2 comments about William Randolph Hearst: The Later Years, 1911-1951.

1. He was bigger than life and one innovative person ...maybe the first gorilla marketer whether you agreed with him or not. Great read.



2. WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST: THE LATER YEARS, 1911-1951 presents the second volume in a biography series which follows Hearst's life, and is a pick for college-level holdings which already have the first volume, as well as for college-level collections strong in media or journalism history. It surveys how Hearst built an empire of newspapers in nineteen of the largest cities in the U.S., and how his final forty years strengthened his hold. Previously unavailable letters and manuscripts, along with Hearst's own powerful political editorials, make for a powerful testimony not just to Hearst's life, but to the evolution of the newspaper as a whole, and its political impact on American lives.

5 comments about 52 McGs.: The Best Obituaries from Legendary New York Times Reporter Robert McG. Thomas.

1. It was entertaining. I kept it in the car to read during carpool line waits and Dr. appointments. Perfect for such occasions.



2. Certainly more wasteful books (in terms of unrecycled paper and deforestation, as well as intellectual inertia) have been published than 52 McGs, edited by Chris Calhoun, which is a collection of fifty-two of the supposedly most interesting, and well-written, of seven hundred or so obituaries published by a New York Times writer named Robert McGill Thomas, Jr. But even the vapid prose of such hacks as Elizabeth Wurtzel, Dave Eggers, Maya Angelou, Joyce Carol Oates, T.C. Boyle, and David Foster Wallace, can at least be defended by stating that there may have actually been an attempt at something creative going on, despite their repeated failures. This book, a 192 page paperback, put out in 2001, a year after Thomas himself died of cancer, by the Citadel Press, however, could not be more pointless, despite its grandiose subtitle: The Best Obituaries From Legendary New York Times Writer Robert McG. Thomas, Jr.
   Here is a sample of the `great stylings' from McG., in his obit titled Minnesota Fats, A Real Hustler With A Pool Cue, Is Dead:
   
   
   
   Although his frequent claim that he had never lost a game `when the cheese was on the table,' was more fabrication than exaggeration, according to his first wife, Mr. Wanderone [Fats' real name] was in fact a master hustler who tended to be just as good as he needed to be when he needed to be.
   
   
   
   Well, sorry, but if this is the sort of prose that makes one a `legend' to the New York Times, these days, I can state with certainty that the truly great journalist/writers of the past- Lardner, Mencken, Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce, Oscar Wilde- have little to fear in regards to usurpation of their laurels with this work.
   
   Thus, it is not without some irony that I can state that the actually best written and most moving McG. in the book is the only one not written by McG., himself, but about his own death, and written by a Michael T. Kaufman. In it, we get a real sense of a man, not a hit and miss semi-satire, which was the deceased's forte. Clearly, this book was a labor of love, by Calhoun, who is identified merely as a fan of McG.'s (ok, a fan of obits, sheesh!) but it is simply not a joy to read, even for its handful of genuinely funny moments. In a sense, this book could be considered a McG. on the relevance of the modern publishing industry, which is so creatively and ethically bankrupt that it must spoon pabulum like this to readers too lethargic and narcotized to care that they are being insulted.
   
   The industry is survived by millions of disappointed readers still hoping for wit, enlightenment, and publishers who will choose to engage them as beings with a brain



3. I have always loved obituaries. They are a guilty pleasure. To have a final, brief synopsis of a person's life is intimate, touching, and fascinating. Robert McG. Thomas' collection of New York Times obituaries, 52 McGs., is an interesting look at his best work. I found, however, that the book was a bit too brief to justify its $20 price tag.
   
   One of the nicest things about 52 McGs is that the obits here focus on obscure people who enjoyed, at most, 15 minutes of fame. You'll read about a fascinating set of people you've never heard of before. Some of the most-memorable portraits feature a Holocaust survivor who spent his life planting flowers in New York City, a 1950s hipster who was friends with the legendary Beats, and a foul-smelling man who traveled America's back roads with his goats. The book closes with Robert McG. Thomas' own New York Times obituary; this is a poignant, memorable close to the book.
   
   Thomas was also a very fine writer. In 52 McG's you find wit, tragedy, and (in especially large doses) irony. Though subtlety is increasingly rare in our world, you will have to pay attention while reading Thomas' work (or you will fail to appreciate fully some great material).
   
   My only real complaint about this book is that it is too brief. We learn in the introduction that McG wrote over 600 obits for the Times. But 52 McG's is a thin book with those 52 obits and fewer than 200 pages. I felt as though the publisher should have given me much more for $20.
   
   In the end, I do recommend 52 McG's. But I recommend that you look for it at your local library or used bookstore.



4. This was given to me as a present. I had never heard of the book before, and indeed, when I told people about it, I always got strange looks. But the 52 capsules of people's lives--not all of them well-known but they're people you should know about--are fascinating. Some personal favorites are the guy who invented the U.S. zip code and the founder of an AIDS group in a small town.



5. When this book was first recommended to me by a friend, I must admit I was a little put off. A book of obituaries? Now there's a fun read! Although I know there are "die-hard" obit enthusiasts out there, I certainly don't count myself among them. All of this is leading to the further admission that I ordered the book with some trepidation. I needn't have worried. This book is an absolute joy. To say that it is well-written would be an understatement of Homeric proportions as Mr. Thomas had a subtle way with words that hints at Twain (I know! I know! They're "just" obituaries, but this gentleman could turn a phrase with the best of them!). Far from being ghoulish or depressing, these 52 McGs are fascinating celebrations of everyday extraordinary lives. Most importantly, each humorous account is filled with such warmth and respect that you don't get the feeling you're snickering at some poor dead guy "behind his back". 52 McGs falls into the category of "little discoveries that you can't wait to share with other people." Heartily recommended as an addition to your library or as a gift to anyone that enjoys highly skilled writing.

5 comments about The Spiders of Allah: Travels of an Unbeliever on the Frontline of Holy War.

1. Lurid glimpses into the scarier rooms and backlots of the most current Islamic conflict, as described by a spiritually jaded soul. Free-thinking adolescent wit clothed in a beautiful travel narrative.



2. James Hidler takes you on a journey and offers a voice not often heard in the middle East. It becomes a personal experience because his writing style invites you to see and hear through his eyes. Quite often with mirth and irony, so often with the raw truth of witness, this book expands our limited viewpoint.
   He takes his doubting beliefs about religion into the land of the holy wars, and asks unstinting questions in an attempt to better understand why the strife, tension and long standing battles.
   Hidler wonders why, with the fervor of religion, were all these people trying to kill each other. He wonders this when a US Marine tortures prisoners in God's name, or Israeli settlers supporting bombing to clear the area for new homes, or when suicide bombers are on a mission in the name of something holy. His questions are poignant and his willingness to explore this courageous.
   I'm going to read again when I've had time to let it settle. Good book.
   I gave it four stars because there is a tiny bit of a disjointed flow to the writing. Not enough to detract, though.



3. Others have said this book's promotion is misleading, and that they expected an analysis of religion, or more details on the Israel-Palestine conflict, or what have you. That may indeed be true -- Hider isn't even-handed on the religious aspect -- he's an unrepentant, if you will atheist -- and most of the book deals with hands-on descriptions of the war in Iraq -- but for what it is, I think The Spiders of Allah is great. Maybe Hider does have another book in him strictly dealing with the religious aspects of Middle East conflict, but if the promotion is misleading, blame the publisher, not the author.



4. James Hider's `Spiders of Allah' is a classic case of over-reach. Billed as `a gonzo journalist's atheistic look at the insanity of the Middle East', Hider inexplicably spends the majority of the book chronicling his adventures in post-invasion Iraq, an important theater of war perhaps, but hardly the front-line in militant Islam's quest to re-establish the worldwide Caliphate. Hider ignores the wider conflicts in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the reconstituted Taliban and the Saudi-funded fundamentalist madrassas are doing incalculable damage. He also gives no insight to any of the other Middle-East hotspots, Iran, Jordan, Turkey, Syria, Egypt....all of these areas are mentioned only in passing, and only as referent points to what is going on in Iraq. I picked up this book expecting to get some insights into the fundamentalist mindset, but what I got was some pretty straightforward war reporting.
   
   Not that there isn't value in that. I'm giving the book three stars based on the coverage of what has been a devastating and truly destructive misadventure. The long-term effects of the invasion will reverberate for years, and it may well take decades for the true outcome to be decided. Hider's book can certainly give some historical perspective of what things were like on the ground for the people of Iraq after the invasion. (Side note recommendation: John Lee Anderson's `The Fall of Baghdad' covers a lot of the same ground as does Hider's book, but in a more straightforward fashion.)
   
   Bottom line? Decent war reporting from a front-line perspective, lousy marketing (the book is also billed as `darkly humorous', but there is no humor to be found between these covers, dear reader. The few attempts at gallows humor fall flat, as the carnage just overwhelms any attempt to be funny), nothing to indicate any sort of `gonzo' journalism as advertised. You have to wait until the final chapter before Hider ties in any sort of philosophical discussion, and it's a weak attempt at best. Surely an atheist could have come up with a more scathing and in-depth counter to the raging fundamentalism that is threatening to take down one of the worlds largest and most-established religions.
   
   Not recommended unless you are looking for ground-level coverage of post-invasion Iraq.



5. The first two chapters of this book were about the writer's life in Jerusalem, and, honestly, didn't fit in with the aura of this book.
   
   The rest of the book, however, written in first-person intimate, was at times both bitter-sweet as well as defeatist. Describing scenes over a three-year period, we read about Iraqis both cheering the defeat of Saddam Hussein and cursing the presence of American troops in the country. Strong believers in the occult, some of the death and dying scenarios can leave a western reader turned off to the Iraqi mentality.
   
   The one theme I noticed while reading along was the growing attitude of the writer against the war, not so much because of the Iraqis' learned helplessness, but also because we read that after three years of American presence, little progress had been made. Iraqis loved us and hated us. Now they want us to leave.
   
   The book ends in 2006, as the height of the Iraqi war took an average of 90 American (and countless Iraqi) lives per month. Three years later all this may seem like old news (and in fact, nothing that Hider describes is new to me), but we are reminded in great detail how an entire country was changed in the course of the American presence.
   
   Had this book been released in 2007 I would have given this five stars, but, alas, this is one more book about Iraq and the Iraqis. What the reader takes from this depends on the reader's political point of view.
   
   One question for the publisher: the UK version of the book cover is more appealing than the US version. I think this book's attractiveness would have helped more using the photograph used from the UK version.

4 comments about On the Front Lines of the Cold War: An American Correspondent's Journal from the Chinese Civil War to the Cuban Missile Crisis and Vietnam (From Our Own Correspondent).

1. On the Front Lines of the Cold War: An American Correspondent's Journal from the Chinese Civil War to the Cuban Missile Crisis and Vietnam (From Our Own Correspondent)
   
   An amazing work. Topping served in many of the "hot spots" of the second half of the 20th century. He stories are mind-blowing. In a fictional story - but with much greater intelligence - he would be 'Forrest Gump.'
   
   This is what I believe to be one of the great works recounting elements of the Cold War by someone who was there.
   
   It deserves the Pulitzer Prize.



2. You name the headline, from 1946 to 1971, and Seymour Topping was probably there. As a reporter and editor for two big wire services and then The New York Times, he trekked through China and Vietnam during their revolutions, and interviewed Castro, Bobby and John Kennedy, Zhou en-lai, and many more. He explained Vietnam to Congressman John Kennedy in 1951 and was one of the top editors at The Times who decided to publish the Pentagon Papers two decades later. He was in Moscow during the Cuban missile crisis and in Beijing during a major Maoist purge. His first child was even born in Vietnam, as he reported the fall of a key French-held city.
   
   Thus, "On the Front Lines of the Cold War" is truly what its title proclaims: a personal as well as factual tour through living history. Mostly, Topping does what he's been trained to do - report the facts, in a wonderfully readable style. But there are also occasional bits of analysis and personal tidbits. For instance, it's clear that he is furious that one powerful right-winder accused him personally of "covering up Stalin's control of the Chinese communist purge." (During the height of the "who lost China?" debate, this sort of accusation could be dangerous.) My favorite anecdote describes how his wife, photojournalist Audrey Ronning Topping, was "munching bananas" and "tugged at my black beard" when they finally caught up with each other after a particularly harrowing excursion in Vietnam.



3. As I had so much enjoyed both THE PEKING LETTER and FATAL CROSSROADS I much looked forward to reading Mr. Toppings ON THE FRONT LINES OF THE COLD WAR. I was not disappointed. T his book reads like a novel-vivid, literary and deft in it's analyses of the complex and convoluted politics and personalities ( from Zhou Enlai through Fidel Castro) of what is, arguably, the most seminal period of the 20th century. particularly interesting were the clandestine ramifications of OPERATION VESUVIUS in Cambodia during the Vietnam war (film-worthy and full of adventure ,secrecy and action!) This history is made more personal and even romantic by the inclusion of Mr. Topping's journeys with his photo/journalist wife, Audrey Ronning,( seen in one photograph on horseback with Kazaks in 1975 while on assignment with The New York Times and the National Geographic) It is a masterful and scholarly revelation!



4. Having watched the coverage of the Viet Nam War as a child, Mr. Topping's fine chronicle went a long way toward clarifying and deepening my understanding of the mulitple issues, personalities and strategies involved in this seminal international drama. Anyone interested in this period of history will be rewarded and inspired by this detailed, colorful and descriptive book.

5 comments about Dickens.

1. There is evidently no middle ground about this book, people absolutely love it, or despise it. The oddity about this reaction to this very odd and in my opinion very great, biography of Dickens is that I can sympathise with a lot of what the 2 (so far) negative reviewers say. The most honest criticism cannot be disputed at all: in books as in theaters and concert halls a loud snore says more than a thousand of the most carefully considered words. If it doesn't work for you it doesn't work for you because Horace is right about matters of taste.
   
   The fascinating fact is that one of the 2 people who have written negative reviews seems to intend to finish it. For him the immense tome (and how can Amazon have shrunk the paperback to a bit over 200 pages?) has to have something to recommend continuing. For myself it feels like a very long and very good novel. I've read both Edgar Johnson's and Acroyd's work twice, as well as all of Dickens's novels once. Acroyd replaced Johnson on my shelf. Johnson would be the better introduction for people who have only read one or two of the novels and for anyone in need of scholarly apparatus. For someone who downright loves Dickens I have to say that my initial reaction on finishing Acroyd was a sense of loss because I would never again be able to read it for the first time .
   
   It is a unique biography in my experience, and as a truly great effort to understand a man in the context of his times stands directly next to the finest 20th century academic biography I have read: Peter Brown's Saint Augustine.



2. This is an outstanding biography. Extremely well researched and written by a devoted author who is expert on the subject, culture, country, region and local environs. I have read many other of Peter's books and have come to consider his work quite excellent.
   
   My experience with biographies of great men such as Charles Dickens is that you need the space of at least 1,000 pages. The approach here is far from being too academic. I savored every colorful chapter. The bibliography and chapter notes have me continuing my friendship with CD.



3. This is a book I should have read when it first came out in 1990, but did not buy it until the paperback edition came out. And then it sat on my bookshelf with my Oxford illustrated Dickens. Why didn't I get to it earlier? My best guess is that not only is reading all of Dickens a big chunk, this book is almost 1,100 pages long. I had so much else I wanted to read that getting into that much material as carefully as I wanted to read it caused me to put it off. Now that I have read the book and begun my perusal of all of Dickens rather than just that books with which I was already familiar show me what a mistake I have made. So, I urge you to not put off treating yourself to this biography or diving deeply into the writings of Charles Dickens.
   
   Why do I like this biography? I think there are several basic approaches to telling the story of a life. Two that I do not like are the mere chronology of events from beginning to end and the other extreme that assimilates the author into the intellectual fashions of the present and does nothing to help us see the life and work in the context of the times in which it was created. This latter type is most often seen in academic biographies where English departments have become political advocacy and indoctrination programs and no longer deal with our language and its history in a serious or thoughtful way. Its easier to simply dismiss everyone who doesn't share your political philosophy and pretend that your being "right" also means you are of superior intellect and learning. For me, this is like travelling to a foreign land and then judging it against your own culture and finding its differences to be deficiencies.
   
   This biography is of the kind I appreciate most. Ackroyd not only helps us see the life of Charles Dickens and how the author used his own life and times to create his art, but also the times, social settings, and evolving culture in which Dickens lived and worked. For me this has the benefit of travelling to a foreign land and by coming to appreciate its culture for what it is and how the people there express their lives in that culture you learn to see your own life and home culture with new depth. Our intellectual shorthand calls Dickens a Victorian, and of course he was in his maturity. However, his early life which formed much of what he was, was pre-Victorian. The London of his maturity was quite different than the London of his childhood and it is that earlier London that he used in most of his writing. I also found Ackroyd's discussion of the Charles' early family life and his relationship with his parents to be most helpful in seeing more deeply into Dickens' novels and the way he lived his life.
   
   Ackroyd also provides seven little interludes that help us see his perspective on this biography. He admits his likely faults and where he might be pushing his ideas a bit too far. Still, I think this work is a fine accomplishment. As Ackroyd notes many times and as his friends noted, Dickens was an odd man. His friends loved him and if their relationship with him was broken off, more than a few grieved at the loss for the rest of their lives. On the other hand, he was so driven by his inner needs, his burning energy, his need to work hard, and to work out his life and world through his art that he was very hard on those around him. Not least his wife, Catherine. After she bore him ten children and suffered horribly from what we know as post-partum depression after each birth, he eventually separated from her. Yes, he set her up so she lived well, but she was terribly harmed by being pushed away. And he was, too. But he didn't see it that way. His relationship with Ellen Ternan is discussed in this book at length and Ackroyd takes the position that it was not sexual, but of the same deeply emotional attachment of similar nature to the one he had with Mary Hogarth (his wife's younger sister) who died at seventeen. But some have disagreed with this book's conclusions on this subject. I am willing to go along with the author, but for me the serious issue is less whom he took up with than those whom he abandoned. But that is my own view of life. Dickens was one of those driven men whose inner need to accomplish and work more deprive his family of a supportive father as his children grew. Frankly, Dickens was disappointed in most of his sons and was quite open about his favorites among his daughters. Very few of them had lives that worked out well. Of course, his presence was such a powerful force that the descendants to this day live in part to protect and perpetuate his legacy.
   
   I also appreciated learning the way each of his works of fiction began, the way he worked through them, and how the public received them. Among the many things I did not know before reading this book I found Dickens' lifelong devotion to theater and the theatrical surprising to me and also quite helpful in understanding his work. Ackroyd also shows us how his works were constantly dramatized with or without Dickens' support and involvement. We also get a better sense of what melodrama meant in the context of that culture rather than our own perceptions of it. Ackroyd also guides us through the layers of artistic culture and how Dickens' popularity with the masses in some ways denied him acceptance in the more elite artistic circles. Still, Dickens knew what he was aiming for and his success was so great that these exclusive circles could hardly deny him. I also enjoyed learning how his works were serialized. While there were several different ways, in most cases the monthly installments were little books containing only that work and some advertisements (to increase profitability). While a few of his works were serialized in publications, particularly in Household Words and All the Year Round, most were handled as independent monthly serials. Oliver Twist and his Christmas books were issued as single volume publications, but that was not his usual way of publishing his works. As she worked his copyrights, he did print his works as bound novels and often revised them when issuing them in these editions.
   
   Dickens was also an astute and hard driving business man. He valued his copyrights and worked them. Part of his hard feelings about America was the way his works were printed and sold here without any payments to him. Dickens was also very hard with his publishers at home. He would extract the lions share of the value of his work, which makes sense, and leave the publishers with enough to make them happy. However, when a publisher tried to push back that was often the end of their relationship. Dickens would not accept any slight or indignity; real or perceived.
   
   While I knew that Dickens did do public readings of his works, I had no idea how extensive they were and how big a role they played in his later career. Nor did I realize how many of his works he developed for this type of public performance. Ackroyd does a fine job in showing us how carefully and even tentatively he developed the murder of Nancy by Bill Sikes for public reading. Many of his family and friends told him not to do it because of the shock it would give his audiences. Once he did it and the shock was profound but popular, they urged him to stop because of the terrible physical and emotional strain it put on him in his frail condition. His children and friends believed that the strain of these readings shortened his life considerably.
   
   The latter years of Dickens life are, frankly, sad. He only lived to be 58. How much of his health decline was caused by actual illness that he treated with medications such as laudanum and how much was caused by the treatments I do not know. But many of his friends and associates died by their late fifties, as well.
   
   I think this is a very successful biography and provides wonderful information and insights for us, its readers. I not only recommend this biography to you, but encourage you to treat yourself to a more patient and deep reading of Dickens, who was, I believe, one of the great English writers. When we dismiss him, we cheat ourselves and blind ourselves to all his strengths, his wonderful humor, and indelible characters.
   
   Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI



4. There are some oddities in the style of Mr. Ackroyd, and his book contains some, what might be called, experimental chapters, fantasies or dreams or prose poems on subjects the author associates with Dickens. Ordinarily, I would find these things a bit off-putting.
   
   But Mr. Ackroyd succeeds in giving us an overwhelmingly animated and penetrating portrait of the great Victorian author. This huge book - and no smaller effort could capture Dickens' spirit - crackles with energy, the very kind of driving energy so characteristic of Dickens himself.
   
   Dickens was a strange man with immense drives and desires going off in many directions and personal habits that might well at times be regarded as unbalanced. He was not the sentimental, storytelling Victorian father figure he is sometimes regarded, although he could be quite sentimental about family and friends and his storytelling ability had few equals.
   
   He behaved at times as a petty tyrant and was highly opinionated, always a man of immense curiosity, a traveler, a political activist, a generous man, a workaholic, a man eager for every possible shred of success and acclaim, a talented actor and mimic, a man seemingly possessed at times, as when carrying on conversations with himself, imitating his own characters in a mirror or going for walks as long as twenty miles alone or living with the ghosts of his fractured childhood.
   
   A whirlwind of experience and desires helped make this naturally talented man such a great novelist. There are similarities to the titanic storm that was Beethoven. In both cases, the young man in his first blush of success could be truly charming while the aging figure could be quite unsettling.
   
   The book contains many interesting anecdotes and details of Dickens' England, as well as Dickens' America since he made two journeys to America, a place he both hated and was fascinated by.
   
   Highly recommended to all lovers of good biography, all students of English literature, and all students of English history.



5. . . . but no adjective, or string of adjectives, can do Ackroyd's massive, majestic biography justice. Dickens is, with Victoria, the archetypical Victorian, and he is here fully realized, in all his contradictory dimensions: the best-known and best-loved writer of his day, but perpetually insecure and ashamed of his "ungentlemanly" background; wealthy yet financially ever insecure and working feverishly for material advancement; outgoing and flamboyantly dramatic, yet profoundly interior and haunted by irrepressible demons; the great celebrator of hearth and home who sired 10 children but who abandoned his wife of 22 years for a curious relationship with an actress more than half his age; the man who toasted Shakespeare's birthday as the anniversary also of the Bard's gallery of immortal characters, who saw himself as a similar progenitor but who would "write" his friends, compulsively objectifying them, family, and acquaintances into manipulable, construed, understandable "characters" - indeed, the most capacious literary imagination since Shakespeare but a jittery control addict for whom everything, and everybody, had to be in its right place.

   Ackroyd has read every word Dickens wrote - the novels, stories, journalism, letters, inscriptions - and apparently, and more astonishingly, everything ever written ABOUT Dickens - by his circle of literary and profession friends, rivals, reviewers and critics, acquaintances, memoirists who encountered him but once, otherwise unknown British, Scottish, Continental, or American diarists who happened to note a Dickens "sighting" whether or not words were exchanged. All these gleanings Ackroyd shapes convincingly into cumulative aspects of character, incidents that inform Dickens's work, information about the author's public bearing, mannerisms, speech, likes, dislikes, behavior in almost every imaginable range of situations - "in short" - to call on Micawber - a full portrait. And with remarkable efficiency and literary felicity, Ackroyd situates Dickens within his rapidly changing era, as long-distance horse-drawn coaches give way to rail travel, as the stench and filth of pre-Reform London yields to reformist impulses of every stripe, as the Empire advances and London is transformed into a great capital of monuments and squares and Imperial architecture. (And, as with his engrossing biography of Thomas More, Ackroyd introduces London as a major character and influence on his subject, a conceit Ackroyd, himself the author of a knowing, loving "biography" of London, pulls off beautifully.)

   Most important for devotees of Charles Dickens - and if you're searching for a 1200 page (scandalously) out-of-print biography, you are surely that - Ackroyd demonstrates convincingly how the work reflects the life, the personality, the influences, the environment, and all the contradictions of Dickens the man. Ackroyd carefully walks the line between reading too much into the life from the work, but draws careful correspondences between the tensions of the life and their realizations in fiction. The chapters devoted to Dickens in the throes, or ecstasies, of creation - for so does his creative moods and energies vary - are among the book's most compelling passages. Scarcely ever has the sinews of literary creativity been laid so believably bare, by a biographer who is himself a prolific, and highly imaginative, writer. The most powerful impression one draws from Ackroyd's matchless story is the extent to which a protean Dickens embodied to a great degree all his mightiest creations, the dark and the bright, and not merely the plainly autobiographical Nickeby, Pip, and David Copperfield.

   When I finally closed Ackroyd's Dickens, I was nearly inconsolable at the loss of someone I felt I had come to know so well. A brilliant life, radiantly told, and a book that deserves to be - and, I pray, will soon be - back in print.

5 comments about So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading.

1. I first read this book a few years ago and found all sorts of suggestions for my next read. Since then, I've dipped back into the book a few times, and each time I find something more to read. I think the author's style is breezy and amusing, and I enjoyed this fun, fast read.



2. Sara Nelson's delightful memoir on the sheer joy of books is at once a very personal commentary and a salute to inveterate book fiends at large. Lifelong reading addicts will feel an immediate affinity to Nelson's insatiable lust for the written word. We can also well relate to her frustration that there are many, many more books out there than we will ever have time to read in a lifetime!
   
   Written with humor, wit, and candor, "So Many Books, So Little Time" is a delight for all book lovers. If nothing else, it's comforing to know we're not the only ones who willingly find ways to prop our eyes open until late into the night, oblivious to the impending alarm clock, in order to finish "just one more chapter" of a book we've absolutely fallen in love with.
   
   Sarah Bruce Kelly
   Author of THE RED PRIEST'S ANNINA



3. I had high hopes for this book, and as I read it I began making a list of books she cited that I might want to read. It's not a very long list. While I can tell Nelson is an avid book person, her writing style comes across like the latest in what even she calls "chick lit." My wife is not as much a book person as I am, but I think she might like this even more than I do, simply because it is so relentlessly written from a chick's eye view. I did find one book she mentions that I've put into my Amazon basket - David Gilmour's HOW BOYS SEE GIRLS. It looks very intriguing, and I have recently read Gilmour's pseudo-memoir, THE FILM CLUB, which I enjoyed, so ... I did finish Nelson's book - it's a pretty quick read - but, like I said, I was a bit disappointed, particularly in view of the fact that its title has long been my own personal mantra. It's not that I didn't like SO MANY BOOKS...; maybe it was just a bit too irreverent and flip - and yes, female - in its overall attitude. I am sure that most women readers would like this book very much. - Tim Bazzett, author of PINHEAD: A LOVE STORY



4. Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2X945F8JOXSX6



5. When I first heard about this book, I was intrigued by its premise, as I never go anywhere without at least one or two books in my bag and am a confirmed book lover and avid reader. If I go on vacation, I pack a bag just for the dozen or so books that I simply must take along with me. I am most comfortable when I am surrounded by books. In fact, I look forward to retirement, so that I will have more time to read. I simply love to read! I cannot imagine a world without books and, quite frankly, I have never understood people who say that they do not care to read.
   
   So, this book seemed to be right up my alley. Well, the author does not disappoint, as she takes the reader along with her on her very personal journey. Her goal, not an overly ambitious one, is a book a week for fifty-two weeks. She does not necessarily stick to her list of books, and she meanders along, changing course in mid-stream sometimes, as many of us so often do. Yet, she always keeps up an entertaining discourse on the book that she is reading or has read, remarking upon its place in her world. She interweaves snippets of her personal life with her thoughts on those books that she reads. She talks about authors and the impact that some of their work has had on her, as well as her reading likes and dislikes.
   
   The author writes in a light and breezy conversational tone, so that, at times, it almost seems as if one old friend were talking to another about some books she had enjoyed. I was delighted to discover that we liked many of the same books for many of the same reasons. Within the pages of this book, I also happily discovered some new titles that piqued my interest. Moreover, the author, knowing how insatiable some book lovers are, even appends three lists at the end of her book, which lists consist of books she had planned to read during that year of reading, books she actually did read but did not discuss in her book, and books in her must read pile. What book lover is not familiar with that ubiquitous must read pile of books! Anyway, I did enjoy perusing through her lists, looking for books of interest.
   
   This book is a light-hearted sojourn into the world of reading and books that is meant to be a sharing of a wonderful passion. It is a funny and charming work of non-fiction. I thank the author for sharing her thoughts and insights, as I very much enjoyed reading them. It is, as always, a pleasure to come across such an enthusiastic fellow book lover.

1 comments about The Rise and Fall of the Press Box.

1. When it comes to sports books a book by writers such as Roger Kahn, Roger Angell, Fred Lieb, or Leonard Koppett you can be fairly certain you are in for a book that will educate as well as entertain you. If his final effort before his death Leonard Koppett tells us how the importance of the press box in which so many writers brought fans the news of the events on the field has changed over the last several decades. Print was the medium in which information was initially passed from reporter to fan. The advent of radio brought a new medium which supplemented newspapers. Now television brings information to us practically instantaneously, and many of the newspapers that used to serve the major cities in previous decades have gone out of business. The book is sprinkled with humorous anecdotes regarding some of the literary giants who populated the sporting scene throughout the 20th century. Koppett popularized the use of statistics in his columns written as a correspondent for The Sporting News, but he also provides examples how statistics can be misused or misleading. Ron Fairly and Koppett were discussing the high batting average of bunter Brett Butler when Fairly stated, "If you took away his bunts and dribblers he'd be hitting .260." Koppett answered, "Sure, and if you took away his outs, he'd be hitting 1.000." Pitch counts citing the number of strikes and balls is also deceiving, because it assumes every pitch swung at is a strike. He says the correct statistic should say, "96 pitches, 32 hit fair, 27 strikes (called or swung at and missed) or fouls, 37 balls." Koppett also covers the New York teams in all sports that he covered for the New York Times. After working in New York for several years he then moved to Palo Alto, California, and covered the New York teams when they came to play in California. This is not a traditional sports book, but concentrates on a newspaperman's view of the sporting scene and how the coverage of sports has changed over the years. The book contains 53 chapters, but each one is only from five to eight pages long. If you feel this subject would be of interest to you, I'm sure you would enjoy the book since you are reading it from a quality author.

5 comments about How to Win Friends, Kick Ass and Influence People.

1. This book appropriately glosses over Russell's private life and manages to balance professionalism, entertainment, assertion, humor and sometimes sarcasm about life at CNN -- the silly things some viewers or youthful subordinates will say and do, the surprising things a famous anchor will do when stuck in a brutal Atlanta traffic jam during scheduled airtime.

   Luckily, Russell's perspective extends well beyond her CNN duties to reflect on her role as a go-getter and as a woman in her numerous other ongoing careers.

   While she has no doubt inspired many women over the years to live uncompromisingly for one's goals and dreams, she also has inspired men like me -- from an early age -- to see career women as well-rounded, smart, savvy, and critical to an organization's success. At CNN and in her book, Lynne Russell has helped make professional journalism sexy to a new generation, male and female.




2. If the title of this book offends you, do not buy the book because the content is equally earthy. How much did Victoria's Secret pay for this 200 page ad? If you are mildly curious about the various behind the scene exploits of CNN headline news anchor this book satisfies. If you want personal advice there are better sources. One wonders, what will she spend her money on after her hormones change? Have the stories about poor starving opressed people in her news had no impact on her choices? I hope that this is not the last we will hear from Ms. Russell!



3. First of all, know that this is not exactly a "self-help" book, and Russell is not really attempting to provide an instruction for life when she offers advice; in fact, the title seems more of an ironic commentary on a life not lived by reading handbooks and following guidelines. That said, this can still be an inspiring read for women and a delight to men who are not afraid of independent, intelligent women. Those who know Russell as a talking head on TV may be taken aback by her off-camera persona, but that's what makes her unique: the woman who enunciates so well on CNN will be putting dents in a heavy bag with her bare feet and peppering her speech with the "f" word after hours. She won't pander to fragile egos: she calls 'em like she sees 'em because she's likely seem 'em all, more than once, as a journalist, a private investigator, and as a woman. No pretense or phony sentimentality like many of her male collagues, folks: this woman tells it like it is. Russell is a refreshing break from the utter pomposity of people like Ted Koppel and Tom Brokaw, and neither of those guys could kick your face in, either. LYNNE RUSSELL RULES!



4. Russell's slim volume is a jaded, cynical whirlwind of hackneyed metaphors ("Isn't that what Xena would do?") and knee-jerk advice for those who want to reduce people to quick, sound-byte sized definitions. I don't believe that "all women are questioning the very definition of love" (p. 149), just those that have finished reading this book and want to pattern themselves on the author. And can anyone, male or female, take seriously Russell's pigeonholing of personality types? It seems she wants to encourage women to find a deep, lasting relationship by using shallow, witty-for-the-moment quips that will most likely be forgotten faster than last month's headline news.



5. Lynne Russell is now not only an esteemed journalist, but a wonderful author. Her gusty advice and view of things is very refreshing, and her wonderful personality and spunk shines through every page. This book is really directed toward women, but men seem to enjoy it. Anybody who's a Lynne Russell fan or just wants an extremely wonderful book, should read this.

5 comments about Robert Maxwell, Israel's Superspy: The Life and Murder of a Media Mogul.

1. This book is an entertaining work of fiction, but expecting to know more about Robert Maxwell after reading it is tantamount to expecting to be an expert on World War II after watching "Inglourious Basterds."
   
   Dillon and Thomas, the authors, spend (or waste, depending on your viewpoint) a lot of time tracing tenuous (and spurious) connections between people who may, or may not, have had access to that person, who may, or may not, have once had a meeting with someone who may, or may not, have an axe to grind with Robert Maxwell. Or knew him. Or met him once. Or may have seen him on TV once. Or may know nothing at all. They gleefully cite, time after time, Seymour Hersh's "The Samson Option" (thus sparing themselves the unpleasant necessity of, you know, doing, like, actual research)--apparently blissfully unaware that "The Samson Option" was almost wholly discredited years before this book came out.
   
   The book's only value is in showing just how big a bogeyman Israel's Mossad has become to conspiracy nutjobs (or cynical entrepreneurs who know what'll sell) like Dillon and Thomas whose understanding of international politics and espionage seems to have come entirely from Ian Fleming. The Mossad (which--SPOILERS!!!---according to the authors, offed Big Bobby Maxwell after he put the screws to Israel to cover his debts) has become, in the minds of people like the authors, a vast and omnipotent shadow conspiracy capable of, oh, all KINDS of shenanigans and responsible for more than YOU'LL ever know, that's for sure. You can almost hear the authors' voices dropping and saying ominously, "The world will probably never know the true story."
   
   And the whole thing is written in a sort of breathless, hush-hush, anonymous-sources "I can't tell you who REALLY said it, but I know it's true" style that I remember all too well from accounts of nefarious goings-on in the girls' locker room from junior high.
   
   Ludicrous. And, by the way, utterly unsubstantiated.
   
   Robert Maxwell was one of the biggest crooks of the 20th century. No question about it. Crooked as a dog's hind leg. And more than a little reminiscent of a James Bond bad guy. And, as a globetrotting con man with lots of fingers in lots of pies who was willing to do damn near anything to make a buck, certainly had more than his share of friends in high places, low places, and shady acquaintances in a lot of countries. But it strains credulity to imagine that he did all that he did on behalf of Israel just to turn around and try to blackmail them. Let's face it, the guy did what he did to make money for himself.
   
   The danger of a steaming chunk of egregious garbage like this one is that, by making someone like Maxwell into a fictional character, it obscures what we can--and should--learn from cases like this one. If you're genuinely interested in Robert Maxwell, and in learning about the conditions that made it possible for him to do what he did, I recommend Tom Bower's excellent "Maxwell: The Outsider," and the follow-up volume, "Maxwell: The Final Verdict." Written by a genuine investigative journalist who actually does know what he's talking about, these books are scrupulously-researched, well-rooted in fact and in public-domain documentary evidence, and quote no mysterious (and probably fictional) anonymous sources. But more than merely accounts of Maxwell's life, they are also a scathing indictment of Britain's loophole-ridden financial laws, culture of secrecy, old-boy network, and willful blindness--the very conditions that allowed a conscience-less macher on the make like Maxwell to make off with more than a billion pounds sterling, which he promptly lost.
   
   Read Tom Bower for the real investigative journalism about Maxwell and Jeffrey Archer for good thriller fiction based on Maxwell. Avoid this book, which is neither.



2. The book left out important information that reveals the author's biases. John Loftus, in "Secret War Against the Jews" (published BEFORE Thomas' book) noted that Maxwell had a cellmate in prison who was to become the future Foreign Minister of Czechoslavakia, who was instrumental in 1948 in supplying arms to the nascent state of Israel, that turned the battle in its favor. The Foreign Minister, Clementis, supplied Israel with everything he had, in defiance of Stalin. In 1952, Stalin hanged that government, including eleven Jews and Clementis. Clementis' support was garnered in part by Maxwell's exposure of a Communist coup that the government was able to monitor and deflect. Further, when that Czech government faced risk, there was absolutely no support from the United States or Great Britain forthcoming. Such detail is important because it was available to the author Thomas, but was ignored by author's choice. One can speculate in various ways about the rationale for that choice (including, possibly, bias, or sloppiness).
   
   Another troubling issue is the role of the MI6 in destroying Maxwell's credit with the banks and driving him into ruin. That charge has been made explicitly elsewhere, and is based on the idea that they discovered he was a double agent serving Mossad. It is supported by the one detail Thomas gives in favor, namely the refusal of any British lawyer to take on Lloyd's of London, which screwed Betty Maxwell of her life insurance policy (pressure?). However, Thomas does not explore this angle whatsoever beyond the one tantalizing detail, that again seems like a calculated omission.
   
   Thomas gives Maxwell responsibility for the creation and development of the Russian Mafia. Even though Maxwell may have been the potentate of Bulgaria, it seems excessive to place all that at his feet, even if he was involved with Mafia money laundering. Would the former KGB who formed the Russian Mafia not have been involved in illegal business had it not been for Maxwell? It takes a stretch. It certainly takes more than Thomas gave.
   
   The best part of the book was the little details which shocked. For example, Yuri Andropov, fmr KGB then USSR head, was born Jewish. Another example: John Tower accepted a retainer of 200k per year to give Maxwell access to any part of the US government (how could this Texan be so brazen in his corruption?). A third: Tower was the guy Lee Oswald wrote to from the USSR when he wanted to be repatriated, comprising "Tower's role" (supposedly) in the JFK plot.
   
   Summary-- good read, and food for thought, but beware of the British agenda behind it.



3. This book ties together many pieces of the Israeli puzzle from Post-World War II until the early nineties. If you enjoy reading about the Jews and revel in mysteries; the book is for you.
   S.R.Erickstad



4. One of the best spy/Mossad books.
   you will not be able to put down this book once you start it.



5. What Carroll and Graf Publishers desperately need is 1. a fact checker and 2. a proof reader. Shameful display of factual errors. With sloppiness of this sort, why would I ever dream of believing the basic (and unbelievable) premise.
   Yvonne Adler

5 comments about Hunter S. Thompson: An Insider's View of Deranged, Depraved, Drugged Out Brilliance.

1. I have read many, many books on my favorite author, Hunter Stockton Thompson. This book by his close friend and caretaker at Owl Farm is by far the best inside look at Hunter I have ever read. Many of the books cover the same biographical details and can become cumbersome after awhile. This book is a look you couldn't get from too many people other than Ralph Steadman to a degree or perhaps Sheriff Bob or a few others. I recommend this book to everyone who ever wanted to get an inside look at the king of Gonzo journalism.



2. Anyone who has wondered, as most Hunter Thompson fans have, "what it would be like...."
   Be careful what you wish for. This is a great look behind the curtain, warts and all, from a writer who posesses considerable skills of his own and knows where the bodies are buried. Or in this case, where the fragments landed.



3. I like this a lot.Interesting, coherent, one-person view from the inside. He lets us know his perspective as well. Margaret A. Harrell, Hell's Angels copyeditor



4. To sum up Hunter S. Thompson's character, career and lifestyle would be a daunting task, as he was one of our most eccentric well-loved literary figures of the twentieth century. Yet, Jay Cowan pulls it off, fully understanding the gravity of the undertaking in writing a biography for the author of numerous books and articles, including Fear and Loathing: on the Campaign Trail, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Rum Diary, and columns in the San Francisco Examiner and on ESPN.com.
   
   Add to the undertaking the fact that Thompson is credited with creating a literary genre dubbed gonzo journalism, with Cowan succinctly assessing, "Only a few artists of any kind have ever developed their own genre so successfully with such a stranglehold of originality and talent that they were the only ones thought competent to pull it off and everyone else was just a pretender." If that's not intimidating, what is?
   
   Ultimately, if anyone could write a credible biography for Hunter S. Thompson, Cowan is a first-class choice. As a friend of Thompson's for over 40 years, a longtime resident of the Aspen area, and someone who even spent a stint living in a cabin on Thompson's property (which Cowan describes as a "psychotic sculpture garden"), he most definitely has the intimate knowledge to reliably deliver a back story.
   
   Cowan's fluid writing style keeps the reader traveling at an energetic pace throughout the book, as he integrates excerpts from Thompson's letters and published material, as well as perspectives from a wealth of Thompson's friends. The author is skillful at creating vivid portraits of characters and moments, providing a holistic story of a life that hardly lacked inspirational material.
   
   It seems like a major challenge faced by Cowan was that of creating a work that operates on a readable continuum. Telling Thompson's colorful story in chronological order would perhaps be an impossible feat, and to tell his life story in any organized matter would perhaps be just as taxing. Cowan manages to weave an intricate and intriguing tale, attempting to provide a central focus for each chapter, including that of Thompson's writing process, his prolific letter writing, his friends and lovers and his extracurricular activities (including, but not limited to, extensive drug-use, gun-use and travel). One finds out that it is clearly not easy to untangle each topic from one another, but this book is a successful attempt to bring clarity and depth to such an interesting life. Cowan most definitely does justice to Thompson's legacy, avoiding the simple reduction of his life to "a days-long, deadline-cheating frenzy of drugs and sleeplessness," yet he acknowledges where truth and myth collide.
   
   Quill says: A must-read for any Hunter S. Thompson fan.



5. This is great reading - an interesting book by an excellent author! Hope to see more books by this author.