5 comments about IN THE PIRATE'S DEN: MY LIFE AS A SECRET AGENT FOR CASTRO.

1. This an outstanding book on two levels. First, it is a very detailed account of the life of a Cuban spy who worked for the cause of the "Revolution" for twenty years. The author's life covers his time in Cuba, Argentina, Nicaragua, Colombia, Panama, Mexico and Angola. This book shows just the kind of things that the Cuban government has been up to since the 1960s. On a second level, this book is outstanding in that it clearly demonstrates the failure of the "Revolution"--and this told from the point of view of a former true believer. The author has done a valuable service by writing this book and telling his story. Those with an interest in Cuba and Latin America will find this book to be well worth your time.



2. This is a window into the illegal world which the Cuban's communist secret service operates in, narrated by an Argentinian with ties to high levels of the secret apparatus of Castro's government inside and outside of the island.
   
   This apparatus justifies, stimulates and supports criminals acts committed around the world to collect funds. These illegal acts are generally committed by and for the benefit of two groups. The first are committed by members of their own communist Cuban government to collect funds for government departments and projects, The second group is constituted by Latin Americans sympathizers of Cuban's communist government; they commit criminals acts that range from bank robberies to hostage taking to finance their armed fights.These criminals acts are supported economically and logistically by the communist government of Cuba in their pursuit to export and duplicate the Cuban model across Latin America.



3. this book is very informative on how castro orders his underlings to embark on illegal activities,but lets them know if you get caught your on your own.a prime example is the execution of ochoa,de la guardia and the other two.i wont give it away,but if you know a little about the revolution this book will pretty much fill in the holes that surrounded that tragedy.good job jorge!



4. An insider's fascinating and engrossing look at the machinations of Fidel Castro's Communist regime. In what amounts to a stimulating autobiography of an Argentinian who grew up in Castro's Revolution, Masetti weaves his life's story by revealing astonishing facts concerning Cuba's aggressive attempts at undermining both the US and Latin America. The son of an Argentinian revolutionary who supported Fidel's guerilla movement, Masetti describes his loyal commitment to Castro's worldview, only to be dissilutioned by the brutal betrayal of his father-in-law. Readers will learn of Cuba's support for anti-US terrorist organizations and their attacks on US soil. You'll also learn how Fidel Castro successfully supported/advised triumphant Marxist groups. Yet, the most powerful message is left for last, as Masetti undergoes a painful awakening to Castro's brutality, coupled with a deeply moving self-examination about his blind support for an inhumane system.
   
   This is a great read. An eye-opener that peels back the thick layer of lies that protects Fidel Castro and his broken Revolution. Important information for Cuba watchers, and an exciting, intriguing real life story for those who want to be entertained - a superb mix.



5. In The Pirate's Den: My Life As A Secret Agent For Castro is the autobiography of Jorge Masetti, a man who worked as a secret agent for Fidel Castro for twenty years. Bringing the reader a uniquely personal and informative viewpoint from inside the war rooms of the Cuban revolution, In the Pirate's Den is filled with accounts of international intrigue, drug smuggling, counterfeiting U.S. dollars, and international missions for Cuban Intelligence that often extended into war zones. An often dramatic, sometimes horrifying, and always keenly insightful testimony, In The Pirate's Den is unusual, revealing, and highly recommended reading.

3 comments about Take the Dimness of My Soul Away: Healing After a Loved One's Suicide.

1. We lost our son to suicide and I found this a very comforting book. You can read it in one night but the message is great. All I can say it can happen to any family.



2. This book has been very helpful to my family since my brother's suicide, in fact so helpful my mother and stepfather ordered multiple copies for the extended family and I have ordered copies for church and friends. Having lived through the suicide death of his son, the author is able to put into words the horrible grief such a loss generates.This is a spiritual, not a clinical, perspective on suicide. Rev. Ritter is very open and honest in sharing his feelings and thoughts. I found comfort and hope for healing in this book.Between us we have read several books and the consensus is this is the best.



3. Although Reverend Ritter bases his book on sermons given after his son committed suicide, his words are relevant for anyone who is experiencing the agony of loss and at any stage of the journey. This small book is honest, powerful, comforting, and hopeful.

5 comments about This Just In: What I Couldn't Tell You on TV.

1. I got the book to have it signed by its author Bob Schieffer. Unfortunately, the book was not in a good condition at all. Half of the front page was ripped off and there was a "low prize" button on the cover that I could not get off.



2. Schieffer is a good storyteller and has seen a lot of important news from the last 40 years. He also manages to have something nice to say about nearly everyone he discusses. This book is certainly not a spiteful political diatribe, and is generally very pleasant.
   
   I gave the book 4 stars because of one small point that nagged me as I read the book. For the Nixon era, he interviews many of the important players in Nixon's administration, or at least consults their memoirs, including Nixon himself, Melvin Laird and H.R. Haldeman. The one glaring exception is Chuck Colson, who has written very thoughtfully about the role he played in the Nixon administration, is very contrite for the crimes he committed during that period, and has done a world of good in this country's prisons since having served his own time. Colson very candidly described the m.o. of the administration as a flawed "ends justifies the means" mentality. Why would Schieffer not interview him, or at least consult the significant body of work Colson has produced on the subject?
   
   In general though, I thought it was a very evenhanded and fair-minded account, and Schieffer deserves kudos.



3. Bob Schieffer who spent his life in journalism and was the anchor of 'Face the Nation'. He offers a behind-the-scenes account of his more than forty years in journalism, including coverage of the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department, and Capitol Hill. Mr. Schieffer also discusses his reporting of Kennedy's assassination, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, Watergate and September 11, 2001.
   
   You can tell that he enjoyed his career as a journalist and seems to be honest in his recollection of his career. And his brushes with those he interacted with. Though he does name drop and seem to let us know when ever fate favored him. Other then some of the few self-serving statements on his personal life and social climbing, his anecdotes are still worth reading. Even though he seems to never have met a person he didn't like. Do not expect to learn anything new, but it will jog your memory of many familiar events.



4. I enjoyed this book because it gave an insider's perspective on many of the most important news stories of my lifetime. Having worked for a CBS affiliate in the early 80s, it brought back many memories. But what I took away was a sense of Bob Schieffer's genuine, unflashy but solid character. I've never met him, but I watched his work over the years as the "backup" anchor for CBS News. Stars have come and gone, but he has always handled that duty with quiet grace. He was never one to grand-stand, to wax with righteous indignation or pomposity. He's never tried a special sweater or a silly signoff (remember "Courage"?) to boost his ratings. I'll bet he never even owned a blow dryer. Just did his job, said his piece, bringing hard work and common sense to the task. To me, this book was a heartening reminder that the basics really can pay off in the long run.



5. Bob Schieffer is not only an outstanding reporter and anchor but an excellent story teller as well. His accounts of the history he has seen make the reader feel a part of the story. Highly recommended to anybody interested in knowing more about the stories that have shaped our lives.

5 comments about The Language of Blood.

1. Using an interesting, if not always successful, mish-mash of styles and narratives, Korean adoptee Trenka tells of the experience of a violent stalker in Minnesota, her experiences of racism, going to Korea to find her birth mother, an older sister, and ultimately, love. It is her personal search for American, Korean, and Korean American identity. The prose is as luminous and carefully beautiful as the reviews say. I came away with a sense of the writer's youth, and how her search has perhaps, only now, really begun.



2. There were two negative reviews for this book (the third is a repeat and is unfair). Frankly neither of them show any kind of knowledge bout the psychology of an adoptee. First of all being an adoptee and a Korean national are different. Second being a parent and an adoptee is different. I've clashed with many more adoptive parents than I have with adoptees (in views of adoption).
   
   I didn't find that this was atypical of a Korean adoptee. I was isolated from Korean culture as well and this was in the 80's. I was only able to research and find anything on Korea until recently. This book proves that point--that it's hard to find something to root you to your birth culture.
   
   The book traces a view of adoption. It does not make judgments. It merely tells what happened and in what fashion. It tells the truth as she saw it. It tells about her struggle with identity, her triumphs, her sadnesses, the humor she saw. It also tells about her regret and efforts to try to get her adoptive parents to understand.
   
   As a Korean adoptee I found parts that I could and couldn't relate to, but I don't think this any less valid than my story of adoption. Adoption is individual as the search for identity is. I believe that this book showed that without telling anyone what to think. That's to be admired.



3. I find it interesting that three of the negative reviews for this book all use the same language but the writer/s claims to be the parent of Korean children, a Korean with no connection to adoption and a Korean adoptee. Um...okay? If you are going to write an angry review it would be advisabe to pick an identity and stick with it .



4. The story is a about a young Korean adoptee, raised in a small Minnesota town, who struggles to find identity. Although growing up with Asian skin (but American in every other way) in a small, rural community was difficult, her self-identity becomes even blurrier as she becomes reacquainted with her Korean birth mother.
   
   While the book mostly follows a linear progression through Jeong Trenka's life from her early childhood to her post-collegiate days, each chapter's place in that timeline is rather fluid, including elements from her past, her present, her future, as wells as bits and pieces from myths and stories. What adds to the story's chaotic feel, is that Jeong Trenka also uses such devices as screenplay text, poems, and even crossword puzzles to help drive the story.
   
   The major internal conflict in this book is that Jeong trenka's struggle to identify herself as one something. Just as she struggles with what name to put on her marriage certificate, so she struggles with incorporating the various parts of her identity into one being.
   
   Having wanted to escape from her small hometown, Harlow, from an early age, and having dealt with the prejudices of the people around her for most of her life, it is not surprising that her first visit to larger-than-life Korea should instantly feel right to her.
   
   What was lacking in this story, however, was any juxtaposition of American prejudices measured against Korean prejudices. The author never mentions the "foreign-ness" that many overseas-raised Koreans feel upon visiting their birth country for the first time. No mention of the snickers and snide remarks by the Korean people towards Koreans unable to speak their mother language or those who have now become too Western.
   
   In any case the story is Jeong Trenka's to tell, and it is a deeply emotional one for the author. Despite its rather frenetic pace, her story telling ability is lovely, and the book finds it's strength in Trenka's poetic choice of words.
   
   While many of Jeong Trenka's struggles are internal and not necessarily ones that the reader may identify with, this is still a great story about the difficulties of not fitting in, and finding contentment within oneself, where ever it may come from. Jeong Trenka's melodic writing abilities are enough to keep the reader with her as she tries to figure out who she really is.
   
   Reviewed at OnceWritten.com



5. Five beginnings in two pages - she lost me. Too bad because the opening was terrific - a letter in broken English about the dysfunction that led to the adoptions in the first place. She changed voices, times, places; should have stuck with letter and taken it from there.

No comments about Extraordinary Circumstances: Based on the true story of a Landmark Custody Battle and Parental Abduction Survivor.

5 comments about When I Was Cool: My Life at the Jack Kerouac School (P.S.).

1. And I do mean glimpse...
   There are flashes here of great insights into the personas of Allen Ginsberg, Peter Orlovsky, and Gregory Corso
   You see the psycho-sexual strands of Ginsberg/Orlovsky partnership played out in their gaudy technicolor glory (this is also a weakness...more on that later) and you get a real sense of G. Corso's suspicions and insecurities but to me the real value of this book is the insight it sheds on William Burroughs and his life during this period (tearfully reading Jack London) and in particluar his tempestous relationship with his son Bill Jr.
   These insights were valuable to me as a huge Burroughs fan and were the main things I took away from this book...especially because most accounts of WSB's life and work in the 70's focus exclusively on the NYC Bunker period...
   some negative aspects of this book are:
   as R.Rhodes mentions in the review further down the page there is somewhat of a high school note-passing he has a crush on him style narrative that is tiresome
   Anne Waldman and the whole who did or didn't sleep with Bob Dylan angle is irritating as is the narrator (unfortunately)
   he seems like a genuinely decent guy but his tone is fairly off-putting most of the time and he and his observations are ultimately not that interesting.
   I would recommend for diehard Beat collectors and/or Burroughs fans only



2. WHEN I WAS COOL: My Life at the Jack Kerouac School. A Memoir by Sam Kashner.
   A memoir of a then skinny, naive teenage boy, from a liberal, fairly well-off Jewish family, who goes from thinking Walt Whitman "had something to do with food - Maybe the Whitman Sampler box of chocolates." to being the author of 3 nonfiction books and a novel. Kashner convinces his parent to allow him to enroll in the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodies Poetics, (of which he was the very first and, at the time, only one to do so), in lieu of conventional college. In the spring of 1976, Kashner's life has just begun. Hanging out with Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, Gregory Corso, Peter Orlovsky and Anne Waldman, as well as cameos by the remaining Beat and non-Beat writers and muscians of the era, Kashner interweaves Beatlore with his own innocent reflections in a frank, humorous and extremely entertaining and informative platitude. A free-spirited "Kiss & Tell" theme runs through the pages as openly as the heroin in Burroughs veins. Hailed as a hero with his father's Diner's Club card, Kashner is called upon repeatedly to aid and abet the shenanigans of this anti-normal group of word artists. Between editing Ginsberg & Corso's manuscripts, baby-sitting Billy Burroughs the JR., backing way too many monetary expenses, one wonders who is actually benefiting from his enrollment. Intimacies of thwarting sexual advances from Ginsberg to succumbing to di Prima, are embarrassingly shared in all their sordid, ribald and ultimately bodacious glory. A "he loves him but he loves her" floats through this stew in chunks while Kashner ponders the directed aloofness of Walkman, while impregnating one of her troup. Marijuana fields, whores, drug houses, theft and mayhem.. all the elements of prime-time are just casual actualities of extra curriculum. Kashner also stands by, silently, as Ginsberg and his ilk follow the teachings of their oft drunk Tibetan Buddhist meditation teacher Chogyam Trungpa, Rinoche - who pounds on Ginsberg to "lose your ego" as he pads his own pockets and libido with admiration and servitude. Reflections from the Beats are also placed abundantly within as all give their good, bad or indifferent memories of Kerouac and Cassady an ear. One of the best "Beat" books I've read. Used and abused, we go from day one to graduation with his zany encounters and events, all the while hoping the school gets it's accreditation before he graduates. Reminiscent of Tom Wolfe's days of entrenchment with Ken Kesey & the Merry Pranksters, it's a fun, fast paced-read that shows us what happens when literary renegades become our teachers.



3. There are a lot of things to like about Sam Kashner's coming-of-age memoir, "When I Was Cool." First: Mr. Kashner wasn't cool and probably knows it. Second: he doesn't go through detox or recovery. Halleluia! A memoir without a recovery center or AA meeting. Third: his affection for these old lions, of whom only Peter Orlovsky is still with us. Fourth: the look at their everyday lives, from hemorrhoids to the keystone cops comedy of The Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. Fifth: Mr. Kashner's long suffering, very cool, and funny parents. And Sixth: Mr. Kashner's teenaged, wide-eyed, intimidated, growing-up self.
   
   Its not the last book that will be written about Naropa or any of the characters, but it's the only book written by the first (and for a long time only) student of the Kerouac school, and is sometimes lovely, often funny, and very easy - it's "a report of an intimate nature," i.e., gossip.



4. Kashner has the distinction of writing a book that is both priceless and very forgettable at same time. His anecdotes about his time at the Kerouac school in the late 1970s with Ginsberg, Corso, Burroughs, and Huncke are the priceless part. He gives us a real gift in these, a special glimpse of these lives as older and quirkier and more human than is easy to find. This is Kashner's gift and alone justifies the price of the book. This is what will ensure it's place in the Beat library.
   
   But as for the rest... Kashner was a young man out of high school studying with tired writer-celebrities. Yet he endlessly bemoans the old Beats' disinterest in letting him into their inner circle of confidences and plans. One can forgive the young Kashner his dissapointment that his grumpy middle age teachermen didn't leap to treat the 19-year-old Kashner as the equal in life and thought that he was not. But the now middle-age Kashner who reflects for us still smarts about it, annoyingly still snaps at his old teachers for being too self absorbed to take him into their fold as a brother.
   
   Kashner doesn't seem up to the task of elucidating on his old idols, doesn't seem to grasp their real richnesses among their messiness. At book's end, Kashner details how he eventually gave up on poetry and switched to fiction and prose when he became convinced he'd never find fame or fortune in it. That's just what's annoying about Kashner throughout this book: He went to study with the Beats to soak in the fame and get a piece, not for love of poetry or authentic living, nor the need to create and live as such. He criticizes this idols' selfishness and seeking of public love in fame. But these odd old men also had a fire in them for creation and expression and the poet's attentiveness to life and authentic living. They wrote poetry because they needed to, they felt the world as they did and needed to express it for themselves. They hungered for it. And Kashner will have none of it. He fell in love with the image and the dream of being a poet, and when he paid his tuition to the Jack Kerouac School he expected he was buying his place in the lineage of great poets. But he didn't feel what it was all about then and he doesn't now in this book, he has no feel for it or the folk who write it.
   
   I think this is why Kashner's thoughts and critiques of the Beats fall so hollow. I closed the book glad it was over -- sad there would be no more rare humanizing glimpses and funny stories of my favorites, but glad to no longer be subject to Kashner's simplistic stabs at all the old men, glad to be done with his self interested narration. Read the book for the anecdotes, for a special outsider's look at very human myths, Kashner relays these funny stories competently enough. Leave the rest as Kashner himself seems to, without any real warmth or connection or depth.



5. Sam Kashner seems to want everything to be as it had been before his birth, but his timidity prevented him from acting out the 50's, 60's or the 70's. He didn't "get his hands dirty" as Naropa student Peter Marti put it, a poet who crawled from some serious wreckage to a sanity beyond shooting drugs and a heterosexuality based on what he wanted, not what he feared.
   
   We'll skip the list of details Sam gets wrong (for example, Burroughs did not shoot an apple, but a shot glass, from his wife's head), but suffice it say there are enough of them to indicate he's not a scholar of the situation. The fact that he is actually a professional journalist who writes for GQ and VANITY FAIR confirms my worst fears about articles in these magazines. On the plus side, Sam's magazine background makes this as breezily readable as the best pop journalism. First, however, we are forced to examine some of the remarks reserved for women. Anne Waldman is glamorous and unavailable, thus a vain bitch. Diane di Prima has become heavy, and thus disappoints.
   
   It is almost grim that Sam is in the middle of such interesting history and seems to be blowing it by insisting on his preconceptions. I visited Naropa in 1978. I'd known Allen for 4 years, and had already filmed Burroughs in NYC. Corso was a scary guy I'd met in SF and regarded as a great poet but I was never in his court, though I saw him at least a dozen times over the years. Naropa was an extension of what I already knew, and was for the brief week I stayed there, both a heaven and hell for me. In memory, it is a legend I brushed against gratefully.

5 comments about Dear Senator: A Memoir by the Daughter of Strom Thurmond.

1. **MILD SPOILERS**
   
   Like many, I was rather disgusted at the posthumous revelation of notorious racist Strom Thurmond's illegitimate daughter.
   Like many I doubted that in Jim Crow South of the 20's & 30's that an underage African American girl financially dependent on the family could actually have a relationship of equals. Like many I assumed there was probably some coercion (finanical if not physical force). I also assumed that he paid the daughter to keep his hypocrisy quiet.
   
   The book taught me not to make assumptions, that the truth is more complex. And the truth was almost sadder and more amazing than my preconceptions. To read that her mother loved Strom hopelessly. To know that she herself felt obligated to keep quiet. I was blown away.
   
   It's also just an interesting story of growing up black in the 30's, 40's and 50's in the North (Pennsylvania and NYC) where there was more 'freedom'. And her time (and reasons for returning) in South Carolina is also compelling reading.
   
   The descriptions of meetings with her father are fascinating. Her descriptions of her father's views of himself are astounding (he honestly did not think he was racist, he claimed he was tring to "help" the blacks (so long as they kept secret). It's these brief glimpses we get into Strom Thurmon'd personal life and views (mediated through his daughter) that kept me glued to the book in amazement.
   
   I could really empathize with what this woman went through.
   And I applaud her for finally coming foward and sharing her story with others.
   I highly recommend this!



2. MOST INTERESTING READING. READ IT OVER ONE WEEKEND. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
   STROM THRUMOND COULD'VE PLAYED HARDBALL AND THREATENED HER MOTHER, BUT INSTEAD FINANICIALLY SUPPORTED HER THROUGH THE YEARS AND PAID FOR HER COLLEGE EDUCATION. Remember, segregation was well alive down South in those days.



3. It provided a provocative insight into the lives and times before the civil rights movement through the eyes of a publically unrecognized daughter of a prominent man. It also provided a refreshing new slant on their relationship. Although I had held the "racist" senator in much contempt at the time, after reading this book, I found my feelings for him somewhat mitigated and softened.



4. I wasn't sure I wanted to read this book. Was it just another "tell all" book by someone capitalizing on a scandal? But I was curious about this "secret" Black daughter of the notorious Southern Senator, so I opened the book. I'm glad I did because reading it took me back to another time, another era, another mind-set where a man could love a Black woman he had to keep hidden and care about the daughter they made together, care enough to see her regularly and to generously provide for her needs. Yet father and daughter never shared a meal together.
   
   How did Essie Mae Washington-Williams survive such a life and keep Strom Thurmond's secret her whole life, until the Senator finally died at age 100 and she was an old woman? She did it because, despite everything, she loved him and respected him. He was her father.
   
   I found her stories of the South in the late 1930s and 1940s a revelation, as she related the reality of segregation and her father's firm and apparently sincerely-held belief that "separate but equal" was the right way for Black and White to relate to each other. It's an amazing story: Growing up in Coatesville Pennsylvania, thinking her aunt was her mother, meeting her real mother (a beautiful woman, she tells us), taking a trip back to her mother's roots in South Carolina, and meeting her father for the first time, as a shy teen-ager.
   
   Her shyness with her father kept her from challenging him on his public statements, but eventually that timidity broke down as Essie Mae grew to adulthood, got married, and raised a family. Finally she could tell him that black people hated him and considered him their enemy. But by then he had moved away from the "Dixiecrat" creed that had led him to challenge Harry Truman in 1948 in a presidential election in which he carried four Southern states. He insisted it was not about segregation, but about states' rights.
   
   Woven into her story are all the political and cultural events of the 1950s, the 1960s and beyond. We read about having to sit in the balcony at movie theaters, attending the all-black college in South Carolina, riding in the back of the bus (and once, when she was pregnant, refusing to give up her seat, just like Rosa Parks), her cross-country trip with children in the early 50s when there were few motels or even gas stations that would serve "coloreds."
   
   We marvel as we wonder why she kept his secret, why she didn't tell the world she was Strom Thurmond's daughter? Was it the money he generously gave her each time they saw one another? Was this "hush money," as her husband Julius would later say? She insists her father never told her to keep quiet, but she wanted to have a father and in her own way was proud of being the daughter of such a powerful and intelligent man. Could she risk losing what little of him he gave her?
   
   How strange that Strom Thurmond thought the world would think less of him if they knew of his secret daughter! How could he care for Essie Mae's mother, but not want the world to know? How could people have had such values? Essie Mae tells us of the Confederate flags that flew everywhere in South Carolina, the statues to Civil War heroes who fought for the Confederacy, the disdain for the federal government, and the painful aftermath of the Civil War that continued to simmer. It was a different time, and Strom Thurmond was a complicated man. If his own daughter, who he refused to acknowledge in public, could defend him (as she most certainly does in this book), then maybe we all need to consider that nothing is as simple as it seems.



5. Can you really love and respect a person whose ethics and moral principles you abhor? Well, after reading "Dear Senator," I believe Essie Mae, did. This was quite a revealing read about the relationship between Essie Mae and her father, Strom Thurmond. Imagine for 16 years living with the people who you think are your parents, then finding out that the woman you think is your mother really isn't your birth mother and that your birth father is really Strom Thurmond.
   
   So, what do you do? Do you run out and tell the world that this man who is a political god in the state of South Carolina is your father or do you keep the secret for decades - only revealing it after the man dies? Do you continue to long to be accepted by your father and your father's family or just accept that "it is what it is?" Do you justify keeping your father's secret as a sign of respect for him? Do you continue to accept his "child support" payments and convince yourself that it's his way of showing that he cares? Do you keep the secret of your parentage from your husband and children until "the time is right to tell them?"
   
   Oh, such are the dilemmas for Ms. Washington-Williams. Her journey is one that makes for a noteworthy read as she moves through life carrying this remarkable secret that, if told, could have ruined the political career of a man who made his mark as a staunch opponent of Black civil rights.
   
   I'm glad Ms. Washington-Williams was finally able to have this burden lifted.
   
   3.5 Stars - the .5 for the mention of my alma mater, NCA&T!

5 comments about Teenage Waistland: A Former Fat-Camper Weighs in on Living Large, Losing Weight, And How Parents Can (And Can't) Help.

1. Prepare to laugh, cry and cringe --- but also to learn --- as Abby Ellin leads us through the landscape of obese teen life. First, though, a confession: When I volunteered to read this book, I feared that I was facing a hard, long slog through a dry tome packed with scientific studies on how to help an overweight kid drop a few pounds. Instead, I could barely put down this lively read. Ellin keeps a page-turning pace as she skillfully weaves her own story as a heavy, weight-obsessed teenager through the stories of other such adolescents.
   
   Ellin begins with her own family, who courageously support her by not challenging her right to tell the unvarnished truth about the ways in which her home contributed to her weight problems and food fixations. Interestingly, the family's attitudes toward weight resulted in the author's sister becoming anorexic. Even as Ellin grew larger and larger, her sister began dieting by third grade.
   
   Ellin's grandmother was a major influence on her self-image, withholding affections when Ellin gained weight. On visits to Grandma's house in Florida, Grandma weighed Ellin daily. At home, Ellin's mother obsessed over her own weight, restricted her diet and exercised before stepping on the scales each morning. She taped a photo of an obese woman on the refrigerator door. Both grandmother and mother repeatedly drilled into Ellin and her sister the dangers of gaining weight. As a child, Ellin was devastated when her grandmother told her she couldn't come to Florida for a visit at Christmastime unless she lost 15 pounds. The ploy didn't work. Nothing really did, for many long, sad years.
   
   Ellin spent six years at weight-loss camps. She lost weight but also learned more about dysfunctional eating and how to do it (one counselor sneaked Ellin out to buy a cart full of candy and cookies because "Your body's getting used to the diet. You need sugar to give it a jolt."). In describing her fat camp days, she tells us the story of the owners of weight-loss camps, beginning with her visit as an adult with the man who ran the first weight-loss camp Ellin attended. During her visit, she talks with young campers, giving us the first of many insightful conversations with teens seeking to lose weight. What they say about their parents can make a reader weep.
   
   In TEENAGE WAISTLAND, we learn what has helped teenagers lose weight and, (heartbreakingly) more often, what has either not helped them or made them worse. Experts --- from fat camp leaders to directors of weight loss programs to bariatric surgeons, researchers and fat activists (and more) --- represent a variety of attitudes as each discusses the best way to help heavy adolescents. Ellin compassionately presents suggestions to parents on ways to support an obese child, all based on respect.
   
   Although there is not a single solution to such a complicated problem, reading this book is informative and helpful. It is a horrifying and fascinating study in our culture's warped attitude toward food and weight. Even if you don't have a child with weight issues, TEENAGE WAISTLAND is an engrossing read.
   
   --- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon (terryms2001@yahoo.com)



2. I work in public health and struggle to find resources that are useful. This is a great book for everyone. There is no magic pill and there is no easy fix - but there are LOTS of ways to make things worse. Until we have changed our social norms, our environment, and the availability and ease to make healthy choices, it's going to be a long, tough road. This book is a great read that describes what it's like to struggle with weight - good for those of us who are lucky and think our 5-8 pound struggle is horrible, as well as those who struggle with real weight challenges and are ready to hear the painful truth of a child's experience. Well done, Abby.



3. An honest look at America's obsession with weight loss and how it affects the younger generation. The author, a former fat kid and fat camp survivor (though not a parent, as she acknowledges) explores various ways to lose weight from fat camps to nagging to behavior modification and surgery, among others. Sadly, there is no quick fix or even well-planned diet and exercise program that works for all, or even some. Due both to lack of willpower or incentive, and physical factors beyond the dieter's control, often the weight is lost then gained then lost again.
   
   "Teenage Waistland" lets the young subjects speak for themselves. It is a fascinating look at a controversial subject.



4. This book was extremely helpful to me and my family. As the parent of an overweight child, Abby Ellin's insight as a "former fat kid" is a hands-on "what to do/"what not to do" primer for any parents dealing with these sensitive issues. You're never really sure what to do until you're faced with it head on and Ellin's book showed that it's the sensible approach that makes the most sense. Don't panic; don't over react (as is the most instant impulse). Just act sensibly. Well done!



5. Simply put, Abby Ellin "gets it". She had a childhood relationship with weight, food, and family that stays with her, regardless of what the scale says today. She candidly tells her story, which isn't always a happy one, but it's often hilarious. When it comes to the "fat kid epidemic", the author doesn't claim to have all the answers, but is very willing to explore a variety of solutions. Teenage Waistland is tragic, eye-opening, humorous and true. Once you read the introduction: Fat Kid Blues - you'll be hooked, just like the author is on Hostess cupcakes!

4 comments about Tougher Than The Rest - 100 Best Bruce Springsteen.

1. TOUGHER THAN THE REST is a decent book though the format of the book's song-by-song discussion makes it read like a reference book. The author doesn't count down songs from 100 to 1 - instead she organizes the book by album, chronologically, and discusses only the songs from those albums that she deems among the Top 100. And speaking of the Top 100 selection, even though you can't please everyone with a book like this, you have to question the selection process when the author ignores classics like "Incident on 57th St" and "Jungleland" (neither of these show-stoppers are among BS's 100 best??) but picks "Workin' on the Highway" and "All or Nothin' at All"...not to mention 8 of the 12 songs on The Ghost of Tom Joad. For a more thorough discussion of Springsteen's catalog (practically every song including unreleased ones) try R. Kirkpatrick's THE WORDS AND MUSIC OF BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN.



2. a reflection on the content of the book itself, but it seems a shame that they wouldn't pay the photographer of the cover photo. Also, what's with the publisher's product description: Greetings from Asbury Park, NY? Writing a blurb about a book about Springsteen's work and you can't get an album title correct? And confusing NY and NJ with Springsteen? Silly.



3. I only bought this book as I made the cover photograph and they used it without ever getting my permission or paying me.



4. Simply a great book for any Bruce Springsteen fan. The author does a fine job of gathering information and writing it in such a way that will inspire any reader.
   "Slow dancing in the dark with an angel on my chest..."

2 comments about Thin Ice: Coming of Age in Grand Rapids.

1. I am a Grand Rapids native and a lifelong student of history. Gordon Olson is a well-respected city historian and I thought he and his co-editors have done a marvelous job assembling a thorough and well-balanced perspective of growing up in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
   
   It's sometimes awkward for a native to read less than glowing reviews from the perspective of certain groups or individuals. Clearly the fairly homogenous ethnic make up of the city (in fact much of the West Michigan area) makes it easier to overlook the challenges that minorities have felt through the years, and I certainly appreciated the pain expressed by a few of the contributors.
   
   Still, Grand Rapids is a terrific place to grow up. It's large enough to offer plenty of opportunity, and yet small enough to feel like home. It's thought-provoking to get a sense for some of GR's unique character and cultural fabric already being reflected in its citizens more than 150 years ago.
   
   The hard-working, thrifty, community-oriented stock best represented by the city's favorite son, former President Gerald R. Ford, comes through loud and clear. Thanks are owed to the research team that vetted the work that went into this must read for anyone who wants to truly understand what makes Grand Rapids what it is today.



2. I live in the Grand Rapids area, plus I am a high school English teacher, so my natural interest spurred the purchase of this book. At first, when I started reading, I chose stories by authors whose names I recognized. Then I realized that the stories were presented in chronological order, so I started from the beginning. No matter what order is chosen, every story is wonderful. They are all very different in style and feeling, but a sense of place shines through, as well as a sophistication that belies Grand Rapids' humble demeanor. These stories are universal, engaging and fun. I have read hundreds of short stories, and this collection truly stands out.