5 comments about The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts.

1. 
   The women ancestors of a geeky Chinese-American girl pile up impressive resumes, no worries ! They are kungfu heroines, joining peasant armies that overthrow the very Imperial throne. They are doctors who brave ghosts and come to America. They are mothers and grandmothers who remain staunchly Chinese in the face of the full press of American culture. They are sisters or aunts in Chinatown apartments or unknown relatives killed for following their hearts instead of the rules back in village China. Slowly, slowly, the background of the author (maybe) is depicted. You need some patience to realize what the author is doing. She doesn't give quarter. Readers who like everything spelled out will be disappointed. Ghosts play a big role in every section of the book. Ghosts train the warriors, ghosts oppose the student and the laundryworker. All Americans even appear as ghosts of a vast variety. Yes, it's one way of looking at the experience of immigration. You leave home, where everything is known, and come to a very foreign land where nothing is comprehensible. You understand nothing of the language or customs, but you have to make your way, earn a living, survive. Daring to sit and struggle with ghosts in a haunted Chinese classroom is similar to fighting with aliens in an alien land. So, you might interpret everyone around you as a `ghost'--scary, but propitiated or turned aside each in its own way. Women in China are treated like chattel, she says, but here women take control, control ghosts, control lives, control themselves. Is it a dream ? Is it another way of looking at Chinese women ? You will decide this for yourself after reading this highly original, lyrical book of tales of immigration, tales of women in a strange land, tales of "how I got to be me". It's got to be one of the most creative immigrant novels yet written.



2. Woman Warrior is one of the most gripping lyrical-memoirs I've read. Author, Maxine Kingston, is eternally haunted by the "no-name" ghost of her dead aunt, and she finds herself displaced and alienated as she attempts to put together two worlds: her Chinese ancestry, and her new American life.
   
   It is Maxine's Chinese ancestry that teaches her that girls are half-ghosts that walk a tight wire and with one wrong step will transcend into full-pledged ghosts, with all memory of their existence erased from time. Girls in the history of her Chinese culture are regarded much the way Middle Eastern women are regarded today: burdensome, and dangerous. The saying "When fishing for treasures in the flood, be careful not to pull in girls," holds a message repeated to Kingston many times over throughout her girlhood.
   
   Compounding Maxine's troubles, not only is it difficult for her to adjust to being an American type of female, which is different than a Chinese accepted female, but she carries with her the eternal displacement of her violently banished, suicide-no-name aunt whose spirit forever lingers, haunting Maxine.
   
   Alienation is also host to Maxine's reality, as she struggles to feel of value---caught as she is between what she's been brainwashed to believe gives a female value in Chinese culture, and what she is learning gives a female value in American culture. Alienation because she realizes that she is no longer authentic to the culture she comes from, just as she is not authentic to the culture she is now a part of; and she comes to realize that what herself and her family have become, is no less than a cultural patchwork, beyond easy definition: "No other Chinese, neither the ones in Sacramento, nor the ones in San Francisco, nor Hawaii speak like us."
   
   Kingston's resentment and further displacement and alienation comes from the many secrets about her past, about her Chinese heritage, kept from her by her elders--the only stories they tell her are the ones meant to haunt her, but even those stories are not fully explained. How is she to form an identity when she isn't aloud to put all of the pieces together, of her past and present-- when she can't define her self as being a solid part of any given culture? Without proper definition of place, one merely floats along, trying to make sense of it. This is where the Woman Warrior, Fa Mu Lan, comes into play in this story.
   
   Fa Mu Lan is used as a metaphor for female choice, female purpose, female strength and power. Fa Mu Lan does not simply assume the traditional role of a Chinese female, instead she goes out into the world and she fights! Only after she fights does she return home to resume her traditional female role.
   
   I personally see this metaphor of Fa Mu Lan as Kingston's impression of having her feet in two different worlds, and how to cope accordingly. Fa Mu Lan, to me, represents the old and the new, and also she represents a force of identity that gives strength, and choice, to the traditional female role. Fa Mu Lan is a survivor of both worlds, and because she faces such danger outside of her home, the inside of her home may seem relatively less dangerous in light of that.
   
   Danger in Kingston's world, comes from both the inside and outside of the home--whether through ghostly memories and threats lingering in the air, or through present day pressures and dangers from a cold native-America population-- and so Fa Mu Lan serves to bring balance and strength to this double-prong.



3. Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior is a powerful
   gem about the relationship between the author and her
   mother and other women in her family. It is a memoir
   but reads like fiction. I loved this book and especially
   how she utilizes symbols, particularly ghosts to represent
   people from different backgrounds, whom the author draws
   upon for wisdom, strength and remembrance.
   
   I usually have a tough time with "literary" fiction but
   the author writes in an almost conversational tone. I felt
   like I was there as the author told her story. This is
   an excellent book to read to learn about Chinese culture.



4. An excellent book, funny, insightful, poignant. Ms. Kingston brilliantly conveys how cultures can clash within the minds of those who straddle them. After reading this book I bought half a dozen copies to give to close friends.



5. This is a tremendous novel. The author threads the stories her mother told her when she was a child, through the retelling of her own life, using them to draw you into her own imagination. As she grows up, living half immersed in traditional myth and half in gritty reality, where mothers and daughters are only human, the reader grows up with her. The first person telling of her childhhood stories puts the reader directly in the shoes of a child/young adult working through the stories she has been told, using them to form her hopes and dreams and her understanding of the world.
   
   (N.B. You may not think that your childhood stories influenced the way you live, but if you think for a minute, I am certain some will come back to you and you'll realize that just the other day you did something based on or combatting that belief. Maybe you even still wish on stars?)

5 comments about Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story.

1. This is an excellent read for young adults onward. Interwoven in all of Dr. Carson's stories is a testament to what GOD can do. Dr. Carson was child by societal standards was not supposed to succeed. He was raised in a single parent home with a mother who battled mental illness yet he overcame struggles by focusing on what he could do as opposed to what he couldn't do. This book will truly inspire you to be the very best in your God led profession. Awesome!!!



2. Amazing, this man knew what he wanted to do at an early age, with his Mother's hard work, he was able to fulfill his dream.



3. This book has not only allow me to change my outlook on life, but I have also developed a more positive attitude towards myself. This is a very inspiring book and I wish there were more books on the market like it. These are the books children should be reading in class to help build their self-esteem.



4. Gifted Hands by Ben Carson is an autobiography about a young man from the ghetto who, with the help, the guidance and prayers of his mother, was able to excel in college and medical school and become the Chief Pediatric Neurologist at Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore, MD. His strong faith is a testament to how we can rely on the Lord.



5. One wouldn't expect someone who came from a poor, single-parent home, and with failing grades in school, to eventually become one of the greatest neurosurgeons in history. Gifted Hands, written by Ben Carson with Cecil Murphey, chronicles that man's journey, the journey of Ben Carson. Throughout the book, his captivating style and amazing story make his determination to be the best contagious.
   
   What stands out most is how he tells his story. He begins by telling narrative of what was happening and what he was thinking, and then switches to dialogue at key moments to allow us to imagine these incidents and characters as if we were really there. This approach to storytelling gives the book an easy-to-read quality that is hard to resist. It is his positive outlook on life, an "I can do anything I set my mind to" attitude, however, that makes his book truly irresistible. To hear the odds he was up against, the determination he had to conquer them, and the vast level of success he achieved inspires one to always do his best in everything, too.
   
   The book Gifted Hands proves that Ben Carson is not only gifted with his hands. He is gifted with his words too. This book captures Ben Carson's humble spirit and attitude as he accomplishes feats no man thought possible, yet never considers himself any more than an ordinary man who uses what he has for God's glory. I highly recommend this book.

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

1. 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!



2. 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.



3. 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.



4. I just purchased this book and read it while commuting on the NY subway. It made my commuting experience a pleasure.
   
   Both books are very human and also very funny. Almost every paragraph has a surprise. She is finely attuned to the differences between Iranian and American culture. She does succeed in having us "laugh with her." I have read both of her books and highly recommend them.
   
   I have zero sympathy with the Iranian regime, but we do need more "cultural ambassadors" like Ms. Dumas who can maintain perspective and a sense of humor, and fewer Reading Lolita in Tehran's.



5. This book is jam packed with hilarious, sad, hopeful and inspiring short stories which I really enjoyed. My favorite one is when she spoke before a bunch of evangelicals at Palm Spring. Honestly, I can't think of many writers that can describe an experience as neat as her....
   This book is addictive! You just can't put it down until the short story ends and then next one is even better than the last ones.....so, I was caught reading "Laughing without an accent" skipping my lunch and laughing hysterically in my office!!
   What a fantastic follow-up to "Funny in Farsi"....Can't wait for another marvelous book by Firoozeh....

5 comments about The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East.

1. yes, after 1948 there were many conflicts between jews and arabs, but what some reviewers here fail to highlight is the very critical timeline of the conflict: no arab ever had a problem with jews prior to 1948, prior to when israel took what was without any interpretation arab land and declared itself a country. did the reviewers even read what they wrote? the grouping of the arabs against the jews was nothing other than solidarity with their kinsmen for losing their land to a newly-, arbitrarily-created country. imagine if a group of muslims joined the significant muslim population in an american city, suddenly declared themselves a country, then cried about the injustice of "all the american states unifying against them"...ludicrous to expect otherwise. Of course this book doesn't portray EVERYTHING, but if it portrays the conflict somewhat favorably towards palestinians, it is because that's the way the facts played out. Some israelis think that an unbiased report means a neutral report, most are willing to accept some fault for starting the whole mess.



2. This book should be required reading for whoever becomes President, or anyone else who needs to understand what happened between Israel and Palestine. This is the fairest accounting that I have ever read.



3. This is a sublime work of art, made all the more so by its complete factual accuracy. Sure, Sandy picks and chooses the facts he'll present, as any historian does, but every thought, every moment, comes only from historical records and interviews. And perhaps it's this plain "just the facts, ma'am" approach that makes the story so much more filled with pathos and tragedy.
   
   I know of no other book on this subject that so clearly shows the suffering on both sides of the aisle. Most books are either clearly Zionist or focus on al Nakba and the suffering of the Palestinian people. Sandy doesn't take the easy road. He presents the longing and angst- and hopes- of both peoples. He shows us the struggles and poverty of Dalia's family, and their rejoicing on finally finding a home. He shows us Bashir's family's delight in the land, and the horror of seeing it stripped from them. And he shows us the greater suffering of the Palestinians in the last 50 years, as more and more land, life, and dignity are stripped away.
   
   Through this history we see the Principle of Violent Mimicry, where we become that which we hate, as first the Israelis model Nazi practices, and then the Palestinians learn from the Israelis that only violence and terrorism can solve their problems. We see a clash of cultures, with Dalia locked in European Cartesian paradigms of "I think therefore I am,", and Bashir birthed into a narrative of "I reside therefore I am." And through it all we wonder- can there be any hope for change, for peace, for justice? Sandy gives us some glimmer of hope of reconciliation, but it is clear that it is not an easy hope- for this is real life, and not a Saturday morning special. This is gritty historical narrative, and more than ever, after reading this book, I think our only path out of this morass is the one blazed by South Africa.



4. The Lemon Tree is a true gem amid the harsh cacophony of literature surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This compelling true story weaves together two histories--at once the histories of two families and two peoples--connected to the same house and the same land.
   
   In 1936, Ahmad Khairi built a home for his young family in the Palestinian town of Ramla, which was then part of the British Mandate. As Ahmad's children, including his eldest son Bashir, grew up in this lovingly built house--with its majestic lemon tree in the backyard--the Eshkanazi family faced an uncertain future in Nazi-aligned Bulgaria. Though they could not have imagined it at the time, the two families' lives would become deeply connected even as history places them on opposite sides of a volatile conflict.
   
   The encounter begins when Bashir, who as a child was forced to flee Ramla during the 1948 war, travels back to his childhood home following the Six Day War in 1967. To his surprise, he is warmly welcomed inside by Dalia Eshkanazi, an Israeli college student whose family of Holocaust survivors immigrated to the newly formed state when she was an infant. It is the beginning of an incredible friendship that perseveres in spite of the impassioned political disagreement and painful history that stands between them.
   
   Tolan takes no liberties with the history, basing the story on extensive interviews and archival research. The Lemon Tree reads part like a vividly detailed novel and part like a history text, placing the moving stories of Dalia and Bashir within several decades of rich historical context. By blending these personal and historical narratives, the story offers a unique window into the conflict, beyond the political complexities and ideological abstractions. Tolan's retelling is sensitive to both narratives, empathetically portraying the traumas, insecurities, and yearnings of each side.
   
   While The Lemon Tree offers inspiring proof that reconciliation and dialogue are possible, the book leaves open the question of how much these personal connections can impact the conflict. Although she sympathizes with Bashir and other refugees, Dalia fears an influx of Arabs and clashes with him over the right of return. Bashir, for his part, never recognizes Israel and insists that recent Jewish immigrants should "go back where they came from." Accused by Israel of being in the PFLP, Bashir is arrested in connection with a terrorist bombing; he denies involvement and is eventually released, but Dalia believes he is guilty. Later, Bashir reveals a hidden childhood trauma that sheds light on his enmity toward Israel. Both, especially Bashir, continue to show a fundamental mistrust for the other side.
   
   Almost miraculously, they are able to sustain their friendship despite all this, and the affection and caring between them is genuine. While giving no easy answers, their story stands as a ray of hope for the possibility of coexistence in spite of a difficult history.



5. This is a readable account of the evolution of the Israeli-Palestinian situation during most of the 20th century. It uses a brilliant device of following a Palestinian who left his home as a refugee child when the Israeli state was established, and an Israeli who moved into that same house and grew up there. Of comparable ages, the two turned out to be exceptional individuals who established a long lasting if improbable friendship. The evolution of their lives, and the final use of the house with the lemon tree as a center for Jewish-Arab dialog, provides a counterpoint to the more traditional history focusing on politics and conflict. Those who are looking a peace-bringing solution to the conflict will be disappointed with this book, but those seeking ways to understand and empathize better with both sides of the conflict will like this book very much indeed!

5 comments about My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir.

1. If anyone you know tells you they can't make it in America buy this book for them and tell them to read it.



2. Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas' life story is interesting for two reasons: because it doesn't have a word of self-aggrandizement in it, and because it so clearly contrasts the fallacies of the victim culture with the rewards of a constant effort at self-improvement. The author is very candid about his personal shortcomings, some of which, especially in his youth, are glaring and obvious. To me, the major contribution of this book is to provide incontrovertible evidence that America still is one of the best places on the planet to grow up in as what is termed a `disadvantaged child'. Justice Thomas is living proof of this fact. At the same time, his autobiography contains an implicit warning against moving down the road that Europe has been on for the past sixty years: that of a culture government dependency, personal irresponsability, and rampant nepotism in all aspects of society. A thought-provoking book.



3. My Grandfather's Son
   
   I read Clarence Thomas's autobiographical My Grandfather's Son some months after the first flush of publicity. The book is well worth reading, which is not to say that it won me over to Thomas's political views, or made me an admirer of his tenure in government. The early chapters provide a moving account of growing up impoverished in rural Georgia, subject to the pathological Jim Crow laws and customs of the time, which is as authentic as any other that has appeared in print. The book does establish that Thomas is a complex human being, a unique individual, as are we all. That is important. Nothing is more infuriating than being critiqued for something you are not, rather than for a life and a set of principles that one is proud of, even if others sharply disagree.
   
   Thomas is absolutely correct that he has a right to be his own self, not to conform to any expected orthodoxy based on his race, his sex, or any other irrelevant characteristic. In this, he is merely living up to Jesse B. Semple's defiant statement to his employer ("my boss is a white man") who asks him "What does The Negro want now?" Simple responds, many times over, "I am not The Negro. I am this Negro. I represent my own self." (Taken from Langston Hughes's, Coffee Break. Thomas's rejection of a brand of so-called liberalism based on cheap stereotypes is a breath of fresh air. But his critique is missing a good deal of history, and his own account makes clear that, to those he adopted as his closest political allies, he was merely a convenient pawn, thrust into jobs he might indeed not have been well qualified to fill.
   
   Thomas knew that most of the inner circle in the Reagan administration were uninterested in offering anything to advance civil rights. "By the end of my first year at the Department of Education, I took a dim view of the prospects for blacks in America. I no longer thought that the Reagan administration could do anything that would be of any help to them... Those of us who had chosen to work for President Reagan found it hard to shake the nagging feeling that this aides didn't trust us... Too many political appointees appeared to me to be too preoccupied with celebrating their own ideological credentials to pay attention to the needs of blacks. We hadn't voted for him, so why should they bother with us?" Ronald Reagan's plaintive phone call asking Thomas why African Americans considered him racist, and his protest that he personally had never been racist in his life, were no doubt sincere. But Reagan's administration, and his party, highlighted in Thomas's own words, provided the plain answer to the president's question.
   
   Thomas relates that he was shocked by Coretta Scott King's dismissal of Ronald Reagan, "Well, he IS a Republican." What did the Republican Party mean in 1980 for African Americans? As early as 1960, the limited-federal-government wing of the northern and western Republican Party had been finding common ground with the states' rights Dixiecrats still embedded in the Democratic Party. Between 1964 and 1980, the Republican Party had made an open bid to all racists dissatisfied with Democratic sponsorship of civil rights laws and federal intervention to change parties. Thomas may not have noticed that, because by his own description, it occured during a time when he was less than interested in electoral politics. But it was bitter history to most African Americans who observed it.
   
   Yes, there were Republicans who were instrumental in passing civil rights legislation. Considering the size of the southern Democratic bloc in congress, passage would have been impossible without those Republican votes. But, those Republicans were increasingly marginalized in their own party. There is no doubt that the Democratic Party took black votes for granted, had a very limited vision of what to offer black voters, and took their cue from an aging civil rights leadership, which could not fully recognize the changing needs of both "black" and "white" citizens in a nation transformed by their own earlier victories. When Thomas finds the liberal assumptions he encountered to be demeaning and patronizing, it is a point worth listening to. I know many African Americans who have never voted Republican, never been nominated to the Supreme Court, never even asked their opinion by the local mayor, who share many of the same concerns.
   
   But reading between the lines, it is quite obvious that Thomas was himself being cynically used. I'm not talking about Senator Danforth of Missouri, who knew Thomas personally, hired him, stuck by him through thick and thin, sincerely believed in his abilities and sense of principle. I'm not even talking about Ronald Reagan, who appointed him to a position in the Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. I may be talking about George Herbert Walker Bush, a more cynical if more capable politician than Ronald Reagan -- but I can't tell from the slim public record. I am talking about the Republican Party establishment generally, those who ran the government for Reagan and Bush, many of whom came back for George W. Bush's disastrous Saturnalia.
   
   It is obvious from Thomas's own account that his nomination to the United States Court of Appeals, and to the Supreme Court, were a cynical manipulation based on his race and his political loyalty, having nothing to do with his experience or ability. By his own standards, frequently and eloquently presented in his own book, he should have been insulted. When Thomas was first nominated to the Court of Appeals, it seems that everyone in Washington knew, except for Thomas himself, that the Bush administration was grooming him for nomination to the Supreme Court. He had never held a federal judicial position before, but for some reason he was the prime candidate the Bushies wanted to push, and they didn't even tell him about it. He found out when Senator Joseph Biden happened to mention it!
   
   Thomas becomes almost petulant in complaining about the questions asked in formal confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. "I was asked... I did not know..." If there was good cause to vote against confirmation, that was probably the appropriate reason to do so. He didn't know his material. The entire Anita Hill episode, whether her testimony was true, warped, a series of simple misunderstandings, or plain lies, certainly didn't rate the attention it got.
   
   This reader does not find it credible that Thomas simply had no opinions about Roe v. Wade until after he was confirmed as a Supreme Court justice. I had an opinion about Roe v. Wade from the day the court's 7-2 decision was announced. I have never been to law school, never been a lawyer, certainly never served as a judge. I read about it in the New York Post. After reading the article, my opinion was, first trimester, the state has no authority to intervene, leave it up to the mother, third trimester, this is close to a fully formed baby that could survive outside the womb, the state may intervene to protect this new life as a distinct person, in between, honestly recognize that it is a grey zone, allow the state to regulate, but not absolutely prohibit. Very thoughtful and well balanced.
   
   Many years later, I read the actual words of the court's opinion. I found it a well-reasoned, admirably conservative opinion, which rested on enduring constitutional principles, applied appropriately to a specific question. There are some matters The State has no business intervening in: the first trimester of pregnancy is one of them. Further, The State has no business compelling a pregnant woman to risk her own life, if her life is in danger, in order to deliver a baby. (Neither does The State have any business requiring a woman to have an abortion, no matter how socially compelling the argument that she should.) Why should I believe that while I, an unremarkable, well-informed, average citizen, have a firm opinion on Roe v. Wade, a federal appellate judge nominated to the Supreme Court had just never thought about it? Like Thomas, I have never had an abortion, and for the some reason. We're both male. Neither of us is ever going to be pregnant.
   
   Thomas's subsequent written opinions show how poorly he understands the United States Constitution. His formal written analysis is that "a state may permit abortion, but it is not required to do so." That betrays a profound ignorance of The Federalist Papers, and poses the framework of constitutional law exactly backwards. All powers not expressly granted to the federal government, nor prohibited to the states, were reserved "to the states and to the people." The constitution does not "permit" the states to do anything. It may restrict the powers of state government, either because there is a pre-emptive federal authority, or because certain rights are reserved to "the people." The question is not whether a state must permit abortion, but whether and at what point in pregnancy a state may regulate or may prohibit the procedure.
   
   Thomas's confirmation hearing for the Supreme Court was an unconstitutional travesty, which should have resulted in all participants, those who groomed and advanced him, and those who bitterly opposed him, being impeached and removed from office for violating their oath to preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States of America. They were ALL engaged in an unforgivable tug of war to "sway" the Supreme Court, and thereby to "sway" the fundamental law of the land, rather than allowing it to BE the fundamental law of the land, the unchanging bedrock upon which all other law must rest. It is true, as Justice Scalia has written, that the constitution means what it says, not what we think it ought to mean. If it has any enduring meaning at all, then there is little that should be changed by judicial nomination. Thomas's opponents were blinded by their own ideology to very good reasons to vote down his nomination. Thomas's advocates perpetrated a worse crime: they knew exactly what they were doing.
   
   Clarence Thomas has made an interesting contribution to understanding America's continuing fixation with race, and the debate about how we put behind us, once and for all, the legacy that most of us wish had never happened. This reader comes away from My Grandfather's Son with the sense that Thomas has not come close to The Truth, but has deflated some hot air balloons that are getting us nowhere, contributed a few misunderstandings of his own, and opened some doors to find better ground for progress and reconciliation than either his friends or his harshest critics have been willing to lead us into.



4. My Grandfather's son was a very inspirational book and well written by the author. It gave me insight into our justice and his backgroud and how anyone can rise in the USA from the depths of poverty. Justice Thomas is very candid and revealing about his life, and it enables one to grasp the workings of his mind and feelings in his heart. I am very satified with the book and grateful for the chance to read it. I have suggested it to my friends as well. Virginia Bronga



5. In the best autobiography I have ever read, Clarence Thomas gives an account of his life from growing up in the Deep South with segregation and being raised by his hard-working and stern grandfather (which makes for the title of the book), to his appointment at the EEOC and his nomination for the Supreme Court.
   
   Thomas gives a touching account of a life characterized by the battles faced by anyone with a desire to make something of them self. His feelings and insight into his experiences not only give the reader a first-hand experience of his struggles to achieve (despite discrimination), giving readers from all backgrounds- black or white, male or female, liberal or conservative- invaluable wisdom.

5 comments about The Bookseller of Kabul.

1. This is the depiction of a real Afghani family written by a journalist that wound up in bookstore and developed a "friendship" with the store's owner. The journalist decided that it would be interesting to live with a family in Afghanistan and this bookseller opened his home to her. Previously, I used the word "friendship" lightly because as the depiction progresses, the reader gains insight into that traditional role of the male head of the family, and the journalist does not portray the bookseller in the best light.
   
   The bookseller, Sultan, is the ruler of his family and also reigns over his siblings as well. His wife, Sharifa, is a good wife, but has gotten on in years, so Sultan decides to take a young 2nd wife. I found that most of the book underscores the struggle and surrender of women in this culture. As told by the author, women could not leave their homes except to visit relatives. Women hide when company comes over because they cannot be seen by any man who is not within the family. Girls are raped, powerless. If they scream, then the act would be seen and the girl would be ruined, a disgrace. One woman tries to seek freedom by enrolling in school, only to find that she must ask for permission, which she will never receive, so she remains a slave to her family.
   
   The book is written during the transition after Taliban control. The Taliban destroyed Sultan's books time and time again and even through him in jail because of his illegal books. (Any book with pictures of living creatures was considered a violation.) One admirable trait in Sultan I must say is that although he may not have agreed with the message in many of his books, he thought that people should have access to others' ideas.
   
   I found this book very insightful, an eye-opener. It is a book that I am very glad to have experienced. It gave me a glimpse of a life much different than my own.



2. This book provides an excellent portrait of Afghanistan. Very well written, easy to read. Great choice for book clubs; full of material for great discussions.



3. The bookseller of Kabul from Asne Seierstad.
   Even before I could finish the lecture of the book - I stay around the midle -I can say that the book is readable but not exciting, outstanding piece or something really especial. To be honest I expected something more from a so exciting issue especially from a person who live this advanture in the first line. I cannot see the soul of the book anywhere.



4. This book has nothing remotely to do with books or love of books or looking at a culture or hard times from a bookseller's perspective or even simply selling books.
   The book feels like a series of journalistic portraitures rather than a coherent comprehensive picture about life in Afghanistan. The author never gets over herself or her anger at injustice that she saw perpetrated (accepted as norm) in Afghanistan. The author's anger does does not help in clarifying the situation but drags the reader from one pointed incident to another pointless incident.
   Maybe this is a sincere attempt to capture a moment, a tough moment in a country, but the pace is uneven and emotions even more so.



5. A journalist spends a few months living with the family of Sultan Khan, a bookseller in Kabul. Khan is an autocratic patriarch, whose idea of being liberal is permitting the women of his home to leave the house without wearing a burka. Khan determines the fate of his sons, wives, and daughters. No one is allowed to exert any autonomy over their own life, without having to leave home.
   Privacy, volition, emotions, expectations and dreams of a better future are elusive, almost non-existent concepts for anyone other than Khan in this home.
   This does fit in neatly with our stereotypes of life for Muslim women. But I sincerely hope this was a story of a family dominated by a particularly controlling man, and not a microcosm of life in Kabul.

1 comments about Origins: A Memoir.

1. I am amazed with the speed and proffesionalism of delivering and quality of the transaction.
   
   thanks a million
   
   alexs

5 comments about The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography (Oprah's Book Club).

1. Brilliantly written novel! But than nothing less could be expected from Sidney Poitier. Also for all of you that are learning English as a second language it is an example of modern American English at its best. This is as good as it gets!



2. I bought this book in the hopes that it would be interesting enough to keep my attention...boy way I right! Once I started, I couldn't put it down! Mr. Poitier writes so eloquently that you feel as though you are experiencing and seeing everything first-hand.



3. I first encountered Poitier on screen in the film, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?, which my father insisted I watch with him along with many other classic films. Though I later couldn't recall many particulars about that movie, the memory of an urbane Black man exuding integrity and elegance stuck with me. I later had the pleasure of watching many of his other movies of which my favorite is, Lilies of the Field. So when I saw this book's spine while browsing in a used bookstore, it was a quick decision to buy it.
   
   Poitier refers to this book as a "spiritual autobiography" where he records his ruminations on life in contrast to an earlier autobiography which was simply a "book about my life". As I read, I imagined I heard Poitier's pleasing voice speaking to me in the many colloquial expressions that characterize the style of the book: "You see?", "Listen to me...", "You hear?". But Poitier combines this casualness with touching eloquence: "Well, I'm no scientist, and certainly I don't have Carl Sagan's technical understanding of the universe and our position within it. I simply believe that there's a very organic, immeasurable consciousness of which we're a part. I believe that this consciousness is a force so powerful that I'm incapable of comprehending its power through the puny instrument of my human mind. And yet I believe that this consciousness is so unimaginably calibrated in its sensitivity that not one leaf falls in the deepest of forests on the darkest of nights unnoticed." Sorry, Carl Sagan, but I'm with Sidney Poitier when it comes to appreciating how intimately connected we humans are with the universe.
   
   Included in the book is a delightful description of meeting Katherine Hepburn for the first time as they were preparing to film, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?: "When I arrived at her door and that door opened, she looked at me and didn't say a word and didn't crack a smile. But that was her M.O. After the longest while, she said, `Hello, Mr. Poitier,' and I said, `Hello, Miss Hepburn,' and the conversation began. I could tell that I was being sized up every time I spoke, every response I made. I could imagine a plus and a minus column, notations in her mind." Scenes such as this spoke to me as a member of a relatively small ethnic minority in the United States - Asian America. I found myself contemplating the possibility of an Asian-American Sidney Poitier to charismatically and with integrity shift Hollywood portrayals beyond demeaning stereotypes.
   
   I'm glad I found the book (or the book found me) as I find myself referring to it as an example of not giving in to bitterness, the importance of integrity, the truth about the interconnectedness of all things, and that at least for some members of the Hollywood community, spirituality does exist.



4. I grew up in the South and, when I was in high school in the early sixties, Mr. Poitier's two blockbusters, "Raison in the Sun" and "Lilies of the Field" came out. There was something about him, even then, that caught my attention. Who WAS this man? It always seemed he was a "thinker" - a "seeker" - a bit restless with himself.
   
   I recently picked up The Measure of a Man and my curiosity made me read it. Who IS this man - I wanted at last to find out.
   
   The book begins in Cat Island, the Bahamas where he was born and lived during his early years. As Mr. Poitier describes his youth, it is reflective and feels like an intimate fireside conversation with a friend talking about a loved one departed. There is gratitude and respect - a certain remorse for doing some "kid things" that are so hurtful to those you truly love - and a reexamination of some of the "truths" he was taught.
   
   Then the autobiography goes from there onto other stages in his life where he interacts with the realities and the illusions of life and comes to a sense of who he is and what is important. I guess I expected more of a "success story" about someone who is obviously very accomplished. What I got instead was a very touching and poignant sharing of a personal journey of a man making his way through life - no better and no worse than anyone else - immune from neither happiness nor disappointment - but glad to be alive.
   
   Because so much of Mr. Poitier's autobiography had to do with things both good and challenging that just showed up in his life, it reminded me of another book by Ariel & Shya Kane called Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment. In Being Here, the Kanes talk about things that have happened in their lives in a very light way that demonstrates how they and we can experience life more fully and more deeply - by just "being there" for what's happening when it's happening.
   
   I really enjoyed reading both of these books and recommend them



5. My husband(age 71)took this book with us to Hawaii. He couldn't put it down, which says a lot because he doesn't read very much. Reading usually puts him to sleep. But not this book! He found it totally engaging.

5 comments about Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Life.

1. What an inspiration Coach Tony Dungy is and this book was one I could not put down.



2. As a Steeler fan who is old enough to remember Dungy as a part of the Steel Curtain defense (but not as large as I remembered!), as a Christian husband and father, and as a Patriots hater who cheers for any team against New England, I had three reasons to look forward to this book, and it was even better than I expected.
   
   Dungy's writing, with assistance by a co-author, reads as mild and humble as his (lets face it) nerdy appearance. Despite, or because of, this to-the-core character, Dungy has succeeded at the cutthroat business of professional football at the highest level. Remember, neither of the teams he has coached had any history of winning before his tenure, and he essentially won a Super Bowl with each team (Chucky Gruden won with Tony's players after Dungy was fired, and you can see what kind of success Chucky has had since!).
   
   One of the amazing aspects of Dungy's book is how wide spread his deep-rooted Christianity was amongst the "nasty" 70s Steelers--Dungy, Dirt Winston, Mel Blount, and Donnie Shell not alone made for one of the hardest-hitting defensive backfields in NFL history, but apparently one of its most mature and consistent Bible studies as well. It is encouraging to read about NFL players and coaches who focus on family and faith, not contracts and crime sprees.
   
   Dungy never sounds boastful or arrogant about his faith, usually demonstrating his life lessons from his own mistakes. My tears spotted the pages of the chapter when Dungy talked about his son's suicide and the rest of the way it was hard for me, and for Dungy as well, to focus on football. As he says in a later chapter, never confuse your goals (winning a Super Bowl) with your purpose (glorifying God).
   
   I needed reminding. Thanks, Tony!



3. This book is fantastic - I couldn't put it down! I have been a big fan of Tony since he was the coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, because of his presence on the football field. This book is an honest and inspiring account of Tony's life and the trials and successes he has encountered. Thank you Tony for a great read.



4. The autobiography, "Quiet Strength," of Tony Dungy is appropriately subtitled "The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Life." Dungy recounts his life from its beginnings to the present as the Coach of the world champion Indianapolis Colts. A man of proactive faith, Dungy has been able to climb many mountains, from being one of the first black quarterbacks in NCAA college football to one of the first black head coaches in the National Football League.
   
   "Quiet Strength" details key formative relationships, those that helped him to become what he is today. They include his mother, The Most Athletic Dungy, who supported in him in a number of sports; his father who taught him what was most important - not the accolades and memories of success, but the way you respond when opportunities are denied; his high school assistant principal, Mr. Rockquemore, who took a great interest in him and Dungy claims things would have been different if he had not; and his first pro coach, Chuck Noll, who taught him how to win in the NFL and how to maintain family-career balance.
   
   Dungy always viewed his work in football as a means to do something more as a servant of God. When he was fired as the head coach of Tampa Bay, the firing itself was not the cause of shock, but rather, the thought that God was allowing this great experiment of using him as a head coach in the NFL to end. He wondered, what's next? How will God use him, whether in the NFL or not.
   
   I am grateful that Dungy went on from Tampa to win the Super Bowl as coach of Indianapolis. More than becoming the first African-American to win a Super Bowl, this extraordinary achievement provided an excellent platform from which to tell this great story.
   
   Dungy's story is inspirational, challenging, and encouraging - reminding us about what really is important in a world driven by the love of material success. He shows that one can live their Christian faith in the workplace and succeed - even in the demanding fish bowl atmosphere of the NFL. He is a living testimony of one man's faith in God.
   
   "Do you your best and let God do the rest."



5. Loved the book, many lessons to be learned, a little too much football at times but if you can look by that it is a quick and enjoyable read

5 comments about Inheriting the Trade: A Northern Family Confronts Its Legacy as the Largest Slave-Trading Dynasty in U.S. History.

1. Like Traces of the Trade, the authors lack the courage to jump in, and like the stink of Zen, grasping their pride and privilege, it all looks like new age capitalists creating a new ego of "nice people" with wayward ancestors, standing firmly on the high-ground on a very un-level playing field.
   Resting in wealth and capitalistic venture, what is so sad is the lack of courage to jump in the freezing water and suffer the death of their egos.
   Without taking a vow of poverty, these fat cats will always look like Zen priests in there pretty robes, in a world of immense suffering and pain as children are incested, burned, and beaten by their parents, also children of parents generations later. Where is the commitment?
   And they sell books...



2. Learning about your family's slave trading empire must be hard to stomach, and the members of the family who undertook to study the facts deserve credit for facing up to it. Too bad they didn't hire a qualified historian to write their story. Inheriting the Trade reminds me of those self-indulgent, melodramatic "encounter groups" that were so popular in the 1970's. Let's beat up on each other for things we never did, just for being who we are. And along the way, let's read endless descriptions about the participants' clothing, jobs, hair color, and denial. And let's ignore the fact that people of all races have been enslaved at one time or another, by one culture or another.
   Slavery is deplorable, but an avalanche of angst is useless and a waste of energy that could better be expended on finding solutions to the problems that separate the races in 2008. What did the deWolfs gain from the evils perpetrated by their ancestors? Well, among their apparently endless "privileges" is the right to write a book and make a TV program.



3. It is my pleasure to invite you to read this book. Inheriting the Trade is about Tom's journey with his relatives as they documented the story of their ancestors being the largest group of slave traders in America. Their experience is told in the recently released movie: Traces of the Trade.
   
   This book stopped me in my tracks and invited me to ask questions and see new truths about myself.
   It is not just the story of one family, but of an entire world and all of us in it.
   
   Be ready to take your time when you read this and listen to the questions that surface in your heart. Answer them honestly and you will learn about more than slavery in the past, you will discover your own position and how it is influenced by privilege, your own and others still today.
   
   I highly recommend this book.



4. I thought this book was fascinating. Here's this white guy from Oregon who grew up in a middle-class family in California without much knowledge of his family history. He moves to Oregon, to an affluent, largely white town, where he encounters a distant cousin. Suddenly, he's thrust into a huge extended family with long ties to New England. Slave traders! His forebears were slave traders? Does he want to be in a documentary about the slave trade? Does he want to go to Rhode Island, Ghana, and Cuba to retrace the route of the triangle trade?* He does, and in the process his eyes are opened to places and ways of living he knew nothing about - and this includes not only the African and Cuban cultures but also that of privileged New Englanders. What an amazing set of events!
   
   The author weaves together his own deep changes with description and reflection on the history of the slave trade and its continuing impact on our still racist society. The big idea is that white people in America are largely unaware of our own unearned privilege, and that becoming aware is one step in beginning the change to erasing racism. This book shows that it's a one-person-at-a-time effort, difficult but not impossible.
   
   *Traces of the Trade, by Katrina Browne, Thomas DeWolf's 7th cousin once removed, if I read the genealogical chart correctly.



5. The virtue of this book for me was that it didn't purport to be objective history; instead, the history of the Northern slave trade was the starting point for this family's, and the author's exploration of privilege and oppression. The author's voice is clear and distinct, and I admired how he was able to weave explanations of the slave trade -- the commerce in human beings -- conducted by Northerners with descriptions of the journey that he and his cousins took to retrace the trade routes, the people they encountered, and the emotional impact the journey had on the family. This book covers issues that most whites prefer to avoid, and it does so in a cogent, readable, and revealing way. I loved how it got me thinking, and opened my eyes in a non-threatening but persistent way to how different kinds of isms -- racism, classism, sexism -- pervade our lives. Simply learning how my assumptions about my freedom differ from a non-white's assumptions has made me aware, on a daily basis, of what benefits I take for granted, and make me think about what we need to do to promote greater, color-blind, access to those benefits.
   
   This book was like a good movie: I finished reading it and I keep thinking about it.