4 comments about Sleeping with Custer and the 7th Cavalry: An Embedded Reporter in Iraq.

1. If anyone wonders why the military in Iraq hates CNN,you only need read this book. The first page starts out by letting us know that Rodgers came to "cover George W. Bush's war." The second page refers to the "hype over Saddam's chemical and biological weapons." Naturally, the book concludes with an epilogue on how the war is lost. One would think that the folks who brought you Bagdad Peter Arnett and his phoney Tailwind chemical weapons story (talk about hypocrisy) might want to try hiring an objective reporter before Fox beats them 3 to 1 instead of only 2 to 1.



2. During March of 2003, Walt Rodgers, an embedded CNN correspondent was a miraculous connection to the 3/7 Cavalry, my son's unit as they forged ahead to Baghdad with great speed through sandstorms, under fire from the Republican Guard without devastating casualties. His book tells us things that soldiers don't always choose to remember or discuss. Admiration for the soldier and lack of political bias make this a good read for those who want to understand more about our military.



3. I learned of Rodgers' experience with the 7th Cavalry from an interview he gave on NPR -which I guess should have been a tip off- in which he was most engaging and thoughtful. However, after reading his book, I was amazed at his egocentricity and imagined superiority, as well as his condescending attitutde toward our troops, which he takes such great pains to deny. I had expected an insightful decription of his experiences as an embedded reporter, instead what I learned was his stolid anti-Bush opinions. I am not interested in his feelings about George Bush or the rationale behind the Iraq incursion, I had hoped to learn about our troops and their operations. Unhappily, Rodgers appears to be cut from the same cloth as Maureen Dowd and Frank Rich- although they have some good thoughts, they can't be taken as serious because their biases are so blatantly exposed that they cast doubt on even their legitimate observations.



4. Walter Rodgers was consistently the best of the reporters embedded with American military forces during the Iraq invasion in 2003. One reason, we learn from Sleeping With Custer, was the remarkable rapport he had with the soldiers of the 7th Cavalry, including the top commanders. Anyone interested in the "embed" process--from whatever perspective--should read this book. Rodgers gives us a detailed, day-by-day account of the 7th Cavalry's drive from Kuwait to Baghdad. His unit was the "tip of the tip of the spear." It led the way. Rodgers and his CNN crew--four men total, including security--hunkered down in a used, unarmored Humvee vulnerable to even the smallest of small-arms fire. The reader understands why he feels fortunate to have survived. Rodgers pulls no punches. He felt lucky to be where he was, and he had great respect and admiration for the men he served with. At the time, he apparently believed fully in their mission. But even then, he recognized that a military force well prepared for combat was not ready for its role as occupiers. When he returned to Iraq a year after the fall of Baghdad, he found a land of danger and discontent, where Americans were seen not as liberators but hated infidel invaders. Thus his epilogue becomes almost a disclaimer, raising serious doubts about the ultimate success of U.S. goals in Iraq. This book is slightly marred by a lack of good copy editing. Unimportant but annoying text errors abound. These aren't factual errors, though, and they aren't Walt Rodgers' fault. They must not be allowed to detract from the importance of this vital and otherwise excellent book.

5 comments about A Life Shaken: My Encounter with Parkinson's Disease.

1. This was by far the most comprehensive, detailed and informative book on Parkinson's disease I have read.
   The author is an Early On Set Parkinson's patient and yet, with support, has been able to continue to raise his family and work full-time at his job as Editor of the Los Angeles Times.
   
   He thoroughly investigates medications and other medical proceedures available and their benefits and disadvantages, which I found extremely helpful- certainly more information than I received from any physician.
   
   Further, the author discusses, with amazing frankness, his own physical and mental challenges, which takes it beyond pure information to a story of courage and personal growth.



2. Joel Havemann brings the journalist's practiced eye for detail, detachment and clarity of expression to the task of understanding, describing and coping with Parkinson's. He also allows his heart to speak and the result is a work that should be especially valuable to those who have themselves have recently received a Parkinson's diagnosis or who have a close relative or friend thus stationed.
   The book offers clear and interestingly presented facts about the various drugs, treatments and hopeful research that become an integral part of having Parkinson's, as well as the historical and public policy context in which those elements have evolved in the centuries since the disease was first identified. There is just the right mix of facts, opinion and sometimes barely concealed disgust in Havemann's treatment of these matters.
   As valuable as those chapters are, I think many will find Havemann's account of his personal odyssey and that of his family to be the more valuable aspect of his book. He is unstinting in his descriptions of the physical and mental effects of the disease and frank about his occasional failures to deal with those effects as effectively as he would like. He also spares little in telling of his fears about the disease's potential progress and what it could mean for him and his family.
   I can't think of a better preparation for confronting the many challenges and crises that accompany the arrival of Parkinson's in the life of an individual and family. A Life Shaken is strongly recommended.



3. Other books about PD scared the heck out of me, but Havemann's sense of humor and indomitable spirit have changed my perspective. I'm not afraid anymore. Thank you Joel. The book is honest and straightforward. He describes what happens to a brain with PD so clearly that I finally understand it!



4. Author Joel Havemann weaves his own story of living with this progressive neurological disease with a clear and carefully researched explanation that ranges from symptoms and drugs to challenges and the outlook for a cure. "For an adventure it is - not one that I would have chosen, but an adventure all the same." Mr. Havemann, an editor with the Washington bureau of the Los Angeles Times, helps us look at the human brain and its intricate yet magnificent operation, and the disastrous consequences of even the simplest misfire. He has created an excellent reference guide for caregiver, family member and patient alike that affirms the paradox of our own frustrations and hopes for the future. We feel Mr. Havemann's determination to keep going for his family, anger at the debilitating symptoms, and belief that the scientific and medical communities will deliver an answer.



5. Mr. Havemann provides us with an incredibly personal view into Parkinson's disease. His wit, candor, and superb writing style draws the reader into his story to such a degree that it is difficult to disengage. While telling his story he concurrently entertains and educates the reader as to where medicine stands with regard to research and current treatment, and how individuals cope. I'm looking forward to his next work.

2 comments about The Patron: A Life of Salman Schocken, 1877-1959.

1. I have read a number of reviews of this book all of which praise Anthony David for his detailed study of the life of Zalman Schocken.
   David paints the portrait of a remarkable Renaissance figure, an innovative empire- building businessman , a great patron of the Arts, a humanist, Zionist builder of cultural life in the land of Israel.
   Schocken was born in Posen in Prussia, but built a business empire throughout Germany. His department- stores were forerunners of today's Malls. He combined in them a sense of the aesthetic ( Bauhaus architect Eric Mendlesohn was his designer) with a real understanding of the customers' needs.
   He also was an autodidact a lover of German and Jewish culture. The shock of his life came with the coming of the Nazis to power, and from then on he shifted most of his activities to Jewish cultural work. He also to a degree recreated a bit of the business empire he had in Germany, in then Palestine and the United States. 'Schocken Books' is one of his cultural monuments. He was the patron of Buber,Scholem, Elsa Lasker-Schuler, and most notably Agnon. Schoken had an eye for talent and an ability to support and sustain it.
   One of his major moves was his purchase of the newspaper 'Haaretz' as wedding gift for his son. This would become the Israeli equivalent of the NY Times.
   Schocken was also a great patron of the Hebrew University.
   Schocken contributed much to the building of Hebrew culture in the land of Israel, and Jewish culture throughout the world.
   A highly recommended work.



2. This is a professionally-written biography of the late German-Jewish philanthroper Zalman Schocken. I learned many things from this biography that I hadn't known about his life: that he was actually from Prussian-controlled Poland and thus, was not a "blue blood" German Jew, about his innovations in commerce which lead to the massive successes of his department store chain, and his relationship with other German-Jewish figures in the Zionist movement such as Gershom Scholem, Hannah Arendt, and S.Y. Agnon. I learned that Agnon kept his right-wing and very anti-Arab attitudes out of his books because his 40-year patron, Zalman Schocken, told him to do it. I learned that Schocken Books published a whole line of Jewish-subject-related books in Germany after the Nazis came to power, even exploiting their sepearation laws to be a "Jewish publisher."
   
   Up until the Nazis come to power, Schocken appears to be a man of talent and relevancy, both in the realm of business and also in the realm of Jewish cultural revival. The last 25 years of his life are portrayed as those of a man who has had the cultural and business orientation ripped away from him by Adolf Hiter and in relying on his previously-used models of success and meaning,falling into irrelevance.
   
   The author has worked hard to understand all of the angles of Schocken's life: as a businessman, as a successful autodidact and lover of literature and philosophy, as a philathroper, and even a bit about his personal life and his relationship with his family. The author has also mastered the intellectural and political background in which Schocken's life occurs, both in Germany and then in Jewish-Palestine, which eventually became Israel.
   
   Zalman Schocken was certainally a character and personality of an exceptional and excentric order and this books comprehensively explores all aspects of his life, his business endeavors, his social visions, his philonthropic endeavors, his ideas about culture, Judaism, and his relationships with other people.

5 comments about Mostly True: A Memoir of Family, Food, and Baseball.

1. This book was received in a very timely fashion,much faster than I expected.For a used book,it was in excellent condition.I also enjoyed this book very much.It was a heart warming story of a wonderful and some what eccentric family.



2. What a wonderful book of the American Family. Written from the perspective of the oldest sibling, who is also the only girl, it is just plain fun. Growing up without a lot of money doesn't mean life has to be boring or painful. Parents don't have to be perfect and neither do the kids.



3. For anyone who grew up around Columbus, OH in the 60s and 70s, this is a must. But, incredibly, O'Neill makes the book fascinating as well for her look at NY and its restaurant scene in the 80s and 90s. And the glue to the whole narrative is her and her family,including her famous little brother, Paul. Well done Molly.



4. Molly O'Neill has a very engaging writing style that pulls you into her world. It's a world peopled with the wildly obsessed, but go along as the ride is enjoyable. Molly O'Neill writes about a life that straddled midwest big city longings with utopian politics and food plays a big role at all stops. My only quibble is that the book has less to do about being Paul O'Neill's sister than the book jacket may lead you to believe.



5. After reading this book I ordered several copies as gifts. That probably says it all, but I can't just leave it there. Molly O'Neill and her family grew up in the neighborhood where I live and I was taken by her memories of family life where she was the only girl with five male siblings and a father whose main focus was baseball. The exploits of the boys had me laughing out loud while also being thankful I didn't live next door to them.
   I enjoyed reading how Molly's cooking expertise evolved and even included her brothers in this endeavor. Her writing, as always, was a delight.

5 comments about Anyone Can Grow Up: How George Bush and I Made It to the White House.

1. God, what a hack! She really should give up writing and devote herself to sewing patches on Tucker's Toughskins.



2. How this woman ever got to be a reporter is beyond my understanding. I take it that she is good at being able to spot things that interest the casual reader of Time magazine. Her analysis of the Bush Gore election is that Bush should win because he served better food than Gore. In the end, this book is dreadful yet interesting because it speaks volumes about what passes for thoughtful `political commentary' theses days.



3. All too often, it is all too easy for Washington insiders to fall prey to common opinion of their peers and colleagues. Carlson bucks this trend by inviting us into actual dialogues taking place as decisions are made and implemented. Her book allows us insight into the workings of Washington and the minds of the very people responsible for decisions and policies affecting the direction of our country and our lives. A must read for those who wonder what drives our leaders. Like it or not.



4. Take a bunch of old TIME magazine columns, string them together with anecdotes (meant to be heart-tugging) about Carlson's brain-damaged brother and working-class Irish-Catholic parents, and slather them with goo intended to soften her sharp elbows deployed during her singleminded ascent to the tippy-top of Georgetown s**thouse aristocracy.

   Whadda we got? The unfortunately buyer gets a book that in truth merits no stars at all.

   Carlson's brownnosing of the Washington Post's Katherine Graham is sickening enough without a half-dozen mentions of how Carlson's daughter was married at "Kay's" Georgetown mansion. Did you catch that? If you didn't, Carlson will remind you.

   Oh, and George W. Bush made silly faces and served fancy food on his campaign's press plane. Maybe that's how both he and Margaret, as the book's subtitle reads, "made it to the White House." By being dim and opportunistic? Must be.




5. Reading this book you feel embarrassed for Margaret Carlson. She brags about being a member of the Sally Queen Special Class in Washington. She shows contempt for ordinary people and their concerns. She hated Al Gore because he talked about issues on the campaign plane, issues that effect the lives of millions. She liked Bush because he served lobster ravioli on the campaign plane and made funny faces instead of boring her with discussion of issues. She recycles her columns from Time magazine. No original insights in her columns. Just conventional wisdom. No wonder Time magazine cancelled her column.

No comments about The San Francisco Chronicle And Its History: The Story Of Its Foundation, The Struggles Of Its Early Life And Its Well Earned Successes.

3 comments about Broadcasts from the Blitz: How Edward R. Murrow Helped Lead America into War.

1. ...hearing Murrow's "This is London." The first time was while visiting my grandparents. My grandfather took me into the kitchen and closed the door before turning on the radio because my grandmother didn't want to hear it. I was only 10 years old, and I'm sure I didn't understand the full significance of what I heard until much later. Nevertheless, it has stuck with me. It was one of the nights when Murrow was outside and we could hear the air raid siren in the background. (If I stop to think about it for a moment, I can still hear the siren's distinctive wail in my "mind's ear.") Seib's book is a superb addition to the shelves of books about the beginning of World War II because it deals with an aspect of how U.S. involvement came about that I do not recall reading elsewhere. The focus is on Murrow because he was so influential in forming Americans' opinions about the importance of sustaining England as it fought the Nazi menace alone, but the work of other journalists is also cited. (I have a small nit to pick here: the name of The New Yorker writer is Mollie Panter-Downes, not Painter-Downes.) Seib writes well, and his narrative moves quickly and to the point. There are no wasted words. Anyone with an interest in the early days of the war should read this book.



2. The difference between reporting the news and leading the country has never been clear, and Edward R. Murrow was a master at both.
   
   While reading this book on his broadcasting from London during the early days of the war, don't forget his broadcast that ended the career of Joseph McCarthy. Murrow understood that his reporting influenced American public opinion.
   
   There are those who rail against his sense of ethics in combining reporting the news with what you might call propaganda. Perahps he should be judged instead by the result. He helped prepare the US for a war that we could probably not avoid.
   
   This is the story of a strange time, and what one key player did.



3. BROADCASTS FROM THE BLITZ: HOW EDWARD R MURROW HELPED LEAD AMERICA INTO WAR is for any who would understand early broadcast journalism's effect on war and peace. Murrow's 'This is London' opening brought the blitz home to Americans who would've otherwise been distanced by war events: he told why Americans wouldn't be able to avoid involvement, and he prepared the country with his moment-by-moment broadcasts of events. His agenda was to bring America into the war - and more than any politician, he alone helped prepare the American public for such involvement. This far-reaching story will interest a wide audience, from students of broadcast journalism to those interested in military history and social issues alike. Highly recommended indeed.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch

1 comments about Caught in the Crossfire: 2.

1. this is quite simply the best book on the war in afghanistan- and i have read all of them. does anyone out there know the e-mail of the author--jan goodwin-- so that i may contact her?

   to anyone who has not read this book and is interested in afghanistan- please do so. it is excellent.

No comments about The Camera Never Blinks Twice: The Further Adventures of a Television Journalist.

1 comments about Elena Poniatowska: An Intimate Biography.

1. Elena Poniatowska: An Intimate Biography is an amazing window into the life and work of socially conscious writer Elena Poniatowska, a descendant of the last king of Poland, whose voice is best known in Mexico but deserves to be known everywhere else. Written by Poniatowska's friend of fifteen years Michael K. Schuessler, Elena Poniatowska: An Intimate Biography draws upon numerous interviews to reveal a multiplicity of perspectives - from fellow writers, literary critics, her nanny, her mother, and herself - upon Poniatowska's remarkable life and works. 40 black-and-white photographs, an annotated bibliography of Poniatowska's writings including those translated into English and those yet to be translated, and an index round out this "must-have" companion to any college library or literature shelf featuring Poniatowska's work.