5 comments about Audition: A Memoir.

1. I'm really torn about this book. I wanted to enjoy it. I've always looked up to and been fascinated by Barbara Walters. However, she herself has changed that view. First of all, I expected the book to be a little better written. Her sentence structure wasn't always the best. Anyway, I didn't know that Ms. Walters had had a sister that was mentally challenged. I definitely didn't know that Ms. Walters basically ran away from her family responsibilities with her parents and sister after she was an adult. There are many times in this book where Ms. Walters says I know I should feel guilty about whatever but I really just want to be free from them. Ms. Walters wasn't around for any of their deaths and even lied to her mother about her sister's passing.
   
   With my occupation, it's hard for me to read about Barbara Walters making a decision to adopt a child and then leaving her all the time. She hires two ladies after her divorce as babysitters to her daughter, Jackie and then leaves Jackie while she goes off chasing stories. She didn't even make a police report when Jackie disappears for a month or more and is found in Kansas. I just found this so irresponsible and that's not the picture that I had of her. I think if a biographer had written this book unauthorized it might have been easier for me to take but Barbara herself wrote this book.
   
   Now the good parts. She definitely wrote a book warts and all. I loved the fact that I could relive my life with this book. I remember so many of her interviews or the events she describes. It was fascinating to learn a lot of the behind the scenes of the programs and interviews. I loved her talking about her times at the Today show. Definitely liked the chapter about The View. Overall, I think it is a fascinating information book about a pioneer in the world of female news reporting, but just realize that Barbara Walters has some flaws and she lets them all hang out.



2. I was riveted by Barbara Walter's memoir, Audition. It was a fascinating read and frankly, a great reminder of the history through which I have lived. When I was younger, I missed some of those historic interviews due to youthful disinterest. As an older woman, I am now a political junkie and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Walter's interviews in the first part of her career. I appreciated the fact that she didn't clutter the book with the actor celebrity interviews with which our current society seems so obssessed. This was also a great reminder of all that Barbara Walters did to break the barriers for women in the news/entertainment industry. I would suggest this book to younger women as a history lesson since some of them seem to take so much for granted. As Barbara Walters focused and worked her way up the hierarchy of the communications world, she also changed it for everyone following her, female and male.



3. I really enjoyed Barbara's book. Learning about her life, struggles and successes was fascinating. She doesn't skip the difficult parts and really dives in to show us what has made her and brought her to where she is today. This will make you really appreciate Barbara Walters.



4. I finally finished "Audition". It took me a long time not because it's difficult to read - it's definitely not - I just read it in small increments. I really enjoyed the book. Although quite long (500+ pages) I didn't find it had any slow sections, which i find often happens in long books, particularly memoirs.
   
   I've always liked Walters well enough, and this book may have made me like her a bit less. Although her professional accomplishments are spectacular, no question, I found her - at least the way she presents herself in this book - to be rather shallow. For example, I am bothered that she goes out of her way to not reveal her age (she'll be 79 in September) when anyone can do what I did and Google it! Hell, if I were 79 and looked the way she looks and was still working in my chosen profession I'd holler it from the roof tops!
   
   The story of her professional trajectory is fascinating because of the barriers she broke down without really meaning to - she just did it. She talks about a lot of the interviews she had with a plethora of fascinating people, and I found myself remembering them. When put all together the way they're presented in the book, you realize she really has interviewed practically anyone who was anyone in the last 40 years! A clear representation of that is the inside of the front and back covers where the names of all the people she's interviewed are listed alphabetically - very cool.
   
   Not only did she interview important people, in some cases, she actually played small parts in the actual history, serving as a go-between or delivering messages. Again, very cool. Also, in addition to describing the interviews, getting the interviews, etc. she also provides a brief historical overview, enough so that we can understand why the interview was significant and what the ramifications were.
   
   Despite her exposure to the world however, she came across to me as somewhat naive and rather old-fashioned in some aspects. She is after all a woman of her generation and although I'm not in any way saying she's a racist, at points she views and reacts to racial issues as a person of her generation would, and it's a little jarring - at least to me. And although she's obviously clever, she doesn't strike as particularly intelligent.
   
   There's also the matter of her affairs with married men (yes there was more than one) that personally disappoints me. However, she is very honest about her difficulties raising her daughter, her inability to maintain a marriage, and her inability to deal in a healthy manner with her family's issues.
   
   I definitely recommend the book and encourage everyone to not be intimidated by the length of the book - again it is very easy to read and will bring back a lot of memories - as Walters has been witness to a lot of history.
   
   By the way, I don't care what she says - I still think she slept with Fidel Castro!



5. Very interesting story. Barbara is a very strong person who doesn't take the easy way out. She works for what she wants. Would have liked a few more pics.

5 comments about Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10.

1. I recently finished reading Marcus Luttrell's story "Lone Survivor". Marcus (Navy Cross), a Navy SEAL with SEAL Team 10 in Afghanistan, recounts the horrific engagement with the Taliban and the heroics of his teammates as they fought back to back high in the mountains against an enormous enemy force in Operation Red Wing (2005). Marcus and his team were extremely upset that the Taliban were responsible for the killing of Marines in the area and were intent on putting a stop to it.
   
   The first half of the book, an insightful story itself, takes the reader to the beaches of Coronado California where only the very best survive the rigerous training hopeful SEALs endure. After graduating and receiving the SEAL Trident, dozens more skills courses and qualifications follow before Marcus deployes to Afghanistan with his SEAL teammates.
   
   "Lone Survivor" is one of the best stories I've ready that portrays the patriotism, dedication, talent, and devotion of the finest young men America has to offer. Fighting ruthless enemies in a foreign land under restrictive 'rules of engagement' provides for a dilemma for SEAL Team 10.
   
   Back home in East Texas, Marcus' folks receive the news that he is MIA. You will read about how Texans come together to support their neighbors while waiting for further news.
   
   Hand Salute to the men of SEAL Team 10 and all others lost in Operation Red Wing in Afghanistan. Gone, but not forgotten.
   
   Buy the book, it's a very powerful MUST READ.



2. I come from a long line of military veterans, and after reading this book, I have a whole lot more respect from them then I did. The story is engaging and heart breaking all the while enlightening. I have always had the utmost respect for the Armed Forces, but now it is unspeakable how much respect I have for them. He details what he had to go through in SEALS training [BUD/S(getting wet and sandy)] so he could call himself a SEAL. Then he explains the missions and what mistakes were made. When I recounted the story at a recent family picnic to a few retired Marines, each of them said, should have killed the goat herders. So I, in no doubt, believe that his is a true account of what happened, and my heart goes out to the author Marcus Luttrell and his fallen companions, as I believe what he said happened as he said it.



3. Lone Survivor was a outstanding account of the training and operations of Navy Seals in general and an inspirational and gripping account of the survival by one lone Seal. He epitomizes the meaning of the word "hero."



4. I picked up this book after being captivated by video footage of the actual ambush taken by Taliban fighters on a leaked video website. Roughly three quarters of the book is about the events and Navy SEAL training which led up to the climactic battle that takes place in Afghanistan. I felt like I was waiting and waiting for the book to get to the exciting part, but when it did, I couldn't put the book down. One thing that was a bit irritating was that the author did at some points go off on a tangent about how he disagrees with the rules of engagement and so on, and I felt that this should have been left out. If you read the book you know what I mean, I just personally disagree with the authors "kill 'em all" attitude. But philosophical and political differences aside, it was overall a great book.



5. I will never be the same. I will never see anyone who has served or is serving our country, particularly in the Desert or anywhere near it, the same. Instead my life has been changed by the lives and the LOST lives that were taken that day in 2005.
   
   Mr. Luttrell gives the most riveting account of his experience in training as a SEAL (the first part of the book) and of his experience defending our country again radical Muslims who seek to destroy all Americans. What an amazing book. I cannot say enough that every American should read this story so that we truly understand how much these turban-wearing monsters hate us and how many brave men and women give their lives in defense of our freedom.
   
   The only comfort I can imagine that comes for this courageous man is that his BROTHERS are forever walking in Heaven with Jesus and I just bet Marcus knows that someday he will see them again.
   
   I hope that other proud Americans join in praying for this HERO, Marcus Luttrell, so that he can rest and have some sort of peace from the nightmares that haunt him.
   
   GOD BLESS and KEEP YOU MARCUS. KNOW THAT THIS AMERICAN WILL NEVER EVER BE THE SAME after having read your book. THANK YOU for sharing the moments that only you can. THANK YOU for serving our nation. THANK YOU for the man you are.

5 comments about Night (Oprah's Book Club).

1. If you haven't read this book then you must read it. I have nothing else to say about it than that. The feelings and emotions this book stirred within me are too great to put into words. At the end of the book there is a speech given by Elie Wiesel and there were two phrases that jumped out at me and that's what I will finish with.
   
   Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere.



2. I've never read such a short book with such a huge impact. When I read this as part of a college class, we learned that it was originally some 600 pages long. Then the author decided to cut it down to the absolute bare bones - and it worked brilliantly.
   
   Too much writing could cushion the devastation - getting bogged down in details could allow a reader to become jaded. However, such stark minimalism forces a reader to think about what is being said. And significantly, Wiesel doesn't describe every horror. He leads us to the brink, and lets the reader imagine the next step. Rather like watching a horror movie and seeing a character walk into the dark without seeing what happens to them. Just as many Jewish families had to do during this time, when loved ones were taken away never to return. The intentionally large gaps between some of the paragraphs faithfully evoke the silence the author needs to convey so a reader must contemplate what has passed.
   
   Much like "The Color Purple" evoked the reality of blacks in that time with the deceptively simple diary of one young black woman, "Night" reveals the tangible horror the Jews faced around WWII from the eyes of a Jewish boy. I have seen the film version of The Color Purple, and also Schindler's List. Both are strong films, but they lack the power of this simple narrative. The best book I have ever read about the tragedy of the Holocaust.



3. Man's inhumanity to man from one who survived it.
   
   As Mr. Wiesel notes in the introduction of his book, words can not--do not--describe what it was like--must have been like--to endure man's inhumanity to man. We in this day and time can't imagine, can't begin to fathom, what Mr. Wiesel's words try to describe.
   
   The Holocaust, combined with the Russian Army's treatment of German women and with Japanese treatment of the Chinese surely must mark one of the darkest, most despicable times of man upon the earth.
   
   Where, in deed, was God?
   
   Yet, because we are still here--the Director did not come on stage and stop the play to use C.S. Lewis' imagery--there is still hope. God has not yet given up on man, but sometimes we wonder--at times like Mr. Wiesel describes--why He hasn't. He must see something, some possibility in man that we don't always see ourselves--and sometimes try very hard to hide and overcome.
   
   Mr. Wiesel's Nobel Prize acceptance, coming as it does, at the end of the book, is one of the most powerful statements ever made about man's responsibility--about our individual responsibility--to stand up for those who need our help and support.
   
   Abraham Lincoln may have said it best in his Gettysburg Address, "...That these dead have not died in vain...."
   
   Mr. Wiesel's work speaks powerfully toward that end.



4. This novel to me portrays the absolute depravity and madness that humanity can fall into. The beginning superbly portrays the false hope that many people had that this situation would just blow over until it was too late despite the warnings from many people that it was just beginning. The language is so heart-rending and drips with rhetoric and deep meaning that sears the soul. The authors portrayal of his loss of faith and soul is so beautiful and yet so devastating in it's simple clarity that I felt I was there with him losing my mind. The deaths of those around him and the way he explains it makes me feel like their deaths weren't in vain and are left unsullied by his beautiful words. There is only one thing I would wish for this novel and that would be for it to be longer...I was left wanting to hear more about what happened.



5. I liked this book but its sad. I got this book because I like history and wanted to know more about what happened in WWII.

5 comments about Such a Pretty Fat: One Narcissist's Quest To Discover if Her Life Makes Her Ass LookBig, Or Why Pie is Not The Answer.

1. it was a great, fast read. I enjoyed it thoroughly and think that anyone who's struggled with weight and has a sense of humor about it.



2. I loved this book. It is hilarious and I felt like I was reading a book about my life. Having just turned 40 and being an overweight, ex-sorority girl myself, I could totally relate to Jen's dieting struggles and so many other issues. I have read and thoroughly enjoyed Bitter and Bright Lights but this was even more entertaining! Fabulous beach read - cannot say enough about it - buy this book!



3. I was disappointed. I really REALLY like her other books but this one just didn't do it for me. If you find this one just a little funny defiantly read her others they are great.



4. For anyone who has ever dieted - this book will make you laugh out loud!



5. This book does NOT disappoint. If you are unfamiliar with Jen Lancaster's first two books, read them! If you have to read this one first, it's fine...it stands alone. You will smile, smurk, and laugh out loud! I recommend this book for beach reading, bed reading, bus reading, or "I am so po'd right now that I could bite a nail in two" reading. It is the story of "every woman's" journey to thinness......Enjoy!

5 comments about The Downhill Lie: A Hacker's Return to a Ruinous Sport.

1. Having enjoyed several of Hiaasen's novels, "Skin Tight" being my personal favorite, I had high hopes for this book. Although there are several funny segments, the overall tone of whininess and self-flagellation got tiresome after a while. Golf is hard & frustrating, eh? Who knew?



2. I'm going to be polite and just say I did not care for this book. To say that this is the only book I have ever read that made me want to personally return it to the author with an official letter of complaint would be counterproductive and no mention of it will be made. Up to this point, I have been a huge fan. This autobiographical golf tale exposes Mr. Hiassen for the spoiled, name dropping, extrememly uninteresting, self absorbed and whining baby boomer that he apparently is. Get a fork, Carl and stick it in. You are done around my place. How dare you waste my time and money. The one star rating is a technicality. No stars wouldn't go through.



3. Background: I'm a big time golfer, but have had insane difficulty in learning the sport and playing well. Despite having a wife that's a Librarian, I don't read much. When this book came across the shelf, she picked it up for me and said it was a must read.
   
   I don't know anything about Carl Hiaasen and his previous books. What I do know is this book speaks to anyone who's had a remote difficulty with the game. So many of his stories were practically my autobiography with the sport of golf, despite my 30 years of age difference between myself and the author. I laughed out loud more times than I can remember during this book.
   
   This book is the real Chicken Soup for the Golfer's Soul. I'm sure most golfers can relate with Carl's experiments, including buying new clubs, the latest gimmics, reading Dr. Bob Rotella, taking many lessons... anything to find that Holy Grail of playing great golf.
   
   I highly recommend this book to anyone who has become frustrated with golf at ANY point in time.



4. Carl Hiaasen's -Downhill Lie, is was golf is all about. The book was very enjoyable because I can relate to the Sandridge golf courses he played I especially enjoy his 12th hole experence. He certanly does not need any reviews after the onrs he's already had .



5. As a golfer, I could relate to the trials and tribulations of the writer as he suffered though his game but Hiassen's whining about his golf started to get boring and the book never really satisfied; it was like a sketch on Saturday Night Live that it went on too long.

5 comments about The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists.

1. I like the occasional humorous burst and the smart comments here and there, but honestly, the tricks that are used in this "auto-biography" are a little extreme. I grabbed this book based off of a friend's recommendation for it being a good read of a different flavor and often times offering a comical approach and a certain "wow" factor of the author's transformation to a pick-up artist. About sex my favorite book is Sex and the Perfect Lover: Tao, Tantra, and the Kama Sutra



2. What a great read "The Game" is! I was enthralled, fascinated, repulsed, amused, embarrassed, nauseated and impressed - all at the same time!!
   
   Neil Strauss, writer and self-confessed loser in love takes on the challenge of transforming himself into not just a PUA (Pick Up Artist), but an MPUA (Master Pick Up Artist). Using the alias Style, Strauss sets out to learn the secrets of luring HB's (Hot Babes) into bed from the current masters of the game. There's Mystery, an illusionist-cum-pick up artist- genius, who teaches the Mystery Method of Seduction; there's David D'Angelo, who teaches the Cocky-Funny method; the legendary Steve P, an acknowledged master of the game, and a slew of other experts, who specialise in turning awkward, luckless nerds into chick magnets.
   
   As a woman reading this, I was fascinated by the whole subculture of PUA's, their websites, their field reports, their group houses and most of all, their special lingo. It is quite remarkable that they have evolved an extensive list of acronyms and terms which they use to talk to each other about "The Game". I had no idea that something like this existed and it never have occurred to me that men agonise to such an extreme extent over their abillity (or lack thereof) of attracting women. Are PUA methods creepy and flat-out manipulative? You bet they are!! No stone has been left unturned by these self-styled seduction gurus to find the ultimate way to charm a Hot Babe into bed. They have adapted principles of neurolinguistic programming, hypnosis, backhanded insults, cold shoulder tactics, blatant lying and other subversive forms of psychological manipulation to hunt down all willing females. I was blown away by this first-hand account of such an amazing, unknown till now, subculture.
   
   Neil Strauss aka Style, is a wonderful writer who is consistently amusing whilst giving a serious and truthful account of his two-year adventure as a loser in love turned Master PUA. I found his insights into women credible and insightful and he comes across as someone I would have loved to date myself! He is intelligent, articulate, funny and adorable! His descriptions of the current Pick Up Artist gurus and their army of adoring acolytes is hilarious and tragic-comic by turns.
   
   
   I highly recommend "The Game" to one and all. It is a marvellous insight into an underbelly of the singles/dating scene that I had no idea existed. I promise that reading it is the most fun you'll have with your clothes on this year!



3. I picked up this book along with Strauss' sequal how to book(s) "The Rules of the Game" with the intention of learning the secrets of the much discussed topic of this book, PUAs (otherwise known as Pickup Artists). What I got was something entirely different. This book is more or less Strauss' diary of events when he emersed himself into the PUA lifestyle. I was really suprised at the humor that Strauss directs at himself and his fellow nerdy PUAs who have turned socializing into something that seems more like computer programming. The terminology alone that these guys use really shows you what kind of life the majority of these guys lived before becoming PUAs (for the majority I envision nerdy computer programmers).
   The only reason I gave this four stars instead of five is because I did a little research on the internet after reading this book and one of the main characters named Extramask (who is actually now a comedian named Barry Kirkey) stated that Strauss never met him in person or went to the seminars with him like is described in the book. If that is true than all I can say is that I am deeply disappointed as Extramask a.k.a Barry, was one of the funniest people that I have ever read about and I would lose a lot of respect if Neil actually just wrote down what people told him about Barry.
   What's funny though is after reading this I don't think I would ever want to be a PUA. The majority of these guys are very superficial and are looking for superficial women to validate themselves. Still, I would recommend it to a friend, who would learn a thing or two about the community and get a good chuckle every chapter.



4. After watching a few episodes of the reality TV show The Pickup Artist, I decided to buy this book. I bought this one instead of Mystery's Method because Strauss wrote Jenna Jameson's autobiography which is in my mind excellent credentials. Still, my expectations were not really that high and I anticipated nothing more than a book filled with pickup lines or some sort of humorous dating guide. But The Game is much more than that. For starters, it reads like a story and has a fascinating plot and a diverse range of characters. Mystery is by far the most interesting character, but most of the other pickup artists are also entertaining to read about. The book begins with the author meeting Mystery and being introduced to a world he did not know existed, a place where guys without handsome looks or fat wallets can pickup hot women through technique and seduction. Mr. Strauss sets off on a journey where he transforms himself from a geeky writer to become one of the most talented pickup artists in the business. One of my favorite messages in the book is, "Don't be yourself, be your best self." This means you don't have to change who you are to pickup women, but you have to be willing to maximize your potential. This book is a great read and one that I will read again many times.



5. This is one of the best books I've ever read, both because Neil is an amazing author, but also because of the science it talks about. I've learned more about human sociology and psychology since reading the book than at any other time in my life. As mystery says so often, this isn't about picking up girls, but becoming better men. As a result, women are attracted but to get their you have to become a better person.
   
   The stories in the book are hilarious, exciting, and make you want to read the book in one sitting.

5 comments about Just Do It: How One Couple Turned Off the TV and Turned On Their Sex Lives for 101 Days (No Excuses!).

1. This book sparked a lot of great conversations. It was sweet, thoughtful and made me laugh out loud. It's a great beach read and as I spend time on my vacation, I see people reading it all over the place. I love books that make people think about their lives, ask others about their lives and consider the possiblities. Doug and Annie have given us a true gift.



2. Whoa...I just finished this book and I am floored.
   
   I discovered this book after seeing a segment on Fox News and then watching the clip on the TODAY Show, followed by reading the posted excerpt there. I was admittedly...intrigued.
   
   Being married for just wee bit longer than the Browns (we've been together off-and-on for 27 years, married for 15), I totally related to the situation Doug describes, which on all honesty most long-married (or long-matched) couples face. In my case, the hubby and I are married and 40-ish. Although we have no children, but devote enormous amounts of time to our careers (I'm a teacher, he's a surgical tech--in addition studying to become a surgical nurse), our scenario is similar(attention-wise).
   
   Reading this book has underlined some drifting apart between us both, a circumstance I had noted during my summer hiatus. But now my husband has pledged to "just read it" every day, after which (I am hoping) will open up some dialogue at the least, but ultimately reawaken that elusive, alchemical "thing" that brought and held us together all these years, at the most.
   
   Although there is SOME weird use of similies/metaphors and just a tad too many references about going back East that nearly jolt you out of the addictively-immersive factor of the story, the poignancy nearly sweeps it all away into the rosy bliss that is True Love, of which Sex is a significant part. In a great many ways, this book reminds me a bit of the "The Princess Bride", because...
   
   "This is true love...you think this happens every day?"



3. I love memoir, and enjoyed the "projects" of A.J. Jacobs The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible and The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World, so I looked at this book in the same way, and they are actually very similar.
   
   Brown undertakes the quest of 101 nights of sex in a row (at his wife's suggestion). I thought it might be a bit "spicy" for me. While there is a bit of talk about some of their attempts to spice things up that some might find offensive, the play-by-play is spared, and in that respect this is much tamer than a Danielle Steele novel.
   
   I loved the examination of the effect of this effort on his marriage, and the tender descriptions that he shares about his wife.
   
   It's a bit unconventional, but I liked it.



4. So, we're on day 25 today. I read this book cover to cover and relate to so many of the issues that Doug and Annie have gone through. Our family is the same size (2 kids ages 4 and 7). My husband is in his 40's and I'm in my 30's. We're going for 102 days! Even though we have only been married for 8 years we were definitely in a rut.
   
   I felt the book was well written and interesting enough to keep me hooked until I was done. Like several other reviewers, I had some real laugh out loud moments too! I thought Doug was humorous and real in the way he recaptured their adventure and I highly recommend this to anyone who is in a relationship and feels that there could be more spice between a spouse or partner.
   
   After 25 days, we are planning weekends together and dreaming of things we want to do some day (not even sex related!). I, like Annie, feel so much sexier. I went from dreading sex (because of being too tired or busy or just wanting to be alone) and feeling guilty (was I pleasing my husband enough?) to stress-free and relaxed and so much more in love than I was before. We both agree that this adventure has brought elements back into our relationship that had been long gone.



5. I loved this book. Yes, it has some sex details in it to keep with the theme of the book. But it is really the story of love and the struggles of managing kids and work and life and family, while not forgetting you are a part of a couple. I had numerous laugh-out-loud moments with this book. It is very well written. It really makes you think about life and how to make a good marriage. It is a good read!

5 comments about Yankee for Life: My 40-Year Journey in Pinstripes.

1. Having been a Bobby Murcer fan for my entire adult life, this book did nothing but reinforce that. While I was saddened to learn of his cancer and even more saddened by his recent death, this book provides insight into his fight, his attitude toward the disease, and the support he received from his family, his friends, and his faith. So, while it is not just a "sports" book, it does include numerous stories about his relationships with many greats of the game...both on the field and in the broadcast booth. It is in Bobby's down-home style..full of his sense of humor including asides to himself! On the baseball side, it is a memoir of his dedication to the team that originally signed him and the team he will be remembered most playing for...the Yankees.
   Bottom line? Loved it, quick read, and a must for any Bobby Murcer fan!



2. Bobby Murcer begins the book with the shocking news he received on Christmas Eve 2006 that he had a brain tumor. He then tells his life story in an engaging "real-person" manner with just the right amount of detail.
   
   There are occasional remarks reserved for his wife Kay, which adds another interesting perspective to Murcer's interesting career with the Yankees, Giants, Cubs, then Yankees again.
   
   When Murcer goes into greater depth regarding the removal of his tumor and the extensive treatments for his brain cancer, it's as if the reader can hear him speaking. He never complains about the fatal hand he has been dealt, and closes the book on an upbeat note. A truly courageous man.



3. Sorry this isn't a review of the book, but I wanted to correct a previous reviewer that said that the trade of Munson for Bobby Bonds "backfired" since Bonds was gone after one season. But look who they got for Bonds: a 20-game winning pitcher (Ed Figeuroa) and a sparkplug leadoff hitter (Mickey Rivers). I think that trade was one big reason why they won the WS in '77 and '78. So, in effect, they got those two key players for Mercer, so I wouldn't say the trade backfired.



4. This is a great book for any Yankee, baseball, or sports fan...or anyone who enjoys reading about a wonderful human being who didn't take life for granted and lived every moment to the fullest. With the passing of Bobby, this book means even more. We are blessed that God kept him on Earth long enough for him to leave this treasure behind.



5. it was saturday night , i turned on the news in new york on channel 4 to hear worst news possible-BOBBY MURCER DIED OF CANCER..i was in tears..
   i always admired the man..he was a true honrable yankee who loved the game, THE YANKEE, the fans and sharing his stories with us while he broadcast yankee games..i remember his terrific plays...his heroic performances as a yankee during the 70s and 80s..i can not believe he's gone..his book does him proud..to me he was a legend.. as a devoted yankee fan for 30 years i will never forget him...BOBBY YOU WILL ALWAYS BE IN MY HEART FOREVER..
   
   CHARLES UNTERBERG
   YANKEE FAN
   AND GREAT FAN OF MURCER..

5 comments about A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father.

1. I'm giving this book three stars primarily on the technical aspect of Burroughs writing. It's extremely well written, evocative, moody, and at times actually scary.For those who are familiar with his other books, this is also uncharacteristically very serious, lacking the many laughs or frankly even chuckles his other books have elicited. My problem with the book is that I kept waiting for the torrent of what I believed, and is actually foreshadowed, of violence at the hands of his father towards Augusten. Some of the incidents that he relays are awful there's no denying it, and there's no way to underestimate the feelings brought on by living with someone who was so clearly an angry alcoholic, but less so the menacing sociopath he would lead you to believe tormented him. The homicidal impulses he believes his father was capable of were merely that; feelings. And as the book progressed it seemed to become less about an abusive parent, whether physical or emotional, and more about a boy becoming a man and finding the way to put to rest the monster that had been created, and accept he might never get the love and validation he was seeking from this wolf he called "Dead".



2. Augusten Burroughs has written some funny books. Prominent among them is his autobiographical RUNNING WITH SCISSORS, about growing up with an older brother with Asperger Syndrome, a mother with mental illness who retreated from conflict, and a father who was an alcoholic. Burroughs managed to mine that potentially horrific set of circumstances for nuggets of skewed humor. In A WOLF AT THE TABLE, he gives up the struggle to find amusement there and tells it like it was. The result is gripping, depressing and at times truly scary.
   
   The wolf is Burroughs's dad, a man who battled the demons of booze, demons that in the author's skilled treatment often come to terrifying life. The flawed patriarch abused his wife and children, forcing them all to exist within his life-despising mental morass. As a small child who had a right to expect a modicum of love from his parents, Burroughs simply learned to retreat and expect very little from Daddy --- no hugs, almost no touching, no walks, no talks, no kind words. His father, a college professor, sat and drank, demanding utmost quiet while he did so. The second son became an invalid who hid from the world. Incident after incident infused his young spirit with hopes, then dashed them.
   
   One day Burroughs's father took him to the University, to his classroom. The boy, seeing some space on the blackboard, began to scribble. He informed Burroughs with a smile, "That was a bad idea." Burroughs became used to feeling a chill in the air when his father smiled: "there was nothing happy in that smile."
   
   Burroughs begins the memoir with a scene in which he is being hunted by a ravening presence: "if my father caught me, he would cut my neck." The child in his pajamas races, blundering through the woods, trying to elude "the jabbing slash from his flashlight." Nightmare? Or fact? Later, we are told, he sees a telltale pine needle in his father's hair.
   
   As time passes, Burroughs's brother becomes an increasing burden to the family, exhibiting wildly anti-social behavior and only occasionally acting in a sane way to try to help his younger sibling survive the horror. At one point, his method was to teach the boy how to shoot a rifle, telling him, "You have to be able to protect yourself because I won't be around."
   
   So where was the mother in this family drama? Passive, mentally unstable, far too weak to combat her cold, often enraged husband, she was probably unfit to raise children, even in the happiest of circumstances. She married someone who was promising, a rising star among men, who was studying for the ministry. Not long after their wedding, the star fell. The man of God lost his faith, dropped out of his studies and began to worship the seductive satan of alcohol. He later developed psoriatic arthritis, which compounded his misery and his hatred of all things life-affirming and comforting to others. Over the long years of Burroughs's lost childhood, his father became paranoid and his mother the trembling prey for his fits of anger. At best, he was a control freak and she was his cowering lackey.
   
   A few times she ran away, taking her confused son with her. For a little while there would be an unsettled peace, in a motel room, with the only parent who touched him and confided in him. Then she would be taken away, institutionalized, and return home in a zombie state, all the heavy tranquilizers still unable to suppress her need to scream occasionally. The deaths of two family dogs underscore the evil that roamed the house. One was ignored when it was clearly sick, and despite Burroughs's childish alerts, it died without succor. The other was finally put out of its misery after it turned savagely aggressive.
   
   More than once, from an early age, Burroughs had fantasies of killing his father. But he could not, he realized, because his father hadn't whipped and tortured him --- "all he was guilty of was not wanting me."
   
   No matter how "normal" one's childhood, there are moments when a child simply cannot comprehend the actions and thoughts that emanate from the grownup realm. Mistakes are made in the "best" of homes. This book chronicles one long, depressing, harrowing series of life-ruining mistakes. That its author pulled through is a small miracle of resilience. Burroughs sets up no signposts along this perilous route. He simply re-walks his childhood path, every harrowing step of the way, and we walk a few steps behind, putting our feet, often reluctantly, in his small footsteps.
   
   A WOLF AT THE TABLE is being hailed as a masterpiece created by a remarkable talent, and all the praise is fully deserved. Though a difficult read, you will find something of yourself in it.
   
   --- Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott



3. I do not believe that this book is a memoir. If this book is a memoir then he and James Fray should get together and compare notes. If you do not understand you need only to read the first chapter and see that their is NO WAY possible that this man remembers so vividly at 1 1/2 years old the details he has written. This book is an embellishment about his life. I believe as many other reviews that after reading this book I question the authors honesty. I did before everyone blast me enjoy Running with Scissors very much. It was a great read it however is not a memoir. There are many people in this world that grow up in disfunctional families and do not make it their goal to profit off it.



4. this book was really good. showed the life of a boy and his relationship with his father. amazing how a parent can mess up a childs life and the child becomes an adult and the feelings never go away from chuldhood.



5. I have read all of Mr. Burroughs previous books and have enjoyed all of them, with the exception of the ridiculous Running with Scissors. A Wolf at the Table is a real departure for Burroughs and it is executed with moments of sheer brilliance. The most powerful strategy he employs in this text is his use of his childhood perspective. His phrasing and consistent childhood point of view keeps the reader edgy and reminds us of our own fears and insecurities as children. The world looks so very different from this side of adulthood. There were numerous moments where his style and insight was so precise that I had to remind myself that he was looking back on these issues, not writing them at the time they happened. Truly, that is a skill.
   The epilogue of this book where Burroughs feels (but does not experience) the real intense love that a father can have for a son overpowers the reader almost as much as it overpowered him at the time he experienced it.
   There is no neat resolution. One ends this memoir feeling that Burroughs has no good use for his father's memory. One cannot blame him if he doesn't. However, the book is not a nihilistic work, but a plea. If anything the perceptive reader will put this text down feeling a deep sense of responsibility. We all have obligations to those we love, and those who love us. After finishing A Wolf at the Table, I hope that I always meet them.

5 comments about Infidel.

1. 
   Some authors invite you to take a journey with them. But in "Infidel" Ayaan grabbed my hand firmly and pulled me down her path, sometimes with my heels dug in for fear of what the next turn would reveal. But I could not put the book down. This is a fearless revelation into the very heart of the Islamic world and an honest working through of her faith and feelings. It constantly amazed me that she could recall and relive this horrible existence without hate or resentment. The writing style is extraordinarily good and draws you in from the first paragraph.
   
   Another incredible thing was how she takes the reader into her mind while she was watching CNN and American news coverage during and after the 9/11 crisis. Westerners were trying to convince themselves that these terrorists were isolated extremists. Ayaan tells the reader otherwise, that most Muslim mothers would have rejoiced to have had their son involved in this "holy" and justified act. It is a rare glimpse of politically incorrect honesty.
   
   I felt as if I had fallen into the book. I became, along with her, a conformist and a rebel, an obedient woman and a disobedient daughter, a refugee and a rescuer. I would finally feel safe only to discover that all around me there were those seeking to kill me for revelations of life behind the veil of Islam.
   
   In the end I ached for her. Her emptiness now that she has rejected Allah is palpable. But her strength and character and loving honesty is a testament to the amazing woman she has always been inside.
   
   I literally could not put this book down and read for hours and hours last weekend. Upon reaching the final page I felt that it seemed more like a beginning than an end. A story of brutality and repression that is beautifully inspiring, this book deserves a read.



2. The last few weeks, I have been enjoying my commute in the company of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, as I've listened to her fascinating book Infidel. I love books that transport me to a foreign place or time, and immerse me in a culture that I didn't know about before. And I love books that provoke thought about important ideas. Infidel does both of things exceedingly well. It is the autobiographical account of an independent-minded woman who was raised in a traditional Somali Muslim family and grew up to be a Member of Dutch Parliament advocating for women's rights. The first half of the book is a vivid account of her childhood in Somalia, and later in Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, and Kenya as her family escaped the turbulence of their war-torn homeland. Her description of life in places like Mogadishu, Mecca, and Nairobi is rich in detail about their houses and neighborhoods, their food, their culture and traditions. Her portraits of her parents, her siblings, her grandmother, and other family members are richly complex, infused with the emotional perspective of her childhood at the same time balanced by an unflinching retrospective assessment of their good qualities and their weaknesses. The genealogist in me was fascinated learning about the Somali tribal culture that puts such a premium on one's ancestry that children at an early age can recite their ancestry for nine generations, and when two Somalis meet, they can readily ascertain their kinship even to tenth cousins. And her description of the variations of Muslim practice between countries, and the rise of Muslim fundamentalism, was illuminating and especially relevant today. She does a remarkable job of making comprehensible such alien traditions as polygamy, arranged marriages, and female genital mutilation. What is especially remarkable is how, even though she would later come to condemn some parts of the traditions she was raised with as being completely barbaric, she describes them in the context of her early life subjectively and dispassionately, neither concealing the barbarity nor revealing anger, judgment, and condemnation. The account is all the more powerful for that, allowing the reader to understand how such barbarity could be accepted and tolerated because of how it is embedded in traditional ways of life and in how sons and daughters are raised. And it allows us to understand this amazing woman on all the parts of her journey, from childhood, to adolescence when she was drawn to fundamentalism, to adulthood when she escaped to discover liberal ideas. The latter half of the book describes her life in the Netherlands, where she becomes not only a parliamentarian but a political lightning rod after making a controversial film with Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh which lead to his murder and death threats for her. The book then becomes more about politics, ideology, and her intellectual autobiography, though embedded in personal experiences of immigration, learning Dutch culture, and ultimately life as a figure in hiding from death threats. She raises significant questions about whether a liberal society can survive being tolerant of a growing immigrant community within its midst that remains insular and perpetuates an illiberal way of life. (These questions have reverberations here in America, not only regarding Islamism, but in issues like the recent Texas FLDS raids, and in the fault lines of conflict between religious liberty and civil rights protections -- issues I hope to explore in future blog posts.) And she makes a compelling argument that Islam needs to undergo its own Reformation if it is to be reconciled to modernity. Her ideas and the amazing life experience that formed them make for vital and fascinating reading.



3. What a thoughtful and inspiring book this was! Ms. Ali writes in a very engaging and direct style that makes for a hard-to-put-down biography/self-discovery book. After finishing this great book, one can only admire this woman for her courage to think for herself, change her whole way of life, and watch as her family disowned and alienated her. She was able to see Islam for what it is--a disastrously out-of-touch system set in place to suppress women, full of ridiculous mythology. Ms. Ali rightfullly shows that Islam countries are far behind Western countries in economic well being, human rights, and learning.
   
   One, I think, must also consider X-ianity during the reading of Infidel. Could there be verses telling women to be quiet in the X-tian Quran? Could there be verses in the X-tian "holy" book where god commands men to r@pe women? Could x-tianity be a silly bunch of myths, hundreds of years old (just like Islam!), that shackle its adherents from growing intellectually and morally?
   
   Infidel is a fantastic book by a true, modern-day hero. I'm so glad I read Ms. Ali's memoir, and I can't wait to see what she'll say next. Highly recommended!



4. Until it was finished, this book became a part of me--- I could not put it down. Ayaan's culture was an incomprehensible combination of love, support, backwardness, cruelty, and control. To watch her grow and develop into an independent and autonomous young lady, was to see a flower beginning to bloom. It made me thankful for having been born in the USA and for the parents I had.



5. Submission and degradation of women in the Muslim faith is certainly not a new or unrevealed topic, but this personal account by Hirsi Ali brings insight and understanding that one can not achieve through news articles and other written factual documentation. I applaud Ms. Ali for her courage to come forth and expose the errors of her former religion (which is no easy task) with the hope that the atrocities against Muslim women will eventually come to an end. Women of all faiths and nationalities should read this book and more like it to remind us that we still have a long way to go to accomplish true equality with men.