5 comments about Black Postcards: A Rock & Roll Romance.

1. I love a good Rock & Roll autobiography and this one is everything you hope for: Wareham is smart enough to quote Trotsky but funny enough to crack dirty jokes about tour life, he's old enough to have perspective about the industry but young enough to not be nostalgic. I was quoting lines out of it to friends the whole time I was reading it, such as "Perhaps we were postmodern. Perhaps we were just old fashioned."



2. After being a huge fan of both Galaxie 500 and Luna, I was giddy with delight when I learned that Dean Wareham wrote an autobiography.
   It's not often when you can say you loved, not one, but two bands with the same singer/songwriter guitarist.
   This is a great read if you're a fan of either band.
   But even if you're not, the style and musings of Wareham are insightful and dryly comical.
   Fans of both bands can arguably say that either/both should have been much more popular then they were and in a perfect world, their songs should be playing on radio stations all over the world.
   Not to say they should be making a lot more money.
   The not so glamorous world of an indie, and even major label,band is captured in a warts and all telling.
   And the in-fighting among bandmates is understandable if you're living with them in smelly vans and hotel rooms 24 hours a day.
   As a postscript - if you're a big Luna fan, I would recommend their travelogue DVD "Tell Me Do You Miss Me" that captures the final tour.
   Great stuff.



3. I really enjoyed this book.
   
   I think the overarching theme is the battle of the creative soul against group think.
   
   The record labels selling the "bruit du jour", the media selling "shock and awe", and our cultural legacies that define the proper "progression" of our lives. At times that creative soul is triumphant and you pant your flaming Seminole on the battle field of life, other times you wind up drunk and stoned, eating cheez whiz and wonder bread sandwiches at 3am, and wondering where the hell you went wrong.
   
   I guess the key is to recognize when you reached that creative dead-end and have the courage to forge a new path. Even if that feels like backtracking. Even you feel the sting of loss.
   
   The Book leads you candidly through his journey to (and out of) several of these dead-end. He does this in literary tones that oscillate from reverence for the creative work that might have been, to playful banter on the absurdities of business, love and the creative process.
   
   Aspiring musicians will benefit from the catalog of pitfalls and "early warnings" he documents. Music fans who grew up in the alternative rock scene of the 90's will especially love the behind the scenes view of a music industry under siege financially by Napster, and artistically by "grunge".
   
   All-in-all a great read you don't have to be a Galaxie 500, Luna, or Dean & Britta fan to enjoy.
   Hope this review helps :-)



4. I could ask Dean Wareham lots of questions about him, Galaxie 500, Luna etc. But now my mind is clear. I believe he was honest while he was writing. Not only any fan of Dean Wareham or Luna or Galaxie 500 but everybody who likes music more than a listener must read the book, it's a pleasure and it's as important as listening to Tugboat or 23 Minutes In Brussels, anyway. and it is more than a book about a man and his band(s), it has lots of points about being in a band and making music business. Moreover, you can figure out some points how the modern rock/indie music scene developed. as a personal note; i haven't read a book, easy to follow and understand like this one, even written in my native language.



5. Andy Warhol said that in the future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes. If one is lucky enough to land a recording contract with a name record company, write brilliantly crafted rock songs, and tour endlessly, then one might get to be 'almost famous' for 15 years. Such is the story that Dean Wareham, who was the lead singer songwriter of the alternative/indie rock bands Galaxie 500 and Luna, tells in his hilariously satirical, meticulously detailed and occasionally disturbing semi-autobiographical tome, "Black Postcards: A Rock Roll Romance" (The Penguin Press, New York, 2008). This is an essential read for anyone who loves rock music, as it is one of the most well written and insightful accounts from the trenches of the often seamy and occasionally glorious scene that was the alternative rock music business.
   
   Drawing his reminiscences from a diary that his father, a successful management consultant suggested he keep, Wareham chronicles his middle class childhood in New Zealand and later in New York City. It was in New York where Dean came of age in the late 1970's during the halcyon days of punk and new wave. Like a sponge, Wareham absorbed the music, the style and the ethos of punk and new wave rock. Ever opinionated, Wareham quickly draws sharp lines of demarcation between "good" and "bad" music. The Clash, Joy Division, Talking Heads, and The Feelies fell into Dean's category of "good" music. U2, Metallica, The Cure and other big name bands who received extensive radio airplay, were not especially 'cool'. That the dizzying list of bands Wareham cites as influences, recorded abrasively uncommercial rock music and achieved only cult status is exactly the point, as it was that do it yourself for the sake of the music ethos that shaped Wareham's later choices of the people he befriended, the guitars he played, the bands he formed and the music that he created. Galaxie 500 and Luna were "not the Beatles" nor Nirvana as Dean wryly observes, but Wareham and band mates achieved the more modest aim of making rock music that was quieter than grunge but which was every bit as gripping. Wareham and Galaxie 500 members Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang distilled the urban folk-rock of The Velvet Underground as well as 60's garage rock to create jangly and trace-like guitar based rock. After Galaxie 500's demise Wareham, along with Luna band mates, Justin Harwood, Stanley Demeski, and Sean Eden (and later Britta Phillips) developed a more rhythmic and angular sounding rock described as "dream pop". When each band was at the top of their game, several critically acclaimed alternative rock records emerged, namely "Today" by Galaxie 500 and "Penthouse" and "Pup Tent" by Luna.
   
   Wareham could have subtitled his book, "a Rock & Roll Alternative", because, Wareham is forever faced with choices. The choice making process that Wareham describes, gives "Black Postcards" its' dramatic tension. Dozens of choices must be made in a rock & roll life from the mundane to the potentially life altering. Whether to continue to take college classes or to instead spend a lot of time learning how to play guitar really well; which producer to hire to mix an album; how to spend time on tour after performing at sparsely attended shows; whether to be faithful to his wife or to romance the new female band member, Britta Phillips. What is frustrating about Wareham is that he more often than not makes the wrong choices. Not one to get too glum or mope about his lapses in good judgement, Wareham keeps the tone of his story loose by injecting copious amounts of deadpan, satirical and scatological humor, thus refreshingly breaking up the tedium of the seemingly endless road tours, sleazy hotels, and internal bickering among the band members. The following passage about a night spent in Los Angeles in 1989 seeing the bands Hole and The Dwarves is priceless:
   
   "The Dwarves took it to another level. The guitarist (who was called He Who Cannot Be Named) wore only a jockstrap and a hockey mask. The singer (Blag Dahlia) wore a pair of fishnet tights and no underwear, so his package was quite visible. After their final song, the drummer knocked over the drum kit, pulled down his pants, and mooned the audience. Then he inserted two fingers in his a**. That was a show stopper." (Black Postcards, at p.99).
   
   Wareham does not spare himself from his critiques, as he relates how he gradually came to grips (through therapy) with the uglier aspects of his own personality and saw how his destructive behavior hurt the people closest to him. Wareham conveys real pain when he describes the scene where he looks across a street and sees the nanny wheeling Jack, his then two year old son, away from him and effectively out of his life. "This was the worst moment of my life. Of course I know that other people live through much worse. Mine were the problems of a spoiled and self-indulgent singer/songwriter. Still this was my moment and it hurt. Never mind that it was self-inflicted." (Black Postcards at p.240).
   
   "Black Postcards" is an essential rock read, because it is a lively narrative of rock & roll from the point of view of a talented but commercially unsuccessful rocker. Some complain that Wareham should have described more of the creative process that went into making Galaxie 500's and Luna's paeans of teen angst, lust and boredom, but these details were not essential to the intensely personal saga that Wareham tells. Like all the best rock records that when finished playing leave you wanting more, both Galaxie 500 and Luna did it their way, did it well, and then they broke up...the process often being rocky but a process of evolving nonetheless. Not many rock bands can say that they achieved such creative success and hopefully now that Wareham has written about his adventures, more people will check out the stark beauty of Galaxie 500's and Luna's music. Dean Wareham is to be commended for deflating some of the pompous rock myths and for honestly describing the price one pays should one choose to live out the adolescent fantasy of being a rock star. "Black Postcards A Rock & Roll Romance" captures the edgy and thrilling danger that good rock music is.

No comments about Michael Parkinson Autobiography.

1 comments about Who's the Dummy Now?: Winner of America's Got Talent.

1. This is a very insightful book. It tells what has made Terry Fator, Terry Fator. What he is today is because of his circumstances. It reminds us all not to let our past rule us. It was very welcoming to see that anyone and everyone can acheive success if we have motivation and if we have God on our side. It is really nice to read how one depends on God to help him through. One great book to read. I couldn't put it down. If you are lucky enough to meet this man, you will find that he is facinating and amazing man, not to mention a world class ventriloquist!!!

5 comments about Parish the Thought: An Inspirational Memoir of Growing Up Catholic in the 1960s.

1. Bought this for my mom after hearing the author on the radio. She has passed it around to my aunts and friend that are of the same age. They loved it too. A really good book!



2. My Aunt suggested this book to me and I am so glad that I listened to her. The memories that John Ruane shared with us are not only funny and ones that many Catholic can relate to, but also heartbreaking and caring. After reading this book I felt like I had known all of the characters my entire life. I was laughing when they laughed and crying when they cried. I am sad that I have finished the book as I feel like I would be disappointed by any other books that I would start now when comparing them to Parish the Thought. I am eagering awaiting for Mr. Ruane to write another book.



3. I'm a book reader of Non-fiction. I just want to add that this book kept me wanting to read what was going to happen next to this truly dedicated Catholic family growing up in the 60's. Although I was born in 1941 and had my Catholic grammar school education in late 40's and early 50's and my Catholic high school education in the mid- late 50's, I related very well with this family, especially the author, in re-living his upbringing in the Catholic lower-income tradition. I read the entire book in about 3 days, always looking forward to what was going to happen next, from joy to sorrow to a joyous future!



4. This book was recommended to me by a fellow student of John Ruane. Having grown up in a Catholic parish, also on the southside of Chicago, I couldn't wait to read it. It did not disappoint me. It brought back so many memories. And I don't remember the last time that I both laughed and cried while reading the same book. I only wish that I would have thought of it first. But John had that inside track by being an altar boy. Oh, the things I never knew. I highly recommend this book to anyone of any religion...its just a great story!



5. Not too many books have ever moved me to contact an author, but in this case, after reading John Bernard Ruane's PARISH THE THOUGHT, I wrote to Mr. Ruane expressing my delight in reading his memoir about parish life at St. Bede's
   Growing up in the neighboring parish of St.Thomas More, I could relate to so many Catholic traditions and the stories he told were heartwarming and heartwrenching.
   One of the best messages of the book is faith not only in God, but in one's family, too. The love of the Ruanes for their parents will strike a chord in all of us.
   I laughed and cried and loved taking that journey with the Ruane family as they lived parish life, and met many challenges and overcame so much.
   If you are looking for a nostalgic look back at what growing up in the 60's and 70's and being part of a Catholic parish is all about, then this is the book for you.
   Kudos, Mr. Ruane and now I am waiting for that next book!

5 comments about Tommyland.

1. LOVE IT! very real and raw. tommy tells you like it is in his own words. you won't be disappointed with it.



2. The 2nd book in the Crue Trilogy not As Great as The Dirt or even The Heroin Diaries but funny as hell,though its worth reading,for shore! All three will make for some good movies with the right group of people backing them up some day. Read all 3 if you havent already or if youve only read one,its pretty much a given that you read the other two!



3. not bad I decided to read this after i read heroin diaries and motley crue dirt.. this was not half as good ..read the other two if you haven't yet



4. This was another way to get inside the Motley Band for me. If your a diehard fan then this is a must. It is added to my colection with The Dirt.



5. I bought this for my husband and he loves the book. It arrived in great condition.

4 comments about Crazy Loco Love.

1. Crazy Loco Love is another installment in the saga that, luckily for us, Victor Villasenor is passing on to the reading public. This novel is in some ways different from his others but is, as always, fascinating. Villasenor is a story teller and again he tells a grand one, this time of the conflicts that a Mexican American adolescent and young adult faces as he tries to find his place in the Chicano world. It is some times wild and crazy, the loco vida, and at times introspective. He can make the reader cringe as he describes the pain he has felt. He also can make the reader feel hope that even in spite of all difficulties he -- and we-- can find a good place to be at peace.
   
   I highly recommend this book.



2. Victor Villaseñor's "Crazy Loco Love" comes at you with all of the force of a failing 11-year old struggling with a mid-year term paper, trying his best to get a passing grade. If I were his teacher he would receive an F. I was quite embarrassed--not with the contents, although pubic hair isn't an all-time favorite subject of mine--at the caliber of the writing. Aside from the overt mistakes in punctuation, spelling, et al (who edited this book?)the stories read worse than a badly penned first draft. And if el Señor used the word "crazy loco" one more time I might have shot myself threw the heart. This one should have been kept in the drawer marked "might have been." Don't waste your time, nor your money. Doesn't even rate a single star. Sometimes we are overwhelmed with our own story, enough to make us blind to our craft. This, unfortunately, was one of those times.



3. I loved all of victor villasenor's books but this one reads more like a motivational talk than a memoir. The constant use of words in bold capitlizations was annoying. (the reader understands the concept of "screaming" just as well as "SCREAMING". I lost count of the times he used the words "crazy loco". The story felt patched and cobbled together as though he didn't really have much to work with. Skip this book and read Rain Of Gold.



4. I couldn't wait for Crazyloco Love! I had been expecting it since last year! I just got it on Friday and I'm almost done with it. I am amazed by Victor Villasenor's honesty about his adolescent life. Most people would not bring out the skeletons in their closet, but Victor has no qualms about it and that is what I love the most about his books. He is by far my most favorite author ever! I highly recommend this and every other book written by Mr. Villasenor.
   Edited to add... I finshed the book last night and I LOVED it! So now what's next, eh Victor? :-)

5 comments about Man of the Family.

1. I finished reading this book to my older children (12 and 14) today. We all loved it. The book operates on many levels. It's the Chronicles of the life of an adolescent boy around 1910. It's also the story of a family's struggles and will to not only survive, but to thrive and to stand up for their beliefs. This book has encouraged my children to contribute more in our family, and to set up their own families with good principles. I would give this book 10 stars if there were 10 to give, and I can't recommend it highly enough as a great family read!



2. Wow these books are great! And you know the later the books the thicker they are. I think its because he remembers more about like his teen years than in his childhood. Well over all I would highly recommend this book. Yet like in a prior review these books do have some language but it shrinks in the text more and more. Buy this book and you wont be disappointed!



3. Highly recommended series. I recommend as an alternative to the Little House series for boys. Well written.



4. 
   A reviewer asked for help regarding the names and volumes in this series. Here it is...
   
   1. Little Britches
   2. Man of the Family
   3. The Home Ranch
   4. Mary Emma & Company
   5. The Fields of Home
   6. Shaking the Nickel
   7. The Dry Divide
   8. Horse of a Different Color
   
   Mr. Moody shares adventures of his life in this series. It's wonderful, but there is some foul language. Therefore, I would recommend reading the books aloud with older children (not for the preschool/early elementary crowd).



5. When Ralph Moody's father dies in the early spring of 1910, he's eleven years old, the senior boy in a family of five, and determined to support his mother and siblings. It's a rocky road, for his mother, even though she declares she'll "depend on" him as "her man," is equally determined that he must stay in school--which means he's restricted to nickel-an-hour boy-jobs for most of the year. And so, despite the title, this book is less about Ralph's helming the family than about the family's pulling together to support itself. They start a "cookery route," selling Mrs. Moody's New England food to neighbors; the children pick fruit, and Ralph rides in match races, breeds rabbits, and hires schoolmates with horses to keep the cattle from the incoming trail herds out of the residential lanes, as well as discovering that it's possible to supply the family's entire need for coal simply by picking up what has fallen off the tenders of passing trains. Like his father before him, he proves to be a shrewd trader and a clever inventor who comes up with a device on which to dry and repair the lace curtains from Denver's Brown Palace Hotel when his mother gets the idea of offering her services as a contract launderer. And he and his brothers and sisters get a surprise when, six months after their father's death, their mother has a sixth baby.
   
   Besides Mary Emma Moody, who stands solidly in the midst of her young family and exemplifies the best type of "widder woman," the two most unforgettable characters in the book are Sheriff McGrath, a widower who tries awkwardly to court Ralph's mother, and Jerry McEnerney, the Irish section boss who, for all his early bluster, soon becomes the boy's friend and quietly arranges for him to obtain over 100 used railroad ties to haul away and sell. And though there are setbacks and mishaps, such as the vividly described spillage of an entire wagonload of cookery, the Moodys soldier on, until it begins to look as if they will be able to stay indefinitely in Ralph's beloved Colorado. But then Mary Emma incautiously shares a secret with a neighbor, and is subpoenaed to testify before the Grand Jury. Fearing that she will end by sending an innocent man to the gallows, she decides there is only one thing to do: take her children and secretly flee out of state to live with her brother in New England. And so one phase of Ralph's life ends and another begins, to be told in subsequent books. But the West will call him back, and he will never be fully free of its spell.
   
   This is a funny, warmhearted, inspiring tale of a family determined to make its way without seeking charity, of its friends and neighbors, and of the beautiful land it loves. It would make a splendid family readaloud, or a good book to curl up with alone if you love stories of the West and of people who don't give up.

5 comments about Doc Holliday: The Life and Legend.

1. This book by Mr. Roberts was so detailed and was so descriptive, that I felt I was there. Lots of information that you would never know without reading this book.
   
   Not as many pictures as I would have liked...but then...maybe not many are available.
   
   Well worth reading!



2. I think back to some of the Westerns I watched on TV many decades ago. "Wyatt Earp," with the theme song's words, "Wyatt Earp, Wyatt Earp, Brave courageous and bold." Or Bat Masterson, "He wore a cane and derby vest. . . . They called him Bat, Bat Masterson." One thing in common with both? John Henry "Doc" Holliday.
   
   This is a detailed biography of Doc Holliday, the notorious gambler and gunman of the West (called Doc because he was a dentist who, from time to time, actually earned his keep by plying that trade, although gambling seemed more compelling to him!).
   
   He died young, at age 36, of tuberculosis (how many readers recall some actor playing Doc Holliday with an ever present cough, signifying his ailment)? Gary Roberts, the author, notes that Holliday has an elusive element to him. He notes (Page 3): "Yet the measure of the man remains incomplete." Roberts does yeoman work pulling together what is known about Holliday--but there are gaps in our understanding of the man. He notes that (Page 5) "This work, then, is not the final word on the life of Doc Holliday. . . ."
   
   The book begins, in standard fashion, of examining the character's youth. He was a southerner, and his family moved when he was young to get out of the way of Sherman's march to the sea. As a young man, he studied dentistry at the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery. Then, after a time working as a dentist, he moved westward, for reasons not completely ascertained. Surely, he had come to know that he suffered from "consumption," but that probably was not the sole reason for his peregrinations.
   
   The book goes on to detail his life in the West, wandering from one place to another (one almost gets weary at the travels of Holliday and his companions, including the Earp brothers). There is the tale of his saving Wyatt Earp's life in Dodge City, of his move to Tombstone (where he took part in the famous battle at the O. K. Corral), of his gambling, of his turbulent relationship with Kate Elder (possessor of several names), of his work as a "shootist." His many entanglements with the law (while sometimes serving with the law, to make things more confusing!).
   
   Then, his last few years, with some peaceful and some not so peaceful moments.
   
   All in all, a good biography, although sometimes one can get lost in the details and even though sometimes one wonders if a single individual, suffering from tuberculosis, could have wandered so widely across the land. Nonetheless, a good starting point of the reader wants to understand a bit more about this rather mysterious historical figure.



3. Given that Doc Holliday left virtually no record of his own behind, Roberts has done an amazing job of researching and piecing together this detailed portrait of Holliday's life, those whom he encountered and the worlds he inhabited. Copiously footnoted but eminently readable, Roberts' book uncovers some of the man inside the legend. Highly recommended.



4. Doc Holliday books always suffer from the well-known fact that Doc left absolutely no written record of his own. He is, as has been noted, known only through the eyes of others. Some of his contemporaries, like Bat Masterson, are probably accurate in their appraisals. However we can never know much more about Doc himself unless something that he wrote shows up. And, it probably never will. The letters from him to his cousin are probably all gone. So we are left with a bunch of facts that we can rearrange and interpret all we want, without any guarantee that we are any closer to the truth. The author of this latest book does a good job of arranging and stacking what is known about Doc, and does a nice job of interpretation. I liked his ideas about Doc's gravesite, but wonder about the pictures...a couple of them don't seem to be of Doc (are they generally accepted to be, or not?). The author also does a nice job of questioning, appropriately, some truths that have been more or less accepted with little proof over the years (like Doc riding alone across the High Plains). A final comment: this book is dry, but is written in such a way that readers can make their own interpretations about Doc and his motivations, character, etc. Overall, a good, worthy addition to the Doc library; unless something new is discovered, this book will give you everything there is to know about Doc Holliday.



5. This is a truly masterful work. I bought it as I was interested in Holliday and the development of the West. What I found was an historical book with much about the society, economics and culture of the mid-19th Century South, as well as the rapid migration to the central and Southwest. Facinating and exceedingly entertaining and informative.

5 comments about Intern: A Doctor's Initiation.

1. Dr. Jauhar has heard it before and he still doesn't have a clue. In his book Intern, he used 'the power of the pen', to retaliate against those who most likely, unknowingly, made him feel insecure. It is obvious to the reader that he never felt 'good enough' to be at Weill Cornell. The character known as 'Dr. David Klein' (not his real name) was one of the most beloved physicians at NYH - anything but an elitist. Most of his patients were of the low-middle class socioeconomic status. He was kind to everyone, patients and staff alike. The chapter Pride and Prejudice is a bunch of disingenuous garbage. It is interesting, and quite cowardly that Dr. Jauhar waited until 'Dr David Klein' died to put these words to print. The irony: Don't you live on the Upper East Side, Mr Elitist?



2. I found this work by Sandeep Jauhar to be quite in insightful description of what the world of internship actually entails. What I find brilliantly done is the keen use of language to constantly push forward a sense of dismissal of patients, yet a odd desire to continue. Throughout the course of this work, Jauhar is incredibly hesitant of the idea of medicine in the first place, yet reluctantly decides to push forward over all odds. There are times when you not only know, but feel, as though Jauhar doesn't want to be in the hospital, don't want to talk to patients, doesn't want anything to do with medicine in the first place. I suppose that's the impact of working in a hospital for more than 24 hours at a time. Occasionally I would find myself reproaching Jauhar for his standoffish manner, which is somewhat of a theme of this novel. It seems as though he occasionally doesn't care for patients, but just wants to get the job done and go home. But then I realized that part of what Jauhar is trying to get across is a taste of what a life as a doctor entails. I had assumed there would be some nights where sleep might be hard to come by, but I never thought it was as intense as is portrayed here. I commend Jauhar for a well-written description and await his future works.



3. XXXXX
   
   "This book is about my residency [apprenticeship in medicine] at a prominent teaching hospital in New York City. The story goes up to the point when I decided to pursue a fellowship in cardiology, my specialty, and thus covers the most formative years of my education as a doctor.
   
   For me it was a disillusioning time: I spent much of it in a state of crisis and doubt. I had trained as a physicist [the author has a Ph.D. in physics] before entering medical school, and ten years of uncertainty about my choice of profession came out all at once...
   
   Because I had lived another, more sedate, professional life [as a physicist], the one I had to endure in the hospital was even more difficult to bear...For much of internship [the first year of residency], I felt buried--in a waking Hell under the weight of my own (and others') expectations...
   
   I am [now] finished with my apprenticeship, and...now work as a cardiologist...For the most part, I am happy...But so much about medicine still troubles me...sometimes I'm still not sure cardiology was the right choice..."
   
   The above is found in the introduction to this well-written book or memoir by Sandeep Jauhar, M.D., Ph.D. who now is the director of the Heart Failure Program at Long Island Jewish Medical Center. He also writes regularly for "The New York Times" (which got him into trouble during his residency).
   
   If you're expecting to find phrases in this memoir such as "Medicine is the greatest profession", etc., you won't find them and are advised to look elsewhere. This is because this book is brutally honest. Jauhar tells it like it is and I got the sense he was not attempting to sugar-coat any of his narrative. As well, I totally believe that others being initiated into medicine go through the same struggles, questions, and observations as Jauhar (but for some reason are afraid to admit them).
   
   Here are a few sentences and phrases that caught my eye:
   
   (1) A lawyer from risk management, the department that defended the hospital against lawsuits, informed us that at some point in our careers every one of us was likely to be sued, and that we could even be sued during residency.
   (2) "It's strange that all week [this was intern orientation week] they've hardly mentioned the patients...These are the people we're going to be learning on. It's like they're already invisible."
   (3) But as with most of what I learned during then first two years of medical school, I had forgotten it.
   
   (4) It's almost criminal the callousness with which we [that is, doctors] treat some of our patients.
   (5) We performed our [medical] interventions [on patients] with such confidence, such arrogance, but most of the time there was no way of predicting whether we were doing the right thing, or even a good thing.
   (6) What is the point of all this? All the protocols, chemotherapy, the transplants--what is the point of it if, in the end, the sickest patients, the ones we were beholden to help, or at least not harm, were better off without us?
   
   (7) The sentiments I had heard about neurologists seemed close enough to the mark. Master diagnosticians, they had depressingly little to offer their patients.
   (8) I too was learning that deliberate half-truths are a part of a doctor's armamentarium.
   (9) Even today, patients continue to be enrolled in experimental drug studies without proper consent, or under tacit intimidation.
   
   (10) In the ICU, sometimes the cure is worse than the disease.
   (11) Doctors make fun of patients for many reasons. Sometimes as a defence mechanism, and sometimes just because they can.
   (12) In some ways, I probably ended up becoming the kind of doctor I never thought I'd be: impatient with alternative hypotheses, strongly wedded to the evidence-based paradigm, sometimes indifferent (hard-edged, emotionless), occasionally paternalistic.
   
   Each chapter begins with an interesting quotation. Here's one of my favourites by Lewis Thomas:
   
   "The great secret of doctors, known only to their wives, but still hidden from the public, is that most things get better by themselves; most things, in fact, are better in the morning."
   
   Finally, there are notes in this book that contain very interesting information. Here's an example:
   
   "Doctors are more likely than members of the general public to commit suicide...Only 22 percent of depressed medical students seek help. Only 42 percent of those who are considering suicide seek treatment."
   
   In conclusion, in my opinion, this is the best book on becoming a doctor that I have ever read. There are two things that make it stand-out from the rest: (1) the excellent, intelligent writing and (2) its HONESTY.
   
   (first published 2008; prologue; introduction; 3 parts or 21 chapters; main narrative 290 pages; notes; acknowledgements)
   
   <>
   
   XXXXX



4. There are several books I've read that speak along the same lines of this book but there is one things that stands out. The difference in this publication lies in that the author speaks magnitudes about one's natural tendency to feel lost in the environment of medicine. It illuminates the emotions a person experiences with clarity and depth. More importantly, in my opinion Dr. Jauhar displays bravery in undergoing the task of writing his experiences.. I do not know any person who is willing to admit to their weaknesses though we all have them. He goes on to create a lucid picture of the hierarchy in the health system while taking the reader along for a ride down nostolgic paths of how one found his/her purpose in pursuing such a career. There is not much more to say except Dr. Jauhar should be applauded for expressing the truth that much of us are scared to admit we dealt with at one time.



5. If you are like me and wondering if the path to being a doctor is the right choice, then you might want to take the time to read through this one. The author gives you a first hand look at what it takes, and he doesn't hold back on details.

No comments about The Longest Trip Home CD: A Memoir.