5 comments about Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping.

1. I thought the author would write more about her struggles to give up spending. There was a little of that but most of it was a political diatribe. I'm so sick of ultra-liberals preaching their weird philosophies to the rest of us. This women has two homes, three cars, and at one time didn't pay a student loan because "nobody else did" until forced to do so because her credit rating was bad. What a hypocrite. Don't waste your time or money on this boring book.



2. First off, this book lost points with me for a fairly two-faced marketing strategy. The title and a review on the back of the book suggest that this book is about making do with a very minimalist approach to shopping, spending, and possession. Barbara Ehrenreich, who wrote the bit on the back, says "if you have to do without... Levine is the person to do it with." However, the blurb on the inside of the dust jacket paints the author in a markedly different light, and seems to suggest that Levine found that she couldn't hack it without dropping tons of cash, which is the conclusion I reached as a reader.
   
   Although Levine probably had very good intentions, her follow-through falls depressingly short, to the point that this book paints a very unremarkable story. Part of the dust jacket blurb describes the author as "a woman any reader can identify with: someone who can't live without French roast coffee or SmartWool socks but who has had it up to here with overconsumption and its effects." Right off the bat, I can't relate to that. I don't think I've ever drunk French roast coffee or worn SmartWool socks, and I still feel like I can cut down my consumption a lot. Levine seems to realize she is part of the problem, not the solution, and wants to fix that, but the book strays from this a lot.
   
   Other reviewers have made very good points about the author's vastly hypocritical spending habits. If the author talked about these habits like they were unsurmountable psychological tendencies, and tried to address how to cure them, then okay. But she didn't, and it just comes off as the author wanting to talk a good game about saving money and the environment, but not backing it up with action at all. She also strays considerably from the point of this book by discussing at length political issues that are unrelated to consumption.
   
   If you want to make it a year without shopping, start by leaving this book on the shelves.



3. I was surprised to see the number of negative reviews that people have given this book. Expecting to read a book of what it's like to resist the urge to spend frivolously, I was pleasantly surprised to find an entertaining, deeper reflection on culture that surrounds consumerism and buying. I noticed many people seemed bothered by Judith Levine's "hypocrisy" and I feel they have failed to miss the point of this book. Levine is not preaching her experience, instead, sharing it as a human being with elements that show she is every bit as human as anyone, which in my opinion makes this all the more inspirational.
   
   I greatly enjoyed the authors witty style, and she brought up an number of intriguing statistics and facts. It does get a little political at times, but it's a true reflection of the circumstances that surround the book. While I'm not about to embark on a similar social experiment after reading this, it has made me reflect on how buying is defined in society and ask myself why do I want to buy the things I want to buy, and are they necessary?



4. dont buy "Not buying it" it not as enlightening as I thought it would be.



5. I flew through the first third of this book...when she was still having a hard time with not buying things.
   
   Then, apparently, she adjusted, because the rest of the book didn't really have much to say about the lack of buying. It was mostly about politics at that point - which I'm not interested in reading about in the least.
   
   Several hypocritical points, as other reviewers have mentioned. And by halfway through, I found I just didn't care anymore.

5 comments about An Hour Before Daylight : Memoirs of a Rural Boyhood.

1. This is a truly remarkable memoir describing the depression-era South. A must read, even if you are not a fan of Jimmy Carter.



2. This is a very enjoyable book. I love to read about the true
   South. Jimmy Carter is a man to be admired. He grew up learning
   to work for what he wanted. He shows great respect for others.
   A very good read.



3. AN HOUR BEFORE DAYLIGHT by Jimmy Carter
   October 29, 2007
   
   
   Rating: 4/5 Stars
   
   I've now read several books written by President Jimmy Carter and I've enjoyed them all. What I love about his books is his personal touch he lends to them. AN HOUR BEFORE DAYLIGHT however is the first full memoir that I've read by Jimmy Carter (the other books were books on Faith), and seeing the world of his childhood, depression era Georgia, has been insightful. This childhood he had is what shaped him into the giving person he is today.
   
   Living in the South during this time meant that blacks were separate from whites, and whites were superior to blacks. And while some of these attitudes may have prevailed even in the Carter household, he was also taught to treat blacks with respect, and most of his childhood friends were the black children of the hired hands they had on their farm. The Carters, compared to many of their neighbors at the time, did well in farming and were very resourceful in all they endeavored. Hard work was the ethic they lived by, but Jimmy Carter also had stories to tell about childhood antics and enjoying life on the farm. Carter also talks about his siblings, mostly referring to his sisters Ruth and Gloria (Billy came along much later, but he is mentioned in the book, in particular in regards to his tragic early death). He looked up to his father, and greatly admired his mother, a woman who did so much in her later years and became famous in her own right (some of the stories Jimmy relates are quite humorous, including her love of the Brooklyn Dodgers, later the LA dodgers and her friendship with the team).
   
   AN HOUR BEFORE DAYLIGHT is not the perfect book. I found a lot of it to be rather dry reading, but I still enjoyed the anecdotes and stories that Jimmy Carter wrote about his growing up years. He's seen a lot in his life and has used what he learned to enrich others and help those who need it. I am slowly going through Carter's library of books and look forward to the next one.



4. I've been wanting to read one or more of President Carter's books for a long time and decided to begin with this one. While I agree that it is well-executed in the main, it doesn't score higher with me on a few grounds.
   
   One: I felt there was a need for more fastidious editing. The book was by no means too long, but there was repetition and disordered content.
   
   Two: Way too much detail in some of the more mundane and unpleasant sections, in particular discussions of minutiae of small-town agribusiness dealings as well as graphic detail of livestock issues including slaughtering and castrating. TMI.
   
   Three: This is a half-hearted complaint, for I realize this isn't the book where these matters would likely be discussed considering the author has several other memoirs addressing other periods of his life (doesn't he?) In any case, I felt like the President did not discuss enough how his upbringing resulted in his being the man he is today as far as race relations are concerned. Lots of discussion about the relatively tolerant household in which he was raised, but lots of apology at the same time about how racism was ubiquitous at the time and not really perceived by his family or by others as a wrong to be righted. I don't know, I guess I'm rambling here, but I would have liked to have read content along the lines of "and these boyhood experiences shaped my perceptions in such a way that I wanted to make a difference in my public service career" and also I woulda liked to have read about how he connects his religious beliefs with his liberal leanings. Flesh out that relationship a bit more.
   
   Just my 2 cents.
   
   In any event, the book was a quick read and I am very glad I got around to reading it.



5. After reading this book it is easy to understand why Jimmy Carter was denigrated as a weak Leader who let America's enemies walk all over him. As he looks back with affection & describes his childhood in a strict, hardworking, but loving family on a farm in back country Depression-Era Georgia, Mr Carter comes across as a genuinely kind and good man who respects his fellow-men & women - regardless of color or creed; who is tolerant of - though not entirely blind to -- the shortcomings & foibles of others, and truly incapable of seeing evil in anyone. In short, he is the Ideal Christian. This also goes a long way to explain why subsequently he became so widely respected on the International stage in his second career as Humanitarian & Fixer of the World's Problems.
   
   Mr Carter paints a colourful word-picture of his boyhood home, the close-knit community, the Carter farm, the livestock, the hunting dogs, his family, and his neighbours, the black tenant farmers and their children with whom he worked and played. There is nostalgia for a time and way of life that largely disappeared from this continent half a century ago, when children worked harder & shouldered more responsibility than today's young people can even imagine, but which was the making of them as responsible adults. Yet his writing style is innocent & light-hearted, and occasionally down-right laughable as, for example, when he gives us some examples of his rural childhood diction. It is hard to imagine the urbane, educated Mr Carter uttering the words "We et a bait of plums" or, having travelled 30 miles to see the flooding Flint River, "Wheh de ribber, Daddy? Is it down in dat creek?"
   
   This book touched me on a more personal level as well. I was not far into it before I realised it reminded me so much of the spell-binding stories my mother used to tell us children around the dinner table, stories of her life growing up on a 240 acre Clay Belt farm as one of 15 children of Ukrainian immigrants. The climate, the geography and the neighbours' ethnicity may have been worlds away from the Carters, but her life and her experiences could just as well have happened down the dusty road from Plains, Georgia.
   
   Attention Jimmy Carter: If you read this - I asked my mother about the sound made by the metal clicker on the handle of the milk separator. She is an expert: one of her chores was to operate the milk separator; and afterward to disassemble, clean & reassemble all its the component parts, which she could perform as rapidly as a soldier does with his rifle.
   Mother says you have to turn the handle faster & faster until it reaches the speed necessary for the cream to separate from the milk inside the machine. The change in the tone of the "clicker" is determined by the speed of the turning handle & occurs when the required speed has been reached for the separation to occur.
   
   Mr Carter is one of only a handful of public figures with whom I would care to be acquainted. Such an interesting Life; such an interesting man!

5 comments about A Working Stiff's Manifesto: A Memoir of Thirty Jobs I Quit, Nine That Fired Me, and Three I Can't Remember.

1. A working Stiff's Manifesto, by Iain Levison, was a terrific read. An college graduate with a degree in English, the jobs Levison take are not ones that a degree is necessary. However, Stints in Alaska processing fish,a grocery store, truck driver, heating oil delivery man...
   
   The book is funny. It is also incredibly sad. Levison is obviously smart and wants a good job--he simply doesn't know how to do so. He is part of the working poor and simply cannot imagine how people "make it" in the work world. What it must be like to make real money.
   
   I want to know what the author is up to now. I would love another memoir. If you liked Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, you will love this book.



2. I loved this book!!! made me glad that i am a frustrated english major and not a real one; that i apparently made the correct choice in abandoning my english major. the last time i laughed this hard reading a book was 30 years ago reading Around the World with Auntie Mame. I was laughing so loudly and so long that my children came running upstairs to see what was going on. However, it also makes the point quite clearly re: colleges' lack of preparation of students for the working world-and what a tough world it is out there. the prose captures well the images and feelings the author is trying to convey. Another plus for me is that the author was a high school friend of my brother



3. Iain's funny memoir will strike a chord with anyone who's had to deal with the BS many of us have to deal with on a regular basis at our jobs. He moans about many of the jobs he takes on but not once does he decide to sit back and collect unemployment. I guess that degree in English paid off after all.



4. Memoir of a semi-employed American male in the 90's. It's the recollections of the many jobs he had, such as crab fisherman, fish cutter, mover, restaraunt associate manager, etc.
   
   It's a funny book. Levison has a cynical/skeptical outlook on the business world. You might be familiar with the tone from Dilbert.
   
   Having worked at some of these jobs also, his descriptions or temp, seasonal, low paying work struck me as accurate, with urine tests, unpaid overtime (at the restaraunt), dress codes, crazy bosses, unrealistic schedules, etc. He's kind of like the guy at the bar you can talk to about how screwed up your job is.



5. I love this type of book, I always get the feel that I am reading someones personal diary, but this book was okay, I liked Mr Instability better for the job stories and it was hilarious, I liked I hope they serve beer in hell because it was raw!

5 comments about Chosen Forever: a memoir.

1. Really wanting to like the book and not having read Chosen by a Horse, I found it tedious, repetitious and with just enough insightful inspired - and at rare times, humorous - flashes about nature and animals to keep going or skimming to the end. The happy romantic resolution and motivation to write is worth about 10 Oprah Shows. If there are any future printings, a strong edit that would cut out about half the book would help the book enormously. I look forward to reading Chosen by a Horse.



2. Ugh. I barely made it through this book. It was not very interesting. There were nice flashes of entertaining story-telling, but for the most part, this book was just a day by tedious day recounting of her book tour. Who was there, who the owner of the store was, how many people showed up (and how she felt about this) and where she ate afterwards.
   
   I think the success of Chosen by a Horse just made her more narcissistic than before, and mostly we get 'treated' to more recounting of who in her family did her wrong in her life. I'm sorry, but once you hit middle age, childhood should be a distant memory. At a certain point, one must just choose to move on and not dwell on the pain.
   
   The part of the book that kept me going was reading about Dennis Stock. He sounds like such a great guy that I wanted to hear more about him. I just wish the editors of the book could have coaxed a re-write that more focused not on a book tour or old memories of past trauma, but on the relationships that she forms as a result of her experience with Lay Me Down.
   
   As a horse lover, I was actually shocked at learning of the circumstances of Georgia's death. Once a horse is foundered, she should not be allowed to eat grass, yet Georgia was pastured her entire life, it seems. What's more, she had foundered before and recovered several times. Things like these made me doubt a little the expertise of her vet and her friend Allie. But again, maybe we don't have the whole story here. Nevertheless, it was a great disappointment. I had hoped my mom would enjoy reading a continuation of Chosen by Horse. Now I think I will have to sell it as a used book, since I really can't recommend it to any friends.



3. Chosen Forever can be seen as another stanza in Susan Richards's loving ode to her departed horse, Lay Me Down. Once again, Richards has expressed their mutual love beautifully. However, this book goes much farther than the first memoir, because Richards has come much farther as a person. I would think that Chosen Forever was a more difficult book for Richards to write because she had to rely more on herself to fill the emotional void left by Lay Me Down's death. I appreciated her account of her journey to getting published, and how her readings turned out; because she came to value the fallow periods in life as well as the high points.
   
   I couldn't put this book down, because I couldn't help but feel the human drama as Richards gradually let her guard down enough to fall in love(probably for the first time)and marry the serenely mature Dennis Stock. Despite an emotionally tragic childhood, and unfortunate first marriage, Richards discovered that middle age is no reason not to seek or have love in one's life. Furthermore, she teaches that it's OK to be a work in progress. In short, Chosen Forever is an inspiration, and well worth the time.



4. having so enjoyed Chosen By A Horse, Chosen Forever was even a braver and stronger memoir.
   I didn't want to put it down.



5. I read Chosen by a Horse several times and gave copies to many people, so when Richards came out with a second book, I was excited but a bit nervous. Would this be a sophomore effort, written quickly and thrown on the market? Imagine my relief, then, to actually read it. This book keeps the quiet, thoughtful, bare-bones-honest tone that I loved so much in her first book, but grants the reader a different--if equally powerful--look at the possibilities of transformation in life.
   
   Here is a woman who lived a relatively solitary existence of grief and healing and then, in her late fifties, becomes a New-York-Times-bestselling author in love with an internationally-renowned artist. I'm interested in that transformation and how someone of Richards' temperament handles it. It takes a talented writer like Richards to explore such an evolution without arrogance or artifice. I admire her ability to see the possibilities of change in such different situations--the rescue of a needy animal and the catapult to sudden fame and love--and to write of both so beautifully.

5 comments about Hush: Moving From Silence to Healing After Childhood Sexual Abuse.

1. This is one of the best books I've read regarding finding the path to true healing following childhood sexual abuse. The author, Nicole B. Bromley, does an excellent job of relating to the reader as she expresses her caring heart, and she clearly points out the steps that the victim needs to take in order to move toward healing. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has ever been sexually abused.



2. A must read, not only for the abused individual but for all those involved with that individual. Nicole's words touch you on so many levels. Her ability to connect and empathize with the reader is amazing. Her "voice" is honest and straight forward. She gives the reader tools that are easy to understand and use that will assist them in their healing. I highly recommend this book.



3. For those who have experienced sexual abuse, this is a must read. The author has walked the same journey and shares from her heart of what it takes to move toward recovery and healing. Highly recommend as a resource for young adult leaders as well.



4. I recently discovered the answer to this question: "ever read a book and feel like the author stole a part of you that only you knew?" My answer is yes, and it comes in the form of the book "Hush." Being a survivor myself, it was hard for me to find anyone who I could relate to because I kept my secret hidden. Once I met Nicole and read her book, all of that changed for me. Her message is one of hope and optimism while still speaking poignant truth. Nicole shows compassion in every word that's written. She does an excellent job of detailing where abuse survivors have misconceptions about the world and how to get rid of these thoughts. She also uses her own personal stories to show where those thoughts manifested themselves in her life. By acknowledging these beliefs about other people and myself I finally could start making strides to heal. I hope that everyone in my situation will also be lucky enough to feel the power of healing in their life, a healing that I have learned can only come from a personal relationship with Jesus.
   
   Anyone who is a survivor of or even just knows someone that has dealt with childhood sexual abuse can gain much from Nicole's book. I not only recommend reading this book, but also I recommend if Nicole comes to your area you should definitely go and see her speak because it will change your life.



5. Books like this reveal that free will can be a terrible thing. But without free will people would be robots. The D word (devil) also is involved in the evil that occurs.

2 comments about Theodore Roosevelt: The Rough Riders/An Autobiography (Library of America).

1. Reading this magnificent volume was a joy on many levels. First and foremost, Theodore Roosevelt could write. His prose is always strong, active, and colorful. In "The Rough Riders" he handles action better than most novelists. He picks just the right details about the situation to make it come alive. Whether it is talking about the sound of the bullets buzzing by and the value of smokeless powder because of the difficulty of spotting those using it against you or the plague of sand crabs picking at the dead the reader feels as if he were there.
   
   I also found real pleasure in reading about a time in American history that I did not know that much about. Theodore Roosevelt was a young boy during the Civil War (and he had family on both sides of the conflict) and died in 1919 just after The Great War (WWI). "An Autobiography" was written in 1913 after his failed third party run for the presidency. It is a magnificent work because it is not a chronology of his life. Instead he tells the story of his life through some events that allow him to illuminate at length on various aspects of his philosophy of life. He talks about morals, civil service reform, his views on productivity and the working man versus the big corporations negotiating the end of the Russo-Japanese War and a lot more. At all times he shows how he has considered all sides of an issue and how he came to his decision.
   
   One of the problems in reading history is that a false light is cast backward onto events in the past. The cataclysm of the two world wars and all the history of the following them have made understanding the time of T. Roosevelt, as they understood it, all but impossible. However, both of these books are completely uninformed by The Great War, the creation of the Soviet Union or anything later because both books were written prior to those events. We get a great feel for how that world looked to those who inhabited it, the vividness of the Civil War and how the policies of Lincoln were still well known and were debated as living choices and policies.
   
   He also shares with us his views on why he had to be such an active politician and especially as President. There is no doubt that the world was changing mightily in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The rise of the huge corporations and the industrialization of huge numbers of peoples as workers in those industries created many issues that had to be worked out. The old government structures were overwhelmed and TR was one of the leaders who helped fashion policies that he and others considered fair and progressive. Obviously, from our vantage point, we would have made different choices. But the present is always in flux and always seem simpler in hindsight than it ever was.
   
   Another treat is the way he characterizes the positions of those with whom he disagreed. He always tries to be charitable and often sounds like a kindly parent dealing with a sincere but wayward and somewhat dull child. It is also fascinating to read this progressive's views about moral character. He specifically addresses the evils of sexual licentiousness, abortion, divorce, and much more that has become our norm. It should give us pause.
   
   If you have any doubt about his character or courage, compare this example to anyone today you care to name. Theodore Roosevelt was an Assistant Secretary to the Navy. He saw the Spanish-American War coming and resigns his post to help raise a regiment of volunteer cavalry. He is offered the role of commanding officer, but leaves that to his friend, Leonard Wood, and is happy as Lt. Colonel. He is well liked by his men, never shirks from the hardships and leads his men in battle from the front. He wanted to be in the thick of things not for vainglory, but because it was the best place to communicate with and ensure the best use and protection of his men. Whom do you know like that today?
   
   As a side note it is interesting to read the differences in his orthography from our present day usage. I don't know if the umlauts in double consonants in words such as reelection (reëlection), cooperation (coöperation), or reenter (reënter) were peculiar to him or some school, but I actually like it a lot and wish we would bring it back. It looks better and makes reading all that much simpler. Maybe typewriters did away with them because they lacked the keys to make them. However, our computers can make those characters easily.
   
   If you are interested in American History, the two books in this volume are treasures you owe it to yourself to read. Oh that anyone in public life could write like this with the kind of inner strength and courage Theodore Roosevelt had. We would be the better for it regardless of our policy differences.
   
   Also, this edition from the Library of America deserves special praise. There are many high quality black and white photographs that were used in the original editions that enrich the reading experience a great deal. As always the LOA has made a high quality book that is a delight to hold and read. Thank you, LOA!
   
   Strongest Recommendation!
   
   You might also want to consider:
   
   Theodore Roosevelt: Letters and Speeches (Library of America)
   
   Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI



2. In rankings of the American Presidents, the consensus pick as the first great president of the twentiety century was also the youngest man ever to serve in the office: Theodore Roosevelt. Reformer, rancher, conservationist, hunter, historian, police commissioner, and soldier, Theodore roosevelt led a rich and varied life that he vividly recorded in autobiographical writings, letters, and speeches.
   
   This book contains two books, both written by Roosevelt and edited by Roosevelt biographer Louis Auchincloss:
   
   The Rough Riders (1899) is the story of the First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry. This was the unit raised by Roosevelt, trained in Texas and then shipped to Cuba. This was a time when war could still be seen as a romantic adventure -- unlike what happened in France twenty years later. The biggest problems faced by Roosevelt were: the jungle, the heat, hunger, rain, mud and malaria. Kind of incidentally they also had a war to fight.
   
   An Autobiography (1913) recalls his lifelong fascination with natural history, his love of hunting and the outdoors, and his adventures as a cattleman in the Dakota Badlands, as well as his career in politics as a state legislator, civil service reformer, New York City police commissioner, assistant secretary of the navy, governor of New York, and president. What a life.

5 comments about For Laci: A Mother's Story of Love, Loss, and Justice.

1. being a mother, my heart bleeds for Sharon...I cried through the whole story - that Scott deserves nothing less than eternal hell - he did it - there is no doubt - I just cannot believe the difference from "lover" to "murderer" - I've seen it, not the murderer part but know of hot/cold people - it boggles the mind that even when they(Laci's family) tried to extend sympathy to the Peterson family they said "F you" in those words - I cannot get over that unless their own shame for what their son clearly did astounds them as well - I don't know - I just know that this book is amazing and I kiss my little ones extra hard because I cannot imagine having to go through something like this - God Bless Sharon, and Ron and Bret and Amy - hopefully you shall find peace - never again will I sweat the small stuff - this book had more of a profound effect on me than I thought it would - every mother/father should read it - it's unreal....



2. I purchased this book for my daughter. She read and finished the book and told me that it was well written and that it was very interesting reading. I didn't read it so I would be hesitant to recommend.



3. I loved this book! My heart goes out to Sharon Rocha and the rest of Laci's family.



4. I was pregnant with my 3rd son when Laci went missing and was so devastated to hear how she went missing. As time went on, and I looked at Scott on TV, I could tell he was guilty. He was blank, cold, and detached looking. I felt so sad for Laci and her son. She was so beautiful and looked to be like such a sweet loving woman. I was drawn to the story, and waited for her mother to write a book about her. I realized it might not happen, but was happy when she finally wrote this book. I read the book by Scott's half sister, and really enjoyed that book. I also read this book and cried like a baby at certain parts. I was confused how Laci could have been so trusting of Scott, as most women (or at least I thought) have women's intuition that would tell them something was wrong. I am happy that her mother wrote this book. I always wondered what went on with Laci's side of the family during this whole tragedy. Even though I cried many tears while reading this book, I thoroughly enjoyed it.



5. When the story of Laci broke news, I thought it wouldn't be as sensational as it turned out to be, I mean how many people go missing, or are murdered;my husband thought the same way. I began reading the books about Laci and the investigation, which covered forensic, and mental health issues, but no emotional feelings until I read Sharon's book. It's powerful in its own right. A must read!

4 comments about Black Glasses Like Clark Kent: A GI's Secret from Postwar Japan.

1. A meticulously researched memoir that in its revelation of truth reads as a work of fiction. The story leaves the reader with an emptiness that is borne of all suicides... even those where the victim is not one of our own. It takes courage to write a memoir like this one, how to tell what can be told and that which can not be expressed about an older family member, beloved and iconic, whose death forces those who wish to grieve silently to try to find a way back to the missing. It is a story of war, all wars, a story of survival and how with the stories we tell we keep the dead alive. The reader is relieved to see the quotidian details of the narrator's life as a way of momentary displacing grief, additionally these background noises remind us how we are all sitting next to someone who may be making a meatloaf while crying.



2. Black Glasses Like Clark Kent is one of those non fiction books that reads like a novel, almost a French novel, in that the narrator is self-aware and weaving the opinions and feelings and revelations of the characters in the story around the action of the book. The action is haunting -- what DID happen to the MPs and their prisoners in Postwar Japan and why does no one want to talk about it -- but, equally as haunting, is the family suffering the loss of the uncle MP who recently committed suicide. Was what he saw and lived through unbearable? He has sent his writer niece (Terese Svoboda) the tapes of what happened and she listens and then begins to investigate. As with all suicides of someone one knows and loves, she feels she did not do enough. She does enough to tell his story and find the morality that he himself was reckoning with. Of course, the book makes us, once again, reflect on the high moral and mortal cost of all who "serve". It proves that if the serviceman is willing to remember, the pain can get him. Hence, many of Svoboda's interviewees aren't talking. Svoboda's style (in all her books) is spare, sly, and unflinching in getting to the heart of her story. In this book, her father (the uncle's brother) rallies her on. Personally, I am partial to non fiction by novelists, since they cannot but give you all the facts without going to the heart. The book stays with me.



3. In Black Glasses Like Clark Kent, Terese Svoboda has rendered a beautifully nuanced memoir. Her uncle has a secret about his service as an MP in post-WWII occupied Japan that becomes more urgent when he sees the photographs of Abu Ghraib. But he won't reveal this secret easily to her. He sends her tapes of his memories through the mail, and Svoboda must piece together all the information at her hands -- her uncle's memories, his letters home to his girlfriend during his service, her familial relationships, statistics about the occupation of Japan -- many of which are conflicting, her understanding of heroism, and interviews with aging WWII veteran and Japanese native populations to try and uncover the secret. In the vein of Susan Griffin, Svoboda offers a mosaic text with pieces of the puzzle -- military documents, memories, photographs, and taped transcripts juxtaposed so that the reader joins her in the journey of trying to uncover what her uncle couldn't bring himself to say. This memoir is written for readers who like to be actively engaged by a story rather than sitting back and having it spoon fed to them. Her writing is beautiful. Her honesty is bracing. It should never be forgotten during the reading that this is a true story -- her uncle's last story. If we are to understand how events like Abu Ghraib happened, then we need to understand how it was not an isolated incident in our military history. Svoboda takes the difficult and accurate view that the brave men and women who serve in our military are often asked to do things in the line of duty that will haunt them the rest of their lives. I highly recommend this book.



4. I was sucked in by the slick cover and title (Seemed like a slam dunk, human error). While the author's family sound like amazing people and her Uncle's story amazing, anyway the book is a sort of outline of the book that it should have been. Just got that empty empty feeling .

No comments about Knowing Pains: Women on Love, Sex and Work in our 40s.

5 comments about Backcast: Fatherhood, Fly-fishing, and a River Journey Through the Heart of Alaska.

1. I liked this book. I heard Lou on NPR and decided his book sounded interesting enough to read. While I was drawn to it for its tales of rafting in Alaska, what I found most interesting were his tales of growing up. His father abandoned the family when he was 7 and his mom moved he and his brother around to many different houses and apartments. Many of his anecdotes made me relect on situations in my own past. Once, another kid's dad spanked him for some minor infraction. When he told his mom, a hot-tempered person, she decided to do nothing, since she rented her shop from the man. This made me furious. The book also made me sad as he described the breakup of his marriage and his strained relations with his grown son. The Alaska adventure is enjoyable too, though it seems in retrospect to take up only a fraction of the book.



2. A most enjoyable read. When first picking it up I thought I was going to be exposed to a boys own adventure tale of a floating & fishing trip in remote Alaska. The book certainly delivers this but even moreso it descibes the complexity of family relationships as seen through Lou's own experiences as a son and father.
   As an aussie it provided me with some insight to what it was like growing up in middle america in the 50's and 60's. I found Lou's accounts of his own childhood and his interpretation of relationships with his mother, & father figures, as rewarding as the descriptions of he & his son hooking monster sock-eye salmon.



3. I truly enjoyed this book, since it was real, involved father son relationships, and included fishing in Alaska. As a father of 4 sons, I related reasonably well to the struggles the father and son encountered during this trip. I have been to Alaska on a similar trip with both friends and a son and the descriptions of the float and wildlife were very accurate. I thought the hostility of the son toward his father, who was the leader of the trip, cook, fishing guide, fly tier and financier was a little overdone. Having never been through a divorce, maybe I don't relate to this part of the relationship. The father did more than his share to bridge the gap with what appeared to be little or no effort or reciprocity by the son. They had spent many hours together before the trip, so this seemed a little over done.



4. The author invites you to come along on a rafting / fly fishing trip down Alaska's Kanektok River. There's excitement in the air in the opening chapter as the author and his teenage son hop planes from Philly to Anchorage then to Dillingham and finally dropped by bush-plane into the Alaskan wilderness - ON THEIR OWN. To dial up the adventure meter here, the East coast duo decides to cover the 100 plus mile float by themselves. Add to that a shoe-string budget for equipment and a first time ever trip to the wilds of Alaska, and well, I sensed it would be interesting.
   
   And yes, these guys experience the thrills and dangers of the untamed Alaskan wilderness first-hand. But the greater adventure Lou Ureneck has in mind for us in Backcast isn't catching wild silver salmon on a fly-rod, but the adventure of growing up, becoming a man, and the demands of being a good father.
   
   Backcast alternates settings between Alaskan wilderness and Ureneck's various homes which range from South Jersey up north to Maine. At least a third to a half of the book tells Ureneck's life story. How he grew up. The importance he places on fishing as an escape from an unstable family life and as a common bond with his step-father. And lastly, living through the stress and anguish of a crumbling marriage.
   
   Ureneck vows to not repeat the mistakes of his natural father and his step-father. As the story closes, we are presented with a father who has made tough choices but refuses to throw in the towel on his son. The struggle here to maintain the love and respect of his college-bound son, is no less in scope to what it takes to survive the raw, Alaskan wilderness. At the end of Backcast, I'm left feeling that his father is certainly up to the task.
   
   Ureneck delivers a well-told, and extremely personal story of a man's journey to confront a childhood filled with temporary homes and temporary father figures. The struggle against the Alaskan elements sometimes pale in comparison.



5. I had heard Ureneck interviewed on NPR and the book sounded like an outdoor adventure during which the author/father and his son took a trip to Alaska and had the opportunity to work on their relationship. Having taken my own teenage son on a fishing trip in Alaska, I was looking forward to an outdoor adventure and insight on a father/son relationship. More than half of this book, however, was the author's discussion of his own largely fatherless childhood in Newark, NJ. (I guess titling the book "Backcast: a miserable, divorced father analyzes his dysfunctional childhood in Newark" wouldn't sell as many books.
   
   I found it interesting that even when there were "teachable moments" with his son in Alaska when he could have shed light on the depths of care and concern that he had for his son, Ureneck seemed to miss them entirely and only let out the anger instead of the fear behind it so that the two could actually understand each other better. This served only to further isolate them from each other. The lesson, however, was not lost on me.