5 comments about China Ghosts: My Daughter's Journey to America, My Passage to Fatherhood.

1. I am in the process of adopting a child from China and this book touched my every emotion...happiness, sadness, anger, and frustration. Jeff was able to capture all facets of the human emotion and provided poignant points and truth to an adoption journey. I didn't want to put the book down and found myself thinking about even when I wasn't reading it. Jeff's words permanently pressed against my mind, heart and soul. Jeff wrote with such compelling imagery that I felt like I was on the journey with them. This book is remarkable and I would recommended it to anyone.



2. From the first chapter I felt as though I was with The Gammage family on their journey. I myslef am an adoptive parent of a darling little girl from Chongqing and have been home 9 months. It brought back vivid memories and feelings I had gone through on our trip. I was smiling and crying all the way through the book. This is a must read for anyone who is thinking about or who has adopted a child. Jeff Gamage captured the feeling and emotions that all of us experience on our journey to parenthood. Bravo!



3. We were with Jeff and Chris in Langzhou when they adopted their second daughter in 2004. In reading China Ghosts, we were transported back to that moment in time when after years of longing and broken hope, a precious and beautiful girl was placed in our arms; reminded of the feelings, emotions, and passion of why we started down that road less traveled. For those who have adopted, are considering it, or know someone who has, Jeff expresses so many of the emotions that are woven throughout the process, including the aftermath. As the father of a Chinese daughter, China Ghosts is a reminder of my passage to fatherhood as well; It speaks all I think. Thank you Jeff!



4. I read a review of this book in a magazine and ordered it immediately. Having adopted from China, everything was familiar, but unique in various ways. Anyone who has been through the process or who may be waiting now should definitely read it. I related to many of the events described from the father's perspective, but my wife enjoyed it as much as I did.
   
   I will warn anyone that decides to read the book that some of the experiences that are written about are heartbreaking. You will most certainly want to cry at various points throughout the book. Overall, though, it is a good read. It will bring back lots of memories of your China trip.



5. This is a beautifully written account of a loving family. Mr. Gammage shares his observations and feeling in a compelling and compassionate manner. I feel I made this journey with him and am greatful for having shared the experience. This book has provided much insight and detail into a jouney my son and his wife recently made to adopt their daughter from China. I'm so glad I found this book!

5 comments about Castaway Kid: One Man's Search for Hope and Home (Focus on the Family Books).

1. Many adults have suffered great hardships in their childhood, even being sent away. This now successful man had a horrible beginning. One can feel the isolation he felt when he was "dumped" off at the age of 3.
   A good book to restore your belief that you can make your life different.



2. I really enjoyed this book. Being from Chicago as well, I felt an ever closer connection to the author and his story. I had a real hard time putting it down and I had to keep tissue close by whenever I was reading it. As a Mother, it was especially heart wrenching to read some of the thoughts and emotions the author experienced as a child. Such wonderful writing and expression - always feeling the emotion the author was sharing. I would highly recommend it! I passed it onto a friend after I was done with it - so the enjoyment could be passed on!



3. This book was easy to read and understand. It should be read by every young person in children's home, in the foster system, in juvenile detention, and those with an incarcerated parent. Even those of us who never suffered any of those hardships, can learn an important lesson in forgiving those who have hurt us.



4. Wonderful book. Would recommend this book to any age group. Very touching and inspiring story.



5. Having been in the service of serving abandoned, behaviorally disturbed children and adolescents for 32 years, I was able to reminisce and find memories explicity tied to this book. The messages are accurate, profound, and direct. The chapters relive one man's story but the themes are multiplied by the number of kids in care from yesterday to the present and the stories are wide and varied. There are many stories in the lives of children from both yesteryear to this present day and age.The names change and the faces are different but the broken body and mind are still evident today. When one reads this book you become acutely aware of why behavior, emotion,identity, can go awry. All of the clinical terminology which labels children in placement existed then and still does today. What is remarkable and I have seen it over and over is that there are those who "will" to live, who "will" to grow, who never give up. Out of all the chaos emerges a Rob Mitchell and there are numbers upon numbers who, in spite of the many abuses and neglect, rise to become vibrant creative human beings like he has. This is a story of one of them. And, of so many of the children I have seen rise out of their pathology and into health, I have also seen a remarkable closeness to an abiding faith. Rob Mitchell is a man of that faith. Castaway Kid is just one of many castaway kids. What a wonderful read.
   David Carlson MSW, LCSW

5 comments about Laughing Without an Accent: Adventures of an Iranian American, at Home and Abroad.

1. I heard the author on NPR and immediately wanted to read her book. She did not disappoint. She provided a much-needed antidote to the current stereotype of people from Iran. She is smart, sensible, and very amusing. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about how her family has successfully adjusted to living in the United States.



2. This is a fast reading book with lots of humor about an Iranian family that comes to live in Southern California. It contains universal lessons of life and humor. Everyone can feel the love that Firoozeh has for her family, her birth country, and her new home in America. After reading Laughing Without an Accent, I felt as if Firoozeh's family were my own. I was fortunate to be able to meet this charming author in person. This book will lift your spirits!



3. This book is hilarious. As an Iranian-American with a large family who immigrated from Iran, i found myself reading them passages so they could laugh with me. I have re-gifted this book again and again so that my entire extended family can join in. I absolutely loved it and know that you will too!



4. Humor isn't usually the first thing that comes to mind when talking about Iranian Americans, but Firoozeh Dumas may just change that! Each vignette highlights the craziness both of her family and of various culture: American, Iranian and French. She writes with such conversational ease, as if telling you a funny story over a cup of tea. Each family member is drawn with clarity, as if you've known them all along. Her family is like a favorite sitcom family - familiar, funny and slightly over the top. The reader can imagine them getting into all kinds of wacky situations and can't wait to tune in for more.
   
   Part of Dumas' great writing skill lies in the simplicity of her descriptions. She is able to set a scene with few words, but provide such keen observation that she cuts right to humor of the moment. She illuminates the humor of cultures and personalities with lightheartedness and respect. She seems to find idiosyncrasies to be both precious and maddening. She clearly loves her family very much, and is able expose the absurdity of their everyday lives. Her command of humor makes even the most mundane of subjects like oversized desks, 10 lb. bags of rice and the "Midnight Chocolate Buffet" on a cruise, a cause for chuckles.
   
   Laughing Without an Accent has plenty of laugh-out-loud moments for readers of any accent. Dumas' keen observations expose the silliness of herself and those around her with an endearing grace and genuineness, causing the reader to embrace her every word and yearn for just one more story.
   
   Armchair Interviews says: Humor lies all around this talented writer.



5. I loved this book as much as I loved Funny in Farsi, a book our whole book club enjoyed immensely. If I had to pick one person to sit next to on a plane it would be Firoozeh Dumas. She's witty, warm, honest, and very real.

5 comments about Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Wartime SarajevoRevised Edition.

1. Thank you for your quick shipment. Book is in great shape, as you stated.



2. Zlata probably never imagined that her diary would be read by millions or that it would be published. Much like Anne Frank, I don't think Zlata ever intended the diary to be made worldwide. Unlike Anne, Zlata survived but not without internal scars and loss of friends and relatives and neighbors. In the beginning, Zlata writes about mundane, ordinary things about being 11 years old. Please keep that in mind when reading her diary is that she was only 11 years old at the time of writing in the beginning. She begins writing about her life as a child in Sarajevo before the war broke out. She writes about her father going to serve the national army reserves. She writes about her life before the war and how the war changed her life and others forever. One day, she writes about people leaving Sarajevo and heading into safe territory. She writes about the daily bombings, senseless deaths, and life under war. She is a child of course and she tries to cope with difficult circumstances like not having electricity for the first time in her life for long periods of time or the constant state of fear that she lives in for herself and for her loved ones. Zlata's diary is now widely read by students about her age. Her main objective was never to get published but to keep and maintain a diary that was quite personal at times. Children of war probably suffer a lot more than they should. Zlata grows up fast and not be choice. She struggles to survive for herself and for her family without losing sanity.



3. Filipovic, Z. and Pribichevich-Zoric, C. (1995). Zlata's Diary. New York: Penguin Group
   Zlata's Diary is about a young eleven year old girl who wrote in her diary during the Yugoslavian Civil War. The beginning of the book discusses each day and her exciting things that she did with friends as well as her family memebrs; however, as the dumb war began to affect more and more individuals she began to take note of the food and water shortage. She also began to notice the loss of family and friends. Was the world coming to an end? Would she be okay? Would she survive?
   This book can be known as the modern day The Diary of Anne Frank due to it's similarities as both girls discuss the harsh conditions and losses they encountered due to ignorant individuals. The book truly hit home for me since I lost family in this war and to read Zlata's story and compare to the ones my family memebers were telling is mind blowing. Zlata's words truly embrace the horrific results of this war.
   
   Completed by Z on 5/12/08



4. Sheesh...this is the product of a child, not the work of a Pulitzer prize winning journalist. It is an excellent diary, an excellent primary source and an excellent text for a better understanding of the Yugoslav wars. Yes...it does only tell one point of view - hers - it is her diary! Some readers are offended because of the comparison to Anne Frank; a comparison that Filipovic and others make in the book. The comparison is totally fair. Both are intelligent children caught up in situations they have no control over during wars of ethnic cleansing and extermination. It is a testament to Zlata that she can make the connection to Anne Frank...obviously the rest of the world couldn't. They (We) abandoned the Jews sixty years ago and abandoned hundreds of thousands of Croats/Bosniaks/Serbs to genocide forty years later. Zlata remembered Anne Frank's words...the world didn't.



5. I remember reading this book as a child and picked it up again as an adult. It was a quick read, but really showed how a child deals with war. It made me think of how children in Iraq are feeling right now. Very interesting.

No comments about Campingly Yours: A Heartwarming Journey of a Lifetime at Summer Camp.

5 comments about Petite Anglaise.

1. I really enjoyed this book and loved that it was the author's true story. By the time I finished I felt that the author and I were friends and looked up her blog to catch up from where the book left off. The premise intrigued me and did not disappoint. Good book!



2. I've been reading Catherine's blog since she first published that she was sacked from her job. I wasn't sure if I was going to buy the book, but I'm really glad that I did! I enjoyed the honesty with which this was written and her sense of humor. I purposely did not dig into the archives of her blog so as not to ruin the suspense. Even though I don't have a child or a blog (or live in France!), I could relate to many other things in the book. I'm looking forward to reading her next book! :)



3. I've been a follower of Petite Anglaise for almost a year and it was nice to put everything together. I felt like I was looking through her eyes in Paris, and although I've never been in there I felt as if I was there. I was a bit sad to find out that the sacking wasn't in the book as it was in the blog, but other than that I enjoyed the story. It was a good story and I'm looking forward to the next book by Catherine.



4. I normally despise chick lit, but I found this book to be a highly entertaining, quick read for my train commute. The characters are more three-dimensional and complex than you would typically find in this genre.
   
   I also enjoyed all of the background details about the different neighborhoods in Paris where the main character lived. For the most part these aren't the sort of places tourists visit, which is a freshing change. She doesn't romanticize Paris too much and shows that even the "most romantic city in the world" you can get stuck in a rut and your life can be boring an mundane. Ultimately the story isn't particularly French or English or European, even. It's about a couple who grows apart and the aftermath of the separation. Also, the balancing act many separated couples face in doing what's best for their child while ending a relationship that's not working anymore. The blog thing does come into play, but it doesn't read like a blog.



5. Having followed Petite's blog off and on over a couple years, I actually had no intention of purchasing the book. Only because I thought perhaps it would be redundant of all her blog posts that I'd read. Wanting to support a fellow author, and because I'd always enjoyed her style of writing, I did pre-order this book.....and I was happily pleased.
   First of all, I was impressed with the way Sanderson combined her blog postings effortlessly into a woven piece of work that read like fiction. I did recall a few of the incidents I'd previously read on her blog, but now written in a different way.
   This is a delightful debut of a story that just happens to be true. The reader is allowed a glimpse behind the scenes, so to speak. I felt the depth of this author's writing was even stronger in her book than on her blog....and her writing on Petite Anglaise was excellent. But somehow I detected more emotion here than on her blog pages. So I was quite wrong to assume "it'll be identical to her blog."
   Like the previous reader, I read this in two days. Much like her blog, I found myself setting the book down, only to be compelled to quickly resume reading.
   Wishing much success to this author and looking forward to her fiction release.

5 comments about Chinese Lessons: Five Classmates and the Story of the New China.

1. Though it is going to sound like a newspaper movie ad, I cannot resist quoting the tag lines from others who have already reviewed this book:
   
   1. "Masterful account of modern China"
   
   2. "Superb"
   
   3. "A book you can't put down"
   
   4. "An exceptional book, exceptionally written"
   
   5. "Extraordinary"
   
   6. "I laughed, I cried" Okay, so I made up the last one.
   
   The book beautifully (and usually depressingly) describes how China's past so heavily influences its present. I felt I knew everyone in the book because they were composites of the real life Chinese with whom I deal in my work as a lawyer dealing with China. It was a joy to read and it increased my understanding of China. To understand today's China, one must know at least the basics of China's modern history and, perhaps even more importantly, how that history has affected today's Chinese. This book definitely aids in that understanding.



2. Very easy to read. Great entertaining writing style with lots of very clever anecdotes. On completing this book I then had to a) read all the other reviews here and b) check the Washington Post for any further author work. The big question here is:
   
   what happens to the five profiled students in this book?
   Are they still friendly with the author?



3. If you enjoyed Jan Wong's Red China Blues, you'll love John Pomfret's Chinese Lessons. In this must-read new book, the author chronicles his history as an insightful China-watcher and "Old China Hand," from his stint as one of the first American students to participation in the newly opened student exchange program--he became part of Nanjing University's history class of 1982--until 2005. The book is a well-written account of his own decades of observations, but they form a backdrop for the real show: the fascinating interwoven tales of how the recent, devastating past has shaped the lives of five of his Nanjing University roommates. While there is much in this book that we've all heard before, Pomfret provides a greater level of detail and more analysis in his compelling book than many other authors have. Beginning with the tragedies of the Cultural Revolution, his classmates' life stories are not just presented but analyzed from historical, political, cultural, economic, and psychological standpoints. Pomfret offers five main, personalized stories of the events between the 1970s and now--plus numerous other interesting side anecdotes--with his own perceptive observations and interpretations of what his friends' various situations reveal about the past and what they might mean for China's future.
   
   Through these five main stories, Pomfret attempts to understand the effects of the horrendous past on the present, and, more importantly, the future. As a result, this book asks the reader to consider some excellent questions. For example, how can people who have suffered so terribly put aside the past to live well in the present, and what does that present reality mean to them? What is the future of "communist capitalism"? How will the many contradictions that make up modern China be resolved? Can spirituality play a role in contemporary life? If so, what should that role be and how will it shape the country? What will happen when one-third of China's population is made up of senior citizens? How will China balance "progress" against her critical environmental problems? How will China bridge the ever-widening gap between the nouveau riche and the still desperately poor? Without a return to a moral value system, will China become not a superpower but a victim of its own corruption?
   
   Few other books can match Pomfret's presentation of these issues and many others. While the story makes a great introduction for new expats or China travelers, Pomfret still might clear up a few "China mysteries" for Old China Hands. Chinese Lessons is entertaining, thought-provoking, well-written, and hard to put down. An excellent contribution to the field of "China-experience" literature, add this one to your "must read" stack of books on Chinese life and culture.
   ******************
   Pomfret earned an M.A. at Stanford University in East Asian Studies and won a Fulbright Scholarship to study in Singapore. He was a long-time reporter for the Washington Post, and served as Beijing Bureau Chief. He is currently the Los Angeles Bureau Chief. In 2003, he was awarded the Osborn Elliott Prize for Journalism (an annual award for the best coverage of Asia).



4. THe author went to a Chinese university in the early 80's, met lifelong friends, had many ah-ha experiences with the culture, and saw many changes from his first arrival to including the Tiananmen Square "incident" as the Chinese refer to it. The author was a news correspondent for several years before being deported from China for his involvement with Chinese involved in this incident. He then went back years later to again cover China as a correspondent.
   
   The best part of the book is his descriptions of keeping up with his Chinese university friends and how their lives wound through the complexity of the Chinese culture when their values had been so changed by university time experiences and the government controls at odds with their natural desires for freedom of action and thought.
   
   Very insightful and timely. The author is a very good writer with much talent.



5. One doesn't usually consider "escaping" to China. John Pomfret did. It was a means of putting maximum distance between himself and his father. He thereby became one of the first US-born students to enter China and take up university studies. Geographical distance or no, Pomfret's genes hold some coding for journalism and he dutifully and expertly recorded his encounters with schoolmates. Lodged with seven Chinese men of various backgrounds, he engaged five of them in conversations about their lives. What resulted was this compelling account of life in China under Mao and later.
   
   Fundamental to their relating their lives was the tumult created by the "Cultural Revolution" - an event that undercut any progress China might have enjoyed after the overthrow of the Nationalist regime. In the West, the enormity of the upheaval on the population of China by that ideological imposition is difficult to envision. Friends and family alike were led to denounce others. Sons betrayed fathers, mothers were led to believe their efforts at upbringing their children were falsely based and colleagues viewed each other as wrongly inspired, if not downright treasonous. Intimidation was strongly inflicted, even murder was condoned as part of the "purification" process. So caught up was the entire society by the fervour of The Great Leap Forward, that today, as Pomfret demonstrates, it seems to require an outside observer to adequately depict it. Even Chinese who managed to leave the country, granting them a fresh perspective, aren't fully detached from the events. The author notes the strong pull of China, which remains "home" to these expatriates who return if opportunity permits.
   
   To his great credit, Pomfret doesn't take a lofty view in dealing with his contacts. An astute journalist, he teases the stories of people like Big Bluffer Ye, Little Guan and others onto his pages. He's there almost entirely as an observer, introducing himself into the narrative only enough to entice the stories from his classmates. The stories are at once bleak and inspiring. One classmate learned of his parents' murder through a chance conversation. Another entered the ranks of the Red Guard, even terrorising his home village before returning to the city to become a successful businessman - collecting urine for pharmaceutical firms. A young woman, caught in the web of repression, still strives to provide a life for her child. It's a testimony to human endurance and the will to survive and succeed.
   
   Pomfret's advantage over many China observers is his living experience there as a student, and his return allowing him to recapitulate the intervening years. This dual approach provides more, and better insights, into the present culture than those who manage only one journalistic snapshot. Given that the Cultural Revolution was a social disaster of high order, why has the ruling Party not been overturned? Pomfrets intimacy with his contacts provide many answers, some of them grim, on how that retention of power has been accomplished. Big Bluffer Ye proves worthy of his name as he personally transforms a section of his city from dilapidated slum to an illuminated mall, giving not a thought to those displaced by his endeavours. He strives for success and knows how to attain it.
   
   The author's personal story is woven through his narrative with finesse - appearing more evidently in the second part of the book. He can express his own feelings without intruding on those of subjects. They are almost amazingly open to him, rendering the myth of "inscrutable Chinese" untenable. He records them without inflicting us with any more judgement than a sense of awe at how alien they sometimes seem, even after his long-term association. Even so, it's clear Pomfret's underlying resentment at being expelled from China after reporting on the Tiananmen Square debacle remains strong. He remains a North American, not a Chinese. An engaging, if disturbing, story this book is one that anybody wishing to understand the rise of China on the world stage must read. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

5 comments about The Vixen Diaries.

1. What a waste. All she talked about was Bill (old), Bobby Brown (played out), and Ray J (lame-o). Then she talks about how she's a celebrity, all about class and culture, and doesn't need to depend on anybody to provide for her. Yet, she's still quick to jump in the sack with anyone who shows any kind of interest in her. The majority of the time these guys only want her for one thing: sex. Then they go back home to their wives and girlfriends. It's amazing that a so-called accomplished career woman who has it "all" would be so desperate enough to sleep with any guy who crosses her path. I see a pattern here, but obviously she doesn't. She talks about how how much she loves her son, yet she continues to have many strange men coming in and out of their loves, using her for a cheap thrill. What type of an example is she setting for her son? Despite her whorish reputation I'm surprised that a lot of guys want to be with her. Jamie Fox was smart not to touch that. From what I've heard she's now writing a book called "Vixen Manuals"- "a book about love, sex and relationships through the eyes of a woman". Is that a joke? Think twice before spending any money on her books.



2. I never read her second novel but I have read her first. I'm just going by what I read in the reviews posted on this website. I may sound crazy or corny, especially in a world who is closed minded and dont dig deeper into situations. The girl is hurt. All her actions is because she have deep rooted mental problems. From reading the first book, lets go by how she was treated by her mother and one of her boyfriends. As a women she should not be behaving that way and I do not agree with her being easy or sleeping with married men but these men are just as wrong as her.I'm tired of a society that bashes women and when a man do something oh its no big deal because thats what men do. Wrong is wrong and I dont care what sex you are. The women is deep down hurt and when someone is miserable, they do try to destroy other people happiness. As a women with heart lets just pray for her and her son and hopefully she realize oneday what a beautiful creature god has made that desearves respect and the right kind of love. GOD BLESS EVERYONE!



3. Well let me start off by saying that I am mad that I paid what i paid for this book. See like a dummy I got it when it first came out thinking it will continue on like the first book Confessions, but trust me it didn't. Some advise when you start a book juicy like confession please dont F it up with A DIARY ON HOW YOUR LIFE CHANGED AFTER YOUR FIRST BOOK, that pissed me off and I was such a fan of her only because she had the balls to say what she said, and tell us a little more about the artist we loved. But hands down don't spend your money on this garbage book......... Sorry Karrine darling hope you could bring it back....



4. I sent this book back to Amazon because all she talked about was Bobby Brown and old times. I don't want to read about how Bobby Brown sleep on your couch. Then Karrine had the nerve to say she didn't sleep with him, I mean please, you slept with everyone else. Why not sleep with him. I heard Karrine on the radio and she said that there was juicy stuff about her rendevous with LL Cool J, Will Smith and Wesley Snipes. All of it was a lie she tried to do the whole "Cloak and Dagger" thing by giving people she supposedly "slept with" a secret name. In the first book she just blatantly named everybody from Usher to Diddy. Now you want to save face and give secrecy by giving code names. B, please!. This book was wack and I'm mad at myself for even believing the hype.



5. Her writing is terrible. She whole book is her boosting her own ego talking about what a big celebrity she is and her red carpet events etc etc.... She claims "love" with every man she's slept with, she is disillusioned and ridiculous. She claims to be a super celebrity but will probably be broke in five years. You can't live off of one book your entire life with the type of spending habits she has.
   She also comes off as plain out dirty. She's slept with so many men in the previous book and even more in the second book. That is not change she claims in her life...where is her stopping point? Her poor son is going to be so mixed up in a few years.
   This book is boring, sickening and NOT worth the read as the first book was.

5 comments about ADHD & Me: What I Learned from Lighting Fires at the Dinner Table.

1. I provide therapy to children with ADHD and their families. This book is extremely helpful in allowing parents to understand why their children sometimes act the ways they do. It is also something that parents can read with their children so they communicate with one another about the symptoms of ADHD. This allows other children with ADHD to see that they are not alone in their experience and to understand that there is a reason why they feel they way they do.



2. This book is amazing, so much wisdom from someone so young and with a disability such as ADHD. Blake has become an inspiration to both me and my son who has ADHD and is struggling with social skills in school. I would highly recommend this book to all children, adults, teachers, parents who has someone with ADHD. For we already know what remarkable and speacial people we have.



3. Blake.E.S.Taylor is such a sophisticated young man, isn't he? I wasn't smart enough to tell you my ADHD logically based on my experiences when I was his age, and I am still not! And most of the symptoms written in his book are quite similar to my childhood. I could have clearly shown you the strategies not only on ADHD but also developmental disabilities like him if I had been diagnosed with ADHD and PDD(=Pervasive Developmental Disorder) earlier. I didn't know anything about developmental disabilities when I was younger. Besides, even in my college days, I couldn't eliminate my impulsiveness and hyperactivity, which often stood out in my English classes given by English-speaking teachers. One day I mumbled,"Jesus."during my class so nobody noticed it, because I was very cranky and stressed. However, the teacher recognized and blew up,"If you swear, please leave! I have to be strict on that and I'm pretty serious." I got so stunned that I had no choice but to apologize to him. How embarrassed! He implicitly told me how to learn from such a big mistake, though...
   Anyway, Blake couldn't have written ADHD & Me: What I Learned from Lighting Fires at the Dinner Table, if he was less mature. Even though his ADHD still remains, I'm sure his experiences will reinforce the strategies to tackle ADHD!



4. A powerful story told by an exceptionally bright and thoughtful 17 year old. I gave it to my 17 year old who was recently diagnosed with mild ADHD and he didn't move for two hours he was so engrossed in Blake's journey and lessons learned. I bought 10 copies and gave them to the learning specialists, principal and president at my son's high school. In addition, my entire family read the book. As a result, we have a new vocabulary in which to address the behaviors and issues that come up with this common condition. Thanks for sharing your world Blake! It has made such a positive impact on us and many others.



5. This is a great book! It is very down to earth and informative. I'm a clinical psychologist and also have ADHD, so I'm always on the lookout for books to give people who are trying to understand and deal with this disorder. I will definitely be recommending this one.

5 comments about The Tracker.

1. This book reads like a young boy's fantasy of living free, unencumbered by parental supervision, in a dense forest wilderness. In this case, that wilderness is the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. This is an incredible tale of a boy, his friend and the old Apache wiseman who teaches the two boys how to survive in the wild without modern conveniences, how to interpret the patterns of nature, and how to read the tracks, signs and traces that animals and men leave as they move within nature.
   
   I don't doubt that Tom Brown is a wilderness survival expert (they are not that rare) or that he has extraordinary tracking skills. These achievements only require time and dedication. The level of skill Tom Brown displays as an adult could certainly be achieved by adulthood by any young boy with the intensity of obsession with wilderness survival and tracking and with the opportunities and freedom it appears Brown may have had as a child.
   
   Stalking Wolf (the old Apache), if he existed, gave Brown a pre-scientific, mystical point of view towards nature, and Brown never misses an opportunity to show himself superior to those who don't share his viewpoint. A tone of arrogance and contempt for those outside his religion pervades the book, and he has fashioned his biography in a way to suggest his life has transcendent meaning that the more mundane lives of others cannot have. There are so many things wrong with this as a biographical memoir, a full discussion would extend this review beyond the length amazon accepts.
   
   Brown has had 30 years to answer skeptical objections to the details of the narrative (first published in 1978), and I don't know that he hasn't already done so. It wouldn't be difficult for him to satisfy some of the doubts. The boyhood friend, Rick, certainly has a full name and attended schools in the same district as Brown. If he has died, he is buried somewhere. Stalking Wolf is Rick's grandfather (p. 5) so he is traceable in conjunction with Rick. And so on and so forth.
   
   I would have loved this book as a boy. As an adult I distrust the simplicty and tone of it.



2. Tom Brown, Jr. is the greatest nature writer, outdoorsman, environmentalist of all time, bar none!
   
   Move over Henry David and Ralph Waldo, Brown's insights into the Earth and our connection to it are destined to become classics of American literature (presuming, of course, that human society lasts long enough, a highly dubious proposition). What Emerson and Thoreau only dreamed of, Brown accomplished, and lucky for us all, Brown is willing to teach. Welcome to the incredible world of Tom Brown, Jr. where every day is an exicting journey of adventure, discovery and insight.
   
   By now, Brown's story is familiar: at the age of seven he met an Apache Elder named Stalking Wolf (a psuedonym used by Brown for legal and personal reasons), who spent sixty years wandering the entire Western Hemisphere. Along the way, Grandfather, as Brown affectionately refers to Stalking Wolf, gathered an incredible fount of physical and spiritual knowledge that remains unequaled in either Western, or Eastern writings (Yes, move over Yoga and Buddhism, for which I have great respect, but Grandfather blows them all away). To Brown, Stalking Wolf imparted this incredible knowledge.
   
   This book takes us through the years Tom spent learning from Grandfather. Tom illustrates and explains Grandfather's teaching method known as "Coyote Teaching" - something akin to the Socratic Method, but worse! He shows us how Grandfather used Coyote Teaching to inspire and prod Tom and his friend Rick, into seeking deeper and deeper insights into life, and also to impart the physical skills of tracking, stalking and survival for which the Apaches were unequaled. Concepts introduced include the "concentric rings", i.e. being able to read the actions and reactions people and animals generate as they travel through the forest, stalking, the ability to travel silently and unseen through the landscape, and a hint of the spirituality to come (no, there is no religion here, or anywhere else for that matter in Brown's books. Just practical techniques for going further in your beliefs whatever they may be). This book is chock full of stories of adventure, discovery and learning.
   
   The Tracker is mainly autobiographical and only forms an introduction to Brown and Grandtather's teachings. This is not my personal favorite, but don't get me wrong, it is a wonderful book and I highly recommend it to everyone. However, it's only the beginning. To obtain a true sense of Grandfather's teachings one must go further and read Brown's other books. I hope The Tracker inspires you to do so.
   
   One final word: for lovers of mystery and detective novels this is the book for you! Brown introduces you to the arts that enable one to become a real life Sherlock Holmes, something even Conan Doyle couldn't do. Welcome to a lifetime of learning, discovery, and insight!



3. Wildernes survival tales... super exciting. It does read like a movie but maybe it's all true. I've heard some people say Tom Brown is a tall tale teller, but his tales sure are fun and he has a school in NJ so....



4. I liked this book. It's about being invisible in nature--like the rest of nature, people can blend in to the point of being invisible enough to be able to reach out and touch a wild animal. It's also about special relationships with a grandfather. It would be a great book to read to kids.



5. This is a "don't miss" book for anyone who wants to observe anything in nature. Tom Brown is a legend in the worlds of search and rescue, tracking, and survival. Brown is one with nature and he brings you along on his exhilerating journey from boy to man of nature. In this, his first of many outstanding books, you accompany him as he learns his skills from his Indian grandfather.
   FYI. Brown continues to share his skills with new through advanced students at workshops. A friend who has attended his classes, swears Brown is everthing you will see here and much more. It is a fascinating story.