4 comments about A Life of Gen. Robert E. Lee.

1. The author is a Virginian who actually laid eyes on General Lee. Unfortunately, he was taken in wholly by Lee's great charisma and he essentially writes as a Lee apologist. There is never a hint of any questionable decisions or conflicts with his staff. Gettysburg is dismissed as a tragedy occuring for reasons beyond Lee's control. Longstreet's disagreement with the location and plan of battle are never mentioned. I lost count of the number of times Cooke described Lee's physical appearance and bearing (handsome, unpretentious, and regal); Even his horse "Traveller" was handsome.
   
   Lee was probably the finest military officer ever produced by this country--no argument from me. I was hoping for more insight into his decisions at Gettysburg in particular but you'll not find that discussion here. If you Love Lee you'll love this book.



2. This is the first book I read on my new kindle. Anyone with an interest in history and military figures will find this a must read. The Civil War is an extraordinary time in our history and a time everyone should have a general knowledge of. This book does a great job of capturing the time and life of Robert E. Lee. Thouroghly enjoyed getting to know more about this historical giant. Reading history is a lot more fun than I remember in school!!



3. This book was written very well. It not only tells you about the man but gets you into his mind.
   
   It was fun to see how he was thinking prior to a battle and the perfection that he was able to carry out his plans on the field. Being out numbered 2 to 1 in many cases didn't seem to bother him at all.
   
   It gets into his being and teaches you what made this man great.
   
   At times, from the feeling brought out in the text, a tear or two will come into your eyes just visualizing the terrible conditions of the period, and most certainly his death.
   
   One can only strive to be as well thought of and admired, as is Robert E. Lee. Few men are.



4. I enjoyed this book very much. I ordered it and read it on my new AmazonKindle. Being a relative of Robert E. Lee the General, I have read many "Lee" books and I really appreciated the extra detail of close witnesses to the events of the unfortunate civil war. I highly recommend this book to any civil war reader or historian.

5 comments about Why My Wife Thinks I'm an Idiot: The Life and Times of a Sportscaster Dad.

1. I've been listening to Greenie and Golic for years so I know the whole schtick. I guess when I bought this book though, I was expecting more insight about the radio program or about Mike's past experiences as a sports journalist. I definitely wasn't expecting a recap of his diary that he wrote on his psychiatrist's instructions. He came across as rich, pompous, and arrogant. It's certainly a different feel from the guy I listen to every weekday.



2. I frequently listen to Mike and Mike in the morning and generally love reading sports autobiographies. However, this was not anything like what I was expecting. Granted, you get what you pay for as the title really says it all: "the life of a sportscaster dad...." It was not meant to be a novel about sports or even his journey in the sports media world, but simply the life of one of America's favorite radio co-hosts.
   Personally, it felt like a way for Mike Greenberg to roll in some more cash. I did not enjoy reading about the specific designer brands of clothes he wears or how "hard" life is as a father with a nanny and a job the rest of the sports fanatics in this country would kill for. I would probably have enjoyed a novel more about his career in the sports industry with a few amusing anecdotes of his family and home life. Unfortunately, this was nothing of the sort. I would not recommend this book who currently views Mike Greenberg in a positive light and wishes to continue enjoying his radio show with that same state of mind.



3. Mike Greenberg's opinionated on-air persona gets poorly translated to the page in this book filled with lots of bragging and annoying rants about his family life.
   
   The book is supposedly written as a journal suggested by his therapist. It sounds like a fake gimmick and although he writes well it comes across like the poor man's Seinfeld commenting on meaningless life events. Many of the stories seem either made up or exaggerated to the point that after the first few pages you won't know whether to believe anything he writes.
   
   He proclaims himself a metrosexual and seems to love to talk about clothes (even though he wears a mismatched tie on the cover of the book!) almost as much as he likes to tell the reader how great he is. He rambles on about meeting famous athletes without really giving enough details to make the book interesting for guys wanting to read about sports.
   
   There is way, way too much about his wife getting pregnant and too much bathroom "humor" (changing diapers is a fact of life--get over it!). He creates a caricaturization of his wife that makes her sound like an intelligent shrew. The more he complains about her, the better she sounds and the worse he looks. In the end he paints himself as being very similar to the Ray Romano character on Everybody Loves Raymond--a sports journalist who is pained by having to put up with his wife, parents and kids. Only here it's not that funny.
   
   The fact that he is the son of a successful New York lawyer makes sense because his ego is huge, his lifestyle is a bit elitist and he pushes his opinions on the reader as if they were facts. It's not an entertaining read unless you enjoy self-absorbed jerks that mix sports fanaticism with fashion and fatherhood.



4. I absolutely love this book. It is one of my favorites and it is definilty a book you can read again. Very happy i got the book. I would recommend it to anyone, whether you are a fan or mike and mike in the morning or not.



5. Like many of the buyers of this book, I'm an ESPN addict. I was hoping for a glib ESPN-related read here and didn't get that. Instead, I got an enjoyable but quirky book by and about a truly complex/weird sports broadcasting figure. Overall, this is a quick and entertaining read. Mike Greenberg does come across as a whiner at times and in my opinion is far too obsessed with clothes and being Mr. GQ. His wife also comes across as a really unreasonable monster. Throughout the book, Mike details many catch 22 situations he manages to find himself entrapped in. Invariably, he makes the wrong choice much to his wife's chagrin. Maybe that's the way his wife is, but I doubt it. Yet again, Mike also presents himself as the kind of guy who might well let himself be pushed around by an ultra-bossy woman. His kids come out of this book much better and his gambling aunt is great as a minor character. But where is Mike Golic? If you want the inside story behind the ESPN crew, you won't find it here.

5 comments about A Hundred And One Days: A Baghdad Journal.

1. This was a very interesting book. Not only does the author describe what life was like for the Iraqi people before, during and after the war in their country but we also learn about the perils and conflicts these journalists face when they report from crisis spots around the world.



2. She documented in this book her report before, in and after the 2003 American Iraqi invasion in a grass root level with the Iraqi people.
   
   As an European reporter, she made friends with many locals. With their respect and trust,she was able to write down what they think, see and feel. Shock and awe may initiate a regime change but it is not easy to restore peace and stability despite the huge military and financial power. The Iraqi people can decide what is important: electric power or voting power.
   
   This Baghdad personal journal gives an inside look on the state of affairs in Iraq and how difficult for a woman European reporter tried to get visa extension without dollars. It is an in-depth report from an independent source not available on our daily coverage. The politicians promise of flowers and candies for the incoming soldiers was not materialized and the three parties democracy is not reality. This book helps us understand and evaluate the situation and cost.



3. I read this book after having read the "Book Seller of Kabul" and was glad i did. Her true-life experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq give an insight into these people and why they have such a love/hate relationship with the American people.



4. Something of a modern-day Scheherezade, Norwegian journalist Seierstad continued reporting by satellite to TV audiences in Europe during the 101 days preceding and then during the American invasion of Iraq in 2003. For readers interested in the gathering of news in war zones, her book provides extensive insight into off-camera footwork and dealing with bureaucratic and political obstacles that prevent access to the hearts and minds of everyday citizens, her primary interest as a reporter. When the missiles and bombs begin to rain down on Baghdad, the risk of death itself becomes a primary obstacle.
   
   For readers interested in Saddam Hussein's Iraq and the collapse of his government, Seierstad's book reveals what is often forgotten, given subsequent events, that Iraq had been in the grip of terror and decline for 30 years thanks to a ruthless dictator, whose military adventures in Iran and Kuwait cost countless lives and produced economic sanctions that had their severest impact on a shrinking middle class and the poorest citizens. The country had been run into the ground economically, socially, and spiritually long before the American invasion. That Iraq clings to life at all is a testament to the human will to survive.
   
   Americans will not find their military presence in Iraq regarded in the same way that embedded journalists portrayed it at the time. Seierstad gives a mixed picture of "trigger happy" young men on one hand and other soldiers who reflect an ambivalence about the U.S. government's intentions in Iraq. Likewise, there is a wide range of opinion among Iraqis, from those who welcome the invasion to those who see themselves as trading a hated dictator for an army of occupation that cannot maintain security or provide water and electricity, while dreading the prospect of civil war. Meanwhile, bearded foreigners have gathered at Saddam Hussein's request, to begin a campaign of suicide bombings. This is a compelling, illuminating, and disturbing book, written with considerable skill, and a worthy follow-up to the author's "Bookseller of Kabul."



5. The author's honesty and sincerety shine through this tale of the fall of Baghdad. Her portraits of the Iraqi people, both before and after the war, really made them real to me.

5 comments about Frederick Douglass.

1. Looking for a biography of the former slave turned lecturer and abolitionist, I came across this work by author McFeely. The first section regarding the birth and circumstances of Douglass' flight to freedom was full of what I consider "psychobabble". The author makes too many conjectures concerning the relationship of Douglass with his owner, including possible latent homosexual feelings but never includes any information to back this claim up. The story picks up when Douglass moves to New England and becomes involved in the abolistionist causes. His travels to England and his relationship with women working for the cause of women's suffrage is particularly interesting. However, the remainder of the book seems to meander with no purpose.

   I am still searching for a biography which puts this man's life into context.




2. Frederick Douglass is an authentic American and a heroic figure. For those wishing to become aquainted with a chronicle of his life, McFeely's book will do the job.

   Born a slave in Maryland, Douglass accomplished the difficult task of self education in an era when slaves were not taught under penalty of law. "Running away with himself" (as Southerners used to describe slaves who escaped) twenty years before the Civil War, he became one of our country's great orators in telling the tale of his life as a bondsman and urging that America embrace emancipation of all slaves. He was perhaps the anti-slavery movement's best spokesman. Not only for the sheer eloquence with which he captivated audiences, but as living proof that a black could be educated to a level reached by few people of any race.

   Douglass did his part for the Union in the Civil War and bought into Republicanism as the best political vehicle for achieving the end of slavery and the leveling up of blacks to their rightful place in American society. His hopes were frustrated after the Civil War when his party turned away from Reconstruction and blacks were subjugated anew by racism, indifference and Jim Crowism.

   Douglass was an idealist in that he believed that America could be exhorted into granting slaves not only their freedom but their civil rights and social equality. His country failed his vision miserably and he ended his life personnally successful (as successful as his skin color could take him in the 1890's) but very distraught at the chasm between his hopes for a free America and the reality.

   This is an adequate book, though dry at times. It follows Douglass chronologically. In episodes where his life was a fascinating story -- as a slave, his escape, his establishment in the North, as a politician and as US minister to Haiti -- the book is a fascinating tale. Not so fascinating are long accounts of his work on the road delivering speeches as an agent of the anti-slavery movement. Part of the problem with writing a biography of a man who was in large part a professional orator is that the chapters focusing on that work are not very exciting. Mcfeely spends a lot of ink detailing his journies on the stump and his meetings with many characters who were part of the American and English anti-slavery movements. Douglass's life flow, when examined chronologically, produces a story of varying degrees of drama. Although any biograhpher is limited by his character, I had the feeling throughout that Douglass's life could be told with more verve without sacrificing the facts.

   What McFeely should have jettisoned were several parts where he delved into psychobabble -- speculations about sexual attraction or the depth of feeling between Douglass and several figures in his life. Human feelings and attractions are an important part of any biography and certainly shaped Douglass's life. McFeeley speculates on several without any facts to support his views. These are relegated to the first half of the book and do not intrude greatly, however.

   If one needs or wants to learn about the life of this great American, McFeeley's book will fill the bill.




3. I, also, cannot understand why the first reader found this biography on Fredrick Douglass, racist. Personally, I found it completely the opposite. For the first time, I truly felt I understood the man behind the public image.



4. I am curious to know the previous reviewer found William McFeely's observations/analysis of Frederick Douglas racist. I too found a lot of overly subjective tones within the work of Mr. McFeely's analysis of Frederick Douglas, but I also found that his analysis captured, for me, Frederick Douglas' strong positive character, and sense of universal humanity. Mr. McFeely's analysis, while in some instances deductive, yet subjective in others, presented a man - not a God, who held fast to is universal convictions, but who was also subject to human frailties. Mr. McFeely's analysis of Douglas has reinforced my admiration in Frederick Douglas even more.



5. I was so excited to see a new book on Frederick Douglass I didn't take time to preview the book. A classic mistake. The book is full of assumptions and innuendo. It seems the author was trying to destroy Frederick Douglass' place in history. There were too many insulting statements based on little or no fact. I tried to keep an open mind while reading the book, but the more I read the more disgusted I became. What the author may consider conservative and controversial; I consider a racist piece of trash.

5 comments about H.L. Mencken on Religion.

1. This collection of Mr. Mencken's assault on religious orthodoxies, especially Fundamentalism, is a real treat for readers who enjoy politically-incorrect wordsmiths. Unlike the author's more academic "Treatise of the Gods," Mr. Mencken uses his considerable gift of metaphorical criticism to eviscerate religious shenanigans which took place in the 1920s and 30s. Considering that 1 in 5 of today's Americans believe Armageddon will happen in our lifetimes, I'm amazed how things have not change very much in the past 80 to 90 years. Please remember that this material has not been altered from its original state, so some words Mr. Mencken used to describe African-Americans or people of Asian descent are considered offensive by contemporary standards. The author was an agnostic libertarian who was neither a fan of Hoover, Coolidge, FDR (good god, especially FDR) and religious blowhards such as William Jennings Bryan. In fact, the viciousness of Mr. Mencken's obituary about Bryan still takes my breath away. This collect of columns has an element of redundancy. However, we are talking about a fearless artist who rarely backed down from a fight. Simply superb.



2. In finding a common thread amongst great thinkers we discover truth. From the outlay Mencken's "On Religion" mirrors the early pages of Popper's Open Society, excusing the contextual relativism of Mencken's various vignettes and references. Yes, my boy there was an emergence from tribal mentality, although this is said at great lengths. Society as a whole isn't necessarily progressively more intelligent, more educated perhaps, but without the spirit of an Ayn Rand's Howard Roark it is but filler intelligence. Mencken addresses some of my core concerns about the actual equality of human beings. The parity system engendered is completely hyperbolic. There are so many distinctions just between one man and another that a universal equivocation sets mistruth. Karl Popper makes note of the 'modesty' needed in support of science, concerning round-off errors, misspoken generalizations which would stir a logician ragged. Mencken, being so refined and acerbically witty brings this to life in an anthropological and sociological assessment in manner of candor unseen by far. The nearest such revelations to me, without the stricture to roundabout by playing nice is Kierkegaard's "Either/Or: A Fragment of Life." Mencken has continued this legacy of candor in his observations, and for all the racism I note that he is probably less racist than most. He quite frankly is a racist akin to how a man who is physically strong disdains a weakling. This is not morally correct, but Mencken dissects this very system of morally correctness. You might react, animal-like, to such disdain but there is a distinction which undue euphemism has been shadowing for too long.



3. Mencken is nothing if not provocative. Good for airing out stuffy brain space cluttered with the junk your (grand)parents left you with.



4. Even a cursory reading of this collection reveals interesting nuances to Mencken's views on religion that both fans and foes may have missed. It is soon evident that Mencken was more of a religious skeptic or agnostic than the atheist he was frequently taken to be. He certainly did not believe in a personal god, and believed that positive evidence for the existance of a god is unlikely to appear. Nontheless, he was willing to grant the bare possibility of a god. It would seem that like Sartre's grandmother, Mencken's scepticism kept him from being a thoroughgoing atheist.
   
   What really stirred Mencken's bile was the behavior of much of God's fan club here on Earth, many of whom he experenced as being at least intellectually dishonest (if not worse) and dishonorable. Mixed with this was a kind of bemused wonderment at the gullibility of the bulk of his fellow Americans, who seemed ever eager "to believe that Jonah swallowed the whale, or vice-versa." His early career as a Baltimore newspaper reporter observing the Christian nuisances pestering the skid-row bums (see his "Christmas Story"), 'working girls', saloon habitues, and all-around plain folk seems to have ground his rapier to a permanent sharp edge. Was he fair? I don't think he ever pretended he was. His mission, as he saw it, was to apply the lash of verifiable truth to the backs of pious frauds and their dupes. They were perfectly free to reply (and they did) using whatever sort of arguments or language they pleased.
   
   Still, he was not an "anthopophagous atheist of the sort who goes around scaring old ladies", as he once put it. In tones that curiously echo Santayana, he expresses fulsome admiration for the Catholic Church, finding the 'poetry' of the Mass to be enchantingly beautiful; and Church insistance that doctrine was for Rome to decide to be shrewd policy. More interestingly, for a man reputed to be a sour misanthrope, he formed real and lasting friendships with clergy such as Bishop James Cannon of the United Methodist Church--an ardent Prohibitionist! (Normally Mencken consigned Prohibitionists to the lowest circle of his Inferno.)
   
   If Mencken was neither terribly original nor especially profound on the subject of religion; still he--like Mark Twain--put the case for doubt in a frequently hilarious and unforgettable fashion that still serves to kick open otherwise seemingly-closed arguments and minds. This is probably a greater service to civilization than any number of tomes written by philosophers that fell dead-born from the press.



5. If we spoke of blacks and Jews like the other commentators speak of Christians, they would no doubt be blacklisted and widely renounced. As it is, Mencken offers nothing to the intellectual study of religion and philosophy except for an eloquent way to say he "doesn't like it." None the less, it would appear from the reviews of others that if you agree with Mencken's athiest world-view, you will indeed enjoy having him fuel you fire. For me, I like a little more philosophy and a little less rhetoric.

5 comments about Dijiste Que Me Querias: Como Sobrellevar lo Impensable (Spanish Edition).

1. Un libro muy bien escrito. Me hizo reir y llorar. A veces me pregunto como un ser humano puede sobrevivir ciertas situaciones que los que estamos fuera de la situacion no comprendemos. Pero Maria Antonieta es una mujer muy fuerte y de un caracter admirable. No muchas mujeres harian lo que ella hizo. Me enseño que el amor es sacrificio y el perdon es paz.



2. es un ***EXELENTE LIBRO*** y no me aguanto para que salga su proximo Maria A. es mi heroina de la vida moderna, la gente que se encarga de criticar a esta MUJER es por que de otra forma no lograrian llegar a ella. la admiro y respeto mucho su trabajo sus libros(que los he leido todos) me han arrancado llantos, risas, pero sobretodo he aprendido mucho de cada uno de ellos sobretodo de este viacrucis que llevo cuesta arriva no se si hubiera tenido el coraje que tubo, lo recomiendo este y todos los demas mi hijastra que se ha convertido en tu fiel admiradora a sus 15 anitos y yo estamos ansiosas por que salga ya su proximo libro Sara Balibrera San francisco CA



3. La verdad yo no le diera ni una estrella a este libro pero si no le pongo la estrella no puedo publicar mi comentario. Me parece un libro en el que ella fue muy cruel con el esposo que estaba muriendo de cancer. En todo el libro ella se puso como una gran persona, un heroina. Me parece tan cruel que ella le reclamara acerca de el pasado cuando el estaba muriendo en el presente. Si ella lo hubiera dejado alguien lo hubiera cuidado igual porque ios pone angeles el el camino de uno.Si ella fuera realmente la gran persona que quiere parecer ser lo hubiera cuidado y ya.Que bueno que no compre el libro porque si no pediria mi dinero de regreso.



4. Uno de los mejores libros escritos por Maria Antonieta Collins. Es un excelente libro que ademas de contarnos la historia que vivio' la escritora, nos brinda informacion y consejos sumamente importantes para lidiar en situaciones dificiles.
   El libro trata de como Maria Antonieta descubrio la infidelidad y enganos de su esposo. En el libro, hay senales de alerta para darnos cuenta de cuando estamos siendo enganadas. Les recomiendo 100% este libro al igual que "Cuando el Mounstruo despierta" de la misma escritora.



5. I really enjoyed this book. I could not put it down! It teaches you about love, and loyalty through the worst of times. I cried three times while reading it. I also liked that it came quickly and that the price was very good. I am saving it for my mom to read when she comes to visit for the holidays. I know she will love this real life story. One of the best stories I have read! I highly recommended this book to all my friends.

5 comments about Sports Illustrated: Hate Mail from Cheerleaders and Other Adventures from the Life of Reilly.

1. If you liked the back page of SI, you will love this book and read it again and again. It is funny, heartwarming, and imformative. Great book, a must read for any sports fan.



2. A compliation of articles, if you're a fan of Rick Reilly or sports in general, you'll definitely appreciate this gift.



3. I feel a sports columnist's job is to evoke emotion in the reader. Make him/her laugh, cry, get angry, just don't bore them. Riley does that better than anyone. He's an amazingly gifted writer and I loved nearly every bit of this book. I'd already read most of these columns being a subscriber to Sports Illustrated, but they were definitely worth a re-read.
   
   He's great at tugging the heartstrings: The story on the cross country runner with cerebral palsey, the Middlebury fan who is confined to a wheelchair because of CP, the father who nominates his son -- killed in a motorcycle accident -- for Faces in the Crowd. All tear jerkers.
   
   He makes me laugh throughout the book, and get angry with all those arrogant/self-entitled athletes such as the steroid users.
   
   He's not just a sportswriter, he's a great writer. I can't recommend this book enough.
   
   * I wish Riley would've stayed with Sports Illustrated. I've heard he's dabbling in TV or ESPN, somewhere. Bad move. I've seen his TV commercials, he's not good on TV. He's a superstar in print, he should stay there. Nevertheless, this is one heckuva book.



4. As a recent Journalism grad this book was amazing. I would love to get into the sports writing field (although I have a feeling I'll never reach Reilly status). This was a great set of stories and life experiences. Very humorous and very touching.



5. I read a few chapters each night.
   
   One night I had tears on my pillow from laughter.
   
   The next night I had tears on my pillow from the inspirational story.
   
   It's likely that many of my friends will get this book for Christmas or their birthday. Just a great book!

No comments about Isabella Blow: A Life in Fashion.

5 comments about Chronicles of Wasted Time.

1. I've finally finished Chronicles of Wasted Time by Malcolm Muggeridge.
   
   The autobiography consists of two previously published volumes, The Green Stick and The Infernal Grove, as well as the previously unpublished beginning of a third volume, The Right Eye. The writing is superb. Clean, clear, exhilarating. (Although I did notice more typographical errors in the second volume than in the first.) Muggeridge (1903-1990) often references historical works and personalities, which shouldn't be surprising given that he spent most of his working years as a journalist.
   
   I was intrigued by how (apparently) easily he moved back and forth between journalism and working in the public sector.
   
   One complaint: The chapters are too long, averaging roughly 70 pages each. I assume this is partly why I read the tome slowly.
   
   The book was on my to-read list because it's on the Image Journal list.
   [...]



2. Endearing portrait of an old crank, a devilish view of ruined idealism and fond memories. Thought provoking, yet faith upholding.
   
   Loved it. Read it slowly, not in big bunches.



3. This book is what I call "chewy" - not one to just breeze through in a day or two as you would a bestseller. There is a lot going on here. I think MM had a manic-depressive disorder, and that comes to light in his other autobiographical book (of his diaries) as well. Interesting to read about his
   rocky journey through all the highs and lows, and how he finally finds serenity later in life.



4. It is almost sixteen years since the death of this great writer, broadcaster, actor, soldier-spy and latterly Christian apologist and his voice is greatly missed, particularly at this time with so many major and controversial issues dominating the news agenda. Because love him or loathe him, Muggeridge always had a unique, and often tangental, view to offer on the significant events of the day.
   Without doubt, Chronicles was his greatest work and should be compulsory reading for anyone learning English literature, for it will be found a totally engrossing read, start to finish. Spanning the early part of the twentieth century, Muggeridge was a master in use of the English language and his love of writing comes out on every page, together with his wit and wisdom. The Malcolm Muggeridge Society is bringing more of his work back into print and I'd like to think that it will be read not by existing fans but by a new generation.



5. While I don't claim to have read everything in English, this is the best-written book I've ever read. I remember hoping not to pass on before I'd finished it. Five stars is not enough for this absolutely delightful book, or rather two books. It was originally published in two volumes, "The Green Stick" and "The Infernal Grove", both included here. This is the first edition to include the remnants of the barely-begun third volume, "The Right Eye" (the Chronicles were to have been a trilogy).
   
   Thanks to the efforts of the Malcolm Muggeridge Society in London, here are all three (or two and a bit) books together. What's more, the introduction is by Ian Hunter, who penned his own riveting bio of MM, Malcolm Muggeridge: A Life, as well as assembling short bits and shreds from hither and yon in The Very Best of Malcolm Muggeridge.
   
   To my view, the Chronicles are the very best of MM. Were he to have some place in the literature of the last century, this is the book that would assure it. Not that he would want a place. He considered himself a journalist, not a writer, or as he loved to quote St. Augustine, "a vendor of words". However, as Ian Hunter reveals, he was not simply an observer but a player on the scene of the most tumultuous century in history. As biographer Richard Ingrams has noted, he seemed to know everyone and be everywhere.
   
   In a sense, there was a third book, called Conversion, which appeared instead of The Right Eye. It's the only book he wrote after becoming a Roman Catholic in 1982, and appeared with various subtitles. It's not, as one might think, about becoming an RC, although it does cover that. Oddly enough it's written in the third person, and subject-wise takes up where his book and TV show, A Third Testament, left off, in chronicling his various inspirations. It's best read after the Chronicles, as he retreads some of the same ground, commenting and adding anecdotal reflections.
   
   As much as one would long to read The Right Eye in its entirety, this is all we have. One imagines him reciting that third book somewhere to rollicking applause, for closing this volume one gets the sense that even after a long and prolific life he left us much too soon, and with music still in him.

1 comments about The Eitingons: A Twentieth-Century Story.

1. A quite interesting family tale by a very talented English writer, Mary-Kay Wilmers.
   
   Ms. Wilmers tracks down, as best she can, the story of her extended Jewish family. Three men are the focus; a New York fur merchant, a high KGB officer, and a disciple of Freud. Most of the story unfolds in the age of Stalin's consolidation of power and the rise of Hitler. Vienna, New York, Madrid, Mexico City, Berlin and Moscow all come into play.
   
   Beyond the family and its main occupations (the fur trade, psychoanalysis, and spying), this is a story of the ambiguities and transient nature of personal wealth, political ideology, and fame. And, the vagueness of memory and imprecision of official records.
   
   As an aside, it was interesting to me that the taciturn KGB's officer's favorite book in old age was Alexander Herzen's Memoirs. A book that Isiah Berlin thought to be "a great permanent monument to the civilized, sensitive, morally preoccupied and gifted Russian society to which Herzen belonged..."
   
   I would recommend "Trotsky: Downfall of a Revolutionary" (2009) by Bertrand Patenaude for those desiring more on Trotsky's assassination.