5 comments about Purple Reign: The Artist Formerly Known As Prince.

1. There's some good information here. However, Jones' writing is stylistically poor, making for a frustrating read (and not in a productively challenging way). Her citations (or lack thereof) are also frustrating not only in terms of the interviews (as others have mentioned), but even in her other sources. For example, she quotes bell hooks, yet the hooks texts in her bibliography do not have said quote.
   
   I could write a better book about Prince. Definitely go for the Per Nilsen book instead.



2. After reading this book, I wonder if Ms. Jones has to pay any penalties for ripping off other people who interviewed Prince and didn't give credit. She made it sound as though she was interviewing Prince even though there are direct quotes from other interviews made by others. Incredibly tacky! If you want to know more about Prince, read Per Nilsen's book "DanceMusicSexRomance." Even though it only works up to the end of 1987, it is absolutely incredible. Stay away from "Purple Reign." I felt truly ripped off.



3. COMPARED TO PER NILSEN'S DANCEMUSICSEXROMANCE this is Worthy of The Star MAGIZINE.very ORdinary.THe Family Picture is the only New thing Of Interest.She Doesn't Explore THe MAN's Music Enough For Me.That's All that Really Matters In THe End.She Should Have Said More About the Music what She Liked or Didn't.It's very UNFocused.More Tabloid than SUbstance.



4. It's all too obvious that you-know-who wanted to have the final say on this book--after all, we're talking about the guy who has done all he can to have other books about him which he considered "too revealing" vanish. What is amazing, though, is some of the details which the book does bring up (such as in the notorious "epilogue") which I'm surprised he allowed the author to get away with. What I also think would be REALLY fascinating would be if a new "updated" version of this book were released featuring a whole new chapter on the way Prince handled what is now known as "The Crystal Ball Fiasco" and his threatening other websites on the internet. Even better, to hear him say something about those actions himself and see if he either simply didn't care or did care but just made some serious blunders without knowing how to apologize. I wish I knew.



5. Awful book! Forgot this book and most books written on this brilliant, fascinating and complicated subject. Read the Spike Lee or a Steve Perry interviews or better yet, pick up any album and listen to the lyrics or go to the man's web site and read some of his comments or talk to a diehard from Minneapolis. But don't read this book!

No comments about Biografía de Frida Kahlo.

No comments about Things I've Been Silent About: Memories.

5 comments about In Search of Fatima: A Palestinian Story.

1. I just finished Ghada Karmi's captivating autobiography. She is honest, poignant, funny and reflective. She takes you back to pivotal moments in history, while at the same time drawing you into her and her family's personal struggles. Many readers who have also grown up with traditional parents, whether they be Catholic, Muslim or Jewish, will be able to relate!
   
   But more importantly, she offers an insightful view of a much misunderstood dilemma. For anyone who has wondered, "Why don't the Palestinians just stop fighting?", you owe it to yourself to read this book!
   
   I admit to fact checking Karmi because I assumed since she was Palestinian, that some of the information she gave could have been exaggerated. She mentions the massacre at Deir Yassin, the bombing of the King David Hotel, and the booby trapping of the dead body of a British soldier. I was shocked to learn that armed Jewish groups did indeed carry out these and other acts of violence before 1948. What we are usually taught is that Israel always respects human rights, but the Arabs do not. Karmi gives another point of view.
   
   Yet she does not paint all Jewish people with the same brush. She differentiates between her Jewish friends she holds dear, the Jewish faith she respects, and the state of Israel which has robbed her of her homeland.
   
   This book is well worth your time!



2. In Search of Fatima is a beautifully written story, a true story, written by a woman with a real gift for writing. The whole experience of the Palestinian Catastrophe, know as the Nakba, comes alive in this book on a very personal level. The fear of the Palestinians as the events unfold during the years leading up to 1948 are so vividly expressed that you feel that you are there too, sharing the feelings of foreboding and horror.
   The second section of the book describes the difficulties in settling in a new country, with totally different customs, language, weather, everything. Her mother, incapable of adapting to a new life, makes a truly pitiable figure.
   
   Although this is the story of one person,the experience of the 1948 Nakba was shared by three quarters of a million others, yet we rarely hear about the terrible suffering inflicted on so many. This book fills a huge void.



3. This is truly an outstanding work. The search and confusion of identity is made even more difficult when one is a Palestinian refugee. Add to this the issue of gender and Ghada Karmi assertion of herself and her rights and you get a fascinating indeed thrilling mix. The first third of the book deals with the exodus from Jerusalem ..it is very moving and sad to see the events rushing to make little Ghada and her family refugees. In the next part we see Ghada the British emerging and finally with all the contradiction between home, school (with mostly Jewish friends) and the society at large especially with backdrop of the 1956 Suez war. The third and final part is the return and the contradictions of identities and the battle to assert herself as a single woman working for the cause. Ghada's move from the completely apolitical to the activist as part of her search of identity is very well nuanced and gives us a great insight into the meaning of being a Palestinian refugee.
   
   Ghada Karmi is a gifted writer. This work is fascinating enough even if it was given as bullet points in a PowerPoint presentation, but this is hardly the case. Karmi has a facility with prose and is able to get into great detail to transform the readers into her life; this was very much the case in the fist part of the book, the exodus from Jerusalem. You can almost picture Ghada abandoned dog as their car sped away from the house never to return.
   
   This is a thrilling work on par with Leila Ahmad Border Passage. Leila Ahmad an Egyptian American was not a refugee but here Tri-cultural experience in Egypt, England and America and her search of identity and issues of gender are very interesting and highly developed. Another highly recommended work of a Palestinian American is Nadia Captive of Hope, deals with exodus and gender issues and less so of identity.



4. This book is like a narrative of two different lives: the end of one and the beginning of another. Two lives that are not independent of each other though, as remnants of the one may not be overpowering to the point of eliminating the other, but are certainly powerful enough to haunt it, shape it, give it its final form.
   
   Although in essence totally overwhelmed by emotions, Karmi manages to almost detach and distance herself from her own being, leave her body and float above everything and everyone. That way she describes people, situations and feelings in a detailed and factual fashion, devoid of the empathy that would crush the reader, immerse him in a whirlwind of unfulfilled expectations and unrelieved tension, and ultimately leave him feeling nothing short of miserable and exhausted.
   
   Throughout the entire book, there's a marked emphasis on Karmi's relationships with other Jews, the friendships she formed and her refusal to see them in any other way than as individuals with traits that were or were not compatible, likable or acceptable to her. She almost goes out of her way to make clear that Jewishness never hindered her from befriending someone and not only that, but in an unfamiliar environment such as London was in the aftermath of the second World War, Palestinians and Jews that found themselves stranded there were entities that shared the misfortune of exile, and as such could indeed relate to one another. Moreover, the fact that Judaism was as much a respected as a familiar religion for Muslims, much more so than Christianity, played a role. As did the writer's initial stance, adopted by her parents and passed onto her from an early age, that it wasn't so much the Jews that were responsible for the Palestinians' fate and the violent takeover of their country, as ultimately the British, who as custodians of Palestine had the obligation to protect and safeguard the interests of the indigenous population. Instead, they forsook and betrayed them, and disposed of the Palestinian land -that was never theirs to dispose of in the first place- as served their purposes at the time.
   
   Karmi experiences an internal conflict, wavering between her British identity and her Arab origins, desperately longing to be accepted by and fit in either society. She often describes the war that rages inside of her, the opposite forces pushing and pulling, on the one hand the need to put everything behind her and lead as normal a life as possible, and on the other the need to seek out her roots and fight with all her might the injustice that was meted out to her.
   
   This book is so much more that a simple memoir, as it goes deep inside the mind of people who experience exile and dislocation, and gives a picture of the psychological turmoil they find themselves in and the void they will probably never be able to fill.



5. This is a wonderful book that shows the humnan tragedy of becoming a refugee. In this case, the book talks about a refugee of the 1948 war for Palestine. While the book explains how the creation of the state of Israel have shattered the lives of three quarter million palestnians, it tells the story of one of them. The story of personal conflicts that face any palestnian refugee now, then and in the future:
   - Can I return to Palestine and where is it now?
   - How can I stay palestnian and at the same time contribute to my current non-palestnian community?
   - Do I have the capacity to forgive israelies for what they did to my family and country?
   
   While Ghada's responses to these questions were positive, and she insisted to find an answer to these questions, it is the role of each palestnian to find his/her own answers. Also, it is the role of non-palestnians to understand the palestnian refugee before addressing their plight. Therefore I highly recommend this book.

No comments about Juan Vicente Gómez and the Oil Companies in Venezuela, 1908-1935 (Cambridge Latin American Studies).

5 comments about Remember This Titan: Lessons Learned from a Celebrated Coach's Journey.

1. In a world saturated with stories overcoming life challenges, Remember This Titan delivers a message unlike any I have read.
   Steve Sullivan's ability to capture the essence of Coach Bill Yoast while weaving in an out of the life narrative is remarkable. He has cleverly captured in words, the essence of a man who made it his life's commitment to make a difference and inspire. Sullivan has beautifully portrayed with drama, insight and humor, the life of a man whose unwavering commitment to others enabled them to prosper- all became better, some became great. Many went on to positively impact on other's lives and for this, Sullivan's book is a brilliant reminder that the `Domino Effect' can be a powerful force.
   Although Coach Bill Yoast is in the twilight of his journey, Remember This Titan and the wisdom it delivers is a legacy that will live forever.



2. A friend sent me the book as gift. She said it would change my life. She was right. It took me on a glorious trip. In a world filled with deceit, fear, anger and lost people Remember This Titan shows how one man can make a differance. Remember This Titan is a story that delivers integrity and courage in abundance. Coach Bill Yoast is now my hero. Remember This Titan is triumph and should be required reading for anyone looking to navigate life with a sense of purpose. Five Stars is not enough.



3. This is a great motivational and uplifting story. A must read for teens and parents alike!!



4. Remember This Titan, is a wonderful accounting of Bill Yoast's life, ups and downs, the expected and the unexpected. It is the story of a man who LIVED decency long before it was fashionable. The success of the team, both on the field and in their interpersonal relationships, was nurtured by the presence of this fine teacher, leader and coach. In a time when schools go out of their way to emphasize that character counts, this is a fine, enjoyable book to share with the children/students in your life. There are so many valuable lessons, from Mary's impact on Coach Yoast to the profound influence of Raymond Tetfeller on Yoast's young life. This book is beautifully written. It flows with astonishing honesty from humor to heart-wrenching pain. Sullivan has an obvious knowledge, understanding and respect for Coach Yoast. As if all of the above isn't enough, there are action plans and lists of invaluable facts in the back. Remember This Titan is a great read which has had a lasting impact on me. p.s. I had a student at the end of the year say, "Hey, Ms. Stewart are YOU reading a football book, cool!" Enjoy.



5. "Remember This Titan" is an excellent story of an American hero. In a time when personal glory is mainstream, Bill Yoast was not only an inspiration to a community but to the nation as well. Absorbing every word of a simply beautiful story of a no-nonsense man, I learned that, "In navigating life, the best lessons are learned when the riding gets rough". Not only do I believe in the philosophy of life according to Coach Yoast but our entire youth organization and metro area are looking forward to having Mr. Sullivan and Coach Yoast motivate our young men for our 2006 football season. I look forward to meeting Coach Bill Yoast and Steve Sullivan in August, (www.greenmountainfootball.org) and showing them that the TITAN theory exists in Colorado. Steve Sullivan along with Bill Yoast are truly the cornerstone of INSPIRATION.

5 comments about Our Uncle Sam: The Sam Cooke Story From His Family's Perspective.

1. While reading "Our Uncle Sam" I cried, I laughed and I knew that the Sam Cooke that was in these pages was the real Sam Cooke. Even though the authur did not know his uncle he was able to bring out the real Sam. The book was beautifully written and you can see the love in every page. I am glad I bought "Our Uncle Sam" because it gave me the opportunity to know or feel like I know him. I always knew there was more to the story and now I know for sure. Thank you to the authur, Erik Greene, for writing this wonderfully uplifting and eye-opening book about the greatest song writer/singer/performer there ever was or ever will be.



2. I have read them all. Erik Greene's book is from the source and from the heart, by the people who knew Sam best: his family; not the people who just wanted a part of Sam or to control Sam.
   
   Great read. Well done. If you love Sam Cooke's music you need to read this. If you're new to Sam's music--this will give you a deeper understanding of the man and his music.



3. This book exposed the contradictions of the autopsy report vs events that were publicized after Sam Cooke's death. Also intriguing sides of his personality were revealed; such as the trailblazer he was on the business side of the music industry and other popular entertainers he groomed.
   
   Both these aspects of Cooke's life have been grossly
   'under reported'...perspectives that are way overdue!



4. The casual observer really believes that sensationally sexy singer known as Sam Cooke was killed doing the usual shady celebrity ho-down in a seedy hotel deep in a neighborhood that no sensible person would roam about after dark. Sam Cooke's musical brilliance has been almost completely buried in the scandal of his demise.
   
   Erik Greene brought up many facts about Sam's murder that no one else has talked about. I've read Peter Guralnick that pitches Allen Klein as an angel and I've read David Ritz (w/ SR Crain and Cliff White) that pitches Klein as the devil in very flimsy disguise. Looking at Klein's track record with The Beatles, Rolling Stones and more recently (1997) The Verve, Klein is not to be trifled with or trusted. The spin in the "Legends" DVD on how he helped Sam develop Sam's second Copa show was comedy, even to someone on the outside looking in. It's easy to take credit for the success of a man who has been in the grave for 4 decades.
   
   The details about 55 year old Bertha Franklin's composed neat appearance, immediately following her supposed tussle with 33 year old Sam that resulted in his demise is interesting. The dispappearance of all the police and morgue files and the sham of a interrogation directly following Sam's murder all point to people in high places wanting Mr. Cooke dead. After all, Sam was a black man who owned his own publishing and record companies in the 1960's. Not only that, he was encouraging other artists to do the same. Black people had been killed for much less in Sam's day, like sitting at a lunch countr and asking to be served. Sam posed a huge threat to the record company, much of which was and is controlled by the mob. Mr. Green brought all these factors to the forefront, including Sam's penchant for the finer things in life, from clothes to cars to homes and gadgets. If he was to indulge in dealing with call girls, I truly suspect that he would go to an expensive hotel where he was known and the staff would turn a blind eye. Lastly, a Ferrari idling in the ghetto, complete with keys and nobody steals it? Sam was set up, beat up and murdered.
   
   Now Sam was far from a saint, but he did not deserve to be killed, most especially in such a horrific and humiliating manner. In 1964, only white people could pull off such a complete shut down of proper police and medical follow-up. What about Bob Keane owing the mob and having life insurance policies on some of his artists? Who owned the nightclub PJ's where Sam was last seen alive? What really happened to Bobby Fuller?
   
   This book opens up a wound that has festered and remained a sore spot all these long years. Sam Cooke was an incredibly handsome, amazingly talented man; so much so that to watch tapes of him today still display what a sexy dynamic man he was. His appeal is not dated and he is still relevant with "A Change Is Gonna Come" and his many pop hits continue to play on radio stations that cater to the tastes of a wide spectrum of people.
   
   The book reminds us that Sam, though flawed, loved and was loved by his family. He would be 76 today had he not been murdered. Sam's great nephew reminds us of Sam's great talent, forward thinking and charisma. But most importantly, it brings to the forefront the humanity of Sam Cooke, which makes his loss even sadder.



5. As I'm writing this review, I've got my favorite Sam Cooke tunes playing in the background. These are some of the most timeless pieces of music ever recorded. Every so often, I take them out, dust them off, and take a listen. My mood changes and somehow my day gets better.
   
   There are plenty of biographies about Sam Cooke. His life makes an interesting story. Born into a large family, son of a minister, Sam started in gospel music and eventually became an R&B and pop superstar. Sam was also well known as a lady's man, a business man, and a human rights advocate. To this day, people still wonder about the real story behind his suspicious death.
   
   Our Uncle Sam is unique among Sam Cooke biographies. This book is written by Sam's great nephew and includes stories from various relatives. I absolutely loved this concept. Family knows, and still loves you nonetheless, throughout both the good and bad. Therefore, I felt that this biography presented a really balanced story about Sam, where he came from, what drove him to succeed, and what was really important to him. Moreover, I was touched at this family's everlasting love and devotion to Sam's memory and to the loving foundations set out by Annie Mae and Charles Cook Sr.

4 comments about Eye Of The Fish.

1. I come from a similar background as the author, though a generation removed (younger). As I read it, I find that he has in fact written MY personal archipelago. This book is not contrived or pretentious. One of very few books I've found that relate the Philippines and Filipino identity issues so genuinely and honestly.



2. Perhaps the best book on the Filipino American experience I have ever read.
   This is a must read book.



3. The only thing better then reading this book on your own, is to experience it from Francia's own lips. Francia is an amazing storyteller, this book is a must for anyone interested in personal/cultural identity. If you ever get a chance to hear this author read, do it- he is wonderful!



4. From the first word of this book I knew that this book was for me. Luis Francia's book is a must read for any Filipino-American looking to discover their Cultural Identity.

   Luis takes his reader's on poetic journeys through the Philippine Archipelago, through these adventures we discover the many cultures of the Philippines and start to understand social and political issues that Filipinos face. Through his words you feel Luis' passion for a country he loves in the same way that you feel the passion through the words of Jose Rizal, Jorge Luis Borges, or Pablo Neruda.

   It is not enough to say that I enjoyed this book. Luis' book is culturally significant. It meets the needs of Filipino's in their struggle to create a new cultural identity.

No comments about The Heart of Being Hawaiian.

5 comments about Finding Mañana: A Memoir of a Cuban Exodus.

1. This book does a great job of weaving the story of Mirta Ojito and her family with events in Cuba as they unfolded in the years before after the 1979-80 Mariel boat lift. Mirta Ojito is a gifted writer. She manages to find humor in the many absurdities of what still constitutes life in communist Cuba.



2. In "Finding Manana," author Mirta Ojito is literally looking for "Manana," a boat that brought her and her family to Key West during the 1980 Mariel boatlift. But she's also looking for answers that will help her come to terms with yesterday and the political catalysts that led to one of the biggest mass migrations in US and Cuban histories.
   What began as a memoir, telling those experiences from the power of memory from her childhood in Cuba, unraveled into a larger story of how Mariel played out and its effect today on Cubans like her in Miami.
   The book seesaws between the personal story and the political and historic one.
   Ojito's personal stories of growing up in Cuba and the profiles of other Cubans looking to leave their country "shaped like an alligator at rest" (p. 196) engage the reader the best. But the authoritative tone she alternates into for the layered factual and historic details tend to slow "Manana" down to a few knots.
   For five months in 1980, Fidel Castrol unleashed 125,000 refugees from the port of Mariel to South Florida. It's these same people President Jimmy Carter took in like orphans looking to be adopted.
   At 16, Ojito was a Marielita, a term that today still conjures up images of Cuban's most dangerous and mentally ill criminals, people "with glazed eyes, shaved heads and what appeared to be prison garb,'' (p. 211) seen as they came upon Florida's shores.
   Through her narratives, Ojito shows there were more to Marielitos than the image of them projected in the media or in the movie "Scarface." They were hard-working families looking to escape Fidel Castro's regime for a better future in the US.
   "To me, it was a badge of honor,'' she writes (p. 266). "a recognition that I belonged to a group of people who had once left their country as ballast and had managed to stay afloat, and even attain a measure of success.''
   Ojito, for one, mastered English once in South Florida, became a reporter with The Miami Herald and later, The New York Times where she shared the 2000 Pulitzer prize for national reporting.
   Using her lens as a journalist as well as the power of her memories of Cuba as her guide, she traces the boatlift to the men who orchestrated it and how their sometimes overlapping roles ushered this moment in both countries' histories.
   Ojito also chronicles in detail their backstories, which humanizes them. Ojito sketches people like Hector Sanyustiz, the Cuban bus driver who barreled through the gates of the Peruvian embassy, which opened the floodgates for 10,000 Cubans seeking political asylum on its property.
   She chronicles the clandestine dialogue with Bernando Benes, the Miami banker with ties to President Carter and who (meaning Benes) later held secret meetings with Castro to bring 3,000 political prisoners to the US.
   And then there's captain Mike Howell, the Vietnam veteran who lost his arm in the war and began chartering his boat from New Orleans. The book picks up steam here as Ojito builds up to the actual boatlift.
   Howell was moved by the story of passionate Cubans looking to pick up their relatives in Mariel that he agreed to bring them to Key West with help from his boat, the "Manana," which translates as "Tomorrow" in English. Ojito paints him as her personal hero.
   "The man and the women in front of him seemed determined to go,'' Ojito writes of the group of Cubans who asked Howell's help in New Orleans. "Saving people was part of the Manana's mission, and Mike relished the idea of playing savior."
   Yet for all the build-up to the actual journey from Mariel to Key West, there are only a handful of pages of the trip itself.
   In "Finding Manana," Ojito doesn't just find the ship that bears its name. She also finds the real story of Mariel for herself and other fellow Marielitos.
   
   Johnny Diaz, author of Boston Boys Club



3. The author details her life and the lives of others who have left Cuba and what they gained and lost in the transition. A well written book, even paced with good photographs.



4. I'm a Marielito and many of the experiences Ms. Ojito describes are similar to mine. That's what makes it authentic to me. The book itself is well researched, well developed and well written. It properly contextualizes the event. Those looking for a rabid denunciation of Mr. Castro should look somewhere else. Ms. Ojito, like me, doesn't care so much about Castro as to be obsessed with him.



5. If you like to know more about Cuban life during Castro's beginning of his dictatorship, and the feelings and how people reacted, this book is good for you. This novel Finding Manana by Mirta Ojito is about a girl who is growing up in a communist Cuba when Castro had just took over and how her family escaped.
   The book Finding Manana is a memoir about a girl growing up in a communist Cuba and when she escaped and lived in the United States. It is also of how she got out of Cuba and all the trouble her and her family went through to get out of Cuba.
   "The Valley Chief's has broken down and there is no way to get out of Cuba's port". Mirta Ojito and her family have come to an obstacle when trying to get out of Cuba's port to get to the United States.
   If you know a lot about Cuba's history and how Castro got into power and all that he went through to get into power. If you really like Cuba's history this is the book for you.