5 comments about Enter the Past Tense: My Secret Life as a CIA Assassin.

1. The ugly truth is the CIA isn't now and never was the formidable operation that Hollywood wishes it was. The CIA hasn't had assassins on its payroll, even as contract operatives, since Vietnam. The Haas story is pretty good fiction though. He has walked his wannabe persona through the settings he would have the reader believe he frequented as an assasin. But any close analysis will quickly reveal the many, many, inconsistencies that are inevitable when one makes up a tale and calls it true. The intriguing thing is, why have there been no consequences for this book at Haas's real job? The lack of blowback does not necessarily mean his employers know his story is true. In fact, if it were, it would never have reached publication, and it is likely Mr. Haas would not be with us. So why no consequences? I'm guessing it can't hurt to have our enemies wonder if we do have secret assasins. For a company that's been largely incompetent in its operations these last forty years, a bogeyman assasin is better than nothing. Saddam had his fictional WMDs to frighten the Iranians. We have our Haas-men to do the same...



2. Enter the Past Tense: My Secret Life as a CIA Assassin
   THIS IS A MUST READ, AND PASS IT ON TO FAMILY AND FRIENDS OR GIVE AS A
   CHRISTMAS GIFT, THE TRUTH IS STRANGER THAN FICTION, BELIEVE ME I HAVE BEEN
   THERE AND YOU WILL ENJOY THIS BOOK.



3. This book was hard to put down. Amazing story of one man's career. We need people like him, as this world is not a place where "nice talk" solves all problems. Recommended reading.



4. Oh my gosh! What a great deal! No dust cover, but still a great deal! Excellent seller! Quick delivery. Hurry for the seller! Thank you. A++++++++



5. It makes me happy to know there are people like Mr Haas who makes life
   easier for us in the good old USA. Hopefully the rest of his life will be much easier. Sticks and stones, you guys

5 comments about In the Company of Horses: A Year on the Road With Horseman Mark Rashid.

1. Both enlightening and practical. This book is clearly written and makes points in way that Mark Rashid himself (I love his books) is not always able to. I think this comes from this author's more "traditional" horse training background, which so many of us share. (BTW: If you are into jumping then this book is definitely for you!)
   
   I found this a wonderful complement to Mark's own books. It stands well on its own, too. I would recommend this as a first exposure to Mark Rashid's philosophies for anyone who wants to "get to the point" a little quicker than reading through all of Mark's books. But if you've already read all of Mark's books, you won't be disappointed either!



2. It is often good to see the insights and opinions of those whom have been affected by someone elses knowledge and abilities. In the Company of Horses: A Year on the Road With Horseman Mark Rashid puts you on the road and in the clinics with the eyes, ears and emotions of many of his students.



3. After reading the first five pages of this book, I put my pen down as I knew I'd underline about 80 percent of what I was reading.
   
   Chapter titles include 'Point of View', 'Softness', 'Mean Well' and within the chapters are well thought, priceless vignettes of self-discovery ranging from learning with Mark and horses, the life style of an on-the road clinicians, working with students and how this thoughtful style of consistent horsemanship changes self and permeates life.
   
   This time through, I'm devouring it - skimming words, slowing down here and there, nodding in agreement, delighting in the aha-moments. As soon as I compete the book, I'll start my second reading - going slowly, savouring the Lindley's words and experiences along this horsemanship road that beckons and calls us just over the next hill.



4. Of sharing true openness and self observation. Kathleen shows how being open minded to learning from not only Mark, horses and her students but also learning from herself and what she is really doing when she is working with a horse. Which shows that if you are not honest with yourself and what you are really doing, or not capable of doing while working with a horse, the horse will reveal it for you.
   This book is hard to put down once you start reading it.



5. In the Company of Horses is such an inspiring story about not only finding your role as a horse trainer but also how to identify and work within your own psyche. There were so many ways that I could relate to what Kathleen had written about her own experiences, doubts, and insecurities. The inspiration comes when she helps the reader to realize their own potential for success- in life as well as with the horse.

5 comments about Red Azalea.

1. 
   From the start of the book the reader is enveloped with several odd concepts and aspects of communism and the Chinese culture that many may find simply odd. This is one of the books most fascinating qualities that make it partly likable. My problems with the book come primarily from Min's raw and almost poetic writing style. At times her simple sentence structure was a major drawback that led to a choppy feeling and rough delivery. I felt that her memoir would have been more appealing if she had spent less time dwelling on descriptions that were in many cases not necessary. Overall this book in my opinion deserved three out of five stars. I will undoubtedly recommend this novel to others for the reason that this story is one of a kind and at many points heartwarming.



2. Red Azalea is a compelling memoir, even though the writing is not always engaging. The prose relies on simple declarative sentences and often seems stilted. One observation follows closely upon another; thus, a description of setting might be followed immediately by a description of mortal danger, all in the same even, subject-verb syntax. You feel like you are reading a translation, and, in a sense, you probably are, since Anchee Min knew no English when she came to the U.S. in 1984, although the memoir was written in English. (Red Azalea was published in 1994.) Interestingly, she does not use quotation marks for a character's speech, but does use them for the numerous quotations from Chairman Mao, which has the effect of making Mao a powerful presence in the book. Two things make the book compelling. One is the sheer force of the events of the Cultural Revolution, particularly Min's depiction of her childhood and of her time on Red Fire Farm. The other is her eye for detail, like the bright red underwear hung out to dry in the spartan barracks of the collective farm. Min's recollections of sexual repression (and expression) during the Cultural Revolution are interesting. Such sexual puritanism is exactly what George Orwell's character Julia rebels against in the totalitarian society of his novel 1984, written in 1949, the year Mao came to power.



3. I'm not really sure what to make of this book. It was very powerful and personal. It's unlike any other book i've read because it something that has actually happened. The events in the book are mind blowing in a way that makes you want to keep reading. I would reccomend this book for someone who is ready to read a story that can overwhelm you.



4. I finished the book in 2 days...I could've finished it in one but I'm a student so I couldn't finish it as early as planned. However, I love this book! I love Anchee Min..she is definetly my favorite author. I bought almost all her books. One of the book I really liked is Empress Orchid.



5. Having read Empress Orchard I found this written in a more juvenile way. Perhaps the author was a younger and less sophisticated writer at the time. Good, but not fantastic

3 comments about A Lion Called Christian: The True Story of the Remarkable Bond between Two Friends and a Lion.

1. [...]
   
   I have an original copy of this book, A Lion Called Christian. It is a hardcover book.
   
   This book recounts the experiences of two men who owned a London boutique, bought a lion cub to try to attract customers to the store, and when the lion outgrew their ability to responsibly maintain him, they took responsibility for his future by taking him to George Adamson in Kenya to be rehabilitated to the wild.
   
   George Adamson was the ex-husband of Joy Adamson, author of the famous Born Free books. They were the pioneers of the practice of successfully rehabilitating captive animals to the wild.
   
   The story is excellent and is attracting new interest today because of videos on youtube, of the reunion of the owners and Christian after Christian was living as a fully rehabilitated wild lion.
   
   This story is the epitome example of people taking full responsibility for the welfare and future of the big cat they bought as a pet, when that cat outgrew their facilities and resources to keep him adequately for his needs.
   
   It is a beautiful moving story and also shows just how much loyalty and love that animals can have toward humans who genuinely care about them and relate to the animals in positive fair ways that the animals understand.



2. i understand john rendall wrote a book about his raising christian the lion in 07 or 08,
   the title may be " christian the lion who lives in my london living room "?
   can't find it anywhre.
   help ?!!!!!!!!



3. I am trying to find the original book called christian the Lion written by John Rendall and Tony Bourke.

5 comments about Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping.

1. I thought the author would write more about her struggles to give up spending. There was a little of that but most of it was a political diatribe. I'm so sick of ultra-liberals preaching their weird philosophies to the rest of us. This women has two homes, three cars, and at one time didn't pay a student loan because "nobody else did" until forced to do so because her credit rating was bad. What a hypocrite. Don't waste your time or money on this boring book.



2. First off, this book lost points with me for a fairly two-faced marketing strategy. The title and a review on the back of the book suggest that this book is about making do with a very minimalist approach to shopping, spending, and possession. Barbara Ehrenreich, who wrote the bit on the back, says "if you have to do without... Levine is the person to do it with." However, the blurb on the inside of the dust jacket paints the author in a markedly different light, and seems to suggest that Levine found that she couldn't hack it without dropping tons of cash, which is the conclusion I reached as a reader.
   
   Although Levine probably had very good intentions, her follow-through falls depressingly short, to the point that this book paints a very unremarkable story. Part of the dust jacket blurb describes the author as "a woman any reader can identify with: someone who can't live without French roast coffee or SmartWool socks but who has had it up to here with overconsumption and its effects." Right off the bat, I can't relate to that. I don't think I've ever drunk French roast coffee or worn SmartWool socks, and I still feel like I can cut down my consumption a lot. Levine seems to realize she is part of the problem, not the solution, and wants to fix that, but the book strays from this a lot.
   
   Other reviewers have made very good points about the author's vastly hypocritical spending habits. If the author talked about these habits like they were unsurmountable psychological tendencies, and tried to address how to cure them, then okay. But she didn't, and it just comes off as the author wanting to talk a good game about saving money and the environment, but not backing it up with action at all. She also strays considerably from the point of this book by discussing at length political issues that are unrelated to consumption.
   
   If you want to make it a year without shopping, start by leaving this book on the shelves.



3. I was surprised to see the number of negative reviews that people have given this book. Expecting to read a book of what it's like to resist the urge to spend frivolously, I was pleasantly surprised to find an entertaining, deeper reflection on culture that surrounds consumerism and buying. I noticed many people seemed bothered by Judith Levine's "hypocrisy" and I feel they have failed to miss the point of this book. Levine is not preaching her experience, instead, sharing it as a human being with elements that show she is every bit as human as anyone, which in my opinion makes this all the more inspirational.
   
   I greatly enjoyed the authors witty style, and she brought up an number of intriguing statistics and facts. It does get a little political at times, but it's a true reflection of the circumstances that surround the book. While I'm not about to embark on a similar social experiment after reading this, it has made me reflect on how buying is defined in society and ask myself why do I want to buy the things I want to buy, and are they necessary?



4. dont buy "Not buying it" it not as enlightening as I thought it would be.



5. I flew through the first third of this book...when she was still having a hard time with not buying things.
   
   Then, apparently, she adjusted, because the rest of the book didn't really have much to say about the lack of buying. It was mostly about politics at that point - which I'm not interested in reading about in the least.
   
   Several hypocritical points, as other reviewers have mentioned. And by halfway through, I found I just didn't care anymore.

5 comments about Jesus Land: A Memoir.

1. You will not be disappointed with this book; I was glued to it all weekend. I really admire Julia for her honesty and her courage to let the reader into her life. I can't begin to imagine how hard it was to write this memoir.



2. This book reduced me to tears at several points, probably because of my several shared experiences with the author. Jesus Land is the well written story of growing up under an oppressive, twisted, and abusive form of religion in America's Heartland. It's the story about how religion can bring out the best and the worst in people -- although mostly the latter is drawn out of the characters in this book.
   
   Scheeres story takes her from the Hoosier State to the Dominican Republic with only one constant in her life: her beloved brother, David, her adopted black brother. Not only is this memoir about the effect abusive religion can have on a young psyche, it's about the bond that develops between two people who go through that experience together.



3. Jesus Land is Julia Scheeres' memoir of her childhood, with the main theme being her relationship with her adopted brother David. It has witty prose and graphic reality, leaving you with the haunting feeling that there are places in the world where things are terribly wrong.
   
   The majority of the book is set in mid-80's rural Indiana. Julia lives with her father, who is a doctor, her stay at home mother, and her adopted brother David, who happens to be black. There is another adopted brother, Jerome, who occasionally makes appearances. Julia's parents are devoutly religious, preferring mission trips and Bible studies over their children.
   
   This is not a feel good book. Julia's father, who is absent through most of the book, beats Jerome and David. Jerome rapes Julia, yet her relationship with her parents is so bad that she feels she cannot tell them. There are frequent encounters with racism, as most people at the time were not comfortable with siblings of different races. David and Julia are shipped off to the Dominican Republic to attend Escuela Caribe, a fundamentalist school outside of U.S. government control for a reason. There they encounter more physical and psychological abuse, often reduced to animals in the way they are treated.
   
   But there is plenty of good to take away from this book. It is essentially the story of the love between David and Julia. It is hard to imagine two siblings being closer, especially considering what they had to endure. They were the same age, and nearly inseparable. They were even able to develop a code of "sign language" between them during the times they couldn't speak to each other at Escuela Caribe. There is also the opportunity to learn what a home looks like when love is absent and religious rules and traditions are used instead.
   
   I strongly recommend this book, but it is highly graphic. Be prepared to be confronted with real life, unfiltered and without apologies.



4. This is a memoir of a little girl's family that adopted two little black boys. The story is disturbing about the hatred and racism that she encountered as well as her two brothers. People were cruel to black people in the late seventies and early eighties in these small little towns in the north as well as the south. This story is set in Illinois. The family was highly religious as the mother spent most of her extra time corresponding with missionaries and her father was a doctor. The father was abusive to the little boys while he was merciful to his girl. But when the boys left home, one ran away and the other was sent away, his angry and wrath turned on Julia. The book recounts the time that her and her brother David spent months at a Christian reform camp. The book was painful for me to read. People hate with gladness. There is a big difference between being a Christian in action and appearance and being a Christian in heart. This book makes you sad at how people treat one another, how Christians treat one another, and how love of one another is the strongest bond in life. This book is a page turner, in the sense of hoping for a better result, a happy ending. The book ends, but you are left to provide happiness in your own life. You will watch how you treat people, that is where the happiness is in the book.



5. I found this book to be a very good read; however, I will warn - it is quite depressing. I consider myself to be an eternal optimist, but this book really threw me for a loop. I had no idea it would be so sad, especially from the reviews that I had read. Either way, it's an excellent book, and I am glad I read it!

5 comments about Love in Black and White: A Memoir of Race, Religion, and Romance.

1. Autobiography that's more about the man than the couple, tracing from his childhood in Maine through the White House. Interspersed are sections about Janet Langhart, and her upbringing. The book is an uplifting memoir that educates readers about the decades of historical, political, military social, racial, and Black history milestones in the U.S., as well as those of Mr. Cohen and Ms. Langhart.
   
   A couple of times or so, there were disconnects from a topic launching into something else; and some occasional grammar things going on that seemed out of character.
   
   The books was informative and candid, including paths of excellence and failure for both Mr. Cohen and his future wife. Both came from trailblazing ancestors and in turn carried on that tradition. Mr. Cohen didn't spare himself with a revisionist eye to his fighting youth, bad grades, and even 'cursing like a one-eyed pirate' one day. We learn of his experiences of racism from both the Jewish community and others from a young age forward. Mr. Cohen's mother was Irish Catholic and his father Jewish. Mr. Cohen went on to forgive those who ostracized him and denied him his birthright and merit of a Bar Mitzvah.
   
   Ms. Langhart went on to lead the way from being among the first Fashion Fair models, relegated to segregated accommodations while touring the country to represent the beauty of Black women, as founder Robert Johnson, later of BET fame, and then of the Johnson Publishing dynasty, Jet and Ebony, had envisioned. The reader gets to see the underside as well as the triumphs. Apparently Mr. Johnson had to buy all of the clothing rather than the typical 'loan' of clothes from designers, as people did not want to wear what had been on black bodies. Readers get to see Janet develop from a small child holding fast to her mother's words of hope and tolerance, though she worked as a domestic for white people. Incidentally, I'd seen Janet over the years and one would've never guessed the struggles she'd faced or the disappointments. Her mother and she were basically abandoned by her father, a returning soldier, who'd been a war hero, but had advised his daughter that upon his return he would not be wearing his uniform in the South on the ride home, and he'd be sitting in the back of the bus, disheartened about fighting for freedom for others abroad while at home, he was treated as if he were the enemy. At some point in the book, Janet protests the disparaging treatment of returning black soldiers who had to sit at the back of an auditorium, while foreign prisoners of war were treated like white people and sat at the front.
   
   Incidentally, when other cultural movements such as interracial movements and gay movements look to Black culture in how to navigate in the mainstream culture, it's instructive to note how Black culture has always been of the opinion about representing a good profile to the mainstream. Countering stereotypes was the least activism one could do. In the Fashion Fair tradition, the NAACP, also continues to encourage Black people to keep representing Black culture well with its annual "Image" Awards. The idea of good representation to the public. In the book "Navigating Interracial Borders, Black-White Couples and Their Social Worlds" the author seemed off put with the idea that interracial couples would want to 'keep up a front'. Not airing dirty laundry, and keeping the positive out front to offset the stereotypes. In this regard, it's no different than what Black people have done since Day 1, and continue to do. I believe immigrants did the same as a survival mechanism, too. It works. Role modeling. If you see it, you can achieve it. You can believe, and work towards it. Like any habit, practice makes perfect.
   
   In Cohen's book, you will see the good. That's what counts. Like any married couple, a united front.
   
   We learn that the people who Janet's mother worked for were Jewish, and that Janet's mother adopted some of their practices, like cooking Kosher food, and instilling certain values in her children, in spite of their surroundings and those negative persons around them. Janet's mother didn't teach hate. Nowhere in the book did I read anything but good things about Black men, or negative remarks about shiftless Black men who didn't take care of their children or any nonsense even though Janet's father left the family. It would have been an easy stereotype to exploit given the circumstance. Instead, there were many Black History nods. In Janet's developing career, she met icon after icon in the Black community, including Mahalia Jackson and Martin Luther King, Jr., who reportedly was like a son to Mahalia, and who frequently visited and stayed in her home, as did some other Black icons. The practice of hosting Black people in residences was a collective practice to counter Jim Crow segregation that either excluded Black people from public accommodations altogether, or offered conditions that were very bad. Janet was mentored by a range of Black icons, including Muhammad Ali, who advised her when his heavyweight title was stripped because he wouldn't serve in the War, that he still had his self respect, and that was more valuable than anything someone could give and take away at whim. Years later, during her rise from model to weather girl to broadcast journalist, readers would see how the leaders around her were able to impart survival wisdom. Years later, when Bill Clinton picked Cohen to be Secretary of Defense--a Republican Cohen, no less, and a "Jew" to some, Janet would be treated with the utmost respect to the extent that she began to focus on the good that was in her life. She even began to pray and kiss the flag in Cohen's office when she took to heart lessons learned and experiences that showed her that there are different kinds of people, and there are good people who welcome good people to work for good together.
   
   In this regard, Janet's experience with the military prior to Cohen was that it mistreated Black people like her father, and gave empty promises at best. Her mother and her family had a new home in the housing projects set up by the military for returning Black soldiers. It was a glimpse of the later military 'family' vision that would again renew her faith in the good outweighing the bad. I got chills and choked up when Cohen described how he'd secretly made a special request to honor Janet to the White House leaders during his final days as SecDef.
   
   Now, there's a love story. Cohen and Langhart were formerly married. Ironically, both Janet's brother as well as one of Cohen's sons married someone of the opposite race. Readers will be surprised to hear about the intimate details of a medical situation that Janet faced, and which no doubt had enormous impact on her life.
   
   I don't think the book title really reflects the content of the book. The books is primarily an autobiography of Cohen's life, which didn't intersect with Janet's til only little more than a decade ago. However, some people believe, as mentioned in the book Janet does, in fate. In which case, there life partner was always on their way to them. It wasn't a matter of if but when the two would come together, and how they get there, is really what the book includes. I can see Cohen loving B-ball, his father loving B-ball, and thus Cohen playing on teams where he met more than just White males. I was tickled a bit about his doing the Black handshake with Black men, playing while in the Senate with some Black Congressmen. I could see that if his mother was feisty and had her own independence and opinions that she felt free to express, that Cohen would not be put off by an outspoken Black woman like Langhart.
   
   In the book Cohen mentions Janet's loving his blue eyes. I'd have to say I wish Janet hadn't worn blue contacts on the book cover. While she's got some mixed ancestry, it's not front and center, as in her parents are both black. Somewhere down the line, many Black people have Native American, or White people, etc. in their family tree. People who aim to be a 'couple' will sometimes start dressing alike, and even down the line, are supposedly starting to morph into each other, with similar features.
   
   Since the couple did not have kids, it was a bonus to them in a way because Janet could travel with him everywhere he went and he had no guilt about forsaking the family for his job, as with the case with his first marriage. That both of them could interrelate about their experiences across the board, and stand strong together, was more than a galvanizing force. Readers get to see their perspectives on a range of U.S. events, from the lynching of Emmit Till to Watergate to the assassination of MLK, Jr., Hoover, to USS Cole, Vietnam, WWII, Katrina, the Kanye West TV comment. The times did change, who'd have thought a Republican, an immigrant's son no less who rose from living in a room with 5 people to become an lawyer, Congressman, Senator, SecDef, would be right there networking across the board for better times. And walking into the White House at the invite of hipster Bill Clinton, with his Black wife by his side. In these times. The time for all good men to rise.
   
   If there's an interracial story of love and marriage, a united front, this is it. Representing. As always. That we are more than what meets the eye.



2. I was disipointed that he did not reveal the intensity or depth of of attraction/love. Howeve,his account of his political career was interesting enough for me to want to read more of the stories by politicians during critical times in this country.



3. IT IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE IN THE AFRO AMERICAN COMMUNITY THAT FAIRER SKINNED PEOPLE HAVE IT MUCH EASIER THAN DARKER SKINNED MEMBERS. THIS IS BECAUSE THE FAIRER SKINNED MEMBERS ARE MORE READILY ACCEPTED AND ARE TREATED AS IF THEIR VALUE IS SOME HOW GREATER. IT IS ALSO A FACT THAT THE DARKER SKINNER MEMBERS TRY HARDER AND WORK HARDER. YOU CAN SEE THIS IN AFRO AMERICANS WHO ARE SUCCESSFUL IN MUSIC, SPORTS, MEDICINE, AND COMMUNICATIONS. THIS IS WHY SO MANY PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY BELIEVE THAT THESE HAVE MORE TALENT THAN THE FAIRER SKINNED ONES BECAUSE THE BATTLE IS HARDER.
   THIS IS WHY THIS BOOK IS NOT REALY VALID TO MOST OF THE POPULATION IN THE AFRO-AMERICAN COMMUNITY. SELECTIVE RACISM AND RACISM WITHIN A RACE. I DREAM ABOUT A TIME WHEN INTER-RACIAL COUPLES STOP TEACHING THEIR OFFSPRING THAT THEY ARE BETTER THAN THOSE WHO HAVE PARENTS THAT ARE BOTH AFRO-AMERICAN



4. I find it really amusing that these people with caucasion features who have a pretty easy time being accepted in the "white world", some how think they are the authority on race relations or interracial relationships. I have friends who married very dark skinned African Americans who lived in working class neighborhoods. Their love survived more pain, hardship, and strife then that half-breed Mrs. Cohen could ever imagine. I seriously doubt that Mr. Cohen would have it as bad a dark skinned male, with a white woman on his arm.
   
   Get a clue!



5. This is a love story. The journey of two people arriving at the same place in time, finally. They share their respective experiences with sharp incisive candor. Readers are given a "no holds barred" look into their world.
   
   Quite frankly, they are right. It is the time for a book of this quality to be written. Two little children born and raised in America, each having individual, separate horrendous struggles, - yet surviving, maturing, achieving success. Through their eyes, we experience life in the political, journalist, entertainment,social, personal, civil rights, and sports arena of action. Through them We meet a young Muhammad Ali, Quincey Jones, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Hilary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Sidney Poiter, Richard Nixon, Herbert Hoover, the FBI, Deepak Chopra, Bruce Gordon, Mahalia Jackson, John Johnson, Andrew Young, soldiers in Bosnia and many many more. Beautiful glossy photographs capture memorable moments. Thank you Bill and Janet. Your respective journeys were often jarring, but seldom boring. The book contains enlightening perspectives and is a wake-up call to the sometimes harsh yet mostly beautiful realities of life here on planet earth. And much like the lyrics of that sweet old poignant song, " We will show them as we walk together in the sun, that our two different worlds are one," -- you have indeed done just that.
   
   
   
   I have never met William Cohen and Janet Langhart Cohen, but I have observed Janet's steady progress and achievements, over the years, from the cover of Jet Magazine to the Ebony Fashion Fair, and her television show. I have always been inspired by her courage, intelligence and professionalism. I am an African-American woman. This book is excellent and informative. Its final chapter features Janet's masterfully crafted play, a dialogue between murdered Emmitt Till and the Holocaust's Anne Frank.
   
   
   My next read will be Janet's book, "From Rage to Reason."

5 comments about I'm Proud of You: My Friendship with Fred Rogers.

1. If you are looking for hope and love in a world filled with chaos and fear this book is a must read. The author weaves his story and friendship with Fred Rogers into a very entertaining and heart wrenching treasure.
   
   Tim thank you for sharing with the world your precious moments with Mr. Rogers. You have given hope, love, and IPOY to more people than you will ever know!!! I am one of the many who very much needed the words and affirmations written in this lovely book!!
   
   God Bless you all of your days.



2. This is a touching story about how great Mr. Rogers was. I loved it & so has everyone I know that has read it. It is a must read!!!!!!!!



3. This is a sweet remembrance of the author's friendship with Fred Rogers. But it also gives an interesting insight into the spiritual side of the "Mr. Rogers" so many of us grew up with. Most of us know that Fred Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian minister, but this book shares correspondences and conversations that reveal just how deeply spiritual Fred Rogers was.



4. This book is about a relationship between two friends. I often give this book to friends who have lost a parent. In this world where so few people encourage and lift each other up, are able to have a heart-to-heart talk with a friend, this book is an excellent example of how to do just that! "I'm Proud of You" is one of my favorite books. I would highly recommend it and preferred it so much more than "Tuesdays with Morie"(spelling?)since the story seemed so much more heartfelt.



5. This book made both my wife and I cry at times as it covered the sensitive topic of a son's relationship with his father and a man's relationship with a mentor. This is a must read for all father's, son's, and mentors.

5 comments about A Remarkable Mother.

1. Very quick service. I got this book for my mom for Mother's Day and she loved it. I recommend it to anyone and use Amazon.



2. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was lovingly written by a son who adored, respected, and loved his mother very much. Lillian was such a force in the White House, and it sounds like everyone from every country who ever met her just loved being with her. She's was a woman that we could all learn from....she didn't take from anyone...even the President. The book was inspiring to me...she went into the Peace Corps at 70....enough said....very good book!



3. This was a quick read, but well done. Mr. Carter's mother was definitely her own woman, but Mr. Carter treated her always with respect and love. A great tribute.



4. Loved the book. It was an easy afternoon read. My husband and I took turns reading it to one another while sitting on the dock sipping cold beer. It is one of those days you hold in your heart. Laughed, cried and hated to see the end. Miss Lillian was some kind of woman!



5. I purchased this book for my 86-year-old mother for Mother's Day.
   She said she enjoyed it very much and learned more about Mrs.
   Carter than she knew.

5 comments about Persian Girls: A Memoir.

1. For me, the most interesting thing about Rachlin's very interesting memoir was the incredible strength she showed in forging a life for herself that was so different from the culture she was born into in Iran and for which she had very little or no family support. It is a very personal tale of courage. Rachlin was given to an aunt to raise shortly after her birth and then wrenchingly, for both Rachlin and her aunt, taken away from her when she was about 8. I suspect it was this horrible experience that later gave Rachlin the courage to leave her family to attend college on a scholarship in the United States and to live an independent, solitary and self-sufficient existence in the United States for awhile before she met her husband.
   
   If I am at all disappointed with this book it is because of the emphasis Rachlin places on arranged marriages as the cause of unhappiness in women in the culture she was born into. Rachlin's sister was in an abusive arranged marriage as were other women in her family. I know some couples who are in very happy arranged marriages and I know a lot of women who are very unhappy in marriages of their own making. The divorce rate in the United States certainly attests to that.
   
   No, I would not have liked my life and/or marriage determined for me. And I value the ability to chart my own course. But Rachlin goes too far I believe when she seemingly equates arranged marriages with unhappiness and abuse.
   
   But overwhelmingly, this is a very interesting, and although somewhat sad, nonetheless a charming book.



2. Very interesting to learn about the Iranian culture from an author who is unafraid. I felt her writing portrayed her pain as well as her strength. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!



3. Particularly in the current political climate, I was hoping that this book would provide a fascinating look into a culture that is, at best, underrepresented in mainstream English language books and, at worst, criticized, discriminated against, and even hated; the fact that the author is a woman made it all the more enticing as I simply can't read enough of how my fellow women live, survive, and thrive in other cultures.
   
   PERSIAN GIRLS delivers on all accounts and has made me want to learn more not only about this intriguing woman--cappuccino is on me if you're ever in southern Italy Ms Rachlin!--but also about Iranian history and culture in general.
   
   From Rachlin's difficult childhood with a mother who didn't seem to want her and a father who wanted only control to her struggle for independence and acceptance in America, PERSIAN GIRLS places the reader in the very heart and mind of the author as she rises to each successive challenge placed before her.
   
   From the time Rachlin was taken from the only mother she knew, I found myself cheering her on-a credit to an outstanding opening scene that transports the reader to 1950s Iran amidst a prayer rug, a Koran, rose water, a paraffin lamp, and hot summer nights spent talking about a golden ladder descending from the sky.
   
   And yet Rachlin's writing style isn't nostalgic or wistful. She presents her life with such an objective tone sometimes that I forgot she was telling her own life story--and this is not a criticism. To the contrary, I felt like what I was reading was a true, fair account of events, and knowing that I'm able to trust the author is so very important.
   
   At times, however, I did feel that there was just a bit held back regarding the working through of her feelings in some of her relationships, particularly the most difficult ones; the fact that some family members are still alive surely had something to do with this, but overall I don't find that this guardedness distracts from the memoir. Rachlin gives plenty of clues into her personality to provide the reader with a sense of what the author might've been feeling, and I don't think there's anything wrong with a little mystery in any book, even a memoir.
   
   On another level, Rachlin's expat status in America really spoke to me, and I'm sure to plenty of other expats as well--the feeling of being caught between two cultures, two languages, two ways of life. On whether she regretted her choice to go to America, in a subsequent interview, Rachlin said:
   
   I have never really regretted my choice to come to America, pursue my own goals. But I am always aware of a loss, a price to pay for the independence I have gained. I don't have easy access and closeness to people I love, because of all the distance between us.
   
   Indeed I wouldn't mind another memoir (or even a how-to!) from Rachlin on her marriage to an American and raising her daughter in a country that is a sometimes enemy of her own. I look forward to reading Rachlin's fiction as well.
   
   I wholeheartedly recommend this memoir to anyone with an interest in women's history, cultural differences, the Middle East, family relationships, love, or, you know, life.
   
   This review originally appeared on my blog here: [...]



4. The front cover of Persian Girls: A Memoir by Nahib Rachlin has a quote from a Boston Globe reviewer saying that the "memoir reads like a novel", which I felt was very accurate. Nahib has provided us with a peek into her world, spanning over fifty years, and immersing us in the culture of Iran and her family.
   Nahib pulls us quickly into her world, showing us her split childhood - life with her adopted mother for her first 9 years, and then life with her birth family. Nahib's birth mother, Mohtaram, was very fertile, she agreed to give a child to her sister, Maryam. It was when Nahib turned 9 that she was considered "of age", able to legally marry, and that is when her father came to get her. When her father took her from her adopted mother, Nahib lost an attentive mother, she gained a sister and confidante.
   
   Nahib's relationship with her older sister Pari is incredibly moving. Both girls loved American movies and the idea of new freedoms for women. I look at my daughters, and hope for them to continue their close relationship - one like what Nahib and Pari had. There were many times as I was reading Persian Girls that I wished I was reading a novel, and that the author could guarantee me a happy ending for everyone involved. The relationship between Nahib and Pari was so intense, and yet fraught with obstacles. Their middle sister, Manijeh, was their mother's favorite, and the obvious favoritism made for a lot of rivalry between them. As time passes, and physical distances between them increase, the bonds between them change and strengthen.
   
   The Iranian Government and its changing laws cast a shadow over the lives of Nahib and her family. Every choice they make has to take the laws and social mores into account. Nahib's brothers go to college in the US, which is seen as a very modern thing to do. However, her two older sisters are married traditionally - in arranged marriages. While all families worry about appearances, in Nahib's father seemed to worry even more than usual. His job as a lawyer seemed tied to how his family is perceived, and he must balance the traditional and the modern.
   
   Parts of Persian Girls feel like a mystery, and one that cannot be solved. Without an omniscient narrator, we only know what Nahib has experienced or discovered. I wish I could see into the heads of many of the characters, but there is an intimate feeling reading one person's memories, one person's truth.
   
   Nahib states at one point in Persian Girls that she feels like she doesn't belong in either culture. I know that feeling is common among many ex-patriots, but I have to wonder if the problems in US-Iranian relationships made her transition more difficult. I found myself identifying so much with Nahid, finding many universal truths within her words, no matter your background.
   
   I highly recommend Persian Girls to anyone who enjoys memoirs and non-fiction, as well as to anyone who enjoys women's fiction or literary fiction - it really is a memoir that reads like a novel. It pulls you in, with vivid imagery of Nahid Rachlin's world. Watch out, though, once you start it you won't be able to put it down easily! I look forward to reading Nahid Rachlin's other books.



5. Persian Girls is the true story of Nahid Rachlin's experiences growing up in Iran during the years leading up to the Iran hostage crisis.
   
   I was particularly interested to read this when I learned there was an adoption theme to the story -- until she was in elementary school, Nahid was raised by her aunt Maryam. Nahid's biological mother had given Maryam baby Nahid to raise as her own, since she had been widowed without children and Nahid's biological mother already had several children. And interesting sisterly pact.
   
   But at the age of nine, Nahid was yanked from her peaceful existence as the only daughter of religiously observant Maryam to live with her estranged biological family.
   
   The story is a mostly sad one -- there are not very many happy endings in this book, partly because of the iron fist with which her father ruled her family, and because of the fall of the Shah and the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini. But it is an interesting portrait into life in Iran and what it was like to be raised as a girl in a country where daughters were, at least at that time, thought more of as chattel than individuals.
   
   My one reservation about wholeheartedly recommending this book is Rachlin's writing style. I have never read any of her fiction, but this book read more like a series of journal entries than a narrative story. I also kept waiting for there to be some sense of hope, but this seemed to be more a story of resignation than one of triumph -- a tale of the bonds of sisterhood and how the lives of Nahid and her sister Pari came to differ on many levels as Nahid eventually made her escape to America.
   
   While not every story is a happy one, and I certainly enjoy memoirs that aren't 100% happy and joyful, I kept waiting for there to be some relief in this tale about how lives were shattered and how families were torn apart. I found the writing style to be a bit disjointed in places, but not enough to keep me from finishing the book.
   
   For those of us who grew up in a time of new awakening and women's rights in America, this was a fascinating look inside patriarchies of the Middle East, the small roles women had in that society. There are some poignant story arcs that I don't want to spoil, but ultimately, Persian Girls reinforced the stereotype we have about how women are treated in that part of the world and the lack of value placed on women's lives.