No comments about Iacocca Tapes an Autobiography, the AUDIO CASSETTE.

5 comments about All Over But the Shoutin'.

1. I was raised in North Alabama. Rick Bragg's ability to paint the picture of life in that part of the South blows my mind. It is perfect, as if he reached into my head and threw my own thoughts and memories onto the pages of this book. It is real, unapologetic and stubborn...just as it should be. It helped bring me back to a world I left years ago and understand why I love and hate it so much.
   
   What a wonderful writer, his sentences are so packed full of vivid descriptions it almost made me tired at first. Honest to God, I had to put it down a few times because I needed to let the images digest before going back for more. I usually devour books within a day or two. This one I chose to savor, slowly a chapter at a time. He is now one of my favorites!



2. If you have not lived part of this book you won't get it. If your hardest moment in life was not making the team or getting dumped by a girl then you won't understand Rick's story. But if you've been there, espicially if you've been there and you grew up in the South, then this book will resonate with you in deep and meaningful ways that won't make much good logical sense. After you have your first good throat aching cry you'll experience a measure of the healing that All Over But The Shout'in can bring to a life that started hard.
   
   More than a book. A story told with honesty. A witness. A testimony that speak to the soul.



3. I read this book after loving AVA'S MAN. I was less enthralled with ALL OVER, which was written first. From reviews, I expected it to be a paean to his momma. That it was, early on and again at the end. But I couldn't help thinking that for a woman to sacrifice so much for her children is not so exceptional--most of us sacrifice more than our children will ever know--and that he was perhaps too attached to her. His lack of any real emotional connection to any of his many "girlfriends" made me think that he needed to mature and to depend less on his attachment to his momma. Like other reviewers, I was less interested in his climb to the Pulitzer, but I adjusted to the switch of focus. It turned into an autobiography, and his many "clips" from stories that he wrote were very interesting. Overall, I think the second half is just not as gripping as the first and the switch was somewhat jarring.



4. I read this book when it first came out and had an occasion to repurchase it recently for a book club discussion. As I live now in the South and have followed his career in the last couple of years; I find his writing both stimulating and interesting. The group found his descriptions of his Southern long suffering Mother very realistic. Have ordered his new book and look forward to reading it as well.



5. Stepping Off the Edge: Learning & Living Spiritual Practice
   Inspired writing. Pulitzer Prize winning, New York Times reporter, Rick Bragg, tells the story of growing up poor white trash in Alabama. Seldom have I read more compassionate, truthful, heartfelt words. Mr. Bragg's love for his family, his mother and his country blasts through. Just as truthful is his depiction of the alcoholic father who deserted his family and the crushing effect of their subsequent poverty. Simple. Beautiful. Unforgettable. A New York Times Notable Book of the Year.

4 comments about Slide Rule.

1. Before he became a world famous novelist, Nevil Shute Norway started an aircraft company and built it up to over 1,000 staff. This was a company started in 1932 - the Great Depression.
   
   How he did that and the types of issues he faced are fascinating. His thoughts on why he choose possibly inflated figures for some of his company's assets and risked going to jail as a way to obtain financing and prevent the lay off of 500 people during the depression are very memorable.
   
   A great read.



2. This is a fascinating autobiography of the early life of one of Britain's premier aeronautical engineers (and adventure novelists!). Nevil Norway was closely involved in pioneering work in the airship industry (a fascinating technological dead-end) and writes with verve and authority on his experiences of starting his own airplane works (no threat to Boeing!).

   However, the story ends with his resignantion from Airspeed (his company) as the clouds of World War 2 are gathering. Shute Norway's later life seems to have been equally adventurous and I would dearly loved to have been able to read of his wartime experiences and his solo flight to Australia in the late 1940's.

   Nevertheless, this is a well written and smooth reading work which is as well crafted and entertaining as any of his novels.




3. Nevil Shute's autobiography is an extraordinary work, and captures the flavor and pace of early aeronautical development, as well as the challenges of trying to gain support for the burgeoning aircraft industry in the early 1920's-late 1930's. As well, it captures the dualism of the industry: the rivalry between proponents of large airships and proponents of airplanes for the future of air transportation. It is best remembered for its frank and merciless critique of the R-100 and R-101 airship programs, and the differences between the "capitalist" R-100 (which worked) and the "socialist" R-101 (which crashed disastrously, killing almost all on board). Shute writes with authority as an insider, and with the grace that characterizes his novels. In addition to this work, I would recommend that readers also read J. P. Morpurgo's biography of Barnes Wallis (entitled simply BARNES WALLIS). Shute worked for Wallis on the R-100, and Morpurgo's book offers its own very useful insights into the great British airship rivalry. As well, readers of this work should read Shute's posthumous novel STEPHEN MORRIS which is itself a surprisingly good work (it was his first attempt at a novel), and which carries on many of the themes he explores in his autobiography SLIDE RULE. In sum, SLIDE RULE belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in the history of flight, and, particularly, anyone involved in the design and development of aircraft for commercial or military purposes. An excellent read!!!



4. This book is a great read. It's Nevil Shute's non-fictional account of his years as an airplane designer prior to becoming a full time author. Over a third of the book relates his experiences as a junior engineer on the R.100 zeppelin construction project. Led by Barnes Wallis, the R.100 was built as a commercial project, simultaneously with the infamous government-designed R.101 which crashed with much loss of life on it's maiden voyage. This disaster put paid to the R.100 as well as it was never flown again.

   After that, he helped found the Airspeed airplane company. His tales of keeping the start-up afloat are reminiscent of many of the dot-coms during recent years.

   Shute writes very smoothly, and the book has the feel of a long conversation. If there's a flaw, it's that he doesn't talk much about the other people he met. It would be nice, for example, to see a few sentences on Barnes Wallis, designer of the R.100, the Lancaster bomber, and the dam busting bombs used in WW2.

   That said, there's plenty to read here and this is one of those books you can't put down once you start.

5 comments about Paris to the Moon (Read by the Author).

1. An interesting collection of essays about family life in Paris. Gopnik's erudite, interesting descriptions of the City of Light will delight Francophiles, although his writing is fairly pretentious and pedantic at times. Nevertheless, this book is still a worthwhile read.



2. I picked up this book for insights on the less-touristy aspects of Paris, prior to a trip my family is taking. It's a very enjoyable book, and the author's descriptions definitely have raised my anticipation level for our visit, as well as given me ideas about places for kids. Plus (as many other reviewers noted), it's a funny and charming book. As the husband of a former chef, I enjoyed his discursions about cooking, too.
   
   My one complaint comes from the occasional pretentiousness and preciousness of the author's lifestyle. How many of us could move to Paris for five years during the prime of our working lives? And how many of us could take a month's vacation to the US in the summer, or fly our kids back for two days of interviews for kindergarten? Kindergarten?
   
   The author comes from a very small slice of our society, and he both downplays this and celebrates it at different times. And I don't like it. For example, his literary allusions -- whether French, English or American -- go over my head. I'm a well-read person, but I feel as if the author is trying to show that he has a greater range than his readers. To shift from Baudelaire to the New York Knicks within a few paragraphs is trying to have it both ways -- the intellectual and the common man.



3. This book has been enlightening in at least one respect - I thought one had to be an upper-class English twit to be this pretentious. Gopnik, of course, is not the former, but he is most certainly the latter.
   
   To be fair, occasionally Gopnik does present a humorous nugget or a unique insight into Parisian life (though not French life; he is only a Parisophile, not a Francophile.) It's the other 95% of the book's self-indulgent prattle that is so annoying. I swear that if Gopnik thought that too many readers understood the massive amounts of French in the book, he would switch to Latin or Greek. He is not merely a name dropper, he's a word dropper.
   
   While it starts out well enough, no more than 1/2 way through the book the reader is reduced to skimming page after page of discussions about food, reports of haute couture fashion shows, and an endless series of boring reflections on his young son. Toward the end of the book Gopnik even mentions taking his 4-year old on a trip back to New York in order for the boy to be interviewed for admission to a good pre-school! What a turkey this Gopnik character is. How is he ever going to explain all this pomposity to the boy when he grows up?



4. I had not really heard of this book until I saw Gopnik on Charle Rose after the interview I knew I had to go out and get this book. I can honestly say I was not disappointed, it is a quick read and I was fascinated at the authors experience as an American living in Paris. At times he name drops and you sort of feel he is one of these insipid, fey people, like the annoying Arthur Slesinger, Jr., who's easily impressed by famous people and famous places, but overall, I liked what he had to say and he's a very good writer, I really felt I was in Paris with him at times.



5. This is collection of essays written by Gopnik, while he was posted to Paris, by the New Yorker Magazine, between 1995 and 2000. Gopnik characterises the French as overly intellectual, valuing wit over humour, valuing theory over practicality; however in the initial essays I thought Gopnik was committing these errors himself. There is an essay about the error messages of French fax machines, which takes the messages as indicative of the French attitude to the world. I found this essay amusing, but overly witty rather than funny, and plausible, if requiring a suspension of disbelief. In fact I thought that Gopnik might fill the essay's with methaphors for France or the French or Europeans, and I considered giving it up about the Fax essay. In fact, I took up `The Looming Tower', which I found to be unutterably sad, and found that I returned periodically to Gopnik for some reassurance.
   The essay's themselves revolved around the author's domestic life in Paris, his difficulties getting an apartment, taking his son to the park, taking his son swimming, cooking. He intersperses these with observations on French and American culture. I found the later essays more personal, less analytical, but the writing was just as inviting and gifted as at first.
   In fact there are two classic essays about Gopnik's efforts, along with a group of concerned citizens, to save their favourite restaurant - the Brasserie Balzac - from being taken over by a (French) conglomerate personified by its owner Jean-Paul Bucher. The manoeuvrings of the plotters, the reaction of the restaurant staff, and the final outwitting of all the above by Bucher are a joy to read.
   Reading the book, at this remove and along with the Looming Tower, make me think about the fact that Gopnik's essays, witty, amusing, domestic were written at the same time as the threat from Al Queda was emerging, but being underestimated. It made me yearn somewhat for the nineties, when all that seemed to bother us was the personal troubles of the US president. Gopnik returned to New York for the millennium and I believe has a new(ish) book of essays coming out about his time there. I will definitely read them.
   While I started out being put off by the whimsical content of the essays, in the end I became glad that Western society can create a space for such a talented writer to exercise his craft on such, apparently, slight topics. In reality of course, and Gopnik quotes Maupassant on this, the very familiarity of the tale leads to its being hugely personal and important.

No comments about Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. Part 2 - (Audiobook on 12 Cassettes).

5 comments about REBA MY STORY: My Story.

1. Reba is strong and can handle anything thrown her way.
   
   This book about her life, one I will keep always, is very interesting and held my attention. I read about Reba's struggles, and things she endured. You wonder how a woman can take so much and keep on going, but that is exactly what she does.
   
   Still to this day, Reba is going strong. I do not want to ruin this book for anyone who has not read it, or wants to know more about Reba. You will find it very interesting to look behind the scene's of Reba's life and how she got to where she is today.
   
   Tracy B. Evans



2. First of all, I really like Reba's writing style. Its as if you're sitting with an old friend and catching up with whats happening in their lives. That said, the positives end with that. As a fan of Reba's music, I have always been perplexed and annoyed by some of her musical decisions. Obviously I cant be upset about her personal choices in her life, because its her life, she can do what she wants to - but her attempt at sainthood in this sad autobiography was very, very disappointing.
   
   I think Dolly Parton was probably the only country singer who actually sang about her background and childhood with some degree of truth. Here, Reba contradicts herself so often that its hard to empathize. I especially found her account of `that' tragic incident (her entire band killed in an airplane crash) very strange and distant, as if she didn't want to dwell too much on it. She also seems very defensive at various stages in the book, as if the public opinion really did matter so much to her. Then she follows it up by vehemently stating that she doesn't care what people think. I don't know, maybe she's bipolar?
   
   I think the worst part of the book is where Reba defends her relationship with Narvel Blackstock. This was a man that the entire country music industry knew she was having an affair with for almost five years, while she was also married to another man at the same time. In an attempt to sanitize this, Reba gives us curious, vague, and often inexplicable stories of how they NEVER kissed or held hands while she was still married, and how every romantic notion she had about Blackstock came MUCH after her divorce. Really Reba? Are people that stupid, or have you deluded yourself into believing your own version of the truth?
   
   The musical memories are fun though. I always wondered how she came about singing Bobbie Gentry's "Fancy" (one of the all time great songs) and she tells the tale so well. Also, her insecurities and neuroses are very similar to most peoples' but she does come across as very determined and hard-fisted. Perhaps that's why many people think shes a bit of a harlot, but frankly don't read this book if you want to GAIN respect for Reba. I lost much of the respect I had for her after reading this, because it seems that she's taken every major portion of her life and polished it up to an extent that she emerges looking like some sort of heroine. Seriously.
   
   A great work of fiction. An autobiography it is not. Take all of Reba's reminisces with a Manhattan-sized pinch of salt.



3. Reading this book makes you realize life isn't always easy. I give her credit for revealing her life story to those people who wanted to know more about her upbringing, her family life and life in general. I'm thankful I had the opportunity to read about her life. I've enjoyed reading the book and would recommend it to those people who are interested in knowing what a wonderful person Reba McIntire really is.



4. I absolutely enjoyed this book. From reading about the high points in her life such as her career, the birth of Shelby and the marriage to Narvel Then reading about the crash in '91 and the divorce from Charlie Battles... It just took me on a complete rollercoaster of emotions. From the moment i picked up the book it felt like i was having a conversation with Reba herself. I could not put the book down. Overall, this was one worth reading.



5. There are two sides to every story and Tom Carter, the ghostwriter and co-author of this "Norman Rockwellish" biography attempts to help McEntire glorify her position in the annals of country music. There is a lot that leaves to be desired in this book. The truth is greatly exaggerated and I just remember the one hot summer when Reba left her fans standing in the hot sun at fan fair and they began stomping and tearing her pictures to bits!!

5 comments about The Avengers: A Jewish War Story.

1. I have read many books about Jewish resistance during World War II and this one is among the best I have read. Once I started reading it, I could not put it down. The book covers the life of Abba Kovner, a Jewish resistance fighter from Vilna, through World War II and its aftermath. At the end of the war, Abba planned and executed acts of revenge against the Nazis. This is described in the book as well as Abba's participation in Israel's War of Independence. The book is well written and easy to read. It gives you two different pictures of Jewish suffering during the war. One picture is that of many of the Jews in the Vilna Ghetto.....one of fear and submission to the Nazi oppression. The other picture is that of Abba and his group of partisans.....one of resistance and hatred of the Nazi oppressors.



2. Rich Cohen has written an extraordinary tale of heroism and survival during the most horrendous and brutal moment in mankind's history. The tale of these three individuals, Abba Kovner, Ruzka Korczak and Vitka Kempner, shine through as living testimonies in the dark night of the Holocaust. You will not be able to put this book down as you race through the pages of "The Avengers." It is so well written and well documented that you wish you had 20 more books just like this one. It really is amazing how these individuals actually survived this horrible time, but they did in fact prevail and triumph against overwhelming odds. Perhaps the greatest challenge that these people faced in the end was not to end up like the monsters who had persecuted them. Rich Cohen has done an amazing and tremendous thing by writing this book, sharing with the world the incredible testimony of these three courageous individuals. After you finish reading this book, you will never think about the Holocaust in the same way.



3. The Avengers follows the life of Abba Kovner and his associates, through the horror of Nazism through attempts at revenge, and to a life in Palestine. Although I have read several books on the holocaust, I must admit, I could not bought this book down. Cohen's writing style is very engaging. Cohen makes no value judgements here; it is up to the reader to decide right and wrong. Although I think most people would have a tough time accepting what the avengers tried to do after the war, I cannot possibly judge them. I also cannot imagine living the horrors (which are spelled out in graphic detail) that these Jews went through. One is struck again and again by the brutality and sadism used by these Nazi animals.

   Although not a comforting book, I believe this book should be read by anyone with an interest in one of the most evil periods in history.




4. Cohen's story is brilliant and courageous in the way it forces the Reader to acknowledge their hypocracies with regard to terrorism. Specifically, he draws the reader to sympathize and care for Abba Kovner, but also notes that Kovner and his gang try (unsuccessfully) to poison the water supply of Germans, many innocent noncombatants, even children. In other words, these Avengers are also terrorists (if you use the current definitions).

   By exposing the grey are of terrorism/ resistance, Cohen subtly places the reader in the uncomfortable position of acknowledging a double standard between hero, terrorist and freedom fighter. While we all have to come to our own (hopefully consistent)conclusion in that regard, it takes someone like Cohen and his hero Kovener to make us realize that it is not a "cut and dry" issue.




5. I'm glad I read this book for the subject matter, though there were so many problems with it I can't wholeheartedly recommend it. Cohen bases the book on the memories of old people, and some of their resistance efforts sound like pretty tall tales. I couldn't help but make the comparison with an 89-year-old gentleman I know who claims he sat on a purse snatcher until the police came. Some of the feats they credit themselves with accomplishing are simply unbelievable. There are also discrepancies. For example, Vitka is once called upon to bury a body in a forest in great haste, and I assume we're supposed to think she did it with her bare hands since she had no tools with her. Then much later in the story Vitka sees a dead body for the first time. Huh? Vitka, however, is the real heroine of the story, brave and selfless. Abba is an intriguing person, but my impression was that he gave the orders and took care of himself while his women did all the work. His fanaticism in later years was disturbing, though after what he lived through it is hard to judge him fairly. It's uplifting to know some Jews did fight back and that many lives were saved because of their courage, and that's the best part of the story.

5 comments about Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II.

1. This was a fascinating book that covered the life of Pope John Paul the Great as well as his Papacy. Many of the details of his efforts especially his world-wide pastoral ministry, an outgrowth of his work as a pastor and Archbishop of Krakow, were not well covered by the world media. Most of what we gleaned was the political-diplomatic side of the Vatican. The press, especially the U.S. press, had no understanding of the true meaning of his Papacy. Of particular note, was his endeavor to bring about the fulfillment of Vatican II, the close relationship with youth that we established throughout his life and ministry, and his aims and encyclicals that defined and raised up the dignity of the human person.
   
   If you want to see the Church as you will never see it reported, and understand your faith better, this is the book for you.



2. There is a fiery, mystical core to the young Wojtyla's faith. It is the deepest, darkest layer of the soil which has nourished him throughout his life. All his early heroes are passionate visionaries: the strange, otherworldly Jan Tyranowski; the Spanish mystic, St. John of the Cross; the stigmatic faith healer, Padre Pio. Their emotional, poetic view of the world has sustained him throughout his life. This is a man for whom the great religious truths are viscerally experienced. Christ is alive and walks the earth; the Virgin is a real woman; the Devil is a person not an abstraction. Good and evil are powerful autonomous forces battling each other--the powers of darkness and light. As Pope, he has attended exorcisms, and even officiated at one.
   Arguably the most important of all his spiritual mentors was Jan Tyranowski. He met Tyranowski on a cold Saturday afternoon in February 1940, at a weekly discussion group in the parish church; it was a crucial moment in Wojtyla's life. Tyranowski was a strange man--a forty year-old tailor with white-blond hair, a high-pitched laugh and piercing eyes. Neighbors spoke to us about his oddness and his intensity. He was a bachelor who lived with his mother in a small apartment across the street from the Wojtylas. Tyranowski's small rooms were filled with stacks of religious books, sewing machines and several cats. He would stop young men on the street and try to interest them in joining his "Living Rosary," a praying circle and theology discussion group for young people. He recruited youngsters so aggressively that one of them, Mieczyslaw Malinski, the future priest and seminarian friend of Wojtyla, remembers being alarmed by his intrusive personal questions and worried that he might be a Gestapo agent. Father Malinski told us that it took him a long while to warm up to "this bizarre character who talked in a high-pitched affected voice."
   Wojtyla, however, was immediately gripped by Tyranowski's personality and the power of his ideas. Tyranowski and Wojjtyla spent an increasing amount of time together discussing the Scriptures and mystical philosophers such as St. Theresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross. Malinski tried to argue with Karol about this strange man and even brought up rumors that he had been in a mental institution. Father Malinski wrote about Karol's response in his own biography of the Pope: "Tyranowski has gone through a major life-changing conversion. Look at what is inside him, not his outward experience. Yes, he speaks in a slightly odd, affected manner, but look beyond that. He is a man who lives truly close to God." For Karol, Tyranowski was aflame with God--and this closeness to the flame was an irresistible quality for the young Karol and would remain so for the rest of his life.
   Ultimately, Father Malinski grew attached to Jan Tyranowski and entered the rigorous world of The Living Rosary: "When Karol and I committed ourselves to this prayer group, it was all-encompassing. Every moment of the day was organized around activity and relaxation. We were asked to keep detailed records of our prayers and thoughts. Tyranowski took us through each stage very calmly and methodically until we reached the central core of his teaching--what he called the plenitude of inner life. His influence on Lolek was gigantic. I can safely say that were it not for him, neither Wojtyla nor I would have become priests."
   Wojtyla later wrote about this defining experience: "What Tyranowski wanted to do was work on our souls--to bring out the resources he knew existed within us." Karol was particularly struck by the quiet, mystical core of his teaching and he remembered vividly the day and hour when his teachings sank into him: "Once in July when the day was slowly extinguishing itself, the word of Jan Tyranowski became more and more lonely in the falling darkness, penetrating us deeper and deeper, releasing in us the hidden depths of evangelical possibilities which until then we had tremblingly avoided...Tyranowski was truly one of those unknown saints, hidden among others like a marvelous light at the bottom of life at a depth where night usually reigns. He disclosed to me the riches of his inner life, of his mystical life. In his words, in his spirituality, and in the example of a life given to God alone, he represented a new world that I did not yet know. I saw the beauty of a soul opened up by grace. "
   One of the Pope's most insightful biographers (and our consultant), Tad Szulc, believes that the influence of Tyranowski on the young Wojtyla flowed from their shared attraction to the mystical quality of spiritual life: "Tyranowski gave a wholly new dimension and understanding to Karol's instinctive mysticism and, as much as any profound experience of his young years, it set him on a course towards the priesthood...his mystical legacy to Karol Wojtyla was the 16th century poet and mystic, St. John of the Cross and the desire for the contemplative life." (In fact, after he became a priest, Wojtyla, on two separate occasions, requested permission from his superiors to enter a Carmelite monastery; each time they refused, believing his gifts lay elsewhere.)
   On February 18, 1941, exactly one year after he met Tyranowski, Karol suffered possibly his greatest loss--the death of his father. Unlike his calm demeanor and stoic submission to God's will following the deaths of his mother and brother, the loss of his father provoked a torrent of tears and visible pain. He lamented bitterly that he had not been present when his father died. His friend, Maria Kydrynska, was with Karol when they returned home to discover that Karol Wojtyla Sr. had died of a heart attack in bed. She described the scene vividly to Tad Szulc before she died a few years ago: "Karol, weeping, embraced me. He said through his tears, 'I was not present when my mother died, nor when my brother died.'" The apartment was too painful to stay in alone, so he moved in with the Kydrynskas. Years later, John Paul II told the writer Andre Frossard: "I never felt so alone." His friend Father Malinski observed him going to the cemetery every day to pray at his father's grave and said to us, "Karol was so distraught that I was truly worried about him."
   From that point onwards, Karol spent a great deal of time with his mentor, Jan Tyranowski, but it would take a year and a half for his vocation to take final shape. Years later the Pope would reflect on the mystery of his vocation in his memoir: "At 20 I had already lost all the people I loved. God was, in a way, preparing me for what would happen....After my father's death I became aware of my true path. I was working at a plant and devoting myself, as far as the terrors of the occupation allowed, to my taste in literature and drama. My priestly vocation took place in the midst of all that--I knew that I was called with absolute clarity."
   His reticence--or detachment--is exemplified in his friendship with the theater director, Mieczyslaw Kotlarczyk. Biographer Tad Szulc has described him as "Karol's intellectual, cultural and thespian mentor, the most important person in Karol's life after his father and Tyranowski." For an entire year during the Nazi occupation when all travel was restricted, Karol and Kotlarczyk wrote letters to each other that Halina Krolikiewicz, an actress in the Rhapsodic Theater, would smuggle back and forth from Krakow to Wadowice. Karol's letters were unusually revealing--up to a point. "I surround myself with Books. I put up fortifications of Art and Learning. I work. Will you believe me when I tell you that I am almost running out of time. I read, write, learn, pray and fight within myself. Sometimes I feel horrible pressures, sadness, depression, evil." What is striking about this letter is that Karol could not share, or would not share, his great inner conflict. His friend Lorenzo Albacete described Karol's unusual detachment: "He lived in the most intense solitude, a burning loneliness, and to some extent it was self-imposed...it all goes back to St. John of the Cross, to his exhortation of emptying yourself, stripping away ordinary human supports..."



3. This book is simply superb. It is very long, but the length is justified by the importance of the material and the quality of its handling. Wiegel gives you a long, slow build which describes in great detail every aspect of John Paul II's life. He balances the different aspects of his material extremely well; he will jump from a description of personal events, for example, to a detailed discussion of a philosophic or theological point, but he does so in a way that is easy to read and easy to follow.
   
   This book assumes very little knowledge on the part of the reader, but it conveys a tremendous amount of knowledge. This is a great service, because most of us know very little, for example, about early 20th century Polish culture, yet it is critical to understand this to understand John Paul II. In the same way, there are many subjects which you have to understand to understand John Paul II and Wiegel does a great job of explaining the basics of each, from 20th century philosophy to Eastern European communist politics, and from the political and theological leanings of the Amercan Church to the cult of Mary.
   
   Too much of the time we get bios by writers who know nothing about their subject's areas of activitiy. We get, for example, bios of Napoleon by writers who know nothing about military affairs. We get bios of Plato by people with little understanding of philosophy.
   
   This is not one of those books. Wiegel has made himself the master of all of the subjects needed to understand this amazing man. This book will take you a long time to read, but it is all time well spent.



4. Its not often that one reads a truly great book, a book that is well-written,informative,moving, and inspiring. This book is such a book. While to some this book might be dauntingly long, it well worth the time and is really not a difficult read. I learned a lot about the papacy and pre-papacy life of John Paul the Great. The author does an outstanding job of capturing the spirit and spirituality of this great man. At the same time, this is not a book that paints an unrealistic portrait of history. It is so gratifying to read a book by an author that is obviously extremely well informed about his subject matter and passionate about it as well. I recommend this book to everyone, Catholic or no. I especially recommend this book to anyone interested in the historical truth about secularism/Nazism/Communism.



5. A few years ago, I had the pleasure to meet George Weigel. During a Q & A with his audience, I asked about the oft quoted description in Witness to Hope of John Paul II's Theology of the Body (i.e., a "theological time-bomb set to go off with dramatic consequences...perhaps in the twenty-first century."). Of the hundreds of thousands of words in his book, Weigel playfully wondered what it is about that "munitions" wording that leads to such inquiries. Simply put, George, it is a wonderful line!
   
   From what I observe, Catholics do seem to be waking up to the Theology of the Body. Much, much credit is owed to Christopher West, Jason Evert, and others for making the Theology of the Body more accessible. As John Paul II helped do for Poland in the years before the collapse of Communism, we are seeing some first glimpses of leadership for cultural change.
   
   To a world ravaged by Naziism & then Communism, John Paul II was an incredible Witness to Hope. Weigel's work is magnificent and inspiring.

5 comments about The Case of Abraham Lincoln: A Story of Adultery, Murder and the Making of a Great President.

1. Julie M. Fenster is the author of five previous books, including an award-winning history of anesthesia called "Ether: The Strange Tale of America's Greatest Medical Discovery and the Haunted Men Who Made It." She's a regular contributor to American Heritage, as well as other well-respected popular magazines and academic journals.
   
   In "The Case of Abraham Lincoln," Fenster delivers a revealing portrait of Abraham Lincoln both before -- and during -- his rise to political power in the mid-1850s. She uses a famous antebellum murder trial as a fascinating subplot to propel the narrative forward. It's a delightful mixture of biography and scandal that piqued my interest from start to finish.
   
   When we meet Lincoln, he is a successful but frustrated provincial lawyer who makes friends easily but avoids taking strong political stands. The personal details about his every day life are utterly fascinating, given the normal "mythology" that surrounds Lincoln today. For example, we see Lincoln laying on the floor of his parlor, playing with his cats or shutting down the law office in mid-afternoon to play "town ball" (an early form of baseball) with the young store clerks from downstairs.
   
   Throughout the book, Fenster strikes just the right balance between the intimate details of daily life and the earth-shaking events reshaping the national political scene during the run-up to the 1856 election. On one hand, we have a salacious local murder case. On the other hand, we witness the creation of an entirely new political party committed to halting the spread of slavery in the West. Lincoln was thrust into both crucibles at once -- almost by accident. The ultimate result was the greatest president our nation has ever known. (Those who enjoy debating cause and effect in history will find plenty to talk about here.)
   
   "The Case of Abraham Lincoln" belongs to the same new genre of books that I call "Prismatic History." A prism takes a single beam of white light and splits it into its component colors so we can gain a deeper understanding of what lies beneath the seemingly simple facade.
   
   In the same way, Prismatic History starts with a small slice of time (e.g., the year 1856) or a small incident (e.g., a Midwestern family murder). It then reveals the much greater complexity and historical importance that lie just beneath the surface. Other books in this genre include "The Devil in the White City," (about the 1893 Chicago World's Fair) "Isaac's Storm," (about the Galveston hurricane) and "Will in the World" (about the formative years of Shakespeare).
   
   CAUTION: If you're looking for an exhaustive academic history of Lincoln's early law career, or a comprehensive study of antebellum politics, you won't find it here. But if you like a good historical yarn with a fresh perspective and revealing details, you'll love "The Case for Abraham Lincoln." Bravo, Ms. Fenster!
   
   Full Disclosure: I wrote my honor's thesis in history at Brown University about the rise of anti-slavery activism in a small Michigan city during the 1840s and 1850s. (The Republican Party held its first meeting in Jackson, Michigan, in 1854. Oh, what a long, strange trip it's been since then, Mr. McCain.)



2. When I bought this book, I wanted so much to like it. The author is from Upstate New York (where I am from originally) and the book purports to be about Lincoln and his representation of a client charged with murder. However, come to find out that Lincoln's involvement in this homicide case was merely peripheral. In fact, as another reviewer pointed out, Mr. Lincoln first gets involved in the case around page 200. Unfortunately, the publisher's marketing department knew that a sub-title of "The Story of Adultery, Murder, and the Making of a Great President" would sell more then "Lincoln, The Know-Nothings and the Anti-Nebraska Party." When Ms. Fenster describes the details involving the murder and the subsequent legal proceedings, the narrative flow is very smooth, but without any break in the narrative, she then goes on to discuss a minor will settlement that Lincoln handled. This made for a very difficult read, especially when the reader thinks Ms. Fenster is going to write about the murder trial, but instead interminably goes on about the birth of the Republican Party in Illinois. However, overall a good micro-study of not only Mr. Lincoln, but also the burgeoning state of Illinois in mid-19th century America.



3. I bought this book as a gift for my husband who is interested in Lincoln, the law, and political science. He found the book to be informative, entertaining, and well-written.



4. The "Case of Abraham Lincoln" is a well written book, interesting, informative and fun to read. Anyone intersted in Abraham Lincoln, the history of the 1850's, politics or human nature will benefit from this reading.



5. This book does not provide many insights into Abraham Lincoln as a person, politician, or lawyer. Perhaps a few interesting "tidbits" that made you understand this great man just a little more. I was very disappointed in the book and kept hoping it would get better as I kept reading, but sadly it did not. I felt as though I was reading a college level research paper that was parsed together from many sources and never quite told the story it was intended to.

5 comments about Serving in Silence.

1. This book tells the story of Margarethe Cammermeyer, a woman who challenged the army's regulation against homosexuality. Cammermeyer was born in Norway but came to the US with her family when she was a small child. As a teenager, she thought she would become a doctor like her father, but faced with the freedoms of college-life, wasn't able to make the grades. Instead she found herself drawn to nursing. An acquaintance got her interested in the challenges and adventure of army nursing, so she gave it a try. She soon found that army life was an ideal match for her career-oriented nature. She served with her husband in Vietnam. When she had children, she was forced to leave the army, for a while, but regulations eventually changed, and she was able to re-enlist as a reservist. During her long career in the army and national guard, she won many honors. Her goal was to become a general before she retired. However, to do this, she needed a top-secret security clearance, which required an in-depth background interview. It was during this interview that she admitted that she was a lesbian. Suddenly, the army found it no longer had any use for her skills or experience. Cammermeyer was flabbergasted at this response, and began a campaign against the regulations which forbid professed homosexuals from serving their country in uniform.
   
   The book begins with description of an ugly event that happened on the day Cammermeyer was forced out of the Washington National Guard. The text in this chapter is so angry, I almost put the book down without reading further because I wanted to read about her life, not her anger. Fortunately, I kept reading, and found myself quite taken with Cammermeyer's coming of age story. As Cammermeyer came to adulthood in the early 1960s, young women didn't have a lot of say in running their lives. They were expected to do what they were told, and what they were supposed to do, like marry, have children, keep house, and leave the career-building for the men. In trying to play her part, Cammermeyer married, had children, tried settling down on the farm. But coincident with the women's movement, she noticed that she wasn't satisfied with these actions, and set out to get advanced degrees so that she could push her career into high gear. Her husband felt threatened and abandoned by her new attitude of independence, and this led eventually to an acrimonious divorce. After the divorce, Cammermeyer had time to think about what she really wanted and liked in life, and it was at this time that she realized her innate sexual orientation. Overall the book is well written, and it provides an interesting personal account of the societal changes for women from the 1960s to the 1990s.



2. "Serving in Silence," by Margarethe Cammermeyer (with Chris Fisher) is a memoir by a nurse who rose to the rank of full colonel in the United States Army. An openly gay woman, she challenged the U.S. military's policy of discharging gay people. But her fight over this policy is only part of a wide-ranging and consistently fascinating book.
   
   The book begins with her childhood in Norway during World War II and Nazi occupation. The reader follows her as she emigrates to the U.S. and becomes a citizen. Cammermeyer tells in depth about her career as an Army nurse; particularly fascinating are her memories of serving in wartime Vietnam. The book also covers marriage, motherhood, and divorce, as well as her civilian nursing career and her continuing military service in both the Army Reserve and the National Guard.
   
   A particularly intriguing aspect of the book is her quest to raise a bilingual family and celebrate her Norwegian roots; in this regard the book represents a fine contribution to the canon of multiethnic American literature. The book is not just about the colonel, but is a multigenerational family story; her accounts of her relationships with her parents, sons, and other relatives are very moving. Cammermeyer also offers interesting insights into military life, the nursing profession, and the process of discovering the lesbian and gay community.
   
   Cammermeyer has lived a truly epic life, and this book is absorbing throughout. I found the prose style very enjoyable to read. The book's cover emphasizes the colonel's role as a pioneer for gay rights, and indeed this aspect of the text is truly compelling. But the book succeeds on many other levels. I highly recommend "Serving" to those interested in the Vietnam War, lesbian and gay studies, military memoirs, women's studies, and the nursing profession.



3. I know Dr. Cammermeyer personaly...She is an amazing woman who has been through many struggles...This book was a way for her to let other people know what she had to put up with and try and give others hope that even when you feel like everything is going wrong...Never give up, something good will always come.



4. I am an out lesbian who's been involved with queer politics and HIV issues for 15 years, but I just recently got around to reading Dr. Cammermeyer's book. Even after all my years of being "out," I found her story and life so far to be fascinating and inspiring. It's wonderful to have another role model for my own life! I encourage anyone interested in finding out how women can change society and military policy to read this book. It's also a good read for the role of women in the Vietnam war and in the National Guard. Dr. Cammermeyer is truly a "great American," as the military admitted while in the same breath sanctioning her discharge. Her story is all about one person having the integrity and strength to stand up for what she believes to be right, using the legal system to out-maneuver the military, and continuing to be a passionate and out-spoken supporter of banishing ALL types of discrimination. But her book is also an amazing window into the life experiences that fully shaped her to be the person who she is today. Daughter, mother, soldier, nurse, life partner, healer, activist: Dr. Cammermeyer is a hero on so many levels, and you'll have the chance to learn about all of it in her book. (The made-for-TV movie starring Glenn Close as Dr. Cammermeyer and Judy Davis as Diane, her life partner, is also fabulous!)



5. In 1996 I was fired from a government law enforcement position due to my orientation. I hit bottom, emotionally and financially. This book helped me see we have to fight discrimination, that I can survive this ordeal and come out a better person. It is a story of courage from a real hero, and I reccomend it no matter what your orientation, military status, or personal beliefs.