Posted in Biography (Friday, September 5, 2008)
Written by Jerry Lewis and James Kaplan. By Broadway.
The regular list price is $14.95.
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5 comments about Dean and Me: (A Love Story).
- Good book, I enjoyed it. Jerry Lewis wrote of alot of personal experiences that I had never heard of before. I read it in a few days, was very interesting.
- I have the Audible version and have to say it again...WOW.
This is one one heck of a memoir/bio delivered by the only person that could deliver it in such great detail and depth...Jerry Lewis himself.
I am way too young to have known or viewed their comedy "act", but this book brings it all to life so vividly that I am on my second listen just so I didn't miss anything on the first listen and also it was really just a great story.
I went ahead right away and purchased "DINO" by Nick Tosces so I can continue to learn about everything that occured in that era including the Rat Pack.
I was very surprised that the book was so well written. To be honest, I only bought the audio because I had a credit towards a book and I figured "what the heck". Now I'm wondering what took me so long.
- Amazing book. I love Dean and Jerry, and couldn't put this down. I literally laughed and cried. This was a very enjoyable book.
- This was an excellent book. I learned so much about Martin & Lewis. Having grown up watching Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin movies I loved being able to find out more about my favorite actors. But I can't help but walk away from this book feeling a sense of sadness and heartbreak. They had such an awesome partnership, and like Jerry says, "all good things must come to an end". Sometimes it's harder for the fans to deal with the reality than the ones who are involved. They are what I would consider TRUE ENTERTAINERS. I never knew how much Jerry loved Dean...he really did so much for him just to see him happy.
- With candid portrayal of his start and 10 year "gig" with Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis captivates us and we can't put the book down. This is no white wash flowery story; he tells the imperfections of both of them. You know it's love, even after their breakup of the team because Jerry reveals allot about his partner Dean Martin that we never knew of.
In short the Jew did good. Jerry always wanted to mix comedy with tears. Dean didn't like the sad mixing stuff; just make 'em laugh. However Jerry got his last wish with Dean, 'cause in the end of the book the clown made a full grown man cry. Jerry instead of making me laugh, at the end, warmed my heart about his love for his partner and made me grab a tissue. That was low pool Jerry.
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Posted in Biography (Friday, September 5, 2008)
Written by Dan Rooney. By Da Capo Press.
The regular list price is $26.00.
Sells new for $6.96.
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5 comments about Dan Rooney: My 75 Years With the Pittsburgh Steelers and the NFL.
- This is a very good book, but I did not appreciate the black magic marker mark on the bottom part of the book. It made it look like that book was retrieved from the garbage pile at the printers.
The book provides a very good history of the Rooney family and the Steelers.
- There are few people who have been around for virtually the entire history of the NFL. Dan Rooney is the last survivor of the day when men who could think past the end of their own bank account ran the league. His stories about how his father and men like Wellington Mara and George Halas made the NFL are worth the time even for non-Steeler fans. Should be a mandatory read for Jerry Jones and Dan Synder.
- Excellent history of the Pittsburgh Steelers especially now that there is talk of the Steelers possibly being sold. A wonderful family governed by Art Sr. A must read for Steeler fans and those who appreciate history of the NFL.
- This book is an easy read. My husband, who is not much of a reader, however is a HUGE Pittsburg Steelers fan. I bought him this book for Christmas and he read it within 2 days. It was surely an easy read and quite humorous. There are several interesting stories shared, which allows you to peek in the life of Dan Rooney.
- As a lifelong Steeler fan, this was a must-read, a tome that belongs on my bookshelf along with "Doing it Right" by Jim O'Brien. Mr. Rooney's accounting of history is first-hand and basically unscrubbed. He talks about the things he, his father, and the Steeler staff did right over the years, and the things they did wrong (e.g., Unitas, Marino). He tells you who are the good guys and the troublemakers. He takes you from the earliest beginnings of the NFL on through to the hiring of Mike Tomlin. It's a little tricky to follow chronologically because he gets off-topic and rambles now and then (I found myself thinking "wait a minute, that's not... what year was this supposed to be?). And there are some outright errors, which are mentioned in other reviews. The style is very (very!) homey, as you would expect, with an almost turn-of-the-century charm throughout. But in the end, you believe that Dan Rooney really is that sincere and genuine, and schmaltzy, and that's why so many people love him. Come to think of it, who doesn't like Dan Rooney? (Sorry, I haven't read Al Davis' book).
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Posted in Biography (Friday, September 5, 2008)
Written by Lou Holtz. By Harper Paperbacks.
The regular list price is $14.95.
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5 comments about Wins, Losses, and Lessons: An Autobiography.
- This year our baseball team (comprised of 13-16 yr olds) decided end of year trophies would be a little juvenile for the boys. The coach let me know about this book and thought it would be a good idea to give each of the boys one for the end of the season gift. We did and it was very well received! An amazing book for anyone that aspires to do something more with their life!
Well written and very easy to read! I highly reccomend!
- This book provides an excellent insight into the life of Lou Holtz and his motivational attitude on life. His dry humor will make you laugh, his thoughts inspiring, and make you think W.I.N. for those tough decisions in life.
- Lou listed some great stories.
In fact that is one reason why this is a great book, because Lou is an AWESOME story teller.
Listen to the audio book as you read, Lou narrates this book very well.
Lou has lived an amazing life.
He just got it done, no matter what he does.
Anyone can pick up some great tips about being more successful from this book.
Paul
- This is an excellent read! You won't want to put it down and it will make you do some self examination.
- An inspiring memoir full of famous personalities from sports and politics. Lou's humble beginnings and deep-rooted faith in family and religion took him to the top of the college football world and into the circles of many of America's most famous leaders. This is quite a guy.
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Posted in Biography (Friday, September 5, 2008)
Written by Stephen Pavuk and Pamela Pavuk. By Triangel.
The regular list price is $41.95.
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5 comments about The Story of a Lifetime: A Keepsake of Personal Memoirs.
- I bought this as a retirement gift for my mother-in-law. Much bigger book than I thought - it will take a lifetime to fill out, but it is a wonderful gift to leave for generations to come.
- A great book. Thorough prompts for any writer or non-writer. A jumping off point to something truly wonderful or a stand-alone journal for keepsakes. Loved the book. Gave it to my mother on my wedding day. Thank You!
- I bought this book years ago for my parents. My Mom is now 90 and in a dementia home, but my Dad is 88 and still going strong. He finally got time to start on the book. He took out all the pages, and 3 ring-punched them so he could put each page in his typewriter to respond to the questions and then I added old photos from his Dad's scrapbook and also ones from their old photo albums. Some of the questions are repetitious and those pages, we did not use. When he only had a short answer to type, I attached a photo that went with the answer. It's taken us months to complete but he loved working on it and everyone wants a copy. At the end, I added our own section where everyone in the family submitted their own question to him and included a photo of themselves for their personalized page in the book. I highly recommend getting all parents to make such a wonderful keepsake!
- We gave this to my mother in law as a gift. It is a beautiful book, and seems to have an extensive amount of ideas to help prompt her in telling her story.
- My siblings and I bought this book for our mother who just turned 65 and is home alone often. She needs nothing material and so it is very hard to buy gifts for her.
Because she is on her own, she enjoys quiet and sedentary activities such as reading, puzzles,etc. We thought this would be a good gift to keep her mentally alert and engaged in something meaningful. She has expressed delight in the book. We just now have to see her start to fill it out! The book contains so many different topic areas that we feel she will be kept busy if nothing else.
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Posted in Biography (Friday, September 5, 2008)
Written by Mikal Gilmore. By Anchor.
The regular list price is $15.95.
Sells new for $5.52.
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5 comments about Shot in the Heart.
- An incredible book. Raw. Brutal. Honest. Heart-wrenching. Profound. A well-written and amazingly conveyed story of a families personal tragedies that ended up affecting the world.
- Mikhal Gilmore is a stellar writer.
His understanding of his family life, and of the Mormon influence in the laws of Utah, gives credence to the saying "violence begets violence".
The sad legacy of his brother Gary still haunts me to this day and I read this book years ago. I recently reread parts of it and I continue to be impressed with Mikal's introspection and ability to find hope from such a tragic life.
- If you work with or study psychopaths you are familiar with the term Anti-Social Personality Disorder (ASPD). There are not a whole lot of biographies written from the perspective of what it is like to grow up in a household with Anti-Social Personality Disorder parents. Gary Gilmore (author's brother) was ASPD, but the Mom & Dad are just as much a piece of work as their crazed killer son. This is one of the finest autobiographies about what it is like to grow up in a family of Psychopaths.
The book covers the little things and everything about the day to day life with a nuclear family headed by people who fit the bill as Psychopaths. It's chilling. Gary ends up to be a crazed killer but the other sibling appears to have adjusted without the disorder. You wonder if what we are reading portrays a congenital mental disorder or an acquired one. And if the disorder is acquired, why did Gary get it and not the other sibling?
ASPD at the levels portrayed here mean that the patient will typically be unable to maintain housing, a job, a relationship, their health, stay out of institutions (prison or nuthouse), stay sober, have a pet, maintain a vehicle, raise a child, or not drift from city to city. People this disordered typically die prematurely from Trauma (in this case execution by firing squad), neglected health, or substance abuse. They just don't make it - the disorder is deadly at this level.
This story is harrowing and is a great read if the reader is heading for a career in social services, prisons, mental health or law enforcement. When you read how these people treat their kids you can imagine what they can do to a stranger.
- It's a big call, but Mikal Gilmore's heart wrenching memoir of his family has to be one of the most moving reading experiences I have ever encountered. To tell you the truth, I found this book in a second hand store here in Melbourne, Australia without a cover! I could not put this down as Mikal's words just ripped me to pieces. It drowns in sadness and despair at times, but there is a flicker of hope and redemption in it's conclusion.
Amazing stuff.
- This is an extraordinary book. Gives tremendous insite in to why some crimals lead the path they do. Phenominal read.
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Posted in Biography (Friday, September 5, 2008)
Written by James D. Watson. By Knopf.
The regular list price is $26.95.
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5 comments about Avoid Boring People: Lessons from a Life in Science.
- Best known for his Nobel Prize winning work on helping identify the double helix structure of DNA, scientist James D. Watson presents his autobiography Avoid Boring People: Lessons from a Life in Science as an anecdote filled instruction manual - chunking off different segments of his career and then reflecting on the points to be learned from his experiences. The titular phrase "Avoid Boring People" takes on two meanings in the book. Watson advises young scientists to avoid boring people (with the middle word as an adjective) saying that those early in their careers should associate only with people engaging in exciting new science. The second meaning comes as advice to older researchers and Watson warns that in the twilight of their careers, scientists should avoid boring other people - with boring now becoming a verb.
(One wonders if Watson has taken this second piece of advice too far to heart as in recent years his public appearances have kept him newsworthy not for any breakthrough work he has accomplished, but in his ability to anger audiences with racist, sexist, atheistic, and anti-establishment comments. It is only by putting aside my knowledge of his recent personal beliefs that I was able to even open this book for reading, let alone reviewing.)
With that said, Watson does tell an engaging story. The history and science presented are told with a light anecdotal feel and some of the most interesting chapters were the portions of Watson's experience - for example, his work as a presidential science adviser - that were not as highly publicized as his Nobel winning work. I would have enjoyed the book more if Watson had more respect for his female associates. Though some of them are described as "bright" or "intelligent" more often than not these adjectives are proceeded by "cute", "stunning" or "blond". Unlike for his male coworkers, the women in the book have their minds and intellects overshadowed by their looks. Overall, I think the book presents an adequate picture of the life of James Watson which, while intriguing and intelligent, lacks likability.
- Avoid Boring People...he definetly bored me though. This book had so much unneccessary detail that it really made the book boring and I disliked it a lot. I would not recommend the purchase of this book, but the 'lessons' learned at the end of each chapter had wisdom behind them and I did like those. There are some interesting parts of the book, especially when he pretty much admits that he did nothing to get the...didn't want to spoil it for the people who will read it.
- If one looks carefully at the book jacket, another word is inserted in the title which then reads Avoid Boring Other People. Watson was so impressed by his own career and activities that he was truly boring. It is sad that an individual who has been at the heart of his field and who must have had memorable interactions with others spent time trying to make himself interesting.It didn't work.
- An enjoyable trip down Memory Lane, where the sometimes stream-of-consciousness narrative ties events with memorable individuals during a remarkable career inside academia. More like a flat stone skipping across a lake's smooth surface, with few topics covered in depth, and a lot of name dropping, it is a light review of a personal journey starting with early curiosity as a small boy, his early teamwork leading to the elucidation of DNA, through developing talent, and on to managing a leading research institution, using Harvard University as the ultimate point of reference. One of the more interesting observations is the important role of personality in the pursuit of Big Science, particularly the politics of it all. A chronological order of Dr Watson's career in fifteen chapters, with important lessons, both personal and professional, at the end of each, all recapped in a separate section at the end. Many of the names dropped may not be well known now, so the section describing them is very helpful, not only for their own sake but also for a recognition of their contributions that are a part of Dr Watson's life, work and career.
- On p. 70 the author concludes "I was descovering that most high-powered minds do not daily generate new ideas". That is the conclusion I came up with about the author himself after reading this book. This is a book replete with minutae (some people call this anecdotal information!) and includes just a handful of interesting thoughts. It could have been written in 50 pages or less. However, this wouldn't have been sufficient to allow for the numerous self-promotional statements provided by the author or the mud that he throws towards other very well respected scientists. The author sets an example to avoid for whoever decides to write his/her memoirs.
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Posted in Biography (Friday, September 5, 2008)
Written by Webster Griffin Tarpley. By Progressive Press.
The regular list price is $15.95.
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5 comments about Obama - The Postmodern Coup: Making of a Manchurian Candidate.
- Tired of the fake, controlled, contrived taking points both for and against Obama in the corporate media? Check this book out. Even if you disagree with everything the author says in the book, you'll still have a whole new perspective on this thanks to Tarpley.
- First, let me begin by saying that I am no supporter of Barack Obama and believe that his election as president would be a colossal disaster. However, if I am to be fair minded I have to judge Tarpley's OBAMA-THE POSTMODERN COUP with the same objectivity that I would if he had for example published his book using MCCAIN instead of OBAMA in the title. I have no objection to any book written as a polemic. Indeed I have written numerous favorable reviews of polemics, but in those cases, each polemic that I praised was grounded in fact and backed by credible documentary evidence. Make no mistake. Tarpley's book is not much more than flimsy charges tinged with guilt by association. It is true that Barack Obama is a political lightweight but it ought to be up to the American voters to decide their ballots based on the facts, and in this case the facts that call into question Barack Obama's competency have been thoroughly documented elsewhere to such an extent that there is no need to indulge in the sort of conspiracies in Tarpley to derail Obama's quest for the White House. I shall not rehash here the Trilateral Commision brouhaha nor the Zbigniew Brezhinski controversy since neither is referenced by reliable footnotes. What emerges then from Tarpley is that the "coup" of the title exists only on the fringes of a discourse that is neither rational nor convincing. The left has no monopoly of character assassins.
- Veteran author, columnist and GCN live radio host Webster Tarpley lays bare the tentacled arm of the insane Zbigniew Brzezinski and his main mouthpiece and puppet Obama.
Tarpley outlines the crafting of this Manchurian candidate and the seriously apocalyptic vision that Obama will be used to fulfill culminating in WW3 with Russia.
Look out for his new 'unauthorized biography on Obama' coming soon!
- This book shows the hidden side of Saint Obama, and the crazed neocon/fascist agenda of those who puppeteer him. If anyone thinks either candidate for office is going to be any different than what we have, they haven't read enough.
Webster hits the ball out of the park with this one.
America DIED 11/22/63 and the same agenda is still going on....today it looks like war with Russia is back on target which should make Brezinski very happy.
- I couldn't put it down. I learned alot. I had questions about a lot of things and independently did my own fact checking. and it all checked out. His conclusions seemed a bit out there, but the more you read and think about it and check it out, the more it seems to be spot on. Definitely worth the time and money.
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Posted in Biography (Friday, September 5, 2008)
Written by Damien Echols. By iUniverse, Inc..
The regular list price is $15.95.
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5 comments about Almost Home: My Life Story Vol 1.
- What Margaret Cho has to do with this situation, I will never know. She wrote the introduction. I thought at first that this was intended to be some kind of comic writing. Instead, it's the autobiography of Damien Echols, a young man in a small town in Arkansas currently on death row (along with his friend Jason and other friend Jessie serving a life sentance) for murdering three small boys. Cho's hook along with her comedy has always been to defend those who are different or odd, those who feel less alone. I can admire that, but I am just amazed that she would preach the word for this man, who she admits she doesn't know and who she said committed the murder. That aside, this was an excellent look inside the monster, the beast, the horror, the evil that is Damien.
Damien grew up poor white trash in Arkansas, having little advantages, little money, little hope for the future. He turned into a heavy metal poser, wearing all black and getting into magic because it was the cool thing to do for all of those who consider themselves outsiders. Like a lot of kids, we all dabble in the dark arts. It annoys people, makes our parents angry, gives us attention. Most of it is just a show. Not for Damien. In his mind, he was Satan's vessel. He became the subject of a witchhunt after the children were killed because he was different. Granted, he was visably different. But enough witnesses have come forward saying that he did and said things that an innocent person would not. Satan made him do it? No, Damien made Damien do it. Look at that face on the cover of the book. That's not an innocent, sensative, vulnerable child's face. That is the face of a killer, a killer who knows how cute he looks and how he can fool us.
And, Damien became a father while behind bars. He has gotten to physically hold his baby son, he could not be there for his birth, nor will he see him grown up. Instead he has been changed by fatherhood. While he cannot be with his child, experiencing the miracle of life rather than the pain of death he wanted to inflict on not just these three boys but others around him. He is up there with Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, Ed Gein, and all the other truly twisted people who have murdered. I'll bet some of their friends and family said "He was different". Different doesn't make someone a murderer. Evil makes one a murderer.
- I am a firm believer of the West Memphis Threes' innocence from the beginning. I believe Damien and his friends were targeted because they were the "different" kids in town. I hope to hear that they are freed from prison someday and can go on with their lives. They have missed out on too much already! May the DNA evidence prove their innocence!
- A thin book, no surprise from someone who has spent most of his life on death row. Damien Echols is an articulate, intelligent, and an ordinary young man. We are a poorer society because of the circumstances of this book. If we tolerate this then our children could be next. Read it and weep. Please, will the society I believe I live in let you walk free.
- This is a book you just can't put down once you start reading it. Even if you've seen the documentaries on the West Memphis Three and read the Everitt book, this autobiography adds so much more in revealing Damien's life up to (and including) his imprisonment, and just how strong a character he has to have survived everything that has been thrown at him to date. Damien's story made me even more angry and frustrated at how he has been treated than I was after seeing the docos and reading Everitt's book, but also made me simply awestruck at how he has come through everything without losing his sanity. He writes in a very flowing/easy to read style, and does not seem to hold back on revealing personal details or feelings along the way. Definitely recommended to anyone, even if you've never heard of the "West Memphis Three" case.
- This is a MUST read. Damien Echol's life story is extremely moving...it made me cry to think about the injustice he has faced. He does not belong in prison because he is innocent!!!! I think if you read his story, you will come to the same conclusion.
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Posted in Biography (Friday, September 5, 2008)
Written by Shoko Tendo. By Kodansha International.
The regular list price is $22.95.
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5 comments about Yakuza Moon: Memoirs of a Gangster's Daughter.
- Shoko Tendo's Yakuza Moon is an amazing recollection of her life as a Yakuza daughter. I couldn't put it down and finished the book in 2 hrs. I just could not put the book down. I look forward to reading more books written by Shoko.
- Her life story was interesting, sad, and compelling to read. I thought this book was a good insight to 1980's-90's Sub-Culture in Japan. This book was an easy read, and the writing is a little Below par, but don't let that make you not give this book a whirl. I give it a B. I have lent it to a friend, who also likes it as well*
- Yakuza Moon by Shoko Tendo is an excellent novel. Her memoirs kept me reading and shocked me at times. Her life is very interesting and intertwined with the Japanese mafia made it all the better. If your into true life stories, the Yakuza, and aren't afraid to be shocked then I recommend this book.
- Whereas the samurai encapsulates the image of the pre-modern ideal of Japanese masculinity through his martial skill, stoic nature, self discipline, and code of honor, the yakuza, Japanese gangster, supposedly carries on a number of these traditions in the modern, or post-modern, world, especially the codes of honor and respect for not only his superiors but his inferiors. Wearing traditional Japanese garb, an expensive Western suit, or a loud aloha shirt, pockets full of money from sometimes questionable businesses, and carrying centuries of culture within his being, the yakuza has come to fascinate not only the Japanese populace, but the world at large through primarily his depiction in film and crime novels.
Shoko Tendo is the second daughter and third child of the yakuza oyabun, Japanese gang boss, Hiroyasu Tendo and she witnessed his great excesses and eventual downfall, but she was not involved in the gang herself and therefore is unable or not willing to expunge deeply upon the topic of her father's involvement with the yakuza, but instead writes on her life and how her father's being a yakuza would affect her life for years to come. It is for this very reason that I believe that a number of Western readers are disappointed with Yakuza Moon: Memoirs of a Gangster's Daughter. They are looking for a memoir that will feed into their cinematic/stereotypical ideals of what Tendo's life should be like, but instead they receive a thin tome written by a woman who suffered from continuous abuse at the hands of men who were yakuza and these men, instead of being paragons of virtue, Japanese tradition, and honor are alcoholic, cowardly dope fiends who beat on those weaker than them and cower from those who are stronger.
What Tendo gives the reader is a cathartic, honest account of a woman who is connected to the shady crime underworld and how it ostracizes her from mainstream Japanese society. Scoffed at by her teachers, neighbors, and classmates after her father is imprisoned, Tendo becomes a yanki, female delinquent and gang member, and finds herself growing addicted to a number of narcotics starting off with huffing paint thinner to injecting heroin daily all the while drifting from detention centers to abusive relationships. At times, it seems she finds peace, but eventually these fleeting moments are shattered by harsh reality.
Another criticism that I have read concerning the memoir is that it is poorly written, and that it seems like a sordid tale written by a grade-schooler. Tendo herself apologizes about the writing in the book's afterward stating that she has next to zero formal education (she nearly ceased doing school work after elementary school, having become a yanki at 12). Leaving the quality of writing behind, Tendo does have the tendency to foreshadow in a sophomoric way and her moralizing is a bit weak, but the bare bones honesty of a woman opening her heart to the reader makes the overall read overcome its limitations in craft. A fine memoir that attempts to shatter some of the stereotypes associated with the yakuza, Yakuza Moon: Memoirs of a Gangster's Daughter makes for a quick and enlightening read on the subject of the Japanese underworld.
- Perhaps it was a bad translation. Perhaps it was written in a rush. Or perhaps the author just isn't particularly talented. The last seems to be the case with Shoko Tendo's memoir about life as the daughter of a Japanese mobster. Many of the chapters ran like separate vignettes without much dramatic tension. There was little insight into the actual lives of the yakuza, and the reader is left trying to add pieces together. What keeps the pace is Tendo's interesting life, and the trials she must overcome to better herself. When she receives the full-body tattoo, it seems anti-climactic and, dare I say it, unimportant. The tone of the entire piece just doesn't have enough resonance to carry itself. For example, the trite (and very bizarre shift in the aforementioned tone) last line is this: "Thank you Mom and Dad." Like something out of high school essay, I felt deceived with such a simplistic ending. Some passages contained rich imagery, but they didn't last very long. Overall, with the subject and some of the narrative, the book had promise. But it seems carrying out the task proved to be too much of a task.
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Posted in Biography (Friday, September 5, 2008)
Written by Mark James Owens and Cordelia Dykes Owens. By Mariner Books.
The regular list price is $16.00.
Sells new for $8.55.
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5 comments about Cry of the Kalahari.
- I had to read this book for an AP Biology course and it was absolutely amazing!!! The way that they describe these encounters is simply amazing. Great Book easy to follow it's a book that you just don't want to put down until you finish it. I give it 5 stars no doubt I highly recommend this book to all. One the greatest books i've ever read.
- I found "Cry of the Kalahari" purely by change at the San Diego Zoo and bought a copy after reading the glowing reviews that were on the back of the book. I enthusiastically agree with the praise and plan to read their other books. In fact, I dropped the book I was currently reading in order to finish this one. I was immediately attracted to the story of two young Americans arriving in Africa with modest funds but determined to do research not previously attempted. The story is all-the-more compelling given the fact that they were going into an area that people tended to shun as too remove and not even slightly hospitable.
Mark and Delia Owens write incredibly well and do not waste words. They describe the animals, people and places with phrases that bring them to life.
A sample picked a random:
"A near total silence crept in on me when I opened my eyes and gazed at the Land Rover ceiling. A moment's confusion; where was I? I turned to the window. A gnarled acacia tree loomed outside, its limbs held up in silhouette against the grey sky. Beyond the tree, in soft easy lines, the wooded sand dunes descended to the riverbed. Morning, our first in Deception Valley, grew in the sky far beyond the dunes."
One could cite many examples that stimulate interest and draw the reader into the experience of Mark and Delia as the alternate the telling of the work. Also the values held by the authors that they will leave as little a footprint as possible is one shared by those serious about conservation, so we share in their decision and agonize with them when they have to make a tough decision. When the lioness called Bones shows so badly wounded with porcupine quills I found myself cheering the Owens' on as they made the decision to lend some needed medical help rather than let her die. Perhaps interfering with nature but the authors are careful not to impose their presence when animals were hunting unless they were protecting an animal they had darted.
Some readers may disagree with the close proximity Mark and Delia Owens have with some of the animals, and the "cute" names they give to some of the animals, but unlike some wildlife proponents the Owens' are allowing the animals to be curious about them and do not seek to befriend wild animals. They are not trying to prove that wild animals are safe and (although there are some tense moments when Mark seems to be getting too close for safety) the authors often retreat to their Land Rover.
Beautifully written and illustrated with many black and white photographs, "Cry of the Kalahari" is a remarkable book
- Wonderful book that enables one to live the experiences of this dedicated couple who gave so much to the animals of Africa through their research. This book tore at my heartstrings and made me even more excited about my upcoming trip to Africa.
- Two grad students, having married shortly after their University of Georgia college education began their graduate studies in zoology in the Kalahari desert in Botswana. I've heard grad students' lives are poor and hard, but this couples' 7 year field study takes the mealie-meal. They carefully rationed water and gasoline and lived on mealie-meal (cornmeal), ostrich eggs, and antelope meat; they'd nearly run out of money and write grants to pay for their supplies only and with no money left to fly home. They survived on these paltry sums and did their research in temperatures that sometimes got as high as 120 degrees Fahrenheit surrounded by lions, leopards, and cheetahs in the midst of one of Africa's most inhospitable areas.
This true story is truly amazing and I can't wait to read their other books about Africa. The book was published in 1984 and I wonder if their research had any influence in the IMAX film The Serengeti which is about the greatest wildebeest migration that happens in the Serengeti area in Tanzania and Kenya. In the back of the book is a brief recommendation for wildlife management in the Kalahari desert. In reading this, one can't but be reminded of Jane Gooddall's and the Adamson's work with wildlife in East Africa. It's also a survivors' tale, adventuresome and exciting, but most of all great research. Excellent all around!
- I do not wish to write a review, other than to say I read this book many years ago and it has stayed with me. Mark and Delia's story was fascinating and I was enthralled with their descriptions of the Kalahari and the animals they observed. I wanted to rate this book, so that the rating could be used in making future recommendatipons for me.
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