5 comments about Steve & Me.

1. What a guy Steve was, and nobody knew it better than Terri and the children.Terri tells us about the Steve, we all came to know from watching his exciting adventures in the animal world ,played out on our TV screens;better than anyone could;for the simple reason nobody knew and loved him more.
   What a great shock it was to learn about Steve's so untimely death.It happened so quickly and unexpectedly;that those of us who knew him only from watching his unbelievable handling and love of wild animals,that when we heard of his death;we were tempted yo ask ourselves;"was he really for real?"
   In this wonderful book ,Terry opens up to all of us, what a fantastic person Steve was.If we thought we knew him;she shows he was even a much greater person than we realized.
   Steve's unrestrained and unlimited love for animals, and his concern for their threatened futures gave him the strength to carry on and do more for their well being than one could imagine possible for one man.
   When one hears or thinks of Steve ,the scene of him gently holding a small, beautiful but venomous snake in his hand ,in some remote place in the wild,comes to mind. A snake he has never seen before,the locals are terrified of;and Steve lifts it to within a couple if inches of his face.Steve and his newfound "friend" seem to be as one ,without fear on either's part. One also thinks of Terri,a few feet away,watching it all going on,with love,admiration and what must have been a bit of trepidation. Steve, just as easily entertained and amazed us tackling a crocodile or mingling with a herd of wild rhinocerous or staring down a poisonous spider.
   And did he ever enjoy it all; and just as important was his desire to share it with the rest of the world.
   What a terrible loss Steve was to everyone who came to know him;but more importantly what a tremendous loss he was to the world of nature.It seems his life's work was just getting started and we cannot even imagine all the other great things he would have accomplished ,had he been able to continue.No doubt about it,he was a Giant in many ways;and still he was just beginning to accomplish what he dreamed of.
   Steve still managed to accomplish much and his efforts will continue to benefit wildlife beyond anything that could be expected from one person.
   Thanks,so much Terri, for sharing your life and love of Steve with us.



2. Readers looking for Steve Irwin's life story in depth may be disappointed. It is condensed and captured by Terri Irwin, but more as a loving tribute. Their relationship was an unpretentious union built around wildlife conservation. Terri simply explains who the Irwin family is, and what they do best--teaching their children and ours about wildlife. If nothing else, the reader will walk away better understanding what the word passion truly means.



3. This is one of those can't put down books. A book which makes you cry with sadness and happiness, one that makes you laugh and also makes you angry at the injustice to animals and the people trying to protect them.
   
   Whilst we all know what a wonderful guy Steve was with his wildlife conservation and admire and love him for it, this also shows that Terri was equally dedicated.
   
   A beautiful love story, and what a beautiful family! This book made me realize that it really took a special woman to match Steve's vigor for life.
   
   What a unique couple, makes me even the sadder that their love story was cut short and that their two beautiful children do not get to grow up with such an amazing man!



4. Terri Irwin has written a biography and tribute to her soulmate, Steve Irwin. Known to millions all over the world as the Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin (along with Terri and their kids and the staff of the Australia Zoo) have inspired millions to care about the environment and animals that have been killed out of ignorance or fear. Contrary to what some reviewers wrote, you do get to know Steve better than you did through the television shows. Terri was actually quite open, sharing many personal stories with the reader in a way that drew you into the narrative. I felt the pain that Steve Irwin felt when he was the subject of the media witch-hunt regarding the "Baby Bob" incident. You laughed along with them, and felt their sorrows and triumphs. The "cult of personality" is too real a force in our world. People spend far too much time concerned with what some singer or athlete or actor says or does. Here is a subject worthy of such notice, and a story well-told. Thanks, mate.



5. Stellar writing by Terri Irwin. She made you feel like
   you were right there with them.

5 comments about Playground: A Childhood Lost Inside the Playboy Mansion.

1. This book reminds me of a Lifetime movie - the quality is poor, yet you find yourself engrossed in spite of yourself. It's a light, quick read, though several of the tales the author recounts are quite disturbing. 10 pages into the book I found myself loathing her father.
   
   As the author recounts stories from her childhood she uses music & fashion to set the time period. The mention of various designer clothing articles begins to mimic that of a teenager namedropping to try to impress. It also becomes very annoying. The anachronisms were at times so glaring they pulled me out of the story. When the author attempted to recreate dialogue between characters the slang word choices seemed more accurate for present day than to the 70s and 80s.
   
   The book starts to fall apart toward the end. It seems to lose focus and starts to become repetitive - parties, drugs, abusive father, sexual freedom, anger and bitterness and repeat. By the end of the book I found myself disliking the author and her immaturity, petulance and seeming unwillingness to grow up and act like an adult. Her behavior as an adult and inability to quit blaming her parents and seek help is probably a testament to how dysfunctional and inappropriate her childhood was.
   
   Still with all of it's flaws I am looking forward to reading the "sequel" when it's released.



2. I really enjoyed this book. I was able to experience each emotion the author was experiencing while she went through it. I enjoyed her style of writing.



3. One of the books I could not put down. Took me back to spending time at the Mansion...........but I had a whole different view.



4. I feel sorry for this poor girl having to grow up in that environment. I can really tell that it has had a very big impact on her outlook she has on relationships in her life. I was lucky to have the chance to go to playboy mansion back in July, 1983 and went into the grotto and there were a couple of people in the grotto with us and after reading this book and now know that her father was one of the people in attendance that Friday evening. My experience at the mansion was one that I will never forget.



5. Hmm.. .For a book whose title speaks of the Playboy mansion, you'd think it'd play a bigger role but it really doesn't.. Its mostly about her choosing her dad's carefree and drug induced lifestyle rather than having to abide by her mothers rules.. I think this book could have easily been written in 3 or 4 chapters.. In every chapter theres endless counts of what music was playing and what it changed to and what designer every piece of her wardrobe was made by and all her friends.. It was pretty irritating though i'm into that stuff myself.. Its a book not a fashion magazine.. So it was pretty poorly written and is basically about her making a million bad decisions but never making right with anything, just grinning and baring it so she can keep her little Mercedes and black card and not have to go to mom's "poverty stricken" lifestyle of still few boundaries...

5 comments about Lost in Translation: A Life in a New Language.

1. this was one of the best books i've ever read. it was packed with profound insights. the writing itself is just beautiful.



2. A wonderful book on moving from one culture to another and one language to another--Polish to English. Anyone who has had this experience will immediately identify with the author. Eva Hoffman writes beautifully about every nuance of her family's move as a young teenager from Communist Poland to Canada. Cultures that are superficially similar turn out to be very different and the effect on family life is staggering.



3. Hoffman's description of Poland in the Communist years following World War II is riveting, and so is her narrative of life in the U.S. following her arrival here at age 13. But what impresses me most about this book is its assured writing style, and the author's ability to skip back and forth from one decade and year to another without boring or losing the reader. Hoffman is an unusually gifted writer. I am using her text as a teaching tool for a would-be memoir/autobiographer. Thank heaven her parents survived the Holocaust and brought her to us.



4. I started reading this wonderful book 6 months before I left Brazil towards Israel. After finishing the first Part (Paradise) I just could not keep on reading, and I abandoned the book for a while. After I landed in Israel I re-took the book and was delighted again with the realness of it. A thought occurred to me that the reading was so descriptive of the immigration sentiment that I just could not understand it before immigrating myself.
   
   The book helped me to understand and to organize the infinite sensations that come with the leaving/arriving to another country. How the language affects the way we think and act, how sadness and happiness are mingled into one strange feeling, how we cope and forget without noticing, and how we urge to succeed and prove that we can be part of the new country.
   
   In addition, the book also brought to me new feelings and curiosities about my grandparents, whom also escaped from Poland and Russia in the late 40's. Hoffman describes so well how the old traditions and languages influenced the new live of those who left their country because of prejudice and persecution!
   
   One passage that I am specially fond of: "No, I'm no patriot, nor was I ever allowed to be. And yet, the country of my childhood lives within me with a primacy that is a form of love. (...) All it has given me is the world, but that is enough. It has fed me language, perceptions, sounds, the human kind. It has given me the colors and the furrows of reality, my first loves. The absoluteness of those loves can never be recaptured: no geometry of the landscape, no haze in the air, will live in us as intensely as the landscapes that we saw as the first, and to which we gave ourselves wholly, without reservations." It reminds me of Wordsworth when he writes about Tintern Abbey.
   
   A wonderful life-changing book.



5. I loved this book when it came out and I love it still many rereadings later. This portrait of the Wandering Jew as a young girl begins with Hoffman's childhood in Cracow, Poland just after the second world war; moves to Vancouver, British Columbia when she is thirteen; continues on to Texas and Massachusetts for her university years; and ends in New York, where she becomes a writer and an editor at the New York Times Book Review. It encompasses many themes: the defining power of language; the cost of changing cultures, the construction of personal identity, and the consequences, for many Jews, of the Nazi and Communist regimes. Hoffman was born in the summer of 1945. Like many Jews in post-war, Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe, the Hoffmans observed Passover and had home-baked challah, on shabbat but Eva was culturally Polish, reading Sienkiewicz's nationalistic novels, playing Chopin etudes, attending church with her friends, receiving gifts on St. Nicholas's Day. After emigration, she adapts to North American culture, first Canadian, then Texan, then New York. This is a memoir squarely in the Jewish immigrant tradition but one in which the immigrant is a graduate student at Harvard, and relates her situation not only to Mary Antin but to contexts laid out by Sartre and Nabokov, Jung and Freud. Lost in Translation contains stories and essays, phrases to ruminate on, ideas to consider. It is a demanding read that challenges its reader to consider her own autobiography, her own childhood, her own assumptions. Having compiled an international bibliography of Jewish women's non-fiction books with poet Irena Klepfisz (available on my website) , I can say this is one of my favorites.

5 comments about Snowblind: A Brief Career in the Cocaine Trade.

1. This is one of the best books ever written about drug smuggling. Double crosses are the norm with ingenious smuggling scams. Sometimes written tongue in cheek the book details many ways and means to import dugs into the country. Although these ways and means are out of date today they nonetheless capture the spirit and ingenuity of drug smugglers.



2. I dont often review...actually this is my first. True crime is my favorite genre, so I have read many. This story sounded good from the review's. I question myself, because only one other reviewer came close to what I felt from this book. The author goes on and on and on describing things to the point that i kept forgetting what he was talking about. I also must admit to you I did not finish this book. For me a book is about pleasure and passing the time, even forgetting about time. I felt as if I was struggling to read this book.



3. I just reread after 30 years and the book still holds up.



4. I heard that Robert Sabbag was a good writer so I decided to pick up Snowblind up and read it and I couldn't put it down. I thought that it gave a really close look into the drug trade and it was very detailed so you really got a feel for the life that was lead. I have started reading his books now and I can't stop. I have told many of my friends to read the book.



5. If we consider Thomas de Quincey's "The COnfessions of an English Opioum Eater", Baudelaires "The Artificial Paradises" and Ludlows "The Hasheesh Eater" the three classical pillars of the drug books, "Snowblind" sets a new way of approaching the theme.

   Sabbag manages to write a funny, entertaining and well defined book about what the beginning of the cocaine smuggling was. He has inherited the best ways of HUnter S. Thompson without loosing and inch of his own style. This book is the "bible" for all smugglers. In the last edition of Cannongate there is an introduction by Howard Marks, author of the bestseller "Mr Nice". Well, if you liked "Mr Nice" this book goes way beyond in the form and in the content. The characters shown are interesting and relevant to the story, the information delivered will not bore you. Sabbag tells what he has to (a lot) and misses what would bore you.

   Normally drug books will fall into topics like rude language and obscure characters most of the time very badly developped, now, Zachary Swan is a dandy, the language is only rude when there are direct implications for it to be so (not often) and when you finish the book you have the feeling you have gone through the adventure with the Silver Fox (name given to Swan by Canadian Jack).

   Thanks Sabbag!

5 comments about Letters to Sam: A Grandfather's Lessons on Love, Loss, and the Gifts of Life.

1. This book has many wonderful and comforting life lessons. I looked forward to each letter and they touched my heart. I love Dan Gottleib. He is such a kind, gentle soul. I highly recommend this book to everyone.



2. I haven't finished this book yet, but I got it because it's written by same author of "Learning from the Heart: Lessons on Living, Loving, and Listening". I just got lucky to find "Learning from the Heart" and I would recommend anyone feel hopeless in their life. We all have different way of registering things, but this one won't waist your time or money. I hope you too get lucky and feel rejuvenated.



3. Upon the birth of his first grandson, Sam, Daniel Gottlieb, a psychologist, decides to write Sam letters sharing words of wisdom. Given that Gottlieb has had quadriplegia for many years, he is uncertain as to whether he will live to see Sam grow up, and so his letters are a way of forging a special bond with his grandson. When Sam is less that two years of age, however, Gottlieb's letters take on a new meaning: Sam is diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder (an Autism spectrum disorder), and suddenly, Gottlieb is left wondering whether Sam will ever be able to read his letters at all. He continues writing the letters, however, as he and Sam now share a unique bond, that of being different.
   
   Gottlieb organizes his book around different categories, as he speaks to Sam about himself, his parents, his world, and his future. The letters are relatively short (2-3 pages each) and not necessarily profound; rather, they are simple and touching, with words spoken from the heart of "Pop" to his grandson. This is a book that is both personal and genuine, and I would definitely recommend it.



4. These inspiring letters about love, loss and the gifts of life are as jewels in the mud. They shine brightly with a humble, honest and profound wisdom that nurtures light within and beyond darkness. A compelling read you will want to share with friends and family.



5. The product is what I expected. It arrived on time and in the condition advertised.

5 comments about Two or Three Things I Know for Sure.

1. This is a quick read, but packs a lot of power. The author isn't afraid to lay her life out for you, and all her emotions, past and present. Its doubly touching to note, this book was originally an oral presentation she wrote.



2. Dorothy Allison's Aunt Dot said she only new two or three things for sure and added, "Of course,they are never the same things." This slim volume, a family history memoir, celebrates the way that women know and affirms that what women know is different from what men know. Allison not only tells an engaging story, she tells her story with clear compassion for all concerned. That doesn't mean she hedges around about the truth. It means that one of the things she knows for sure is that "if we are not beautiful to each other, then we cannot know beauty in any form." Compassion goes along with being beautiful to one another. This book is both honest and forgiving. and as such reminds us to look with an open heart on our life circumstances. Don't compound the hurt or the suffering with hate suggests Allison in a mere 94 pages. I suspect most people will want to read this book more than once. I pull it out when when I feel my heart closing and each time, the thing I come to know is never the same thing.



3. "Let me tell you a story," is how the author of BASTARD OUT OF CAROLINA begins her autobiographical journey, alerting the reading audience from the start that she is a storyteller first and foremost above all else: above her being a woman, a daughter, a sister, a lesbian, a survivor. Indeed, she creates and tells stories in order to better define those qualities she has, the labels she possesses, and with an effort towards cleansing her soul of ugliness in favor of beauty and hope.
   
   Originally designed as a performance piece, that she staged in San Francisco at The Lab in August of 1991, Allison reworked the spoken narrative into this flowing, written memoir.
   
   There are many inspiring, defiantly unsentimental portions of the book, which serve to display Allison's valiant attempts to heal herself while becoming an artist. Unfortunately, there are also Anne Lamott-type lapses into cliche and sap and faux-inspiring writing that fails to ring completely true. The pictures of Allison and the family she writes about that accompany the book are vivid and add an even greater genuineness to the text.
   
   A scene that encapsulates the tone of the book, as well as describing Allison's life-long struggle and that of the girls and women she loves, appears near the end of the book, when Dorothy is visiting her sister and pre-adolescent niece. "I looked into my niece's sunburned frightened face. Like her mama, like her grandmama, like her aunts -- she had that hungry desperate look that trusts nothing and wants everything. She didn't think she was pretty. She didn't think she was worth anything at all." Heartbreaking, real and a truth that haunts the women in Allison's family from generation to generation until... when? That's a question that the author refuses to deal with, probably more out of fear for its answer than anything else.
   
   On a side note, I saw Allison appear live at an event in Orange County in 2006. She was fiery, profane, fearless, and struck me as a serious truthseeker with a motivating message for aspiring writers and aspiring humanists. I was at first taken aback by her brashness, her unapologetic stance about people and politics and education. But as she continued on, she became less guarded, more sympathetic, and ultimately more loving than someone who's seen so much hatred and so much abuse should be expected to be. She was, truly, an inspiring figure up there on the stage.



4. Dorothy Allison:
   No one has put the struggle to be human in terms as stark, alive, and
   desperate and uncertain.
   
   This book is necessary because it reminds even those who don't want to believe it that we are in that terrible, possibly beautiful and desperate place--just trying to get our leg muscles to work, or our hearts.



5. Done originally as a theater piece, "Two Or Three Things I Know For Sure" is moving, a quick read, and educational. In other words, it's everything you'd expect from one of our finest contemporary writers. I didn't see it when it was performed as a show. As a memoir, it is very good. My only criticism is -- and it is not so much as a criticism as a wish -- that I wanted to know more, especially about Allison's Aunt Dot and her mother. The book is generously illustrated with photographs of Allison and her family through the years. There is a piece in the book family photographs in a box, pictures of relatives Allison knew little, if anything, about. I would have loved if that section were expanded upon, and maybe to have seen some of the photos. Succinct and thought-provoking (not to mention heart-tugging), this short book makes for a valuable reading experience.

5 comments about Blue Skies, No Fences: A Memoir of Childhood and Family.

1. I purchased two copies - one for myself and one for a friend who grew up in Blue Skies/No Fences country. We both have thoroughly enjoyed reading this account of the western way of life that helped define the values of this lovely lady and her husband. This book is a wonderful intimate peek into their lives and I thank her for sharing!



2. Blue Skies, No Fences: A Memoir of Childhood and Family captures the reminiscences of Lynne Cheney, the wife of Vice President Dick Cheney and blends them with true tales of American dreams. Offering a spotlight on the small Wyoming prairie town of Casper, Blue Skies, No Fences tells of exuberant young girls, boys who hunted and fished, and strong-willed family women. Of especial interest is the glimpse through the lens of time of a young daredevil of the Alcova Dam spillway/impromptu water slide who would grow up to be the man Lynne married. A handful of black-and-white photographs dot this nostalgic and loving tribute to Lynne's family, the havens of small town life, and the America of yesteryear.



3. While we all have our nostalgic memories of growing up in a small town in the 50's and 60's some of the realities were not so pleasant and certainly don't make me want to return to that time. Sure, life was great if you totally conformed to the community standards and never had a family problem. If Mrs. Cheney had been an adult with a lesbian daughter back then, they would have been the town's pariahs. Having a bastard child (the term single mother didn't exist back then) would have really put the icing on the cake. The other nasty items I recall in my childhood in a small town was that people knew there was child abuse, molestation, and wife-beating going on but nobody ever said (except gossip) or did anything about it. Molesters we told to "leave town", but never prosecuted. If people knew you were beating (or sexually abusing) your children or wife, they certainly gossiped about it but never did anything to help. You didn't have to worry about racism....you kept the black (or brown) people on their side of the tracks if you even had any minorities in your community. Life was not that great back then.



4. Since my husband and I (and my Mother) grew up in the same area this was a wonderful trip down memory lane. She offers many thoughtful insights both on "our times" then as well as now.



5. Maybe its the fact my families roots go back eight or more generations here in the west (Montana, Sierras of California) that I loved this book and any book that is about the richness and positive aspects of the rural wild west, where personal responsibility, self sufficiency, and common sense are the norm. Even in 2007. I also recommend Justice Sandra Day O'Connors book Lazy B which is about growing up in a cattle family here in the west. Both books show why so many of us call the west home. As well as why the west produces such strong smart women.
   
   Fact is, the west builds character, because of the harsh summers, harsh winters, the need to be prepared because one often goes without power and cannot simply run down the street to a plethora of restaurants or stores. It also as the book notes, builds strong communities. And friendships that last thru thick and thin for decades. People have a tendency to stay put or as the saying goes, to put down roots. And as the author notes, the west makes for secure, thinking people. Quiet people who don't always have to be the center of attention. People who don't easily get flustered when those who denounce them or make fun of them, show up.
   
   This is my favorite book by the author and is one I plan on giving as a gift to friends and family. Sure makes me happy I live here in the real west.

5 comments about Why My Wife Thinks I'm an Idiot: The Life and Times of a Sportscaster Dad.

1. I had very high expectations for this book. Greeny delivered on every one. He is such a Dad first, sportscaster second, but his true love of sports speaks to every sports fan out there. His self-deprecating remarks show that you can be, as he puts it, "a little bit famous" and still be extremely humble. I wish I could hang out with him on a daily basis. Do yourself a favor and read this book...I don't want to tell you how quickly I got through it, I couldn't put it down! Mike, write another one! Or get your others published!!



2. If you have ever heard Greeny speak before, you will know what this book is about. Greenberg rants about the non-sensical life of a "metrosexual" sportscaster, how he cares for his own looks more than that of his wifes. The book flows just like you were listening to Greeny telling Golic (his radio co-host of Mike and Mike in the Morning) a recap of the previous weekend. A good, lite read for any dad.



3. What to do, what to do. . .
   
   Your toddler son's first word is an expletive about poo. Your four-year-old daughter no longer needs you to go to swimming class with her. Your middle-aged, paunchy billionaire bud enjoys wearing speedos in public. You have a flat at 4:00 a.m. on the way to work and Triple A doesn't respond. You find out the hard way you can't clean up puke with a vacuum cleaner. And to top it all off, your wife thinks you're an idiot.
   
   So what to do? Go see your shrink? Or write a book?
   
   How about both?
   
   Accordingly, Mike Greenberg's tribute to superficiality is born. WHY MY WIFE THINKS I'M AN IDIOT, penned by ESPN Radio's self-proclaimed--and unabashed on-air drama queen--metrosexual, is a read so lite you're afraid a slight summer breeze will waft it away. Greenberg (known affectionately as "Greeny" by his handful of fans) is at times witty, once or twice engaging, but always self-deprecating as he shares with his readers the trials and tribulations of marriage and parenthood (obviously something foreign to the rest of us)--all from the perspective of a semi-famous celebrity. Greeny writes, goes to see his shrink, then writes some more; after a few dozen pages the anecdotes and antics start to blur until the reader races to the Epilogue with a sigh and a yawn.
   
   Wait a minute, Greeny. You had Elle MacPherson try on a pair of designer jeans right in front of you at a chic boutique and you said nothing and did nothing?
   
   Your wife's not the only one who thinks you're an idiot.
   --D. Mikels, Author, Walk-On



4. I am only halfway through reading this book, however I am surprised at how little Greenie talks about sports and how much he describes his experiences with his wife, child, and family...and I actually don't mind it! For those guys who prefer reading auto-bios on Dick Butkus' punishing style of football play, this may not be the book for you. What makes this a good book is that it actually appeals to both men and women, as I have been sharing excerpts from the book with my wife because Greenie's opinions and experiences sometimes relate to our own lives! I recommend this book...it's not a Pulitzer-caliber book, but worth reading nonetheless.



5. Confession: I'm a sports radio junkie. Not being a cable-TV subscriber, I rely on sport-talk radio to slake my thirst for football news. So when Mike Greenberg, the self-described metro-sexual half of ESPN's "Mike and Mike in the Morning" show, released his first book "Why My Wife Thinks I'm an Idiot" I took notice. And when it quickly charted on the New York Times best sellers list, I rushed to the local bookstore to get a copy of my own.
   
   I wasn't disappointed. With his impeccably-timed, deprecating humor and wit, Greenberg makes reading his memoirs an entertaining and enjoyable experience. The story of how becoming a father forced him to reconsider his priorities as a professional, a sports fan, and now a dad. Greenberg weaves a fantastic story and allows the reader to full access to his foiliables and his at-times narcissistic tendencies.
   
   WHY MY WIFE THINKS I'M AN IDIOT is presented to us as Mike's personal journal to aid his therapy sessions. However, book is equal parts journal, memoir, and stand-up comic routine. Mike presents himself as an everyman--a sports enthusiast, a dad and a husband. And for the most part, Mike connects. He struggles to meet his wife's emotional needs, change his daughter's diapers, and somehow squeezes in time to watch a golf tournament on TV.
   
   Unfortunately, Mike occasionally breaks the "everyman" illusion and reminds us that he is really a multimillionaire part of the entertainment elite. For instance, when he discusses how his infant's runny nose destroyed a $600 sweater (yes, that SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS for a shag of cloth to cover his upper torso!) or when his wife catches him ogling Ellie McPherson trying on blue jeans at a high-end department store (honestly, when was the last time you went shopping with a supermodel?). It's almost as if he can't help but let the reader know he's "arrived," and in those moments the book loses some of its luster.
   
   Still, in spite of those momentary breaks from being a regular guy, Mike Greenberg paints a captivating picture of his experience as a modern male. He's desperately in love with his wife, but continually finds himself frustrating her (a section about his wife's disapproval of the way he handled his best friend's marital crisis is with the price of the book alone!). Entering an NBA locker room to get the interview doesn't faze our hero; but managing his child's play date while his wife is away is a monumental task.
   
   And, at its core, WHY MY WIFE THINKS I'M AN IDIOT is a book about life's purpose. Mike Greenberg struggles with significance of his life's work--sports casting--as he contrasts it with the wonders of parenting. He honestly struggles with the questions whether or not his work matters, and what's truly important. It's these questions that give the book its tenderness and poignancy between the side-stitching one-liners.

5 comments about The Joke's Over: Bruised Memories: Gonzo, Hunter S. Thompson, and Me.

1. If your a fan of Hunter I highly recommend this book. I'ts written by his best friend, not some second hand source of filtered information,
   so it's told how it is, how it was, and what really wend down on their adventures on the job.
   The book is also full of Ralph's Gonzo Art - some of the very pictures Hunter requested him to draw.
   I feel like I'm on Reading Rainbow right now, but this is a book I'm happy to have added to my collection.
   My prop's to Amazon for the best deal I could find on the internet, Thanks.
   So if you want to hear about Hunter from the man that was with him on his mission's and how that man was influenced and likewise, than this book is for you, I'ts well writted also. Peace.



2. Ralph Steadman gives and honest, insightful and funny glimps into the work he and Hunter S. Thompson did over the years.



3. I'm going to miss the good doctor. Hunter S. Thompson, with his faithful English mad man gave us the ultimate in gonzo journalism. This is Ralph's side of the love/hate partnership they shared. For the most part, he does a good job. There are some rants and he pulls off some of his own scabs from life with Hunter. The artwork is first rate and of course, that is what Ralph does best. Still, all in all, it was a good read and I recommend it for anyone who has ever been the sidekick of a huge ego or savagely bludgeoned by the wierd that has gone pro.



4. Ralph isn't the greatest writer ever born, but I've always enjoyed his books. This books is a great read. I gives a Ralph's eye view of Hunter. I would recommend it to anyone that has read at least 4 Thompson books... If you just read Vegas once because you liked the movie you might want to pass.



5. Don't get me wrong, I am no author. In fact, I am no astronaut either. Some things should be left to the pros. 'Don't write, Ralph. You'll bring shame on your family.' A pro said that and he was right.
   
   I bought this book hoping to gain some insight into the life of a great journalist, author and legend. What I got instead was a book written by a man desperate to remind us that, without him, there would be no journalist, author or legend. 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas would be nothing without its illustrations.' Balderdash. Reading this book is kind of like going to a family reunion and watching the less coordinated, less handsome, younger brother of the captain of the football team try to catch one of his passes. We all know he has no chance, and we try to be kind as he repeatedly falls on his face. Children are entitled to kindness. Ralph isn't a child so, in this case, let's be honest. This book is poorly written. It is particularly poorly written from a grammatical standpoint (and yeah, the fact that he's Welsh is no excuse). There are times when it is nearly impossible to figure out what the hell he is talking about! Better writing and better editing would have helped a lot.
   
   Of course this book wasn't all bad. In between patting himself on the back, or unnecessarily sounding off on his take on events like Watergate, there are some nuggets of worthwhile information in here. Too bad those nuggets aren't representative of the book as a whole.
   
   So, in the end, do buy this book but buy it used.

5 comments about Judi Dench Scenes from My Life.

1. Judi Dench is a favorite actress and I wanted to know more about her life. Too many photos and not enough about the person.



2. If your are as big a Dame Judi fan as I am this book is a must read or maybe, more accurately, a must see. It's sprinkled with family photos of Judi Dench, her late husband, Michael Williams and her daughter. Best of all it covers virtually all of her career from her early Royal Shakespearean Company days through all of her stage, movie and TV performances (up to but not including her latest film, "Notes on a Scandal.)
   This book is literally presented as "scenes" with great photos and anecdotes about her many talented costars starting with her RSC performances - a virtual who's who of great British actors.
   
   If you are an American like me and were originally introduced to Judi Dench through the limited offerings of her BBC TV show "As Time Goes By," this book gives you loads of insights into the breadth of her career. It has dozens of black and white photos and just as many brilliant color photos.
   
   There are brief comments by Dame Judi about family photos and other personal moments that give one a bit of insight into her real life. She comes across as being very down to earth and her legendary sense of humor shines through. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because this isn't an actual autobiography by Dame Judi. It would have been nice to have had more material written by her.
   
   All in all this is a great coffee table book for fans of one of the great actors of our times.



3. Judi Dench continually amazes, and her wonderfully open, honest, and often touching personal photo album style of bio leaves one with an even greater sense of her lovliness as a human being. The book is truly a delightful journey.



4. I have always been a fan of Judi Dench; her acting has inspired me. I enjoyed the book very much. I have never bought a book about an actress in my lifetime but I couldn't resist this one. It's on my table in the living room and everyone scans it and tells me they are going to buy it too.



5. Quite enjoyable. Nice to get a take on the richness of her remarkable career. The insight she brings to her acting tell volumes between the lines. Certainly one of the greatest artists of our time yet modest and endearing.