5 comments about Over There: From The Bronx to Baghdad.

1. I found it very interesting to read this book! I have to say, I was delighted in his writing style, it made me laugh and think, and if he writes another book, I will buy it because I liked his style. It was very interesting to read a reporter write about what he (as a reporter) thought and did, especially in mid-war. How often do we get first hand accounts of the ins and outs of being a reporter? I had no idea how much lag time they suffered, nor had I thought about how intrusive the media can be, with the goal of telling a story to the world.I liked it!



2. This author is obviously enamored with Hemingwayesque prose, but unfortunately it comes off in a sophomoric and self-absorbed way. I wish that he had more to say about the war and less to say about himself.



3. "Three journalists have died in Baghdad. . . American troops are killing journalists in a profoundly foreign country, under cover of a war being fought for savage, greed-crazed reasons that most of them couldn't explain or even understand."
   
   This is a quote from the late "Gonzo Journalist" Hunter Thompson, and Alan Feuer's book captures the same sentiments. A reporter is nothing more than a voyeur, Thompson has said repeatedly, and in this New York Times reporter's case, he has peeped on the underworld of the Bronx Mafia by eavesdropping in Cafes on Arthur Avenue and peeped into the shanty tents of the homeless camped out under the Throgs Neck Bridge. Then he is sent to Bagdad - and thrust into the chaos and confusion of a war he barely understands himself. "Over There," is not a book about the ill-named "Operation Iraqi Freedom" because the author (TR) admittedly does not spend enough time in Iraq to label himself a war correspondent. It is instead a book about a journalist who is parachuted into a gritty warzone and finds himself confronting the same greedy motives he has found covering the mob, dirty CEOs, and hardscrabble, down-on-their luck thieves, back in NYC. It is also a look at the politics of the world's most respected paper and may prompt some high-brow readers who sniff they "only read the Times" to take the hardscrabble reporting of other newspapers just as seriously, if not more so.



4. Due to the DOD's brilliant policy of "embedding" reporters, there have been very few books written by reporters discussing there view of the war in Iraq. (Where are you David Halberstam?)I was glad to see that Mr. Feuer was brave enough to write about his experience covering the war. Mr. Feuer's book is a classic fish out of water story. He writes an amusing, sarcastic and insightful book about his experience. His book does a great job capturing "T.R's" feelings as he unexpectedly finds himself in the action in Jordan and Iraq. If you are looking for a book that discusses the failures of journalists to adequately cover the war, this isn't the book for you. If you are looking for a great story about one man's journey into a confusing and awful situation, then buy this book.



5. This is nothing but poorly written drivel. A friend in publishing gave it to me. I am so glad I didn't pay for it. Amateur writing coupled with a huge ego. Bleah.

5 comments about Berlin Diary: The Journal of a Foreign Correspondent 1934-1941.

1. He was there at the nazi rallies;He followed the invasons,and most importantly, heard and saw the writing on the walls of the average german as the madness grew..The proaganda by goerbells is commented on regularly, etc. I have the original spring 1941 edition before the US declaration of war,so it appears even more valid somehow.Every WW2 history buff must read this book to round out any education. I also recomend it to all journalists,and history teachers.I recall his comment in 1938 (as the nazis annexed Austria)that 20 or more Jews committed suicide that day as a german army entered(Salzburg or Vienna? It's a book I couldn't put down.Some reviewers shouted "he's prejudiced". Ha! Shirer was not an umpire calling games at Yankee stadium" in 1938,-these 'thugs'were sending all opponents to concentration camps or worse, Shirer comments how by 1940 these bas_ards were going into the hospitals to remove the mental cases and send them to death camps.Thank g_d he was 'prejudiced enough' to write it down.



2. A well-written contemporaneous account of a correspondent's life in Nazi Germany up to 1940. Shirer is almost prescient in his assessment of Hitler's actions and their consequences. It is unfortunate that he could not continue his reporting after 1940, because an account of this caliber of the years when Germany was at war with America, made from inside Germany, would have been a valuable historical record. Shirer is a true journalist; while he offers opinions, they are clearly labeled as such, and do not get in the way of dispassionate reporting of the events he witnesses.



3. The author makes a large number of observations about what is happening and how it is done. This is along with the historical recording of events. These observations have stood the test of time. They explain the German's rapid success in the early years.



4. This book is an excellent account of the early years of WWII from the perspective of Mr. Shirer who was stationed in Germany as a print and radio journalist. There is quite a bit of history in this book and I found that it functions as a good introduction to the early history of WWII. It is also enlivened by some of Mr Shirer's personal anecdotes regarding broadcasting. Mr Shirer's close access to many of the leading figures in Germany and his observations of some of the war torn areas of the early German invasions gives a very realistic and graphic portrayal of how the war evolved in Europe. It is also fascinating to hear the speculation about which path the war would take. This is one factor that makes Mr Shirer's book much more interesting than a standard history text which has the benefit of hindsight. In the Berlin Diary, the reader sees history literally being created and develops a better understanding for the difficult choices the allies faced at that time.



5. This is a great book on a number of levels. You know how WW2 came out, the author does not. This book was completed months before Pearl Harbor (last entries were December 1940). So it is a great page turner watching mediocre politicians blunder their way to war.
   Also the inside story of the founding of broadcast journalism.
   
   The only type liberal most Americans know is a "Make love, not war" stereotype. Shirer was a different type. The type that was willing to fight facism in any form straight up, blow for blow, shot for shot. (Yet, he also personally knew Ghandi and was a great admirer. I guess Shirer could recognize the limits of non-violence.)
   
   Some other reviewers were upset by Shirer's opinions of Nazis and Germans. I recently read "My Four Years in Germany" by ???? Giraud who was the USA ambassador to Germany from 1913 to 1917. His observations dovetail and add validity to Shirer's observations about the mindset of Germans and their ambitions to dominate Europe, if not the world. He also had chapters on the German education system and Prussiaism which explains the Kaiser Cult. Nazism was a direct descendant of Kaiserism and Pan-Germanism. I spent ten days in Germany and Austria in 2004. While at the Dachau concentration camp I observed 100s of 16 year old German students. One of them told me all German students are required to go to a concentration camp. My son's school field trips are to Disneyworld or Busch Gardens, theirs is to walk through gas chambers. I doubt those bright, active German children regard Slavs as subhumans to be treated like cattle, but that does not mean their grand parents and great grand parents did not.
   
   Another reviewer slammed Shirer for describing with relish the food he ate on short trips outside of Germany before the War in contrast with the rationed poor food in Berlin he had to live on. Obviously that reviewer has never missed a meal in his life.
   
   This is going to turn some people off, but I was also struck by similarties between Nazi propaganda and Fox news. (Techniques, not Jew baiting.) Keep up a particular slant for years and that perception becomes people's realities.
   
   This is a great book which drives home Jefferson's observation, "The natural manure (fertilizer) of the Tree of Liberty is the blood of patriots." This book diary entries shows how Austrians, Checks, Dutch, Danes, Belgiums, French, and (except for the English Channel) the British one by one all refused to fight for freedom and lost all.

No comments about Ernest Hemingway's a Moveable Feast: The Making of Myth.

2 comments about Memories In Translation: A Life Between The Lines Of Arabic Literature.

1. This is a very interesting recounting of one man's journey through life as an Arabic to English translator during a very interesting time in history. The text is peppered throughout with the names of well known Arabic authors of the 20th Century and in the course of reading I learned about authors and works that I was previously unaware of which will lead to some great reading. There are many photos, taken by the author's wife, of the author with some of the great Arabic language writers mentioned in the book.



2. Having lived an important part of my life in Morocco just like the author and having recently entered the world of translation from Arabic to my native language for the sheer love of literature with no hopes for substantial earnings to be gained from this endevour I found the book full of useful information. Great abbreviated chapters on some prominent Arab writers with so many interesting details. Deffinitely a joy to read for whoever is attracted by this so prolific but yet so underestimated literature. I definitely believe that in this era of quick-to-read books Arab writers could make a paramount contribution for the reestablishment of high literary standards still offering interesting plots.

5 comments about Ian Fleming: The Man Behind James Bond.

1. I gave this 4 stars for being the best Fleming biography. The Pearson bio wasn't nearly as detailed. One reviewer of that book said it glossed over many things; that is true. This book gives details to the core. But you have to realize that Fleming did not live an interesting life. Sure, he was a journalist, he went into banking, and he was even around for WWII, unfortunately, the most he did with his time was live in luxury. That is what caused his boredom and depression, as well as his need to be surrounded by the most interesting people who could stand his reserved, English behavior.
   
   Love affairs, dreamy getaways to safely exotic locations, and this and that are all told in this book, in every last detail. I'd recommend this book if you're looking for something on the James Bond creator. Sadly, do not expect a fascinating individual. He spent too much time smoking and being your everyday playboy to be adventurous.



2. This book covers an interesting life story and has great detail, but unfortunately much of that detail has nothing to do with Mr. Fleming's life, instead focusing on the bloodlines of every British person he ever met. A typical sentence would read "While at the party Ian met John Blankenship of Eddileshile, who would later become the Duke of Ipswitch and marry the Dutchess of Flem, whose mother, the Dame of Foppishnich, once had lunch with Sir Henry Handllberg" - and NONE of these people would have had anything to do with the story, the party, or Ian Flemming. It is as if a Flemming biography was inadvertantly been mixed with a "Complete Peerage of the Brittish Isles" and they went ahead and published it anyway. If you must, get the print version, so you can skim over the irrelevant stuff that pops up every other sentence - if you listen to the Audible audio version (like I did) you will find it had to follow and boring to boot.



3. In a fashion, Mr. Lycett's biography is as detailed as Carlos Baker's biography of Ernest Hemingway. Nearly every movement of Ian Fleming's adulthood is covered. What is revealed is not a pleasant personality. Ian Fleming was a selfish, egocentric fellow who was very much a rake and a cad, especially in the years before World War Two. Scion of a wealthy family, he was a true-to-life example of England's decadent ruling class as much as the Marchmont family was in Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited.(Interestingly, Fleming's wife, Ann, was friends with Waugh though Waugh did not know Fleming very well when Brideshead was written). Lycett paints an unflattering portrait of this ruling class. The ruling circle which Fleming was part specialized in divorce, arrogance, selfishness, the lapping up of assorted luxuries. They lacked fidelity and self-discipline. It is also noteworthy that in the middle of the Depression, Fleming was so set in society that he seemed to be able to vacation at a whim and not lose his job. Fleming would have died a spoiled cad if not for the discipline of war, in which he served well as an intelligence officer. Egocentric as always, Fleming later claimed to have drawn up the blueprint for the American O.S.S., later known as the C.I.A.. During the war, Fleming fell in love with Jamaica. This love led eventually to Fleming's routine of writing a James Bond novel each winter at his place, Goldeneye, in Jamaica during his ordinarilly 2-3 month winter vacations. The James Bond pop phenomenon was slow to take off and by the time that it did, Ian Fleming's health was in severe decline due to years of a diet of cigarettes, large amounts of alcohol and greasy foods. The Bond novels will never be known as great literature but they are tersely written in fine, spare prose. The plots are usually ridiculous but, after all, they were to be fun books, not serious literature. Sadism is laced within many for Fleming was a sexual sadist. What is most fascinating about the biography is the chummy relationships within the British ruling class where Fleming would have the homosexual Noel Coward as his best man, rent Goldeneye to Prime Minister Eden after the Suez fiasco and Fleming's wife, Ann, would carry on an affair with Labor Party boss Hugh Gaitskill with Fleming's acceptance.



4. Lycett gives great insight into Fleming's character and also the world he lived and wrote in. Also, this book gives a great overview of World War II and the Cold War. I highly recommend this book to Bond fans and anyone else who enjoys reading about exciting persons, such as Fleming.



5. This was an excellent book. The research was excellent, and Lycett's ability to portray characters from the early to mid 19th century should not be overlooked. My only gripe was there seemed to be two oft-repeated phrases: "In a letter to Evelyn Waugh, Ann..." and "En route to Jamaica in New York, Ian...." But all things considered, this is an essential read for any 007 fan - casual or the vodka-martini drinking type.

1 comments about Eleanor Roosevelt's My Day: First Lady of the World : Her Acclaimed Columns 1953-1962.

1. In his overview of Mrs. Roosevelt's "My Day" newspaper columns, Elmblidge succeeds by converting each year of columns into its own chronologized, self-contained chapter -- and within the framework of that chronology -- allowing the excerpts chosen to represent the most telling events of the "day," translation: fifties decade.

   Elmblidge enables us to glide through this volume with his rich chapter introductions and an exposition preceding each excerpt. The result is not only a thorough understanding of the former First Lady's opinions on a wide array of social issues, but an absolute appreciation of an era in which she was so active and outspoken.

   This book should be back in print! It is exceptionally well structured and straightforward; the personal stamp of the seasoned Mrs. Roosevelt is everywhere. Elmblidge's Volume III is an especially smart choice for those who did not experience the America (and world beyond) of the 1950's firsthand, but would wish to.

2 comments about An Open Book: Chapters from a Reader's Life.

1. I have read most of Michael's (and, yes, I feel as though I know him well enough after reading this book to call him by his first name) books and always find them both highly entertaining and informative. I am fascinated by all things literary--including other people that are. On the surface, this is the story of one man's journey through life who befriended literature at an early age as, perhaps, a means of dealing with the usual insecurities. Reading became an obsession and he was able to parlay this love (with the help of a "little" talent and intelligence) into a Pulitzer Prize winning career. I wish he would have been able to spend more time talking about individual books and authors within the context of his own interests and life experience; however, he pointed out at the beginning he would not be using this particular venue for such.
   
   I found his memoirs delightfully readable.



2. Our book group was fortunate enough to have Michael Dirda attend our discussion of this memoir. He is delightful, witty and steeped in the pleasures of reading, just as his book is. It's the story of an insecure, highly intelligent boy from a family of limited means who engages the world through literature. He is guided by several inspiring teachers, but mostly is self-taught as to what makes good reading and the lessons in life to be gleaned from books. While his keen intelligence sets him apart from his family in many respects, he also lives an ordinary and in some respects idyllic boyhood in Ohio.
   
   As Michael Dirda said of one of the books he recently reviewed for the Washington Post, "you really should read this book."

3 comments about Veronica Guerin: The Life and Death of a Crime Reporter.

1. I have no connection to Ireland or Veronica Guerin, but I was curious to read this book when the movie was announced a few years ago. I actually found it to be quite porrly put together, not quite as balanced as the other reviewer.

   Having little to no knowledge of the situation beyond what O'Reilly provides, I found her purported insights into the media pretty banal. And it is infrequent that I read a journalistic account whose authorial voice I found quite as unlikeable.




2. This book is as good as it gets if you want to know the Veronica Guerin story. It is thoroughly researched, clearly presented, and as balanced as possible under the circumstances. It offers extensive interviews with Jimmy Guerin, Veronica's younger brother, and has good interview material from many others who knew and worked with her, such as Damien Kiberd, former boss and editor of the Sunday Business Post. There was some unfortunate pre-press publicity by the publisher that got up the nose of her employers at the Sunday Independent, and they refused to contribute, as did her husband, so if the book is in any way one-sided, it's simply because the other side (if there can really be such a thing) refused to be interviewed. The Sunday Independent was the paper where she built her reputation as a crusading anti-crime journalist, and was her employer at the time of her death. Others that were working there at the time, notably Eamon Dunphy, did however contribute, and I believe sufficient fact is presented that readers can make their own judgements as to Emily's thesis. She believes that the Sunday Independent, and Veronica herself were largely to blame for her own death. Personally, I don't really see the point of trying to apportion blame, and the only criticism I would have of the book is that it spends a bit too much time obsessed on that issue.

   One of the reasons Veronica's husband was against the book was that he felt it was being written too soon after her death. Given that it was ultimately published nearly two years after the murder, I find that sentiment a bit odd (the Sunday Independent was using her image in its advertising a month after her murder, and the husband apparently had no problem with that). Whatever about the actual date of publication, it was vital to at least do the research as soon as possible, while the facts were fresh in people's minds. To date, no other book I know of has been written about Veronica, apart from one focused more on John Gilligan, the man ultimately blamed for, but not convicted of her murder (he was sentenced to twenty-eight years for importing cannabis - one might be forgiven for suspecting that he was sentenced for the murder regardless of the fact that there was no case strong enough to convict him).

   In my six years in Ireland, I've found Emily O'Reilly to be the most consistently excellent journalist working here today. Her writing is always clear, complete, balanced, and accurate. This (unfortunately) puts her head and shoulders above almost all other journalists working in Ireland, and it's a great loss to Irish journalism that she has recently accepted the post of Information Commissioner and Ombudsman. Veronica appears to have been quite excellent herself, but she died the year before I moved here. It sounds like her talents were rather wasted on the crime journalism, and it's ironic that she in fact began her career with some truly groundbreaking stories on business and politics.




3. This book, I would give, -10 out of 10.Based on sensitivity and fact. It was plain to see that Emily O'Reilly did not like Veronica. Even though Veronica's family and Real Friends asked for nothing to be written, filmed or published in that short space of time she went ahead and did it. I would not advise anybody to buy this book. From knowing Veronica, I do know different. Veroncia would never put her darling cathal at risk. She knew what she was doing bringing him along to a meeting.

   I think it was terribly insensitive of Emily to write this book. Does she have any idea how much it upsetted Veronicas's REAL friends to hear about this book or even read it. I did read it, out of couriosity. To write about a person is one thing, which is easy, but to know the person, love the person, idolise the person is another.....Emily....it was cruel of you to put her real friends through this...just so you could make money from it.

   This my friend, is a horrible thing to do, also, get your facts straight.

No comments about Right in Her Soul: The Life of Anna Louise Strong.

5 comments about Defending Baltimore Against Enemy Attack: A Boyhood Year During World War II.

1. I loved this book and I'm sure I smiled all the way through it. Everyone loves nostalgia about the good ole days -- meaning, we ALL have our own good old days. But the times he writes about are especially delightful and innocent. The music was great and something everyone and anyone could sing along with. The movies were dreamy. The radio was great and innovative. And best of all were Mom's final words to the young on summer days: Be home before dark! Yes, we used to go out and play. We didn't have play dates; we just played with whoever was there on that day. Sometimes we played kick the can, or tag, or jump rope, or went on long bike rides, or went to town to the small store to look at magazines and comic books and drool over the candy in the glass counters. We may even have had a nickle in our pockets to buy something.
   
   In any event, I grew up in basically the same circumstances as young Charles describes in this book. The book is short and sweet, something to smile about on each and every page. I wish it was longer -- Both the childhood of the 1940s and this book. Both were great.



2. I envy Charles Osgood. He saw and experienced a Baltimore I never did. The stork didn't drop me off in B'more until 1955. I had such a good time in seeing things I remembered from a different perspective. If it's possible, I loved my city just a bit more after reading this. Thanks for the memories and insights.



3. I was drawn to pick up this book when I saw the cover--the picture of the author as a young boy is irresistible. Although the content was interesting, I found myself quickly becoming annoyed by the author's numerous slurs towards our younger generation. I found his words to be increasingly mean-spirited and I finally put the book down for good when he made light of both children and their parents who are faced with the struggle of bipolar disorder. The author reminds me of many older Americans who can't see that the world has changed greatly since the 1940's and that our younger generation has many redeeming characteristics.



4. This delightful read, one year in the life of a 9-year old boy, may be the most enjoyable book I've read in years. And I read a lot of stuff. The year was 1942 and Charles Osgood describes it magnificently as lived by most of us the same age. I laughed with tears in my eyes on almost very page. This book should be enjoyed by the children and grandchildern of those of us that were children during that incredible year, 1942. Memory lane was never better documented. Enjoy.



5. Osgood's wit and rich tribute to his 1940s boyhood results in an enjoyable, worthwhile read, even better if you get the audio version, read by Charles himself. I did find his criticisms of today's children (and their excessively competitive parents) a bit grating. It made me think of a book that could have been written when he was a child, something like, "Radio?! Who needs that! Why when I was a boy we didn't need all those special effects and people shouting at you from a wooden box! We had books, like Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. And they were never spoiled by silly toothpaste or hair tonic commercials."
   
   The problem with nostalgia is that it can create an abnoral yearning for an irrecoverable past, and is often excessively sentimental. Tempis fugit...