5 comments about Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania.

1. As someone that does not suffer from BiPolar Disorder, I was hoping to gain some insight into the mind of someone that suffers from this illness. I never felt that from this book, I could not understand how his compulsive actions actually stemmed from his illness. He seemed to me to be suffering from a huge case of narcissism.



2. I really hate to rate any book with only one star. I give the author credit for writing a book that got published. Otherwise, I couldn't finish this one. I bought it largely due to the fact that the author was present at a DBSAlliance conference outside Chicago that I also attended, and I wanted to show support to another person with Bipolar...there the loyalty ends.
   
   This was, to me, almost unreadable. I felt it was too narcissistic, too poorly written, too...well, manic. I mean, I really appreciate reading books by people who focus on themselves when they have a lucid story to relate, but this book was painfully lacking in any lucidity. It is always uncomfortable to me to read or listen to someone who is in the throes of mania - after a certain point you just want to leave to room. Too many words with nothing to say but aren't I interesting, grand, wildly amusing, and don't I live the life. Well, no, you aren't and you don't. A real turn-off. I had absolutely no sympathy, empathy, or ability to relate to this person, and no time to waste finishing this ode to Andy. I mean, in the big scheme of things, who cares?



3. The best book on manic depressive episodes with light towards the end of the tunnel. If you or a close relative or friend is in the throes of this terrible predicament, almost a life sentence of sorts, you should read this book. Its not an undertone of pessimism or another will-bring-tears type of book, rather a delightfully readable surmise of manic episodes. The speed of narration speeds up in the beginning with the pace of racing thoughts and then slows down with the downs of depression. A not so thrilling roller coaster ride for the protagonist, but for you, maybe, or even entertaining if you like reading books on psychology. This is not a book about the disease per-se or even electricity or any neurological disorder associated with the term, but a memoir of struggle, perhaps an active and electrical experience of the manic episodes, and the title does justice. The electro-convulsive therapy blends in the title towards the end, although to no avail, another modern snake oil for the refractive nature of the beast. Read it and you will like it, and if you are worried, it is not heavy to lift with hand or mind.



4. I work with the mentally ill and have a particularly difficult client who has multiple mental illness diagnoses and a personality disorder. In my opinion, his bipolar diagnosis is the one that has wreaked the most havoc in his life and in the lives of his caregivers and loved ones. Prior to reading Electroboy, I wrote to the Andy, the author, who answered immediately, saying he was very busy, but would write more in a few days, when he was back home. He wrote again, as he said he would and though he was not able to provide a lot of help or insight, he offered what he could, in the way of advice. I much appreciated the author taking time to respond to me. I bought and read Andy's book later (mostly out of appreciation for his help, as the reviews had not been great). After all this, I'm sorry to say that my review of the book is "just OK". It is sort of a diary of events, without much insight into the mind of a bi-polar. In fairness to Andy, he may just not realize how very difficult it is for the average reader, who is not bipolar, to understand the workings of the mind, or the rationalizations of someone who is bipolar.



5. A previous reviewer (El Lagarto) hit the nail almost exactly except, to me, the narcissism here fails to dazzle. While the the author's prose style does uncannily mimic his condition (bipolar disorder, here for some reason referred to by its prior designation of manic depression, making each specific reference to it seem like a literary device), that's part of the problem, really. The helter skelter style allows for no real reflection, and it's the literary equivalent of a sore throat--irritating and hard to swallow in places, especially, for one example, when Behrman relates very specifically his dreams, which blend way too seamlessly with the context of his life at given points, making their content seem invented.
   
   While parts are very affecting--particulary the author's need to apologize for his condition to his parents, and his shame at having failed them--on the whole, this is more of a celebration of a meaningless lifestyle than it is an honest look at a disease. The author seems almost to want to be envied. Behrman is non-self-judgemental to the degree that he cannot even see his own complicity in his condition--the boozing and drugging (ad nauseum, page after page after page, in excruciating detail) can exacerbate greatly the effects of the disease yet it is not until nearly the book's last pages that he sees fit to mention the fact after one of his l-o-n-g line of therapists points it out to him.
   
   That long line of psychologists and psychiatrists points up another fact: Behrman was lucky indeed to be able to afford top-notch healthcare, and it is in part because he takes that for granted that, perhaps, he kept on (and on, and ON) with the self-treatment (liquor, drugs, sex) even while he was receiving what on the whole sounds like excellent treatment--spoiled and rich, he gains no real rapport with a general audience by taking such things for granted and continuing, in his breezy manner (the book IS well-written in spite of its wrongheaded tone and over-aggressive, snarky style, and interesting--I enjoyed the tour of the art world and descriptions of its denizens well enough), to recount his art sales, drug deals, liquor intake, and sexual conquests.
   
   His conviction for having sold at great profit a number of forged Kostabi paintings is dealt with as if he thinks he did nothing wrong except get caught. True, Kostabi's work was itself manufactured, but this does not mitigate for a minute Behrman's own crime--knowingly defrauding buyers and profiting greatly by doing so. We're expected to applaud his dishonesty and to feel fortunate to accompany him abroad while he does his deals; the reader is expected to nod knowingly when a rental car, paid for by a canceled credit card, is blithely left in airport parking because "someone will find it." That's nudge-wink tosh. I came to this book with an open mind and left it with one accordingly padlocked--the great post-punk band Magazine's line "My mind ain't so open / That anything can crawl right in" fits this book to a 'T.'
   
   Being bipolar myself and having struggled mightily with the condition--albeit on a lower-middle-class income sans health insurance--of course I feel for Behrman and his struggles, but his off-putting prose style and unreflective take on the disease in question, PARTICULARLY his failure to acknowledge any blame for the massive exacerbation of his condition via the overwhelming (and preening) accounts of his wretched excesses, renders this book as glib and thus almost as meaningless as the author's lifestyle--not to mention his lack of gratitude for being to the manor born and thus being able to afford top treatment. One does hope he continues this treatment because, based on his prose style and the book's false message, he's far from out of the dark shadow of his disease.

5 comments about Cooked: My Journey from the Streets to the Stove.

1. What a life this gentleman has led, and what a brilliant effort he's put forth here telling his tale. Well-written, totally gripping, and an inspiration. I hadn't heard his story prior to reading the book, which made it that much better.



2. This was a wonderful, quick read. I appreciated the honesty for the lure of the lifestyle that Chef Henderson describes in the book. I respect his recounts of his respect for his mentors, willingness to learn and work hard at his passion. I wish that there were more ways to exploit the passions of our young girls and boys BEFORE they end up in jail, though that's where he was saved. But how many of us are given the keys to success and don't work as hard as Chef Jeff? This book inspired me to work harder at my passions.



3. This is one of the best biographies I have ever read. In real life we learn as we grow. This book shows that growth in a way that seems nearly super human. A person who once saw only a tiny piece of the world and no positive ways to display his genius, found a big world and a path for genius. I wish this were mandatory reading in the 9th grade.(there is bad language, but what 9th grader hasn't heard it all before) This is a man to admire. when's the movie coming out???



4. In 'Cooked,' Jeff Henderson recounts his unlikely rise from a crack dealer in San Diego to a well-respected chef in a prestigious Las Vegas restaurant. His ambitions and inspiration came to him while serving a drug-related sentence in federal prison, and upon his release he put 100% of his efforts into educating himself, gaining experience, and convincing influential people in the restaurant business to take a chance on him.
   
   Jeff's gritty memoir was fascinating to me, someone to whom most of his life experiences are completely foreign, and I had a difficult time putting it down between sittings. One can't help but admire his strength and resolve in making his dreams come true despite a past he wasn't proud of.



5. This book has it all: the druggie street scene, cash and sex, prison from the inside, redemption of a drug dealer, and the highest echelons of haute cuisine. It's very well written and thoughtful, too. The reader really feels a part of every vividly described scene. This book also makes you think about how people end up dealing drugs and that with the right motivation and influences drug dealers -- and perhaps other accused criminals -- can turn their lives around. But not all incarcerated felons have the insight, guts, leadership, strength and intelligence to pull themselves up and out. More attention should be paid to helping along inmates with potential to do good for themselves and for the world.

5 comments about Love You, Mean it: A True Story of Love, Loss, and Friendship.

1. I feel for these women and their terrible loss and triumph. Somehow the book didn't capture either of these concepts. Brava to them for attempting this.



2. Only another woman who had lost her husband to the terrorists on 9/11 could understand what a "9/11 widow" is going through. Should I part with his clothing? What to do about our finances? How do I get through each day without the love and comfort of the man with whom I *thought* I would grow old?
   
   That is the beginning of Love You, Mean It. Four women meet for drinks and form a bond based on their mutual loss. This bond becomes an unconditional love and friendship that forms the basis for their healing (which will never be truly complete, but is helped a thousand-fold by the understanding of others in the same situation). After dealing with well-meaning but ham-fisted strangers ("well, at least you're young and can get married again") and a fire hazard worth of forms (how do you quantify the murder of your soulmate for the bureaucrats?), the companionship and understanding of the "WC" is refreshing and welcome.
   
   The narrative was a bit difficult to get used to at first, as I slowly learned which of The Boys went with which of the authors of this heartbreaking, yet life-affirming, volume. Each widow shares the story of how she met her husband, their life together, how she found out that he had been murdered, and what her life has been like since that awful day. The stories are extremely individual, yet intertwined, and they made me want to greet my husband with a bone-crushing hug every time I see him, and treasure every single moment with him, even the mundane or vexing ones. As one of the women says, "I would give anything to walk into the bathroom and see the seat up again."
   
   These are affluent, professional women, and finances are not an issue for them as was the case with so many of the blue-collar bereft of 9/11. I'm sure there are many widows who would love to simply walk away from their jobs in order to "spend more time with their children." The story here is the emotional damage caused to them out of the clear blue sky that September day, and what an unforgettable story it is.



3. Having worked at 7 World Trade and evacuated on 9/11, I was reluctant to read this book when it first came out. However, having now finished the book, I can honestly say that it is an important story that imparts a lesson that is very powerful. The book does not dwell on the tragedy that befell these women, though obviously their losses are part of the story. Rather, it describes the strength that each found in the bond that all four shared, and how that bond helped them to recover. What I felt was an important take away was how the tragedy made life ultimately more precious to the "WC" members. Each was driven to value every day and make the most of it. That may sound trite, but the way the book is written makes it real. Having finished "Love You, Mean It", I am motivated to live a better life.



4. Absolutely love this book! I judge high school speech and debate and a student i was judging did a cutting of one of the stories in this book! I had to have the book!
   Strong and Powerful story of friendship, loss, love, and survival!!!
   Wonderfully written



5. Thank you ladies for sharing your innermost thoughts and feelings and ride through what must have been a difficult journey. I admire you and your strength.

5 comments about Jumping Fire: A Smokejumper's Memoir of Fighting Wildfire.

1. A poorly written, testosterone drenched missive about fighting fires in Alaska. The writer fills the book with lots of macho interchanges between himself and other smokejumpers, acronyms, procedures and buzzwords. However, when all is said and done, the reader is left with insight into what it is like to be a smokejumper that equals the knowledge they would receive listening to a nun trying to explain an orgasam.
   The author spends considerible amounts of time feeling sorry for himself because he can't begin or maintain a relationship because of the life he leads. I thought the book was going to be about smokejumpers, yet large parts of it read like a 15 year old boy's diary.
   Completely unsatisfying. I'm truly glad I didn't pay full price for the book. Do yourself a favor and give it a miss.



2. Murray creates a beautifully written piece of wild land fire fighting history. With sometimes disturbing detail of tragedy and intimate personal accounts,he truly captures the ups and downs of smoke jumping. As well as the beauty of the Alaskan territories. Being a wild land fire fighter myself Jumping Fire was both entertaining and educational. A first hand documentary of fire fighting techniques and strategies, as they occurred. Absolutely a great learning tool for firefighters with an entertaining quality as well.



3. Bar none, Murry Taylor's book does the best job I've ever read of capturing the essence of the smokejumper's job... the chaos, adventure, awe-inspiring sights, sounds, smells, and emotions, physical and mental demands, comradeship, and routine brushes with near-disaster.
   
   I was a wildland fire fighter for the first half of my nearly 35-year Forest Service career and was even a smokejumper for one fire season way back in 1974. Through the years I've read many pieces about fire fighting and smokejumping only to be disappointed by their shallowness, falsehoods, and lack of essential realities. In my opinion, Taylor's writing does the finest job ever of capturing the essence of the endeavor. Want to get a taste of what smokejumping and wildland fire fighting are like, and the kind of people who zealously do it for a whole working career? Read this book and find out... get a genuine feel for the people who parachute from planes to contain and control wildland fire!
   
   Furthermore, while wildland fire fighting, and smokejumping in particular, can be harrowing and exciting anywhere they occur, nearly all of Taylor's stories are from the edgy, rugged frontiers of Alaska where nearly every day brings an encounter with at least one "near death" experience, avoided only by varying proportions of astute situational awareness, professionalism, grit, and good luck. Paying close attention, Taylor's writing can evoke adrenaline releases from the reader, providing vivid glimpses into the workday life of a smokejumper.
   
   Taylor's stories are readably told in the colloquial vernacular of a very well seasoned and aged smokejumper. He thoroughly conveys the realities of the job and puts the reader inside the head of one whose entire working life has been spent doing one of the most adventurous, if not dangerous, civilian jobs today.



4. I bought the book mostly to get some technical details about smokejumper's work and obviously did not expect author to be high-skilled writer. I was surprised to find it a very engaging read and better quality than many novels written by a professional writers.



5. This is most definitely a must have for anyone in the fire service. Although I have not been a jumper, I do have a long career in wildland firefighting. This book is RIGHT ON THE MONEY, and brings back many fond memories on the line.

5 comments about The Opposite of Fate: Memories of a Writing Life.

1. I didn't read The Joy Luck Club; I wasn't interested, it sounded like a chick book, and I don't play Mah Jong. This book is more like taking a peek inside Amy Tan. It was great.
   
   I hated literature in high school and college, because all the professors always talked about all the "hidden meaning" and symbolism in persons, objects and events happening in the book. I thought this was a bunch of BS. So thank you Amy for proving me right!
   
   It is a well written compilation of stories, observations and even commencement addresses. My favorite was her thoughts on waiting to be introduced for a talk and seeing the Cliff Notes of her book on display. Nice touch. I would probably appreciate Joy Luck Club after reading this book.



2. The book is wonderful, so interesting. It is rather like Eat,Pray,Love with a chinese twist.
   
   The AUDIO version of the book is a revelation: Amy Tan has a lively and lovely voice, she is a gifted mimic, and she does a fabulous job of reading this great book.
   
   There are some very sad parts, you will definitely be moved to think and consider wider concepts, but it is completely delightful and thick with insight.



3. I've always enjoyed her novels, and The Opposite of Fate gave me an even deeper understanding of the origins of her work. I really enjoyed the opportunity to hear, in her own words, the true history of her family, her thoughts on her childhood, young adulthood, and even current day. She's a fun, funky, formidable, & fascinating woman & someone you'd love to know & introduce to all your friends. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to get to know her better!



4. This book is a personal favorite, as it gives so much insight into Tan's writing and her views, but also because the essays are simply so enjoyable to read. The book is a collection of essays that spans her literary career and is filled with her own special brand of humor. Within the pages we find writing on her authorial intentions, her perspective on critics and scholars who interpret her writing and her intentions, and biographical essays. I can imagine using one or two of these essays as material for teaching a writing class. These essays are overall lovely, clever, and engaging. This book is not just for "fans only." If you weren't a fan before, you may become one after reading this collection.



5. I had no idea. I had no idea what a great writer she is, what an amazing person she is, how difficult her life has been. Now that I've read this book, I know. And I am inspired.
   
   I highly recommend this book to any daughter, any Asian, any writer, and any person with an open mind/heart who wants to know a little bit more about an intriguing, challenging life.

5 comments about Confessions of an Heiress: A Tongue-in-Chic Peek Behind the Pose.

1. Entertaining, and full of pictures. This book is not meant as a serious read, but an enjoyable read, and in that sense it succeeds. Just as her recent political ads have. When a presumptive Presidential candidate featured Paris Hilton in one of their ads, she fired back. She should have mentioned the "Little" fact that Senator Hillary Clinton is the candidate that won more votes than any other Presidential Primary candidate in the History of America. Now thats Hot!



2. I hate to say this but I really like this book. It's like a guilty pleasure. More than a year ago, I found it at a book store in my favorite shopping mall and decided to take a peek in it. After a few pages, I found myself laughing and took this book home. When I finished it the first time, I thought "This is a really funny book. What kind of a person is this. Quite self-absorb. Still, it's really funny." Then, it was left on shelf. Anyway, yesterday I was bored, too lazy to find a new book, I picked it up hoping to get relax, instead I got to think hard about it. Really look behind the book, I think she's pretty smart. She doesn't seem to work that hard, just go out partying and maybe famous for being in a sex tape, but the girl's now really making money for going to a party, releasing purfumes, endorsing products, designing stuff, etc. Even having a record deal! What kind of a person will make money just to go to party and have some fun, which you're going to do that by yourself anyway? And hey! for many of you who don't like her, I think some of you already bought (aka giving her your money) her stuff, right? Something in the book are totally ridiculous like "choosing a family you are born into,... blah blah blah..." but some are pretty sharp. Of course, this is not "The Alchemist", but I don't think she'll feel embarass to say when she was young, she'd written something like this. Just give it a good laugh and a try. After all, it's just a guilty pleasure!



3. This book is a how-to on how to be an heiress. While some may argue that Paris Hilton only put her name on this work and didn't author it, I can assure you that she has penned it herself, like totally. It is overwhelmingly obvious that an experienced, educated writer did not type this up. She describes how one should behave and present herself when aspiring to become an heiress, even going so far as proclaiming that she believes everyone chooses their life on earth before they are born. She was smart enough to pick a life full of wealth, fame and privileges, why anything less? While I believe everyone does choose their life before birth... it is certainly not based upon anything materialistic or egocentric. Lessons to learn are the focal point, well, the only point. After all, what of those in poverty or places of violence, etc.?
   Furthermore, I DO NOT understand how someone with hundreds of millions of dollars has absolutely NO intention of earning a college degree. This book reads like a how-to straight out of junior high. There are no misspellings or problems with grammar, capitalization or punctuation, of course, but search inside this book and see that the content is very immature for her age. Did she even graduate from high school? All of her career aspirations revolve around fame and admiration: acting, modeling, singing, writing a book on how to be like her, etc. Look at me, me, me, me!! That's HOT! Well, it's not so hot; what about a priceless college education and a degree no one can ever take away from you? If one looks at real royalty all over the globe, attaining an education is an absolute MUST. If I had as much money as she did I would attend classes until I died or ran out of things to study, whichever came first. College? AS IF!



4. It's not the cheapest variety of kitty litter or the most absorbent, but kitty litter is the best way to use this book. After reading a couple pages in a local bookstore I came to the conclusion that Paris Hilton needs to stop trying to get into the spot light. Talented people need it for good entertainment.



5. It's a sad, sad world. It hurts my heart as well as my brain to know that there are girls out there, adults and teenagers, who look up to a person like this. Paris Hilton is the opitome of what is wrong with America. She is materialism personified. This waste of oxygen has no redeeming qualities about her at all and she threatens the intelligence of millions of people every time she opens her mouth.
   
   The fact that a book as been written about Paris Hilton personally offends me. However, it's the fact that people have BOUGHT this book that mortifies me. If you supported this book, you should truly be ashamed of yourself.
   
   0/10

5 comments about Nine and a Half Weeks: A Memoir of a Love Affair.

1. I really liked this book, it had some mystery and suspence. Well written.
   We are reading this book for our Monthly Book Club.



2. I bought this at a supermarket years ago--surprising for the content inside. I remembered it as very, very sexy but when I read it again, there was nothing graphic about the nonetheless powerful sexuality; even more of an achievement.
   
   The "love affair" eventually bounces up against the submissive author's limits. What happens after that makes me think the book is true, as she claims. I certainly hope 2 people experienced these adventures and I only hope to do as well in my life!



3. This book satisfied the curiosity the film generated in me. It is an unusually stark description of the affair, like a diary. No apologies, no attempts on her part to change him, but it made it clear that even though her heart hurt from his treatment, her body exploded with pleasure, never to feel that way again.
   It was one of the very few books I've read, where I could not come up with a different way for the story to go. Given their personalities, it could have only happened as Elizabeth McNeill wrote that it happend.



4. "Nine and a Half Weeks" chronicles the speedy decline of one woman into a relationship of S&M that goes beyond the bedroom and dominates her every action and emotion.
   
   Told in the first person by the woman, you never discover the names of the two characters but you feel the passion, the love, and the pain both physical and especially emotional. It's disturbing to read complete submission between two people and you think to yourself you'd never turn over so much control to another person but you never really know until you live it.
   
   The simplicity of this book is what really makes it complicated and even more compelling to read. So many books are packed with pages and pages of fluff but this book is exquisite by simply telling the story with out volumous pages of prose. Beautifully written.
   
   girldiver:)



5. This is a wonderful glimpse into the very private world of Dominance and submission. What is most shocking about this book is that McNeill wrote her story - and got it published - in the seventies, while this subject-matter is still controversial and hush-hush today.
   
   Her prose is clean, unadorned, yet the book is titillating and thought-provoking. The writer tells her shocking tale in a matter-of-fact way, neither judging nor condoning anyone's behavior, nor making apologies for what is simply a seldom revealed side of human nature.
   
   Those who have more than a passing interest in Erotic Power Exchange will enjoy McNeill's heartfelt account of what must have been - judging by the book's final words - the most important, intense relationship of her life - for better or for worse.
   
   I highly recommend this book.

No comments about The Old Man and the Harley: A Last Ride Through Our Fathers' America.

5 comments about Mom, Have You Seen My Leather Pants?: The Tale of a Teen Rock Wannabe Who Almost Was.

1. You'll be quoting it to all your friends this summer - cool to find such a silly topic covered by such a great writer! Write one about your days in Hollywood, Mr. Williams!



2. "Mom, Have You Seen My Leather Pants?" is a hysterical read. I never realized living the life in an early 90's high-school glam band could be so parallel to living the life in an early 90's high-school thrash metal band. We lived in entirely different worlds, but apparently dealt with the very same issues. A loyal fan base? Check. A ridiculous expectation we would land a record deal? Check. Obliviousness to our own musical mediocrity? Check. An obsession with living a rock star life while the harsh realities of daily life at high-school awaited us the next morning? Check. Band in-fighting and spiraling drug use? Check. A head-in-the-sand attitude toward the impending Seattle sound that would help seal our ultimate destruction? Check.
   
   Sure, according to the book, Craig A Williams' band had groupie chicks and a penchant for signing breasts while we had a legion of hardcore dude fans that were emboldened by their Slayer and Megadeth shirts and their proclivity to mosh. But were we really all that different? His band packed a crowd during a headlining show at The Whiskey. I have pictures to prove we achieved the same. The book tells of their Loni Anderson look-alike manager. Ours could have doubled as an impersonator for Peter Grant of Led Zeppelin fame, especially with that pistol he carried in his brief case. Then there was the issue when 60% of the band slept with his then wife, but that's another story.
   
   I know I still feel like a rock star and I tell my stories with great authority that we, on some small level, touched greatness very few will ever truly understand. This book, with its wry humor and horrifying stories of teenage debauchery, will entertain and delight anybody that was even remotely connected to the Southern California music scene in the late eighties and early nineties. I blazed through "Mom, Have You Seen My Leather Pants?" in just a couple of hours and it was worth every penny for admission . . . I only wish I had a neon green ticket stub with "Onyxx" stamped on it as a souvenir to prove I was at the show.



3. A great book that captures the true spirit of rock n' roll. Consider me a loyal foot soldier in the Onyxxx army! Rock on!



4. "Mom Have You Seen My Leather Pants" is true life rock & roll tale in the spirit of Frank Portman's fictional "King Dork". It's well written, funny, and insightful. More than just a good read though, Mr. Williams may have created a very important historical artifact in the annals of rock and roll history. VH1's "Behind The Music" and the movie "Decline Of Western Civilization 2: The Metal Years" have attempted to place a kind of artificial importance on "hair metal" that never really existed. "Pants" cuts through all of that and portrays the "pay to play", "hair extensions" era of the Hollywood Blvd. club scene as it truly deserves to be portrayed: as the purely ridiculous. What's more, Williams knows it. The author at once paints a picture of the hair metal era that is far from innocent (sex & drugs abound) but is still sincerely naive about the workings of the real world. By doing that, he elevates his text, far surpassing the mere tale he is trying to tell. "Hair Metal" and world Williams and his underage pals inhabit become an analogy for the end of the greedy, junk bond, trickle-down 80's. Everyone is feeling too good, and having too good of a time, to see the disasters (wars, recession) and upheaval (L.A. riots, mainstream punk via NirvanaJam) just around the corner. This is an inspiring work from a great new author, covering an era that has been left criminally uncovered in the past.



5. Craig Williams' reflection on his high school days in a glam metal rock band is at turns funny, touching and nostalgic. Anyone who remembers the days when Poison, Warrant, Motley Crue and GunsNRoses were at the top of the charts and dominating MTV will enjoy this story of an Orange County teenager (almost) destined for rock-n-roll fame. I also think the teenagers of today will relate to the desires for freedom, sex and an identity which are universals of the adolescent years, as well be fascinated by the days when hair metal dinosaurs roamed the earth.
   
   (Full disclosure: Craig is a friend of mine)

1 comments about Autobiography of Charles G. Finney, The: The Life Story of America's Greatest Evangelist--In His Own Words.

1. First of all I should tell you to get the non-condensed, non-edited version. I have read both, and the original is the best. This book is amazing. It is so awesome to read about someone who knows what it means to be sold out for Christ. Finney's encounters with the presence of God are incredible! You will read about men and women under true conviction of sin that leads to repentance. Some say Finney had weird doctrine, and he did, but don't let that stop you from reading this and being inspired to live radically for Jesus Christ. Christians have done great things after reading this book. This book inspired Catherine Booth and the person who started the YMCA. Read how God used him to convert 500,000 men to Christ and that 80% of those people that commited their life to Christ really did. That is amazing considering about only 5-7% of conversions today are actually true conversions.