5 comments about Decca: The Letters of Jessica Mitford.

1. Mitford-despisers complain that we fans too easily forgive them their sins on account of their rare wit and charm. Well, in the case of Decca at least, this charge is unfair. She was funny (and cruel): her account of a 1962 house party at Chatsworth is quite delicious; ditto her accounts of what passes for high society on Mull. But she was also brave, in journalism and in life. A deathbed letter to Bob - 'It's so odd to be dying, so I must just jot a few thoughts' - is a model of clarity (though perhaps you would expect this in one who had so much time and energy railing against an industry that so pointlessly prettified corpses); so, too, is a letter to Benjamin in which she urges him to seek help for his illness. The fact remains that as an example of what a woman can do once she has rid herself of, or at least decided to ignore, the expectations of others - family, men, society - Jessica Mitford will always take some beating. That she is also a hoot is merely the icing on the cake.



2. Sussman does a great job of, first, setting the scene and then laying out in a very readable way this enormous collection of Jessica Mitford's letters. She's always been a favorite of mine. This collection is adding greatly to my appreciation.



3. the book itself is well put together and edited. the book's subject is self centered and likes mostly to hear herself talk. i found it to be boring.



4. I got this as a gift for my brother and I was lucky enough to receive it as a Christmas present a few months later. Jessica Mitford Treuhaft was one of the famous Mitford sisters. Her sister Nancy wrote novels of manners such as "Love In A Cold Climate", her sister Unity was a Hitler groupie who shot herself in Munich shortly after WWII was declared and spent the remainder of her life with severe brain damage, her sister Diana divorced Brian Guinness to marry the head of the Union of British Fascists, and her sister Deborah is the current dowager Duchess of Devonshire. Jessica, or Decca as she was called since childhood, ran away from home to elope with a Communist named Esmond Romilly and to fight against fascism in Spain; all of this caused rather a major rift with her family. The couple eventually moved to America; Esmond was killed in action after joing the Royal Canadian Air Force, and Decca ended up in Oakland, CA married to a radical lawyer named Bob Treuhaft. But like many who grew up in her time and class, she wrote wonderful letters - quirky, funny, sometimes about awful serious matters but always with a sense of the absurd. She was committed to the work of the Communist Party in the early civil rights movemement in California and traveled to many parts of the country to demonstrate; she and her husband were targets of Congressional investigations and denied passports for years, and she became an effective community activist. After falling away from the CPUSA, she continued her activism, and her letters describe some of the most important struggles of progressive America in the '40s, '50s and '60s. She really came into public awareness in a bigger way when she wrote a groundbreaking expose of the predatory practices of the funeral industry, "The American Way of Death." She followed that up with exposes of the prison industry and other abuses and was active until shortly before her death in the late 90s.
   The letters are gems - when I finished the book, I thought, "I'd really have loved to have known this woman and to have received some of these wonderful letters." Some made me laugh out loud, others made me recognize anew the courage of those who had the vision and the foresight to combat racism in America at a time when it was simply taken for granted. They show a concern for family that is poignant as well as a sense of honor that is almost rigid - when Winston Churchill, who was her cousin, freed her sister Diana and Diana's husband Oswald Mosley from prison after WWII, she wrote to him in protest, saying that their work on behalf of fascism was a danger to freedom everywhere and that they belonged in prison, and that the fact that Diana was her sister did not alter her opinion about that.
   The only shadow I found over this wonderful collection of letters was the lack of any sense of real recognition of the evil committed in the name of Communism by Stalin, Mao and others. She defended against this criticism by pointing out that no one but the CPUSA was taking serious action on civil rights when she came to this country in the '40s, but she never really acknowledges the darker side of the party's international activity. One gets the impression that she sees it as the lesser of two evils; and as much as one can recognize that at that time and place Fascism was certainly the more immediate and powerful threat, one is still troubled by Decca's lack in this area of the uncompromising commitment to truth that characterizes so many of her activities.
   I cannot imagine anyone who is familiar with this period of history in England and America not being fully engaged by this wonderful book. I can't recommend it highly enough.



5. This book was giant, in size and in scope. I must admit I did not finish it. Jessica "Decca" Mitford was a bitchy, brilliant, fascinating, annoying, funny, sarcastic and altogether mysterious woman. This book of her letters gives us a very tiny keyhole of insight into that enormous personality. I don't mean that it fails to give us enough; I just mean no book is really capable of parsing the enigma of Decca. It would be a good addition to anyone's book collection, especially Anglophiles, Francophiles, and Bibliophiles!

5 comments about Red House: Being a Mostly Accurate Account of New England's Oldest Continuously Lived-in House.

1. This book is beautifully written and in many places, it reads like poetry. Having come from Scituate, Massachusetts myself I know how accurate her descriptions of old houses are (I do not know the author). She has a true feel for the early period of this country and what life was like at that time. Mr. Murena (another reviewer) you are wrong. Ice did actually form in water bowls even in rooms with fireplaces if they were placed at the opposite end of the room. This is documented as fact by people living in early American homes in New England even into the 19th century. It's true that forks were in use in England by 1608 by the very privileged Mr. Murena, but they were not in use in early America until much, much later. Especially not by the early settlers. So she got that right too. Check your facts, she did.
   
   So back to the book. It's a wonderful read. I couldn't put it down and finished it in one night. Her descriptions of the early overgrown road behind the house is just like one that ran behind our house in Scituate. The book evokes accurate images of the past in wonderful detail. She alternates the story of the Hatch family, who originally built and lived in the house, with the story of her own family. The house is fascinating enough on its own, but the families are what gives it life. It even has a ghost or two. What more could any reader want. I strongly recommend this book. I intend to read it again.
   
   Paula Higgins



2. A gem. I am captivated, not only the history, but Messer's quirky, lyrical style -- part historian, part Bob Dylan. If you love old houses, buy this book.



3. Ugh. This one took me about 2 months to read, so I was reading a few books simultaneously. At first, I liked Messer's style of writing, but as the book dragged on, it would appear that her writing would be better suited to poetry than prose; her sentences are often weighed down with multiple similes, metaphors, and symbols. Also, the feeling of superiority and self-importance that seems to accompany owning a really old house got pretty tiresome. For dozens of pages, Messer explains the meticulous process of dating the house. Experts are called in just to determine whether the house was built in 1646, as vehemently claimed, or later. I would suggest this book only to a person deeply interested in history/houses/New England.



4. This is a wonderful book down memory lane as I once lived in Marshfield. But it could be anywhere in New Enland. It's funny and poignant, historical fact, and so very interesting to read.



5. Red House appeared to be a perfect book for me seeing it that is supposedly is a mix of New England history, an account of a remarkably old home (one of my passions) and family history. That said in reading this book I realized quickly that Sarah Messer was writing a fictional account of her family and fictionalizing the history of the house and the family that livied in for over 300 years. When read knowing that is is a work of myth making it is a nice read as the others spins a yarn about the people that kept the red house going through thin and thinner with the familiy owned mill and shipbuilding industries... She fantasises how the American Revolution affected the town and how the family moved into the modern era and the house endured... All of this while interjecting her own seemingly fictionalized account of her parents ownership and growth into the the home.
   
   
   While the premise of the book is ineresting Messer makes grave historically inaccurate statements including the statement that forks were not invented by the late 17 century and that meat would be seasoned with saffron to a point in which people would have permanently orange stained hands. Also the author presumes that the early american homes were so drafty that water would freeze just a few feet away from the fire. this is simply not factual and makes the book seem more like a vain myth than anything.
   
   On finishing the book I thought to myself why was this book worth reading. It is a book that doesnt explain anything important historically and is deeply personal and relates only to the author to a large degree. Then it hit me this book is not vanity simply because every story we tell and hand down through our families is something of a myth... Its something like those stories your grandfather tells: "When I was your age we walk to school - up hills both ways... when the sno etc etc" this book just puts that in writing and does so nicely. The house is the symbolic American house of the American family and the American need to develop a mythology about itself.

4 comments about A Texas Cowboy: or, Fifteen Years on the Hurricane Deck of a Spanish Pony (Penguin Classics).

1. Although his interesting childhood kept you glued to the first quarter of the book, the rest is just a basic cowboy's life written with little or no techniques to keep you compelled to read every word. It is interesting to read, however, since he was a true to life cowboy. If I had to do over, I'd saved my money.



2. This book has the answers. Exciting stories, concise writing (too concise sometimes). Siringo is honest about his faults. He obviously tries to capitlize on his tangential involvement with Billy the Kid (whom he knew and admired). Ever wished you could have a beer with a real Texas cowboy who was there when the cattle drives started? Well, here's your chance.



3. A long, stupid and boring story that you MUST read and memorize at college for quiz tests. I still wonder how studying this most unimportant account of a most unimportant guy is going to help me become a better Mechanical Engineer.



4. At the age of 28, when he wrote his memoir, Charles Siringo had already been a cowboy for 15 years. Born in 1855 on the Gulf Coast of Texas, Siringo worked in one job after another across the Midwest and Southwest, ranging from St. Louis to New Mexico. Still a teenager, he settled on cowboying at the time of the great cattle drives and was apparently very good at it, though no luckier than most at making a living from it. He worked for many years for the LX ranch in the Texas Panhandle, for a while rounding up cattle that had drifted away or were stolen. This occupation put him in New Mexico at the time of Billy the Kid, who was four years his junior. He never met Billy but knew men who did, and his imagination seems to have been fired by the stories they told about the pursuit and eventual shooting of this young outlaw. Though by his own account Siringo never shot a man himself, he was a dead aim with a six-shooter.

   His memoir was written, as he admits in his preface, to make money "and lots of it." It's not great literature, beginning with his earliest childhood memories and recounting the events of his life with no particular sense of compelling storytelling. It's just one darn thing after another. But a reader with some patience will be rewarded in the latter part of the book as his adventures begin adding up to something like a real narrative - working for the LX as a range detective - and he begins emerging as more of a coherent protagonist in his own story.

   And it's not all about the work of cowboying, herding and rounding up cattle, and taking them to market. There are some close scrapes and some fearless derring-do. And there are also matters of the heart, as the young cowboy falls in love with a string of sweethearts he meets along the way, finally marrying one he meets in Kansas and ending his career as a cowboy. I'm happy to recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the Wild West, cowboys, ranching in the days of the open ranges, and social history of the late 19th century. [The 1950 edition is worth having for the wonderful introduction by Texas folklorist J. Frank Dobie.]

5 comments about Song of Survival: Women Interned.

1. This book was educational as well as an enjoyable book to read. I used this book when studying stories of survival. My students really enjoyed listening and reading it.



2. This is a testimony to the strength of women and the power of music to soothe the soul. Music is a common ground for all people and this true story illustrates how beautiful sounds calm and restore our spirits and, in this story, that of the oppressors. There must be thousands of heroic folks who lived through this terrible war with strength and dignity. I am always glad to find another inspiring story.



3. I have not yet read the book, certainly plan on reading it. I have however attended aplay this past Friday evening. A local Community Theatre presented it and I was in great awe of their performance. They did great justice to the story line and I am so pleased to have been present. At the end I so wanted to stand up with/for them as they closed with The Captive's Hymn. The message of strength, courage, and spirit were felt by all in attendance. Such strength these women had, makes me proud of my female sisters!



4. It wasn't long ago that America watched "Paradise Road" in movie theaters across the country. Audiences were captivated with the story of a young girl and her family's struggle to survive imprisonment by the Japanese. Like many moviegoers today, the audience may not have read the inspirational work behind the motion picture. Helen Colijn's Song of Survival is a real story. The experiences that Coljin documents in her work are real. The author gives her readers a glimpse of her life, and that of the other women imprisoned in Southeast Asia by the Japanese during World War II. Readers follow Colijn through the experiences of a shipwreck, being captured, and being imprisoned for three-and-a-half years.

   Based on her original manuscript written just after her imprisonment, Colijn's story is one of hope and perseverance. Many other books written by soldiers and survivors of World War II are laden with hardship and sadness especially those books detailing the accounts of brutality of the Japanese during their quest to expand their empire westward through Asia such as The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang. Colijn's story is unique in that it details true survival of not just the body of the imprisoned, but the soul as well. The women of the camp in which Colijn was imprisoned used music to life their spirits and "free their souls" from detainment.

   Reading a book such as Song of Survival can open up a new door to the way in which we learn about prisoners of war. Colijn describes disease and starvation leading to the deaths of more than one-third of the population of the camp (Colijn 159-169). "Before our internment was over, twenty-six Dutch children lost their mothers," she says (Colijn 162). But all the while, the women kept their spirits from breaking entirely through singing classical songs and even performing vocal concerts among themselves (Colijn129-146). Colijn gives her readers an idea of the sisterhood within her camp among the prisoners. This feeling of family is often discussed within the realm of the formation of a brotherhood-such as is seen in Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose--of soldiers, but is rarely seen in accounts of imprisonment. The work is so poignant because Colijn is able to draw from true personal experiences.

   The author teaches her readers that even during imprisonment, with just a little faith and a little music, souls will have the ability to wander free. By using an effective autobiographical format, Colijn tells her story from a very personal perspective. She recalls the events so vividly that it is impossible for readers not to feel the same emotions that the prisoners felt. Colijn's work is so well crafted that even her feelings of optimism shine through the seemingly unpromising situation. As trite as it may seem, Colijn notes that several women even made "liberation dresses" to wear for the day that their camp was liberated by the Allied forces (Colijn 129).

   A book such as Colijn's is an important element in any study of World War II as it not only brings to light the idea of hope in spite of hardship, but it also shows what seems to be a neglected area of war accounts-the struggle of women as prisoners of war. A personal account of the struggles of being imprisoned by the Japanese that is so seasoned with hope is rarely seen. Colijn serves the women of her camp well with Song of Survival. With the work of one author, hundreds of women's stories will live on to be read by future generations who will bear witness to the events taking place-the immense struggle-during World War II. Song of Survival will live on long after the last survivor passes away. It will carry a message of faith and perseverance for the women in Colijn's camp who kept hope alive through their immense personal strength.




5. When one reads of the hardships that Colijn and her fellow inmates lived through, one expects that they would have focused on survival, and thrown all other concerns to the wind. There were some who did, but not others. Many strove to keep a modicum of loveliness in their lives. Sometimes, all they could do was escape to memories of their past, either through daydreaming or conversation. There were instances, however, of actual impact on their current situation, including a refusal of some inmates to lick their plates(though food was scarce), struggles to live in peace and harmony with fellow inmates, and, most of all, the musical peformances.

   You might imagine that if you were living in a filthy prison camp where people were dropping like flies, you would owe it to yourself to fight for your survival tooth and nail, even against the other inmates, and the furthest thing from your mind would be music. You would need to look out for number one, period. Colijn believes that many more of them might have perished, or, at least, might not have come out as well, had there not been a commitment to community and beauty in that abject misery. In a sense, this book tells about war heroines.

3 comments about The Merchant of Prato: Francesco Di Marco Datini, 1335-1410.

1. This is probably the most famous book of Iris Origo, who at the same time offers to the world the most extensive study of Francesco di Marco Datini, a Tuscan merchant of the pre-renaissance. The book is directly based on thousands of letters and contracts that were found in the 1870's and that allow this unique insight into the life and the work of a merchant, but also a private person of his time (1335-1410).
   
   The book is divided into two parts. The first part discusses the merchant; the second part discusses the head of the private household. Since the source used is extremely large (500 account books, 300 associate contracts, insurances, transport documents, etc., but above all more than 140000 letters, of which 11000 are private correspondence). With such a source, and the research efforts that went into this book, we thus get a very detail insight, which is a delight to read. Not only, does the author discuss the career of a true self-made man, but also does she explain, in the first part, how international trade, at the eve of the commercial revolution that preceded Datini's life-time, was organised. In the second part we learn about his marriage, his life in the 14th Century, and of course his excesses.
   
   The style is easy and straight-forward. The author goes into great detail, almost a flauberian style, to explain everything that the reader might want to. Five stars are awarded for this truly excellent piece of work!



2. Superbly researched and written, this is a book of history taken from the detailed dairies of a successful merchant in 14th century Prato, Italy. Any one interested in daily life in this period will appreciate this book.



3. This is probably the most famous book of Iris Origo, who at the same time offers to the world the most extensive study of Francesco di Marco Datini, a Tuscan merchant of the pre-renaissance. The book is directly based on thousands of letters and contracts that were found in the 1870's and that allow this unique insight into the life and the work of a merchant, but also a private person of his time (1335-1410).
   
   The book is divided into two parts. The first part discusses the merchant; the second part discusses the head of the private household. Since the source used is extremely large (500 account books, 300 associate contracts, insurances, transport documents, etc., but above all more than 140000 letters, of which 11000 are private correspondence). With such a source, and the research efforts that went into this book, we thus get a very detail insight, which is a delight to read. Not only, does the author discuss the career of a true self-made man, but also does she explain, in the first part, how international trade, at the eve of the commercial revolution that preceded Datini's life-time, was organised. In the second part we learn about his marriage, his life in the 14th Century, and of course his excesses.
   
   The style is easy and straight-forward. The author goes into great detail, almost a flauberian style, to explain everything that the reader might want to. Five stars are awarded for this truly excellent piece of work!

5 comments about The Grizzly Maze: Timothy Treadwell's Fatal Obsession with Alaskan Bears.

1. I just finished reading this book and was riveted throughout. Unlike several other reviewers who found the last third of the book superfluous, I found it highly informative and thought it fit in beautifully with the rest of the story. I appreciated Nick Jans' account of his personal journey with bears and the insights he gained into both his own soul and the behavior of grizzlies/brown bears. I think it is exactly what qualifies him to surmise what motivated Timothy Treadwell to choose the lifestyle he chose. Jans remained objective yet weighed the pros and cons of Timothy's behavior with sensitivity and good sense. He leaves it up to the reader to form his or her own opinions. I saw the documentary "Grizzly Man" when it was in theaters - three times. I was fascinated by Tim's story and thought Werner Herzog did a fine job of presenting it. This book and the movie complement each other very well.
   Jans writes beautifully; I was pleasantly surprised to find a touch of the poet in his prose.



2. I learned alot about bears.I appreciate his love for the bears,but do not think he went about it correctly.



3. Because of the success of Werner Herzog's movie, "Grizzly Man," the world thinks that it knows Timothy Treadwell. While Herzog treats Treadwell as an emotionally and socially defective person, Jans is much more sympathetic. He provides a respectful, richer, and more rounded portrait of Treadwell than does "Grizzly Man."
   
   As a result, Jans is probably insufficiently critical of Treadwell. Treadwell was "protecting" a healthy grizzly population in a national park, indulged by the National Park Service despite flaunting its rules, and engaging in unsafe practices that ended in the death of two people and two grizzlies. An overall assessment of the man must take this into account.
   
   After telling Treadwell's story, the second half of this book turns to Jans' musings on humans' relations with bears, and wildlife more generally. This was less successful than the first half of the book. Even so, Jans is a talented writer and the book moves along very nicely.



4. Nick Jans' "The Grizzly Maze" is a good read to complement seeing the Werner Herzog movie, "Grizzly Man." The book clears up some of the murkiness left behind the movie. Tim Treadwell is a conflicted soul, whose sturm and drang both helps and hurts grizzly bears. Turning to the study of coastal brown bears (a sub-type of grizzly) in the Alaskan summers for many years in Katmai National Park, probably kept Treadwell from self-destructing on alcohol, drugs or the sheer arrogance of his ego. The man learned a lot about bear behavior over those 13 summers. However, his very presence, his defiance toward Park authorities and his smug disregard for the proper practices in bear country resulted in his own death, the death of his girlfriend and the death of two bears. Wasn't that the reason he claimed himself to be a friend and guardian of grizzly bears? Treadwell greatly exaggerates the poaching issue and completely disregards Park policies designed to minimize bear-human conflict. In the most self-righteous and self-serving way, he ends up habituating bears to humans, doing the very thing he cautions others not to do. Jans brings this front-and-center in his tale. The only reason this book gets four stars instead of five is that in the final chapters, Jans wanders off-course and the focus gets a bit lost. Still, a great read for clearing up unanswered questions in the movie.



5. I loved the book, it was a great compliment to Living Among Grizzlies. The author gave a factual yet compassionate account of the fatal obsession with bears which drove Timothy Treadwell to his tragic, horrific death. He was a floundering man who found his true calling in the wilds of Alaska and his beloved bears, forgetting that he was dealing with wild beasts who are capable of devouring their own offspring for no reason whatsoever. His biggest mistake was assuming, because they tolerated his presence season after season, that he had made an emotional connection with them and they viewed him as one of their own when nothing was further from the truth. I think he saw himself as another Diane Fossey who really made an emotional connection with the gorillas but unfortunately that wasn't the case at all with him. The book explores the many facets of his personality as well as his incredible courage because no matter what we think about him or his impossible dream, he endured hardship after hardship, penury after penury in that relentless pursuit knowing that he would ultimately pay with his life. It's hard to read this book without feeling sorry for him. I think he was an extraordinary man who could have made a bigger contribution by staying alive.

5 comments about Falling Into Manholes.

1. Falling Into Manholes provides a fascinating look at how early childhood losses and unmet emotional needs can have profound and enduring effects over the course of one's life. Wendy's honest and candid story portrays how her early experiences contributed to her turning to a variety of addictions (including alcohol, drugs, eating disorders, and relationships) in an attempt to satisfy her emotional hunger. On the surface, Wendy's accounts are humorous and often (too?) punny, but underneath is a very real level of pain and yearning, which becomes increasingly apparent as the book progresses. After years of trying to fill the void with other people and substances, Wendy ultimately realizes that her healing needs to start from within. Relaying how Wendy progresses from falling into manholes to becoming more spiritually whole, her memoir serves as an entertaining, touching, and provocative read.



2. I'm a bit amused at the reviews and ratings I'm finding here so far: nine "5"'s and one "1". Well, it's neither of these.
   
   It's a fairly well-written, hugely insightful book that is highly entertaining while delivering a serious message. Although not every sentence and paragraph is a literary gem, she is able to navigate a difficult landscape with honesty, courage, wit and humor.
   
   Obviously, the book is not for everyone. My guess on the difference between loving and hating it is whether or not you've "been there / done that". If you are a recovering "whatever", this book will probably ring true for you. Or if you are in the despair stage of addiction and don't see a way out, you could easily find a message of hope and a light that points the way between the covers of this page-turner. However, if your addictions are still working for you or if you were lucky enough to have escaped your childhood emotionally intact, this book might be perceived as more like a train wreck you'd prefer not to ogle.



3. I have had the privilege of hearing Wendy share. She is unrelenting, brutally honest and exceptionally bright. I admire her courage and her ability to expose her deepest, darkest secrets in this not-for-the-faint-hearted memoir. She made me flinch more than once when I remembered a man I "dated" who needed money and I actually took out a personal loan ("I'll pay you back") and of course you know what happened, not to mention all the shameful secrets I still carry with me. I applaud Wendy for telling her emotional truth on the page and can only imagine how incredibly free she must be now.



4. I loved this book! It's so honest...I don't feel like I get a no-holds-barred glimpse into people's lives that often. The author has such a great way with words, I kept laughing out loud. This stuff is horrifying and funny all at the same time. I gave it to my boyfriend to read when I was done with it and he laughed more than I did. This is a light and easy read, so entertaining, but what surprised me was the depth of the insights, it's so rare that after reading a book you feel like you understand yourself and your life better, but that's what this book did for me. I've already bought extra copies to give to friends. Read this book...you won't be disappointed!



5. I'm horrified that this book made it into print. This is one poorly written, tedious walk down memory lane of a self-absorbed, self-destructive timebomb. Run, don't walk, far, far away from this one and don't waste a precious second of time investing in this drivel. I'm shocked that a book this lame would ever be green-lighted to be printed.
   
   A good memoir? Try Janice Erlbaum's Girlbomb or Have You Found Her. Either are well worth your time and do everything Manholes tried to do...and failed miserably.

5 comments about My Dam Life (Condon) (Travel Literature).

1. What a thoroughly irritating book. If you are seeking a useful perspective on Amsterdam, the Netherlands, or the Dutch, there is very nearly zero content of interest.
   
   That Condon could live in one of the most interesting cities in Europe for 3 years, write a book about it and say so little about the place is astonishing - a true testament to his self absorption.
   
   I found myself cringing at the relentless focus on his apparent worthlessness, handled without insight, and with lame attempts at humor that rarely work.
   
   The only two interesting characters in the book, his wife and Keith, are barely covered. I found myself wishing to hear more about them, only from someone else.
   
   One can only wish that someone would return his video games and take away his word processor.
   
   Having said all that, I did give him 2 stars instead of 1 because of his few brief asides regarding the oddness of his occasional interactions with celebrities were insightful and interesting. It mirrored some of my own experiences and really captured the tone.



2. This book is hilarious! And somewhat tounge-in-cheek. Relax and enjoy it! (This should have been a 5-star review, alas I clicked on the wrong star and I'm not able to change it.) A couple of reviewers and an acquaintance of mine are quite bothered by the fact that in My Dam Life Condon is unemployed and that his poor wife has to make up for his "laziness" by "struggling to make ends meet." Sean Condon is an author! What good would he be in an office from 9-5 everyday? This isn't his first successful book and no doubt he's pulling in the dough just as well or better than his wife.



3. Sean Condon gives us a precious gift; his own idleness. If he actually had something meaningful to do and an interesting life to write about, he'd be off doing it without so much as a see ya later.
   
   But instead, he's forced, not altogether happily, to find meaning in the word soup of sound-bites, daily exchanges and media droppings that form the soundtrack of the inside of our heads in this day and age. And it's brilliant.
   
   I mean, Sean and Sally land in the most quirky, sexy, kinky, interesting, liberated city in Europe. And you know what? The dialogue inside Sean's head, about the minutiae of everyday life, is kinkier, sexier, quirkier and more interesting than the Amsterdam it finds itself in.
   
   So buy his book, but don't buy too many copies, because he might become rich and successful and then he'd have to find another schtick. Sean would turn into another Larry David, pretending (unconvincingly) that his fabulous life annoys him. So enjoy Condon's books, but let's try to keep him a failure, because it's just better that way for all concerned. Prospective readers can borrow my copy to preserve the bitter, penniless Sean Condon we love. OK?



4. I found this book to be a complete waste of time; the only reason I even bothered to finish it was because I had some of these (seeded?) positive reviews lingering in my mind and I kept expecting it to get better.
   
   Although the book does offer some insight into a certain sub-culture in the Netherlands (with a sprinkling of humor here and there), I should have taken the hint from some of the previous reviews before I ordered. As others have alluded, this is more of an autobiography than a book about the city or the culture. And a worthwhile autobiography it is not - I wasn't particularly impressed with the way the author chooses to live his life as a lazy unemployed slob while his wife struggles to make ends meet.
   
   I feel generous giving it two stars - the second star appearing mainly for the catchy title and the sporadic bits of humor.



5. Sean Condon has written a funny, realistic picture of what it is like to live in Amsterdam. I have lived in Amsterdam and all the things he talks about are right on the money. While living in Europe's most beautiful city can be difficult, painful and frustrating, it is all worthwile to call this great city home.
   This book will give you a personal insight into the Dutch culture and people. I highly recommend this for expats or anyone that enjoys travel.

5 comments about Never Stop Pushing: My Life from a Wyoming Farm to the Olympic Medals Stand.

1. This book was great, it showed anyone who read this book that if you put your mind to it, and work hard you can do any that you set your mind to. This book taught me to never give up on any of the challenges that lie ahead of me. I was also able to connect to this book with the wrestling standpoint, i wrestle Freestyle which is different then Greco-Roman, but its another Olympic style of wrestling. Rulon Garnder is my favorite athlete, not because he won the Olympic Gold, but because he work harder then anyone else who made it to the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, with injury and everything, he never gave up on anything he did. When he was stranded in the woods of Wyoming, the "middle of nowhere" as he said, he never gave up, waited patiently for someone to rescuse him.
   
   This was the best book i have ever read, not just because of the wrestling, but because of the lessons it teaches the reader.



2. "Never Stop Pushing" is the autobiography of Rulon Gardner, who staged one of the biggest-ever upsets in Olympic history by defeating the long-standing Russian world champion Alexander Karelin in the 2000 Sydney Games Greco-Roman heavyweight wrestling final.
   
   Gardner's story shocked and surprised me since his gold-medal achievement makes up only part of the book. Instead, as Gardner himself states, the most remarkable time of his life was, ironically, his near-fatal accident whilst snow-mobiling near his Wyoming home. The moment-by-moment depiction of his struggle to survive a freezing cold night while waiting to be rescued forms the centerpiece of the narrative. The description of his ordeal is interspersed with details of his wrestling career and is recounted in full later on in the book.
   
   Gardner also describes his childhood, which is something quite apart from the normal experience of most modern-day Americans. Brought up as the youngest of a large Mormon farming family, he spent long periods alone laying irrigation pipes and milking cows and lived quite an isolated life. At school he looked forward to meeting kids his own age but instead his learning disability set him apart and he made few friends.
   
   His struggles to go to college and get a degree, like his brothers and sisters, form another substantial part of the book. You end up rooting for him to succeed.
   
   Rulon comes across as an immensely likeable, soft-hearted guy. A few of his experiences struck a chord with me and I shuddered slightly as I recognised myself a little in the text. I particularly enjoyed his honesty - he describes crying on the way to an out-of-state wrestling meet after his coach tells him off for being late. I can't imagine many celebrities being that truthful.
   
   NSP is by turns sad, joyful, entertaining and exciting. You get to learn about the politics of sport and how hard it can be for minority sports athletes to pursue their dreams. I would have liked a little more detail at times, for example, Gardner tells us he has bought a house in Colorado and you think, When? Why? but overall this is a remarkably well structured and pacy autobiography.
   
   As an afterthought, I'm reminded of something Vince Lombardi said,
   
   "It is time for us all to stand and cheer for the doer, the achiever - the one who recognises the challenges and does something about it."
   
   I guess you could say that this book shows that Rulon Gardner is a supreme "doer" and a true champion of sport.



3. This is a great book for all people, especially those who haven't had everything in life given to them on a silver platter. This book, with its uplifting and motivational stories from Rulon's life, inspires the reader to find the positive in life, and work hard to acheive your goals-no matter how difficult. Although this book is written in the framework of olympic wrestling, it's universal themes will appeal to any reader.



4. This is a must read for the wrestling fan. If his story wasn't real it would be almost as if it was written for TV. It is very informing for people who already know Rulon, and for those who don't you get to hear the real story behind Americas greatest Greco Roman wrestler ever. It is a great book to give young athletes to show them anything is possible.



5. The book arrived on shelves 10 or 12 days ago to little or no fanfare, and mores the pity. It is an inspiring story of an improbable hero and the many, MANY tests and challenges he has faced both on and off the wrestling mat. It is also the story of an unassuming, everyday kinda guy who faced adversity in many forms and always came out on top because of his belief in the idea that you never stop trying until you win. For any self-respecting wrestler or wrestling fan, this is a must-have. For the rest of the world, well, the writing style and prose pose no particular threat to Messer Hemingway or Faulkner's standing in the literary world, but that's part of what makes it such a fun and interesting read. It is a great story and great read. Go buy it. A few more Rulon Gardner's and the world would be a much better place.

1 comments about Farm Friends.

1. Once upon a time, I lived on a commune in Western Massachusetts. We wore our hair long and baked our own bread and had adventures that have me shaking my head even now. When the plumbing blew out and the outhouse seemed miles away, I moved on. But my friend Tom Fels stayed, and he's written a book of portraits of the amazing people who started these farms. It's so deftly observed that it turns out to be a fair history of a glorious and tragic era. Despite the fact that I get an entire chapter in this book, those who want to know what "the 60s" were really like will find many answers in Farm Friends.