5 comments about When Autumn Comes: Creating Compassionate Care for the Dying.

1. The experiences of dying individuals in this book were compelling and insightful. Each chapter tells a story of a hospice patient's unique situation and challenges from the perspective of a volunteer. In the margins, the author would pose insightful questions about ethical dilemmas, boundary issues, or problems, that she encountered in this particular assignment. For this reason, selected chapters might serve as effective case studies and be suitable for a training class or discussion group for hospice volunteers.
   
   There is a glossary of medical and hospice terms in the back of the book and a very practical chapter on the physiological process as one is actively dying. Although the author writes openly about her sadness and feelings of ambivalence and conflict, her personal story speaks for the value of compassion in this line of work yet the tone is never maudlin or despondent. Personal opinions are balanced with pragmatism.
   
   In summary, I would recommend this book to hospice volunteers but also to people who are trying to get a deeper understanding of the general hospice experience.



2. I was pleasantly surprised and enlightened by reading this informative book on hospice care. Very well done, with an interesting personal touch.



3. I have been an RN for over 30 years and a hospice nurse for 14 years. As I read When Autumn Comes I discovered how Mary Jo Bennett brings her gift of listening with her whole heart to each encounter with those approaching death. It is clear that she offers a caring and quiet spirit to her patients and shows how we can also.



4. I found "When Autumn Comes" to be very inspiring as well as comforting reading at the time my father was passing on. I think more than anything it helped me to recognize my own agenda vs. my father's real needs and state of mind. This book helped me to not be so afraid of death and instead to support my father and actually encourage him in this process by my mindful presence. I will never forget this rich experience of being at his side until the moment when he took his final breath. It was an honor, a joy and a privilege and I am so grateful to have had this guidebook for support to enhance my spiritual understanding of the death process.



5. The stories Ms. Bennett tells in When Autumn Comes have the power to penetrate deeply into relationship spaces most of us are unwilling to go without a guide. She has learned the sacred art of listening, and challenges me to ask this burning question everywhere I go these days, "How can I help?"

1 comments about One Step Forward: The Life of Ken Dahlberg.

1. One Step Forward The life of Ken Dahlberg
   
   
   I was not to sure what to expect from a WW II veteran's life. The story kept me interested thru out. The book is about Ken Dahlberg life from childhood to the founder of company called Miracle Ear. Oh, by the way, he was a triple ace in WW II, shot down three times and held as a prisoner of war in Germany. Ken Dahlberg is now over ninety years old with no signs of slowing down!
   My favorite part of the book is his military career. He tells about how he almost did not graduate flight school. What he thought was his last day he snapped a barrel roll in his plane. The instructor asked and Dahlberg replied he thought he failed and wanted to try it in his last day of flying a military aircraft. The instructors made him a flight instructor and finally sent him to combat.
   The description of his becoming a triple ace is remarkable. I know there are only a few triple aces. Dahlberg is pretty humble in his skills as a pilot. When he was shot down, during the Battle of the Bulge he was rescued by a tank crew. Dahlberg and the book writers went to visit the soldier who saved him sixty years later in the hospital . The soldier told his story of the rescue and later passed away from cancer.
   Dahlberg went back to France and revisited the French family that hid him from the Germans after he was shot down. In the book, there are photos of the villa, and Dahlberg with the wooden stick hut slept in.
   Most of the book is about WW II combat experience and there are parts on how he got started in business after the war. I found it amazing that Dahlberg had started with nothing and worked hard and sacrificed to become a successful business person. He never forgets the sacrifices he and his fellow soldiers made to this country.
   Reading One Step Forward the life of Ken Dahlbeg will make you understand why World War II Veterans are called the greatest generation because they gave it all for this country. The book is very excellent reading and captivating.
   
   MAJ (ret) Eric Shuler NJARNG
   OIF 2004-2005
   
   
   

2 comments about My Life as a Revolutionary: Reflections of a Former Guerrillera.

1. "My Life as a Colombian Revolutionary; Reflections of a Former Guerrillera," by Maria Eugenia Vasquez Perdomo is primarily a guerrilla narrative of Colombia's violent past. To this end, the author provides an intimate understanding of "how" young urban and rural Colombians flock to revolutionary movements. However, this book has two major shortcomings. First, the author fails to adequately explain "why" Colombians turn their back on establishment institutions to promote change. And secondly, Vasquez makes a very feeble attempt to demonstrate contrition for living the life of a terrorist for 18 years.
   
   On that note, it is no surprise that the Spanish-language version of this book was awarded the Colombian National Prize for Testimonial Literature in 1998. Colombian readers have a good understanding of the absence of political, economic, social and land reforms inside their country. American readers of this text should be warned to pay close attention to the strong 22-page historical "Introduction" by Arthur Schmidt. Otherwise, they will never completely figure out "why" Colombians join guerrilla organizations. The author fails to give a comprehensive understanding of significant historical events. For instance, Jorge Eliecer Gaitan, the Bogotazo, La Violencia, The National Front, the controversial 1970 elections and Camilo Torres take a back seat to her day to day anti-imperialism, anti-oligharchy, anti-sectarianism guerrilla activities. Had the author dedicated more time to weave Colombia's complex history to her narrative this would be a benchmark book.
   
   Still and all, this is an extremely valuable text. Vasquez is harassed, hunted and tortured by state institutions. She also renounces motherhood twice for her senior leadership position in the M-19 guerrilla organization. Consequently, her explanation of the turmoil on the Colombian urban campus and the era of war for the sake of peace is useful. Moreover, information on legendary M-19 leaders, Jaime Bateman, Gustavo Arias (a.k.a. Boris), Carlos Pizarro, Ivan Marino Ospina, Antonio Navarro, and Alvaro Fayad is priceless. It just would have made more sense for the author to have developed a better "connect" between the revolutionary consciousness and Colombia's long history of state-inspired violence.
   
   Bert Ruiz



2. My wife is originally from Ecuador and her best friend is from Colombia. So, through staying with her friend's wonderful family in Pasto, I have had the opportunity to explore and experience this vibrant country full of some of the most kind and generous people I have ever met. Tragically, Colombia's history, from far into the past until today, has been marred by devasting political violence and warfare.
   
   When Maria Vasquez was a young, idealistic student she joined a group of revolutionaries, known as the M-19s, hoping to transform Colombian society. Vasquez is an excellent writer who paints a vivid and compelling portrait of her youthful adventures and political activites. That is why I give this book a high rating.
   
   Unfortunately, Vasquez's actions included such atrocities as robbery, kidnapping and hostage taking at a foreign embassy. Obviously, her actions caused suffering to many innocent people. She and other M-19 guerillas also receiving military training in Castro's Cuba and Gadaffi's Libya. In contemporary terms she would likely be called a terrorist. Vasquez does take some responsibility for her actions in the final chapter. But most of the book is a highly romanticized account of her "glory days" as a guerilla, in which little remorse is expressed. In that respect I was disappointed.
   
   Still this book has an amazing story to tell and I do recommend reading it. But, sadly, instead of changing Colombia for the better Vasquez and her fellow M-19s only continued Colombia's brutal legacy of political violence and killing. This beautiful country and its people deserve better!

1 comments about Sundar Singh: Footprints Over The Mountains (Christian Heroes: Then & Now) (Christian Heroes: Then & Now).

1. Sundar's mother wanted him to be a holy man, or sadhu, and, being a Singh, he was expected to follow in the Sikh faith of their family. They thought the Sikh scriptures were better than the Hindu scriptures; also the Sikhs believed in only one God. The Sikhs thought themselves above the rest of the people of India.
   
   Since the public school was five miles away, his parents sent him to the Christian mission school nearby. Sundar was a good learner, and pleased the teachers. Before his mother died, he prayed that she would live, but after her death, he hated the Christians and their God, making life at the mission school miserable. Since he still had to go to school, he told his father he would walk to the public school, but after he contracted malaria, he was not strong enough to make the walk. His father insisted that he attend the Christian mission school again. After some time, he was still sick and depressed from the malaria, and he decided he must know if God was real. He prayed and asked the Lord to show Himself to Sundar that night, or he would kill himself under the morning train. He says that Jesus appeared and spoke to him. That night his life changed. He repented and believed on Christ.
   
   When Sundar told his family about his new faith in Jesus, they tried to change his mind, finally poisoning him, when he left to live with Christian friends. To their amazement, he survived the poisoning.
   
   He had a burning desire to tell everyone about the Lord. It occurred to him that people with listen more readily if became a Sadhu; not a Sikh Sadhu, but a Christian holy man. He traveled all over, preaching as he went. Many people drove him away, but some listened.
   
   Sundar had a particular burden for the people of Tibet. He would walk over the Himalayan ranges to preach to them, although bringing in a foreign "religion" was illegal. One of the first times he was preaching, he was caught by the grand lama and sentenced to die. Since their religious convictions forbid them to actually kill someone, they have divised many methods of slowly "allowing" people to die. Sundar was thrown into a dry well to die, a well that he discovered had been used many times for the same purpose. Rotting human remains and bones surrounded him with an awful stench. After three days, he was miraculously rescued.
   
   He went on to many places, being persecuted and tortured, but continuing to preach. He began to be well known, and other countries asked for him to come to speak to them. Sundar preached in many countries, but he always came back to the places his heart yearned over. In time his father came to know the Lord.
   
   Sundar never returned from his last trip to Tibet. No one knows or admits to knowing what happened to him. We do know that he was faithful to preach God's Word; faithful unto death, and he will receive a crown of life.

2 comments about Tainted Blood?: Memoirs of a Part-Jewish Girl in the Third Reich 1933-1945.

1. There is so much information on WW2, the events leading up to war, Hitler and his regime, the plight of the Jewish people, etc. Baake's book is a welcome perspective from an average person growing up under Hitler's regime. She brings to light the day to day challenges the people had to face, what information they received, what they thought, the charm of the Hitler Youth programs, the hell they had to endure. But never does she wallow in the sadness. This is not a depressing book. While vividly reminding us of the tragedies and challenges that come with war, Baake's positive nature shines through in every difficult situation. She will even make you laugh in her innocent flirtations and ironic comedies that often come up in trying times. This is a book for anyone who wishes they could ask their grandparents the question 'what was it like'?



2. When I lived as a student in France, I lived with a woman who remembered her city and its occupation by the Germans during WWII. I wanted to hear a personal account from the other side and had always wanted to ask a German who lived under the Nazi regime what were the things they experienced in their society that brought them to war? How did this happen to the German people? I would like to be able to recognize the same signs of tyranny in our present world. "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." - George Santayana.

1 comments about Home in Fenwick: Memoir of a Place.

1. Little has captured Fenwick in a way that only Wharton, Marquand or Auchincloss could. Stellar company to be sure, but all of them are writing about something they knew and loved. Fenwick is really less of a place than a moment in time;a collection of events, remembered differently by the individuals who experienced them. Little brings his reporter's eye and judgement to the piece which prevents it from falling into the honey pot of sentimentality. He is also very matter of fact about his role in this story. He knows his place, as it were. This story is not "his" story necessarily, but he is a participant. When writing about these kinds of summer enclaves or particular social milieu's, most writers fail miserably because they tip their hand too easily. They either have an axe to grind or they're desperately trying to insert themselves into the story. Little refers to this as "self-disqualifying" when discussing Katherine Hepburn and a legion of writers. The details may not be noticed by the public at large, but quite telling to those who knew her.

5 comments about Amazonia: Five Years at the Epicenter of the Dot.Com Juggernaut.

1. This was a highly readable, and really interesting look at both the book business, and the growth of an incredibly profitable company. Jeff Bezos undeniably moved Amazon.com from a small start-up in his garage to a massively profitable company with thousands of employees, how? Marcus joined Amazon in its early years, and although he didn't really work directly with Bezos he definitely seems to capture the feeling in the company's early years. It's a heady combination of insider/outsider, the feeling of being part of something bigger, of being part of something both exciting and new, and the faith he and his coworkers had in their leader with his visionary ideas and practical talents. It takes a candid look at the problems as well, the growing bureaucratization and efforts to quantify everything in terms of dollars and cents.
   
   It is also a fascinating look at the trial and error aspect of business, what they bought and tried to sell, what worked and didn't work. And throughout a humorous and reflective evocation of what it means to work in the corporate environment when you have stronger loves then that of turning a profit.



2. I liked it, it was worth reading. What amazes me is the length of the reviews and depth on this book. The authors point is well proven that idiots will write reviews for free, Jeff smiles as the cash register ads to the rocketship fund.



3. An exceptional, exclusive, and original look into the inner workings of the web retail giant Amazon. Follow Marcus from his initiation as employee #55 to the highs (and lows) of his lost $9 million dollar stock fortune, and finally, his frustuartion and eventual decision to leave Amazon. Though Marcus was one of the earliest employees to be hired at Amazon, beginning his career when CEO Bezos had only dreams of becoming a retail giant, he describes the company as if he were only a passerby, a spectator. This detachment is apparent especially as Marcus laments his lost fortune, and criticizes Amazon's "culture of metrics" and their constant hiring of MBA types while continuely pushing editors from office to office like a stack of old books in their corporate warehouse.
   
   Marcus reveals the less pretty side of giant corporations, even ones who exist in the web world, and he destroys any perception of Amazon as a caring book company which exists only to serve you to find new and creative books. Instead, Marcus paints a picture of Amazon as a money frenzied monster manipulating visitors into buying books and items sponsored by their companies, not reccomended by Amazon editors or staff.
   
   Overall, Marcus's ramblings must be taken with a grain of salt. (Remember, he did miss out on $9 million from this company, and he was being mistreated increasingly in his last years). But, this insight into Amazon and other corporations is valuable, and insightful. Its a quick read, and it will change the way you look at Amazon - for better or worse, read it.



4. This book does far more than tell the story of one person's career experiences in the middle of the dot.com Amazon boom era. James captures throughout the book the psychological roller coaster of the paper money insanity that was the late 90's gold rush. Speculation drove insane price multiples for companies with no assets and no profits, creating millions in wealth for book editors who also spent time time packing books into boxes.
   
   The book is written well as a first person narrative, and is quite interesting to read. James shares the events and emotions and blends them so the reader experiences some of what it was like from the trenches. I laughed out loud at his depiction of MBAs and absurd corporate speak which started to permeate the once pureness of literary service provided by Amazon on line editors. While most of the moves Jeff Bezos made paid off for Amazon, it was hard for the author to write about some of the dot.com ventures and the insane prices paid for acquisitions, many of which are comical in retrospect.
   
   Perhaps the most compelling aspect of the book is the manner in which he captures the conflicting emotions of paper wealth created by the dot.com frenzy. He depicts the simmering resentment of other corporate employees as Amazon moved to an office building downtown and the unconventional Amazon employees, with their paper millions, began to rub elbows with banking employees working hard for normal wages.
   
   The only complaint I had was when he veered off subject with a chapter long diatribe on literary commentary. Granted, he was a book editor and therefore is knowledgeable on the subject, but it seemed a bit pedantic and detracted from the commentary on the company.
   
   Overall, I really enjoyed the prose and the internal perspective on the rise of one of the dot.com survivors. Writing a review on Amazon, on a book about Amazon, by an editor of books for Amazon, is a bit surreal. The irony aside, I recommend this book as a fun personal story and a historical retrospective on a unique era.



5. Amazonia: Five Years at the Epicenter of the Dot.com Juggernaut by James Marcus is an entertaining little book about one man's experience working as a book reviewer for Amazon.
   
   James Marcus signed up for Amazon as employee number 77 and watched the company soar to over 8000 employees. At the beginning, the author calls the company a "utopian frat house," and something that "resembled a science project executed by the smartest kid in the class." Jeff Bezos was going places, and working at Amazon in the beginning was as exciting as a thrill ride. While pay and benefits weren't always the best, the stock options were mind boggling. At one time, Marcus' stock options were worth $9 million on paper.
   
   In the course of his five year tenure, the author wrote reviews, interviewed authors, selected featured books, took care of the homepage, and gave interviews to CNN on holiday book selections. When the holidays approached, almost all employees were expected to spend time in the warehouse. Marcus writes a witty account of working the conveyer belt trying to package book orders, "surely we were in Lucy-and-Ethel territory here."
   
   Unfortunately, Amazon stumbled as it grew and it started accumulating other companies and trying new products. Soon they were selling toys, internet cards, tools, electronics, kitchen wares and featuring an on-line auction (similar to eBay). Some of these ventures sunk like a stone, and soon weeds were starting to take over this "high-tech hot house." The dot.com market also tumbled and Amazon stock prices went with it.
   
   I thought that Amazonia could have included a little more about the author's personal life. He gives only very brief snippets of what is happening on that level. Also, Marcus likes to impress us with his giant vocabulary, which gets distracting at times. I also thought the comparisons between Emerson and the internet a stretch. But Amazonia is still a fine book and I walked away with a better understanding of the world of Amazon and the genius of Jeff Bezos. I also wrote down a number of book recommendations. Marcus also has a shrewd eye for observing books, authors and readers. One observation I liked is "READERS AND WRITERS: their mating rituals are as strange, as intricate and engrossing, as anything you'll ever see on the Discovery Channel." So, Amazonia is a must read for a serious Amazon reviewer.

5 comments about Hatteras Blues: A Story from the Edge of America.

1. A compelling storyline full of facinating bits and pieces about North Carolina's coastal heritage. It's a must read for NC fishermen.



2. HATTERAS BLUES: A STORY FROM THE EDGE OF AMERICA is part biography and part regional history: it uses the experiences of one long-time fisherman on North Carolina's outer banks to reveal the issues of a fading industry and the development of Hatteras Village in the heart of Hurricane Alley. Tom Carlson's involvement with his subject leads him to the heart of a family and a town's struggles and faith in a warm first-person survey which at times reads with the quiet drama of fiction.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



3. Great book. I love to hear the stories of the people in this book, of course the fishing is always good. The weather and the constant movement of the cape was and is totally intriguing.



4. I have been visiting the North Carolina outer banks since 1970. I did not think anyone had as much love or reverence of this special place as I, but I was wrong. Tom Carlson in Hatteras Blues has established himself as a true devotee of these narrow islands off the Carolina coast. He captures the lure of isolated and wind-worn beaches and ever-changing off shore waters where fishermen (and women) from the smallest North Carolina towns to the largest international cities have searched for prize bill fish, bull drum, cobia and a host of other species for several decades. The reader is absorbed in the story of the Fosters and others who fought the harshness of life on the outer banks to create a thriving charter fishing industry that today is being challenged by corporations and those uncaring of the outerbanks special culture. Carlson is a waterman by birth and a "Banker" by choice. Hatteras Blues is a heartfelt story of great loss, love, spirit, transformation and hope set in one of the most magical places on planet Earth. Rates with Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea for bringing to life the conflicts, the turmoil and the serenity of what it means to be a part of the sea and the coast. Highly recommended.



5. This is a very well researched book about the history of charter fishing off Hatteras Island. The author combines archive research with annecdotes collected from his repeated trips to the island. The reader also has a feeling of sadness as the author's wife slowly succumbs to MS while he is doing his research.
   
   Well worth the time to read.

1 comments about Days on the Family Farm: From the Golden Age through the Great Depression.

1. "Days On The Family Farm: From The Golden Age Through The Great Depression" by Carrie A. Meyer (who grew up on an Illinois farm and went on to teach economics at George Mason University) is a memoir based history of life on a Midwestern farm from the beginning of the twentieth century to World War II as recorded in a daily chronicle kept by farm wife May Lyford Davis. The result is an entertaining and informative 'window into time' through which is revealed an American yesteryear when May and her husband Elmo experienced life on a farm through two decades of prosperity, the bleak years of the Great Depression, and the impact of two World Wars upon their Midwestern farming community of friends and neighbors. Articulate, detailed, personable, "Days On The Family Farm" is the story of a farmer's life marked by description of what was bought and sold, the evolution of farming practices and technologies from horse drawn plows to tractors, what was planted and harvested, temperatures and rainfall, births an deaths, even the impact of wind on the work of farming. Simply stated, "Days On The Family Farm" is an engaging and articulate read and a highly recommended addition to any personal or community library collection.

5 comments about Josephine: A Life of the Empress.

1. Josephine (1763-1814) was born Rose Tascher on the French colonial island of Dominique. Her father raised her on a failing sugar plantation she wed a disssolute French aristocrat (who wa
   executed during the Reign of Terror in the French Revolution)
   and had two children by him: Hortense and Eugene.
   Josephine met the young Corsican Napoleon and wed him. Napoleon knew she had connections in the government and married her for politcal reasons as well as to satisfy his lustful longings for the fetching Creole.
   Josephine was five feet tall, had rotting teeth and was unfaithful to Napoleon (as he was as well!). She could not produce a male heir and the Emperor divorced her to marry Marie Louise of Austria.
   Her life was one of glamour, love, rejection by her husband and dissolute living. Josephine was no saint but she was known
   for her loving kindness.
   Erickson has written a good biography of Josephine which introduces the reader to a fascinating woman living in amazing times.



2. This is a very well written book, and the author keeps the reader captivated as she tells the life story of Josephine, better known as Napoleon's first wife.
   
   For avid history buffs of the Napoleonic era, this book will offer scant new insights. If, however, you are only beginning to learn about the movers and shakers in imperial France, this may be a good jumping off point for you. Bear in mind that everyone is a secondary player to Josephine, so every one presented is colored by how they interacted with her-- and the author's mostly sympathetic portrayal of the woman.
   
   Josephine is not presented as a saint by anymeans in this book. She is, however, given a back story that allows us to have a greater understanding at how she could be both kind and charming while attempting to amass a fortune as a war profiteer.
   
   Ultimately this book is like cotton candy. Sweet and charming but leaving the reader wanting for more. I find that to be a good thing in this case, I'll be reading more about Josephine and her contemporaries in an attempt to gain an even larger understanding of her and the times she lived in.



3. This was my first read of Carolly Erickson, and I was enthralled by her writing style. Yes, the book reads like a novel, but I don't find this detrimental. One of the biggest problems with historical biographies are they are often heavy and dull, and I don't think this should be the case when describing extraordinary times and events. I felt like I was transplanted "into the period;" and while Josephine had qualities pro and con, I found her to be accessible and human. A lot of times with biographies, I ended hating the subject by the time I am done, because the author relishes revealing the subject's tarnished persona in such an unflattering light. Ms. Erickson's Josephine I liked, despite her evident flaws.

   My only complaint would be overindulgence in trivial detail, e.g., her "rotten teeth" and "fading beauty." No one really likes aging, do they?




4. This was my first read of Carolly Erickson, and I was enthralled by her writing style. Yes, the book reads like a novel, but I don't find this detrimental. One of the biggest problems with historical biographies are they are often heavy and dull, and I don't think this should be the case when describing extraordinary times and events. I felt like I was transplanted "into the period;" and while Josephine had qualities pro and con, I found her to be accessible and human. A lot of times with biographies, I ended hating the subject by the time I am done, because the author relishes revealing the subject's tarnished persona in such an unflattering light. Ms. Erickson's Josephine I liked, despite her evident flaws.

   My only complaint would be overindulgence in trivial detail, e.g., her "rotten teeth" and "fading beauty." No one really likes aging, do they?




5. This was my first read of Carolly Erickson, and I was enthralled by her writing style. Yes, the book reads like a novel, but I don't find this detrimental. One of the biggest problems with historical biographies are they are often heavy and dull, and I don't think this should be the case when describing extraordinary times and events. I felt like I was transplanted "into the period;" and while Josephine had qualities pro and con, I found her to be accessible and human. A lot of times with biographies, I ended hating the subject by the time I am done, because the author relishes revealing the subject's tarnished persona in such an unflattering light. Ms. Erickson's Josephine I liked, despite her evident flaws.

   My only complaint would be overindulgence in trivial detail, e.g., her "rotten teeth" and "fading beauty." No one really likes aging, do they?