No comments about Nurses at War (Ulverscroft Nonfiction).

No comments about A Cow in My Parlour.

No comments about Isaac Bickerstaff (Large Print).

5 comments about Love and War in the Apennines (Transaction Large Print Books).

1. Eric Newby knows how to tell a story. This is one of the few books that I started over again immediately after finishing it the first time. The insight into the minds of these extraordinary Italian farmers who hid prisoners of war without thought to their own lives and safety is one of the great adventure reads to come out of World War II. Having passed through this countryside so many times traveling between Milan and Florence, I know first hand how rugged it is. Just to get through these mountains by train is an adventure, as there are dozens of tunnels to pass through after one leaves Bologna. Newby brings the setting to life for the reader, and we walk in his footsteps as he falls upon adverture after another. There is almost an unreal quality to this story, expecially his meeting the wonderful mountain men who live in the most remote parts of these mountains. If you want a really good read, grab a copy of this book. You will not be disappointed.



2. Newby's writing can be rather dry, but in this recounting of his escape from the Germans in WWII Italy, he strikes a fine balance between mawkish sentimentalism and tough-guy posturing. An engrossing narration about the extraordinary measures ordinary people can and will resort to, to stay alive and to do what they think is right. Encouraging, inspiring, and highly recommended.



3. During World War II, the rural citizens of northern Italy vowed to assist Allied soldiers on the run in their mountainous region. They were operating on an informed heart, on the Golden Rule, wanting to give aid to those who opposed the hated Fascists and Nazis as they would hope someone would help their own sons. And while the Allies were protected by the Geneva Convention should they be captured, the citizens were not and they were subject to less humane punishment, sometimes torture and death, if their actions were found out. But they did it anyway. It is these people, who otherwise lived a pastoral, ancient way of life, whom travel writer extraordinaire Eric Newby profiles in his memoir, LOVE AND WAR IN THE APENNINES.

   Those familiar with Newby's other books will find his signature wit, self-deprecating humor and descriptive powers at work here, but his curiosity and appreciation of other people and cultures is in highest gear. He comes to meet the peasantry of northern Italy after fleeing a prison during the chaos following the ouster of Mussolini in September 1943. He is helped by a succession of individuals and families, including the woman who would become his wife and companion in later adventures, the estimable Wanda. The book ends with his unfortunate recapture by the Germans and in an epilogue he revisits the people who took him in ten years after.

   Newby is a hugely gifted writer, his sentences are knowing and clear as a bell. He orders information rhythmically, always knows when less is more and more is more. He never bows to sentimentality, never sells anyone out. He does a remarkable job of expressing the fear and dispiritedness that politics and war heave on a people, at the same time revealing their resilience. There is much to admire in this book.




4. The Italians Newby depicts in this memoir (and also in his "A Small Place in Italy") are often funny, but never buffoonish. Newby's warm admiration for country folk is always evident, as in this passage where a retired stonemason helps remove an enormous boulder from the hideout the locals are making for him:

   "He went over it with his hands, very slowly, almost lovingly. It must have weighed half a ton. Then, when he had finished caressing it, he called for a sledgehammer and hit it deliberately but not particularly hard and it broke into two almost equal halves. It was like magic and I would not have been surprised if a toad had emerged from it and turned into a princess who had been asleep for a million years."

   Readers familiar with Newby's travel writing will find all his strengths here: his eye for detail, his warmth of character, his humor (mostly self-deprecating). They will also find a love story -- one made all the more poignant by Newby's craftsmanlike selection of few but telling scenes.




5. The Italians Newby depicts in this memoir (and also in his "A Small Place in Italy") are often funny, but never buffoonish. Newby's warm admiration for country folk is always evident, as in this passage where a retired stonemason helps remove an enormous boulder from the hideout the locals are making for him:

   "He went over it with his hands, very slowly, almost lovingly. It must have weighed half a ton. Then, when he had finished caressing it, he called for a sledgehammer and hit it deliberately but not particularly hard and it broke into two almost equal halves. It was like magic and I would not have been surprised if a toad had emerged from it and turned into a princess who had been asleep for a million years."

   Readers familiar with Newby's travel writing will find all his strengths here: his eye for detail, his warmth of character, his humor (mostly self-deprecating). They will also find a love story -- one made all the more poignant by Newby's craftsmanlike selection of few but telling scenes.

No comments about Not Bad for a Sergeant.

5 comments about Nothing Is Impossible: Reflections on a New Life (Windsor Selection).

1. Christopher Reeves will continue to be an inspirtion to all of us, and will influence other genertions with his insight, and courge, of trying to make the public more aware of Spinal Cord Injuries.
   He was indeed, a 'real Superman!'
   God Bless his family for allowing us all to know him better.
   Fran & Dean Johnson



2. I just reread this book, and it brought back how much I admired Mr. Reeve and his bride. I really think this should be required reading to anyone that has had a spinal injury, or an amputation, just to show them that they are NOT the first to feel all these negitive feelings.
   
   A wonderful tribute to the Reeves in general.



3. In this little book, Christopher Reeve principally seeks to show the value of hope. He talks about the surprising progress he made in recovering as a quadriplegic after a terrible accident. (Long after doctors believed recovery was possible, Reeve began to show improved movement.) He also talks at length about the politicization of stem cell research and how that has likely stymied further progress on relieving many human disabilities. Despite his clear feelings on the issue, Reeve is sympathetic to people with deep religious reasons for opposing stem cell research, just not those who do so as political posturing.
   
   Along the way, Reeve talks about his brush with Scientology (a fascinating glimpse of a religion that's been so much in the news), his other religious searchings, his initial thoughts of ending his life after his accident, how he and his family have dealt with his quadriplegia, and his work as an advocate for health research.
   
   This is a quick and enjoyable read. Reeve's insights on the nature and role of hope will be strengthening to people who struggle with any of a range of issues from physical to emotional to spiritual. Reeve himself reads the unabridged audio CD version; I recommend it.



4. I picked up this book at my school's library and started glancing through it. It's possibly one of the most motivational and inspirational books I've seen! Reeve recounts all of his trials and how he learned to function again. Throughout it all, he stayed strong with his wife Dana, who supported him through everything. A must read!



5. Christopher Reeve died almost 3 months ago i am researching him and he fell off the horse and still survived and even though he was real hurt alot he cared of other people he was a good athlete and especially actor.He was a huge survivor.
   In Memoriam,
   Christopher Reeve

1 comments about The Man Who Wrote Dracula: A Biography of Bram Stoker (Ulverscroft Large Print Series).

1. "The Man Who Wrote Dracula" was the second biography written about the author of the legendary work of gothic horror "Dracula", after Henry Ludlam's 1962 book "A Biography of Dracula". This biography was written in 1975 by Daniel Farson, Bram Stoker's great-nephew, whose grandfather was Bram's younger brother Tom. It has the advantage of being privy to family gossip and anecdotes, but doesn't demonstrate the scholarship of the more recent "Bram Stoker: A Biography of the Author of Dracula" by Barbara Belford. In fact, "The Man Who Wrote Dracula" is given to careless use of words and unsubstantiated innuendo, but includes some details of Bram Stoker's professional life not found in Belford's book.
   
   "The Man Who Wrote Dracula" is poorly organized into 3 parts. Part One gets off to an inauspicious start by suggesting, on the first page, that Bram Stoker's debilitating childhood illness may have been psychological, which is low on the list of possibilities. It covers Stoker's time in Ireland, from his birth to his civil service career and moonlighting as a drama critic. Then it moves to London as Stoker takes the job that would define his life: acting manager of the Lyceum Theatre and assistant to the actor Henry Irving. It continues through the best years of his life at the Lyceum. Farson only gets around to talking about Stoker's writing in the last chapter, even though he had been a published author for years at that point.
   
   Part Two concerns the origins and reception of "Dracula". There are chapters on vampire folklore, modern vampire superstitions, explanations of vampire beliefs, literary antecedents, the 15th century Wallachian prince from whom the novel took its name -Vlad "Dracula" Tepes, and Farson analyzes some of the more far-fetched interpretations of "Dracula". I have to commend Farson for stating, in reference to Vlad Tepes, that "Stoker seized on the name of Dracula, together with a vague impression of the background, and that was all". It was around the time this book was published that the theory that Count Dracula was based on the historical Vlad Tepes was becoming popular.
   
   Part Three returns to Stoker's life, starting in 1895, when Farson claims that Stoker started writing Dracula. Stoker actually began the novel 5 years earlier, but his working notes had not been discovered until after this book was published. We follow Stoker through difficult days at the Lyceum, fraught with financial difficulties, to life after Henry Irving, to Bram Stoker's death. Farson includes more details and commentary about Stoker's advocacy of censorship of the arts than I have read elsewhere, which is interesting. His speculation -which Farson states as fact- about the cause of Stoker's death has been the cause of much debate. Farson claims that Stoker died of syphilis, because his death certificate lists "locomotor ataxia" among the causes of death. Locomotor ataxia is, indeed, syphilitic spinal sclerosis, but Stoker had several strokes in the months before his death, whose symptoms could easily have been confused with those of locomotor ataxia by an imperceptive doctor.
   
   "The Man Who Wrote Dracula" seems carelessly written. Although it contains some interesting anecdotes, it doesn't usually mention their source. Still, "Dracula" scholars will want to read this biography and glean what they can. But it would make a confusing and underinformed introduction to Bram Stoker's life. Read Barbara Belford's 1996 biography first.

No comments about Last of the Great Scouts (Large Print Edition): The Life Story of William F. Cody (Buffalo Bill Cody).

5 comments about The Way You Wear Your Hat: And the Lost Art of Livin'.

1. Great book, fast reading, it had to be a great life. What this book does is it describes what it was like to be a man before the days of sensitivity training, and equality for all...



2. This is a great book; I echo all those positive reviews that came before. But it left me seriously jonesing for a guide like this for women. I really wish there were a parallel book for us dames. Does anyone know of a biography or a guide that looks at "the lost art of livin' life" for my gender?? **Please** let me know.



3. This is a fun read. It's not really biographical; simply a collection of anecdotes and memories that paint a picture of a man over the years. I get a real sense of Frank Sinatra -- we all knew him, and yet perhaps no one really knew him at all.



4. This book takes a turn away from Sinatra the Musician, and focuses on Sinatra the Man. Sure, he had a temper. Which one of us doesn't? Sure, he made some mistakes in his life. Which one of us hasn't? The flaws that FS had were overshadowed by the good qualities, with one that stands out in particular - LOYALTY. He stood by his friends just as fiercely as he stood up to his enemies.
   
   This book doesn't take the angle of a biography like so many others do. It only gets into biographical details as they relate to how Frank lived his life. It's full of great stories told by his friends and family on how Frank lived his life. It was a different time, and while all the specifics may not apply to today, the ideals are still very relevant. Everybody should take a least a page from Frank's life through this book, and apply it to their own life.
   
   A flower's not a flower if it's wilted.
   A hat's not a hat 'till it's tilted.



5. I bought this book for my boyfriend. He loves Frank Sinatra. I gave it to him at Christmas along with a fedora (like Frank wears on the cover of the book). He read the whole book on Christmas. He said it was great!
   
   "Cock your hat- angles are attitudes"~Frank Sinatra

No comments about Memory Stories II.