3 comments about In Defiance of Hitler: The Secret Mission of Varian Fry.

1. One man can make a difference! This edge of your seat biography about Varian Fry, a little known hero who rescued hunted people from under the nose of the Nazis in occupied France is a shining example of that truism. Fry, a young New York journalist, an average person, whose knowledge of espionage comes from movies, finds himself on a startling war-time mission. Because no one else will go, he agrees to fly to Marseilles and help famous, therefore recognizable, artists, writers and scientists escape the Germans who have closed the French borders to round up Jews. With no training, Fry sets up a front refugee organization, develops a staff he can trust, hires a cartoonist to forge papers, finds maps for crossing the Pyrenees on foot, and locates the intellectuals on his list. His two week assignment lasts over a year, ending because he is thrown out of the country. It is legal to help refugees survive, but absolutely illegal to help them leave France without proper documents. Not since The Firm has paperwork been so tense and exciting. Sent to save 200, Fry saves 2000 including famous individuals (ex. Marc Chagall), British soldiers and frightened families. He does this in spite of the opposition of the American State Department whose officials in Marseilles and Vichy - with only one exception, a man now on a US postage stamp - hinder Fry and take away his travel papers. Fry is a hero who cannot handle a normal routine on his return to America; and the remainder of his life is sad. Near his end the French Government honors him for his important, brave war deeds. Long after his death he becomes the first American included at Yad Vashem as a Righteous Gentile. At a time when most Americans ignore the European disaster, Fry investigates rumors, understands Nazi goals, witnesses their atrocities, writes about them in US newspapers, and when asked, works tirelessly behind enemy lines to save trapped Jews and others. The author's clear language makes the chronological story thrilling. She gives useful historical background to the individual saga and provides a lot of wonderful photos. The action in the book relies on following a paper trail and keeping many names straight. Reviewed by Ellen Cole



2. Harvard-educated Varian Fry was a man with a conscience. He traveled through Germany before the outbreak of WWII and saw the rising hatred against the Jews. When Hitler took over and Jews were forced to flee, many wound up in France. But Hitler was advancing into France and the lives of refugee Jews were endangered again. Their only hope - one man, Varian Fry.
   
   Almost single handedly Fry managed to rescue two thousand refugees. McClafferty does an expert job of presenting the prevailing atmosphere of the times, evoked by numerous historically accurate details. Yet, she does this with flair and makes the story engrossing for the middle grade reader, the young adult reader or the adult reader. The story is definitely a page-turner, a study in how to defy a tyrant and overcome the darkness of the Holocaust.
   
   We are tempted to believe that every brave man deserves to life happily-ever-after. Courage, though, takes it's toll. McClafferty draws the picture of Varian Fry's later years with sympathy.
   
   If you are teaching a lesson on the Holocaust, plan to include this stirring story.
   
   McClafferty's previous book, Something Out of Nothing: Marie Curie and Radium was awarded the International Reading Association medal for the Best Nonfiction Book in the Intermediate Category; it was also an Orbis Pictus Honor Book. Also, see her first book, The Head Bone's Connected To The Neck Bone: The Weird, Wacky, and Wonderful X-Ray. For more, [...]



3. This is the newest and in my opinion best introduction to Varian Fry, still a relatively unknown and unsung hero of World War II. This book is targeted at a young audience, nevertheless I recommend it to anyone seeking an introduction to a remarkable man through whom we can all draw inspiration. The author has done an excellent job conveying the danger, intrigue, frustration and ultimate success of the Emergency Rescue Committee's most charismatic character. The photographs are excellent as well as the appendix and source notes.
   
   Great job Carla Killough McClafferty

1 comments about Through the Brazilian Wilderness Or My Voyage Along the River of Doubt.

1. I just wanted to warn people that the Wilder Publications paperback version has no maps!

5 comments about Measure of the Heart: A Father's Alzheimer's, A Daughter's Return.

1. This book offers so many wonderful suggestions for those caring for a parent with Alzheimer's. Not only does Ms. Geist address issues such as hospital stays for Alzheimer's patients and feeding challenges, but she offers a peek into how to design a life for an Alzheimer's patient that continues to be joyful, fulfilling and full of connection with family. I interviewed her for [...]. Here is a link to the interview: [...]
   
   I would highly recommend this book, as it is interesting to read and has so many wonderful ideas on coping with being a caregiver, and tapping into whatever joy is possible in this situation.



2. Two days after my father died, I found an interview with Mary Ellen Geist on the front page of The New York Times. How familiar her story sounded--she had left her job in New York and returned to her parents' home in Michigan to help look after her father--and what a comfort it was to read about their last adventures together.
   
   That's a lighthearted word, adventures, but insofar as it's possible, Geist has written a cheerful and adventurous book. It's helpful, not because she has set out to train anyone on caretaking tips for dementia patients, but because she has a sharp eye and a piercing story to tell. By the time her book came out, my father's Alzheimer's lay safely in the past--but like a soldier who's been through a war, I wanted to see how others have dealt with the conflict.
   
   Geist is especially deft on the question of coercion: of persuading the Alzheimer's patient to do what we think is good for them. "Getting an Alzheimer's patient to do things the way people who are not impaired do them is, in many cases, stressful for both the patient and the caregiver and could actually do more harm than good for both. Is it so important that he act like a `normal' person? To me, it's not."
   
   That simple conviction is inevitably tested, because, as it is for a very young child, a great deal is decided for Alzheimer's patients against their will. So it was with Geist's father. She and her mother don't let him stop eating when he pushes away his plate, but find ways to make him swallow more food. Because they know it will help him walk better, they decide on double knee replacement surgery for him. Coercion is a daily response, even if it's something as simple as trying to improve his mood. I think such manipulation is an eternal debate when caring for Alzheimer's patients--who sometimes, as my brother once said to me, "need to give up for a while and stop rising to the occasion." In this balanced and graceful book, Mary Ellen Geist goes to the heart of such questions.



3. Originally I saw this book in a local bookstore and it looked quite interesting. While not involved with an Alzheimer's patient, there is always that possibility. I decided to read it and found it very worthwhile. It made me understand not only many of the issues and problems experienced by the patient, but the stresses, difficulties and unrelenting "on-the-job" requirements experienced by the caregiver. That individual almost has to give up his or her own life to care for the patient. Frequently, that caregiver is also giving to others (such as children, job, spouse) as well. My cousin is caring for her mother-in-law; I sent her a copy of this enlightening book so she could better understand the disease and the need to care as well for herself, not just the patient. She vowed to get copies of this book into the hands of all the patient's other children. I would highly recommend this easy-to-read, at times funny, sometimes heartwarming, but mostly educational book on Alzheimer's from a daughter-caregiver's point of view. Worth your time.



4. This nonfiction book is about a daughter who quits her job to move back home to help her mother care for her father who has Alzheimers. Reading this is an enjoyable way to learn about Alzheimers, what to expect and how to deal with it. It gives many resources for support for those who have Alzheimers and their caregivers. I found it very interesting that the dad responded to music and could remember all the words to songs but couldn't remember the right name of objects or people. He couldn't read a book or newspaper, but he could read words written on a music staff such as song lyrics. I would recommend this book to anyone who has a relationship with someone with Alzheimers or who just wants to learn more about this disease.
   
   This daughter's role as caregiver to her father was similar to my experience in caring for my dad, although fortunately mine did not have Alzheimers. The book I wrote,My Funny Dad, Harry, shares my experience of being my aging dad's primary caregiver. He had diabetes and was practically deaf. I could certainly relate to what she was going through.



5. What a wonderful book about Mary Ellen Geist who gives up her high paying job as a reporter, her lifestyle and all she knows to move back with her mom to take care of her dad who has Alzheimers. This book has it all--humor, sadness, touching moments. You get into it quickly and at points it is hard to put down. I enjoyed this this book! I'd give it 10 stars if I could!

5 comments about Wife in the North.

1. This was a fantastic book that I want to read over and over. I found her blog chapter style refreshing and so easy to pick up and put down when I only had a few minutes to devote. I related to this author on so many levels and was wanting for more when it was all over. It's a book of sacrafice, joy, displacement and sadness. I have laughed and cried while reading this book and hope Judith O'Reilly writes another one to compliment.



2. If you are looking for a great book to curl up with and throw yourself a great big pitty party, this is a wonderful choice. This book just makes me mad. All she does is whine about having to leave her precious London to follow her husbands dream of living the 'simple' life. She whines because she doesnt have friends. She whines because she has to keep up with 3 kids. She whines just to whine. Ack! I bought this book from a clearance rack for a buck. I know why it was there.



3. Judith O'Reilly and her husband and children were living in London. Her husband has always dreamed of living in the country, so they move three and a half hours away to Northumberland. Judith agreed to a two year trial period and Wife in The North is her diary of that period.
   
   At the beginning of the book, I found myself wondering why he wanted to move to the country when he still worked in London, and Judith ended up living as a single mother during the week. As the book progressed, I wondered why she agreed to the move when she loved London so much. Judith came across as very negative to me - she ran out of gas five times and always blamed her husband, even though he was in London. She was overwhelmed by her children, even though she had a "Girl Friday" come in to help her.
   
   This book was just okay for me. There was really no plot and little character development - none of the characters had names beyond things like the "London Diva" and "the four-year-old". Judith does have a dry sense of humor, so there were a few humorous moments in the book.



4. Judith O'Reilly and her husband move from the city of London out to live in the country in the North. They have two young boys and Judith is pregnant. Its more her husband's idea to move so far away and Judith is trying hard to adapt to country life. Her husband continues to work in the city, while Judith stays home with the kids. She had a career going before she had the children, and now staying home with them is wearing on her.
   
   Soon enough Judith gives birth to a daughter. Judith begins to blame her husband and dearly misses the city life. With her husband gone for weeks at a time, she is left home alone with the children more and more. He even misses the baby's first birthday party. As she tries to adjust to her new life, we get a glimpse of the struggles she faces as well as the happiness she encounters.
   
   She goes through what so many mothers goes through. Her son is being bullied in school, her husband continues to let her car run out of gas and she is trying to make friends with the other mothers at school. Some accept her, others shun her. She even begins a blog, where she can vent and post her thoughts.
   
   I found this book moving and funny. I like Judith's style of writing. The book is written like a diary. With entry titles like 'Just one of those days', 'Sex and chocolate cake' and 'Womb with a view' how could you not want to read it?
   
   She made me laugh out loud during certain parts, and get teary eyed during others. I think most women can relate to Judith.
   If you're looking for a sweet, funny and moving read, pick up a copy of Wife In the North.



5. I thought this was a really sweet and funny book in a journal format. The journal format works really successfully in this book, turning her memoir into a bunch of little stories and memories.
   
   Throughout the whole book, the author longs for London and I can definitely understand that. I am a city person one million times over, I don't know how I would fare in the country. There is a great passage where the author encounters a double decker bus in the country and hopes it will take her back to London. I think she is only half joking!
   
   The author also has a great sense of humor that is seen throughout the book in every type of situation! One of my favorite examples is where she leaves a note for her husband when she leaves for a trip. Talking about if her oldest son gets something, the younger son will want one too and that's it's best to get the baby one as well so she doesn't feel left out. I just love her sense of everyday humor. Another great example is the difference between a haircut in the country and one in London. The country haircut takes much much less time, why is that? The author has a great explanation for why that might be!
   
   A lot of my favorite entries are the interactions between the author and her three children, lots of cute things the kids say and do. I also really felt for her while her son is being bullied at school and it will not stop. She wants her son to enjoy school but that's very hard when he gets knocked about all the time. You can definitely feel her pain and unhappiness during this time. Who doesn't want their children to be happy and enjoy school?
   
   My only two hang-ups with the book were the fact that her husband made the family move from their beloved London but he got to spend a lot of his time there in London for work. Talk about unfair! It kind of seems if the family stayed in London and saw him when he was working and he stayed in Northumberland when he wasn't working they would have seen him more often! The other was the fact that she couldn't get her own gas and expected her husband to get it for her and ran out of it often. I see wanting to let her husband get it for her I guess, but after running out multiple times I think maybe she should have started getting it herself, it got a bit old after awhile. I was pretty much over these two things about halfway through the book though.
   
   Overall this was a very delightful book about family and adjusting to a new environment!

3 comments about Ruark Remembered: By the Man Who Knew Him Best.

1. If you're a Ruark fan this is a must read. It's one you'll read again and again as you gain insight into the character of the man - warts and all.



2. Informative but tendency to rehash previous chapters. Too often felt you were rereading previous chapeters.



3. While Alan Ritchie is no Boswell, he does present a full picture of the man, Robert Ruark. Ruark appeared to be a man larger than life and the attempt to capture the full man, reduced from legend, to appear slightly tarnished, and still accurate, seems a bit contrived. We see Ruark as a nouveau riche, trying desperately to be cool, but full of the shortcomings of an alcholic. While he is interesting, he is not enviable, while he is a big game hunter and an American sportsman, he is an expatriate, concerned with Africa's letdowns to the sportsman, not her independence and freedom. And while he remains married for twenty five years or more, his marital relationship is fraught with holes, infidelities, mysognisim and endless battles. Ritchie's attempt to show the man's numrerous positive traits in this ambience of deception and contrast smacks of gloss, not of a hard shine. It is difficult for an employee who is grateful and subservient to display true objectivity to a boss who is more powerful and thankful for Ritchie's protecting his indescretions and foibles. If Ritchie felt compelled to cover things up in real life, he was even moreso in his employer's death. We beg to find out who was really the culprit in the gutting of the Spanish house, Ruark's mistresses, his wife, or Ruark's own attempt to sabotage his wife's future. He seems capable of anything against her. Ritchie's protection of her, is in essence a complete subservience, because while he owes her nothing, it is apparent he is completely sympathetic to her. And while sympathetic, he seems unable to reach an objectivity necessary to revealing her and her husband.
   I feel as if Ritchie lifted a veil and showed us how this thing might be played out, but not the veil that shows the TV drama of how it actually was. Could it be his subservience, his British tightmouthed allegience, or something akin to closet homosexual worship that keeps his opinions and the truth so far from us.
   As much as I respect the editor, I find it difficult to praise him as I always find spelling errors and other mishaps in his work. This book is no exception.

5 comments about Casi una mujer.

1. Yo Imigre a New York en 1980, ahora vivo en la Florida,si yo tubiera la habilidad de escribir un libro seria 99% la misma historia que ella nos relata. Por eso me senti tan identificada con este libro, Me encantaria saber si alguien que se mudo a New York en el 2000 se ve reflejada tanto como me senti Yo. Este libro me trajo tantas memorias, lo disfrute en cantidad. Gracias a Esperanza Santiago



2. este libro me parecio interesante,es una lectura entretenida



3. lya he leido el primer libro de esmeralda,"cuando era puertorriquena" me parecio muy interesante, la segunda parte, "casi una mujer" tiene muchas repeticiones del primero , pero la lectura es llamativa y entretenedora, lo recomiendo



4. estuve esperando MUCHO por este libro. Cuando era PRiqueña fue tan bello y me trajo tantos recuerdos. Luego salio El Sueño de America- una de las mejores novelas que he leido- y yo seguia esperando por este libro!

   Esmeralda es la mejor, me transporta a PR en cualquier momento y por eso la adoro. Habla de su familia como si fuera la mia y creo que somos primas!

   Creo que es la mejor escritora latinoamericana hoy en dia, solo que no tiene mucha popularidad porque escribe mas bien sobre PR. Estoy esperando como loca el proximo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

   El mejor regalo para cualquier latina que este orgullosa de sus raices!




5. Esmeralda did it again! This book is excellent, it takes up where When I was Puerto Rican left off. No pude dejar de leer el libro hasta el fin! This book is not only a sequel, but it stands on its own as a really good book. For me, reading it in Spanish added a little more flavor to the plot. In English or Spanish this book doesn't loose anything in the translation. I highly recommend it.

2 comments about Bylines: A Photobiography of Nellie Bly (Photobiographies).

1. This is a fascinating biography by an author who is rapidly becoming a "library must-have" in the field of women's history. Nellie Bly's story is an inspiration for anyone--girls, boys and adults--and her life as a crusading journalist is so rarely found in library collections. The photos are a nice addition, and the book by National Geographic virtually attests to its quality.



2. Nellie Bly, a determined young journalist who would take the world by storm, was born Elizabeth Jane Cochran into a large family in a quiet Pennsylvania town. Although she was the thirteenth child of her father, she was the third child and first daughter of her mother Mary Jane. All the other girls were dressed in plain dresses, but Elizabeth wore pink. Naturally "Pink" Cochran would stand out from the crowd and would have a tendency to do just that for most of her life. When her father died his inheritance was divided among his children, but later, when she went to school to become a teacher, it was discovered a banker had squandered much of it and she was not able to complete her education.
   
   Undaunted, Nellie was determined to find a way to earn money to support herself and contribute to the family finances. Erasmus Wilson was writing, in her eyes, nonsense about how "women should stay out of the workplace and instead focus on cooking, cleaning, sewing and keeping a nice home." Her jaunty objections to his column actually landed her a job. Her byline? Nellie Bly. She was soon taking on some "gritty topics" along with the regular home and garden fare. Later when she took a big step and moved to New York, she ran up against another opinionated man named Dr. George Hepworth. He claimed that "it was improper for a woman to cover a story about a crime or a scandal." Nellie got a job on the New York World and set out to prove them all wrong. Oh, were they ever wrong!
   
   This is a marvelous photobiography of a young, determined groundbreaking journalist. This is only the second I've read in the National Geographic photobiography series and I've been quite impressed with both of them. The story was well researched, well written and very interesting. I loved the way the author brought Nellie to life and felt an affinity for this almost forgotten woman. The book is peppered with period photographs, reproductions of ephemera, and has numerous informative sidebars. Perhaps the most interesting photographs were those of women working in factories. In the back of the book is a chronology, an index and additional recommended book, video, and website resources. This is an amazing photobiography that will appeal to young and old alike!

5 comments about Around the Bloc: My Life in Moscow, Beijing, and Havana.

1. My mom and I both recently read this book and our reactions were the same as we discussed our thoughts. When we were finished with the book, there was a sense of something missing. The sub-title of the book - "My Life in Moscow, Beijing, and Havana" - is misleading. It should have been "My Visits to Moscow and Beijing and My Spur-of-the-Moment Holiday in Havana." Ms. Griest didn't really have a life in any of those places. It would be like me writing a book called, "My Life in Thailand, Germany,and Puerto Rico." All places I have spent some time, but my "life" is where I have resided for many years. I agree with the reviewer who said this should have been a MySpace page - which is exactly where I put the (amusing and insightful!) tales of my adventures in foreign countries.
   
   Don't get me wrong, this book is not without some merit and Ms. Griest does relate some interesting experiences. The most interesting part to me was her short trip to Havana. Cuba is a mystery to most of us and I was surprised to hear that the people aren't quite as depressed and miserable as I had imagined. When they can't do anything about it, people tend to make the best of whatever situation they are in. But, all in all, it was just a light-weight travelogue for us.



2. I could not put this book down. Her voice is refreshing and honest. I learned a lot about all of the places she lives in. I found the part about the censorship in China to be especially revealing.



3. This book energized me. Reading this book was almost as fun as traveling. I can't wait to visit Cuba. But this story is not just about travel. It's also about identity, family, language, and everything else important. Every traveller and every young woman must read this book. Keep your eye on this author! She's going to make it big. She's going to show us the world with fresh eyes.



4. I guess when you're 59, like me, you shouldn't be buying books written by people under 25. Around the Bloc is sort of the tale of somebody's junior year abroad. Unfortunately, it takes more than a year to learn anything valid about somebody else's culture. So here's a woman who's reaped the affirmative action benefits of being Mexican in gringo America, and when a Cuban asks her what country she's from, she says "Canada." That's when I tossed the book into the box for the used book store. This woman needs to go live in the third world someplace for 15 years, without the benefit of a paycheck from the US. Then she can write a book.



5. 
   Ay, caramba!
   
   AROUND THE BLOC is more than a coming of age story, dear Readers.
   
   The following is a laundry list of what you're genuinely missing when you ascribe such facile titles to this amazing little read:
   
   1) The wonderful (and many) impactful lines of prose that emanate from the pen of someone so young, yet with so much on the ball (at the time of writing, that is -- the "young" part, not the "on the ball" part). Griest is possessed of an awareness that few individuals of mixed ethnicity and/or race choose to properly acknowledge. Inside the pages of this book, Elizondo Griest attacks this concept with a doggedness and reckless deliberation that's so downright inspirational! I would like to travel in her wake.
   
   2) There were several passages which I came across where I just had to place the book down beside me to take a deep "resetting" breath. How author managed to touch so many sensitive chords within me, I'm positive the effect was similar on the others. Ms. Elizondo Griest doesn't hold punches. When she refers to things like love, lust, heartbreak, depression, devastation, and sex, she does **precisely** that. When Griest refers to how pained she was when the man who meant everything in her life dropped her for the second time (in as many chances), you hurt right along there with her. If you don't, you don't have much of a emotional bone within your body. Someone so outspoken and delightful doesn't deserve to get hurt like that. At least this was my initial reaction.
   
   3) This is a young woman who has criss-crossed the world and back again, all in an attempt to seek the answers for the most essential life-donning questions which those of us who take such things for granted are never inclined to ask. Essential burning questions of indentity. Of the need and desire to understand who she really is at her core--not as a by-product of some consumerist collective--or where she really came from. By dipping into the collective unconsciousness of several nations of which she herself wasn't a descendant (Russia, China)...then beginning to relate these lessons to the things she knew and loved about herself (which came about more in Havana). Just gorgeous. In several spots the narrative, the author delivered up this story with a dramatist's expert flourish.
   
   ~~~~
   
   The pages just turned. I never **once** felt a need to stop reading (the only time I had was because I'd been interupted by something other than the read).
   
   Intentionally, I believe, Griest constructs the narrative with a rising crescendo. The story commences in Moscow, Russia and moves through Beijing, China. As the journey concludes in Havana, Cuba, in a country closest to her US home, Stephanie comes face to face with a daemon which has been dogging her for most of her early adult life.
   
   When she least expects to find the answer which has been plaguing her mercilessly, as she describes it, it confronts her hard. It hammers her when she finds herself doing an activity which one might consider enough to pull her thoughts away from such critical existential questions. Dancing the rhumba, or talking with a couple of Cuban college students on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean.
   
   Rather than writing AROUND THE BLOC and ending things with a question mark, Elizondo Griest is even more convinced by the book's end about the righteousness of her choice of having travelled around the entire world, steadfast in her desire to want to know more about her essential self.
   
   Like a highly sympathetic character in a novel or a film, you really want this person to succeed--dareisay win (?)--because the righteousness of her mission is just so important. It becomes as important to you as it initially is to Stephanie.
   
   Haven't we all had such dilemmas in our life?
   
   In this age of mixed identities, to be able to claim a purity of a connection to one's ancient or not-so-ancient culture is indeed a complicated decision, rife with paradoxes.
   
   Even those who are "so-and-so"--how much of that "so-and-so" can they really be in the face of an environment which pulls them into defining themselves as something much more general than merely the binding specificity of one particular race or (former?) nation-state?
   
   There are so many things which lay claim to our selves, at our cores. Griest cannot be blamed for having been sucked into this simplifying evening-out vortex, too. So deep has she been submerged into the commonality of the "Western experience," that it has become a compelling struggle to pull herself out. Like it is for others in her situation, who have written about things similarly.
   
   It has been an honour and a privilege to follow her along her path. I can't thank her enough for having made me a part.
   
   It's been to a gift to witness the changes, as she wrote about them, and as the book appears to be the culmination of many months and years of introspection and sometimes piercing self-doubt.
   
   I've cherished each and every one of these pages. Thank you Stephanie.
   
   If there ever were a sixth Amazonian star, it would go to Stephanie Elizondo Griest.
   
   --ADM in Prague

5 comments about A Russian Diary: A Journalist's Final Account of Life, Corruption, and Death in Putin's Russia.

1. On 7 October 2006, the journalist Anna Politkovskaya was assassinated. She was shot dead in the elevator of her apartment building in an apparent contract killing. It is very important, I think, to bear this ending in mind while you read A Russian Diary.
   
   Politkovskaya is not objective. This is not a personal diary. You will not find charming anecdotes about her personal life interspersed among the political commentary. She often sounds like that friend you had at college who would not stop ranting about her conspiracy theories and the fact that the world is going to heck in a handbasket. Except that she ends up dead for her ideas. A good reminder not to confuse Russia with the West.
   
   Politkovskaya is angry, passionate. She refuses to stop caring. She refuses to be objective, because objectivity comes too close to numbness. This is a partial book (in several senses)-- think of it as an act of witness. She writes her rage at what Russia has become day by day.
   
   She is very smart, and often funny-- albeit in a dark way. I had the feeling I would like her. And I hate how her story ended. It isn't an easy book to read. I still think as many as possible *should* read it. Decide for yourself.



2. When I read the back of this book I was intrigued. A Russian Diary is a non-fiction work by a journalist who lived, worked and was murdered in Russia. As Russia is not a place that I know too much about I was eager to learn more of its history and politics.
   
   This work was set up in the form of a diary. However, once you start to read it its clear that this is no actual diary. While I wasn't expecting any fluffy words along the lines of 'had tea with Aunt Svetlana today' I was expecting more real time entries. This was not the case. Its clear upon reading this 'diary' that the information recorded under each date was added long after the fact and events that happen later are often mentioned before their time.
   
   As I mentioned I was eager to read this book. In the end though I was only able to make it through the first 100 pages before calling it quits. And just getting through those pages was a chore. Politkovskaya may have been a journalist but she tossed out any objectivity that she may have had out the window when writing this book. What I managed to read was filled with such hate against President Vladimir Putin and his regime that it was almost impossible to separate the facts from Politkovskaya's personal beliefs. To read her version Putin almost single handly ruined all that was good about Russia to serve his own needs.
   
   Politkovskaya's may well be the way things really happened but I just couldn't bear to read the venom that was in her words. As much as I would like to know more about Russia and her history I think that I will have to search for another book to learn it from.
   
   In the end, this book was filled with too much bias and hate for me to be able to enjoy myself. It was hard to separate the facts from the authors beliefs.
   
   [...]



3. A "must read" for anyone truly interested in the political climate in today's Russia. A combination of the author's knowledge, her writing skill, and her predictable, tragic end make this book a "thriller" to read as well as an accurate compass in describing the unfortunate direction in which the "New Russia" is headed today.



4. the forward starts off "(she) could have left russia--remember that as you read these journals." what comes across initially as anna's relentless account of putin's rise to autocratic dominance is more of an alarming and disheartening account of russia's systematic devolution where democracy, freedom of press and the semblance of a worthy society were fleetingly promised as they were taken away. incredible heart-wrenching accounts of the moscow theater and beslan school massacres as well as the two chechen wars.



5. A must read for anyone who wants to understand the "new" Russia. One hopes others will have the courage to take up Ms. Politkovskaya's crusade in exposing the corruption so rampant in Putin's (and now Medvedev's)Russia.

No comments about A Memoir.