No comments about Dark Genius: The Influential Career of Legendary Political Operative and Fox News Founder Roger Ailes.

5 comments about Broken: My Story of Addiction and Redemption.

1. I ordered the book Broken on May 19th and I still have not recieved it yet, can someone help me or give me a number to call. Thank you



2. Having walked through the hell of having a child with profound substance abuse issues, I found this book a biography I could identify with. Congratulations to Cope and his family. No one gets sober in a straight line and without help and support.



3. I really appreciated this book. I found it to be honest and moving. It shows a very accurate and powerful picture of addictions and what it takes to get into recovery. William Moyers really helps people to see the power of addicitons and the power of recovery. I really appreciated all he had to say. I do believe that we need to share our stories and educate the public as to the truth about addictions.



4. I had the opportunity to hear William Moyers speak at SECAD. His presentation moved me to purchase his book, BROKEN. This book was so powerful that I was unable to put it down once I read the prologue. As a recovering person and therapist in the mental health/drug and alcohol treatment field I immediately purchased a dozen more copies of BROKEN to give to clients and family members who struggle with addiction. Anyone interested in issues of addiction and recovery will be equally moved if they pick up a copy and read the 3 1/2 page prologue. BROKEN is powerfully candid and written is a straightforward manner that results in the reader being captivated and most importantly....inspired by William Moyers' journey of recovery.



5. I started this book but couldn't finish it. I guess I found it to be a bit
   boring and too detailed. Perhaps a big exaggerated? I do applaud Cope Moyers however for writing the book. I'm sure it will help MANY who have struggled with addiction. As a literary piece, though, I think it needs more work.

5 comments about Entering Hades: The Double Life of a Serial Killer.

1. As good as anything Ann Rule ever wrote--and maybe even better.
   
   About the only complaint: author could have delved deeper into Unterweger's mother's life, as well as what exactly the killer's life was like as a young child, as he was raised by a grandfather who evidently was a mean drunk, etc.
   
   Other than that, a fine job of writing as well as research.
   Author John Leake definitely has a career in this field.



2. I bought this book based on the glowing reviews. I love true crime stories and was excited when this arrived. I tore into it, and it was off to a pretty good start. Then it started to drag...and drag....There were so many little details and names and places that I was bored stiff. I found myself daydreaming and having to reread passages on numerous occasions. I ended up skimming the final few chapters and then picking up at the end. I could not relate at all to the main character, Jack, and I had zero sympathy or empathy for him. He was purely evil and narcissistic and unlikeable, which, according to the author was the opposite of how many people in Vienna's society would have described him. I just didn't get it. Maybe the timing was wrong for me and this really was as great a book as the other reviewers claim. For me it was a borderline painful reading experience.



3. Congratualations to John Leake on this outstanding work! Having been directly involved with Unterweger's extradition to Austria, I can report that women lawyers, law enforcement officers, and diplomats were instrumental in every aspect of this fugitive's return to Austria to answer for his hideous crimes against women. This gives new meaning to the words "poetic justice."



4. A murderer gains celebrity and has the intelligentsia spring him. Only in America? Apparently not. This horror story is a wonderfully written account of an Austrian serial killer who used and abused the system and all its bureaucrats to do what came naturally for him. Author John Leake knows how to piece together a jigsaw puzzle of incompetence, luck (good and bad). This is a early page turner that will keep you shaking your head for a long time to come. Bravo.



5. Reading this horrifying account of the life of mass murderer Jack Unterweger, reminded me of the parole and subsequent incarceration of Jack Henry Abbott. You may recall that author Norman Mailer championed Abbott's cause and was instrumental in helping the convict gain freedom. The day before his book, In the Belly of the Beast, was reviewed in the NY Times, Abbott stabbed a waiter to death in a Manhattan restaurant. Unterweger had been jailed for the brutal rape and murder of a young girl. After writing a book, his cause for parole was taken up by the Austrian literati. He then proceeded to murder seven Austrian prostitutes, one in Prague and three in LA, all the while, making friends with the police, writing books and producing plays. Unterweger was incredibly narcissistic, sadistic and a sexual predator. The author painstakingly reconstructs the investigation from Austria, Prague and LA often jumping back and forth in time. It was not easy to bring all these threads together to form a cohesive whole, but I believe he did a fine job. This book is not for the squeamish, but should prove impossible to put down for readers of serial killers and also crime buffs.

5 comments about And You Know You Should Be Glad: A True Story of Lifelong Friendship.

1. Mr. Greene has written a terrific tribute to lifelong friendship. Jumping back and forth between how the ABCDJ group was during their youth and into the present in which they are all dealing with the deterioration and ultimate death of Jack is very effective. Mr. Greene attempts to convey the conflicting emotions that come with the death of an important element in his life. It made me appreciate how truly lucky I am to have similar relationships with my own group of five lifelong friends. This book is a keeper and I intend to give one copy to each of my four cronies.



2. I am about 16 years younger than Bob Greene, I grew up in Arizona, and not in the mid-west, but I can really relate to this book. I too have four great friends that I am still close too, we have watched each other's back for over 30 years. We have stood by each other through thick and thin. Right now one of us is very ill, and I worry that I am going to live what Green when though all too soon.
   Good book, sad subject.



3. I heard about this book from a friend. I am so thankful that it was recommended to me. I have since bought 6 copies for gifts to other friends. If you want to remember your childhood, cry over the pain of adulthood and begin to understand why we are here and what we should be, THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU ! ! !
   Don't let this one pass you by.
   Thank you, Bob, for this wonderful stroll down memory lane -- with all the highs and lows..............



4. First, the praise: This book is an example of why most people think they could be writers. Greene's plain, straight-ahead, uncomplicated writing style just makes it seem so easy. Somehow, seemingly just by putting one word after another, he writes prose that is extremely readable. Of course it's not that easy, or I'd be doing it, too.
   Now, the criticism: This isn't one of his best works. I have two main complaints: First, while the subject matter is by its nature sentimental, Greene lets it slip beyond the sentimental, to the maudlin. Second, the reminiscenses (is that a word? see what I mean about writing not being easy?) are too personal. Sure, some of his childhood experiences are similar to mine and yours. But still, they're HIS experiences -- not mine or yours. There was never a Toddle House in my part of the country. And the stuff that made Greene and his pals roll on the floor laughing as they reminisced really didn't seem that funny to the reader. You had to be there, in other words.
   Summary: Good read. Not a great read.



5. When I saw this book, a continuation of the characters in "Be True To Your School", I bought in with great enthusiasm. But I was disappointed.
   
   The characters are still good, though Greene does not show the differences in the personalities very much. Here were 5 great friends, but you don't see the differences in the personalities.
   
   I also with Greene would have talked a bit more about his own journey through life. Nor do you hear very much about the bad times any of the characters faced.
   
   I have a hard cover version of this book. There are NO pictures of the friends in this book, astonishingly chintzy. Greene refers to people mistaking Jack for Steven Spielberg, yet there are no pictures for the reader to see for themselves. Greene refers to other pictures taken of them, but they are not for us to see.
   
   Plus, Greene's observations seem incredibly pithy and sappy.
   
   Finally, one question that bothered me throughout this book and "Be True To Your School". Did Greene and his friends ever eat a single meal at home? It seems that all they ever did was to go to one Bexley place or another for hamburgers and fries. Didn't their parents feed them? Or how did they pay for all these meals out.

5 comments about Still Waters.

1. All I can say is, Wow. I picked up Lauck's first book, "Blackbird" at the library and loved it. So right after I finished it I bought Still Waters. I read it in about 2 days.
   
   A lot happens in her life. A lot happens in many of our lives. But the way Lauck sees things that go on in her life and in the world, are special. Her books opened my mind and my heart.
   
   Saying this is a memoir about a dysfunctional family does not do this book justice. Yes, her family is dysfunctional, but her attitude and experiences and how she draws these into her world view, are all woven through her book in a way that I wanted it to never end.
   
   Another thing, many sequels re-hash much of what happened in the first book. And for those of us who have read the first book, it's a bore to read about all this re-hashing. "Still Waters" does not do this. I really appreciated the fluidity with which Jennifer Lauck wrote her sequel.
   
   I look forward to more from this gifted writer.



2. I now know what author to avoid..she does have a third memoir out but I won't be reading her again!!



3. This is a sequel to her book Blackbird. Both novels are so very interesting. You won't believe everything this girl has been through, and how she not only survives, but goes on to live a sucessful life. Both novels are hard to put down as you cannot wait to read what happens next.



4. I will be honest ~~ this book did not move me to tears like "Blackbird" did ~~ but it did make me angry ~~ really angry and disgusted with human beings, especially those who are in charge of taking care of the children who need them. I was so relieved when I read the ending of "Blackbird" that Jennifer was going to be rescued by her father's family (though I was really confused as to why Aunt Georgia and Uncle Charles didn't pick her up at the bus stop since they were the ones that went looking for the Lauck kids in L.A.). Then I picked this book up, the sequel to "Blackbird" and finished it in two days.
   
   This is a fast paced book ~~ it skims a lot of Jennifer's growing up years but it dealt with her anger and frustrations. She was separated from her brother, Bryan, as he "chose" to live with Uncle Leonard and Aunt Sylvia. Jennifer didn't get to choose ~~ after spending several weeks with her grandparents, her father's parents, (a few weeks where she began her healing process and started to feel safe) she was sent to live with Peggy and Dick, her father's youngest sister and husband. From the very beginning, Dick made her feel like that she was never welcomed. Peggy was inconsistent with her behavior and gradually became meaner to her over the years, in spite of the fact that she loved Jennifer's mother and was one of her closest friends. Jennifer grew up in various places in the Northwest, confused, lonely and gradually getting angrier. Shuffled among different relatives, enduring sexual abuse, emotional abuse, basically being her aunt and uncle's (though they eventually adopted her) housekeeper/cook and on and on. The dishonesty of her relatives boils me ~~ and no wonder why Jennifer was so angry and bitter by the time she made her escape at the age of 18.
   
   Then her brother committed suicide. Bryan was never close to Jennifer and she mistakenly thought he had the "better" life since he was an all A student, and so handsome. When Jennifer finally went on a journey to discover peace and the truth of what happened to her family and how it impacted her, she discovered so much more about Bryan that the reader ends up grieving for him too. By the end of the book, Jennifer has faced her demons and rediscovered the youth she missed out on by enjoying her son's life. She was able to find peace again.
   
   This book is about surviving. This book is about finding peace in the worst that life can offer you. This book is an inspiration to all people ~~ regardless of how they live their lives. This book is just a wonderful sequel to the first one and for once, it shows that someone can have a happy ending in spite of it all. It shows how some people can survive neglect and abuse and how some people can't. It shows the power of forgiveness and the power of letting go.
   
   This is one that I will definitely recommend to my book club to read ~~ it provides so much fodder for conversation just by reading these alone! It is not easy reading but sometimes, readers just need to be reminded that life isn't always easy and reading about someone else's struggles can affirm our sense of survival. At least Jennifer's story did.
   
   7-10-07



5. This book was given to me as a gift, and I was pleasantly surprised. It pulled me in immediately and kept me on the edge of my seat. I would highly recommend this one to get lost in for a little while. I can relate to so many of the descriptions. A great read!

5 comments about The Woman at the Washington Zoo: Writings on Politics, Family, and Fate.

1. I used to read Marjorie Williams in the Washington Post, and was reminded of her work when her exceptionally moving essay "Hit by Lightning" was in a "best of" book by multiple authors. It was so good that I simply had to read this collection of only her work.
   
   The finest essays and profiles here are wonderful. The writing is outstanding, and ranges from great insight to humor and sadness and to the biting remark that takes down somebody famous a notch or two.
   
   My favorites were (besides "Hit by Lightning"):
   
   - "The Alchemist", a previously unpublished profile of her mother. What an exploration of a mother's relationship to her daughter and (presumably) perceptive view of her mother's life!
   
   - "Scenes from a Marriage" - oh, my, how it drills into the relationship between Clinton and Gore, after the 2004 election and back into their time in office. This essay was justifiably well-known.
   
   - "Bill Clinton, Feminist" - Ms. Williams shreds the feminists who defended President Clinton in his sexual escapades, while disregarding the women involved. She doesn't even break a sweat. Brutal and delightful reading.
   
   - "The Halloween of My Dreams" - her final column, about her daughter's Halloween, the last Halloween Ms. Williams would see.
   
   - The profiles of Jeb Bush and Barbara Bush, both of which offered fresh insights and information.
   
   - Of the columns, many of which are first rate, I particularly liked the one on Princess Diana's death (I'm not sure why, to be honest) and one on assisted suicide.
   
   The book actually got off to a slow start for me. The first two profiles were relatively dated and uninteresting, and the third, on Richard Darman, was wonderfully crafted, but I found myself not that curious about someone who moved rapidly into footnote status. However, Darman's profile had one of the best lines in the entire book: "As always, the vapor of self-certainty leaks off him like rocket fuel". Didn't these people know who they were up against in Marjorie Williams?
   
   The short columns included are mostly very good, yet they also suffer from the usual fate of newspaper columns, in that they don't age that well, as the topic in hand often quickly becomes old news. Ms. Williams is far from alone in that fate, of course, so some of these pieces serve as a reminder of past news to reconsider with hindsight and contemplate what has happened since.



2. This book made me realize how painful it could be to at sometimes for the lack of a better word be a " dubmass " It took me a lot of brushing up on my reading skills to fully appreceiate this book and it was very insightfull just as the other books that were recomened to me to be read if I liked this one were. It also taught me that caring=sharing which can cause mass confusion sometimes to people who need to improve there reading skills which in turn = understanding and then ultimatly joy and happiness for many years to come. However this just could be a hopeful thought, but I would like to think it holds true for all readers especially the ones that would enjoy reading A year of Magical Thinking, where I think it says something about country boys being of big hearts are stubborn and rarely give up on anything.



3. No, this isn't about the typical zoon--but about the "Zoo" that is Washington, D.C.
   
   Marjorie Williams, a journalist for the Washington Post, had a sense of unrelenting refusal to deal with just the surface reality--but find the truth beneath.
   
   Sitting here in the Midwest, some of these stories, some of the people are not players we hear about every day, but some were.
   
   Marjorie and Tim Noah (Senior writer for Slate) were married in 1990. In 2001, happy and healthy, Marjorie discovered a lump in her lower abdomen and after much effort, died in 2005 from liver cancer at the age of 47. Tim has selected what he feels are her most revealing columns written about politicians, the shakers and movers of Washington's social ad business life, and about her family.
   
   As an outsider I enjoyed reading about insiders like Ambassador Lucky Roosevelt and her long marriage, and other characters that made good reading.
   
   Jennifer Senior, New York Times Book Review said, "Williams was a crowbar, prying great quotes from her sources, and she found herself face to face with rather intimate details of their life."
   
   So true, whether she was writing about Bill and Hillary, the couple that always give us something to talk about, her own illness, her mother's illness, or her children--her observations were always sharp and often sweet.
   
   Some of my favorites were her most personal stories, like The Cat Race about how she was "going to raise her children," that is, until she actually had children. This felt very familiar.
   
   The Art of Fake (and Useful) Apology, (in the news again as I write this) used by politicians reminds us that this happens far too often.
   
   With another Presidential campaign heating up, Williams takes us back to 1992 when Al Gore was running for President (without hitching his star to Clinton). Her article, "Scenes from a Marriage" is about that time, and the end of that "marriage" and the not-too-obvious divorce of Clinton and Gore.
   
   Sadly the world will never again read about current events from her.
   
   Armchair Interviews says: This book was a New York Times Bestseller.



4. Really two books. One, a series of pieces about inside Washington stories, often with characters who are largely off stage but important in how things get done in the seat of empire. Rather than the usual insider's view, Ms. Williams has an extraordinarily keen eye for seeing what is there for all to see, perhaps along the lines of I.F. Stone's insistence on using only attributed sources. The second book is an account of her diagnosis and subsequent experiences with an ultimately fatal cancer, its impact on her life, outlook, work, as well and an account of her medical care.



5. I bought this book primarily because I enjoy memoir and it was represented in the media as a collection of personal essays by a woman who fought what was eventually a losing battle with cancer.
   
   In fact, the personal essays comprise the smaller part of this collection. Most pieces are in-depth political commentary or profiles of Washington, D.C. personalities. I'm not interested in that subject matter at all.
   
   To correct one of the other reviewers, this collection was compiled after Williams' death by her husband. It contains material that she apparently never intended to publish. But long-time fans of Williams should not fault *her* for what was and was not included in the book, since these decisions were made posthumously.
   
   Williams was a gifted writer -- insightful, precise, and painfully honest. I enjoyed the personal essays immensely (particularly the piece about her complex relationship with her mother) and even found myself reading and enjoying the political essays.

5 comments about The Storyteller's Daughter: One Woman's Return to Her Lost Homeland.

1. The Storyteller's Daughter is a tale of high adventure--a tough-minded, fearless and obviously incredibly fit woman travels with the mujahaddin in Afghanistan as they fight the Soviet army. What is even more compelling about this book is the insight we get into the growth of radical Islam and the woeful lack of understanding by western participants/observers as this struggle was going on--with enormous consequences for today, of course.



2. An absolutely delicious story! Afghanistan's lore and legend come to life in the author's own accounts of her bold adventures as a woman on the fronts of danger in Afghanistan. It being true made it all the more fun. I really could not put this book down; it is a fascinating tale that includes intrigue, suspense, and a uniquely satire sense of humor sprinkled throughout. Saira Shah transports the reader to a foreign land, a foreign way of life, a foreign way of thought. Yet, the tales echo familiar as she gives a spectacular presentation of the clash between mystical historical lore, modern day realities, and the blend of these two realms on humanity's culture, mind, and heart.



3. I am currently in Kabul, and have read almost every English-language book on Afghanistan that is popularly available. I have also lived in Kabul and traveled to Feyzbad, Kandahar,Mazar-e-Sharif, Jalalabad, Kunduz and along the Uzbek Border. I speak mediocre Dari. Among the books that I enjoyed were those by Saira Shah's grandmother (try "My Khyber Life") and her father, Idris Shah. The same cannot be said for Saira Shah's. Shah' work, however. Part of my complaint was that the book isn't about anything much - its just a list of what she claims were her experiences in and near Afghanistan. I would compare them to a series of interesting letters detailing what I did on my afghan vacation. What they don't provide is insight into what was happening in Afghanistan or Peshawar, why, or what is going on now, or much cultural or historical information.
   
   My other, more serious complaint, is that I think most of the book is not true, and that Ms. Shah either made it up entirely, seriously exaggerated or "borrowed" the story from someone else's experience. The issue is not that the book was not entertaining, because it was, but that I strongly suspect that it is entertaining only because she changed (or created) the facts to make it so.
   
   Too much of what she claims were her experiences in Afghanistan are general stories one hears here (such as the time she met a Mullah who spoke Arabic while claiming to be an Arab man. She says that he started faking speaking Arabic, and she pretended to understand him, so he declared them Arabs to keep his lie of Arabic proficiency and prestige that went with it. This story of two language frauds is heard in many incarnations. I even heard one in a German-language book I read 10 years ago in Austria. Also, some mountain mullahs do speak some Arabic. They may not be fluent, but they know a little bit and would spot someone who didn't, the same way you would if the only Spanish you knew was "what is your name?" and when you asked someone who claimed to be a Spaniard they didn't understand. She might have also been expected to talk to her companions and pray in Arabic - it would seem strange if she did neither, and if there is any Arabic people know here, its prayers).
   
   Another example of an improbable event is when she tells of a Buzgashi game during which the players rode their horses into the tent holding "the Great and the Good" and collapsed the tent on them. I'm guessing all of the spectators weren't the "Great and the Good," but it makes a better story if they were. Also, although Buzgashi is compared to polo, but it is really a lot more violent. All of the horses are stallions, and taught to kick and bite each other. The only rule for the players is no eye gouging. The game set-up is sort of like a race, as the player holding the goat as to ride around certain points before he can make a goal, and the others ride alongside trying to stop him. I play horse polo and have watched Buzgashi, and although a horse might run away, the whole group of players could avoid running into a spectator's tent (I've also never seen a tent for spectators, but maybe they really had that in Pakistan). If they were out of control, horses by instinct would head for open space or for home, not into an unknown tent full of people. If by some fluke a horse or horses did run into the tent, it would not have been funny. People would have been hurt, and probably killed - the same goes for the horses. If the horses just took out the tent supports, they still would have tripped, fallen and seriously injured themselves and their riders.
   
   
   Other stories just don't make sense - Dari is an older version of Farsi, it's true, but it''s not so ancient that people say "entomb thyself' instead of "take cover" as Ms Shah claims Afghans do. If Ms Shah met an Afghan who wanted her to take cover he would say "Hide!" "Get Down!" or "Cover!" He would only tell her to entomb herself if he wanted to her bury herself. It makes a quaint story about ancient languages and confusions cased by language, but it isn't true (I asked one of guards who work her at my office in Kabul, and who was previously a soldier for15 years and he agreed). By Ms. Shah's own admission her Dari wasn't so great, which makes me question if she would have understood an archaic command such as "entomb thyself," even if someone had spoken it. I also doubt that Ms.Shah spent so much time in men's clothes without anyone noticing - if she didn't have a beard, or stubble, or know how to pray with the men, they would eventually notice. From a distance I'm sure she blended in, and it would work short-term, but if she kept up for too long her secret would be out. I'm sure she did travel in men's gear, but I'm also sure it wasn't for as long as she implied, or as successfully. I used to "cross dress" in Saudi and it took abut 20 minutes before the strangers around me in the junk souk were certain I wasn't a man. There are may other such instances I doubt Ms. Shah truthfulness and stories that are too good to be true. (I was so angry when I was reading the book that I kept a list), but in the interest of a somewhat shorter review I'll stop at those examples. More generally, I find it unlikely that Ms. Shah's experience always fit so neatly into a "story,"or that her stock character friends (the rebellious Afghan girl who wants to be free, the prescient professor who sees the dangers ahead but is ignored by leaders etc.) always had the "inside scoop" and told it to her in short sound bites capturing the entire situation, or that she so frequently found herself in a situation so perfectly primed for maximum effect.
   
   
   The only part of the book that is not like this is near the end, when Ms. Shah brings a television crew to film two girls (she included them in an earlier news piece after their mother was raped and killed in front of them, and the resulting interest in their fate from paying news agencies promoted a return trip to try and help them and tape said efforts for a TV channel), by providing schooling for them, only to find them afraid to leave home and their father reluctant to let them go. This was messy, morally compromising and a without a real resolution, which makes me think it is the most true section of the book. The rest is neat, pat, a little funny sometimes tragic, and, in my opinion, almost always "enhanced," if not completely fabricated.
   
   In short read one of the many, many good books out there by the many, many truthful writer based in fact. They might not be quite so perfect and their writers not quite so in the middle of thing, but they are also more likely to be true, and you will therefore get more out of them.



4. Part memoir, part reportage, this beautifully written book is also an inquiry into the nature of myth, identity, and the limits of human endurance. Born in England and raised on the memories of her Afghan father's homeland, the author journeys as a young journalist to Afghanistan during the Soviet Occupation in the 1980s, traveling with the mujahidin rebels, who with massive infusions of weapons from the CIA eventually drive out the Russians and then quickly succumb again to an equally destructive civil war and the inevitable tyranny of the Taliban. A witness to these struggles and the widespread human misery they caused, Shah is present again in 2002 as the Americans retaliate in response to the 9/11 attacks.
   
   Through it all, she ponders her deep identification with the people of this war-torn land, fired by the cultural myths that have sustained them through millenia of invasions, occupations, and civil strife, where fierce tribal allegiances and a fatalistic fearlessness make death, brutality, and suffering a common experience. Over a period of 15 years, her belief in the myths is tested, and she begins to fully comprehend not only the immensity of the human cost of the war but the extreme difficulty of making a difference for those of its casualties most in need of help.
   
   Writing with a skilled reporter's powers of acute observation and an ability to convey images of people, places, and events in vivid and compelling prose, Shah interweaves stories, Afghan poems and sayings, and even humor, with accounts of her work as a journalist behind the lines. Readers unfamiliar with the last 50 years of Afghan history may be disoriented as Shah tells her own story, skipping as it does from one point in time to another. But read along with books like Christina Lamb's "The Sewing Circles of Herat" and Jason Eliot's "An Unexpected Light," she provides insights into her subject that are revealing, moving, and often riveting. Definitely recommended.



5. This book is one of the best books I have read. It was touching and made me realise what an amazing life Saira Shah has led. After I closed the book, I could not pick up annother book for a couple of days - I did not want to spoil the feeling it had left me with. This book will move you, make you think and touch you.
   I loved it!

No comments about The Mutineer: Rants, Ravings, and Missives from the Mountaintop 1977-2005.

5 comments about Another Day of Life.

1. Kapuscinski was the only journalist in Angola during that time. He arrived there in september, I left that country (my country) in august. Besides being the only witness of a "word's forgotten war" he was able to accurately catch what was going on there at the time.



2. Anything goes when it comes to the raw greed and clan warfare that characterizes human behavior. Kapuscinsky's reportage is brilliant, relentless and focused. He describes the roots of the human condition in Angola at eye level. You can draw your own moral conclusions - and in case you are left wondering, this scenario is applicable wherever Western and/or European cultures operate in Africa...it's cynical exploitation in the name of Mamon all the way to the bank. Read this and ponder about the future of mankind. Thank you Ryszard, you deserve a Pulitzer prize for your reportage!



3. Nothing more need be said. It probably isn't as compelling as Shadow of the Sun, or Shah of Shah's, but it certainly is a fine book.



4. This is a fine, fine piece of tightly written war reportage. From the first page the heat, tension, cruelty and fear of the Angola civil war following Portugese decolonisation is brought to life by Kapuscinski's biscuit dry prose. He was not one of these sit back and learn of events from a distance whilst sipping fine malt whisky journalists. He bore right into the heart of the action, frequently risking his life. Some of the stories in here are highly strung in terms of tension, wit and emotion. Take the encounter with the security post, where you have a choice of two greetings to shout to the guards, the wrong one will result in death, and garbling a half sounding equivocation doesn't cut it. Also the heartbreaking sacrifice by a Mulatto girl who stays behind and is killed after Kapuscinski's truck leaves.
   
   Kapuscinski died very recently, he was one of those rare and brave Europeans who finds the intellectual life of Western Europe (though he was actually Polish) lax, self satisfied and bland, and sought to find places where life really was lived with every emotional and sensory dial turned up high. Another Day of Life is a very apt title.



5. This fast paced book taught me so much about Angola's history and
   > current dispute. It made me want to learn more about this country's history and
   > its people. I enjoyed the book because it was more than just a history and an
   > account of war. It was an in-depth look at the people and their culture. It is
   > the story of struggle for a whole civilization after gaining their independence
   > from the ruthless European nation of Portugal. Kapuscinski didn't try to confuse
   > you with numerous names, groups, and organizations. He gave you the basic and
   > made the past easy to understand. Characters were brought to life through his
   > detail, which made you feel for them when they left or were even killed. In the
   > front of the book, a map of Angola is provided allowing you to flip back many
   > times while reading this book. You know at all times what part of the country
   > you are in and what is going on. A detailed history of the events leading up to
   > independence and civil war is also provided in the back of the book. It explains
   > what occurred during the war also.
   Excerpt of A.K. winning book review! Good Job A.K. Mrs. Arthur

5 comments about Perfect from Now On: How Indie Rock Saved My Life.

1. I ordered this book because I could relate to the title, unfortunately. "Indie rock" (or what I would call alternative rock...where did this new term, indie rock, come from anyway?) probably did save my life. When I suffered from depression as a young adult, music was my therapy. It provided me with the words or the emotions that I could not express myself. It was an outlet, an escape, a friend. Being a huge fan of 90's music, I was disappointed that Sellers dismissed grunge and only mentioned it in passing. He seemed to be moved more by British bands than American ones, which is okay, but was something I couldn't identify with. The biggest downside to the book was the infinite number of footnotes, which I eventually stopped reading all together because I found them distracting. I think a better writer could have included the material from the footnotes within the text to provide a better flow, or not included them at all (as some of the notes were so idiosyncratic...i.e., who cares?).



2. I bought a signed copy of this book during a visit to Powell's Books in Portland, OR, completely on the basis of liking what the book jacket said about music and Donkey Kong. Maybe you need to have grown up during the '80s and to appreciate college/indie music to get it? Not sure, but I identified with a lot of the scenarios, loved the titling of chapters from song lyrics, got the emotions behind listening to different kinds of music at different points in your life, and ... well, liked John Sellers. It's good stuff that made me laugh out loud many times.



3. John Sellers is a music/pop culture writer who's gotten the opportunity to transform his blog (google "Angry John Sellers") into a book that's a kind of musical autobiography--that is, he charts his musical maturation over the years, from young Duran Duran fan to modern day indie rock obsessive. Consider this, then, a non-fiction version of Nick Hornby's seminal High Fidelity: A Novel. One important difference is that where HF's protagonist views his music in terms of his love life, for Sellers the music IS his love life. Sure, he's had relationships with women, but his chief interest in them lies in their ability to turn him on to new bands. Therefore, hie relationships with his favorite bands is what drives this book, and it helps to enjoy it if you share his passions, mainly regular-guy alt rockers such as the Pixies, Pavement and Built To Spill (whose album Perfect From Now On had an obvious influence). He will endlessly listen to and mull over the career of Joy Division/New Order and the lyrics of The Smiths. In fact, he'll even travel to Manchester for a New Order reuniion show and impromptu pilgramage. Far less time-consuming are the numerous lists (you can't be a true music obsessive without them) the lengthy appendix to the book: everything from "My Top Ten Favorite Albums" (#1: The Queen is Dead by The Smiths) to "Top Five musical things I hope happen now that the original lineups of the Pixies and Dinosaur Jr. have reunited" (#5: "Radiohead stops listening to Pink Floyd and starts listening to Black Sabbath"). Meanwhile, the main body of the book is frequently interrupted by long, digressive footnotes, some going on for as long as ten pages (Sellers admits he got the idea from Nicholson Baker, but he could just as easily been channeling David Foster Wallace).
   
   The last few chapters, however, are devoted mainly to one subject: Guided By Voices. This Ohio band has gathered a freakishly obsessive cult following, and Sellers has clearly not only drunk the Kool Aid (or Miller High Life, as the case may be), but mixed it as well. He describes how his addiction grew from just being a fan to finally spinning in their orbit. His status as hanger-on might have helped get him the book deal, but it also garnered him brief ignominy on GBV message boards. Naturally, he covers this incident at length, and in fact continues to apologize for any misunderstanding. Therefore, his fawning over GBV frontman Robert Pollard gets pretty grating after awhile, especially if you don't share Sellers' love of the band (I myself could have written a book about my devotion to Sonic Youth, but of course I digress). Actually, you'll find the whole book annoying if you cna't connect your own obsesseions (be they sports, shoes or heroin) with the author's, and even then it helps greatly to know a bit about what he's talking about. Still, Sellers' writing style is self aware (in that uniquely Gen-X way), witty and often flat out hilarious. Taken for what it is, this is definitely a worthwhile read for music fans, even if, alas, it won't save your life.



4. To any true music fan, there is often times as much joy in debating the relative merit of one artist against another as listening to the music itself. I suspect that is true with most things (sports talk radio comes to mind). That is why I was excited to read this book. Going in, you understand there you are not getting anything that is plot driven or even has a point. What you expect is that the author will lay out arguement as to why he loves a certain band/genre of music and you can silently juxstapose those against your own biases. I am willing to concede almost any point in these debates when I engage in them with friends, with the understanding that they are nothing if not totally arbitrary, so long as there seems to be a sense the opposing viewpoint has a heartfelt conviction about the subject matter. That is why I was hugely dissapointed with this book.
   
   While there is no doubt that the author seems to have a sincere conviction that indie music is a superior medium, it seems borne out of a sense of what he thinks is cool rather than what indie artists produce. For example, if The Pixies has acheived the same level of commercial sucess as Pearl Jam, there is no doubt in my mind the author would dismiss them with the same contempt he holds for Journey. It becomes exhausting to read the contempt he has for anything that exists outside the very obscure or how a band he loved at one point he now regrads with a sneer simply because they eventually achieved broad acceptance.
   
   Another point of contention I have with the overall tone of the book is that Sellers comes off as fairly spineless. A large chunk of the narrative is devoted to him getting to meet Bob Pollard from Guided By Voices. I was willing to overlook the fawning tone toward Pollard as his whole point was to draw a picture of how he is more slavishly devoted at various points in his life to artists than just about anyone so he can gain an upper hand when congregating with like minded obsessives (and if you don't believe his motivations are this shallow, read the book). However, he mentions something in passing (a footnote actually, one of the several thousand he includes in the book) that made me lose all respect for him as a man and thus tainted the whole book. Seller is a University of Michigan grad while Pollard is an OSU fan. Anyone with even a passing knowledge about the sport of college football knows that this is one of the most storied rivalries in all of college sports and the two sides hate each other. Anyway, he ends up cheering for OSU in front of his idol as they watch the game because he so badly wants Pollard to like him. I know nothing about Pollard personally but I bet it wouldn't be far from the truth to speculate that he would have had much more respect for Sellers if he would have grown a pair and had his own opinion about the game rather than adopting one based on being accepted. And that right there pretty much sums up the whole book.
   
   



5. You know how, every now and then, you come upon someone's music mix, and you instantly think, this person is completely in sync with me, yet simultaneously infinitely cooler?
   
   It's like that.
   
   When it comes it to music, Sellers is insightful, funny as hell, and scarily knowledgeable. He's the guy you want filling your iPod for a long drive, and the guy you'd want in the car, telling great stories along the journey. Anyone's who's ever had that feeling of a song speaking for the state of their lives, anyone who's ever thought of a band as THEIR band, will love it.