5 comments about Glamour, Interrupted: How I Became the Best-Dressed Patient in Hollywood.

1. Cojo's book has a magical charm (mojo) that is evident in his moving, inspirational, humorous and revealing book. The Hollywood gossiper from Montreal claims he is a "professional featherweight" but I disagree: he provides a knock-out punch in a light-hearted manner and in such a "fashion" that left me at times reeling in laughter and at other times, cringing in pain from his battle with PKD. As the Canadian author of a recently-published book ("My Favorite American") about a young, beautiful, and inspiring Pennsylvania woman (a non-Hollywood celebrity) who has waged a winning battle against PKD and other illnesses, it pleases me greatly that this terrible disease is finally getting the attention it deserves...with a little bit of help from two Canadians--me and Cojo.



2. I too have had a kidney transplant 2 years ago for a different reason. Cojo's book shows how everyone is different and that the words "Thank You" just don't seem to be enough for your donor(s)and your family.
   
   Good reading - some funny, some sad but all true feelings!



3. Although the subject was serious, Steven Cojokaru dealt with his potential life ending illness just as he does most of his star reviews - like so much fluff and stuff. He is a divia and that is what came through
   here, not all the sacrifices made by a dear friend and then his mother. The book was barely average in quality.



4. This book was incredible. I couldn't put it down. I could relate to his anger, depression, and finally happiness. He really made me open my eyes to the issues I have at hand. I recently had major back surgery, and I went through all the emotions he did. (all though my wasn't life threating) I do not normally read these kind of books, but a friend told me to read it, due the fact that I was in a deep depression myself. He really made great light of a bad situation. I would recommend this to book to everyone.(which I already have)
   
   Thank you Cojo you really made me feel that things can get better no matter what the situation.
   
   Y. Schuck
   Pennsylvania



5. I have enjoyed watching Cojo on TV for years. His sharp wit always makes me smile. Since as he says he can't do anything without a television camera recording, it was a natural for him to write this book. What impressed me most is the honesty and personal experiences he shares with the reader. Sometimes I felt too much humor took away from his incredible story, but in the end it all came together. I already have an organ donor sticker on my driver's license, but I hope this book inspires many to become donors. Great job Cojo!

5 comments about The Real Deal: My Life in Business and Philanthropy.

1. Russell Palmer in his "Ultimate Leadership" suggests that a full leadership development program would include biographies of great leaders, as well as leaders who failed. "There is probably no better model for would-be leaders to learn from than leaders in the past, some who have succeeded spectacularly, some of whom have failed spectacularly." With this in mind, Sandy Weill's and Judith Kraushaar's "The Real Deal" is a must read for all would-be leaders.
   
   "The Real Deal" is a rich case study and fascinating story of Sandy Weill, possibly the single most important figure in the financial services industry over the past half century. The book provides insights to how he consistently stayed ahead of the curve and built two leading companies from scratch. Weill pursued more transformational acquisitions, created more shareholder value, and enjoyed more respect from his peers than any other contemporary.
   
   Weill's career spans an age when:
   * partnerships were dominant to the rise of the modern corporate form of ownership;
   * the rules of regulation were rapidly changing (some of which he spearheaded);
   * the growing appetite for investment mirrored the rise and empowerment of the individual in making financial decisions;
   * globalization rapidly changed the financial services industry.
   
   The book provides great detail on Weill from his early years through the creation of CitiGroup. He writes openly of his relationships with Jim Robinson at AmEx, John Reed at CitiGroup, and his protégés Peter Cohen and Jamie Dimon. He addresses gaps and misperceptions in the public record on these relationships and his highly publicized, time-in-the-box with Elliot Spitzer.
   
   An interview with Weill's wife, Joan, is also included. She is a shrewd observer having served as a personal sounding board for husband. She talks of the good times and the tough times; the influence of Arthur Carter; the difference in the casual Shearson culture and the formal AmEx culture (Robinson's wife even established a pecking order of who would ride with whom for a luncheon she hosted for the wives of executives); and several of Weill's strengths and weaknesses (smart, intuitive, pragmatic, able to integrate a lot of information, but also vulnerable, self-centered, controlling, and far too loyal to people).
   
   "The Real Deal" is a complete book as it is not just about strategy and execution. The authors painstakingly fully capture the human dimension - arrogance, mistakes, good fortune, and the trappings of wealth and prestige. Weill and Kraushaar have combined to provide an excellent read about business history and managerial success.



2. A great read for anyone interested in the life and history of Citigroup leadership before their current run of defaults, credit markets and overall bad press for the last several months. Important for anyone in the industry.



3. For all its girth, this book is shockingly shallow and a huge disappointment for anyone hoping to learn real secrets behind the author's successful business career. There is a lot of score-settling and finger-pointing at those who he felt mistreated him (like proteges Peter Cohen and Jamie Dimon), but very little in 'take-away' value about what to look for in building a successful business. I was reading this book simultaneously with Danny Meyer's "Setting the Table" and the contrast could not be more striking. In a much shorter but infinitely richer and more rewarding volume, Meyer painstaking reveals all his business success secrets; the reader feels totally cared for which emulates the experience of being in his restaurants, whereas the Weill volume left me feeling that Mr. Weill cared not one whit for his readers because it imparted so few useful insights.



4. This is actually quite an interesting book and a fairly good and fast read. However compared to the previous two books on Weill, this offers maybe only 5% new information and some extra personal view on events that were reported by other authors.
   
   My main gripe with this book is that it shows everything in a very biased view. Everyones "leaving" Sandy for whatever reason gave him a feeling of betrayal and as someone who did not appricate what was done for them by Sandy.
   Jamie Dimon is depicted as a strong personality, maybe inflexible (Joan Weill also cites this as reason for why everyone close to Jamie left him), but this is not considered the reason why everyone (and really everyone) close to Sandy left and did not continue working for him.
   While a lot of associates were described as people who could not change the way they worked, Sandy himself writes about having "issues" leaving day to day runnning of Citibank to Chuck Prince.
   
   And frankly, Joan Weills section on giving her perspective of things seems to be another attempt to defend the actions of Sandy Weill.
   
   Maybe the only way for a really different perspective on this will be if other executives (especailly Jamie Dimon) ever pen down their side of the story.
   
   Sandy Weill - A really interesting character - achieved a lot despite his humble beginning and background; a maverick who shook up the biggest financial industry. But as a book on him, I prefer other books, especially "King of Capital"



5. I have read in the past biographies of famous businessmen of the 19th/early 20th century. Names of businessmen that can be easily recognized because their names were immortalized with their products and/or services (Chrysler, Gillette, Ford, Edison, Marconi, etc.). The driving force behind the success of those men was innovation/creativity in their products and services that resulted in great benefits to the public in general.
   
   After reading this book, you can only conclude that Sandy Weill's driving force in life has been Greed. The only innovations and creativities displayed by Sandy where those directed to play or manipulate the stock market, and those for self-promotion. Create, merge, inflate the stock value and profit from the above.
   
   It did not matter what the name of the company was, or the benefits to the customers, just merge make a big name, inflate stock value and reap the benefits of that. His practices were investigated by the Federal Trade Commission. He says he was exonerated, but very likely Feds were unable to put a case together.
   
   Family life with his children did not appear to have any meaning. Although he names and blames many others for having poor inter-personal skills for team work within the company, I think he top them all. People who helped him to progress in his "career" within the company ended without jobs.
   
   His name will be forgotten soon, if ever recognized. His only legacy will be the billions of dollars left to his progeny. Money created in a quite bizarre way, jumping from company to company, morphing in this and morphing in that. Is that business?
   
   Good psychotherapy book for those who value other things in life, beside money and power.
   
   Frank (bids2005@aol.com)
   
   PS. The "philanthropy" word in the title of this book is deceiving. Philos= Love; Anthopo= Humans. Love for Humans, this is the only thing lacking in this book. He only loves money.

5 comments about Peace Mom: A Mother's Journey through Heartache to Activism.

1. What a terrible, awful little book. This book was horrible. Simply HORRIBLE. DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK. It was badly written, self-serving, self-centered, campy, corny, and overdone.
   
   Cindy Sheehan's book is full of poorly-articulated grief, anger, and the pain of losing her son Casey-- emotions to which she is certainly entitled. But it is also full of badly-composed political nonsense, mostly her deranged ranting and raving about the President's culpability in her son's death. On and on she goes, frothing like an angry dog about Bush's war, with all the requisite words changed just so, to little effect. "It's a war OF terror," she asserts. Yeah, Cindy, we get it, even without the bold or the italics. Neat little wordplay there.
   
   I take issue with her failure to explain how the President is directly responsible for the actions that killed Casey, or how his death is unique compared to the 4,000+ others that have also occurred in the war so far. I did a tour in a Iraq and have lost three close friends so far, with many more wounded and bearing emotional scars that will last them a lifetime. Similarly, my father's generation had Vietnam, and his father had World War II. Cindy Sheehan fails to see the circularity of this logic, that war is a condition of human interaction, and George Bush is not the one man responsible for Casey's death. While I honor Casey Sheehan and his decision to serve, I think it is safe to say that he would be appalled by his mother's behavior today if he were alive to see it.
   
   Bottom line: Terrible book, save your money, even if your opposition to the Bush/Cheney/Wolfowitz legacy is at a fever pitch; this book adds nothing to the conversation. There are many more insightful books about civil disobedience and/or protest and/or parental loss due to war that you could spend your money on; this steaming turd of a book doesn't deserve one more dime.



2. Cindy is a hero. She stood up to the most corrupt president in U.S. history.
   I keep a copy of her book next to my copy of the Bill of Rights. I can see the day when people will recognize Cindy Sheehan as a great American and Bush as a national shame.



3. Peace Mom is a powerful first hand account of one mother's struggle to find truth amidst violence and anger. Cindy Sheehan should be commended for her honesty and fiery energy that has arisen from her own personal tragedy; however, as a reader I was often annoyed and distracted by her poor grammar throughout her autobiography. At times, it seemed as if Sheehan wanted to fit her entire story onto one page. Too often, she digressed in the middle of a paragraph and then caught herself by saying, "more on that in the next chapter." She also decided to leave out much of her personal history or wrote it off as "abusive." This ambiguity left me wanting to know more about her past, so that I could better understand her metamorphosis into the "Peace Mom." Despite these misgivings, I felt that her palpable, simple writing was an effective way to describe her emotional state at crucial moments such as the day her son died, or the day she began Camp Casey.
   
   The chapter describing when she learned of her son's death was extremely poignant, but her pain was overshadowed by her anger toward the Bush administration. Her brash writing will obviously draw harsh criticism from the right and won't turn any hearts of those who are pro-Bush because of the offensive language she used to describe them. Also, I doubt this book will make any moderates still on the fence about Iraq (if any still exist) decide to become anti-war since she comes off as a bit manipulative and self-centered. This fact alone makes me wonder how many more people she would truly be able to reach and affect if she employed a bit more grace and tact.
   It is unfair to call Sheehan a puppet or someone trying to take advantage of her son's death because by simply reading about the impact her son's death had on her life, a reader will see that she truly is a mother who cared deeply for her son. This book, although not Pulitzer Prize worthy by any means, reminds Americans that it is our right to protest and question our government's decisions.



4. I love Mrs Sheehan's book. She is very thoughtful and intelligent. She has done a good job of teaching herself about the realities of U.S. and world politics. Those people who gave this book a one star review most likely never read the booka and they should try getting their information elsewhere then Fox News.



5. I read the book and it gets one star. If I could give less I would since it is obvious she did not write it. But no matter, the woman with "total moral authority" has been abandoned by her former supporters in news, etc......They have finally seen what most of us have from the start..she is a moonbat.

5 comments about Built to Win: Inside Stories and Leadership Strategies from Baseball's Winningest GM.

1. I picked up a copy of the book at the local Dollar store and I am glad I didn't pay full price for it. I am not sure if he is surrounded by a group of toadies or what but I have to wonder who gave him any feed back on the manuscript. The man must have a wealth of knowledge about how trades were made, how some people he thought were stars failed and others he thought wouldn't make it did, etc. There were some good stories such as the Bonds to Atlanta trade. I had heard Andre Thomas was involved and he wasn't mentioned so I don't know if the full story wasn't in the book or that was just a rumor.
   
   He had some interesting things to say about Andrew Jones (positive) and some agents (negative) but really nothing about what went on in Kansas City, why that team collapsed or how he worked with Bobby Cox to make trades. He did make some great trades and mentioned a few but not much into the thought process behind them.
   
   I wouldn't know who the intended audience for the book is. It's not for baseball junkies, it's not for business managers, maybe people who want a few tips on management techniques? I don't know but if you are looking for baseball don't expect to find much here.



2. I bought this book with the hope of some kind of insight, and some good stories.
   
   It's a decent book, but I could care less about John Schuerholz the poet, I bought the book for baseball.
   
   I was very disappointed, it seems like another book that is an attempt to destroy "Moneyball" in the book market, but fails miserably.
   
   I love the Braves, but left this book feeling pretty disappointed.



3. John Schuerholz' book reads as if it was directly dictated to his writer. There are bland recollections of several decades in baseball, but the general themes seems to be pointing out obvious concepts (work together, listen to your staff) to make this a business/management book. Meanwhile, Schuerholz levels repeated jabs at players for being greedy and directly states that agents are destroying the game. These statements are routinely paired with an attempt to bill the Atlanta Braves as a medium-market team without the resources of largest teams. However, Schuerholz argues revenues for the team are modest, without acknowledging that Time Warner, the owner of his team, has cleared hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising by broadcasting Braves games. Sadly, this is a book devoid of self-reflection or insider details.



4. First of all, I've been a Braves fan for 30 years, so I appreciate the success of the Schuerholz era. Having said that, this book is really terrible.
   
   Schuerholz comes across as a pompous blowhard who wants us to know that he IS the best dressed man in baseball ("dapper" & "stylish apparel" are used in the book), and that he and Tom Glavine know more about wine than idiots like Stan Kasten. In fact, we get three pages on a Chateau La Fleur Petrus Pomerol, vintage 1961 - oh yeah, that's great reading!! Add some incessant name dropping and a pile of Management 101 anecdotes and you get this opus of self-love.
   
   I really thought I'd enjoy this book. It's too bad the big guy didn't stick to baseball and leave the management cliches for someone as impressed with the author's insights as the author himself. It's almost as if Schuerholz is desperately seeking his share of the credit for the success of the team; so much so that he tries to convince the reader that his management expertise is more responsible for the team's success than the organization Bobby Cox had in place when the author arrived in Atlanta. I'm not buying it, John - even though I was dumb enough to buy this book.



5. An occasionally interesting look into the mind of a successful MLB general manager is marred by insipid management book cliches regurgitated from far better motivational books.
   
   If this book had stuck to the inside stories, it might have been a modern baseball classic, but Schuerholz can't seem to resist slinging tired bromides about commitment and teamwork. When he talks about baseball, Schuerholz is a joy; but when he babbles about his "leadership strategies," this book jumps the rails.
   
   Methinks this book might be a better library or bookstore skim than a take home purchase.

5 comments about Love, Mom: A Mother's Journey From Loss to Hope.

1. 'Love, Mom' is a book of hope and healing.
   I experienced first and second trimester pregnancy losses, and my son died at age 19. Cynthia's insight and her beautiful letters to Samantha prompted me to journal, which has helped me in my grief and healing.



2. I found Ms. Baseman's book to be an honest and emotional journey through love and loss. I too, suffered a similar loss over 21 years ago. It would have been extremely helpful to read a book like this at that time because I truly felt alone and isolated with my thoughts. One reviewer was critical of the fact that the hospital took pictures of her baby. I was resistant at first but I too, had a few pictures taken of my son and am now very happy I allowed it. I have never shown them to anyone but, every so often I look at them and reflect on the past. This to me is a very personal decision.
   
   I recommend this book to anyone who may have suffered a similar loss or those who might know someone who has gone through it. The feelings are somewhat unexplainable but with the perspective of this book, the reader may find some peace as I have.



3. I bought this book and could not put it down. I lost my son at 38 weeks this past July 4 days before he was to be born. Needless to say my world as I knew it was gone for awhile. It is the most devastating thing to have to go through in life. I also feel what is devastating is the feelings of other people letting you down while you are grieving. In Cynthia's book she told her story like it could have been my story.
   
   I truly believe that only a person who has experienced such a loss can understand the grief of losing a child. Cynthia goes through her journey telling the good and bad. This book really made me feel like I was not crazy for feeling the way I did-do. The one thing that really helped me through all this was reaching out to people who have experienced this because it is the hope I needed to pull through. Highly recommended.



4. I read this book based on the good reviews, but was very disappointed. The author basically recorded what happened without providing much deep thoughts and insights on life coming out of this life-changing experience. I was also bothered by the fact she wasn't that interested in holding her stillborn baby and thought it was ridiculous for the hospital to take pictures of the baby. After I had my stillborn baby, I felt worse for her than for myself because she just didn't get a chance - she would have lived such a wonderful life. Being a mother is about giving - giving your love, your live and your soul to your children. I felt this book was a little too focused on self-pity as supposed to giving.
   
   I had read "Life Touches Life," another book written by a mom who had a stillborn baby, before I read this one. In comparison, "Life Touches Life" is much more eloquent and insightful - the writing was just beautiful.



5. I lost my Baby Girl at 37 1/2 weeks on April 9th 2007 a few weeks before her scheduled delivery on Mothers Day due to a cord accident just like Cynthia's Angel Samantha. She was my second little princess. I am forever changed. I have been searching for other woman who had experienced the same loss or a support group at the hospital and have been unsuccessful. So desperately needing something I purchased this book thinking "ah it would be like the 6 others I have about Stillbirth and Loss" and oh was I wrong.
   
   I have cried through each page of this book because It is as if she is speaking the words of my own personal journey. I experienced almost all she has except I haven't healed or begun to heal yet. This book came in the mail on 9/1/2007 and I have already finished the entire book. I could not put it down. Just to know that my feelings are natural and I am not the only one that has had just a heart break brings light to my forever darkened days.
   
   I am in school right now working for a degree in Victim Advocacy that will enable me to work at hospitals to speak to woman that have lost babies unexpectedly during their stay at the hospitals and this is one of the books I will be giving to them as their companions. In my week stay at the hospital there was no nurse or doctor that had experienced what I had so having someone that knew what it really felt like would have been a joy.
   
   I would recommend this book to any woman that has to join our grieving mothers club. I never thought I would be one and I never knew it happened so often. It breaks my heart but I feel I got a calling out it. Hopefully I can heal like Cynthia did. My heart is forever shattered and I will never be the same. I love my baby Girl always and forever.

5 comments about Falling Into Manholes.

1. Falling Into Manholes provides a fascinating look at how early childhood losses and unmet emotional needs can have profound and enduring effects over the course of one's life. Wendy's honest and candid story portrays how her early experiences contributed to her turning to a variety of addictions (including alcohol, drugs, eating disorders, and relationships) in an attempt to satisfy her emotional hunger. On the surface, Wendy's accounts are humorous and often (too?) punny, but underneath is a very real level of pain and yearning, which becomes increasingly apparent as the book progresses. After years of trying to fill the void with other people and substances, Wendy ultimately realizes that her healing needs to start from within. Relaying how Wendy progresses from falling into manholes to becoming more spiritually whole, her memoir serves as an entertaining, touching, and provocative read.



2. I'm a bit amused at the reviews and ratings I'm finding here so far: nine "5"'s and one "1". Well, it's neither of these.
   
   It's a fairly well-written, hugely insightful book that is highly entertaining while delivering a serious message. Although not every sentence and paragraph is a literary gem, she is able to navigate a difficult landscape with honesty, courage, wit and humor.
   
   Obviously, the book is not for everyone. My guess on the difference between loving and hating it is whether or not you've "been there / done that". If you are a recovering "whatever", this book will probably ring true for you. Or if you are in the despair stage of addiction and don't see a way out, you could easily find a message of hope and a light that points the way between the covers of this page-turner. However, if your addictions are still working for you or if you were lucky enough to have escaped your childhood emotionally intact, this book might be perceived as more like a train wreck you'd prefer not to ogle.



3. I have had the privilege of hearing Wendy share. She is unrelenting, brutally honest and exceptionally bright. I admire her courage and her ability to expose her deepest, darkest secrets in this not-for-the-faint-hearted memoir. She made me flinch more than once when I remembered a man I "dated" who needed money and I actually took out a personal loan ("I'll pay you back") and of course you know what happened, not to mention all the shameful secrets I still carry with me. I applaud Wendy for telling her emotional truth on the page and can only imagine how incredibly free she must be now.



4. I loved this book! It's so honest...I don't feel like I get a no-holds-barred glimpse into people's lives that often. The author has such a great way with words, I kept laughing out loud. This stuff is horrifying and funny all at the same time. I gave it to my boyfriend to read when I was done with it and he laughed more than I did. This is a light and easy read, so entertaining, but what surprised me was the depth of the insights, it's so rare that after reading a book you feel like you understand yourself and your life better, but that's what this book did for me. I've already bought extra copies to give to friends. Read this book...you won't be disappointed!



5. I'm horrified that this book made it into print. This is one poorly written, tedious walk down memory lane of a self-absorbed, self-destructive timebomb. Run, don't walk, far, far away from this one and don't waste a precious second of time investing in this drivel. I'm shocked that a book this lame would ever be green-lighted to be printed.
   
   A good memoir? Try Janice Erlbaum's Girlbomb or Have You Found Her. Either are well worth your time and do everything Manholes tried to do...and failed miserably.

3 comments about Fruitcake : Memories of Truman Capote and Sook.

1. Marie Rudisill is absolutely fabulous with this fruitcake book. This is by far the most wonderful cook book i have ever seen in my entire life. I was also able to read other of Rudisills books and she is one of the best writers there is and has ever been. Two thumbs up to Rudisill on the Jay Leno show. She was funny keeping Jay and Mel Gibson in line. I strongly recommend everyone to try this delightful fruitcake book. Check out The Southern Haunting of Truman Capote, it was inspiring learning about his childhood in the south.



2. MARIE RUDISILL HAS OUT DONE HERSELF WITH THIS FANTASTIC BOOK. IT NOT ONLY GIVES WONDERFUL RECEIPS IT ALSO SHARES MEMORIES OF TRUMAN CAPOTE AND SOOK FAULK..THIS IS WITHOUT A DOUBT THIS BEST COOKBOOK I HAVE EVER OWNED. I ALSO HAD THE PLEASURE OF SEEING MS. RUDISILL ON THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO AND MEL GIBSON, THIS WAS THE BEST EPSIODE I EVER SAW..SHE HAD NO TROUBLE KEEPING THESE TWO MEN IN LINE, AND IT SEEMED THEY ENJOYED EVERY BIT OF IT...



3. A wonderful reflection of a generation as much as a collection of effective recipes. It doesn't just seem appropriate that the subject of fruitcake stirs this focused book. The times were tough and the cake ingredients reflected that. Speaking of charmingly tough, Marie Rudisill's moments with Mel Gibson and Jay Leno should make the Late Night hall of fame. As a Capote aunt, you'd almost expect a wry scolding, but with both men up to their wrists in fruitcake batter, the pleadings to be careful with her prized recipe were loving and comfortable. So is this book.

5 comments about On the Run: A Mafia Childhood.

1. A gripping, terrific read. The Wiseguy/Goodfella is portrayed as a narcisstic, hedonistic rat. Karen comes across as completely different than portrayed by Lorraine Bracco. Karen is close to a Saint. And Henry is close to the Devil. The children produce a sensitive, thoughtful account of "Life on the Run". They both displayed maturity FAR beyond their years.



2. I'm a huge fan of Goodfellas and I'm in the process of reading the book based on the movie, Wise Guys. In the book and movie, Henry Hill is glorified as a smooth, highly respected mobster. After reading this book by his children, I have a whole new perspective on the live of Henry Hill.
   His children, although their two perspectives are VERY different, are the real victims here and they are telling the world who their father really is. I could not put this book down! It really is well written and very REAL! Henry Hill is trying to make money any way he can off his mob stories, but his children and wife are the ones who deserve every penny of what he makes because of what he put them through.
   
   Overall, I would highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys reading non-fiction and/or autobiographical accounts. This book is not just about the mob and their activities, as I originally thought when I purchased the book; rather, this is the account of children who are caught in the shuffle their entire lives and how they overcome the family problems they are confronted with everyday.



3. I really enjoyed this book and it's a shame when it came to the end. It was interesting hearing how Greg and Gina tell there side of what went on while in the witness protection program, and how both Henry and often Karen did everything but keep a low profile , especially when the mob received tips where they were and had to pick up and move to several different states which was hard on the kids once they finally were settled in and had made friends. I believe Greg and Gina were being honest describing what it was like to drive hours to see Henry in prison as many times as he was sent to , and wait there for hours on end, and the fact that Henry was as dysfunctional as he was being an alcoholic, drug addict, strung out all the time fighting with Karen a lot and bringing all his drug addict loser friends home and never making an effort to sober up or find a legitimate job. You get the feeling that Gina being the daddy's girl accepted her father more for who he was , while Greg came across as being very bitter towards his fathers ways especially as he reached adulthood and the many fights he had with Henry where he'd move in with whoever he could to get away from his dad. I beleive both Greg and Gina went their separate ways and haven't had much contact with their dad.



4. Gregg & Gina Hill tell their side of life on the run with notorious mobster Henry Hill. I was surprised at how much actually collaborated with the movie "Goodfellas", but not surprised at how much was left out. Their stint in the Witness Protection Program brought them to way more places than I thought, and Henry seemed to blow it every single time because he just couldn't seem to give up the life. Despite a very dysfunctional upbringing, they seem to have grown up into respectable adults.
   
   Henry was abusive to his family, both physically and mentally. The number of times he put them in grave danger is astounding. I highly recommend this book.



5. The glamorous side of the mafia life is portrayed in movies life "Goodfellas". Yet little is said about the background characters that are affected by the mafia life. Henry Hill, the main character of the movie Goodfellas, had a wife and two children. This is the story of Gregg and Gina Hill, Henry Hill's two children. It is a disturbing look at the effects of mob life on a family.
   
   This book begins where the movie "Goodfellas" left off. The Hills are forcibly relocated when a price is placed on Henry's head. Forced into the witness protection program to save his life, the family moves three different times. At each location, Henry compromises the family's security and safety by contacting his former associates. This also meant that the family had to grow new roots at each location, which is arduous for an awkward teenager.
   
   Henry Hill never abandoned the mafia lifestyle. He continued to abuse drugs and alcohol throughout his life and was violent to his wife and children. Violence begets violence, so his children each returned the violence before they left home. Even Henry's wife tired of his antics and left him.
   
   This is a staggering portrait of the after-effects of mafia life. It is written in a format that allows Gina and Gregg to take turns writing about their experiences in a given time frame. With the glamorous life of the mob that is often portrayed in the media, we forget about those that are left in the wake of the violence. It was a traumatic and turbulent childhood for Gina and Gregg Hill, yet they survived to tell their remarkable story. This is a credit to them.

3 comments about Child of the Revolution: Growing up in Castro's Cuba.

1. Having been born in Cuba the same year as the author (1959) but leaving 6 years before he did, I got a glimpse into what might have been for me had we stayed a little longer while I was old enough to form ideas of what was happening in Cuba at that time. There are times I have felt cheated out of my Heritage because I came to the United States so young but after reading this book a small window was opened for me to look into the world my family was forced to leave behind. It also leaves me thankful that I am lucky enough to be here and grateful for the Cuba in me that will never be forgotten.



2. Almost forty years ago my wife escaped from Cuba as a young child, with her parents and younger brother. Since then, she has often recounted the trauma of this escape, and the struggles her family faced in rebuilding their lives in Spain - and subsequently here in Australia.
   
   As she read this book she was astonished at the uncanny similarity between the author's experiences and those of her own family. Luis's story rekindled many distant, yet defining, memories, sights, smells, and feelings. To learn that her own story has been 'shared' and now 'told' (almost exactly!) was both a surprise, and perhaps more importantly, a visible comfort.
   
   There seems to be a growing amount of misinformation about the Cuban people today, but as someone who has heard this true story (for over twenty years now) I recommend this narrative as a clear and accurate part of the "true story" of Cuba. The horrors, fears and terrible emotional abuse revealed here may shock some readers, but they are NOT exaggerated. (My wife's father almost died in the Cuban labour camps after seeking permission to leave.) People who experience REAL trauma rarely embellish 'their story' - because sympathy without understanding does not bring true healing. (There's a big difference between emotion and community.) A glipse into the author's own sense of community is seen in moving dedication of the book - "to those who choose to live in exile."
   
   Luis's style is warm and engaging; he has a sharp eye for those little details that "set the trees swaying" in a narrative. He is also a shrewd observer and recorder of human nature - with an almost 'Dickensian' ability to highlight those easily-overlooked character traits that define individuals. I remember my wife laughing as she read his vivid account of that delightfully Cuban "nothing is impossible" attitude. She read the passage, smiled with recognition, and said, "That's EXACTLY how they are."



3. Luis M. Garcia is a gifted Cuban-Australian (you read that correctly, Cuban-Australian not Cuban-American) author. In his book Child of the Revolution we see what it was like to grow up in the 60s in Cuba. Since it's told from the perspective of a young boy, the story is reminiscent of the excellent book "Waiting for Snow in Havana" by Carlos Eire. Where the books are different is that Eire saw the changes from pre-Revolutionary Cuba to Revolutionary Cuba and describes them in great detail. Garcia, on the other hand, was born in 1959, the same year Castro took power, and thus had no knowledge of that pre-Castro Cuba other than what his parents told him. In fact Garcia describes that period in his life as "a battle between Castro and my parents for the mind of an 11 year old." With this book and his blog Luis M. Garcia proves that Castro's critics aren't just in Miami. Cubans have been scattered around the globe thanks to Castro's brutal dictatorship.
   
   Highly recommended.

5 comments about A Daughter Of Han: The Autobiography Of A Chinese Working Woman.

1. China always seems to have a veil of mystery around it. This book give a rare glimpse of life at the turn of the 19th century as the empire was dying and the nationalists and communists were gearing up for battle. I read this book for a class on Chinese women and absolutely loved it. I will always remember the part of having her feet bound and how her mother would lay on her legs at night so that she could sleep. Unfortunately I lost the book after many years. It wasn't until now, as I was conducting inventory of our biography collection at the library where I work, that I came across the sequal to this book. For those who could not get enough of Lao Tai-tai, there is a second book by Ida Pruitt titled "Old Madam Yin: a memoir of Peking life 1926-1938." The copyright date is 1979. The Daughter of Han is now a wealthy widow struggling to adapt to the new order. If you can't find it on amazon you can always Inter-library loan the book, I know there's at least one library in the midwest that has it ;).



2. This riveting book details an area of Chinese life seldom touched by written records. The remarkable friendship between Ida Pruitt and Ning Lao Toai-Toai has led to this very readable, and beautifully textured description of Ning Lao Toai-Toai's life in the late 19th and early 20th century. I found it both an enjoyable read and a valuable source of information about my research related to Chinese family life.



3. Ning Lao Ta'i-ta'i. _The Autobiography of a Chinese Working Woman. Translated and Transcribed by Ida Pruitt. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1967.

   Every now and then I read an entire book in one for one or two reasons a) I have to read a book that I have put off for the time period in which I had to read it b) I become completely engrossed in it. I must say that, in the case of this book, it started off as the former and it ended up being the latter, although I still have to write a paper on it by tuesday.

   This memoir was was orally transcribed by Ida Pruitt over a two year period in which Mrs. Ning visited her from 1936-38. Pruitt was forced to leave Beijing in 1938 when the Japanese invaded the series. In the brief introduction of the book, Pruitt informs the reader that she does not know what happened to Mrs. Ning after she returned to America. The brutallity of the Japanese army was not as great in Beijing as in such areas as Nanjing and Shanghai,but one can not help wondering about Mrs.Ning who the reader, or at least I, becomes quite attached to.

   Mrs. Ning begins her tale by detailing how her family became established in the town of P'englai her family history is both entrenched in history and folklore and makes for a fascinting read. The book continues following her life from her childhood, marriage, hard times, working both for government officials and missionaries, and finally living in Beijing. The greatest thing about this book is the extraordinary detail Mrs. Ning goes into describing her everyday life. One can almost see oneself removing the fourth wall of the past and being able to see late Ching China. One gets to see a good picture of opium addiction and the dealings inside yamen, political offices, that are no longer controlled by skilled officials. A great book.




4. I had to read this book for a core class in college and I thought that I would have hated it. Actually, I really liked it. It told of a Chinese working woman's life. It even gives the reader an insight into her lifestyle and her struggles during this tumuluous time in history. The story even touches on the japanese invasion. I didn't think this biography would be interesting but it was. I would recommended this book to anyone. It is a light read and it is very interesting.



5. Ida Pruitt's biography of Ning Lao T'ai-t'ai (literally "old lady Ning"), a peasant woman of northeast China born in 1867, is a fascinating anecdotal retelling of Ning's personal history as she related it to the author over the course of their two year long friendship. The storyline of Ning's life: childhood, marriage, work, and children, is laid out in a chronological history, broken into separate sections at particular turning points; and yet a cohesive theme of hardship, oppression and poverty, of strong-willed women and weak men is carried throughout not only Ning's tales but also through the stories she relates of her ancestors and neighbors.

   Pruitt writes in the voice of Ning as if she is translating, but what she is really doing is recalling Ning's stories of her life in the first half of the 20th century. Ning was born into an educated middle class family which had fallen on harder times. Her father wants a better situation for her marriage, but the older husband he choses for her becomes addicted to opium driving the family into poverty. To survive and feed her children Ning must become first a beggar, then a servant to various households: military, Muslim, bureaucrat, and finally to Christian missionaries. And Ning's voice does come across clearly; speaking against concubinage and prostitution, about the penury of employers, the need to support and keep family together.

   By using a first person retelling of the stories Pruitt gives the impresssion of accuracy, yet there were 7 years between the conversations with Ning and the writing of the book. Also the apparent bias against Japanese in prologue and last chapter together with the pub. date of the book indicate a hidden agenda on the part of the author. Still, although limited to the view of this one woman's experience, Ning's story is reflective of the hardships of life for Chinese women before the Communist era.