5 comments about Lucy in the Afternoon: An Intimate Memoir of Lucille Ball (G K Hall Large Print Book Series).

1. Jim Brochu's bio was an interesting read for this avid Lucy fan - but take it - the entire dish - with a grain of salt.
   I was aleady forewarned that Brochu exaggerates his friendship with Lucy (I found myself rolling my eyes plenty of times). This is filled with historical innacuracies matched only by Brochu's continual lapses into fantasy - he claims he and Lucy's hubby Gary Morton sat on the lanai one afternoon discussing deal-making with a TV network.
   Why oh why would Morton discuss anything of the kind with Lucy's new backgammon bud?
   A much better bio (endorsed by Lucie Arnaz) can be found in Lee Tannen's excellent biography of Lucy's last ten years in which he was her close friend. Unlike Brochu who knew her the last eight months of her life, Tannen really was there. And the guy can write.
   I found it amusing (or was it alarming) that Brochu reports with great authority on incidents he was not involved in - Tannen was, incidentally but Brochu never mentions this. He glosses over Tannen like he does everything else that's real in the bio. His daydreams (he claims they are real dreams)about Lucy and his scary eyes in the phhotos tell me Lucy dropped dead to escape him.



2. why should anyone else??? Her own daughter says it is filled with inacurracies and indeed, the author makes it a point in every page to make himself the ONLY friend Lucy ever had. As Lucie Arnaz herself said, "skip this one".



3. I find it highly unlikely anyone allegedly getting these old Hollywood stories from Lucille Ball herself would have gotten them so inaccurately. Approximately two chapters into the book, I began to strongly suspect this man never knew Ms. Ball at all. He supports their "intimate friendship" with an insert of photographs, all of which were obviously taken on only two different occasions, my guess is they were taken right before she had him arrested for stalking. Passing up no opportunity to toot his own off-key horn, the author tends to paint Ms. Ball as a bitter old clown who apparently hated everyone in the world except Jim Brochu, wildly incongruent with virtually every other existing account of Lucille as a generally warm and generous soul who was well loved by those who knew her. Brady's "Lucille", Andrew's "Lucy & Ricky & Fred & Ethel" and Ms. Ball's own "Love Lucy" are only three of a number of infinitely better, more entertaining, and more accurate books on this subject that I can think of without even looking it up. This book is total garbage, it should be read only to placate the author's obvious need to display his psychosis to the rest of the world, and then kept on hand in case the reader should run out of loo paper one day.



4. As with other reviewers here - this guy thinks too much of himself in relation to Miss Ball. I wonder if there are not a few splinters in the windmills of his mind. While searching through Lucie Arnaz' website I found this quote in response to a fan looking for reading material: "The Jim Brochu , "Lucy in the Afternoon" book (which was released moments after her passing) is littered with inaccuracies, and totally fabricated stories. Skip THAT one!" Unfortunately, I read this book before realizing any of that. I do believe this book to be JUNK



5. I have read every book that has been written about Lucille Ball and this is by far the least accurate, odd, book that has been written about the legend. Timed for release, immediately after her death, "Lucy in the Afternoon" chronicles one boys obsession with the entertainer that he, later in life, confuses with a soul-mate type frendship. Very odd reading. Stories are quite obviously fabricated and I find it highly unlikely that Lucy went into great depth with this man about her life. Covering everything from her broadway days to her ex-husband to her movie and televison career. These are highly personal topics to be discussed with what was a stranger. An aspiring writer. This book should deffinetly be skipped by avid Lucy readers and just readers in general. There are far better books about Ball out there.
   
   I would suggest the most recent release "Ball of Fire" or the excellent "Desilu, the story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz". T

3 comments about As I Am: An Autobiography (G K Hall Large Print Book Series).

1. As a Cooper fan, I only honestly bought the book to read about Pat's side of her affair with Gary. To my delightful surprise the book from the first page was enthralling and it took no time at all to finish. Her candor, her details of other affairs and her honesty and openess make this a truly impressive read and you soon think of her as a person rather than an actress or someone that had an affair with the famous Gary Cooper.
   
   Definitely worth the money but more importantly, worth your time. Buy it and buy it NOW!!!



2. roald dahl said it best, "pat is the most honest person ever!" she certainly is, i read the book in one day and as the other reviewer stated, i was sad to see it end, her book was so inspirational that i find myself turning to it in my times of darkness, i think every young woman should read this book, it's like having that mother daughter talk with your mom- great read!!!
   
   1million stars!!!!



3. To my great surprise, I enjoyed this autobiography very much and was sorry when it ended. I had seen a few of Patricia Neal's movies, but was not a fan, and expected to skim through the book; instead I found myself savoring every word. What a life she's had, full of dramatic highs and lows. She found early success on Broadway and won an Oscar during her long Hollywood career, and is known for her love affair with Gary Cooper (she details many other affairs, as well) and her strokes, when she was 39 and pregnant, which left her unable to speak and walk.
   
   Her turbulent marriage to eccentric writer Roald Dahl, the death of a child, the accident that left another child brain-damaged, and her relationships with a who's-who list of show biz greats combine to make this a book that is very hard to put down. It is written with so much energy and determination that I became fascinated with Patricia Neal. She is known publicly for her great personal strength, but honestly reveals her weaknesses and fears as well. Highly recommended as an outstanding Hollywood autobiography.
   
   Kona

5 comments about Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories That Heal.

1. There was a seeming dual purpose motivating the author to write this book. Remen is a medical doctor who basically tells the stories about how her professional experiences moved her closer to, rather than away from, emotional involvement with her clients particularly as it pertained to the connection between one's spirituality and recovery,amongst other things.
   Remen also shares some very deep and moving stories that were shared with her by her clients once she became a therapist.
   It's a wonderful read and will be helpful to anyone seeking spiritual enlightenment and motivation.



2. Rachel Naomi Remen believes in the healing power of stories. She trained as a pediatrician and expected to practice traditional medicine much as her father and other male members of her family had done before her, but something happened to change her carefully planned course.
   
   In the introduction to Kitchen Table Wisdom, Remen tells how her male colleagues frequently knocked on her office door to ask for her help with a crying patient. They believed that she, as a woman, would know what to do. Though she knew no more than they, she felt flattered that they came to her and felt that this helped her be more a part of their exclusive "Old Boys Network." She began to spend more and more time listening to patients share their fears and feelings of living with a terminal disease.
   
   Since the age of fifteen, Remen has suffered from Crohn's disease. As she listened to her patients, she began to feel less lonely and isolated. Probably, her guidance and uncanny understanding of her patients stemmed from her familiarity with physical and emotional pain.
   
   Kitchen Table Wisdom is a compilation of eighty-eight poignant stories that Remen heard over many years, as well as stories of her own life. Her stories demonstrate her belief that a larger process is at work in all our lives and that human beings are "unfinished, a work in progress." She believes we come into the world whole but lose faith in our wholeness and become discouraged by feelings of not being pretty enough, smart enough, etc. " ... our wholeness exists in us now," she writes, "Trapped though it may be, it can be called upon for guidance, direction and most fundamentally, comfort."
   
   No retelling of Remen's stories can do them justice. One of my favorites is "The Question"--a story told by a patient named Tim (now a cardiologist) of his experience at the age of fifteen with his father, who was in the last stages of Alzheimer¹s disease. At the time, his father had not spoken for ten years and was totally helpless. Tim and his brother were alone with their father when he suddenly slumped over and fell to the floor. The brother was calling 911 when both boys heard a voice commanding, "Don't call 911, son. Tell your mother that I love her. Tell her that I am all right." With those words, the man died. An autopsy later revealed that Tim's father's brain had been entirely destroyed by the disease. Tim never stops wondering who spoke those final words. He tells Dr. Remen, "Much of life can never be explained but only witnessed."
   
   The author believes that talking about and sharing one¹s feelings revives memories that can lead to important new insights about one¹s life, bringing about a healing that formal treatment is unable to offer. She says that Shamans believe illness is a direct indication of soul loss. The soul, she explains, is that which is aware of the sacredness we carry and the sacredness that exists in the external world as well. Losing our appreciation for our sacredness, living with sadness, with feelings of unworthiness can manifest illness.
   
   "Life is the ultimate teacher...," she writes. "It is through experience, and not scientific knowledge or expert academic training alone that we learn our deepest lessons." In her lectures and writings, Dr. Remen likes to tell of a sign on the wall of a room in Florida where the elderly come to play Bingo. It reads, "You Have to Be Present to Win." And so it is in life.
   
   by Duffie Bart
   for Story Circle Book Reviews
   reviewing books by, for, and about women



3. Beautiful sweet touching book that helped me get me through some tough times. Celebrates the human spirit.
   
   I recently had the privilege of hearing the author speak. she is an amazing woman.



4. For years I refused to read this book after a friend's recommendation thinking that it would be another "feel good" attempt . Boy was I wrong! This book is one of the most extraordinary pieces of writing I have ever encountered. I have read it over and over again many times (the stories are short enough that allow you to read at your own pace). It has actually become sort of a "guide to Life" for me. Furthermore, as story-telling itself goes, is simply masterful. Dr. Remen is a powerful communicator and her wisdom goes beyond "new age". It is a groundbreaking work about mystery, awe and Life with a capital "L".



5. I am presurgery and this book helps to calm me and encourage me to think positively.

5 comments about Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia.

1. I read Princess the first time many years ago and was very intriged by it. It also made me look into Islam and I can say today I am a Muslim. I read the book again recently and did not find it as good. What must be said is that a lot of horrible things that happened in that book were culture and *not* Islam. (I will also say that Saudi is not a good example of a Islamic country.)
   
   Other than that issue I think it's a good read. Just don't read too much into it. If you really want to get a look into life in Saudi there are Saudi feminist bloggers on the net. That would give you a better view than this book.



2. This was a very well chronicled and written book of a princess' contemporary lifestyle and despairing oppression in Saudi Arabia. I highly reccommend this book.
   
   Princess Sultana,
   You seem to be looking for the Western World to assist in your plight of simple, daily freedoms for your nation's women. Which, by your story, is understandable. When you have a sole, domineering, and restrictive religion entwined in a political state...the chance of change is greatly reduced; after reading Saudi Arabian laws documented in your story, there's hardly any separation of religion and state in your day-to-day activities; especially for women. Actually, the legal system in your country is downright offensive to even me, and I am not a citizen of Saudi Arabia. Truly, I'd rather be homeless, U.S. citizen with complete social, educational, political, religious, and civic freedoms than a Princess with lavishly decorated palaces, an infinite amount of money, and diamonds and gems that string a couple miles...because after reading your life...freedom is priceless. I pity your life and the only people who can change your demise is your own people with the same mindset. 1776.



3. 'Princess' is a true story about "Sultana" a member of the royal bloodline, growing up in Saudi Arabia. One would think that as descendant of the great leader, King Abdul Aziz life would be luxurious with one opportunity after another..and for the males that's true..but as a female born and raised in the Royal family life was severe and restrictive.
   
   This book is very well written and you wont want to put it down. Most people have no idea what life in the Middle East is like. It will shock and sadden you to read about how cruel and harsh life is for females (children and adults) and the sickening double standards allowed for males. This book will open your eyes to the true nature of Islam and just how intolerant and incompatable it is regarding human rights.



4. I believe this book to be a sloppily written work of FICTION. I bought it thinking I was going to read a day-to-day account of the life of a Saudi princess. I would have been happy with a boring account of household chores and staring at the walls. However, I became suspicious at obvious omissions like details of the princess' first sexual experience and her survival of cancer. I was appalled at how such a life-changing experience could be glossed over in 2 or 3 sentences. The princess had no problems detailing the rape of a young Egyptian girl, but was uncomfortable discussing her own sex life or illness? The book is about her, so why not focus on these struggles through the eyes of a Saudi woman? How did the health system treat her? Did she get support from her relatives? The sale of young Egyptian girls by their mothers is not a new or shocking story to anyone who has lived in that country. It has recently come to my attention that this type of activity still takes place in Egypt. The detailed retelling of stories not related to the life of the "princess" gave the book a cut-and-paste feel. It was as if Ms. Sasson interwove her personal observations with gossip and other written accounts. I have been researching Islamic/Middle Eastern culture for a while and so, and I was surprised that I could easily remember text and word-of-mouth references for many of the "princess'" stories. My own research took place over 4 years through numerous sittings with Muslim men in Asia, who demonstrated their culture through their habits and statements. So, yes, the treatment of women is barbaric and honour killings are allowed/expected in some countries. Unmarried women are dishonouring themselves, and marriage is the ultimate symbol of respectability. Some of them object to being touched by women (not even handshakes), or eat food prepared in establishments owned by Jews. Many Muslim men and women have intercourse before marriage. The men expect to marry virgins because they want to have unprotected sex without the worry. I could go on and on. None of these Western-educated men think that there is anything backward about their beliefs. The point is, why did Ms. Sasson choose a "princess" to highlight the plight of women in the Middle East? There exist a wide variety of people from all walks of life that would have willingly offered the accounts she needed to write a very interesting and colourful account of life as a Saudi. The princess comes across as powerless, frustrated and somewhat bubble-headed. Some of her actions are illogical. She wants to do so much to help women in her country but uses her social clout to organise parties for royals and diplomats?! Here was a perfect opportunity to raise awareness of women's, nay, HUMAN rights issues in the Kingdom. She writes nonchalantly about enjoying unlimited use of her husband's jet, but is surprised when he feels some repugnance towards her after she has become disfigured because of a disease. Why would someone this vain neglect to get reconstructive surgery? If her husband can fly a medical team out to Saudia Arabia to help deliver their child, and if she is resourceful enough to steal millions of dollars of her husband's money, it could certainly enter her mind to physically transform herself. Also, why did she go back to her husband? Why not take all the money and keep the children, and write the book on her own? She could have claimed asylum in a number of countries or bought herself and her children new identities. By the end of this toweringly tall tale, I felt that Ms. Sasson may have written this book as a way of venting her disappointment over not having found herself a rich, handsome, Saudi prince. Had she never left Saudi Arabia empty-handed she would never have had the inclination to write this text. I think it is a shame that people feel it is fine to write negative stories about a culture just because it is closed to outsiders. There is no way for us to authenticate any of the stories in Princess (without subjecting her to death, torture, or ostracism) and so, I will give this book a 20% chance of being authentic. Likewise, I hope the author will understand my viewpoint as to the dubious nature of a text that can be constructed through careful research and attentive listening.



5. This is extraordinary book - a testament to one woman's courage (that of the Princess)as well as to the talent(that of Jean Sasson)which put it so powerfully on the printed page. Everyone needs to read this book. The demeaning cruelty with which some Arab women are treated is something that the world needs to be told about over and over again. Particularly when we are treated to the appalling sight of President Bush holding hands and dancing up and down with the Saudi leader, Prince Abdullah, while Irag and Afghanistan burn. But most of all, "Princess" is a deeply-felt reminder that what the world also needs a lot more of now is love...Zeus: A Journey Through Greece in the Footsteps of a God; The Summer of My Greek Taverna: A Memoir; Greece: An Illustrated History (Illustrated Histories)

5 comments about A Beautiful Mind.

1. I assisted Nash with the C programming language at Princeton and was a source for the book.
   
   I found the book accurate, well-written, and readable. The part of the book that talks about the period in which Nash's economics prize was considered was indeed one in which this very private man was under a microscope, and my supervisor warned me to be very sensitive to his condition.
   
   Sylvia Nasar knows her craft very well. The book is narratively organized, and she doesn't need to do dramatic flashbacks or grabbers to get you to keep turning the pages. It's a man's life, in America of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s...to the early nineties, by which time Nash had become the Phantom of Fine Hall.
   
   But, Phantoms have a story too. Anyone interested in the human side of math and science, anyone interested in psychology, anyone who is impressed by women who both "stand by their man" and get a career of their own, will enjoy reading the story.
   
   The book is much more detailed and far more accurate than the movie, which had to take liberties with the truth to be entertaining. It includes Nash's other common-law wife Eleanor and a son by that marriage, which was very different from Nash's relationship with Alicia.
   
   The book is long but will probably be very rewarding for most readers.



2. John Forbes Nash Jr. is one of the most intriguing personalities I've known or read about. A precocious math genius and one of the few persons responsible for the establishment of game theory, he succumbed to mentally-decapacitating schizophrenia at around the age of 30. I think Sylvia Nasar succeeds wonderfully in recounting the personal aspect of Nash's life such as his various eccentricities and the effects his mental illness had on both himself and those around him, but when it comes to the science and theories the book is a wee bit disappointing. Of course this book is a biography and is therefore more concerned about his life than his work, but a lot of interesting examles could have been been used to more clearly illustrate Nash's theories that I was quite surprised Nasar didn't give at least a few of them. Until his theories are better understood, the enormity of Nash's genius could not be fully appreciated.
   
   Recommended for its storytelling, but if you'd like to grab the gist of the technical stuff read his published papers or game theory textbooks.



3. In Sylia Nasar's award-winning biography, A Beautiful Mind, which chronicles the life of mathematics genius and Nobel laureate John Nash, she divides his life into three acts (though the table of contents does not): genius, madness and reawakening. Act one, his genius phase, covers the first two parts of the book, and lasts for the first 29 years of his life. Act two - madness, which takes the form of schizophrenia - covers the next two parts, and lasts until he is 62. Act three, his awakening, covers his remission from schizophrenia, his receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for Economics in 1994, and his life at Princeton up to the present. The book was made into an Oscar-winning motion picture by director Ron Howard in 2001 and stars Russell Crowe. Both book and film are phenomenal, as are the man's life and Crowe's portrayal of it.
   
   Particularly interesting about act one of Nash's life, and part one of Nasar's book, is the discussion on game theory. Game theory, up until the time of Nash, was based upon the idea that only one player in a game can win and everyone else must lose. But Nash broke with tradition in his doctoral thesis by theorizing mathematically the results of a game in which everyone won, regardless of the number of players. His thesis became the basis of modern economic theory, and the reason for his eventual Nobel prize.
   
   Nasar does an exceptional job explaining game theory and the workings of the mind of a genius, and especially Nash's original idea, which he called "the Nash equilibrium," and introduced in 1950 when he was only 21. Nash theorized that a game could be both competitive and cooperative - as opposed to the "winner take all" stakes of purely competitive games like chess - and could result in a desirable balance of power, rather than the undesirable condition of domination by a single power. In other words, when a player considers both his own good and the collective good of the other players, the results are better for everyone. This allowed gaming theory to be applicable to economics, politics and other sciences.
   
   In Ron Howard's film, he illustrates this beautifully with the scene in the bar in which all the boys want the beautiful blonde who walks in. Russell Crowe's character, Nash, explains to his friends that if they all go for the blonde, they will all lose, because they will offend the blonde's friends, causing them all to strike out. But if each of them goes for a different girl, they will all score. This is the moment Nash realizes he has found the original idea for his doctoral thesis.
   
   Socially, Nash had no friends growing up. This is ironic for a person whose greatest contribution to science was a theory of relationships. It is also interesting in that it illustrates something about the environment needed to develop into both a genius and a schizophrenic: isolation. As Nasar puts it, "His overriding interest was in patterns, not people." I don't think a lack of interest in people is required for genius, but I do believe an interest in patterns is. It was his ability to see patterns in numbers that led Nash into numerology and decoding imagined ciphers for the Pentagon.
   
   Howard does an excellent job showing Nash's ability to recognize pattern in the opening scene when Russell Crowe insults a fellow student's tie after recognizing several patterns in it that are reflected in the layout of the punch table. He does it again when he is able to pick out the pattern of an umbrella in the stars for his love interest and future wife, Alicia, played by Jennifer Connelly. And when he is decoding for agent Parcher, played by Ed Harris, the patterns that he sees in the numbers and words "light up."
   
   Until he meets Alicia, who would stand by him through his illness and help him overcome it, Nash's relationships are cloaked in mystery and innuendoes. It is not important to get into them here; but let me just say that the homosexual community was vocally disappointed by Howard's choice to leave them out of his film. I believe he was right to do so, if for no other reason than that they would have added nothing to the story; but more because no one is certain of what those relationships consisted. Nash himself did not consider himself a homosexual, so it may be that they were merely codependent. Regardless, they would undoubtedly have been immature and ego-centric, as all his personal relationship were before he met Alicia.
   
   Alicia brought something to Nash's life that he had never experienced before: another focus besides himself and mathematics. Before her, his world revolved around the fact that he considered himself a mathematical genius. Now there was someone else to consider. Alicia drove a wedge into an otherwise self-focused, isolated life. She was the person that would recognize his slipping into schizophrenia - although she didn't know what it was at the time - and she was the one that would bring him back. Connelly is wonderful in the role of Alicia. Howard uses their relationship in the film to turn an otherwise straight thriller into a love story. It is this combination that makes A Beautiful Mind very much like a Hitchcock film; and yet, because it is true, it is even more interesting.
   
   Ron Howard is masterful at blurring the line between what is real and what is not in Nash's world. We are never really sure until the day of the storm, when Alicia goes out to get the laundry off the line and discovers what is in the garage. That is an exciting scene, especially when combined with the scene of the baby's bath, and then with the scene following in which Parcher (Harris) holds a gun on Alicia and tells Nash that she is threatening the mission. The conclusion that Nash voices, as he tries to prevent Alicia from leaving, breaks the tension: "She never grows old" (talking about Charles' niece Marcee). That is when he shows he realizes that something is wrong in his world.
   
   How he deals with his problem is what makes his "a beautiful mind." Once he is diagnosed with schizophrenia, he is given the usual drug and shock treatments. But he realizes that the treatments being administered to save his mind are also destroying it. With Alicia's consent and help, he tries to overcome his problem using the power of his own mind. It is because of her love and support, and the support of the mathematics community, that he succeeds.
   
   There is a key scene in the movie - the scene when he receives the recognition of his colleagues in the faculty dining room in the "pen ceremony" - when Thomas King tells him about his being considered for the Nobel Prize. Nash explains to King how he overcame his schizophrenia. He says it is like having an appetite for something but, rather than feeding it, choosing to starve it. He said he had an appetite for certain things in his life that weren't real. They are still there - talking about Charles, Marcee and Parcher - but he doesn't acknowledge them. Thus, they no longer have the power to affect his life.
   
   To me, this is the take-away from both Nasar's book and Howard's film. We all have appetites for things that are not healthy, not real - fantasies in which we play "what if" scenarios in our heads. Like Nash, we can choose to ignore them and go on to lead happy, healthy, productive lives. Or, as he did during his mad period, we can indulge and become involved with them, allowing them to affect and ultimately destroying us. Like Nash, we have power over our own thoughts, and, thereby, over our own lives. If we choose well, we, too, will have beautiful minds and beautiful lives. It's up to us.
   
   Waitsel Smith



4. Sylvia Nasar writes a wonderful biography of the life of John Nash. We see Nash as an unhappy child who finds success in mathematics and becomes both arrogant and self-centered. He sets high goals but falls short failing to win the Fields medal. Yet he makes phenomenal mathematical discoveries and his work in game theory had a major impact in the field of economics. Alicia is a wonderful wife who keeps things together when John starts having his bouts with depression and insanity. At times he is unable to function and then at other times he recovers and shows signs of his former brilliance.
   
   We feel that we understand him. The Nobel Prize in economics would rightfully have been his long ago because of tremendous impact of his equilibrium theory. However, it seems that the Nobel committee is reluctant to award the prize to someone who needs to spend much of his time in a mental institution.
   
   Miraculously Nash recovers in the 1990s and is awarded the prize in 1995. The story is heartwarming and reads like great fiction but it is actually true!
   
   This was made into a well done movie that I also enjoyed very much.



5. This is an extremly well written biography of Dr. John Nash well know for his game theory.
   If you are interested in math and people behind the math then this book will interest you.

5 comments about His Holiness: John Paul II and the Hidden History of Our Time.

1. Carl Bernstein and Marco Politi have written an excellent portrait of Karol Woytyla - both the man and the pope. The authors are objective about John Paul II's world vision, triumphs, shortcomings and place in history while being respectful at the same time.
   
   "His Holiness" is not for those enthralled by the now deceased Woytyla's charisma who may interpret critically objective discourse as being anti-Catholic. The book fairly chronicles Woytyla's clashes with feminists both inside and outside the Church, his critical view of the values of the richer, "decadent" Western nations, and his attempts to crush all who did not share his viewpoints on Church doctrine.
   
   The authors hint that Woytyla may have been reexamining his stance on the role of women and papal infallibility in the last years of his papacy. But the book was published in 1996. In it the authors note: "A principal problem facing John Paul II's papacy continues to be democracy in his own house.... (C)an a pope who championed democratic rights in Poland and all over the world continue to run the Church as an absolute monarchy?" I sincerely wish the authors will return to examine the last nine years of Woytyla's life.
   
   I have never agreed on Woytyla's policies on contraception, divorce, the role of women in the Catholic Church, homosexuals and papal infallibility. But there is no question in my mind that the man was brilliant; his achievements were monumental in upholding the dignity of the human being, in fighting for freedom, and in reconciling with the world's other great religions.
   
   And his constant, well publicized travels served a critical need. As the authors write:
   
   "His very presence in the most desolate parts of the world provided a spark of hope for people in misery. For men and women trapped in the shantytowns and barrios of the Third World, the arrival of John Paul II sometimes offered the first significant testimony to their existence as human beings, the only time in their lives when their wretched living conditions were presented to the court of public opinion in their own countries and around the world."
   
   Pope John Paul II "The Great"? Yes, without a doubt.
   
   Pope John Paul II "the saint"? I'm not so sure.



2. Among the many books written about Pope John Paul II, the book by Carl Bernstein and Marco Politi, His Holiness, stands out. That's because it's focus is on the role played by the Pope, working along with the Reagan Administration, in causing the fall of communism.
   
   This was a delicate balancing act for John Paul. As Stalin so famously pointed out about a previous pope, he had no military power, only moral and spiritual power. As they recount his first trip as Pope back to Poland
   
   "What was talking place now in Warsaw's Victory Square was a breakthrough to unknown horizons. John Paul II never uttered a word that might lead directly to a confrontation between Church and state, between the party and Christian believers, but everything he said marked the beginning of a grand turnabout for the Church -- in Poland, in Eastern Europe, in the Soviet Union, in world affairs. Through him the Church was laying claim to a new role, no longer simply asking space for itself. Through him it was demanding respect for human rights as well as for Christian values, respect for every man and woman and for the autonomy of the individual. These demands represented a direct assault on the universal pretensions of Marxist ideology, which by now had become an empty shell in the countries under Soviet influence."
   
   
   
   A campaign just by Solidarity, even aided by the Pope, may have gotten no farther than the Hungarians in 1956 or the Czechs in 1968. What was different now was that the West, especially the Reagan Administration in the US, and Margaret Thatcher's government in Great Britain, had moved away from detente and began to actively push back. John Paul II had similarly moved away from the Ostpolitik of Pope Paul VI. The book details the co-operation in intelligence between the US and the Vatican. It also provides, through Politburo minutes obtained by the authors, the futile attempts by the old men of the Kremlin, and later the unsuccessful attempts of the younger Gorbachev, to get the toothpaste back in the tube.
   
   This book, which was released in 1996, was a five year collaboration between Carl Bernstein (best-known for his work with Bob Woodward in All the President's Men and The Final Days) and Marco Politi, who is both the dean of Vatican journalists working for La Repubblica and then Il Messaggero, and a former Moscow correspondent. Countering a criticism, over how do we know what was really said at private meetings recounted in these exposé books, this book is quite detailed in its sourcing. The authors conducted, and documented, a long series of interviews with the people involved, up to and including President Reagan. The participants are quoted directly, and a Sources section at the back of the book shows who said what.
   
   The book probably would have done better focusing strictly on the East-West struggles, but it was extended to include both a short biography of John Paul II's early life, plus a critique in the latter part of the book of the theological controversies during John Paul's long reign (and there were still nine years to go after the book came out.) While I'm interested in having Carl Bernstein as a guide through some of the great political struggles of the late 20th century, I really don't need him as a theology teacher.
   
   While this isn't a new book, it is an interesting retrospective on one part of John Paul II's papacy.



3. It is just too difficult to sort out the ideological agenda of the author from the facts. Bernstein utterly fails to understand one of the most interesting people of our time. This book has all the trappings of a serious work but when I read about the Pope I want to know what inspired the man. This tedious chronological and "investigative" work fails to provide that and thus we are left with a very boring read.



4. The Church changing her teachings regarding artificial contraception and other LIFE issues is like an engineer saying "well, its time to change that pesky law of gravity." Bernstein is more interested in his ideology than the life of Pope John Paul II. For a more balanced, scholarly, and less agenda driven biography of the Holy Father, look up George Wiegel. Don't waste your time with these hacks.



5. The thesis of this book is inspired by an agenda by the author. It tries to applaud him with one hand while trying to dismiss him with the other by reducing John Paul II's complex and prophetic vision to a mere out of touch authoritarian woman hater. The only thing that is worthy of comment about this book, is the depth of myopia that the authors view this most inspiring, mystic, philosopher, artist, prophet, man who is a Father to us all.

5 comments about In an Instant: A Family's Journey of Love and Healing (Thorndike Paperback Bestsellers).

1. This story recounts the miraculous survival of news anchor Bob Woodruff. More importantly, it exposes the fear, frustration, and fatigue that Woodruff's family experienced as they guided him through months of trauma.



2. This book tells the serious story of the tragedy and triumph shared by Bob Woodruff and his wife, children, friends and co-workers when he was devastatingly injured while reporting in Iraq. The trauma of his head injury is explained in a very detailed manner, and his subsequent recovery is followed mainly from his wife's point of view, describing the horrors they all went through. The ability to deal with all of this makes this book a very moving and uplifting tale of how Bob and also our brave soldiers are coping with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and why it is important for all of us to become aware and understand this signature war injury of Iraq and Afghanistan.
   
   The poignant and matter of fact telling of the process to recovery is sprinkled with humor and makes a great read for those interested in learning how to move through this difficult situation.



3. As a longstanding fan of Bob Woodruff, I felt such sadness for him and his family when he was injured. I followed his progress as much as possible through the general media. Thank you to both Lee and Bob for sharing their stories and more importantly their feelings. As a nurse having cared for patients with brain injuries, I am delighted to see him doing so well and his family adjusting to the "new normal." Please continue your work with research and families struggling through the same ordeal. It is much appreciated!



4. What would it be like to have one's brain blown open and body sheared by an IED to the point where everything shifts physically, mentally and emotionally? How does one and one's family deal with the aftermath with all the possible implications of possible infection, complications, recovery and/or death? In An Instant is that story, described by Bob as a reworking of the brain, "...like seeing the top of a mountain from a path, but without the ability to find the way up...by taking one step at a time, little by little, I realize I can still get there..."
   
   Lee and Bob's story is starkly told from two perspectives not only of voice but also interweaving the past with the present. Their story begins with the devastating event that so dramatically changed their lives, the explosion of that IED on an Iraqi road where Bob was working as an embedded journalist/anchor for ABC News. Lee is a respected public relations executive and freelance editor whose career has evolved with the multiple changes of Bob's career from high-paid lawyer to executive anchor man for a top notch news service.
   
   Bob and Lee do a superb job of carrying the reader through history as Bob's teaching law stint in China allows him to enter the world of journalism as a "fixer" during the Tiananmen Square crisis and numerous other smaller and larger historical, pivotal events including 911, the war in Iraq, Hurricane Katrina and more. They are skilled writers who know how to convey the excitement, peril and significance of these events.
   
   At the same time, In An Instant is the story of the "Landstuhl survivors," a group of family members trying to deal with the multiple demands of a challenging career and now of a devastating crisis enough to break the toughest spirits. Their story is told with honesty, intelligence and a specificity that renders the reader humbled and highly respectful of this daunting experience that has reshaped not only the Woodruff family but continues to affect numerous other families of soldiers and journalists serving in Iraq.
   
   The best nonfiction work this reviewer has read in a very long time!
   
   Reviewed by Viviane Crystal on March 5, 2008



5. I really liked this memoir. The writing style in both Lee and Bob's pieces is a very comfortable style--like they are talking to you. I was very moved by this book. As the title says it can happen, "In an Instant"

5 comments about Natalie Wood: A Life (Random House Large Print (Paper)).

1. Natalie Wood, the biography written by Gavin Lambert, is one of the most poignant books I have ever read. Ms. Wood has always been a favorite of mine and I knew the story of her life in bits and pieces. The book gave me information that I was not aware of. I liked reading about her childhood and was saddened when I came to the part about her Russian-born stage mother. Natalie tried to find substitute mothers in her female co-stars, like Maureen O'Hara and Claudette Colbert. I wanted to know more about her love affair with Warren Beatty, her co-star in Splendor in the Grass. Robert Wagner was most clearly the love of her life. That part was well written tooDifferent Flags. She died too soon. Eugenia Renskoff



2. A very, very boring book. Natalie had a very interesting life, but this book is impossible to enjoy.



3. Gavin Lambert has told of how he loved Natalie and how he wanted to tell her story...What he really wanted to do was wash off some of the dirt Suzanne Finstad threw on Robert Wagner in her much better bio, Natasha. He tries to make Wagner look like a macho knight in shining armor...in doing so he sacrificed Natalie. Finstad's Natasha was a page turner...and a more touching, more true, look at Miss Wood...This book is a bore. Lambert tells the story of Natalie's mother and the sea captain and the possibility that her Fahd may not have been her father. Lambert plays this for all it's worth. He also takes pot shots at Natalie's sister Lana. He undoubtedly worked closely with Wagner on this area of the book. Lambert tried his best to make the reader like Wagner...I liked him more before I read this book. I came away from it thinking that Wagner cared more about how the public sees him than he does about telling Natalie's story..He should be ashamed of himself for allowing Lambert to say things like "Natalie liked to swish her tail." It was vulgar and Natalie deserved better...After reading this book I felt that she deserved a better friend than Lambert and a better husband than Wagner....If you want to read a well researched biography about Natalie, read Finstad's Natasha.



4. I have to give Gavin Lambert credit for trying to peel the layers of Natalie Wood's life. Obviously, this book shows how complex her life was.
   Her Russian ancestry is very interesting and the stories that her mother Marusia told. It is difficult for an author to separate the fact from the fiction Family history is often difficult to document especially since Natalie's family fled Russia and probably many records were destroyed Mr. Lambert says that Natalie's father was George Cetalopv and not Nick Gurdin. I have a hard time believing this. Natalie didn't show any interest in George. Neither does she resemble him. Probably the only people who REALLY know are Marusia, Olga and Natalie (close family members). It is possible that three of Marusia's daughters are from different fathers! Or maybe two are from the same dad. Regardless, Natalie Wood is very beautiful and talented.



5. Well, I just received Gavin Lambert's book on Natalie Wood, and after trudging through this monotonous, overblown biography, the conclusion is as follows: it's boring as hell! (I can't say I haven't been warned). This is the "wonderful" biography of Natalie that is supposed to set the record straight? It boasts 78 photos, but instead of being included in a glossy pictures section, they are widespread on various pages in the book so that they appear grainy. It seems to me that it was written as a rebuttal, and to paint Lana Wood as a greedy, vicious person (she was obviously not interviewed), and to make childish slaps at her, when she was not given the opportunity to tell her side of it. Robert Wagner seems threatened by anyone who knew Natalie before he, Lambert and Mart Crowley did - dismissing all of the people Natalie befriended before who offered their insights in "Natasha: The Biography Of Natalie Wood" as vultures who barely made her aquaintance and who are weaving fantasies about her. Basically, Wagner is uncomfortable with the aspects of Natalie's life that he was not involved in. It doesn't really attempt to get behind Natalie's persona any, like "Natasha" did, and of course, it doesn't acknowledge Natalie's love for Jimmy Williams, her first boyfriend, the rape by a famous actor, or what happened on the night of her death, hastily tying up loose ends and making her death sound so simple. Lambert wrote this book for Wagner, there's no question, and Natasha and Courtney are hardly mentioned at all. Did Lambert actually do any in-depth research? As well, there are allegations that Nick Gurdin may not have been Natalie's or Lana's father, and then there's Natasha Lofft, who has not proven with DNA that she is actually Natalie's half sister, but Wagner and the girls have no problem believing that she is, but they dismiss Suzanne Finstad's book as speculation and trash? I'll believe this claimant's story when I see proof! At least Finstad was able to remain somewhat objective and unbiased, since she did not know Natalie (and she did try to get Wagner's input, but he refused) which is obviously not the case with this pathetic attempt at a so-called "definitive" biography. Much of the book appears to be written quickly, but at least it does name the film Natalie turned down, which was reputed to have the actor who raped her in the cast. And of course, it has to dispel all the allegations of Wagner's sexual orientation, and what played the role in the demise of his first marriage to Natalie (heaven forbid that anyone attempt to tarnish the reputation of Prince Valiant).
   
   As much of a disappointment as this book is, I'm glad I purchased it so I can compare it to "Natasha" and Lana's book to try to decipher what is closer to the truth. At least I didn't have to spend too much money on it!
   
   Whatever the truth, I hope that Natalie is at peace.

5 comments about The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother.

1. I read this book when I was in the 11th grade, I simply love it. I actually had to reread the first 4 chapters twice, because I was so confused at first. Tha authors style of writing and they way the book was split leaves you a little confused, but then u realize it is his life and then his mothers. I simply enjoyed this book. It not only discusses what life is like for a black boy, but for a white woman engaged in an interracial relationship and the struggles she faced. We so often hear about the Black struggle...its good to see boths sides for once!



2. Not only is writing a review something I don't usually do...it"s something I have never done,(as an adult,} I was not ready for the emotional strangelhold "the Color of Water," had on me from page one. I had to keep checking to see if this was truly a real story of a life unparalleled, or a wild imagination. James McBride is so cool.I intend to find his recordings and of cours read the rest of his literery offerings.Since reading "Water", I have purchased several books for friends and they too have shown their critique by humbling me with their thanks. I was in the film business for many years and if I were just twenty years younger, I would find the money to purchase the film rights. To wrap it all up, it was one hell of an experience...one I wish I could have shared with mr.McBride. Len Howad,Las Vegas NV



3. This book is a wonderful book that tells two different stories of a boy and his mother trying to find themselves. In this story, James McBride struggles to find himself, torn between the racial divide of whites and blacks. The son of a black man and a Jewish Orthodox mother, he finds himself (like his mother) fleeing to the black side of life. His mother's story parallels his own, with her living with her intolerant Rabbi father, crippled mother, and brother and sister living in Suffolk, Virginia. Rachel Shilsky finally has enough of living under her father's cruel gaze, knowing that he does not care for her sick mother. She leaves and meets Andrew McBride who helps her find God and herself. Rachel Shilsky becomes Ruth McBride Jordan. After eight kids with her first husband, Ruth married Hunter Jordan and had four more children, and somehow through the will of God sent them all to college. This book shows how both James and Ruth found God and therefore found themselves. It also shows James McBride finally coming to terms with being bi-racial, and how finally getting to know his mother helps him get to know himself.



4. This is my all time favorite book. I came across it by chance while working at a book store in college and have read it 3 times in 5 years. The juxtaposition of the authors "story" with his mother's is unlike anything I have ever read. People of every race, every religion, and every generation will relate to the joys, angst, and triumph of this story. I've told everyone I know about this book. It's is an easy read and worth every penny and every second of your time.



5. I actually read this book when it first came out, I believe that was about 10 years ago, which does seem correct as I believe I was about 14-15 when I read this book. Although it was a long time ago I don't remember all the finer points of this book but for some reason this book has always stood out in my memory. I really fell in love with book, I rememeber not wanting to put it down but at the same time dreading turning each page as it was getting closer to the end. I say give it a try, I don't think you will be disappointed. I hope it leaves as big an impression on you as it did with me. I might even read it again soon!

5 comments about Just As I Am: The Autobiography of Billy Graham (Walker Large Print Books).

1. Unless Billy did a fantastic job in hiding all of the difficult and trying times of his life (as I suspect in the case of his troubled relationship with his son Franklin), WHAT A LIFE this man had!!! Who would not want to have what he had: travels; meetings with the rich, the famous, the wise; success; financial stability; a loving wife; great kids; and most of all, the honor and privilege to lead millions to Christ. Can you imagine the party they'll throw in heaven when he gets there? However, the book was very mediocre in my view. Very seldom the author opened his heart and expressed his true feelings...Lots of anecdotes, details, insignificant (to the reader) stuff; it was not a total waste of time, because you always get the feeling that this man loves his Lord and truly wants to serve Him. Not much to say against that...I just wish he could have made deeper remarks about people and events in general.



2. i'm very excited with this purchase. I received the product in very well condition and in good time.



3. Let me first preface this by saying that I've never actually heard a Billy Graham message but was curious to learn about him given his wide influence both in the religious and political realm. It's obvious why he is so popular he has a great sense of humor and a way of telling storys that while amazingly simple does not insult the intellegience of the listner. Also the fact that his life was good material to work with didn't hurt at all. He's a fascinating character while on one hand he is a throw back to the old school evangelists like Billy Sunday who preached with exuberant energy and strength against the evils of such things as alcohol and secularism but on the other hand he hurdled christianity into the future in the way he worked with several different church denominations and revolutionized evangelism through mass media a feat that has never been equaled sense. Perhaps the most interesting thing about Billy Graham is how such an immedeatly plain spoken individual made such headway with the secular media and goverment heirarchy this is something Billy Graham himself admits belwilderment to on the back cover of the book. His popularity would explain somewhat his influence in government it's clear that politicians thought and rightfully so that his views represented those of a lot of Americans. However there is never really any explanation as to why or how for example he became the first minister to speak at the London School of Business he himself admitted that he wasn't the most intellectual of his peers. Perhaps it is as Billy Graham claims the power of the gospel.
   A couple of the things I admired were Billy Grahams honesty when it came to dealing with such things as money and women. I also personally liked the fact that he didn't try to pretend he was more pompous than he really was he's open about experiences that some ministers would no doubt be embarassed by such as going to movies with a lot of nudity at young age, being hit on by a girl in high school, and acting like a bumbling fool around presidents Truman and Eisenhower. As some people on here have alluded to already it does sort of seem like he was an absintee father. I was a bit disturbed by this as a Christian I think God calls married men to be husbands and fathers first and foremost. I have to admit though I think a lesser man wouldn't have disclosed such details as his young daughter not being able to recognize her mother.



4. This book was a "Masterpiece" of a book and I enjoyed every bit of it. I could clearly see that God uses the foolish things of the world to shame the wise for his glory. It will inspire and strenghten your faith in Christ Jesus our Lord.



5. This is an excellent autobiography about the world's most famous evangelist Billy Graham. It will take you through his life and through his ministry. Great book about a great evangelist!!!