5 comments about New New Thing, The: A Silicon Valley Story (Silicon Valley).

1. I'm a big fan of Michael Lewis. He usually brings characters and situations to life and provides a perspective on a situation that introduces me to a new way of looking at things. That's not the case here.
   
   I get the feeling when Michael Lewis got permission to follow Jim Clark around for several months to write about him he thought he'd hit the mother load of great book material. Here was a guy who had traipsed through the daunting world of technology with a seeming Midas touch. Heck, the man had started Silicon Graphics and Netscape.
   
   As I read the book, however, something strange happened, I started wondering, "When did Michael Lewis realize he was following the most improbably boring man in the world?" Jim Clark should be fascinating; he starts huge companies and turns venture capitalists on their ears, he flies helicopters, rides motorcycles and builds ludicrously complex, large and expensive sailboats. Jim Clark is a man who is never satisfied and always striving for the "New, New Thing." Yet somehow, Jim Clark is also apparently stone cold dull.
   
   In the course of the whole book, not one Jim Clark quote is interesting, entertaining, or insightful. It doesn't seem like Clark won't open up to Lewis, it's more like he's a one-dimensional guy. Lewis writes the book in a way that indicates that he's an author that knows he's got nothing but has invested far too much time in research to try to turn back. The book becomes focused on the attempt to get Clark's newest technology-laden boat ready for an Atlantic crossing; hardly what I'm guessing Lewis set out to write.
   
   The crossing itself turns out to be a non-event and unfortunately the book does to. Don't despair though, read Moneyball or Liar's Poker or Blindside and you'll find that Michael Lewis can, and usually does, deliver the goods in spades.



2. "The New New Thing" tells two stories. The first is the story of Jim Clark, a technical entrepreneur who founded three companies -- Silicon Graphics, Netscape, and Healtheon -- that achieved phenomenal heights during the Internet boom of the 1990's. Clark is, to say the least, an interesting character; at least two of Clark's business associates are quoted in the book calling him a "maniac". Clark is driven almost entirely by an unending greed, so for me at least, he quickly became an unsympathetic character around which to hang an entire book. Another criticism I have is that far too many pages of the book are spent on Clark's quest to build and debug Hyperion, the world's largest computer-controlled sailboat. These sections were a distraction from the rest of the narrative. (By the way, it's pretty clear that although they may have been smart, the people writing the software for Hyperion -- including Clark himself -- were all pretty lousy software engineers.)
   
   The second story is that of Silicon Valley, and it doesn't come off looking much better than Clark. Lewis seems to have been granted incredible access to Clark's life, which included the ability to interview and attend meetings with the Valley's top movers and shakers -- the engineers, senior managers, and venture capitalists who fund them. As a computer scientist who has lived and worked in the Valley since 1991, I found this material to be enlightening, and certainly the strongest part of the book. Perhaps most fascinating is the way the decisions of the venture capital (VC) firms and investment banks are based so much on perception rather than sound reasoning. For example, one minute the VCs are writing off their Healtheon investments as a total loss, but the next minute -- when Clark offers to invest $40M of his own money in the failing venture -- they all clamor to invest more in it. Sadly, during the "irrational exuberance" of the late 1990's, this was actually a winning strategy.
   
   One danger in writing a book about the new new thing -- at the height of the Internet bubble no less -- is that it can quickly become old. And this book has not aged well. Yes, Jim Clark was the first person in Silicon Valley to have founded three companies with a market capitalization exceeding $1 billion, and yes, he made himself and many others around him obscenely rich. But most of the companies he started have not been lasting successes: as of this writing in 2007, Silicon Graphics is dying, having lost tens to hundreds of millions of dollars in each of the last four fiscal years; Netscape was acquired by AOL, whose subsequent acquisition by Time Warner nearly killed the latter company; Healtheon merged with WebMD, whose business model is substantially less ambitious than Clark's original concept for the company; and myCFO, the newest new enterprise mentioned at the end of the book, morphed into a company that offered illegal tax shelters to wealthy clients, came under investigation by the IRS, and was eventually sold for only one third of the original money poured into it. Toward the end of the book, Lewis also wryly mocks John Doerr's VC firm Kleiner Perkins for paying $25M for a 33% stake in Google, which he writes "consisted of a pair of Stanford graduate students who had a piece of software that might or might not make it easier to search the Internet." Poor Kleiner Perkins. Their Google investment was obviously a terrible mistake.
   
   Michael Lewis is a great writer, but I enjoyed two of his other books far more: Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street and Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game.
   
   All in all, "The New New Thing" does a good job of exposing the underbelly of Silicon Valley capitalism. But its focus on Clark and companies born out of the Internet bubble gives a distorted picture of the challenges in founding and running a technical startup. For a more accurate depiction, I recommend Startup: A Silicon Valley Adventure.



3. If you have read any of Michael Lewis's other books and found them enjoyable (either writing style or topic), you will find this a good read, worthy of your time. You will learn a little about the atmosphere of Silicon Valley during the height of the bubble / late 90s as well as about a very unique figure who helped (over exagerated, per Economist) start it all.



4. A must read for any entrepreneur or intrapreneur(someone within a company who must innovate). Lewis opens with stories about Jim Clark -- reknown Silicon Valley entrepreneur and innovator and his boat that 'built Netscape"...the book talks about Netscape which Lewis says launched the Information age (it may or may not have but it certainly ushered in the IPO era and online businesses. Interesting what has since happened to Silicon Graphics and Healtheon that was supposed to turn the health care industry 'on it's head'. The inside cover talks about --- what else-- Paradigm shift in American culture-- from conventional business models (the old economy) to the new economy. Yet in retrospect we know that a mix of the best of both is really probably the way to go. The titles of the chapter are more clever than the chapters themselves. I personally would have liked to see more about different innovators not just Clarke but then I didn't write the book. The chapter titles include "Pasts in a Box" Disorganization Man, Home of the Future God Mode -- How Chickents Become Pork, Cheese Sandwiches for Breakfast, Chasing Ghosts, The Turning Point and The New New Thing....



5. The July 1999 issue of Forbes magazine makes the astonishing observation that there are now 465 people who have a billion or more dollars. Incredibly, as this book notes, there are an estimated 180,000 Americans who are deca-millionaires (over ten million dollars in assets). An inventor or entrepreneur, upon reading these statistics, may note that not only has a great amount of wealth been created, but that it is not in the hands of just a handful of people.
   
   This book tells how one man, Jim Clark, starting out as a thirty-eight year old unsuccessful college professor and whose second wife just left him, went on to create, in succession, three billion-dollar corporations. These creations were Silicon Graphics, Netscape, and Healtheon. In the process of achieving this hat trick, he also reinvented the social order. The "Organization Man" and conformity have been replaced by brilliant engineers and nonconformity. Bitter at how little the actual creators of Silicon Graphics received and how much the venture capitalists profited, Jim Clark made sure in his next two ventures that, by such means as stock options, his creative people prospered very well indeed.
   
   One of Clark's great strengths has been to rapidly change directions. As the book notes, "A stunning ignorance of mass tastes was a common problem in high technology." For example, Honeywell, in the 1960's, created The Kitchen Computer and assumed housewives would welcome the monster size computer in their kitchens and would know how to program it. "Neiman Marcus failed to sell a single unit." When Marc Andreesen mentioned 25 million people were then using the Internet, Jim Clark saw the potential of Marc's Mosaic code and formed Mosaic Communications (which became Netscape). This time around, Clark cut a deal with venture capitalists that was unprecedented. When the initial public stock offering was made, "It was one of the most successful share offerings in the history of U.S. stock markets and possibly the most famous." In the past, shares were not sold to the investing public until four consecutive quarters were profitable. Now it was the future potential, the rapid growth, that lured investors. Also, the young engineers profited. Inventor Marc Andreesen, at twenty-four, was now worth eighty million dollars! Stock options were now the name of the game for engineers.
   
   The author compares the changes in the Silicon Valley value system to the changes that have taken place in Hollywood's value system. He notes "The stars seized power and once they'd seized power they raised their price and demanded the right to direct their own picture." He compares Jim Clark to Marlon Brando.
   
   A fascinating insight into Silicon Valley is that almost half of the companies there have been founded by Indian entrepreneurs. The book tells how Nehru set up an educational system that found the very best young minds among 900 million people and brought them to the Indian Institute of Technology. They all spoke English and America offered the highest pay and the most opportunity.
   
   Another informative bit in the book is the origin of the word "debug." It turns out that back in the 1960's a computer problem was found to be literally due to a large moth trapped inside. The word become the standard term for removing errors from programs.
   
   This book is so up to date you may feel you are reading your daily newspaper. How Microsoft attempted to achieve complete domination over the world's 500 million computers is explained. Netscape informed the U.S. Department of Justice of Microsoft's threats. Together with information furnished by other firms, this led to the Justice Department's antitrust action.
   
   The author observes that, generally speaking, stock market investors now fall into two categories: Those who follow the Graham and Dodd's system of careful analysis and those who are "kamikaze investors." It will be interesting to see which of these two opposing financial philosophies has the last laugh.
   
   Considerable book space is devoted to Jim Clark's obsession with building his completely computer controlled world's largest sailboat. A sad observation made by sailors is that when approaching an island a land bird, such as a hawk, may appear, but it may be too far out and it will perish in the sea. The author notes how this is "The first bird, like a man ahead of his time, a tragic figure." It is a reminder that all inventors and entrepreneurs are not Jim Clarks.
   
   A highly readable book and, if you delight it) the thought that bankers and venture capitalists should not rule the business world; you will enjoy Jim Clark's triumphs.

5 comments about Almost There: The Onward Journey of a Dublin Woman.

1. This is my first book by this author and thus have nothing else to compare this memoir to. My first impression was her honesty, with herself and with others: her alcoholic mother, her own drinking (a bottle of wine a night), her relationship failures both with men and women, and her regrets in life. Had she been an American publishing this book it would have been a sensation, but alas, because she is Irish and Catholic and an unknown in the US, the book made little waves here.
   
   She mentions her first book "Are You Somebody" a lot in this memoir and this seems to be a sequel. It's the book that shot her to fame, which brought her interviews in the more progressive US Northeast where many Irish live. She ponders her success almost to the point of insanity, rather than enjoying her success for her efforts. It's that typical Catholic guilt feeling.
   
   Her honesty with her seemingly gay relationship had me at first stumped. I almost stopped reading after her first mention of her ex-partner leaving her, but I overcame that after I continued her chapter. Then I realized that subject is just too tabu in the US. So I congratulate her for bringing that subject out in the open.
   
   Her candor of her first book caused some heartache to others in her life, others who may have hurt her in the past. Was she trying to get even with them by publishing the events as they happened according to her? She's honest and covers the other person's point of view, which was a courageous act. Most people who write memoirs mention the people who hurt them, but few take the time to ask themselves why they hurt them, or the reasons for the behavior. Different people, different perspectives, says Nuala. Who's right?
   
   It's definitely not an easy read or one that one laughs out loud reading. It's one more of the "Damn, that hurt!" reaction that, after more thought, allows the reader to gain greater respect for the author, and allows the readers to look deeper into themselves.



2. first off i want to say i shouldn't complain too much as i bought an autographed hard copy of this book for just $1.00 . Thank God for small favors . to begin with i really was enjoying this book in the beginning and too quick to imagine myself buying her first memoir .
   
   what bothered me the most was her having an illicit affair with a man who even she described as not being educated, nor really a " looker " . yet time and again she would drive miles, hours, and pay for their trysts .
   he'd bring hard candy ....lol.
   like, didn't she wonder why she never heard nor saw this gink on holidays such as xmas . not even a card ? I think she knew in her deepest being. she's just the type of woman for some reason needs to be exploited as that's all she feels she truly deserves . it was sickening .
   
   she's lucky to have found someone who cares . but, i didn't give a damn about her during this entire fiasco of a book . she saw the inside of more motels then " the gideon bible " .
   
   my advice to her ...go back to column writing . she ought be ashamed to have her siblings read this as well as everybody else .
   
   i don't believe in bookburning ..but, i'm tempted .



3. I could really relate to her life's reflections in relation to her own personal experiences as well as her perspective on universal family situations. Nuala's frank proclamation revealing her loneliness was quite powerful. The fact that she read this book on CD herself with wit and prose makes me want others to listen to her gift of gab.



4. Yes, ma'am, this `analyze my life and then tell-all' book seems like the sort of fare on which Oprah could chew for several shows. It was ready-made for her book club and would have instantly been embraced by her angst-loving fan base, but somehow it stayed outside that sort of recognition. But that's not a cheap shot, I mean it, this is a book for those who like the sort of reading material common in Oprah's book club. So Oprah readers, go get this!
   
   I don't know if I was supposed to, exactly, but I found this book gloomy, and mostly only liked the rare parts where Irish Times writer Nuala O'Faolain wasn't speaking so personally. Her reports on the state of Northern Ireland, her experiences in America (page 195, " 'America' was always the word for promise." Boy have I ever heard that before...) the compare and contrast moments that dealt with Ireland in relation to other places she's been, these were a lot more likely to hold my interest, I found, than her oft-murky forays into her own allegedly bleak childhood, her controversial romantic life, or her stark realizations at her own failings, failures, and foibles.
   
   Still there's something endearing about a woman whose best mate is her dog, Molly, and whose singlemost passion in life seems to be her readiness to delve into self-deprecation as if it is also her salvation.
   
   I don't regret reading Almost There, but I don't plan on seeking out any of Nuala O'Faolain's other published books, either.



5. I love this book. While her first, Are you Somebody, was so full of darkness, this is full of hope. It is a book about redemption. She is not there yet, but almost there. She writes BEAUTIFULLY. A real wordsmith. The way she writes alone makes it worthwhile. I am in my 30s and male, and I found that I could relate to the themes she raises. They really are universal.

5 comments about The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty.

1. My expectations were low. I never read a Kitty Kelley book before, so it's clear that her critics had done their work on me. While some sour grapes relatives had their say, the book had far more meat than I expected. There was plenty of written record, and the all so telling sealed and missing records.
   
   Kelley's presentation about the Bush intra-Family, Bush-Yale, Bush-Reagan Bush-Republican Party, relationships etc. provided the glue for putting the missing pieces of the family story together. Now I know why Bush 41 had the succession of unrelated gov. positions before he ran with Reagan. Every family has black sheep and secrets, but within this family, the stories of these relatives and their excommunication from the family are extreme. There is a lot of food for thought on how family dynamics over 3 generations have spurred political ambition.
   
   New to me, was that upon election Bush 41 was worth only $2 million. I thought they were far richer than this. They may be now, Bush 43 made $15 million alone capitalizing on the family name/contacts to get taxpayers to fund his baseball team. Kelley says almost nothing on the family relations with the Saudis.
   
   Kelley tackled 3 generations and did a competent job. There is plenty of unexplored turf for the next biographers.



2. 
   Beneath tons of minutia and irrelevant details that often border on mere salacious family gossip, a clear picture of the Bush family, its code of honor, code of ethics and family dynamics, does eventually emerge. The Bush formula for success consisted mostly of parlaying meager individual talents, an ability to maneuver on the outer edges of morality, a penchant for winning at all costs, and punching the right social tickets, into a coveted entry into the most envied of inner social and economic circles.
   
   According to the author, sucking up to those higher up the social ladder, and giving expression to this sycophancy by exhibiting whenever necessary, a willingness to make deep moral turns in the road, (a theme also repeated in Russell S. Bowen's "Immaculate Deception") became the family's number one business practice and eventually its clearest ethical signature. Sycophancy and questionable business practices not only proved to be the most reliable hook for ascending the proverbial social ladder (well beyond a rung that their talents and family code of ethics alone would have otherwise entitled them to), but also served as a way of consolidating their power and position once they arrived. Kelly argues that this weak moral template continues to work for the Bush family even into the present generation.
   
   Once gaining a foothold somewhere nearer the top of the food chain and having done so literally by hook or crook, the Bushes then perfected the art of holding on to their illicitly gained status: Display all of the outward signs of moral rectitude, while just behind the scenes, engage in the most ruthless of bare-knuckled business and ethical practices. In short, at every turn, demonstrate that you are willing to use up all of the family's moral capital in order to sustain the family's social status.
   
   Tempered by the uncertainty of the depression, and the precariousness inherent in living above ones own intellectual and moral station, the Bushes understandably were always terrified of being discovered as the social and economic frauds they saw themselves as. This palpable inner fear helped shape their worldview, animated family dynamics and contributed to most of the family's deviant behavior, which from time-to-time included alcoholism and latter on some sporadic drug use.
   
   The author implies that the Bushes might still be suffering from a kind of "survivor's guilt" of knowing full well that talent-wise they have never quite measured up to others in their lofty inner circles. Thus most of their lives have been dedicated to self-justification -- proving to themselves that they are deserving of the many unearned and often unethical entitlements they have received.
   
   However, it must be said in passing that compared to the stories of others of this ilk, who like the Bushes, have also clawed and scratched their way to the top of the food chain (the Kennedy's would be another good case in point), there is nothing strikingly out of the ordinary about the Bush family.
   
   Plus, I can think of nothing negative to say about a family that can turn an utter un-redeeming family black sheep into the President of the USA. They must have been doing something right. Amen.
   
   A good read; another classic American story told well: five stars.



3. I'll admit that I did not know what to expect when I encountered this book by Kitty Kelley. I only knew her works by reputation, and her previous subject matter - the Royals, Jackie Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor and Frank Sinatra - struck me as lightweight and gossipy. But I found myself unexpectedly with a few hours to kill and few titles from which to choose. So, I picked up "The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Family," which tells the history of three generations of Bush politicians, Senator Prescott Bush and Bush 41 and Bush 43.
   
   First, let me say that the book is very readable. The only thing that might be a bit difficult is keeping track of the different names, as there are, for example, so many Georges and Prescotts. Kelley does what she can to assist by employing the nicknames used by Bush family itself. Some of them are actually endearing, such as "Poppy." Her prose carries the reader along easily.
   
   Second, let me say that the book was far more substantial than I expected. There was plenty, yes plenty, of politics in it. Kelley brings information together to show coherent patterns, exposing contradictions and lies.
   
   Third, I want to say that the book is, for the most part, fair. Kelley sometimes steps back to admire or acknowledge a deed or two. Prescott is admired for voting to censure Joe McCarthy (an act of political courage, as his constituents may have been pro-Joe). Bush 41 is admired for enlisting on his 18th birthday to fight in World War II (even though his parents were against his fighting in "Rockefeller's War"). Kelley also acknowledges that Bush 41's increase of taxes - and this hurt him badly in the re-election - put the economy in better shape for when Clinton entered office. Bush 43 is acknowledged to believe that he is a sincere Christian (although he rarely attends church). Kelley describes a charming incident, too, when Bush returns some money to a poor woman who contributed to his campaign.
   
   (A parenthetical note: how often do you hear the right-wing media positively acknowledge any deed of those whom they deem liberal? It's very, very rare, and very frustrating.)
   
   Despite these gleams of good, most of the book is negative with respect to the three men. Their talents can be described as mediocre at best, and pitiful at worst. They rarely have empathy for anyone but the Bushes. The lies that they tell - "Pernicious foolery" - expand from one generation to the next. They lie glibly about themselves; they lie viciously about their opponents. They pander to those who will vote for them or contribute to their campaigns. Many of the events have popped up in the media before; it's clear they are not invention. (I admit I was too young for the Prescott incidents.)
   
   A big question is: Why have the Bushes done what they have done? They seem to have mistaken a plaque on the wall for the satisfaction of genuine accomplishment. But they are desperate, almost slavering, to get that plaque on the wall. They lie and pander (to the NRA, for example) in order to get that plaque.
   
   And what's all this about poodles? The poodles are the media (see Kelley's Afterword) admitted to the White House - the poodles who have not done their work and informed the nation. The poodles who, hoping for another doggy biscuit or a chance to sit on the inner sofa, have let so many items go unchallenged. The poodles have hurt the Americans, who, thinking they were being informed appropriately, voted in the Bush-men
   
   Thanks Kelley - for not being a poodle!



4. Kitty Kelley only put things in the book where the documentation was overwhelming. Some things were left out only because she couldn't back them up with multiple sources. Scary to think how much more we don't know about this family but what Kelley does have in the book you can take to the bank and that is enough to put doubts in the heads of any Bush supporters. Didn't give it 5 stars just because there is a lot that didn't make it to print but still recommended.



5. If you are a conservative Republican, this book is definitely not for you (although there is a lot of interesting historical background on the Bush clan). For the rest of us, Kitty Kelley has taken us inside the Bush camp, be it Texas or Maine, to show us what really goes on in the family. She shows the legacy of Senator Prescott Bush (the grandfather and probably most likable Bush) through George HW Bush and his climb through mediocrity to the presidency on to W, whose failing oil business was propped up by Saudi money. Surprised? There is lots of dirt here, some big stuff, some small, but I guarantee it will keep your interest.
   
   While the Bushes (and their attendant spin machine) have tried to paint Kitty Kelley in the most unflattering of ways (or ignore her book altogether), no law suit was ever filed based on the truthfulness of the book (although it was threatened, of course). Kelley is the biographer of many who would rather not be placed under the microscope (such as the British Royal family, Jackie Kennedy, and Elizabeth Taylor), and her forte is the cocktail gossip that many would not give credence to. Several of the more startling suggestions, notwithstanding, however, I found that the tiny details were more interesting than the "big scoops." For example, at the Maine family compound, one will not find any books, unless they're in the suitcase of Laura Bush. Imagine: a presidential dynasty that doesn't read? Think of the implications of that!
   
   Kitty Kelley has examined her subjects well, and most will find the resulting book very interesting indeed. The historical background on the Bushes' relations with the Saudis is just one area that helps explain their foreign policy approaches. Much like the more carefully examined Kennedy clan, family relations are key to the Bush family, and the matriarch (Barbara, in this case) rules with an iron fist. Although some may dismiss all this as idle gossip, I found "The Family" endlessly fascinating. It isn't often that common citizens can get a sneak peek inside a presidential dynasty.

5 comments about Wait Till Next Year : A Memoir (AUDIO CASSETTE).

1. As a college drop out I am not what many people might consider well read. While school was never my strong suit, and studying was an event that rarely ever happened, I did manage to read a few great books along the way. My first and best semester of college I read Wait 'til Next Year. While I am not a fan of sports and am not competitive at all, this book was beautifully written and takes the reader on a tour through the author's life, all in the language of baseball. Using the sport as a way to framework the personal story was a wise choice as it gives great metaphors and context to the tale. I suppose I also have good memories tied into the novel as well, considering that I did really well grade-wise that semester and I remember really enjoying this book when I read it at that time.



2. Doris Goodwin is a Pulitzer Prize winning author. She is a democrat and mostly she writes about politics. However several years back she took part in Ken Burns documentary film on baseball and portrayed her memories and love of the Brooklyn Dodgers of the 1950s and later as an adult in Massachusetts, the Boston Red Sox.
   
   This stimulated her to reflect on her childhood days as a Dodger fan and she decided to write a book about it. But as she carefully researched her memory and her past she found that it was all intertwined with her life groing up as an impresionable girl on Long Island in the 1950s. Her parents her friends and her future wriing career were all tied togehter. So this delightful book is a memoir of her childhood growing up and living and dying for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
   I am 55 years old, slightly younger than Goodwin but I too grew up in the 1950s on Long Island and can relate to many of her experiences. She discusses how she started learning about baseball and the Dodgers when her father taught her how to fill out a scorecard. In the evenings during their quiet time together she would use the scorecard like a cue to narrate the game she listened to on the radio that day. This brought the game to life for her father and created an interest in her in narration that carried on into a career of writing.
   
   The book flows marvelously and you see the world from the eyes of an impressionable grammar school girl. Goodwin is somehow able to go back and put herself back in the mind of that little naive child. We see her devotion to the Catholic church, the fear of polio in the ealry 1950s before the vaccines. I know this so well as I contracted polio in the summer of 1953 though I never got it so bad as to need an iron lung. We here of her confessions as she admitted to her priest that she wished harm on the Dodger opponents. We learn about the kids in the neighborhood, all Dodger, Giant or Yankee fans. I was a Yankee fan but my brother and all my friend that I played ball with as a kid were Dodger fans. The Dodgers were the most popular team in New York. They were the underdogs and the team for the common working man.
   
   Goodwin's first boyfriend was a boy she got to know because he was a Dodger fan and they could talk so comfortably about the Dodgers. This is a story about the Dodger players she admired; Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider, Don Newcombe and Carl Furillo and the Yankees and Giants that she dispised, Mays, Mantle, Martin, Berra and others. It is a story about devotion and heartbreak; Bobby Thomson's home run, the story of Mickey Owens' dropped third strike. Billy Martin's heroics is 52 and 53. But it is also the thrill of 1955 when Dodger fans finally didn't have to say wait till next year.
   
   As all this goes on we also hear about her mother's health problems and her childhood girlfriends, the beginning years of television, the Army - McCarthy hearings, the cold war, the civil defense drills and the fallout shelters, memorable events for those growing up in the 1950s.
   
   



3. Most interesting for me since I am a "wait till next year" Red Sox fan. She's an excellent writer and commentator and this lives up to her standard.



4. Ms. Goodwin knows how to tell a good story. In addition to telling us about her childhood in a New York City suburb in the 1950s, she also talks about the changes America was going through in this time period: economic development and the impact on the family, the beginnings of the civil rights movement, the "end" of baseball as the American pasttime. The book is well-written and very enjoyable.



5. Great book. It inspires me to take my two little girls to games. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

5 comments about A Life on the Road.

1. I enjoyed this book. I remember seeing his show in the last few years it was on. The stories about the show are very inspiring.



2. I once heard Dan Rather on TV talking about his late friend Charles. He admired his uncanny ability to describe everyday experiences of common Americans and make them stand out in a positive way. Rather talked about how Charles went against the grain of network television, when networks were consciously "dumbing down," Charles was trying to appeal to Americans who had read at least one book per month. He had faith in the intellectual capacity of citizens and their ability to help democracy.
   
   This book contains wonderful stories, crafted only in a way Charles could. He saw the everyday heroes in the USA, the heroes who didn't make the headlines, but who mattered a lot in the hearts and minds of many. Charles was trying to be a bright light in a sometimes dark world, and he succeeded.
   
   Give this book as a Christmas present to any friend who truly cares about his country and who is tired of the partisanship that is tearing the nation apart. To call the stories in this book "refreshing" is an extreme understatement.
   
   Jeffrey McAndrew
   author of "Our Brown-Eyed Boy



3. This 316 pages of America isn't the America of the media or of Hollywood or of the headlines of shootings and money-grubbing, cheating and robbing, but of the REAL America. Of honest people and real places, of pride and honor and values that really count.

   Here you'll meet the men who built the Golden Gate Bridge and a doctor who charges whatever his patients can afford. You'll learn about a woman who spends every day of her life cooking and feeding her neighbors because she wants to be a friend to man. These are the true nobility of our country, the real success stories of lives worthy of note and respect. In comparison to these, Bill Gates, Lee Iacocca, Ted Turner pale in significance.

   These are lives fully lived, the promise of the individuals completely realized. They are the human evidence of what happens when a person does unto others as they would have others do unto themselves.

   Sunnye Tiedemann (aka Ruth F. Tiedemann)




4. Kuralt has a wonderful sense of humor. His wit shines through in every page of this book as he tells stories of Americana and his experiences while covering the news in Cuba, South America, Russia... His simple and descriptive style of writing flows by fast and I could vividly imagine his experiences. What were these experiences? Pick up the book. Suffice to say it spans from the story of a simple brick layer he met in rural america to a proud, grumpy soviet ex-pow who had been waiting 40 years to send a message to an old friend in America.

   I put this book down with a great faith in humanity and a deep admiration for Charles Kuralt. He leaves you feeling that this world is filled with thousands and thousands of remarkable stories that are waiting to be discovered and that life is full of opportunities around every corner.




5. The genius of Charles Kuralt--and what makes this book great--is his ability to find insights from the smallest of things, which the rest of us would pass over on the way to more "important" matters. In some ways his life was extraordinary. But in other ways he led a rather conventional life, going from one greased pig competition to the next hoe-down on his rickety bus. He never walked on the moon, or cured a disease, or broke a batting record, or played at Carnegie Hall. But his insights into the simple experiences in life, from a field of wildflowers to the beauty of an autumn day, make A Life On The Road a book to cherish, and return to again and again. I can't recommend this book enough. America lost a true artist when Mr. Kuralt died. He probably never would have been so presumptuous to claim the title for himself, but that's what he was.

5 comments about Call Me by My True Names: The Life, Poetry, and Teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh.

1. There are many wonderful introductions to the work, life and ideas of Thich Nhat Hanh, and this is both one of the more unexpected, and one of the finest.
   
   CALL ME BY MY TRUE NAMES is a comprehensive collection of Thich Nhat Hanh's poetry, presented here with occasional brief comments from the author following many of the poems. I initially purchased this for the comparatively famous title piece, which is a work of extraordinary moral power, and also of extraordinary literary control.
   
   From start to finish here, the writing is economical and plainspoken - but not 'plain': to draw feeble Western connections, this is a distant stylistic cousin to the likes of Dickens, or perhaps Steinbeck - rather than resort to gimmicks, or technical flash, Thich Nhat Hanh has the respect or confidence in his own voice (or the voices of characters) to allow that voice clear expression.
   
   Thus, a collection of dignity and skill. The Vietnamese Zen ideals and ideas Thich Nhat Hanh has been developing, exploring and living for decades are expressed with precision and grace, and he doesn't have to ask for a readers' interest - this work sparkles with calm dignity and life.
   
   -David Alston



2. We were there the day Thich Nhat Hanh gave his lecture at Grace Cathedral. We were there, simply enough, praying in thebold Cathedral at the top of Nob Hill, having just stopped in to get out of the chilly fog on a windswept afternoon. People with dark suits and lengths of lavender ribbons were festooning the nave and aisles of the church with color and flowers, and placed a large jar of proteus on the podium floor. We later discovered that proteus was the favorite flower of Thich Nhat Hanh, and you can hear him croon with pleasure on the tape about the flowers, and if you do not understand the reference immediately, he's talking about how he sees proteus all over the world, so it's like a universal symbol of love.
   
   We soon found out that Thich Nhat Hanh and his organization had sold tickets to hear this lecture but miracle of miracles, they did not kick us out, but allowed us to stay even though we did not pay the minimal fees charged. And what a lecture, filled with poetry and the pedagogy of love. By the time we went outside, the sun had burst out, and you could see a rainbow towering over Nob Hill with one end buried in the Mission and the other by Coit Tower. Afterwards we saw Thich Nhat Hanh, accompanied by two children, scampering through the famous maze in the pavement in front of Grace Cathedral. With glee they negotiated the twists and turns that baffle Western man.



3. As many of us may (or may not) be aware, Nhat Hanh is at once a renowned Buddhist monk, a poet, and activist for peace; especially peace sought after during war time. This particular book brings together a collection of 100+ poems he has written and orated over 40 years. Each one gives the reader a glimpse into the very heart of this real life bodhisattva. Call Me By My True Names is perhaps one of his most profound and important, for it penetrates one's dualistic mode of thinking to the point of acknowledging all nature is within my own nature. True understanding stems from realizing there is no other in a traditional sense. What there should only be is, "How can I help this world?" Call Me By My True Names is awe-inspiring, one of the most powerful texts on interconnection and being I've ever happened to read. And simple, so clear.

   This book covers practically every aspect of a spiritual life in it's contents, and it is my wish you will buy it. It should be on all beings shelves, for it's prose is delivered deep from the heart of a modern bodhisattva.




4. This book is something special. Call me by my true names is more than a collection of poems by some crusty old Zen guy. The author's clarity and enlightening style have cut through my muddy mind like a knife through butter. I sit here covered in Goosebumps because Thich Nhat Hahn's poetry resonates with the voice of Buddha.

   Call me by my true names is nothing short of spectacular.




5. His simple words reveal an ocean of truth of miseries, hopes, memories & dreams a normal citizen had, when Vietnam was bleeding.It also has all the good things that we have ever heard from elders or read somewhere. Simple yet powerful this collection is a close encounter with nature and life.

5 comments about In Contempt.

1. First off, Jess Walters is a wonderful writer. Very powerful writing.
   
   After reading the book, I have the upmost respect for Darden and his fight for justice. Although he could not achieve justice for Nicole Brown, I admire him for his heart.
   
   This is an easy book to read. Getting an insider look through the eyes of Darden is well worth your time. It inspires emotion and inspiration.



2. A very well written book about Christopher Darden's childhood, working as an adult in L.A. and "trying" to prosecute O.J. ! I did not want to read anything about O.J. - but glad I went ahead and read this book. I would highly recommend it. Loved every aspect of the book.



3. Truth is stranger than fiction! This would be a great fictitious story, only one small problem, it's real. lf you came from another planet or were under a rock for the past l4 years, you would think that Darden has an incredible imagination. But he lived it. 0f course this was his side of the story, l'm sure the dream team's version is much different. But hats off to Christopher Darden. And BABAB0OEY to y'all!



4. In this well written book, Darden gives readers a behind the scene look at what happened at the trial. He tells readers how racism was injected into the trial by the defense team, gives his account of the infamous glove demonstration, and reveals the stress he was under being the focus of the Dream Team's wrath. He does not hold back frank opinions about Judge Ito, the Dream Team, fellow prosecutors, Furhman etc. The book is a very interesting read that provides important context to the most famous trial of the 20th century.



5. A nice book about the O.J. Simpson case. I liked how Darden relays his own story of race with the murder case. Clearly, Darden has evolved over the years and became someone to look up to.
   
   Darden tells it like it is with how the Dream Team uses the race card. Up against insurmountable evidence that their client did it, they attack the DA's case by showing there was a rascist cop and a incompetent technician. The jury itself is itching to come to the same conclusion due to the Rodney King beatings.
   
   This is a nice tale on how the justice system is not always right. Two people were murdered and there was little justice.

1 comments about The Carpenter's Apprentice: The Spiritual Biography of Jimmy Carter.

1. Dan Ariail is the pastor of Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia and Maranatha is the home Church of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter where they are active members. Rev. Ariail with the assistance of Cheryl Heckler-Feltz has attempted to put together a book that sheds some light on the Carter's spiritual life. It is indeed hard to understand the Presidency and post-Presidency of James Earl Carter without coming to grips with his basic religious beliefs. After all, while most former Presidents of both parties spend most of their time making huge sums of money or just relaxing, Jimmy Carter has done more to help more people than almost any man alive has. What is it that drives this wonderful man as he seeks to do good day after day? According to this book and several by Carter himself it is the former President's faith in God and his relationship with Christ.

   Unfortunately, this book is mostly made up of accounts that have already been written about by Carter in his own books. In fact, if one were to combine several of Carter's books, this could be the condensed version. There are also too many long quotes from Carter's speeches and Sunday school lessons included in the text. With the book being as short as it is I felt the space could have been better used. Especially if it had been used to gain some extra insight from a man who knows Mr. & Mrs. Carter so well. I finished this book thinking a great opportunity had been missed.

   There are however several wonderful insights to be found in this book. For example there are stories of Jimmy Carter going out with his Pastor to visit new families in the community which is just as much a part of his Christian outreach as are his diplomatic efforts. The last section of the book is basically a tourist information chapter for those planning a trip to Plains. Just last year my wife and I went to Plains and this chapter would have been a great help. Especially the section about visiting Maranatha Church. We managed to make the Church visit and were in the President's Sunday school class. After the service we were able to have our picture made with the former First Family and found that they are gracious and lovely people. If nothing else, this book will help you plan for such a trip so you can share with my wife and I in this once in a lifetime experience. We would have had a much easier time if I had had this book back then.

   If you are a Carter fan you will probably already be familiar with most of the material in this book but you will probably enjoy it anyway. If nothing else you will get a little insight into the personality of Billy Carter from someone outside the family. Billy was also a member of Maranatha and the Sunday we were there his widow was singing in the choir. On the other hand, if you don't really know much about the family Carter this book would be a great learning experience. For those who have already read Jimmy Carter's books this would be a two star selection while for those new to the Carter story it would be worth four stars. I guess I'll have to average it out at three.

5 comments about In the Arena a Memoir of Victory Defeat and Renewal.

1. Why is it pleasurable to read this book ? Because you have the impression of sitting with former President Nixon having him telling you his experience as a politician, truly revealing, with simple but skilled language, anedoctes of his life and his mind about a lot of topics.
   I really enjoyed having this presidential chat with President Nixon and every once in a while I will surely have some other ones by reading some passages of " In the Arena", a memoir narrated not in chronological order, but according to certain matters he deals with.



2. This books tells you very interesting things about Politics and Life in general. Definitely, Richard Nixon was a very intelligent man.
   
   Something I find fascinating and mysterious is that the most intelligent President of USA has been the only one to be dismissed, the one who obtained one of the most landslide victory of USA's electoral history (1972) and the one who had more enemies in the Press.



3. An autobiographical account is always a dicey proposition, and in order to succeed, the author requires a certain amount of objectivity, as well as superior writing skills. Unfortunately, this displays neither.
   
   I'm not here to bash Nixon politically, but I do have to say that the book comes off as extremely self-serving. Nixon's account of Nixon's life just doesn't come off as honest. I think that when he wrote it, he was still too entrenched in a persona that needed to take public opinion into account. The result is a lot of treacly, ponderous prose that comes off like the presidential equivalent of a Hallmark television special.
   
   The one saving grace of the book is that it gives us many little anecdotes that demonstrate the minutiae of the daily life of a President of the United States, and that is indeed interesting. But other than that, there's no reason to pick this up.



4. First of all, I began this book after reading his "No More Viet Nams" which was top notch. Needless to say, I was a bit disappointed with "In The Arena". Nixon covers much about his life in politics and gives us his personal views on life, his wife, family, friends, television, books, and so on. Reading this book was much like listening to your favorite, wise, ol' grandad talking about his life and what he experienced. IF you are not interested in that, don't read this book. You'll be disappointed. Personally, I was more interested in his pointed comments about politics, foreign policies, political leaders, war, and so on but there wasn't enough of that.



5. Since the former president granted my request and sent me a personal autographed copy absolutely free I am biased about this book. I think it is well-written, insightful, personal, and philosophical all in one package. His approach to life was essentially life it to the hilt, have something to show for your existence, hence the title. He was not hesitant to enter "the arena." In fact, his life was lived in the arena. President Nixon was both a thinker and doer.

   While he lived adventurously on two levels, the mental and physical, he was somewhat neglectful of the spiritual arena. He talks about his Christian parents, especially his mother, but he doesn't address spiritual matters in his personal life in any great detail. I know he was on friendly terms with both Billy Graham and Norman Vincent Peale. I'm sure they had some Christian influence on him.

   In this book, the president looks back on life as an elder statesman. Some of the advice he gives is pertinent to any arena. When he talks about living with a purpose that transcends self, the focus is beyond political. He devotes time to the human condition, overcoming personal challenges, victories, defeats, and renewals. This is a well-thought out book. Any open minded reader would be stimulated by it.

5 comments about The Unquiet Mind.

1. As newly diagnosed with bipolar disorder, I was initially drawn to the title of the book, because "An Unquiet Mind" was what I felt I had. I am not a stupid person, by any means, but I did not feel like the author spoke to me personally about bipolar disorder or her experiences with it. The author uses clinical language and words most people would have to look up in Webster's Dictionary to understand. I feel as though the author's intended audience are her colleagues in academia. I was insulted by the author's use of the term "madness" in describing bipolar disorder, as I do not feel that I am mad, or ever have been. I do not think I have suffered from the illness to the degree that the author has, but she did not make herself or her experience with the disorder seem human like or real to me at all. In some ways, the author almost seems to have a romantic type fascination with bipolar disorder, and I see nothing even remotely romantic about having this disorder. A truly good author has the ability to be on the same level as her reader, and bring them into the story being told. I did not feel that way while reading this book, and I wasn't able to connect on a level with the author in which she made herself seem vulnerable or to which I felt some sort of empathy for her or her illness; and since I too have bipolar disorder, I find that to be one of the most important reasons why I cannot recommend this book. Come down to Earth, Ms. Jamison; that's where you will find the rest of us.



2. This is the most "on key" book I have read about an unquiet mind. Jamison's depiction of the disease is easy to read and to the point. If you want an informative read, don't let this one slip away. It is a must have.



3. I bought this book because I was listening to an Abnormal Psych podcast, and three of the episodes dealt with the book. I haven't listened to those yet, but I did just finish the book.
   I found it to be well written, easy to read (despite the occasional need for a dictionary), and most of all : it explains how the disease works and what it feels like without being too scientific about it, and with giving insight into what it feels like to be manic/depressive.
   It's got a lot of (her) personality poured onto the pages.
   I know no one with manic-depressive illness, I've never really read anything about it, but I feel as if I have a good bit of understanding now.
   I found it very interesting to read that the Lithium side effects are very similar to what someone with cfids goes through (obviously minus the manic/depressive episodes and mood swings).
   The "severe and prolonged depression" part got really emphasized in the book which after the 10th time had me sigh a "yeah, I got it the 5th time", but maybe that was because she wanted to make it really clear that this was not the usual kind of low-serotonin depression.



4. I bought this book like most people, because I was told it was great. Nothing could be more remote from the reality of the book. Let's see why.
   
   For one, Kay is an over-achiever. Despite the fact that some people could classify me as one, I know it's not the reality of most people with bipolar, although she keeps on repeating it over and over.
   
   For two, the poor woman lives in a world that doesn't exist: perfect childhood, perfect lovers, perfect friends. Of course there is something that she either doctored up or didn't have the courage to admit.
   
   For three, the scene of her in lingerie in her bathroom cutting her veins after sex - I'm sorry - it's ludicrous. During most of her "psychotic episodes" she is much more together than I am in a bad day LOL
   
   But the thing that really yucked me out is how she said that love is what saved her and - especially - how she rationalized the fact that her husband didn't want children from a mentally ill wife.
   
   The only point I could relate to was her missing her productive, happy highs which - again - aren't what most bipolars experience.
   
   In short, her book could be written by Danielle Steel if it wasn't that Danielle Steel did write a book on her late son who did have bipolar, and did a spectacular job. Read that one instead!



5. Redfield Jamison gifted the world with her memoir about bipolar which targets the disorder from two angles: the professional and the personal. Story is always profound and powerful, and I greatly appreciated her commitment to honesty of what it means to live with bipolar. She truly combined the best of two worlds - the world of truth and the facts about bipolar, juxtaposed against her own story.
   
   Possibly the most eye-opening part of the book is her struggle with lithium, and she covers the pros and cons, and wonderfully illustrates the lifesaving effects of the drug. Although she explains the many side effects and the disadvantages of the drug, she also reveals how many times it has saved her life...for better or worse.