5 comments about My Cousin the Saint: A Search for Faith, Family, and Miracles.

1. My Cousin the Saint is provocative--it's impossible to read this book and not contemplate your own faith and the meaning of family. I consider myself far too practical and rational to be religious. So it was interesting reading about how someone with the same self-image started believing. Or at least trying to.
   
   Furthermore Catanoso's vivid descriptions of his family in the United States and in Italy provides an interesting contrast of the social norms in those two countries.
   
   Growing up outside of Boston, I was jealous of my many Italian-American classmates and their large, boisterous families. This book confirms that my envy was well founded.



2. I loved this book. I cried because it was sad or because it was happy. The book is a delight and I am buying it for my Catholic friends and family. Justin has captured so much of what Italy and Italians are while giving us a view of what it is to be a saint and to be recognized as one. It is a story of faith and seeking faith. It is a story of family split by time and an ocean and a family rejoined by email, travel, and the Vatican. This book is well written. I did not edit one word! I hope Justin writes another book!



3. I picked this book up because the premise was kind of interesting -- what's it like to find out you are related to a saint (close enough that the family resemblance to your father is obvious)? The writer is kind of sleep walking spiritually through life but awakens to find that he has a cousin who is in line to become a saint -- an honest-to-goodness, pope-approved, picture-on-the-Vatican-walls saint. The journey that opens to him takes him back to his family's roots in Italy and the contrast between his grandfather's decision to leave home for America and his grandfather's cousin's decision to become a humble priest in a land that everyone (and sometimes God) seems to have forgot. The present intrudes when an older brother develops terminal cancer and the search for the miracles that will lead to Father Gaetano's canonization becomes desperately personal. Ultimately, the journey reveals to the author the hold that faith and family have on him.



4. This will be short and to the point. This accounting of Saint Gaetano Catanoso's life is a compelling read. It makes a wonderful gift to believers and unbelievers alike.
   
   Pati Sparks



5. What is it like to have a saint in the family? Go on - you can answer that. If you don't know already, you will discover, after reading Justin Catanoso's book about his cousin, that our families are full of saints, and that we, too, are on the same path. It's just that Justin's cousin won an Academy Award - so to speak--for his journey.
   You don't have to be Catholic to enjoy this book, it is not about religion, it is about God manifest in the family - Love, something common to us all. And, it's loaded with every-day miracles, prayers answered and petitions declined. Daniela, a Calabrese cousin and self-described miracle herself, has an answer to why not all requests for miracles are granted. I'll not reveal it here.
   Take the book to the beach - it's not heavy reading--and about two thirds of the way through the book and the day, when you have an inexplicable hunger for swordfish, gather the family together for dinner and your own little communion of saints. Can it be any wonder why Jesus chose a meal to share Himself with us?
   Reading My Cousin The Saint after finishing Passion on the Vine by Sergio Esposito, another satisfying book about family, food, love, and more than a little wine, I think these Italians are on to something. Or is it up to something? Either way we are no longer strangers but pilgrims heading for the same place. What a pleasure to encounter Justin and his family on this path.

5 comments about The Dream: A Memoir.

1. Harry Bernstein is an incredible story teller, a natural born author. I admire that he waited until his later years to write his autobiograhy/memoir. My husband bought me the first book, The Invisible Wall, which I would highly recommend. His recollection of his growing up in a poor neighborhood with his absent alcoholic father and the love he had for his mother who did the best she could, is touching. I am now into The Dream and it doesn't disappoint. You can feel Harry's disappointments and small moments of joy as he unfolds them for you with candor. If you like a story that you can almost see the people involved because the author is that honest, this book is for you. I can't say enough about it, when I received my book (The Dream) in the mail from Amazon, it put a smile on my face and made my day. What a gift Harry has to give that to a perfect stranger.



2. As soon as I heard that Harry Bernstein had written a second memoir dealing with his early life America, I ordered it at once and devoured it. God bless this writer! He is 98 years old and hopes to give us a third memoir of his life with his beloved wife Ruby. I will buy it the day it is printed.
   
   Young Harry and his brothers and sisters, devoted mother and rather despicable, drunken and despotic father, leave their Liverpool poverty and travel to America in the early twentieth century. As Harry grows, the first of his family to complete high school (his mother cannot read or write), he takes on the role of the man in the house, eventually managing to work even during the Depression (though nearly killed by a band of thugs), trying to get his mother away from his father who has always made their life miserable. The strength, charm and humor of young Harry is wonderful and when he at last falls in love with a girl he meets in a dance hall, he begins a romance and marriage which will last him almost three quarters of a century.
   
   So many people are lovingly and fascinatingly portrayed, none less than his grandfather who in a strange, lonely, almost unbelievable profession, supports them all.
   
   Please write the next book quickly, Mr. Bernstein!
   
   Stephanie Cowell (author of the novel MARRYING MOZART)



3. After reading his moving and evocative first memoir, The Invisible Wall, about his life till age 12 living in Manchester as a child of Polish Jewish immigrants, I had eagerly awaited the possible sequel. This new book is as good as the first. Mr. Bernstein, now 98 years old, continues his story, covering the time of the family move to the USA, their experiences in Chicago and New York, their life during good times and then the depression. This book fits into several genera: 1. It is an autobiography, 2. It is a case study in parental abuse and general dysfunctional family members, and 3. It is a pesonal memoir of how this boy, and then man, responded to the various situations. To be honest, while I loved the writing and the story, something I cannot forget is the beautiful picture of Mr. Bernstein's wife, in her later years, looking up at him. The love is just so clear in her face.
   
   Read this book, after reading the Invisible Wall, and be swept into this remarkable family history.



4. This tender memoir showcases Mr. Bernstein's gifted ability to thoroughly connect with his readers. In The Invisible Wall - an equally fabulous book - we begin to follow Harry (the author), his parents, brothers, and sisters through the ups and downs of their hardscrabble existence in England. Now in The Dream, we connect all the more with them as they cope with incredibly difficult situations during the 1920's and 1930's in Chicago and New York. It's not a pretty existence, but it's one that exemplifies perseverance, resilience, love, forgiveness, and hope - some of which are undoubtedly scarce in this 21st century.
   
   Keep in mind that this is a two-volume treasure. Read The Invisible Wall first to become acquainted with Harry's family, including his amazing mother and her dream. Then treat yourself to The Dream to find out the incredible things that happen in America, including Harry's romance with Ruby, who becomes Harry's wife. And, if by book's end, you experience a very special closeness to Mr. Bernstein and his life story, you won't be the only one.



5. I could not wait until this book arrived and it was even better than Bernstein's first book. He really describes his family members so that the reader can understand who and why they are. His devotion to both his mother who was the inspiration for his dreams and his wife who was the love of his life is very touching. I cried when I finished the book. My only solace is the note at the end which indicates that he is planning a third book. What a feat for a man of 98!

5 comments about The Essential Barack Obama: The Grammy Award-Winning Recordings.

1. This CD set provides a remarkable and powerful insight into the man who is running for President of the United States. Hearing the written words in his own voice is a fascinating way to learn more about Barack Obama. I highly recommend this set for anyone who wants to capture the history of this election on CD and also enjoys listening to books as an alternative to reading for long trips in the car, etc.



2. These audio books make for informative and pleasant listening while I am driving,working around the house or walking around my neighborhood. Barack Obama's narration is clear, interesting and expressive. I would recommend it to anyone.



3. The Grammy award winning recording of the Essential Barack Obama did not disappoint me at all. I wanted to read his 2 books and thought since he is such a great speaker with a dynamic speaking voice,I would get the recording of his books.I sit back,close my eyes and listen to his words and the ways he intended them to mean.I never bought an audio book before,so this was quite a treat to enjoy.



4. I bought this CD for my daughter as a classroom tool and she did use it, along with web clips of the other presidential candidates, in her English class. She tells me that Obama is articulate and has a beautiful voice so this CD is a joy to listen to -- so much so that she won't let me borrow it and the multi-disc set is packed away and going to Europe with her this summer. There are abridged versions of both his books and an excellent introduction on these discs. When I bought this, I didn't realize it was such a bargain. Highly recommended. I guess I'll be buying my own.



5. These two books together are a wonderful look at Senator Obama's life and his character. The "Dreams From My Father," reflects the character-building life that he led, thank to his mother, and grand parents, as well as the intelligence and standing of his father, who died when Barack was young. You get a great sense of his concern for mankind and his desire to help others.
   
   "The Audacity of Hope," describes his feelings about the pressures and potential pitfalls of running for and holding public office. He tells how he was able to keep to his ideals and the teachings of his mother and grandparents throughout his political career.

5 comments about Unbowed: A Memoir (Vintage).

1. This person is exceptional, but don't let that stop you from emulating her! She has courage, integrity, and intelligence to spare--and she used it to save her country's ecological health as well as struggling for democracy and the rights of women for equality and dignity. She went through very perilous circumstances, but fortunately for us all, she still continues to this day as a voice for democracy and honesty in government. We need more like her!



2. Reviewed by Charles Shea LeMone [...]
   
   Nobel laureate, Wangari Maathai was born in Nyeri, Kenya, in 1940. Her earliest memories of the highland country are of a paradise of fertile soil, lush forests and abundant crops. The land was rich with rivers and streams. However, returning home from college in America, one of the first things she noticed was how deforestation and the mass cultivation of cash crops had devastated the countryside, causing severe top soil erosion and many creeks and streams to dry up. Furthermore, the people in her region were no longer as robust and strong as she recalled. Instead, having changed their diets to eat like Europeans, they now appeared weak and undernourished. She found the same to be true of the animals that her people raised.
   
   As a professor, a biologist, and a Kikuyu woman, she turned to the women of her country to help restore the decimated forest. Launching the Green Belt Movement to plant trees--more than 30 million since 1977--she was subjected to beatings, arrest and death threats. Nevertheless, she and her women followers remained unbowed. In fact, the discrimination she faced for merely being a woman, led Maathai to question all human rights abuses that the corrupt government was guilty of perpetrating.
   
   She also fought for free elections, which further alienated her in the eyes of the local leaders. Despite all of their efforts to discredit her, though, in 2002, she was elected to Kenya's Parliament. A year later, she was appointed assistant minister for the environment; and in 2004, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She continues to live and work in Nairobi.
   
   On the back cover of "Unbowed a Memoir" there is a quote from former president Bill Clinton. "Wangari Maathai's memoir is direct, honest, and beautifully written--a gripping account of modern Africa's trials and triumphs, a universal story of courage, persistence, and success against great odds in a noble cause."



3. I agree with the other reviewers about this being an amazing memoir of a brilliant, undaunted woman, and I highly recommend it. I found it intriguing and instructive for other reasons as well: it's an eye opener into Kenya from British colonial times - when the author was a child in an indigenous society close to the land and animals. Her village seems very much like a Native American village surviving (or trying to survive) through missionaries, reservations, racism and harsh, coerced cultural assimilation, etc. Many of her memories are strikingly parallel to my own, growing up in the Arctic in Inupiaq culture colonized by whites but maintaining much of its old collective ways and animistic ties with the land.
   
   The effects of this colonial legacy are still with Kenyans today, for better or worse. Maathai does not romanticize her indigenous, tribal roots. She admits her father beat his wives and Kenyan women had somehow lost their ancient role of authority, but she evenhandedly points out beneficial aspects of polygamy - for example, children were well taken care of and loved with multiple mothers, so she grew up with a powerful sense of security and groundedness. She describes British farmers who were kind and friends with the locals they used as serfs. Life is full of moral ambiguity and she does not deny the good aspect of missionary boarding school where they beat her for speaking her native tongue: it launched her into her a western education and knowledge of the greater world, which she put to such good use.
   The memoir continues through the Mau Mau uprising (which was a rebellion against the cruelty of British taking all the good farmland and forcing thousands into far off impoverished reservations, and pitting the many tribes against one another). Maatthai proceeds into current times, always with keen insights into the increasing degradation of the ecosystem with climate change, the introduction of foreign species to turn Kenya into plantations, and the destruction of the old native wisdom/stewardship which helped keep things in balance.
   "Unbound" was published before the current conflict that is spiraling into full civil war, with ethnic cleansing and the use of mass rape as a terror instrument. I am sure that Maathai would have plenty to add about this in her memoir if she updates it, with equally keen insights. She would point out that the conflict has its roots in colonial rule and the destruction of a sustainable ecosystem and native life ways, as we see in so many parts of the world now. She would surely have some advice on how to stop the violence.
   I really admire this woman, and hope a lot more will read her book. It seems very important!



4. Maathai is the first African woman and the first environmentalist to win the Nobel Peace Prize-in 2004.
   
   Masthai's life is inspiring-from her humble beginnings as a child laborer on the plantation of a white English colonial farm with her family, to her early education in the primitive Ihithe primary school at age 8, to further education at St. Cecilia's at the Mathari Catholic Mission, to college in the United States. She taught at the University in Kenya, and was active in the National Council of Women in Kenya (NCWK) for many years.
   
   Many failures are scattered throughout her life: she was divorced by her husband; she lost her job at the University when she tried to run for office, and she was arrested many times for her work in promoting democracy in Kenya. One of the projects she worked on was to stop the construction of a huge 60-story skyscraper in the middle of Uhuru Park in Nairobi; another was to obtain the release of over 50 men who had been imprisoned for agitating for a multi-party system. She held a hunger strike with their mothers, in Uhuru Park, and then they all retreated to a nearby Anglican cathedral to continue to protest after being routed from the park by armed police (Along with many others, Maathai was beaten and taken to hospital). Eventually the men were released.
   
   Maathai started the Green Belt Movement in 1977. In 2002 Kenya finally held free and democratic open elections and Maathai won a seat in the Parliament. See the Green Belt web site for extensive details of her grassroots tree-planting program. The act of planting a tree is helping women throughout Africa help the environment. The GBM has planted more than 40 million trees across Africa, resulting in reduced soil erosion has affecting the critical watersheds
   
   Everyone can make a difference. Just today I watched a report on the news about the devastating drought in the Southeast United States. Hard times are coming. We need to learn about climate change and what we can do to manage it.
   
   Armchair Interviews says: One woman helping other women and her country.



5. This memoir is an inspiring example of what one woman can do, bit by bit, and eventually have an internationally positive influence. The author's story resonates with anyone who wants to make a difference in her/his own molecule of the world.

5 comments about iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It.

1. As an early adopter of the TRS-80 (1978) and later Apple II I have been an avid reader of much history of this period. There are great nuggets of inside events in this book but a little too much of Woz's philosophy and not as much new as I had hoped. The tech info was great though some of it a bit hard to follow which might be understandable of a proven genius telling his story.



2. I enjoyed reading this book but like others, I found it annoying at times. It is an autobiography. Most of the book is about boring details of Steve Wozniak's life. His account of how Apple Computer started and how the Apple I and II where created is very interesting, unfortunately it is a very small part of the book. It was very annoying reading his constant bragging about how humble he is.
   
   The book gave me a better understanding of early PC history and the history of Apple. I also wanted to learn more about a guy I consider a hero. I did learn more about Woz but I must say that based on what I learned from this book I respect him a lot less than before.



3. I'm a mac user, and I always wanted to know how Woz lived all Apple's building process.
   It's a great biography and really enjoyable to read. All is written in a very friendly way.
   I really recommend it. It's a piece of computer history, I think, all geeks should know.



4. This was an outstanding autobiography that gave me real insight into Steve Wozniak's life journey and thought process. Most interesting and prevelant was the invention of the first PC, but the book goes beyond that.
   
   As a tech person myself, I really liked how he would stop and describe how things worked as it related to how it shaped his life. Some of it was interesting and easy to understand (e.g., why twisted pair wire is twisted) while others were interesting but mostly went over my head (e.g., the intricacies of a complex circuit board). But I even enjoyed the stuff that went over my head.
   
   Some of the other reviews trashed this book because they thought he was too full of himself or they thought the book was written "at a 6th grade level". #1 - it's an autobiography - what do you want him to talk about? #2 - he invented the first personal computer - if anything I think he downplays his role too much (it's not like the PC has any impact on modern life, right?). #3 - the book's style is just about perfect if you ask me. If you want an autobiography that reads like a high-brow novel, then read one about a novelist. For me, this was perfectly what an autobiography should be: a behind-the-eyes look at someone truly interesting and impactful on everyone's lives, written in his own words.



5. Steve Wozniak spends a lot of this book detailing so many examples of his relentlessly positive attitude, his relentlessly great time growing up, and his relentless enthusiasm for all thing electronic. He does a good job in some early sections explaining movements of electrons along currents at their both basic level, which is appreciated by non-engineers. I was put off by his side story of opening/running the Mayfair theater in a "low-income" area of Silicon Valley and having to paint the bathroom black to stop the graffetii. I grew up in what he probably thinks are "low-income" areas of Silicon Valley, i e your house is under $2 million bucks, and I was pretty offended. Wow! We weren't super-rich and I never graffettied anything! This typifies the snotty elitist attitude of people in that area and reminds me why I high-tailed it for Sin City. Too bad that one of the men who built and contributed so much has this attitude as well. Stop playing to both sides of the fence, Woz. Your products are great, but your book needs some de-bugging!

5 comments about A Walk on the Beach: Tales of Wisdom From an Unconventional Woman.

1. Each book ~ although different in their own way ~ continues to be truly amazing. They are motivating, endearing and engaging. Joan feels like a dear old friend, yet I'm discovering about myself !



2. I first "met" Joan Anderson in her book, A Year By the Sea. I was in awe of this woman who took a hiatus from her marriage, moved to the solitude of a life on Cape Cod and took the time to really get to know herself.
   
   Her second book, An Unfinished Marriage, was a continuation of her journey, as she shared the story of how her husband eventually joined her in Cape Cod.
   
   Not surprisingly, the third book in this trilogy, A Walk On the Beach, was an uncommon delight. I wasn't quite sure what else Ms. Anderson could share about her Cape Cod experience. I was soon to find out there was a lot left to tell.
   
   Her first book in the trilogy will always be my favorite, but "A Walk On the Beach" ranks right up there with it. We are transported back to many of the same scenes we read about in "A Year By the Sea", but we learn of a remarkable friendship that began in an otherwise isolated period of the author's life.
   
   On a foggy day, we walk with Ms. Anderson onto a jetty overlooking the ocean. There we are introduced to Joan Erikson--a writer and the wife of pioneering psychoanalyst Erik Erikson.
   
   In the pages that follow, we are allowed a glimpse into the "Tales of Wisdom From An Unconventional Woman" (the subtitle of the book).
   
   "The beach to me is a sacred zone between the earth and the sea, one of those in-between places where transitions can be experienced--where endings can be mourned and beginnings birthed. A walk along the beach offers the gift of the unexpected. Scan the horizon and glimpse the endelss possibilities. Stroll head down and encounter one natural treasure after another. Tease the tides and feel a sense of adventure. Dive into the surf and experience the rush of risk."
   
   From the Prologue:
   
   "One of the most significant gifts the beach has given me was Joan Erikson, an elderly woman whom I met accidentally on a foggy February day. She was to prod me to find myself again, even when I thought all was lost."
   
   In her prologue, Ms. Anderson tells us that she hopes the readers of this book will be mentored by some of Joan Erikson's wisdom in much the same way she was mentored by the woman who used to say "The important thing is to share what you know. Be generative and pass it on. That is what makes all the difference."
   
   To read this book is to discover validation of the desire to find true wisdom and inner awareness. To savor this book is to be enriched by the uncommon wisdom of a remarkable woman and to experience the sheer joy of a friendship extroidinaire.
   
   by Lee Ambrose
   for Story Circle Book Reviews
   reviewing books by, for, and about women



3. Scrambling along rocks on a Cape Cod beach, following the sound of a foghorn, Joan Anderson suddenly finds herself almost nose-to-nose with an old woman she doesn't know. The stranger turns out to be Joan Erikson, wife of psychoanalyst Erik Erikson. Feeling an immediate connnection, the two Joans rapidly become close companions.
   
   Joan Anderson has come to the Cape, running away from home, to re-evaluate her marriage and the direction of her life. Always a people-pleaser, she now feels exhausted and confused, no longer fulfilled by family or her career as the author of children's books.
   
   Seeking a small town nursing home where her husband will receive attentive care during his final days, Joan Erikson has relocated to the same town. Her running-away came years ago when she went, a young girl alone, to Europe to dance with Isadora Duncan, at a time when such things simply weren't done.
   
   Anderson's book is the account of the two women's blossoming friendship and the lessons they learn from one another. She recounts a multitude of conversations which took place as they go about their daily activities, walking the beaches, weaving cloth to represent the stages of their lives, sharing meals and ideas.
   
   Erikson urges Anderson to make time for play in her life each day, to get out of her head and into her body. Now in her nineties, she demonstrates the benefits of keeping one's body machinery well-functioning. The friendship reinvigorates her and she excitedly begins to rework and build on the pioneering work on life stages she shared with her husband.
   
   Meanwhile Anderson grows in confidence and clarity of purpose to the point that she can hike the Inca trail to Machu Picchu, a feat that would have been impossible for her before. She walks back into her marriage but as a changed person, more independent, more aware of who she is and the person she wants to become.
   
   Erikson quotes a Japanese scholar: In order not to fail in the end, you have to be dependent on yourself, and know that you can handle things, and most importantly, bring a little humor into the despair. Lightness, imagination, flexibility-these are the things that go into making a new start.
   
   And so, make a new start they do, each growing from the other, becoming stronger and more vibrant in the process.



4. Overall, the book is worth reading. And although I appreciate the relationship and deep friendship portrayed, it does tend to go overboard and become sappy at times.



5. Joan Anderson captures a woman's heart and soul. This a book for any woman who is searching to find herself and her place in the world. I feel my life has been enriched by reading this lovely story. Joan Erickson is the wise woman we all long to sit at the feet of and perhaps some day become. I have bought copies for all my women friends. Thank you Joan Anderson for sharing your story and Friendship with Joan Erickson with the world!

No comments about The First Billion Is the Hardest: Reflections on a Life of Comebacks and America's Energy Future.

5 comments about The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry: Love, Laughter, and Tears at the World's Most Famous Cooking School.

1. while it is true that certain aspects of this story might strike some readers as unfair or annoying (that she can afford not to work for a year and live in paris, and that she does all of this not as a career move, but more as a means to "find herself") the bottom line is that this is just not a particularly interesting or well- written book. in fact, it reads more like a journal than a compelling narrative. there is no suspense, no stakes, nothing at all to carry a reader through to the end - unless you're dying to know whether or not she graduates, which actually matters not at all, since her diploma is more a "badge of honor" than a means to an end. ultimately, it doesn't succeed on either level - as memoir or food journalism - as it manages to be somehow too small and personal to be universal, and not personal enough for us to care about the characters. anyone truly interested in the subject of cooking would do far better to read "heat", "kitchen confidential", or michael ruhlman's books (if they haven't already) for any real sense of what the life of a "chef" is like.



2. My book club recently read this book and we unanimously voted it a five star. It's such a good read and the author writes a touching story - sometimes funny and sometimes a little sad but always moving.
   
   We have 17 members in our club and many have purchased the book as gifts for others after we read it.
   
   I am an avid reader and this book kept me enthralled. I was up reading it until 2:00 am once.
   
   I would recommend it to others. You will not be disappointed.



3. I bought this book based on the glowing reviews it received on this site. After all, it combined two of my great loves -- cooking and France - as subject matter. Unfortunately, I am still struggling to finish it. There is nothing compelling or terribly interesting in this story which is prosaically written. It doesn't come to Bill Buford's "Heat" or any of the Michael Ruhlman books. Eh...



4. The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry is a riveting memoir of one woman's journey through the hallowed kitchens of Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. Fresh from a corporate layoff in her London office, Kathleen Flinn chases her childhood dream to attend Le Cordon Bleu, encouraged by then-boyfriend Mike. Kathleen's love for cooking came as a result of necessity: after her father's early death from cancer when Kathleen was a teenager, she took over cooking for her family, eventually exploring the works of Julia Child and other cuisines. As an adult, her job in journalism allowed her to dabble in food writing and to indulge her love of restaurants, cooking, and food around the globe (including a brush with food poisoning from undercooked pig kidneys in China).
   
   Kathleen's witty observations of Cordon Bleu demonstrations and classes are culled from 600 pages of personal notes, 120 hours of audio recordings, and selections from the 300-plus recipes in the Cordon Bleu curriculum, so readers are instantly immersed into the grueling world of elite chefdom, including less appetizing ventures such as gutting fish, removing tendons and glands from chickens and guinea fowl, beheading rabbits, and chopping live lobsters in half (this book is definitely NOT for the squeamish). However, such visions are tempered by sweeter notes, including puff pastry and delicate sauces described in detail.
   
   Kathleen describes her new friends and classmates in detail, along with her continuing explorations of Paris and her struggles to improve her rusty French. One of the book's most touching moments involves a visit from her sister, who had planned on studying at the Sorbonne but gave up her place (and her dreams of studying in France) when their father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Small moments of everyday Parisian life provide a pleasant counterpart to break up the monotony of daily classes. Other domestic affairs include Kathleen's marriage to Mike, a visit from annoying houseguests, and several medical emergencies.
   
   The Sharper Your Knife includes many of the recipes alluded to in the text, and the back of the book thoughtfully includes a recipe index for faster retrieval. Traditional selections include Beef Braised in Red Wine, Chicken Cordon Bleu (which has no affiliation with the school), Rabbit or Chicken with Mustard Sauce, Chocolate Souffle, and Duck With Orange Sauce. Some of the author's personal favorites include Minestrone Soup, Gumbo from Paris, and Banana and Nutella Crepes.



5. Since the mega-success of Elizabeth Gilbert's "Eat Pray Love", there has been a corresponding uptick in the number of autobiolgraphical books about people (mostly all women in their 30s) chucking it all, and finding soul-fulfilling contentedness in SOMETHING (anything) besides ordinary life. I suppose it is a natural reaction to all the books of the 80s and 90s, in which people (again, mostly women) found hitherto unforeseen joy in having kick-ass corporate jobs....in the new economy of the 21st century, what with downsizing and layoff and the technology bust, there isn't a lot of joy in corporate America (or Europe) and it suddenly sounds wonderful to be doing something else....something more aimless and wild...heck, actually what it sounds like are all those books of the SEVENTIES that suggested you chuck it all, and hitchhike around the world and "find yourself".
   
   I guess my mom was right when she said "everything comes around again". Well, here it is.
   
   In this, her first book, Kathleen Flinn is a highly paid internet mucketymuck for Microsoft (*a TEENSY detail she um, forgets to mention but which is highly critical to her actions) who gets laid off, undoubtedly with the kind of severance pay and benefits that equal more than an average person earns in a lifetime. No, Ms. Flinn doesn't mention who she worked for, but amazingly she loses her job in London, and doesn't have to A. move back to the US or B. get another job FOR OVER A YEAR and C. she has enough cash to live in Paris, in luxury apartments, for over a year and D. attend an expensive, legendary cooking school ... oh, and sorry I nearly forgot -- she also got have a very cool wedding on a private island in Florida.
   
   Inbetween, we get to read of her experiences at Le Cordon Bleu, the most famous cooking school in the world. They have official "branch" schools all over the world, including the US and Canada, but Ms. Flinn only wants to attend the Paris school, despite her grade-school level French. Much of the book is centered on her difficulties in communicating at school, and in every activity (from renting an apartment to ordering pizza), but we are never told why she choose to attend classes in a language she is not fluent in when, for example, there is a respected Le Cordon Bleu in Las Vegas and another one in Ottawa, Canada....and it can't be the many charms of Paris, because very little of the book shows us Paris, or any part of France. No wonder, because the school is very demanding, and poor Ms. Flinn has to move her fiance overseas (he quits his lucrative job to do so, and "somehow" there is enough money for both of them to spend the year not working, in a luxury apartment, and eating out all the time) and also plan her wedding. Mike, her fiance, is an incredible stand-up guy -- the perfect boyfriend/fiance/husband who will do anything for his woman, plus he's handsome, successful (a pilot, an executive, etc.), very romantic, and he never argues or quarrels or leaves wet towels in the bathroom, or hates being in a country where he doesn't speak the language. 'Cuz he's perfect.
   
   Actually, the blurb on the cover says "the author discovers the love of her life right in front of her", which had me thinking way until the halfway point of the book, that "perfect Mike" would reveal himself to be a creep, and that Ms. Flinn would fall in love with one of her Chef instructors! that's how one-dimensional poor Mike is portrayed. But it turned out just to be confusing book-jacket blurb kerfluffle.
   
   It turns out that what you learn at Le Cordon Bleu is how to cook very elaborate, very caloric old-fashioned "French restaurant food" -- everything pureed and covered in creamy sauces. (If your parents ever took you out to eat at a 'fancy' restaurant with a French name, you know what I mean.) They seem insulated from anything that has happened in culinary history since around 1961. I'm not a professional cook, but it seems to me that this kind of "training" would be of minimal use to anybody hoping to work in or run a modern restaurant -- and tellingly, Ms. Flinn's classes are entirely attended by non-French students -- not one is native French. In the entire 3-part, year long program, all her fellow students are either Asian, non-French European, Canadian, or American. Quite a few, including Flinn herself, are spending about $30,000 grand in tutition, plus living expenses in one of the world's most expensive cities PLUS a year lost at a paying profession -- to attend cooking school and then HAVE NO INTENTION TO COOK PROFESSIONALLY or work in a restaurant.
   
   Now -- this strikes me as awful peculiar. I don't think the same would be true for students attending the Culinary Institute of America, for example. I appreciate people wanting to make a 180 degree career shift, in mid-life, but I admit that I am baffled by anyone wanting to make a huge investment in schooling, living overseas, etc., and yet "has no idea" why.
   
   It's certainly not to "live and work in Paris", because with the demands of the school, Ms. Flinn doesn't get around Paris all that much -- she's on the buses and trains a lot -- and she never really hones her French beyond simple words.
   
   There are places she goes -- like the giant food market, Rungis -- that I would have loved to have heard more about, or even seen some pictures (why is it that these new "find yourself" travelogues never seem to have any photos, when digital cameras are so tiny and easy to carry along?), but they are of less interest to the author than blow-by-blow descriptions of sauces she has made or puff pastry she practices on or the occasional small kitchen snafu (a duck falls to the floor!).
   
   Actually, what I carried away was the strong feeling that, though she never admits to this, Ms. Flinn planned all along to write an "expose" about Le Cordon Bleu, and sell the manuscript, and that the cooking school and year-off in Paris, was all upfront costs to the eventual bestseller she was hoping for....investing her "Microsoft millions" into something even more lucrative. If so, then the subject is deceiving, because this is not about wannabe chef finally daring to live her dream -- it's an investment scheme. Not nearly as charming.
   
   I did learn one genuinely interesting (though never fully explained) thing in the course of this book -- the famous cooking school trains its chefs to cook on OLD ELECTRIC RANGES...yup, the kind of stove your mom probably cooked on. Yet, any restaurant in the world of any quality would use a very different kind of large, commercial gas range that is much hotter and fussier to work on. From my personal experience, I know it is very difficult to go back and forth from electric to gas, just on a home stove for home cooking -- I can't imagine how hard it would be to translate very complex, elaborate "gourmet" cooking styles and recipes this way! My guess is, it would be awful, and it would at the least badly confuse a new chef and retard their intial progress at a real job. It suggests something never discussed in the book -- that maybe a very expensive French cooking school with unreliable electric ranges, and whose students are all foreign and not French, is maybe....MAYBE...sort of a tourist scam and not the place that real French chefs go to train.
   
   I can't prove this, but prior to reading this book, the idea would have never entered my head -- like anyone else who likes cookbooks and cooking tv shows, I figured "Le Cordon Bleu" was the best of the best. Now, I seriously gotta wonder. Just like with Ms. Flinn -- after several hundred pages of her life experience, I actually know less about her than I did on page one.

5 comments about Cash: The Autobiography.

1. What really makes this better than most autobiographies is that Johnny Cash is a good story teller, and avoids the temptation to tell his life story strictly in a linear fashion from his upbringing to the present. Instead, he presents his life story as a set of stories during a tour, as if we are on the tour bus with him going to place to place. And it hits the right note since he's spent so much of his life on the road. And the moments he talks about his various homes have a certain intimacy, since we realize home for a person like Johnny Cash has probably been pretty fleeting. Subtly powerful stuff, just like his music.
   
   Cash comes across as a pretty worldly figure, despite being heavily grounded by his country roots. We get pretty frank and open discussions about his failures and battles with addiction. As someone pretty non-religious, I found his discussions about Christianity and what it means to him and his family completely open and approachable, and it never comes across as preachy or patronizing. Yes, the endless talk about his various grandkids and non-stop effusive praise of the exhaustive list of people he's performed with started getting a little old, but I can forgive that. Very enjoyable read. 4 1/2 stars out of 5, so I'll round it up to 5.
   
   Note: As someone who would listen to Cash read aloud the phone book underwater to the sounds of fingernails across a chalk board, you might say I'm a little biased.



2. This book was good. I can't say it any simpler. I enjoyed reading it and feel a little closer to the man whose music I admire.



3. This is a very readable book. The writing is simple, yet interesting. It reads just like Johnny Cash is having a conversation with the reader. Thumbs up.



4. I really liked the book and I am glad I bought it but it wasn't as in depth as I was hoping it would be. Some of the names he drops would have been easier to follow if he had used last names and the book assumes you have kept up with his history and his career but what it does do is makes me want to purchase "Man in Black" just that much more.



5. In this book Cash does what he does best and that's tell stories. Anybody who's even remotely familiar with his career and music knows he is a master storyteller. Cash the Autobiography is the perfect forum for the man to bear his soul and talk about his life. Never one to hold back he gives us highs lows and everything in between. This legend lived harder and faster than most rock stars could ever dream of. Get this and listen to the man in black tell you his story.

5 comments about Truth & Beauty: A Friendship.

1. wonderfully written. if you put a gun to my head and ask who was a better writer, patchett or her friend lucy grealy, the friend that makes completes this companionship, i'd say grealy. much more forceful, passionate and wild writer, hence grealy is not alive now, but patchett is. good book however. check out grealy's writings too.



2. I don't like memoirs, but I read this one in one day. The two writers Anne Patchett and Lucy Grealy meet at Sarah Lawrence and later are roommates while pursuing Master's Degrees at the Iowa Writer's Workshop. Fate deals them both great success as writers, yet their personal paths take completely divergent courses. The bond of friendship spans two decades and countless heartbreaks. Anne Patchett does portray herself to be the 'saint' in this friendship but you would almost have to be to endure the suffering that being friend to Lucy Grealy demanded. The themes of friendship, art, loneliness and love are rendered with realism and depth. Patchett's obvious love for writing and her poet friend is shared in this gift of a book.



3. I'm giving this book 3 stars because I like Ann Patchett's writing very much, but the story isn't as interesting to me as a woman in my mid-40s as it would have been had I read this in my 20s. In my 20s, this would have been a grand sweeping tragedy - a life changing book, a standard by which to judge loyalty and friendship. In my 40s, I went "eh." I read this as the story of two highly dysfunctional people in a suffocating relationship. It feels like Patchett wrote it as a way to exorcise her grief; and also perhaps examine her own less than healthy behavior. It did make me want to read more of Patchett's fiction. I picked up a copy of Patron Saint of Liars and am going to give that a try next. Part of me wants to say, Ann just forgive yourself already. We've all been there and done that. Maybe not in such an extreme way or for so many years... but we've all been sucked in by a charming selfish user. Learn a lesson and move on.



4. Readers will likely recognize the author's name from her previous novels, including Bel Canto, which won the PEN/Faulkner Award, and The Patron Saint of Liars, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Readers also may recognize Ann Patchett from her articles that appear in such publications as Gourmet, the New York Times Magazine, and the Paris Review. No doubt, some readers will recognize Patchett's friend, Lucy Grealy, as the author of the critically acclaimed memoir, Autobiography of a Face.
   
   Truth & Beauty is the story of the friendship shared by Lucy Grealy and Ann Patchett. It is at once tender, heartwarming, heartbreaking and complex. Truth & Beauty is neither the story of Lucy nor the story of Ann, but of the parts of each life that were shared. What one lacked, the other offered for the relationship. What one shared, the other reached out to receive.
   
   Ann and Lucy met in the early 1980s while attending college. At the Iowa Writers' Workshop, they began a friendship that would become a lifelong process. This is no ordinary friendship. It is one riddled with emotional upheaval, creative successes and disappointments, health crises, and ultimately the lecherous hold of drug abuse.
   
   This is a phenomenal look at the way in which two exceptionally creative people lived, loved, wrote, and grappled with the realities of life. It is also an extremely sensitive description of the way a woman wrought with illness, despair and depression can one minute create beauty and the next minute search for ways to destroy herself.
   
   Truth & Beauty is the story of two friends who loved one another through the best and worst of times. It is a portrayal of loyalty and devotion over more than twenty years of friendship, and a haunting, heartbreaking portrait of the belief in the invincibility of one who lives so largely despite their diminuitive size. Only to find that no one is invincible...no one.
   
   by Lee Ambrose
   for Story Circle Book Reviews
   reviewing books by, for, and about women



5. The reason I even looked at reviews for this book is so that I could gage how trustworthy other book reviews on here are and how seriously I should take them. Now that I look at the negative, totally ridiculous critiques of Truth and Beauty, I'm never trusting another sour review on here again! When somebody asks me, "What's your favorite book?" I used to say something by T. Capote or M. Angelo, but now I reply, without hesitation, "TRUTH & BEAUTY by Ann Patchett!" Seriously. This book is awesome and I'm annoyed even reading other bad reviews on here about it. Patchett writes in a way that makes me stop, re-read the page, and then say to myself, "Damn, this is great stuff! Why didn't I think of something like that?" I think if you are an aspiring writer, or just somebody who appreciates intelligent, well-written prose, then you should read this one. Do not trust the other reviewers on this page - they're probably the kind of people who'd give a Harlequin novel 5 stars.