5 comments about Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously.

1. I rounded up. I'dve gone with a 4.5., mainly because I think that some points were belabored, but it was a hysterical memoir filled with mistakes and blunders, cursing and all-in-all a wonderful narrator. I think one of the paragraphs towards the end summed it up for me: "Sometimes, if you want to be happy, you've got to run away to Bath and marry a punk rocker. Sometimes you've got to dye your hair cobalt blue, or wander remote islands in Sicily, or cook your way through Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a year, for no good reason. Julia taught me that." In other words, life is messy. And that's if you're doing it right.



2. This lady is funny, quick witted, especially insightful and brutally honest. And I'm not talking about Julia Childs. I found this book belly-laugh funny. Even if you don't like to cook, it's a good read.



3. This blog/book is like a bag of Cheetos. It's so yummy and cheesy and you just can't stop and you really should stop and you kind of slow down and then you feel full and then you have another handful and then you fold up the bag and start to put it where you can't reach it and then you eat another handful and feel kind of yucky and then you wish you'd never seen those Cheetos ever because they weren't really that good to begin with. You don't eat Cheetos again for a long time. This book is a tidbit, not worth the money.



4. This book made me laugh and has inspired me to get on my cooking and baking spree again. The story is raw and real and I like that!
   If you love cooking and baking and aren't a food snob....you will love this book! Julie and Julia...Thank You!



5. Some of the negative reviews seem oddly fixated on the authors swearing (?) or having sex (?) or even that she wastes/spends too much on food. (Doesn't all gourmet cooking do that by definition?) Why blame that on her? She also lives in the most expensive city in the US - her salary makes her poor there, she isn't exaggerating at all. She is a young woman living in New York - duh. So she curses and drinks and talks about sex. Big deal.
   
   But on to the book - This is an unadorned look at a journey in someone's life, which happens to involve cooking and the divine Julia Child hovering over it all as sort of a cooking life-coach/ fairy godmother.....it isn't a cook book per se. The focus is on a discovery of self - it's a memoir. If you are looking for the wrong thing in a book - why blame the book? Blogs are diaries - remember them, those unvarnished outpourings of life's melodramatic struggle? That is what this is, albeit a bit more polished. I though it was intriguing and read it all in a short time - I wanted to see how she did. Maybe one needs to be at the age of self discovery or open to changes in lifes plan to see the merit.
   
   I loved it, you may not, But it is an interesting journey to read, very uplifting and real. Her writing brings you into the story, you feel a real kinship...And there's butter...lots and lots of butter.
   
   *By the way, she isn't mean to 9/11 survivors families as claimed by one review. The woman is not Ann Coulter, just someone who had a rather thankless job wherein she had to field a lot of PR complaints over things she had no control over. The rebuilding effort of the towers site is a political football in reality. Lighten up, people. You are seeing things that aren't there. And the reason that she is upset about her biological clock is that she was diagnosed with a chronic health problem, PCOS, which she will have to deal with for the rest of her life, making her very prone to infertility and certain cancers. There is no cure, no effective treatments - look it up those of you who accuse her of whining. It's no picnic.

5 comments about The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness.

1. This book is a beautiful act of compassion for other women and men who, like Karen Armstrong, have struggled with doubts, conforming to religions, and other related "failures." The book provides alternate, thoughtful, and understandable means of interpreting and expressing hopes and faiths. Thank you Karen for writing down your thoughts and helping many of us who have struggled with so many of the same issues you have studied.



2. As a memoir, Armstrong's "The Spiral Staircase" succeeds in the first half. She documents her life in a Catholic convent, her physical challenges and her mental state of mind. Readers wonder, Why would she do this to herself when she was so miserable most of the time? Answer: Her goal was to find God.
   
   Her obsessive journey leads me, and I suppose many other readers, to conclude that she tried too hard. But it's a fascinating story.
   
   The last half of her memoir solves the puzzle of her physical (misinterpreted early in her life as mental) disability. Success follows her discovery, but the book gets tedious with her sometimes repetitious account of daily life and re-learning how to cope with job loss. She eventually finds her niche as a writer by publishing "A History of God," a thoughtful review of many religious cultures.
   
   Armstrong realizes that the study of God does not have to include belief in all the dictates of a specific religion. In fact it need not include belief in God at all. She finds out that the journey is more important than the goal.



3. So Karen is dysfuntional? No, like me, she has temporal lobe epilepsy, a condition from which the world and society prefer to turn away and pretend it doesn't exist. It's exceptionally hard to describe, since it has literally hundreds of forms and does leave one doubting one's sanity at times. Then we doubt the world's mental balance. I was once dismissed from work by someone who feared I'd bite colleagues. And Karen is an apologist for Muslim extremists? Oh, for pity's sake, grow up! Read what she says, not what your prejudice tells you. Does she perhaps wear a Paisley scarf too (originally a Scottish design, by the way)? There's no trusting these people, is there, if they don't think just like you? Open the window and look outside. There's a world out there, bigger than even your prejudices and bigotry.
   And a note to Mr Benanchou: the Greeks didn't believe the world was flat. In the centuries BCE, the circumference of the world was calculated to a high degree of accuracy, with two sticks, sunlight and basic trigonometry (subtended angles - look it up.) We rely on very pricy satellites, not garden canes, which cost so much less.
   I applaud Karen Armstrong. It can still be problematical - I know well from experience - to assert one has epilepsy. Fears of evil spirits crop up, even now. And it can lead to social and career disaster. I was forced to retire, with two degrees, at only 42.



4. Written with much sensitivity (and courage), it induced much empathy with the author. A good read.
   
   I was less than impressed with some of her books on history of religion, but this autobiography shows where she was coming from, and helped me better appreciate what she was trying to convey in those other books.
   
   I look forward to the next installment in this autobio series. :-)



5. This is a remarkably personal and insightful journey which takes us through the loss of hope and faith and then back to a higher realm of love and understanding. Here are my personal thoughts about this book:
   
   1. By the end of the book, I felt a bond with her that is similar to something I have felt for some of my best professors and teachers who helped me understand complex things. Karen is extremely honest and open and able to describe emotions and reactions which many thoughtful people must have to orthodox religious training and dogma. She works so hard to do the right thing and yet she is unable to feel the connection to God and make the decision to accept things as they are. She is the opposite of the normal rebellious person who bolts. She is the long suffering special person who will follow the rules, sacrifice and do the right things over and over again to come up with the expected result of obedience and conformity. And yet, that brilliant and analytical mind of hers cannot allow herself to be tricked or cajoled into compliance. I feel that this is because she is brutally honest and pure.
   
   2. She lets us into her very private and sometimes sad life. We know her every fear and understand that she is shy, awkward socially, and backward, and as she heals and moves to the next level of understanding in her life, we root for her and admire the things she is trying to do. Her accomplishments are huge and she has done it virtually all alone with extreme patience and many setbacks as well as thousands of days carefully studying the history of religion, various poets and other important writers. The ultra close relationship we have with her every day struggles helps us comprehend her conclusions and remarks about spirituality, religion and life. She has taken the time to do what many of us would like to do but can't do because of other more pressing obligations and, perhaps, addiction to regular shallow life things.
   
   3. She is imprisoned by her unknown health problems, her religious obligations, fear and shyness, and yet we see her determination get her to a level of freedom experienced by very few people. She loses her faith, gains a cause to help others understand how religion at a certain level can be damaging, and as she reads and studies each of the three major religions, she gradually moves back to a spiritual understanding that gives her a new freedom and love of everyone. Along the way, she teaches us some of the basics about each of the religions and why we need to understand them before we assume that all others are incorrect and horrible. This gives us hope and makes us want to reexamine and study others and then move to that higher level that is taught by all of them. Certainly, it makes me want to study more about Judaism and the prophet Mohammed's teaching.
   
   I finished the book with a great and positive feeling that there may be hope in the world if we could take the time to truly understand each other. It's a great book. Thanks, Karen.

2 comments about Hidden in the Shadow of the Master: The Model-Wives of Cezanne, Monet, and Rodin.

1. This book was very informative about the way these artists lived and treated their wives. It showed the very human side to Cezanne, Monet, and Rodin and made me think that genius comes with a price. Their wives/models didn't have easy lives living with them which was in a way surprising to me after seeing all the beautiful portraits they did of their wives. Those portraits made me fantasize about how wonderful it must have been to be married to these artists. This book opened me up to reality!



2. It was a sad revelation to see how these brilliant artists treated their models who became their mistresses, the mothers of their children, and they eventually married them,--but gave them little credit.
   
   It was also a sad revelation how little they were appreciated and how little their art was able to reap for them financially.

5 comments about A Walk on the Beach: Tales of Wisdom From an Unconventional Woman.

1. I was initially given this book to read from a friend who thought that I would enjoy it. I found it one of the best books that I have read in my adult life! Not only does Ms. Anderson share her journey to self awareness, but her honesty and sincerity almost give you a formula to follow to find out who you are yourself!
   This book meant so much to me that I ultimately bought my own copy and had one sent to my daughter whose life closely aligns itself with Ms. Anderson's. She lives on Cape Cod in the same town as Ms. Anderson and has written her emails that were answered in a very timely fashion!



2. Each book ~ although different in their own way ~ continues to be truly amazing. They are motivating, endearing and engaging. Joan feels like a dear old friend, yet I'm discovering about myself !



3. I first "met" Joan Anderson in her book, A Year By the Sea. I was in awe of this woman who took a hiatus from her marriage, moved to the solitude of a life on Cape Cod and took the time to really get to know herself.
   
   Her second book, An Unfinished Marriage, was a continuation of her journey, as she shared the story of how her husband eventually joined her in Cape Cod.
   
   Not surprisingly, the third book in this trilogy, A Walk On the Beach, was an uncommon delight. I wasn't quite sure what else Ms. Anderson could share about her Cape Cod experience. I was soon to find out there was a lot left to tell.
   
   Her first book in the trilogy will always be my favorite, but "A Walk On the Beach" ranks right up there with it. We are transported back to many of the same scenes we read about in "A Year By the Sea", but we learn of a remarkable friendship that began in an otherwise isolated period of the author's life.
   
   On a foggy day, we walk with Ms. Anderson onto a jetty overlooking the ocean. There we are introduced to Joan Erikson--a writer and the wife of pioneering psychoanalyst Erik Erikson.
   
   In the pages that follow, we are allowed a glimpse into the "Tales of Wisdom From An Unconventional Woman" (the subtitle of the book).
   
   "The beach to me is a sacred zone between the earth and the sea, one of those in-between places where transitions can be experienced--where endings can be mourned and beginnings birthed. A walk along the beach offers the gift of the unexpected. Scan the horizon and glimpse the endelss possibilities. Stroll head down and encounter one natural treasure after another. Tease the tides and feel a sense of adventure. Dive into the surf and experience the rush of risk."
   
   From the Prologue:
   
   "One of the most significant gifts the beach has given me was Joan Erikson, an elderly woman whom I met accidentally on a foggy February day. She was to prod me to find myself again, even when I thought all was lost."
   
   In her prologue, Ms. Anderson tells us that she hopes the readers of this book will be mentored by some of Joan Erikson's wisdom in much the same way she was mentored by the woman who used to say "The important thing is to share what you know. Be generative and pass it on. That is what makes all the difference."
   
   To read this book is to discover validation of the desire to find true wisdom and inner awareness. To savor this book is to be enriched by the uncommon wisdom of a remarkable woman and to experience the sheer joy of a friendship extroidinaire.
   
   by Lee Ambrose
   for Story Circle Book Reviews
   reviewing books by, for, and about women



4. Scrambling along rocks on a Cape Cod beach, following the sound of a foghorn, Joan Anderson suddenly finds herself almost nose-to-nose with an old woman she doesn't know. The stranger turns out to be Joan Erikson, wife of psychoanalyst Erik Erikson. Feeling an immediate connnection, the two Joans rapidly become close companions.
   
   Joan Anderson has come to the Cape, running away from home, to re-evaluate her marriage and the direction of her life. Always a people-pleaser, she now feels exhausted and confused, no longer fulfilled by family or her career as the author of children's books.
   
   Seeking a small town nursing home where her husband will receive attentive care during his final days, Joan Erikson has relocated to the same town. Her running-away came years ago when she went, a young girl alone, to Europe to dance with Isadora Duncan, at a time when such things simply weren't done.
   
   Anderson's book is the account of the two women's blossoming friendship and the lessons they learn from one another. She recounts a multitude of conversations which took place as they go about their daily activities, walking the beaches, weaving cloth to represent the stages of their lives, sharing meals and ideas.
   
   Erikson urges Anderson to make time for play in her life each day, to get out of her head and into her body. Now in her nineties, she demonstrates the benefits of keeping one's body machinery well-functioning. The friendship reinvigorates her and she excitedly begins to rework and build on the pioneering work on life stages she shared with her husband.
   
   Meanwhile Anderson grows in confidence and clarity of purpose to the point that she can hike the Inca trail to Machu Picchu, a feat that would have been impossible for her before. She walks back into her marriage but as a changed person, more independent, more aware of who she is and the person she wants to become.
   
   Erikson quotes a Japanese scholar: In order not to fail in the end, you have to be dependent on yourself, and know that you can handle things, and most importantly, bring a little humor into the despair. Lightness, imagination, flexibility-these are the things that go into making a new start.
   
   And so, make a new start they do, each growing from the other, becoming stronger and more vibrant in the process.



5. Overall, the book is worth reading. And although I appreciate the relationship and deep friendship portrayed, it does tend to go overboard and become sappy at times.

5 comments about Cancer Vixen: A True Story.

1. this book is amazing, i love it! i read it as a newly diagnosed breast cancer patient and it was so helpful and entertaining!! marisa is a fabulous artist and she has been so honest with sharing her experiences.
   i cannot recommend it highly enough!!! a great read for anyone going through breast cancer treatment and those close to them.



2. This book was just sent to be from a loving overseas sister. It couldn't have arrived at a better time. The story line, the illustrations and the wry black humour kept me sane today.
   Highly highly recommended.



3. I loved this book! Have been waiting for M.A. book since read "Who the hellis SHE anyway?!"
   My mom survived ovarian Ca and also could appreciate this book. Saw her tear up and laugh all within a couple of pages. I work in Women's health and have shared this with many intrepid women and they say it has helped too.
   Now want to try the restaurant...
   Thank You M. A. M.!



4. This book is truly excellent. I laughed and I cried. If you enjoy comics, intelligent ones, this is a gem. Will Eisner in heels. A fantastic book. I loved this work.



5. I found this book incredibly entertaining ...simply a great read! It rocked my emotions from sadness, to laughter, to disbelief and made me feel extremely fortunate by the end. The cartoons are creative and oh, so humorous. The comedic relief was provided by Mom who could be my own. The story is a triumph over breast cancer and sends a powerful message to all women and families.A must-read, whether you are afflicted with breast cancer or not. You won't be able to put it down.
   Barb

5 comments about The Scalpel and the Silver Bear: The First Navajo Woman Surgeon Combines Western Medicine and Traditional Healing.

1. Lori Arviso Alvord walks in two worlds. Raised on the Navajo reservation in New Mexico -- "the rez" -- she is the daughter of a Navajo man and a white woman. Carrying this dichotomy into her education and career, she went from the reservation high school to Dartmouth College, then found her path to Stanford University School of Medicine and a surgical residency in New Mexico.
   
   As the first Navajo woman surgeon, she learned to integrate the science-based world of medicine and the spirit-based Native American culture. The importance of the singing cures, native healing practices, and other spiritual traditions was brought home to her when she observed her patients' outcomes. Surgical skill was often not enough when delivered without respect for the language, culture and spirituality of the Navajo patients.
   
   The main focus of this memoir is Dr. Alvord's path to acceptance of the first Navajo principles: balance, harmony and wholeness, known as "Walking in Beauty." Along the way we learn a great deal about Native American history and culture, sensitively presented.
   
   Dr. Alvord speaks of the cultural bases for Native American alcoholism and the prevalence of gang culture, monumental threats to the health and well-being of her people. The healing of these ills will never be achieved in the operating room alone, and many patients' stories illustrate this lesson effectively.
   
   The outcome of Dr. Alvord's journey is signaled from the beginning, as is often the case with a memoir. While this may dilute the dramatic tension of her story, we're rewarded with a thoughtful and inspiring look at one woman's life and work, in all its contexts. I recommend this book to readers young and old who have an interest in the cultural aspects of medical care.
   
   Linda Bulger, 2008



2. Daughter of a full-blooded Navajo father and white mother, Lori Arviso Alvord grew up on a New Mexico reservation in a family that took pride in its native heritage, but followed few of the traditional ways. She attended Navajo schools but never learned the language; she knew her clan relationships and enjoyed the security of tribal connections but seldom attended ceremonies or understood the depth of meaning in the Navajo concept "Walk In Beauty."
   
   Such a person might expect to shed the remnants of tribal culture on leaving the reservation to become a high-powered surgeon, a career that by its very nature flies in the face of Navajo precepts like privacy and self-effacement.
   
   Indeed, throughout her memoir, co-authored by Elizabeth Cohen Van Pelt, Alvord seems to straddle two worlds separated by an uncomfortable gulf. She first looked upon the deepness of that gulf at Dartmouth.
   
   "For a girl who had never been far from Crownpoint, New Mexico, the green felt incredibly juicy, lush, beautiful and threatening." Unable to see the horizon, she felt claustrophobic. But the culture shock was worse. "I thought people talked too much, laughed too loud, asked too many personal questions, and had no respect for privacy." Navajos do not put themselves forward and cooperation is valued over competition. Not a good prescription for success at an Ivy League school.
   
   At Dartmouth she began to feel her tribal identity more strongly and wonder if a kinaalda ceremony (a celebration of womanhood) would have helped empower her in such alien surroundings. But not until after medical school at Stanford, where she was forced to break numerous taboos (Navajo never touch the dead, for instance) and joined a profession where it is essential to ask prying, intimate questions and invade another's personal space at will, did Alvord really begin to explore the philosophical grounding of Navajo culture.
   
   Becoming a surgeon at the Gallup Indian Medical Center, close to the reservation, Alvord notices that her patients do better when they are calm and relaxed, that harmony - even in the operating room when the patient is unconscious - is important for recovery.
   
   She grows more interested in the Navajo philosophy that "everything in life is connected and influences everything else." To "Walk in Beauty" a person strives to live in balance, symmetry and harmony with everything and everyone else.
   
   While this is an ancient precept, held in common with many other cultures and enjoying something of a renaissance in American medicine today, Alvord comes up with a particularly striking example. One of her surgery patients, a young woman, was the first to die of a strange illness that swept through the Navajo nation, killing 11.
   
   A doctor working for the Centers for Disease Control, Ben Muneta, visited a medicine man, a hataalii, who told him "the illness was caused by an excess of rainfall, which had caused the pinon trees to bear too much fruit." There was "a significant deviation from the natural harmony of the world."
   
   The medicine man showed a sand painting of a mouse and said that twice before in years of excess rainfall a similar disease had struck. " `Look to the mouse,' " he said. Weeks later the CDC determined that the Hantavirus was contracted from the droppings of infected deer mice. The deer mouse population had surged due to an excess of pinon nuts. "It was the rain."
   
   Alvord's tone is quiet, reserved. It does not seem easy for her to describe the alcoholism of her charming father or the difficulties and generosity of her (married at 16) mother. Though she takes us to a nightlong ceremony for the sick and celebrates the strength her patients draw from medicine-man visits, she never explains why it takes her so long to visit a hitaalii during her own pregnancy. Or why she never approaches a medicine man to discuss cross-cultural treatments despite her growing conviction of the efficacy of the "whole body" approach.
   
   While most of the book concentrates on her work and her struggle to reconcile cultures, she provides a wide, sad look at reservation life, beset by poverty and "white mans'" diseases. The long grief of history resides in the alcoholism and the self-loathing of so many - a balance that can never be put right.
   
   At last Alvord leaves. Seeing it as the next natural step in her own "life trail", she returns to Dartmouth as a surgeon and a dean of minority and student affairs. At Dartmouth, she hopes, she can teach the Navajo "Walk In Beauty" principles to new doctors as well as working within the established system to bring better care to her own people.



3. I am full-blooded Navajo, I was taught to believe in my traditonal ways and it disappoints me that she has talked about very scared ceremonies.



4. --Dr Alvord writes about her journeys as a Native American student and physician. The book seems clearly designed for non-technical readers rather than the professional medical community, and there's little medical jargon. She uses her own difficult pregnancy and the death of a beloved grandmother as case studies in integrating Western medicine and Navajo ideas.
   --On the one hand, it's worth reading this book just to hear such an inspirational story from such a role model. Dr Alvord tells her story with dignity and courage and she has many good ideas about listening to patients and integrating Balance and Harmony in our profession (although these ideas don't seem as radical or as rare within the medical community as she seems to imply, and I don't think she does anyone a great service by implying they are).
   --On the other hand, the authors remained disappointingly abstract, even given the limitations of confidentiality and space. The stories of Navajo healing barely scratched the surface and the book was pretty scanty with practical advice that would help non-Native healers understand Native American patients. I'd love to have heard her perspectives on the magnitude of Native American health problems, how she handled the constant pressures of time and funding, or how she successfully used traditional Native American methods to help manage serious medical-social problems (i.e. alcohol use, diabetogenic diets, family pressures, basic compliance and responsibility issues, etc). In short, I'd like to have heard more about her successes.
   --The book's perspective gives a good counterpoint to those who criticize Western medicine as too impersonal/sterile/uncaring/whatever, while they fail to demonstrate how to predictably improve things and still efficiently deliver technically competent health care to people with different levels of motivation and understanding. Western medicine works beautifully in its own niche, but it will be made to work less efficiently if we mess around with the wrong things. Perhaps medicine will improve if we balance the responsibilities of patients to live a healthy lifestyle with the responsibilities of healers to carefully listen to patients and then help them heal.
   --This book did not practically help me to do this, so I cannot give it five stars despite my respect for her credentials. I do look forward to a sequel.
   --Other books which may be of interest include Blessings (by Dr. A. Organick), The Dancing Healers, and Primary Care of Native American Patients.



5. I picked up this book and I could NOT put it down. What a wonderful journey described here....how she interlocks traditional medicine with Navajo, how harmony and positive spirit is such a process in the healing world. You will not be disappointed with this read. I have shared this with all those close to me. Make it part of your list

5 comments about Secret Diary of a Call Girl.

1. First off, I'd like to offset other reviewers' claims that this book misleadingly refers to prostitution as a safe and thrilling lifestyle. I think its important to say that this is a unique portrayal of ONE woman's life in sex work. She very clearly states that there are many levels of sex work and the vast majority are not safe, enjoyable, or beneficial in anyway. She obviously enjoys much of her work and simply because her experience does not fit the mold, does not mean she should be silenced.
   
   Secondly, there are sex scenes in the book and they are to some degree explicit. Is this too much? Well considering the nature of the book, I think not. Considering the importance of the job to the book, so much so that it is in the very title and also the importance of her pseudonym, I think its quite understandable that sex should be a key element in the book. Isn't that part of the experience we are so intrigued by when it comes to this particular author?
   
   Also, as one reviewer mentioned the previous relationship and friend-circle is not full of an extraordinary amount of depth. What we need to remember is that this is adapted from the author's blog. For some bloggers, myself included, other people's lives are their own to tell. We just tell what relates to us. I felt that Belle's interaction with her friends and ex-lovers were covered meaningfully and naturally.
   
   This is a diary and by definition it's not the type of writing that will be layered with back story or references. Although meant to be read in the fashion that most blogs are nowadays, it is written with immediacy and often with the intent to be brief. Perhaps some years down the line the author will be interested in adapting it as an autobiography and then she'll decide to add relevant information, a new perspective now that she is removed from it by time, etc., but the very title acknowledges what the book is: a diary.
   
   When it comes to getting what you paid for and what was advertised, you get it in this book.
   
   Beyond that, my own observation is that the author is intelligent, witty, and has a unique and sometimes detached view of sex which is enlightening thing to see in a female writer.
   
   I enjoyed the book. It's not a literary masterpiece, but it is much better than a good amount of popular new fiction.



2. This book is soooooo stupid! I don't believe it was even written by a woman. There are phrases and words a woman just wouldn't not use! DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY :(



3. After having read Belle de Jour's blog, I was hoping that the book would primarily be new material. Unfortunately, the bulk of it was pulled directly from the blog with only a few new entries interspersed. Yes, the alphabet piece at the beginning of each chapter was new, but I'm not quite sure that it made the purchase worth it.
   
   Now I'm wondering if the second book will be more of the same.



4. I really wanted to like this book, but I just didn't. Like a reviewer befor me said, some areas just lacked the details needed to make them interesting. I found myself wanting to skip over entries because I was becoming bored with the same basic descriptions of her past boyfriends and such. Overall i'm sure the book could have been worse but it still wasnt as good as I had hoped.



5. This was the second memoir of prostitution that I have read (the first being The Scorpion's Sweet Venom), and so far, here is what I've learned:
   
   - The sex scenes will as a rule be explicitly detailed and told with implausible detachment.
   
   - Prostitution will be conveyed as a chic and not an altogether unpleasant profession.
   
   - Flashbacks will abound in pitiful attempts at characterization and a more literary angle.
   
   Belle de Jour was no exception to these rules, but it was a fun if not compelling read. I really enjoyed the author's witty style, even if reading about her friends was utterly boring. By the end of the book, every man in the author's life seemed to merge into one tall-ridiculously-attractive fellow with a proclivity for rough sex and moping over ex-girlfriends.
   
   All in all, I would like to see the genre of prostitution memoirs take a more realistic/gritty turn. But then I have to really ask myself, do I really want to read the tell-all memoir of an Atlanta crack whore? Perhaps publishers choose these high-end prostitute tell-alls for a reason...

5 comments about Franklin and Lucy: President Roosevelt, Mrs. Rutherfurd, and the Other Remarkable Women in His Life.

1. In this biography, Persico paints an intimate portrait of Franklin Delano Roosevelt through the lens of his relationships with various women over the course of his life, including his mother, Eleanor, Lucy Rutherfurd, and others. I came to this book without much information about the Roosevelts, and I was pleased to find an assessable and thoroughly entertaining biography. Persico approaches his subject with sensitivity and balance, as deserved by this great family, but he does not avoid the tough issues.
   
   Persico clearly has done his research but has refrained from overburdening the book with details. Although Persico remains focused on his theme throughout the book (FDR's relationships with women), the book is not a narrow treatment of FDR's life. All of the important events are included, along with the less well-known events that give us a glimpse into FDR's true character. This book's only misstep is a strange first chapter that seems to have been plucked from the middle of the book and stuck on the front, probably as a clumsy editor's last-minute attempt to force a "catchy" beginning.



2. Joseph Persico's "Franklin and Lucy" (Random House 2008) is a shallow collection of anecdotes centered around FDR's affair with, and later relationship with, Lucy Mercer. The stated theme of the book is the women in FDR's life, but Persico's theme ends up as nothing more than idle conjecture about how certain women, including his mother, Sara, his wife, Eleanor, and his faithful assistant, Missy LeHand, might have affected FDR as a person. Most of this has already been covered ad nauseam in prior books on FDR, and this effort ends up as a weak series of gossips, such as whether FDR's relationship with Missy LeHand was amorous.
   In addition to its failure to bring any new information to the table, the book is filled with factual errors. For example, Persico has Theodore Roosevelt's first election to the presidency in 1902 (p. 51), FDR's second inaugural on March 4, 1937 (rather than the correct date of Jan. 20, 1937) (pp. 227, 249), and the Roosevelts' 20th wedding anniversary on March 17, 1926 (p. 164). This is very disappointing from an author who is well respected and who has authored a prior book on FDR, "Roosevelt's Secret War" (Random House 2001). Admittedly, these are minor errors, but one has to wonder whether this lack of attention to detail infects the entire book.



3. With all these politicians screwing around on their wives these days, why exactly do we need to know the gritty details of one from like a century ago? I guess because he's FDR and he became a super important president, and one personal decision of his might have changed A LOT of things from a historical perspective. The bulk of what I know about the Roosevelts came from History class. My teacher mentioned once that FDR supposedly died in the arms of his mistress, which I found kind of interesting, so I decided to see what the big deal was about. At the time, I definitely felt for Eleanor being the wronged wife who did all this crap for her husband and that was how he repaid her? Of course, the story is never that simple. It's never just one person's fault.
   
   I guess the first thing is this Roosevelt marriage that seems to puzzle a lot of people. How they got together in the first place is kind of a mystery. FDR, in his youth to middle age, is always described as kind of a McDreamy-- really handsome, rich, charming, good pedigree, etc. Eleanor, as much as I love all that she did, was never much of a looker even in her younger days. On top of that, she was passive, shy, and had serious self-esteem problems. It makes you wonder how these two ever got together and what they had in common other than a distant relation. The book mentions that FDR had quite a few love interests before Eleanor and probably could've picked any girl he wanted, yet somehow he ended up married to her. In retrospect, knowing what eventually happened to their marriage, perhaps he should've just stuck to his beauty queen debutantes. Or maybe he should've waited a few more years before getting married.
   
   It's not until about 10 years into the Roosevelt marriage that Lucy Mercer even appears though she's billed as the female lead in this. The fact is, there just isn't enough known about her to garner her that role. If this were a movie and they were allowed to embellish/play with the facts, maybe it would work. But since they're going on hard evidence, there's not much out there. However, it's hard to deny that they had a genuine love affair. And I agree with the author that they probably had sex since they were two attractive people who were in love and alone a lot. What else would happen? Still, in the end, FDR chose to stay with his wife. If this were such an all-consuming passion, I would think he'd just go for it. And other than her physical beauty and apparent "niceness", there isn't really that much that distinguishes Lucy Mercer. What exactly made their relationship so special and long-lasting? Other than the fact that she was young, pretty, available and he wanted sex.
   
   I can kind of see why people think stuff went on with Missy Lehand but it's all too much speculation. Who really knows what they were doing on that boat? It wasn't like the Lucy Mercer thing where the consequences were an almost divorce and eternal separation from the marriage bed.
   
   And while I did feel for Eleanor, I can't help but give her a little blame on this too. Okay, so FDR probably didn't love her as much as she loved him to begin with.. but what did she really expect after they stopped having sex? That just "talking" would be enough to sustain a marriage? Sorry but she shouldn't have been that naive. And while it totally sucks how she found out about his death, she was the one who essentially gave up on marriage. They could've used a good marriage counselor.



4. Having read but a single work by author Persico prior to this (Piercing The Reich), I was unsure of what to expect in a book ostensiby about a man and his relationships with women. Having read a number of books on Roosevelt describing his disingenuous, Byzantine, unforthcoming dealings with men, I was not surprised that he ran true to form with women. However, this book broke some new ground.
   
   First and foremost was the particular stress on FDR's being crippled and unable to walk and how that worked out to be both a hindrance and a blessing. Here the narrative was extremely productive.
   
   Second, this book discusses FDR and his female entourage from the point of view of a very sympathetic woman. One wonders if this book was actually written by Persico or by his wife or daughter. For example, considered this discourse on page 246: "Schiff's fascination with FDR further displayed the superiority of women in their attitude toward men in that they consider the whole man, his intelligence, power, (wealth??) humor, and charm as producing attractiveness, not simply physical appeal, an approach that cannot always be said of male attitudes toward women." Wow! Who wrote this? Gloria Steinem?
   
   Nonetheless, this books brings together FDR's relationships with those women close to him into fascinating focus with but a passing mention of the world around them. Persico presents the facts carefully, particularly when it comes to "Did they or didn't they?" -- very much in line with the motto of Fox News; "We report -- You decide." Sometimes he begins to moralize as "... Missy was all to ready to ....", but then draws back without passing judgment. I liked that.
   
   There are two negatives in my opinion: a number of facts and dates are incorrect, and he fails to draw a sufficiently complete portrait of Missy LeHand, Lucy Mercer, Daisy Suckley or Dorothy Schiff for the reader to fully relate to them. These were all actresses with staring roles yet their characters remained clouded in mystery. Perhaps he ran out of time, perhaps out of sources. In these cases he needed to indicate where the reader should go to draw in the missing lines.
   
   In this book FDR is truly as Holmes said; "A second class intellect [with] a first class temperament." Eleanor, the lady who loved the Tartars but not herself is summed up by, "...[she had] great compassion for the masses... but not much interest in the individual."
   
   All in all, a valuable read.



5. Biography is a form of archeology. Over 60 years after Franklin Roosevelt's death, new information is still coming to light, including recently discovered correspondence with Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd. Persico, who authored the superb "Roosevelt's Secret War", uses this and previously discovered documents (including the diary of Margaret "Daisy" Suckley, FDR's cousin) to draw a portrait of a man whose Byzantine personality has baffled researchers and biographers for decades. FDR preferred the presence of women over men, not only romantically but for ordinary company. Perhaps because with women, he did not feel the need to prove anything, perhaps because he loved gossip, FDR revealed himself and the workings of his mind more to women than to men. Previous biographers have referred to the sinuosity of FDR's thought process and his "feminine" mind (this is not meant as an aspersion against his essential masculinity, but reflects a flexibility of which many men are not capable). Persico reveals much of that by detailing his relationships with several women, including his mother Sara, Eleanor, Lucy (truly the love of his life), Missy LeHand, Daisy Suckley, Dorothy Schiff, and his daughter Anna. He also details Eleanor's relationships with Earl Miller, Lorena Hickok, and David Gurewitsch (the latter a younger doctor on whom Eleanor had something of a schoolgirl crush on during her later life.) Persico is impartial, and neither tries to obfuscate nor sensationalize the nature of these relationships. He presents the facts as they are and lets the reader draw the conclusions.
   
   Now the bad news...
   
   There are so many factual errors in this book it's hard to keep track of them, errors which could have been easily avoided with some quick fact checking. Persico refers to FDR's half-nephew, James "Taddy" Roosevelt, as Sara Roosevelt's stepson - - he was her step-grandson while Taddy's father, James "Rosy" Roosevelt was her stepson. He states that Eleanor suffered a case of hives during her honeymoon - - it was FDR who came down with hives. FDR's second inauguration is stated as having occurred on March 4, 1937, it took place on January 20 of that year - - the first January inauguration to happen after passage of the 21st Amendment. (Persico repeats the error with the 1941 inauguration, claiming that as the first January inauguration). Persico also misstates the circumstances under which Harry Truman learned that FDR was dead and Truman was President. Most of the above are so well documented it's hard to fathom how these mistakes were missed. Well, perhaps not: In the acknowledgements, Persico credits his wife and daughter as research assistants. But an impartial, unrelated editor, might have caught these errors.

5 comments about The Warrior Queens: The Legends and the Lives of the Women Who Have Led Their Nations in War.

1. The book devotes one or more chapters to individual female leaders throughout history. The first "warrior" - Boudica - truly was a warrior queen. She receives the most coverage with 7 chapters (approximately 100 pages) as well as occasional references throughout the book. Also included are Zenobia (3rd Century Queen of Palmyra), Matilda of Tuscany, Maud (daughter of Henry I), Queen Tamara (late 12th Century Georgia), Queen Isabella of Spain, Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Jinga, Queen Louise of Prussia, and a few modern female leaders.
   
   For the most part, the chapters comprise short biographies told in an easy-to-read narrative style. My only complaint is the strong female rights sub-theme or thesis. The attitudes are dated, albeit understandable since the book was first published in 1988.
   
   The Warrior Queens serves as a good introduction to historical female leaders as well as an introductory biography for any one of the women covered.



2. For all the exalted reputation Lady Antonia Fraser enjoys as a historian and writer, I expected this work to be far more informative and entertaining than it actually was. Despite her fascinating subject, Lady Fraser manages to flog it to death with endless historical references, obscure citations and literary allusions. I found the text to be so cluttered up and bogged down with arcane details and research notes that the actual subject matter was obscured by the author's very erudition. In a word: BORING. I hoped that after determinedly slogging through two opening chapters of explication and introduction, the body of the book pertaining to the fascinating women selected to represent history's Warrior Queens would pick up speed and capture my fast fading interest. Nope. Ponderous at best, the writing never seems to catch fire and I found myself hoping the next chapter would be better than the one I was reading. This is slow going and fails to reward the reader who actually gets through it. The last chapter of "summation" just repeats quotations and points made throughout the main text. Very disappointing and far from Lady Fraser's best effort. This more closely resembles the senior thesis of a graduate who has spent too much time in the library than the sparkling historical depiction of female political and military leaders throughout time which I was hoping to find.



3. Antonia Fraser superbly writes about Boadicea of Great Britain, Catherine the Great of Russia, Elizabeth the First of England, Queen Isabella of Spain, the Rani of Jhansi, and the obscure Queen Jinga of Angola. All are delineated with grace and fervour and this book is another welcome addition to the opus of Lady Antonia Fraser. It is very highly recommended.
   
   Timothy Wingate Ottawa CANADA



4. This is not a pop-history book. I picked this book up expecting it to be a very easy read but was surprised when I found myself reading through a book that would not have been out of place in any of my college history courses. Fraser has painted a very fascinating picture of various warrior queens around the world. Though at times, the narrative drags through her meticulous statement of facts, that is to be expected. I was very disappointed at her omission of the Egyptian pharaoh-queen Hatshepsut, however. Nevertheless, the women that she picks to include in her analysis make up a very good overview of the various warrior queens throughout the world and through time. It was an extremely interesting read and I would recommend it for anyone who has an interest in historical women as well as the the patience to read a (mostly) scholarly work.



5. Perhaps I expected more from this book than was present, but I could hardly get through the first few chapters and I am an avid historic biography reader. I found her methods tiresome and boring, having the preference to recite found facts rather than compile and share, she reads like a card catalog. I now know exactly what to read if I do wish to learn something of these women she eludes to, but after having put this book down, I feel I am less wise to the subjects then when I started. I need a chronological telling of a person and their movement, not a forty-three page explanation of exactly who has written such things in the past. Perhaps, I stopped reading three or four chapters before it got good, but I doubt it. I was very disappointed.

No comments about Woman of Rome: A Life of Elsa Morante.