No comments about The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.

No comments about Laurence Olivier: A Biography, By Donald Sopto, B-O-T Library Edition, 12 Audio Cassettes, 18 Hours, Read By David Case.

No comments about Pope John Paul II: The Biography, By Tad Szulc, Unabridged 13 11/2 - Hours, Audio Cassettes, Read By John Edwardson.

No comments about Marco Polo and the Wonders of the East.

5 comments about Comfort Me With Apples.

1. I finished reading Comfort Me with Apples, Ruth Reichl's second (third - if you count Festiary) book, and I loved it.
   
   Comfort Me with Apples details Reichl's years serving as a restaurant critic for the L.A. Times. She tells interesting stories about meeting and working with some of the top names in food today when they were just getting their start. She also dishes on her first marriage, its demise, her second marriage, and her quest to have a child. (A bit more pillow talk than I would have liked here, but it didn't keep me from enjoying the memoir.) All, of course, bound up in her love of eating.
   
   There are several recipes in this book that I plan to try later. It's interesting to me that the recipes in this book reflect how her tastes begin to become more sophisticated as a result of her work. (You'll notice this yourself if you also read Tender at the Bone.)
   
   She's got one more memoir that's out right now (Garlic and Sapphires), and I'm going to track it down soon. I like the way this woman writes.



2. The Truth: I'm a Girl, I'm Smart and I Know EverythingAs a positive psychologist who focuses on women and girls in my own books, my latest being The Truth, the diary of a 10-11 year old girl who is struggling to grow-up and yet stay true to herself, I have to say I love Ruth Reichl's books. I am not here to pick them apart. Rather I eat them up, from first course to last, as the most wonderfully delicious meals of a woman's life experiences, combined with the intimate reflections of her inner life. And Comfort Me with Apples is no exception. I enjoyed every page and wanted to know even more about her than she shared. For me, maybe the combination of being taken to places I have never been, both in terms of travel, and relationships, and also delighting in descriptions of cooking and eating foods, just is a perfect combination for me and I suspect many women. I wouldn't dare, even if these things happened to me, to put them into writing. I am glad that there are people like Ruth Reichl who are willing and daring enough to share of themselves with readers when they themselves are still in their prime and not just reflecting (although there is nothing wrong with that) about a life well lived toward the end of one's days. Carry on Ruth! May everyday for you be a treat. And don't forget to share some of it with me!



3. A wonderful second course to her first book, Tender At the Bone. Just like you anticpate great meals through aromas wafting through the house, each page wafts anticipation of her growing career in the world of gourmet dining. And as happens on occasion, the meals that don't turn out just right, despite following every iota of the recipe, so too her marriage fails to sustains and nourish. A great read for the foodie who loves to read or the reader who loves good food! Bon Appetit!



4. Ruth Reichl has done it again -- completely mesmerized me with a book I found hard to put down.
   
   The current editor of Gourmet magazine goes from food critic a New West Magazine to the LA Times in this, the sequel to her first memoir, Tender at the Bone. How she reinvents herself from a hippie living in a commune in Berkeley cooking for her housemates to being one of the most respected food critics in the country is told with her usual candor, intelligence, humor, and poignancy. Her essay toward the end about her struggle with infertility left me weeping. An unbearable heartbreak for Ruth and Michael had me so emotional I had to put the book down at one point. But then an act of extraordinary kindness on the part of some of her dear friends several pages later made me sigh.
   
   Thank goodness I had already read her bio and knew that in the end things turn out well for her, but I was struck by how hard it must have been for her to write about some of these episodes and she addresses this in her acknowledgements at the end of the book.
   
   I enjoyed the stories she shares of how difficult it is for one to open a new restaurant and was particularly interested in the story of Wolfgang Puck's wife Barbara (who we met briefly at her now-defunct Seattle restaurant several years ago).
   
   Another excellent read from Ruth Reichl. Her third book, Garlic and Sapphires is next. I can hardly wait!



5. Ruth Reichl currently serves as editor of "Gourmet" magazine, an exalted position for any foodie. She also was once the restaurant critic for the "New York Times," but her journey as critic emerged from a much bumpier, more interesting path at a commune in Berkeley, California. "Comfort Me with Apples" follows on from Reichl's first book, her childhood exposure to the wonderful world of food, "Tender at the Bone." That book was so outstanding, I had a hard time imagining how Reichl's sequel could be as good, but it is.
   
   In "Comfort Me with Apples," Reichl's tales of fine dining, celebrity chefs, and the pursuit of a great meal are colored with stories of her own love life, marriage and divorce, travel, friendships, and her desire for motherhood. Her pursuit of adopting a child is perhaps the most life-changing and heart-breaking story of all. And all along the way, we are lured by the amazing, accompanying meals. This memoir will make your mouth water and your heart ache.
   
   Don't feel that you need to read "Tender at the Bone" first. This book stands up on its own, but all of Reichl's writing is so engaging, why would you miss any of it?

5 comments about Gift from the Sea: 50th Anniversary Edition.

1. What more can be said about this lovely collection of thoughts? Even as it celebrates its 50th anniversary, it is as fresh as the day it was penned. This book is a keeper if ever there was one, a volume to be read and re-read and handed down to one's children, which is what I intend to do with the most recent Gift from the Sea that I bought.



2. Listed as a 'summer read' in a local magazine list - I hadn't heard of this book. I picked it up and finished it from one afternoon into the next morning. And -- there was nothing surprising or new to be found here in the book - the pace at which its written and the uncomplicated natural way Lindbergh examines her life and her impressions of life's stages will have me passing this book on to many people in my life.



3. What timeless wisdom there is in this little book. Although it was written many decades ago, the challenges and issues faced by Anne Morrow Lindbergh are the same ones faced by women in today's crazy, bustling world. In fact, although women in Siberia, Cameroon, or Ceylon might not have her specific set of circumstances, they can still identify with Lindbergh's ponderings about a woman's life, her obligations, her relationships, and her needs. She lived in an upscale suburb of Connecticut and was the mother of five children, and yet there's something in her writing that can touch the souls of women everywhere whether in a grass hut or trailer beside a busy highway
   
   The chapters in Gift from the Sea center on Lindbergh's musings during a two-week vacation at the shore. Leaving husband, children, and house behind, she lives in a bare beach cabin without heat, telephone, plumbing, hot water, rugs, or curtains. She finds simplicity beautiful and longs to take it home to Connecticut when her vacation ends.
   
   Lindbergh takes a shell at a time and describes it in relation to other things in a woman's life. For instance, the moon shell reminds her that quiet time, solitude, contemplation, and "something of one's own" is needed. The double-sunrise represents the pure relationship found in early stages of friendship and marriage, and she reminds the reader that there is no permanent return to an old form of relationship since all are in the process of change. The oyster bed symbolizes the middle years of marriage and family, especially as the home itself grows and expands to accommodate the growing family.
   
   I first read this book when I was a young mother and could readily understand Lindbergh's comment that saints were so rarely married woman because of the distractions inherent in raising children and running a house. "Human relationships with their myriad pulls--woman's normal occupations in general run counter to creative life, or contemplative life, or saintly life." Now in midlife, I can better understand her affinity for all the shells as reminders that each cycle of the wave, the tide, and the relationship is valid.



4. This book came very highly recommended by two friends who are avid book readers. However I hate to admit that the book did not move me as much as my friends claimed that it moved them. I was more interested about the background references to the author's personal life and how the book came into being. That I would have read voraciously. The book is short but I don't intend to read it again to see what I missed. I believe a book either moves you or it doesn't. This particular book despite other rave reviews did not move me despite my great affinity for the sea and women writers. I wonder if perhaps if the book would have touched me differently if I read it in the beach rather than on a plane which I did.



5. I have never been a big fan of books on CD. This changed with Gift from the Sea with the forward by Reeve Lindbergh and beautifully read by Claudette Colbert. This is a beautifully written and recorded book. I keep it in my car and play it quite often. I have orderered additional copies to share with friends. It is indeed as relevant today as it was fifty years ago and probably even more pertinent in today's fast paced world where we fail to slow down give ourselves alone time to comtemplate our lives. Reeve Lindbergh's forward about her mother was a lovely bonus. Although I have not read any of her children's books, I have read everything else she has written that I can find and encourage anyone who has not read her books to check her out on [...].

5 comments about Joe Dimaggio: The Hero's Life.

1. To Mr. Ben Cramer I give 5 Stars. No Problem!! His research into the career and the mindset of Joe DiMaggio is outstanding.
   While it is true that Joe DiMaggio had great talent and grace on the baseball field there can be no doubt. His personal life and treatment of people give the Old Yankee Clipper a rating of 2 Stars. Hence my rating of 3 Stars.
   We learn of Joe's meager childhood and later his talent to play the game of baseball. His brothers Dom & Joe also were talented and played at the Major League level.
   It is true that Joe's exploits as a right handed hitter are great. He was always surrounded with the best players of his age. He played on 9 World Championship teams. One would say Joe was the catalyst for this. I really don't think so. If Joe played for the St. Louis Browns this would not have happened.
   DiMaggio was a loner. He really sought his worldly pleasures through well connected people who catered to him. Toots Shorr, Walter Winchell et al. He never would sustain a marital relationship. His marriage to Marilyn Monroe was really just a sexual escapade.
   Joe DiMaggio was a great player. He was not the best ever. He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. But his life is one of a taker. Sorry Joe, my take is not of Simon & Garfunkle!!!



2. Anyone who has the tiniest bit of curiosity about our hometown hero DiMag has got to read this most awesome book. Blunt, honest, fantastic info. Quick and easy to read too. The Clipper is the best ball player ever, period.



3. As a baseball fan and especially a Yankees fan I was anxious to read this book and I am glad I did. I am not sure how Cramer obtained as much detail about this god with clay feet as he did. But it is truly amazing the first person stories he was able to get of those who knew Dimaggio. This book is so relevatory, so much better than some of the sports biographies that are out there. You learn much about Joe's family life, or the lack of family life, both as a boy and as an adult. It is a sad story of one who failed at all human relationships, while being admired from a distance by so many. But at times Cramer gives us just a little too much as when he relates how one beauty compared Joe's male organ to Milton Berle and Joe came out champ again.



4. Joe DiMaggio was one of the most amazing athletes ever to wear the Yankee pinstripes. He was chosen as the greatest living baseball player in a poll conducted in 1969.
   
   The son of an Italian immigrant fisherman, DiMaggio followed the lead of his older brother, Vince, and abandoned the fishing boat to pursue a career as professional baseball player. Eventually, three of the DiMaggio sons would play in the major leagues: a younger brother, Dominic, played for the Boston Red Sox as a regular; Vince was a journeyman who moved from team to team; Joe played thirteen seasons in New York.
   
   He was not an easy man to get along with and not especially likeable. At an early age, DiMaggio, who had a limited education, felt that he had been cheated out of money in a contract dispute and he seemed to be determined never to be shortchanged again. He was sullen and withdrawn, but how he could play! Rookies were put on notice that DiMaggio had no use for team members who would jeopardize his opportunity to win bonus money by playing in the World Series. He was constantly looking for moneymaking opportunities and commercial endorsements. On television, he became best known for his "Mr. Coffee" ads. He owned an interest in a seafood restaurant in San Francisco for years.
   
   Off the field, DiMaggio had marital problems with his two movie actress wives. His first wife, Dorothy Arnold, was the mother of his only child, Joe, Jr., and his most celebrated union was with Marilyn Monroe. Both marriages ended in divorce, but DiMaggio remained devoted to Monroe and her memory. DiMaggio was a tough customer and he went through periods of not speaking to many of his own relatives if he was displeased with them.
   
   Throughout his playing career, which was shortened by military service and injuries, it was a rarity for an October to pass without Joe DiMaggio appearing in the World Series. During this period, the New York Yankees were a dynasty and DiMaggio appeared in the Series against six of the eight National League teams. New York only lost once in the postseason while DiMaggio was in the line up (the St. Louis Cardinals upset New York in 1942).
   
   DiMaggio could do it all, but he was best known for his hitting and his celebrated fifty-six game hitting streak record in 1941. Interestingly, after the Cleveland Indians halted the streak, DiMaggio pounded out hits in his next seventeen games. DiMaggio retired from baseball at the age of thirty-six. His career was shortened by stomach ulcers and primitive sports orthopaedic medicine that had been unable to repair his damaged knee and foot.
   
   I enjoyed this book. The author did a good job with a difficult biographical subject.
   
   An interesting aside: DiMaggio had been scouted by the Chicago Cubs while he was playing for the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League, but the team lost interest in him as a prospect after he suffered a knee injury. Within a few short years, DiMaggio and the Yankees swept Chicago in the World Series.



5. There are some negative reviews on here, and I'm not sure why. Granted this is probably the least sympathetic biography I have ever read. But I thought it was well reported. It was certainly a smooth read and provided a remarkable amount of insight into an iconic figure in American history. DiMaggio was obviously a moody and selfish superstar who was very concerned about his image and legacy in the big picture, but not nearly focused enough on being any kind of a humanitarian. My respect for DiMaggio the ballplayer was only increased by this book, but DiMaggio the individual left a lot to be desired.
   
   It's not Cramer's fault that DiMaggio's behavior often ranged from uncooperative to downright nasty. I loved the book.

1 comments about Miracle Man: Nolan Ryan-Cassette.

1. I am still reading this book. I'm just impressed to get a super sports star's thinking on the way of life.
   He insisted on the importantance of moral in the society.

1 comments about Vanna Speaks.

1. You've seen the TV show and read the book. Now get the book on tape. Vanna underestimates her own talent. "You have to know the alphabet", she says. If you have always wondered - what is Vanna really like (see answer number 3, below), this is the tape for you. It is fifty minutes of pure Vanna.

   Do not get this tape because you are looking for a literary masterpiece. Buy this tape because you are a Wheel of Fortune fan! How many of us can say that we are the best in the world at what we do? There is no question, Vanna is the world's best letter turner (now letter presser). She performs her job with a fluidity of motion that no other letter turner can approach. Yes, there are others who do this. I have seen substitutes for Vanna on Wheel of Fortune, and Wheel of Fortune equivalent shows in other countries. (The most amusing is the Hungarian version where there are more vowels than consonants.) Vanna is the best.

   I have to admit to some level of prejudice. I met Vanna when I appeared on WOF as a contestant. The answers to your three questions are: (1) $55,618, (2) the money is taxed as income, (3) Vanna is very nice, but we do not keep in touch.

5 comments about The Stone Cold Truth.

1. The book was absolutely amazing. Although some of the stories jumped around a little bit, it was still interesting to read about the man behind Stone Cold Steve Austin. From his humble beginnings, to how he got his gimmick, and lastly to how his career finally ended at Wrestlemania. A fantastic read that is quick and captures your attention from the start to the finish. Highly recommended!
   
   - Griffin



2. A nice read, but the comments from his parents and JR don't really add anything to the story. Also, the story becomes a bit repetitive, with Austin breezing through subjects such as his divorces, him being seperated from his children simply by stating he "loves them to death", and he seems to respect everyone, which is not quite what I expected.
   
   The problem is, that all wrestling books will now be compared to Foley's publications, with the result being that 9 out of 10 won't compare favorably. It's a nice read, but don't expect anything radical, apart from his views at the end of the book, about the state wrestling is in.
   
   It wouldn't have hurt Austin to be a litte more outspoken...



3. This book is at it's best when Steve is being himself instead of the Stone Cold character. Unlike The Rock's book, this one is a bit more honest and not in character every moment. Still not written with as much honesty as Mick Foley's bios (Have A Nice Day & Foley Is Good and coming soon Hardcore Diaries). JR (Jim Ross) helps out mostly at the end of chapters and his insight is very helpful. Without JR this book would be a 2 or 3 stars. Not too much is said that isn't common knowledge, so I recommend this book for the more die-hard Stone Cold fans. This won't appeal to mainstream non-wrestling fans the way Mick Foley's books did.



4. My son has been reading this book for his college reading course. Although his teacher is not a wrestling fan, my son found the book to be filled with interesting information about Steve Austin's upbringing and family values that were enlightening. The book shows that Steve Austin is more than his persona that he projected during his wrestling career.
   
   The book is recommended for any fan of WWE wrestling and is an interesting read.
   
   Ira J. Bromley



5. STONE COLD DOES A NICE JOB DESCRIBING HIS LIFE AND EXPERIENCES IN PRO WRESTLING. I ENJOYED THE EARLY PARTS CONCERNING HIS FAMILY AND FOOTBALL, BUT THE MEAT OF THIS BOOK IS HIS CAREER. STONE COLD WAS QUITE A CHARACTER AND MADE ME LAUGH MANY TIMES. I BELIEVE HE WAS ONE OF MOST POPULAR AND ENTERTAINING WRESTLERS OF HIS TIME. INJURIES, BURNOUT AND DIVORCE DID HIM IN. HE DOESN'T SEEM LIKE A BAD GUY, HOPEFULLY HE WILL DO SOMETHING ABOUT HIS DRINKING. FOR ALL WRESTLING FANS.