No comments about A Very Easy Death.

No comments about St. Croix Notes: River Mornings, Radio Nights.

3 comments about Shattered: In the Eye of the Storm.

1. The truth about how the "Dream Team" was able to buy justice via their questionable-indeed, deplorable- tactics. I admire Ms. Resnick a lot because of her courage and willingness to tell the truth about what went on in and behind "The Trial Of The Century". A must-read.



2. The title of my review says it all. Resnick is obviously a very strong woman to bite her lip and tell the heartbreaking stories behind her best friend Nicole's marriage/death, as well as the justice sytem's betrayal of American trust with it's handling of OJ. She not only describes it all in great specific detail, but shows the emotion' and feelings she had toward it all, making us feel as if we were right there with her through all of it; that is where the strength of 'Shattered' (and of 'Shattered's' ability to so well expose the untruths and injustices of the whole Nicole/OJ mess) truly lies. I do wish one thing, though-that she could have written more about Ron Goldman and his involvement in all of it because I never have been able to find out much about him. Great book, Ms Resnick!



3. This book gives an overall view of what truely happened from the time Nicole and Ron's tragic death occured to the time O.J.'s ridiculous first trial took place. I admire Faye Resnicks courage and strength for standing up for her beautiful friend and for what she believes in. Nicole was a colorful person full of life and love, and here Faye shows reality and honesty in the aftermath of Nicole's death. Many people took advantage of this awful crime to benefit professionally or financially, and here Faye tells it like it is.

No comments about Thomas Hardy.

No comments about A Memoir of Jane Austen (Classic Books on Cassettes Collection) [UNABRIDGED].

No comments about Another Kind of Magic (Reminiscence).

1 comments about Harry Crews, a Childhood: The Biography of a Place/Readings.

1. I KNEW HARRY AND ROOMED WITH HIM ONE SUMMER SESSION AT U OF F. I HAVE SEEN HIM SEVERAL TIMES SINCE. HE SOUNDS THE SAME AS HE DID IN 1960. THE TAPE IS EXCELLENT BUT TOO SHORT AND CONTAINS A VERY GRAPHIC BUT SMALL PART OF HIS LIFE STORY. HARRY READS SO WELL I WISH HE WOULD DO SOME MORE RECORDINGS.

5 comments about Onassis Women.

1. I rate this book as pretty good. The author, Moutsatsos thinks that the Onassises can do no wrong. Aristotle Onassis was a hot headed, power hungry, controlling, egocentric, unfaithful philanderer, as detailed in the book. Moutsatsos chooses to ignore all of this and portray him as this wonderful person.
   
   The book seems choppy to me. It was like the author had a checklist of past recollections that she wanted to mention in her book and she just lists them out paragraph by paragraph with their details. The writing just doesn't flow well.
   
   It is obvious that most of the information in the book comes from Aristotle's sister, whom the author was very close to, not 100% eye witness account.



2. 
   
   The cliche "Money can't buy happiness" and its waggish footnote "but there are plenty of other selections" are both proven true in The Onassis Women by Kiki Feroudi Moutsatsos,
   former secretary to Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis.
   
   As reverential as it is revelatory, this chatty discourse begins in 1966. Thus, one misses much of the mogul's early years, such as his days hawking neckties on Buenos Aires streets.
   
   Nonetheless, the slice of life the author did share with Onassis and his women is juicy enough to sate the hungriest curiosity. Is there anyone extant who doesn't know that
   the aforementioned women included Jackie Kennedy Onassis and tempestuous diva Maria Callas? That these iconic ladies shared him makes the story even more intriguing. At center stage is, of course, Aristotle Onassis, "part god, part mortal" - a modern day Croesus, albeit a mercurial one, small in stature yet larger than life. Oft described as a cunning, predatory wheeler-dealer, he is presented here as an energetic, intelligent man whose craggy face could blacken with anger or soften with compassion.
   
   Equally adept at dictating and doting was his older sister, Artemis, who adored and feared the titan, as did his two half-sisters Merope and Kalliroi. However, it was 90-pound, fashionably dressed, vodka sipping Artemis who played a major role in this contemporary Greek tragedy. Although married to an eminent surgeon, she saw herself as an Onassis first, hosting celebrity studded dinners in her 100-year old villa, and becoming confidante/advisor to her brother's famous American bride.
   
   Tina Livanos, Onassis's first wife, whom he married when she was 17, receives scant attention. Blond, tall and beautiful, she gave him two children, Alexander and Christina. Of his marriage to Tina, Onassis said it was as if he'd had three children rather than two.
   
   A 3-week 1959 cruise on the Christina, Onassis's sumptuous yacht, with Tina, Sir Winston and Lady Churchill, Artemis, Maria Callas and their respective husbands made waves and headlines. Following that voyage Tina sued Onassis for divorce citing adultery, and Maria Callas left her husband declaring she loved Onassis.
   
   Disembarking the ship Maria wore a bracelet engraved TMWL (To Maria With Love). "Tina already owned a bracelet with the initials TTWL, and Jackie would receive her TJWL a few years later."
   
   The nine -year Callas/Onassis liaison was a vesuvian match notable for vitriolic quarrels followed by passionate reconciliations. Artemis disapproved of this pairing, deeming "the Tigress," as she called Maria, "of peasant stock." Apparently, Onassis also considered Maria unmarriageable. Refusing to let her rearrange furniture in her shipboard suite, he said, "Never forget, my darling, you are not the housewife here. You are only a guest."
   
   Despite his sometimes public disparagement, it is said that Maria truly loved Onassis, giving up her career and suffering two abortions to please him. In 1968, when Onassis left Maria for Jackie Kennedy, the bereft diva commented sadly, "I have lived the most beautiful years of my life next to Aristo, and I have lived the worst."
   
   Although Christina and Alexander disliked Jackie and violently opposed their father's remarriage, Onassis sealed his vows with a $1.25 million heart-shaped ruby ring, only one of many lavish gifts for Jackie. He delighted in hiding a diamond bracelet in her dinner napkin or wrapping her breakfast roll in a strand of priceless pearls.
   
   Yet, they had not been married a month before Onassis visited Maria in her Paris apartment. Whether or not the new Mrs. Onassis was aware that he had resumed his former affair is not known. One of the magnate's greatest coups may have been keeping the two women apart for over six years.
   
   It is in reference to the Kennedy/Onassis marriage that the author puts many persistent rumors to rest. Citing the eye-witness accounts of servants, Ms. Moutsatsos insists that the pair enjoyed each other sexually as well as intellectually, and were truly devoted.
   
   A life marked by luxuries that few of us can imagine was shattered by Alexander's untimely death. More than a father's pride and joy, Alexander was Onassis's raison d'etre. Heedless of his deteriorating health, the man whose hero was Odysseus turned into a pathetic shadow, scarcely existing until his death in 1975.
   
   This was a loss so debilitating to the fragile Christina "that she attempted suicide within minutes of her father's death."
   
   Of all the Onassis women, Christina's story is surely the most heartbreaking. Born into a life of ostentatious privilege, she ran second to Alexander in their father's eyes. Longing for friends yet unable to win them, she bought company with trips on her Learjet and extravagant house parties on Skorpios, the family's private island.
   
   Desperately afraid of being alone, she paid an Argentinean polo player $30,000 a month to be at her beck and call. He was her favorite paid companion, "Even though he was always accompanied by his young girlfriend, Clare." Violent mood swings tested those around her; an uncontrollable appetite for chocolate and Coca-Cola pushed her weight to over 200 pounds.
   
   Happiness in her fourth marriage was found with the birth of her daughter, Athina, whom she worshipped. When her husband, Thierry Roussel, asked for a divorce to marry his longtime mistress and the mother of two of his children, Christina offered him $10 million to impregnate her again. He refused.
   
   Christina died at the age of 38. Official cause? Pulmonary edema.
   
   The remaining Onassis woman, Athina, is now of age. In the year 2003 she inherited a $3 billion shipping fortune, the legatee of a grandfather she never knew and a mother she may not remember.



3. Although Kiki admired and grew to love her employers, I think she sugar coated many of her observations. She also made quite a few mistakes, so I wonder how much is true. The anecdotes she narrates are mostly known, she could have made up the whole thing. In all, a good account of a family who despite their wealth -or maybe on account of it- had many failures. But she does present them as human beings, with their good and bad qualities. Easy reading, but not much content.



4. Kiki Mousatsos has told a moving account of of lives that seemed to be like fairytales, but sadly ended in nightmares. It is so rare to be able to read chapter after chapter graced with such love, insite and devotion to these mysterious and real people that the author so obviously carries with her to this day. The fact that she knew and loved these people like family and was given permission to write this moving story gives this book a rare quality. Grab some tissues and enjoy your read.



5. I found this book provided a compassionate and insightful view about the lives of the Onassis family. Kiki, the author, was closely involved in the family's affairs and business matters, so her perception is close enough to dispell some of the gossip and rumors often associated with their tragedies. The descriptions of the Greek lifestyle and traditions are beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book while on vacation in the Greek isles portrayed by the author.

No comments about Michael Jordan: Out of Thin Air (The Smart Reader).

No comments about Playboy On the Move, v3 (Playboy on the Move).