No comments about Naked on the Page: The Misadventures of My Unmarried Midlife.

No comments about Girls Only: Sleepovers, Squabbles, Tuna Fish, and Other Facts of Family Life.

No comments about The Sage of Sugar Hill: George S. Schuyler and the Harlem Renaissance.

5 comments about I Followed my Heart to Jerusalem.

1. Author Yale Roe imagines his late mother's reaction to his sudden decision in 1971 to make aliyah: "Millions of people risk their lives to come to America, my son decides to leave." Roe (then 43) was a successful media executive with a wife and four children ensconced in Winnetka, IL, a self-described "suburban achiever." In 1972, between the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War, the family arrived in Jerusalem and began life anew. Roe recounts the journey with warmth and humility. The riveting memoir has universal appeal as a testament to fulfilling one's dreams.



2. It's a pleasure to read a book that comes from the heart, not a lot of flowery words but feelings that can be understood by the reader. Good work. It makes me think about my dreams.



3. Just that in itself is saying something! Mr. Roe is candid about his feelings and surroundings and the longings which send him and his family to Israel. The book contains keen insights on the Jewish people as well as the state of Israel.
   
   They say "every life has a book in it" and Mr. Roe probably has a number of them....he had a career in media before it was a buzzword! Hopefully we'll see more from Mr. Roe in the future.



4. I had a great time reading this book. It gave me a good understanding for many things I always wanted to know about. A fun story about living life to it's fullest.



5. It's been said that the key to good writing is the desire to express one's personal experience and the ability to share that experience and associated feelings with the reader, and this certainly rings true in this heartfelt story. I was quickly drawn in by the author's convincing communication of his experiences and feelings and his warm and personal writing style. I'll be looking for more by this author. Highly recommended!

2 comments about Selected Letters of Rebecca West.

1. since my last review, I have written to Bonnie Scott and she has contacted the publishers to correct errors. So it's getting better.



2. Rebecca lived through a lot of interesting things and knew interesting people, so if you're looking to read her letters, this is probably a pretty good collection of nicely typed out copies of them. I would disregard the preface since the editor, Bonnie Scott, has obviously not spent the time on attention to details and solid background information. If you want to read about Rebecca, I would recommend "Rebecca West: a saga of the century" by Carl Rollyson, who spent many hours at our home talking with my father and getting all his facts right over a long period of research.

1 comments about A Voice of Thunder: A BLACK SOLDIER'S CIVIL WAR (Blacks in the New World).

1. Most books and reports on Civil War events come from white writers and voice white viewpoints. This one speaks with a black voice, as George E. Stephens wrote as correspondent for the (New York) "Weekly Anglo-African," from the events of John Brown's rebellion (Nov. 1859) through September, 1864. Along the way he shifted from member of the press to acting patriot-soldier, recruiting and then enlisting in the Massachusetts 54th, that leader among black regiments depicted in the movie "Glory." Donald Yacovone provides not only notes for the letters but also information on Stephens' family background. After the 54th disbanded Yacovone follows Stephens' ongoing struggles to educate freed slaves in Virginia; the story of many black patriots' efforts to move their people upward by finally granting them some education is not widely told or appreciated. These chapters fill a need today. So the life taken as a whole is both glorious and tragic: it's distressing to follow Stephens' hopes, from fresh optimism through disillusionment to despair, time and time again from the events of Fort Wagner to the last anguished efforts of his life. At its end he had to sue the government he'd served all his life to obtain the commission denied to him because of his race (though illegally), and provide for his wife with a higher pension. He never lived to receive it, dying in 1888 before the promotion came through. In this Stephens is typical of black men of his time, and it's deeply saddening.This is not a happy, but it is a useful, book, and a corrective for many cheap heroics about how well we treated our black veterans. We need to ponder its message today.

No comments about Filming With Attenborough: The Making of Cry Freedom.

No comments about Best in Self-Publishing & Print on Demand: Plus Marketing Your Book on The Internet (na).

1 comments about Lyle Saxon: A Critical Biography (Southern Literary Series Vol. 3) (Southern Literary Series Vol. 3).

1. This book is related to the Chance Harvey book published later; Harvey's dissertation, which formed the basis for her book, is cited as a reference in this one, which was published about 10 years before. This book is more focused on the literary side of Saxon; Harvey's book looks more at his life. So, both books together make up the most three-dimensional look we have at this complex, tormented man. Both authors point out that Saxon is not well remembered outside of New Orleans. More's the pity; apart from his literary works, his urban pioneer role in reviving the French Quarter deserves wider notice. Although the Thomas book deals mainly with his written legacy, it does address, with greater frankness than Harvey, his sexual life-what little evidence there is of it. This is not to suggest that any titillating dish is to be found in either work; the gay men and women of that time lived in shadows and shadows are what remains of their identities. The only caveat-as with my review of the Harvey book-is that the fates of Saxon's close friends, and the lasting effects of his legacy in the Quarter, go largely unmentioned. A third book to consider is Robert Tallant's Mr. Preen's Salon (1949) which, although labelled as fiction, is a loving and yet unsparing portrait of Saxon's behavior, particularly his drinking bouts.

4 comments about The Dog of My Nightmares: Stories by Texas Columnist Dave Lieber.

1. We recently chose this great little self published book as our March Selection, It is written in a folksy, charmingly funny style, and contains plenty of wisdom. There are short chapters about all kinds of subjects; relationships with wives, kids, dogs, work, etc. It is great choice for book clubs that want to alternate their deep. dark, reads with something happy that everyone will relate to. We all enjoyed it.



2. As a Texas now living in North Carolina I had read Dave Lieber's column for years and still do online. In 1996 I had the privelege of meeting both him and Sadie the dog at the walkathon in Bedford, Tx where I took my beloved dog, Jake. (Like Sadie Jake is no longer with me but still in my heart. Last week I was in Texas and saw this book and had to buy it. It is well written and brought back many memories of thing from Dave's columns. My favorites were always when he wrote about Sadie. Great book!



3. This is a wonderful heartwarming book that I found hard to put down. The story of Dave's dog is especially funny and sad. I wouldn't want to give away any plot secrets but the dog sounds pretty sharp. You will feel like you've been transported to Texas and invited to be part of a special family when you read this book. I hope there is a sequel.



4. As a longtime reader of Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist Dave Lieber's work, I was privileged to purchase an advance copy of his book off his new Internet web site before the actual publication date. It's thrilling to see his best stories from the past decade collected in one attractive volume. Dave writes laughers that remind me of Dave Barry at his best. He also writes stories about people that, well, you better darn well have a box of Kleenex nearby. The one about how Dave brought former Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith to the classroom of a teacher who was dying of cancer (true story; it was her dying wish) is unbelievable! The book has almost 90 stories, each of them short and easy to read. They cover every conceivable subject -- from family, kids, love, education (Dave calls it 'Texas Edukation'), nutty politicians, quirky Texans, Sept. 11, a writer's life, becoming a cowboy, etc. There are probably about 50 photographs in the 288-page book, too. I guess what I like about this book is that it's full of surprises. You never know what is going to be on the next page. There's a story about Dave's relationship with a convicted murderer and then what happened when the guy got released from prison. It's surprising as heck. There's a story about Dave's first meeting with the Texas governor and the strange comment made by Gov. Perry. But the signature story of the book is about Dave's beloved Psycho Dog. Dave loved the dog, but the dog hated Dave. This opening chapter is a real tear jerker, reminiscient of My Dog Skip. I think it's wonderful that Dave is giving a portion of the proceeds of this book to the Humane Society in honor of his late dog. I promise you'll love this book. I'm already on my second reading. - M.W.