5 comments about Audition: A Memoir.

1. About a tenth of the way through this book, when she was in her early 30's, I lost count of the number of men she had slept with. Then this picked up again when she was in her 40's. I think it was crass of her to include this in the book. Also, I don't understand what these famous and not so famous saw in her.
   
   The book is extremely well written and that's why I gave it 4 stars but I'm half way through and starting to get bored. She's repetitive in how great and special she is, how she's so friendly still with all her lovers and even their spouses, how she resented her sister and regrets it and how she supported her family. She doesn't sound like such a great mother either although she seems to be convincing herself.
   
   Frankly, I don't care about her and never did. The most interesting parts of the book are her interviews with the famous and that's what's keeping me reading.



2. My neighbor gave this book to my wife and I was home just getting over a sinus infection. I decided to read it. After about 1/2 hour I wished my infection would return so I'd have a reason for my headache. If you like this book, please don't reproduce and please give up your voting rights!



3. Mary Greenwood, author ofHow to Mediate Like a Pro: 42 Rules for Mediating Disputes
   
   Barbar Walters is a trail blazer for women in the media. Audition is a fascinating ride from the 40's to the present showing women's role in journalism. On the early days of the Today Show there was the Today Girl, the one "girl" allowed to do special segments on the Today Show. Walters was never a Today Girl, but when there were three women doing women's segments, one was considered too caustic and the other too elegant, so Walters got to do live advertisements for sponsors such as Alpo Dogfood, where she would feed hungry dogs on the air. When it was her turn, they stopped using the Today Girl moniker. OF course, she was the first to co-anchor the nightly news which she did with Harry Reasoner in the 70's.
   
   She was the first to interview many famous politicians, celebrities, and entertainers. The inside cover lists all her interviews from A-King Abdullah to Z-Catherine Zeta Jones. It is in very small print and there are thousands of names. Castro, the Shah of Iran, Truman Capote, the Dalai Lama, Hugo Chavez, Moshe Dyan, a joint interview with Anwar Sadat and Meachem Begin, and all the presidents and their wives. In the 90's instead of retiring, she started a new Women's Daytime program called the View. She also did 20/20 for over twenty years.
   
   In addition to all the firsts, we learn a lot about Walter' early days in Boston, New York and Miami Beach. We learn about the ups and down of her father's career, who was the impressario of the Latin Quarter in New York but had many business failures and successes. Barbara knew from an early age that she would probably need to support her family, including her "mentally retarded" (the term used then) sister and therefore, Barbara was always worried about money so she could help her parents and sister financially.
   
   We learn about the rr's in Barbar's speech and how that is a result of being brought up in Boston. We learn that she went to a speech therapist and even tried to speak with words without r's and then how she decided to just speak naturally. We find out that Gilda Radner's skits on Saturday Night Live initially hurt her feelings, but that one night when she saw Gilda, she had her do her impression especially for her.
   
   We learn about her fertility treatments; her adoption of her daughter, Jackie; her daughter's rebellious teenage years, her husbands and divorces, her love affairs, and her endless travel all over the globe to get the story.
   
   I am an Art Deco Tour Guide in Miami Beach and was particularly interested in the days in the 40's when Barbara was a girl and her father ran the Lou Walters Miami Beach Latin Quarter on Palm Island where Al Capone lived just down the street. People like Milton Berle, Sophie Tucker, and Jimmy Durante entertained there and people like Jack Kennedy and Howard Hughes went to the show. The Walters also bought the pistachio house next door to the club. Apparently both were previously owned by Bill Dwyer, a notorious bootlegger and the owner of Tropical Park Race Track. Mr Dwyer thought he had some claim on the house and arrived with his henchman to live there. Mr. Walters took a gamble and and allowed Mr. Dwyer to live in the same house with his family. Mr. Dwyer took a shine to Barbara, who was in elementary school, and took her to the track. She was too young to go in, but Mr. Dwyer parked so she could see the horses. Barbara would give him a few bucks to bet and "miraculously" she always won. Barbara said these were some of the happiest times for the Walters family.
   
   The book is long, but I appreciated the fact that she wrote a complete memoir in one volume. I loved this book. First I loved it because Walters was a trail-blazer for women. I have seen her pave the way for other women in so many ways and I am not sure she has gotten all the credit she deserves. Secondly, it has been an interesting life from her days when she lived down the street from Al Capone in Miami Beach to the famous people she has interviewed. With all the fascinating people mentioned, I did not get the feeling that she was name-dropping. She was writing as a journalist and giving us some background on some heady times. I recommend this to all women, especially younger women, who may not appreciate the trials and tribulations of the women who have gone before them. I recommend to anyone who is interested in show business from the early days of Milton Berle and Martha Raye to the Academy Award Winners of today. I would also recommend to anyone who wants to read a good book.



4. Walters, Barbara. "Audition: A Memoir", Alfred Knopf, 2008.
   
   Quite a Life
   
   Amos Lassen
   
   I have always loved Barbara Walters but I must admit that I really did not want to read her book because of all the hype. Nevertheless, when my copy came I sat down with it and found myself enjoying every word. It's over 600 pages long so there was no way I would get through it in one sitting; I do have a life and I had to prepare for my summer school classes.
   Walters has lived quite a life both personally and professionally and she comes across as a compassionate woman and an inspiration. She exudes class and humanity. She can interview people like no one else can and has done so. Her list ranges from Monica Lewinsky to Elizabeth Taylor to presidents, world leaders, disgraced public figures and just anyone else that has affected our lives.
   Her childhood was fascinating. Her father ran the nightclubs known as the Latin Quarter so she grew up around celebrities. She went where women had not been before and became a co-host of a major American news show and when she went onto 20/20 with Hugh Downs her star rose and she became one of the most famous women in the world.
   Much has been said about her "adulterous" affair with the American senator but the book is so much more than that. Barbara Walters is an ambitious and tenacious women and even though she says that her life has been one large audition, there is no question that she "got the job".
   If anything really characterizes the book, I think it is Walters' style and class. Sure Barbara Walters had an affair with a married man and sure, she has guilt feelings about not always being there for her sister but all of us must remember and consider how life would be without someone like Barbara Walters. She takes the opportunity in her book to let us into her life and even though she has not done everything the way some of his might have wanted, Barbara Walters, to me, at least, remains a major figure in our lives. She is an extraordinary woman and has led an extraordinary life.



5. Barbara Walters who has spent more than five decades shattering the glass ceiling for female journalists has delivered a candid new memoir, "Audition," looking back on her extraordinary life. "Audition" begins in Boston where she was born and concludes in New York where she continues to work at age 78 on her ABC specials and "The View." She provides the kind of personal glimpses and secrets she tries to extract from her many high-profile interviews.
   
   Walters got into television by accident and got her big break when she did Alpo dog food commercials as a "Today Girl" on NBC's Today Show. She then became the first woman cohost of the Today show, and after a difficult move to ABC, the first female network news co-anchor. "Audition" provides the behind the scenes stories we have come to expect in books like this, as she made history rising against all odds to the top of a male-dominated industry.
   
   "Audition" is filled with star-studded stories about her famous and infamous interviewees including Richard Nixon, Anwar Sadat, Menachem Begin, Shah of Iran, Henry Fonda, John Wayne, Katherine Hepburn, Yasir Arafat, Warren Beatty, George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chávez, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Roy Cohn, the Dalai Lama, Princess Diana, King Hussein, Angelina Jolie, Henry Kissinger, Monica Lewinsky, Rosie O'Donnell, Christopher Reeve . . . the list goes on and on.
   
   Walters weaves a very human narrative of her family throughout the book; a narrative that provides clues to where she got her drive, the choices she made, her three failed marriages, being attracted to older (and often married) men, and her willingness to take risk. There is her risk-taking father, Lou Walters, the mercurial nightclub impresario who made and lost several fortunes; her long suffering mother; the family's descent from the penthouse to rent-controlled apartments; her mentally disabled sister, Jackie, who taught her much about patience and compassion; and the troubled teen years of her adopted daughter, Jackie (named in honor of her sister) who got hooked on amphetamines.
   
   "Audition" is a very readable portrait of a deftly calculating woman with an impeccable sense of timing and incredible luck. Walters has given us a story that is heartbreaking and honest, surprising and fun, sometimes startling, and always fascinating. This makes a great companion book to Katie Couric's recently published biography, "Katie: The Real Story."

5 comments about Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time.

1. I wish Greg Mortenson had come to me to write this book. I could have saved him thousands of superfluous adjectives. He is built up to be a hero for our times....perhaps he is, but David Oliver Relin's prose is so sickening and (to a fellow aspiring writer) embarrassing that the reader wishes to be done with the story ASAP. Save the money from buying the book and instead send it to Greg's charity, the Central Asia Institute, or Pennies for Peace. You can get the book free at your local public library.



2. This book should have been called: "Three Cups of Me: The Auto-Hagiography of a Modern Day Secular Saint & Savior"
   
   Three Cups of Tea is an over-rated book, with a definite political agenda, about an obsessed, but capricious man who does good things for little brown girls, far, far away. He is the "white savior" found in popular American TV programs of yore, such as "The White Shadow", "Welcome Back Kotter", and "Different Strokes", to name but a few.
   
   The author and hero, er, I mean "saint", Greg Mortenson, and his co-author, David Relin, waste no in time establishing his (Greg's) bona fides liberal credentials. Although he was born with three of the greatest original sins - i.e., being white, American, and male, he quickly demonstrates how he has been purified by penance and how he has made amends for those transgressions against humanity. We learn that he is 1) a multiculturalist 2) a multi-linguist 3) an admirer of Che Guevara and Bill Clinton 4) a disdainer of Donald Rumsfeld and George Bush 5) that he eschews financial security and the creation of wealth 6) that he cares passionately about helping people of color, especially women of color, most especially poor, foreign young girls of color 7) that he cares passionately about "saving the planet" and living in tune with nature 8) that he talks freely with his severely handicapped younger sister about premarital sex and birth control and 9) that he is equally respectful of all religions, but moved by none. For example, he has no qualms about bowing to Mecca five times a day, or uttering Buddhist incantations, so long as that's what the people around him are doing, and also want to see him do as well. But he is silent about his own religious convictions, having been raised by a Lutheran pastor. The perfect "NPR/NY Times liberal" - except for the part about the creation of wealth! This pedigree of his literally has his followers demanding his secular canonization to sainthood, commonly known as The Nobel Prize for Peace! This would place him in the pantheon of other Nobel Laureates and saints such as Al Gore, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Yasser Arafat.
   
   I must state for the record that I do indeed admire the work he has done, i.e. building schools - that is a good thing. However, he seems to view the primitive peoples of the Pakistani Himalayan Mountains, to include, since 9/11, Afghanistan, in the "noble savages" category, a school of thought popular in the mid-19th Century colonial era. For example, he avers that they need his (modern, Western) help, but at the same time he also views their culture and mores as superior to our own (being a good multiculturalist). So, he offers them just a little bit of help; enough to make himself and his financial backers feel good, but not enough to bring them out of grinding poverty, ancient tribalism, and isolation.
   
   The help he offers, which will keep them beholden to him for everything else, is that he provides them with rudimentary, roughly hewn school houses, with poorly trained teachers and "culturally sensitive" textbooks. You may say to me, "Well, at least it's better than nothing!", and I would agree with you. However, Mr. Mortenson, or "Doctor Greg", as he likes to be called, even though he is not a doctor, is very scrupulous to ensure that their culture and way of life is not "ruined" by the introduction of indoor plumbing, heating, and ventilation, or electricity, or television, or automobiles, or computers, or cell phones, or modern agricultural techniques, or the rule of law, or democracy, or a myriad of other "de-humanizing" aspects of modern civilization. According to Mortenson and Relin, not only do most of those things de-humanize us, but they also require energy to power them, and thus they create pollution, and that will destroy the planet. So, it's best if they don't have those things. That's right Doctor Greg, burn Al Gore's "bridge to the 21st Century" behind you!
   
   He bestows more redundant praise for himself and disdain for the United States when he explains that he is working for peace by building schools, in places like Afghanistan, while the U.S. (George Bush) is simply dropping bombs. That claim is either purposely misleading, or willfully ignorant. Again, while building 50+ schools in the villages of the Himalaya's is a laudable accomplishment, it is certainly dwarfed by comparison to the billions and billions of dollars the U.S. has spent in Afghanistan paving roads, putting in water and sewage treatment facilities, building electrical grids, setting up communication links, providing security forces, constructing court houses, sanitation plants, prisons, community centers, and yes, even schools - all, while dropping bombs on international terrorists! But those facts don't jibe with his messianic complex, or with his political leanings, and those of his panting disciples. Only "Doctor Greg" is doing good in Afghanistan.
   
   This book would have been so much more enjoyable to read had Mortenson not co-written this panegyric account of his own
   life; even though he tried, unsuccessfully, to come across as just a humble servant. He must be familiar with the axiom, "The surest bait for flattery is humility". Also, if he had avoided the minefield of left vs. right politics, in which he clearly inhabits the left lane, I would have been far more sympathetic to his cause. But he insisted on lobbing those political bombs. And what is his cause? It's teaching young Pakistani and Afghan girls (and boys) how to read, write, and do simple math (hooray!) - and then sending them back to their un-electrified mud huts, which are heated by goat dung, and continue to keep them inoculated from the evils of the First World (boo!)
   
   And what fuels his unquenchable drive to help these people? Is it his faith in Christ, or Allah, or Buddha? No! Remember, he's a secular savior. His followers claim that world peace is his goal. He claims that he is merely trying to raise up brown-skinned, Muslim women and girls. I think he does what he does because he believes the mountain people need him, and he needs them (to need him) and it's a wonderful saintly, salvific, symbiotic - and un-breakable cycle.



3. Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time
   
   A most amazing look at the world of Pakistani culture, schools..or lack of
   and the story of a man who has chosen to do something about them.
   It gives the reader insights into the the conflicts and complications
   of war time in Pakistan and introduces her or him to what is really going
   on over there. It is not a political view, it is a very well written
   humanitarian and "heartarian" look at a brave and struggling people.



4. An outstanding example of what one person can do when they pay attention to what they are being called to do. Greg Mortenson is doing more to promote world peace than any single country. I really wish I could give my tax dollars to him to build more schools.



5. Read this Book!! I picked this book up at the airport and couldn't put it down. The storyline is engrossing and exciting while the message is heartfelt and so necessary right now. We need more people like Mortenson. His story of failure followed by a long struggle to educate and enlighten the peoples of pakistan and afganistan even made me tear up a couple times; not for its sadness but for how hard he has worked for so long to finally make a huge difference in the lives of these people and the world. If we truly are at war with terror, we need to start by educating, not terrorizing those we fear.

5 comments about Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea.

1. I went into this book with the best intentions. I had read an interview with Chelsea as well as the glowing reviews in many magazines and, I must confess, I found the title hysterical. I was disappointed that the title was really the only laugh out loud funny part of the whole book. I had the time to read the whole collection in one sitting and barely cracked a smile. I agree with the reviewer who likened the stories to the popular girl prattling on to anyone who'll listen-you're enraptured by their presence but, in giving it any thought, they would just be too exhausting to be around. The story about Aubrey was particularly ironic, seeing a large part of Handler's stories deal with the lies she's told people. The story about the airport pickup was pointless really and most of the other stories are about being drunk, hungover or talking about how fat her father is. Not really what I expected.



2. I loved this book! I would agree that it is not as good as her first one, but I still laughed my butt off! I am a huge Chelsea Handler fan and I think she is an amazing women. Get this book!!



3. After reading "My Horizontal Life" I was really anticipating this book. It was a bit of a letdown. It's not bad by any means, but it certainly isn't nearly as entertaining. I would say this is definitely a "save your money and check it out at the library" type of book. I loaned it to a friend and she's had a hard time slogging through it too.



4. My main complaint with this book is the fact that is POORLY edited. Some pages have several tyopgrpahical errors, and who ever editied it does not know how to use commas. I could have done a better job in my sleep. Quick lesson for her editors. If a sentance uses a conjunction in it, it only needs a comma if there is a new subject. Like, "Chelsea's book is not funny and poorly edited." And "Chelsea's book is not funny, and it is poorly edited." See what I did there?
   Also, oh yeah, I love her! I watch her show all the time and love the vulgarity. But she's just ranting in this book. She's mean to her family and gets on kicks using certain words. Like within about 5 pages, she called someone an "a**hole" about 5 times. I mean, parts are funny, but I can't get past her meanness to a family that loves her and all the gramatical errors and typos.



5. You have to buy this book!! You must read it close to a bathroom because you will lose bladder control...it is absolutely hysterical.Chelsea is a genius, she tells it how it is and lays everything out there for all to see. Every chapter is filled with laugh out loud lines, you just cant help it.

5 comments about Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia.

1. Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia This book was a great read. Some very clever writing in parts.



2. I love everything about this book - the structure, the writing, the humor, the lessons learned. Starting from the concept of the sacred number 108 beads on a prayer bead, the author divides her year's adventure into 3 segments of 36 little stories each. She spends four months each in 3 places - Rome ("Eat"); India at an ashram ("Pray") and Bali ("Love"). She is funny and swept me along on her adventure. I felt I was there with her, and that she is someone I would love to know, as she is so open about her personal journey.



3. This was an enjoyable book for two reasons: Elizabeth Gilbert's excellent writing skills, and the premise of the book itself. The latter, which was an outward journey (to three countries) to find inner peace, was something I can identify with. Although the Italy/Food segment lacked a bit of depth, I thoroughly enjoyed the India/Ashram part of Gilbert's adventure (especially her struggles with meditation.) The third segment in Indonesia was interesting from a cultural standpoint, although I have less respect for that culture now than I did (due to the constant pressure for women to get married and have children!)
   
   On a down note, I could never really escape the reality that this is not just a woman alone trying to find herself after a divorce, but in fact, a successful writer who has been given an assignment by her editor (and thus a big advance, and probably expenses paid), and who flies home (to NY) in the midst of it all to celebrate the holidays and transfer her wardrobe.
   
   We ultimately forgive Gilbert for this however, because she is a likable character with self-deprecating humor, and the imagery in her writing transforms us. Don't go with high expectations, just read it for light entertainment.



4. I'd read a good deal of these reviews before reading the book and still read it anyway. What a waste of time. It's not that the author is simply self-absorbed it's that she's self-absorbed and at the same time an incredibly self unaware person -- her repeated surprise at finding out that she's a control freak or that she's got "issues" about her serial monogamy are a surprise to only herself. Eat is tolerable and Love is an interesting review of Bali but Pray is just a beat down. If "Richard from Texas" writes a book I'd be interested in what he has to say about the ashram but this book is over-hyped and under delivers.



5. My heart goes out to those who say this is the best book they've ever read. Man, they are reading some bad, bad books! I just can't recommend this one. I found it too self-indulgent from an author too self-absorbed. I slogged through to the end because it was a bookclub selection, so was mildly surprised by the tolerable 3rd section, which concentrated on Bali. I did come away feeling I'd learned more about Bali than I have from any other source, not that I've had much exposure there. I know that the book was NOT about the places she'd been, but rather, about herself IN those places. Still, I think any reader is more interested in the place and not the writer's reaction to it. Maybe if she'd been a more compelling character herself, I would have granted her that privilege.

5 comments about Escape.

1. If you had any doubt about the abuse the women and children removed from the FDLS compound may have suffered read this book. This is a first person account of a life so unreal and bizzare that you cannot believe this is happening in the USA. Teen age boys are put out of the community so that that sixty, seventy and eighty year old men can marry 14 year old girls. Carolyn Jessop is a modern day hero!!!!! God help the FDLS for their systemtic abuse of children and women.



2. READ THIS BOOK!!
   
   Every American taxpayer should be aware of how criminally minded men are living high on the hog (on your tax dollar) while the women and children they use and abuse to get your money are treated like dogs. Every human with a mind and a heart ought to read this book to get a clue of how religious fanaticism can become so insidious and evil, and learn that there is no easy way to deal with these situations. And every person who has ever experience domestic abuse will be inspired by this woman's story.
   
   Cults are difficult enough to understand for those who have not experienced them, let alone one that is so large and deeply rooted as the FLDS. This incredibly courageous woman gives us good look in this riveting expose~. This type of understanding is surely needed right now so we can support the brave people in Texas who are dealing with the children from the Yearning For Zion Ranch. The raid in 1953 did not have the public support, thus failed, and ultimately strengthened the stranglehold of the FLDS leadership. Difficult as it is, we CANNOT let that happen this time.
   
   As for the reviewer who commented on "dull writing", I respond: A few parts of this book are not easy to read. It's not fun to read all the details of the nightmare this woman lived in day after day. But I think these details were necessary to really tell the story. It certainly gave me that much more compassion for these women. That being said, I thought the writing was great and much to my family's dismay, I couldn't put the book down.
   
   I hope this powerful volume with enlighten us and cause us to support all the decent people who have been so horribly abused by the FLDS, as well as the law enforcement trying to do their jobs in an incredibly difficult and dangerous situation.



3. I am currently about half way through this book and I have found it to be very interesting. I had been wanting to learn more about the FLDS ever since all the children were taken from the Texas ranch. I recommend reading this book.



4. I was riveted by this first person account of escaping from FLDS and polygamy. I couldn't put it down, and finished the book in one day.



5. This was a excellant read, once I started I had a hard time putting it down.. Sad but reality... Hard to believe that all of these people have such a strong Faith that they put themselves in danger with out knowing it. Brainwashing is a very scarey thing..

5 comments about A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father.

1. I, too, am a huge fan of Augusten. I was expecting the same type of humor an etc... I, too, was disappointed, for about five pages, that this book had no humor in it. After the initial reaction, I was drawn into this book as if I was right beside him witnessing...I could not put the book down and finished it in one sitting. His style of writting is superb. Mature and fluid.
   This was last week. It still haunts my thoughts. I hold my children a little tighter. My motherly instinct would like to reach out and hold the author for a long time. It saddens me to no end that a child had to go through this horrible experience with both of his parents. I may seem naive, I do know that there are many stories like this or worst. Each has a place of its own. I hope that Mr Burroughs has had the opportunity to heal a little.



2. This is the perfect Father's Day gift to give to Dad's and ex-husbands
   who are abusive in any way, shape or form. It most likely won't change
   them as they are self-absorbed, cruel people....but it can give a voice
   to what you have been afraid to say or unable to articulate. Abuse comes
   in many forms and the extreme unavailability of Augusten's father while
   he was growing up left a permanent scar on his soul. I always enjoy reading about his quirky attempts and solutions in dealing with both of
   his dysfunctional parents and brother. He was like a little Mowgli relating to animals more than humans. My twenty one year old nephew is
   going through exactly what the author experienced. As he becomes a successful young man, he is still trying to get the attention and approval of a father who was absent and abusive during his childhood. It
   is painful to witness. This book helped me understand the need they have
   to resolve these issues. I think the book would be helpful to children
   of these "fathers" who are grappling with hurt, hate and a strange compulsion to seek love and approval from their abuser. (captor of their
   heart) My ex-husband lived this and I eventually divorced him because he
   continued to seek his father's approval and wasted time and emotions outside our family chasing windmills. I find this problem particularly
   "male" and very common in our society and I'm glad Augusten addressed it
   in such a compelling format.



3. I am a dedicated reader of Augusten Burroughs. The release date of this book had been marked in my day planner, and I went straight out to buy it the day it came out. This book is probably not what you are expecting it to be. It might be better.
   
   It is not a funny story. You might laugh out loud once or twice, but not more than that. This book is disturbing, throat-clenching, and heartbreaking. It is beautifully written, and Burroughs creates the sense within that you are floating above his little-boy body as he fights desperately for the attention of his cold and sometimes downright terrifying father. It is a difficult and, at times, painful perspective to take. It feels like the little boy you knew who was obsessed with all things shiny and becoming a star had just been putting on a show. Only now are we getting the full story.
   
   If "Dry" was your favorite book by the author, you will love this one, as I did. But if you are looking only for the biting wit that Burroughs has come to be known for, you may find yourself disappointed. "Dry" combined the heartbreak with the absurdly funny. "Wolf" focuses on the heartbreak. I have never before been so upset by plot elements dealing with pets.
   
   I thought it was amazing. I closed the final page and was convinced that Burroughs is even more brilliant a writer than I had previously believed. If you're anything like me, when you finish reading you will have the overwhelming urge to find him and give him the biggest hug you can muster. The intimacy created with the reader in this book is like nothing I have ever read before. Just like when a good friend tells you about something incredibly awful that happened to them, and you don't know what to say in response, this book leaves you speechless. It is like you have been trusted with the biggest secret of your life, something that is not your business to repeat to anyone else.
   
   I highly recommend it, but not for light reading.



4. First off, I am a fan of Mr. Burroughs and am familiar with all of his books. The author's forte through most of his other work has been his sense of humor and I was curious to find out how he would tackle a serious subject (i.e. his tumultuous relationship with his father).
   
   The book turns out to be a mixed bag. The author is able to portray the pathologic relationship he had with his father quite effectively. The problem is that it seems to lack content at times. The narrative doesn't flow like it usually does in his other work. And though he is able to come through most of these instances using his wit, the overall result is subpar when compared to his other efforts.



5. Augusten is my favorite writer. He is brillant- the story is amazing. And you HAVE to read his brother's book, "Look me in the Eye" because it is such a wild dynamic seen from the other side.

5 comments about Home: A Memoir of My Early Years.

1. Julie Andrews is no stranger to the world of books and it's apparent in her biography. It's a well written book and Julie's personality shines through it. The details of Julie's early life may be more of a revelation to the readers than the parts of the book dealing with her broadway success and beyond. Still, Julie presents her feelings about some well-known events, such as being given massive amounts of coaching by Moss Hart in preparation for her role as Eliza Doolittle. This is a classy book about a classy lady.



2. If you find Julie Andrews interesting, you will enjoy reading this book. Her early years were not sugar coated. It was interesting to learn how she entered show business and grew in her career. I was sorry to see the book end with her coming to America to film "Mary Poppins." I thought it would continue past her first film with Disney..... This book is easy, interesting and pleasurable reading!



3. It was well written memoir. She is one of my favorite people. Very classy, I have an appreciation for her.



4. This is a good book, but would've been better if not so dry. Julie Andrews had an extraordinary life and if it had been written more warmly and less like a travelogue it would've been better.



5. I am certainly a Julie Andrews fan and have been since first seeing her in Mary Poppins. This books is quite an accomplishment and must have been quite an undertaking. Congrats Julie! The details are full and explanations are vivid. However, sometimes I felt I got a series of facts and recollections of events but not how they impacted Julie or how they made her be who she is today. There were chapters that left me with more questions. Maybe it is the British way of explaining life circumstances and emotions, or maybe it would have made the book too long or maybe it will be apparent if there is a Part 2. I concluded that the public Julie Andrews we know and love has archtypal qualities that our culture craves and we want to know more. But, as an author she owes us nothing and she can write the book any which way she wants. Thanks for the book Julie. I hope there will be a second one. And someday I would love to have tea with you and ask all those questions.

5 comments about A Remarkable Mother.

1. Carter was arguably the worst president in the past century. Since then, he has been an embarrassment. He believes he has interesting things to talk about, but in reality we would all be better off if he would just build houses and leave the rest alone.



2. Bessie Lillian Gordy was born in rural Georgia on August 15, 1898, the fourth in a family of nine children. Her father was a government revenue officer and later a postmaster. She grew up in a busy, noisy household and never forgot her beginnings.
   
   Lillian entered nursing school in 1920 at Wise Sanitarium in Plains, Georgia. She met her future husband Earl on a double date but didn't like him very much at first. Perhaps opposites really do attract because Lillian and Earl married right after she completed her studies.
   
   The Carters raised four children: Jimmy, Gloria, Ruth and Billy. Jimmy was the outdoors type, Gloria was the independent one who challenged their strict father, Ruth was a sickly child, and Billy was an avid reader and a bit of a scamp. Their mom and dad had different parenting styles; Lillian was less strict than Earl, the family disciplinarian, but she did leave lists of chores for the kids to do when she was absent.
   
   Lillian worked first in a hospital and then later in people's homes. When she was on 20-hour duty, neighbors looked after her children. She gave capable, compassionate care to all regardless of race or ability to pay. In fact, she was usually paid in crops at harvest time. She owned all the pecan trees on their farm, and every November she took time off from her nursing duties to supervise the pecan harvest. She was a shrewd businesswoman who always received top dollar for her pecans.
   
   During the Depression many folks who were passing through the area looking for work and better times visited the Carters, who always greeted them with a meal and a kind word. Lillian wondered why she had so many of these unexpected visitors while the neighbors had none. One guest explained that someone had marked the Carters' mailbox as being a welcome place to stop.
   
   Earl died of pancreatic cancer in 1953, and Jimmy, much against his wife's wishes, left a promising naval career to return home to run the family business in partnership with his mother. With her family grown and being widowed, Lillian needed to keep busy and feel useful again. Her role as housemother for Kappa Alpha fraternity at Auburn University fulfilled that need for eight years. She often drove her "boys" around in her Cadillac.
   
   Ruth became an author and evangelist. Gloria was an accountant, and she and her husband were avid motorcyclists. Billy was an astute businessman and had a reputation for being a free spirit, especially when he drank. Sadly, all three died of cancer. Time and again Lillian soldiered on after each of her devastating losses.
   
   Lillian had a keen mind coupled with vitality and skills that still begged to be utilized. At age 68 she stepped out boldly when she joined the Peace Corps. She spent two years nursing in India, immersed in a very different culture from what she was used to. For someone who believed in equality for all, she found the caste system objectionable. Though she suffered many hardships and worked very long hours during that time, she loved the Indian people and felt her efforts had been well spent.
   
   Lillian is undoubtedly best remembered as a refreshingly frank, down-to-earth senior citizen who just happened to be the mother of the President of the United States. She loved to appear on talk shows and often upstaged Johnny Carson. During and after her son's presidency, she became somewhat of a goodwill ambassador who traveled the world and was a highly sought-after speaker. Often she talked about service in the Peace Corps or disregarding age to lead a full and adventurous life. She spoke off the cuff and ignored notes and suggestions made by others. No one was ever certain just what she might say. Not only was she a remarkable mother, Miss Lillian was a remarkable person.
   
   --- Reviewed by Carole Turner



3. Similar to "An Hour before Daylight," this book shares stories of life in rural south Georgia during the 20's, 30's and 40's. The book shares a great glimpse into the lives of the former president's ancestors. Anyone who remembers life with telephone party lines, chamber pots, and polio scares will reminisce and those who are younger should read this to learn what life was like for his/her grandparents.
   The reader also gets a picture of an extraordinarily confident woman and what she can accomplish even in what was then a no-where town in the grand scheme of American geography. "A Remarkable Mother" is a quick and easy but rewarding read.



4. He Does It Again!, May 13, 2008
   By P. Brogley "brogs68" (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews
   
   
   The former President has done it again - written an informative and inspiring book. He gives us great understanding of the mother who helped make him the best he could be.
   
   She was successful in that he is the best and most influential former President we have. This book is a gem. Read it this weekend.
   
   Author of Mr. NewHeart (New Heart): Heart Attack to Transplant and Beyond
   
   You may preview my next book if you Google "david hollar the face of war," the story of my year in Vietnam as an infantry officer including six months as a platoon leader with the Big Red One.



5. I highly encourage all to read this book. If nothing else, to gain more insight into some remarakble people, and to gain more love, compassion, and sensitivity towards this very special person in many of our lives, our mother.One Man's Love Story - A Near-Death Experience

5 comments about The Downhill Lie: A Hacker's Return to a Ruinous Sport.

1. Carl Hiaasen was introduced to the game of golf by his father, who, to Carl's nearly life-long disappointment, was a very good golfer. On a whim that could be argued to be both mature and immature, he gave up the game in his early twenties because he wasn't able to improve. The Downhill Lie is the window through which we see his return to the game.
   
   Hiaasen goes to many extremes to improve his game. He reads every piece of literature on the game and buys some hilarious info-mercial products that make lofty promises. He joins a golf course, buys new clubs (and more new clubs), takes lessons, re-engineers his swing, and ultimately enters a tournament.
   
   For many reasons, which include his disposable income; his available free time; and that this became an assignment from his publisher, Hiaasen is able to go to greater lengths than most golfers who want to get better. But that doesn't mean those golfers, a category into which I fit, haven't thought about trying any or all of the things he did in the book. That contributes to the hilarious, but humbling nature of the book. We can laugh at his exploits as he does, and maybe we can learn some of the lessons he does as well.
   
   This book is more than a diary of Carl Hiaasen's golf rounds. The Downhill Lie is a poignant commentary on why so many of us endure the constant frustrations associated with the game of golf. The author uses the comedy of his situation to show exactly why, when this game keeps knocking us down, we get right back up and make another tee time.
   
   I recommend this book if you struggle with golf, or know someone who does (which I think is just about everyone, right?). This book will probably not help you be a better golfer, but at least you'll see you're not alone. If you aren't into the game yourself, and you've wondered why we torture ourselves the way we do, The Downhill Lie offers great insight. It was both funny and right-on-target portraying the mind of a golfer...or most golfers anyway. I really liked this book.



2. First, let me preface this by confessing my own golfing experience is limited to one class in high school where I became infamous for hitting the teacher in the head with a wiffle ball. Fortunately we were practicing with golfball-sized wiffle balls and not the regulation golfball, or the teacher might have required medical attention.
   
   In addition, both my brother and father play golf in the Florida equatorial heat while dodging gators strategically sunning themselves near the many ponds and lakes of Florida golf courses. It's especially dangerous during gator mating season when either the male gator thinks you're trying to make time with his woman if you go after an errant ball, or the female gator thinks you're stealing one of her eggs. Good times.
   
   Carl Hiaason has written a great book about golf. I don't play golf, but I loved this book and laughed aloud many times while reading it. His tip on getting rid of huge toads by chipping them into the neighbor's yard was worth the price of the book. For those of you complaining about his comments about growth in Florida, just take a drive from the west coast to the east on Alligator Alley and take a look at how Miami keeps creeping further and further into the Everglades. The is the ONLY EVERGLADES on the entire planet Earth, by the way. Yet still we must build, build, build on it.
   
   You will not be disappointed with The Downhill Lie: A Hacker's Return to a Ruinous Sport. This book comes with waterfront property in Geritol Bay and membership in their country club with golf course designed by Hall of Fame Golfer, Ralph Kramden. Enjoy the 145 mph winds in the summer as the lanai is ripped from your house and your pool cage relocates to North Dakota. Bask in the 95 degree summer heat with 100% humidity. Forget about going anywhere during the cooler months when all the tourists are clogging the roads. Cheer as the professional sports teams don't score, don't win, and make you want to go to their games incognito. Laugh when tourists run from the water yelling "Shark!" while dolphins leap merrily from the waves. But, whatever you do, buy this book. And then, read this book. There will be a test.



3. My wife bought me this book and kept asking me if I had looked at it yet. Already in the middle of two other golf books - one being instructional I said no, not yet. She insisted that I at least read the first few pages to see if it was something I would like. Well, within 5 minutes of cracking it open I was in stitches and I was hooked. Carl has a wonderful writing style that just sucks you in. As a golf hack who found the sport well after my 20's I especially enjoyed his perspective.



4. Sports Illustrated published two excerpts of this book recently - in the Players Championship Special Issue and in the May 12, 2008 regular issue. Although there was some overlap, together the two excerpts paint a hilarious autobiographical picture of the author's attempted return to golf. Laugh-out-loud funny doesn't begin to describe the section of the excerpt in May 12th SI titled "Toad Golf". I have never laughed so hard when reading SI. I'm buying the book, and, hopefully, it will provide as much enjoyment.



5. Downhill Lie has some very funny parts to it: Hiaasen has a wonderful self-deprecating sense of humor. You'll find tales of toad-wedging: golf practice that consists of chipping toads onto neighbors' houses. You'll find that golf clubs make effective rat bashers. I suspect that the ASPCA wil find some things to offend them here. You'll read about the time he lost a golf cart--it slipped into a pond.
   
   But I founf myself scratching my head in wonderment at times. Hiaasen is not, to be sure, a scratch golfer, but he has a voracious appetite to improve his game--as most golfers do. But we see him resorting to buying things--pendants with wonder powers to hang around your neck (only 75% as effective if kept in your pocket), herbal pills to improve "muscle memory", RadarGolf devices to help you locate lost balls, and the like. I'm at a loss here. Didn't we see Hiaasen regularly poking fun at the people who bought such devices in many of his novels? In Double Whammy, for instance, there's the unforgettable image of a cheap skiff hauled by a garbage truck to a tournament, and fishing with cheap equipment, when everyone else arrives with massive gadgetry--fish radar, gimmicks galore, etc. Hiaasen had always seemed to be fond of satirizing those who shell out large amounts of money for the kinds of devices he happily buys in Downhill Lie. There's almost an element of Eliot Spitzer here.
   
   I would guess that Hiaasen describes parts of perhaps 200 rounds of golf. Some of this is a pleasure and a delight to read. Some of it is, well....have you ever heard a golfer tell you about one of his rounds, shot by shot, hole by hole? It's never actually that bad or that detailed--but there are times when you feel as if half your mind was on other things. This is also an instructive book--if you're lucky, you'll begin to get the idea that spending lots of money--lots and lots of money--will not guarantee that you'll reduce your handicap. Another element of the book, which you should learn in an indirect fashion, is that the crucial thing is that you should enjoy the game: Hiaasen almost seems too driven, that perhaps he should understand that some people are destined to remain 15-18 handicap golfers, and that you can accept your limitations. When I played golf, I had about a 30 handicap: a duck hook or a topped ball--well, so what's new? Enjoy the occasional decent shot. I often played with a colleague who had about a 3 handicap--when he mishit a shot, he'd go into a blue funk for several holes. I think I enjoyed the game more than he did. So the lesson from this book is--have fun, and don't make such a big deal about improving your handicap by 5 strokes. Hiaasen, at least, can make fun of himself--which too many golfers cannot do.

5 comments about Moment of Truth in Iraq: How a New 'Greatest Generation' of American Soldiers is Turning Defeat and Disaster into Victory and Hope.

1. While I found this a useful and thought-provoking book, I also thought it would have benefited greatly from another hundred or even two hundred pages of exposition. When Yon mentions Fallujah, for example, he states quickly and casually that American actions there were badly conceived, or badly run, or both -- it's a little hard to tell -- but does not go into details.
   
   The sort of details I have in mind are things like: a) what led up to the decision to go into Fallujah and to go in the way we did? Not just the murder of a couple of US personnel -- a good deal more background than that, please! b) what factors made these decisions wrong? c) why should these factors have been known in advance, or if they were, why were they ignored? d) what were the immediate results of the battles of Fallujah and how did these results affect longer-term issues? and e) what should have been done instead? I mean, Yon surely would not have advocated leaving the terrorists dug in in Fallujah until the Iraqi forces had improved enough to tear them out, right? So what WOULD he have recommended?
   
   Rather than addressing such questions, Yon seems to take for granted a certain (large) amount of background information on the part of the reader, plus some (broad) areas of agreement that his readers will naturally share with him. Perhaps his intended reader is the reader who has all along been following his reports from Iraq, but that leaves a whole lot of people out in the cold. If this background is lacking, how is one to evaluate that the basically unsupported assertions Yon frequently makes?



2. If you want the truth about OIF without BS or ideological bent, read Momment of Truth.



3. I just finished reading Michael Yon's Moment of Truth in Iraq: How a New 'Greatest Generation' of American Soldiers is Turning Defeat and Disaster into Victory and Hope. If you are interested in the future and not the past, especially regarding the US policy in Middle East, then this is worth the 4 or so hours it takes to read.
   
   Yon is a former Green Beret turned photo and print journalist. He has probably spent more time in Iraq than any other reporter. And, of this time, Yon spent his time with combat units and not in the relative safety of the "Green Zone" in Baghdad. He was an on the ground eye witness of events.
   
   Yon is not an administration apologist. The book begins with stinging, and on the mark, criticisms of how the war was mishandled. He does not waste time on debating the merits or wisdom of the war, he goes straight to the conduct and execution. Among the first direct hits that Yon triggers is the fatal blunder of the appointment of Paul Bremmer and his decision to literally dissolve the old Iraqi bureaucracy. Yon also goes after the Administration and pundit friends who failed to see and admit to an insurgency (catalyzed by the Bremmer blunder) which turned into a civil war and then failed to admit to the civil war that nearly ended in catastrophe.
   
   Moment of Truth in Iraq proceeds to explain how and why things have changed in the last 18 to 24 months. The factors include the depravity and evil of al Qaeda and its contribution to the Sunni Awakening, the brilliance of a new leader - General David Petraeus, and the great moral power and resourcefulness of the U.S. soldier. Yon repeatedly drives these three fundamental points home with concrete example after example. More than once this writer caught himself holding his breath.
   
   American military leadership, with its tradition and emphasis on integrity, have ultimately played a larger role in the amazing change than firepower. Yon cites how Iraqi infantry seeing American officers in combat "leading from the front" soon insisted upon the same qualities in their officers. There is story after story of how Iraqis have come together because of their trust in the American military. The horrible calumny of Abu Grhaib is in the past - there is the very recent incident of an Iraqi father bringing his sons into US military custody rather than to the local police, he did not know if his sons were guilty of terrorism but he knew the American would treat them with justice. Indeed, one of General Petraeus's first acts on taking command was a letter of instruction demanding from his soldiers-- morality in war. Yon compares this letter with a similar instruction from General George Washington.
   
   Yon does not argue that the war is over or won. He does strongly take the position that defeat was near and that now victory is possible. This is the underlying concern of the book. Victory is possible and by this he means the solidification of a reasonably decent and unified Iraq at peace with itself and its neighbors. Victory is possible because of the great learning that the US military underwent and has now proved itself to be "world class" in counterinsurgency warfare. (If you read Learning to Eat Soup With a Knife, you'd see that the US military has been an A++ student.)
   
   For Yon, the key to victory is political and moral courage on the home front. (Courage is not lacking in the US military, although there is the frequently heard remark about the military going to Iraq and America going to the mall.) Now that the right tactics and strategies are being conducted on the ground, it is time to continue them and reinforce them. Exiting prematurely from Iraq in Yon's view would be a disaster several magnitudes worse than the ignominy of surrender and defeat in Vietnam.
   
   On this final point may hinge much of the future for the Middle East and for American influence and American interests. Regardless of one's position on this matter, Yon's book is a document that one should honestly confront. However, it is a report from a soldier turned journalist; there are a few descriptions and expressions that are disturbing. Sometimes truth is disturbing.
   
   Finally, near the end of the book, Yon relates how he recently said to an Iraqi soldier, "You know, some day Americans and Iraqis will be the best of friends." The Iraqi officer responded in disbelief: "We already are good friends."



4. People need to turn off the TV and read this book before turning it back on.
   Michael Yon has written the most objective assessment of our actions in Iraq. His "on the ground" observations skewer people of all political stripes.
   Michael writes a narrative that is very descriptive and shows the conflict warts and all.
   His analysis of Iraq is spot on.
   He has shown that we have the second "greatest generation" now serving in the military.



5. A DISAPPOINTMENT MOST OF THE BOOK I READ ON THE AUTHORS BLOG I DO HOWEVER SUPPORT THE AUTHORS COURAGE AND EFFORTS