No comments about The Siren Years.

5 comments about A Nearly Normal Life.

1. I think if the author hadn't written his memoir in such a vain way--it would have been better??



2. In 1953, when he was a robust 14-year-old, Charles L. Mee was stricken with viral polio. This memoir describes his struggle with polio, and also comments on the treatments (sometimes horrific) that were tried to beat this virus that, in 1953 alone, struck over 50,000 people. His struggle was not an easy one, and his later life wasn't either, but he comes to terms with his limitations, becoming a successful historian and playright. It's a real eye-opener, and he doesn't mince words, which makes for a compelling read.



3. For those interested in understanding the impact of polio, this is the definitive source. No one tells the story like Charles Mee. The depth of his insights are stunning. He makes a powerful comment on the human condition. This book is a MUST READ.



4. From long experience with this area, Mee's accounts both of the era of his youth and the experiences of polio ring very true from the pen of an accomplished writer. One senses that Mee never really made peace with his disability and its impact, inasmuch as he was able to evade, compensate, head into intellectual endeavors, etc., so there are many polio/disability issues not well dealt with here. (Significantly it ends with his finding an oasis in the intellectual world of the Ivy League and the intellect.) However, one has to suspect that the decision to tell the story, with insight and honesty, may represent at long last a step in addressing what he may have hoped at one time to simply "leave behind." Perhaps there will be a sequel in which his historical training and writing skills are again focused on the complex interrelationships between disability, psyche and society. This is a good read, though, even if it is not the full story.



5. I don't write many reviews anymore, who has time? However, this book stood out so much above the rest I've read lately that I just had to share. The book is about a polio survivor, the 50's, the discovery of the vaccine and oh so much more. It's about living the life you were handed, not the want you thought you were going to get.

   His epilogue is pure poetry. An example: "Life continues to change. New things surface; old wounds hidden by bigger wounds show up when the bigger wounds are healed; new clusters of misgivings and confusion take shape to replace old clusters of exhausted adjustments. New things come along to be accepted with grace and peace. The disability and its challenges continue to evolve, and one must achieve acceptance and grace and peace again and again, day after day."

   I highly recommend this book to everyone. I read about 5 books a week and this book is in my top 20 of all time.

No comments about Pinhoe: As Used to Was (Reminiscence).

No comments about Life and Remains of John Clare (Large Print Edition): "The Northamptonshire Peasant Poet".

5 comments about The Apprentice: My Life In The Kitchen.

1. At first I was worried that the accent might be a little thick and difficult to listen to and understand, but nope, it was just fine.
   
   Mr. Pepin is not a food snob, but seems like a genuinely nice man who loves what he does, which is cook and teach.
   
   I was enthralled by his description of his apprenticeship at such a young age, it is certainly different than things are done here in the US, and very interesting.
   
   He worked at Howard Johnson's for quite a while and seeing as that was a favorite place for our family to go when I was a child, it was of interest to know that there was a French chef in the kitchen there. Who would have thought!? I still miss their clam strips.
   
   What an interesting life he has had thus far. I enjoyed hearing not only about his cooking career, but about his family and friends. He is a very rich man indeed!



2. My husband loves to cook, and enjoys Jacques Pepin. While I've watched the show to keep my husband company, I'm not much of a cook, but loved this book. It was interesting, entertaining and even got me to read some recipes (not my thing either!). I've since passed it on to a couple of other people that enjoyed it equally. I'm definitely glad we bought this and it has a permanent place in our home. Now if I could just decide whether it goes with cookbooks or autobiographies...



3. I Liked this so well I bought it as a gift for a friend. It is a good story, very interesting, and anyone would like it, especially someone who likes good for and likes to cook, but that is not necessary to enjoy it.



4. What a lovely book -- elegant, flavorful, delightful! My compliments to the chef. Jacques Pepin accomplishes much with a few key ingredients. I aspire to do the same with my review. As I read the book, I couldn't help thinking that I was reading first-hand source material for the book, The United States of Arugula, a fascinating, if breezy, history of food tastes in the U.S.



5. A fascinating book. His experiences in real French kitchens, post WW2, when the apprentice system was still in place are truly amazing. This man worked harder than a dog (as do all real chefs!) to learn about food. I especially enjoyed the early part of the book where he reminisces about his family's life in German occupied France. He doesn't talk about solders mind you, he talks about it from the point of view of what they ate!
   
   They really don't make them like this anymore. If you enjoy cooking at all you will enjoy this book. I mean, the man read Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in manuscript form! He was there at the awakening of the US to its modern culinary tradition, and he has some stories to tell. He also includes quite a few quirky recipes such as for his mother's deviled eggs. Jacques Pepin's story puts 99% of the current crop of cooking `celebs' to shame in terms of training and real food experience. Rachel Ray worked, where, in a fine food store in Lake George NY for a couple of years? Be serious. JP spent more time learning how to prep vegetables. I loved every word. If you enjoy a well prepared meal and are at all interested in how it got to your plate you will love this book too.

No comments about Moonless Night (Reminiscence).

2 comments about Pacific War Diary, 1942-1945: The Secret Diary of an American Sailor.

1. I, too, have a copy of the 1963 Avon paperback that I have been lugging all over the country for the past 30+ years. I read this in a high school history class in the early seventies, and immediately realized it was one of the best true war stories I had ever read. I have read my very tattered copy several more times since then, and have enjoyed it more with each reading.
   
   The book is the diary of a young seaman aboard the USS Montpelier during action in the Pacific from 1942 through 1945. He kept the diary a secret because it was against Navy regulations to keep such a document and it was only printed years after the war ended.
   
   Written in the language of a sailor, it is gritty and real. It does, at times become repetitive, but then again, life aboard a ship during the war was just that....days of sheer terror followed by weeks on endless boredom.
   
   Read this book if you want to get a great perspective of the war from a sailors point of view. And, just read it if you want a fantastic read!



2. I was given a beat-up Avon paperback from 1963 and became thoroughly engrossed. Often repetitive but never dull, this day-by-day account by a Seaman First Class of three years of action on a light cruiser in the Pacific afforded me a new appreciation of what my father endured in the same places at the same time. Highly recommended to any American.

1 comments about The Sun in the Morning.

1. I am quite a traveler, but have never really wanted to go to India...it sounded to intense for me somehow...but this book could possibly have changed my mind! I have listened to the Book on Tape and then I immediately found an out-of-print book version because I enjoyed it so much, The author, who wrote "Far Pavillions" and "Shadow of the Moon", (fiction books which incorporate stories from her childhood in India), tells of her idyllic life growing up in this beautiful land. THEN, at age 10, she is abruptly taken from everything she has ever known and sent to boarding school in England. But the book ends, thankfully, with her return to her beloved India after an absence of ten years. Can she "go home again"? Fortunately, her autobiography continues...in tape and book form... in the delightful, "Golden Afternoon"...hooray for M.M. Kaye! Oh, by the way, this book-on-tape features an absolutely wonderful reader, too.

No comments about Reflections of Sunflowers.

No comments about An Autobiography (Large Print Edition).