5 comments about Of Permanent Value: The Story of Warren Buffett/2008 Cosmic Edition/2 volumes.

1. 1,800+ pages in length, this must be the most comprehensive treatise on the subject of Warren Buffett extant. This two-volume book is broken into 333 chapters, many just a page or two long. In addition there are many photos. Hence reading it is not as daunting as its length might suggest. Add to this Mr. Kilpatrick's engaging and light-hearted treatment of his subject and it makes for enjoyable as well as informative reading. Mr. Kilpatrick has been researching and writing about the Buffett phenomenon for the better part of two decades, so he knows whereof he speaks. One comes away with an enhanced appreciation of the genius, the integrity, and the generosity of "the Oracle of Omaha." Highly recommended reading.



2. Without question, Andy has put together the most comprehensive bio ever on the greatest investor of all time. No doubt about it, each book gets better, and no one but Andy has the latest facts and information and not just warmed up leftovers. I am fascinated that Andy can always add something new such as the 10 lbs of See's that Warren sent to Andy and Pat to keep the marriage together, but most of all is the manner in which he delivers his tome. He is forthright and comes with all the facts. The factual data here is second to none, and I would have to say that anyone writing on Warren today is going to sooner or later, get hold of Andy to get some informatin. This is a must read for True Buffett fans, and for those not so big fans, you are missing the masterpiece of the ongoing saga of Warren Buffett. I am already looking forward to the 2009 and 2010 editions. What a monster BRK will be then.



3. In my opinion, Of Permanent Value 2008 Cosmic Edition by Andy Kilpatrick is the best book about Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway (which I also believe it is the thickest book about Warren/Berkhire, and for the better). It also covers important people around/related to Warren Buffett. Simply, this book is a must read for all Warren Buffett fans and all value investor.
   
   First, eventhough this book is very abundant in information (i.e. thick), it is not boring to read. One of the reason is that the chapters are mostly short (and getting directly to the point). If you don't feel like reading the whole book, you can always pick the chapters that interest you. Kudos to Andy Kilpatrick for putting this book together and continue to update the story about the greatest value investor of our time. I also appreciate Andy Kilpatrick's (and Warren Buffett's) sense of humor.
   
   Secondly, this 2008 Cosmic Edition contains several important improvements/updates. Some of the example:
   1. Lots of awesome color photos (page 1117-1190, etc)
   2. Updates on Warren Buffett/Berkshire Hathaway activity during the year 2007 and early 2008 (Business update, 2007 Annual Shareholder Meeting, Berkshire 60% purchase of $7B business/Marmon Holdings, Warren business trip to Canada, China, South Korea, etc)
   3. A photo index on page 1813 (with 1,400+ photos, it is really nice to have an index for the photos)
   
   I hope you enjoy this book as much as I do. I have read this book more than once (including the previous versions). I learn so much from Of Permanent Value, and I learn something new everytime I read it.
   
   Below I added more detail review about the content of the book.
   
   Sincerely,
   
   Sidarta Tanu
   
   =============================================================
   Now about the content of the book. You will learn a lot about Warren Buffett and his life, and not only investing topic (investing decisions that he made throughout his career) but his life principles, family, and business in general as well. You will learn about his first job delivering papers when he was 13 (he filed income tax and deducted the bike as business cost), and how he build his first business (pinball machine business), created Buffett partnership, break it up (liquidate), acquire berkshire mills, creating Berkshire Hathaway as investment vehicle, and many other great investment decision/story that he made (Geico, See's Candies, Dairy Queen, General Re, Coca Cola, Salomon, Washington Post, Gillette etc)
   
   Buffett concrete rules for investing are:
   1. Never lose money
   2. Never forget rule #1
   
   I know it's easier said (what he say above about to never lose money) than done based on my 10 years of invesitng experience , but then again I'm no Warren Buffett.
   
   In my opinion, here are the 5 strategy/skills that Warren Buffett uses (Mr. Buffett, please correct me if I'm wrong):
   1. Intrinsic Value
   2. Margin of Safety
   3. Temperament (discipline and understanding Mr.Market)
   4. Circle of Competence (knowing what your circle of competence)
   5. Common Sense (which I think is the most important factor and encapsulate everything about Warren Buffett.)
   
   You will learn that Warren is very good with numbers (calculating in his head) and memorizing so many facts and numbers. You will also learn that Warren is a man with a very good sense of humor.
   
   There are so many things/chapters that I like on this book. Let me try to mention three of my favorite sections.
   
   One is when Warren need to make a decision who would run Salomon ($150B institution with 8000 employees) within 2 days during their first crisis. There are 12 top-level managers that he interviewed. "This was the most important hire of my life", said Warren to the Columbia business students. The chapter explain his thought process of this candidate selection in detail. Warren mentioned that the good news (for the students and the candidate) is that he didn't ask what their grades were (laughter). Warren also said, "Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy. and if they don't have the first, the other two will kill you. if you think about it, it's true, if you hire somebody without integrity, you want them to be dumb and lazy" (laughter). And he conclude the topic with this statement which I think is very powerful: "Pick the kind of person to work for you that you want to marry your son or daughter. You won't go wrong". By the way, he picked Deryck Maughan by the way for his integrity.
   
   Another chapter that I really like is how Warren put the audience (of more than 2000 people) through Business School in an electrifying two minutes (The chapter about "Generics"). See how Warren answer the question of "Will developments in the generic brand area hurt coca-cola?" which is a very important questions. I'll try not to spill too much and take the joy of reading this chapter yourself but he basically explains in a nutshell (with all the details and numbers) how business and competition works (and using several other example like Gilette, Marlboro, Sam Cola etc) and how he convinced the audience (and me as a reader) that coca cola is considered immune to generics. He explains how one can save $500 for smoking generic brand (vs Marlboro) which is a lot of money. While a man will probably will only save $11 per year by not using Gilette Sensor and probably leave band-aids on his face and an uncomfotable experience for opting for generics/lower quality blades. And for coca cola, the net profit margin is only 1 cents per serving (can) while a lot of the ingredients cost (such as the aluminium close to 6 cents a can, sugar 1.3 ounce per can or 1.75 cents etc) the same regardless for coke or other cola company.
   
   The third chapter that I like is when Warren is being questioned by CEOs about what is his best advice for CEOs/leaders.. expecting to get some standard answers like honesty and loyalty.. Warren actually didn't even touch those areas (which I'm sure Warren do think those are also important).. but what Warren actually said is, "Set your expectation low, and you will rarely get dissapointed".
   
   I'll stop here before it's getting too long. In summary, If you are a Warren Buffett fans, then this book is for you. If you are uncertain, you can get other books first (potentially less thick book), like "Warren Buffet Way" or maybe "Buffettology", and if you like them (Warren) or want to know more about Warren then get this book. I personally don't like it at the beginning but as time goes by (and after I re-read the book/chapters), I changed my mind, this book is a masterpiece.
   
   As a Berkshire shareholder, I want to encourage all berkshire shareholders (and potential/future shareholders) to read this book to know more about the person in charge of your berkshire investment. I also want to encourage all shareholders to go to the annual shareholder meeting while Mr. Buffett is still in charge.
   
   Last but not least, if I have to sum this book up in a word or two, I would use the word "WISDOM" to describe this book, though I have a strong feeling that Warren will disagree with me and think that the more suitable phrase is "COMMON SENSE"
   =================================================================



4. Having followed and admired the "Oracle of Omaha" for nearly 25 years, I am very grateful to Andy Kilpatrick for delivering such a definitive and important compilation of Buffett's life and times.
   
   And best of all, it is a lot of fun. For those of us whose eye's may "glaze over" trying to wade through tedious and detailed financial volumes, no worries here.
   
   Fortunately for us, the author understands completely that Buffett's genius is not easily quantified with the "usual" business metrics and that understanding shines through in chapter after chapter that reveal "insights" into Buffett's brilliant character not often found from other sources.
   
   Andy has a special talent in bringing out and highlighting the most unique aspects of Buffett's long and unparalleled career, with multiple stories that are interspersed with both professional and personal "human interest" nuggets.
   
   Kilpatrick's long years of detailed research have yielded a treasure trove of anecdotes, pictures and details which are not only illustrative of Buffett's legendary financial genius, but also provide intimate insights into his exceptional personal and human qualities.
   
   Additionally, Andy's unique style of compiling short and concise chapters on a myriad of subjects relating to Buffett lends itself to quick reads which are not only eminently readable, but also very convenient to return to again and again for reference.
   
   We all know that enjoying one's work is an essential ingredient to success. This book's amusing and interesting anecdotes regarding Buffett's personal and business qualities not only drive that point home time and time again, but the author's obvious love of the subject matter also proves the point. As one other reviewer so aptly put it, this is clearly a "labor of love".
   
   For the most complete and entertaining compilation of "All Things Buffett", the "Cosmic Edition" is a winner and I highly recommend it.



5. During Charlie Munger's 2007 WESCO annual meeting in Pasadena , Mr. Munger was asked who was the number one Warren Buffett fan in the world. Out of the unlimited number of possibilities, Mr. Munger (Buffett's long time partner who runs Berkshire with Buffett) responded quickly "Andy Kilpatrick without a doubt".
   
   Andy's latest two volume Buffett biography/Berkshire chronology is a work of absolute genius. A master of details and amusing anecdotes, Kilpatrick keeps the reader entertained over the entire odyssey of Buffett's life and unparalled success in the investment world.
   
   Unlike other Buffett writers like Roger Lowenstein whose books have now become dated and stale, Andy Kilpatrick keeps us up to date on all that is important in the life of Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett.
   
   The 2008 Cosmic Edition is a "must have" for all serious Buffett fans and students. Readers will love the color photos in this latest edition. Like "The Oracle of Omaha" himself, Andy Kilpatrick gets better writing about this American icon with every new edition. Kudos to "The Sage of Birmingham", Andy Kilpatrick !!!!

5 comments about Madame Curie: A Biography.

1. This book should be on every Mother's list of gifts for her daughter. What a beautiful portrait of a mother by her daughter. In this age of "feminism" this should also be a must read for women in general. Madame Curie was in a class of intellectual genius by herself. She is one of the most outstanding woman scientists ever - and she was Polish!
   She is a great example as a human being, a woman, a mother, a "Polack", a scientist, a wife. Needless to say I was very impressed by the book. The thought that this was written so beautifully by this woman's daughter never left my awareness. This book certainly made this half-Polack extremely proud of his heritage.



2. This is one of the books that will remain closest to me...the kind of book I would definitely have on my own children's bookshelf. I unfortunately had to stop reading the book midway because the library wanted it back, and I was also going to be out of town. Three months later, I still felt compelled to go back to the library and finish off the remaining two or three chapters.
   
   The book is a detailed account of Marie Curie's personal and professional life. And who better to tell this story than Eve, her own daughter. The genius in Mme. Curie was a direct result of her dedication to hard work and an amazing work ethic. From a peasant Polish family, she faced many challenges and postponed her own education and worked for a wealthy family to help pay for her older sister's education. Such was Marie's spirit and selflessness - which extended to her research and her work in science.
   
   Her creation, radium, was the ultimate criminal that led to her untimely death, when she felt she still had a lot to accomplish. The lady was indeed a noble gift to the science world.



3. I say that for a biography was pretty good. There was a few boring parts that made me want to put the book. I wouldn't have read this book for pleasure. I had to read it for a physics project. I gave the book 3 stars because I did not necessary enjoy this because it was for school.



4. Madame Curie is a touching and honest biography. It tells the perserving story of Marie Curie, a native Pole who would seem out of place in France and--being a woman in a more prejudice timeframe--in the scientific community in general. Although this was the case, it did not stop her from becoming one of the most prolific and important scientists in the realm of physics and chemistry.

   Within this book is held the tale of a woman who worked almost every single minute of her life in either the laboratory, the classroom, or her own home. But she never faltered under pressure and endured inhospitable laboratory conditions (she was originally working in a shed to help discover radium, the element that created the field of radiation cancer treatment and spurred the field of nuclear science.

   As a biographer, Eve Curie remains factual in content, allowing the reader to form an unbiased opinion of her mother. She buttresses the book with personally letters to and from Marie Curie, which add a first hand account of certain aspects of her mother's life.

   A must read for anyone looking for a heartwarming story.




5. The book is a reprint of the biography written by Marie Curie's daughter, Eve Curie in 1937. It is a book which should be read by all - especially aspiring scientists. Marie Curie was the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in France, the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize and the first person to receive two Nobel prizes. The work she accomplished under the most difficult situations for a scientist is truly inspiring. When asked why she and her husband, Pierre Curie did not patent the procedure for extraction and purification of radium, something which would have made them very wealthy, she said "No, It would be contrary to the scientific spirit." How refreshing, since in today's world the first thought of scientists is patenting their discoveries.

5 comments about The Saucier's Apprentice: One Long Strange Trip through the Great Cooking Schools of Europe.

1. After just going on a 2 month tour through Europe at the age of 51, I thought this book would extend the pleasure of my trip. NOT! His whiney, self-important, self-centered view of every aspect of his trip really bugged me. Even his writing style: labored similes, over indulgent use of foreign words, expectation that everyone shares his world view just made it harder to get through. I kept waiting for the moment when he would learn some kind of life lesson and curb his infantile behavior. A little humility would have gone a long way.



2. I am on my way to Paris this week for a culinary experience not unlike Mr Spitz. I am not going to the classes he did, but am looking forward to tasting foods one can only dream about in the United States. Mr. Spitz traveled to France and Italy in 2004 following demise of a relationship (actually two relationships) and went to a number of cooking schools over a period of several months. He honed his techniques, met some interesting people and shared those experiences after a period of allowing his memories to rest.
   
   There are a number of recipes (all really good, too) and heartfelt writing that I truly enjoyed. There are some dull moments, describing times when he clearly was not enjoying himself, but I envy him the experience, and am looking forward to creating my own.



3. I really enjoyed this book as it took me on a journey of a man at a crossroads in his life and dealing with it through a love of food and friends. As a trained culinarian, you can't learn how to become a chef in three months but, if you love food, you can learn and enjoy something that really feeds the soul. Spitz took something he loved and crafted a great diary of sorts on travel, relationships, group encounters and how food, in spite of disparate languages, can help make a person whole. I read it in a few days and tightly bound me to him, his cooking school encounters and his experiences through a difficult time in his life. Highly recommended.



4. I disagree with the reviews of this book that are negative. I think it is an excellent account of a 50 year old mans search for self. The writing is exceptional, the recipes are written for the novice cook (like myself),and I enjoyed it so much I did not want it to end. I guess the negative reviewers have never suffered a "mid life crisis", otherwise they would see the value in this book. My only complaint is my own, I don't speak any French, so I needed to keep looking words up; and I have never been overseas.So as far as I am concerned his accounts are true for me.
   Give this book a chance. You won't regret it.



5. Bob Spitz rambling account left me thinking that his time would have been better spent on an analyst's couch rather than at cooking schools. The author's narcissism is left unchecked and, therefore, he rarely accepts responsibility for his situation or poor attitude. I would gladly return the book and send the money directly to him for his therapy fund.

4 comments about A Look Over My Shoulder: A Life in the Central Intelligence Agency.

1. This book is not afraid to look at fundamental problems in the area of intelligence, which America today is finding amazingly similar to the problems that Richard Helms observed in Germany immediately after World War Two. Helms was uniquely qualified to see the big picture, having been a newspaper reporter who had lunch with Adolf Hitler (Chapter 2 is called `Lunch with Adolf') the day of a big rally in Nuremberg in 1936, a privilege that Americans willing to spend a thousand dollars a plate to attend a fundraiser with American presidents more recently might be jealous of, if being a millionaire is not enough to make them happy. Henry Kissinger was happy to report in the Foreword that Helms was even invited to lunch with President Nixon after an early NSC meeting. (p. xi). There is even a picture of the famous Tuesday lunch group with LBJ, Rusk, Clark Clifford, General Wheeler, Walt Rostow, George Cushman and Walt Johnson. There is even a picture of a lunch with Vice President George Herbert Walker Bush with the caption, "At lunch in the Vice President's office. Aside from George Washington, the elder George Bush is the only President who had firsthand knowledge of the intelligence world."

   The Preface reports that February 2, 1973, was the day James Schlesinger was sworn in as head of CIA and Richard Helms lost the position which was his main claim to fame. Richard Nixon had something to do with it, and Chapter 1, `A Smoking Gun' reports enough about the Watergate break-in to give the CIA perspective from the top, and ends with "Five months later, and a few days after his reelection, President Nixon called me to Camp David. It was the last time we spoke while he was in office." (p. 13). The Preface even claims "President Nixon had ended my intelligence career with a handshake at Camp David." (p. vi). If Helms is right about that, there was no personal contact between the Director of the CIA and the President of the United States in December 1972 and January 1973, when the Vietnam ceasefire was being hammered into place and a record number of B-52 bombers were being shot down by North Vietnamese anti-aircraft guns and SAMs. That figures.

   The German spies are most fascinating in the beginning of the book. Helms calls Martha Dodd an American, as she was the daughter of the American ambassador to Germany from 1933 to 1938, but she was also girlfriend of Boris Vinogradov, the press secretary at the Soviet embassy in Berlin. After being charged with spying in 1957, she fled to Czechoslovakia. "Martha was seventy when she died in Prague in 1990." (p. 20). Spies and Richard Nixon have an acute sense of which side someone is on, and Helms seems to be particularly sensitive to the issues that Nixon would be prone to notice. Other major personalities are easy to locate in the index: Allen Dulles, James Angleton, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Henry Kissinger, Yuri Ivanovich Nosenko, and Frank Wisner.

   Chapter 8, "The Gehlen Organization," deals with the group most responsible for allowing German intelligence after World War Two to maintain some continuity with the information that had been accumulating while Hitler was in power. As the only employer in West Germany that was not averse to employing the upper echelons of the previous regime, it had no trouble recruiting four thousand former Nazis, but Helms did not find them reliable. " . . . the American officers working with Gehlen in Washington neglected to insist upon being given the names of and biographical data on the RUSTY staff personnel. . . . Even in the confusion of the immediate post-war intelligence picture, this oversight violated one of the fundamental rules of secret intelligence, and helped to set the stage for the security disasters that in time all but destroyed the entire effort." (p. 86). A lot of people have been jumping to this conclusion without having the kind of in-depth knowledge of the situation which Helms observed.

   On "fundamental rules of secret intelligence," (p. 86), Helms seems most upset that he received a felony conviction for denying something in testimony to Congress that he felt compelled to deny. Helms was bitter that in his confirmation hearings to be appointed ambassador to Iran, he was asked questions by people who knew that the answer was officially secret, so he was being forced to lie to maintain a cover story that was maintaining dubious deniability. This is the area of books on intelligence that I find most interesting. Nosenko was not allowed to participate in a free debate in America over the nature of KGB activities regarding Lee Harvey Oswald because the entire nature of the KGB was a matter of exclusive CIA jurisdiction within the American system, and holding Nosenko a prisoner for years was the perfect symbol of the amount of control that the CIA believed it was entitled to maintain over such information. Convicting Helms of a felony for lying to Congress was a matter of attempting to establish the principle that laws have a higher function than rules, and any individual within the American system is subject to the possibility of being hauled into court to be a patsy for whatever law the administration of justice intends to glorify in its present incarnation.

   Helms doesn't exactly vilify Richard M. Nixon in this book, but just honestly stating "It has long been clear to me that President Nixon himself called the shots in the Watergate cover-up," (p. 13) is damn close. On our most recent impeachment, I think the movie "Candy" (1969, DVD 2001) with Enrico Maria Salerno as Jonathan J. John provides a better joke, when the police ask, "Did you see what happened to the girl in the blue dress?" Film buff J.J.J. responded, "I don't know. Who directed it?" That is the way most Presidents feel about the CIA.




2. Pages 300/301 of the Helms book:

   One of the most disturbing incidents in the six days [war between Israel and
   the surrounding Arab states] came on the morning of June 8[, 1967] when the
   Pentagon flashed(urgent top-priority precedence) a message that the U.S.S.
   Liberty, an unarmed U.S. Navy communications(spy) ship, was under attack in
   the Mediterranean, and that American fighters had been scrambled to defend
   the ship....

   .... The following urgent reports showed that Israeli jet fighters and
   torpedo boats had launched the attack. The seriously damaged Liberty
   remained afloat, with thirty-four dead and more than a hundred wounded
   members of the crew.

   Israeli authorities subsequently apologized for the accident, but few in
   Washington could believe that the ship had not been identified as an
   American naval vessel. Later, an interim intelligence memorandum concluded
   that the attack was a mistake and "not made in malice against the U.S."....

   .... When additional evidence was available, more doubt was raised. This prompted my
   [D]eputy [Director of Central Intelligence], Admiral Rufus Taylor, to write
   me his view of the incident. "To me, the picture thus far presents the
   distinct possibility that the Israelis knew that the Liberty might be their
   target and attacked anyway, either through confusion in Command and Control
   or through deliberate disregard of instructions on the part of
   subordinates."

   The day after the attack, President Johnson, bristling with irritation, said
   to me, "The New York Times" put that attack on the Liberty on an inside
   page. It should have been on the front page!"

   I had no role in the board of inquiry that followed, or the board's finding
   that there could be no doubt that the Israeli's knew exactly what they were
   doing in attacking the Liberty. I have yet to understand why it was felt
   necessary to attack this ship or who ordered the attack.

   (299 words in a 452 page book)

   Murder... they KNEW they were murdering defenseless American kids barely in their twenties so that they could complete WHAT two Israeli Prime Ministers(Menachim Begin and Moshe Dayan) have since admitted was a "land grab"....

   ...to get more land, ....more land than they had already grabbed by the fourth day of the Six-Day War-they left 34 American families without their sons, brothers, dads... and sent a good subset of the 171 injured home to THEIR families in the US maimed for life.

   and the kids burned and maimed for life who are standing up for their 34 fallen comrades unable to rise from the dead to defend their own memories and blameless conduct... now the Israelis call them "liars" and "anti-Semites"...

   ...except a couple of the crew members of the USS Liberty were Jewish themselves... so they're not called "liars" and "anti-semites"... no, the Israeli attackers and Government of Israel call them "liars" and "self-hating jews"...

   THE OFFICIAL POSITION OF THE CIA IS THAT THIS WAS A "TRAGIC MISTAKE".... BUT HERE IS WHAT THE OFFICIALS AT THE NSA HAD TO SAY TO UNITED STATES NAVAL INSTITUTE'S, DAVID C WALSH:Former NSA Officials Agree
   David C. Walsh
   The jamming of unique U.S. frequencies during the Liberty incident seems to establish deliberate intent. And in exclusive interviews with this author, several former high-level National Security Agency (NSA) officials agree.

   On 14 February 2003, the "godfather" of the NSA's Auxiliary General Technical Research program, Oliver Kirby, noted that the Liberty was "my baby." Within weeks of the calamity, Kirby, deputy director for operations/production, read U.S. signals intelligence (SigInt)-generated transcripts and "staff reports" at NSA's Fort Meade, Maryland, headquarters. They were of Israeli pilots' conversations, recorded during the attack. The intercepts made it "absolutely certain" they knew it was a U.S. ship, he said. Kirby's is the first public disclosure by a top-level NSA senior of deliberate intent based on personal analyses of SigInt material.

   In an interview on 24 February 2003, retired Air Force Major General John Morrison, the agency's then-second-in-command (and Kirby's successor), said he had been informed at the time of Kirby's findings and endorsed them. Former NSA Director retired Army Lieutenant General William Odom said on 3 March 2003 said that, on the strength of such data, the attack's deliberateness "just wasn't a disputed issue" within the agency. On 5 March 2003, retired Navy Admiral Bobby Ray Inman, NSA director from 1977-1981, said he "flatly rejected" the Cristol/Israeli thesis. "It is just exceedingly difficult to believe that [the Liberty] was not correctly identified." He said this was based on his talks with NSA seniors at the time having direct knowledge. All four were unaware of any agency official at that time or later who dissented from the "deliberate" conclusion.




3. This is a biography we have been waiting for a long time. In fact, few even thought Richard Helms would even write his memoirs when one considers he spent his life working within the world of secrets, assassinations, political underdealings. Indeed, this can be a fascinating book for a realistic view of the world stuff like the Bond movies paint in more cartoonish terms. Helms takes us on a historical journey through World War 2 and his meeting with Hitler (where he describes the power of the Hitler aura upon the German people), he goes on into the years of Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon during which he was director of the CIA. But...should we take Helms' version of history as official? Probably not. Consider he makes an attempt to bash any theory that tries to show uptight men like him as anything other than squeaky clean. He especially tries to brush off the idea that the CIA might have been involved in the JFK assassination. He goes out of his way to especially criticise New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison who first brought the assassination conspiracy theories to the public and the Oliver Stone film based on the investigation and evidence of conspiracy, "JFK." He calls the idea of a conspiracy hogwash and tries to support the idea of Oswald acting alone with evidence that has already been shredded apart by investigators. Helms even tries to defend the image of FBI head J.Edgar Hoover, he confirms that Hoover kept certain files on people, but he attempts to deny the idea brought about by overwhelming evidence and testimony that Hoover lived a homosexual lifestyle. Helms presents a good story but also tries too hard to clean-up the image of a government that runs wild in some areas, something that has been long ago proven. It is a good read, well-written and detailed, but like any open-minded reader, read but carefully tread the waters because are we to believe Helms would honestly reveal secrets that even today would awaken rage from the general populace? Helms tells a good story, how much of it is true we will never know.



4. 
   
   Richard Helms is, after Allen Dulles, arguably the most significant US spymaster and intelligence manager in history. It is a fortunate circumstance that he overcame his reluctance to publish anything at all, and worked with the trusted William Hood, whose own books are remarkable, to put before the public a most useful memoire.
   
   Below are a few of the gems that I find worth noting, and for which I recommend the book as a unique record:
   
   1) Puts forward elegant argument for permissive & necessary secrecy in the best interests of the public
   2) Defends the CIA culture as highly disciplined--he is persuasive in stating that only Presidents can order covert actions, and that CIA does only the President's direct bidding.
   3) Makes it clear in passing, not intentionally, that his experience as both a journalist and businessman were essential to his ultimate success as a spymaster and manager of complex intelligence endeavors--this suggests that one reason there is "no bench" at CIA today is because all the senior managers have been raised as cattle destined to be veal: as young entry on duty people, brought up within the bureaucracy, not knowing how to scrounge sources or meet payroll...
   4) Compellingly discusses the fact that intelligence without counterintelligence is almost irrelevant if not counterproductive, but then glosses over some of the most glaring counterintelligence failures in the history of the CIA--interestingly, he defends James Angleton and places the blame for mistreating Nosenko squarterly on the Soviet Division leadership in the Directorate of Operations.
   5) Points out that it was Human Intelligence (HUMINT), not Imagery Intelligence (IMINT), that first found the Soviet missiles in Cuba.
   6) He confirms the Directorate of Intelligence and the analysis it does, as the "essence" of intelligence, relegating clandestine and technical intelligence to support functions rather than driving functions. This is most important, in that neither clandestine nor technical collectors are truly responsive to the needs of all-source analysts, in part because systems are designed, and agents are recruited, without regard to what is actually needed.
   7) He tells a great story on Laos, essentially noting that 200 CIA paramilitary officers, and money, and the indigenous population, where able to keep 5 North Vietnamese divisions bogged down, and kept Laos more or less free for a decade
   8) In the same story on Laos, he explains U.S. Department of Defense incapacity in unconventional or behind the lines war by noting that their officers kept arriving "with knapsacks full of doctrine".
   9) In recounting some of CIA's technical successes, he notes casually that persistence is a virtue--there were *thirteen* satellite failures before the 14th CORONA effort finally achieved its objectives.
   10) He gives Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) much higher marks at a user and leader of intelligence, such that we wondered why Christopher Andrew, the noted author on US Presidents and intelligence, did not include LBJ is his "four who got it" (Washington, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Bush Senior).
   11) He confirms, carefully and directly, that the Israeli attacks on the USS Liberty were deliberate and with fore-knowledge that the USS Liberty was a US vessel flying the US flag on US official business.
   12) He expresses concern, in recounting the mistakes in Chile, over the lack of understanding by President Nixon and Henry Kissinger (who writes the Foreword to this book) of the time lags involved in clandestine operations and covert actions.
   13) In summary, he ends with pride, noting that all that CIA did not only reduced fear, it saved tens of billions of dollars in defense expenditures that would have been either defeated by the Soviets, or were unnecessary. There can be no question, in light of this account, but that CIA has more than "paid the rent", and for all its trials and tribulations, provides the US taxpayer with a better return on investment than they get from any other part of the US Government, and certainly vastly more bang for the buck that they get from the US Department of Defense.
   
   Richard Helms is a one-of-a-kind, and this memoire should be read by every intellience professional, and anyone who wishes to understand how honorable men can thrive in the black world of clandestine and covert operations. RIP.

5 comments about Slave: My True Story.

1. Slave is an alarmingly true story about the modern day slave trade. I could not put this book down. My heart was pounding towards the end as Mende was attempting to escape. I recommend this book to anyone who is willing to have thier eyes opened to the very disturbing fact the there are people profiting from throwing children into a lifetime of Slavery and even more disturbing is the fact that there are families that will buy and "own" slaves.



2. The content of the book is a deeply moving story of a taugh girl who didn't lose her hope to be a free person. The most of the people in our world are not aware of a crude fact that slavery exists in 21 century. The highest toll pay children and women.



3. This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. I would recommend it to anyone who likes to ready true stories from someone's life.



4. I am was in shock throughout this entire book. I could not believe that this actually happen in the 21st century. Mende told her story so descriptively. I could not stop reading it. Excellent memoir.



5. Parts of this book were too graphic for me. I can't believe what women in some parts of the world have to endure. I couldn't finish it.

5 comments about Angel Unaware: A Touching Story of Love and Loss.

1. This book is wonderful. It so beautifully written from the POV of little Robin giving an account to God of her brief life on earth. If there is a disabled child that has touched your life, you need to read this book. Dale Evans Rogers has written a masterpiece which will benefit the lives of many. Thank goodness God sent Robin into their lives!



2. My Aunt gave me this book to read when I was in grade school. I am now 42 years old and I still remember this book as being one of the most profound stories I have ever read. I have recommended this book often, I have never forgotten it.
   Such a touching reminder for all of us that life is divine and should never be taken for granted.



3. Until I real Dale Evans' account of her daughter's life, I didn't realize anyone felt the way I do. We lost our 2 1/2 year old daughter this year. She had "special needs," some similar to those of Robin in the book. We always felt that God gave us our daughter and she was our own angel here on earth. This book is a wonderful story of the love between a family, their God, and their special angel. I highly recommend it to any parent or family who have lost a child with a disability.



4. I read this book when I was in 4th or 5th grade. The story of Robin Rogers has stuck with me for 35 years. While I have forgotten the details, I remember the essential message. All children are gifts from God, especially the ones that aren't everyone's idea of perfect.



5. This little book is a heartwarming love story and a heart wrenching tear jerker all rolled into one. Dale Evans Rogers shares the tale of little Robin, her Down Syndrome daughter who died at a very young age. The story is told from Robin's point of view, as if she is sitting on her heavenly father's knee relating what happened "down there." The heartache of a mother's loss, and the hope of a child's eternity are entwined in an unforgettable tale. I highly recommend this book to any one who has lost a young child, or has had to deal with special needs like Down Syndrome. Be sure to have a tissue box handy.

5 comments about Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise.

1. Ruth Reichl is excellent at writing about food. She really captures tastes in poetic language.



2. I read this book for our book club and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was meant to be somewhat lighter than some things we'd been reading lately and it was that; but it was also enlightening about ourselves and how we treat others. The recipes are wonderful! I've highlighted the recipe index so I can turn right to them!



3. I was very disappointed in this audio CD book. First of all, something about this book seems very self-indulgent. For example, CD1 goes on endlessly about how the author doesn't really want this top job, but of course, she interviews and ends up with it. It seems very disingenous. Second, stories from a job of eating out at mostly very fancy restaurants seems pretty irrelevant in 2008, when most people are struggling to pay their monthly bills and save for retirement. Listening for 20 minutes to someone describe perfect buckwheat noodles is rather tiresome. Third, and perhaps most importantly, the publisher has chosen a reader who is very dramatic and overly inflects each and every voice. She mimics a 4 year old child, a portly Yankee editor, old Jewish men, the author, a haughty, constipated sounding friend (Claudia),Italian waiters, etc. I guess some listeners might enjoy this, but it personally drove me bonkers. A matter of personal preference, I guess. Be careful you can handle this type of a narration before you opt for the audiobook.



4. I loved this engaging memoir by the New York Times food critic. I particularly enjoy Reichl's egalitarian view of fine dining (everyone should have the same great experience, famous or not). As a lover of good food and fine dining, I found this to be a very entertaining read.



5. During the 1990s, Ruth Reichel was the restaurant critic for the New York Times. When she began the job, she realized that a majority of the restaurants she would be reviewing knew what she looked like and were on the lookout for her. Therefore, she created a number of disguises for herself using clothing, wigs, and makeup. I highly recommend this book for an enlightening look at how Ruth's costumes changed the way people treated her as well as the effect on Ruth herself.
   
   I found it intriguing how Ruth took on other personalities almost without trying to. When she dressed as her mother she found herself ordering the foods her mother liked, and criticizing and returning foods to the kitchen as her mother would. My favorite character was Brenda. She wore a long and oddly scruffy carrot red wig that made her look rumpled and sleepy as if she had just climbed out of bed. She wore bright colored clothing, large colorful eyeglasses, and lipstick painted on bigger than her own lips. The way people treated her was different and wonderful. They smiled at her and talked to her. They wanted to spend time with her. They wished her well. Ruth states "Brenda was my best self, the person I've always wanted to be. She was generous and funny, optimistic and smart. She was kind. I hoped that finding the Brenda inside me would not always require a wig." See the end of this review for Ruth's comments during an interview about wearing disguises.
   
   I also loved Ruth's artistic and sensual descriptions of food. Personally, I am not into food and I cook as little as possible. So I was surprised that I was entertained with her eating experiences and her knowledge of food. Some examples follow.
   
   P 86 regarding oysters. She said "You can't eat these. They've been out of the water too long. See how dry it is? An oyster should have abundant liquid in the shell. See how dull it is? When an oyster first comes out of the water, it is shiny, luminescent. It looks like this moonstone. But the longer an oyster is out of the water, the duller it becomes. This, as you can see, has no shine at all."
   
   P 60 regarding a japanese noodle restaurant: "It takes a magician to make soba. They are made of buckwheat, which has no gluten. That means that getting them to hold together is an act of will."
   
   More than once during this book I thought about truth being stranger than fiction. For example, Mr. Shapiro purchased a dinner with the author through a charity fundraising auction. He bragged to her that he always insisted on being the last person out of the restaurant. Her dinner with him lasted six hours. He was a jerk in other ways as well. My first reaction was disbelief that someone like him even existed. Another item that surprised me was about a man who would not give any money to his wife but allowed her to purchase as much clothing as she liked. Therefore, she frequently purchased two of each article of clothing and would give the second item to a consignment resale shop.
   
   There is an interview with the author at the end of the audiobook, which does not appear in my paper version of the book. In that interview, the author discusses several topics, one of which follows. I've done some editing for length and clarity.
   
   "When I first started wearing disguises, I thought it was about being anonymous and that it was all about the job, but as time went on I began to see that it's very hard to pretend to be someone and not be that person. People react to what you look like and you yourself begin reacting to how people react to you. I found being in disguise was a way of connecting with myself in a way that I hadn't anticipated. It was also a way of seeing how important (pause). You know, we always say don't judge a book by its cover and it's only the surface, but the truth is that it is more than surface deep. I started thinking how important clothes are and the way that when you're a little girl you make these choices about what you're going to look like and how important it is every time you cut your hair. You're making these decisions and thinking about what it is that people are going to think of you. The surface that we present to the world is very conscious, even when we think its not. We're always thinking about who we are in the world. Our clothing choices and our hair choices and our makeup choices are all saying to the world this is how I want you to see me, and the world really does see you as the way that you present yourself."
   
   Setting: 1990s New York area. Copyright: 2005. Genre: nonfiction, biography, food.

5 comments about Love in Black and White: A Memoir of Race, Religion, and Romance.

1. Autobiography that's more about the man than the couple, tracing from his childhood in Maine through the White House. Interspersed are sections about Janet Langhart, and her upbringing. The book is an uplifting memoir that educates readers about the decades of historical, political, military social, racial, and Black history milestones in the U.S., as well as those of Mr. Cohen and Ms. Langhart.
   
   A couple of times or so, there were disconnects from a topic launching into something else; and some occasional grammar things going on that seemed out of character.
   
   The books was informative and candid, including paths of excellence and failure for both Mr. Cohen and his future wife. Both came from trailblazing ancestors and in turn carried on that tradition. Mr. Cohen didn't spare himself with a revisionist eye to his fighting youth, bad grades, and even 'cursing like a one-eyed pirate' one day. We learn of his experiences of racism from both the Jewish community and others from a young age forward. Mr. Cohen's mother was Irish Catholic and his father Jewish. Mr. Cohen went on to forgive those who ostracized him and denied him his birthright and merit of a Bar Mitzvah.
   
   Ms. Langhart went on to lead the way from being among the first Fashion Fair models, relegated to segregated accommodations while touring the country to represent the beauty of Black women, as founder Robert Johnson, later of BET fame, and then of the Johnson Publishing dynasty, Jet and Ebony, had envisioned. The reader gets to see the underside as well as the triumphs. Apparently Mr. Johnson had to buy all of the clothing rather than the typical 'loan' of clothes from designers, as people did not want to wear what had been on black bodies. Readers get to see Janet develop from a small child holding fast to her mother's words of hope and tolerance, though she worked as a domestic for white people. Incidentally, I'd seen Janet over the years and one would've never guessed the struggles she'd faced or the disappointments. Her mother and she were basically abandoned by her father, a returning soldier, who'd been a war hero, but had advised his daughter that upon his return he would not be wearing his uniform in the South on the ride home, and he'd be sitting in the back of the bus, disheartened about fighting for freedom for others abroad while at home, he was treated as if he were the enemy. At some point in the book, Janet protests the disparaging treatment of returning black soldiers who had to sit at the back of an auditorium, while foreign prisoners of war were treated like white people and sat at the front.
   
   Incidentally, when other cultural movements such as interracial movements and gay movements look to Black culture in how to navigate in the mainstream culture, it's instructive to note how Black culture has always been of the opinion about representing a good profile to the mainstream. Countering stereotypes was the least activism one could do. In the Fashion Fair tradition, the NAACP, also continues to encourage Black people to keep representing Black culture well with its annual "Image" Awards. The idea of good representation to the public. In the book "Navigating Interracial Borders, Black-White Couples and Their Social Worlds" the author seemed off put with the idea that interracial couples would want to 'keep up a front'. Not airing dirty laundry, and keeping the positive out front to offset the stereotypes. In this regard, it's no different than what Black people have done since Day 1, and continue to do. I believe immigrants did the same as a survival mechanism, too. It works. Role modeling. If you see it, you can achieve it. You can believe, and work towards it. Like any habit, practice makes perfect.
   
   In Cohen's book, you will see the good. That's what counts. Like any married couple, a united front.
   
   We learn that the people who Janet's mother worked for were Jewish, and that Janet's mother adopted some of their practices, like cooking Kosher food, and instilling certain values in her children, in spite of their surroundings and those negative persons around them. Janet's mother didn't teach hate. Nowhere in the book did I read anything but good things about Black men, or negative remarks about shiftless Black men who didn't take care of their children or any nonsense even though Janet's father left the family. It would have been an easy stereotype to exploit given the circumstance. Instead, there were many Black History nods. In Janet's developing career, she met icon after icon in the Black community, including Mahalia Jackson and Martin Luther King, Jr., who reportedly was like a son to Mahalia, and who frequently visited and stayed in her home, as did some other Black icons. The practice of hosting Black people in residences was a collective practice to counter Jim Crow segregation that either excluded Black people from public accommodations altogether, or offered conditions that were very bad. Janet was mentored by a range of Black icons, including Muhammad Ali, who advised her when his heavyweight title was stripped because he wouldn't serve in the War, that he still had his self respect, and that was more valuable than anything someone could give and take away at whim. Years later, during her rise from model to weather girl to broadcast journalist, readers would see how the leaders around her were able to impart survival wisdom. Years later, when Bill Clinton picked Cohen to be Secretary of Defense--a Republican Cohen, no less, and a "Jew" to some, Janet would be treated with the utmost respect to the extent that she began to focus on the good that was in her life. She even began to pray and kiss the flag in Cohen's office when she took to heart lessons learned and experiences that showed her that there are different kinds of people, and there are good people who welcome good people to work for good together.
   
   In this regard, Janet's experience with the military prior to Cohen was that it mistreated Black people like her father, and gave empty promises at best. Her mother and her family had a new home in the housing projects set up by the military for returning Black soldiers. It was a glimpse of the later military 'family' vision that would again renew her faith in the good outweighing the bad. I got chills and choked up when Cohen described how he'd secretly made a special request to honor Janet to the White House leaders during his final days as SecDef.
   
   Now, there's a love story. Cohen and Langhart were formerly married. Ironically, both Janet's brother as well as one of Cohen's sons married someone of the opposite race. Readers will be surprised to hear about the intimate details of a medical situation that Janet faced, and which no doubt had enormous impact on her life.
   
   I don't think the book title really reflects the content of the book. The books is primarily an autobiography of Cohen's life, which didn't intersect with Janet's til only little more than a decade ago. However, some people believe, as mentioned in the book Janet does, in fate. In which case, there life partner was always on their way to them. It wasn't a matter of if but when the two would come together, and how they get there, is really what the book includes. I can see Cohen loving B-ball, his father loving B-ball, and thus Cohen playing on teams where he met more than just White males. I was tickled a bit about his doing the Black handshake with Black men, playing while in the Senate with some Black Congressmen. I could see that if his mother was feisty and had her own independence and opinions that she felt free to express, that Cohen would not be put off by an outspoken Black woman like Langhart.
   
   In the book Cohen mentions Janet's loving his blue eyes. I'd have to say I wish Janet hadn't worn blue contacts on the book cover. While she's got some mixed ancestry, it's not front and center, as in her parents are both black. Somewhere down the line, many Black people have Native American, or White people, etc. in their family tree. People who aim to be a 'couple' will sometimes start dressing alike, and even down the line, are supposedly starting to morph into each other, with similar features.
   
   Since the couple did not have kids, it was a bonus to them in a way because Janet could travel with him everywhere he went and he had no guilt about forsaking the family for his job, as with the case with his first marriage. That both of them could interrelate about their experiences across the board, and stand strong together, was more than a galvanizing force. Readers get to see their perspectives on a range of U.S. events, from the lynching of Emmit Till to Watergate to the assassination of MLK, Jr., Hoover, to USS Cole, Vietnam, WWII, Katrina, the Kanye West TV comment. The times did change, who'd have thought a Republican, an immigrant's son no less who rose from living in a room with 5 people to become an lawyer, Congressman, Senator, SecDef, would be right there networking across the board for better times. And walking into the White House at the invite of hipster Bill Clinton, with his Black wife by his side. In these times. The time for all good men to rise.
   
   If there's an interracial story of love and marriage, a united front, this is it. Representing. As always. That we are more than what meets the eye.



2. I was disipointed that he did not reveal the intensity or depth of of attraction/love. Howeve,his account of his political career was interesting enough for me to want to read more of the stories by politicians during critical times in this country.



3. IT IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE IN THE AFRO AMERICAN COMMUNITY THAT FAIRER SKINNED PEOPLE HAVE IT MUCH EASIER THAN DARKER SKINNED MEMBERS. THIS IS BECAUSE THE FAIRER SKINNED MEMBERS ARE MORE READILY ACCEPTED AND ARE TREATED AS IF THEIR VALUE IS SOME HOW GREATER. IT IS ALSO A FACT THAT THE DARKER SKINNER MEMBERS TRY HARDER AND WORK HARDER. YOU CAN SEE THIS IN AFRO AMERICANS WHO ARE SUCCESSFUL IN MUSIC, SPORTS, MEDICINE, AND COMMUNICATIONS. THIS IS WHY SO MANY PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY BELIEVE THAT THESE HAVE MORE TALENT THAN THE FAIRER SKINNED ONES BECAUSE THE BATTLE IS HARDER.
   THIS IS WHY THIS BOOK IS NOT REALY VALID TO MOST OF THE POPULATION IN THE AFRO-AMERICAN COMMUNITY. SELECTIVE RACISM AND RACISM WITHIN A RACE. I DREAM ABOUT A TIME WHEN INTER-RACIAL COUPLES STOP TEACHING THEIR OFFSPRING THAT THEY ARE BETTER THAN THOSE WHO HAVE PARENTS THAT ARE BOTH AFRO-AMERICAN



4. I find it really amusing that these people with caucasion features who have a pretty easy time being accepted in the "white world", some how think they are the authority on race relations or interracial relationships. I have friends who married very dark skinned African Americans who lived in working class neighborhoods. Their love survived more pain, hardship, and strife then that half-breed Mrs. Cohen could ever imagine. I seriously doubt that Mr. Cohen would have it as bad a dark skinned male, with a white woman on his arm.
   
   Get a clue!



5. This is a love story. The journey of two people arriving at the same place in time, finally. They share their respective experiences with sharp incisive candor. Readers are given a "no holds barred" look into their world.
   
   Quite frankly, they are right. It is the time for a book of this quality to be written. Two little children born and raised in America, each having individual, separate horrendous struggles, - yet surviving, maturing, achieving success. Through their eyes, we experience life in the political, journalist, entertainment,social, personal, civil rights, and sports arena of action. Through them We meet a young Muhammad Ali, Quincey Jones, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Hilary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Sidney Poiter, Richard Nixon, Herbert Hoover, the FBI, Deepak Chopra, Bruce Gordon, Mahalia Jackson, John Johnson, Andrew Young, soldiers in Bosnia and many many more. Beautiful glossy photographs capture memorable moments. Thank you Bill and Janet. Your respective journeys were often jarring, but seldom boring. The book contains enlightening perspectives and is a wake-up call to the sometimes harsh yet mostly beautiful realities of life here on planet earth. And much like the lyrics of that sweet old poignant song, " We will show them as we walk together in the sun, that our two different worlds are one," -- you have indeed done just that.
   
   
   
   I have never met William Cohen and Janet Langhart Cohen, but I have observed Janet's steady progress and achievements, over the years, from the cover of Jet Magazine to the Ebony Fashion Fair, and her television show. I have always been inspired by her courage, intelligence and professionalism. I am an African-American woman. This book is excellent and informative. Its final chapter features Janet's masterfully crafted play, a dialogue between murdered Emmitt Till and the Holocaust's Anne Frank.
   
   
   My next read will be Janet's book, "From Rage to Reason."

5 comments about A Passion for the Impossible.

1. I just finished reading this book and was so impressed with the astonishing results this woman achieved because of her total surrender to God's plans. An accomplished young artist from an upper class Victorian family, she left the comforts of England and went into Algeria, a country inhabitated by Arabs who were mostly Muslim. It was a slow but steady start, because of language problems, government interference (because of suspicions about missionaries motives), and just the differences in the different ways of thinking and lifestyles of the Algerian people.
   
   Lilias spent several decades of her life doing the "basics" in securing the beginnings of a life long ministry among a people hungry for deep spiritual lessons, but finding ways to do this required much patience, thought and forgiveness. And on top of all this, she is dealing with a new language, both spoken and written.
   
   The majority of this book is taken from Lilias's copius journals, letters and writings where she kept records of what she was involved in day by day.
   
   I learned a lot about what the foreign missionary effort entails, and especially when you're the first to go into an area with some brand new ideas where life is so different. But she won them over slowly with her love. As time went on, she had much help from other women and men who worked with her in this cause.
   
   The last couple of decades her health was not good, but she just kept on plugging away, even writing from her bed the last two years.
   She wrote some beautiful booklets that have profound lessons of faith and obedience in them. "Parables of the Cross" and "Parables of the Christ Life" are just two of them.
   
   She gleaned such meaningful lessons from nature, things that the ordinary person would hardly think of. She could see great lessons from a grain of wheat, a peach, a bee, etc. She looked deeply into the whys and wherefores of the lessons that nature has to teach us.
   
   Lilias really had a heart for these people and she felt that God gave her that heart and she was to do what she could as well as she could for as long as she could. She was true to that effort.
   
   One thing I wished this book had was a map of the area that showed all the little towns and outposts that were mentioned in the book, and were developed over many years and many travels.
   This book is a good read, even though you are dealing with some new words and another way of thinking. You will learn a lot and wish you had known this woman who was totally devoted to God.



2. As the premier art critic in Victorian England, John Ruskin was the arbiter of taste. In 1883 he revealed a hard-to-believe prejudice: "For a long time I used to say . . . that except in a graceful and minor way, women could not draw or paint." Ruskin then discounted this view, based on his reaction to the art of a young woman named Lilias Trotter: "I'm beginning lately to bow myself to the much more delightful conviction that no one else can" draw or paint.

   In a 1960s book, RUSKIN TODAY, Sir Kenneth Clark mentioned Trotter as someone lost to history. But Clark hadn't turned over every leaf, as has biographer Miriam Rockness, who discovered Trotter through bequeathed volumes of her out-of-print illustrated books.

   A bright, talented daughter of a prominent stockbroker in London, Lilias Trotter (1853-1928) was comfortable in the company of privilege. At age 21 she was among guests, including George MacDonald and Bishop Wilberforce, invited to a religious retreat, the forerunner of the Keswick Conferences.

   Spiritually stirred by this and the preaching of Dwight Moody, Lilias grew discontent with the in-vogue "charity from a distance." For more than 10 years in London, she devotedly worked to help establish a hostel for working women, the forerunner of the YWCA.

   During this time, while on vacation in Venice, her meddling mother asked Ruskin to look at Lilias's watercolor paintings --- a request that led to art lessons, weekend invitations, and extended conversations and correspondence between the Miss and the Master, who claimed she could be the greatest painter of her generation if she would "give herself up to art." To the dismay of many, Lilias turned her back on Ruskin's challenge: "I cannot give myself to painting in the way he means and continue still to 'seek first the Kingdom of God.' "

   When Lilias was 35, this whole-spirited commitment dramatically "called" her to mission work in northern Africa. With two female colleagues --- none knowing Arabic, none robust enough to pass physicals required by established mission boards --- she sailed for Algeria, where she lived a life of saintly proportions until her death, at age 75.

   Two-thirds of Rockness's biography delves into the Algerian years. Learning Arabic was the first of many challenges: Muslim resistance to a Christian message, French resistance to British interlopers, male resistance to a female witness. And yet under Trotter's leadership, the original missionary band and later recruits translated portions of scripture, distributed literature, befriended women and children, opened cafés for men, and hosted summer camps for nomadic families.

   There are no imagined conversations in this book; there's no mistaking it for a novel. This is history, relying largely on journals, with some analysis and helpful foreshadowing. Ever aware of Lilias the artist, Rockness faithfully describes the palette of the desert so well that it's hard to distinguish Lilias the missionary from Lilias the artist.

   In time Lilias envisioned a "new approach to Arab literature": writings that would speak to Algerians, instead of what Trotter called the "hitherto translated stories of Jacks & Bobs whose surroundings are as foreign to children of the east as their names" and finding an affordable means of color printing, so as to attract people who delighted in color. To meet these goals, Lilias wrote and illustrated nature parables that may soon be back in print, thanks to Rockness's persistence.

   Some of the biography's most interesting material comes toward the end. In her last decade, Trotter won the respect of a group of Sufi (male) mystics. "The artist in her responded to the artist in the Sufis," notes Rockness. "Yet she never lost her spiritual focus." Confined to bed in the last two years, she wrote THE WAY OF THE SEVENFOLD SECRET, explaining to them seven "I Am" claims of Jesus --- as she managed what had become an extensive mission outreach.

   Trotter's printed word and art can indeed inspire a new generation. But only those who knew her can appreciate "perhaps her most palpable legacy": her love. As an obituary noted, "No wonder that Catholics and Jews and Moslems, as well as Protestants, are mourning her loss, for love, in the end, wins love."

   --- Reviewed by Evelyn Bence




3. There are few things that inspire me more than a true story of a child of God who is faithful in the face of success and apparent failure. I see the reality of this woman's walk with God to be the challenge and encouragement. The accounts of her passion, travels, and encounters challenge my perspective on missions. I don't believe I had a real grasp on missions until I read this book. The quotations of her own journals and other writings bring a special feeling of knowing Lilias by the end of the book. This is a book I highly encourage all believers to read.



4. I am a voracious reader of non-fiction (particularly Christian non-fiction), but out of thousands of books I have read, this biography captivated me like no other. Perhaps because I am a writer and artist, I could identify with Lilias and her passions. Ultimately, however, this is a story of adventure, sacrifice, surrender and uncompromising dedication to Jesus Christ, all set against the exotic backdrop of Algeria. I can't wait to meet Lilias in heaven and tell her how she inspired me. Of course, I also look forward to meeting the authors someday because they brought Lilias to life. The narrative is as lovely as Lilias' art!



5. This book does indeed weave a challenging and interesting tale of a pioneeer missionary, who for the sake of the gospel left a comfortable and gracious victorian life for a life of sacrifice in the northern deserts of Africa, among Muslim tribemen.It is carefully crafted and includes some prints of Lilias' own artwork, which from what can be seen, is lovely.I wish a book could be devoted to more prints and more about Lilias' travels!

5 comments about Dear Diary.

1. The concept of this book - seek out the adult versions of the people that you wrote about in your adolescent diary, some of which hurt you, and confront them about the incidence(s) - sounds terribly hilarious. Unfortunately, it wasn't as funny as I had hoped. Nevertheless, it was a solid read for several other reasons, the first of which is that Arfin is a great writer.



2. When I first picked up Dear Diary from a stack of vacation reading, I thought it was going to be a funny read. The idea/gimmick is that the author goes through the diary she kept through her teen years, comments on the entries, and tries to track down the people she knew at the time to get their perspective on things.
   
   Once I got a better look at the book, I realized that it was not just for laughs or nostalgia: the author descended into heroin addiction during her teen years, and she uses the diary entries to track her journey into drug use.
   
   The book was a disappointment. The author tries to juxtapose her adult self with her teen self, but she actually comes off as as self-absorbed adult who thinks she's much more interesting than she is. When she tracks down childhood friends (and enemies), she doesn't get much out of them -- nothing you can't experience firsthand by finding your old classmates online and asking them what they remember about you.
   
   It's hard to form a solid criticism of Dear Diary, because there's not enough substance there to critique. It tries to be funny, deep, even a cautionary tale, but it really doesn't hit the mark on any of these things. I was left feeling glad that Arfin got her drug addiction under control, but not so glad that I'd spent time reading her book.



3. I had high expectations when I bought this book and they weren't met. I was expecting a book that ended in an epiphany or was written a little better, I guess. It's an honest book, however, and I did like how Arfin went back to the people she wrote about during her junior high and high school years to get questions answered which is why I have it more than 1 star. What I didn't like is that it all seemed so superficial. It was like Arfin was trying too hard throughout the book to be obscene--not through the original journal entries, but through the follow up conversations.
   
   I think you might like it if you're in junior high or high school. You might be able to relate to a lot of the journal entries than I could being out of high school and away from the drama for so many years. Towards the end, once Arfin starts spiraling down on her heroin addiction, it becomes more real than reading about her first dry humping experience or first kiss.



4. author is shallow and full of herself...basically, she's the person who just wants to go on and on and on because she likes hearing herself speak.
   
   there is nothing useful or helpful here, the writing is weak, undeveloped, and juvenile; the author seems very proud of herself for what she was involved in--and what info there is of that is very sketchy...even as i was reading this 5-minute story, i found myself wondering why this book was published at all.



5. The writer talks as if you're having a cigarette outside of a mall rather than in a confessional. Comfortable but with a little distance,(for purposes only in protecting herself) she keeps herself vulnerable throughout the story (most of the time) with recalling the past, mini- update-interviews with past acquaintances (which were great) and coming of age revelations.
   
   I enjoyed the book, found myself cracking up at her dry humor and some of the references of growing up in the 90's. Overall I'd recommend the book, just don't take everything literal or too serious. it is her story.