1 comments about China Ink: The Changing Face of Chinese Journalism (Asian Voices).

1. (with apologies to WS, Twelfth Night II:5)
   
   This is a wonderful book - a testament, really, to karma, commitment, compassion, and surrender to the personal tao. It is also an easy and engaging read - easy, that is, when one is prepared for the flood of evocations inevitable when such universal stories are recounted so intimately.
   
   The book comprises a well-orchestrated score of lively reminiscences by Chinese journalists in diverse positions and media (from Finance & Economics Magazine to call-in radio), each a unique and yet broadly applicable path to service. Since the personal dramas are set on the largest of national stages, the dynamism of recent Chinese decades naturally infuses and enriches the subject matter.
   
   This volume could be read profitably as a book on the startling evolutions in expression and other freedoms, turmoil in power politics, subtle and gross international relations and influences. For the non-historian (and non-journalist), there emerges a portfolio of powerful recountings of the one Hero's Journey: variously driven by intention, led by happenstance, entrained in strange eddies and whorls as the energies of empire expand into capitalism and post-Confucian self-determination, all following the ancient pattern of Separation from swaddling role - Initiation - Existential challenge - Transformation - Return with gifts to the tribe. In every case, the subject-speakers tell nakedly honest stories (eliciting them is only part of the genius of the author) of how speaking for the many happened to and through them, rather than something admitting of solipsistic or egotistic ownership. The power of this narrative is both greater and more subtle than that of narrator or subject.
   
   Is this a guide to good journalism? I wouldn't know; I aren't a journalist, and don't even take the papers. Is it a guide to great story-telling, in the sense of unadorned truth told warmly and compellingly? Unexceptionably.
   
   More than both, and the magic of its universality, it is an engaging guide to trusting both inner wisdom and evanescent opportunity in honor (not pursuit) of life and meaning that could not even be imagined in anticipation. It calls itself a book about Change, China and Journalism. Like the I Ching, it is also a book about Being, Life and Humanity.

5 comments about Tell Them I Didn't Cry: A Young Journalist's Story of Joy, Loss, and Survival in Iraq.

1. Jackie Spinner's absorbing account of her Iraq wartime coverage is a courageous story, not just in the obvious sense of exposing herself to danger, but in exposing the vulnerabilities of herself, her family, and friends. The Iraqi staff and Washington Post colleagues became her family, drawing her closer than even her twin sister back in the states. This refreshing honesty is rare in a journalistic account of a war. She avoids the temptation to give canned histories of the region and plunges into the daily grind of finding news on the streets and homes of an ancient country torn apart.



2. This one is a good read. It was hard to put it down. Spinner does a good job in talking about the people of Iraq, those whom she worked closely with in the Post bureau. It was interesting to see how she grew a relationship, sometimes obviously close.



3. This is a great read. This gives you the personal view of an American journalist in Iraq - you see the pathos, the terrible results of war, the friendships, the fear, the drive and risks of journalists, the love. And you may lose sleep over this book, since it is very hard to put down - until you have devoured every page!



4. "Tell Them I Didn't Cry" is a great book, and well worth the read. Although Jennifer Spinner gets a co-author credit, the vast majority of the book is her twin sister Jackie's story of her 10 months as a foreign correspondent in Iraq.
   
   This is not an in-depth analysis of the Iraq war. Rather, it is a deeply personal account of Jackie's growth from junior reporter for the Washington Post to acting bureau chief in Iraq, while dodging bombs, mortars and kidnappers. Jackie tells an unbiased story, pointing out the good and bad of Iraq, "calling them as she sees them." The book is full of interesting stories, including a poignant account of her Christmas in Baghdad, part of which was spent looking for a church safe enough to attend for mass.
   
   Although I am slightly biased (like Jackie, I am an alumnus of Southern Illinois University) I think this is a great read.



5. When I married my husband, a reporter, I told him I'd follow him anywhere his career took him, as long as he promised never to be the kind of reporter who went into war zones to cover battles. He agreed, and we got married, and thankfully, he's never gone back on that promise. So, it was with some trepidation that I picked up Spinner's book, which had been recommended to me by a friend of mine -- do I really want to read about a reporter doing exactly what I've always worried my husband might want to do someday? But boy, am I glad I did. This is a wonderfully written and extremely personable book, detailing Spinner's ten month experience as a reporter covering the Iraq war for the Washington Post. And I don't know if it's the woman's eye, or what, but more than anything else I've read about Iraq, this is the book that really gave the whole thing some life for me, turning numbers into people, and bringing home some of the enormous problems people on all sides are facing right now in that messed up country.
   
   Highly recommended to anybody who is interested in A) journalism, B) current events, or C) understanding what the hell is going on in Iraq. And then after that, highly recommended to the rest of you. Read this book!

5 comments about The Everlasting Stream: A True Story of Rabbits, Guns, Friendship, and Family.

1. The Everlasting Stream, by Walt Harrington, is a hunting book that isn't a book about hunting. I had read a brief review about this book being a good addition to the pro-hunting literature. Well, it was, in a sense. Harrington is a fine writer, and most pro-hunting books tend to focus on the charismatic megafauna like deer and elk. Harrington's focus is on the common and ordinary, the prolific cottontail. No trophy hunting here; this is all about hunting for meat.
   
   What does Harrington say in defense of hunting?
   
   "Animals bleed. Live with it" (p. 146).
   
   "It doesn't matter to a rabbit what kills him - fever, flukes, worms, weather, hawks, or me. The rabbit is dead" (p. 184).
   
   "Killing an animal doesn't deaden the human conscience; it enlivens it" (p. 184).
   
   "Hunting isn't golf or tennis, which demand only technical mastery. Hunting isn't merely an exercise in male bonding, as so many believe. Hunting has moral gravitas" (p. 185).
   
   "It is people who enjoy the fruits of the kill without feeling the ominous responsibility of the killing who are morally delinquent" (p. 186).
   
   "I'm not supposed to hunt without guilt. I'm supposed to hunt despite the guilt" (p. 187).
   
   "Long ago, a woman at my table said to me, 'I can't believe you killed those little bunnies.' I now know what I should have said in response. 'I can't believe you ate those little bunnies without killing one'" (p. 189).
   
   
   Harrington isn't perfect. He confesses a time when "I fire, and the rabbit tumbles, heels over head. When I reach down, the rabbit suddenly kicks his hind legs violently and drubs my hand twice before I can pull away... I use the butt of my gun like a deadfall and club the rabbit's head. After I do, his left eye dangles from its socket. I take out my knife that I will give to Matt at Christmas, slice the eye free, and put the rabbit in my bag" (p. 214).
   
   I certainly hope he removed the shells from his shotgun before using it as a club. And although Harrington did not appear to be apologetic for his act, there is a line between killing an animal and torturing it. It is this line that society scrutinizes. He hints at its existence with his "It doesn't matter to a rabbit what kills him..." comment; however, it does matter to society, and I would say it should matter to the hunter as well.
   
   With this said, this book is much, much more than a book about hunting. Harrington explores issues of manhood (and boyhood), parenting, memories, and livelihoods. He discusses race relations (Harrington's hunting buddies are black while he is white), politics, friends, and folklore. He reflects on his passions, and eventually makes some drastic, life-altering decisions.
   
   All in 217 pages. The subtitle says it all: The Everlasting Stream: A True Story of Rabbits, Guns, Friendship, and Family.
   
   Harrington's father repeatedly said to him, "Everything's beautiful if you look at it right." I'd say this IS the theme of the book.
   
   If you are not a hunter, keep reading through the hunting scenes. Harrington keeps springing new topics and ideas upon the reader.
   
   There is something here for everyone.



2. 
   brand new book for a great price
   
   a most excellent book
   my husband is enjoying



3. Having married an African-American woman, journalist Walt Harrington found himself expected to maintain the family traditions by going rabbit hunting with his father-in-law, and his friends, every Thanksgiving. At first, Walt looked down on these course, back-country men as throwbacks to an earlier, more primitive way of life. With time, though, he came to realize that these men shared a different, stronger bond than he had ever known. Unconsciously, they showed him what being a man could be all about, and he learned many lessons as he (and later him and his son) hunted rabbits in the hills of Kentucky.

   This book came as quite a surprise to me. I tripped across it by accident, and am quite glad that I did. It's written in a stream-of-consciousness style, which allows the author to skip forward and backward through time, showing his development throughout. Indeed, if you are interested in men's books (such as those by Robert Bly), then I highly recommend that you get this one. It is a fascinating look at life and being a man.




4. A thoughtful, beautifully written, almost poetic meditation on hunting, tradition, friendship, nature and human nature. It is ostensibly about rabbit hunting, but that is not where this book's meaning lies nor where the heart of its story is. Its story and meaning lie with the people, and Harrington writes in a voice so personal that you feel you know him and his family and friends. This is not a book for the PETA crowd, or for those who call rabbits "bunnies." If you've ever hunted, or if you understand the true nature of Nature, you'll enjoy The Everlasting Stream. (Note: This review has been written by a woman who, although she does not hunt, has shot the occasional rabbit when its depredations in her garden have become intolerable and the Hav-a-Hart trap proved ineffectual.)



5. "The Everlasting Stream" is a tale about male relationships, about self discovery and about hunting that does justice to all three subjects. While many books use one story as a vessel to carry another, this develops all three stories simultaneously and completely.

   Author Walt Harrington portrays himself as a snobby Washington Post reporter who finds himself tramping around Kentucky fields, shooting rabbits with his father-in-law's hunting buddies to prove he is not above them.

   Through the Thanksgiving hunts, Harrington comes to respect the men. He comes to understand himself and to wonder how he so misplaced himself. He grows up with his son and reconsiders his relationship with his late father. Through it all, he thinks deeply about the experience of hunting, turning inside out his initial revulsion to it. In the end, the hunts lead him to make a profound change in his life.

   Harrington finds answers, real-life answers, and not the clear-cut, no-regrets answers of cardboard stories.

   As Harrington re-evaluates his life, male friendships and hunting, you will, too. It's a journey worth taking, and Harrington is an engaging guide.

5 comments about The Sound of No Hands Clapping: A Memoir.

1. Toby Young is still starstruck. Following on from his ill fated adventures at society gloss mag, Vanity Fair in Manhattan, chronicled in How to Lose Friends and Alienate People (the movie based on that coming out later this year), Toby returns to London with aspirations to make it as a screenwriter.
   
   Unfortunately for Toby, he lacks either the talent or the dedication to achieve genuine success. On the cusp of fatherhood, he muses greatly on the 'pram in the hall' theory of literature, how his family commitments will deny him the time to write, even though he has no great literary ideas anyway - the sure fire symptoms of a wannabe writer who sure as hell ain't gonna make it. Toby sort of knows this, and compensates by being a brat in the media establishment with a hysterical penchant for getting people's backs up and saying the wrong thing.
   
   In this volume, Toby is older and wiser, and his voice in self deprecating status anxiety hits a nice tone (some great riffs, such as when his wife drags him away by the ear from a mid air champagne rendezvous with Gordon Ramsay) . The only trouble is - now that he is so good at it, can he really continue to parlay this brand of loser lit and not make it seem affected?
   
   He is truly mingling with the high life now, with movie on the way. As Boris Johnson (one of the many media luminaries portrayed in this book) said, when removing his 'no life' Spectator column, the jig on that is well and truly up.



2. While not quite at the level of "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People," I found myself laughing out loud quite a few times while reading this one. However, I must say I was almost disappointed to see Toby becoming somewhat more of a nice guy towards the end!



3. Boring, not as good as the first one. Would make you think the first one was a bore too. Sorry Toby.



4. After reading first book, "how to Lose friends ..." Disappointed with second book from Toby Young. thru out book references to "my First" book. and what was humorous in his first becomes annoying in the second.



5. We learn in this witty self-deprecating memoir that it is vulgar and uncool to say "the Industry" when referring to Hollywood films; we must say "the Business." This is one of many funny lessons Toby Young learns when, minding his own business in London, he gets a strange call from a mysterious unnamed Hollywood producer who, having read Toby Young's first book How To Lose Friends And Alienate People, wants Young to write a screenplay about an obscure entertainment figure. Enticed at the prospect of making millions in Hollywood, Young disgruntles his new wife with his chimera quest. The book alternates between Young's Hollywood fiascos and his marital tumult, including the birth of of his first child. The most priceless moments are his correspondences with his friend, the Hollywood writer Rob Young, who teaches him, among other things, how to take a Business Lunch and the "vast repertoire of hand gestures" needed for equals, higher ups, and super bigwigs. These funny moments are part of Young's growing-up process as he becomes disenchanted with the Hollywood Beast. This has the same self-deprecating humor as his first book. For another memoir of disenchantment, check out The Working Stiff's Manifesto by Iaian Levison.

3 comments about Portrait of the Artist As a Young Dog,.

1. This memoir is painful, beautiful, rugged. He shows himself to be proud, horrid, loving, sentimental. It is a small collection of short, powerful stories that span from childhood to young adulthood. He refers to himself at times in first person, other times in third (so you have to pay attention!). Growing into manhood, observing others and being observed. He expresses experiences of personal pride and humiliation with equal relish. Portraits of others in his life are humorous, admiring and at times sad. Hanging out with odd-balls; learning about women. It may have been a simpler time for technology, but the emotional struggles, the economic realities, the physical exertion required in a life in early 20th century Wales were harsh. All-in-all, this book is unforgettable.



2. I would rather read this book than any by James Joyce. Thomas may be remembered for his wonderful poems, but his short pieces are, under no circumstances, to be ignored.

   Thomas writes of his youth, which is a subject that many writers have attempted to write about, and where they fall short he excells. The stories are nothing but fun. Actually, they are more than fun; they are often beautiful. By all means, READ THIS!




3. It's been a while since I read this book, but I wanted to be the first one to review!! The book was filled with small excerpts from Dylan Thomas' life, many of which dealt with surreal type encounters. The first part of the book seemed to lag somewhat, but the last story got me hooked and then ended in a very odd way, which was really cool. Maybe I shouldn't be writing this, I'm no lit expert. I'd reccommend it though.

5 comments about A Futile and Stupid Gesture: How Doug Kenney and <I>National Lampoon</I> Changed Comedy Forever.

1. If you're under 60 years of age and have a sense of humor*, you'll absolutely love this book.
   
   *you appreciate National Lampoon, SNL and Second City sensibilities



2. "The Life & Death of a Comic Genius"...so said the October 1981 cover of Esquire magazine about its story about Doug Kenney. As a huge fan of National Lampoon, "Saturday Night Live," and NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE, I was just starting my freshman year of college and looking forward to living my own Toga Party.
   
   Doug Kenney died in August of 1981. Then John Belushi died of an overdose in March 1982. The party was quickly racking up a death toll.
   
   But American humor would never be the same.
   
   If you were a fan of anything I've mentioned, you should enjoy this book. As sad as Kenney's story ultimately is, I still found myself laughing at the memories of Lampoon stories. The 1964 NATIONAL LAMPOON YEARBOOK parody is one of the funniest things I've ever seen (fortunately, a reprint is available and I definitely recommend it).
   
   I really didn't get too much more than I did from this book that I already got from the Esquire article. Kenney's novel "Teenage Commies from Outer Space" didn't survive and he obviously spent a lot of time alone so there are a lot of pages chronicling the bickering and backstabbing at the Lampoon offices while Kenney ran off to live in a tent or make millions of dollars in Hollywood.
   
   There have been millions of laughs in the years since Lampoon and ANIMAL HOUSE...it's just too bad Bluto and the Stork weren't here to hear them.



3. I'm incredibly happy that I read this book, but I found it a ragged read.
   
   Karp's research appears to be fabulously comprehensive. Cobbling together all these recollections and many years of social and cultural history into a unified whole must have been quite a job. The result is a book that never quite decides if it is biography of Kenney or of the magazine.
   
   Karp is at his weakest when moves away from reportage he enters into analysis of Kenney. He lacks the insight and the prose of a sophisticated biographer and for every insightful chunk of prose, there is a clunky deposit of pop psychology.
   
   Still, the book is an utter success at creating much of the present-at-the-creation of the magazine and its many children (radio projects, theatre projects, films, tv...)



4. Josh Karp's biography of Doug Kenney is as meaningful as it is engaging. He ressurects the memory of the almost forgotten humorist Doug Kenney. Mr. Kenney, perhaps most easily recognized for playing Stork in ANIMAL HOUSE, was also one of the principle authors of said film and a comedic giant in his own right. Karp's biography chronicles the many ways in which Kenney shaped American comedy in the late 20th century and then thoroughly recounts the mysterious circumstance surrounding his untimely death in 1980. The book is a must read for any student or devotee of THE HARVARD LAMPOON, THE NATIONAL LAMPOON, SECOND CITY, SNL and of course ANIMAL HOUSE.
   
   Thank you for this long overdue story of this brilliant and complicated man who brought us so much joy in the form of unbridled laughter.



5. Say the name "Doug Kenney", and you're likely to draw blank stares and numerous "who"s from the average comedy fan. But say "Animal House", "Caddyshack" or "National Lampoon", and they'll likely know what you're talking about. That's the time to tell them why the first name is so important.
   
   Doug Kenney was a shadow figure in the history of comedy, a magazine writer and co-founder of the Lampoon's national version who managed to write some great articles, the scripts for two legendary comedy classics, and numerous other artifacts of his time all before his death in 1980, of an apparent suicide or accidential fall from a cliff in Hawaii. The fact that he died so young and so unheralded outside the insular world of comedy is a shame, especially considering what a legacy he left.
   
   In Josh Karp's book, Kenney is even a minor character in his own life story, as whole portions of the book focus on the hangers-on at the Lampoon (various writers and other talents whose lights shined more brightly than that of Kenney or his co-founder, Henry Beard). But this is not a fault of the biographer: Kenney's own story is inevitably tied to the magazine and entertainment empire he helped found, and which owes him more than the current crop of "direct to DVD" releases and smarmy Paris Hilton cash-ins currently under the banner of "The National Lampoon".
   
   Kenney's gift and his curse was his talent, one which produced masterpieces like "Animal House" and Nancy Reagan's "dating tips" but also let him down when it came to writing his "great American novel" of TACOS (Teenage Commies From Outer Space). Karp gives us a peek inside the mind of this elusive character and reveals a man of deep contradictions whose short, happy-sometimes-sad-othertimes life was offset by the impact he and his cohorts made on the world of American humor in the Seventies.
   
   If you're an admirer of the Lampoon's golden era, or simply curious thanks to Animal House or Caddyshack, do yourself a favor and get this book. Whereas Tony Hendra's memoir of his time at the magazine (Going Too Far) is grandiose and self-congratulatory, this book offers a great history of one of the leading lights of American humor, and a man who arguably should be listed with the greats.

4 comments about I Celebrate Myself: The Somewhat Private Life of Allen Ginsberg.

1. There are now many biographies of Allen Ginsberg. Shumacher's Dharma Lion stands out as a particular favorite, and the book-length poem by Ed Sanders is not to be overlooked. Most take a bird's-eye view of this poet and his life. Because of his long personal relationship with Ginsberg as his archivist and bibliographer, Morgan stood closer to his subject, both personally and through his access to the prolific journals Ginsberg diligently kept from the age of eleven to the end of his life, than any previous biographer has, or any future biographer is likely to.
   
   The result is a biography whose intimacy and authority are unparalleled. For or some at least, this will be a decidedly mixed blessing. Those with a strong aversion to sexual revelation and description will be distracted if not put off, for Ginsberg was possessed of a ruthless, at times self-defeating, candor in all matters sexual, as readers familiar with his poetry will know. But, as Morgan shows, he was equally candid in all other areas of his life and feeling.
   
   He was also deeply flawed, persistently naive and hopeful about the numerous lifelong friends he made in his days at Columbia and shortly thereafter: Kerouac, a drunk Republican mama's-boy and anti-semite, whose friendship Ginsberg treasured and whose work he championed to long after Kerouac's death; Huncke, who mooched and stole from him repeatedly; Burroughs, who, for a time lusted after him, but at others was inaccessible and gratuitously mean to Ginsberg's life partner, Peter Orlovsky; Cassady, an insatiable womanizer and artful dodger, or worse; Corso, who embarrassed and abused him often; and Orlovsky himself, heterosexual, chronically unstable and addicted to alcohol and amphetamines, and not infrequently interpersonally and physically destructive. To all of these, and to scores if not hundreds of others, Ginsberg's loyalty, generosity, and his efforts to support them financially and promote their work and enhance their lives never wavered. In his close personal relationships, Ginsberg could be, and often was, a fool, but he was not a fair-weather friend. Among the flaws that Morgan addresses and clarifies was Ginsberg's peculiar and persistent blind spot for women, their strengths, virtues, and talents. Even those close to him, not rarely in love with him, could in important ways escape his notice.
   
   In fairly documenting his flaws, however, Morgan's treatment does not throw Ginsberg's virtues into shadow. His intense interest in all things human, his passionate commitment to free speech and unfettered thought and social justice and, some will be surprised, his patriotism, all come through. But what comes through most powerfully is the loving pains he took to care for others, more often than not one-at-a-time. Undivided attention, a meal, a place to stay, the reading of a poet's work brought to him for comment, his personal responses to virtually all the letters sent to him, from friend and stranger alike; Ginsberg cared and gave.
   
   Until the last very few years of his life, and despite the popularity of his books, readings, and recordings, Ginsberg was chronically close to poverty, on many occasions simply broke, and sometimes temporarily stranded. Even when his income was nominally adequate, he bought his clothing in second-hand stores, rescued his friends again and again and again, and made up the difference. As he supported his friends, sometimes over many years, he supported numerous younger poets and writers, as well as working tirelessly to benefit the many causes, programs, and institutions he cared about; he gave and gave and gave.
   
   In the end, Morgan's biography, its chapters proceeding year by year, covers the life of a great poet who was not less a man of truly heroic love and candor, a flawed human being who can stand as a model and a beacon for that which is most tender and dear in each of us.



2. Bill Morgan's new book about the poet Allen Ginsberg, "I Celebrate Myself", rates at the top of my favorites list. I was immediately captivated when I read in the Introduction about an incident where Ginsberg saw a poor woman who was about to be attacked by an angry dog.Ginsberg went to her and asked,"Would you like a fig newton?" From then on I couldn't stop reading.
   The book is full of many interesting facts about Ginsberg's life and poetry.His writings represent the turbulence of the cultural revolution of the time and this book is a wonderful testament to this eccentric and unique writer's talent. I applaud and congratulate Bill Morgan for his superb book.



3. Its obvious that Bill Morgan had access to alot of primary materials in writing this biography of Allen Ginsberg, which is clearly a labor of love for the author. And rightly so. Ginsberg's humanity shines thru on these pages - generosity, kindness, creativity, eccentricity, but mostly a dedication to live fully and richly without excuse.
   
   I didnt know much of Ginsberg before I read the book; he seemed at best a minor talent in a discipline I knew little about, at worst a mentally ill crank. But Morgan's book drew me in deeper and deeper, and I soon saw the genius of Ginsberg, a genuis manifested in both his art and his life, which I assume Ginsberg would say were one and the same. In this age of greedy hucksters passing as 'artists', Ginsberg was the real deal. A fascinating human being in the best sense of the word.
   
   Thank you Mr Morgan for such a labor of love.



4. I highly recommend Bill Morgan's "I Celebrate Myself", a biography of the late poet, Allen Ginsberg, a "Beat Generation" writer. Bill Morgan allows the reader to understand and appreciate, in such an interesting narrative, Ginsberg's unique style of poetry. I was truly captivated by this poet's life and work that the book seemed to be much shorter than it actually was. In addition to the title "I Celebrate Myself" from Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass," I especially enjoyed Bill Morgan's innovative approach of describing occurrences in Ginsberg's personal life that influenced his writing by placing in the margins of the book, the titles of the poems that Ginsberg was writing at the time. This creates for the reader an immediate interest and desire to read Ginsberg's poetry. "I Celebrate Myself" was a joy and adventure to read, and I learned so much about this sensitive, brilliant, and compassionate poet of the twentieth century. Fascinating Book!!

5 comments about Natural Blonde.

1. This is a very entertaining book, full of interesting anecdotes about a wide range of people. Liz Smith is known as the gossip columnist who doesn't sling mud, and what a relief that is! In this age of tell-all tabloid journalism, she has remained a cut above and is all the more fascinating because of it. This is perfect reading that delivers one from the harsh realities of everyday life, but which is not at all escapist. Liz Smith has the gift of being in the right place at the right time with the right people and writing about it with graceful humor.



2. Oddly dull, considering the author makes her living by writing and that her writing is on gossip.
   
   I was surprised at how many times I thought to myself, "I guess you had to be there," in response to her narration of an allegedly wild and crazy party.
   
   I was amused when she noted how something or another she wrote created a "sensation." Perhaps they created a sensation among certain cliques in Manhattan or the Hamptons, but they didn't hit my radar screen. Just goes to show how each of us is the center of our own universe.
   
   Possibly the most irksome feature in the book was when she'd refer to "my friend so-and-so" [insert extremely interesting person's name here]in passing, without offering up any information about that person. Instead, she squandered many pages on the likes of the Trumps and others of that ilk.
   
   She kept my interest most when she described her childhood and young adulthood.



3. Liz Smith was gossip columnist par excellence but, no, she wasn't a natural blonde. The book is full of photos (half her life, she had dark hair) with the famous and infamous. She was the ultimate party girl in the early fifties in New York.
   
   She had a lovely mother but her two grandmothers looked like mine in Tennessee. Age was not good for women in the thirties, forties, and fifties unless they were rich and, though her father owned a farm and horses, they were not on the upper scale. She liked Tom Mix, the cowboy and never got over her desire to be a real cowgirl; kept his picture even through two marriages.
   
   Growing up in Texas, she had a lot of LBJ's 'bigger-than-thou' bravado. Seems to me I remember her at one of his press conferences but she claims the closest she got to doing a piece on the Johnson daughters for Cosmopolitan was a clandestine meeting at the St. Regis Hotel with Homer Busby, an aide to the president. She'd known him at the University of Texas where she was a journalism student. She says she was in her 'tart' dressing at the time, min-skirt and all.
   
   The photo display shows her with a plethora of important people always partying. She is shown with a young Barbara Walters, who describes her as "provacative without being vicious." She was not impressed with Sonny and Cher, put them down; guess they weren't "classy" enough. Sonny went on to become a Mayor.
   
   There are photos of her with Liberace, Truman Copote, and Bill Clinton. She had an active social life and was the Joan Rivers of her time. In 1976, she wrote a column for New York Daily News.
   
   A memoir is just that, memories we want people to know about us, and she furnishes a full plate. She sought a campy, bohemian life and had a ball fulfilling it on a large scale.



4. After reading this autobio, I feel I know little more about Liz than I would have from reading her resume. She chronologically recounts the passage of her life without revealing much about herself personally or emotionally. She gushes over most people. Most seem to like her too, but aside from her generous charity work, it's hard to understand why, since we don't learn much about her as a person. She conveniently elects not to reveal the names of those she wishes to protect, while having no qualms about publishing gossip about those she doesn't. The last portion of the book is marginally more interesting than the first.



5. Go. Go now and get this book. Lots of lovely yummy tidbits from a sweet-spirited, good writer. I'm not usually keen on memoirs, but not one page of the book bored me. A fabulous read and a great gift--for yourself.

1 comments about American Prophet: The Life and Work of Carey McWilliams.

1. Applause for author Peter Richardson for his prodigous research and enlightening prose. Carey McWilliams, possibly more than any other person, influenced hot button social and governance issues in California and America during the mid-1900s. If one really wants to know what a multi-talented activist can achieve, "American Prophet" is a must read!

5 comments about On Her Trail: My Mother, Nancy Dickerson, TV News' First Woman Star.

1. That's how George W. Bush described Nancy Dickerson. So at last we stumble upon something I can agree with The President about!
   
   I am just a few years older than the author, and was a very little girl when I saw Nancy Dickerson on TV. I found her fascinating, because she was the only female newscaster I had ever seen. (This was before Nickolodeon, and I watched whatever came on, including the news.) She had a deep, mellow voice and a very calm way of speaking that conveyed to my young ears that was she was talking about was IMPORTANT.
   
   Turns out she was as brave and as tough as I wanted her to be. Reading this book, I realized how hard it was for her to be the first girl in The Boys' Club. How hard she tried (if you've read the book, that will make you smile), both at work and at home. As if being a trailblazer on TV wasn't enough, Nancy married a widower and became instant mother to adolescent girls. Gulp! And she went on to have two kids of her own (including the author).
   
   Her son does a masterful job of telling her story both as a frustrated, disillusioned child of divorce and as a fledgling journalist himself, learning to appreciate his mother's accomplishments. This is no mean feat. I did, however, subtract a star for some silly errors. (JFK and Jackie married at Merrywood, and were already wed when he wrote Profiles in Courage. Our author is not only a reporter, he lived in that house for 20 years, you'd think he could get those facts straight.)



2. "On Her Trail" is a great read if you have an interest in any of the following: The balance of career and family, The evolution of television network news, The personal insecurity of the famous, Washington high society, LBJ, Women trying to enter the work force in the 50's and 60's, Mother-and-son relationships, Edward R. Murrow and Eric Sevareid, The art of planning dinner parties for the rich and powerful, or The early televising of America's political conventions. John Dickerson's masterful book on his mother Nancy Dickerson, is a hybrid, two-thirds biography (her story), and one-third autobiography (his story of knowing and discovering his mom).
   
   John was born, as he writes, at the beginning of the decline of his mother's career and fame at NBC News. He artfully interweaves a bit of his early life with his mom, especially his discovery of his mother's world, and over time, his gradual realization of the way his mother worked and operated, a subject he knew little about until his research began in earnest after her death in 1997. He discovered in Nancy Dickerson's huge collection of papers many things he had no previous inkling of: Photographs of his mom with Jackie Kennedy, a photo of Nancy dancing with President Johnson, and notes to her from very famous people from an era that is now history. He had no idea growing up that his mom was a regular on the Today Show. He discovered fun little tidbits everywhere, like the story the campaign trail, when Lyndon Johnson visited Nancy late at night in her hotel room in his pajamas for perhaps more than just conversation. (The situation ended before anything happened, and after Lady Bird sent Bill Moyers down the hall to fetch her husband.) This book is filled with stories and insight, and allows the reader to learn more about how Washington operates, how the news business functioned and functions, and how a son gets to really know his mom after she is gone.



3. John Dickerson's kind and honest account of his mother, Nancy Dickerson, makes a fine read. His book is no "Mommie Dearest." He exposes the hypocrisy of the male dominated Washington media world of the sixties and seventies when men and women were held to vastly different standards. Dickerson, like his mother, is smart and knows he is not likely to be "a perfect parent." His mature sense of humor informs, entertains and forgives. This is a "must-read" for working parents who know how difficult it is to have a job and kids.



4. One never knows what goes on behind the scenes with famous people. Having lived in Dickerson's neighborhood and gone to her beauty salon, I could appreciate this young man's disinchantment with his early years. For my friends and I it was a quick, interesting read.



5. I thoroughly enjoyed this book on many levels. As someone who is catching up on my history of politics while paying closer attention to the present-day administration and world events, I loved the bits of history woven into this wonderful, messy, realistic story of a son's relationship with a famous, influential mother. As a mother of young sons who has struggled with the issues of work and raising a family, hearing a son's point of view was particularly compelling.
   
   John doesn't give any easy answers to the modern conundrum of how to balance work and family, nor does he place the responsibility solely on women; he makes it an issue for all parents, male and female. As he says near the end of the book: "Our story should not be mined for any confirmation about whether a woman should choose work or family. Those aren't the lessons I was looking for. I have tried to figure out my role as a person and a parent, figure out how to get the balance right between achieving something durable in the public realm and doing something important and genuine in the private one. How do I avoid the anxiety, indecision and regret of getting the mix wrong? I don't see that task any differently for my wife just because she's a woman who works and is a mother.... [We] have a better chance of balance than Mom did, in part because of what Mom and other women did to allow women the choice to shape a broader identity."
   
   No mother would want her child to take the path John did to find peace with his mother, but as a woman I can appreciate the agony of the choices Nancy Dickerson had to make between doing something she absolutely loved and needed for self-fulfillment, and taking care of the people she loved. There are no easy answers here for how to strike that balance, but it does make a case for every person's right to make a difference in the world, in a way that he or she chooses. Hopefully the decisions are less painful for all involved now than they were 30 years ago because we have more options and more social acceptance of broader life roles.
   
   Read the book for the insider's look at politics in the 60s and 70s, for a great story of a teenager who rebels against his mother and then finds his way back to her, and for a look at a strong lady who did a lot of good in both small and large ways.