No comments about Snowshoes and Spotted Dick: Letters from a Wilderness Dweller.

5 comments about Time Was Soft There: A Paris Sojourn at Shakespeare & Co..

1. Part memoir, part travel book, part character essay. Jeremy Mercer chronicles his months as a poor, unemployed bum living in Shakespeare & Co. in Paris under the charitable auspices of its mercurial owner George Whitman (no, not the grandson of Walt Whitman, thank you!) who befriends him. There Mercer meets a ragtag bunch of writers, some odd part-time staff and curious visitors who over time, become part of the story of that legendary bookshop. Things we take for granted are all part of Mercer's daily adventures as he scrounges for cheap food, clothes and a hot shower with hilarious results. He also shares his growing friendship with George, a lifelong Communist and Sunday pancake chef.
   
   I may not be headed to Paris anytime soon, but I'm glad I read what is probably be the 'last firsthand account' of Shakespeare & Co. Funny and quitely moving, this is a great read and yes! a worthy addition to any library.



2. Jeremy Mercer's biographical description of Paris's Shakespeare & Company offers an amazing insight into the bookstore which accepts struggling travelers (who have a knack for writing... or at least try) by offering them a place to stay for as long as necessary (5 years for one visitor). But perhaps the most interesting aspect of this bookstore is its eccentric owner George Whitman, a man who regards money with disdain, sets fire to his hair in order to give it a trim, and decrees the bookstore's motto to be `Be kind to strangers, lest they're angels in disguise'.
   
   Shakespeare & Company was originally a bookstore owned by Sylvia Beach, running from 1919 to 1941, attracting such literary heavyweights like Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce and F. Scott Fitzgerald. After being closed (with one rumor being that it was shut down when Ms Beach refused to sell the last copy of `Finnegan's Wake' to an occupying Nazi officer), a decade late George Whitman opened his own, similar bookstore in Paris under the name `Le Minstal'. It would eventually adopt the Shakespeare & Co. name, and would become renowned for its open door policy to visitors; its deep rooted communist ideals; its run-ins with the government; its cluttered yet enchanting makeup; and its undeniable charm and allure that has attracted so many thousands of visitors.
   
   Into this world enters Jeremy Mercer, a Canadian crime-writer whose open honesty about his true character in the opening chapters immediately alienates the reader, who is likely to be somewhat put off by Mercer's admitted taste for the violence he witnesses whilst reporting. Mercer is by no means a dark and unlikable character, but his opening few chapters present him as such, with the added drawback of portraying him as an innocent young man wanting to get his hands dirty. Honestly, the reader has to struggle to persevere through this start (I not only found this, but so to did several people who also read it). But as the reader reads on about this charming bookstore and peculiar owner, Mercer finds his rhythm and is able to sustain the reader's interest.
   
   From the moment of his discovery of the bookstore, Mercer reveals a world that seems utterly unbelievable at times. Whilst it may have appeared to be a cluttered, yet cult bookstore from the surface, the reality awaiting Mercer is one which at times appears to be sheer madness. From the employee toilet being surrounded by stacks of books (which unfortunately suffer from ungraceful sprayback), a resident locking himself in his room day and night to escape imminent eviction, to tea party's featuring guests more likely to come from a Roald Dahl fantasy, the bookstore constantly lives up to its famous and offbeat name. Ultimately the numerous misadventures and anecdotes serves to incite an intense desire on the reader's behalf to go and discover this world themselves, with the firsthand account of Shakespeare & Co. appearing almost unbelievable.
   
   I give the book 3 stars yet this is more of a compromise. For its insight into the enchanting world of Shakespeare and Co., I would say it's 4/4.5 stars, yet for the tabloid style writing and the author's general appeal to the reader, I would say it's 1.5/2 stars. `Time Was Soft There' is however well worth the read, for it tells the tale of a bookstore inhabited by such an array of odd individuals that one can hardly believe that it is a memoir and not fiction. It makes quite easy reading (one can race through it fairly quickly), and once the hurdle of the introductory opening chapters is finished, you are able to enjoy the extraordinary tales of Shakespeare & Co., and its eccentric owner.



3. I happened on this book in an English-language bookstore in Paris during a recent trip (not Shakespeare & Co., if they had it, I didn't see it), and I'm glad I did. It was the perfect read for my journey. I've been to S & Co many times, but had no idea there was a whole down-the-rabbit-hole bohemian lifestyle associated with the place (complete with mad tea parties). Mercer's book brings that little world to life and leaves you thinking that bohemia sounds magical--but you just don't know if you could do without a daily shower. A must-read for lovers of Paris and books.



4. I was excited to get my teeth into this memoir but found it ultimately a little disappointing. There are some nice passages describing Whitman and his crazy personality, but I finished 'Time Was Soft There' with the feeling that Mercer had filled it out in order to have enough material for a book. Considering the literary culture of the shop, and the legacy of the authors that passed through it, there is something off-putting about this.



5. I've had the pleasure of visiting Shakespeare & Co. on my many visits to Paris in the last decade. George was always in place at the front desk, waiting (if you can call it that) on the store's patrons. He was delightful, if you were respectful of the books and the other people in the store.
   
   But he could also exhibit a certain crankiness and excentricity. I once saw a young customer ask how much a particular book was, and George opened the book, saw no price tag anywhere, and answered, "oh, about 35 francs." The young man then looked aghast at that price (which was about 7 bucks at the time), and replied, "What?! That much?" To which George snatched the book out of this guy's hand and tossed it over his shoulder. He spat at the would-be customer, "Forget it. You can't have it. You don't deserve to read it." The guy was then unceremoniously shown the door.
   
   This personal antedote pretty much sums up George and the bookstore planted on the lovely Left Bank of the Seine.
   Jeremy Mercer captures much of the feeling and tone of Shakespere & Co. during that time, while also writing a lovely - yet unvarished - portrait of owner, George Whitman.
   
   A good read, whether you've visited the Paris location or not.

4 comments about Outrageous Fortune: The Rise and Ruin of Conrad and Lady Black.

1. Conrad Black has written extensively in reply to his critics and eagerly awaits his day in court to reply to those have so grievously attacked him. He has sued Bower for libel and I would wait for the completion of that action before I leapt to the conclusion that Bower has told the truth in whole or in part.
   
   With regard to the shareholders of Hollinger, he increased their net wealth by about 2.3 billion dollars. If he would do that for me I certainly wouldn't begrudge him a party once in a while.



2. Conrad Black was originally a fairly decent man who lived fairly modestly by billionaire standards. Then, he was seduced by one Barbara Amiel who persuaded him to divorce his first wife and marry her in the bargain. Once married, the new Lady Black went about raising the couple's living standards to absurdly lavish heights.
   
   All this luxurious excess cost a ton of money. So, Black set about looting the publicly held company in which he held the controlling votes. He installed a compliant board of directors, slashed expenses and either fired or sued anyone who objected.
   
   However, all this corruption eventually attracted the attention of both investigative reporters and law enforcement. For all of Lord Black's power, he was ultimately unable to prevent his demise. He has been ousted from the ownership of his company and is on the verge of standing on criminal trial in his native Canada.
   
   This is an excellent book about how greed and avarice often leads to one's own demise.



3. Now that the levee has broken, you would have to go a long way to garner sympathy for a couple with the hubris of Conrad Black and Barbara Amiel, but in his splendidly vituperative "Outrageous Fortune", Tom Bower almost pulls it off. This is a real piece of work (though, as Bower might say, if the shoe fits...) and no effort has been made to present any sort of balance whatsoever: Even the title is snide: Not "Conrad and Barbara Black", nor "Lord and Lady Black", but "Conrad and *Lady* Black" - a snipe at her overweening delight at ennoblement, and perhaps a cute reference to Black's habit of referring to his wife (from well before his peerage) as "the Little Lady".
   
   Make no mistake, this is a rip-snorter of a read: I've been devouring pages, missing stops on the tube, walking into lamp-posts and zoning out of conference calls on its account: it is the Barbarians at the Gate of the new Millennium - tempered only by the fact that its characters seem transparently unleavened by the financial expertise, corporate understanding, commercial cunning, capitalist audacity and iron balls of the KKR crowd: these protagonists, as Bower paints them, are as self-absorbed, self-aggrandising and self-enriching as the best of them, whilst still being deluded and dim-witted schmucks.
   
   Which is rather suspect in itself. If you accept that view then it is truly remarkable that the Blacks lasted as long as they did at the top of the pile. Bower does not dispute that Conrad Black attracted - and retained for decades - some high-quality help: Lord Carrington proposed his ennoblement and Baroness Thatcher seconded it (despite Bower's assertion that she found Black "ordinary"); Henry Kissinger sat on Hollinger's board even until the endgame played out (as did Richard Perle and KKR founder Henry Kravis' wife). So either Conrad Black was an extraordinary con-artist, or Bower is not giving credit where it is due.
   
   Nor is much credence given to Conrad Black's intellect or Amiel's journalistic prowess: Bower would have you believe that Black simply has a large vocabulary, a photographic memory and a penchant for gormlessly reciting details of naval battles at dinner parties, and suddenly took a couple of months to dash off a rangy biography of Roosevelt, which did nothing but illustrate his own shoddy scholarship. Now I haven't read this book (and nor, at 1245 pages, am I planning to), but the critical reaction to it on this site - which I have a healthy respect for - has been almost unanimously positive. Again, you get the sense that credit might not have been given where due.
   
   Finally, the book is studded with of startling exchanges which are set out as direct quotations - in situations where it is difficult to believe that the remarks could have possibly been recorded nor word-for-word remembered: Amiel's off-the-cuff remarks during dinner parties and to household staff and Black's asides to his co-directors during meetings and on the telephone over a twenty five year period are faithfully reproduced as if from a stenographer's notebook. I can't help thinking Bower is talking a biographer's licence here - that's a polite way of saying he made these quotes up - perhaps on the basis of a vaguer recollection like "then Conrad said something rude" or some such thing.
   
   Tom Bower has certainly done some homework and tracks the financial shenanigans skilfully, and I doubt there will be much sympathy out there amongst the schadenfreude for the misfortune of an unpleasant couple who are in the process of getting what has been coming to them, but all the same this relentlessly brutal entry can't help but remind us that this celebrated president's biogrpaher isn't the one writing this part of the last century's history.
   
   Olly Buxton



4. Apparently only a miracle will stop Lord Black from missing his billionaire lifestyle from a prison cell. Tom Bower's account is gripping. The subjects of his attention, Lord and Lady Black, certainly are much more interesting that the average pair accused of siphoning millions from unsuspecting shareholders. Bower credibly builds the portrait of two people that feel that the law should not apply to the ostensibly rich. Notably, the intellectual pretenses of Lady Black are effectively drowned in the repeated demonstration that, as she said, her extravagance knew no bounds.
   
   Bower's examination of the various facets of Lord Black is solid. The multiple quotes from his subject denying at all times any wrongdoing, always in elegant terms, confirm the picture of a man that considered himself a mix of intellectual giant and paragon of rapacious capitalism at its best (or worst). Apparently those that were silly enough to entrust their money to him fully deserved the systematic pillage that Lord Black and his associates applied to the companies under their management. The record of how Lord Black used people with solid reputations to get seals of approval for his shenanigans should send shudders down the spines of those that think that seating at a Board of Directors is a good opportunity to get some money and a good lunch while, at most, giving a glimpse at the reports and requests from the company's management before signing their endorsement.
   
   The timing of Bower's work is superb considering that Lord Black will face trial soon. After finishing it, the reader is ready to follow the saga to what will most probably be a fitting conclusion.

No comments about It Ain't Easy: Long John Baldry and the Birth of the British Blues.

No comments about John A: The Man Who Made Us (Life and Times of).

3 comments about Ivan the Terrible.

1. Biographies are strange business. The author has to assemble lots of potentially disparate, even contradictory facts into something that feels like a coherent narrative; one with a logical progression of events and characters whose thoughts and motivations make some kind of sense. When the subject is 500 years old and an absolute monarch, the sources that remain are likely to have suffered so many revisions that their relation to fact must be especially hard to ascertain.
   
   So, assembling a story about Ivan IV was a big job and the authors deserve a great deal of credit for crafting a story out of the pieces available. And, if only because of the events contained in that story, it makes for really interesting reading.
   
   But, part of a biographer's responsibility is to point out the limitations of the available information and to try to give the reader some sense of how actions taken out of the context of their own time and place may feel very different than they might have for contemporaries.
   
   That's not to suggest that the wholesale slaughter of his own subjects doesn't earn Ivan a deservedly nasty reputation. But the authors don't even try to make any sense of it, except to describe him as a madman and a paranoid.
   
   That's where the book fails as a good biography. But it really slips into strange territory when the authors describe some historical figures as "saints," without any apparent metaphorical overtones. What's even weirder are their descriptions of divine interventions or miracle-working icons with the same uninflected tones they use to describe a banquet menu.
   
   The book often reads like a hagiography, not just in its reference to divine machinations, but even in the authors' choice of words and form. You can't help but come away from the work feeling that their real intent was to denounce the tyrants of Russian history - be they Ivan or Stalin - and to champion the fair and truly Christian rulers whom history should remember with more affection. I was surprised, but relieved, that there was no postscript pleading for the return of Russia to the monarchy.
   
   In a nutshell: the story's a good one because the subject and his time are inherently interesting. I'd like to read someone else's take on it sometime.



2. To concur with the previous review: this is an engaging read. I enjoyed it and learned from it.
   
   A concern: There were a number of places where I knew something about Russian religious practice that the authors got wrong in their book. This is disturbing to me because my one area of expertise was inaccurately referenced. When this happens, I wonder how many areas out there that I don't know about are fouled up. A look at academic reviews assures me that they're aware of some of these, but that they're not rampant in the text.
   
   One academic review claimed that the authors took the word of chronicles and other primary sources on Ivan's life without thinking them through. This is not true throughout the text, although I wish they'd taken Kurbskii's comments with the big grain of salt they require.



3. Robert Payne's "Ivan The Terrible" is sensational. The book, in addition to being a great historical research project, is also a lively read. Though it nears 500 pages, this book manages to navigate Ivan the Terrible's life in detail, without continual sidetracking or nitpicking. The pace of the book moves well and is free of dead sections that seem to be aimed at specialists instead of the lay reader.

   The danger in writing a biography on someone like Ivan the Terrible is to psychoanalyze and read too much into the turbulent times and events. While Payne offers some explanations for the erratic and awful behavior of the Grand Prince of Muscovy, he certainly doesn't try to explain away, apologize or revise the life of Ivan.

   There is also a tendency in biography to get mired down in political intrigues and military minutae of the times. While there is certainly plenty of intrigue and military history, the book never wanders far from the subject matter which is Ivan, a man possessed by history, demons and angels.

   This book may not satisfy the specialist, who might yearn for more detail and more footnotes, but it is certainly a good, solid starting point for someone wanting to know more about Ivan the Terrible.

   Payne has done a great service for Russian history buffs.

5 comments about Canoeing With the Cree (Publications of the Minnesota Historical Society).

1. "Eric Sevareid made his name as a CBS news correspondent. But at a young age, Sevareid experienced an adventure most only dream of. Sevareid detailed the journey in his book "Canoeing with the Cree". Now to mark the 75th anniversary of Sevareid's journey, two Minnesota men plan to make the same trip." Tim Post
   
   In 1930 two young men paddled their way from Minneapolis to Hudson Bay in Canada. A trip of 2200 miles. Everyone told them it could not be done. Eric Sevareid, then a 17 year old, fresh graduate of high school, and his best buddy, Walter Port, planned the entire trip. They garnered financial support, collected supplies and a canoe and paddles and off they went. Five months later after trials and tribulations, they made it to Hudson Bay. Their journey is documented by Eric Sevareid, who gathered the weekly diaries he sent to their local Minneapolis paper, and in 1935, he wrote this book.
   
   I stepped back in time to the 1930's when life seemed to be more innocent and the world a safer place to be. Sevareid who went on to become one of the most revered journalists of our time, wrote in an unpretentious manner, and we can feel the excitement of their adventures. They traversed unknown land and water. No one, it seems, had ever accomplished this trek. Even the best canoeists in the country failed. How then, did these two young lads accomplish this journey? Intelligence and good luck, I'd say. They questioned everyone they met, took upon themselves to digest all of the information and made decisions based on their best judgement. And, most of the time they were correct. They had no radio, no maps( this was uncharted country), little preserved food except for hardtack, but they had their ingenuity and the assistance of all of the people they met.
   
   The North Country was mostly woods. Camps, small towns and two larger towns had been established for hunting and trapping. Most of the humans they met were Indians who were kind and generous. As a matter of fact, most of the people they met were in awe of their journey and shared whatever food, equipment and conversation they were capable. The trip was amazing when we look at the obstacles they faced. Water, roaring cold water, sometimes rapids, sometimes falls, no maps, only the word of mouth of strangers, and cold brutal weather at times. Or hot humid weather with flies and gnats. They discovered all sorts of wild animals but were never in real danger. They had their tent, two paddles, food, water, ponchos and several blankets. This seems like a story of new adventurers discovering a new world, and in fact this is what they were. Two 17 year old lads set out on an adventure and one day after another they found one. Extraordinary when you think about it.
   
   Since the time of Eric and Walter, several other duos have made the trip by canoe. However, they had maps, food that could be kept for months and the best of camping equipment. This is not to lessen these young men's courage, but to think 78 years ago, this was accomplished with such primitive arrangments and care.
   
   This was an exciting read and one page after another flew by. The book was difficult to put down. Easy, simplistic writing. but some of the most important writing I have found. The boys parents and friends did not hear from them often and at times, I am sure the parents were worried. But the two lads persevered and the trip was taken.
   
   Highly Recommended. prisrob 06-26-08
   
   Not So Wild a Dream
   
   The Eleanor Roosevelt Story



2. 2250 miles in a canoe - a great adventure and a book worth reading. I can't add much that isn't already perfectly described in this book.
   
   At the start of the trip during a brief stay in Fargo, North Dakota, a friend and doctor named Frederick Gronvold sets the boys on their journey in a proper frame of mind. "Don't let anyone, no matter who he is, convince you that your trip can't be completed. You have youth and strength, and courage too, I hope, and with a little common sense you can do it."
   
   When the journey finally ends and the boys share their tale with the adults at York Factory, they are asked why? Bud responds simply, "Oh, for pleasure, I guess." A journey simply for the sake of the adventure. It is an idea lost on some of the adults listening to the boys. "Pleasure! What a jolly funny kind of pleasure!" Better yet, maybe the idea isn't lost. Colonel Reid continues, "Oh well, that's youth. Things look different when you're young, I suppose. My word, I almost believe I envy you."
   
   Enjoy the beginning and the end; enjoy the pineapples and everything in between. Enjoy the journey simply for the journey; it's an adventure that is perfect for any reader of any age!



3. Enough youthful daring and preparation on a wonderful journey which showed the better nature of people for the exploits of two tough and bright young men. A wonderful journey, with some historical photo's that help illustrate the accomplishment. A wonderful quick read.



4. There's really only two things worth doing in Minnesota: One, canoeing the Boundary Waters/Quetico during Spring, Summer, and Fall; Two, THINKING about canoeing the Boundary Waters/Quetico during Winter. For the latter, this book is the gateway to paradise. Sevareid and Port have the true spirit of adventurers, the love-bug for the North Woods and her bevy of streams, rivers, and lakes, and Sevareid effectively tells his now-classic tale of how he and his friend drank deeply of all her treasures--complete with the axiomatic mistakes, mishaps, surfiet of discomfitures, and, alas, irresistible beauty that she provides to all who avail themselves of her wonders. Like St. Augustine, let us "Take up and read."



5. Walter Port and (Arnold) Eric Sevareid took an amazing trip that they started by skipping some of their high school finals so they could get the boat they could afford. Though the project appeared to have been Port's pet, it was Sevareid who came up with the way to fund it: writing about it for the Minneapolis Star. It was clear that once the project began both of them were truly enthralled by it and could not be put off. The tale is told simply, but with a clear affection for all of the people who helped them try to reach their goal, even though few of the people who helped were confident that these young men could make it or were even very encouraging.
   
   The book is written from the journals that were kept along the trip. It is clear that this is a book of its times written by a man who was still quite young. While I would strongly encourage any teens to read this book to realize that they too can give themselves a goal that is worthwhile if only for being difficult, I would also encourage their parents to be ready to answer some questions about the wisdom and risks of such adventures and about some of the attitudes of the past. There is a casual acceptance of the bigotry against Native Americans that was common at the time and Sevareid was not yet the mature thoughtful man that we may remember from the CBS Evening News.
   
   Still, the fact that a reasonably literate student was able to take, and appreciate, such a grand adventure while trying his best to bring it alive for us was a remarkable feat. Twain, at his best, gave us better feel for river adventure, but he had the advantage that he could embroider the story whenever necessary, while Sevareid was already writing and thinking as a journalist. This is a quick read that almost anyone, from a child in middle school to an adult whose days of imagined adventure are long past, can enjoy.

5 comments about Game Misconduct: Alan Eagleson and the Corruption of Hockey.

1. Those who want to learn about hockey - and not just what Alan Eagleson did to it - should run, not walk, to buy this book.
   Conway's book is superb, and his work on Eagleson made him a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
   It's a must-read for any sports writer, too. It's like having an "Investigative Journalism 101" class taught to you, and for a fraction of the money you'd pay at a university.



2. This is the most interesting book I have ever read. I studied it to do an oral presentation for Grade 9 English class a few years ago and was so intrigured by the Alan Eagleson story that, now in my first year of University, I am pursuing a career very similar to that of Alan Eagleson...one in which I would essentially deal with the business side of the NHL where I would love to make some sort of a positive influence, as Eagleson did. However, Alan Eagleson's corruption, which is described in this book, is an excellent example of how one person can cause a negative influence on many people's lives through illegitimacy and how public opinion of that person can change almost instantly as a result. Russ Conway did an excellent job of investigating Alan Eagleson, and his book is a wonderful summary of his work. I would recommend this book to anybody, whether they are a hockey fan or not.



3. This is one of the most important sports books ever written. Through his exhaustive work, Russ Conway exposes the greed, corruption and financial swindling that plagued the NHL throughout Alan Eagelson's reign of terror and the financial and emotional price that so many players faced. Most importantly, Conway's work served as the catalyst for Mr. Eagleson's downfall and proving many player's assertions of corruption. Put simply, this is an important piece of journalism that every fan of sports should read, whether you are a hockey fan or not.



4. Russ Conway has written a wonderful investigative piece about a man who is truly a disgraceful figure in the history of Canadian hockey. Russ brings forth, with his own agressive style, the wicked ways of a man who calling a crook is an understatement. First, he never backed down to get his answers and his writing is first-rate. Anyone who follows hockey should read about a man who almost destroyed it.



5. All hockey fans owe Russ Conway a debt of gratitude for helping rid hockey of the parasite Alan Eagleson. He documents Eagleson's criminal and disgusting behaviour in great detail, helping fans to better understand what hockey players faced in the past, the necessary background information for many of the issues facing pro hockey today. I haven't read such a gripping book since "Net Worth". Eagleson will be back in the courts again before long, no doubt willing to lie about the charges being brought forward by a number of retired hockey players. Read this book and you'll see that the players have justice on their team.

No comments about Dutch Schultz: The Brazen Beer Baron of New York (Amazing Stories).

No comments about Lucky Luciano: The Father of Organized Crime (Amazing Stories).