3 comments about A Walk Toward Oregon: A Memoir.

1. Like the more gifted Bernard DeVoto (who might have been his teacher at Harvard had not the Depression intervened), Alvin Josephy (1915- ) mucked about in journalism and fiction writing for some years before finding his métier doing history--in Josephy's case, the history of American Indians. Not surprisingly, Josephy writes gracefully, and parts of his memoir--the stories of his New York City childhood and his heroic World War II service, for instance--carry real emotional punch. Nevertheless, Josephy easily slides over important subjects he doesn't care to discuss, such as the dissolution of his first marriage, the difficulties of writing history from oral tradition, and the decisions he made as editor of American Heritage.
   
   Furthermore, although Josephy is proud of his New Deal liberalism, he pulls punches when describing the political personalities of his era. For instance, he describes Harry Bridges as "a tough Australian-born dockworker" and Howard Fast as a "successful author honored for his writings by the Soviet Union" without noting that both were Communists. In other words, early on the reader begins to suspect that Josephy's political views were either more naïve or a bit further to the left than he now cares to admit. Also depressing is his glorification of all things Indian, including Native American superstition--as if rattles and medicine bundles were privileged in a way that the mumbo jumbo of Mexican Catholic priests was not.
   
   Josephy worked at Time magazine a few years after Whittaker Chambers, the nemesis of Alger Hiss, had resigned. Josephy's family was nurturing, Chambers' dysfunctional. Josephy's autobiography is nicely structured, Chambers' Witness (1952), misshapen and overlong. Nevertheless, in Chambers' autobiography we encounter a soul, here only the persona of a facile writer lucky enough to have chosen a topic popular in his own age.



2. Mr. Josephy is 84 years old but this personal account of his "walk", which takes him from the sidewalks of NYC to the mountains of Oregon, from the nineteens to the nineties, is more contemporary and intriguing than any of the more high profile accounts of the 20th century recently published.

   I'm a big fan of the author's, having read his books about the American Indians (Josephy does not call them "Native Americans") and their struggles. An Indian friend of mine credits him -- by exposing their plight through the articles he wrote in the 1950's and 1960's in Life and Time magazines -- as being the individual most influential in changing the perception of the Indian in this country.

   But the book is about much more than that. Like an intellectual Forrest Gump, Josephy witnessed and participated in much of America's history this century. He begins as a kid on the west side of NYC, goes to Harvard briefly then leaves because of the depression. Gets a job in the 30's as a screenwriter at MGM and as he travels by bus to California, he witnesses the exodus of the dust bowl families and becomes committed to helping the less fortunate of this country. And he does.

   He works as a journalist for newspapers, magazines, radio, the Marine Corps; interviews Trotsky, tapes the invasion of Guam as a WW2 Marine sergeant war correspondent as the enemy is firing on him...and receives a bronze star, fights for Indian recognition and rights, helps change the U.S. environmental policies, works for JFK, marches with Martin Luther King...

   His is such a fascinating account that it makes history personal and alive. We should all read this not only for the facts of our past, but also for the example Mr. Josephy has set. The "lesson" that much can be accomplished by one person with courage who cares would be well learned by schoolchildren and adults of all ages. I recommend this book to each of them.




3. There have been several 20th century retrospectives published recently by high profile authors, but none as fascinating as "A Walk Toward Oregon" by Alvin Josephy. Here's a book written by a man that has "walked the walk" from NYC to the west coast -- from the early part of the 20th century to present day -- with stops in Mexico and the WW 2 Pacific along the way.

   Mr. Josephy's personal account and participation in some of the most significant events of the 20th century reads like a novel, yet informs like no history book I've ever read. His account of the streets of NYC as a kid in the early 1900's; trying to find a job during the depression (he did...selling stamps in Macy's); interviewing Trotsky as a young reporter; taping the invasion of Guam as a Marine sergeant; writing for Time and Life about the American Indians and changing the public's perception of their plight; serving with Kennedy; marching with MLK; and on and on. Yet it's easy to read and fascinating.

   I think "A Walk Toward Oregon" should be at the top of reading lists for schools and book groups. I enthusiastically recommend it!

5 comments about Nerd Girl Rocks Paradise City: A True Story of Faking It in Hair Metal L.A..

1. ...not great either. I think I was expecting a real rock and roll expose but only got a few hints and snippets of what really went on in that world at that time. Most of the story takes place at a bar and focuses on the author's increasing disillusion with her chosen life, and her subsequent substance abuse -- unfortuantely a tale that's been done to death nowadays. I liked "Snake Hips" much better, if only because it was not the story of a drug-and-booze-fueled downfall, but of a woman finally finding herself and some insights on life and creativity. Anne's style, I will say, is very engaging. Truly she comes across like your "snarky best friend" and the text pulls you right into her world. I read this book in one sitting because I literally could not put it down, and yet I was left wanting more from the story than she gave. She's got sarcasm down to a science, but I kept waiting for something to really *happen* besides a few brushes with lesser-known musicians and a disastrous affair with a name-deleted "punk icon". C'mon, Anne, if you're really THAT hardcore of a rock chick you'd name some names here, lawsuits be damned. And you'd give a lot more gory detail on the naughty bits, too. The drag queens were hilarious but we never really got to know any of them up close. You circle around the edge of telling us what really happened out there and how it made you feel, but always pull back before we can get to see the whole picture. I was expecting a rock documentary, but only ended up with a few fuzzy snapshots. Oh well. Better that you're now a sober bellydancing author than just another street kid in L.A. who becomes a statistic. I will say that Glenn Danzig sounded like an interesting guy... but again, too bad you didn't get close enough to him to get more details. I would say to Amazon customers that this book is an OK read, but it's not a real "insider tell-all" if that's what you're looking for. And definitely don't read it if you're looking to be inspired by the rock scene, because you will come away depressed. In the end you will start to root for Anne's family, who keeps trying desperately to get her to come home. (And a good thing she did, otherwise we'd never have had "Snake Hips".) Call me square but I like her tale of bellydancing sobriety much better.



2. I read a lot of books where the writing is good, but the subject matter isn't so interesting and vice versa, but this is a gem. Anne's writing style is like a welcome letter from your favorite snarky friend. Well-balanced self-deprecation (no one can accuse her of being self-aggrandizing, but it's no pity party either) carry the reader through her attempts to go from small time VA press to journalist at the major rock rags. In her adventure, the reader is treated to dish about small time industry insiders, Glenn Danzig, Kelsey Grammer, Riki Rachtman, a certain unnamed (but easily figured out) skeezy figurehead of the punk rock scene, GWAR, and a host of catty drag queens.
   
   Never a dull moment! As a former Richmonder, I admit to having a soft spot for the cracked out wanna-be boyfriend story, involving a member of a well known local band. Names withheld to protect the less-than-innocent.
   
   If you liked Snake Hips, you'll like this. If you like tell-all punk and metal bios, you'll like this. If you like both of those things? This is the book you've been waiting for.



3. ... Ms. Søffëe delivers another laugh-your-brains-oüt memoir. Armed with moxie and idealism, the author heads for Los Angeles to make her mark in the music journalism world, determined to keep it rockin' while hair metal is on its last gasp and being supplanted by grunge and alternative. While slightly more discreet than in her previous Snake Hips, Ms. Soffee names names which had me crowing in recognition. Her ability to laugh at herself in hindsight and make others follow her through the bum boyfriends, getting leeched by a Big Name and the benzos chased with beer without feeling like they're watching a trainwreck and gorefest. I highly recommend!



4. OK, I haven't read it yet, but I intend to. The thing is that I went to high school with the author and am thrilled to suddenly discover what has become of her.
   The last I saw her I was running from a Grateful Dead concert having a severely bad acid trip. That was over twenty years ago.
   I expect to enjoy her writing and look forward to the adult who has emerged from the teenager of my memory.



5. Another memoir of a pivotal time of her life, but certainly not the same old memoir you find on bookstore shelves today. This one addresses the author's attempts to make it in LA as music journalist, and true to her chosen career path, the book is written less as an angsty, emotion laden memoir and more as a review.
   
   This is not to disparage the book or to say that it is emotionless, because it's not. It just doesn't bog itself down with so much extraneous whining like many of the 400 page pity parties that are in print now. She doesn't back away from sharing intimate details, but she also doesn't feel the need to delve endlessly into the why and wherefor of her actions. She is unapologetic in her life recap, and that is something that is hard to find in the modern memoir.
   
   If you remember the age of the hair bands, you will love this book for its insider information as much as for the overall story. This was a lot of fun to read.

No comments about Open Book.

5 comments about Forever Young: My Friendship with John F. Kennedy, Jr..

1. This is a story of historical interest. Two boys who become men during a period in America's golden years the mid 1960's. What brings them together is ultimately a mutual struggle against life's circumstances that exist beyond their control. These life events affect all young boys on their way to adulthood. I life lived alone is not a life well lived. This is a story of how two people one "known" the other less "known" survived and thrived in their repective lives. I great read. If you have ever had a friendship that was important this is a must read.



2. After reading this book it is apparent the William ( Billy ) Noonan is not the friend of John's that he claims to be. He was insanely jealous of John and Carolyn spending those last few months with his (John's) cousin Anthony Radizwill while he was dying of cancer. He talks down about John Barlow for "being the first one to always speak to the media"
   even though he had nothing but kind things to say about John no matter what the subject. Here comes Billy Noonan saying he is going to "set the record straight" trashes John and Carolyn's relationship (which he knows nothing about) makes caddy remarks about Anthony's cancer being deadly, as if Anthony and Carole (his wife), had and control over his disease (Anthony died less than three weeks after Jonh and Carolyn). He seems to be the kind of person that cannot allow his relationships' space for what is going on in their lives and therefore feels the need to write his own book and hurt alot of people by his own hurt feelings and personal jabs. I think he is just a big fake and I feel sorry for his wife.



3. Bill Noonan (as his friend I call him Billy) has plenty o'soul! This book is a commemoration to his friend who happens to be John Kennedy, Jr. I suppose the title HAS sold more books. But I believe this is more a function of the publisher's need to sell rather than the writer's need to advertise his high fallutin relationship with John. I am bold enough to say that Billy left MANY-A-STORY out of this book that could have REALLY ruffled some feathers. But that was not his objective. His objective was to put into words a very natural friendship with someone that was quite special to him. In a way, to battle some of the bitter views this book has received, I wish that Billy would write a sequel with ALL THE DIRT! Maybe he could title it "If You're Blaming Me: You Might as Well Get the WHOLE Story" Billy has never been anything but respectful of John, and his family, from what I have seen. He probably would never publish all of the secrets he shared with John. BTW: I loved the book. It felt like I was sitting down with Billy having a chat. I could hear him laugh, cry, angry, sad, and everything in between. Write a sequel!



4. I bought this book with some trepidation since Billy clearly sold his soul to write it. But, I could not resist. I was always a great admirer of JFK, Jr. - he was such a classy guy - and such an immense force to try to harness for friendship. The book lays out in vivid detail their amazing friendship and the many happy and horrifying times they shared. This book basically makes you a "fly on the wall" witnessing one of the most profound and beautiful friendships ever put to print. I could not put it down - JFK, Jr. and I are exactly the same age and passed through some of life's milestones at the same time. I found myself comparing where I was in my life as the book unfolded. I am writing this review having just now finished the book and feel an overwhelming sense of sadness - I cried so many times - the great highs and thrills always seemed to be overshadowed by the immense burden of sadness, tradgedy, disease and death that surrounds The Kennedys and those close to them. I can only hope that during my life I will share such a stong, loving, and enduring friendship with another person. Maybe John is looking down on us now laughing at all this debate - I find myself missing him during this season of politics. The world should still have John in it - he lived well, richly and fully - never squandering what he had been given. Make sure you are in the right frame of mind to read this - it may impact you more deeply than you can know.



5. I have been a lifelong Kennedy fan. I loved John Jr. I think this book is meanspirited. He has hurt so many by this book. I wonder whatever prompted him to write it....so long after John left us? We did not need much of the information, he so willingly sold.
   
   As mentioned by others, what he did to his Mom on Caroline's wedding day was disgusting. How dare he order his own Mom off the bus? His Mom was just fine when he had cancer and needed her. Over and over in the book..he comes off as a very self-centerd individual.
   
   I remember the quote.."What does it profit a man who gains the whole world but suffer the loss of his soul?" I would think old Billy Noonan could answer that one.
   
   I hope he is kicked to the curb by all the Kennedys, Shrivers and all the others that seemed to mean more to him...than his own famiy.

2 comments about P. S.: A Memoir.

1. This book details the life of Pierre Salinger, journalist, politician, and businessman. Salinger grew up in California during the 1930s. After service in the Navy during World War II, he became a journalist (following in his French mother's footsteps). After a few early successes in investigative journalism involving the California prison system, he was assigned to cover the corruption and possible mob involvement in the Teamsters' Union during the 1950s. When he heard that Robert Kennedy was leading a government investigation of the Teamsters' Union, he approached Kennedy with an offer to compare notes and join forces. This began a lifelong relationship between Salinger and the Kennedy family. When John Kennedy decided to run for president, he asked Salinger to help with his campaign, and following Kennedy's electoral victory, Salinger became his White House press secretary. Salinger was also involved in Robert Kennedy's and George McGovern's presidential campaigns. He spent five months in the Senate after he was appointed to fill the term of a friend who had died. When he lost his own bid for the Senate, he departed the US for Europe, where he had a twenty year career as a journalist.
   
   Salinger begins the book by telling us he once considered running for president himself, but decided that the lack of respect today's journalists show for the private lives of public figures would be too daunting for his family. Four times married, Salinger readily admits to marital infidelities in the past. In this book, he juxtaposes the successes in his public life with the shambles of his private life, but he notes that he seems to finally have gotten things straight by his fifth decade.
   
   The Kennedy years were very exciting for Salinger. He had a deep respect for both John and Robert Kennedy based on his observations of how they tackled the nation's problems. Salinger was present when John Kennedy struggled with the aftermath of the Bay of Pigs debacle, and noted how Kennedy seemed to learn from the experience. He was also present during the deliberations between Kennedy and his cabinet over how to resolve the Cuban Missile Crisis. These experiences were to give Salinger a unique perspective many years later, as he covered the build-up to the first Gulf War as a journalist. During the Missile Crisis, Kennedy made it clear to the Soviets that continuing their offensive program would result in armed conflict. In contrast, the first Bush administration went out of their way not to send such a message to Saddam Hussein, not to warn him that the consequences of invading Kuwait would be war. Had George Bush Sr. gotten Hussein to settle his differences with Kuwait without an invasion, both Gulf Wars could have been avoided. In Salinger's analysis, Bush Sr. stood to gain popularity points back home by leading the country to battle instead of heading off the battle. Salinger goes on to point out how Bush's decisions degraded our relations with the Middle East and Europe, and encouraged the rise of the violent fringe of Islamic fundamentalism (as of the mid-1990s, when this book was written). And we all know where that has led...



2. I did not know a great deal about the author until I read his book. I knew he had been JFK's press secretary, but that was about it. Pierre Salinger never set out to be a press secretary, serving in World War II, then becoming a journalist along the way.
   Salinger's interesting experiences on the Senate investigation of the Teamsters, and his later involvement with the Kennedys is very interesting, as are the anecdotes he provides about the days of the Kennedy administration. Following those years, he expands again into other ventures, even more surprising, leaving him with a life closer to Forrest Gump than many will ever have.
   For information on the inner workings of the JFK campaign and White House, this book is invaluable, but is unfortunately too short. The book itself is not long, and can be read by a persistent reader in no time.

No comments about Kup: A Man, an Era, a City.

5 comments about California Dreaming : A Smooth-Running, Low Mileage, Best-Priced American Adventure.

1. Have you ever met a used car salesman with a conscience? British journalist Lawrence Donegan tries to put his ethics behind him when he turns down the chance of a hot corporate job to find the 'real America' by selling used cars. This is a very funny book and yet poignant as well. It's beautifully written and you find yourself quickly absorbed with Donegan and the bunch of cohorts who work alongside him, trying to pounce on anyone who dares to walk on to their used car lot. Definitely recommended.



2. While I did finish reading this book, I'm not sure why. I didn't find it very amusing.
   
   For its length, one doesn't really learn very much about the used car business, the author, life in California, or much else.



3. It's a tale of the author's travels from Scotland to the Silicon Valley. Originally, Donegan came to the Bay Area was to work at a friend's business, but after finding that opportunity to be less than desirable, he supported himself and his girlfriend in one of the most American of occupations, a used car salesman. What really makes the story unique is that this story of chasing the American dream is retold through the perspective of a Scot, and a pretty clever and witty one at that.

   I actually have more in common with the author than most, as I too came to the Silicon Valley to start a sales career about a month after Donegan came. I came from the Midwestern United States, which isn't a whole lot like California either, so I could relate.

   While I had a special pleasure of knowing the euphoric Silicon Valley circa 2000 and the various places Donegan refers too, everyone is going to have blast reading this book. The author begins to wrestle with his conscience, as he slowly becomes the sleazy salesman he once despised. The fact that he becomes more successful as he gets sleazier becomes troubling. But this is likely to be the most fun you've ever had watching a man struggle with an ethical dilemma.




4. A highly amusing look at California from the vantage point of a Scottish visitor: the criminally underfunded public institutions, the money-grubby dot com crowd, the veracity-challenged used car dealers, all against a backdrop of perfect sunshine.



5. It's the kind of book you have to renew after three weeks at the library---to go through again....Funny in kind of a non-neurotic, non Spaulding Gray style....If you've ever lived in California, it adds to the fun. This book was just a pleasure to read, to get myself out of myself...Informative about the used car buz....funny, realistic and enjoyable.....

   I was here again, buying a copy of the book, looking at the reviews, agreeing with this one, and discovered it was mine.....
   Oh Scooty!!!!

3 comments about First Loves.

1. Ted Solotaroff loved deeply, otherwise he wouldn't have spent so many years married to the madwoman Lynn, whose portrait is etched at the heart of this unsentimental memoir of a decent man, married to a terrible, neurotic woman. She had some literary pretensios herself, but did little but kvetch at him while he labored hard to help create--not only create but define--what was in the 1950s a totally new literary field--important American writing was for the first time predominantly Jewish. His great friend, Philip Roth, continues to write great novels, while some of the other fellows of the period have been forgotten save in memoirs by their friends, like this one.
   
   But, it was a trenchant time in American writing, and one which will not soon be forgotten, even if some of the magic names seem to dwindle away even as he writes about them, all over, anew. Meanwhile Lynn goes from bad to worse, even as Solotaroff gives her at least the virtue of being extremely sexy and alluring. At times we can see why he stuck it out with her. His father, on the other hand, was a pig. There should be more books like this one, books in which we can see a literary movement being born 9and the machinery required to make one happen).



2. If you know the South Side, Hyde Park and the University of Chicago, and yearn for the days of the high 1950s - beatniks, bongo drums, struggling writers, waitresses, starving grad students - this book will sate your appetite. It beautifully recreates a lost world - so lost that it has almost been forgotten. Alternately tough, lyrical, and mother-ridden, Solotaroff is a wonderful writer.



3. If you worked as a waiter in the Catskills you are going to love
   this book. Even if you haven't you're still going to be intrigued
   by Ted Solotaroff's journey towards what I might call "certified
   smarts". How many of us come out of the big cities, public libraries and dysfunctional families? Somewhere there is a life of the mind that will pay the bills. Meanwhile we're stuck in a dining room wearing a funny outfit and serving food to the paying customers.
   Mr. Solotaroff tells us what his journey has been like, honestly, forthrightlightly and sometimes too graphically but
   always entertainingly.

5 comments about No News at Throat Lake.

1. Not since "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and "Post Office" have I read a book that's made me laugh like this one. Donegan's witty observations are funny and incisive without being overly smug or condescending. He has a way of couching his opinions in a way that I could relate to(referring to his grandmother's musical taste as "aural carnage" was especially sharp).
   
   Bukowski has nothing on Donegan in the dry, witty social observations department. I look forward to future works from this talented writer.



2. As others have agreed, I liked Donegan's straightforward style. Adding to the list of favorite bon mots below, I'm chuckling over his reaction to seeing his picture on the cover of the newspaper's he's joined: Narcissus' bedroom wall. And summing up some fearsome portraits in some Anglo-Irish manse as having the hair of Barbara Stanwyck and the face of Fred MacMurray.
   
   The end of the account does hit rather suddenly, as if Donegan wanted to duck out with as little damage as possible--again, not surprising in an Irish rural context to which he has, if imperfectly, adapted over his stint. I would have liked some nuts and bolts knowledge: how did he survive on what the paper paid him? Did he play any more golf, being a Scotsman who's written previously about the sport? Was he living rent-free in his (former? on-and-off?) girlfriend's family's shack? Wouldn't more of his London and Glaswegian pals look him up, or call him, or e-mail him? How did the Tribune fill its pages and meet its bills? Still, the charm of Donegan's year of discovery lies more in his admittedly artful arrangement of a slew of witticisms, anecdotes, and set-pieces. Newt Gingrich gets his deserved comeuppance, by the way.
   
   A light read, sure, but not without it worthwhile insights into Derry, Dublin, the memories of a former pop star, a funeral, and the realization into what opting out ultimately leads one to understand.



3. Donegan gives the reader a fun but narrow inside view to the charms and tribulations of rural Irish life. Great characters and interesting stories create the fuel for intense laughter as the city slicker to rural farmer/journalist adjusts and takes a liking to his new surroundings. Unfortunately, in the end, the writer finds himself lonely without discovering the underlying concern for humankind that is present in rural Ireland. A concern that does not exist in the world in which he decides to reenter. Definitely worth purchasing.



4. Lawrence Donegan's book is one of the funniest I have read all year. He takes an everyday existence, so ordinary to the people he is writing about, and makes it interesting, enjoyable and comforting.
   Having spent many summers in this part of Donegal, I was instantly captivated by his affable style and innate journalistic inquisitions.
   Throw in a little Newt Gingrich, some decrepit, rain gathering cows and a vist from Meryl Streep and you have all the ingredients of a right rivetting read.



5. Written in a spare, journalistic style, "No News" is easy to read and fun. What do Newt Gingrich, Meryl Streep and gypsies have in common? and what are they doing in a tiny Irish town? A refreshing change from the current "I bought a really great house in another country" genre, its more real-"I rented a dump because it seemed like a good idea". The ending will surprise you.

   A great companion to: "Round Ireland with a Fridge" and "Oh Come Ye Back to Ireland-Our First Year in County Clare".

3 comments about Friends Talking in the Night: Sixty Years of Writing for The New Yorker.

1. A well-organized personal romp through years with the NYer, and interesting side- trips along the way. Perhaps not as palatable as other books connected to the New Yorker's history and legacy, but a good read for those of us who can't get enough.



2. A well-organized personal romp through years with the NYer, and interesting side- trips along the way. Perhaps not as palatable as other books connected to the New Yorker's history and legacy, but a good read for those of us who can't get enough.



3. I'm a great fan of the (old pre-Tina) New Yorker and was really looking forward to this book. It seems to be a selection of the author's worst pieces in the last 60 years. Not up to the old New Yorker standards at all. Not to mention being a bit trendy-lefty (the pieces on the Kennedy an Reagan inaugurals blast any hope of objectivity, and the Clinton election piece is nauseating). Also the type is too large and there is far too much white space, just padding out the length of this thing. Pass, buy Thurber's Years With Ross instead.