5 comments about Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper.

1. I loved this book! Not only was it hilarious, it also gave an interesting look into a world I knew nothing about. I laughed out loud at many parts of this book--Cody is truly talented at getting humor on paper! I have passed this book on to others, both men and women, and they have all also enjoyed it. Highly recommended for summer reading!



2. Wow, so you are saying that the sex industry doesn't treat women well, that they make more money off of the women than the women do...and that one becomes a hollow shell stripped (Ha! -pun) of dignity and self worth? Really? Huh - that is like the frst time I have ever heard that. Never could have figured that out.
   
   Did this author not get enough attention as a child? Lookit me, lookit lookit...you're not looooooking! This is girls gone wild (with a brain, I'll give her that) written down - someone who flashes her goods because she is just so, like WILD and free man! Everyone knows this girl - upper middle class family and self styled rebel who is just so "real". The one you lose touch with after college because you are tired of hearing about it -you know, a self perpetuating drama queen. We all have one in our lives at some point. The dirge like forced "wildness" gets tiresome pretty quickly.A bit of self examination as to WHY would have saved this book, but apparently lifting rocks and looking under them is too much work. Instead we get a daily diary of..and then this happened...etc....No hint of any reasoning behind any of it.
   
   It has it's moments, but the material is stretched so thin it gets tedious. This would have been a great essay - novel/memoir length = no. There is no payoff for reading this book - there is no structure...it's just random items slapped together. A memoir does require an arc, not just writing it down. It doesn't string together in the end. Kind of reminded me of Gloria Steinem's Bunny expose - which covered similar ground...but which was much more incisive.



3. This book has become one of my favorites and Diablo Cody has become one of my favorite authors. Witty and relatable, she writes an informative and honest account of her experiences in the sex work industry. Although the reviews and book descriptions are frustrating/patronizing ("Whats a good girl like Cody doing in a place like this?") the book itself presents a fair look at the industry from the inside. Definitely reccomend if you're looking for a new take on sex work or an intelligent and hilarious and witty read.



4. A great summer read. I breezed through it in a few hours. Funny and super interesting. Everything you ever wanted to know about being a stripper and everything you didn't want to know, too. I loved it.



5. 224 pages of one-liners.
   
   Don't waste your time if it's depth you're looking for.

3 comments about Lost Boy: My Story.

1. Emptiness meets God's fullness. Sin swallowed up by Grace. Brokeness meets wholeness. Lost meets found. Read it in two sittings. Just don't eat pizza with this dude.



2. Great autobiographies - whether by statesman, celebrity, hero or scoundrel - have 3 elements. A great autobiography:
   
   1) has a compelling reason for being read: It always gives more than just the facts or details "behind the scenes". Not just a personal recounting of history, a great autobiography gives you such a sense of the "real" person that you can personally relate to them. The subject's foibles, failures and weaknesses are included with the requisite telling of their strengths.
   
   2) when you start reading, it makes you want to keep on reading.
   
   3) after finishing it, you know about more than just the writer's story. You know more about "life" - the human condition, life's possibilities, life's parameters, how the world "works" - than you did before reading it.
   
   "Lost Boy" by Greg Laurie, is a great autobiography. The reader is captured by the opening chapter, a description of Greg waiting to take the stage in front of 40,000 people who have filled Anaheim Stadium to hear him speak. Having spoken to over 4 million people in stadiums around
   the world, Greg should be on auto-pilot by now. But Greg Laurie has a reason for not being on "auto-pilot". The chapter then goes into short bursts of flashback, most painting a picture of how improbable it is that Greg Laurie could possibly be the guy about to take the stadium stage.
   
   Greg Laurie is not your typical church pastor. Nor is he a type of "TV evangelist". Avoiding the political traps and scandals of both the previous and current generations' religious leaders, Greg Laurie has proven to be a different kind of Christian leader for people to check out. Coming from a broken home (fatherless, mother divorced seven times), checking into 60's drug culture, cynical and untrusting in human relationships, Greg Laurie was not the kind of person who turns into a pastor at 19 years old. Certainly not a pastor who oversees a group of 30 people turn into one of America's first "megachurches", with over 15,000 weekly attendees. Certainly not the kind of speaker who combined cutting edge technology, culturally current music performances and understandable preaching to sold-out events at venues like Madison Square Garden. Certainly not the kind of person who Billy Graham would call the "evangelist of the future". And most certainly not a man profiled by the major TV networks and on the front page of the New York Times. Yet no one seems to understand that better than Greg Laurie himself. "Lost Boy" explains this unique life that has touched millions of other lives for the better, leaving the reader inspired and encouraged to personally dig further into the reason and message behind the book.
   
   A can't-put-it-down-like-a-mystery-novel kind of read, "Lost Boy" is a great gift choice for any reader.



3. Greg Laurie's book is his autobiography. It tells how he went from an unwanted child to the megachurch pastor he is today. I bought this book on a sunday (I go to his church) and was done with it by Friday, dispite the 30+ chapters. It was so interesting and really built me up spiritually as well as entertained me. After I was done reading it, all I could say was, "He is my hero." This is a book we all can relate to, no matter our circumstances or up-bringing.

No comments about The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit: A Jewish Family's Exodus from Old Cairo to the New World (P.S.).

5 comments about Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72.

1. This book's setting is eerily similar to the current state of affairs going on in with the 2008 Presidential Election, with the Democrats picking themselves apart while the Republicans sit back and enjoy the show. Richard Nixon is shown as the abomination that he was and HST's writing is as animated and humorous as I have ever seen it. This book surpassed my expectations and was a surprisingly fast read at 496 pages. I was left begging for more political insight and HST wit. A must read for any HST fan or anyone interested in the inner workings ( mostly the dark side) of politics. A great book that shows that HST was and is probably better than his already sizable legend permits.



2. I read this book as an appetizer for the current US presidential election campaign. And what an appetizer it is - akin to a halopenio shrimp cocktail with mescalin! It would have been an even better starter for the 2004 election, with which the 1972 election (featured here) shared many features: An incumbent hated by all the progressives at home and everybody in the rest of the world, an opponent who stands for nothing but not being that incumbent (defeated in the primaries in 72) and a murderous, immoral and expensive war on the other side of the world, which nevertheless didn't cost the US president his job.
   
   When the great HST covers the 1972 campaign, the verb "cover" takes on a whole new meaning. He immerses himself in the broadcast of a pro football game in order to adopt the same mindset as pro football fanatic Richard Nixon. He almost drowns in the Atlantic ocean in Miami in sight of his friends at a democratic primary-night party. At the republican convention, he joins the young republicans and talks to them about acid (they think he is referring to proton donors, like hydrochloric acid). Not despite, but rather because of this famous "gonzo" style of journalism, HST's book is rich in insight about US politics and politics in general. He goes so much further than the horse-race type coverage commonly fed to the public. Thompson provides an intelligent assessment of the moods and trends in the US population and a really smart analysis of why people vote for whom. He has excellent insight into the dynamics of the individual campaigns and how they are molded by the characters and agendas of the candidates, the interactions with their campaign workers and their relations to the party apparatus. HST doesn't think of elections as some kind of stunt happening every couple of years, but he explains them as deeply interwoven with the social and demographic workings of the USA.
   
   Some of my most favorite political quotes are from this book. Thompson really loves his country, he says "it could have been a testament to some of man's best instincts", but he is in despair over the crocks (Nixon and cronies) who have taken it hostage. This emotional state of his and the worry about the direction the US will take in '72 got him to write an intense and fiery book.
   
   Do yourself a favor - stop following the electoral coverage on the corporate media for a week, use your time to read this book, and then go back to the current campaign and you will view it in a new light.



3. Another classic from HST, in fact maybe my favorite work of his. The setting for the book is the presidential campaign of 1972 pitting Gorge McGovern against Richard Millhouse Nixon. It begins with Thompson being sent by Rolling Stone to be the Washington D.C. correspondent for the magazine. From there the rollercoaster ride begins. HST chronicles the campaign from first, covering the Democratic primaries and running to the nomination of McGovern at the Democratic National Convention, and finally the Presidential election itself.
   HST pioneered his own unique style of gonzo journalism and this book, along with the classic Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, defined him and his craft. Stark in its style and approach, the prospective provided by HST of what it is like to be out there on the campaign trail is unique to my knowledge. A dramatic inside story of the battles of the campaign trail emerges and fills in significant gaps in other press coverage of the time. HST's quest for truth, politics, and the eternal buzz paint a picture that the straight press never could because of restrictions like `objectivity' and the like. The result is perhaps the best account to date on what is really going on behind the scenes of a campaign for the highest office in the land.
   The only drawback about reading HST is that it always gives me an incredible urge to drink and act in a semi-crazed style. It is says something about the infectious nature of his work and one often finds oneself wishing there were more gonzo journalists writing today.
   This book is essential reading for anyone interested in politics and the machinery behind it. Even if politics aren't your cup up tea, HST brings a new dimension to any subject that he writes about, one that can be appreciated for its raw truth as well as its unconventional delivery. Although HST only provides one way of looking at politics out many possible, readers would be doing a disservice to themselves by passing over this book. Other views are widely espoused by many journalists and pundits, but to my knowledge no one else has tread where HST has dared to go.
   This one gets 5 stars for being original, highly entertaining, and remaining relevant to this day.



4. As I write this review, a dozen and a half presidential candidates are revved up to fly around the US, spending (all told) billions of dollars of Other People's Money, talking out of several sides of their mouth, slinging more mud than a construction crew, and falling over each other to get into the TV and newspaper spotlight.
   
   It is astounding how much this book, written 35 years ago, can teach us about what is going on today. I have vowed to read this book again in 4-5 years.



5. For me this is Hunter's masterpiece - Its what crystallises all of his skill and insights as a writer. Fear and Loathing is an excellent book but its also a head trip which gives first time readers the wrong impression of Thomphson but its Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail that will show you the real Hunter in all his savage intelligence and wry observational skill - its a tour de force which shows so often the sharp mind behind the stories of drugs and debauchery - if you've only read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas then you don't know Hunter at all - this is a good starting point.
   
   Its a picture of an America which has torn itself to pieces - the 1972 elections were a watershed in American politics, the death of Bobby Kennedy at the hands of Sirhan Sirhan in 1968 tore the heart of out the Democratic faithfull and was the major hinge of a series of events that led to the election of Richard Nixon in 68 when a country burned out on the divisive LBJ presidency voted Republican. The failure of the Democratic party to present a strong candidate in '68 led to the McGovern collapse in '72 as the party tore itself to pieces internally, consumed in infighting and political infighting that left it weakened and damaged.
   
   Thompson's insights into the system go beyond mer reportage, he has an ability to get inside the process and lay it bare and clear and at the same time present a picture of the US on the eve of a recession and worn out from a long and divisive war. Oh and somebody mentioned how Hunter seemed unfair on Humphrey in the book - On the contrary he more than explains his reasons why he dislikes the candidate and some reading on Humphrey and history would enlighten - for one thing he won the Presidential Nomination in '68 without winning a single primary - Thompson and other democrats were quite justified in seeing him as the a political hack controlled by the likes of Chicago's power broker Mayor Daley.
   
   Seriously. Read it. Distilled Hunter in so many ways and if youre expecting some sort of balance then youre in the wrong place - Hunter is here as always un comprimising - bitching about bias is missing the point - he never sets out to be balanced.

5 comments about Valley Boy: The Education of Tom Perkins.

1. Perhaps I'm the only one, but I found this book to be basically unreadable. (As such, I have only read a small part of it.) Tom Perkins is an impressive person with a successful career by many standards, and I am interested in what he does for a living even, but suffice it to say he is not one of our nation's best writers.



2. The book is a few interesting stories from his life told as if it were over several dinners and several glasses of wine.
   
   I personally like the conversational style and flow of the book and so highly recommend it.
   
   These are just a few vignettes from his life and I'm sure there are many more stories to tell.



3. Tom takes the opportunity to get his view of events in his life on the record. Very doubtful as biography, this book is more of an attempt to sway public interpretation of events in his long career, spanning early years in Hewlett Packard, the formation of the Kleiner Perkins venture capital firm, his sailing exploits, his marriage to Danielle Steele, and how he chose to use his vast wealth to influence events and people he encountered. Right up front he deals with the spying incidents at Hewlett Packard when Pattie Dunn was the chairwoman (very condescending), as well as his relationship with Carly Fiorina (very confrontational and rocky), but most of it comes off as self-serving and slanted to his view. Yet, the book is interesting as an peek into the restless and eclectic mind of the ultimate bootstrapper, a man who leveraged his times and opportunites into one of the most successful careers on record. Despite this, it also serves as a warning to those who believe great wealth is matched with great wisdom, since clearly, his wealth was poured into his world class collection of toys and houses. Take heed.



4. this book has more substance than is typical for the genre, and i was hooked on every page; wish there were more pages and illustrations :-)



5. One of the icons of Silicon Valley tells his story. It's great for an outsider looking in.

5 comments about Manic: A Memoir.

1. I applaud Terri Cheney for the courage she has shown in living and surviving a personal nightmare of a life with manic-depression. By the end of the book, she seems to have found medications that keep her mostly stable, and I hope that continues. Ms. Cheney's prose is vivid and powerful. It makes me wince to think she actually went through all of this mental and physical turmoil. Hopefully, this book will increase public understanding of mental illness and encourage the medical field to keep working for more effective treatments. Another excellent book I read about manic depression is "His Bright Light: The Story of Nick Traina" by Danielle Steel - the famous author. It is Ms. Steel's eulogy and toast to her son Nick, who was manic depressive, and tragically took his life when he was only in his teens. Warning -- Ms Steel's memoir is a real tear jerker. But attention needs to be given to mental illness, so we can better help and suppport the many who are afflicted. I hope Ms. Cheney continues to write and publish, and am so glad she escaped the horrible plastic lawyer life she was subjected to for so long.



2. Here's what I got from this book: if you're really, really beautiful, you can make enough money and friends during the manic phase to carry you through the depressive one, where even if you call in sick for weeks at a time and refuse to answer your phone, you won't lose your high-paying, highly competitive job. Yeah, right. I was left with so many unanswered questions from the many disjointed and confusing episodes. This book is a frustrating read and hard to believe.



3. I was not aware of this book, but a friend of mine read it and recommended it highly to me , and that was good enough reason for me to pick this up. I would not be disappointed.
   
   In "Manic: A Memoir" (246 pages), author Terri Cheney brings the vivid tale of what it's like to live with bipolar disorder, the highs of mania and the lows of depression all compressed in one body and person. It is simply astonishing what the author goes through, all the while holding down what appears to be a very successful legal career for a number of years. The author struggles with various medications and treatments (and that's putting it mildly). Towards the end of the book, through trial and error, she comes to the conclusion that what was wrong with her was "a strange place on the bipolar spectrum called mixed state. It's the most dangerous condition possible, the one in which the most suicides occur".
   
   From what I can make out, the author (who appears to be in her early 40s now) has found some middle ground, although I imagine that it is not possible to be ever completely cured from bipolar disorder. In all, this is a fantastic book, which you cannot put down once you are reading it. Be aware that there are several pretty graphic scenes in the book, even if they are described tastefully by the author.



4. Cheney's book elicits a catharsis of emotions, similarly to the effect "Blues" music has--kinda like.



5. In reading this memoir I saw a lot of my wife in the pages of torment and in the roller coaster ride of mania and depression. My wife committed suicide in 2006 and Terri Cheney offers loved ones and other lay persons an insight into the mind of a person suffering from bi-polar disease.
   
   Thanks Terri.

5 comments about Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road.

1. This book was inspirational! It provides a good reality check when you feel like life is handling you more than you can deal with.



2. Fred and Chris' review is shockingly disturbing. I read this book 3 times and wept uncontrollably at Neil's losses. I cannot believe that you would complain that he is shallow, and complained about the number of pages it took to tell of the events. How much more does he need to tell? Selena lost control of her vehicle, flipped it, and it killed her. It was a terrible accident without cause. Jackie fell into the worst depths of a depressive state and it killed her along with the terminal cancer. A disease I battled personally for 2 years but actually ended up in remission.
   
   To complain that this book reads like a Mapsco means neither one of you understand or care about how most readers like myself want to know everything, every description, every detail of what he is seeing and feeling. Neil writes so that you feel you are right there with him and that is what I love about his writing style.
   To say that he cares more about his friend who is in jail for marijuana possession, (not HARD DRUGS) instead of Selena and Jackie is very callous. If he cared about his friend over his family, he never would have been in seclusion for so long and would have probably returned to drumming a lot sooner. HE LOVED HIS LITTLE GIRL MORE THAN ANYTHING!!! Look at the way he talks about her in all of his books. He was a very doting father and very involved in her life.
   The fact that he did not just take a bottle of pills and end it all after those tragic events shows how much courage and strong character he really has. And just because he can handle his liquor does not mean he is teetering on the brink of alcoholism. Sounds like something a member of the infamous AA would say.
   Saying that he has a diminishing respect for humans individually and as a whole just means that you don't like the way he looks at some people and situations. After reading all his books I realize that I think and feel the exact same way as he does. You just don't like his observations because he tells the truth and tells it like it really is, and no one ever wants to hear the real truth.
   He can't help it if he does not really like being famous, nor can he help it that he is pretty much the best damn lyricist and drummer ever!! Its a little nerve racking to have people running after you all the time.
   
   This book takes you through his private hell and emotional wreckage that feels like he will never come out of, and in a lot of ways he never really will. Yes he has found a new soul mate and has a renewed zest for life, but one never gets over the loss of their baby and you can see it in his eyes in recent pictures, he is not completely the same person he was before and never will be again and to say he is in need of some personal work makes me feel the both of you need personal work a lot more than he ever did!! Let's see how you handle it when you loose your loved ones.
   I have more respect and admiration for Neil Peart than a lot of peope I personally know and I am glad that he was able to find the will to live.



3. 
   I had high hopes of this book when I first heard about. I thought we would get deep insight into the mind of the Ghost Rider and how he would deal with the tragic loss of his family. Perhaps in a certain way, we did, he road his bike thousands of miles, which is fine, but there is so much missing from it. The author is a very private man who chooses only to give us an edited version of his pain, misery and redemption. The book is simply a traveling manuscript that lists places where the Ghost Rider cruised to and where he stayed and dined. It deviates at times to more intimate settings such as with his wife's family and friends but they are so few and are never given ample room.
   There is also a bizarre array of letters to the Ghost Rider's friend Brutus that is filled with inside jokes and highlights that the reader never connects with and is left out of. The editing of the book was also poor - examples include the letters (perhaps they should have been deleted altogether) and the conclusion was done too loosely. There were too many events that were hurried over.
   I do not see how others could rate the book so high - perhaps they are fans or they enjoyed it as a travel book. I did leave with a deeper appreciation of traveling after reading it and noting the sound wisdom of "keep moving," in order to stay focused at the task at hand, which was to...finish the ride?



4. Thought provoking and insightful, this truly comes from the heart. It is difficult to imagine someone having to go through the tragedies suffered by Mr. Peart but he is able to put together a riveting account of the turmoil he suffers while grieving over the loss of loved ones. If this book does not cause you to shed a tear, you aren't paying close enough attention.



5. Having been a Rush fan for over 20 years, I was somewhat familiar with the purpose and topic of this book - Neil's processing of the grief and sorrow associated with the 1-2 punch of losing his daughter and then his wife. Also, I ride a motorcycle as well, so I was interested in reading about his journeys along his healing road.
   
   At first as I read this book, I felt like it was very repetitive. The more I read, though, I realized that what I was reading is just the cyclic processing of grief - and yes, that *is* repetitive. Having not experienced any losses as great as his, I am not familiar with how something of that magnitude gets processed. After realizing that, I had a new perspective on the book and the courage it took to publish these thoughts after completing his motorcycle journey.
   
   There are some interesting "ride report" type aspects to this book as well, but largely, I would classify this book as someone's story of overcoming grief as opposed to telling a story that focuses on a motorcycle adventure.
   
   What I found kind of paradoxical about this book is that Neil proclaims repeatedly to be a very private person who isn't comfortable with people approaching him or recognizing him, however, he pours his heart out into a novel. From my perspective, a book that reveals so many facets of his personality only serves to empower the casual fan with that feeling of really "knowing" him - and should they perchance encounter him somewhere, it is only natural that they are going to want to at least say some "hellos" or what not - but if they were to do that, they'd probably be very unwelcome to be doing so.
   
   If someone is THAT private of a person, I am confused by the fact that they publish not one, but several books, that lay it all out there for the world to read.

5 comments about My Life on the Run: The Wit, Wisdom, and Insights of a Road Racing Icon.

1. This book, captures the essence of what a runner can experiance, and hope to be. Bart is a great story teller, who's compassion and grace shines through!



2. I loved reading Yasso's book. I didn't want it to end, and it is a book I will reread. Yasso both inspired me and entertained me.



3. All in all, I thought this book was very entertaining. I am an intermediate runner, who loves to hear the experiences of other runners. The stories contained are all well written and entertaining. This will motivate current runners to try and experience new races and novice runners to get off the coach.



4. I loved this book! It made my plods along the local trail seem so much more meaningful knowing that the sport can lead to such amazing experiences. And it made me look forward to what stories my own running will bring.



5. It's been a special several months for running months. Late last year, Ben Cheever's STRIDES came out and now Yasso's book.
   
   Less polished than Cheever's book but every bit as special, buy it if you're a runner and buy it for a runner if you're not - they will THANK you.
   
   Many people say they have the greatest job in the world, but through these pages Yasso makes you believe he deserves the honor and - even more so - makes you see that he believes he deserves the honor. Simply put, a classic from a classic.

5 comments about The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness.

1. "The Center Cannot Hold" by Elyn Saks, is well written by a brilliant woman, herself a mental health comsumer. As a bonus, it is easy to read. I highly recommend it.
   My son has Schizophrenia and this book helped me to understand a lot of what he experiences but cannot or will not express to others. I immediately passed the book on to other parents whose child has this illness, to expend their understanding of what he lives with.
   No, our loved persons with mental illness are not lazy, nor to they deliberately ignore us nor our requests of them. They are heroes for getting through the day. Their every day struggle with Schizophrenia is unbelievable. The side effects of meds often make waking up a major accomplishment.
   The author shares in detail her experiences. She tells of the alternate approach to treatment she experienced in Great Britain, having been offered choices, to medicate or not, to be hospitalized or not. Throughout her life, she has engaged in ongoing psycho therapy.
   In this country treatments are forced on the person which in many cases, diminishing his/her personhood, even it we think it is for his own good. She talks us through choices, meds or not, therapy or not.
   Elyn Saks is the exception,



2. We often associate mental disorders with people who cannot function in life. Getting this insight from a person who is not only very intelligent but able to live a productive life provides the reader with a new outlook and understanding of this disruptive disorder. In addition it is well written and keeps your attention from beginning to end.



3. Ms. Saks uses poignant analogies and metaphors to really drive home what it feels like to be mentally ill. She is obviously a tireless advocate for those among us who are unable to represent themselves, or defend themselves in some cases. It was scary, but identifiable in a way. She did come off as a bit self-centered and childish in some instances, like when she would describe how she would run home and hide and cry and have a psychotic break if a professor or colleague didn't do back flips over how great her work was. But overall it was a good read.



4. Excellent book! Gives a better understanding of what goes on in the mind of a schizophrenic; thus helping others be more compassionate and less judgmental.



5. This was a great story of one womans struggle with coming to terms with mental illness and trying to maintain her life. It was both encouraging that she was able to finally overcome the illness to create a successful career and personal life, and at the same time discouraging that it took her over 15 years of struggle and denial to do so.

2 comments about In the Hamptons: My Fifty Years with Farmers, Fishermen, Artists, Billionaires, and Celebrities.

1. I've been around as long as Dan's Papers and remember in the early years Dan Rattiner had several summer papers such as the East Hampton Summer Sun. the Sag Harbor Pilot etc. The stories Dan wrote were always great and my favorite was local history. As Dan's business grew all these local summer weekly throwaways were incorporated into one paper, Dan's Papers. With the exception being I believe the Montauk Pioneer. Anyway, This new book from Dan is great. I remember alot of this stuff from the 60's and 70's, as it appeared in his paper, but he has rewritten it and it is still an enjoyable read. A book I would highly recommend to anyone. I still long for the time in the 1960's, when I could pick up a copy of the East Hampton Summer Sun at the A&P on Newtown Lane, but that of course is not possible. Thank you Dan for 48 years of pleasurable reading. P.S. Was anyone ever electrocuted for copying that local map you use to have in the back of your newspaper?



2. Being a Long Islander who spents some time in the Hamptons and Montauk, I found this book interesting. Its chapters contained anecdotal stories of events and people. Nice, easy, summer read.