1 comments about Dave Pratt, Behind the Mic: 30 Years in Radio.

1. Being a long time Dave Pratt fan I have been waiting for this book to finally be finished and released. I had the entire book finished in just a few days and loved it. Dave goes into a lot of his life growing up in Elko, NV and coming back to AZ. A lot of the questions that you have always had as a listener are answered in this book. Yes, even the KUPD drama.
   The book is very well written and reads easily. You won't be able to put it down once you start. Thanks to Dave for putting so much of himself and family into this book.
   
   If we don't deserve it.....who does??????
   
   Tony T.
   Mesa, AZ.

5 comments about House of Happy Endings: A Memoir.

1. While reader reaction has been very favorable for this memoir, I was disturbed by the overwhelmingly depressive tone of the story. I could not remain untouched by the chill wind of horror at the heart of the "happy family" - the father's inexorable spiral into madness. There could be no happy ending to this story. I realized as I read it - and it is compellingly readable - that I was increasingly affected by its pervasive mood of despair and anguish. This may be a purely personal reaction, but to restore my balance I had to stop reading this book. It was an act of will to package it up and dispose of it. It was simply too horrific. Luckily, unlike the author, I had a "privileged" upbringing with normal parents, and this sad book made me appreciate it all the more.



2. House of Happy Endings: A Memoir by Leslie Garis
   
   As a young girl hiding in the dark corners and the dumbwaiter of the Dell, the newly purchased mansion in idyllic Amherst, Massachusetts, Leslie Garis listened to whispered parental exchanges with the highly attuned sense of foreboding peculiar to intutitive children. Although Roger Garis approached work on his fledgling magazine, The Pioneer, with manic purpose, his early failure to launch a most difficult enterprise signaled the grandiosity, much as the Dell itself did, that would comprise an aspect of his addictive, unstable personality. Garis' failure to graduate from a handful of colleges points to a man for whom doing what was necessary to get from point a to point b was beyond him. The rules of conventional living, e. g., working at a job he loathed, did not apply to him.
   Unlike her brothers, Ms. Garis, as first-born, benefitted from parents who were financially and socially comfortable with themselves and Amherst's intellectual community. When her grandparents, Howard, the creator of the Uncle Wiggily books, and Lilian, a writer for the Bobbsey Twins series, move into the Dell, the delicate family balance tips. Financially supported by his parents, Roger Garis chose to overlook his mother's difficult and imperious behavior towards him, his wife, and his children. Lilian's unchallenged abuse, an abuse her son would later duplicate, created an environment in the Garis family where shoddy behavior was tolerated.
   After Lilian dies, Howard Garis' drinking escalates along with his son's prescription pill addiction and bouts of mental illness. Destined to doom, Mabel, Roger's harried wife, fifteen years his junior, struggles to prop up this father and son team and create a semblance of family normalcy. Yet the decisions the Garis family makes increasingly revolve around Roger's demands, his next pill, his next chichi institution, his next Caribbean trip, leaving the other family members, especially Leslie's brothers, on an empty field with scant parental emotional or financial support. As the money dwindles, the choices shrink, and the magic house is sold.
   An early confidante of her flailing tweed-clad father, Ms. Garis long viewed him with a tolerance and awe prompted, perhaps, by his artistic frustrations. An enterprising daughter of privilege, although now without means-overreaching, she escapes to Vassar, I'm free, I'm finally free, and flees to Paris after graduation. Wherever she is, Ms. Garis carries in her mind the patches of family chaos she has left behind in western Massachusetts. Marrying the handsome, young, successful playwright, Arthur Kopit, a man whose work Roger admires seems again an effort to please her father or a subconscious wish to perpetuate the literary spouse cycle. For someone who also had a complicated father, it was a relief to read that Leslie Garis in spite of suffering from depression created with her husband and three children (and their attendant genetic issues) a house that truly did have a happy ending. That struggle, too, could be a memoir.



3. I really enjoyed reading this true narrative. It was as interesting as any good fiction I have read. I read his grandfather's books as a child, and loved them. So hearing about their author was intriguing. Of course, the most intriguing aspect is the dysfunctional family that this author endured. Many of us have at least one person in our family that is somewhat unbalanced. Poor Mr. Garis had quite a few more than his share. Besides the good read, I guess the take home message is that if he can come out of that household alive and well, then the rest of us have a fighting chance.



4. This warm-hearted book describes the terrible strain of a father's mental illness on the entire family. This is a very talented writer who invites the reader to her childhood home, set in a picturesque New England town, and introduced us to her remarkable family.



5. House of Happy Endings: A Memoir
   
   Leslie Garis's memoir takes you from her childhood to adulthood describing her loss of innocence in discovering her family dynamics. It is also a story of two marriages, her grandparents and parents and how children are affected by these relationships. Garis has managed to combine the fun days of childhood with the reality of her Grandmother's and Father's depression and how it affected her and her brothers. A wonderful story that starts out with a life so full of hope before reality takes hold in the mind of a child.

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

1. As someone who loves religious memoir, particularly religious memoir in the Catholic tradition, I often approach new titles with both excitement and trepidation. Most religious memoirs, at least in the Catholic tradition, are loosely based retellings of classics such as St. Augustine's CONFESSIONS or Thomas Merton's THE SEVEN STOREY MOUNTAIN--a person has some or little religious training, lives a self centered life, finds something missing and the missing element is God. Some titles revive this age old tale and show the new and different ways that God works. Others can be the same old, same old. Of course you don't know which category the title belongs in until after reading. So I read away, often hoping to be surprised. Justin Catanoso's MY COUSIN THE SAINT did surprise me and was well worth reading.
   
   Perhaps one reason the book fascinated me is that it does not retell the same story of losing and coming to faith as so many other titles do. Prior to his discovering that Padre Gaetano Catanoso, a cousin of the grandfather he never knew, was in the process of becoming an officially recognized Catholic saint, Justin Catanoso was living a relatively happy and normal life. He was a respected contributor to National Public Radio, had a happy marriage to a wonderful woman and enjoyed being a husband and father. The same remains true today as well. The discovery of this cousin's canonization fascinated him not as a believer as much as a journalist. As he researched his cousin, he reconnected with relatives in Italy he never knew but as soon as he met felt a connection. He also examined the process of canonization in the Roman Catholic Church which in and of itself is fascinating. It also caused him to reexamine his own faith. Like many people, he was raised Catholic but in adulthood drifted from regular religious practice. Discovering Padre Gaetano's genuine goodness and generosity inspired him, but it also challenged him to look at life's difficult questions, including why his brother, a good and faith filled man, died at a young age leaving behind a wife and family who loved him. In the end, he does find himself back in Church but we get a sense it is not a journey ended as much as one that is just beginning.
   
   The book's second greatest strength, the greatest being a fascinating topic, is Catanoso's ability as a writer. As a journalist he tells the story with clarity and detail. He is also a likeable narrator. We get a sense of his struggles and perhaps have shared them as well. He also does an excellent job at articulating the role of saints as role models and as an evangelistic tool in the papacy of Pope John Paul II. Though the current Pope elevated Padre Gaetano to sainthood, the process started during Pope John Paul II's reign. Pope John Paul wanted saints who mirrored the faithful and this humble Catholic priest certainly had the qualities of a beloved Catholic priest in a parish. This book reminds us of the importance of family, the difference faith can play in our lives, and that holiness is not something that is found in far off places--it can often can be found in ordinary people who try their best.



2. Justin Catanoso's discovery that he is actually related to an honest-to-goodness, canonized Catholic saint begins a journey that takes him not only to a discovery of family and heritage, but also on the exploration of a faith that had long fallen by the wayside.
   
   In some ways, Catanoso's story is the dream of every American whose family lost their roots when they came to this country. He receives an email one day from a woman who wonders if they might be related. It turns out that the American branch of the family has long been missing a deep heritage rooted in the Italian countryside. As well, Catanoso discovers that his grandfather's cousin, Padre Gaetano Catanoso, is being considered for canonization. This unbelievable news, prompts a family visit to Italy where they are lovingly embraced by their newly found relatives and where they begin hearing stories about "the saint."
   
   Catanoso tells the parallel stories of his immigrant grandfather and his saintly cousin vividly and honestly. In so doing, he skillfully pulls us into the uniquely American immigrant experience of his grandfather finding his vocation as an Italian grocer in New Jersey. We see Padre Gaetano tirelessly work to improve Italian peasant life at a time when it often meant a brutish existence of ignorance and want simply because there were no other options. As Catanoso's Uncle Tony fought in World War II he wound up in Italy and that portion of the American experience is also conveyed skillfully while weaving in Tony's AWOL search for family roots.
   
   This would be enough for most memoirs but it is merely a portion of Catanoso's story. The discovery of extended family and his saintly relative comes at a crucial time for his family as his brother, Alan, begins waging a grim fight against cancer. The many devout Catanosos begin praying to "Uncle Gaetano" for a miracle. We become just as engrossed in the fight for Alan's health. Will a miracle save him?
   
   It is at this point that Justin Catanoso begins grappling with his faith. Raised Catholic, he had fallen away from his faith and did not know what to believe any more. Again, in many ways this parallels many Americans' struggles with faith and with the Catholic Church in particular. What are miracles? What does it mean to be a saint? What does it mean to be related to a saint, if anything? A typically pragmatic and independently minded American, Catanoso honestly recounts his struggles, questions, and doubts. In the process, he interviews Vatican officials, recipients of Padre Gaetano's miracles, believers, and skeptics. As Catanoso uncovers facts and explanations, will he be able to find for himself a real and lasting faith?
   
   We become equally engrossed in the search to discover just what a saint shows us as believers. Catanoso's quest becomes ours and, if we are honest, we must contemplate our own faith, belief, and the reality that we are all called to be saints.
   
   On a side note, I found it quite interesting that he got a certain measure of reassurance about the Church from reading "Why I am Catholic" by Garry Wills, since that is a book that many faithful Catholics including myself would avoid due to Wills' criticism of certain tenents of the faith. It is a good lesson that an honest and tenacious seeker can ferret out the information they need in many more places than we could predict.
   
   This is an absolutely fantastic book by a talented, honest, and compelling writer. It is going to be on my list of top books of 2008. Highly recommended.
   
   This review originally was posted at
   This is an absolutely fantastic book by a talented, honest, and compelling writer. It is going to be on my list of top books of 2008. Highly recommended. (Originally posted including book excerpts at [...]



3. When I first came across this book, I read a few reviews and thought it sounded like a delightful story. I grabbed a copy of it as soon as I could get my hands on one and since finishing it, I've recommended the book over and over again. It may be the only book I've ever read that appeals to so many people for so many different reasons.
   
   It's a wonderful story of a young Italian American man learning more about his family (both here and there) and one very special, sainted relative; it's a bright and entertaining look at everyday life in Italy, it's a fascinating view of the people whose job it is to 'make saints' and it's a very open account of some deeply personal times. The author talks frankly about the illness and death of his brother, and his ongoing questions about faith, being Christian and what it means to him today.
   
   The author has taken many different threads and woven a wonderful story; a cloak of many colors. Justin Catanoso's style is engaging, entertaining and extremely readable even while moving into topics that might be a bit difficult to understand, like the whole saint-making process. He brings the individuals in the story so much to life, I genuinely felt sad at the unexpected loss of an important family member.
   
   As a Jesuit-schooled Catholic of a certain age, I could also really relate to some of the personal questions he raises about faith and religion. I think a lot of us have the same feelings, yet think we're alone with our questions or doubts.
   
   For me, the book was really very thought-provoking on many levels. Reading it did made me more determined than ever to get to Italy some day!



4. I stumbled upon this book by accident, and in spite of that, or perhaps because if it, I have been deeply touched. I do not search out religious literature, and would not normally seek out a book about a saint. Instead it was given to me by a friend. While My Cousin the Saint is nominally about Padre Gaetano Catanoso, a recently canonized saint from the Italian region of Calabria, the story is deeper and more personal. Author Justin Catanoso tells the story that all children of immigrant families want to tell. The author recounts his family's history on both sides of Atlantic. We follow the life and works of Padre Gaetano, a humble parish priest, and learn how he influenced and helped generations of Southern Italians, from the poorest and least educated villages. We also follow the life and history of Padre Gaetano's first cousin, the author's grandfather, Carmelo Catanoso, from his immigration to Philadelphia, to his life raising a family and building a business in Wildwood, New Jersey.
   
   The story, however, is not Gaetano's or Carmelo's. It is Justin's. It is not a book about Padre Gaetano; it is a book about writing a book about Padre Gaetano. Justin brings us along with him on his journey to rediscover his family in Italy and to rediscover his lapsed Catholic faith. Ultimately, the author is on a quest to rediscover himself. The author does not overplay the rediscovery hand, however. There are no great epiphanies, no grand lessons. In that respect, the book is not about the miraculous, but more about the human. Padre Gaetano's miracles are documented in a clinical fashion. The reader can decide whether they are true miracles or mere medical oddities. Padre Gaetano himself never claimed to be a miracle worker, just the "little donkey of Christ." What is more profound is the degree of love and trust the Catanoso family has in each other: brother, sister, husband, wife, parent, and cousin. It is a trust and love that not even Padre Gaetano is above or beyond.
   
   The book is written with humor and humility. I literally laughed out loud and called family members to share the story of the author's Uncle Tony's unauthorized side trip to find his Calabrian relatives during World War II. Uncle Tony's tale of finding his ancestral village is either miraculous or absurdly serendipitous. As a reader, I felt like I was sitting down to each meal with the Catanoso family. Like Padre Gaetano himself, My Cousin the Saint is neither preachy nor lofty. It is a joyful Italian sharing. In the end, what both the reader and the author walk away with is a deep respect for the power of familial love.



5. This could have been a boring read, even as a Catholic and who shares a common upbringing, I was worried it might take me a bit to get through. I was wrong. The story is told as if Justin is sitting in your living room sharing this with you. You don't have to be a Catholic or someone who was raised in similar circumstances to enjoy My Cousin The Saint. Buy this book and sit back and enjoy a trip through Southern Italy and Southern Jew Jersey.

5 comments about Testament of Youth (Penguin Classics).

1. I tried hard to like this book, but finally I just couldn't manage to. And I should admit that I "only" read 386 pp before finally giving up. I am an avid reader of both memoirs and history fm the world wars, but I'm 64 years old and life is far too short and filled with too many really enjoyable books for me to continue slogging through this dreary tome. While I know that Testament is an important text in the history of both feminism and the WWI era, I found the book to be incredibly slow and "overly romantic" in tone. The language was simply too flowery, ornate and dated to hold my interest (it was a great book to fall asleep over); and the so-called "love story" element was just a little too unbelievable in its chasteness and altruism. In fact I seriously wondered about the fiance's sexual leanings. Was he really heterosexual, or ...? I probably better just shut up. I just couldn't finish the book, certainly not ANOTHER 300-plus pages, that's for sure. I gave it the old "college try," but I'm giving it back to the women and the historians.



2. Vera Brittain (1893-1970) was raised as the daughter of a mill owner in the north of England. She was an intellectual who dreamed of majoring in English Literature at Oxford University's Somerville College for Women. In the post-World War I period Vera would return to Oxford taking a second in History and later winning a Master's degree.
   The first third of this book deals with Vera's autobiographical description of her raising in a conservative Edwardian home. She was close to her brother Edward; fell in love with poet Roland Leighton and enjoyed poetry. She and her generation were not ready for the horrific reality of the war which would kill over 10 million people.
   During the war Vera temporarily dropped out of Oxford to serve as a
   V.A.D. (a volunteer nurse). She would serve in London, Malta and France.
   She would minster to German Prisoners of War as well as serving with distinction. Vera's beloved Roland was killed in battle as was her brother Edward who fell in the last summer of the war. Vera was seared by these overwhelming tragedies. And yet she went on with her life serving with bravery.
   As the war ended she returned to Oxford becoming a feminist and pacifist. She lectured all over England on behalf of the League of Nations Union. Vera married a World War I veteran who became an academic.
   Vera would write over 25 books becoming a beloved and popular author in her native England.
   This is a long book over 600 densely printed pages. It is also one of the best books about non-combat, civilian life ever written about the war. Many of the scenes in which Vera is serving as a nurse are graphic and touch the human heart with the sadness and tragic loss of a bright generation of young Europeans. This book has become a modern classic which should be required reading in any course on World War I. Several years ago it was broadcast in a miniseries by BBC appearing on Masterpiece Theatre on PBS. This is a book which will remain lodged in your memory. Do your self a favor and purchase a copy soon!



3. I clearly am in a minority here but I did not like this book. A peer of other notable young British writers like Robert Graves and Wilfred Owen, Britton's book stands out among the male writers of the period as giving a woman's view of the war. The problem, at least for me, is that Britton is so over come with bitterness that she flogs the reader with it from the start.
   
   An early feminist Britton had strong views and supported her male friends and family going off to the First World War but as they fell to the german guns she, like many of her generation, became disillusioned. This is understandable but in writing her book, Britton cannot set aside her bitterness and it makes the reading ponderous and heavy. For example noting a fete in her early childhood and the bunting and flags put out she says "If only I knew then it was all meaningless." we are taken from a little girl's views to a bitter adult in the blink of an eye and it just gets too much.
   
   By comparrison the autobiography of Robert Graves, Goodby to All That, starts out with the childish illusions being enjoyed as a child and slowly the bitterness slips into the writer's world view as he matures and is exposed to the horrors of the war. this is far more subtle and easier to read, meaning you are guided to the ponit he wants you to reach, instead of trying to bludgeon you into the mindset as Britton does.



4. The word "classic" gets thrown around a lot these days. Many so-called "modern classics" are not that important, but "Testament of Youth" deserves this reprint as a Penguin Classic. Brittain tells of her early life in the north of England between 1893 and the start of World War I in 1914 in beautifully clear prose, and her clarity of thought and powers of observation make the bulk of the book, dealing with the war's impact on her, painfully vivid without ever lapsing into self-pity. Like too many others of her generation (and the next and the next) Vera Brittain learned almost unimaginable lessons about life and her own inner strength. To that extent, "Testament of Youth" can serve as both example and inspiration.
   
   Vera Brittain came from an upper-middle-class background shared by millions of young women in late Victorian England. One thing that made her different was her great intellectual curiosity and determination to escape a truly suffocating existence that few of today's Western women can easily imagine. What made her like most citizens of the time (and of later times)was her complete ignorance of the meaning of "war." Patriotism, her social conscience, and a desire to take part in the bigger world led her to volunteer as a nursing sister with the British Army. Her grueling hospital experiences were a revelation to her. Her personal losses are even more powerfully revealing of the human condition. Brittain was a "survivor" in every sense of the word.
   
   "Testament of Youth" is just as fresh and moving today as it was when it was written 75 years ago and Vera Brittain tells a story that must be told and retold to each generation. For every reader who finds the book "too long" by current standards (its almost 700 pages), there will be two who wish they could follow the author even further. But even if you find yourself skipping ahead, particularly in the early part, you will not be able to forget Vera Brittain or her story. "Testament of Youth" is one of the great autobiographies of the past 100 years.



5. This is a fascinating, insightful book that it would behoove many of us modern folk to read. Learn about the harder times of the past, while sipping latte in a comfy chair. You'll be thankful for today's comforts -- and today's modern attitudes towards the capabilities and intelligence of women -- after you read what it was like for one woman early in the 20th century. Simply a great book.

No comments about The Urban Hermit: A Memoir.

5 comments about Not the Religious Type: Confessions of a Turncoat Atheist.

1. Pastor Dave breathes a warm, engaging tone into this book. It works well as a conversation with the reader, which is an impressive accomplishment given how thorny a topic he writes about.
   
   Reading this book was a spiritual experience for me. It helped me understand how transformative an experience it can be to surrender to God and devote one's life to the pursuit of goodness.
   
   The problem is that the book fails in its central effort: to convince the reader of the worth and necessity of Christian faith. The reason for the failure is that many of rhetorical devices that Pastor Dave uses do not withstand logical scrutiny.
   
   For example, Dave starts in one section from the assumption that any valid religion should harness the power of surrender to God. He then goes through a laundry list of religions, such as Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Judaism, and Islam. He decides that only Christianity (and Islam) adovate for surrender. A point in favor of Christianity? Only if you can't spot the obvious fallacy: what about all the possible "religions" that haven't yet been invented? Why count only history's most popular religions? What about Zoroastrianism for example? Jainism? It's unclear how acknowledging the worth of surrender to a higher power necessitates that Jesus of Nazareth was the son of God and that he performed miracles and died for our sins.
   
   Dave's argument against absolute truth and support for relative truth also does nothing to argue for Christianity. Instead it just opens up an existential can of worms that led me to wonder how he can ever be sure of anything.
   
   And so it goes...I'm no closer to being Christian now than when I first read the book. It did make me see more clearly what my own attitude toward religion and spirituality is.



2. This is a book for everyone. Whether a person of faith, or a person who doesn't feel as if they have ever spent time thinking about faith, you will be engaged (as I was) by the insights Dave Schmelzer shares. His perspective of having been an atheist for the first half of his life offers a unique perspective. The faith that Dave Schmelzer talks about isn't about being right/wrong or good/bad, it's about a connection with a communicative Jesus that offers a life that is more "joyful, purposeful, and connected"...something that I definitely can say I'd love to sign up for and have more of.



3. This book is a pleasure to read. Dave Schmelzer used to be a playwright and atheist, and he uses his skills to play out thoughts on the universe, God and happiness. As a now-pastor of a large church in Boston he understands the need to treat with respect those who hold different views from him and lay out his thoughts in easy language and relevance for everyday people.
   
   At the beginning of his book, Dave starts with a theory of Owen Barfield on the progression of human society. Initially, humans were caught up in "Original Participation" where we saw the entire world connected to us, including the gods in the sky and in the bushes. Next, we moved to "non-participation" where we got outside of the world and looked onto is as objective, dispassionate observers. According to Barfield, we will move to a third phase, the "final participation", which merges the first two stages and engages the rationalists with a universe that is personal and active.
   
   Dave builds his argument on this insight: people are much more interested in being "on to something" that is satisfying than ending up in discussion on what is right and wrong (which both his opponents - religious people and skeptical atheists - major on; and for which they pay the price of self-righteousness and sort of a gloomy vibe). Dave adds his insights from pop psychology (M Scott Peck's 4 stages), sociology (bounded vs centered sets), and movie theory (Joseph Campbell's hero myth) to his conversational writing and his many insights into Boston's academic culture.
   
   The strength of this book is in the mix of smart concepts presented in a fun way, paired with a lot of personal stories of how they work and the focus of "being on the something". For Dave, this a shockingly positive and loving God that is accessible and helpful to ordinary people. While smart books in the past (CS Lewis, GK Chesterton) were good in adding perspective and helping to dissect arguments, Dave moves on to propose a life that adds valuable experience to good thoughts. While great books help us see the world in a new light, this 174-page fun-read actually proposes something we can do (not in a self-help 7 step way) and therefore is the best book yet I have read on faith journeys in an intellectual environment.



4. Great reading for just about everyone - believers, unbelievers, with faith, no faith, you name it! Dave's conversational tone is inviting. He is witty, yet quite profound and thought provoking. Like Jesus, Dave offers a non judgmental religious perspective. He successfully depicts a God who is pretty much alive and available to all who simply believe and seek Him.
   After reading this book you will know that following this God is much easier than a lot of religious and preachers impose. (Thank God for such a guilty free, pleasant "religious" perspective for a change!)



5. If you've read any of the last few rounds of atheist books, you'll note one common approach: they're joyless books without any ray of sun. In fact, they're more like amusement parks rides: you strap yourself in, ride the ups and downs, and return to the place you started once it's over. The author remains tirelessly in control.
   
   By contrast, Not the Religious Type is a less of a polemic and more of a conversation starter. It's a book best discussed more than read by one's self. And Schmelzer even chats himself up -- arguing one conclusion for a chapter and then backing up, taking a contrapositive stance, and re-approaching the issue.
   
   It's breezy, accessible, and while it doesn't buttonhole conclusions in a 7 or 21 step fashion, there is course charted in the book that is not merely the playing out of a well-written first chapter. For that reason, perhaps the book is best read with a companion on the journey.

5 comments about Notes from the Hyena's Belly: An Ethiopian Boyhood.

1. Nega Mezlekia was born the year after my family left Ethiopia. My African American father had heart problems that didn't do well in the high country of Addis Ababa. At seven years of age, I came to the US only to discover that my peers believed all Africans walked around naked in the jungle. Over the years I came to understand that the media portrayal of all of Africa was skewed to affirm the national US fantasy of white supremacy.
   
   What I love most about this book is that it inadvertently sets the record straight. In telling his own story, Mezlekia tells the story of a nation, a culture, and even the micro-cultures within the culture. He's an extraordinary writer and the book is poetic prose at its very best. No wonder it won the Governor General's Award. Unfortunately the book ends in 1983 and so much has changed in Ethiopia's governance since then.



2. Notes from the Hyena's Belly is a memoir that often reads like a novel. It depicts Nega's relatively calm childhood in sharp contrast to the growing unrest, civil strife and government corruption that dominated his adolescence and early adulthood. The book gives insight into a piece of Ethiopia's history, which is peppered with scenes from Nega's growing up years and folk tales that his mother told. Nega successfully speaks to the impact of civil war, government corruption and the too frequent global indifference to such issues in Africa, while at the same time maintaining a wry sense of humor that makes his story all the more human and real. This combination gives it a unique flavor and certainly makes it memorable.



3. This book provides great insight into the older Ethiopia. It provides interesting cultural perspectives as well as many life experiences of the author. A great read and a recommendation for those preparing to experience Ethiopia first hand.



4. An enlightening story of a boy growing up in Ethiopia. A world that we Americans cannot relate to, however we certainly are sympathetic. Still, Mezlekia spares us by sprinkling a little humor here and there, and we see that young boys do find time to be a little mischievous even in the worst of situations, like straying too far and being eaten by hyenas. Visited Ethiopia with my wife in the late 80's and witnessed some of the famine and suffering, but also found the people gracious and hospitable to Westerners. Thoroughly enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it.
   
   James Hart Isley
   Author of The Bear Hunter



5. Why I enjoyed Notes from the Hyena's Belly? The writing, the wisdom, the history, the survival. If you enjoy having a narrarator walk you through a book showing you the real people, places and happenings that were "Once Upon A Time," then you may just find this book to be a treasure. I myself enjoyed the way this author held my inner voice's attention. It was almost as if I were sitting at his home while he spoke of the life experiences that make him the person now sitting before me. Because I'm such an avid reader, I did put this book down a few times to indulge in other reads. I did this knowing that when I'd pick it back up I'd have a great companion to spend time with. I almost hated to see the book conclude. The fact that I'm writing only my second or third amazon review says how much I enjoyed this read. Hope you decide to visit the Hyena's Belly. You won't be disappointed.

5 comments about The Facts of Life: and Other Dirty Jokes.

1. Willie is able to give the reader insight into his personality in a funny and entertaining way making the reader want to keep reading! The book is full of information about the singer/songwriter and has some truly great lines and jokes!



2. Got this for my dad who is a huge Willie fan and I thought he had everything of Willie's - but this one he didn't and was very impressed to see we had found something he hadn't seen before. He enjoyed reading it and found it funny.



3. My son asked for this for Christmas. He really knows country music and is no fan of pop. He only wants the true country and the real soul of country music and stories. If this were not the real thing he would not have asked for it. If he recommends it, you can take it to the bank.



4. This is an easy summer read that offers some unique insights into the mind of the legendary Willie Nelson. It has a lot of song lyrics, a few jokes and lots of personal anecdotes from his life on the road. It's not great literature, but it's fun and, what the heck, Willie needs the money!



5. Willie Nelson Should stick with singing and thats that. I Did not find this book enjoable at all I do not recomend it at all.
   
   
   If you liked this book check out all of Willie Nelson's, Books, Music & Movies.

5 comments about Puppy Chow Is Better Than Prozac: The True Story of a Man and the Dog Who Saved His Life.

1. Everyone needs to read this book, whether you are a dog lover or not. A truly inspiring story.



2. Being a dog owner and a person who lives with bipolar disorder, this book caught my attention. I waited a few weeks to read it, but once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. I read the entire book in a 24 hour period. The author's depiction of living and struggling with bipolar disorder is so real. I am very glad that he was so honest, as it will help people understand what we are dealing with.
   I have been through some struggles with bipolar disorder and my dogs have been there with me through it all. I don't know how I could be here today if it were not for my babies.
   I have a better grasp on my bipolar disorder because of this book. It really touched me!



3. Bruce Goldstein clearly put 110% into this book, not one person can deny him that. However, his writing leaves a lot to be desired. He states in the introduction when he was writing this novel that he drank pot after pot of coffee and it is clearly reflected in his writing. Coming from an understanding of bipolar disorder, I would say that the entire book save for the very last chapter 11 years later was written during his manic episodes.
   
   As I read a lot of other reviews I was disappointed to see that several people criticized him for the way the book was written centered around his illness. Hello this was the whole purpose of the book itself? Other people were focused simply on Ozzy and call this a book for dog lovers. I am puzzled by this also because I found that the parts with Ozzy and especially the parts where he goes trolling to meet people and the irritating descriptions of "Pupeeeeeeeeeeeee! Look at the puppeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" were tedious. He basically describes that all of us dog lovers turn into blathering, mindless 'puppeeeeeeeeee" idiots when we see a dog.
   
   I admire Bruce for putting himself out there and really trying to cope wiht his manic depression. His dedication to Ozzy is doubtless throughout the whole book. I think that he gives a great insight to people who want to learn a bit about the manic side of bipolar disorder to what it is truly like. However, the middle section of him getting Ozzy and the endless descriptions of puppy potty habits leaves the reader lacking and detracts from his story. Potty training it one thing, but constant talk of fecal matter is another.
   
   Overall I would recommend this book to people who want to learn about bipolar disorder and enjoy dogs (both, together, not either or, this is not a book for dog lovers who could care less about the mental illness piece). However, I would not recommend paying $17 for it.



4. I have had several friends with bi-polar disorder and a boyfriend that was much like Bruce. Yikes. I don't wish that situation on anyone. For me the book was tedious and a bit over the top, but then I thought, "THAT is mental illness." Everything is magnified. The book actually made me much more sympathetic to those with mental illness as I can't even imagine how many of those people get from one day to the next. Obviously many don't. A homeless man in British Columbia (who suffers from mental illness) had one of his dogs taken from him and all he wanted was his dog back. Michael Phelps, on an interview with TODAY, just wanted to see his dog. Dogs do something for all of us. If Ozzy gave Bruce his life back then not a big surprise to the many, many of us who's lives dogs touch. Not sure if I'd recommend this book just based on the tedium. Not every sentence needs to be a ringer.



5. Hi,
   I just want to share a little story. My baby girl Abby was a shepard/ rot mix and she was 10 when she left this world. I am bipolar / manic depressed and the story in this book is so true. Abby loved me unconditionally and I her When I was real down she was there. When I was feeling better she was there. True friendship and love. This book reminded me so much of what happened to me and how she helped me through the bad times. Now that she is gone I can,t help but think what will happen now but the words in this book ring true A dog is more than a best friend it IS A LIFE SAVER and I hope it will inspire more people to seek help. Depression is an illness that some of us have to deal with and we need all the help we can get. I myself don,t know what the future will bring but if I could have her back for just one day I think I could make it but now we all have our own demons to fight and PUPPY'S ARE BETTER THAN ANY DRUG
   Kevin Stenson

5 comments about Arabian Sands (Penguin Classics).

1. I live most of the year in Saudi Arabia and saw this book at a local bookstore. I was attracted by the cover, reviews, inside photography, and the author's opening comments. I purchased it hoping I would get a greater understanding of the world I live in before the influence of Western luxuries/conveniences. I also thought it would be an enjoyable true-life adventure story.
   
   Thesiger was drawn to the bedu setting from of his disdain for the onslaught of technological progression which has been infiltrating every corner of the earth. And no doubt, I benefited from the book with learning more about the bedu culture/mentality as well as their relationship with each other and other Arabs and the degree of attention that they gave to Islam (or "cultural" Islam, not to be confused with Islam as it truly is). But make no mistake, those fascinating points are very SPARSELY scattered throughout the text.
   
   Since the book contained rich descriptions and I did learn a few interesting things from it, it would be unfair of me to give only 1 or 2 stars. But why didn't I give it 4 or 5 stars? Of 287 pages, it seemed that nearly all of it consisted of traveling in the sands, occasionally visiting a town to get permission from a Shaykh to travel therein, and then OCCASIONALLY noting interesting observations from his traveling companions. That's what it was, from beginning to end. There was little to no plot, just the author's love for basking in asceticism. However, even THAT is lacking because there is very little personal reflection of life from the author in the midst of his surroundings. We don't have a page where he looks up into the sky and ponders the creation of the universe or anything of that nature. Quite simply, the book is a narrative of dealing with camels, searching for water, and getting dinner invitations. A few times throughout the book he mentioned some important historical points about Islamic history (it's spread and how it propelled Muslims to be the most advanced civilization of their time) and he concludes that this is because of the bedu participation/influence--yet even these observations, if brought together, could not cover a single page. Although the journey was a true-life "adventure" -- there was danger from thirst, lack of food-source, etc -- and sometimes it seemed that the author, as a Christian, would be in a tough bind, yet none of those scenarios ever greatly escalated, which of course is good for the author(!) but boring for the reader.
   
   For those of you who do choose to purchase/read Arabian Sands, my advice is simple: find a cozy spot where you can read it without any distractions or any impending time engagements. If you don't, the pleasant writing style will slip by unappreciated and your enjoyment will be even less.



2. Not only a magnificent travelogue chronicling travels in in a harsh, surreal landscape, here we see the age-old yearning of the explorer to discover the things which cannot be found among the comforts and conveniences of civilization,chief of which is a knowledge of what kind of man he will prove to be when tested to his utmost. Though Thesiger never promotes his undertakings as spiritual experiences,it becomes evident that surely they have as much right to be called so as any other avowedly represented accounts. His fascination with the ascetic lives of his Bedu companions with their fierce nobility and many customs of traditional Arab culture shows the desire of a searcher for meaning transcending the materialism of the modern West. It is a tribute to his integrity that, despite his admiration, he also realizes he is bound to his own heritage and could never be truly one of them. His descriptive powers are outstanding,both of people and places. This is the best adventure/travel book I have read to date.



3. After you read this, you'll never think the same of the "Empty Quarter" which encompasses much of the south of the Arabian Peninsula. First of all, you'll find it's not so empty, with the nomadic Bedu plying the dunes and oases of the region as they have for centuries. In fact, this story is primarily about the Bedu who are incredibly tough but also incredibly principled. Their moral code could teach us a lot. Their love for their camels, who literally enable them to live in their hostile geography, and for their fellow man is humbling. The author, an intrepid explorer of these desert sands, does an outstanding job of bringing the Bedu culture to us. If you want to more fully understand the nomadic Arab mind, you could do much worse than to read this outstanding book.



4. The Rub Al Khali, the Empty Quarter, or as the Arabs called it, The Sands, is one of the most inhospitable places on earth, and one of the least populated as a result. Like Mt. Everest, or the South Pole, each of which became the obsession of some men, sometimes costing them their lives, the Empty Quarter became an obsession of Wilfred Thesiger. He was not the first Westerner to cross it, Bertrand Thomas was, in the `30's, and then Harry (Abdullah) St. John Philby after him, but Thesiger is deservedly the most famous, due to this wonderful account that is difficult to put down. His birth and childhood in Abyssinia, in 1910, the son of the first British Ambassador, seems to have marked him for the "path less traveled." To fully appreciate "Arabian Sands,' it helps to have read "The Life of My Choice," his autobiography.
   
   The first part of "Arabian Sands" covers his youth in Africa, and his initial desert trips in Dhaufar, and in the Danakil country. The end of the book involves his travels in then "forbidden" Oman. The heart of his story though, is his two epic crossing of The Sands. Unlike other Westerner explorers, he was unsupported in his efforts, by other Westerners, save for the financial support of the British Anti-Locust Board. He had to live by his wits, establishing firm and trusting relationships with his beloved Bedouin (Bedu) who were the essential element in his success. In so doing, he developed an understanding of the conditions of their very harsh life, and enthusiastically emulated them. In addition to coming to terms with the "ship of the desert," the camel, and adapting to the rhythms of desert travel with such transport, he also had to stay one step ahead of central authorities, and deal with the tribal politics, which invariably meant that some tribes would be hostile to both him, and his traveling companions solely for tribal reasons. Furthermore, since he was not a Muslim, he had to deal with those individuals and tribes who were hostile due solely to his non-adherence to their religion and beliefs, but Thesiger was wise enough to realize that much of the hostility resulted from the fact that all the other Westerners who were exploring were looking for oil, and the natives feared a loss of their land - it was hard for them, or even most Westerners to understand his motives of doing it solely "because it was there." After his second crossing he was arrested in the town of Sulaiyil by adherents of the Ikhwan, the fundamentalist brotherhood that very well may have made an "example" of him, "to encourage the others", and executed him. It was only the direct intervention of his friend, Philby, with the Saudi king, Abdul Aziz, which secured his release.
   
   The book contains numerous excellent maps, which outline his trips, as well as the tribal areas. It also includes some excellent black and white photographs, many of them of his traveling companions. On a personal note, he inspired a passion to visit Yabrin, on the northern edge of the Empty Quarter, and I was able to see it develop into a significant town, over a 23 year period, a far cry from the absolute absence of people at this oasis when he passed through in 1948.
   
   I couldn't give the book a 5-star however. As one other reviewer indicated, it would help if we looked a bit at the man himself, and his reference frame. The book was written around 12 years after the events, and he admits to not maintaining accurate notes, so how much was changed in his memory? Certainly he experienced "comradeship," like men do in war, but does that mean we should have wars for this experience? It seemed that he unduly romanticized the hardship, and bemoaned that the bedu would loose their remarkable way of life with the coming impact of the modern world. And there is no question that there are only a few real bedu left on the Arabian peninsula, as they have enthusiastically embraced the conveniences of the modern world in the subsequent 60 years. It should be noted that Thesiger carefully picked the timings of his travels, to do so only in the winter. If he had spent a couple of summers with the bedu, I strongly suspect that much of his romanticism would have evaporated, and the hum of an air-conditioner would be much appreciated. Also, there may have been more than an aversion to the modern material world behind his passion for the remote areas of yore - throughout his life, including his days in Kenya at the end, there was always a youthful companion with him.
   
   Setting aside these caveats, and realizing that the prism may be distorted, his achievements are remarkable, and we are fortunate to have an enthralling narrative of this vanished way of life.



5. I had heard this was the definitive work on the desert country but never had gotten around to reading it. I now have and it is terrific - every thing it's cracked up to be. I had read Michael Asher's biography; I had been in Ethiopia, Oman and Yemen; I traveled in the Hadhramaut -- all of this over fifty years later but still there is the flavor of Thesiger's days. His writing of crossing the Empty Quarter was a precursor of Asher's more recent writings about desert travels. He writes well and keeps the reader completely caught up with his trek. There is a sadness, on Thesiger's part (and mine), that as progress has affected the Bedu life, the stability of the old days is no more. But for a loving report on life as it used to be with the Bedu tribes, I whole heartedly recommend Arabian Sands. (I should not Rory Stewart's introduction was worth the price of the book)