5 comments about Queen of the Oil Club: The Intrepid Wanda Jablonski and the Power of Information.

1. While I expected to find Queen of the Oil Club to be an educational read, I wasn't prepared for the page turner I found. Rubino's first person and you are there approach to Wanda's amazing life was riveting. So far,I've recommended it to friends looking for a lively summer read, writer friends, my graduate student niece who is pursuing Women's Studies and a friend who grew up in Saudi Arabia in the 1960's. There's something there for each of them.



2. The seeds of today's oil crisis were sown during the five decades that Wanda Jablonski reported on industry events and, through that reporting, influenced their outcome. To understand the current surge of oil nationalism on the part of both producer and consumer nations that will determine the future of hydrocarbons for years to come, we need to go back to the earlier rise of oil nationalism that led to the creation of OPEC. This book takes us there through the life of an extraordinary woman. Wanda, her first name sufficed to identify her whether in the court of the King of Saudi Arabia or the Exxon executive offices, had access to the boardrooms and bedouins that created the oil machine. She spoke the truth to their faces and told her readers what went on behind the curtain. In an all-male oil world, she earned respect and fear for the power she wielded as a journalist who knew as much or more about this crucial industry than the men who ran it. Anna Rubino captures Wanda, a strangely reclusive woman who quietly re-wrote the rules of business journalism and influenced the world we live in today.



3. Review for "The Queen of the Oil Club"
   Anna Rubino takes us into the world of oil in the 1950's through the eyes of a remarkable woman, Wanda Jablonski. In this clearly readable book the reader is exposed to the personalities of the industry leaders, the look and feel of the Middle Eastern cities and the customs and concerns of its people. Filled with high drama, this book tells a fascinating and timely story, perhaps even more relevant in view of today's oil crisis.
   Donald and Kathie Eppert



4. Anna Rubino was a brilliant scholar of history at Yale as she pursued her PhD. Now she has written a brilliant historical study, impeccable in scholarship but also timely and exciting. Five stars all around.
   --William Lilley III, a Yale history faculty member when the author was a graduate student.



5. You will be sucked into the story from page one. How could a woman named Wanda Jablonski have climbed into the middle of the super secret, conspiratorial world of global oil and remain there for more than 30 years as big oil's top digging journalist? The author, Anna Rubino, lays it out in page-turning fashion.
   
   Wanda broke all the stereotypes. She was on a first-name, trusted basis with Arab oil sheikhs. Her publication, Petroleum Intelligence Weekly, became the must read for every global oil player. She broke all the big stories in a career that, as written in this compelling book, tracks more like a great work of fiction - except it's all true. If you want to understand the forces that have carried us into the current world of skyrocketing fuel prices, read this book.
   
   It's a great summer escape - particularly if you can't afford the gas to get to the beach! You can sit under an umbrella on the back deck, grab a cool drink and get absorbed.
   
   Wanda Jablonski - one of the most important journalists in U.S. history. Who knew?

5 comments about The Rage and The Pride.

1. Fallaci here is not telling the world anything that it does not know...she is just reminding them. All the many abuses waged against the Western world by Islamic culture are collected and retold in this small volume, since we in the ever-tolerant West are always apt to forget them. She reminds us that it is not a question of how to coexist, but a stark reminder that coexistence is impossible. Their very religion/culture teaches that to coexist with the "infidel" is a sin.
   
   Fallaci's "sermon" is heartening because it can, and does in several spots, give the America reader something that he desperately needs--a morale boost from a foreign source. We get so used to hearing the world cat call us and to watching them burn our flags, that sometimes we forget why we bother to help anyone. Fallaci reminds us that there are some out there (even in Europe) who not only respect America but love it "like a husband", as Fallaci writes.



2. I will say right now (and warn those with more....*delicate* sensibilities) that this book will make you feel one of two emotions: love or hate. You'll either understand and see *exactly* what Oriana Fallaci wanted her readers to see and hear (she wrote a letter in an Italian newspaper, and this book is that letter plus added material that never made it into the paper), or else you'll vehemently deny all she has to say and call her a bigot, hate-monger, and anti-Islam. If you are part of the latter group, congratulations, you are the "cicadas" the very type of person she abhors for their willful denial of what is going around them regarding Islam.
   
   This book is no objective, detailed analysis of Islam. Fallaci states up-front that she is not ashamed to say what she has to say. The very first page after the preface, she states, "I am very, very, very angry. Angry with a rage which is cold, lucid, rational". This book's audience is mainly those who are still blind and deaf, in her own words: "a work which aimed at unplugging the ears of the deaf and opening the eyes of the blind".
   
   She is unafraid of what people think of her views, and the letter, later which became this book. The letter she wrote was in reaction to September 11 (she had left Italy, more like *driven* away by her detractors). She broke her years of silence, because in her words: "there are moments in Life when keeping silent becomes a fault, and speaking an obligation". No longer able to stay silent, in the after-math of September 11, as shocked and horrified as any American, she wrote long and furiously. All her sorrow, rage, and passion came out onto paper. The result was what she called, "a scream of rage and pride".
   
   Fallaci pulls no punches. She doesn't sugar-coat her words for the easily offended. She is blunt, brutally honest, and scathing in her opinion of her politically correct-minded country (which, she doesn't hesitate to add, also includes all of Western Europe). She laments how this political correct establishment turns a blind eye to the terrorists in their midst, all the while harping and hating America and its own identity as a country and people. She rails against this establishment that would rather willingly submit to a culture that suppresses ideas and freedoms and individuals and appease, than to stand up and be courageous.
   
   This book also doesn't mince words when it comes to describing the atrocities committed by the terrorists or how the mass Muslim immigration to her country (and the rest of Western Europe) is slowly, but surely causing it to rot from the inside. For her willingness to state bluntly how she felt about the terrorists and Islam, she received death threats, but continued to voice her opinions that were *not* politically correct. For this she was demonized and hated.
   
   The Rage and The Pride was a refreshing book, refreshing in that Fallaci said what she meant and meant what she said. No spin, or skirting of the issue, or waffling on an issue. She was one of the rare people in our overly sensitive and prickly society that didn't give a damn what other people thought. The truth is not always a pretty picture and *must* be told, and she understood this. It's a shame Fallaci passed away. I also recommend reading While Europe Slept: How radical Islam is destroying the West from within by Bruce Bawyer in addition to this book.



3. Let there be no mistake. This is a book that explodes with passion. Ordinarily that would give pause at the prospect of blind invective.
   But.... Fallaci's anger at the violent Islamists and their quiet co-religionists is exceeded only by her fury at a politically correct west that refuses to see our values as high ones, and refuses to see the existential threat facing us. Indeed, she is totally bent out of shape, and properly so, at our propensity to be so fair to everyone, that it reaches the absurd extent of viewing the openly presented Islamist threat to us as just a different culture we are supposed to understand. I can only hope that her book makes a positive contribution to waking us up, because, it is invective and personal, to be sure, but it is also based on horrific facts we must face, as a prerequisite to defending ourselves.



4. With a rare courage and honesty, Oriana Fallaci shinest the light of the truth and candid scrutiny on her country and the world- breaking a ten year silence after the horrific terrorist attacks in New York on September 11, 2001.
   
   A modern day version of Emile Zola's J'Accuse, Fallaci steps in boldly where most fear to tread, exposing the truths that all of us know but all fear to speak. Fallaci writes that this book was an effort to "open the eyes of those who do not want to see, to unplug the ears of those who do not want to listen, to ignite the thoughts of those who do not want to think"
   She does this admirably. She attacks Islamic fundamentalists and the arrogance of the politically correct elite whom she refers to as the "cicadas".
   Fallaci was a teenage partisan during the Second World War, fighting Mussolini's Fascist regime in Italy and was an intrepid journalist for decades, covering many wars and struggles. Fallaci writes of the frightening Islamic terror network which is growing like a cancer in Europe, protected by the politically correct Left, who manipulate or deny the evidence.
   She writes of her pride in her Italian culture and swears that if Moslem terrorists destroy any of her countrie's landmarks and treasures: "I swear: It is I who would become the holy warrior...War you wanted? War you want? As far as I am concerned war is war and war will be. Until the last breath."
   If their were more people like Fallaci in the West and Israel, we could certainly win the battle against the Islamo-Nazis and their cheerleaders on the international left.
   Fallaci aptly points out the reasons for Islamic terror:
   "Dont you see that all these Ousamas Bin Laden consider themselves authorized to kill you and your children because you drink alcohol, because you don't grow the long beard and refuse the chador or the burkah, because you go the theater and to the movies, because you love music and siing a song, because you dance and watch television, because you wear the miniskirt or the shorts, because on the beach and by the swimming pool you sunbathe or almost naked or naked, because you make love when you want or with whom you want..."
   She also attacks the politically correct hypocrites of the left who in the name of Humanitarianism revere the invaders and slander the defenders, absolve the delinquents and condemmn the victims, weep for the Taleban and curse the Americans, forgive the Palestinians for every wrong and the Israelis for nothing.
   
   You HAVE to read this book if you want to understand the great strugles the world is faced with at the dawn of the 21st century.



5. Having written a factually accurate book she was condemned to death by the islamic hordes. They threatened, hounded, followed her and all of her family. She died a natural death quietly.
   A MUST READ for anyone that knows and understands the deadly threat coming from the cult of islam. Borrow, steal or buy, but read.

5 comments about Life's a Campaign: What Politics Has Taught Me About Friendship, Rivalry, Reputation, and Success.

1. I watch Chris Matthews almost every evening and have come to respect him a great deal even if I don't always agree with him. The thing that I most respect about the man is that he asks the tough questions of both sides of the political aisle. Many conservative Republicans are upset with him now because he is so tough on the Bush administration but a scant eight years ago liberal Democrats were upset with him over his treatment of the Clinton administration. Basically Matthews seems to ask the tough questions of whoever is in power despite the fact that in his political career he always worked for Democrats.
   
   The reader will find out a lot about the author in this book including the fact that Matthews' father was a Republican and that the first President Bush took great delight in reminding Matthews of that fact. Matthews has in fact come into fairly close contact with almost every major American leader in the last thirty years and has gleaned several worthwhile insights from these successful people. It is those very insights that this book is meant to share. Matthews has zoomed in on several traits that seem to be shared by most of the people who have reached the top of the political ladder and it is his contention that many of these traits can be applied to almost any field with the same positive results.
   
   As Matthews passes along his hints for a successful career he shares some wonderful stories some of which are amusing and some of which are very moving. The story of Tip O'Neill's visit to the still sedated Ronald Reagan shortly the failed attempt on the president's life for example is a very moving story and Matthews does an excellent job of telling it. Matthews in fact does an excellent job of telling all of the stories in this book and even though this is the first of his books that I have read it is obvious to me that he is a very gifted writer. This book flows well, is easy to read and is interesting from cover to cover. Whether one agrees with the author's assertions or not his argument is presented clearly and in a very positive manner. Readers can decide for themselves if following Mr. Matthews' advice is the right choice for them but this book is well worth reading even if one decides to completely ignore the advice. The rare glimpses offered here into the lives of some of America's most notable leaders is priceless with or without the advice.



2. Thirty-two Amazon reviewers have preceded me, so I'll blame Chris Matthews himself. The reader-friendliness of this book allowed me to pick it up for a few pages at a time, then put it down for a week or more and then return for another enjoyable reading experience. This book works fine on that schedule, and I'm sure it would be just as enjoyable if you spent a day or two reading it from cover to cover. As he writes, Matthews comes across as a nicer, smarter and more congenial person than he sometimes appears to be on TV. I've held countywide elective office, managed campaigns for congressional and statewide candidates and participated in elections simply as a voter. This book is both entertaining and useful for any of those three roles. It's a shame that some of the early casualties in the presidential selection process didn't take the time to read it. I can think of one or two who would have done much better if they had. And since most of us aren't candidates this year but are watching, listening to and reading about them, this is a good read for us before we vote for or against them.



3. This book is one of Matthews' better books, in my opinion. It's a good, fast paced read - even if you are not involved into politics. It's somewhat autobiographical and somewhat observational in its prose. The book is Matthews' take on how successful people (primarily politicians) became true leaders and what it takes to play well with others. In some ways this book reads like a more condensed and engaging version of the older publication "How to Make Friends and Influence People".



4. i like chris matthews. while his voice can be somewhat grating on TV, he asks super questions and has excellent insight. he's someone for whom i have great admiration. the book, as its title suggests, is about stories (his own and famous politicians), how they dealt with difficult circumstances, in-fighting, obstacles to progress ... matthews offers within each chapter (e.g., listen) a number of stories, usually success although some failures, that demonstrate the given principle. the points that he discusses are based on, it would seem, his own values as opposed to something like precedent or scientific findings ... there's no discussion of scientific background. matthews talks about political stories, the thing for which he has become a master. in that regard, the book is excellent. coherence, valid conclusions based on material he presents, completeness of suggestions, and provision of recommendations on how to attain the chapter's objective were lacking. in my opinion, if you're looking for a self-help or self-actualization book, there are 300 books better than this one. if you're interested in stories about successful politicians (and matthews), then this is one of the more mezmerizing reads!



5. In Chris Matthews' current book, "Life's a Campaign," he gushes over politicians and what we can all learn about life from them. The Pol's message: do whatever it takes to win. Life is a zero sum game, a fight to the death. Steal, cheat, back-stab, and then lie about it all. Machiavelli had it right. This is a discordant book and I hope, and it does look like, that most people "reject & denounce" the politicians' model. What is congresses' approval rating? It's in the teens. Why? Because people can't stand politics (and business) as usual. We want a change, Chris. Obama is blowing up because the people think maybe this guy is DIFFERENT. Sad story of American politics.

5 comments about Blindsided: Lifting a Life Above Illness: A Reluctant Memoir.

1. Mr. Cohen is a huge black hole; I once did not feel his love for his children...my impression is that he was after all a very lucky man. he managed to put up with a demanding career, had the big luck in a great woman and I think wonderful kids...Instead of bitching so much, be thankful Mr. Cohen for what you have! In other country or other financial situation you would be long gone.



2. Richard M Cohen is amazing person. I really enjoy read this book. I found it very interest and good.



3. This is one of my favorite memoirs. Mr. Cohen writes beautifully about a not so beautiful subject, chronic illness. I hear he has another book out and I plan to look it up and order it as soon as I finish this review. Thank you for giving a voice to chronic illness Richard.



4. I really didn't like this book..from the first page. I never did try to pick it up again. Not worth your time.



5. BLINDSIDED by Richard Cohen. This is not just a book for for those dealing with MS, Although it could be the story of my family. It is the story of a man and his family who takes the blows and then gets up and keeps on going. It may not be the path was originally planned but they find a way to go go on. It is an uplifting story to those who fight physical problems and despair and find a way to go on. God bless you Richard Cohen, Meredith Viera and your children.

No comments about Sports Illustrated: Hate Mail from Cheerleaders and Other Adventures from the Life of Rick Reilly (Sports Illustrated).

5 comments about Running to the Mountain: A Midlife Adventure.

1. This author is becoming well known for his dishonest and insincere tugging at the heart strings of dog owners and dog book buyers. Don't buy it and don't read it. The way I see it, he owes me a refund.



2. I really enjoyed this book! I read it in less than 24 hours---so obviously it held my attention. I think some of the Amazon reviewers are a bit too hard on Katz. His experience is his experience after all---and who are we to judge if he is too "urban" or if he still doesn't understand what the rural experience is all about. While I do understand that as a writer Katz is always looking for another book topic---I think he found one here that was worthy of his great writing style. He's a self-deprecating guy who is easy to like. He allowed us, his readers, to enter his world and enjoy ourselves. That's a feat in itself. I say---keep writing memoirs Jon---you have a lot to offer.



3. I liked the book, got weary of the more "spiritual" portions, comparing his adventure into solitude with Merton's. Some of it I had to read twice just to get what he was talking about. I guess you would say it is "deep stuff." I would've enjoyed the book more if it was written simply about his trip to the mountain. I enjoyed reading about his buying the cabin and all the work it took to fix it, and the people he met. He wrote a lot about his family and portions of his life. I would rather read about life on the mountain with his new cabin, his dogs, the people...more adventure like in his other books. But this book is not necessarily about an adventure to a mountain, it's about his life and facing the future, and trying to figure it all out; it's about Jon Katz doing some soul searching, trying to escape the monotony of his life and find peace and happiness. Although I feel indifferent to his "spiritual" journey, most people feel like they need to escape from the monotony of busy everyday life and find peace, so it was easy for me to empathize with him this way. I too look for ways to make life newer and better, to face change and embrace it. His musings weren't all too deep for me. I could relate to some of them. Overall I liked the book.



4. During a change of life as he reaches the empty nest era, Katz shares his thoughts and reasons for acquiring his mountain get-away. After he and his wife raise their daughter, Katz decides to find a relaxing haven, to spend some time alone, to read the philosophy of Merton and play with his dogs. This account of his rehabilitating a run-down mountain cottage was fun to read. It is a story that many of us wish to echo as we approach our post-midlife (despite the title) years...finding and enjoying a summer get-away. To reward one's self of the work conducted through life is an admirable goal, even though Katz's goal, in part, was to find material to write about (he is an author by the way). I thank Jon Katz for sharing his adventure with us. It was fun to read and I, no doubt, will re-read this as my time comes to find my reward some day. There simply is something tranquil about having a place to go to where one doesn't need a clock, where the beauty of nature and seclusion are paramount. I feel there is a deep feeling within all of us to have such a paradise to go to. I can picture myself now sitting on the porch, overlooking a beautiful valley between mountains, with a good book in hand while man's best friend lies at my feet.
   
   Take this book for what it is, a fun account of one man's experiences of finding that one summer place to spend some alone time (and time with the family)--to contemplate his life while enjoying it with his four-legged friends. It sounds like a beer commercial, it just doesn't get any better than this. A very good read. Similar books: David Brill, A Separate Place; Mark Phillips, My Father's Cabin; Elizabeth Gilbert, The Last American Man; and, of course, the classic, Thoreau's Walden.
   
   If you know of any similar books, please drop me a line John@delbridge.net.



5. With a fine sense of humor, Jon Katz reveals his most innermost feelings when he explores the purchase of a crumbling, dilapidated mountain top cabin in upstate New York. Jon, an author, is not a talented handy man around the home. It appears he can barely screw in a light bulb, not to mention his weak skills balancing a check book. Obviously catered and emotionally indulged by his wife, it is a strong reflection of his love for her that he takes on the job of becoming not only responsible financially, but challenging and accomplishing simple things like scrubbing a toilet and cooking dinner. Later, he takes on tougher skills of gardening and basic home maintainance.
   
   His emotional torture is the realization that the couple can barely afford the luxury (?) of a second home, especially one with significant needs. His prolonged assault of ponderous concerns weigh heavily on him as he goes through the decision of actual purchase and facing the extensive renovations ahead of him. He perceives the purchase as an escape for which he can write his novels, articles and self-exploratory memoirs yet the sacrifice he is inflicting on his wife and daughter disturbs his decision making processes. But his love for the home and the mountain lure him and with excessive reflection of his motives and writings of Thomas Merton, he bites the bullet and signs on the doted line.
   
   Central to his development are his extraordinary blond labradors and their day to day activities. A black lab owner myself, I found this the most charming aspect of his life style. There is something so deeply penetrating in one's love for their dog, and it was quite palpable in the experiences they shared together. Special kudos to his patient and loving wife, Paula who understood when to let go and trust in her man. Their daughter, Emma, friends Jeff and Michele, and the incredible townsfolk round out a very lovely story of growth and achievement. Jon's writing skills truly made me feel as if I too, was sitting in his front yard, sipping scotch and watching the mountains looming in the distance. He just may tug of few of you out of your hum drums, and provoke you as well to purchase your little cabin in the mountains.

5 comments about Breaking News: A Stunning and Memorable Account of Reporting from Some of the Most Dangerous Places in the World.

1. I couldn't put this book down, and read it in one day. Martin Fletcher takes you where most reporters won't go, or can't go. You'll read of the intense competition between the networks, and what ranks as "go" or "no-go" story; which amounts to the number of people dying or killed as being newsworthy.
   
   Stories of fellow journalists who are killed and wounded (including his own first-person account), in attempts to bring the stories of war and its victims to our television screens. How Fletcher identifies with the suffering of the victims of war in Somalia and the "Ethnic-Cleansing" of the conflicts in Rwanda and Kosovo; with his own family's suffering in The Holocaust.
   
   From the Arab-Israeli Wars to the present Palestinian struggle, to personal interviews with a warlord, suicide bombers and refugees (one very touching story of a young girl). There'll be stories that will make you laugh, cry, and some that will anger you. But they are all presented within a very personal and moving context that almost makes you feel as if you're right there, experiencing Fletcher's witness of history in the making. And that indeed, this is a very dangerous and evil world in which
   live.



2. An amazing, POWERFUL, insight into the world of Martin Fletcher. I read the book in two sittings, four days ago, and I am still thinking about it. He tells his story in a 'mostly' chronological order, leaving me breathless at the end. It's an incredible journey and I am so thankful he took the time to tell it!



3. This is a very different, deeply-impressing account by a very special reporter - and if this book hadn't been thrust under my nose with the recommendation to read it, I would have assumed it was the usual set of star-turn anecdotes from someone who thought they were the star-turn. Not a bit of it. Unlike some, Fletcher is never, ever bigger than the news on which he reports.
   
   If this was only the most brilliant account of exceptional, award-winning TV war-reporting journalism, which, incidentally, it is - then that in itself that would be something. But it's much more than that; it's about the moral and ethical dilemmas that people like Fletcher face daily on our behalf in reporting serious news - and, refreshingly, nothing to do with the soulless ephemerals of providing 'entertaining' so-called, 'news' features between adverts.
   
   Fletcher is one of the last vestiges of conscience and soul in the digital age when it comes to serious news reporting. Breaking News is likely - and rightly - to be considered core-curriculum stuff for anyone considering serious journalism as a career - but it's also likely a must-read for anyone who wants to share Fletcher's personal 'take' - and the chance to share in his very human enlightenment - through his reporting of a truly extraordinary series of world events over 30 years.



4. Hanging my boots up last year after my final trip to Afghanistan was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make in my life. It was done at the insistence of my daughter and my knees. I finally had to realize that I could be a liability to those around me in a war zone. With that in mind, I was quite intrigued when friends contacted me and asked if I would read and review Martin Fletcher's book, "Breaking News". Martin was starting his career with the Yom Kipper (October) War of 1973 just as I was ending my Navy Combat Camera days with the very same war. Martin's account of this war is "spot on"! I wish he had written about this many years ago when I got asked to leave a Political Science class in college for telling the professor he didn't know what he was talking about. When the professor asked me how I knew, I replied with the only answer I could give, "because I was there"! Where were you when I needed you, Martin!
   
   "Breaking News" is a MUST READ for anyone interested in international conflicts and what it is like to cover these conflicts as a cameraman and as a broadcast journalist. In his 35 year career, Martin Fletcher has pretty much seen it all, and this book is his very personal account of what life is like in the day to day world of the Foreign Correspondent. Part of what makes this book great is that it does not focus on world leaders, and "their" stories. It focuses on the day to day struggles of the average person caught in the middle of these conflicts. It gives an excellent account of the journalistic integrity of one man working in the trenches of so many conflicts, Martin Fletcher.
   
   I am always reluctant to give too much detail in a book review because I hate to give out "spoilers". Once again, I will just say, "READ THIS BOOK"! Martin takes us on a journey of adventure and personal growth from the October War of 1973 to the Coup in Cyprus just a year later, to the Rhodesian War that gave us what today is known as Zimbabwe. He gives an excellent account of life in Paris for news reporters and takes us to Algiers and Iran for an insider's look at the Hostage Crisis in Tehran. From there he takes us to Afghanistan and covering the Afghan/Soviet War. He gives us a very telling account of life in Israel during the first Gulf War with SCUD missiles falling in Tel Aviv.
   
   I could go on and on about his coverage of the Middle East, Somalia, Rwanda, Kosovo, Bosnia and numerous other places of conflict and genocide. But, once again I will simply point out that Martin's book is really about his own personal and professional growth. There is some humor here, but there is a huge amount of sorrow and pain. One does not do this kind of work for 35 years without it taking a toll on your soul.
   
   Martin closes his book with the following: And I can only hope that Shakespeare wasn't referring to storytellers like me when he wrote "Life is but a walking shadow...it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing"! Rest assured that Martin's book is anything but this! It is a glimpse into one man's continent crossing dedicated life as a Foreign Correspondent, a glimpse into hell, and hopefully an offered understanding of "conflict" on the average person, as well as what covering such conflicts does to those who report them.
   
   Please...READ THIS BOOK "BREAKING NEWS"!



5. Most of us will never know the inside of a war correspondent's job. We should be thankful that veteran war correspondent Martin Fletcher has provided that glimpse for us.
   
   Fletcher is currently serving as NBC Mideast News Bureau Chief in Tel Aviv.
   
   Fletcher has written beautifully, movingly and tragically of his 30-year career, covering the strife in Israel, Zaire, Afghanistan, Somalia, Rwanda, Kosovo, and other war torn areas of the world.
   
   At times, the descriptions are brutal, graphic.
   
   At times, Fletcher breaks your heart. But always, Fletcher tells it like it is.
   
   Fletcher began his career as a cameraman who had grown bored with his BBC desk job, and describes his constant yearning for more as living a life always on 'fast forward'.
   
   
   
   
   Fletcher's father, Georg, was a young lawyer in Vienna in 1938 who fled Austria with his wife after escaping from a Nazi jail. Martin was born in London and Georg changed his name to George and the family name from Fleischer to Fletcher. Very few in Fletcher's parents' families survived the Holocaust. Martin Fletcher writes in his introduction that:
   
   
   "I am proud to say that I have rarely interviewed a head of state or a chief executive officer. I don't care what the generals have to say...Nobody with a story to sell or a policy to spin interests me. What I care about are the people who pay the price, as my family did."
   
   
   And that is what he tells in Breaking News - the stories of people who have paid the price; most often, with their lives.
   
   Sometimes, those who paid the price were journalists. In August 1967, Fletcher and other journalists were in Cyprus:
   
   BEGIN EXCERPT:
   
   "...As it was August 7, the first day of renewed peace talks in Geneva and we needed to show what was happening on the ground, we said thank you and drove off. Nobody's going to shoot just when their leaders are sitting to talk, we thought. And we were right. Nobody shot. But we didn't think about land mines...
   
   
   ..."Ted, in the backseat with the camera and sound gear, looked out the window.
   
   
   "The main road along the coast of northern Cyprus has many gentle bends, with fields on both sides and occasional narrow slip lanes to the right that lead to villages on the slopes of the low Kyrenia mountain range...It is a beautiful drive, with cows grazing in green fields, sweet-smelling bushes with butterflies and birds, and ancient gnarled olive trees...Here Lawrence Durrell made his home and under a sweeping lemon tree in the village center wrote much of his famous book Bitter Lemons."
   
   
   ..."Simon drove slowly, no more than fifteen miles an hour. All three of us scanned the road for mines and peered into the bushes ahead for Turks...
   
   
   ..."This time there was no barbed wire, and there were no warning signs. Simon and I spotted the mounds pushing up on the tar road at exactly the same time, and we shouted almost in unison: 'Mines" They were about a foot apart, arranged in 3-2-3 formation, and stretched forward as far as I could see. Some were just bumps in the earth, others were in plain view...
   
   
   "Even at such slow speed, there was no time to jam on the brakes...
   
   ..."Here I'd like to describe how I felt, but I have no memory...[multiple cars went through the minefield]...
   
   "The yellow car at the back pulled out. 'What's up? Why'd you stop?' the New York Times guy yelled. He began to overtake the car in front, heading toward us and the mines. There is no word I know to describe that instant of sheer terror. The fucker was going to kill us all. Then the car stopped. ...
   
   ..."Then Ted opened his door and got out. He held up his arm and shouted a warning, telling them to get back. That's when Ted trod on the mine. It was a Bouncing Betty ...'an antipersonnel mine that, when you tread on it or hit a trip wire, leaps into the air and explodes at chest height. It can blow your head off'...."
   
   END EXCERPT
   
   You will not be able to put down this book.
   
   
   
   At the heart of photojournalism is the ability to capture humanity in its most human moments; in war, this often means death. Correspondents were told to take pictures as close to the subject as possible. In war, that often meant photographing people in the act of dying.
   
   Fletcher argues that a journalist should put aside, for the moment, the very human difficulty of 'exploiting victims in order to save them', as Fletcher writes, or of 'cozying up to the perpetrators.'
   
   As cruel and insensitive as that may seem, it can be necessary, simply to bring the story of cruelty to the public. And by bringing the story to the public, more lives can be saved.
   
   
   Of his experiences in Somalia, Fletcher writes that by 1993, the drugged-up teens chewed 'khat' the drug the Somali warlords supplied to the children to keep the children's crusade killing and dying, dying and killing.
   
   
   BEGIN EXCERPT:
   
   "The oldest boy looked maybe sixteen. They were all shiny with sweat and had yellow-green teeth from the constant mashing of khat. One had dirty white bandages seeping blood wrapped around his shoulder to cover a bullet wound...
   
   "...Twice on our journey gunfire broke out. Our boy-guards whipped their machine guns around to the source of the shooting while our driver trod on the gas, hurling us against the hard metal...
   
   END EXCERPT
   
   
   Here Fletcher arrives at one of the most gripping episodes in his entire book, the death of Fida Ibraham and the filming of it on camera - and of the moral dilemma one faces, Fletcher writes, that directs 'good people to do bad things for a good reason.'
   
   That issue is at the crux of the human dilemma in this type of journalism.
   
   To bring to light for all of the television watching world, Fletcher and his film crew - an assignment originated from Tom Brokaw - decided to film someone dying, to let the world know what it is like to die of starvation.
   
   Inside a hut in the village lay Fida Ibraham, who was a refugee from Baidoa and who had walked 120 miles to Mogadishu.
   
   
   BEGIN EXCERPT:
   
   "She had survived for four days, but now black flies buzzed around her bulging brown eyes, and her thin lips drew tight against her yellowing teeth as she cried. Her long bony fingers dug weakly at the worms under her dry and wrinkled skin, but she didn't have the strength, and her skinny arm dropped suddenly and dangled over the side of the broken wooden barrow Annette used to carry away the dying."
   
   ..."Yossi was crouching crablike by Fida's side, his wide-angle close to her face, so the world would see in close-up her pain, fear, and humiliation...Fida whined and gasped in pain as the aid workers lowered her carefully onto a blanket on the bare concrete floor and inserted an IV drip into her vein. Every bone stuck out. She looked like a box of matches. "
   
   END EXCERPT
   
   Fida had TB, malaria and scabies. Her father, Mohammed, sat by her side, her aunt sat at Fida's head and the cameraman, Yossi, kneeled by his camera. Annette fed Fida small drops of water from a spoon.
   
   
   BEGIN EXCERPT:
   
   "We were the voyeurs of death. It was hard. I knew we were abusing poor Fida, but I felt this was a scene the world should see and understand. If the viewer felt sick, good."
   
   
   END EXCERPT
   
   
   Fletcher's gripping account of his years as a war correspondent does not end with Somalia. He takes the reader to civil war torn Rwanda with the savage killing of the Hutus and the Tutsi, and then on to Kosovo.
   
   
   He ends his book with a brief discussion of why anyone, rationally - would choose such a career as his has been, and provides an answer that in this world obsessed with 'celebrity, wealth and success', he worked to tell the story of 'those left behind' of 'those who paid the price', and offering words from the Bard, echoed by Faulkner that he hopes his efforts will be counted as more than "'Life's but a walking shadow...it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing'."
   
   Fletcher tells a powerful story we all should read. His memoir signifies much on the stage of world affairs.
   
   Intense, gripping, superb.

5 comments about The Joke's Over: Bruised Memories: Gonzo, Hunter S. Thompson, and Me.

1. If your a fan of Hunter I highly recommend this book. I'ts written by his best friend, not some second hand source of filtered information,
   so it's told how it is, how it was, and what really wend down on their adventures on the job.
   The book is also full of Ralph's Gonzo Art - some of the very pictures Hunter requested him to draw.
   I feel like I'm on Reading Rainbow right now, but this is a book I'm happy to have added to my collection.
   My prop's to Amazon for the best deal I could find on the internet, Thanks.
   So if you want to hear about Hunter from the man that was with him on his mission's and how that man was influenced and likewise, than this book is for you, I'ts well writted also. Peace.



2. Ralph Steadman gives and honest, insightful and funny glimps into the work he and Hunter S. Thompson did over the years.



3. I'm going to miss the good doctor. Hunter S. Thompson, with his faithful English mad man gave us the ultimate in gonzo journalism. This is Ralph's side of the love/hate partnership they shared. For the most part, he does a good job. There are some rants and he pulls off some of his own scabs from life with Hunter. The artwork is first rate and of course, that is what Ralph does best. Still, all in all, it was a good read and I recommend it for anyone who has ever been the sidekick of a huge ego or savagely bludgeoned by the wierd that has gone pro.



4. Ralph isn't the greatest writer ever born, but I've always enjoyed his books. This books is a great read. I gives a Ralph's eye view of Hunter. I would recommend it to anyone that has read at least 4 Thompson books... If you just read Vegas once because you liked the movie you might want to pass.



5. Don't get me wrong, I am no author. In fact, I am no astronaut either. Some things should be left to the pros. 'Don't write, Ralph. You'll bring shame on your family.' A pro said that and he was right.
   
   I bought this book hoping to gain some insight into the life of a great journalist, author and legend. What I got instead was a book written by a man desperate to remind us that, without him, there would be no journalist, author or legend. 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas would be nothing without its illustrations.' Balderdash. Reading this book is kind of like going to a family reunion and watching the less coordinated, less handsome, younger brother of the captain of the football team try to catch one of his passes. We all know he has no chance, and we try to be kind as he repeatedly falls on his face. Children are entitled to kindness. Ralph isn't a child so, in this case, let's be honest. This book is poorly written. It is particularly poorly written from a grammatical standpoint (and yeah, the fact that he's Welsh is no excuse). There are times when it is nearly impossible to figure out what the hell he is talking about! Better writing and better editing would have helped a lot.
   
   Of course this book wasn't all bad. In between patting himself on the back, or unnecessarily sounding off on his take on events like Watergate, there are some nuggets of worthwhile information in here. Too bad those nuggets aren't representative of the book as a whole.
   
   So, in the end, do buy this book but buy it used.

5 comments about Eleni.

1. There are few books on the Greek Civil war that erupted after 1945 between Communists and the rest of Greece. During the war some 158,000 or more people died, many at the hands of the Communists. Yet most books on the subject in English are still sympathetic to the Communists (seeRed Acropolis, Black Terror: The Greek Civil War And The Origins Of The Soviet-american Rivalry,1943-1949) and refuse to condemn the red terror and the mass killings. This book goes a slight way towards setting the record strait if only because it shows the story of one peasant woman in a small village known as Lia in the mountans of northern Greece. But the story of how the vilagers were used as slave labourers by the COmmunists, starved and finally tortured and murdered is a story of what befel all northern Greeks during the Communist insurgency. Westerners present this insurgency as 'romantic' as only westerners can present genocide as 'romantic'. But this sad and disgusting train of thought is finally shattered by this excellent and daring book that tells the story not only of Lia but of the peasants who lived there and Eleni and of course her son who survived and who has lived to return to Greece to tell the story.
   
   Seth J. Frantzman



2. I have owned this book for over 10 years. Every time I read it I thought of my maternal grandmother (that was her generation) and all the other brave Greek mothers before her and cried like a baby. I passed it onto my second husband who is not of Greek descent. He loved it and really liked the name Eleni. That was about 5 years ago (we've been together over 6).
   Our second daughter was just baptised Eleni in the Greek Orthodox church. It was the only name we could agree upon. My aunt & uncle came from Greece and told me a story of when my uncle was a little boy. He was injured by an unexploded bomb and was taken to a hospital in Athens. His grandmother went to visit him. She had been born and raised in Athens, although now living about an hour outside of the city, so she knew the short-cuts to the hospital. On her way to see her beloved grandson she was shot dead, mistaken for a man in disguise. This was at the beginning of the civil war. I had not heard this story before, and had no idea who my paternal grandmother was. Apparently, her name was Eleni. I wonder if this is why I was steered to this book and so moved by it? Ain't life funny?



3. Author Nicholas Gage tells the story of the Greek civil war and how it personally affected him and his family. Most notably this book describes how politics, fear, greed, and desperation combined to culminate in the brutal torture and execution of his mother, Eleni, for the crime of merely saving her children from starvation or forced separation.
   
   My brother highly recommended this book to me. I was a little put off by its length and the obscurity of its subject (I had never even heard about the Greek civil war), but as the story unfolded I found myself completely engrossed in it. The first 100 or so pages were just a little difficult absorb because of the necessary build-up of the scenario and the characters. I also struggled throughout the book to get a grasp of the numerous greek names of people and places. However, these were minor inconveniences to pay for the huge reward of learning about this incredible and disturbing experience.
   
   Nicholas Gage very eloquently describes the cruelty and injustice that war tends to inflict on so many innocent victims. Everyone could benefit from learning about this story that he has so vividly portrayed in Eleni.



4. This is a very good book written by the son of a woman murdered while trying to escape to freedom with her children from a corrupt government. He wrote about it as an adult investigating what happened and including his memories. He is forgiving as his mother was desiring to do as she would have wished with no retaliating to those who had part in persecuting her.



5. This book is written well, but it is a hard read. I didn't think it really grabbed me until about 244 pages in. It is worth it in the end, but you have to want to finish it (or in my case, be required to) in order to enjoy.

1 comments about Conversations with Hunter S. Thompson (Literary Conversations Series).

1. Torrey and Simonson have given us insight into Thompson's mind and methods not found in any other book. "Conversations with Hunter S. Thompson" is more than mere echos of the man and rememberences of others rehashed over and over again. It is the voice of Thompson himself speaking clearly and understandably to the reader with intimacy and frankness.
   
   This book has value beyond it's collectable worth (thought it certainly belongs in everyone's collection). It is a reference, a reflection and a revelation.