5 comments about A Tuscan Childhood.

1. What amazed me about this book is that in spite of the author's English silver-spoon upbringing (sometimes it's hard to figure out which castle she's in at the moment) she gives the reader such an intimate portrait of the country, the scenery, the customs and the people of Tuscany. When you read of all the artistic and literary nobility that her parents had entertained, it's hard to fathom how she found the opportunities (and she did find them...) to relate so well to the local people. I have read many books written by authors who lived with and among the rural peasantry that don't give any better or more appealing feel for the country. I would hate to have missed this book!



2. This book really takes you to Tuscany, as it was for British ex-patriates between World War I and World War II. Everything is here - the people, the landscape, the food. Highly recommended!



3. Kinta Beevor, author of only this book, comes from a family of writers, including her son, the reknown author, Antony Beevor. It must be a genetic feature that families produce wonderful writers.
   She draws you into her world, like a welcoming friend. You will experience historic events and the world as it was in Tuscany in the 19th century and the early 20th century. You will get to know many of the distinguished and famous persons who visited the Waterfields and best of all, you will become acquainted with "Aunt Janet", the famous English writer, Janet Ross.
   I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Tuscany and in warm and inviting family experiences and how they are influenced by world events.



4. The only book Kinta Beevor ever wrote, it was perhaps the only book she could have written. Her obvious love for her magical childhood in Tuscany (esp the years before she was shipped off to England for school) shines forth from every paragraph as she recounts her life as one of the benignly-neglected children of a pair of English aristocrats who owned a 15th century castle, the Fortezza della Brunella, as well as a villa above Florence.
   Centered around two very different periods of the author's life, the rural castle and the more urban villa, A Tuscan Childhood is full of famous people (her parents were part of the literati), beloved peasant farm workers, nursemaids, and Aunt Janet, upon whose death the villa falls into the hands of Ms. Beevor's mother.
   Toward the end, in diatribes against Mussolini, the Allies, death taxes, and everything and everyone else, an old lady's peevishness with changing times mars what is otherwise a lovely and evocative piece of writing.



5. Prior to her death, Kinta Beevor wrote only one book -- A TUSCAN CHILDHOOD -- which would have been better titled "My Life in Tuscany" as it really is the tale of her connection to Tuscany over period of 40 years that included her childhood. Beevor, whose maiden name was Waterfield, was the daughter Aubrey the artist and his wife Lina Gordon, both British ex-pats who lived and worked in Italy during the first half of the 20th Century. The family owned the fabulous 15th Century Fortezza della Brunella which the family called "the castle" and Lina inherited Poggio Gherardo which was almost as old. Both properties came with extensive farm lands. As a result the Waterfields lived lives of comfort -- socializing with the rich and famous (D.H.Lawrence for one) and feeding them to-die-for meals and sending their much neglected children back to England for schooling.

   Though I became weary of name-dropping, I found Beevor's book an enjoyable read. Her mention of various rich and famous folks is as natural as can be--just tiresome in the same way a story told over and over by an older person can be. She says her son encouraged her to write down what she could remember, and I suspect he did so after he heard her stories several times. Fortunately, someone had the good sense to publish the book for a wider audience.

   Ms. Beevor obviously loved Tuscany--her father's castle where the family restored and maintained a beautiful garden on the roof, her mother's house which Beevor's mother gained the use of on the death of her Aunt Janet, and the beautiful Tuscan countryside. Beevor's description of the sea as the train approached Aulla for her summer vacations from school in England is as well written as anything Lawrence ever wrote, and no doubt she was quite knowledgeable of his works given he was a family friend.

   After WWII, faced with death duties on the Poggio Gherardo following the death of Beevor's brother John, and huge expenses owing to the damage inflicted on both properties during the war (the retreating Nazis and the encroaching Allies made a mess, the latter found an autographed photo of Mussolini in the castle and wrecked havoc) the family was forced to sell up and return to England.

   Beevor's book contains passages that reminded me of bitter-sweet scenes in "The English Patient", the "Jewel in the Crown", "Tea With Mussolini", "Out of Africa", "Room With a View" and other works written by European ex-pats returned to their home of origin. Ms Beevor was undoubtedly well read and understood the withdrawal of the British Empire following WWII, and in her closing chapters she shares her thoughts about the effect of that withdrawal on Italy. Italy of course was not a colony, but the British had truly made themselves at home in Italy before the war (and may have done so once again).

5 comments about Paper Daughter: A Memoir.

1. I loved this book and found it immensely readable. The writing carried you along without you wanting to stop. I have met many Asian immigrants and read many Asian immigrants books, but this is the most stark and informative in it's revelations of what it can be like for such children and their families encountering a different and sometimes unwelcoming USA culture. I do hope this author continues to write as she is a superb and unforgettable storyteller.



2. Although much of the focus of Elaine Mar's memoir could be written by anyone who experienced childhood teasing, discrimination, loneliness, poverty, low self-esteem; it is important to find the core of her plight, a battle with parents resisting a change into their new country. But even that story can be retold by many.
   
   Two countries in one household.
   Elaine was very young upon arriving from Hong Kong with her mother to join her father. The parents didn't accommodate to the U.S. well. They didn't learn English or customary ways. Her mother was mentally and physically abusive and spoke to her daughter in a degrading manner, and often repeated to the daughter that it was a waste of their time raising her.
   
   I didn't feel what she had to say was any different that what many people experience as children. But then, I understood the conflict being raised as an American, but challenged by Hong Kong parents with their strong ties to that culture and beliefs.
   
   Money vs no money.
   That she could not buy the right clothes to fit in was moreso, poverty vs. money rather than a cultural aspect. And many Americans are forced to work in the family business their entire youth; it is not just a Hong Kong thing.
   
   Unanswered Questions
   I was left with questions unanswered. Her parents worked in a restaurant with relatives, and a feud caused them to leave the home (basement) and the father to be out of work. She never elaborates on what caused this feud that forced them to make changes and how did the feud end, since there was a reunion.
   
   Also, aside from some typographical errors, toward the end, there is a chapter titled "When Father Lived in Wichita", but it has nothing to do with the content. The father lived there before she came to the U.S. Another chapter regarding college life is titled TASPS, but nowhere do we get an explanation what this stands for.
   
   Graphic Detail - the sexual experience.
   We learn of her sexual experience with a white boy from the restaurant, and I do say; we learn this through graphic detail for several pages.....several. A page would have done for me.
   
   Well-written, holding my interest, living in Denver, and, my fascination with a different look at how two cultures collided.
   
   One has to admire her tenacity to get where she did! ......MzRizz



3. Some people who've posted reviews here feel this book is not significant but I think we can all relate to being teased at school and trying to get by as a child. I loved this memoir and recommend it to anyone else who also loves memoirs or autobiographies.



4. I read somewhere that the events in a person's life are only interesting to that person. So true in this case. Yeah, yeah, Asian girl picked on my American classmates. Asian girl must learn proper American table manners. blah blah blah. The flowery, overly-detailed descriptions were lame and contrived. It could have been a good story if it wasn't so full of self-pity and a narcissistic attitude. Poor child, auntie won't hug her. Poor dear, she can't date outside her ethnic background. It seems more like the diary of a confused and angry adolescent. Now, Amy Tan, that's an interesting writer!



5. The book opens with a sensuous description of a Hong Kong child eating chicken bones, crushing them between her teeth to release the clotted marrow within. The author later contrasts this earthy and primal experience with the manner in which Americans eat fried chicken, delicately nibbling away from the bone, oblivious to the rich marrow within. I found this broad metaphor thought-provoking, contrasting the sterility of American suburban life with the riotous, crowded Hong Kong environs where the author lived her earliest years.

   I was very impressed with the sensual detail in the book, the descriptions of textures and scents hinting of mystery, such as the jars of dried mushrooms and spices that her mother stored in the tiny room that was the author's first home.

   The criticism that many reviewers have expressed is that the memoir fails to be reflective. I did not find that to be the case. I prefer to have the author use metaphor and selectiveness of memory to present her view, as she deftly does, than to read pages of exposition detailing why she felt her mother treated her coldly. I believe the author is trusting to the intelligence of the reader to puzzle out the motivations of each character. It would be less than artful to be as obvious as some readers apparently wish.

   That said, I did not always sympathize with the author, especially as she grew into adolescence and became increasingly disrespectful of her parents. However, it took courage for the author to sometimes portray herself in a less than attractive manner. One was left to wonder if her adolescent angst would have been similar if she had never left Hong Kong.

   I felt the memoir's legitimate focus was her childhood and formative years. Some have expressed the wish that the author would have continued, describing her college years in greater detail. I disagree, as that would have moved the story away from the focus on family. Family is used to define the author throughout the memoir; as she seperates from her family, the story ends. Therefore, I found the break logical.

   My one criticism would be that it is slightly facile to believe that a Harvard education somehow has elevated the author beyond her family. The first severing was one of language. Education was secondary. I disliked the implication that the education she strove for somehow delivered her from an intolerable life. The author seemed to be overly impressed with herself for being accepted into Harvard, as if this were the grandest achievement attainable. She also failed to criticize, or if she did, it was too subtle for my tastes, the adolescent mentalities and delusions of genius, which were apparently common amongst the students at the Cornell summer program she attended. Nor could I tell if she felt the psychiatrist who interviewed her for the program was rather pompous and shallow, as I did. My assumption, though, is that the author has chosen to leave this unsaid and that this scene was yet another instance of her trying to fit into one sub-group or another, posing as an intellectual rather than as a typical American teenager.

   The author progresses from dutiful Chinese daughter, to bewildered immigrant, to essential interlocutor for her family, to sullen teenager, to burgeoning "intellectual". I felt that most of these transitions were beautifully described and that the varying experiences and motivations of the different family members contributed greatly to the richness of the story. I was a little off-put by her eventual move to Cambridge and Harvard, because I felt that the author's motivations were more about belonging to an "elite" group and progressing socially than any educational goals. However, my opinion is belied by the elegant and moving memoir that she later wrote, which implies that her maturity has progressed greatly beyond the last stage described in the book, that of a self-centered teenager eager to break from her family.

   Overall, I found this memoir to be very worthwhile reading.

5 comments about Toast.

1. Totally wonderful book about Slater's youth and coming of age told in short tales centered around his memories of foodstuffs served first by his mother, then sadly and ineffectually by his father, and finally, in a proud show offy style by his step mum.
   
   Quite nicely told form his viewpoint as a child and a teen, with no attempt to smooth over his sometimes self centered and selfish reactions to the adults around him (he was a child after all, and one who had to deal with quite a lot at a rather tender age).



2. Do not put this writer in the ranks of Reichl, Bourdain, or Child. Mr. Slater may write well enough, but he has essentially nothing to say. I grew tired of the endless lists of British candies and other treats that had no relevance for me as an American. I kept waiting to be won over, but the author evokes no foodie buzz, at least for this reader. Perhaps I wouldn't have been so disappointed if the book hadn't been so hyped. Read Julie Powell ("Julie & Julia") or MFK Fisher for food humor or Kathryn Harrison for child abuse, but this book is bland enough to be neither. So Mum kept burning the toast...and burning the toast... and burning...



3. Toast is a memoir told through food-related anecdotes. Covering his childhood years through his culinary school years, the book revisits the foods, dishes, and meals that defined Nigel Slater's youth. In the process, we learn what Slater associates with each particular meal, and a story is weaved. We learn how food played a role in his everyday life, his family, his sexual discovery, and his path to becoming a chef; in turn, we learn how each of these affected his views on food.
   
   Toast is an especially entertaining read because it is food nostalgia, something we can all understand. The book is written in light prose and is easy to read, even for those that may not relate to every food Slater describes. Not only is it easy to share in Slater's stories but it is possible to trace how different foods affected Slater's life (and, by extension, how food affects each of ours). On the whole, the anecdotes are funny, which helps to balance out some of the serious issues Slater tackles.
   
   At points, however, the book treats certain events rather casually and without enough closure or explanation. Some dark incidents that surely had a great effect on Slater's life are hinted at or dealt with in passing, but with little detail about why they were included or how they related to the overall theme of the book. In addition, as an American reader with only limited exposure to English cuisine, I had to look up many dishes to understand exactly what Slater was discussing. My edition included a very short glossary of some of the terms in the book, but did not explain many of the recurring items especially various puddings, candies, stews, and snacks.
   
   Overall, an entertaining read recommended for anybody who enjoys reading about food.



4. I'd read about this book on someone's blog, and from their description of it, thought that it would be an interesting read. I'm sorry to say that I was greatly disappointed, and couldn't even get more than 30 pages into it before I just had to stop.
   
   The book is made up of random and rather repetitive anecdotes about this food or that, tying into some event from the author's life. Skimming through the book, it seemed like most focused on his childhood, with the continuous theme of how awful a cook his mother was. After the first few pieces like this, I just wanted to say "ok, I get it already, she was horrible at cooking!"
   
   Maybe I came to this book with too much expectation, having read all the glowing reviews about it. Unfortunately, I just couldn't go on reading this book. It was such a drag, and so down about everything that I found it hard to find interest in any part of the stories, especially the food themes. The stories all became so repetitive, without any real cohesiveness to them all.



5. Fantastic book. Moving and entertaining. So many things reminded me of my own childhood, I couldn't put it down. I laughed and cried (literally)

5 comments about The Horizontal World: Growing Up In the Middle of Nowhere: A Memoir.

1. Like most of the other reviewers, I simply loved this book. The author has a wonderful sense of place and clear descriptions that made her story so compelling. I felt strong kinship to Ms. Marquart's background as a girl of German-Russian parents who had made their living farming. In my case, it was my grandparents who farmed and in California rather than North Dakota, but my German Mennonite mom instilled in me the importance of knowing where one's food came from and the hard work that went with this way of making a living. Thank you for writing about your life and family. I love your voice. By the way, actually the book's jacket captured my attention while browsing through the library. The photograph is perfectly suited to the book. Can't think of a better package.



2. Recommended by a parishioner as a good first book to read during a period of time off, this memoir rings true and Debra Marquart is a real -- really real -- person. From the dramatic photograph on the jacket to Ms Marquart's family's assessment of North Dakotan Lawrence Welk's having "made it," from the impulse to bolt the past to the stronger impulse drawing one back again, I walked with the author almost every step of the way.



3. I heard the author being interviewed on NPR and thought "I want to meet this person - and I HAVE to read this book." I've recommended it to all my friends who went out and purchased it and also loved it. This is a GREAT book. She opens her soul to the reader in disarming and guileless ways.



4. This book is simply lovely. Now that I'm done I find myself thinking of it, dwelling in it, savoring its sweetness. This is the very best kind of memoir, as I learned not just about Marquart's experience, but about the land and its history as well. Really, I learned about my history. I thought of my own father when I read of hers, wonder what earth and sky my own grandmothers worked to their graves. If I wrote a memoir, I'd like it to feel like this one, to leave the reader bronzed as this book has left me.



5. This book sounds quite poetic in some chapters. I really enjoyed the last section of the book titled "signs and wonders" I do believe what the writer says in that part of the book. :) Quite a moving memoir..she credits various books that I now what to get a hold of to read as well.

5 comments about Not a Happy Camper: A Memoir.

1. I thoroughly enjoyed this light, sweet book about the author's experiences in the 1970's as a thirteen-year-old at Camp Kin-A-Hurra, a Jewish sleep-away camp in Maine. The story was sparkling with nostalgia and humor. I especially liked Schneider's reminiscences of her trying to attract the attention of her crush, all the while being pursued by a guy in whom she had no interest. Didn't that always seem to happen at that age? The photographs and the song lyrics seemed very familiar. I may not have been at the author's camp when I was a kid, but I was in that same uncertain world that Mindy Schneider discovered at Camp Kin-A-Hurra. It was fun to revisit that time in Schneider's charming book.



2. This is an hilarious memoir of an adolescent's first summer at sleep-away camp. If you remember what it's like to play color wars, sing ridiculous songs which insult camp food, have your first crush, drink "bug" juice, well, then your experience is not even half as fun as Mindy's, whose camp's meals were salvaged from train wrecks, whose camp's truck was one that could only be ridden in for as long as you could hold your breath (against the fumes), and whose characters are 12 year old versions of Henny Youngman and Totie Fields.



3. Readers will find that enduring Mindy Schneider's entertaining memoir of summer camp life is much like her experience: a seemingly endless trudge through a benignly monotonous, routinely humorous and absolutely predictable right of passage. "Not a Happy Camper" faithfully recreates Schneider's thirteen-year-old awkwardness, and self-deprecatory voice is full of genuine Jewish angst and humor. Nevertheless, there is only so much you can say about a pathetically decrepit Maine summer camp and its stereotypical denizens. Schneider takes about 230 pages to recount what she could have told in 25.
   
   Duped by the slick-talking owner of Camp Kin-A-Hura (Hebrew for "Are You Out of Mind for Sending Your Child Here?"), Mindy's parents succumb to a barrage of sweetened lies and sign their resigned daughter to a summer's worth of unsupervised, unstructured (unless you consider binge consumption of candy an organized event) and uninspiring activities. There, Mindy discovers the joy of listening to rain on the roof, eating institutional food whose origins and nutritional value are at best dubious and interacting with a group of disaffected, disinterested and disillusioned Jewish early adolescents.
   
   Naturally enough, Mindy wrestles with the weighty issues of trying to navigate the entire summer unnoticed by the cool kids and getting a boyfriend. It doesn't require a genius to predict that the relatively plain Mindy will set her sights on the camp's hunk, only to be consistently rebuffed, all the while letting the gem (the dork who undoubtedly will grow up to be a real mensch) slip through her fingers. Parading with her in this laissez-faire fairyland is a group of characters right out of central casting: the overbuilt air-brained beauties, the sophisticate who believes in reincarnation, the sleepwalker, the recluse and the oversexed camp counselors, whose main advice is akin to "leave us alone."
   
   Mindy is bright enough to understand that the camp divides itself into two: the "Legacies" and the "Losers." Naturally enough, the Legacies, the "children of former campers," are "rich kids destined to lead relatively easy and productive lives." The "Losers," unsurprisingly, are "paste-eaters...conned into coming to this place in spite of the unbridled self-doubt and absolute lack of social skills." Schneider attempts to depict a certain poignancy in the interaction of both groups; sadly, the results are flat and unsurprising.
   
   After a delightful thirty pages or so, "Not a Happy Camper" descends quickly into a seemingly interminable monologue about summer camp. For those who have graduated from this so-called life-altering time away from home, the head-nodding recognition of pranks and pratfalls could dangerous veer into whiplash. For the uninitiated, this memoir will convince them that they really haven't missed much at all.



4. This book is a humorous recollection of what many remember as bad days away at summer camp. The experiences had me wondering how she survived all of them and lived to tell the tale. Unlike most camps, the camp which Schneider attended had no solid rules making for some interesting experiences.
   I highly recommend this book to everyone who has ever attended a summer camp, and for those who haven't, I will assure you that this does not happen at all camps.



5. I looked forward to reading this book each night. Although I'm about 15 years younger than Ms. Schneider, my memories of Jewish summer camp are similar. Ms. Schneider remembers the feelings of young adolescence so well and captures the funny small moments that are so true! This is a story that I want to share with my sister and friends.

2 comments about Stolen Voices: Young People's War Diaries, from World War I to Iraq.

1. This is a compilation of war diaries from young people, about 12-20 years old, in wars from WWI to present conflicts in Israel, Palestine and Iraq. The diarists are amazingly engaging.. One minute they are typical adolescents worrying about school or friendships, and then they are concerned for their lives, those of their families, and needs such as food, basic hygiene and human dignity. And often they are both typical and suffering at the same time, a fascinating interplay.
   
   If you know a young person who has met with serious losses in their life, this may be a difficult, but cathartic book for them to read. In our present time in the US, lives for many of our young people seem very simple and easy. Those who have experienced significant loss feel quite alone, as it seems that their peers have no worries beyond popularity, sports and grades. This book can help with that as they hear the voices of those who also, although very young, are dealing with difficult --- sometimes wayyyyy beyond difficult-- times. We hope and pray that this book help us all remember the horrors, not the glories of war, and renew our personal resolve to do what we can to work for peace and justice.
   Read it, and you'll find yourself thoroughly engaged in some other worlds. Yeah, it isn't a light or easy read... but you'll be glad you read it. Precious and painful.



2. This collection of war diaries presents conflicts from World War I to Iraq through a lens not usually viewed - the writings of young people who are experiencing them first hand. These intimate writings relate the diarists' fears for themselves and their families and the anguish of losses they suffer. Yet each one also talks about their hopes for the future in a life without war.
   
   The insights into history are also fascinating, as many of the diarists relate the political perspectives of the war they're living through. I find it so interesting to discover what the people in a country were thinking at the time of a war as opposed to what their leaders were saying about it publicly. And I was pleasantly surprised to find each diary very well written and the stories unfolding in a way that kept a narrative story line progressing. This must be the work of editors Zlata Filipovic and Melanie Challenger, who chose which entries of the diaries to include.
   
   I imagine this work was particularly poignant for Filipovic, whose diary of wartime Sarajevo is included. A line from one of her entries sums up the sentiment that was a common thread among many of the diarists, "I simply don't understand it. Of course, I'm 'young' and politics are conducted by 'grown-ups.' But I think we 'young' would do it better. We certainly wouldn't have chosen war...."

3 comments about A Place for Us: A Greek Immigrant Boy's Odyssey to a New Country and an Unknown Father.

1. I could not put this book down. I read the story of Eleni several years ago and wanted to know what happened to the family and thie story continues with this book. Nicholas Gage's mother would certainly be proud of her family and the sacrifice she made. A fantastic book, highly recommended



2. Gage writes his and his family's story with a wonderful combination of pathos and humour--an incredible perspective and a worthwhile read.



3. This is as an extraordinary book by one of our country's most important contemporary writers. Highly recommended!

5 comments about Wayne: An Abused Child's Story of Courage, Survival, and Hope.

1. Wayne was one of twelve children. He is now married with four daughters and is a successful contractor in New Hampshire. It sounds like he is living the American dream; however, a phone call from one of his younger brothers triggers Wayne to seek answers from his past.
   
   Wayne, his brothers, and his sisters were abused throughout their childhood. There were hospital visits and questions from teachers and social workers, but the abuse continued. Wayne digs back into these painful memories and the information he finds shocks and surprises him.
   
   He has to confront his parents, and does so on a national talk show.
   
   This is a true story of a brave man whose spirit could not be broken. His past continued to haunt him throughout his life. He needed to find out the truth, not just for himself, but for his family, as well.
   
   This is a novel of terrible times and times of hope. While sometimes painful to read, the message of WAYNE comes through loud and clear to the reader that strength can prevail.
   
   Reviewed by: hoopsielv



2. What a suvivor. Wayne Theodore I appreciate this book. There are so many adults suffering today because of childhood abuse.People don't even know about most of the cases. Some parents and family have truely been mean to chidren and ruined lives. And do you know what, the abusers are crazy enough to wonder why those that they have abused have problems in life. Carl Theodore could have given his family a better life. His son mentioned him having money in his pockets.But he chose not to be a good provider. What would make a person want to inflict pain on his own children? What and why? I hope Wayne's brothers and sisters come to realize how wonderful Wayne is. I hope they have grown closer and supportive of each other. Can you just imagine how many sick people are taking advantage of children? There are a lot of sick parents in this world. Their children are sometimes the product of their wickness.



3. It takes a lot of courage to face your fear, and in this book Wayne faces and confronts his hideous past. Bringing to light his repressed memories of his upbringing. I think the way he rises above everything to be the person he is today, is a lesson to us all. This book is a good read, i could not put it down. I read the whole book all in one sitting.



4. i just read this book it was really good, i could'nt put it down,it told really good stories about what he had went throgh as a child.



5. I enjoyed this book tremendously. It's important for adult survivors of child abuse to get our message out. Thank you, Wayne!

5 comments about Good Old Boy: A Delta Boyhood.

1. Anyone who grew up in a small town in the 40's and 50's will enjoy this book, especially if that small town was in the South. Willie Morris was a brilliant wordsmith. I have read several of his books and this one may be my favorite.



2. I am from Yazoo City so this book has always been one of my favorites. I saw Willie Morris at a car wash in Jackson, MS not long before his death. I was shy and didn't want to bother him, so I didn't introduce myself and have a chat. I would have loved to have spoken with him. Now I regret my shyness - should've taken the chance. Yazoo City has an enduring quality and charm that shows in all his books and stories. No matter where I live, it will always be home. There is a great feeling of safety and warmth whenever I drive into the city limits. It is a feeling of home. Not many people have that sense of home these days. I feel blessed to have grown up there.



3. I was born 2 years after Mr. Morris. My childhood was not at all like Mr. Morris'. I recognized some of the events of the times, but the adventures he told of going through came across to me as gross exaggerations; just think of the 8 foot+ tall Indians he mentions. And the story about the race - very, very unlikely. His tales remind me somewhat of the character in the movie "Bigfish". Even thinking about Tom Sawyer, the incidents in there were not as outlandish as those in "Good Old Boy". To me this book was entertaining and well-written, but not really enlightening regarding growing up in the 40's. I watched baseball in those days, I went into a haunted house, I had my run-ins with a teacher's pet, etc. but I enjoyed Salinger's writing about this stuff much more.



4. This was a great memoir about a "typical" southern boy's childhood. I wish Willie Morris had not died so young because I found his work so enjoyable, and it would have been wonderful to read even more of his writing.

   I would not put Mr. Morris up on the same level as Mark Twain (and he probably would not want it either), but this book reminds me in a lot of ways of Tom Sawyer--a young boy's life on the Mississippi Delta. Everyone should experience these memories, whether in real time or vicariously.

   He tells of his childhood in Yazoo City, Mississippi, with all his childhood friends, including Spit McGee (the forty's Huckleberry Finn). He recalls their baseball games, football games, hunting on the Delta with his father, practical jokes played on anyone and everyone. He recounts the story of the Witch of Yazoo and the broken chain. One of the best and most humorous of his stories is the tale of the haunted house and what the boys found in it one dark and stormy night.

   I best remember in this book the chapters of a typical day in the life of a boy his age in Yazoo City--a day in the summer and a day in the fall. These are great vignettes and very poignant pulling in the reader to want to recall his or her own childhood memories.

   This is a great memoir and can be enjoyed by all.




5. This is one of the best books that I have ever read.Mr. Morrishas a beautiful writing style, and captures the beauty of the southperfectly.

3 comments about Of Men and Mountains.

1. Author: Douglas, William O. (William Orville), 1898-
   Title: Of men and mountains.
   Edition: [1st ed.]
   Publisher: New York, Harpers [1950]
   Edition Date: 1950
   Language: English
   Notes: Autobiographical.
   Physical Details: xiv, 333 p. maps (on lining papers) port. 22 cm.
   Subjects: Cascade Range.
   Wallowa Mountains (Or.)



2. An account of explorations within the tangled, rugged fastness of the Pacific Norhtwest, Of Men And Mountains is informal autobiography, deeply personal and revealing. A book of adventure and discovery, it is full of the excitement, the strength, and the exaltation that men have found in the wild.
   
   The narrative at times rises to those solitary moments when man "under conditions of grandeur that are startling can come to know both himself and God." At homelier levels it moves with authority and expertness through the accumulated lore by which man has found how to survive in the wilderness and to accommodate himself to it joyfully. But always the narrative is characterized by a freshness of observation, by a shrewd wit, and by a reverential humility that mark Justice Douglas as unmistakably of the company of Thoreau. -- from book's back cover



3. Living in Brazil, I can't remember exactly how I happened to find this book. The important aspect is that I found it, I read it and even some years later I still carry some passages in my mind, so I have to regard this book as a good one.

   It is a kind of autobiographical narrative of the youth of Mr. William O. Douglas, who later in life became a Supreme Court Judge in America.

   An interesting aspect, is that later I learned that as a Judge, Mr. Douglas would very often give shelter to the 5th. Amendment in his sentences, and by reading the book, we can sort of understand how his personality and his passion for freedom was formed many years before.

   It is a first person narrative of his early years as a child and later as young man, and we can clearly understand his respect for wildlife and independence in a human's being life.

   Recalling his early expeditions as a boy in nearby mountains, Mr. Douglas describes us the forests, rivers and rainbow-trouts of his youth. At a certain time I started to think there was too much information about trout-fishing, but we should always forgive and understand a man when he decides to tell us about his childhood. :)

   This book is not about the Supreme Court Judge, but on the contrary, it is about the poor boy who grew under the mountains and borrowed some of their magnificent dignity from them.

   I hope to read some of Mr. Douglas' Law writings one day, so I can finally understand the whole man and close this chapter. But this will still take some years, and until then, all I can say is that I have nice memories from this book. By the way, a pretty hard to find book.