No comments about Honorable Exiles: A Chilean Woman in the Twentieth Century.

5 comments about Ahead of Time: My Early Years as a Foreign Correspondent.

1. the author,ruth gruber,tells a fascinating story.she is an amazing woman,very bright and gutsy.one feels as if he or she is going along with ms. gruber on her journeys. she is an accomplished writer and journalist. i recommend this book for others who want to go with her on her journeys.



2. This very engaging book covers so many experiences that you have to keep reminding yourself it's only about Ruth Gruber's first 25 years. While others have commented negatively on her simple writing style, I found it refreshing. She doesn't come across as a Ph.D. disseminating her vast knowledge, but as the young woman she was at the time, amazed at being able to have all the experiences she had. She seems to write from that viewpoint, so that even though she wrote this book much later in life, you feel like you're having a chat with "Rut," as the Russians call her, who is a very intelligent, but still very young woman. She apparently based this book on notes she took at the time, so its youthful attitude is authentic. Be warned, though, if you're older than 25 you're going to come away from this book feeling like a complete slacker.



3. I bought this because I was interested in early women's lib-ers who "just did it" and in her 1930s era access to Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Soviet Union. She certainly is an interesting woman with a will power, but her access and her insights into these two countries were minimal and superficial. While she ackowledges that she was a pawn, the information she does present adds nothing to the understanding of those two countries or to what it must have been like to BE there. The Artic adventures are more promising, but like the rest of the book suffer from a really quite juvenile writing style that does little to effectively or movingly capture the moments she experiences. Finally, her lack of introspection seem to suggest that she really did "just do it" without much of a real reason and without much struggle and that just isn't very interesting reading.



4. I was inspired to purchase this book along with Haven after watching the mini-series on TV. Ruth Gruber is a woman definitely ahead of her time. She puts modern day "women's libbers" to shame. This is a woman who, when she decided to do something, didn't live her amazing life so she could show the world what a woman could do. She lived her amazing life because she took advantage of any and all opportunities offered her. She didn't say, "Let me do it so I can show the world a woman can do it." She just said, "Let me do it because I can." She should be an example to all -- men and women alike. I would recommend this book and Haven to anyone interested in learning more about the history of the period as well as to anyone simply interested in a good read. Ms. Gruber writes her books in a way that brings them alive. They are not historical textbooks, nor are they "me" books. They are simply wonderfully inspiring books about a wonderfully inspiring woman.



5. Many of you who see the CBS miniseries will be reading and loving HAVEN,the book, but may be puzzled that the material on Ruth's experiences in 1930s Germany are --missing. Look no further! The information is here. If you are hooked on HAVEN you will want to read this book also, because the flashbacks to Germany are entirely taken from AHEAD OF TIME. It's also a great book. As Joan Michel wrote in HADASSAH MAGAZINE upon first publication in 1991:

   -"Talk about courageous pioneers and voyages into uncharted waters, about plumbing the depths of the human spirit, of discovering new worlds and uncovering hidden teasures..Ruth Gruber takes us on an extraordinary personal journey."

   Ruth Gruber, my stepmother, is 89 and I can vouch that she remains one of the most brilliant and adventurous women you could ever hope to meet, as well as THE BEST storyteller. She learned story telling from a consumate artist, Virginia Woolf, on whom Ruth wrote the very first doctoral thesis, conferred by the Univerity of Cologne in 1931 when she was but twenty. The University boasted that Ruth was "the world's youngest PhD" and in honor of her achievement, Cologne's Lord Mayer Konrad Adenauer presented her with a gift of two magnificent art books. As she left his chambers, the future United Nations leader placed his hand on her head, as in a benediciton."Bless you my child. May God go with you."

   And- it seems as though God did!

No comments about Bolero - The Life Of Maurice Ravel.

No comments about What the Hell Am I Doing Here?: Travels With an Occasional War Correspondent.

1 comments about Light Years.

1. I loved this book. Sitting outside under a tree reading this book was like heaven. Schreiber talks about fly-fishing, nature, her precious cat, everything she writes about, she makes special. It is a thoughtful, touching book about memories, the important things in life, loss and love. I have now picked up this book to read for the second time. I want to be taken away again to where Le Anne Schreiber is. Her words are so soothing and thought provoking. There was nothing about this book that I didn't love. When I would read it at work, I found myself longing to get back to it, sneaking peeks at it whenever I could. wonderful essays on life.

No comments about Interview.

No comments about James Vincent Murphy.

No comments about Ernie: Hemingway's Sister "Sunny" Remembers.

No comments about Carlos Lacerda, Brazilian Crusader: Volume I: The Years 1914-1960 (Dulles, John Wf//Carlos Lacerda, Brazilian Crusader).

3 comments about Stummick, Hardbody and Me: A compilation of tall tales and old newspaper columns about the great outdoors and not-so-great indoors.

1. So the first review is by a guy who has never read the book and the second one is by the author himself, who has obviously never actually read the book either. Besides, if what he says is true he has 20 copies in his basement he is still trying to give away. I've known Seabury for over THIRTY years (not a mere 20) so I was suckered in to actually PAY for the book, and thus Seabury gets himself less than a $1.00 sterling to spend on something useful. I would suggest a new ribbon for his typewriter. Oh, wait! I'm sorry. Actually Seabury paid a grand to have the book published, therefore if he sells another thousand copies, he'll break even! I'm just happy to have done my part. Only 999 copies to go.
   
   Actually, I'm a fan. In fact, in the great American Novel I'm about to write, Seabury Blair, Jr. is going to be a character--just like Elliott Swanson. Those names are just so cool even if the people inhabiting them are sixties left-overs. Now Seabury claims to be a Dave Berry wannabe; I think he's right up there as an Ourdoors Dave Berry, except Dave Berry has two sets of pillows on his bed and never goes outside. So, really, Seabury is the Dave Berry of the Great Northwest. And he will tell you the truth, too, such as the fact that Gore-Tex(r) is a rip off and doesn't work and the undeniable fact that it rains here a lot. Duh. What I'd really like to know, though, is who is B.B. Hardbody, really? May we have a picture, please?
   
   So. Dude. You me an autograph.



2. I haven't yet read the book but I've known and read Seabury for almost 20 years. As my editor for many years Seabury time and again proved what an incredible writer he is. His wit and humor is only equaled by the great Patrick McManus. Blair weaves his way through a story without wasting a single word and involves his readers to paint mental pictures as the story unfolds without knowing you're doing it. His writing is that powerful. I can't wait to get my hands on one. I'm sure it will be a must-read.



3. Listen: I wrote the book, so you might expect I'd give it 5 stars.
   I just thought you'd like to know what it's about. So ...
   Here's a book guaranteed to "perk" up your morning coffee break, proving that tall tales can be short. Learn to distinguish a terrorist from a mother and her baby, or how to do the beer curl to get in shape for football season. Meet Stummick, who does nothing but hang out all day, and B.B. Hardbody, a woman of great wisdom and beauty (who would gleefully strangle the author if he wrote anything else). Shake hands with characters like Grizzly Hemingway, a fly fisher who says beer coolers bounce because ale is made with hops. Each story will put a smile on your face and get you through the rest of the day - no matter what kind of geek your boss is.