details some of the trials he and others in the refugee camps experienced. It is that hope that continues to be seen in his life as he speaks to people around the country to raise awareness of those still caught in the misery the decades-long conflict continues to cause.
   
   Read the book, rent or buy the DVD (winner of two major Sundance Festival awards), and then check his website to find out where he might be appearing in your area.
   
   (You can learn more at [...])



4. GOD GREW TIRED OF US
   
   Reviewed by Charles Shea LeMone www.allwordman.com
   
   In 1987, John Bul Dau was 13-years-old when civil war disrupted his peaceful Sudanese village and his heartbreaking and inspiring 14-year journey began. That night he was forced to flee for his life from Islamic soldiers, having no clue as to whether anyone else in his family had survived the attack. So began a tortuous 1,000 walk, barefoot, to Ethiopia, back to Sudan, then on to Kenya where he lived with thousands of other "Lost Boys" in a refugee camp until the age of 27 when he immigrated to the United States.
   
   This graphic and poignant story traces Dua's experiences through terror and violence, dodging ambushes, massacres and wild animals. He writes, "I have witnessed my share of death and despair. I have seen the hyenas come at dusk to feed on the bodies of my friends. I have been so hungry... that I consumed things I would rather forget. I have crossed a crocodile-infested river while being shelled and shot at. I have walked until I thought I could walk no more. I have wondered... if my friends and I would live to see another day. Those were the times I thought God had grown tired of us."
   
   Once he reached the refugee camp, four years later, he began his formal schooling. He also took on a leadership role, mentoring younger refugee children and reminding them of the strong values of the Dinka culture.
   He arrived in the United States in May of 2001, and a whole new cultural journey began, as Dau was introduced to the modern wonders that American take for granted, such as the telephone, the light-bulb, running water, grocery stores and plethora of new experiences.
   
   With the same strength of commitment and faith that helped him survive the horrors of war and its aftermath, he has since worked tirelessly to help the countrymen he left behind--while working two jobs at times and attending college. His goal is to one day work with the United Nations here or in Africa. Meanwhile, he has set up two foundations, one of which is raising funds to build the first medical clinic in the Duk County, where he was raised as a boy. The memoirs of this trailblazing visionary is one of terror and triumph, and the hard-won wisdom of a young man who has turned adversity into advantage and has steadfastly refused to be defeated by despair.



5. When you consider that John Bul Dau started the first grade when he was eighteen, scratching his first A-B-C's in the dusty ground of a refugee camp, his memoir is inspiring by any measure. It's hard to imagine anyone surviving what Dau describes, much less flourishing once he had the opportunity. By the time he started copying books from the refugee camp library, learned English and Swahili in order to understand the instruction, passed the Kenyan high school exam, then made it to Syracuse, New York, he had wandered upwards of a thousand miles over fourteen years from his bucolic village in southern Sudan.
   
   Sudan is not only the largest country in Africa, and one of the most complex (572 tribes that speak 114 languages), it's also one of the most war-torn. The Darfur genocide in western Sudan rightly grabs our attention, but for twenty-five years civil war raged in the southern part of the country. The "white" Arab and Muslim government in Khartoum has tried to impose strict Islam as the state religion for the entire country, but the black and Christian south rebelled. In 2005 a Comprehensive Peace Agreement was reached.
   
   When the Khartoum government bombed Dau's village of Duk Payuel in 1987, he fled with thousands of other displaced Sudanese. He was thirteen years old. Rape, disease, pillage, daily burials, wild animals, famine (they sometimes ate mud and drank urine), government troops, and hostile tribes did not prevent Dau and some 265,000 Sudanese from reaching refugee camps in Ethiopia to the east. Most of them were young boys and a few men, as women and girls could hardly survive, and so they became known as the "Lost Boys of Sudan." When Ethiopian troops started slaughtering them, the refugees trekked 500 miles south to safety in Kenya. By then Dau was eighteen. Nine years later he was one of only 3,600 Sudanese refugees in Kenya who were resettled in the United States.
   
   Dau is the first to thank the many people who helped him in America, but it bears saying that by his account he was totally self-sufficient about six months after he arrived. He finished community college, entered Syracuse University, met and married a Sudanese woman from his Dinka tribe, started several foundations to help Sudan, sent most of his hourly wages back home, and was featured in the award-winning documentary film God Grew Tired of Us; The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan (Sundance Grand Jury and Audience awards in 2006). It's only fitting that Dau's improbable story ends with reconnecting with his mother, father, and siblings. "God," he writes, "had not forgotten me after all."

5 comments about Miles.

1. Some truly hilarious adventures in this book, man! As you might imagine, Miles lived a quite exciting life, one we mere mortals shall only dream about. Whether banging high-priced prostitutes in 5-star hotels, playing w/ Parker, Coltrane, Gillespie in Harlem, or being so coked-up he turned to the old lady standing next to him in the elevator & said 'What're you doing in my car, bitch?' then slapped her in the face, getting him a couple days in Bellevue.
   Miles also describes the 2 years he spent virtually alone, no visitors, in his Manhattan apartment, snorting coke & not picking up the trumpet once - so he says.
   Also some vivid recollections of police beatings, overt racism, shameful discrimination - basically being a black guy in America at the time & taking heat for it. Many of Miles own prejudices come to light; one wishes he had written more about his family but I guess he felt like leaving that part of his life private; he was still alive.
   Some inside info on Parker, Coltrane, Dizzy, as well as other Black celebrities like Richard Pryor & Bill Cosby. Also, Davis' personal recollections concerning the birth of Jazz, the Harlem Scene back then, & the exploitation of the black man in America.
   Anyways, man, if being broke, unemployed, ugly, out-of-shape, hopeless, depressed, self-loathing, crazy, futile, idiotic, single, & lonely is COOL, then call me 'MILES DAVIS!'
   
   - Rizzob



2. excellent choice if you want to know the true story. it is amazing how well written (for a musician) it is and how Miles remembered things with an awesome precission.



3. Miles: The Autobiography by Miles Davis and Quincy Troupe *****
   
   
   Miles Davis has always been a fasinating character to me so when I realized that there was an autobiography of him I tracked it down and bought it. While and after I read the book I didn't know what to think. I mean it is not your typical autobiography. It doesn't talk about most of the stuff you would expect him to talk about and when he does talk about it it's very brief and not in depth in the slightest, but at the same time it is still very interesting. The drug addiction, the women, the violence, the racism, everything the man went through is here. Not much is said about his children how ever, I'm not sure if that is purposeful or not but he does say that his sons are "screw ups" so it is all possible that he just didn't give to nothings about them, though when he briefly mentions his daughter he seems very proud of her. So all in all Miles is a great and interesting tale of one of the most important, original, and influential musicians of all time.
   
   My only complaints are that Miles comes across as an ego maniac though he claims he is not several times in the book. The other one is that Miles Davis is one of the biggest and most racist men in all of history. Everything he says about being treated like nothing because he is black is the same way they he treated white people and the saddest part was that he couldn't even see that he was doing it. He claimed that blacks did everything better and white people stole everything. I will admit white people steal a lot, whites are essentially the `vultures of culture' but blacks did not invent everything, whites, Mexicans, and every other race invented things, and just because some one was influenced by it doesn't mean they copied it like he claims. Also just because someone invented something does not mean they do it the best, to even say that applies prejudice. It depends on the person not what color they are. As a musician Miles is killer, but as a person he really just sucked.
   
   So if you can get past this then Miles is a great and interesting read.



4. Although conventional wisdom may indicate a pathway to genius as a strait line, point A (prodigy) to point B (fame and renown), it's actually one motherf****er of a zigzag. It ain't a matter of black and white neither, although Miles Davis would have you believe that he was in the middle of a race war conducted at his expense where his climb to glory was clouded behind a storm of white critics, corporate America and the perceptions of white Americans (he became the highest paid jazz performer in history). The picture that does come to focus is one of focused dedication, unique intelligence and an astonishing series of musical visions which carry a young dentist's son from East St. Louis to worldwide fame.
   
   Miles takes us on his journey in his own colorful vernacular from day one to the year before his death, a rare, delectible treat in an autobio. Redacted are specific musical methods and cumbursome jazz theory, but the discussion is generous in his crediting others who have come in and out of his bands and contributed to the music he made: Gil Evans, John Coltrane, Dizzy, Bird, Shorter, Hancock, even his own nephew, who he eventually fires. The man is not the loner one might think and thrives in the company of musicians and artists but sadly succombs to the artist's best friend: drug dealers.
   
   His mistrust of the world around him was exacerbated by prodigious drug use and sad realizations of who got what for the art form he helped create. Elvis is tossed aside, "lazy white musicians" performing crap, but he's at his most loquacious when describing his visions of a musical chart for his art and his heartfelt recollection of collaborators gone by, many lost to the same drugs in which he wallowed, many white. The language goes into full bloom as he recounts the many women he either married, had children with or simply bedded. He claims to have never gone after another band member's lady, but anyone else was fair game.
   
   What makes Miles, the book, most appealing is his humanity, his stark feelings on his fellow man and the insight one gets from hearing a smart guy tell his tale of an artist's circuitous journey to legend. Not once do you hear a dishonest note and we're party to a vibrant blueprint that now, after his passing, makes me Kind of Blue.



5. Not enough can be said about the Music of Miles Davis and it's impact for the rest of time. This book will give any Jazz fan an insight into a fabulous era in Jazz as well as it's evolution. I absolutely love all of his music, the Bands that he put together over the years, and the Musicians that he literally discovered who went on to infamy. But I have to be honest, I just wish that there was a little more to the man in regards to human qualities.

5 comments about Catfish and Mandala: A Two-Wheeled Voyage Through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam.

1. This book embraces so many themes, so delicately, wrenchingly and compassionately. The center plot is a return to Vietnam by a young Vietnamese American which his family fled years ago to live in the United States. However, it is far beyond cross-cultural travelogue; it inhabits the American as well as the Asian psyche with such scary acuity, and takes us into an inner landscape where few can go....without this author as guide. The prose is elegant and luminous; the situations tragic, comic, ludicrous; terrifying. The tone I felt was one of battle fatigue but transcended by unrelenting steel: this one was meant to survive and to tell it all.....



2. This book is about a Vietnamese-American man looking for his identity in his homeland. Like many Vietnamese who were children when South Viet Nam fell to the communist in 1975, Mr. Pham's family fled to America where he grew up straddling two cultures. While his writing about biking though Viet-Nam is witty, observational, and realistic, I somehow felt sadden for him because of his Viet-kieu's experience, a terminology used for expats. Over all his story made many generalizations about a very complex and exciting country. I am too a Viet-kieu. What I found is a country full of eager young optimistic people wanting a better life for themselves, their families, sometimes - for better or worse - at any price. Yes, there are poverty and corruption, but there also exist the dignity and quiet grace of a peasant woman who gets up at crack of dawn, earning a meager wage for the day to feed her family because it's her duty. Mr. Pham chose to go back to America with his ''privileges'' and his ''opportunity'' still at a lost for his identity. Readers should not accept Mr. Pham's experience as those of the other Viet-kieu's in Viet Nam.
   
   M. Vo



3. Andrew X. Pham's other works and notables:
   
   * Pham, Andrew X. The Eaves of Heaven: A Life in Three Wars. This title will be released on June 3, 2008.. ISBN 030738120X.
   
   As translator:
   
   * ng Thùy Trâm. Last Night I Dreamed of Peace: The Diary of Dang Thuy Tram. ISBN 0307347370.
   
   Notables: Kiriyama Prize, Whiting Writer Award, QPB Nonfiction Prize, Guardian Shortlist Finalist, NY Times Notable Book of the Year, Oregon Literature Prize.
   
   Andrew X. Pham's website is at www.andrewxpham.com



4. i was travelling alone in Lhasa, Tibet and found this book in Makye Ame restaurant. i started reading and couldn't put it down. it gave me true enjoyable solitude on my lonely journey. loved it. i spent the last two days reading it in that restaurant. ordered a copy from Amazon last week and i can't wait to finish it.
   my heartfelt thanks to Mr Pham!



5. 
   `I am a mover of betweens' writes Andrew X.Pham. . . `I slip among classifications, like water in cupped palms.' And in his award winning Catfish and Mandala he takes his readers into those `betweens' with him Viet-kieu, `foreign' Vietnamese, Pham sets out from San Francisco on his rickety 18 speed bicycle riding the Pacific Rim, first up the coast to Seattle, then through Japan, and finally arriving in Ho Chi Minh City from where he begins his odyssey through Vietnam, seeking to understand his relationship to the country of his birth, and the people, and his culture.
   
   The ride he takes us on becomes, for the reader, as spiritual as it is physical. We feel every bump in the road, we push up the hills, we are cold, wet, hungry, ambivalent at times, and we suffer from chronic dysentery. Pham meets people who reject him, who taunt him, and those who, often after initial distrust, befriend him for part of the journey. While he is `pedaling and pushing' alone to Hanoi and back , on a journey everyone advises him is too dangerous, the narrative ebbs and flows through his childhood, through the escape on the boat, through the struggles of his family.
   
   Pham moves comfortably from the specific, the particular, like his recollections of Scarface, Bugsy, Redeye, or Bagman and Mechanic, or the roasting ears of corn dripping with pork fat and scallions, to the philosophic - and then the poetic. It is little surprise he has been linked to writers like Thoreau, Kerouac, Steinback.. . I might add William Carlos Williams,T.S.Eliot or Carl Sandburg. He speaks at once of Vietnam and of his uncertain place there and of the US- and in so doing speaks to all of us who now count among the millions who have left homelands and no longer fully understand what home is, and who `move between.'
   
   By the end of Pham's journey we begin to understand what that is, and value it.

5 comments about Once a King, Always a King: The Unmaking of a Latin King.

1. Once A King Always A King.
   The Unmaking of a Latin King.
   Author:Reymundo Sanchez. 283 pp.
   Independent Publishers Group. $24.00
   
   Reymundo Sanchez is motivational in urging gang members to abandon their lives on the street and start again. Temptations are constantly presented, however, the long-term satisfaction of accomplishments outweigh the temporary obstacles. Reymundo also reminds the other members of society that there are countless problems caused by this dangerous activity. In short, "Once A King Always A King" is written to merge a world full of crime with the unresponsive public to exhibit the need for the world to "refocus."
   The author's name, Reymundo Sanchez is the pseudonym for a former Latin King member no longer living in Chicago. Due to the fact that the story is a personal account, the hidden identity is acceptable. Although there is no way to locate this man, it is easy to recognize some of his work. "Once A King Always A King" is written as a sequel to a book entitled "My Bloody Life."
   Reymundo reaches his goal through the rawness of events and crude conclusion. An example of the effectiveness in simplicity is when "Rey" begins to develop strong feelings for a brilliant Puerto Rican woman named Marilyn. Sanchez says: "I respect you so much for what you have accomplished in your life, in the same period of time that I have done nothing. And now, well; now not only do I respect you but also I feel so good when I'm with you. I don't think I can say that about any other woman who has come into my life." Seeing thrugh the eyes of a substance-abuser who lacks education, a supportive family, and real freedom adds a genuine presence to each word.
   Even after living a comfortable lifestyle where I have been offered opportunities ranging from culture to extracarricular activities, this book has allowed me to accept Reymundo Sanchez as a person who stands to represent thousands. Unfortunately, the intensity results in a very graphic novel filled with inappropriate language, which limits age reccomendation. Nonetheless, editing would make the book flowery. Gang life in Chicago deserves accurate representation. Hopefully, closing the book will not push the isses aside. Instead, you will be instilled with a desperate desire to keep future generations off the streets. Life has so much to offer. Bring people back today.



2. Heads up to anyone that is about to read/purchase this book! I previously read Reymundo Sanchez previous book about his life as a Latin King, and though I did not believe all which he had written; I did consider it an interesting book. Unfortunately, in this current book, if you read VERY carefully, Sanchez states that this is not an autobiographical memoir, but rather a true-life story about the LIVES OF A FEW Latin King members made into the fictional life of ONE PERSON!!!! Therefore, like I had previously thought,this book is not at all true! Sanchez is a good writer and he must be given credit for that. But, he shouldn't have written this story as his own true-to-life events, when in fact it was based on happenings that occurred to a few of friends. Sanchez converts all of this information into one fictional person for his book, wants us to believe this his his true-life sob story!



3. I found this book very interesting and informative, but it's poorly and childish written... It's very easy to read, I finished it in just a couple of hours...Reymundos story is great, but he lacks professionalism.



4. I live in the neighborhood and see the same things that the author went through in the youth today. Gang life destroys neighborhoods and familys and it saddens me to know that life continues to get worse for these young confused children that don't have God in their life.



5. In a world dominated by drugs, sex, and violence Raymundo Sanchez begins to see an exit to the Latin Kings, one of Chicago's most feared Latino Gangs. He knows that to leave the gang will mean taking a three minute head to toe beating by three Latin Kings, something which could easily leave him dead.
   
   Having earned the name "Lil Loco" in the prequel My Bloody Life for his random acts of violence and his alcohol, drug, and sex addictions Sanchez is now faced with the ultimate decision. Leave the Latin Kings once and for all or become more involved and continue his path to self destruction.
   
   After being arrested, Sanchez has to face jail time which allows him to slow down his life and see things from a different perspective. He begins to see the Latin King's original message, to protect the Puerto Rican community, has faded and is now overcome by power and greed. The Latin Kings have turned on each other.
   
   He must deal with their motto, "once a king, always a king." If he leaves the gang life he will always be haunted by his past. Others will always see him as a Latin King even if he's not involved. His life will always be in danger by rival gangsters.
   
   The inability to keep a relationship due to his pimp lifestyle causes him to leave the one person who truly loved him. He must fight nightmares night after night, reliving the moments of death and pain he caused others.
   
   Raymundo Sanchez's journey as he tries to leave the Latin Kings illustrates the struggle of leaving the gang life but in the end it proves well worth it.

5 comments about Coltrane: The Story of a Sound.

1. I swallow everything up John Coltrane, been listening to his music since the days when he walked the Earth and I must say this book is impressive. It is impressive because the author takes a different approach , he dissects the sound, or if you will, the different stages that produced different sounds, that were all bound together by the unmistakable end result and unique sound that is Trane, regardless of the period. At times the author rambles on ,over theorizing for the average, or for that matter, avid fan of Coltrane music. He postulates on certain things for discussion that in fact really have no basis in fact, like Coltrane's supposed use of LSD. His drug addiction was well known and verified but this is regarding heroin. The author theorizes the influence drugs had on his music which is arguable. What is certain is Coltrane's constant search to improve his sound, extending the limits of the sax, to the point where many argue, including the author, that the limits have been explored to the point of no return; in other words, Trane achieved it all and no one since, or in the future will achieve the magnitude of Trane's exploration of sound from the sax. The book is an exhaustive study of the various periods that led to Trane's development into the sax god that he became. If you like analysis and critique than you will enjoy this distinct view and take on the music of John Coltrane. So if you are so inclined, slap a copy of A Love Supreme or My Favorite Things into your machine and enjoy the music while you read the theories behind the music and the man that is John Coltrane. Highly recommended for aficinados of jazz and Trane.



2. John Coltrane is an endlessly fascinating musician, whether or not you like his music - he was both traditional and forward-looking, immensely disciplined and constantly striving for more freedom, technically brilliant yet willing to work with musicians considerably less able than himself. He made a series of relatively undistinguished recordings before suddenly emerging as a phenomenon when hired by Miles Davis, and then he went from one level to another, taking jazz to terrifying levels of complexity before breaking it down into something starkly simple.
   
   Ben Ratliff's book is about two things: what Coltrane wanted to do, and what people have wanted from Coltrane. He is clearly a good listener, and someone acutely aware of how Coltrane was coming across at the time. He is also very sensitive to the depths people have sometimes sunk to in both praise and dispraise of the man, citing as evidence both Frank Kofsky's absurd description of 'Live at the Village Vanguard Again!' as the greatest recording in the history of jazz, and Philip Larkin's bilious and vindictive article, written shortly after Coltrane's death, about how much he hated Coltrane's music - Larkin surely wanted to make other people agree with him that it was worthless, which is never a very noble ambition in a critic.
   
   Unusually for a jazz writer, Ratliff is also aware of how Coltrane's enormous influence has spread beyond jazz and into rock and punk (never thought I would see the great jazz-punk bass player Mike Watt mentioned in a book on Coltrane). He argues, if I take his point correctly, that Coltrane's influence has often been to make subsequent players sound like Coltrane, whereas the influence of an equally gifted player such as Sonny Rollins has worked more obliquely, helping players to sound more like themselves (perhaps because Sonny is not as imitable as Trane). It's true that, of the players (at least the sax players) who were most influenced by Coltrane, the majority have not been able to overcome his influence and develop truly distinctive voices - people on the level of Dave Liebman, etc., being the exceptions rather than the rule.
   
   This book does not require a degree in music theory to read, or any musical talent whatever. It helps if you've listened to a lot of music. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and my only quibble is that it wasn't longer. I can read about Coltrane forever.



3. I found this book disappointing and the subtitle misleading. Ratliff does not really provide a story or history of Coltrane's sound. He strings together some anecdotes and some opinions about Coltrane and that's about it. There was no coherent thematic thread drawing it all together. The fact that Coltrane's sound became pervasively influential is obvious to any jazz listener. The truly interesting story describing how that came to be, or even accurately describing this "sound" in the first place (Coltrane had a distinctive sound - what precisely made it distinctive? Also, since his sound changed over time, when did it really become "his" sound? Etc.), let alone the story explaining why this sound become so dominant, is sadly absent from these pages. There are some intriguing moments when Ratliff suggests that the Coltrane sound was actually a collective sounds generated by the "classic" quartet, but, like I said, that's about it.



4. i love john coltrane's music. thanks to this book, i know i lot more the things these musical jazz giants went through and i understand why i could not always follow the chords. this author dies a good job. well done



5. It's hard not to be amazed by John Coltrane's music, even for interested fans who are not expert musicians themselves (that applies to your current reviewer). Here Ben Ratliff digs deep into the substance of Coltrane's creative process - and most of all that elusive entity known as SOUND. Trying to do this in writing is an immediately incongruous prospect, though Ratliff does pretty well with prose that is full of precise musical adjectives and technical terminology that is reasonably easy for the non-expert reader to follow, all things considered. Though just watch out for the frequently congested prose that becomes necessary for Ratliff to transmit the sheer complexity of the music, such as "the meditative and semierotic aesthetic of endurance, of repetition, of ecstatic religion..." Here we can see how technical jazz really is as a genre, with Coltrane perhaps amongst the most knowledge-intensive. Another revelation here is evidence of Coltrane's lifelong search for musical perfection, as he passionately studied various instruments and genres, and even literature and languages, in a quest for the perfect sound. However, there is an underlying irony to Ratliff's entire endeavor, in that there is no proof that Coltrane (or any jazz musician of his caliber) saw the musical process in the same way as critics and writers, no matter how knowledgeable they are. One must wonder if such passionate technical analysis truly makes one appreciate the music, or if a less obsessive attitude is necessary to really feel the sound. What kind of love did Coltrane seek? [~doomsdayer520~]

5 comments about Catch a Fire: The Life of Bob Marley.

1. Catch a Fire is as much about Jamaican politics, Jamaican music history, Rastafarianism, and Jamaican folk customs and belief in the supernatural as it is about Bob Marley. What you get about Marley covers his childhood at least as much as the time when he was a famous musician. At least a third of this covers the post death Marley situation with way too much for my interest about the legal wranglings over his estate after he died. You never really get inside of his head or get a true feel for the man. Bob Marley remains a mysterious figure. One fault the book has is White comes at it too much from a fan or groupie perspective not being as objective as he should have by buying into the mythology around Marley more than he should have. For example he often speaks of horrible things happening to people who wronged Bob Marley in one way or another, more than slightly hinting at some sort of supernatural force avenging for him, or Marley himself having the ability to lay curses upon people. You can't really deny that Marley had a supernatural vibe going on, but in this case I think White should have been more objective. You also get wild accounts of instances of Bob Marley, Rita Marley and Peter Tosh being assaulted by a supernatural entity.
   
   If you get this book for an analysis of Marleys music you will be disappointed. I mainly was interested in reading it because I wanted to learn more about the political side of Bob Marley and the allegations by some that his cancer was a result of being dosed by the CIA. There is a fair amount of the political stuff, more or less nothing on the cancer conspiracy theory but overall the book kept me interested.



2. I bought the book for my son who is a big fan of Bob Marley and he told me I selected an exllencent book. The book contained good imformation about Bob Marley's life. He was very pleased with my choice of books for him. Thanks Pamela Olsen



3. Highly recommend this book, the author will make you feel like you right next to Bob, and also give you an overview as if you're 'following' along, looking over or riding, right on Bob's shoulders. It has definetly made me understand Bob and humanity better... highly recommend this book



4. The book came lightening fast and was in brand new condition. I would recommend this seller and would definitely purchase from them again.



5. I was very disappointed with this book. After reading it, I have a pretty good idea of what Marley's childhood was like, a hazy picture of his adult life but no understanding at all of how a poor man from a third-world country was able to popularize a genre of music that was almost universally disdained, or considered a novelty, in the world outside of Jamaica in 1973.
   
   I would have expected more discussion of his music; specifically how he and Chris Blackwell adjusted the arrangement of Marley's reggae songs to appeal to a broader audience, as well as how Marley's music evolved over time. I know from watching VH1's "Classic Albums", that process was critical to Marley's success but I don't even get an inkling of that in this book.
   
   Instead the book has way too much on Marley's childhood (140 pages into it, we have only followed Marley up to the age of 14!). This book also has too many vague, cryptic references to conspiracy theories about the CIA, Ronald Reagan, the Jamaican government, etc.
   
   On the bright side, the book does a good job of describing the superstititious world of poor Jamaica, full of demons and ghosts, etc., which helps explain the popularity of Rastafarianism.

5 comments about The Naked Truth: Young, Beautiful, and (HIV) Positive.

1. Although I am old enough to be Ms. Brown's mother I found her book very touching and eye opening.-VERY! When I closed the book at the end I just had to sit and take a deep breath. At 19 that could have been any of us and Im sure it is many of us. I could not believe how forgiving she was of "Prince Charming"-WOW! I also wish Ms. Brown would have had a better relationship with her mother....not to mention her father. I believe that had alot to do with her choices. Such a "moving" truth. In closing I wont say this is a "good book" simply because there is such tragedy involved ( to me) but it is a MUST READ!!!!



2. The Naked Truth: Young, Beautiful and HIV Positive by Marvelyn Brown is the inside story of a young woman's life and how it was changed by personal choices and behavior. Marvelyn Brown is a young woman who was born into a family where she felt adored by her father and ignored by her mother. As long as her father was in the home, she felt like his princess. However, once he was gone, she often felt she was not good enough to live up to her mother's expectations. As a result, she often found herself underachieving and feeling she was not as attractive as others. The one talent she knew she had was her athletic ability, but, she did not often focus on that because she felt is was what her mother wanted. One day, the tomboyish Marvelyn discovered she was `fine' and that the boys were attracted to her and that began a change in her life.
   
   The reader gets to see Marvelyn go through a transformation as she goes on an attention-seeking quest. Her desire to be loved leads to a few sexual partners until she finally ends up with The ONE. She notices him from across a field and is immediately smitten, so smitten, she dubs him, her `Prince Charming.' They are immediately embroiled in a relationship. Marvelyn is so taken by his charm and attentiveness that she has unprotected sex with him a couple of times, though she knows better. Almost immediately, thereafter, she is plagued with tiredness and is unsure what ails her and she ends up in the hospital. After several misdiagnoses, it is discovered she is HIV positive.
   
   The way she deals with her newfound status is to tell everyone and immediately discovers how her news affects others. Most distressing is how her `Prince' takes the news. She knows from his response that he is not surprised. From that point I am absolutely astonished by how she continues a relationship with him and how cavalier and in denial he remains. I am also amazed with how calmly she deals with it. There are many challenges and so many times when she is publicly humiliated. She also discovers there is not always support from those closest to her, but she manages to get through. In her journey, she discovers she has an opportunity to reach and teach others.
   
   It is wonderful to see Marvelyn transform from a duck into a swan who delivers the word about getting tested and protecting oneself from HIV. She travels the world, becoming an honest, young ambassador for her community. I feel The Naked Truth: Young, Beautiful and HIV positive should be part of every young person's library. In fact, readers of all ages stand to learn from this young woman's mission. This book would be a wonderful way to say Merry Christmas to the young people in your life.
   
   Angelia Menchan
   APOOO BookClub



3. To Whom it may concern,
   
   I have not received my purchase of this book since I made the order in September. I could either like another copy of the book sent to my address (Dept #38-2942 8401 NW 17th Street Miami, FL 33126) or a refund of the money spent on my purchase of The Naked Truth: Young, Beautiful, and (HIV) Positive.
   
   Please send me a response to this matter on what will be done to rectify this problem.
   
   Thank you,
   
   Desarie Williams



4. This book should be on every teenager's reading list. I thank the author for sharing her story. This book can and will save lives.



5. Marvelyn shares the truth about being naive, just wanting to be loved and how one endures alot to find one's self. Her book shares a journey to God's Divine plan for her. A great read for everyone, especially young women!

5 comments about Crazy Loco Love.

1. Somewhat disapointing --- I have read other books by the same author and found this different. If it were not that I had grown up in North San Diego County Ca, I probably would not have finished it. ---------- A.T.



2. Crazy Loco Love is another installment in the saga that, luckily for us, Victor Villasenor is passing on to the reading public. This novel is in some ways different from his others but is, as always, fascinating. Villasenor is a story teller and again he tells a grand one, this time of the conflicts that a Mexican American adolescent and young adult faces as he tries to find his place in the Chicano world. It is some times wild and crazy, the loco vida, and at times introspective. He can make the reader cringe as he describes the pain he has felt. He also can make the reader feel hope that even in spite of all difficulties he -- and we-- can find a good place to be at peace.
   
   I highly recommend this book.



3. Victor Villaseñor's "Crazy Loco Love" comes at you with all of the force of a failing 11-year old struggling with a mid-year term paper, trying his best to get a passing grade. If I were his teacher he would receive an F. I was quite embarrassed--not with the contents, although pubic hair isn't an all-time favorite subject of mine--at the caliber of the writing. Aside from the overt mistakes in punctuation, spelling, et al (who edited this book?)the stories read worse than a badly penned first draft. And if el Señor used the word "crazy loco" one more time I might have shot myself threw the heart. This one should have been kept in the drawer marked "might have been." Don't waste your time, nor your money. Doesn't even rate a single star. Sometimes we are overwhelmed with our own story, enough to make us blind to our craft. This, unfortunately, was one of those times.



4. I loved all of victor villasenor's books but this one reads more like a motivational talk than a memoir. The constant use of words in bold capitlizations was annoying. (the reader understands the concept of "screaming" just as well as "SCREAMING". I lost count of the times he used the words "crazy loco". The story felt patched and cobbled together as though he didn't really have much to work with. Skip this book and read Rain Of Gold.



5. I couldn't wait for Crazyloco Love! I had been expecting it since last year! I just got it on Friday and I'm almost done with it. I am amazed by Victor Villasenor's honesty about his adolescent life. Most people would not bring out the skeletons in their closet, but Victor has no qualms about it and that is what I love the most about his books. He is by far my most favorite author ever! I highly recommend this and every other book written by Mr. Villasenor.
   Edited to add... I finshed the book last night and I LOVED it! So now what's next, eh Victor? :-)

5 comments about Manchild in the Promised Land.

1. Although this book was written in the 1960s, it is, still, very relevant today. This book was recommended to me back in 1983 or 1984 when I was in the military. I bought it with a number of other books. It took me twenty years to read it. I should have read it alot sooner; but, the rigors of life and the fact that a good many other books I bought kept pushing this one further back on the reading list. I grew up in the streets of NYC and saw his life being played out in a number of guys and gals I hung out with at that time. I didn't get caught up in the drug scene nor in the gangsta scene but, like the author, there was a lot going on outside the walls of the house to keep me outside nearly all day. Yeah this world was much newer for me then rather than now but I had to see what was going on within and without my neighborhood. As a parent looking at my kid, I know this world is new to them, which I can't shelter them from. As my kids look at me as their parent, they are constantly telling me to get out of their way. I want to see what is going out there. This only helps me to keep life real for them with a dose of non-reality here and there. Fortunately for Claude Brown, the street made him wise and through his book some of us can reminesce about those days and explain to others what urban life was like for us and how it made us what we are today. For others who have not experienced this urban lifestyle, take the book for what it is and re-evaluate your own experiences in hopes of passing on a reality check of your own life to your children.



2. This is an awesome book that I highly recommend to all young men trying to find their "way". It can be a little harsh, but it is about life in the inner city and a young man becoming a man.



3. Claude Brown's slightly fictionalized autobiography recounts his childhood and early adulthood throughout the 1940s and 1950s. Manchild in the Promised Land also documents the changing atmosphere of Harlem and the people it affected. Brown tells stories of himself as a hell-raiser, involved in theft and drug dealing, and spending time in juvenile detention centers like Wiltwyck and Warwick. He was able to establish a feared and respected name for himself both among the streetwalkers of Harlem and the inmates of the reform schools. Lacking formal education (resulting from years of playing hooky) and idolizing the criminal elements around him, he seemed to be heading down a short road of vice and danger.
   
   Only after Brown moved to Greenwich Village shortly before turning twenty was he able to begin viewing Harlem with a more objective eye, and see the factors that led him down the downward spiral he had been traveling. One of the main reasons Brown believes he and his friends were wrought with such violence and recklessness is due to the mentality imported by their parents from the South. The thing that mattered most to them was fighting: for one's money, girl/family, and manhood (Brown 260). He feels that that rural mentality had been brought to a crowded city life that was not only incompatible with the setting, but also destructive. He laments, "it seems as though if I had stayed in Harlem all my life, I might have never known that there was anything else to life other than sex, religion, liquor, and violence" (Brown 281).
   
   As a youth, Brown excelled in these very base attributes. It wasn't until the introduction of heroine, or "horse," as it was first introduced in the early 1950s, that he feels Harlem truly became unable to cope with their values. Instead of young men fighting for honor, they were killing and robbing for money to sustain their overwhelming addictions, introducing more guns into the neighborhood with desperate people wielding them. He witnessed his friends begin to fade away into scratching, nodding junkies. However, by this time Brown was able to leave and slowly break away from the crumbling Harlem he once knew, watching from afar many of the individuals he once hustled with fall victim to the crimes they themselves would perpetrate.
   
   Many opted instead to stay in Harlem and live the street life. He attributes this to the attitudes of whites outside Harlem and the racism they encountered. To live a "clean" life usually meant to work for a white man who underpaid, referred to them in a racially derogatory manner, and made them perform the most labor intensive tasks. When it came to these prospects, most understandably chose the life of a self-employed drug dealer in Harlem over the self-effacing menial work elsewhere, despite the danger (Brown 287).
   
   Where some people turned to drugs or religion to deal with these problems, Brown found his calling through more established and secular means. Education and music became outlets for him to express himself, gain a self-pride through non-criminal means, and eventually lead to a promising career as a lawyer and author.
   
   One of the things that make this autobiography interesting is its use of language. Brown writes in a notable street dialect, however, the language itself evolves with the character. For instance, "cat" slowly comes into use around page 67 and is used throughout, though it receives less use towards the end. More notably, on page 109 the young Claude begins idolizing a street pimp named Johnny: "To Johnny, every chick was a b*tch. Even mothers were b*tches." And so on page 114 Brown writes "Jackie was a beautiful black b*tch." From then on women are regularly referred to as "b*tches" until the character matures enough to treat women with more respect, and Johnny's spell seems to have completely worn off by the time Brown falls in love with a fellow student. Likewise, the sentence structures become less erratic and grow in sophistication as the book goes on, using less slang chapter by chapter when he begins to change. This seems to be by design.
   
   Claude Brown's personal accounts are no doubt fictionalized to some degree, for his characters go on exhaustive speeches several times, and he certainly didn't tape record them for every word. However, Brown's intentions are to present Harlem and its difficulties in approachable and creative ways. To allow readers (such as white-suburban-me) an inside look into the ways of urban life it invites an understanding and, hopefully, sympathy for the situations of the junkies, prostitutes, and drug dealers that we pass on the street. He shows them in a way that cannot be easily neglected, in intimate, personal relationships that reveal the influences and regrets that have placed them in those situations. These factors were not unique to the 1940s and 1950s. They existed before and do so today. Brown allows insight into the hardships while telling an encouraging tale of one who made it out. By personal drive and education, through art and self-expression (as this book is), he shows that the situation is not dire, but attitudes must change before the world will follow.



4. I can't believe I didn't write a review for a book I read 10 years ago. This is one of my favorite books. It was this one book that drew me into reading books and becoming a book lover. One of the best books I ever read. Highly Recommended!!



5. I was able to find this book relatively easy, based on a few keywords. My boyfriend started reading it several years ago and was unable to complete it. The storyline stuck in his memory and I bought it as a surprise for him, because over the years he mentioned it occasionally. Thanks for making the lookup so easy!

4 comments about Ernie Davis: The Elmira Express, the Story of a Heisman Trophy Winner-Anniversary Edition.

1. I am the official biographer of Ernie Davis. Gallagher and I were researching this story around the same time. His is a blend of quotes from many people of that period, following through Ernie's sports life. "A Halo for a Helmet" is the actual life story of Ernie, told in a novel form, absolutely true in every part. It is a read you can't put down. Congratulations to Gallagher on helping the film to happen, now read the story that will touch you for a lifetime, "A Halo for a Helmet: The Whole Story of Ernie Davis".



2. The Elmira Express
   
   I love the Twin Tiers in the autumn. The days are still warm; the nights cool, giving birth to vibrant fall colors. The hills seem almost alive, and the threat of colder weather is a promise on the wind. Fall in the Twin Tiers ushers in a revered tradition. When it's autumn in America, it's time for football. Across the land, in big cities and small towns, in large stadiums and rural high schools--the sights, sounds, and colors of the game are all around us. The common thread is the game, and the athletes that practice and play it with heart and determination to the very best of their abilities.
   
   Few players have shown more heart or determination than Ernie Davis. Davis was born on Dec. 14, 1939, in New Salem, Pa. His parents separated shortly after his birth, and his father was soon killed in an accident. He grew up in poverty in Uniontown, a coal-mining town 50 miles south of Pittsburgh, where caring grandparents raised him.
   
   At 12, Davis moved to live with his mother and stepfather in Elmira. He went on to become Elmira's favorite son, both as an outstanding athlete and as a respected and well-loved citizen. Ernie's talent bloomed, and the honors came early and often. He led Elmira Free Academy to a 52-game winning streak in basketball and as a Syracuse sophomore helped the Orangemen gain their only national football championship.
   
   As a senior in 1961, he became the first African American athlete to win the Heisman trophy and was the number one pick in the 1962 NFL draft. And then, suddenly, he was gone. He was diagnosed with leukemia the summer before his rookie season. He never played in the NFL, but succumbed to the disease less than a year later. Though Ernie never played a game for the Cleveland Browns, they retired his number 45, worn only in practice.
   Davis was easily recognized as a great athlete, but his high school coach, Marty Harrigan, summed up what many felt for Ernie Davis when he said, "Everyone knew Ernie's athletic greatness, but few realized what a great human he was. His concern for his fellow man, and his affection for children, was sincere."
   
   I think this is what moved me the most when I read The Express, The Ernie Davis Story by Robert C. Gallagher. There are lots of talented professional athletes today, and most of them are more than willing to inform you just how gifted they are, but the media exposure never changed him. "Ernie was the same kid at the end as he was at the start," said Jim Flynn, his high school basketball coach.
   Ernie believed he was fortunate to be so gifted and never took his ability for granted. He worked hard both on the field and in the classroom. "Ernie was always the first one on the practice field and the last to leave." Many athletes, assured of a college scholarship, would have coasted in class, but "Ernie worked hard when it wasn't popular to get good grades. The teachers loved him. He never would excuse himself from work and say he had too many outside activities." Ernie intended to play professional football, but he knew that career expectancy in the NFL was only a few seasons, so he wanted to be prepared for another career when he retired from football. He believed that education would lead to social and economic success.
   
   Syracuse University experienced its greatest football success during Ernie's career. The Orangemen became the national champions and winners of the Cotton Bowl. Four days before the game, Ernie pulled a hamstring while practicing place kicks. It was doubtful right up until game time whether he could play. Before leaving the game in the fourth quarter, he scored two touchdowns, including a then Bowl-record pass play, scored twice on two-point conversions, and intercepted a pass that led to Syracuse's final touchdown.
   
   He was voted the game's Most Valuable Player. Davis was to have received his MVP award at the awards banquet that night. But when bowl officials said that only white players were invited to the dinner and that Davis would have to leave after picking up his trophy, the Syracuse team refused to attend.
   
   It was Ernie's performance against the University of Pittsburgh that same year which inspired the nickname "The Elmira Express." Elmira Star-Gazette sports writer Al Mallette coined the phrase. Penn State coach Joe Paterno had this to say about Ernie Davis: "He's the kind of runner you hate to coach against; you can't instruct a boy to tackle a man if he can't catch him."
   
   It was December 1961 when Ernie won the Heisman trophy. Winning the Heisman is a significant accomplishment regardless of the year or player, but it was a significant racial breakthrough at a time with segregation was just beginning to become a social issue. Today, black players often win the award, and it might be hard for his contemporaries to appreciate his achievement.
   
   When he was in New York to receive the Heisman, Davis was treated with media coverage usually reserved for national heroes. President John Kennedy was in the city at the time and asked to see Ernie, a visit that thrilled him. "Imagine," Davis said, "a president wanting to shake hands with me."
   
   Ernie was the number one pick for the 1962 National Football League draft following his senior year. The Washington Redskins had the initial selection, but soon traded him to the Cleveland Browns, who signed him to a three-year no-cut, no-trade $65,000 contract with a $15,000 signing bonus, a new record for a rookie.
   
   The next summer while training for the upcoming All-Star game, Ernie awoke with swelling in his neck. A trainer sent him to the hospital, and doctors soon discovered the leukemia. At the time, Ernie and the public were told only that he had a "blood disorder". He wasn't told it was leukemia until October, after he had been in and out of the hospital. "Either you fight or you give up," Davis said in remembering how he felt when told the news.
   
   The disease went into remission, and Davis kept planning on pro football. He practiced with the Browns. Coach Paul Brown, heeding the advice of medical people who warned him of the risks, did not play Davis. The next spring, Davis noticed more swelling and entered the hospital again. Two days later, on May 18, he died in his sleep. In Elmira, more than 10,000 citizens passed the Neighborhood House on May 21 where Ernie lay in state. Flags in the city were flown at half-mast. He was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, also the burial place of Mark Twain.
   
   Universal Pictures has finished production on the film adaptation of Davis's life. The movie is slated for release Oct. 10. The book is available now. Stop by your local bookstore or library and check it out. You can catch Kevin tailgating at From My Shelf Books in Wellsboro. Stop by or tackle it online at www.wellsborobookstore.com



3. The Elmira Express (on which the movie, The Express, is based) may not be the most literary piece of work ever written, but it the real story of Ernie Davis' legacy. The movie may make for good "family viewing", but this book explains the TRUE story of just how brave, unselfish and caring this young man was, right up until his death. The book explains the indepth accounts of not only Ernie Davis' plight, but also of those who coached him, loved him, and experienced his untimely death. If you have a teen-ager, please try to get him (or her) to read this book. It may just change your child's view of the world. Well... OK...Just maybe.



4. This isn't the greatest book, but a very good and emotional read about a guy that a lot of people should strive to be. Hopefully the movie coming out next year will capture the true heart of Ernie Davis.