5 comments about A Nearly Normal Life: A Memoir.

1. I think if the author hadn't written his memoir in such a vain way--it would have been better??



2. In 1953, when he was a robust 14-year-old, Charles L. Mee was stricken with viral polio. This memoir describes his struggle with polio, and also comments on the treatments (sometimes horrific) that were tried to beat this virus that, in 1953 alone, struck over 50,000 people. His struggle was not an easy one, and his later life wasn't either, but he comes to terms with his limitations, becoming a successful historian and playright. It's a real eye-opener, and he doesn't mince words, which makes for a compelling read.



3. For those interested in understanding the impact of polio, this is the definitive source. No one tells the story like Charles Mee. The depth of his insights are stunning. He makes a powerful comment on the human condition. This book is a MUST READ.



4. From long experience with this area, Mee's accounts both of the era of his youth and the experiences of polio ring very true from the pen of an accomplished writer. One senses that Mee never really made peace with his disability and its impact, inasmuch as he was able to evade, compensate, head into intellectual endeavors, etc., so there are many polio/disability issues not well dealt with here. (Significantly it ends with his finding an oasis in the intellectual world of the Ivy League and the intellect.) However, one has to suspect that the decision to tell the story, with insight and honesty, may represent at long last a step in addressing what he may have hoped at one time to simply "leave behind." Perhaps there will be a sequel in which his historical training and writing skills are again focused on the complex interrelationships between disability, psyche and society. This is a good read, though, even if it is not the full story.



5. I don't write many reviews anymore, who has time? However, this book stood out so much above the rest I've read lately that I just had to share. The book is about a polio survivor, the 50's, the discovery of the vaccine and oh so much more. It's about living the life you were handed, not the want you thought you were going to get.

   His epilogue is pure poetry. An example: "Life continues to change. New things surface; old wounds hidden by bigger wounds show up when the bigger wounds are healed; new clusters of misgivings and confusion take shape to replace old clusters of exhausted adjustments. New things come along to be accepted with grace and peace. The disability and its challenges continue to evolve, and one must achieve acceptance and grace and peace again and again, day after day."

   I highly recommend this book to everyone. I read about 5 books a week and this book is in my top 20 of all time.

3 comments about When the Meadowlark Sings: The Story of a Montana Family.

1. This is a charming book about the difficult life of an abandoned wife of a family in early Montana years that has to support them. Because early Montana schools did not have money to fund full year rural schools many times, she had to move her brood mid-year sometimes to yet another location she could find to teach & keep them together. Her daughter has written a lovely book that is a tribute to her Mom & the positive attitude with which they were raised/taught through this difficult life.



2. Nedra Sterry is a great story teller. This is a throughly enjoyable read; it does get a bit confusing to follow as it isn't written cronologically. Aside from that, it could have been written about any number of Montana school teachers and their families, trials, and tribulations.



3. Being from that part of MT myself, I found this book quite compelling and a very easy read. I found myself asking questions and then being surprised at the answers it took me awhile to find out after it dawned on me what was happening. I admire the perseverance of the women who pioneered the frontier.
   
   Nedra, you did a great job conveying the hora of living in that land back in the day. We all know it was hard but re-living it through your eyes brings it closer to reality. All we can really say, is thank God for your mother and her strong faith in education.
   
   I enjoyed the book very much and wish that more people would take advantage of this opportunity to learn about some of the stories of our foremothers so to speak.

5 comments about MatchDotBomb: A Midlife Journey through Internet Dating.

1. MATCHDOTBOMB advertises itself as an autobiography, but it's also a memoir (a subcategory). The latter is entwined with the former so emotionally that they flow together quite naturally.
   
   No matter, when I started reading, I thought I was going to place this book in the negative column. "Be patient," I thought, "you might change your mind." And I did! As a person who has been both rewarded and frustrated by Internet dating, myself, I wanted the author to get to the point. About one-fourth way through the book she finally "puts the rubber to the road," to use an awful analogy. And what a fast read from "Chapter 5" through 20-plus! Not because there are only 182 pages, but because it's so exciting to go along for the ride with her.
   
   By "Chapter 13" the author manages to bring this reader to tears when she writes about the joy of a family reunion about the age of twelve (this is one autobiographical section). The chapter seems to have absolutely nothing to do with the book's theme, but it's a gem of a read anyhow. (Well..., when you get near the end of the book you might sense a tie-in.)
   
   Her Internet dating experiences are hard to believe. Not that they aren't true; I just can't imagine those of my gender being so inept with a lady. But she still searches that Ethernet world; still hoping. Why? Her answer: "I...recalled how much I loved being needed and how terribly I missed it."
   
   Eventually, she begins to "accept the fact that there might never be another guy out there like Bob [her deceased husband]. Perhaps a reasonable facsimile. But certainly not a carbon copy. On the one hand, that sobering fact frightened [her]. On the other hand, the limitless possibilities were beginning to fascinate [her]."
   
   Friedman--it seems friendlier to call her Francine--takes us on the emotional ups and downs of the Internet dating scene: from elation to fighting back tears when rejected. And her both sharp and humorous thoughts (which she wittily shares) when interacting with these potential partners--and when not--had me laughing out loud, and sometimes holding back a tear.
   
   I'm glad I persisted past "Chapter 4," (only after reading it do you know it is a stage for "Chapter 5") and I'm delighted to have read the book. I had to: Francine knows how to continually hook you, massage your emotions, and tickle that funny bone. Normally, I read many books then resell them on Amazon. This one I will keep to share.
   
   Hope you find someone, Francine. (Although, I suspect--after these experiences--she might be quite content in her present state of singlehood.)
   
   A Non-Workbook, Non-Textbook Approach to Teaching Language Arts: Grades 4 Through 8 and Up



2. I sincerely wish I had read this book before my journey into the abyss of Dot.com dating. Not a widow but a divorcee, it still pertained to all I have experienced. Sometimes laughing to the point of tears. Sometime feeling the sadness to the same degree. Thank you for taking us on a personal and heartfelt journey. I know what I'm giving my single forty something friends for Christmas. And I'm sure I will get a thank-you note THIS YEAR !
   Kate Covington



3. "What does a woman want?" In her witty and poignant book, MatchDotBomb, Francine Pappadis Friedman gives a unique insight into the age-old question. Not only a candid look at computer dating-often hilarious-but also a moving story of how to deal with loss and survival. The author does give a clear perception to what women seek: kindness, honesty, accountability and to top it all off - a sense of humor is what they seek. What a wonderful read!



4. When fellow Chicagoan Francine Pappadis Friedman found herself widowed in her fifties, she was devastated. "When I got married years ago it was .. 'til death do us part. I just never counted on that death part."
   
   Spurred on by two good friends, Francine, an attractive, hard-working professional woman and fifty-something mother of two grown children, tried the world of Internet dating. Her encounters with a rogues's gallery of lonely men are hilarious; her dates range from the always-angry, cynical lawyer who sees a potential personal injury suit everywhere and the aging hippie with long white hair, earrings, tattoos, and a motorcycle to the extreme health nut, obviously much older than stated in his on-line profile, who talks only about his diet and exercise regimen. They are all there: the extremely needy, the seemingly deranged, the not-so-funny joker.
   
   Along the way through her journey, Friedman also describes a trip to Greece when she was twelve. It was a family trip to the country and the tiny village where her father was born and raised. Understanding her heritage was important to her life journey, as was reflecting about her happy marriage and family life.
   
   Francine Friendman seems to understand the men she meets very well, but this book is not really about Internet dating. She does not find her soul mate, but along the way, she finds herself. Discovering who we really are and what we really want and acting on that knowledge are what really matter. The author learns this lesson. Her book is about an awakening and about following one's own dreams.



5. Francine Pappadis Friedman accomplishes a great deal in this book. She gently moves her readers through moments in her life that reveal joy, heartbreak, survival and, ultimately, spiritual enlightenment. And on the path from here to there, you are treated to an amazing assortment of "close encounters" that keep you turning pages, shaking your head, laughing and sighing. I was deeply moved and thoroughly entertained if somewhat anxious, because the further I read, the more I was cheering Francine on. I wanted her to find her elusive soul mate. Of course, you will have to read the book to find out if that's what happened. MatchDotBomb is a gift to every person who, tired of the fix-ups and tired of the loneliness, chanced one fateful day to look at the computer screen and wonder..."what if"? If that is you, read this book. If you don't know online dating from fly-fishing, read this book. If you are a man, a woman, or even a semi-intelligent life form from another planet (many of whom, I am convinced, run personal ads on the Internet) read this book. Francine's story is a poignant reminder that life is not about the destination. It is about the journey.

5 comments about Nature Noir: A Park Ranger's Patrol in the Sierra.

1. Shatter the California Environmental Myth! Then kick it in, step on it and if there is still anything left, shoot if for good measure. In "Nature Noir," Jordan Fisher Smith tells it like it is. He's the ranger for a piece of state parkland in the high Sierras, a neglected piece of land slated to become a dam site and inundated reservoir capturing the floodwaters of the American River; this to prevent downstream flooding in Sacramento.
   
   Smith elects to work in this park instead of trying to compete for a much more coveted, high-status ranger role in the National Park Service. While he would love to work in one of California's great national parks, he's settled for rangering in this off-the-path piece of public parkland. For those not aware, it's a tough time for a white guy to get one of those high-profile National Park ranger roles. Since women and minorities have historically been under-represented among park rangers, there's a major push to diversify. As a white guy, Smith finds himself at the back of the line.
   
   His piece of California state parkland is on a shoe-string budget with an skeletal staff. Because the expectation is still for a dam and reservoir to be built, activities like dredging for gold are allowed. Intolerable and illegal elsewhere on public parkland, activities like this go on, spoiling the environment, making lots of noise, silting up streams, lowering water quality.
   
   This is a rough place and rough things happen here. Smith is able to convey a strong sense of place. He knows his land. Rough people seem to be drawn to this place. A lot of people openly carry guns. Few Sierra Clubbers, Friends-of-the-Earth, Audubon Society birdwatchers and people with a sense of environmental stewardship frequent this place. The spirit of John Muir is at best a foggy ghost in the vision field of most of the patrons of this place. Smith is not a law-enforcement oriented type of ranger. However, this part of his ranger role is often all-consuming.
   
   This is a tale told by a guy who knows well his piece of public land and the people who frequent it. His tale will strip down the high-minded environmental conscience of California ecology types and even ordinary folks, who want simply to go on a nature walk in the woods. This narrative will make you feel uncomfortable. You won't think about a piece of public land in the same way after reading this book. You won't think about the role of a ranger in the same way after reading this book.



2. This is the memoir of a ranger assigned to a dying state park whose lands were due to be flooded by a downstream dam. The park's fate helped make its visitors a relatively pathetic bunch, since California's park department clearly reduced spending on infrastructure and staff in anticipation of the park's coming demise. People who didn't need infrastructure, and who liked the low enforcement level, found it a congenial place to hang out - - mostly to drink, of course, but also to engage in other antisocial and/or illegal activities.
   
   The experience gave Smith a lot of good stories, and he tells them pretty well. As a storyteller in the ranger-warden-cop genre, I'd put him about in the middle of the pack. The underlying quality of the stories is better than average.
   
   The book stands out in its perspective, conveyed by the title. Some comparable memoirs present park rangers and game wardens as semi-heroic servants of the people, but this one has a more gritty feel of an urban cop assigned to a rural beat. If you're looking for Bambi stories about wildlife or wilderness, this is the wrong book for you - - the star animal eats a visitor, and a much more humble creature puts an end to our author's career. But if you're a true-crime fan looking for an unusual setting, this book might be just the ticket for you.



3. A boldly written book, by an author who is not afraid to take chances, Jordan Fisher Smith, a park ranger whose career led him by chance, or perhaps by destiny, to the canyons of the American River in California. The area under his jurisdiction was condemned in his time, facing a future of being annhilitated; damned up and buried under thousands of tons of water.
   
   "Nature Noir" is a fascinating peephole into the dark side of nature, the dark side of humanity, the dark side of the author himself. This gritty book holds nothing back. Not the carelessness of humankind, not the uncompromising thrust of the natural world, not even the relentless self-scrutiny of the author.
   
   This unique book gives a personal perspective from the viewpoint of the ranger who hands out permits to people like us. It also indicates Smith's deep connection with the lands that he had sworn to protect.
   
   Often terse, "Nature Noir" illustrates the author's ability to paint a highly evocative picture with a minimum of words. His spare descriptions illuminate the landscape in which he lived, and tell us everything we need to know to imagine the place, the people, and the era.
   
   I was so intrigued by Jordan Smith's succinct prose that I felt compelled to
   make a pilgrimage to the canyons of the American River myself. I found them as intriguing as the author's descriptions.
   
   Nature Noir is not for the faint of heart. It is not for readers who anticipate a light-hearted tale, or an ordinary one.
   
   Look for the ending, brutal in it's sudden simplicity.
   
   This book is a great read.



4. A park ranger talks about law enforcement, dams, miners, and death in California's Auburn State Recreation Area.



5. I don't really have much to say about Nature Noir. I read it on the plane out to Denver. It was recommended to me by a non-fiction writer and I heard part of an interview with the author on the radio. I confess that I have not read a great deal of non-fiction aside from personal essays. "Nature Noir" read much like a long personal essay, interspersed with the customary commentary on landscape necessary in all nature writing. Smith's narrative seeks to dispel the idyllic image of wilderness and the life of the Forest Ranger. And I imagine for many people, particularly people who do not spend much time in the Western backcountry, Smith's reports of meth-labs, poachers, suicides, and predator attacks contrast their image of wilderness. But it's something most people who spend time in the backcournty have know about for some time. Ultimately I found his tales and observations somewhat pedestrian. The reviewer on the inside cover compared the work to Edward Abbey, Gary Snyder, and Aldo Leopold. Such comparisons are far too generous for this particular work.

5 comments about Loving and Leaving the Good Life.

1. For the reader who is interested in principled people who made a series of transitions out of choice and necessity. The Nearing's rugged individualist days of trial, triumph and living in ways they wouldn't trade for other compromises are defining and provide an excellent source of perspective on values and points of conclusion.



2. Scott and Helen Nearing spent half a century building stone houses, growing their food, and making a living on primitive homesteads in Vermont and Maine. Scott died at age 100 in the 1980s. Helen lasted another 10 years or so and this is her account of her life before Scott and their life together.
   
   Helen was born into a well-to-do family but had a rebellious streak that led her into music, astrology, the occult, and philosophy. In the 1920s she was the lover -- at least on the mental plane -- of an Indian philospher named Krisnamurti who was apparently famous in his day. Helen assumes that the reader knows who this "world teacher" was. I confess I never heard of him --and more explanation as to who he was and what he taught would have been helpful. Later Helen took up with Scott and they moved to the country and spent the rest of their lives as homesteaders.
   
   Scott was a cantankerous communist and I didn't grow any fonder of him by reading Helen's account. He was rigid and narrow-minded. Helen quotes some of his letters. He wrote her in a tone that would inspire my wife to respond, "Buzz off, you old goat." Although she wouldn't say "buzz." Scott's wrote savage letters to his son by a previous wife. Small wonder the boy dropped the last name of Nearing. In Scott's eyes, his son committed the unpardonable sin of criticizing the Soviet Union -- and Scott refused even to go to his funeral. One wonders whether Helen might be getting a bit of posthumous revenge on the old radical by publishing letters he wrote that show him as less than benign.
   
   However, the bulk of the book is a a highly favorable account of Scott and Helen and their life together. They were the gurus of the back to the land movement in the 1960s and the 1970s and their books about their life in the country are minor classics. Read "Living the Good Life" first and if you are interested in learning more about the Nearings read this book. Whatever you may think of them the Nearings were an interesting couple. Their homestead can be visited near Castine, ME.
   
   Smallchief



3. Having chronicled their lives to this point, it's only natural that Helen Nearing should tell the story of Scott's passing. Beautifully written, I almost enjoyed this book more than any of the Nearing books that came before.
   
   I am not anticipating that my own mortality will catch up with me any time soon, but this book really put life and death into perspective. The book is full of great quotes as well as sections you might quote yourself one day.
   
   If you like anything the Nearings have written, you'll love this book.



4. When your 100-year old husband of 55 years has passed on and you, at 88, can see your own end, and when you have spent most of those years seeking and living the good life, and when you take the time and trouble to record your thoughts for posterity, it is surely worthwhile for us, the readers, to take note and reflect on what might be of value in our own goal of living the good life. This is not a biography of the husband, Scott, nor an autobiography of Helen but it is offered as a tribute to Scott's being as Helen knew it. She wants Scott to be remembered as an unassuming, kindly, wise, husband as well as a principled, uncompromising, intellectual radical; she also wants to share with us his peaceful, intentioned, and premeditated ending.

   Born in the upper echelons of society, he worked alongside immigrant laborers in the Pennsylvania mine run by his grandfather. This was a formative experience that resulted in his speaking publicly in his early twenties on liberal reform. '''Even before I began the study of economics,' he said in an early lecture, 'I was impressed by the monstrous inequality which exists between the rich and the poor in modern society. The rich enjoy wealth, leisure, and boundless opportunity. The poor are overwhelmed by misery, overwork, and insanitation. The rich have a heaven of opportunity; the poor a hell of misery, and the heaven of the rich is founded upon the hell of the poor. If I was impressed by these conditions before I had studied them, I was appalled after having given them careful consideration. I had heard of poverty; I believed that misery and vice existed, but I was not aware that they were prevalent in every town and city of the land. Ability and capacity were suppressed; together with the progress which might well be attained, were opportunity more universal ... The poor are ignorant of the fact that by standing together at the ballot box, they might revolutionize conditions in a decade.'"

   Very soon he had offended the powers that be with his outspoken views and he would never teach again in the United States. From that point Scott's life can be summed up in these sentences: "The living of an ideal involves payment of a certain price ... the further the ideal is removed from the common practice, the higher the price that must be paid for it ... If your ideal is to live a mentally active, mentally honest life, to seek the truth, then you may have to sacrifice even food, clothing, and shelter to get it." and "The majority will always be for caution, hesitation, and the status quo - always against creation and innovation. The innovator - he who leaves the beaten track - must therefore always be a minoritarian - always be an object of opposition, scorn, hatred. It is part of the price he must pay for the ecstasy that accompanies creative thinking and acting." Scott was aware of the price he would have to pay for his convictions; he regretted enormously the loss of the day-to-day contact with his university students who lost an outstanding educator; but he never regretted standing alone. One of his file cards clearly defined the problem: "If a man is one step ahead of the crowd he is a leader; if two steps ahead, he is a disturber; if three steps, he is a fanatic and not to be trusted." Scott was too many steps ahead of those in authority and he was a danger who had to be removed. At the age of 34 his chosen career was in ruins; his books that had been standard textbooks in public schools were banned and royalty income ceased. He was at the low point of his life and that was when he met Helen.

   Helen, born in 1904 into a family of high principles and adequate means was the unconventional child, always reading and addicted to the twelve volumes of the Book of Knowledge at a young age. She had a talent for the violin, preferred the company of trees and rocks, drew and wrote poetry. She did not accept unquestioningly the world in which she lived. As a teenager she felt there was a power and a purpose in the universe and queried what we are here for and what life is all about. At seventeen, she sailed to Rotterdam to study the violin, met up with the Theosophists and the young Krishnamurti who she followed for several years on his mission to be a world teacher. But she saw the vast abyss between the ultra rich and the homeless in Bombay and Calcutta while Krishnamurti surrounded himself with the well to do, the famous and the influential. It was time for her to strike out on her own path. She returned to Ridgewood and there received a phone call from Scott.

   The formative years for both of them were over; they were ready for each other; they were ready to build a life together; they were ready to create their version of the good life. We have much to learn from this couple because their life together was built on high principles. We are indeed fortunate that Helen left us this book.




5. Having encountered the Nearings in Mother Earth News in the 70's I quickly became an avid admirer as well as a sincere follower of their wisdom. Thus I was overjoyed to buy Helens book because it allowed me to see a side of both Scott and Helen I never knew that well. The man whom I had admired as a wise soul but a tad put off by people, comes across as such a loving and yes "romantic" soul which made me like him even more. And Helen sharing how she was raised and the experiences she had and how she was encouraged by Scott to spread her wings and not allow him to fence her in, is a must read for any woman who questions where she belongs in the whole life circle.

   We must own a good five hundred books that we love, but this book is amongst a handful that get read and re-read over and over, with something new being learned each time. I also think the book like all their books is a must read, because it reminds us how fascists this country (united states) has been and can be and the price sincere patriots often pay. As well as the value of taking the path less traveled and not relinquishing ones personal integrity or perseverance. And that in the end the good guy can win.

5 comments about Breaking Rank: A Top Cop's Expose of the Dark Side of American Policing.

1. This book is good on two levels. On one level, it includes excellent story-telling and is just plain interesting to read as a memoir. From beat cop in the dysfunctional San Diego police department to Seattle police chief overseeing the security at the 1999 WTO summit (remember, the protestors won?) this is a page turner.
   
   On a more important level, Norm Stamper provides a lot of valuable insights into police reform. Those cities fortunate enough to have a citizen's review board might take inspiration from Stamper's mostly progressive vision. Those cities without review boards might take inspiration to create some fast from Stamper's chapter-by-chapter accounting of abuse, misuse and incompetent leadership in policing.
   
   The one rock Stamper leaves un-turned is, what is the root of crime in society? Progressive reforms would lead to more effective, less Gestapo management of crime. But folks will have to ask themselves about a society that produces so much physical and sexual violence in the first place...



2. Although I agree with several of Mr. Stamper's recommendations (legalizing prostitution, decriminalizing drugs), many of his assertions are straight out of the "I-Hate-America" handbook. All white, male cops -and even many black ones - are racsist, homophobic, women-hating thugs. What we need is a kinder, gentler way of policing.
   Mr. Stamper had a brief career as a police officer before his real career of supervisory bureacrat began. He "confesses" that in his rookie year he was on his way to becoming one of the bad cops before he was set right by a straight-shootin' DA. It was apparently then that his liberal sensitivities kicked in, and soon he was a supervisor (all the better to control the average Joe).
   The unfortunate thing about this book isn't the stories he relates, or even his recommendations (some good, some not so good), but the haughty way in which he relates it. Conservatives, Republicans - BAD! Liberals, Democrats - GOOD! (except for unions - bad!) If this book were written with respect not only for the majority of rank and file cops, but for the other half of Americans that Mr. Stamper obviously disdains, it may have been worth the money. As it is, if you are to the right of Hillary, take a pass on this one.



3. The book was extremely honest and forthright. More police officers should have the courage to write their own tell all stories to break down the "Blue Wall." The downside to the author is that he told this after the fact. However, the lessons learned will help new police officers coming on the job, realize that law enforcement is a different beast.



4. Norm Stamper, much like the late Seattle School Superintendant John Stanford was considered a cutting edge leader in the public sector during the '90s. This was an exciting period in Seattle history and featured the dot com boom and the rise of such businesses as Microsoft, Starbucks and this website.
   Norm Stampers book offers his views of the problems faced by police departments, many of which were featured in the fictional 2006 Oscar winning movie Crash.
   Norm present many of his ideas of reform, some of which I can agree with and some of which I cannot.
   The book is hard to put down once you start reading it and I would recommend it to anyone.



5. Stamper doesn't hold back - he outlines his experiences, sucesses, and failures. The book is organized around issues that are important to Stamper, such as community policing, gun control, death penalty, and the like.
   
   Even if you do not agree with all of his conclusions the book still makes for a great read.

5 comments about Game Over: The Rise and Transformation of a Harlem Hustler.

1. Bought this book on Friday, Never put it down til early Saturday Morning. Such compeling hard gritty truth !



2. I thought this book was absolubtly "wonderfull"!
   As a former resident of Harlem during AZ's reign, I can assure you of the accuracy of this well written, informative book. I laughed, I cried, I felt fear, and I celebrated, as I was entertained. I believe this book should be a required text of all schools; for it is a lesson that both teachers, and students can benefit from. I applaued AZ for his candid accounts, and his chosen co/author (Agyei Tyehimba). This Authors abilities breathed litterary life into a story now not soon to be forgotten. I look forward to Mr. Tyehimba's next projects, and Az's future accomplishments. Wishing you both continued success... Mochabreez



3. THIS AUTHOR HAS BEEN THROUGH HELL AND BACK, WHAT WITH THE LOSS OF SO MANY FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES!!!! I AM SO VERY PROUD OF THE FACT THAT YOU ARE NOT GLORIFYING YOUR FORMER LIFE,BUT YOU ARE UPLIFTING YOUR FAITH AND I APPLAUD YOU FOR THAT!!!!!I REALIZE IT PROBABLY TOOK A LOT TO DIVULGE ALL THE INFORMATION THAT YOU DID,RELIVING THE PAIN OF THE DEATHS, THE ATTEMPT OF YOUR OWN LIFE,AS WELL AS HAVING THE COURAGE TO LEAVE THE FAST MONEY BEHIND AS YOU'VE SAID IT'S VERY ADDICTIVE!!!! A COPY OF THIS BOOK SHOULD BE GIVEN TO ALL OUR STREET VENDORS,I'M SURE SOME OF THEM NEED TO BE ENLIGHTENED AS WELL!!!!!



4. This book was excellent and should be passed out at every juvenile system and prison. I wish I had read this book before my son turned 20 and moved out. I would have made him read it and right me a full report about! I have a younger son and it will be a must read in a couple more years!
   Thank you for sharing and writing a powerful and enlightening book.



5. This book tells it like it was. I grew up in the Drew-Hamilton Projects. I remember Donald "L.A." Johnson very well. One of the most charismatic dealers I ever saw. Handsome, suave all that. But, like so many young people in my 'hood, he was killed. That's the way it was. Literally hundreds of kids died in that area, all violently and mostly due to the drug trade. It was very sad to see. What a powerful book.

3 comments about Quick, Before the Music Stops: How Ballroom Dancing Saved My Life.

1. It's as if Ms. Carlson is throwing a lifeline to those of us whose marriages are in need of rescue, even though she acknowledges she learned her lessons too late to save her own. Having followed her columns in Town & Country over the years, I've found this author has always been really forthright about her own issues in order to help other women. The same compassion and surprising insights are in this book. I've already applied some of her wisdom...with good results. Not only that, for the first time, I'm beginning to understand America's fascination with Dancing With The Stars. Something that's always puzzled me! Now I'm on the lookout for dancing classes near my home...but will make sure my husband comes along! Thanks Janet!



2. Because my hubby and I took up, by a twist of fate, ballroom dancing about 5 years ago, my daughter and family sent me this book for my birthday. Ballroom dancing becomes a love. One could be at the studio each day. The instruction never ceases and as you move from one instructor to the other, each better than before. Building blocks are erected. I actually picked up some very valuable pointers, as one does constantly, in my own technique reading thru Janet's story. The reality of putting dance either first or second in one's life can be disturbing. It is a very expensive pursuit when one competes. And, it is more than true, as I have first hand witnessed, that marriages suffer, and break up, because one partner is so dazzled by the artistic thrill of becoming a better dancer. I somehow believe that Janet could have saved her marriage. But, I also believe she did not want to; and her husband didn't have a clue. One needs to remember, even Janet, that it is the very few who reach the stars, and it is a short time up in the clouds as one of the best. It is a female's ballroom dancing experience for sure.



3. I loved this book! Janet Carlson's indepth understanding of Ballroom Dancing and how she relates dance partnership with everyday family relationships is brilliant! I think men AND women will get something out of her book. I found that i couldn't put it down once i started reading it.

2 comments about Paula: My Story So Far.

1. Being a runner, I love reading about runners, and their stories. Paula Radcliffe comes across in this book with frank honesty. She doesn't sugarcoat it, and tells it straight. She comes across confident, but human, like just another person. Granted, she is an elite athlete that has accomplished much in her life, but unlike some autobiographies, she doesn't sit there and tell you how great she is.
   
   I learned a lot about Radcliffe herself in the book, along with a lot of interesting things about running, injuries, dealing with injuries, the triumph of her victories, the agony of her defeats, her drive to always give it her all, and that she is quite funny at times throughout the book.
   
   Also, for those of you that don't know, she is asthmatic and if you know someone that has asthma and struggles with it, get them a copy of this book. It will inspire them.



2. This book really starts in Chapter 4 for the running enthusiast. The first three chapters provide an insight into Paula Radcliffe's childhood. The final 17 chapters provide indepth descriptions of the motivation, injury, pain, perseverance and acheivement of a deicated runner. I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the emotional, psychological and physical characteristics of a serious and successful athlete.

5 comments about Breaking News: A Stunning and Memorable Account of Reporting from Some of the Most Dangerous Places in the World.

1. I want to just add to the 5 star reviews. As a moderate I was pleasantly surprised by how balanced this book was. The author clearly struggled with his feelings and never acted superior. As you get deeper into the book it becomes as riveting as any book I can recall. Very highly recommended.



2. I couldn't put this book down, and read it in one day. Martin Fletcher takes you where most reporters won't go, or can't go. You'll read of the intense competition between the networks, and what ranks as "go" or "no-go" story; which amounts to the number of people dying or killed as being newsworthy.
   
   Stories of fellow journalists who are killed and wounded (including his own first-person account), in attempts to bring the stories of war and its victims to our television screens. How Fletcher identifies with the suffering of the victims of war in Somalia and the "Ethnic-Cleansing" of the conflicts in Rwanda and Kosovo; with his own family's suffering in The Holocaust.
   
   From the Arab-Israeli Wars to the present Palestinian struggle, to personal interviews with a warlord, suicide bombers and refugees (one very touching story of a young girl). There'll be stories that will make you laugh, cry, and some that will anger you. But they are all presented within a very personal and moving context that almost makes you feel as if you're right there, experiencing Fletcher's witness of history in the making. And that indeed, this is a very dangerous and evil world in which
   live.



3. An amazing, POWERFUL, insight into the world of Martin Fletcher. I read the book in two sittings, four days ago, and I am still thinking about it. He tells his story in a 'mostly' chronological order, leaving me breathless at the end. It's an incredible journey and I am so thankful he took the time to tell it!



4. This is a very different, deeply-impressing account by a very special reporter - and if this book hadn't been thrust under my nose with the recommendation to read it, I would have assumed it was the usual set of star-turn anecdotes from someone who thought they were the star-turn. Not a bit of it. Unlike some, Fletcher is never, ever bigger than the news on which he reports.
   
   If this was only the most brilliant account of exceptional, award-winning TV war-reporting journalism, which, incidentally, it is - then that in itself that would be something. But it's much more than that; it's about the moral and ethical dilemmas that people like Fletcher face daily on our behalf in reporting serious news - and, refreshingly, nothing to do with the soulless ephemerals of providing 'entertaining' so-called, 'news' features between adverts.
   
   Fletcher is one of the last vestiges of conscience and soul in the digital age when it comes to serious news reporting. Breaking News is likely - and rightly - to be considered core-curriculum stuff for anyone considering serious journalism as a career - but it's also likely a must-read for anyone who wants to share Fletcher's personal 'take' - and the chance to share in his very human enlightenment - through his reporting of a truly extraordinary series of world events over 30 years.



5. Hanging my boots up last year after my final trip to Afghanistan was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make in my life. It was done at the insistence of my daughter and my knees. I finally had to realize that I could be a liability to those around me in a war zone. With that in mind, I was quite intrigued when friends contacted me and asked if I would read and review Martin Fletcher's book, "Breaking News". Martin was starting his career with the Yom Kipper (October) War of 1973 just as I was ending my Navy Combat Camera days with the very same war. Martin's account of this war is "spot on"! I wish he had written about this many years ago when I got asked to leave a Political Science class in college for telling the professor he didn't know what he was talking about. When the professor asked me how I knew, I replied with the only answer I could give, "because I was there"! Where were you when I needed you, Martin!
   
   "Breaking News" is a MUST READ for anyone interested in international conflicts and what it is like to cover these conflicts as a cameraman and as a broadcast journalist. In his 35 year career, Martin Fletcher has pretty much seen it all, and this book is his very personal account of what life is like in the day to day world of the Foreign Correspondent. Part of what makes this book great is that it does not focus on world leaders, and "their" stories. It focuses on the day to day struggles of the average person caught in the middle of these conflicts. It gives an excellent account of the journalistic integrity of one man working in the trenches of so many conflicts, Martin Fletcher.
   
   I am always reluctant to give too much detail in a book review because I hate to give out "spoilers". Once again, I will just say, "READ THIS BOOK"! Martin takes us on a journey of adventure and personal growth from the October War of 1973 to the Coup in Cyprus just a year later, to the Rhodesian War that gave us what today is known as Zimbabwe. He gives an excellent account of life in Paris for news reporters and takes us to Algiers and Iran for an insider's look at the Hostage Crisis in Tehran. From there he takes us to Afghanistan and covering the Afghan/Soviet War. He gives us a very telling account of life in Israel during the first Gulf War with SCUD missiles falling in Tel Aviv.
   
   I could go on and on about his coverage of the Middle East, Somalia, Rwanda, Kosovo, Bosnia and numerous other places of conflict and genocide. But, once again I will simply point out that Martin's book is really about his own personal and professional growth. There is some humor here, but there is a huge amount of sorrow and pain. One does not do this kind of work for 35 years without it taking a toll on your soul.
   
   Martin closes his book with the following: And I can only hope that Shakespeare wasn't referring to storytellers like me when he wrote "Life is but a walking shadow...it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing"! Rest assured that Martin's book is anything but this! It is a glimpse into one man's continent crossing dedicated life as a Foreign Correspondent, a glimpse into hell, and hopefully an offered understanding of "conflict" on the average person, as well as what covering such conflicts does to those who report them.
   
   Please...READ THIS BOOK "BREAKING NEWS"!