5 comments about Goat Brothers.

1. This was a good book and kept my interest. I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened to all the fraternity brothers as they went along in life.



2. I read 'Goat Brothers' a number of years ago. I found the author's sincerity and honesty to be very moving. Much of the behavior he chronicles is either sad, unpleasant, or both. Yet he doesn't flinch from his own flaws and shortcomings. Why care about these people? Because they were struggling human beings who, like many of us, didn't understand the meaning and consequences of much of their own behavior until much later---if they were lucky. 'Goat Brothers' is an extended snapshot of a particular time in American social history. I learned much from it.



3. "From Publishers Weekly -- . . . Loren Hawley . . .spent a year in jail for tax evasion." Loren's sentence was for faling to file-- he was never convicted of tax evasion. He's going to sue PW, and he's never lost a civil suit in court.



4. Larry Colton does a great job of telling the tales of a group of college buddies. Colton, a former major league pitcher, does not favor his career over the stories of the others. He is blunt, funny, melancholic and pretty much every other emotion somewhere in the book. I thought I would enjoy the baseball parts (and I did), but I really loved reading about the rest of the college buddies.
   With such great talent, I hope Larry writes another book, just on his own career.



5. This is an interesting book about some regular guys, thrown together by virtue of their fraternity affiliation. A terrific read, it shows you the twists and turns of some men's lives over the course of two (+) decades. By far one of my favorite books.

3 comments about Almost Golden: Jessica Savitch and the Selling of Television News.

1. I love hearing about Jessica Savitch, and what you didn't see when you saw her on TV. This book focuses more then half, on Networks, and broadcasting in general, following mostly NBC, but does include something about all the networks. I would rather have heard more about Jessica herself. If you have seen the movie with Ron Silver and Sela Ward, that pretty much sums up the portion of this book that is actually devoted to Savitch. Though she was admired for her aggressive role in the female aspect of tv journalism, you see first hand that she wasn't qualified to do half of what they asked her to do, and was simply a pretty face who read copy that was written by other people.
   I find her emotional issues very relatable (anorexia, drug addiction, abusive relationships.) She lived a long hard life in her short 36 years.



2. I inherited this book in a box of used books that someone brought over when they left Belize. As such, it sat on my shelf for a while before I reluctantly started it. It didn't take long to hook me.

   First of all, it is a history of the selling of TV news; with all of the familiar and unfamiliar names in that business. Stories of now major star when they were first starting out. The sequences of presidents and vice-presidents in the Networks. This may be turget prose to soap-opera fans attracted to the book by the beauty on the cover, but it was interesting to me.

   Secondly, it is the agonizing history of Jessica Savitch, obsessively driven to be the queen of Network News, privately anguished by memories of her father, who let her down by dying when she was 12 (he was 31), and more publically tortured by a long distructive co-dependent relationship with Ron Kershaw, another TV news luminary, and the scorn of her co-workers, who hated her self-centered focus on her success.

   A young ambitious wannabee in showbiz can learn a lot from this book. I learned:
   1. It takes incredible drive (even obsession) to be successful in a competitive business like Network News.
   2. You will probably lose all your friends and your life (figuratively, if not literally)
   3. Altho you may look happy and successful in public, you may actually be miserable in the midst of it all.
   4. Whether you deserve it or not, success is probably more a matter of fortune. In the long run -- scum as well as cream rises to the top.

   I already knew these things from a lifetime of living in the very competitive computer business (full of smart, ambitious, driven people) but it underlined an old cliche' -- "The bigger they are, the harder they fall."




3. Though out of print, this bio can be found in used bookstores everywhere. Because once you read it, you'll want rid of it. Way depressing. Beautiful Jessica Savitch had everything: looks, verve, charm, talent, a personality...she even anchored the NBC evening news (she was actually the White House correspondent, but NBC exploited her in every way imaginable) at age 30! Co-workers considered her a prima donna, but the ratings gods loved her - even when she apologized to the viewership for being absent for a couple of days (it was already well known she'd had an abortion). Her cocaine and alcohol addiction not-with-standing, she was the charter representative of the Baby-Boom generation. After appearing on a "Newsbreak" during which she was so thick tongued one couldn't understand what she was saying, Jessica suffered a nervous breakdown, and retreated from public view.During her recovery, she died in an automobile accident. Her life's chronicle bears an eerie resemblance to another blonde heroine - Princess Di. Remarkable, and deeply troubling.

3 comments about A Crazy Occupation: Eyewitness to the Intifada.

1. This is an amazing read. Jamie Tarabay brings home what it's like to live in a war zone in a way few other reporters have in recent memory. The combination of personal details and experiences, along with touching and poignant descriptions of the tragedy of war make this book unique in its class.
   
   Refreshingly, the reporting is unbiased and fair, unlike most of the mass media reporting we all see on TV every night. Rather than focusing on good guys and bad guys, Jamie shows us that all sides in the Middle East conflict are made up of people who are very similar in so many ways, who all have fear, and anger, and who all bleed alike and die alike.
   
   After reading this book, not only will you have come to know and understand the crisis in the Middle East much more completely, but you will also have come to know and understand the working of a young, innocent and apparently fearless reporter putting her life on the line every day for the sake of the assignment. It's easy to become a big fan of this author very quickly, and one can only hope that she will follow up this work with a similar one based on her recent reporting from Iraq. Pulitzer-worthy.



2. Ever wonder what type of person, let alone a woman, wants to live in a war-torn area like Iraq so we can hear on the radio what's going on there? Jamie Tarabay epitomizes an incredibly brave group of people crucial to an open society like ours - reporters who put their lives at risk to inform us about the real conditions and people caught up in such grim circumstances. Jamie's clear-eyed descriptions of her real-time education in the complexities of the Middle East and the intractable Palestine-Israel conflict give the reader a more balanced appreciation of the underlying human and religious issues. I was hoping to learn more about what motivates sophisticated women (and men) reporters like Jamie and Christiane Amanpour to do this type of work. Jamie's book title promises to do this, but ultimately spends more time analyzing the other type of occupation involved. I'm very relieved to hear Jamie reporting for NPR from Baghdad in the New Year - I can continue to root for and care about her now that I know better who she is. Thank you and well done, Jamie!



3. Jamie Tarabay tells it as it is without the blandness commonly associated with autobiographies. You relive her experiences with her vivid descriptions of events and her desire to provide an objective an assessment as possible of the troubles around her. She takes you through the highs and lows of life as a reporter in a region many of us never understand. I learnt so much more about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after reading this book. She explains it in a way that's uncomplicated and makes sense. And her adventures sound like fun, even if ducking bullets by hiding behind a car or hitching a ride with militia is a bit crazy. It's a very good read and I strongly recommend it.

5 comments about Writing a Jewish Life: Memoirs.

1. Raphael, Lev. "Writing A Jewish Life: Memoirs". Carroll & Graf, 2006
   
   Self-Acceptance
   
   
   Amos Lassen and Literary Pride
   
   Gays always seem to have trouble in claiming both their religious and sexual identities. For many of us, we leave religion behind when we realize that we are gay because we feel that religion has no place for us. Lev Raphael tells his persona story of claiming both and his personal road to self-acceptance. Because we are gay, we often feel separated from our community and our family and sometimes even from ourselves. It takes a great deal of honesty to be able to reconcile ourselves with our basic religious beliefs but Lev Raphael shows that is can indeed be done.
   With deep insight and crystal clear prose his search is explained in "Writing a Jewish Life" and although he does not give s a road map on how to do the same, it is easy to look at what he has done and adapt it to our own lives. We must rise above some of the issues of society such as race, religion and gender and find a shared humanity that will bring us together.
   Raphael's book is a memoir but it is more than that. It is a guide to self understanding. He uses his own life story so that he can better understand himself in terms of his religion, his homosexuality and his life as a writer. As the son of Holocaust survivors he had to be able to rise above the inhumanity of man in order to find the basic goodness of man and in effect, this is something that many of us do everyday. We look for the good in mankind and hope to be able to fit that good into our own lives. Raphael, as am author, is able to use his skill as a writer to overcome the sense of alienation he has felt as a gay Jewish man. He is able to create his own sense of history.
   For myself, there were parts of this book that were achingly painful as I have gone through so much of what Raphael has endured. Ostracized in my own mind and feeling that my religion did not want me, I ad to find my own place where I could share the beautiful heritage of m people and my religion with my homosexuality. There is no easy fit nor is there an easy fix. It is all about self compromise. Of course some of that self compromise is dependent on how far "out" a person is. When I came to Arkansas, I had to decide if I should just be out or return to the closet until I ad built up a new circle of friends and established myself. I had already done this once before in New Orleans and then again when I moved to Israel. Coming to Arkansas, however, presented a greater challenge. I did not choose to come here; I was brought here by the National Guard after I sustained much of the wrath of one of the greatest natural disasters of all time, Hurricane Katrina. I had reconciled myself to my faith by leaving it. Now in a new place with new people, my own sense of community was with my synagogue or temple. Could I risk being out? I looked at it as not so much a risk because I was not comfortable not being myself and decided to be who and what I am and if anyone had trouble with the fact that I am gay, then that was their problem and not mine. I accepted myself and thereby expected others to accept me and they did. So many of us have wished for acceptance before we have accepted ourselves and it just doesn't work that way. After reading Raphael's book, I knew I had done the right thing.
   Jews will always be haunted by history. There are so many issues in the Jewish past--the promise land, the chosen people, the Holocaust, the wars in modern Israel and anti-Semitism. But we must rise above the past and embrace the present in order to have a better life in the future
   Just as Lev Raphael has accepted himself, so I have tried and so must all of us aspire to do, The implications of religion on sexual identity are strong but they can be dealt with and once one rationalizes who and what he is, life is that much easier.



2. After reading through SECRET ANNIVERSARIES OF THE HEART by Lev Raphael, I went to this earlier collection of essays and "creative nonfiction" to uncork the sources of the writer's genius . . . Stimulating . . . Things I never knew . . . He had the sort of mom and dad who, imprisoned in the Nazi death camps, were all about, "Nothing else in life was ever as dramatic as that" . . . they really had no patience with him, for he had not suffered as they had . . . at the same time, their experience caused them to cut way back on how "Jewish" they were . . . understandably they complained they had had enough of other Jews in the camps . . . and led secular lives, without taking little Lev to any seders or other Jewish celebrations . . . consequently he grew up deracinated to an extent . . . and living a lie when it came to his sexuality, for how could he further devastate his family by admitting he was gay of all things . . . thus his earliest fiction had nothing real about it as he now admits . . . Under the tutelage of an understanding writing professor at college, and afterwards, for the two kept in touch, Raphael began painfully one step at a time to become real in his writing and real in his life . . . This necessitated getting involved in the Yiddishkeit which I'm still not sure about . . . what it is . . . and eventually moving to Okemos and settling down with Gersh Kaufman, wellknown psychologist . . . . trips to Israel produced more honest and compelling writing . . . while reviewing and broadcasting helped make Lev Raphael a household name.
   
   Good book . . . though some of it was familiar from earlier publication in JOURNEYS AND ARRIVALS book . . . my attitude is, can never have too much Lev Raphael and so called "double dipping" only hurts the ignorant and bigoted . . . check out "Selling Was Never My Line" for some comic relief, relief from the many tragedies outlined elsewhere in the book . . . this hilarious tale about writing a book called DANCING ON TISHA B'AV and hearing it referred to as DANCING ON THE TISSUE BOX, and other indignities even the greatest authors have to face . . . in today's mass market culture . . . puts a grin on your face.
   
   I wound up not liking the mother very much, she wouldn't give an inch . . . that's her prerogative, she suffered, she was there . . . apparently a gifted teacher in Brussels (Belgium) after the war, she shut down emotionally and wasn't available to her boy . . . and the dad was no prize either and Lev writes a bitter piece about him called "Scars."



3. I catalog books for a living. This book came across my desk yesterday. Intrigued by the title, I looked a little further; then spent my lunch hour reading it. Although parts of it will personally touch only those of us who actually are children of Holocaust survivors, there is also a universal theme throughout the book of personal discovery and the intricacies and influences of life experiences on that discovery. Well written, the author definitely has an engaging style and the reader finds him/herself drawn into the experience. Definitely worth the read.



4. In Writing a Jewish Life, Lev Raphael explores a variety of themes, including being the child of Holocaust survivors, being Jewish, being gay, being the son of an ill parent, being the owner of a wonderful dog, and much more. In other words, Raphael taps into the very essence of being human. He does so with eloquence, wit, and writing that flows effortlessly, beautifully.
   
   WAJL delves into emotions with which I could deeply identify, regardless of my familiarity with the eliciting experience. I learned. I remembered. I laughed. I was moved to tears. I was provoked to think.
   
   Even after I had turned the last page, WAJL left me feeling as if I had received a wonderful gift. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who appreciates exceptional, masterful, emotionally evocative writing.



5. I key Raphael into Amazon's search hoping for a new Nick Hoffman mystery and this new publication appears. Maybe it will be about writing. I enjoy books on writing, everybody's; Welty's, Cameron's, even King's, so I order it.
   Once in hand, I immediately see where over half of its slim 165 pages are repeats of pieces that appeared in a 1996 publication still sitting on my shelf, called "Journey's and Arrivals."
   Disappointed, I regret that this information is not in the discription, but I re-read a couple of the pieces that I'd first enjoyed in the earlier publication, then sought out the new ones and did find several very interesting, on writing, and fame and visiting Germany.
   Not Raphael's or anyone's expected audience for his work being an older woman, neither gay nor Jewish, I read to understand difference and not to identify, but then I found a piece called "Into His Eyes," and the author and I have identical relationships with our Westies, right down to having a hassock by the bed. I'm sure I'll re-read it many times and it certainly cut my disappointment in finding repeated pieces from an earlier book that I still own.

5 comments about Disappeared: A Journalist Silenced.

1. Erlick's book is a journey through Irma Flaquer's life and Guatemala's history from the 40's to the 80's. It is also an accurate and careful reconstruction of local conflicts between government and guerrilla as well as of part of Guatemalan press freedom struggle on the 20th century. The book is filled with details and Flaquer's insights. It is impossible to put down.



2. This book is difficult to put down. This is a story about an amazingly brave and determined woman who was passionate about her country and her right to express herself and ended up paying for that passion with her life. Erlick has done a magnificent job of chronicling both her story and that of Guatemala during one of its most turbulant eras. She is a great writer who obviously feels deeply for Flaquer, the people of Guatemala and all of Latin America.



3. This is a fascinating and fantastic read. As an American living in Guatemala, it had the added benefit of helping me to understand (really, for the first time) a less chronicled but no less interesting period of Guatemala's recent history: that from 1954 to 1978.



4. I can't believe the way I was drawn into the world of this book. I do not have an educational background of Latin American studies. As much as "Disappeared" covers Guatemala's history, the book is also a story about a young woman who takes up journalism, and then keeps on writing, even when it threatens her safety. Without spoiling the plot, Irma Flaquer has so many opportunities to walk away from her journalistic career, but her passion won't let her. "Disappeared" is terribly haunting, but I also think it's a hopeful story, and I can't seem to get it out of my mind. As a freelance journalist myself, it has made me question the merit of the types of things I spend my time writing about.



5. If you're looking for a book about an incredible female figure, this is it. I loved the way the author is able to make Irma's character come out so vividly, while at the same time giving the reader a sense of the political backdrop against which the events occurred. The book is also incredibly engaging -- it's one of those books that I keep thinking about, and wanting to jump back into. Each time I realize I have already finished it, I'm sad that I can't go home and read some more. It must have been incredibly exciting to have uncovered this story!

3 comments about Sid!: The Sports Legends, the Inside Scoops, and the Close Personal Friends.

1. SID! THE SPORTS LEGENDS, THE INSIDE SCOOPS, AND THE CLOSE PERSONAL FRIENDS surveys one who has seen many changes to Minnesota sports for over sixty years. His memoir originally appeared in 1997: this newly update edition includes a new epilogue about the past 10 years in Minnesota sports and presents new audiences with sports commentary and insights which are a 'must' for any fan of Minnesota sports history and any collection catering to sports enthusiasts.



2. This book is mildly interesting as fiction but bears little or no resemblance to fact. One question: Why does someone who makes a living as a writer have to use a ghost writer for his "autobiography?" Don't waste your money on this.



3. Sid's book is a fantastic ride through Minnesota sports history. I picked up the book a true Sid Hartman sceptic. Come on, does he really know all these people? I won't give it all away, but Sid is the real-deal Minnesota sports fan. A true Minnesota legend. The many tales of Bud Grant, the Gophers, the Vikings, the Millers, his role in the Minneapolis Lakers, the Twins, and yes, Bob Knight keep you both entertained and laughing from start to finish. Read this book and you will know a true hometown fan. I only wish Sid liked hockey a little more. Love him or not, this book is a must read for any Minnesota sports fan, and makes a great gift to those no longer living in Minnesota, like me. Thanks Demps! Another must read for Twins fans is "Calvin: The Last Dinosaur," author unknown.

No comments about Making It Perfectly Clear.

No comments about Josephine Herbst: The Story She Could Never Tell.

2 comments about Intimate Lies: F. Scott Fitzgerald and Sheilah Graham Her Son's Story.

1. I love it when nonfiction keeps me up late at night, turning pages. "Intimate Lies" may well be the definitive source on the last years of Fitzgerald's life, during which he tried (and failed) to be a Hollywood screenwriter. Westbrook's evenhanded, well-researched treatment of the romance between Fitzgerald and columnist Sheilah Graham (Westbrook's mother)is a snapshot of Hollywood just before World War II, a mixture of glamor, socialism and absurd censorship.



2. I didn't really expect to like this book. I have always enjoyed F. Scott Fitzgerald's works and that was what drew me to this book. I had heard about Sheilah Graham and i think i had read somewhere of there relationship. Bored one day with my usual 'type' of books i picked this one up amd began to read. What struck me immendiatly was the honesty, brutal at times being displayed by the Miss Graham's own son Robert Westbrook. His writing is presise and detailed recreating the golden age of Hollywood. He presents Fitzgerald honestly showing other aspects of the doomed author. His mother is shown as a master of the 'makeover' recreating herself from a very humble beginning. Take a chance with this book i think you'll be pleasently surprised..

No comments about Some Day I May Find Honest Work: A Newspaper Humorist's Life.