5 comments about Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling.

1. Judging from WWE events like folding table matches and pursuits through bingo halls, one does not expect a wrestler to produce a readable autobiography. The surprise is that Bret Hart's book has the style and heart of survival rising above the mediocrity. While acknowledging pro wrestling as cartoonish, he describes it all vividly, including its terrifying underbelly.
   
   Raised in rural Alberta, Canada among 11 siblings and TV's "Big Time Wrestling," Hart and his brothers suffered not spankings, but physical punishment in form of wrestling and fighting attacks from their dad for years. Hart thus learned survival early.
   
   Bret entered his father Stu's world of competitive pro wrestling, tried to please Stu, and learned to avoid drug abuse and promiscuity, emerging without permanent damage. He later lost two wives, but survived. Many of his brothers and sisters envied his survival skills and consistently behaved poorly toward him, even after his year-long concussion and debilitating stroke. Bret recovered, and wrote his autobiography to inspire others.
   
   That he bears no grudges is a testament to his recovery and faith. However, he is broken hearted over wrestlers Shawn Michaels and Triple H, whom he feels cheapened wrestling with simulated sex acts and other adult material.
   
   Most admirable is Bret's willingness to expose the world of pro wrestling while highlighting its good side. He feels it is still an honorable profession among the good people involved. Today, he honors long-time fans and handicapped children that have bought into those few wrestling story lines that rise nearly to the level of Chinese opera or Kabuki. Bret's own performances created a wrestling opera among soap operas and space operas in the 1980s and he preserves these in his book.
   
   Bret Hart 1) took community service as a lifelong commitment and 2) never injured any opponent more than superficially, making him standout in a business that does neither.
   
   Older teen and adult readers will understand pro wrestling through this enjoyable book, despite a bit of harsh language. They will be inspired to be their own heroes.
   
   Armchair Interviews says: If pro wrestling has held some appeal to you, you'll enjoy Bret Hart's book. It is also for those who just like to read about good people.



2. Well-told--articulate and concise-Bret explains many of the facets of the wrestling world and tells his story simply and without bitterness or bias.
   I've read the whole book in less than a day and admire him for his wit and candor and humor even thru all the heartache his family and friends have endured
   Bravo to you Bret and many more good years to you in whatever your next endeavors may be
   I've read many of the bios by wrestlers and enjoyed them all but Bret's is top of the line



3. Must admit that the size of the book was daunting as I was expecting pages of analysis on why wrestling is what it is, and what can be done about it (ala Mick Foleys second book) but I was pleasantly surprised to read a brilliant piece of work.
   
   Bret Hart pulled no punches writing about the sport, the wrestlers, promoters, his family and most importantly himself. He is open in discussing his affairs and drug use.
   
   Bret's love for his family (ok, for most of the family) is heartfelt and discussing the passing of his father was a tough read as it was so emotional.
   
   While it is but one man's version of the events in the book, Hart's story does have a ring of truth to it.
   
   Quite possible the best wrestling book ever written.



4. Only a hero would expose the real and honest truth and that is what this is. I got it signed by Bret the same day I got it. Hes a great person and will always be my hero!



5. I am a huge Bret "The Hitman" Hart fan and when I read his book I was amazed. It really gives you an insight as to who Bret is and how he became this world wide phenomenon and how it all came down. He mentions his early life as a professional wrestler, how he met his wife...etc. Overall I really enjoyed the book. And if you are a fan of his I really recommend it. I really liked the pictures of his family. The book contains a lot of happiness, sadness, it's funny,...etc. Must read.

5 comments about Big Russ and Me: Father and Son: Lessons of Life.

1. Big Russ and Me was in the condition described. The book came in a timely manner.
   
   Cheryl



2. We enjoyed this book very much. Listening to Tim Russert's voice made it feel like you were sharing stories with an old friend. His appreciation of his humble beginnings and up bringing are very evident. You can see why so many people connected with how he delivered the important world happenings and made it relevent to all. A great story of how simple a fathers love can be. Do not turn it off until you hear the epiloge, very tender, especially now.



3. Wonderful reminiscences of his childhood and relationship with his Father. The book took me back to my childhood and fun times in the empty lot with kids. Being out all day. Riding bikes. Mom making donuts for the neighborhood kids while we were busy building snow forts or christmas tree forts. What fun times!



4. A personal story of the relationship between a father and his son. This story personifies what a father/son relationship should be. The values of the father handed down to the son serve to bring that son into manhood and establish his outlook on life, his ethics and moreover his treatment of this fellow man. An excellent book and a must read for every father/son relationship.
   Robert Allen, Author: A "Guest" of the Confederacy The Civil War Letters and Diaries of Alonzo M. Keeler, Captain, Company B, Twenty-second Michigan Infantry



5. This is a book that everyone should read! Makes you realize how important family is and what having moral values really mean. It also makes you think about what kind of person you want to be remembered as and especially what you would like to teach your children. I absolutely loved it. Wish we still lived in those days. The world has changed so much and I can't say it's for the best.

5 comments about The Night of the Gun: A Reporter Investigates the Darkest Story of his Life--His Own.

1. "The Night of the Gun" has an intriguing premise: unnerved by a loss of confidence in the integrity of his memory, recovering crackhead and crack reporter David Carr decides to turn the tools of his trade on himself and investigate his own past. Unfortunately, this gimmick isn't enough to sustain what is ultimately a pretty typical tale of addiction and recovery.
   
   The book is strongest when Carr is reporting on his harrowing descent into a drug-induced psychosis. Let's face it, this is a side of humanity most of us will never experience for ourselves, and hearing someone tell how he left twin baby girls inside a car on a winter night to go do some coke, or had to soak his arms scabbed from needles in a basin of detergent because the people at the detox center were afraid to touch him, delivers a frisson of horror at the spectacle and relief that we'll never tread down that path.
   
   There are also some brief but intriguing side forays into the ephemeral nature of memory and the implications on the narratives we write about ourselves.
   
   The weakest part of the book comes in its last third, when Carr is well on the path to recovery (a brief detour into alcohol abuse adds a bit of drama later on) and is rebuilding his journalistic career. Carr is obviously a hard-driving reporter and editor, but a long stretch of the book ends up being a self-congratulatory look at his professional credentials. While he acknowledges shortcomings, much of it comes off feeling more like he's answering the job-interview question, "What is your biggest weakness?" with hoary responses like "I push people to excel too much".
   
   Carr's obviously a sharp guy and writes about his past with a pretty dispassionate and critical eye. He doesn't shy away about owning up to mistakes, but also doesn't attempt to take the blame for every bad thing that transpired, if the finger of evidence points elsewhere.
   
   Carr does indicate that he understands the potential pitfalls of his project. One editor tells him before starting that the recovery parts of junkie stories are "soooo boring". He also briefly meditates on his apparently widely-known narcissistic tendencies. It's a shame he didn't take those reflections a little more seriously and chop about 100 pages from the book.
   
   There is a great story in here, and one can only marvel Carr's improbable turnaround and come away wishing him a clean and healthy future. It's just too bad that it is often obscured by Carr's need to air lots of detail that isn't really that compelling to people who are not David Carr.



2. Memory's a tricky thing, especially when you're a crackhead. Journalist David Carr knew that some of his memories of his drug-addled days were a bit hazy, but it was only when a friend remembered Carr waving a gun in his face that Carr realised how wrong some of his own memories might be. He remembered his druggie years as a relatively short downward spiral that didn't really impact anyone else, a couple of attempts at recovery, a couple of arrests, and then a pretty fast return to the real world.
   
   Upon discovering the difference between his memory and others' memories of the night of the gun, Carr decides to investigate his own past. Doing so reveals some uncomfortable truths, such as that Carr wasn't as good of a guy as he remembers. He was violent many times. Digging through his police recorde, he discovered that he even got arrested for beating up a cabbie entirely unprovoked one night, an event that he still can't recall.
   
   The story is interesting through the investigation of the real downward spiral (both longer and messier than he realised, although the stories began to get repetitive), the final successful six-month inpatient treatment, and his long recovery period afterwards. However, the story falters after he leaves Minneapolis. Even worse, when he slides back into alcoholism, the story has no depth at all.
   
   As a memoir of addiction, it goes the extra mile to verify the events of the addiction, with often enlightening results for the author. But the author is still too close to his more recent bout of alcoholism to be able to be anything other than self-indulgent in his telling of the story. It's still a worthwhile read.



3. I will admit that yes, I read and enjoyed James Frey's book regarding his addiction. I wasn't upset when it turned out that much of the book was not accurate - I have always believed that everyone brings their own unique filter to life and events, and it was still a good story.
   
   David Carr's "The Night of the Gun" is a completely different animal. Imagine being a junkie. You've used and abused everyone nearest and dearest to you. You've been in jail more than once. You're living as close to on the edge as you can be without actually falling off forever. And then, your pregnant girlfriend's water breaks while you are getting ready to light up the crack pipe to share with her. Where do you go from there? Do you have the strength to pull yourself up and out of the nightmare? And if you do, is the nightmare you remember really the accurate portrayal of your life?
   
   The title comes from a night during which David Carr was still a junkie - in fact, Carr was getting worse than ever. His memory was always that his friend had pulled the gun on him to make him leave. He finds out during the interviewing process for the book that in fact, the gun was his and he was the one waving it around. As Carr says, "Do we remember only the stories we can live with?". Then the question becomes, how do we end up changing those other stories to make them easier to live with? Carr took hours of video and audio, went through documents and pulled in former friends, dealers, girlfriends and family to learn that as bad as he thought he was - the reality was far worse.
   
   I found myself riveted to the story, in the way that rubberneckers are always staring at the scene of a terrible car wreck. Only the wreck was years in the making and affected far more people than just the author. Just the same, I couldn't read more than a few chapters a night, because the story is very dark and, in some places, extremely disturbing. And as I finished the book, my first thought was "There but for the grace of God...". I rarely drink, I don't smoke - but I believe we all have the capacity for darkness...I was just one of the lucky ones.
   
   I enjoyed Frey's book, but that's like comparing a ham sandwich to a filet mignon. One is great for a quick snack, light and kind of enjoyable. The other is best savored in little bites, slowly and over time to process the fullness of the flavor. I enjoy ham sandwiches, but I'd prefer a filet any day.



4. Books by recovering addicts are a dime a dozen, and after A MILLION LITTLE PIECES, the attitude from the public towards such books must be pretty damned harsh, which is kind of a shame, since it may make some interested readers take a pass on David Carr's THE NIGHT OF THE GUN. What separates Carr's story from the rest of the pack is that Carr admits he has almost no memory of most of the events described in the book, or if he does, it's probably radically different from the truth. Instead of just plowing ahead and writing something, Carr used his background as a reporter, and went out and interviewed the people he ran with when he was drinking and drugging, and recreated his past through the eyes of others.
   
   The end result is a mixed bag. The first few hundred pages are gripping, as Carr comes to grip with what a lousy person he became in the depths of drug addiction.....Threatening his best friend with a handgun, beating up a cab driver for no apparent reason, and, at one point, leaving his twin infant girls in the car on a freezing night while he went into a crack house and smoked for what may have been hours. Carr pulls no punches, almost daring the reader to find something, ANYTHING, to like about him. His eventual recovery is nothing short of miraculous, and most of the remainder of the book is a love letter to his twins, who quite clearly saved his life. The book drags a bit in the last third, as Carr tries to pull his career together and has a relapse into alcoholism, and it's pretty self-indulgent in places, but overall, it's a harrowing, worthwhile read.



5. I really wanted to like this book.
   
   I've heard NPR interviews with David Carr and he was engaging and likable. I read some of his professional work and it was good.
   
   All the parts were there, but ultimately, this book just wasn't engaging.
   
   The premise - reported David Carr, now a in recovery addict, investigates his own memories and past "adventures" with chemicals, asking the question of himself "Do you only remember the things you can live with".
   
   This book is a different kind of reportage and though a good idea, it gets tiring very quickly.
   
   It goes something like this.
   1. Carr recalls a specific incident.
   2. Carr contacts another participant in the incident.
   3. Carr has that person recall the incident.
   4. Off color comments are made on the different recollections.
   5. More often than not, Carr comments on how "they deserved" whatever happened.
   
   Ha, ha - only, mostly, it's not funny.
   
   The thing is - I would bet, that told in person, with tempo and timing, that some of these situations and differences in remembering and the resulting "they deserved it" - told in person, they are probably funny. The problem is the humor really doesn't translate well.
   
   It's like sarcasm in an email - unless you know the sender very well, it might not play like sarcasm at all, and come off sort of wrong.
   
   An example - A huge turn off for me was when Carr indicated he found a police report about himself, where he was high and had physically accosted a taxi cab driver - an incident that he completely did not recall being involved in. And though he has no memory of it, only the facts that there was a physical fight - he jokes at the end of the paragraph that he's sure the taxi driver "deserved it".
   
   Where is the insight here? Yes, he's being self-effacing, but he's also being a bit of a jerk.
   
   That someone in drug/alcohol recovery has "selective" memory, this is rather a given - the idea that David Carr was to use his own investigative abilities to look deeply into his past, that should have been enough, but alas it wasn't.

5 comments about The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit: A Jewish Family's Exodus from Old Cairo to the New World (P.S.).

1. My parents were actually Egyptian Jews living in Cairo and Alexandria in the 1950s and fled in the mid 50s due to Nasser's tyranny. My mother has been reading the book the past week and has goose bumps reading essentially the same story, addresses, schools, bakery, cafes etc. of her life. True, every family's story is slightly different, but the facts are essentially identical. My mother and her family lived this story and actually knew some of the people in the story. Well done to Lucette on shedding light on a part of history that many do not know - only the Holocaust is focused on. So many Egyptian Jews lost their livelihood, fortunes, property and dignity simply because of their religion.



2. The first part of the book in Cairo, as others have mentioned before me, was intriguing for a reader like me who loves to read about people and places outside of my sphere of experience. And especially I seem to be drawn to Middle Eastern/African settings.
   The elegant Cairo of a long gone era was very interesting as were the family members.
   But the book went downhill in the second half. I kept hoping for a larger understanding from the author and a comprehension and conclusions drawn about her family and their situation that would raise it above the whine level.
   And as an animal lover as much as I tried the nagging thoughts of how the cats who were so much a part of their family were cast aside so easily became symbolic of the family's ethics in general.
   So basically I ended the book feeling more sorry for the abandoned cats than the family members who I increasingly found harder to like.



3. I found the book very interesting and the story well told. Her conclusion that that the bureaucrats who wavered about bringing her father over should be pleased that he was a good credit risk is totally wrong. Yes, he paid back the JEWISH relief agency for their passage, but sold ties under the counter, for cash so never had to report any income and pay any taxes to this country. His family had large medical expenses paid for by the welfare system of this country. None of his children served in the military of this country. So as far as the United States is concerned all this family did was take. They also seem to have no appreciation for the large economic burden they placed on the citizens of this country.



4. What a wonderful book. In may ways it is a book that anyone who's family has immigrated from another country can identify with and enjoy. She is a wonderful writer, you will find yourself laughing out loud at some passages and terribly sad at others, but it is worth reading. I enjoyed every page and have already passed it on to others who feel the same way. Don't pass this one up.



5. This is my favorite book of the year. It combines all of my interests - Jewish history, family struggles, impact of culture, and so much more. The author spent her early years in Egypt and the family was forced out by anti-semitism. While in Egypt, they lived a glamorous life for many years, but with a father whose moods ranged from loving to abusive. From there they entered a generation of poverty. The writing is beautiful. Too often personal memoirs seem to wane 1/2 way through, but this book continued to engage me and I really didn't want it to end.

5 comments about A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father.

1. I laughed, I cried, I shuddered! This portrait of the father, after reading some of the other books by AB, continued to amaze me. People are so resiliant. To be able to chronicle this experience in the way he has is such a huge talent. I love AB. He certainly deserved better. I hope he is well.



2. I love anything Augusten. Running with Scissors is still my favorite book. I think I am the only one disappointed in A Wolf at the Table. I felt throughout the book he was an annoying kid and a whiner to the end. I think I would have had more compassion if he would have covered more of exactly what his father did except ignore him. Obviously there is more to it, I needed to read it, feel it, feel for the guy. I only felt it at the end in the room with the robes, when he realized what a real father's love is.
   
   His suggestions to his brother to kill his father, then to his father to push his mother off the bridge makes me wonder if Augusten is all there himself. I was very disappointed in the book. Although a small thin book it took me a long while to get through it waiting for the impact his other books brought me, this gave me none. I didn't care for it at all.



3. Well he did it. Augusten Burroughs, whose finest trait as an author of narrative nonfiction was almost ridiculous objectivity, finally succumbed to moments of self-pity. But who wouldn't? I wonder if while writing The Wolf at the Table, Burroughs simply had to show that little boy the love he so desperately craved. It's not his best work, true. In my humble opinion, his best is Dry. I am a student of writing and therefore I'm always looking at the effective use of craft and while it's difficult to pinpoint in Burroughs work (other than a knack for witty and snappy turns of phrase) I will say this. His work is difficult to put down. You can't help but turn the page, find out what happened next and how he's going to tell it. And unlike other reviewers, I stopped asking myself if it was plausible early on. Who cares? He may not be literary, he may be embellishing for drama, and he may have caved to the self-involved urges of many memoirists (ironically his major distinction previously) but Burroughs knows how to tell a tale. His readers number in the millions now, but his voice is still that of a friend confiding to a friend. Bravo, Burroughs. Now let's see some fiction.



4. First let me say, that I am a big fan of Augusten Burroughs. I will also say that I was aware that this book wasn't going to be funny so I had no expectations of that. I also listened to this book on CD, as I did all of his other books. I will also say that I did in fact listen to the entire book including all songs accompanied with it. I would like to tell you that all of those people who gave a poor review were telling the truth. I have a BIG problem with how Burroughs read this book. Whoever told him to read so incredibly slowly should be fired. It distracted from the story and was so slow, you'd forget his point by the time he got to the end of his sentence. It was like he was reading to a very dumb child or someone who has no grasp of the English language. The director of this audiobook, in my opinion, gave him very bad direction. I have always enjoyed listening to him read his books in the past. This was an unwelcome departure. Yes, his father obviously has narcissistic and sadistic tendencies, and I can listen to just about anything, but the animal abuse occurred frequently throughout the story and I truly had severe difficulty listening to it. Burroughs, has valid complaints about his father's parenting skills, but the story is also peppered with accounts that basically make Burroughs look like a whiny brat at the time and a whiny adult now complaining about the most minute details. A lot of the things his father did, with not paying attention to Augusten, or being particularly affectionate, was no different than the average overworked, overstressed father. This is one to skip. Also, by the way, the music was NOT GOOD and added very little. Someone on this site, mentioned the "funeral dirge", that is a great description of one of the songs. Burroughs should stop rehashing his life story. It is soooo done, between him and his brother's writing, enough, please. I encourage Burroughs to try fiction again. I really enjoyed his Sellevision novel. This is definitely one to pass on, at the very least don't listen to his CD between the awful music and his excruciatingly slow reading, there is no chance of enjoying it.



5. In past books written by Augusten Burroughs, we read about his dysfunctional childhood. We laughed with him and we cried with him, often wondering how he managed to survive. With A Wolf at the Table, Burroughs explores the relationship between father and son, and the extremes of love and hate. His writing is insightful and honest, not only writing about his relationship with his father, but everyone's need for love and validation. He suffered as a child, but emerged as an adult full of hope and promise.
   
   Having read all of Burroughs' books, I thought I knew what to expect in A Wolf at the Table. Having experienced the trauma, I expected Burroughs to write in a cool, detached manor. He didn't. Burroughs used both humor and suspense to evoke tears, laughter, and horror in his readers.
   
   A Wolf at the Table is a brutally honest story told from a child's point of view. I wanted to cry for the child, but found myself cheering for the man that emerged from the pits of hell relatively unscathed.

5 comments about A Million Little Pieces.

1. I wanted to send an inspiring story to someone I'm trying to mentor from a distance. He's in an Arizona prison where he's spent a fair amount of the last 20 years for non-violent criminal offenses. To preview it, I got a copy from my local small town library. I knew of the book and the Oprah controversy. However the last book I read was Frey's "Bright Shiny Morning" which touched me in many ways. So when I picked up "A Million Little Pieces", a young employee gave it a bad review. She didn't like the language-lots of the f word- and could not get into it. I told her my reasons to read it and she thought that perhaps someone in the prison population that had a history of drug addiction and criminal behavior could benefit from Frey's story.
   
   Verdict is still out on that one. I purchased it Aug 26 and last I heard my mentee still had not received it. Apparently they have some difficulty receiving things, even books from Amazon, in prison. So his review is the one we need to have as he has a bit in common with James Frey and lots not so much.
   
   I liked this book. I learned more about alcohol and drug addiction. It may have been embellished but it wasn't sanitized. This is from a perspective of someone who went out of control early in life and the consequences of that behaviour. As in so many of these stories, James Frey came from a "privleged family" -this is what I call families whose parents are educated, successful in society and have way more wealth than most families.
   My mentee didn't travel that path. I hope he can identify with some of this. I hope he can also figure out how to stay off drugs. His future in life may literally depend on it.



2. James Frey wrote a book lauded as a memoir, which turns out to be untrue.
   Similarly, this book was lauded as a good read.
   This as it turns out, is also untrue.
   The story of the journey through rehab is repetitious - but its worst offense is that the characters are unsympathetic.
   It's hard to feel sorry for them, despite their dire circumstances.
   Finally, this story depicts a series of dental appointments that require extensive surgery without local anesthesia.
   This is a ridiculous fabrication.
   Drug abuse is not a contraindication for local anesthesia.



3. James Frey caused quite the scandal when he had to "come clean" about coming clean. He wrote this memoir and received widespread praise for the writing and the amazing accomplishment in beating a serious drug and alcohol addiction. But after being featured on Oprah, many that were involved in Frey's true story came forward to say that his portrayal of his experience was largely exaggerated and untrue. He finally admitted that his book, A Million Little Pieces, was based on his life story, but was embellished and not entirely true. With that in mind, I sat down to read what was still touted as an amazing book.
   
   Frey chronicles his experience waking up after a serious trauma to find himself on a plane on the way to rehab. His family, after many years of not knowing what to do with him, has found him on the streets of Chicago badly beaten and in terrible shape. They are taking him to a reputable inpatient treatment center in Minnesota. James goes through a painful detoxification process and cannot come to terms with his plight in life, how he got there, and if he really wants to be clean and continue to live. The rest of the book is his next six weeks in rebab.
   
   The story is, in some ways, engrossing. The obstacles for an addict to overcome in order to stay sober are staggering. Especially when overcoming the extent of drugs and alcohol that Frey claims he had taken. He underwent oral surgury without the aid of painkillers because to give him painkillers would undo the detox he already went through. He suffered violent bouts of nausea each day while his body adjusted to the clean lifestyle. And he made friends with a cast of characters as he relayed the horrible life on the streets that he lived prior to being carted off to rehab.
   
   There are two major problems with this book however. The first is the prose. His writing style is difficult to follow and frustrating. It makes it difficult to stick with the story and annoying to read. Secondly, knowing that the story was not completely accurate made it ring hollow. It would have been fine if the reader was to believe it was completely true, or it would have been fine if it had been presented as a work of fiction. But to read along and wonder what parts were true and what parts were invented leaves the reader with a frustrating feeling of being swindled. This book had such potential, and maybe some can overlook his lies, but for me it tainted the entire story and left it feeling empty.



4. This is a good book. Interesting, compelling, had me hooked. Definitely one to read if you are interested in drug addiction, rehab, and the mind set of people like this. Rough language and swearing so not for teenagers.



5. I had heard about (but not read) the Smoking Gun article before I read the book. I had also watched A Scanner Darkly (a movie based on a semi-biographical book by a former meth addict) the week before. Although I'm not a former drug addict or rehab patient, I've spent time with people who are, and the difference of the "feel of authenticity" between "Scanner" and "A Million Little Pieces" is striking.
   
   The book reads as though the author is trying to communicate immense emotion, but doesn't quite have the writing chops to pull it off. So instead, he substitutes lurid detail, and exaggerates so we'll get the point. The problem with this approach is that since the story doesn't fit the "mythological truth" of well-crafted fiction, nor the "logical pattern" of fact, an informed reader is constantly being interrupted by a nagging "that doesn't sound right" impulse. I got 80 pages into the book before deciding that I needed to look up the smoking gun article, which more or less says that James Frey made the whole thing up. I found this assertion to be the more believable. I'm not so terribly bothered by this (after all, he did get caught, and I find large-scale frauds that involve the media amusing) but I am bothered by the experience of reading.
   
   It is rare that I'll give up on a book, and I was disappointed to have to give up on this one because I had been looking forward to it. I probably also had trouble with the writing style (although I'm generally pretty adaptable, I got through Riddley Walker all right). To be fair, it is not the worst book I ever read. But I found it intensely irritating and honestly cannot understand why people like it.

5 comments about Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles (1974-2001).

1. Yeah, I know it's a Joe Walsh line, but it fits this book perfectly.
   
   After joining the Eagles, it doesn't take long for Felder to start realizing (real or imagined) that he's getting the shaft from Messrs. Frey and Henley. Apparently the royalties from "Hotel California" and other tunes are enough to pacify him for a while, however.
   
   Finally, when he stands up to them, they do the expected and fire him. It's interesting how the other two "sidemen" (Walsh and Schmidt) don't back him up at all (lest they put their own positions in peril) and implore him to just enjoy the ride, but it's too late by then.
   
   Along the way there are some interesting stories but not really enough to keep this book afloat. If you're not a hardcore Eagles fan, I'd skip it.



2. Don Felder's story is revealing yet fair. One can detect joy, sadness, chagrin in his look back at his life with the Eagles, but almost no animosity at all. It is an effort in a meditative manner, telling things the way he saw it, with no attempt at excuses - even for his own mistakes.
   
   Being a non-confrontative and meek person, you can easily say that it was his own fault for allowing the abuse by the Gods (*snigger*, sorry; can never refer to that silly title without sniggering). Yet, isn't that a common trait in a lot of people? But he woke up after being unfairly fired. Timothy Schmit's last remarks to Felder, that some contract made in the 70s was history, aren't entirely correct. That contract was not voided before they embark on the new regulation of profit division among the band members. It was only ignored and THAT is why the hostility against Felder mounted. He was pointing out to a fact that still stands and this grated, but for Felder's lack of courage to be more direct.
   
   The very fact that Henley and Frey (The Gods...? *cringe*) eventually settled this out of court is very telling! Wake up, those who berate Felder for telling this story! They settled because they would never win! And they didn't want more than what is already evident to see further light! DUH!! The stories in this book have been watered down even, in order to save these lousy dogs some face! What a pity such massively talented individuals are also very destructive in their nature. It is sad that his old friends, Timothy Schmit and especially, Joe Walsh, chose to save their own hides from the wrath of The Gods (there, said it again). But I can see their fears and understand why they cease contact with Felder. They have that same trait of non-confrontative way! But they were never promised an equal share, and signed contracts that are already clear on their own positions: an Eagle, but not really a member. Hired musicians with a fancy tag.
   
   All in all, a very fair point of view from Don Felder. No finger-pointing and maintains his respect for these guys, no matter what had happened between them. The irony being that Henley's and Frey's greed in hoping to swallow Felder's share ended up in them paying back his overdues and more, now that Felder is also entitle to future profits. Talk about coming full circle........



3. Great book.A must read for every Eagles fan.The inside "dope" on
   America's number one band.



4. Don Henley once said there are three sides to every story: yours, mine, and the cold hard truth. What Don Felder provides in this book is the "yours." The book is at times a touching rags-to-riches story of a small town boy who makes it big. It's also a poison pen dagger aimed directly at Don Henley and Glenn Frey, who he holds responsible for seemingly everything that went wrong in his life.
   
   Felder, by his own account, seems to live a miserable existence no matter how much success he achieves. He is miserable in the recording studio, miserable on tour, and miserable at home with his wife and four children. At some point, one really starts to wonder how someone can exist going through life so miserable. He overreacts to seemingly minor situations, such as his youngest son trying pot as a teenager. When Felder discovers this, he is practically ready to drive him to rehab instead of just chalking it up to typical teenage behavior.
   
   Felder is also careful in touching on his relationship with the members in the band. However, he fails to realize that what goes around comes around. When his good buddy Bernie Leadon is forced out (mainly due to Felder's arrival), followed shortly thereafter by bassist Randy Meisner, Felder stands idly by, unwilling to support his friends. Yet when the ax falls on Felder in 2001, he is incredulous that band mates Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit refuse to battle for him. It is Schmit who actually sets Felder straight by telling him what happened in the 1970s is no longer relevant, but a suddenly headstrong Felder refuses to see it that way.
   
   The final straw appears to come with the impending release of an Eagles greatest hits compilation in 2000. Once again, Felder is unhappy that Henley and Frey (whom he refers to as "The Gods") make more money. It's at this point when you really wish Felder would grow a spine and just make the decision to just leave the band. Henley and Frey may never win any humanitarian awards, but for Felder to lay all his problems at their feet is simplistic at best and vengeful at worst. After all, they were the ones to give him his big break and they did provide most of the inspiration for this book.
   
   The book is at times funny, and Eagles fans will revel in Felder's accounts of life on the road and writing classic hits such as "Hotel California." In the end, you can't help but feel for Felder a bit. But at the same time, you can't help but also think that he could have prevented so much of what went wrong by simply standing up for himself. When he was finally able to do so, it was too late.



5. This is a great well-written book. I am a writer and I find it rare to read a book this engaging and entertaining. Felder adds enormous feeling to the story so you get to experience the joy and pains of his emotions and the heady triumphs of life in one of America's top groups of all time.
   If you were around in the 70's you will treasure reading how he created Hotel California and performed it for countless adoring fans.

5 comments about A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.

1. This book is so unimaginably bad that the only way its title's words have any relevance is if they are applied to negatives. Fortunately, I borrowed the book from my mother-in-law and did not help enrich this pr-drenched hack. Genius fails both of my factors for memoir excellence by a ton. His life, if truly represented in the memoir, is dull, self-pitying, and self-aggrandizing. His is the archetypal life of `quiet desperation' gone Madison Avenue. In short, his life is neither interesting nor important. Worse, though, is that he is not even a passable prosist. And it's not because he's stretching forms, nor anything near-Joycean, it's that he simply cannot write a compelling sentence, much less a compelling narrative. I am not a believer in Chicken Littleism, that all was better yester, for things go in cycles, but Genius is a book that is horrendous writing in any day. Even 20 years ago it would have been laughed at by any publisher. Before I detail its execrability, let me opine on the reasons it became a bestseller. Genius comes after a couple of decades of MTV, computer games, porno on command, and Political Correctness. I.e.- the self and its instant gratification is the leading mover of advertising, politics, and now art. Eggers may be a genius, but its not in literature, but in marketing. His book is the literary equivalent of the pet rock of the 1970s.
   
   I defy any reader of Genius to be able to point to a single well-crafted description, or a memorable scene. There are none. Is there even a well-written or memorable paragraph or sentence? 0 for 2. Eggers even celebrates his illiteracy with a near 50 page prologue that is meant as meta-humor, but is really just piffle, for it is not deep, not insightful, nor even original. Its real reason is to try to distract the reader from expecting that Eggers can actually write. This is the same ill that afflicts the work of Jackson Pollock- had he limited his drippings to a series of, say, 8-12 paintings one might legitimately scan the corpus for meaning. But to make a career out of dripping manifests the fact that the man did not really have a coherent, nor deep, vision. Had Eggers limited his wisecracking to 2- 3 pages tops, he may have been falsely accused of having a sense of humor. The bloat that was printed is merely the equivalent of a liar needing to constantly elaborate on his lies just so the prescients among us don't suspect. Of course, we do, and the best of us know a put-on when we read it. Yet, Eggers thinks that if he pretends his prose's lack of craft is a choice, then its failings are good, because for someone to write that badly and get published must mean there is a deeper meaning within. Hold on, reader, let me get that full guffaw out of the way....There. For years, at the Uptown Poetry Group, I would have to explain to young teenagers who thought that their poorly constructed and dull rants of how dull it was to write poorly constructed and dull rants about being bored in a café were not genius, nor even insightful. They were most floored when I told them that such rants were not even original. Eggers' masturbation is what it is- masturbation alone. In short, a writer cannot effectively illustrate his character is bored by writing boringly. Some of the dullest characters in literary history were the fops whose lives were penned by Oscar Wilde- `nuff said.
   
   On to the book's tale: the first 30 or so pages follow his mother's death by cancer. She pukes, she excretes, she spits, and this is supposed to invoke sympathy as Eggers describes how wretched his dying mother is. Then, before she finally kicks off (at which point the reader is delighted) his dad drops dead. Dozens of pages in and this is all that has happened, save for some banal conversation, and finding out he comes from an upper middle class, if not wealthy, family. Eggers has an absolutely tin ear for conversation- both in its content and in its utterance, plus he has no idea how conversation serves narrative- to push it along. I.e.- conversation is usually only superior to narration if it can capture the specifics, emotional intensity, or the essence of the moment or narrative better than a narration could. Also, conversation has to be interesting enough to stand on its own. Real banal banter is not good writing. Good conversation is written to be read and reread with appreciation, yet to fool the reader into believing someone might actually be profound enough to say what they say, even if unwittingly.
   
   Example A of Eggers' tin ear for conversation: (from pages 22-23)
   
   `Hi,' I say.
   
   `Hi,' Toph says.
   
   `How's it going?'
   
   `Fine.'
   
   `Are you still hungry?'
   
   `What?'
   
   `Are you still hungry?'
   
   `What?'
   
   `Pause the stupid game.'
   
   `Okay.'
   
   `Can you hear me?'
   
   `Yes.'
   
   `Are you listening?'
   
   `Yes.'
   
   `Do you still want food?'
   
   `Yeah.'
   
   Now, I've taken a snip from a longer exchange, but this is typical of the conversation, one designed to show the relationship of Eggers to his baby brother Christopher (Toph). About 40% of the book is literally devoted to conversations of this depth. The fact is that most vapid people are vaguely aware of their state, and reveal the depths of their vapidity by trying to cover it up with poorly advised forays into bad philosophy or polysyllabicism. Eggers is not even clued in enough to recognize this point....Even worse than the tin-eared conversations is the utterly Dick & Jane-like A to B to C narrative. There is nary a moment of true reflection in the whole book. Whether this is because Eggers is simply vapid, or thinks his readers are is not important- the vapidity is. Instead, the whole book, especially the first third is nothing but self-referential pap- be it in advertisements of brand name products (the film version will score a coup in product placements), mention of rock groups, computer games, tv shows and characters, and pop arcana that only a decade on is already as dated as the courtly intrigues of John Dryden's poetry.
   
   What Eggers and his admirers believe to be in the vein of Joyce and Woolf is nothing better than the PC MFA workshopped drivel it sneers at. In fact, it's probably worse because an occasional moment of sincerity might lend an oasised sentence or paragraph of sustained clarity in the midst of those deserts. Genius is merely PC workshop smart aleck writing that thinks it's brilliant for its un-wry comments on things that have no staying power to begin with.



2. I bought this book because of all the rave reviews from critics and the because it was a Pulitzer finalist. I read the first one-third of the story and really enjoyed his candid writing style. I am from the Bay Area and too lost my mother at an early age, so I really related to both his accounts of Berkeley/SF life and people, as well as grieving the loss of a parent at a young age. His anger toward the insensitivity of others was frank. His urgency to protect his little brother from the realities of death and loss are memorable. His writing style is both vivid and candid, however very very detailed. At first this was interesting and kept my attention, but after the first 5 chapters or so, was a slow moving book. I found myself skipping chapters. Overall a decent read though.



3. "Well they say its kind of frightening how this younger generation swings, You know its more than just some new sensation... At an early age he hits the streets, wind up tied with who he meets / You know its more than just an aggravation." --David Lee Roth, from Van Halen's "The Cradle Will Rock," from their seminal 1980 work "Women and Children First"
   
   So it may be a little ridiculous starting off a literary review with some credible quasi-fiction book like Eggers, "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius," (heretoforeafter referred to as AHWOSG) but there is something in it that is pertinent, something I believe Eggers with his way of writing what is available to his mind at the moment, though seemingly irrelevant, would approve of. So to title your debut book, AHWOSG, borders on the absurd side of hyperboles, in the end when one is finished reading, this almost can't put down work...is not a far-off description. It's that good my friends, read on and you may be convinced.
   
   So back to David Lee Roth waxing poetic and philosophical, which are two descriptors rarely associated with the lyrical works of Van Halen, Roth years. What AHWOSG does, less concisely mind you, is capture a voice of a generation. The book does a lot of things, but this summing up of the Gen Y, the Internet Generation, or better yet, The YouTube Generation's media savvy need for an audience on a broad scale seems to be something Eggers does most successfully, Is it a generational treatise? Perhaps not quite that, because after all, can you capture in a work of literature all the voices, feelings, experiences of a whole generation. Probably not. But as Eggers proves, you can come pretty darn close.
   
   Just get a gander at this writing, before you go on to purchase this book (or however in your corner of the world you acquire fiction to consume), "What does it take to show you mf's, what does it freakin' take what do you want how much do you want because I am willing and I'll stand before you and I'll raise my arms and give you my chest and throat and wait, and I've been so old for so long, for you, for you, I want it fast and right through me---- Oh do it, do it, you mf's, do it do it you f's finally, finally, finally." That's the last passage from AHWOSG and it caps off a really really moving read. Those are the words from an author that really really craves an audience. And so it may be with a generation brought up on an expectation that it just isn't the "15 minutes of fame," we are all seeking and due...but the way one connects is through mass media. A mass audience validates ones existence or at the very least, helps them deal with any human pain they may be suffering in the present.
   
   Eggers, granted, has a lot of reasons to be experiencing angst. Whereas the Gen X'ers, my generation, are thought of as largely cynical with no clear valid reason to cop that permanent attitude, Egger's generation has plently of reason to be dislocated and distraught, the music of Radiohead only one small cultural influencer, not to mention 9/11, wars, real wars, not some mamby pamby skirmishes in Grenada and The Falklands. This is the generation that could very well go down in history as the Next Great Generation, following in the footsteps of the boomers who saved the world from certain peril during War War II.
   
   What is Eggers' AHWOSG like you may want to know? After all why would you still be reading my random stream-of-consciousness review...still? It's about loss, staggering loss. It's about coming of age prematurely when one's parents pass at age 22, leading to the taking on of guardianship for your younger high school aged brother. It's about the search for meaning in one's life through work, friends and family. It's about life, man, just read it and get back out there living it.
   
   To go on further may dilute any type of message I'm trying to send you with this review. What I'd like to do is just to convince you to read this book. You may in some small way find yourself looking at your own life, in light to Eggers', differently. You may in some larger way get to know and understand a generation, perhaps your own, perhaps someone elses. What you won't get from AHWOSG is boredom. And in a life, the pursuit of entertainment and moreso engagement, seems a worthwhile cause, if only to enlighten and give cause to live. ...mmw



4. The book as a whole is much better than some of the parts. Dave Eggers has written a raw, emotional memoir of the years immediately following the death of both parents. He becomes the guardian of a younger brother and is also trying to begin his own career as a writer. Eggers is witty, sarcastic, pretenious and possibly genius, but this book was not easy for me to read. Some parts were laugh out loud funny. Some were gut-wrenchingly brutal. Some were loving, poignant and sad. Then, there were parts that I felt I would never get through and it wasn't until I was finished that I really appreciated what Eggers had accomplished. Several times in telling his story, Eggers goes off on narrative tangents that don't really move the story. These border on stream of conscienciousness, but are just hard to follow, as are some sections of dialogue. (I was torn between 3 or 4 stars, because it was just hard to get through at times.)
   
   So why does this book have such high praise? Eggers is funny and honest. This memoir succeeds in giving an clear picture of one young adult's life and his thoughts as he strives to deal with his grief, become a parent to his much younger brother and carve out a successful career as writer and publisher. Eggers was idealistic enough to think he could do just that. I found myself wanting to like this book because of what Eggers was trying to accomplish.
   
   If you pick up this book and make it through the preface and first chapter (it may not be easy), go ahead and finish. I think you will be glad you did. Then check out Eggers work as a philanthropist and teacher-at-large. Now that deserves high praise indeed!



5. the first 50 pages or so are promising. it seems like it is going to be a quirky, honest depiction of this young man's life after his parents die and he becomes the guardian of his young brother. and as long as he stays with that, the story is compelling. unfortunately, most of the book is full of random stories about his uninteresting life told in such a self-conciously, self centered way. every bad thing that happens to anyone he has ever met manages to be completely about him. he thinks he's infinitely more clever than the rest of the world and more entitled to attention and he acknowledges this. it's as if he thinks that by admitting his faults, the reader no longer has the right to be annoyed by them. but they do and i was. the writing is scattered and lazy and i don't know how it got published.

5 comments about The Color of Water 10th Anniversary Edition.

1. I think this story trancends race. It's really just a story of a mother who made choices and gave her all in an extremely trying environement. I was moved. I read this after reading Miracle at St. Anna which was great!



2. I enjoyed the insight into the authors life and experiences. I was a little confused as he went back and forth between characters at first, but figured it out quick enough. I thought it was a good read overall and was fascinated by the devotion of his mother to her children and Christianity. The successful lives of all of the children is a testament to the strength of his mother.



3. Excellent book which talks about transracial issues....excellent also for people considering adoption of trans racial children....very informative.....



4. loved this book. my son is also bi-racial. i was born in 1956 and could really relate and re-read the book with my son. he never experienced most of the things in the book so it was an incredible sharing and bonding experience for us and it opened a whole new dialogue with his dad who's family originated in north carolina. great read for all parents and children. truly enlightening



5. This is such a good book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It reminds me of so many strong women I know who raised their kids to the best of their ability regardless of their circumstances.

5 comments about Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Life.

1. This is truly an outstanding book about a great man. Even though I am a Redskins fan I REALLY enjoyed this book. A very inspiring book. The book covers the life of Coach Dungy from his childhood up through the Super Bowl victory by the Colts. In it are many stories of the challenges and joys he has faced during his life and how he has grown in Christ throughout. I recommend this book without reservation. A great read and a great message.



2. It's a very good book, I've read better, but that doesn't take away from this book or its message. I won't go into detail, others already have.



3. Sometimes the irony of a certain situation strikes me as highly profound. The person that recommended me this book happens to be an assistant manager that I work with. She told me how she learned so much from Dungy's life, and how it changed her life. And her recommendation of this book was what convinced me to read it. Yet when the store manager threw her a bone that she didn't expect, she didn't handle it like a professional. She handled it like a little first grader because she didn't get what she deserved, and because life isn't fair. And after reading what Tony Dungy went through, and how he pressed on, I want to press on, regardless of my circumstances. So my goal isn't to be better than my assistant manager, but to focus on my life. That's what Tony Dungy did. He focused on his life and on his team and his goals.
   
   "Quiet Strength" sums this up very well. All the while he looks back on his career in football, it never seems like he chalks it up as bragging rights. He just counts it as the life he lived. He takes lessons from the great Chuck Noll, to just go out there and "Do what we do" as a team. He talks little about his family, but from what I can see, his family comes before football.
   
   Dungy takes disappointment combined with elation in the ups and downs of his career, let alone his life. Things have not always come easy for this man, and have in fact, gotten harder in some aspects. Especially in one situation with his son that many knew about in the middle of the 2005 season. But that didn't stop Tony Dungy from pressing forward. And it didn't stop him from leaning on Christ Jesus in the thick of things.
   
   As I still see my assistant manager from day to day, I still extend my hellos and she extends hers. There is very little respect for her these days from my perspective, but that's ok. I do what I do. I'm pressing on. Tony Dungy pressed on. Tony Dungy is an NFL Champion, and all he has to show for it is quiet strength. Because that's all he needs! Thank you, Tony Dungy.



4. I highly recommend this book to ANY reader--the football fan, the God fan, the prayer fan, or othewise. It is an excellent, life-changing read.



5. This book is very powerful for anyone striving to excel with God as your guide. Tony Dungy is a great example of a faithful man in the face of tremendous success and soul shattering pain. Thanks for writing the book, all of us that read it are indebted to you.