5 comments about Another Day of Life.

1. Kapuscinski was the only journalist in Angola during that time. He arrived there in september, I left that country (my country) in august. Besides being the only witness of a "word's forgotten war" he was able to accurately catch what was going on there at the time.



2. Anything goes when it comes to the raw greed and clan warfare that characterizes human behavior. Kapuscinsky's reportage is brilliant, relentless and focused. He describes the roots of the human condition in Angola at eye level. You can draw your own moral conclusions - and in case you are left wondering, this scenario is applicable wherever Western and/or European cultures operate in Africa...it's cynical exploitation in the name of Mamon all the way to the bank. Read this and ponder about the future of mankind. Thank you Ryszard, you deserve a Pulitzer prize for your reportage!



3. Nothing more need be said. It probably isn't as compelling as Shadow of the Sun, or Shah of Shah's, but it certainly is a fine book.



4. This is a fine, fine piece of tightly written war reportage. From the first page the heat, tension, cruelty and fear of the Angola civil war following Portugese decolonisation is brought to life by Kapuscinski's biscuit dry prose. He was not one of these sit back and learn of events from a distance whilst sipping fine malt whisky journalists. He bore right into the heart of the action, frequently risking his life. Some of the stories in here are highly strung in terms of tension, wit and emotion. Take the encounter with the security post, where you have a choice of two greetings to shout to the guards, the wrong one will result in death, and garbling a half sounding equivocation doesn't cut it. Also the heartbreaking sacrifice by a Mulatto girl who stays behind and is killed after Kapuscinski's truck leaves.
   
   Kapuscinski died very recently, he was one of those rare and brave Europeans who finds the intellectual life of Western Europe (though he was actually Polish) lax, self satisfied and bland, and sought to find places where life really was lived with every emotional and sensory dial turned up high. Another Day of Life is a very apt title.



5. This fast paced book taught me so much about Angola's history and
   > current dispute. It made me want to learn more about this country's history and
   > its people. I enjoyed the book because it was more than just a history and an
   > account of war. It was an in-depth look at the people and their culture. It is
   > the story of struggle for a whole civilization after gaining their independence
   > from the ruthless European nation of Portugal. Kapuscinski didn't try to confuse
   > you with numerous names, groups, and organizations. He gave you the basic and
   > made the past easy to understand. Characters were brought to life through his
   > detail, which made you feel for them when they left or were even killed. In the
   > front of the book, a map of Angola is provided allowing you to flip back many
   > times while reading this book. You know at all times what part of the country
   > you are in and what is going on. A detailed history of the events leading up to
   > independence and civil war is also provided in the back of the book. It explains
   > what occurred during the war also.
   Excerpt of A.K. winning book review! Good Job A.K. Mrs. Arthur

5 comments about The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir.

1. As we Boomers are pushing our kids out of the nest, we are finding time to write. And what better topic to write about than ourselves? Bill Bryson adds his personal, perceptive and funny reminiscences of an Iowan boyhood in the 50s in the form of "The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir," a fast-paced romp through a typical 50s childhood. Bryson combines solid period research, mature reflection, genuine memories and (too often?) outrageous exaggerations of fact into a memoir of a his wild childhood. He touches all the generational bases -- polio, the Red Scare, Sputnik, A-bomb drills, TV and comic book heroes as well as the personal ones about clueless parents, trying to get in to see the strippers at the fair, petty theft at the candy store, local brands of soda, hocking looeys in the Tunnel of Love and harassing managers when the lights dimmed at the movie house. Given the title of his memoir, it's surprising that his alter-ego -- The Thunderbolt Kid -- makes so few appearances in the book and seemed added almost as an afterthought or marketing ploy.
   
   Nevertheless, I got a kick out of The Thunderbolt Kid, and it made me think back on my own childhood at the end of the 50s. Bryson's comments as funny and often on the mark. His short takes on 50s for black Americans, on the Army-McCarthy hearings and on the US's hapless late-50s space shots were educational. I found that Bryson's fictional swings actually diminished the effectiveness of the book -- it was sometimes hard to tell where reality left off and mendacity-as-entertainment began. No matter. An age in which kids spent their summers outside and unsupervised, in which neighbors were invited over to see the new fridge, and in which church suppers and county fairs were the major means of entertainment, and in which causal racism was pervasive and barely noted is increasingly difficult to recall. Bravo to Bill Bryson for helping us remember.



2. As always, Bryson is informative (the Thunderbolt Kid is really an excellent history of the 1950s and '60s in the U.S.) and wonderfully amusing (as in laugh out loud).
   
   He's also an excellent narrator of this audio book.
   
   Just one caveat. While the book is funny and interesting throughout, from my vantage point, at least, little about Bryson as a teenager was appealing: he essentially opted out of high school life, chose to spend minimal time with his family, was a petty thief, and starting at age 14 smoked like a chimney and drank a lot of alcohol. If you can't tolerate hearing about a kid like that, don't get this book.



3. Bill Bryson's story of growing up in Iowa is a terrific book. I bought it in large print for my mother, who can read only large print, and who has difficulty hearing too, so this is the only way she could enjoy the book. She too adores Bill Bryson. We love his facility with language, and his many ways of making us laugh. He's a marvelous storyteller.



4. This was a wonderful book, which also deviates here and there into politics and general history.
   
   I really came to enjoy Bryson's observations about how "the good old days" were also fraught with some significant downsides, which we've gratefully grown beyond.
   
   One carp: Bryson himself reads the audio edition, and he's not the most gifted reader I've ever heard. He's so laconic that the material really has to carry itself.
   
   H'mmm - maybe that's not such a bad thing after all...anyway, you'll enjoy this book in any form.
   
   PS - if you like this, you'll love the writings of Jean Shepard, too.



5. Bill Bryson is by far the funniest, most insightful, travel writer today.
   Here his travels are temporal, instead of spacial as he takes us back to his childhood - and what a childhood it was. His writing is so personal and open that you can't help but feel that this book was written specifically for you.
   
   
   It is both a very middle class North American tale, set in the fifties and a Calvin archetype (as in Calvin and Hobbes) visioneering a rich and adventurous landscape, that none of the adults could see.
   
   May The Thunderbolt Kid ride again.
   
   David Cale

3 comments about Shoot the Damn Dog: A Memoir of Depression.

1. Ms. Brampton has written the book that all depressive people and their families have been waiting for. She writes the truth about therapy and medication in a clear and readable manner. She tells her story without trying to make you feel sorry for her but to encourage others who face the darkness of depression.



2. This book about depression tells of the writer's personal experience, holding back nothing. I imagine she must have used the words "I cried" on every other page. It is a hard story to read emotionally-speaking but decently written.
   One thing I had a problem with was that she had enough money to live on without working when she was severely depressed, which is not true for most sufferers. Due to the sale of her and ex-husbands' home as well as the ex-husband being "there" for her through all of this, she was able to remain in her depressive state for several years, getting help from several therapists, a psychaistrist and 2 hospitals. Many don't. Most sufferers lose insurance and if they do get hospitalized it's in sub-standard facilities for the poor. Families are shattered.
   I also had questions as to why her severe depression could be 5 days of intense suffering and near suicide when her child was NOT on her child custody watch but with her dad, and then when it was time for HER to have the child for 5 days she could cleanup up her depression and alchoholism and be "Mom". Depression does not work like that! When you are in a severe depression you are that way day after day and cannot rally around for a few days and be lightly depressed! She seemed to also think that her child didn't know about how sick she was, but I dare say I'd like to read the book this child will write as a grown-up of these years with her sick mom!
   I felt sorry for her, especially that her depression was of the resistant-type to all medications, and understood a lot of what she was going through but just feel that any reader should read this book knowing that while the symptoms maybe similiar, Sally Brampton's experience is not a typical experience and that her finanacial status brought her many advantages in deaing with her depression that most do not and will not have.



3. I have never been formally diagnosed with depression, yet like most people I guess, I have had spells of 'the blues' and feelings of melancholia at times. I have however a mother who has suffered from manic depression all her life and my second wife has been in the same boat for the past five years.
   
   Sally Brampton's book is high on my recommended list. Written with honesty, clarity and humor, it certainly gives a most important insight in to what it must be like to be seriously depressed.
   
   There are many books on depression out there. This one gets is.

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.

5 comments about Perfect Spy: The Incredible Double Life of Pham Xuan An, Time Magazine Reporter and Vietnamese Communist Agent.

1. While it is relatively easy for us to weigh the pros and cons of the values of Pham Xuan An in the comfort of our home, this to me is one of those unique cases where time does not help give a clearer perspective. There is no such thing as a happy war or good enemies (duh!), war is not the kind of thing you can just turn on and turn off like a water fountain. I think all wars (not battles) have many phases to them and evolve if not mutate into something they were not and/or become only what they really were. The proof is in the pudding, because in war people die, loose body parts and some lose their minds. I know where I was born, now live, and will hopefully ..., do you?.



2. Great present for anyone interested in Viet Nam, reporting, true spy stories, and the like.



3. I might not be as forgiving as some people, but I certainly would have felt betrayed by this man. He seeks to justify everything by stating that he felt the Americans did not belong in Vietnam. Maybe so. But what he did was so deceiful.To just look at the fact that he often helped those closest and known to him from suffering any harm, neglects the hundreds of thousands who died and were wounded as a result of his actions. To top it all off he sent his family to the US when the Communists came !! No doubt for a better life !!This fellow must have been of fairly limited intellect , or at least uneducated.And don't tell me was educated in the US - they let him do some courses... big deal! Did he really believe the Americans would attempt to rule Vietnam the way the French did ? Yes, they would take advantage of economic opportunities ( who does'nt), but what did he think they would have done if the South succeeded ? A good insight into blind nationalism and deceit by one of the most two faced people I have ever encountered. I still cannot understand his mindset.



4. This book is nothing but full of communist propaganda. To most of the Vietnamese people, I say not including the 2% of the communist population, An is a betrayer. Don't waste your time being brain-washed by communist ideology.



5. Pham Xuan An was recruited by the Communist Party in Vietnam and sent to the U.S. in 1957 to learn journalism as a cover - long before the U.S. took a major role in the conflict. An quickly came to admire the U.S., did well in his studies (Orange Coast College) and internships, and was had several attractive offers for permanent work upon their completion. Yet, despite fear that he would be arrested by the South Vietnamese government upon returning to Vietnam, An returned, first reporting French troop actions, then also working for various government military figures (eg. teaching English to future VN spies; helping set up the Vietnamese spying service), and finally for various American publications - Time magazine in particular. Several times the CIA even tried to recruit An, with no success.
   
   Early in his career An risked exposure to save the life of a Time reporter captured by the VietCong in Cambodia because he knew the reporter had saved a number of Vietnamese children's' lives from various Cambodian army massacres. This conflict between his spy role and friendship with Americans continued up to America's last day in Saigon when An helped a Vietnamese friend who had worked for the Americans escape. These actions, however, did not dull An's effectiveness - his insights and reports based on conversations and documents played key roles in VietCong/NVA tactics and strategy development. After the war ended, An was promoted to Maj. General, and collected his ten top-level medals.
   
   An received no formal spy training - instead, he read a number of books by others who were past masters. Communications involving An were almost entirely one-way - towards nearby VietCong and much farther away NVA leaders in Hanoi. His methods were to use melted rice as invisible ink (revealed by pouring iodine over the paper), and secreting both the paper and film rolls in food materials handed off to a vendor.
   
   An's career spanned 30 years - longer than any other spy. Consequently, after the war there was considerable suspicion by the communists that this was due to his having played both sides. He was even forbidden from leaving VN to attend a post-war correspondent's conference in NYC.
   
   Some of the most impactful portions of "Perfect Spy" involved stories about eg. another VietCong spy who pushed the Vietnamese government to move peasants into more defensible self-contained villages. His rationale - he knew this would greatly upset the peasants and turn them against the government. An himself declared several times that the U.S.'s biggest failure was to develop a new cadre of leaders after Diem was deposed. It was also quite jarring to read details from the "other side" about so many areas that I had been to - Nha Trang, Siagon, Ban Me Thuot, Pleiku, Vung Tau, Khe Sanh.
   
   My one wish is that "Perfect Spy" included more planning details from the VietCong and NVA side. Unfortunately, even the author (Larry Berman) sensed several times that An left much more unsaid than revealed.
   
   Bottom Line: I was taken aback by An's working against the U.S. after having made so many friends here, how well the VietCong/NVA infiltrated U.S. planning, and how long ahead their thinking ran. The book also brings an eerie sense of wondering what is happening along these same lines now in Iraq.

5 comments about The Prince of Darkness: 50 Years Reporting in Washington.

1. This was a wonderful book. For a political junkie it is an absolute must read. The behind the scenes look at politics and reporting was fascinating. The tidbits of history and inside look at the systems of power make this book irresistible. If I had read this book as a freshman in college or as a high school senior it would have changed the course of my life; I would have become a reporter. Mr. Novak writes about his incredible career as a Washington reporter and balances this part of the book with stories about his own life including his relationships, drinking and religion. Really, a highly recommended book.



2. Although this book was written before he hit the bike rider in DC and drove off, Novak still manages to hold the reader's interest. As I recall the news story, he hit the bike rider so hard that the biker was sprawled against his windshield and slid off. Novak drove off and then claimed that he was not aware of what had happened. Some medical professionals have speculated that his brain tumor may have had something to do with the accident. But I like to believe that was just Novak being Novak. I believe that it is precisely this audaciousness that has kept Novak at the top of his profession for these many years. The Valerie Plame thing is another one..when James Carville made a comment to him about his role in all of that, Novak simply disonnected his microphone and walked off the set mumbling that he doesn't have to put up with this sh*&. Simply brilliant. Oh yeah, and the trademark slobbering that skyrocketed him to fame and fortune on CNN. That's another factor in his being at the top of his profession - that superhuman ability to achieve any semblance of enunciation through the gallons of slobber in that bulldog mouth. It's a brilliant book by a brilliant slobbering man with a highly unpleasant and creepy demeanor who hit a guy with a car real hard and drove off and claimed he didn't know what happened. Very inspiring stuff.



3. 
   In some ways "The Prince of Darkness" is a typical political memoir,
   one more attempt to justify one's actions and one more attempt to
   destroy or at least discredit one's enemies. This book is more than
   that, and less than that. Novak covered national politics for over 50
   years, so most of the book is about politics and politicians.
   Novak worked for several newspapers, chains, syndicates, magazines,
   stations, and networks. There is a lot of information about the
   business of news and commentary in print and broadcast media, and
   about competition and cooperation in journalism.
   
   There is more than the usual amount of admission of error, both
   personal failures and professional mistakes. There is a lot of history
   reported here, but it is less than a complete history of most of the
   events mentioned. Rather, it is just enough to provide context for
   Novak's bragging about a scoop or complaining about someone's anger
   over his analysis.
   
   Novak is known as a conservative columnist, but the list of Republicans
   that hated him is long. The list of those that Novak did not respect is
   also long and includes members of both (all) parties. There is some
   animosity over polices, but most often the cause of the friction was
   lying, at least according to Novak.
   
   In spite of his inclination to the right, Novak seems much more an
   analyst than a cheerleader. He tells us his predictions of House and
   Senate gains and losses and Electoral College totals for various
   elections. I'm impressed by his accuracy.
   
   Readers interested in particular historical events or particular people
   get some help. The index seems pretty complete, but I'm just judging
   by size. The quotes from the columns or broadcasts are identified by
   date.
   
   This is a controversial book. Since you are reading these reviews you
   are probably trying to decide if you should read the book. As with
   other controversial works, it pays to look at other reviews by the
   reviewers with strong opinions, especially those expressed in
   strong language.
   
   I think readers from anywhere on the political spectrum can enjoy this
   book and learn something from it. It is not just for political junkies.
   I have to remind myself a few times each year to read a political book,
   because I should pay more attention to the field. This one was time well
   spent.



4. Let's begin with total disclosure: I once worked for Mr. Novak, back in the 1980s when Ronald Reagan was president and DC was an exciting town.
   
   I admired Mr. Novak then. I admire him now. He is one of the most dedicated professionals I have ever met. Then, I was a conservative and a Catholic. I have since returned to my liberal roots, and left the church (I am now an atheist) just as Mr. Novak was completing the journey that he had told me he was on even back then (he has since been baptized into the Catholic Church).
   
   No matter. Mr. Novak was -- and still is, on this day that he announced his retirement -- the consummate journalist, the kind of reporter that I would have wanted to model my work on, had my life taken that turn.
   
   This book is his autobiography. And while it seems that he has pulled no punches, neither has he been malicious or unfair. And you can be damn sure it hasn't been ghostwritten!
   
   I know this isn't much of a review of the book. It is, instead, a homage to the man himself, a very good and decent reporter and a great American.



5. I was looking forward to this read with considerable anticipation. I was not disappointed. I have followed the authors columns and watched many of his tv appearances from when he was a liberal-moderate back in the Rockefeller days and have happily observed his transformation over the years to a no holds bar conservative. This book offers the reader valuable behind the scene insights for virtually everything of significance that has happened politically during the last half century. A must read.

5 comments about The Place to Be: Washington, CBS, and the Glory Days of Television News.

1. Roger Mudd writes that he came across as `glowering and grim' on TV. Having lived in Ireland during the so-called "glory days of television news," I can't comment on that, but this book does lack personality which is its biggest weakness. Mudd worked in a massively interesting news era, ranging from Vietnam, the assassinations of JFK, Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy and Watergate, but he fails to bring any of them alive or present any interesting insights into them.
   
   Mudd's comments about some of his co-workers are often less than complimentary especially Dan Rather who beat the author out to replace Walter Cronkite. I read the book because I wanted a better understanding of the US during these turbulent years. Not sure if I got that, but if you were a fan of Mudd, CBS or Cronkite during the 60's and 70's, this is a book you might enjoy as it is more about CBS and inside politics than anything else. In fairness, this is what the title suggests.



2. Back when television news was about news and not entertainment, Roger Mudd was one of the very best correspondents, and this is one of the very best books about television when it took its responsibility seriously.



3. This book takes me back to the time when watching the evening news was a big deal. It was something you did before dinner every night. Roger Mudd was always one of my favorites, with his seemingly casual and calm manner. Hearing about the news business from his perspective was interesting and revealing. Reading his book was a pleasure and I recommend it.



4. From the late 1950s to 1980 I, like countless Americans, was a devoted fan of CBS News. Anchored by Walter Cronkite, CBS News boasted a galaxy of gifted correspondents who covered those exciting, horrifying, puzzling years with unrivaled professionalism. To my mind, Roger Mudd was first among equals as regards a CBS team that included Dan Rather, Marvin and Bernard Kalb, Daniel Schoor, Eric Sevareid, George Herman, Bob Peirpoint, Bob Schieffer and so many other talented individuals. THE PLACE TO BE is Mudd's informative, witty and entertaining memoir of those glory years.
   
   As with 'Uncle Walter,' Roger Mudd always impressed me as an insightful, unflappable and discerning newsman. Beyond that he seemed to possess a touch of irreverence that sometimes revealed itself in a 'Do you believe this?' twinkle in his eye when he was reporting on the latest Congressional boondoggle. Those same qualities are in evidence throughout Mudd's book, most of which is devoted to the period from May 1961, when he became a CBS correspondent, to February 1980, when he walked because of the boneheaded decision to give Dan Rather the anchor position.
   
   Reading through THE PLACE TO BE is akin to revisiting all the important - and a few not-so-important - news events and personalities that shaped the American experience. We are immersed once again in the Civil rights struggle, the years of JFK, the Cuban Missile Crisis, LBJ and the Great Society, Vietnam, various political conventions, Congressional doings, etc.; the difference being an incisive, knowledgeable guide who helped cover and explain those momentous events to us then...and now.
   
   Obviously part of the delight in Mudd's book is the insider's view of the CBS newsroom and finding out what happened when and who did what. Given how poorly Mudd was handled as regarded Cronkite's succession, I think he did an evenhanded job in relating life at CBS News and in discussing the many people he's worked with over the years.
   
   THE PLACE TO BE is an easy read, funny and affectionate and sometimes surprising. All those men and women were a part of our lives - friends almost - and it's fascinating to see them in action and also find out what was happening behind the camera as well. And it is sad in reading through the 'Where Are They Now?' section to discover so many are gone.
   
   I'd give THE PLACE TO BE six stars if possible. It's a first-class memoir of some exciting times and talented people by one of the best correspondents to work for CBS. I can't remember when I've enjoyed a book as much!



5. Roger Mudd confirms what many print journalists have known for years...Television is filled with egomaniacal back-stabbers who are more concerned about 10 seconds of airtime than journalism, proving once again what the print media has known for years. American's who depend on television as their only source for news are sadly lacking in their knowledge of current events. His revelations about corporate headquarters being more concerned about politics and the financial bottom line than facts, shouldn't surprise anyone.
   I would however strongly recommend the book for an insider's view of how television news networks actually operate.
   Art Giberson
   Pensacola, FL

5 comments about A Long Way from Home: Growing Up in the American Heartland in the Forties and Fifties.

1. Tom Brokaw must think that people care about every facet of his dull life--because he has elaborated on it in so much boring detail in this book that even Brokaw fans will throw their hands up after hearing another insignificant story and say "who cares."
   
   Sadly, he comes across as a person who considered himself better than others and was incredibly insensitive when it came to class status. He often mentions in the book whether someone is "working class" and he claims that in high school "I was a member of the ruling class...it was a white man's and white boy's world" and writes about racism issues that deal with his going to school with Native Americans. If he thinks he is getting sympathy from the reader because he somehow grew beyond his bigotry it is hard to come to that conclusion through this book.
   
   Brokaw is trying to build on his past "Greatest Generation" reputation by painting a picture of his childhood on the South Dakota prairie. But the problem is that it was a pretty boring childhood. Camp, summer jobs, trips to Minneapolis, fitting in at school--almost nothing happened to him that was anything unusual.
   
   There are two exceptions that are worth hearing about. First, as a teenager he headed to New York City to appear on a game show with the South Dakota governor and ended up cheating on the show. Yes, he was part of the quiz shows scandals. This is something he probably should not have revealed.
   
   Second, the only good thing about the book is that it tells the story of how this partying college kid was "counseled" to leave school by a caring professor who told him, "Get all the wine, women and song out of your system." Though this should embarrass the future anchorman, his professor used it to turn Brokaw's life around. Tom dropped out of college then begged the professor to let him back in as a serious student.
   
   The book is also deceptive in length. It may look like a long book of over a couple hundred pages, but the types is double spaced and there are about 30 pages of picture-only pages mixed in the middle of chapters, so the actual length of the book would be about 100 pages in a normal book.
   
   After reading this book any favorable opinion people have of Brokaw should decrease because he comes across as a smug, arrogant, rich guy who thinks his lowly upbringing was something special. It wasn't--he was raised the same way most other people were in the Midwest and nothing really changed for him until that college professor gave him a verbal kick in the pants to change his life.



2. Tom Brokaw has always projected to his viewers a caring, sincere presence
   as he outlined the happenings of the day in our nation and around the world. Even if the news he broadcasted was sad or shocking he gave us the feeling that we could get through this together. This book offers the same
   warmth and sincerity in describing my similar experiences in growing up
   during and after WWII.



3. Been there and done that. Refreshing read! Stirred up many old memories and recollections.



4. One reviewer called this book "for simpletons by a simpleton." Well, as I have very little respect for today's mainstream media, especially Dan Rather and Katie Couric, Brokaw, though preachy, is better than most. This book is a simple book, but it's also pleasant and does lend insight into his modest upbringing in South Dakota---far different from what the elites usually value.
   
   I read it while I drove cross country, which is probably why I gave it 3 stars, rather than 2, as I appreciated it more.
   
   Brokaw may be biased and pedantic now, but he's no ninnyhammer either. He covered stories with some depth, and was rarely lazy or a liar, like Rather. And he worked hard to get where he was, without modern affirmative action. The stories of Big Sky country and the "tragedies" he observed befalling the "Natives" when he returned were unnecessary and awkward, though.
   
   He's still better than Brian Williams.



5. Brokaw gives a seemingly honest and direct account of his formative years. His respect and admiration for his parents gives him guidelines for a life in the limelight where it may be easy to loose one's footing.
   
   It is interesting to get a glimpse of the life in the heartland of the U. S. in the forties and fifties when so much of my own perception of the U. S. from a Scandinavian viewpoint was formed.
   
   Congratulations to Tom Brokaw for a fine book!

5 comments about Dijiste Que Me Queras: Como Sobrellevar lo Impensable.

1. Este es un gran libro basado en la realidad de los hechos, y que nos hace reflexionar profundamente sobre nuestras relaciones de pareja.
   Se lo recomiendo a todos.



2. I have been watching Maria Antonieta Collins on Spanish television for a long time now--first as an anchorwoman for Univision and now as the presenter on Cada Dia, a popular morning variety show on Telemundo. She seems like a very nice person, all smiles and joviality in front of the camera. But no one knew what was hiding behind her smiles and perkiness. As her career skyrocketed, her personal life got worse and worse. She finally revealed everything during a very emotional interview with Maria Celeste Arraras on Telemundo. (Collins, who considers Arraras her friend, reported that she was "hurt" and "dismayed" with some of MC's questions. As a fellow journalist, she should understand that Arraras had to put friendship aside and ask the hard-hitting questions.) She talked about her husband's battle with cancer, and how she'd been his rock and strength throughout his illness. But that was the least of it. She revealed that her husband had been unfaithful and committed bigamy. He was married to a woman in Colombia while he was married to her! In Dijistes Que Me Querías: Como Sobrellevar lo Impensable (You Told Me You Loved Me: How to Survive the Unthinkable), she writes in detail the entire thing she had to go through after she found out, and about her decision to stay with him after he discovered he had cancer. This is one of the most heartbreaking memoirs I have read, but it ends with a hopeful tone. Collins gives advice on what to do after you discover your spouse has been cheating and how to pick up signs of deceit. This is a self-help book as well as a memoir, and it pulls at the heartstrings. I have nothing but respect for this Emmy-award winning journalist, and I wish her the very best. She deserves it.



3. Nunce crei que leer este libro me hubiera abierto los ojos a lo que puede vivir cualquier mujer. El libro esta escrito con tanto dolor que termina uno odiando a tipo y hechandole porras a una excelente mujer. Es de mucho aprendizaje. yo solo lo habia comprado para que mi mama tuviera algo para leer durante su recuperacion y terminamos leyendo mi tia y prima y yo. Bravo por la senora Collins y su leccion a la fortaleza y el perdon. La pregunta que me hago es que si yo me hubiera dado cuenta de una infidelidad Perdonaria?



4. The product arrived before the time that I expected even though it was during the holidays and I thought it would be delayed. The product also arrived in excellent condition. Thank You.



5. La verdad no esperaba aprender mucho de este libro cuando me lo regalo una amistad. Pero, una vez que comenze a leerlo no pude parar hasta llegar al final. Parece sacado de una telenovela, pero es la realidad. Admito que aprendi muchisimo de el, porque cada tragedia incluye lecciones de como sobrevivirlas.
   Encontre varias faltas de cuidado en la edicion, que aunque no quita de la calidad del libro, si se ve feo.

5 comments about Stanley: The Impossible Life of Africa's Greatest Explorer.

1. This book tells the story of one of history's most misunderstood and mischaracterized individuals. Henry Stanley rose from poverty to become one of the world's most effective but least known explorers, uncovering central Africa's mysteries and unwittingly creating the groundwork for the rape and bondage of a continent. From the famous but never-uttered "Dr. Livingston, I presume," to the reduced public stature resulting from the self-serving detrimental statements of others, Stanley emerges as a complex man worthy of a better and truer place in history than he accomplished. In addition to the personal tale, this book opens to the reader the state of 19th century Africa and is worth reading if only from this perspective.



2. Jeal's wonderful biography of Stanley succeeds on many levels, as biography, history, psychology, cultural analysis and literature. The book brings to life his three great African journeys that made him famous but also captures the other parts of his life: his humble upbringing in Wales, his time in America and his later years in England. Stanley was a complicated man and, after reading the book, I felt I understood him.
   
   The book also provides a good picture of Victorian England and the politics of the European powers towards Africa in the late nineteenth century. His book also reflects on the subsequent developments in Africa that color how we now look at the exploration and colonization of Africa.
   
   Jeal was provided access to a vast trove of Stanley's writings that were previously unavailable. A fascinating part of this book is to see how new information, combined with a writer's keen analysis, can completely upend the standard view of a person or historical event.
   
   All in all, a thoroughly interesting book.



3. Years ago I stumbled on a book of fiction about Stanley's captaining of the ill-fated relief mission to "save" Emin Pasha in the late 1880's. I simply couldn't believe that what I was reading about the horrors of the journey were real, so began by reading my first Stanley biography. The horrors were real, and the courage required of African explorers was almost beyond imagination. Stanley, more than any man, knew that dark side.
   
   From the beginning I've been riveted by the man's accomplishments and (like T.E. Lawrence, as another review has perceptively noted) his many attempts to 'create himself' for the media to cover up a sad, neglected, Dickensian childhood. The most recent biography of Stanley I read, by John Bierman, depressed me, because it leaned so hard on Stanley's toughness that he came out as a brutal bully with no redeeming features whatsoever. My initial admiration waned.
   
   It is thus a delight to find in such a superb, well-written, and thoroughly researched biography as this, that Henry Stanley was a genuine human being, flawed and fascinating, gentle and brutal, demanding and obsessed by duty. Jule presents a multi-dimensional character and one's respect for other biographers, who've simply beaten Stanley for the sins of his generation, wanes in direct proportion to the realization of all that Stanley achieved in spite of his inner demons. That sad, abandoned child lived in Stanley until the day he died, but what remarkable courage he showed in spite of it! And what permanent changes he helped bring to world history, even if others took his great explorations and made horrible things of them.
   
   Also, with all due respect to many of the earlier, brilliant African explorers such as Burton or Stanley Baker, how remarkably free of racism and paternalistic 'cant' Stanley was. Burton himself was almost a pathological racist. There is no trace of this in Stanley. Again and again, when he lost his temper, it was because his fellow whites invariably treated the natives with (at best) contempt and, at worst, with brutality. The irony that it has become fashionable to portray Stanley himself as a brutal racist, is simply one of many in this biography.
   
   This should remain by far the best, most thorough, and most balanced biography of this remarkable man for the foreseeable future. Thank you, Mr. Jeal, for portraying the whole man again. And what a remarkable story it is, truly starker than any fiction!



4. Allow me state here at the beginning of my review that categorically Tim Jeal's biography of Henry Morton Stanley is a masterpiece. The book is epic in scope and proves to be both a wonderful narration of a life as well as a statement in support of the rehabilitation of Stanley's reputation. The book stands along side of my favorite biographies such as PETER THE GREAT by Robert Massie, AMERICAN CAESAR by William Manchester, and PRINCE OF OUR DISORDER (T.E. Lawrence) by John E. Mack. Much of Stanley's story seems to mirror T/E. Lawrence. Both illegitimate and trying to find a place in the world when the British class system was an obstacle to achievement to those of lowly birth. Both in many ways reinvented themselves but never were able to overcome the circumstances of their birth and childhood secrets. But as amazing as is the story of Lawrence of Arabia Tim Jeals reveals Stanley to be as just as an incredible life. I am not going to go into the various expeditions and events of Stanley's life in this review. You can discover those for yourself. But would like to comment that Jeals biography has a heavy amount of insightful psychological background to his narrative as well as almost a legal brief defense of Stanley's reputation whom Jeal clearly feels has been badly stereotyped, I found this approach exciting and most interesting although at times I wondered if the unfavorable view of Stanley needed an advocate. But this is a warts and all biography and Jeal does present Stanley as most human. In the end Jeal convinced me that my favorite African Explorer, Richard Burton was not the greatest. Stanley gets the nod now. I highly recommend this book to you. I think you will be amazed by this life and by the way it unfolds through Tim Jeal's exceptional writing.



5. This is the finest biography that I have read in some time. The writing is superb and it is based upon the most thorough research on its subject yet. The author is uniquely qualified to write this book as he has also written the definitive book on Stanley's counterpart, Dr. Livingstone. What makes this book so compelling is the subject himself. He was abandoned by his mother and never knew his father. The kind grandfather who took care of him died suddenly when Stanley was five years old and his mother's family had him placed in a workhouse. There he stayed for ten years when he left at age fifteen. His life became an odyssey which took him to America back to England and then to Africa where he achieved fame. Despite his accomplishments as discoverer and author, his personal life was full of disappointment. His attempt to hide his illegitimacy had led him to lie about his background. This coverup came close to unraveling on numerous occasions. Years after his career had ended he returned to New Orleans incognito where he walked the cemeteries looking for a "Stanley" tombstone that would give him a name to use in documenting his story. The irony was that one of the world's greatest discoverers could never find himself. An excellent book about a fascinating subject.