1 comments about The Child in the Forest (Isis Reminiscence Series).

1. This will warm the hearts of all with ties to England

5 comments about Voices of the Old Sea (ISIS Large Print).

1. This is the first book I have read by Norman Lewis (d. 2003), and I can now appreciate the encomniums on the book covers and first page: "one of the best writers . . . of our century" (Graham Greene); "magical storyteller"; "the best, and most underrated, English travel writer of the 20th century"; and on and on in a similar vein. VOICES OF THE OLD SEA is an account of three summers that Lewis spent in a subsistence-level fishing village along the Costa Brava coast of Northeast Spain in the late 1940s. As things happened, it also is an account of the beginning of the end of centuries-old ways of life, swept aside by modernization and capitalism.
   
   Lewis does not really decry the changes that slowly begin transforming his particular pocket of rural Spain. Indeed, he rarely casts judgments, other than occasional aesthetic ones. He is somewhat self-effacing. Rather than imposing himself on his hosts and environs, he blends in, and as a result otherwise insular and superstitious locals begin to open up to him and allow him to observe and participate in activities from which outsiders usually are excluded.
   
   But the value and appeal of VOICES OF THE OLD SEA is not so much in its subject as in the telling. Lewis was a superb writer, with a gentle sense of humor and irony. The publisher lauds Lewis as "the father of modern travel writing". If only that were truer. If only more modern travel writers had Lewis's skill and his modesty.



2. Literate, traveller, teacher, observer, the mold of this type of travelling and beautiful prose will not be seen again, please appreciate his genius and take heart



3. This was one of the most boring dully written books that I have ever read. While the events are not without interest; the change over 3 seasons of a village in Spain from being almost medievally backward to one being transformed by the onset of tourism, the characters are flat and unbelievable. Maybe if you like fishing it would appeal but otherwise I would steer clear. Sorry to be so negative



4. describes a lost world--a tiny village on the Spanish Mediterranean coast subsisting on fishing and the harvesting of cork. The book is simple and evocative. The reader creates the tragedy himself or herself with the certain knowledge that Lewis is detailing a world, and way of life, that have now ceased to exist.



5. Anyone who has read anything by Norman Lewis knows that he is unquestionably the world's greatest living travel writer and one of the best who ever lived. I have read everything he has written and this is my favourite. It combines stylish simplicity and poetic resonance to create a haunting evocation of a lost time and place. A masterpiece.

No comments about Film Greats.

1 comments about Stirring the Possum.

1. This is an excellent book. I do not like reviews where you are told all about the plot and themes of a book, so I shall not comment on these. This book is a must read for anyone who went through the Whitlam Prime Ministerial years, or if you are an Australian, as I am. It may not be relevant to anyone outside of these two categories, unless you are wanting a background to Australian politics both then and now. Very entertaining read.

No comments about The House of Confucius (Ulverscroft Large Print).

No comments about Some of My Friends Have Tails.

No comments about The Forgotten Service: Auxiliary Ambulance Station 39 (Ulverscroft Nonfiction).

5 comments about 44 Dublin Made Me.

1. When I bought 44: Dublin Made Me, it was primarily because my mother had been born on the same street, at No. 77, a generation before, in 1917. All I knew of the place was the stories she had told me of her childhood.
   
   As you might guess, I ended up loving the book for itself, and enjoying Sheridan's voice (I buy his other books as I find them). I fell madly in love with his entire family. However, my original purpose was satisfied anyway - Sheridan has painted a wonderful portrait of a place and a culture, which was what I'd been seeking all along.



2. Peter Sheridan gives a brave and honest account of his formative years growing up in a working class Dublin family, reminiscent of Roddy Doyle's "Paddy Clark: Ha Ha Ha." It is a deeply felt book, full of the frustrations and joys of everyday family life. His parents, in particular, are beautifully renderred. At times, I found the choppiness of Sheridan's style a little jarring, and the final chapters seemed a little rushed, but on balance, I definitely enjoyed the book, and do not hesitate to recommend it.



3. Happiness is in the eye of the individual..to me this was a tragic family life...a mother overburdened with a houseful of children and a self centered husband. All the sader for me to review since I'd read 47 Roses first and knew the father to be less than honest with family.



4. The story is about Peter growing up with his family in North Dublin and is set in the 1960's. The tightly knit family relations with his own family and those of his extended family of lodgers, which his parents took in to supplement his father's income, forms the backdrop to his story at 44 Seville Place.
   The pace of the book has the rhythm of the sixties. The short sentences beat out the rhythm of the sixties and keeps the tempo up-beat throughout the whole of the book. For those who have experienced Dublin in the sixties this book will take you back to that place and that time.
   The metaphorical pieces were very touching and masterfully executed. One example of this technique was when Peter tries to get to grips with his emotions concerning the possible loss of his brother Frankie before Frankie goes into surgery. A joy to read.
   Da is the Sun and all the minor planets revolve around him. Peter takes to his role as Mercury the messenger with great relish. There is a strong bond between father and son.
   I feel this story should not be compared to Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes. A one generation step into the future in Ireland can make a very big difference in how life is experienced.
   It was a very enjoyable read whereby the need to laugh out loud in places could not be silenced. However there were places in the book where the need to cry out loud could also not be silenced.



5. As if drawn by a gravitational pull, Irish yarns seem to center on the relationship of children with their mothers. In a break from this natural order, Peter Sheridan's memoir, 44 Dublin Made Me turns to the bond of a boy with his father for its compelling tale.

   Sheridan writes about his childhood with grace and ease. Readers are catapulted into his large Irish family in 1959 from the first sentence onward.

   Peter Sheridan is a good Irish boy who enjoys school and loves the hectic life Dublin offers. His best friend, Andy, hates school but loves traipsing around the city in search of fortune.

   The two boys influence each other in both good and bad ways - Andy gets involved with the church after a stint in reform school, and Peter learns to stand up for himself. In the end though, Andy remains the rogue and Peter the goody-two-shoes.

   A steady presence throughout the book is Peter's Da. The man has his own outhouse in the garage, preaches to his family like they are his disciples and relies on his wins at the horse races as a major means of income.

   Peter is his Da's helper and is ordered to do just about every imaginable task - from climbing up an ariel on the roof to fix the TV's reception to digging holes in the garage to fix water pressure.

   When Peter's brother, Frankie, falls ill, their Da finds himself unable to cope. Peter tries to fill in for his father and be someone for his mother to rely on. After his father regains his strength, he and Peter find their friendship stronger.

   Peter also runs errands all over the city and helps out with the tenants his parents have taken in.

   One of these boarders, Mossie, plays a crucial role in Peter's life. Mossie robs Peter of his innocence, terrifies and scars him so deeply that Peter withdraws inwardly. Unable to find comfort, Peter then seeks solace at the hands of the church.

   Illness and deaths make Peter grow up quickly and 44 Dublin Made Me documents his maturation. Andy gets a girl "in trouble" and quickly marries to take responsibility for the situation. As his world changes, Peter adapts.

   Sheridan's strength is that he writes his story, which could be sad, as hopeful and happy. Rather than just have stories from his childhood strung together as some memoirs do, 44 Dublin Made Me creates a touching story.

5 comments about Life on the Run (Transaction Large Print Books).

1. FORMER NBA PLAYER BILL BRADLEY TAKES US THROUGH SOME OF THE 1973-74 KNICKS SEASON, AS SEEN THROUGH THE EYES OF BRADLEY, EARL MONROE, WILLIS REED AND DAVE DEBUSSCHURE. MOST OF IT IS INTERESTING AND WELL WRITTEN. IT IS NOT A TELL ALL OR CONTROVERSIAL BOOK BUT PRETTY MUCH A FACTS ONLY BOOK. SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS ARE HOW THE PLAYERS SPEND THEIR DOWN TIME ON ROAD TRIPS, THE AVAILABILITY OF WOMEN WHO WILL SLEEP WITH JUST ABOUT ANY PLAYER, AND THE INNERPLAY OF THE KNICKS IN PRACTICE AND ON PLANES. I LIKED THIS BOOK BUT IT IS NOTHING GREAT AND IT IS BORING AT TIMES BUT STILL WORTH A PEEK.



2. He writes about being in the NBA but it's during the 70's when it was so different from now. Players didn't make mega millions then. I can't believe they would still have to do their own laundry and share a hotel room with someone on the team. But it's a nice glimpse into the 70's and professional basketball, I guess. The basketball writing is okay, I've read much better. His writing is pretty dead.



3. After reading John McPhee's account of Bill Bradley's years at Princeton, I put the book down and thought it was too good to be true. No NBA player I've ever seen is THAT smart. But after reading Bradley's own Life on the Run, I recant. Bradley IS that smart, and he's a hell of a writer to boot. This one can be spoken about with the same kind of respect due the classic sports profiles, including McPhee's own Levels of the Game. I'm glad I took a chance on this book. It was a real pleasure.



4. Bill Bradley's account of three weeks in the life of an NBA team in the '70's is as much a stunningly insightful social commentary as it is a nice, easily-rambling, "On the Road"-style ride. Beautiful.



5. Bradley's memoir of the waning games in the New York Knicks' 1973-74 season (the season after they won their second NBA championship) contains many observations about professional sports that, unfortunately, continue to ring true today: the shameless exploitation of undereducated athletes by agents and comparable parasites; the intrinsic harshness of an itinerant existence during a roadtrip on the West Coast; the grueling physical and mental demands of the NBA regular season; the evanescent nature of fan support. Given all of the above, why then would anyone want to play NBA basketball? Well, Bradley also does a fine job of describing the many thrills an athlete can derive from, among other things, being exhalted by home fans; winning a championship; and being part of a selflless team unit that manages to sublimate individualistic tendancies in its pursuit of greater goals. Bradley's book, from what I can gather, was revolutionary for its time in that it eschewed the type of hagiographic approach that many writers took toward the world of professional sports and ablely demonstrated the myriad difficulties associated with being a player in the nation's largest media spotlight. It should be a must- read for all aspiring NBA players -- especially those players who are considering foregoing several (or all) years of their collegiate eligibilities to make a fast buck. They should be forewarned: "All that glitters isn't gold."

5 comments about Sunday Nights at Seven: The Jack Benny Story (G K Hall Large Print Book Series).

1. I really enjoyed this autobiography of Jack Benny. It is based on an unfinished manuscript that his daughter Joan found when she was going through her mother's house shortly after her death. Since it was incomplete, Joan contributes roughly half of the book's contents and Jack contributes the other half. There are also a few paragraphs written here and there by other people who knew Jack, including George Burns, his lifetime friend.
   
   Jack gives quite a bit of the details of his personal life from his childhood up until the beginning of his radio career. At that point, most of his comments concentrate on his comedy, how he built his radio show, the transition to television, and various anecdotes on how people often mistook the personality they saw on TV or heard on the radio with the real Jack Benny. Jack was always a generous fellow, so there is much information about the other performers on his show and what went into making each performance.
   
   Joan's half of the book fits nicely with Jack's since she gives many personal details of what it was like being Jack Benny's daughter and talks about the goings on in the Benny household in the years that Jack basically omits from his autobiography. The only thing that is a little off-track about the book is that Joan goes into considerable detail about the problems she had with her mother. From the book it appears she never talked to her father about these problems in much detail, so it really doesn't have much to do with Jack's story.
   
   This is a very detailed portrait - not from the standpoint of retracing every step Jack took, but from the standpoint of getting a real feel for the man in his own words. He was truly one the great comedians of the twentieth century and a genuinely nice guy. Highly recommended.



2. I was very happy after reading this that I purchased this book. I have always enjoyed the Jack Benny Show, the radio show even more than the tv version, (even though I was not born until 1961 and the tv show is in my immediate memory---I later in life "discovered" the radio shows on old time radio show programs and cd's) To hear the story of his career through his own memories and then to have them reflected by the point of view of his daughter was indeed a treat and a fascinating view into his life. I highly recommend this book for the serious Benny fan.



3. Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco, I have heard Joan Benny on various radio programs over the years and she truly was blessed to have Mr. Benny as a father. Unlike many of the Mommy & Daddy dearest books written by the children of celebrities this books tells of an enchanted childhood growing up in Hollywood's golden age, Many of Mr. Benny's insights on his contemporaries like Fred Allen & George Burns as well as his defense that the Rochester character was NOT explotive of African Americans are insightful. Eddie "Rochester" Anderson was one of the highest paid comedians of his generation and owned a large house with servants, numerous automobiles, & large chunks of California real estate. Eddie and Jack were great friends for many years and Eddie was very broken up at Jack's funeral. The numerous radio interviews Joan Benny did on Larry King and several other stations are usually found on Jack Benny radio show collection CDs sold on Ebay & elsewhere and make for a wonderful companion for this book.



4. Don't expect some exhaustive book on Benny (like the recent mega-biography of Bing Crosby) and you won't be disappointed. This book consists of light, amusing anecdotes - show biz fluff and recollections. It is great fun for Jack Benny fans and can be consumed in one afternoon. Enjoyable.



5. Jack Benny wrote an autobiography entitled: "I Always Had Shoes." Though complete, it was never published, and when Jack's daughter Joan found it she decided to take excerpts from it and publish it with her own reflections on growing up in the Benny household.
   
   Jack Benny's text is highlighted in bold type, while Joan's is in regular font. The average reader will no doubt very soon begin skipping Joan's writing and will read only Jack's text. Jack was apparently a surprisingly good writer.
   
   Why not just publish Jack's autobiography? I'd give it five stars in a heartbeat.