No comments about Autobiography of Madame Guyon.

No comments about Wheels Within Wheels: Unraveling an Irish Past (Transaction Large Print Books).

5 comments about My War.

1. Lately I've been reading stories about war, an unfortunate constant of human history, I'm afraid. Tales about WWII, or "The Last Good War" (a book I read many years ago), as Studs Terkel called it, abound, but I especailly recommend this one. My War, by Andy Rooney (yep, the same bushy-eyebrowed old grump you see on 60 Minutes every week), is a true gem, full of his homespun self-deprecating bits of humor and wisdom, along with the expected grim and grisly stories about the carnage that is war. As to the importance of his wartime experience, Rooney says right up front, "My life was never the same again." As a young reporter (his army ID photo looks startlingly like Audie Murphy, who of course penned his own memoir, To Hell and Back) for The Stars and Stripes, Rooney got up close and personal with both the air and ground wars in Europe, and also traveled to India and China, rubbing shoulders with Ernie Pyle, Bill Mauldin and Walter Cronkite. One particular line from the book has stayed with me: "I laugh, bitterly, when I hear the phrase, 'He gave his life for his country.' No one gives his life. His life is taken." Rooney is a newspaperman and a reporter, but more than anything else he is a damn fine writer who simply tells it like he sees it. - Tim Bazzett, author of Soldier Boy and Love, War & Polio ([...])



2. This memoir by Andy Rooney of CBS of his army days during World War II mixes humor, cynicism, and tragedy. Rooney recounts how he was drafted into the artillery in 1941, and then transferred to the army newspaper STARS AND STRIPES. The author recounts his army experiences with a mixture of nostalgia, humor and sadness. The author admits his distaste for the military, and considers him self lucky to have drawn duty as a correspondent. Yet his service record was hardly risk-free. Rooney accompanied B-17 crews on raids over Nazi Germany, then infantrymen as they battled their way after D-Day. Rooney recounts much of the war's horrors and describes several friends and acquaintances that died in combat. The author's irreverent and at times cynical tone (particularly regarding General Patton) reflects both himself and many of the GI's that served in that deadly conflict. The book is generally very readable, although it does slow in a couple spots. Still, this moving 1995 memoir written half a century after Rooney's discharge is worth reading.



3. This is a great book. Andy Rooney, who I hate, is likable here in his stories about the GReat War. He tells stories, and jokes, and rubs elbows with all sorts of famous people, and, yet, doesn't seem to be bragging as much as telling. Also, his descriptions of tanks running over bodies and the air war are heart wrenching, beautiful, and terrifying. This book isn't my favorite overall, but it is the biggest surprise I've ever read. I really did love it.



4. My grandfather was in the Army Air Corp during WWII and would tell wonderful stories about his time in the war (the good and the bad). I think he would have liked Andy Rooney.
   
   I found the book very interesting particularly his insights on Patton. I have an great uncle who served under Patton. His mind never was the same.



5. Andy above and beyond potrayed his position in WW2 if anything played down. Yes he was a private that lucked out as many do in the service,but it seems he is able to tell the truth about it and feels no lesser for the facts. He tells of several heroes and some not so good officers. We have all known those. All in all I found the book very enjoyable and would highly reccomend it to all.

No comments about Bob Hope: A Biography.

No comments about Half a Pound of Tuppenny Rice (Reminiscence).

No comments about Dancing on the Waves (Reminiscence).

3 comments about Martin Luther: The Great Reformer.

1. Synopsis: A brief biography of Luther's life. Part of a series of approximately 20 books entitled Heroes of the Faith. Evidently, it is edited and abridged from a larger work by one Dan Harmon.
   
   My review: Mr. Harmon has done a poor, poor, poor job of editing a larger work. Really bad. The book has large, direct quotes from other sources, including big chunks of the questioning of Luther at the Diet of Worms in 1521. This is most appropriate since Luther was a well-spoken as well as plain-spoke debater. His text is lively and interesting to read. Even to the modern reader his meaning is quite clear and devoid of all of the flowery Renaissance nonsense that entraps other writers and bores me to distraction.
   
   However, Harmon edited out Luther's most famous line: 'My conscience is captive to the Word of God...Here I stand I can do no other.' This is the image of Luther presented in every school book in the world - the solitary monk standing up to the entire church and against all of Europe's kings at the Diet of Worms on a matter of conscience and refusing to blink because, by God (literally), he thinks he is right and is willing to die for that belief. In my mind, this is one of those moments of heroism that everyone should admire, even if you are not a believer. But, this editor edited it out!!! The height of his shining moment - gone!!
   
   Ironically, that quote is featured on the back of the book - it is in bold print and serves as the headline for the description of the book! AARRGH! Even sillier, the editor has left in a one page description of Charles the Elector's retinue and the parade as they entered Augusburg in 1530. Wow!!!! - if they were trying to limit the size of the book, they really edited out the wrong part!!!! Who really cares what color his men wore as they paraded into town!
   
   My grade: The book is, in general, informative and would serve as a decent introduction to Luther. However, I cannot forgive the very poor editing job. Imagine a Lincoln biography without the Gettysburg Address, a Martin Luther King, Jr. biography without his 'I have a dream speech' or a Julius Caesar biography without 'Vini, vidi, vici.' Man, my blood is up. Imagine, printing this whole book and EDITING OUT THE POINT!!!!!!! Really, I cannot stress my irritation enough, as you all can surely tell by this point...
   
   ***Reviewer's note: please read the comment section. The editor of the text made a few comments that explain the "Diet of Worms" section was left out. Thanks, DWD 3-14-07



2. This German-born Martin Luther was the most prominent of all the Sixteenth Century reformers (as well as counter-reformers). His life became his religious struggle. Though he won some and lost some, he became a symbol of religious defiance to his adversaries, and an anchor-point to his disciples.
   This book did not detail us on the reason why some of his co-reformers parted ways with him; but I did enjoy the time I invested on reading it.



3. I picked this up at a Christian book store for half price. This is an abridged book in a series on famous Christians (mostly Protestant). The author, who is clearly sympathetic with Luther's cause, devotes more attention to Luther's personal relationships and political struggle than to his theology. However, this is probably appropriate for the intended audience (the book store located it near the young readers' section). I can't compare the book to others since this is the first I've read on the topic, but I've personally found it to be an enjoyable read.

5 comments about Orlando: A Biography (Transaction Large Print Books).

1. The story begins with Orlando as a passionate young nobleman in Queen Elizabeth's court. By the end, Orlando is a 36-year-old woman three centuries later. Orlando witnesses the making of history from its edge. A close examination of the nature of sexuality and the changing climate of the passing centuries. Very novel and engaging if a bit loose-ended at times.



2. This `roman à clés' is very original. The hero continues to live in different historical periods and undergoes a sex change.
   However, it is written in an emotional, sentimental, superlative style: `society in the reign of Queen Anne was of unparalleled brilliance. The graces were supreme.'
   Except for the first period, there are no conflicts, only rather superficial descriptions of the mood and spirits of the times. For V. Woolf, `to give a truthful account of society ... only those who have little need of the truth, and no respect for it - the poets and novelists - can be trusted to do it, for this is one of the causes where the truth does not exist.'
   `Orlando' is a perfect flight from reality: `But let other pens treat of sex and sexuality; we quit such odious subjects as soon as we can.' `Whigs and Tories, Liberal party and Labour party ... should be left to the historian.'
   
   This book is a clean, introvert, aristocratic, long ode to pure Beauty.
   Only for Virginia Woolf fans.



3. Written in 1928, this book clearly sought to shock the reading public. For every repression delivered by Victorian authorities which surely hampered Woolf's freedoms, this book delivers a defiant rebuke to the same.
   
   Orlando - it states in the beginning - is a man for whom "there can be no doubt of his sex." He is rich, handsome and lives a life even Hugh Hefner may be jealous of. But, scandals lead him to isolation, to public ridicule or upbraiding, which led him to sequester himself to his 200-bedroom hermitage-castle. In his hermit's existence, he does not pass time philandering, but instead pulls books off the library's shelves and romanticizes with fiction.
   
   Eventually tedium compels Orlando to ask his friendly king to deliver him overseas where he can perform the duties of ambassador. He ends up in then Constantinople, now Istanbul, Turkey. While living there, he ends one exhaustingly long night of debauchery and partying with a seven day sleep - and awakes a woman.
   
   This was a "good thing." As a man, he could not appreciate Tennyson, Shakespeare, Byron and the like. As a woman, their written word touched her greatly. She could be red eyed, she could be lachrymose. As a man, he never loved. Wollf says, ". . . love - as the male novelists define it . . . has nothing whatever to do with kindness, fidelity, generosity or poetry. . ." Orlando the man had no love? Maybe, with Sasha (a Russian seductress) - but maybe Sasha ruined him so that he could never love again.
   
   As a woman, Orlando knows love. Wolff explains, "Love is slipping off one's petticoat and - "
   Can you imagine the Victorians reading that?!
   
   Orlando's life continues not for decades, but centuries. And, some other characters do as well. "The true length of a person's life . . . is always a matter of dispute. Indeed, it is a difficult business - this time-keeping thing. . . " Indeed, it was for Wolff who quite intentionally delivers this novel as a time-challenged writer.
   
   More obscurities arise - androgynous lovers, angels' visits, children born from or for Orlando - and splendor with these very biologically-defying events.
   
   This is not written in the weaving masterful language which Woolf delivers in "To the Lighthouse" or "Mrs.Dalloway." Instead, here the schizophrenia lies with the main character, not the writing style. Probably, a better story than "Lighthouse" or "Dalloway", but I am partial to the writing style of those masterpieces.
   
   In any event, anyone wondering just how throttled Woolf felt in the stifling moral norms of her country, read this book. If anyone wants a bizarre tale about a bizarre man/woman, this is a must read.



4. I like to think myself a very well-rounded reader (I have my degree in English), but I don't know if the genius of Virginia Woolf was just beyond me in Orlando. I enjoyed the story and the various historical characters that made appearances throughout, but something about it went a bit over my head. It was a strange tale of adventure and romance, with Orlando seeking the beauties of life and poetry throughout the centuries.



5. I read Orlando because someone told me that a central theme was Knole, the massive great house of the Sackvilles in Sevenoaks, in Kent south west of London. (I also liked Mrs Dalloway--See my Amazon review.) When we lived in London my family and I spent a day at Knole. It is supposedly the largest private house in England. Much of it now belongs to the National Trust. Knole beggars description--it is a vast mansion, brooding, and dark, but also eminent; it is a castle, a factory, mills, breweries, a village, and menagerie. I remember the deer as being especially numerous and friendly. Orlando the novel is dedicated to Vita Sackville-West who sadly was unable to inherit Knole although she grew up there. Only males could inherit.
   
   The novel Orlando is a tour through English history from the mid-15 hundreds to 1928 always from odd perspectives. It is also a subtle and searching exploration of gender roles, social roles, and artistic and creative efforts. Themes interweave with lightning speed. It's crazy, funny, satirical, wild, and moody. I found parts to be incoherent, post-modern stream-of-consciousness, but most is entertaining and illuminating.
   
   But this novel always comes back to Knole just as Orlando does. He/she (there is a sex change mid-novel) tours her house, thinks about it, ponders it, worries about it, and is always focused on it. Orlando lives for hundreds of years, but somehow I think he/she is a metaphor for the great house. Knole is not mentioned by name in the novel, but that's it. Knole is also the setting for The Edwardians by Vita Sackville-West. Knole is very worth a visit if you get to London or Kent. On the web at the National Trust website.
   
   A visit in person however would help bring the novel Orlando to life. The novel is titled Orlando: A Biography. I think it is the biography of Knole.
   
   One other odd feature: My edition (Signet Classics) has in index. This is the first novel I've read with an index. This suggests to me that Orlando is more than a novel, it is also a history of sorts.

1 comments about The Adventures of Louis de Rougemont.

1. This book details the life of a shipping investor shipwrecked off Australia's coast in the early 1800s. He struggles with loneliness, develops relations with indigenous peoples, weds an aboriginal wife, has children -- and all the while tries to find his way back to "civilization."

   de Rougemont uses clear, inviting, inventive language to describe his triumphs and losses. No hidden meanings or complicated subtexts here; just a ripping good yarn based on this fellow's endless adventures. And no analytical coldness or floods of facts, either -- this guy lived fully and completely on every level and conveyed his triumphs and disappointments stoutly and directly.

No comments about Letters of Anton Chekhov.