5 comments about The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit: My Family's Exodus from Old Cairo to the New World.

1. This is one of the best books I have ever read! There are too few stories about Sephardic Jews from the Middle East. I had no idea about Cairo being so cosmopolitan in the 1920s to 1940s. As an Ashkenazi Jew the Jewish stories I'm familiar with are mostly of Jews from Europe and Russia. This is extremely well-written and compelling. The characters are intimately portrayed, and the story moves along quickly. I couldn't put it down. This is a book that I'm recommending to all my friends and family.



2. This is a wonderful and tragic story of a Jewish family who lived in Egypt until the early 1960's when conditions made it very difficult for them to stay. The author tells the story of her grandparents and her parents in wonderful detail, and takes the reader with her on their exodus from Egypt to become refugees in France and then new immigrants to the United States. This book is a must for anyone who wants to learn about the story of Jewish life in Egypt in the 20th century, which came to a sad end as a result of the hostility of Egyptian government towards Israel. The author focuses on the personal story and avoids politics, and shows a graceful attitude without any bitterness towards the country which made her family leave.



3. I'd been meaning to read Lucette Lagnado's family memoir for awhile. Learning that the book had won the 2008 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature motivated me to actually pick it up. This past weekend, I finished reading the book. And it's an excellent read.
   
   Given what often seems an unending stream of memoir-related scandals, not to mention the primacy of what I'll charitably call the dysfunction narrative (and of course the interrelationship between the two), reading THE MAN IN THE WHITE SHARKSKIN SUIT is a gift. Not only does the author focus on a story that's truly fresh (in this case, the story of a Jewish family's history in Syria and Egypt and the massive dislocation it experienced in 1962 when emigrating from Egypt, first to France and then to the United States). Not only does she include authentic "evidence," including photographs, documents, and file citations from the social service agencies that worked with her immigrant family in Paris and New York. But she also presents rounded portraits of multiple "characters," especially her parents (her father, Leon, is the eponymous man in the white sharkskin suit) and grandparents (especially her two grandmothers). An exercise in navel-gazing, this is surely not. It's not until late in the book that the author's own life-threatening medical problems--which another writer, especially in this Age of the Misery Memoir, might have chosen to make the subject of an entire book, and which are artfully presaged in earlier chapters--take center stage. Even then, it's the effect of her illness on those around her rather than her own suffering that seems to matter more.
   
   What will you get from reading this book? You'll get a sense of the culture of a Levantine Jewish community, one that I, for one, previously knew only superficially (mostly through stories about the in-laws of one of my mother's close friends). You'll get some history, of World War II and the Suez crisis. You'll get stories of Jewish immigrants in France and Israel and the United States. You'll get the texture of Brooklyn in the 1960s and 1970s. You'll get the almost unimaginably shocking story of what happened to one of Lagnado's maternal uncles at the hands of Lagnado's own grandfather. You'll get the triumphs and the tragedies of her family, and you'll get, in particular, a sense of the deep bond between Lagnado and that extraordinary man in the white sharkskin suit. Don't miss it.



4. 
   Lucette Lagnado's moving memoir is subtitled My Family's Exodus from Old Cairo to the New World. It is a story of a remarkable father and his family movingly told with the feel of a novel as you share the experiences of this family who traveled half way around the world to settle in America. Lucette Lagnado, who is a senior special writer and investigative reporter for The Wall Street Journal, demonstrates both her skill as a writer and an investigator.
   
   The story begins with the marriage of her parents, Leon and Edith, in wartime Cairo. As the family establishes itself after the war, the position of the Jewish community gradually deteriorates until, in the early sixties they flee to Paris en route to their eventual destination. The strength of both parents and the details of the family's difficult journey is a story that this reader found intensely moving. The thought of being "stateless", as they were once they left Egypt, is hard to imagine. That they overcame this and survived is a tribute to their courage. This is a memoir that I will not soon forget.



5. A very interesting book about a middle class family of six in Egypt who is forced to leave Egypt because they are Jewish and find a new home in a foreign country with $212 allotted to all six of them. It shows the stark contrast between Egypt pre-Nasser and post and the contrast between Egypt and the United States. It also shows the pschological impact of a change in cultures for one of the members at an advanced age with significant health problems.

5 comments about Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia (P.S.).

1. This was exceptionally written. Marya is a girl who suffers from severe anorexia and bulimia and lived to tell about it. When she begins her story and talks about when she first started her bulimia, her observations of things at this young age seemed far beyond her years. Her feelings and thoughts are described in the most intricate detail and intelligence. It isn't a surprise that Marya won awards for her writing.
   I grew up during the 70's and 80's but I can't really relate to the obsession with body, weight and food. Society may play a part in her eating disorder but I think her family, their lifestyle, her relationship with her parents and their eating habits all contributed to Marya's eating disorder.
   I am amazed at how well Marya was able to put her experience, thoughts, feelings and diagnosis into words. Her ability to go back and interpret her disease and why she did the things she did is truly amazing.
   I think all girls, teenagers and adult woman should read this book. Not only for the perspective of the eating disorder but to get a true picture of how everywhere you go women are talking about their weight and the parts of their bodies they hate.



2. Marya Hornbacher is witty, honest, and surprisingly insightful. Marya does not hold back. I can not imagine what it is like to have the truth (pretty much, the bad, the ugly, and the uglier) out on paper, much less published and widely circulated. It certainly takes courage. There is always a little part of the human psyche that does not want to "look in the mirror" to face the self-created and self-destroyed reality. I was equally impressed to find out that Marya was 23 years old when she wrote this memoir, the maturity of her voice, philosophical discussions, and the depth of her experiences do not betray this fact. This is definitely a must read for anybody looking to find out more about life (and death) with EDs.



3. Marya Hornbacher is the mediator between the everyday human being and the world's most widely misunderstood creatures of society: the eating-disordered. In "Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia", she explains to readers that eating disorders are not just "phases" that teenage "girls" go through, but rather an intense, passionate desire for power that "strips you of all power" instead.
   Hornbacher, a freelance journalist who is also the author of "The Center of Winter" and "Madness: A Bipolar Life", developed bulimia at age nine, developed alcohol and drug issues at the age of thirteen, and became anorexic at the age of fifteen. After her release from a residential treatment hospital, she attended the University of Minnesota and wrote for the local paper, accepting her scholarship to American University later in 1992. She later developed other physical problems following her continued eating disorders.
   Although a rather sullen story of the highs and lows of her struggle with weight, Hornbacher addresses the point that eating disorders, cultural obsession with weight and body, food, and control have a lot in common. In one section of the book, she writes that an eating disorder is



4. Marya wasn't always the way she is today. She used to be the all American girl eating PB and J's while she watched her cartoons, but when Marya was eight years old something in her brain changed and since then she has never been the same.
   Author Marya Hornbacher beautifully illustrates her struggles with bulimia and anorexia in her autobiography Wasted. She shows a world that people hardly get to see and explains the life and ways of bulimics and anorectics that is both compelling and inspiring.
   Wasted takes you through 10 years of Marya's life as she slowly jumps back and forth between anorexia and bulimia. It depicts the everyday struggles of the disease; how the body slowly stops to care about what is occurring, the constant worries about food, and the fear that someone might find out and God forbid, possibly try to help you! It goes in depth about the psychological factors of the disease and explains it all in a way that is understandable and relevant. This book will both shock and sicken you as you discover what goes behind closed doors of these two heartless diseases.
   My praise is endless for this novel and I thank it for opening my eyes to the mysterious world that is impossible to fully understand unless you've experienced the ordeal first hand. Many people could benefit from taking the time to read Wasted, which will help to clue people in and provide a better understanding to the problems in our society and what goes on to the people who are enduring these struggles daily. However this book is not a constant thriller and amongst the eye opening and realization moments there will be a few parts that are tedious and almost seem to drag on. In spite of the occasional drowsy sections this book offers an incredible insight inside the secret lives of bulimics and anorectics and I would confidently recommend it to anyone who wants a brilliant and inspiring read.



5. The author dives deep into her life and the choices she made. She doesn't hold back. Up front and personal.

5 comments about Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith.

1. This gracefully written narrative tells the story of Taylor's journey toward ordained ministry, her years as an Episcopal priest, and her departure from that life into a new vocation as a college professor. She decides that the most important calling is not to be ordained or to be religious, but to be fully human and to live a life of love. This is a touching autobiography, an eloquent memoir of faith.



2. I read a lot of memoirs these days. In fact they are probably my favorite literary genre. Maybe I should have been warned by Taylor's subtitle - not simply "a memoir," but "a memoir of faith." Because this is not a memoir in the usual sense. There is precious little of Taylor's childhood, youth or young adulthood - no real concrete stories and examples from her life. Too much of this book remains caught in the abstraction of ideas and beliefs, with not nearly enough examples. The people who show up in the book remain undeveloped vague outlines. And I have a hard time identifying with Brown's spiritual "quest," if that is what it is. I don't think it's because she's a woman either. What few facts that do emerge about her life outside this "quest" do not really serve to make her a sympathetic character. Daughter of a psychotherapist, sister of a lawyer, wife of an engineer - all these tidbits add up to what appears to have been a life of privilege and ease, and continued to be even after her ordination, as she speaks of her Saab and Audi and how they didn't fit into her rural community, and goes on at some length about everything she "wanted" in her custom-built home outside of town (in lieu of a parsonage near her church). What comes through in Barbara Brown Taylor's book is a story of a driven overachiever, who in fact drives herself into a near nervous breakdown, which finally causes her to leave her church and the active priesthood. While I do not doubt the sincerity of her quest for her true vocation and place in God's world, I do wonder about her motives. She became more likeable - more human - in the final section of the book, after she had left the priesthood, when she talks about her crisis of faith and things like her fears of inadequacy and the death of her father. Having said all of this, I still have to say that I'm glad I read the book, which has left me with much to think about in regard to my own role in the Church (Catholic in my case)and my relationship with God and my place in His world. I also think that Taylor is a person I'd like to know, but these 200-plus pages have not given me that opportunity. A memoir of faith? Perhaps. A "memoir"? No. - Tim Bazzett, author of Reed City Boy



3. This book would have been more accurately described in the subtitle as a "Memoir of Personal Experience".
   
   She dismisses orthodox Christian Theology and doctrine as something that the Apostles and Early Church had to "come up with" to explain this or that.
   
   Ultimately it is a story of how the narrow Christian path and Church "didn't work" for her, and many of her thoughts and experiences confirm the fact that women were never meant to be "priests" in the first place (though this fact enrages those who hold to the political language of "equal rights" versus sound apostolic theology).
   
   I found the book pleasant and very readable, but at the same time it was a sad story of how Christ just "wasn't enough". While most in our culture will find it "affirming" or down right "spiritual", it is a disappointment for the orthodox Christian who may wish to read a story about how Christ and the scriptures contain "all things necessary for salvation".
   
   Barbara's approach in later life is gnostic and universalist. In the words of her Presiding Bishopess, "saying Christ is the only way is to put God in too small of a box". Emotions, feelings, and cravings rule the day in the final analysis of her relationship to Christ, and it seems that "leaving" orthodoxy is freeing to her, though I question she was ever there in the first place. Ultimately, God is the final judge of what she has done and what she now teaches.
   
   Her elevation of Native American theology and her fondness of "other paths" leads the committed Christian looking elsewhere for a story of knowing Christ and Him crucified, and following Him in a culture that values personal choice and heterodoxy over all other things.
   
   In the end it is a volume that will find great company with the writings of Spong, Borg, Ehrman, and others who deny the reality of John 14:6 and the authority of Holy Sripture in the name of being on "an authentic journey".
   
   If I have to "put my eggs in one basket" I am going to have to stick with the Apostles and the Church Fathers and leave "other ways" up to Barbara, fine preacher though she is.



4. Over the course of my life I have learned certain things about salad; it has good, nourishing things in it, like spinach, almonds, feta cheese, and olive oil. Sometimes you can add strawberries. With a splash of balsamic vinegar, it sings. Other times it is dressed with slightly less healthy things like mayonnaise or sour cream, but generally its ingredients have a clear line of succession back to something alive; apples, raisins, eggs, potatoes.
   
   Then I moved to South Dakota, where I was introduced to "salad". Unlike what I have just described, this concoction is made of things like Cool Whip and crushed up Oreos. It tastes good in the moment, but by the end of it I am always left slightly nauseous and wondering where it came from.
   
   There's a lot of spiritual "salad" out there. Thankfully, this offering is not in that group. From the moment you crack open the cover, it sings. Her story of earthy, fragrant devotion to God is refreshing and very alive. It breathes the living life of Christ and speaks from the still beating but wounded heart of the church. Thankfully, Taylor veers only briefly into the sordid realm of political hot button issues, and for good reason.
   
   With fifteen years in the pastoral crucible under her belt, and an evident love for all of us, Taylor comes across as someone you can trust. Her words in this precious memoir are nourishing, full of flavor and, like the vegetables in her Georgia garden, entirely organic.



5. This book just "popped" up as an advertised suggestion for me, and after looking at the details on Amazon, I decided to order it. I am doing a lot of soul searching about my own faith journey, and am having a struggle with the Institutional Church not truly following the teachings of Jesus, having gotten enmired in politics and building empire. I felt this book was speaking to me, and is one I could hardly put down. It is well written, and certainly one I would, and have recommended to others.

5 comments about Loose Girl: A Memoir of Promiscuity.

1. 
   I'm sure for the people who write these confessional memoirs, they find the tales of their own life to be gripping and profound. Cohen's work here is along those lines. Obviously for her these experiences were dramatic and unique. However, on the printed page they are mundane and not very interesting.
   
   She also suffers from the common fault of many recent memoirs...the desperate rush to get her story into print before she's had the time or maturity to process the deeper meaning of all these experiences. Gives Loose Girl a shallow, tabloid feel.
   
   In the end Loose Girl comes off as a narcissistic endeavor. One can sense she is using the reader to fill the void that neither the men nor her parents could fill....and one that she seems unable to fill herself.



2. From the opening paragraph, I was right there and stayed with Kerry through this agonizing journey. Our experiences are different, and yet, she made it so clear that the drive for attention and acceptance is universal--regardless of how it is played out.
   
   The story reminded me of the Oz narrative: when the emotional cyclone spun Kerry off course, she landed with a crash, but there was no yellow brick road and few good companions to accompany her. In her search for connection and meaning, she took shortcuts, but was too young to understand the destructive ramifications of those choices.
   
   Those expecting a salacious, sensationalistic memoir will be disappointed. Those valuing honesty without varnish or embellishment will be relieved that someone had the courage to tell the plain truth about how she got off course and found her way. Kerry acknowledges that this is a tenuous, unfinished journey and she takes it a step at a time.
   
   Far too many stories of this type are afflicted by a fast-paced narrative and an over-the-top conclusion ("I saw the light and skipped off into the sunset"). This type of terminal silliness rings false because it's been overused and abused (e.g., "A Million Little Pieces"). I trust Kerry's story because it is so bare bones. As she began relying on herself and engaging with the creative process via writing, she was able to connect more fully with life. She points out that this is part of a lifelong journey. Rather than force a conclusion, she stops the story in an interesting place leaving the reader wanting to hear more from her.



3. This book is scary like no horror story I have ever read. I enjoyed it - don't get me wrong. But the idea that someone's daughter (or even mine someday) would behave in a way that leaves them open for so much pain and hurt is just frightening.
   
   Her words and story are painfully honest and require every reader to think about themselves and how certain stories mimic their own past. Whether it was the innocent desire or need or even addiction to be loved by someone, or whether you put yourself in situations that had the possibilities that it could hurt you, there is something in there that I believe that every person out there can relate to.



4. In "Loose Girl", Kerry Cohen has written a memoir of startling clarity and unblinking honesty. So often, memoir has proven to be a vehicle for proselytization or even vindication, but Cohen resists the temptation to assign blame or explain away the personal impulses that drove her to reckless behaviors and a pattern of promiscuity and heartbreak. Instead she is straightforward and clear, exploring her own weaknesses and her dysfunctional quest for love and intimacy through unrewarding physical relationships.
   
   Cohen's writing style is engaging and intimate. She writes about her sexual encounters with a real sense of presence, and when she falls into familiar patterns of behavior, the reader shares her stumbles with genuine pain. Parts of "Loose Girl" can be difficult to read, in the very best ways that a memoir can challenge a reader, and Cohen doesn't sugarcoat her experiences or attempt to explain away her behaviors.
   
   In her memoir, Kerry Cohen displays an addictive personality, but she also possesses keen self-awareness and a burning (and often heartbreaking) commitment to change. "This time will be different," she seems to say, over and over, and it is on the strength of her writing that we hope right along with her every time. The pain that she feels when old patterns reassert themselves becomes visceral.
   
   The book ends not with false epiphany or some kind of phony life change, but rather with a quiet sense of hopefulness and the feeling, perhaps no more than a whispered and fragile promise, that even the most broken of us can find happiness and perhaps even a measure of peace. "Loose Girl" is ultimately a story of quiet personal redemption, and I recommend it without reservation.



5. Loose Girl is a well focused look at one woman's journey through insecurity, dysfunction and unhappiness. It reads a lot like many other 'addiction' books but since the 'addiction' it covers is sex, the highs and lows are a lot less extreme. Author Kerry Cohen does a good job of drawing the reader in and
   creating a very vivid and engaging world. Her writing is clear, flowing and polished. I found myself zipping through the book fully engaged with Cohen's journey. My biggest gripe is that the book has almost no third act. Cohen's story has a very distinct beginning, middle, but a very soft end. I felt there was more book in Cohen and she stopped short of where the story could have taken her. The writer's Bio indicates that Cohen is now married with children, but the book never really ventures into how her past has shaped her present or now how reflecting on all this has impacted her as she moves forward. Even with a less than full ending, I still did like Loose Girl, it's well written, engaging and worth reading especially for fans of the genre.

5 comments about Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez.

1. Richard Rodriguez reflects on his journey from the barrios of California to a seat in the library of the British Museum. He recognizes that the distance has moved him closer to a world of privilege and freedom. At the same time, he acknowledges that he is removed from his family and his background.
   
   Rodriguez bristles at attempts to mainstream Hispanic students through bilingual education. He is not calling for an official language. Its not quite like that. He just feels that students need to have an ability to master the language that, for better or worse, is spoken in the pathways that lead to power in this country.
   
   Rodriguez is very aware of the lessons that others would draw from his story. He points out that a group of people are attracted to having him as a speaker, because it confirms their own politics. Oddly, he doesn't feel that aligned with their perspective, because while they draw some similar conclusions about education, they have nothing else in common.
   
   Rodriguez laments that his book is catalogued and shelved in the wrong category. It is not a book about Hispanics, or within Latino studies. It is a book about class and privilege. That mistake is not likely to change, though, because class is a taboo topic and not something that is given its own space in our book stores.
   
   At one point, Rodriguez mentions that his editor would prefer less reflection and more stories. The editor wanted more anecdotes from Rodriguez' life -- more about his grandmother, for example. Rodriguez doesn't want to do that.
   
   I would argue that this is one privilege that he is not entitled to, even as a person holding a doctorate. He still has to show the reader, not just tell. If he thinks that he cannot tell the personal stories of his life without compromising his message, then he needs to write a few more drafts!



2. Looking beyond the criticisms of other reviewers, one can find in this little book many fundamental truths about education -- what it means to be an educated person, even how education might alienate people or divide families. Intensely intellectual and at the same time profoundly personal, Richard Rodriguez's Hunger of Memory eloquently charts the process of education in his own life, uncovering its magic, measuring its costs along the way, but in the end testifying to its great benefits. Students and teachers alike could gain greater understanding of the process of education and what it can mean through reading this book.



3. This book was a difficult read. I admit openly that it is a strain for me to understand the feeling of minority. I am a middle-middle class white person, privileged by virtue of the fact that my parents stayed together for 53 years until my father passed away, blessed by being an "Air Force brat", which entitled me to meet people of all different races, socioeconomic groups, and nationalities to the extent that I don't see those things anymore. It is hard for me to relate. Rodriguez begins the book by mocking upper-class people for being arrogant, and middle-class people for attempting "cheap imitations of lower-class life". Are there really people in America who divide individuals into classes like that? And if class is so important, to what class would he assign himself? My father taught me to respect all people and that every man's work is good if it is honest work, so I would not presume to judge a person's character by his socioeconomic class.
   
   Overlooking this obstacle, I see that Rodriguez, like all good writers, writes from his own experience of life. He was intensely impacted by the transition from Spanish to English in his life. His mother insisted on English being spoken in the home, according to the recommendations of well-meaning nuns, but as a result, the author lost an integral part of his home experience, the music of his native tongue. Additionally, he lost connection with his mother and father, because while his mother attained a rudimentary grasp of the English language, his father never quite caught on, so his relationship with his wife and children was radically changed. According to the author, his father lived voiceless in his own home, which was a sad state of affairs for the former head of the household.
   
   Rodriguez states that he is against affirmative action as it is legislated, where the only requirement to qualify is to belong to a minority group, such as African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and Native Americans. When he realized that he had received an exceptional level of early schooling during his years in private Catholic school, it became clear that he was not really socially disadvantaged at all. At that point in time, it was evident that there were many other students out there who were far more needful of the benefits of the affirmative action program. Furthermore, Rodriguez equated the meaning of the word "minority" with "alienated from the public (majority) society", and found that by becoming a student, he did not consider the term "minority" to describe him. Neverthless, for reasons that are somewhat blurry, he accepted the benefits of the program, went on to denigrate the program publicly, only to have it thrown back in his face by minority leaders who did not appreciate him rocking the proverbial boat. Eventually he apologizes for taking the benefits that someone else was more deserving of receiving; however, he acknowledges that it is unlikely they will ever read his apology.
   
   The author's apparent love of his parents, his obedience to them and respect for their struggle in a strange country, was wonderful to see in the beginning of this book. Rodriguez's recognition of his parents is well deserved, for his father and mother made considerable sacrifices to give their children a better chance in the world than they had personally experienced. They left their Mexican town filled with memories, family, and friends, to take their children to a land of increased opportunity. They worked hard and managed to send their three children to private Catholic school. They attended an Irish-American church instead of the Mexican church they preferred in their homeland. He says that his parents coped well in America, with his father keeping steady work, and his mother managing the home, which was situated in what Rodriguez describes as "among gringos, and only a block from the biggest, whitest houses". Although they knew none of their neighbors and routinely struggled to manage daily concerns in a strange language, they had huge families of relatives visiting them from time to time, and a family life immersed in laughter and joy. This is evidence of the consistent efforts of loving parents to provide a lasting heritage that eclipses ethnic or socioeconomic constraints. Unfortunately, halfway through the book, Rodriguez tells us that as he became more and more proficient in English and enlarged his circle of English-speaking friends, he became ashamed of his parents and hated their foreign ways. In the final chapter of the book, we find his mother begging him not to air his disloyalty to and disappointment in his family openly in his writing, but he does not honor her request. This book is all about him, to the very end.
   
   The author continually reminds us of his socially disadvantaged upbringing, the fact that he is the son of "working-class parents". Forgive me if I don't buy into this thinking. He attended private school, for Pete's sake. That costs money. I grew up listening to my parents' stories of the depression, when people were lucky to even have a job, and of life in post-war Germany , where children rifled through garbage cans for food. To this day, my mother keeps her pantry filled with extra cans of food, extra bags of staples such as flour and sugar, all sorts of extra non-perishables, against that kind of want. I went to Florida 's horrendous public schools and my parents couldn't afford to send me to college, so I got Pell grants and Perkins loans and Stanford loans for which I am still paying. So I should feel sorry for him, because he was on scholarship based upon his ethnicity? It is appalling and demeaning the way he calls himself "the scholarship boy" throughout this text. If accepting the funds was so detestable to him, he should have passed the opportunity on to somebody who would appreciate it. In the interest of clearing his conscience, I think from now on, he ought to thank the taxpayers, pay his taxes and pass the help on to the next generation of needy students. Or if he feels that guilty about the financial aid he received, set up a scholarship fund for financially-strapped single parents who are women (the group I fell into as a student) with all the profits he's getting from this book.
   
   Rodriguez also states that he was "victim to a disabling confusion". He hasn't suffered a traumatic brain injury or been diagnosed with early Alzheimer's disease. He is referring to his inability to speak Spanish easily once he became fluent in English. As a speech-language pathologist, I can definitively state that linguistic learning differences don't make a person a victim. To me, Rodriguez's alleged issues with language and intimacy seem disconnected with the issues of bilingual education or affirmative action. In fact, he is such a gifted speaker and writer, that he makes his living using these skills, and is evidently very successful, or I wouldn't be reading this book.



4. Esteemed a classic, this work has the merit, upon first reading, of making the reader feel he has been initiated into the long lost tribe of truth tellers, something akin to the book readers of Fahrenheit 451. We meet somebody for whom education is a real thing, something that is life changing, enlightening, and it estranges him from his family, and of course from all people, because the sophistication he gains from his education makes him an enemy to the ignorant. Much is lost, but what is gained far outweighs that loss. He knows it, and we get the message. Bravo, Richard Rodriguez.



5. I read this book as a part of a college class on marginalized/minority writers. Out of a class of eight, I and another girl both thought this fellow was an unmitigated whiner and the book was terrible. The rest of the class thought it was compelling and thought provoking (or else they just wanted a good grade that week.) It seems to me that it is almost forbidden to express dislike of a minority writer in a classroom environment these days for fear of being branded a racist. I did not like this book. I was in the minority--read it and decide for yourself.

5 comments about Summer at Tiffany.

1. The summer of '45 was full of discoveries for the author: New York City, the elegance of Tiffany's, the euphoric end to WWII, happenings with friends, and meeting a beau. Well-written picture of the times. A really fun read - highly recommended.



2. I enjoyed the time this book was set in. The budgeting the girls had to do and the amazing experinces that they had was the stuff of dreams. I wish I had had a summer that memorable



3. I really thought this was a delightful and charming book! It's the true-story of two girls from Iowa, best-friends Marjorie and Marty, who take a summer to find jobs in New York. It's mid 1940's (already a plus for me as it's one of my favorite eras for stories) and the war is coming to a close, so in addition to the story itself being simply lovely, there's a fair amount of historical information as well. Marjorie and Marty are loveable characters and it's easy to see why the make such great friends. The antics and adventures that ensure, the relationships that build, and the events that take place are all entertaining and heartwarming. Highly recommended! A great summer read!



4. I read this book in just a few hours and loved it..
   
   I was born in 1945. My mother had gone to live in Baltimore to work in 1943 at the same age Marjorie was when she went to Manhatten. Although Baltimore is a much smaller city, I can only imagine the parallels that must have existed. It truly was an innocent time and one I somehow feel cheated in missing. Despite the war and all the problems it entailed for people both financially and emotionally, they somehow found a certain joy in living with a minimum of complaining. Certainly a lesson for the young people of today and many adults as well.
   
   I'm going to buy this book for my Mom as I know she'll enjoy it as much as I did.



5. This books reads like a novel. You have to remind yourself that the story is true. The Big City adventures of these two friends are quite exciting. It left me wanting to run off somewhere and be as bold as them!

5 comments about Chronicles: Volume One (Chronicles).

1. If you're not very familiar with Bob Dylan and want to learn more about the man this is really not the book for you. I suggest you read Clinton Heylin's tome, "Behind The Shades, Take 2" which compiles just about every known fact about Dylan from the people who have known him - an excellent book in every way. Chronicles is a different animal. I think you are more likely to appreciate it if you are a fan of Dylan's work. I'm in the process of going through it for the second time and have realized that I am enjoying it more after I have cast aside all notions of what I want the book to be. WHAT THIS BOOK IS NOT: 1. It's not a tell all biography. You won't find out much information that's not out there already. There are no intimate revelations of Bob's love affairs or anything sensational. 2. It doesn't cover Bob's whole career, just 3 brief periods. 3. It's not necessarily all true. Dylan often paints himself in the best light, as a normal guy. I have my doubts. 40 years of unabated idolatry will screw anyone up to some extent. You'll read about the pressure he's under, but don't expect specific revelations about a dysfunctional Dylan. WHAT THE BOOK IS: A fascinating discourse on specific times in Bob's life. I don't know why it was such a surprise to me but Bob is a great writer. Whatever percentage is BS I don't care; I enjoy it anyway. He has an amazing attention to detail and I was able to lose myself in descriptions of places and situations. Plus he does reveal his thoughts on songwriting and many things. When I stopped hoping for him to discuss something specific I was able to sit back and enjoy whatever he gave me. Again I shouldn't be surprised; it's always been that way with his music also. I hope he does continue this series and give us another book or two, whatever he chooses to write about. I will surely go along for the ride.



2. Bob Dylan takes his prodigious talents for language and turns out one of the most remarkably honest rambles of raggle-taggle prose since Jack Kerouac. From the first few pages, describing an ambitious but reserved young man whose future role had not yet been defined, I was willing led down memory alley. The artistic subworlds of New York, with its hanger-onners and would-bes. invoke countless anecdotes about the creative lives of others. Remarkably sketched, and poignantly personal, I never felt the usual strain that often comes with more self-important memoirs. Dylan's voice remains remarkably rough and earnest, glissing between gorgeous metaphors and cowboy expletives . . . but always uniquely his own. His own assessment of his artistry, usually inferred than described in achingly obvious detail, lure the reader into a smoky area in between the lines. Simply one of the best autobiographies I've ever read . . . by no means intended only Dylan mavens, this work will readily appeal to anyone who knows that the music industry involves a lot more than what 'American Idol' has led us to believe. Here's a real damn American Idol, from what I think at least. This book packed more punches than five years worth of New Yorker short stories.



3. Skipping all over the place, definitely not a chronological account of Dylan's rise, but more of a stream of consciousness series of the highlights, lowlights, or significant moments in the life of a true artist. Chronicles volume 1 is accessible and an interesting read to anyone who loves to read, the flow of words very easy. They just pull you along. I for one wasn't sure how good a writer Dylan is, but he's pretty good. I recommend this book to all Dylan fans, and anyone who likes to read a good autobiography.



4. Count me as one of the skeptics who felt positive that they wouldn't like this memoir. And, please, now feel free to point out how snotty and wrong I was for feeling like that.
   
   To say Bob Dylan has written something great is not an unusual thing to do in most situations, but to say he wrote a great book, about himself no less, does seem surprising. It is surprising because of both the candidness Dylan shows in this book and the right level of self-examination that doesn't cross the line into plain ol' weirdness or didactic ramblings. What comes through is that Robert Zimmerman seems to know exactly who Bob Dylan is, and he appears to have a more measured respect for the complications of his inseparable doppelganger than any of his cultish fanbase could ever hope to have.
   
   There are two other things that really delighted me about this book. The first is how Dylan is a very accomplished writer...not just of lyrics, but of prose. From reading his vivid descriptions of something as simple as the snow falling, I realize that in another time, had his life pointed him in another direction, this guy would have been a top-notch novelist, right up there with the best. The other thing that I loved, and perhaps the thing I would most expect from him, is the non-linear approach he took to telling his story. Chapters jump around in time, and large portions, decades even, are left out of the story. With a lesser writer this would have been a real distracting way to go about business, but in Dylan's capable hands it becomes stylistic, mirroring the way the mind works, in which connections aren't always made from one moment to the next, but, rather, from one moment in time to another moment years earlier...or later.
   
   Even if you are, like me, not a major Dylan fan, I still suspect you would be hard pressed not to admire the writing here, or the manner in which the story is told like scattered scenes from a disorganized scrapbook that suddenly come to life so as to show the fleeting facets of one unknowable person. Very recommended.



5. God, what a great book! I was not alive, sadly, during Dylan's reign in the sixties. But I've been a fan of his since I was in the 9th grade, 1998, not that long ago. He's been an artist I've found myself revisiting often during the last decade, probably due to the massive amount of media being released on/by the man.
   
   He's had the bootleg series which are great, new studio albums, the awesome Scorsese doc "No Direction Home" and soundtrack of the same title, reissues of old doc "Don't Look Back", this memoir, and now the Hollywood film by Todd Haynes called "I'm Not There", with it's amazing soundtrack of covers by modern artist.
   
   It's been obvious for decades that Dylan is a good writer, but now he proves he can write decent, novel prose, which I think is similar to the style of Hemingway or Steinbeck-- real simple, but more playful and fun. He has a real sense of humour about things, himself included. It's great to hear him put it into his own words.
   
   Anyone interested in Dylan, the sixties, or fantastic writing prose should check out this book. It's brilliant. I can't wait for the other parts of the series to be written. I can't wait to hear of his personal account of his electric days, the days of Highway 61 and Blonde On Blonde, which he may never include, who knows. Maybe he doesn't wanna talk about it. Either way, I'll be there, ready to read whatever he has to say.

5 comments about Kitchen Table Wisdom 10th Anniversary.

1. This is one of the most incrediblely healing books you will ever read. You will find yourself refering to it and giving it to friends (like I did) because it is so theraputic. A must read if you are a self-aware person.



2. Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories That Heal
   I was given a copy of this book by a colleague many years ago. I only recently read it for the first time, and I now realize what a wonderful gift I received. I know I will reread this book and refer to it many times. The subtitle explains it: "Stories That Heal." I cannot imagine that anyone reading this book thoughtfully would not be deeply rewarded for the time spent. I very rarely have read something that I would recommend to EVERYBODY, but this is one book I WILL recommend to everybody. Epiphany, anyone? File under "Guide for Living Well."



3. This is one of my all time favorite books. Since receiving a copy as a gift about ten years ago, I have purchased more than half a dozen to give as gifts. As I explained to a grieving friend, this book does not grab you and dazzle you, it just sneaks up quietly and gives you a very comforting hug. Obviously, it has staying power. I leave my copy out and will randomly read a chapter since I find it enlightening and inspiring. Oh, that all doctors had Dr. Remen's insight and sensitivity! I feel I know her, and I do truly love her. Like all really great books, it seems to develop more depth as time goes by and I mature.



4. Similar to the breakfast cereal, some parts are puffy light and fluffy, other parts are solid and thick and other parts just leave you wondering "what the heck was that?". Easy bed side reading.



5. A wise and wonderful book. It is beautifully written. I gave a copy to my doctor today as a gift for his care of me. Should be required reading for anyone in a helping profession.

2 comments about Drunkard: A Hard-Drinking Life.

1. I'll begin with my most serious criticism of this book: the book itself, not the contents. The binding shattered while I read chapter 3, then shed pages for the duration like a Persian cat sheds hair in August.
   
   I know no one's interested, but I had to vent.
   
   That said, I'll admit to an early-on fear that I'd picked up the wrong drunkalogue when the author admitted to his rehab gatekeeper a daily average consumption of only 3-5 drinks: not the stuff of alcoholism as I know it, nor the subject of a book I'd be willing to invest time into. I smelled a rat, or a moderate-drinking newspaper columnist with a nagging, teetotalling wife he'd taken an ill-advised swat at. While in the pokey, the notion of converting all that into a book opportunity crossed his mind--or so went the Murphy's Law thought that crossed MY mind, anyway; the $25 had been spent, and the book by that time was in a non-returnable condition.
   
   Happily, I can report that by the time I'd turned the final loose leaf, Steinberg had redeemed both himself and his literary effort--and, in so doing, my investment. Unlike the pages of my book, His alcoholic credentials proved solid, held firm under the weight of post-rehab mischief: slips, lapses, and relapses. Tapping on locked doors of liquor stores before hours, hoping for human mercy. Placing clinking bagfuls of hostile three-to-five-drinks-my-@$$ testimony into moonlit dumpsters. And binges, both bolt-out-of-the-blue and the more calculated when-the-cat(i.e., wife)-is-away variety, most of them conducted like shadowy, lamplit acts of marital infidelity (His wife had read him the standard booze-or-me riot act, adding her confidence that he'd "make the right decision." He clearly, by this point, wasn't so sure).
   
   Any alcoholic worthy of his or her morning shakes will feel the same warm implosion I did reading Steinberg's recollection of waking alone at 1:00 AM with a fifth of Gordon's, then watching the contents slip from "G" to "S" over the next few dark, dead-to-the-world hours. But the clincher--the profundity only another drunk can appreciate with precision--is his observation that "...memory of [drinking] prompts us to contemplate the aridity of our future lives as suburban [and abstinent] alcoholics, a bleak desert stretching before us. Where will our fun be? From whence our comfort?"
   
   Yes, he understands. Therein--and eloquently stated--is the essence of the thing.
   
   The admission must be made that save for the fact he's at least a minor celebrated figure, the wife-and-two-kids suburban backdrop of his tale is, well...ordinary. His book would surely suffer the same fate were he not a writer by vocation, and by demonstrated talent. He knows how to craft a story. And along the way, he has an insightful remark or two to make about this nation's 12-step-based rehabilitation monopoly, not all of them complementary. He has his problems with AA--the low success rate, the mind-dead sloganeering, the "God thing"--but it's the only game in town of any consequence, if a game in which many of the players march in one-lockstep-at-a-time, vacant-eyed harmony. A sobering thought, that.
   
   In the end, conflicts with his wife and his search for an agnostic's Higher Power converge and are fused into a single, novel resolution of both problems.
   
   It was a good ride, and worth the read.



2. I have to up front admit that I didn't read this book cover to cover. I read it over a period of a couple of days at my local bookstore, and I skimmed parts. I just want to state that up front. I would say I read 70 % of the book, though. I think it is a very honest book, and well written. The author is a Jewish-American journalist (the only reason I mention that is because some people claim that there is less alcohol abuse among Jews, and some claim that there is a lot of hidden alcoholism among Jews; you decide). He lives in north Chicago and has a good job. The book starts out with the author in jail for having slapped his wife during a fight. He blames alcohol. Ok, fine.
   
   The one thing about this book that I didn't understand was that upon intake at the rehab center, they ask him how much he drinks a day, and he states "3 to 5". If that is not untrue, to me, that would put him within moderate drinkers, at least in some cultures (Germany, Britain, France, etc.). Maybe he was lying or being ironic. He does admit to drinking occasionally in the morning, and downing bottles of wine and harder alcohol, which of course are associated not with hard drinking, but with alcoholism.
   
   And yet, I just kept wondering, is this guy really an alcoholic, or just a heavy drinker. For instance, I think domestic violence can occur concomitant with alcohol abuse, but of course, there are many people who engage in the one and not the other, so I think it would be unscientific to state that the drink caused the violent incident (and note, he only hit her once, during a verbal altercation [I am not trying to minimize this, but I am just stating, it was not a chronic behavior with the author). Many abusive men don't drink, and many hardened alcoholics would never hit their wife or girlfriend. So I found the conclusion that his drinking "caused" that one slap to be unscientific. It seems to me that these are two very separate issues.
   
   What follows is that he ends up being "processed" by the U.S. 12-step industry (I call it that), based on his choice and wishes, though. I realize his drinking was not normal by any means, especially by U.S. cultural standards. But is having 3-5 beers on your way home from work, and then a wine in the train (and not driving !) really alcoholism ? I just wonder. In Germany, where I lived for years, that would be considered moderate to heavy drinking, I think. Ditto in Britain and most of continental, Catholic Europe. Plus, he held down a job and never had work-related issues from his drinking (he even admits or hints that drinking might have helped him at work). I mean, he is a journalist, and he does mention the long traditon among journalists and writers of drinking, also in Chicago newsrooms (Royko, etc.).
   
   Of course it is all his choice and I wish him well in his choice. But I just have these lingering doubts, based on the information he provided.
   
   Still an entertaining, honest, courageous (really !) book, and a book with a sense of humor.

5 comments about Deep Drive: A Long Journey to Finding the Champion Within.

1. Mike Lowell is an example of a wonderful guy with an unbelievable story. But the book seems like it was rushed to publication and is basically all fluff. It has tons of errors and some passages just don't make any sense at all. I spent 20 minutes on a paragraph once trying to figure out what happened and I never did. Sometimes stories start and drop out before completed.
   
   I don't blame Lowell, who is a ballplayer not a writer. I blame the ghostwriter Rob Bradford, who is a professional journalist in Boston and should know better. I suspect he and the editors/publishers rushed this to print and it shows. The paperback will probably be much better. But even with the novice mistakes fixed, the way the stories are told are just flat and carry none of the intensity that they should have. These are amazing stories! But they are written blandly.
   
   For a good baseball book, check out David Wells' book.



2. I have read many books about various topics, baseball being one of my favorite. "Deep Drive" is an inspirational story about an inspirational player whose core values are to be admired. From the struggles with cancer to the joy of the World Championship and Series MVP, it is truly a special story.The book is worth reading for all baseball fans not just Red Sox Nation.



3. In the fall of 2005 when the Red Sox announced that they would be acquiring Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell in a trade with the Marlins, I like most in Red Sox Nation, was skeptical about the abilities of the 3rd Basemen nobody seemed to want. After the 2006 season, I became a fan of Mike Lowell the player. I truly admired the way he played the game. After reading this book, I am now an even bigger fan of Mike Lowell the man. The book provides an intimate look into the rise of Mike Lowell to 2007 World Series MVP. His candor about his battles trying to achieve his goal of playing baseball in the majors, with cancer, and with the everyday life of being a professional athlete are not only inspiring, but truly illustrate what makes Mike Lowell so great on and off the field. His determination to succeed is evident through out the book, he remains positive and optimistic even through the nightmare of testicular cancer. A true role model and inspiration. Even if you are not a Red Sox fan you'll find this book entertaining, as it doesn't dwell on his time in Boston.



4. I had no expectations about this book when I started to read it. As a huge Mike Lowell fan, it wouldn't have mattered what it contained - I knew I would like it. But, I have to say, this book was much more than I thought it would be - kind of like Mike Lowell himself.
   
   The style of writing was very familiar - I felt like I was sitting talking to Mike as he shared his and his family's experiences with Castro, breaking into the big leagues and his battle with cancer. As someone who has also dealt with the "C" word, his positive attitude and approach was something I appreciated hearing about.
   
   The overall message of the book for me is that how things affect you in your life all has to do with how you react to them. Mike's experiences and his message is something that everyone can apply to their own lives. My only complaint was that the book ended! It left me wanting more! I highly recommend this book - it's much more than just a story of a great baseball player.



5. I was delayed in Logan airport and picked up the book just to kill the time. I bought the book thinking I would get a recap of last years World Series run and some inside perspective from the MVP of the series. But this book is much more than just baseball. Its a book that you SHOULD buy for your son and you SHOULD buy for your father. For your son so he can see what it means to do things with integrity and for the love of the game and for your father so he can see a real throwback player that does things like his heros did. I loved this book and just bought two more copies one for my son and one for my dad. ps I am a huge Yankee fan but a player and person like Mike Lowell is why I love this game. If you see a guy in Yankee stadium with a Yankee hat a Mike Lowell jersey come up and say hello.