5 comments about Chanel (Metropolitan Museum of Art Publications).

1. I am a couturiére to follow my passion and, of course, I already own a bunch of "Mademoiselle Chanel" books. Let's say that I own a couple of meters of fashion monographies and that I love this one.
   If you are interested in feeling the details of the artwork of both, Coco+Karl, you will get a number of details to learn about.
   Even though it is supposed to be a catalogue, what it is, it can be in the handbook shelf of a loving seammistress.
   On Chanel, at this price, you do not get more than the far feeling of her style.
   The forewords cover quite well her meaning and her significancy.
   As a gift it is quite showy also thanks for the transparent chemise.
   it always depends on what you are looking for.



2. This is a beautiful book and one you would love to have in your home. Of course, since I work for the company it is dear to me. I have given this book to three different people and they all have loved it. If you want to give something special to someone-- this is it.



3. I bought this book after seeing the Chanel exhibit at the Met. The pictures are nice, but I wish they showed more pictures of real people wearing clothes as opposed to the eccentric mannequins they used in the exhibit. A couple of blank pages here and there. I wish there was slightly more history behind the clothes. Still not a bad coffee table book on Chanel



4. I couldn't disagree more heartily with those who recommended this book as a "beautiful coffee table book." At this price and with this subject matter this could have been a truly amazing look at the history of the House of Chanel and it's transition from the early years of Coco to the present leadershiop of Karl Lagerfeld. The text is mediocre and the photos are terrible. The general visual quality of the book is absolutely reprehensible.The dresses are all reproduced in a poor quality "Liz Taylor in the White Diamonds commercial" fake fuzzy lens. There is not one really great photo of an actual garment in this entire book. As someone who saw the actual exhibit the book is based on, I feel the Metropolitan really missed on this one. The exhibit itself was magnificent, this poorly concieved book is a complete dud. Save your money for one of the many other books detailing the life and work of Coco Chanel.



5. Well worth your money. Beautifully done. Not only is it a lovely coffee table book, it is a book you will look at many times.

5 comments about Twice As Good: Condoleezza Rice and Her Path to Power.

1. This really helped me to understand our Secretary of State. The book also provided a good review of what was happening in Birmingham during the 60's.



2. This is an interesting look at Rice, her work and her life. But it leaves a lot of unanswered questions. I didn't feel as if I knew her any better after reading the book than I did before.
   
   At times she seems cold and uncaring. At other times, she seems warm and interesting. But I guess that could be said for all of us.
   
   This is a book worth reading. But don't expect to understand the subject. Perhaps she won't let anyone understand her. But this author certainly did not.



3. This is the first time I have ever reviewed a book. I felt compelled to
   compliment Mr. Mabry on the thorough research he so painstakingly did for
   this book. The book is easy to read and it keeps the reader interested in
   the subject without getting bogged down in minutiae.



4. The author describes the life and times of Dr. Condoleezza Rice with
   both personal stories and historical events. Many of the childhood
   personal stories and recitations are quite moving. For instance, the Secretary's assimilation into Stanford University was discussed . The historic contention between the State and Defense Departments was highlighted. This inter-agency competition may limit the Secretary's
   options-particularly during times of war. A strength of the work highlights
   areas where the organizational design of the cabinet itself could be
   reconfigured or enhanced to benefit future presidencies.
   
   Several great crises presented early in the current Administration.
   For instance, Hurricane Katrina left thousands homeless in the USA.
   The Asian Tsunami left thousands dead with billions of dollars in
   property claims.
   
   The aftermath of terrorist attacks in New York City cost many lives and displaced people and businesses . Sunni insurgents destroyed the Golden Dome of the Askariya Mosque- one of the holiest places of Sh'ia Islam. The Hezbollah kidnapped an Israeli soldier and the Hamas prevailed in open elections to become a voting majority.
   
   Add to this the current Iraqi difficulties in coordinating internal security with an iterative withdrawal of the United States at some future time. The current fear centers around control of Baghdad when the United States leaves or withdraws to a position outside of the daily skirmishes between the Sunni, Sh'ia and protagonists outside of Iraq.
   
   The peacekeeping forces (whether American, Iraqi, United Nations or a
   combination of the above) in Iraq must manage historic contentions between warring factions while hoping that the conflict does not spill over into neighboring countries like Turkey or Iran. There have been significant border clashes between the Turks and the Kurds, as well as Iranian involvement in the conflict.
   
   The challenges ahead deal with the role of the United States in the region,
   as well as the transitioning of the American peacekeeping forces to
   Iraqi security forces and possibly United Nations forces for the long term.
   The long term vision involves the mix of security forces.
   
   Preferably, these forces will be Iraqi with a permanent contingent of United Nations forces concurrent with an iterative phasing out of U.S.A. involvement over a rational time horizon. The work could deal in more detail with the future role of the United States in Iraq and the Secretary's current work to re-shape that role.
   
   To obtain a verifiable ceasefire, the Sunni, Sh'ia, Kurds and mixed
   communities must come to believe that they could lead a better life in
   a loosely knit governance with a fair economic resource-sharing
   arrangement. Right now, these parties have not internalized this goal.
   And so, they are jockeying to gain the upper hand.
   
   This process will continue until the Iraqi security apparatus develops with some assistance (preferably) from the United Nations Peacekeeping forces.
   If the country ever gets to the point of a verifiable ceasefire, the next
   step is to deal with governance and the return of thousands of professional
   persons who fled the country for their lives and careers. These people
   need to return in order to reconstitute the country from the present
   disorder and destruction.
   
   All of these events rose and continue to rise in unison to present the Secretary with an unparalleled series of challenges not seen in recent years. The work discusses the Secretary's career in government and
   academia with carefully chosen events which provide a unique profile
   into the experiential domain over the previous decades of service.
   
   The author combines the Secretary's personal dynamic with the job
   of Secretary of State. In these times, the job of Secretary of State
   requires a facilitative persona with considerable practical and academic
   acumen. Dr. Condoleezza Rice is such a person.
   
   The book is highly recommended for students of government, politics,
   journalism and academe everywhere. Events are happening so quickly
   in the Middle East that a sequel to this book could be contemplated .



5. 
   Mabry brings some interesting information to his reader of one of the most despicable, incompetent, false and ruthless atavists ever to occupy the planet earth, moreover public office.
   
   Rice's scheming adoration for saying and doing whatever it took/takes to get on the top dais of a given colosseum, in her continually pathetic and aforementioned ruthless attempt to be the cynosure-at-all-times is beyond legend. Just one glance of her souless and vengeful countenance is all it should take of any observant soul to realize the monster who lies within............ This book delicately refers to same, but, alas, not enough to adequately educate its reader.
   
   Tragically, Rice's plan has worked to her proverbial Joesph Goebbels success and whether it's directing national/internation policy that gives new meaning to the word ignorant and imperious and, as a consequence manifesting the death of thousands and the ruination of a pragmatically imperfect (read : managable) world for the future, suppressing the truth - lying outright before the public or, eternally looking beyond embarassing in the face of various world politicos, starting with her speech impediment and then her eternal practice of obsfucation by using several thousand words to answer a simple yes or no question................, this poster child of an affirmative action poseur dilettante is a study, be it by Marcus Mabry of what "worst case scenario" truly is.

5 comments about Eugenie: The Empress and Her Empire.

1. capturing napoleon iii heart and becoming empress of france would lead you to think her life would be happy ever after.but eugenie had a difficult birth of her only child made made it dangerous for another child ending her sex life with husband who carry on affairs that cause her great angry and pain.she became a fashion plate ,but also put reforms to help the poor and disavantage of france.after fall of empire she lived in england for 50 years losting her husband and son.



2. I had very little knowledge on Eugenie other then she was Empress of France and lost her only child. I've never been interested much in Napoleon III's reign or his consort but decided to give this book a try. I was pleasently surprised by what I read. Like the Eugenie was Spanish or that she was probably a better politican then her husband. Eugenie went from being bascially a no body to Empress of France and only to end up in exile after her husband was defeated. It must have been heartbreaking to lose her only child. A wonderful bio.



3. From the professional reviews, I had expected a well-written, scholarly book. This is neither. The writing is sometimes poor, and never eloquent or outstanding.
   
   The real problem, however, is the material. The portraits of Eugenie & Napoleon III are favorably one-sided. I don't feel as thought I could tell you the character of either after reading this book. Eugenie is impetuous is stated again & again but very few examples are given. Napoloen III is "pathologically secreative" but again no examples are given to support this statement. A very light-weight book.



4. I've always been interested in the lives of royal women, especially when I discover that they were more than just royal spouses or fashion plates. While such women as Elizabeth I of England, Mary of Scotland, and Catherine the Great of Russia have gotten plenty written about them, all too often, women with lesser notoriety tend to be forgotten or passed over by historians.
   
   One such woman was Eugenie, the Empress of Napoleon III of France. Author Desmond Seward, a long-time biographer of royalty, takes what at first appears to be a woman of little notice and turns her into someone to be reckoned with. At first I was rather skeptical, remembering that most of what I had read of Eugenie was that she was Spanish, a fashion setter who was known to have never worn the same evening gown twice and who was a patron of Worth, and that most of history regarded her as a conniving, bad woman who frittered life away. To say that I was in for a surprise was an understatement.
   
   Born Maria Eugenia Ignacia Augusta de Montijo , Eugenie grew up in an Europe that was going through revolutionary changes. Her father had fought with Napoleon's armies, and Eugenie soon developed a fascination with all things having to do with the Bonapartes . Clever, beautiful, and with the ability of being able to say the right thing in the right situation, Eugenie should have been wed quickly, but even after a tour of Europe with her wealthy mother didn't manage a good catch, and at twenty-three she was facing the prospect of spinsterhood. But it seems that Eugenie already had someone in mind -- the nephew of the formidable Napoleon, who had just managed to create himself Emperor of the French, by a coup-de-stat.
   
   Napoleon III, as he was known, was also charming, but also short, rather ugly, and inscrutable. An able politician, that side of his personality has been mostly overlooked for historians, focusing instead on his insatiable need for women, and his lack of military leadership. He was also an innate showman, knowing how to catch people's imagination, and able to push through schemes and ideas that most would never take seriously.
   
   Together, Napoleon and Eugenie formed a partnership that managed to survive for more than seventeen years, recreating Paris from an aging medieval slum to the magnificent City of Lights that we know today. Eugenie gave European fashion a chic flair with her patronage of the coutiere Worth, the artist Winterhalter, and her own innate sense of design.
   
   But there were also serious flaws to the couple as well -- Eugenie had a vicious temper, and one that got worse as it got older; Napoleon's infidelities drove her to jealous rages, especially after the difficult birth of her only child. For his own part, Napoleon backed the feeble attempt to turn Mexico into a monarchy, found himself embroiled in a war with Prussia and dwindled into history as a laughing stock. As for Eugenie, besides losing her throne, she would face a long, lonely exile from Paris that stretched to nearly fifty years, and was emotionally devastated by the loss of her only child at a young age.
   
   It's an intriguing look at a woman who was both villified and worshipped during her lifetime and afterwards, much as Marie Antoinette had been in an earlier generation. Indeed, Eugenie was fascinated by her predecessor, and would avidly collect any sort of memorabilia and objects that were associated with that unfortunate queen. In fact, Eugenie's life would eeriely echo that of Marie Antoinette in many ways, and she always lived in fear of the Parisian mob seeking to overthrow her.
   
   Despite the book being a bit light in treatment -- gossip is constantly recounted, and Seward often repeats himself -- this was an engaging, enlightening read. I had known very little about the Second Empire, and discovered that most of my preconceptions of this period were wrong. Seward draws on the memoirs, newspaper accounts and Eugenie's own letters and recollections for his source material. At just under three hundred pages, it's a quick read, and a good start to exploring this period of French history. A selection of engravings and photographs are included in a black-and-white insert, and there are copious notes and bibliography.



5. Desmond Stewart's biography does an excellent job of rehabilitating Eugenie's reputation. In earlier accounts, she has been portrayed as a vicious airhead, a bigoted zealot, or a clueless encumbrance on the Second Empire. Stewart's elegantly written, well-organized book shows Eugenie's strengths--her intuitive grasp of French politics, her social liberalism, and her dignified life in exile after the deaths of her husband and her only child. Stewart's research is impressive, and he provides a helpful Bonaparte genealogy as an appendix. I came away from this book with heightened respect for Eugenie and a much clearer sense of the historical importance of France's Second Empire and its legacies: the Suez Canal, the music of Waldteufel and Offenbach, the literary splendor of Flaubert and the Goncourts, as well as France's disastrous defeat by Prussia in 1870 and Eugenie and Napoleon III's ill-fated Mexican adventure. This book is an excellent introduction to Eugenie the woman and to the world of international diplomacy in the Victorian era.

5 comments about Four Queens: The Provencal Sisters Who Ruled Europe.

1. My love of medieval history and soft-spot for popular history made this book a natural for me. The story of four daughters of the Count of Provence who became "queens" is set in an era I've study quite a bit yet (back in college!) I know relatively little about Marguerite, Eleanor, Sanchia and Beatrice.
   
   Any biography of a major figure from the 13 century has hurdles: few contemporaneous first-hand accounts, few to none documents written by the figures themselves, etc. These problems are compounded exponentially when the figure in question is female. All too often, women just didn't rate making it into the chronicles. So Goldstone has her work cut out for her. She makes a valiant effort to piece together the careers and characters of these women drawing conclusions from the smattering of available facts. The reader can take issues with these conclusions but that, to me, is one of the rewards of reading about this era.
   
   All that said, this book was a disappointment. Other reviewers have noted the multitude of factual errors in this book and I have to add my voice to the chorus. Silly, stupid mistakes are present in every single chapter. Were all the fact checkers on vacation when this book was being edited? Did Goldstone get her index cards mixed up? Popular history often needs to tread lightly on the details but never on the facts.
   
   The narrative starts well but writing starts to become heavy going before youngest sister Beatrice hits the stage. Goldstone starts overwhelming the reader with "events" that aren't particularly telling about the four sisters or illuminating of their times. She also over does the adjectives; Sanchia is too frequently "gentle Sanchia", for example. The last quarter of the book was a real trial for me to finish.
   
   I've given this book three stars, the writing and the factual errors would make this book a two but the decent start and the relative obscurity of the topic earn it an extra star from me. If you want an intro to the period this is not the best place to start. If you are immersed in this period, you may find the errors too annoying to bear. If you are interested in learning about these four under-known sisters and their times and are comfortable skipping judiciously, this book may be for you.
   
   Kindle note: photos are included.



2. Reader friendly nonfiction historical. All interesting information about Louis the Ninth, Henry the Third, and others; most interesting to me were the four sisters, but of course the book doesn't concentrate on them as much as the crusades, and the men. I would love a novelist to tackle this story. Loads and loads of info on that time period in France, England, Italy. Not enough on the four sisters.



3. Four Queens: The Provencal Sisters Who Ruled Europe is about the 4 daughters of the Count and Countess of Provence who all became Queens. They are Marguerite (married to Louis, King of France), Eleanor (married to Henry, King of England, Sanchia (married to Richard of Cornwell, later King of Germany) and Beatrice (married to King Louis' brother Charles of Anjou, later King of Sicily).
   
   I was worried that since this was non-fiction it would be dry and boring - a hard read, but I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed the writing and layout of the book (the chapters alternate between the sisters) and the sisters gave the author plenty to write about. What wonderfully strong, intelligent women! The drama within the family is more than adequate for a good read, but through in some wars and crusades and it becomes very interesting! Sibling rivalry at its best!
   
   I highly recommend Four Queens and look forward to learning more about these historical sisters!



4. The beginning of this book is engagingly written, but, as it goes on, it becomes a grind to read. By the middle of the book, the engaging, personal style is left behind; it's replaced by a dull recitation of events with scattered speculation thrown in. Yawn.
   
   Others have commented on the factual errors in the book, so I'll just mention that the author's comments on her research methodology explain how she made such errors. She says, for example, that she relies on Giovanni Villani's chronicle--despite its late date--because Dante had used it and "what was good enough for Dante was good enough for me." Oh, okay. Apparently, Ms. Goldstone doesn't understand the nature of Dante's work. I also found myself wondering what in the world were her sources for events in Germany because she didn't seem to have any grasp at all on medieval German culture. She doesn't mention what her sources for Germany were.
   
   Generally, popular history is fun to read. Not this one. It's dull, inaccurate, and written like a book report. That's too bad, because the subjects are fascinating.



5. Although I have read less than 100 pages of this book, and initially was quite pleased with the subject matter covered, some inaccurate details have lead me to agree with the more critical reviews.
   
   Specifically, the geographical errors are blatant. The most obvious one is on page 83 where Ascalon is described as being "about 30 miles east of Jerusalem", when on the map (which is very handily placed on the facing page) Ascalon is not east but west of of Jerusalem!!! Two others that I found referred to Flanders being on the western coast of France (page 60), when it is most definitely to the north and east of France, and less incorrect, but still not quite accurate enough for me was Britanny being referred to as being "immediately south of Normandy" (page42). Yes, it is south, but it is much more to the WEST of Normandy as well as south . . . Not good for less than 100 pages into a non-fiction historical work.
   
   Is this a case of nit-picking? Well, all I know is this: if these basic facts are not correct, then there may be more that I would not know about and so I am less likely to accept other interpretations/conclusions the author presents this book. When something as basic, and simple to verify as a city's geographic location is not correct, I wonder about the research done in the first place, and the veracity of sources, or just simple double checking of facts.
   
   Other reviews that are so glowing are worrisome as well. It really does seem that the general public knows very little about geography!
   
   Enjoyable to read, yes to a point. It is like the 1940's movie version of Pride and Prejudice that was entertaining, but not true to the original book. I'm not sure I'll finish the book, but then again maybe I will.

3 comments about Her Heart Can See: The Life and Hymns of Fanny J. Crosby (Library of Religious Biography Series).

1. I purchased this book as a teaching tool for my music classes this year. So far, I'm over half way through the book, it is more of a history of New York and early America than a story of Fanny Crosby. Instead of learning about her, I'm reading about how the Irish and the catholics didn't get along and other political problems of the day. it's ok to put the person in the setting, but the setting is the focus. The writer even questions the character of Crosby by always being skeptical of her positive outlook on life. Although, she always has to come back and say that everything she wrote did point to that fact. I've been very unimpressed.



2. I came to this book knowing very little beyond the sentimental inspirational "Story Behind the Hymns" profiles provided by the religious press. You will go away understanding her world and understand how influential she was in that world. The book places Fanny Crosby in the context of her age, when American Protestantism was at the peak of its influence on society. It explains how she fit into society, she was either related to--or knew--most of the people who held social or political power in the Northeast during the 19th century. This was before Church life had become marginalized from American Life.
   
   One would expect to discover about Crosby's hymns and the growth of Evangelicalism. But one will also learn about the education of the blind, social work, the growth of the Music Publishing industry and the development of copyright law! You will also discover that--yes she was related to Bing Crosby and had a close relative who became a Mormon!
   
   If you read this book, you will receive a great exposure to a wide scope of American life and how one women experienced it with everything but her eyes! A producer at PBS's "The American Experience" could very well use this book as a keystone to developing a wonderful documentary.



3. People in the latter nineteenth century and early twentieth century(and those today who know of her) considered Fanny Crosby to have been one of the greatest persons who ever lived. They very well may have been right. This tiny (4'9") woman, blinded shortly after birth, wrote over 10,000 gospel hymns, many of which survive today, such as, 'Near the Cross', 'Blessed Assurance', 'To God be the Glory' and others(see the Cyber Hymnal for a partial listing). Having lived her life in poverty for the most part, she wrote her timeless hymns for the masses to enjoy. Fanny knew and conversed with the greats of her era: Presidents Lincoln, Van Buren, Polk, and Cleveland; Gen. Winfield Scott, Henry Clay, Dwight L. Moody, Ira Sankey, Eliza Edmunds Hewitt, Horace Greeley, and many others. She had a troubled marriage, where she and her legally-blind spouse were separated for many years. She was truly the servant of all, and was sought out by the high and low for counsel and prayer. Active for many years on New York City's rescue mission circuit, she was a speaker for whom crowds would line up around a city block and wait for hours to hear. An active member of the International Order of The King's Daughters and Sons, she also aided the city of Bridgeport(CT)with their missions on skid row. I would urge anyone to read this wonderful biography of a chosen soul who taught the world many lessons, chiefest among them that, no matter one's disability in life, one can truly excel. Get yourself a copy of this book and enter a more gentle, humble, and pious age where the things of God were held in major importance by persons in all stations of life.

5 comments about Rescue Me, He's Wearing a Moose Hat: And 40 Other Dates after 50.

1. I admire this writer for her wit and candidness. Dating can be difficult even if you are young, but if you are over 40, it can be a disaster. It is more fun to not take the bad experiences too seriously. If you can laugh at yourself, as this author has done, you will be fine. I also loved the book, Baby Boomer Bachelorette: How to Have Sex at Least Once More Before You Die, which tells you how to go about preparing yourself to date after 40, how to find men to date, and even suggests letting the younger women have the older men and go for the younger men. I really liked that concept. If you look around, over 40 women are almost universally more attractive and well-kept than their male counterparts. Younger men appreciate older women. Get this book and get one for yourself!



2. I bought this book for my aunt (again) after reading a review in a magazine. The stories in the book were a letdown. My aunt and her friend had much better stories of their own...This little tale tops anything in the book: A man took an elderly lady out to dinner (for which he insisted upon paying), then, when she wouldn't "give in" at the end of the date, he demanded, "At least you could give me my $10 back!" True story. Don't waste your money on this book.



3. Sherry Halperin writes (with great wit), about her dating angst over a span of ten years after losing her much loved husband at an early age. The variety and number of LOSER's that she runs into during that period of time is sobering though. The odds are stacked very much in favor of men as we get older. There are lots of bright articulate, attractive women to go around, but their male counterparts are few in number. I am passing this book around to all my single girlfriends who agree, dating after 50 can be hazardous to your mental health. It's far better to surround yourself with good friends than to look for Mr. Right. Mr. Right at this age has a far greater chance of being Mr. Wrong! But for all those men out there, with bald pates, potbellies, and marginal personalities..the world is your oyster! M. Schmit Phoenix AZ



4. This book may be good for a laugh here and there, but ladies don't look to it for advice. The author is looking for men in California, preferably in the entertainment biz as she is. It's not what the rest of us encounter!



5. This wonderful book is a hallarious and all-too-poignant commentary on our contemporary social scene. Sherry captures the essence of human relationships. An enjoyable read for all . . .

5 comments about Making a Literary Life.

1. Plain and simple; the first half of the book is a wee bit corny for my taste, and really leans toward the female point of view. I am not a wine drinker, a dancer in the living room, a lover of Paris, just a blue-collar family man wanna-be writer. But as I rolled my eyes a few times, and enjoyed the conversational writing of Miss See, I made it to the nugget of the book, the 2nd half. Great practical advice on revision, promoting, etc..
   So this book does have style, advice, offers something new, and worth the quick read.



2. Here it is -- the book you enjoy that you can't recommend highly. I thoroughly enjoyed "Making A Literary Life" when it was called "Bird by Bird" and "The Artist's Way." If it has never occured to you to give yourself short assignments and see the world through an artistic lens, then this book will be groundbreaking. If you're already familiar with these concepts (and those espoused by EM Forester in "Aspects of the Novel") you might wonder why this book was necessary.
   
   Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy it. It's just not very original. Some of the fresher suggestions are downright corny. See advises that all readers of this book write five fan letters a week to their favorite authors. Honestly? That didn't work for me when it was the "chain letter" concept in sixth grade. Another chapter encourages readers to behave in petty and pretentious ways (such as requesting Tab while on book tours) all under the guise of "thinking like a writer." How silly. The world doesn't need that.
   
   I'm sorry to say that the most I got out of this book was insight into the woman who raised Lisa See, author of "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan." And, no, that's not why I read it... it was just one interesting tidbit I got from putting together the pieces.



3. What a wonderful book! Carolyn See spells everything out for the writer and the dreamer. Whether you are a beginning or advanced writer, anyone can learn from this one. The best thing though is Ms. See's humor. She keeps you turning the pages with her dry sense of humor and honesty. Never have I enjoyed a how to book as this one. I recommend it to anyone who wants a literary life.



4. "Think about the things that put you on the moral high ground. If your dead set against fast food or red meat or oral sex or shaving your legs or hard liquor or bad language, you might just want to go ahead and give some of that a shot. Just to see what it feels like." -from the book.
   
   Filled with some of the best writing advice I've ever read, this book will inspire you, and besides that, its so insanely funny! I just love this woman! I have had this book for several years, and recently took it off the shelf to read again, and once again, I just couldn't put it down.
   I just don't know how anyone could write more real than this. Not only does she offer superb writing advice, but some darned good advice about other areas of life as well.



5. I read many books on writing, and most of them I can at LEAST get some good information from. I take notes, underline key points in them etc., then I leave the book feeling mildly informed, but never really feel totally ready to face the publishers, editors, critics and/or, my readers. Then I read Ms. See's book, and ummmm......POW!!!! I learned more than I did from any and every other writing book out there. Ms. See has so many wonderful idea's for aspiring and already published writer's, it mad me dizzy with excitement! I just LOVE her idea's on the fancy thank you note's, making a list of all the people you know in life (and using them to your advantage later), her useful idea's on ways to make money WHILE your writing your great novel (writing for magazines or writing for grants)....the list goes on.
   She is smart, silly, cranky, strong, amazing and most of all, human! She tells the truth, so all of us can go through the writing and publishing process a little easier.
   Please buy her book. It will help you, truly it will. This will go back up on my shelf, for reference, for reassurance, for enlightenment...it will be a forever cherished book, in my writing reference library.
   Now, I just have to find her darn address, so I can get that 'ever so sweet' thank you note out to her........
   Ms. See, if your reading this...THANK YOU!!!

5 comments about The Truth Is . . .: My Life in Love and Music.

1. Great book written by Melissa Etheridge! She really lets her guard down and tells all. Never knew she was so down to earth until reading her bio. Great read if you want to really know the woman who has a superb voice.



2. The title is "The TRUTH is... My Life in LOVE and Music". A lot of the reviewers seem to think that Melissa has been too honest about her relationships, or is too focused on herself, or was unfair to Julie Cypher by detailing the road to the breakup in this book instead of just writing about her music. This is Melissa's AUTObiography, and as such is the truth of her life as she sees it, not anybody else's version. For most artists their emotional life is a huge part of their creativity! For an artist this powerful, that harsh personal life IS the most important part of the songwriting, and why the songs have so much impact and resonance. The life experience and love leads to the music. I read this book a few years back, and was also appalled that Melissa could put up with so much apparent acting out from Julie, while also understanding that it takes two to make a union. Having personally dealt with the kind of crazy-making emotional game playing that it seems was going on, I will especially applaud Melissa's courage for being honest about her own part in enabling the behavior (through not understanding it, through giving up her own power, for rationalizing, for covering up and making excuses, and for desperately holding on to someone who wanted and needed to leave), and thus how destructive it was for both of them.
   This book helped open my eyes to how common this is. Abused kids turn into adults looking to heal the abuse by partnering with people who feel "like home", but who basically just further the abuse so familiar from childhood ("you looked like Father, you felt like Mother, my mind told my heart there is no other. And I gave you my soul and every ounce of control.."). Get two people with abusive childhood backgrounds together, and many people of all sexual orientations never make it out of that pattern, looking for healing and redemption in another person, when healing from abuse is an INSIDE job! They understand that something is wrong, but keep trying to placate and please the other person to "fix" the relationship that is mirroring their past, instead of realizing that one CAN'T fix anyone else, only oneself. Julie did Melissa a huge favor: she gave her the feelings that made the songs. ("I turned your dreams into lightning, ain't that enough? I held the world back for you, ain't that enough? I loved you past the point of dying, ain't that enough of me for you?!") Giving and giving and giving to the point of exhaustion only destroys the giver. ("My lover needs to seize, bring me to my knees"). It doesn't make a relationship work any better, but it gave Melissa the personal impetus to make incredible music that, in attempting to heal herself, can also help to heal others.
   By being so honest, Melissa gives readers the gift of examples of dysfunctional family abuse with which they may be able to identify, and the resultant unhealthy relationships that can't work without understanding how our past affects our present. She finally figured a lot of this out. If she can do it, so can others in similar circumstances who might never have understood how dysfunctional their own relationships are. Gay or straight, it still hurts when a relationship isn't working despite one's best efforts. "Truth Of The Heart" among other, newer songs, is an example of the spiritual growth she achieved as a result of the pain. I think the book truly is a gift to any reader, fan or otherwise, who can empathize and identify with Melissa's life and see parallels in their own, and maybe get some big AhHa s and clues to eventually healing their own pain and becoming emotionally healthy and wise. As for the voice and editing, it was collaboratively written, and needed to be accessible in tone. If I want great literature, I go elsewhere. For healing though, it's the honest story that helps the most.



3. melissa life's is full of strugle ,truth and love. Please try to read the book. Is well written and full of love.



4. I guess I can now say that I understand why her music is so fantastic. It's raw and you can feel her emotions pouring out in each and every one. This book covers most of the basics of her life and of course details. You find out about all the heart breaking, losses, and happy moments of her life and how she came to be the person she is today.
   If your a fan of her music, you have to pick up this book to fully understand why her music touches your soul.



5. This is a great book! It is an easy to read inspirational book that takes you on a tour of her life through her family, passions, traumas, setbacks and accomplishments. Sometimes it is comforting to know that we are not alone in this journey and reading about "celebrities" that had rough times too, triumphed in the end.

2 comments about When Memory Speaks.

1. Jill Ker Conway, author of The Road from Coorain and True North, is one of our most widely-read and admired memoirists. Her books are praised for their graceful explorations of our most urgent questions of personal meaning: Where do I come from? What is my story? How has my past experience shaped me?
   
   In When Memory Speaks, Conway turns her attention from her own life to the stories of other lives, looking at the modern memoir and the way it reflects our culture and ourselves. She isn't writing exclusively about women, but this is a help, for she uses the narrative patterns of men's stories about their lives to show how women's memoirs evolved, comparing and contrasting the forms. Using examples from the autobiographies of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Benjamin Franklin, David Livingston, Conway shows that men's stories typically involve the self-made hero who creates his life in conflict with social or natural forces. In men's memoirs, she says, the male hero reveals himself as acting upon the world in order to give it the shape and meaning he chooses.
   
   Conway argues that until very recently, women's memoirs have shown quite a different pattern. They reveal the autobiographer as a "romantic heroine" who is acted upon, who seems to believe that she lacks control over her destiny and tends to censure her shaping role in her own story in order to satisfy her readers' expectations. Conway shows, for instance, that Jane Addams developed the the Hull House project after several active and energetic years of careful study of European social reform--and yet she writes about her idea in the passive voice, as if she were its agent, rather than its creator. In this way, Conway says, "Addams is able to conceal her own role in making the events of her life happen and to conform herself to the romantic image of the female...shaped by circumstances beyond her control" (p. 49). And, Conway points out, even such assertive feminists as Germain Greer (in Daddy, We Hardly Knew You) and Gloria Steinem (Revolution From Within) reveal in their memoirs the difficulty of redefining ourselves as heroes of our own stories.
   
   Conway's book is valuable for its deep and thoughtful discussion of the history of women's stories, compared to and contrasted with the autobiographical stories of men. But it is also valuable for what it has to say about the memoir itself, as a way to help us understand ourselves and our past experiences. If we recall the past as a chaos of random bits of good and bad luck that shaped us willy-nilly, we are likely to be victims of a similar future. If we see the past as the product of our choices and actions, we are better able to shape our futures:
   
   "We travel through life guided by an inner life plot--part the creation of family, part the internalization of broader social norms, part the function of our imaginations and our own capacity for insight into ourselves, part from our groping to understand the universe in which the planet we inhabit is a speck. When we speak about our memories, we do so through literary forms that seem to capture universals in human experience--the quest, the romance, the odyssey, the tragic or the comic mode. Yet we are all unique, and so are our stories. We should pay close attention to our stories. Polish their imagery. Find their positive rather than their negative form. Search for the ways we experience life differently from the inherited version and edit the plot accordingly..."
   
   As women memoirists, committed to understanding our stories and getting them straight, we need Conway's book. I hope you will read it, not just once but several times. It will help you to see which pattern your own story fits into: that of the woman who actively shapes her plot and chooses her response to the world, or that of the woman who waits to see what sort of plots life is going to dish out to her.
   
   by Susan Wittig Albert
   for Story Circle Book Reviews
   www.storycirclebookreviewsorg
   reviewing books by, for, and about women



2. This book is a fascinating, clear, balanced, and informed look at what Conway calls "the most popular form of fiction for modern readers"--autobiography. Although Conway is drawn to modern themes of race and gender, she also has a keen critical eye, balances the popular with the less-well-known, and the present with the past. She focuses on meaning making, the way people see their own lives, and the lessons they draw for others from them. For better or worse (and often worse) she argues, the Homeric Greek hero on his action packed odyssey is archetype for meaningful autobiography. Church father Augustine in his Confessions (c. 400) internalized the action, chronicling his attempts to resist temptation and submit to the will of God.Jean-Jacques Rousseau in his Confessions (1871) attempts to succeed on the temporal level, to be a worldly success in touch with self and emotions beyond society's external laws. Benjamin Franklin in his Autobiography (1818) defines such worldly success in economic terms based on diligence and delayed gratification. The analysis of 19th century women's rights leaders such as Harriet Martineau and Elizabeth Cady Stanton are artfully analyzed through their autobiographies, as are colorful female personalities less obviously political such as stepbrother-abused Virginia Wolf (1882-1941) and the hilarious Mabel Dodge Luhan (1879-1962)who was married four times (and had an affair with D.H. Lawrence) and wrote a four-volume memoirs entitled Intimate Memories. More familiar feminists such as Australian Germain Greer, Gloria Steinem ("full-time feminist leader, slipping into the role of caregiver for the feminist movement and unable to care for herself") are also analyzed with a critical focus of Conway's refreshingly non-monolithic feminism. Because of her rare combination of empathy and critical clarity, Conway excels when she is examining more marginal characters such as lesbian May Sarton's 1968 Plant Dreaming Deep, the 1974 Flying by lesbian Kate Millet (who appeared on the cover of Time),black lesbian Audre Lorde's 1982 Zami, A New Spelling of My Name, and so on. Conway also analyzes gay male autobiographies such as historian Martin Duberman's 1991 Cures, and A Different Person (1993) by James Merril (son of Charles E. Merril, one of the founders of Merril Lynch). She examines James/Jan Morris's transexual account in Conundrum, and decides that such stories are intrinsically more essentialist (structurally sexist)than simple gay and lesbian autobiographies. I am not sure I agree with all of Conway here--her definition of postmodernism seems too simple, and it is not clear that the true goal of autobiography writing is to own up to ourselves as significant actors in the drama of our own existence, rather than victimlike or overly modest ("feminine") being to whom things happen. To know that we would have to know the status of free will, which we don't, and there is the added danger (also an artistic one, although it can have comic effects) of the egotistic memoirist who takes credit for all sorts of things that were not related to his actions or decisions. So there is a continuum between active/egotistic/sellable autobiography and passive/modest/marketplace-challenged memoirs that needs to be carefully navigated by any aspiring autobiographer.But what is good about Conway is she is nice without pulling any critical punches. She shows how even the most successful feminists can hurt their cause by the way they report their story, and she ends with the striking image of a man (French journalist Jean-Dominique Bauby--The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, 1997)paralyzed in all but one eye from a stroke, telling his story by blinking as a devoted helper goes through the alphabet until arriving at the correct letter. Although nominally about autobiography, and a brilliant work of feminism, this book may perhaps be of most use to creative writers.

No comments about Telling Histories: Black Women Historians in the Ivory Tower (Gender and American Culture).