No comments about Someone Who Was.

5 comments about Mountain, Get Out of My Way: Life Lessons and Learned Truths.

1. Having long admired Montel, I decided to read this book. What a fascinating life this man has led. From the ghettos of Baltimore, a child of hard-working parents, Montel became a good student and class president in high school. He started playing in a band, bass and trumpet, and also sang. His plan was to save money for college.
   Then he took notice of one of his brother's friends who had joined the Marine Corps, and how the friend had changed for the better. It was then that Montel began to think that the Marine Corps could provide him with a college education. He enlisted, and gained a great respect for the demanding, disciplined, character-building aspects of the military system.
   Eventually, thanks to his leadership potential, his superiors recommended that he apply to the Naval Academy Prep School, which led him to Annapolis. There he struggled with the rigorous curriculum, but made it through with his strong perseverance.
   Throughout the book, we are privy to Montel's challenges, trials, and triumphs, all the things that have led him to his monumental success today as a motivational speaker and TV host. He shares his thoughts on many subjects, and shows his concern for our younger generation.
   "We're in danger of becoming a mediocre society, shaped by mediocre minds, because we promote mediocrity in our schools."
   His thoughts on the breakdown of our society are compelling. "Once we legislated religion out of everything, we had to replace it with something else, so money and success became the gospel...all of a sudden, it wasn't good enough to be a hardworking person, making a living, supporting a family. Now we all have to be millionaires, and we have to be millionaires right away. Everyone's looking for shortcuts, but there are no shortcuts, not a single one."
   The title of the book comes from a line William's used to hear from a drill instructor, who got it from an old gospel song. Montel's mantra now, "Mountain, get out of my way, " means "if you have faith, you can move mountains. If you have faith in something bigger than yourself-in God, community, family, whatever- then anything is possible. Faith alone will give you the strength to clear any obstacle in your way."
   I found this book to be inspiring, enjoyable, and informative, and confirmed my impression of this fine man. I believe he's a tremendous role model, a man of grace and courage, who writes in a clear, concise, entertaining style. Highly recommended!



2. In Montel William's book, he brings much light onto the never-ending battle people have with frustration and "hard times." I was given this book as a gift from my mom. She said she heard from people at work that it was very eye-opening and motivational. I would be lying if I said I didn't agree. From the opening chapter, until the very end, you'll get a feeling of warmth and bursts of motivation as you read about the trials and tribulations of Montel as you begin to relate to your own life experiences. His recollection of a motivational lecture at a high school where he calls on a young boy to discuss issues of morals (chapter 2?) will put an ear-to-ear smile on your face. While this book is not a "billion-dollar" winner, it sure is worth a read. I find myself thinking about this book in particular when I come across situations in my life that require personal integrity and determination. I am now 18 and I still think about the words and wisdom that Montel had to offer. Do yourself a favor and give it a chance, it might be as influential on you as it was me.



3. When I first saw this book it was on the bargain/clearance rack at the local bookstore. Having seen Montel's wonderful TV show, I decided that I'd buy the book and take it home for immediate reading. I made a big mistake. Instead of finding glimmering little gems of wisdom and insight throughout the pages of the book, I found nothing but a lot of self-congratulatory references to Montel's supposed superior public speaking abilities and his assumptions that he has all of the answers for society's various ills. When I was through reading this book I experienced a feeling that I have never had before -- I wanted to slowly roast his book in my barbecue grill! No other author has ever managed to raise such a truly unpleasant feeling inside of me like this guy has. Before I read the book, I respected and even admired Montel, but after I read it I began to dislike him immensely. Maybe this would have been a better book if Montel had the common courtesy to check his ego at the door and focused on something other than how great he thinks that he is.



4. I purchased this book several years ago and found it to be very down to earth. I appreciate the fact that while Montel shared his not always so bright life with the public he was able to share lessons learned that could bless someone else who may have been going down the same path. I commend him as a man to be able to receive correction but to also admit fault and openly correct his behavior to make his future better. I also enjoyed the example of him standing up for his show and doing what he thought was a proper format not matter what the cost or what the network execs thought. Being an example for our youth is important and Montel showed that he could influence our children on their level and not preach at them. This book gives us all a reality check in things we can do to improve ourselves, our relationships, our children and our society. Continued success!



5. I loved this book. Montel puts alot of love in everything he does. Not only in the show but in his book as well. He really cares about his viewers and guests. I love his show and I think he is a gift from God for many.

5 comments about Point Last Seen: A Woman Tracker's Story.

1. Hunted or hunter? Hannah Nyala has been both as she relates in her sometimes chilling frequently hopeful autobiography.

   "Nothing can adequately prepare a human being for becoming another's prey," she writes. Yet for 19 years Nyala has been the quarry in a twisted game of cat and mouse.

   She has also been the hunter, saving lives as part of a National Park Service search-and-rescue team.

   Little in a bucolic childhood spent in southern Mississippi prepared her to contend with violence. The simple evangelistic Christianity embraced by her family taught her meekness, obedience, to turn the other cheek - even when it will be beaten bloody.

   Kevin seemed quiet and sensitive when they met at a religious camp meeting. They married several weeks shy of her high school graduation. She had entered purgatory.

   He beat her. Even when her waist was thick with child. Why? Because there were not exactly six ice cubes in his glass of tea. The cycle of bludgeoning accelerated, later laced with threats to kill their children, Jon and Ruthie, before dismembering her body.

   If hand towels were perfectly folded but the space between them was incorrect, Kevin might choke her until she lost
   consciousness.

   "So after leaving him," Nyala writes, "no matter where my children and I lived, we deliberately hung our towels sloppily - not out of proposed rebellion, but as a marker: If we ever came in and found two hand towels folded precisely in thirds and hung on the towel bar with exactly one inch of space between them, it meant that he had been in the house. And might still be there."

   Knowing that Kevin is pursuing them, Nyala and her family live in terror. Her worst fear is realized when Kevin kidnaps their children. Numb with grief she can only put one foot in front of the other, turning to the mountains for spiritual solace and survival.

   The slow solitary process of studying footprints, tracking was her salvation. She learns to read broken twigs, bent grass, pebbles pressed into the earth, as well as to discern "The almost imperceptible trail a scorpion leaves behind."

   Eventually she met Frank, a park ranger who became her second husband. They move to Joshua Tree National Park in southern California's Mojave Desert.

   In graceful prose the author describes nature's world, the lush unexpectedness of desert flowers, animals scurrying to shade between rocks. She learns patience in the desert, and that "Tracking means learning to walk alongside, caring enough to reach out to other people."

   After being largely responsible for finding a lost child and the subject of attendant publicity, Nyala finds that her team mates regard her as competitor rather than comrade. Uncomfortable in this situation, she decides to pursue a college degree in anthropology.

   Being reunited with her children should provide the anticipated happy ending. But Nyala's life isn't written by the Brothers Grimm.

   Her marriage to Frank ends in an amicable divorce. While she is at last awarded custody of her children, Kevin is allowed to post bail. Her home is broken into sixteen times. She and the children find towels precisely folded in thirds hanging on the towel bar. Today Kevin is a free man.

   "Tracking marks my continued search for a safe place, while violence marks my repeated encounters with fear," she tells us. "Neither has yet canceled the other out."

   Nonetheless, Nyala's story is ultimately one of empowerment, growing strength, and survival. Point Last Seen is the compelling account of a family's courage, which speaks to all who love and seek to protect each other.

   - Gail Cooke




2. Hannah Nyala's life is of duality and parallels, where a childhood skills of tracking is her saving grace in her family and professional life. I was far more interested in learning how people track and how they see the world compared to the rest of us who generally have heads in the clouds, where as trackers are literally grounded. Nyala skillfully applies the tracker skills to narrating why women such as she stay in abusive marriages and how she would eventually find the confidence and strength to search for a different and better life, which parallels her growing skill as a tracker of lost hikers and frightened children. She would even journey to Africa to better her tracking skills and there she would realize domestic violence crosses culture, race, and class. Her writing style is calm and lacks self-pity. Nyala has a clear eye for those around her even when the future (goal) is yet to be found.



3. I loved this book immensely. Loved how she wove her two tales into one, loved how she unflinchingly followed her heart, loved that she had the courage to finish her journey despite the immensity of the obstacles. The most important point this book brought out was how the legal system adresses domestic violence. Hannah and her children received little or no protection from the law. When women tell the truth about their lives it may increase our awareness to the point where women and children will no longer have to fight such lengthy, grueling and lonely battles. Hannah was fortunate and strong, were it not so her story would not have such a successful outcome. As she says, "As we track we too are being tracked. Every action, every inaction, every word and every silence leaves clear signs for the next generation....By learning to really see and listen to one another...we can overcome what would destroy us"



4. POINT LAST SEEN is a fascinating autobiography not because it provides an insightful look at a female tracker rising above an abusive relationship, but because the nonfiction book lacks the polished skills of a professional co-author sanitizing any feelings out of the account. Instead this time the reader obtains the heart-felt inner soul of an individual seeking to better herself and her children through a skill learned from her grandmother that brings the author in harmony with herself, her family (except the ex) and nature. Hannah Nyala describes the duality of her life. Her anecdotes of locating individuals lost in the wilds are incredible, as these stories read more like strong fiction similar in a sense to her wonderful novel, LEAVE NO TRACE. She also describes her personal life starting as a Mississippi dropout to becoming a teenage battered spouse with two children to her escape to freedom and finally to tracking her abducted children when her husband and his goons kidnap them. Though lacking a professional sheen, biography fans will want to track down this strong account of a woman survivor.

   Harriet Klausner




5. Female trackers are rarer than female hunters and Hannah Nyala is a master female tracker. Her book reveals the painful side of her life as she takes us down the battered trail of "a woman who stayed with a husband that beat her". And she opens up the tasks and thinking of a professional tracker. She shows how the act of following footprints on the ground leeds to a philosophy of life. For example these tracker truths are worth pondering:

   1) As we hurry towards our goals in life we miss the subtleties of life itself.

   2) Details mater enormously as you track...evidence of life, of movement, is what a tracker must find first.... Pattern are crucial.

   3) Retracing steps requires getting alarmingly close to what is most unknown in ourselves

   4) It is the little things, the tiny decision or non-decisions, that contribute most to losing one's way.

   5) Part of the process of getting lost is losing sight of your reference point without noticing that it has disappeared.

   Point last seen ...for a tracker is vitally important, getting to that location before all signs of the lost are destroyed is the trackers first priority. This is an enterating and engaging book. Recommended

5 comments about Warped Factors: A Neurotic's Guide to the Universe.

1. I don't think I've ever read a memoir or autobiography that didn't shine most in its early pages, when recounting the author's childhood. It's certainly true of this one, though perhaps I'm biased, because I too grew up in NYC, attending public schools that, even 15 years after Mr. Koenig's experience, bore a spooky resemblance to his, down to the sadistic second-grade and mannish fifth-grade teachers. On the other hand, I'm not sure I've read another autobiography that began to fray quite as quickly as this one did. My complaints, briefly:
   
   1) The edition of Warped Factors I read was published in 1997 by Taylor Publishing Company. Let's hope Taylor has a fantastic distribution system; that, or it took absolutely no cut from the income on this book other than printing costs--because I can't see that it did anything else that publishers ordinarily do, such as discuss coherence and continuity with the author, correct errors in grammar and vocabulary, or even read through page proofs. (There are lines in the book which lose their flush right margin all of a sudden, for no reason that I can see.) While the jumpy margins are just a strange printing phenomenon that might cause a reader to question an author's judgment but not literacy, literacy does become an issue over things like misspellings ("wildlife," not "wild life"), word choice ("formidable," not "formative," personality) and misquotes (I won't embarrass anyone here because I'm sure both the author and the publisher have had it pointed out already; if not: it's the quote that starts out Shakespeare and ends Robert Burns, and if that's still not enough, see me after class). Is it Los Angeles (see more below)? Is it that on The Coast, away from New York's literary elite, Mr. Koenig could not find anyone--a writer for the Simpson's, maybe?--who'd zip through his oeuvre and point out errors and awkwardness? Or, a more ominous thought, did he just want to do it his own way?
   
   2) This leads to the more dismaying point--the author himself. And here I have to confess to being one of those 12-year-old girls who thought Mr. Chekov was the cutest thing since Davy Jones. I continue to be impressed with his wit and humor. However, I am left with the strong impression that he is too smart for Hollywood, and his book--deliberately, I think--gives no clues to why he stayed, except to keep insisting that he's neurotic and loves the craft of acting. Another reviewer made a comparison of Mr. Koenig to Woody Allen, and there's some truth there. I grew up with boys like Woody and Walter in the back of my classroom (that would be PS 169); they were kids who'd today be zonked out on ritalin or the equivalent; they were funny (to the kind of girl who appreciated the Three Stooges) and smart, even if they were underachievers--Bart Simpson with brains. Of course they were neurotic kids; the world and their mothers didn't know what to do with them. But most of them figured things out. By high school they were hitting their stride and maturing. That's what it boils down to: A 6-year-old boy is cute; a 46-year-old boy is . . . not cute. I read the autobiography of Grace Lee Whitney, who played Yeoman Janice Rand; she had bigger problems and fewer advantages, and yet she seems to have made some forward motion towards growing up. (Yes, I know Woody Allen's line: "I used to be a heroin addict; now I'm a methadone addict.")
   
   I'm going to give Mr. Koenig the benefit of the doubt here. I'm going to assume that in private he's just as thoughtful, solid, grounded, and wise as any other man nearing retirement age. He made a decision in writing this book to eliminate information that would embarrass his family and friends but that might give the reader a clue to his personality and motivation as an adult. The result is a frolic of wacky anecdotes about a hapless, non-observant Jewish actor from New York who finds himself in Hollywood and who just never learns his lesson.
   
   It sounds like a life in sitcom form. Maybe it's time for the Koenigs to relocate somewhere where if life is going to imitate anything, it will be art, not TV.



2. Everybody knows that all the actors in Star Trek did their autobiographies, so , I thought, why not read this one? I was in for a surprise! I usually don't comment a book I didn't finish but maybe Mr Koenig should have seen a psychiatrist longer than in his youth. Why write something like that? Jokes are cheap, writing is erring at best, thoughts are at random (an editor,please!!!!) not much to say, really... He does have an interesting career but must he explain all his doubts and neuroses too? It is honest , I know, but I prefer to read about Career & Life...
   I got fed up ... I would have read DeForrest Kelley instead...
   If you want something really interesting to read about the less "principal" characters in Star Trek OS, go to Takei's or Nichols books: THAT is worth it!



3. Walter Koenig writes candidly about his experiences with Star Trek and many other topics regarding his career as an actor and writer. His recollections of his years on the TOS is quite interesting and provides quite a bit of "behind the scene" glimpses of certain episodes..Being a die hard Trekkie, I found this book to be a very enjoyable read! I have also read the other supporting cast member's books and feel that Walter's is one of the most articulate and amusing..some of his recollections of his "life on the road" with James Doohan and George Takei making video store appearances are hilarious!
   
   Walter also write deeply about his feelings toward William Shatner and reveals how hurt he felt on a couple of occasions..
   After reading the other cast member's books you can't help but feel that there was "something" going on there...It's kind of like if you worked for a company for many years and are treated as if you were "nothing" and just a body to kick around..
   
   I'm sure in life there are many who are placed into this role who feel extremely stressed and down..it's no different with actors I'm sure..However, Walter seemed to maintain his dignity throughout..sometimes in life you just have to live by "the golden rule"..Treat others as you would like to be treated.." I think if everyone followed this simple principle life would be grand!
   
   Star Trek has given pleasure to many fans around the world and it is quite interesting to read the memoirs of cast members to truly see how the show has affected their lives and to laugh at their interesting anecdotes! There are plenty to be found in this book and asides from talking about Star Trek, Walter talks about his career as a struggling actor in the beginning and his later career as a writer. Walter writes very well and I feel he should write more books on other topics! He definitely has a talent in this area!
   
   I've never watched Babylon 5 so I'm not familiar with his role as Alfred Bester but I have seen all 79 TOS episodes and all 6 of the films so I am quite aware of his work as Chekhov..It would be interesting to see Walter in some of his other work..As an example..I recently saw George Takei in "The Encounter"..a classic Twilite Zone spisode and was blown away by his acting! George's role was very powerful however, you were never really able to witness it much in Star Trek..I think that's why some of the other supporting cast members held some resentment towards Shatner because they felt that he was trying to minimize their contributions..hearing Shatner's take on it in the wonderful documentary, "Mind Meld" with Leonard Nimoy..you feel as if Shatner felt these claims were trivial and that he truly did not understand what these actors were going through..I really have a hard time believing that...Walter, although hurt by Shatner's behavior over the years still has a begrudging respect for him as do the others with the exception of perhaps..James Doohan.
   
   Anyways, if you are a Trekkie this book is a must read and an important one to have in your collection! It's very entertaining and insightful!



4. While a decent portion of the book focuses on Star Trek, most of it does not. This is a book about Walter Koenig, a self-admittedly neurotic actor. For me, this difference made the book very enjoyable. Here you will get a humorous look into the actor's life, complete with looking for work, working as a hotel package boy, dealing with agent's lies, and more. This book was a lot of fun.



5. I've just got into Star Trek and decided to read some of the books the cast wrote. The first book I read was Walter's book. He told some hilarious stories, but yet he told about the serious stuff too.

   I've heard that some, if not all of the cast had issues with William Shatner. Walter could've made this a dirt book and tell about every dirty thing Shatner ever did to him. Walter didn't do that. He let it be known that he wasn't happy with some of the things Shatner did it on the set, but the whole book wasn't about that. I've read other books where stars and costars just let out all the bad feelings and the book turns out negative because it turns into 'I hate him because he did this and that, this and that, this and that- etc' I repeat that Walter's book ISN'T like that. It's worth a read if you are a Star Trek fan.

5 comments about Autobiography Of Benvenuto Cellini.

1. This review is for the audio book version of this amazing autobiography. Cellini is an incredibly arrogant individual, but his story is entertaining and gives a fascinating look at the Renaissance and many of its major characters. Even though he is not the most likable man in the world, there were many things to admire about his strength of character. It is easy to see why he had so many enemies, though I'm not sure he understood why. His descriptions of the courts of Italy, France, and the Church give us priceless information on how they functioned. I noticed that historians like Durant referenced this work a lot in their histories. This also affirms to me that human nature has always been the same.
   
   The reader for this audio book is Robert Whitfield, whose characterization is exactly what I would imagine for Cellini. He had that touch of arrogance in his voice one would expect from a major braggart, but it was not too grating and easy to listen to. The translation by John Addington Symonds was also excellent and very easy for a modern ear to understand.
   
   I highly recommend this audio book for anyone that loves a good story. It has action, adventure, romance, intrigue, and about anything else one would look for in a good book. The audio book is 15 ½ hours long, and the time went by quickly.



2. It's a bit annoying to listen to Cellini talk about himself for 400 pages in such a manner. He's not a literary genius, so it's a bit hard to get through. But, Cellini's life is anything but boring. I also found him very witty and amusing. You have to be into the Renaissance, or history, to enjoy it.



3. Benvenuto Cellini was a leading figure of the Italian Renaissance. He was close to the Florentine court and participated in royal intrigues. He was a major artist in a period of major artists, creating numerous works of beauty that can still be seen today. (His most famous work is the statue of Perseus holding the head of the Medusa, which stands in the piazza outside the Palazzo Vecchio. His description of the making of this work is one of the highlights of the book.) He had numerous love affairs with titled women and numerous feuds with powerful men. He was also a murderer and an unconscious sadist. And he wrote it all in what is one of the great autobiographies of all time. Parts of the book are chilling, such as when he regrets having beaten his beautiful model, not out of guilt or remorse, but because the beating had left her so swollen and bruised that she was no good to him as a model now. Other parts are disgusting, such as when he describes a parasite he vomited. At other times one wonders if he really thought he could get away with such tall tales as swearing that while under the protection of a necromancer he saw the Colosseum full of dancing devils. Cellini was a complex man and a great artist and a great writer. His autobiography is essential reading if one wishes to understand the Renaissance. I consider Cellini's autobiography to be almost as essential as Homer and Shakespeare. Five stars, of course.



4. If youre a fan of picaresque autobiography, this book is the best. Crimes and misadventures galore. Benvenuto uses his talent to win the patronage of the pope and king of france and then runs the favoritism into the dirt through paranoia, murderous rage, and a viscious slandering tongue. artists, and writers will find much to love in this book.
   
   this is not a history book. but a book from history. a real historian would know the differance and would appreciate it appropriately.



5. This autobiography resembles a popular life in the American wild west (not what one would expect of an iconic Renaissance sculptor/goldsmith), or so it seemed to me when I read this translation in the early 70's.
   
   It's a rare, remarkable work that remains memorable over the years. The saga of a vibrant genius (and the pleasure of reading this work) still remains.

No comments about Jefferson and Monticello (1166).

2 comments about Michael Jordan ....In His Own Words.

1. I accidentally bought this tape instead of an excellent book of Jordan quotes by Janet Lowe. The book was so good I'd pass copies out to kids that I thought could use some mentoring or role modeling. This tape, however, is hardly worth the time to listen to it, and absolutely not worth the price. A verbal 'People' magazine piece at best. In disgust, I am throwing away the 3 copies I bought so that no one else should be victimized. Please do the same.



2. I like a lot this book,please,please,please... I dont know what to say,I just like this greate book.

No comments about Vets Might Fly and Other Stories.

5 comments about Remembering Peter Sellers.

1. Well-written, insightful, sometimes poignant, mostly humourous, this was a joy to read from start to finish. I think I've read just about every book on Peter Sellers ever published, and this was certainly the most enjoyable.

   This is not some psycho-analysis of his character or motivations; it is the affectionate but honest recollections of someone who was a close and loyal friend for many many years. And despite the personal involvement, Stark soon proves his views are more worthy of trust than any twisted analytical "biographer's" bizarre conclusions (see Roger Lewis).

   Stark struck me as the sort of behind-the-scenes person we may not hear about very much, yet who is vital to those in the spotlight. I ended up having as much respect for the book's author as I do for its subject. To my amazement, I actually stayed up all night reading this book - the humourously-told anecdotes of the escapades these two shared, as well as the insight into personalities of the film and entertainment world of the time, was fascinating and constantly hilarious.

   Subject aside (ie. even if you're not specifically interested in Peter Sellers) this is a surprisingly well-written book, very "readable", from someone who can write perceptively without ever being harshly critical. Stark strikes a wonderful balance between being appreciative of people without being blind to their faults. His good-natured, no-false-pretensions outlook, fair views and wry humour are a refreshing change from so much of the biased, sensationalist stuff written about stars, and I look forward to his autobiography out in a few months.




2. Well-written, insightful, sometimes poignant, mostly amusing, this was a joy to read from start to finish. I think I've read just about every book on Peter Sellers ever published, and this is top of the list. This is not some psycho-analysis of his character or motivations; it is the affectionate but honest memories of someone who was a close and loyal friend for many many years. And despite the personal involvement, Stark soon proves his views are more worthy of trust than any twisted analytical biographer with possible ulterior motives (see Roger Lewis).

   Stark struck me as the sort of behind-the-scenes person we never hear about, yet who is vital to those in the spotlight, and I ended up having just as much respect for the book's author as I do for its subject. To my amazement I actually stayed up all night reading this book - the wryly-told anecdotes of the many escapades these two shared, as well as the insight into characters of the film and entertainment world of the time, was fascinating and constantly hilarious.

   Subject aside (ie. even if you aren't specifically interested in Peter Sellers), this is a very well-written book, very "readable", from someone who can write perceptively without ever being harshly critical. Stark strikes a wonderful balance between being appreciative of people without being blind to their faults. His down-to-earth outlook, balanced, fair views and sense of humour are a refreshing change from so much of the biased and/or sensationalist stuff that is written about "stars", and I look forward to his autobiography out in a few months.




3. This book is an important eulogy for the now deceased comic. In many ways it is the opposite to Roger Lewis' destructive biography, in that we actually hear from someone who spent time with Sellers. Touching, funny, but ultimately honest, Graham Stark defends his dead friend, by showing his genius, his frailties [numerous as they were], but also his humanity. A good portrait of damaged talent.



4. This book is an important eulogy for the now deceased comic. In many ways it is the opposite to Roger Lewis' destructive biography, in that we actually hear from someone who spent time with Sellers. Touching, funny, but ultimately honest, Graham Stark defends his dead friend, by showing his genius, his frailties [numerous as they were], but also his humanity. A good portrait of damaged talent.



5. A marvellous trip through the years with Peter Sellers, as remembered by his ever good humoured mate, Graham Stark. A far cry from the sad books about Sellers, this brings out the hilarious times Graham and Peter had together including the filming of the Pink Panther films. Graham Stark does note his old pals failings within the stories, but it would have been impossible for him not to make some mention of it. It's mostly fun and Graham Stark deserves a big hand for actually bringing out a true picture of a man who trod the thin line of being a genius comedy performer and coping with all the problems that come with this gift.

5 comments about Hidden Treasures: Searching for Masterpieces of American Furniture.

1. This is an excellent book, well-written and very entertaining as well as informative. The Keno brothers, Leslie and Leigh, are passionate enthusiasts for American antique furniture and their overall approach in this book is lively and down-to-earth. It is easy to see why the Kenos are such highly respected figures in the antiques world. Highly recommended also for it's crisp photos.



2. The Keno brothers are classic examples of what can happen when someone starts on something young and sticks with it through their entire life.
   We all saw Tiger Woods out-putt Johnny Carson when he was 3 years old... Warren Buffett had read every book on finance the Omaha Public Library had available by the time he was 11. The Kenos follow a similar path, only instead of golf or investing, they chose Antiquities.
   
   The one thing that rings very clear is that knowledge, much like interest, compounds at an impressive rate. How early you start your journey can very well determine how far you eventually go with it. The reader can easily imagine the two determined twins in their early teen years, scouting out flea markets for stoneware or "the good stuff".
   
   In reading this book, it provides the reader with a profound insight into who these guys are- how they can know SO much about this stuff and why they've both gone so far in this field.
   
   All in all, a solid four out of five stars. An easy, very interesting read that sheds light into a very exclusive world that was conquered by a couple of twins with endless enthusiasm and a desire to learn.



3. Honestly these two guys make my skin crawl, but they really know their furniture, they are like encyclopedias of knowledge, not quite the great Albert Sack, but getting there. This is a very interesting book on some amazing furniture, and the stories are amazing. These guys really have an eye for a treasure I must admit, but i cant help shaking the image of them on their show, they are just really odd, like some old money WASP, from Newport or Long Island, I have a feeling in thirty years they will have their own Grey Garden.



4. I looked forward to this book but found it sorely lacking.
   
   My biggest gripe is that the brothers jump in a few pages from their modest upbringing to b ig shot dealers wheeling and dealing million(s) dollars items, There is no discussion of how this jump was made, or how they could manage to finance the huge purchase prices they describe. Further the books deals in antiques that only the top .00001 percent of the population could actually buy. Nor is there anything about the business end of things, like how one becomes a top line dealer.
   
   Instead of focusing on real tips and experiences acquiring items that a serious (middle class) collector could hope to acquire, they focus on items that most millionaires would find expensive.
   
   Don't expect this book to have any relevancy to you.



5. I bought a cassette tape of Hidden treasures from Amazon.com for $17.95.
   
   Leslie and Leigh Keno take turns reading their chapters that they wrote for their book themselves. They do a great job and I greatly enjoyed hearing their story told in their own voices. I found them deeply engaging and I loved hearing their story of roaming the rural hills near their home in Mohawk NY, as they rode tautem on a small motor bike looking for long lost treaures near their home; in the form of old barn hinges, or digging through garbage dumps that were over a hundred years old. And their mom who'd see them leave and say, "their go the twins go, off in their own little world." And they do seem to go off in their own world a lot of the time.
   
   Leslie Keno went to an interview at the Mather House admissions building that he was applying to the University there, and ended up crawling around on the floor examining the undersides and legs of furnature. A little later he got a tap on the shoulder as it was time for the interview, and he remembered the concerned looks of parents as he walked by. He didn't say it, but I wondered if he was embarrassed?
   
   Later on in another chapter describing a highly stylized pier table complete with womanly head and upper torso figures that supported the top of the table--I think it was Leslie that time too--Even though he and his brother made a real effort to carefully pronouce each word and keep the pacing even; Leslie almost but not quite stumbled over the word bosom. Yes Leslie, it is a bosom and some call them breasts too. But I thought it was sweet that he almost flubbed. Leigh on the other hand had no trouble telling about an almost sensual moment he had as he was running his hands over a seat cushion(yes, I said a seat cushion), then turned it over to check the underside for the age of the piece.
   
   If you think that this book is a primer for how to be a antique dealer you would be mistaken, and you'd also be mistaken if you thought this would be a dry uninteresting book. Instead what we have here is a very honest look at how two young men grew-up in a very loving, and supporting family. And how their interest in antiques was nutured. It really is interesting seeing how these two brothers evolved into the top notch antique dealers, and appraisers that they are today.
   
   The only thing that disapointed me was; I would have liked to have heard more about their youth.
   
   I highly recommend the book on cassette or in book form. Right now I'm wondering what I missed not having the actual book? Probably a whole lot more pictures. Okay! I'm ordering the book right now!