5 comments about A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity.

1. This one explains just where Bill came from and what he has seen and done along the way. I have enjoyed all of his books, but "Bold Fresh" takes the prize! If you are in any way a Bill Oreilly fan, you'll love the book.



2. Bought the Bill O'Reilly book for my husband's birthday, he read it immediately and loved it. I am reading it now and love it too.



3. In his book, O'Reilly carried me through the same era with many of the exact opinions as mine. Well done.
   D.R.Romack



4. A Bold,Fresh Piece of Humanity was a fascinating book. One of the best I've read. I can take Bill OReily some days and others, not, but his book was delightful. I am reading Culture Warrier now and it doesn't compare. I couldn't put the Bold Book down. Cultural Warrier, I can.This book transcends politics. It is just about life and how his impacted his viewpoints of today.



5. I enjoyed reading about Bill O'Reilly's life, but I would have preferred it to be in chronological age order and not skipping back and forth. The insight re the effect the Great Depression had on his father was interesting. And, I can't imagine a Sister having 60 kids in a class! Also, I would have liked to learn more about how he met his wife, how long they've been married, do they have any children. The book was okay, but I would not give it a high rating. This is just my personal opinion.

5 comments about The Glass Castle: A Memoir.

1. This is a fantastic, engrossing memoir of homelessness, poverty, and success. I couldn't put it down.



2. One word: PHENOMENAL! Reading this humorous, fast moving and yet heartbreaking book you can't help feeling it's got to be a great work of fiction when in reality it is a memoir of the author's childhood. A story set against the odds which could have read like a lot of negativity, but was told more like the adventure the parents of the author made it out to be. This books supports my theory of life which is no matter where or what you come from, you can get as far as you want in the good ol' U.S. of A. as long as you have the will, hardwork, and tenacity. Definitely a must read!



3. I ENJOYED THIS BOOK VERY MUCH. IT MADE ME THINK AND REALIZE HOW LUCKY I WAS TO GROW UP THE WAY I DID. I REALLY CAN'T IMAGINE HAVING REALLY NO ONE TO DEPEND ON THE WAY THESE CHILDREN HAD NO ONE. COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS IS WHAT I HAVE TO SAY AFTER READING ABOUT THIS FAMILY



4. Our book club read The Glass Castle- what a story- well written and difficult to put down.



5. Despite some of the bad ratings, I myself can't bare to give a bad rating since the book is based on the authors life. Who am I to say their life story is a 1 out of 5 stars. So if I could I wouldn't give it a rating at all, but since I must, I give it a 5.
   
   Jeannette Walls writes about her hardships within the pages and although some parts may seem "far fetched" its not my place to call her a liar. She writes about her parents Rex (an alcoholic) and Rose Mary (starving artist) lacking to support her and her other siblings (Brian, Lori, and Maureen) and overcoming the hardship of truly being dirt poor. The book mostly focuses on how poor her family was and how difficult life got when they didn't have a dime to feed themselves for days but what I found most fascinating were the parents, which I found to be mentally ill (especially the mother) I can't help but to blame them for everything that went wrong due to their selfishness and lack of interest in doing everything they possibly can to support their children.
   
   
   I would recommend this book to anyone that took interest in the book called "Angela's ashes" and for anyone who liked this book but has not read "Angela's ashes" to go and read it!

5 comments about My Remarkable Journey.

1. I have read and enjoyed many of Larry's earlier memoir type books but this one was really top notch. He and his co-writer Cal Fussman deserve accolades for producing such an interesting and entertaining tome.
   I really enjoyed the comments from other people significant in Larry's life especially his son Larry Jr who makes quite an impression in the latter half of the book.
   
   The chapter on Larry finding out he has a son deserves a book all its own. It is just shocking though that with all the people Larry knows that he wouldn't have heard about his son from someone. When Larry Jr describes his close encounters with his dad from a distance it is really heart rendering.
   
   Other chapters are mostly very breezy but also revealing of a man who loves his work and enjoys the perks that come with his place in the spotlight. The chapter on his financial ruin and possible career ruin
   is also quite fascinating.
   
   I have fond memories of listening to Larry on the mutual radio network in the 70's and seeing him speak in person once at a Success seminar. He is a consumate professional who is "one of us." This book is a real rags to riches story and a book that can be enjoyed by everyone. By the way Larry I really miss your USA Today column...



2. This was one of the best biographies that I have ever read. Larry has lived a very interesting life and has had some great experiences. When he is relating these stories, you get the feeling that he is just sitting down and talking with you. I felt they were intersting, funny, and intimate. He really shares his memories with you. As others have mentioned, it is a really quick read, because you just want to keep reading and reading to find out more. After a while, I felt like Larry was narrating my thoughts, because I could hear his voice so vividly in my mind. It is amazing how much he has experienced, how much he has done, and all that he has been involved in. He has lived one great life and reading this book will help you share it. If you are debating about reading this book, don't debate any longer. Read it, you will not regret it. And, you will come away with a huge appreciation for Larry King.



3. Just finished reading "My Remarkable Journey" and have to tell - what a pleasant reading! It's a collection of vivid memories that I haven't seen in a long time.
   
   Now he's 75 years old and keeps on running. A well lived life, but not without personal struggles - a father loss when he was 9, growing debts and an almost lost battle due to excess smoking. When opportunity was there, he took it without fear. At some point over the book, he even confesses that what he has achieved so far is not just a matter of enjoying what he always did, but also a good portion of luck. We don't doubt it.
   
   "My Remarkable Journey" shows that there's a human being who enjoys family living and people in general, without prejudice. In other words, somebody who is more than a TV character which shows up just once in a while in our TV sets to do interviews.



4. I enjoyed this book and it is a fast read. His life has been
   very intesting and exciting and he shares it with you -- the good
   and the bad. His style of interviewing is easy -- he just gets
   people to TALK to him. Some parts made me laugh out loud! Read
   it and get to know him.



5. It is safe to say that Larry King has led a complicated life with all his marriages, but he is having a blast. Larry manages to keep himself young by surrounding himself with a young wife, two young sons, and a myriad of other people. He manages to keep the questioning of his guests on his television show simple rather than set up a lengthy list of questions in advance. The part of the book in which he describes his heart attack, and subsequent fear of surgery will be recognizable to those who have had a similar experience. It required this harsh wake-up call to get him to quit smoking, but tossing his pack of cigarettes into the Potomac River settled it once and for all. Larry does have a liberal viewpoint, but there is nothing wrong with that. However, I did find it unfortunate that he doesn't believe in God or Heaven. Larry King has led a very interesting life, and I get the impression that he is enjoying his life now more than ever because he has two young sons to share it with. It is true that one does enjoy experiences more when you have someone else to share it with such as taking his sons to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. The book is easy reading, and if you enjoy Larry King I feel you are sure to enjoy this book.

5 comments about Seeds of Terror: How Heroin Is Bankrolling the Taliban and al Qaeda.

1. This is a book of great concern to our government. Afghanistan and Pakistan have become so corrupt with the Taliban, the Army, Al qaeda and others that I wouldn't know where to start a solution to the drug problem there. You have so many corrupt organizations with no standard rules . There are farmers who produce poppy because there is such a market for it and they are scared not to raise it. And what exactly is the Dubai connection? We're talking billions of dollars and they are smart enough to cover their tracks.
   Let's also look in the U.S., specifically in northern CA. Is marijuana becoming the new get rich quick drug?



2. I have a feeling that this book might be HOT for a while but then be thrown into the dustbin of other "How to WIN the latest WAR" books. Just check out the index before wasting your time. Reagan-two pages. CIA-a few not too many. The Northern Alliance-NONE. As everybody knows, the drug market exploded when we aided the Mujahideen and left the country in ruins. NO none of that, instead it seems like Mrs. Peters would like to do the typical erasure of history and jump into the scary present. Sometimes it's the Golden Triangle then Columbia then we find another "Mysterious" case of the drug epidemic, without a single footprint from the United States. Mrs. Peters seems to miss the picture-Who is buying these poppies? We and our European brothers and sisters.
   Read "Whiteout" by Cockburn and St. Claire or Alfred McCoy's "The politics of Heroin". Thanks for the great Centrist in Jon Stewart for bringing this forgettable yet 'wise' book for those in the know, into my empty, empty life. Oh, the answer is YES, I dah am dah a member of the blame dah America first club and your NOT.



3. The ultimate cold call was made by the head of the SEC who went to Colombia to meet the FARC leadership and urge them to invest their drug money with Wall Street.
   
   The Los Angeles crack cocaine plague was fueled by Blandon, a Nicaraguan contra drug dealer protected by CIA and DEA while Ricky Ross paid for being the street-level entrepreneur.
   
   OF COURSE the top leaders in Afghanistan and Pakistan are major drug dealers--their political US Government counterparts are in on the deal and the bureaucrats go along.
   
   This is a GREAT book and the kind of investigative journalism melded with academic research that we no longer do as a Nation, so kudos for that. However meritorious, it joins other similar books from the past and does not address the core brackets: the money provided by the US Government to Pakistan in the 1980's, and the money laundering and cash liquidity that Wall Street enjoyed in the 1990's in large part because of its close alliance with global drug dealers, arms merchants, and traders in women and children as well as 40+ dictators happy to loot their commonwealths while pretending to support our "war on terror" with rendition and torture.
   
   Until the US Government itself has integrity, and imposes integrity on Wall Street, this book is a superb account that will go absolutely nowhere in terms of impacting on the problem. WE are the problem in so far as we persist in lying to the American people about all that we do, and do not do, in their name.
   
   See also--I am limited to ten links:
   Vice: Dick Cheney and the Hijacking of the American Presidency
   Breach of Trust: How Washington Turns Outsiders Into Insiders
   Crossing the Rubicon: The Decline of the American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil
   Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion
   Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press & 'Project Truth'
   The Crimes of Patriots: A True Tale of Dope, Dirty Money, and the CIA
   War is a Racket: The Antiwar Classic by America's Most Decorated Soldier
   Club Fed Power, Money, Sex, and Violence on Capitol Hill
   The Next Catastrophe: Reducing Our Vulnerabilities to Natural, Industrial, and Terrorist Disasters
   Election 2008: Lipstick on the Pig (Substance of Governance; Legitimate Grievances; Candidates on the Issues; Balanced Budget 101; Call to Arms: Fund We Not Them; Annotated Bibliography)
   
   Note: the annotated bibliography in the latter book, free online, covers 500+ non-fiction books, each with a link to my summary review. The URL is in the comment below.



4. 
   As described by Gretchen Peters in Seeds of Terror, this was a common pretext for invitations by Osama bin Laden to wealthy Persian Gulf sheiks to travel to Afghanistan in the late 1990's. Combining business and pleasure, the sheiks were believed to bring in weapons and materiel for al Qaeda and the Taliban and to fly out with loads of heroin. Apparently bin Laden himself often participated in the bustard hunting excursions that represented the pleasure component of the junkets.
   
   Like me you may be wondering what in the world a houbara bustard actually is. We learn from Peters that it's a type of "rare falcon". As it turns out, this is not correct. In fact, the houbara bustard is an endangered, primarily terrestrial bird, which is hunted by falcons and is the most prized quarry for Arab falconers. Hence its near extinction...
   
   Anyway, setting this bit of sketchy scholarship aside, there is much of consequence that we do learn in Seeds of Terror. Essential points of the book are as follows:
   
   * Drug traffickers, terrorist groups, and the criminal underworld represent a new axis of evil that the world needs to confront.
   
   * The Taliban (clearly) and Al Qaeda (implicitly) are prospering from a growing stream of funding from the drug trade.
   
   * Combating the terrorists will require going after the drug traffickers. This is something that for a variety of reasons the US and NATO commanders have been reluctant to do.
   
   * The stakes are exceptionally high. According to the 9/11 Commission, September 11 cost al Qaeda $ 500,000. Al Qaeda has threatened future actions with casualties "too high to count", implying a quest for weapons of mass destruction. The availability of vast amounts of money from drug profits puts them closer to achieving this goal.
   
   * Cutting off this source of funding will be exceedingly difficult, but not impossible.
   
   * Eradication of the poppy crop, to date the focus of anti drug efforts in Afghanistan, is the least effective strategy. Instead, a holistic approach involving diplomatic initiatives; counterinsurgency strategy; blended intelligence and law enforcement efforts; military strikes against drug lords, labs, and transport convoys; development of a farm support network; public relations; disruption of financial flows; and implementation of alternatives for the livelihoods of affected parties is proposed.
   
   Clearly this is important material and the world needs to hope that the appropriate policy makers take note.
   
   Reading this book, particularly wading through the labyrinthine relationships of Afghanistan's various factions, gangs, and power brokers, is tough going. Nevertheless, given the significance of the subject matter, I give it a four star recommendation, in spite of the sloppy ornithology of the bustard business.



5. In Seeds of Terror, Peters does a miraculous job of condensing nearly a decade of fact finding into an easy-to-digest treatise that should educate and terrify you. Seeds of Terror is fast-moving and packed with facts that have been gathered through exhaustive primary and secondary research. Peters doesn't spare a frivolous word to educate readers on the thirty year evolution of opiate production and distribution in Afghanistan.
   
   Here's the frightening part... For the uninitiated, Peters' insights into the utter sophistication with which the Taliban and al Qaeda are producing opiates are terrifying in their implications. That the Taliban has current stockpiles of opiates sufficient to supply the world's addicts for two-years without any additional poppy harvests is eye opening in itself. However, one must consider what the Taliban and al Qaeda are planning to do with the $500M in drug related funds they are generating on an annual basis.
   
   Peters quite rightly assesses the Taliban as no different from drug thugs and narco-terrorists and notes that their motivation for jihad has not been tempered by their ever-expanding foray into the drugs industry. Ultimately Peters has outlined a compelling plan for dealing with this looming disaster and I am one reader that hopes Washington, NATO and the UN are listening.

5 comments about Good Day!: The Paul Harvey Story.

1. This tome fell far short of my expectations, for a man known to generations of listeners. It appears that the author pushed through a very soft overview of his entire life. Too much chest thumping type of prose, and way too many references to "Angel". Made it sound as if she walked on water. If the author was his chosen biographer, he made a poor choice.



2. This book arrived in very good condition and very quickly! Thank you for your service! Sharon O.



3. I ordered "Good Day" as soon as I saw it available and read it immediately. Paul Harvey was a friend of mine of long standing; I often worked in his office and we were known to go out to dinner a couple of times.
   "Good Day: The Paul Harvey Story" is a comprehensive look at Mr. Harvey's life. A lot of it was easily available on the public record, but it's clear the author interviewed him during his lifetime, and talked with a lot of people who knew him after his death last February. There are some errors (Leonard Rosenberg, with whom Mr. Harvey grew up in Tulsa, and actor Tony Randall are actually the same person, for example), but most of what is in here is verifiable fact. It also seems the author rushed his last few chapters in order to get his book into print.... why else would he keep referring to Chicago's Fourth Presbyterian Church as a "cathedral," which it is not?
   While "Good Day" comes out of the "Focus On The Family" office and is published by Regnery, the author stays refreshingly with Mr. Harvey's faith and not with anybody else's. He could actually have spent a great deal more time on Mr. Harvey's relationship with Billy Graham, which was long-lasting and deep, but which is dismissed with only a chapter in "Good Day."
   I'd recommend this book to anyone who was a fan of Paul Harvey and wants to know how he came to be the icon he was.
   By the way, the author refers at one point to a "mystery" about the Harveys' wedding anniversary. I know the answer, but I think Mr. Harvey told me in confidence, so the secret will be kept.



4. I truly enjoyed the Paul Harvey biography. I have listened to him for many years. It was easy to remember the sound of his voice, while reading his story. And also to recall "The Rest Of The Story" which I had to stop whatever I was doing to listen to daily! I miss him.
   Jerome D. Pickard



5. One can't help but be amazed at the extensive research that must have been done prior to the writing of Good Day! Covering both the personal life and professional career of one of our nation's most beloved newscasters, Good Day! intertwines Paul Harvey's life with the historical events and well-known people of the 20th century. In addition to being an interesting read, there are lessons to apply to our own lives, i.e., Harvey's determination to keep pressing forward, despite obstacles along the way, inspire the reader to do the same.
   
   A fair amount of the master story-teller must have rubbed off on the author of this book. Good Day! is full of stories that Harvey, himself, might have used in his daily commentaries, interjected, of course, with his effective pauses.
   
   I highly recommend Paul Batura's book to anyone who smiles when they think of drive times and lunch hours spent with the beloved Paul Harvey.

5 comments about A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.

1. I will always love this book, because it gave me Dave Eggers. I was going through my own heartbreak when I first picked it up, so maybe that has something to do with the immediate emotional attachment I felt to his story, but I suspect his undeniable talent had something to do with it as well. He made me laugh. He made me cry. He made me want to write a novel. I could have done without the gimmicky bookends, but they by no means took away from my enjoyment of this heartbreaking work of staggering genius, and, now that I see what Egger's has gone on to do with his rock star status, I can appreciate those quirky touches, which remain in tact to this day & in full evidence in the way he presents McSweeneys & The Believer, as well as his passion for kids & making words fun.



2. Don't be put off by the title. This book is worth reading because you'll spend a lot of it laughing out loud and wanting to read it to your friends.



3. like many other reviewers who found this book distasteful, i got so sick and tired of eggers' wandering, random pomposity that i put the book down two chapters short of the end. i have never gotten so close to the end of a book without feeling any desire to finish it. i didn't even bother reading the last page, because by the time i finally surrendered, my distaste for the often completely unnecessarily verbose writing far outweighed my mild curiosity to know how the story ends. since there didn't seem to be any point to eggers' tale, i can't imagine that i missed much anyway. i have no doubt that eggers has potential to be a clever writer if he can gain a little humility. however, i would skip over this early work. as a full time non-traditional student supporting myself, i find very little time to read recreationally, and i very much wish that i had not waited so long to put this book down for good.



4. I bought this because I thought I would really like it. In the end, I felt sort of "meh" about it-- which is sad, considering how powerful the subject matter should be.
   
   First, yes, the author is tremendously long-winded. Just the preface and "rules" of the book clued me in... I couldn't believe an editor actually let that happen. I didn't find it funny. I found it just very self-absorbed and *trying* to be funny. I skimmed.
   
   But opposite of many other reviewers, the book actually grew on me about halfway through, and I'm not sure how to explain that. Maybe it's because I saw his more responsible side. There were several things initially that bothered me about his parenting, from the way he doesn't help his brother get ready in the mornings to the gross state of the house (and don't get me started on the use of the word "retard" and the other nasty little references to developmentally disabled people in the book).
   
   It left me screaming inside, "Was there no other person in the family who could have helped them NOT live like that?" But there are also plenty of endearing moments where it's clear he loves his brother and wants to do right by him, just with different values from mine.
   
   The MTV "interview" was ridiculous, and could have been cut in its entirety. It was not clever and was a poor gimmick to do a massive info-dump.
   
   There are spots of brilliance in this book-- lines I wish I'd written, paragraphs that gave me chills-- but there are way too many stream-of-conscious ramblings that needed a much fatter red pen from an editor, in my opinion.



5. I never received this book because it got sent to the wrong address. I didn't find out till several weeks after I ordered it and reviewed the invoice in my email.

5 comments about Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream.

1. From the opening passage, to the bitter end, Hunter Thompson's masterpiece, had me completely encased. This was so much like how I felt when reading Hemingway's 'A Sun Also Rises'. I was so blown away by both these books that I immediately gobbled up everything by Thompson and Hemingway I could find, with pretty much the same results: these two books were the best of the lot. With the exception of Thompson's 'Hell's Angels' (which was kickass) the rest of their work left me cold and flat. Even so, I became enamored with their personas. So much so, it became interesting enough to read about them, versus anymore of their work. But it matters not. Even if Fear and Loathing was the only book Thompson penned, he could have died a proud man. FALILV is that good. Life altering and amazing and with the rarity of the movie being JUST AS GOOD....I highly encourage devouring them both!



2. I read this book at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, then I went to Vegas and saw "The Hangover". The timing couldn't have been more perfect. I bought the book after watching a documentary on Hunter Thompson. This is a MUST READ!! It will grab you from the opening paragraph and drag you along for one crazy, drugged out ride.The book is "laugh out loud" funny.



3. "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" is the so-called Great American Novel. It was also journalism, or "Gonzo Journalism," a genre that Hunter S. Thompson practically invented, and which draws heavily from the art of fiction. HST once said: "It is a style of 'reporting' based on William Faulkner's idea that the best fiction is far more TRUE than any kind of journalism -- and the best journalists have always known this." But Thompson then goes on to say that "'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' is a failed experiment in Gonzo Journalism." He thought that he should have filled a fat notebook with a record of everything he experienced as it happened, and then published it, unedited. Instead, he found himself "imposing an essentially fictional framework upon what began as a piece of straight/crazy journalism."
   
   This was Thompson's oeuvre. You never knew whether he was serious or just pulling your leg. And he was a master at self-deprecating humor. "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" is in no way a "failed experiment in Gonzo Journalism." It is the genuine article and was truly the first of its kind. And luckily, "Rolling Stone" magazine was willing to publish it when no one else in print media would. It made Hunter S. Thompson a rock star in every sense of the word.
   
   Somewhere in the book, HST says: "Las Vegas on a Saturday night is a lot like what America would be like if the Nazi's had won World War II." He doesn't mean this literally of course. It's all very tongue-in-cheek, sardonic, and Swiftian. Then again, maybe he does mean it! The book is touted as "A Savage Journey into the Heart of the American Dream." And it draws heavily from the plot of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness," which HST claims to have found incredibly hilarious. But it's also a Seventies version of Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" and Tom Wolfe's "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" all rolled into one hellbroth of deadly insight into the Myth of the Road.
   
   HST once described the book as "a vile epitaph of the Drug Culture of the Sixties," and it most certainly was. His account of the Rolling Stones "Free Concert" at Altamont Speedway (in 1969) reads like the funeral oration of the "Love Generation" and "the Great San Francisco Acid Wave." And HST seemed to be the only culture hero of the time that had actually drank the Kool-Aid and yet was still capable of facing the "meat hook realities" that Timothy Leary and Ken Kesey's Merry Prankster's could only deny. For instance, he understood why the Hells Angels had beaten the Hippies back with pool cues and literally established total dominance over hundreds of thousands of them at Altamont Speedway. It's all in the book, and expressed ever so succinctly.
   
   Which is why I always marveled at HST's sentence construction. His violent style was deceptively refined -- in the same way that ZZ Top's music is a deceptively refined version of black blues. But HST was a thousand times more cosmic than was ZZ Top, and his prose was as enduring as marble. It was often the perfect way to describe the Apocalyptic Zeitgeist in which he lived, and in which we all still live to this very day.
   But HST had been reading Gideon Bibles in lonely hotel rooms while he was out on the road for years. In "Generation of Swine" he says in the introduction: "I have stolen more quotes and thoughts and purely elegant little starbursts of WRITING from the Book of Revelation than anything else in the English language -- and it is not because I am a biblical scholar, or because of any religious faith, but because I love the wild power of the language and the purity of the madness that governs it and makes it music."
   
   There were numerous unforgettable lines in "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," but this one remains lodged in my memory because it is one of those bizarre, surrealistic descriptions that is somehow uncannily accurate from an empirical standpoint. While struggling to describe the neo-Roman decadence of Circus-Circus (in 1971) HST suddenly blurts: "You can shoot the pasties off a ten-foot-tall bull dyke and win a cotton candy billy goat."
   
   I searched for that very sideshow in Circus-Circus when I first went to Vegas. Never found it of course. But I did get a tremendous laugh out of the fact that it probably never did even exist in the first place.
   
   Bless Hunter S. Thompson's soul. May it rest in peace -- or come back to haunt us in this increasingly twisted age.



4. A different take on the standard buddy travelogue by Hunter Thompson, a writer who who provides a dark humor filled romp out west. It is not for those who frown on drug culture books, or those who cannot find humor in such things due to the subject matter, much in the same way that many do not like Cheech & Chong routines or movies (not trying to compare this to them, but more for the general idea)
   
   But if you are not offended by those types of things, and do not mind some crudity in humor from time to time, you will be laughing throughout this book as he weaves a tale through drug induced senses. It truly is a modern classic.



5. This novel is one of the purest reflections of American culture ever penned. There is no bias in this book. It is Truth. It seethes with the complete wretchedness and filth that is we. And, in its crippling moments, it subsides, knowing that it is wretch and vermin like we. It's long past that Hunter S. Thompson received his due as a great American novelist. This is one of very few that gives reason to believe in thrusting your fist in the air, God damn it! Thank you, Hunter.

5 comments about I Can't Believe I'm Sitting Next to a Republican: A Survival Guide for Conservatives Marooned Among the Angry, Smug, and Terminally Self-Righteous.

1. A good book for suffering, closeted conservatives in Blue states who live in "quiet desperation" -- and alienation. It's comforting to hear about similar experiences and to know that there are others out there who have lost friends and have to constantly watch what they say in professional and social situations. Living in the NYC metro area I feel sometimes like I'm living in a land that George Orwell could have dreamed up, only it's a nightmare. 1984 has arrived 25 years late.
   
   So far my car hasn't been keyed, though. But that's probably because I've refrained from lawn signs and bumper stickers. The left's intolerance of dissent is truly frightening.



2. The central question that I ask is when does the killing begin. Our leftist friends have worked themselves into such a hate filled lather that we should shortly expect some 'wet work'(killing your enemies).
   The good part of the story is that they are showing themselves to be monumentally stupid - could be some hope in that.



3. A wonderful and entertaining read! It could use a bit more editing (the Laotian refugees in Wisconsin are the Hmong, not the "Mung") and is a bit of a pastiche without much structure, but Mr. Stein is a superb writer with many good insights. (He must be the only other graduate of Columbia Journalism (I am '66) who is not a trendy lefty). Read and enjoy!



4. This is a must read for liberals and conservatives alike, I highly recommend it to anyone from either side of the aisle. I enjoyed it so much that I immediately purchased his other book: "How I Accidentally Joined the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy."



5. Harry Stein's sub-title calls the work a 'Survival Guide For
   Conservatives.' It's that in that it offers some tips for fighting
   back here and there. But for me it was more a psychological self-help
   book. Reading of the trials foisted on people who commit the crime of
   thinking differently than their liberal 'friends,' I didn't feel quite
   so alone. In fact, as I've been self-employed for thirty years, I've
   had it a lot easier than those who've lost their livelihoods for
   morally and politically sticking to their guns, many of whom you'll
   meet in 'I Can't Believe...' Through the grapevine I occasionally heard
   of ex-customers who boycotted my antique store because of my
   pro-Israel/Iraq War anti-Islamic terrorism/racial preferences letters
   to the editor. But I survived without them. It was harder losing a
   number of long-time thought-to-be close friends; not to mention getting
   along with girlfriends who seemed to deep-down believe they were
   sleeping with someone on the wrong side of every issue in human
   progress. (Another topic well-mined in this book--Love and the Single
   Conservative.) Harry's stories of those who lost far more are at once
   heart-wrenching and inspirational. And remind us of just how petty,
   vicious and unliberal our 'tolerant' betters in academia, the media and
   publishing are.
   
   Stein's first novel, 'Hoopla,' is one the best historical novels
   I've ever read and one of few I've read repeatedly. His political and
   cultural non-fiction is unfailingly riveting and as insightful and
   humanistic as anything you'll ever read. In 'I Can't Believe...' Harry
   keeps all the same balls in the air. It's funny. And that's more
   important than those two mundane words suggest. A central element, I
   believe, of a conservative retaining his sanity in this increasingly
   insane multi-culti culture is a sense of humor. You laugh or you cry.
   Fortunately, on our side we have PJ O'Rourke, Iowahawk, Denis Boyles,
   Mark Steyn and Harry Stein. The liberals, they got... um, well, off
   the top of my head I can't really think of any funny liberals but there
   might be one somewhere. Maybe Christopher Buckley, but maybe he'll yet
   come back over to our side.
   
   Harry Stein wrote this book for people like me and you if you're actually reading a Five-Star review for a book with a title like this, unlike the closed-minded louts who piss and moan about conservative books without ever reading any. My advice: Buy this book. And any of Harry's past outings still available on Amazon.

5 comments about Audition (Vintage).

1. Great book. would recommend it to anyone interested in celebrities and interviewing. Barbara Walters is pure gold



2. This book was somewhat interesting. I especially enjoyed the celebrity interview sections. The parts about her childhood were also interesting. Somewhere about the middle of the book at times it became a little boring.



3. You don't have to be a Barbara Walters fan to enjoy this book. I've always admired Ms. Walters as she was a trailblazer for women in serious television. I found her life story and her insight on her many interviews of personalities very interesting. I, too, have seen the regression of public preferences from interviews of serious international subjects to the fluff of entertainment people, and find that sad.



4. This memoir is great. If you want to see the behind-the-scenes life of Walters, definitely read this. Her story is surprising and familiar to most. A good read, although it does get monotonous at times.. almost a Who's Who of famous New Yorkers and celebrities.



5. I read the book and listened to the audio book, the written book has a little more detail to it then the audio book but the audio is read by the author and well worth listening to.

5 comments about In the Sanctuary of Outcasts: A Memoir.

1. Neil White was a high-roller. He had the world by the tail, captured by accolades, money, power -- and he blew it! Blew it so badly that he was sentenced to 18 months in a Federal prison for check kiting. He told his children he was going to camp, but he was really going to the nation's most unlikely prison.
   
   Carville was a leprosarium until someone somewhere decided it would make a great prison as well. For White, although he would not realize it for some time, Carville was not a prison but a doorway to freedom. Within its "country club" grounds, he would learn lessons he desperately needed from "the least of these."
   
   White leaves Carville believing he must change but that his essence remains the same. I disagree. His essence expanded greatly from his nearly a year in Carville. He learned to appreciate the smallest things such as the beauty in the hand of a leper, to appreciate the value in the lives of people who had been discarded by the system. He left with a value system completely different from that with which he entered confinement.
   
   White's is a remarkable tale of redemption, but it is almost a series of portraits of unforgettable characters. Well-written, it's a quick, but powerful, read. You'll laugh, you'll cry, but you won't forget his journey.
   
   Highly recommended.



2. ...is another man's home.
   
   Now how strange is that? If you're seeking transport outside your everyday life, consider this blending of federal prison with leprosarium and the unlikely bonds and lessons within. The result is an entertaining, thought-provoking read, but one that is unfortunately a little shorter and a little lighter than I'd wish.
   
   Stories about how others live and love in spite of their personal plagues always hold a certain voyeuristic satisfaction. Likewise for tales of personal redemption. This book, however, is just short of delivering on both these counts. Still, I'm glad I read it--a perfect airplane read. Bring another book along, though, this one's too short to get you back home with sufficient reading material.



3. In 1993, just before turning 33, the author was found guilty of defrauding banks through an illegal practice known as check kiting. Ordered to serve his sentence in a minimum security prison in Carville, Louisiana, he was shocked on learning upon arriving that the place was also the location for the National Leprosarium. Fearing contracting leprosy, he initially avoided close physical contacts with any patient; but as he found out more and more about the disease, how often leprosy patients are misunderstood, and some of the patients' personal life histories, he found himself not just touching them but also developing a growing admiration for them and the way they've handled themselves despite their misfortunes. Having lost almost everything he considered important himself, he found himself seeking the counsel of one particular elderly patient named Ella, whose ability to find joy in the smallest encounters he found invigorating, and whose words of wisdom resonated deeply with him. From observing how Ella and the best of his fellow inmates and other leprosy patients were able to rise above life's adversities to find purpose in life, he resolved to rebuild his life based on a modified set of core values.
   
   More than 15 years after losing his way, the author reports in the book's epilogue that he has remarried and that his children are now in college. Although he doesn't share additional details on how or whether he has been able to rebuild his life to the extent he had hoped for (we are all rooting for him, of course), you will find this memoir of his year-long confinement in Carville, Louisiana full of funny and poignant vignettes and commentaries on life. Personally, the story I found most powerful -- as did the author -- was Ella's simple story about what the leprosarium residents decided to do with soft drink bottles sent to them purposefully chipped. Although a simple story, it holds a lot of lessons for all of us, and you just have to find out for yourself what those lessons are by reading the book yourself. But trust me, you'll be glad you did!! :-)



4. This book was easy to read, the chapters were short and the content was light yet moving. The authors recounting of his time in Carville prison is honest, there are times when as the reader I found it hard to sympathize with the authors self centered characteristics that he attempts to change because of this experience in prison and with the leprosy patients housed there. I would recommend this book to a friend.



5. With five words Neil White was instantly, irrevocably, and publicly stamped as a criminal - "Eighteen months in federal prison."
   
   With that brief utterance his secret life as an embezzler tarred his public image as a pillar of the community, and poisoned his marriage. He had no way of knowing that the conviction was about to spin him into yet another life, one filled dark corners that he could never have imagined.
   
   Introduced with a full body cavity search, that new life, inhabited by lepers, criminals, victims and saints, was to transform him and perhaps to some degree even to reform him. Regardless of the extent of his rehabilitation, the reader will, I believe, agree that he has done a masterly job of illuminating his own life and his time in this dark place without blinking or shrinking from the task.
   
   Mr White, trained as a journalist, took thorough and careful notes and eventually, years after his release from prison, digested and transformed them into this well crafted book. This is no tortured mind in the throes of murderous crime and deep self punishment, and the author is no towering Dostoevsky, but it appears to be the honest truth of this life captured unblinkingly and with near photographic precision.
   
   What kind of people, what kind of torments, what kind of dramas lurk in the dark caverns of a federal leper colony merged with a white collar prison? The author does respond fully and well to that question and leaves the reader to answer that other, that ultimate question - what does it all mean.
   
   Direct and clear writing make this an easy book to read, but not at all easy to set down.