5 comments about Jackie Oh!.

1. This is a biography (authorized? I highly doubt it) on Jackie Kennedy Onassis. The book makes her out to be a spoiled brat basically (like making her husband fly to Paris because she is out of her favorite perfume). It was fun reading, but I'm not sure how accurate it is. I guess we'll never know.



2. This book reads much like Gone With the Wind and Jackie Kennedy's character, personality and upbringing is eerily similar to that of Scarlett O'Hara herself. Although the book is dated it is a fascinating and engrossing read. Kelly's an excellent writer and story teller and aside from the speculation about the book's reliability, it is nonetheless, immensely readable. Moreover, there is nothing in this book that is not consistent with facts which have been verified in the years since it was published.
   
   If you are a Kennedy worshiper you will not like this book. It is not flattering to Mrs. Onassis nor should it be. From all accounts Jackie Onassis was a self absorbed, materialistic and psyopathically arrogant bully of a woman. You will not come out of this book liking her. But even under the harsh glare of the truth, Jackie Onasis is fascinating. She was a pivotal figure in this country's history regardless of her shallow, ruthless and self serving ways. You also might come out of this book profoundly resentful of the unconditional genuflecting she enjoyed from American society at large. How someone like this could move through life with absolutely no accountability and with unconditional reverence makes the book even more thought provoking.



3. When Jackie Oh! came out it shot Kitty Kelley to fame. It was considered vicious trash by the critics but the public ate it up. Reading it almost 30 years later I'm struck with the feeling that the hype was more than the book. There have been allegations that Kelly relied on backstairs gossip and a lot of what's in here can't be proven. Then there is the fact that Jackie was alive when the book was published. Kelly's decision to write about Jackie's treatment for depression (The woman lost a son and a husband within months. Who wouldn't be depressed?) seemed simply cruel for the sport of it.

   Reading Jackie Oh is kind of like finding your old high school year book and being embarrased by the clothes, the hobbies and the sentiments written therein. You look at it and are chagrined at how important such sillines seemed at the time.




4. Trashy, gossipy biography written by an author known for digging up the dirt. I laughed at some of the situations that were described because I couldn't believe all of them. Good for an afternoon's read while lying on the beach or taking a long bath.



5. Great tidbits on Jackie. A book that you cannot possibly put down. Very entertaining. FOR QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSIONS ON JACKIE ONASSIS, PLEASE E-MAIL ME AT MellissaLD@aol.com. HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5 comments about Edward M. Kennedy: A Biography.

1. Like all of us Teddy's life has been good and bad. I have not gone through deaths of his brothers in such a tragic way. I especially loved Robert. His long tenure in the senate is historic even though I have disagreed with a lot of his beliefs. He also lost 2 sisters tragically. and all of his children have been affected by cancer. His first marriage ended in divorce and alcohol has been a factor of many events. The event in July of 1969 influenced national and personal politics. Overall, he has been blessed with both good fortune and tragedy unspeakable. This book explores them all. And that he has been responsable for 16 children. And now he is in the fight to save his own life. Life has dealt him some really sad things and this book like life is worth your reading.



2. In this book, Adam Clymer offers us a well-written, detailed portrait of the life and career of Edward Kennedy, a man who has long labored under the shadows cast by his ambitious family. Burdened by the expectations the came with the family name and tarnished by the self-inflicted wounds of scandal, he nonetheless persevered to become a force in the United States Senate, one whose career the author ranks as one of the greatest in the history of the institution.
   
   Such a judgment certainly reflects Clymer's bias for his subject. But he does make a convincing case for the influential role that Kennedy has played in the Senate over the past three decades. Clymer conveys Kennedy's love for the Senate, which he argues was reflected in his half-hearted attempts for the White House in the 1970s and 1980s. While some may argue that his failure to win the nomination makes any effort to minimize his presidential campaigns a case of sour grapes, Clymer demonstrates how Kennedy thrived in the Senate in a way his brothers - who seemed to treat their careers there as little more than platforms from which to launch their bids for the White House - never did.
   
   Yet Clymer's biography is not without its flaws. As some reviewers have noted, the book occasionally bogs down in the minutiae of legislative maneuvering, the deals and rules that play such an important role of Kennedy's career (and his mastery of which is one of the keys to his influence). Even more troubling, though, is Clymer's inability to reconcile successfully the powerful senator with the dissolute personal character. He acknowledges Kennedy's personal problems but refers to most of them in passing only, which has the effect of reducing Chappaquiddick to an isolated incident rather than the most tragic example of the personal conduct which has defined the man in the minds of many Americans.
   
   In spite of this, Clymer's book stands as an excellent biography of Edward Kennedy. Detailed, insightful, and well-argued, it will remain for some time the best book about the Kennedy brother who might turn out to have been the most important and influential one of them all.



3. He was the "last" brother, the Kennedy who, despite a (mostly) sterling reputation and record in the Senate, will never become president. And so we are delivered yet another Kennedyana kernel, this one by "New York Times" reporter Adam Clymer. The book fails to capture the spirit and humanity of the man; the insights are surprisingly shallow for such a respected journalist. On the Chappaquiddick incident, during which a young female Kennedy supporter was drowned when the car in which Ted was driving went off the road, leaves Clymer writing the shocking news that Kennedy was a bad driver who "probably" was drinking prior to the accident! A faded rose indeed.



4. Adam Clymer's biography on Edward M. Kennedy is monumental: the result of fastidious research and decades-long stint writing for both the New York Times and Baltimore Sun. What is so skillfully articulated here is a sober account of the Senator's long, strange trip -- from childhood days, under the shadow of older brothers, Jack and Bobby; to the tragedy at Chappaquiddick, effectively incinerating any dreams of securing the Oval Office; to his resurgence as one of the most influential and powerful political leaders in American history.

   Edward M. Kennedy: A Biography, is what Mr. Clymer achieves. There are no speculations, conspiracy theories, or interviews with shady "informants"; only an astute biography of a man who is as brilliant and perseverant a leader as he is controversial and complicated a human.




5. The best senator in Congress... and Clymer explains exactly why it is so. A flawed man, who by hard work and diligence, becomes an excellent representative and spokesman for the highest ideals of the republic. An outstanding biography, a story you need to know.

1 comments about All the Pain Money Can Buy: The Life of Christina Onassis.

1. A great book - lots of action and interest in the jetset society of the early 70s, well recomemded

4 comments about Justice for Selena: The State vs. Yolanda Saldivar.

1. This is a great book. I was not able to put it down. If you are interested in what happened during the trial than I highly recommend this book. The book reveals in particular how easily the media was manipulated by the defense team and as a result the prosecution not only had to fight inside the courtroom but outside as well to find Justice For Selena.



2. This book is about the trial.Everything that happened at the trial,how they prepared for the trial.About everthing that was done to get Justice for Selena.I highly Recomend this book.



3. Excellent book, but very long. (Held my attention, but took awhile to get through it.) This is not a Selena fan book - it's strictly about the trial of her assasin. If you are interested in court proceedings, and happen to be a Selena fan, then this is a great book for you.



4. and I'm not being sarcastic. There is nothing "new and earth-shattering" about Selena or her family; it is what it says it is - a book about the trial. What you learn, though, is how much more there really was and how differently the trial appeared to be going from the prosecutors' and, my guess is, the defense's perspectives than it was from the media's. Mr. Valdez even lets us know what happened after the trial in the appeals that Yolanda filed and why she wasn't eligible for the death penalty.

2 comments about Saving Mandela's Children: The true story of South Africa's unwanted children.

1. Dianne Lang is the bravest woman I know. Fearless in the face of a country torn apart by widespread corruption Dianne had an agenda and that didn't include sitting back while the children of the Eastern Townships were raped, sodomized, starved, and left to dye of AIDSin the streets of Middelburg.They are literally invisible. When Dianne brought the situation to the attention of government officials, social workers and especially the POLICE, she was told to mind her own business OR ELSE! The OR ELSE came in the way of the SCorpions, the dreaded South African Secret police, who stole and stripped her computers and harddrive, threatened Ms Lang with her life and terrorized her mercilessly until she fled the country. This book is riveting and engaging. A true story of courage and adventure. I guarantee that you will NOT put it down.
   /the Unstoppable Frankie Picasso



2. A wonderful uphill battle by one very brave,self-sufficient woman,the author, to nuture and love orphans abandoned by the state that is sworn to care for them.Using all her own resources,selling her house she provides a safe haven,against a life on the street of rape,hunger,abuse and lack of love.This is set in South Africa which has over a million orphans and counting
   I could not put this book down,as everyone including the agencies that are designed to help are against or slow to deal with the orphan problem.
   The very descriptive picture of burying a black child in a white cemetry,using a spade and a old tin can says it all.I speak from experience having visited the area.We help now or pay a greater price in the future .

5 comments about Boy with Loaded Gun: A Memoir.

1. Lewis Nordan is undoubtedly an excellent writer. He has also had an "interesting" if somewhat dysfunctional life. He shares with the reader selected
   parts fo that interesting life. Several tales are indeed memorable. However, he doesn't seem to have an appreciation of when things might best remain untold. In reading the book and its at times startling admissions, I was at times repulsed. The good parts way outweigh the bad. So, I'd recommend it, especialy for Nordan's fans, but be prepared to be shocked.



2. Lewis "Buddy" Nordan writes a memoir -- sort of.

   Often times his memoir reads like a tell-all tale, and at other times like a novel about Nordan himself. The line between fact and fiction is rather hard to ascertain. Boy with Loaded Gun is difficult to pigeonhole into any traditional classification. However, fans will be pleased and new readers will be amazed with his eighth book.

   Nordan confesses to cooking up conversations, changing names, and exaggerating. What's left is an immanently readable, laugh your head right off, story about growing up in the Mississippi Delta town of Itta Bena and the haywire adulthood Nordan lived upon leaving Mississippi in the 1940s and 50s.

   For Nordan aficionados, the book touches on the perennial themes of his fiction. Beginning with his first collection of short stories published by LSU Press in 1983 Welcome to the Arrow-Catcher Fair, to his most recent novel Lighting Song, loneliness and grief take center stage, along with a double helping of alcoholism, fantasy, and a Gothic sense of doom and loss.

   What makes Nordan's writing engaging is a sense of redemption. His characters are on a quest somewhat like the wayfarers Louisiana novelist Walker Percy wrote about. For Nordan, humor makes suffering and pain bearable.

   The memoir begins with the early death of his father when Nordan was a baby. Soon his mother would remarry, this time to a drunk. Nordan's stepfather came home each day from work to retire to his bedroom, where he would drink beer until sleep. Each morning he'd awake to ritual puking. Unfortunately, Nordan followed in his stepfather's footsteps.

   He was a bizarre teen, one often obsessed with sex and other fantasies. As a teenager, Nordan ordered a military surplus pistol from the back pages of a magazine and attempted to bushwhack his stepfather in cold blood. The gun mysteriously jammed; thus saving the boy from murder and providing a title for the book.

   After a stint in the Navy, Nordan attended the Methodist Millsaps College in Jackson, where he found easy sex in the parking lot outside the women's dormitory. He and his partner quickly and ludicrously eloped. In graduate school, he bummed around with hippies, did drugs, lived on a farm, and had illicit trysts with the first real hippie he met. This was a life far removed from the confines of Itta Bena, though his departure wasn't far from the rural South. Dissipation, it seems, can be found in the remotest hamlets of the Bible Belt, even around Auburn, Alabama, where he studied for the Ph.D. in English.

   The memoir has all the components of a good southern novel. It's sprinkled with drunkards, midgets, racial angst over the Emmett Till lynching, pathological liars, sexual perversion, and even an unclaimed corpse that is kept on display for several decades at a Mississippi funeral home.

   In one of the book's saddest moments, Nordan's college-aged son committed suicide. Years earlier, a child by his first wife died at birth. Perhaps the suicide served as a catalyst for the author to finally grow up. It appears that Nordan eventually learned to take responsibility and to call his grief by name.

   The story ends with a surreal book tour stop in New Orleans, the land of dreamy dreams. By then Nordan was a published author and teacher of creative writing at the University of Pittsburgh, remarried and reconciled with wife number two, and on the wagon.

   Readers may learn more than they wish about the real Buddy Nordan.

   No, readers will love this book, and not just long-time Nordan fans. They won't love it because of his now public failures, but because he's got the guts to tell the tale, and because of the life-affirming laughter in every page. As always, Nordan writes beautifully, even if he had to jumble up the facts to avoid being sued.

   -------------Reviewed by Dayne Sherman




3. This was the first I had read of Lewis Nordan, and I wasn't overly impressed.

   I whipped through the first section about his (or should I say "Buddy's") childhood. After that, the book slows down. It becomes increasingly difficult to identify or sympathize with the problems and eccentricities of this young man as he comes of age. Buddy consistently fails to learn from his mistakes and the lack of growth is frustrating as a reader.

   Still, I'll probably pick up another Nordan book to see if I like it any better.




4. In a world where everyone who ever endured a three-day suspension from middle school writes a histrionic tell-all memoir, it's a deep pleasure to read a memoir that fills what ought to be the requirements for any: 1. the experiences described are truly memorable; and 2. the book is written by a gifted writer who obviously does his work.

   I say from now on unless both requirements are met, don't read the memoir.

   Read this one.




5. Lewis Nordan is superior prose stylist, and his memoir BOY WITH LOADED GUN--which he describes in the preface as a mingling of fact and fancy--presents the reader with a series of scenes from a life that both collapses and then reconstructs through a combination of personal compulsion and unexpectedly sharp (and often humorous) encounters with life and death.

   An extremely episodic work, BOY WITH LOADED GUN is divided into three portions, the first detailing Nordan's childhood in Itta Bena, Mississippi; the second his youth, first marriage, and rising alcoholism; and the third his painful recovery--complete with set-backs--from a life-time of self-destructive compulsion. The most successful of these portions is the first. Nordan effortlessly captures the eccentricties of growing up in post-war in prose that bespeaks the South in every aspect, and if BOY WITH LOADED GUN consisted of this portion only it would still find a special niche among the best of Southern belles lettres.

   But life does not end with childhood, and the remainder of the book follows Nordon's life as it first unravels and then as he attempts (with many a set back) to knit it up again. Just as Nordan was unable to organize these portions of his life in the living, so is he unable to organize them on the page, and although the work remains stylistically flawless it becomes so extremely episodic that it lacks focus. After making such a long and frequently painful journey through Nordan's life, I expected him to offer a cummulative statement that would bring the diverse elements of his memoir into focus as the book neared its conclusion. But there is none--and this undercuts any sense of purpose the book might have. It is beautifully written, but there seems little point to it beyond writing beautifully.

   Several [people] have suggested that Nordan is the "next William Faulkner." I can only assume these [people] have never read William Faulkner, for neither Nordan's style nor his material is remotely like anything Faulkner ever wrote. In tone of voice, however, Nordan does recall such authors as Eudora Welty and Harper Lee--particularly when writing of his childhood.

1 comments about Brad Pitt: Reluctant Leading Man (Star Biographies).

1. This was a very good book. I enjoyed it. A must read for the Brad Pitt fan. Well written with great pictures and tons of info. Highly recommended.

5 comments about Luther: The Life and Longing of Luther Vandross.

1. I enjoyed Luther Vandross' biography by Craig Seymour immensly. I think that because Luther was so private, Craig drew out the essence of the man as much as possible. I learned so much about Mr. Vandross from the biography that I felt like we could have been personal friends. The author makes the man come off of the pages and into your life. You can feel Luther's pain, his joy, his mysterious loves, as well as the heart beat of his music from the book. I have read the book at least five times within the past year.
   
   The other reason the book is so good is because this is the only complete biography of Luther Vandross that I know of. Thank you Craig Seymour in being persistant in persuing Luther to write the book. Thank you for bringing us "Luther."
   
   Mr. Seymour is their a sequel?



2. A book about Luther has been long overdue, but to be honest a lot of people would be reading it purely to find out who he did and did not sleep with. That is one reason why I like this book, it makes it clear that Luther was super private, and although we may all have ideas about his love life we can never conclusively say.
   
   The book tells a lot about his work as a backing vocalist as well as his triumphs and failures. I would have liked a little about his friendships for example with Oprah, Patti LaBelle etc. I would have liked to know more about Luther away from music and how he lived, but I guess that is why private life is called just that.
   
   Overall this book does give you a picture of Luther, but I just don't think it is as glossy and HQ as Luther truly deserves. Credit where credit is due however, the author does do a good job with the story, it was never going to be an easy book to right. I think fans would appreciate it a lot, but if you are expecting juicy tabloid fodder then find some other book to read.



3. I as with many other fans lost more than a singer when Luther passed away last year. Luther's songs touched the very core of me during the days I was trapped in a loveless marriage; he seemed to know very intimately what I was experiencing and seemed to express those very words so meticulously in his verses. It wasn't until I read this book that I could even begin to know why. His own tragic and lonely search for love ironically proved to be a blessing to the world in providing the many cherished loved songs that will play on forever.
   If you are a true Luther fan this is a MUST read. You will begin to understand and find the parallels of his works with his personal life and his haunting weight struggles. A true professional, Luther never delivered less than perfection in his music and it was through his pain that his fans were able to look beyond love. I am looking forward to a followup to this book. : )



4. I ordered this book because I loved Luther Vandross deeply and I miss him and I'm still in shock over his passing. I received this book and read it cover to cover in two days. I was somewhat disappointed in this book in that it depicted Luther as being a moody spoiled brat--so to speak who wanted things his way or no way, and if you didn't do thngs his way he would lash out. While I didn't know Luther personally I don't believe that he was that way. This book quoted a lot of things that BET's "Journeys in Black" broadcasted. I was very disappointed by this book and I found it a total waste of time to read. If you want to know about Luther refer to Bet's "Journeys in Black" on DVD.



5. I must say that I found this peek inside the life of Luther Vandross very informative. I appreciated the fact that I was allowed to read his perspective on the things that drove and influenced him emotionally and musically as well as why they did so.
   All too often in publications we only get the writer's perspective and it is often biased. There are even some occassions in this book when the author offers his views on certain subjects, he tends to highlight the facts or situations that seem to support those views even when other options are available.
   Overall I think the book did what it was supposed to. As with most Luther-authorized media, it told us what we needed to know, and were "entitled?" to as fans of his music. He suffered losses and celebrated successes, worked hard, believed in himself, paid his dues and shared it all with us through that music.
   Enough said.

No comments about Good Guys Finish First: Reflections Of A CEO And How To Start A De Novo Community Bank.

5 comments about Oh the Hell of It All: A Memoir.

1. I'd admired Ms. Montandon for decades and finally had the opportunity to meet her at a booksigning. What a treasure.



2. between the reviewers of this book. And, it all seems to pertain to the character of Dede Wilsey, castigated in both Pat and Sean's books.
   
   I picked up Pat's book last week in Powell's in Portland. I had had no idea Sean's Mother had written her story, but was very pleased with both her writing and her candor. I was particularly taken with her reaction to Sean's book. When I read his book a few years ago, I thought he was brutal about his father and his step-mother (the saint/devil Dede), but was quite loving about his mother, Pat. He did write about her failings as a parent (quite understandable when going through such a vicious divorce) but I also saw the love and admiration he held for her, even when he was going through the rough patch in his childhood and adolescence. Pat evidently was quite hurt by his portrayal of her, but she really needn't have been.
   
   And, looking at the pictures, I'd say she looks fabulous for almost 80 years old! I'd love to know who did her face-work.



3. I fell in love with Sean Wilsey's "Oh the Glory of It All" so when I saw that his mother wrote her own memoir I knew I had to read it. Going into the book I thought I might be bored reading about all the peace trips she took but to my surprise Pat Montandon was able to ditch the boring stuff and keep the book moving at a fast pace. I recommend that you read Sean Wilsey's memoir first and if you enjoy it move on to Pat Montandon's.



4. This is a tiring story about a woman whos husband left her for a younger better looking woman. She has been collecting alimony for thirty years now and is still complaining about it like she was the only woman in the World to lose a husband. The half of the book that doesn't carp on her failed marriage(s) talks about her draggging a group of children around the World in an attempt to get World leaders to meet with her. The sad thing is that this synopsis makes the book seem more interesting than it is.
   
   What might have been interesting would be some contrition, insights, or growth. Instead this is a stale and bitter tale- the millionth story about a poor little rich girl which is hard to identify with or feel sorry for.



5. From her very humble beginings as a preachers daughter in Oklahoma to the prejudice she faced as an "Okie" in California to her stint as San Francisco's "Golden Girl" and eventually as a world peace advocate and finally (now) as a loved mother and grandmother, I enjoyed getting a chance to peak into this womans remarkable life. While she could have dwelt on the negative times - and she had some doozies -she talks about them, but moves on....
   What most struck me was her refusal to be beaten down by people or experiences. I finished the book wanting to know more about her.
   Apparently she had to edit her original book down from 1000+ pages to a little over 300. I hope her publisher
   comes out with a sequel.