No comments about Call the Midwife.

No comments about Curiosities of the Sky (Large Print Edition).

2 comments about Bing Crosby (Isis Large Print Nonfiction).

1. This is the same review I gave the book in it's original edition. The larger type hasn't changed anything!..............
   In this book, we learn that, among other things, Bing's partner in the Rhythm Boys was named Harry "Berris"...... That Bing made "4000 different recordings"....... That Bing's famous singing rivalry known as the "Battle Of The Baritones" was with Rudy Vallee..... That another popular singer of the early days was Russ "Colombo"..... That Bing's mother was born in Canada..... That Bing's lung operation in 1974 was due to cancer..... That Bing's appearances on the "Hollywood Palace" TV show consisted of hosting "once a month, between 1968 and 1970 ...., sharing the role with George Burns, Martha Raye, and Judy Garland"........ That in 1962, Bing recorded "Let's Not Be Sensible" for a film soundtrack, "...but for reasons no one could adequately explain, the last word of the song, 'love', was mangled on tape...." and that Bing refused to re-record it because he was a "star", so .."Michael Holliday, a Crosby sound-alike, was brought in to finish the line for him......" This book further reveals that all of Al Jolson's legendary 1940s radio appearances with Bing were on Bing's series, "The Kraft Music Hall", and that Bing's very first TV appearance was "...as the guest of Jack Benny's first special in 1953...." WHEW!!!! What a bunch of junk! Folks, every single fact I've just related comes randomely from the pages of this half-baked un-researched hatchet-job, and is totally wrong!! What's more, These are just errors I picked at the last minute, thumbing through the book as I was composing this review: there are so many more! I've read hundreds of entertainment bios in my life (including others by Freedland), and NEVER have I encountered such a lame work with so many blatant errors of fact, chronology, and spelling (the spelling errors listed above for "Berris" and "Colombo", are not random typos, but are mis-spelled every time the names appear in the text!) How did this get published? Of course, the piece is also a hatchet-job, featuring alusions and conclusions re: Crosby's behavior that have absolutely no basis in fact. You want Crosby? Order Gary Giddins' new masterpiece "Bing Crosby- A Pocketful Of Dreams - The Early Years", and you'll get the REAL Bing, in a scholarly, analytical epic that makes this howler look like the misbegotten little essay that it is.



2. This book is a great read for all those interested in Bing Crosby. It states a truthful but fair opinion of the crooners life, works, personality, and his family life. It is also easy to read and enjoyable too. The pictures in it are also great and soom I have never seen before. I t is truly a great buy!

No comments about The Life of Sir Richard Burton (Large Print Edition).

3 comments about Johnny Weissmuller: Twice the Hero.

1. If any one is a fan of Johnny Weissmuller or even if you are just a fan of his Tarzan movies this is the book to read. There is so much I didn't know about this real American hero that is presented in such an informative and entertaining way. I heard the author is working on a book about Maureen O'sullivan. I'll be first in line for that one. You won't be disapointed in this book. Some great pictures as well.



2. I was very impressed by the research in this biography of Johnny Weismuller. A lot of time was spent in getting opinions of those who knew and worked with Weismuller throughout his athletic and film career. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in films or in Johnny Weismuller.



3. I've been a "Weissmuller" fan for most of my life,and this book is long overdue.The rare photos are simply great.The book may seem to be slightly over-priced until one examines the quality of the workmanship.The binding and print is first-rate.It covers Johnny's life from his birth in Europe in1904 to his death in 1984.While it doesn't shy away from the multiple marriages,it doesn't delve into salacious gossip.It's obvious the biography was written by a true fan.I especially enjoyed the foreword by Johnny Sheffield.It revealed a lot about the true character of Weissmuller.David Fury is to be complimented for this excellent book! P.S. Johnny Weissmuller was my boyhood idol.He was "head and shoulders" above everyone,in my book.I was most fortunate to meet him,when he came to my hometown,in 1967.I was 13 at the time,and it was quite a thrill to meet him.He was 63,and looked simply great! I still treasure the two autographed pictures he gave me.

No comments about The Life of St. Frances of Rome, and Others (Large Print Edition).

No comments about For the Love of Donkeys (Transaction Large Print Books).

No comments about Champion's Story.

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.

5 comments about Saddam: King of Terror.

1. Some reviewers are judging this book based on their personal opinions about the Iraq War. But this book was originally written in 2002 and the Iraq War is only briefly discussed in a short epilogue. Of course, the situation there is even worse today, though Coughlin does mention the difficulties that lie ahead.
   
   The fact is that this book is that not a political treatise. But is instead a well written biography that begins with Saddam's birth around 70 years ago in a small, poverty stricken village near Tikrit. He experienced what was apparently a horrific childhood with an abusive step-father. Around age 10 he was sent off to live with his Nazi sympathizer uncle, Tulfah Khairallah. As a young adult Saddam began to rise through the Baath Party ranks, considered an effective thug and hitman who was willing to do the party's "dirty work" against potential enemies. Eventually Saddam's ruthless brutality enabled him to become the dictator of Iraq. Of course, from there his atrocities only grew worse, including the gassing of the Kurds and over a million left dead during his bloody 8 year war against Iran. Meanwhile the United States, the Soviet Union, France and Germany all supported Iraq with military supplies and assistance during this time, apparently considering him the "lesser of two evils" compared to Iran.
   
   Coughlin does an excellent job in presenting the psychological and cultural background that produced Saddam. Still it remains hard to fathom the type of mentality that could lead someone to order the horrific number of murders and torture cases that occurred during his reign. Saddam was a vicious tyrant. But this book also presents a realistically bleak portrait of Iraq's political environment that offers no easy solutions for a better future without him.
   
   I think Bush and the neo-cons were incredibly naive going into this war believing that they could turn Iraq into a Western style democracy. As a result the situation there is a disaster. But regardless of your political opinions on the war, this is an excellent biography of Saddam that will increase the knowledge of anyone that reads it.



2. Someone must be suffering from cold feet.
   
   The Iraqi army has dissolved and disintegrated and regrouped into small widely separated divisions, up to now incapable of organized performances, least of all policing Baghdad.
   
   The world ridiculed the idea that Saddam had amassed weapons of mass destruction (now ironically referred to as `had the potential capability of possessing WMD' - you see! the legend `potential' was simply added to give an evasive answer to the question `why has the UN decided to remove Saddam?'
   
   Now we listen to bits and pieces of a so-called `Saddam's court martial', where Saddam has been exhausting the court but never exhausted, engaging everyone in heated arguments, until the judge was on the verge of losing his temper. Indeed he lost it and dismissed Saddam.
   Saddam won the day!!!!
   It was a great personal victory for Saddam.
   Of course no one has any means of knowing who's really speaking the truth.
   The coalition forces believed they had at last a revealing insight into the state of Saddam's mind after his dishonourable capture, but the way the ex-president is treated in court leaves a lot to be desired.
   
   Many responsible officials after Saddam were about to commiserate on their heavy responsibilities despite the support they have been getting from the `strongest power on this planet'
   
   I saw the look of dismay in the eyes of those who read this prematurely written book; perhaps the author thought that Saddam would be a dead corpse by the time this epistle had been published.
   Who knows!
   And Iraq, in the absence of as strong a government, is still in terrible predicament.
   The battle for Saddam Hussein is virtually beginning.
   To many laypersons in the Arab world, the `story' does not seem to be finishing soon, and the author will have to revisit the last four years brimful with additional important material for his readers.



3. A good detailed account of how Saddam used brutal stalinist methods to take control of Iraq. His control of Iraq was so complete that it took a strong outside force to bring him down.



4. I love the way Saddam's dreaded Anfal Campaign where he murdered over 100,000 Iraqi Kurds in just one year in the 1980's is given depth by the author. As for why the US did not stop Saddam during this time; well the Cold War with the Soviet Union was still going on at this time and the US was still slightly paarlyzed by the pacifist movement of 1970.
   
   Back to this book it would be 5 stars without the homosexual reference Coughlin put in.



5. I would have givin this book a 0 star but that option wasnt availabe.This author really needs to do his research all over again.For instace on page 7 he talks about the "7 pillars of islam"when actually there only is 5 PILLARs in Islam.This might not seem like a big deal but througout this book you find little lies here and there.And by the time you finish the book it turns into one big lie.The author mentions that Saddam gassed his people but FAILS to mention that it was our government of the USA that supplied it to him.He protrays Bush and his administration as heros bet he feels dumb now after we found no WMDs and that we screwed the whole nation up.For some truth read "forbidden truth".And also read the PNAC doctrine.Dont waste your time with this book.