5 comments about True North: A Memoir.

1. AND I FELT REALLY CONNECTED TO THE AUTHOR

   I really can't explain my feelings in words. Look at the subject first then read on. They are all by Dr. Jill Ker Conway (shes a phd). The titles are The Road from Coorain (also a Exxon Mobil Masterpiece Theater movie as well), True North, and A Women's Education. Is she orginally from New South Wales, Australia. Came to the United States for graduate school, but stayed there after that, but was Canada as well for 6 years. Boys you will also love reading them as well. Thank you.




2. Since I did not read the first volume of Conway's now-three-part memoir, I have nothing to compare this to. But I liked her light and tasteful touch with personal details. Conway wasn't dealt the easiest hand in life, but here readers will find no self pity. This is not a book for the empty-headed. But as a former history student and current college instructor, I can identify with much of what Conway writes about; I'm nowhere near as intellectual as she is, however. But this is a great book if you want to explore a woman's coming of intellectual age.



3. This "sequel" to Road From Coorain was not a disappointment. It is beautifully written, sensitive and so clearly represents what it was (and still is) like for women in academia. As a young woman in higher education, I know that I will read this book again and again. It affirms the experiences of women who are climbing the tenure ladder in an old boys network that does not welcome women and provides the mentorship that we so desperately need.



4. Jill Conway's True North did little to answer the question as to how a talented, ambitious, learned female copes with a manic-depressive husband. Actually, I was disappointed in finding out very little about John who must have been an incredible intellect, bon vivant, and wifely challenge. Jill may want to fulfill a need of many spouses dealing with a bipolar mate by writing a sequel.



5. I am grateful to Ms. Conway for baring the truth, as a service to those who need to hear it. I can see that her personal rantings have annoyed other readers, but my response was to the contrary. I have had similar experiences in the corporate world as a woman, and am grateful to find someone to back up my observations. Jill Conway proves that she will not back down to anyone who stands in the way of progress when she has a good idea, and those few who interpret it as antagonistic to their agendas, I suggest they re-examine said agendas, and not blame one of the few who actually succeeds in getting things done for the good, in spite of hopeless bureaucracy.

5 comments about The Best from Helen Corbitt's Kitchens (Evelyn Oppenheimer Series, No. 1).

1. I seem to enjoy reading cookbooks in the same way other read novels. I found that this book had super recipes. I have been after the Neiman Marcus carrot cake recipe for years and years. Every-time I go to the cafe I just have to have the carrot cake it is my favorite. I always asked where I could get the recipe no one could tell me. I looked inside the Neiman Marcus Cookbook and they only had a picture of the carrot cake, no carrot cake recipe. I tried making the one in this book and it is fabulous. I think it tops the one at Neiman Marcus because it is homemade and fresh. I made it in a rectangle large brownie type baking dish (not a bundt) and added 1/2 cup raisins. It was fabulous. Next I am going to try making the monkey bread in my pop over molds. That sound super too. There are really many many great recipes in this book. I am very happy with my purchase.



2. This is such a great book. No matter what you want to cook, Helen has a recipe for it. All of the recipes are so good.
   
   I will pass this book on to my children.
   
   Cannon Flowers
   DALLAS, TX



3. The Zodiac Room, at the top of the legendary Neiman-Marcus Department store, in downtown Dallas was my first real exposure to how wonderful food could be...my Mom was an excellent Texas cook, my Texan grandmothers were wonderful cooks as well. Their repertoire was traditional Texas fare...chili con carne, chicken fried steak with cream gravy,cream pies, fried okra, cheese enchiladas and so on...and I loved their food. I grew up in West Texas surrounded by amazing, delicious food.

   But the first time I ate Helen Corbitt's Guinea Hen Madeira,her Crabmeat Chantilly, her Poppy Seed Dressing, my life changed. Her food at the Zodiac Room was amazing...it changed my life.

   For the last twenty years I have cooked for a living and Helen Corbitt remains my primary inspiration.

   I am so thrilled to see Helen Corbitt's recipes back in print. I place her in the late 20th century Cooks Pantheon next to James Beard, Julia Child, Adelle Davis and Martha Stewart.

   Stewart Wise




4. This cookbook reintroduces Helen Corbitt, though if you have lived in Texas for years you are no doubt familiar with her. She became famous as the head of the restaurants of Neiman-Marcus department stores, and many Texans know her through her texas "caviar", hot fudge pecan balls, retro molded salads, fabulous "potluck" recipes, poppy seed dressing, and other Texas favorites. If you cannot find the original editions, this is certainly one to own. You will find yourself using it over and over again.



5. Fans of Helen Corbitt have described her as the 'best cook in Texas', catering to the White House and others - this provides a new Helen Corbitt cookbook gathering over 500 favorites from earlier Corbitt cookbooks and including some never published recipes. No photos but the simple dishes don't need them.

5 comments about Bad Girl: Confessions of a Teenage Delinquent.

1. A must read book! I sat down and read it cover to cover.
   Not to be missed!



2. Just because Vona dabbled in drugs or other "bad" things as a teen, she's labeled a "bad girl." I can relate to much in the story because the writing is so raw and real I am ripped open as a reader with the writer's brutally honest words.
   
   Like the books CONFESSIONS OF A CATHOLIC SCHOOLGIRL and PROZAC NATION this is a must read for any teen or young woman that struggles to find herself in a mixed up world.



3. Not a memoir of delinquency but a chronicle of Vona's incarceration in a juvenile "boot camp." Atrociously written by someone who comes across as a spoiled rich girl with a fondness for stereotypes, and whose "delinquency" seems to have involved nothing more heinous than dating a drug dealer and indulging in a brief "runaway" period to a vacation cabin with friends. Not recommended. (For a more compelling story written by a more sympathetic narrator in less painful prose, see Daphne Scholinski's The Last Time I Wore a Dress.)



4. My Daughter did 13 Months at Peninsula Village and it was her saviour as well. This is one of th emost respected centers in the world. At a cost of $9600 per month it had better be. We are pleased with the staff and Peninsula Village and they gave us our child back after 13 months a totally better person. The person who wrote this book trumped it up to sell books bottom line. Their is a lot of non truth items in this book.



5. An advertisement for an abusive facility that breaks kids and then puts them back together as brainwashed robots... as told by one of their so-called 'successes'. Shocking only in the way that the author seems to truly believe that being isolated from human contact, allowed no friends and no conversation, and spending most of the day sitting on her bed (not being allowed to talk or even look at things), truly helped her 'recover'.

5 comments about The Private World of Georgette Heyer.

1. Georgette Heyer was a very private personage. She had to be to keep up with her voluminous writing and family responsibilities. It takes time to write and do it well, which the legions of Ms. Heyer's fans will attest.
   Jane Aiken Hodge used the private letters, interviews, current readings of all her books to interweave a biography through the author's work. The excellent index allows a reader to discover what was happening in Ms. Heyer's personal life when a particular book was published.
   The British system of taxation almost destroyed Ms. Heyer career, but it gave readers many delightful stories as she struggle to meet its demands.
   A must volume for any Heyer fan, who still enjoys a wide readerships over thirty years after her death. "The Private World of Georgette Heyer" is both scholarly and intimate, a difficult achievement for any author.
   Nash Black, author of "Qualifying Laps" and "Sins of the Fathers."



2. Jane Aiken Hodge wrote the first critical perspective of Heyer's books, and it is one of the most useful books. Not only is it an insight into Georgette Heyer's world, but also a glimpse into her own life. Hodge had access to her diary's and notebooks, a privilege not extended to anyone else until Mary Fahnstock Thomas did her critical perspective. (Also very good)
   
   The Private World of Georgette Heyer should be put into perspective. It shows the development of Heyer's writing, from the first episodic book she wrote for her brother (Black Moth) and published at the age of 17, to her experiment with modern novels (all suppressed) to her experiments with writing mysteries, historical novels, her movement into her most famous genre, Regency Romances, and finally to the works she considered her most eponymous - that is of Medieval fiction. Her last work was left unfinished, and was published as such. It is perhaps her most disliked by her modern readers.
   
   Heyer is also perhaps not necessarily recognised by the wider public as the woman who spawned the Regency Romance genre. She was badly copied by the likes of Barbara Cartland, but as Heyer's fans know, Heyer did hours of painstaking research on her subjects. Hodge does an excellent job of showing this in this book. Some of the illustrations Heyer copied from books and magazines in the British Library are reproduced, but more usefully, Hodge goes through each book and allows a chapter for it and Heyer's life at the time. Usually there is a struggle with the Inland Revenue involved as Heyer seemed to have to write to pay the tax bills more often than not.
   
   There are occassional lapses where Hodge makes minor mistakes on books etc, these are pretty forgiveable in a book of this scope and they usually don't affect the understanding of Heyer and her books too greatly.
   
   For anyone wishing to understand Heyer, or get a greater understanding of the period of history she was writing about (or living in) this is an excellent work. If nothing else just flick through and look at the pictures. An extraodinary woman, and a very private life well illustrated.



3. I have read Heyer off and on growing up and rediscovered them a while ago. Surfing the local library catalogue, I bumped into this book and found it fascinating. The world Heyer built was charming and perfect, where manners and propriety is must and wit is romance. Its the world I like to escape into and Hodge does homage to both the creator and the works respectful of Heyer's sentiments. Her style of analysing and studying the books chronologically makes a splendid approach to following Heyer's life and work as an author. However, while doing so she does not reveal much about the plot itself, but definitely does let you in on what it must have taken - research and otherwise - for Heyer to have produced it.
   It is well written and exposes Heyer only as much as she herself might have allowed. I thought it a novel way to write about an author who put so much of herself (essence of herself rather) in her books. Through out the book, you see Heyer herself evolving, as you see her family grow and surround her.
   I would recommend this book - in fact go so far as to say it is a must - for any Heyer fan. The other author it made me think of is Edgar Wallace. In fact, I found a curious reference to him in the book - his daughter was Mrs.Frere, a close friend of Heyer.



4. The private world of Georgette Heyer was always firmly and politely closed to her reading public; she denied all interviews, was reluctant even to be photographed, and limited her publicity work to writing blurbs for advertising campaigns. Surviving family, friends, and the literary estate continue to honor the author's preference, leaving only open records, publisher correspondence, and the books themselves to speak for their creator. Hodge's book is the better for this; the private world of the title relates to the literary world that Heyer created, and Hodge tells the story of the author's literary career, offering only a broad sketch of the events of Heyer's life and limiting her speculation into emotional states. Hodge's careful reading of the Heyer ouevre and Heyer's correspondence surrounding the creation and marketing of her books allows fans (and literary scholars) to eavesdrop on a lifelong literary career, offering insights into a woman with a keenly intelligent mind, passionate opinions, fastidious manners, and highly ambivalent views about her own work and its readers. The portrait is drawn without judgment (Hodge leaves that to the reader) and her prose is clear, well-structured, and as readable as Heyer's own. In a tone both fond of and perceptive about its subject, without requiring any recourse to gossip, scandal, or salacious tidbits (which Heyer herself would have no doubt abhorred!), Hodge's biography is both an interesting overview of the Heyer canon and a respectful portrait of the woman who created it. I particularly enjoyed the illustrations that brought the private world of Heyer's beloved Regency romances to light.



5. If you love Georgette Heyer this book will make you a little sad. In private Ms. Heyer wasn't the person some fans would've wished her to be. Does this change my fondness for her books?Certainly not. The most important thing is the tale not he or in this case, she who tells it.

5 comments about Breaking Into the Current: Boatwomen of the Grand Canyon.

1. These boatwomen are indeed remarkable, and superb ambassadors of the Grand Canyon Colorado River corridor. Sure, I'm biased: my first commercial river trip featured two of the profiled women plus another guide noted in the Acknowledgments. All were consummate storytellers, and gender was never an issue. Ms. Teal has an unfortunate habit of occasionally padding her descriptions with platitudes, but these lapses do not significantly diminish the value of this book.



2. A friend who is a river guide gave me this book. I never really understood the fasination with rafting until I read this. The writing leaves a little to be desired, but the subject matter and the information is very moving.



3. A friend told me about this book several years ago when I was raft guiding on the Colorado River a little north of the Grand Canyon. I bought the book, and absolutely loved it. As one of the rare breed of female white water rafting guides, it was amazing to read about other women who shared my passion for the river and for the wild places around us. Breaking into the Current is NOT a male-bashing book; it filled with stories that are waiting to be told--stories by and about interesting women who went into a career that few women would consider entering. I loved reading the stories about Lava Falls, the making of Crystal Rapid, and all the others. Each time I return to the book it makes me ache to be on the river yet again.



4. A few years back on my first trip through the Grand Canyon I was lucky enough to be in a group that included Louise Teal as one of the guides. I bought this book after the trip and read it on the drive home. I was blown away. Her love of the canyon, the river, the people...it all glows from every page. Rafting the Grand is a life-changing experience; and the elements that make it so are all here--captured and expressed by a woman who has become part of the river and vice versa. She tells the stories of the women who 'broke into the current' with humor, sensitivity, respect and love. On top of all that, she is a very talented writer and this book works purely on that basis. If you've ever run the canyon, buy this book. If you have ever wanted to run it, buy this book. If you've got no interest in the canyon or the Colordo river but enjoy good writing about real stuff, buy this book.



5. I recently travelled a rafting trip of the canyon and was totally enthralled by the experience. In many ways it changed my life. Reading this book brings back so many memories of what the trip there is really about. I felt a true connection with the women that travelled it before me. The descriptions are so beautiful. This book crosses genders and is simply about a wonderful place and some extrodinary women that have travelled there.

1 comments about Inside My Heart Guided Journal.

1. Simple truth. Easy to read. Easy to understand. Robin McGraw takes complex issues, illustrates them simply, and then guides her readers through a series of revealing questions that lead into entertaining possibilities for their lives that maybe they've never dreamed of before.
   A generous work.

5 comments about Diana Ross: A Biography.

1. 
   This must be the ultimate Diana Ross biography. The author of this book seems to know the legendary singer all too well. In fact, if you look at his credentials, I think you'll be quite impressed: Mr. Taraborrelli begin following her career when he was just barely a teenager; he wrote countless of articles on her for various publications; he's interviewed dozens of her closest friends and family members throughout the years, including Diana Ross herself; he wrote two previous books on her, and, as proven with this book; he's an exceptionally talented writer.
   
   What's great about this biography - as in the case with virtually all biographies - is that you learn more than just about the "biographee." You learn about other people, places, and events. In this case, you learn about The Supremes, Motown Records, Berry Gordy, the sixties, the music industry, the movie industry, and much more. So to some degree, this biography is really a history book with an emphasis on entertainment, and where Diana Ross is the main subject. This is the sort of book that once you start reading, you can't put it down. And even though I'm not a huge fan of Diana Ross or Motown Records, I found this book captivating, fascinated by her life story.
   
   I think readers will be pleased with Taraborrelli's in depth look at Diana Ross' life: her personal life and relationships; her music career and other business ventures; and her family and children. Yet, even though the author admits to be a great fan of Diana Ross, this book doesn't seem to reflect that. The author holds nothing back. In fact, he gives us a very sincere portrayal of Diana Ross, and not a manufactured one. He tells us about her good side and bad side, her failures and successes, her good times and bad times. Some authors may be tempted to be a little bit biased, but not Taraborrelli in this case.
   
   My one and only disappointment is that there is no mention of Michael Jackson's song "Dirty Diana." Was it really a song about Diana Ross? I was hoping he would set the record straight and maybe even get Diana's own reaction to the song, but that didn't happen. Maybe he's got something written about that in his Michael Jackson biography, which I'm eager to read. But besides that, I found this book excellent all the way through. If you're even remotely interested in Motown Records, The Supremes, and of course, Diana Ross, I think you'll truly enjoy this book. As for me, I look forward to reading more books from this author.



2. An unabashed fan of Ross and the Supremes, the author of this bio lets all his own biases show. The writing is a little too gushing in places and the uncritical judgments seldom tempered. Still, if you don't already know this familiar story, there's interesting fodder here because the author has been an insider more or less for decades. The early years of the Supremes are well dissected and readers learn much, not the least of which is how much the group recorded beyond the hits. Ross's later years are also well documented and her somewhat sad decline and recent DUI chronicled. This is a very long book, so be prepared to wade through.



3. Even with Randy's third opus on Miss Ross I haven't any more of a clue as to who or what she really is but if you've bought the previous two books don't think this is just a rehash. It's a new book and impeccably researched and impeccably written. He's done his damnest to try to bring the complete person to the pages. Ross' own book showed she hasn't got a clue about who she really is (and, good grief, all the information and dates she had wrong or confused) and that she is the center of her universe, not the most sensitive to the feelings or viewpoint of others she's worked with. Since she'll never write the whole story, this book will do nicely. The most significant observation Randy makes is Ross' multiple personalities--almost every star in show business has them, a combination of sheer guts and ambition and power with total insecurity. It drives everyone around them nuts. (But not every star is a bundle of contradictions--some are in show business but not of show business and live their lives right side up.) As for Ross, I love her work--a fabulous career still chuggin' ahead--but I'd never want to get in her way.



4. As for readability, I'd give this book 5 stars. It read like a novel - with dialogue and drama and character exploration. But, is it really a "biography?" - that's not how it came across to me. I thought it read more like one obsessed author's suppositions, speculations, fantasies and desire to dish a bit of dirt. For example, he'll ascribe a motive or intention to some action Diana took. C'mon, as if he (or anyone but her) knew what she was thinking at that point in time. Buy it as fun read.....but go into it knowing that the author has filled in a lot of blanks with his own biases.



5. OK, there has been so much written about Miss Ross (most of which I have read) including this authors previous efforts. I couldn't put this one down, it is very well written and easily read. Although I have previously read much of what has been written on Diana Ross and have been an avid fan since she began her career, there was still some information in this piece with which I wasn't familiar. It saddens me that the one group whom I and millions of others so adored experienced such conflict within their ranks. RT clearly doesn't put the blame on any one "Supreme" for the turmoil that was evident through most of their time together. Towards the end of the Bio, even Scherrie Payne, a singer with the group after Diana left, and one of the singers that Diana invited to join the Diana Ross and The Supremes 2000 Return to Love Tour, voiced how she hopes that someday Diana, Mary and Cindy can look beyond their differences and once again give the fans an opportunity to see one of the premiere groups in the history of music. I for one would pay far more than the $250.00 asking price for that ticket. Whether or not you are a Diana Ross or a Supreme fan treat yourself to a well written biography about one hell of a stunning star! I was fortunate to have seen her numerous times over the years, including her performace at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles in 2004 and I already have my tickets for her show at the Gibson Universal Theatre in November of this year. At the risk of sounding cliche' Diana Ross ia a survivor and I know deep down that there is more to come! A great read! Highly, highly recommended.

2 comments about A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains (Dover Value Editions).

1. This is one of the best known and most highly respected travel accounts of a foreigner to the western region of the United States during the 19th century. Isabella Bird, a spinster world traveler, upon returning to her native England from an excursion to Hawaii, decided to stop in America and make a three-month tour of the Rocky Mountain region of Colorado. In a series of letters written to her sister in England, Ms. Bird told in fascinating detail her experiences during this "tour."
   
   Going by train from San Francisco to Cheyenne (except for a brief hiatus near Truckee Pass, which she traversed by horseback), she was in Fort Collins, Colorado, by September 10, 1873. Her travels took her to Denver, Colorado Springs, South Park, Boulder, and Estes Park, where she climbed Longs Peak. Her observations, whether about the people she encounters or the natural wonders all about her, are acute, objective, and highly personal. She will complain about the annoying insects in one letter and then calmly relate taking a tumble off her horse when surprised by a bear in another. She is astounded by the natural beauty of the region and never seems to get enough of it; she also believes, as the saying then went, that "there is no God west of the Missouri," and that the "almighty dollar is the true divinity" (these observations made while in Denver). She recognizes the (especially) English prejudice against all things American, and refuses to go along with it. What makes Ms. Bird's book so enduring is the direct though lighthearted tone she maintains: she is an astute observer but never gives the impression she's "studying" the people or places she sees. The book can be read often and will remain entertaining each time. It's a classic - in a good sense of that word. Highly recommended.



2. In 1873 a middle-aged Lady Bird, acklaimed horsewoman, spent the fall through winter travelling in the Rocky Mountains. As a 10 year resident of Colorado Springs and growing up riding, I was intrigued by her travels. What most people find amazing about this book are her very detailed and beautiful descriptions of what she saw. I have to agree, I did find myself wallowing within what she saw. Especially, since I have seen many of the places (in modern day) that she went. What I, myself, found truly interesting was how she describes in her rather off-hand, like it's mundane, way about the daily hardships she and the settlers had to endure. This isn't the old Grandpa had to walk 10 miles, up hill, in 10 feet of snow, in 60 below weather, both ways to school. It's a true representation of what "Grandpa" had to endure. It breeds a new-[t][/t]found respect for our ancestors and makes one wonder, "Could I endure it?".

5 comments about Shooting the Boh: A Woman's Voyage Down the Wildest River in Borneo.

1. Tracey Johnston signed up with an adventure travel company for an exploratory rafting trip in Borneo and it turned out to be far longer and more dangerous than predicted. What a thrilling, true story! This is just the kind of book you want to read on a long, tedious airline flight to make the time fly. Believe me, you won't want to get off till you find out how it ends.



2. It's been a few years since I read this book but I loved it. Middle-aged adventure with a great sense of humor.



3. This book tells the story of a journalist who nearly got killed adventuring in the backwoods of Borneo. At a party in San Francisco, Tracy Johnston met the president of Sobek, an outdoor adventure company. Sobek planned to offer a new white water route down the Boh River in Borneo. They were looking for crew members for the test-run, and were delighted to find Johnston, a proven writer who had previous white water experience. They offered her a free ride in exchange for publicity materials about the trip. So one fateful summer day in the early 1990s, Johnston landed in Jakarta to join the trip. Unfortunately, her luggage didn't land with her, but that was only the first of many challenges to come. During the course of the next few weeks, Johnston would find herself hurtling down an uncharted river, scrambling down muddy boulders, and swimming to save her skin, all while living intimately with folks that had been perfect strangers just days before. If the river trip in itself hadn't been enough, Johnston was also faced with coming to terms with changes in her own body, which had begun to develop the aches and pains of middle age. She found herself constantly comparing her performance, condition, and appearance to those of the others in the group, all younger than her.
   
   I almost put this book down after the first few chapters, where Johnston comes across as a bit whiny or petty, and a not-so-skilled traveler, despite her experience. For instance, she explains how vital her air mattress was to her, yet she packed this item in her checked bag. Meanwhile, in her carry-on, she somehow had room for 2 sun dresses. She had already been to Indonesia the year before, but somehow during that trip, she had missed the fact that sun dresses are entirely inappropriate for the culture. We get rather shocked when French women take off their bathing suit tops on American beaches, but that pales to how Indonesians feel when tourists walk around showing bare shoulders and knee caps. For heaven sakes, when traveling, either follow local rules about covering parts of your body, or just stay home! Besides, Indonesia is one place to go where you don't need to pack any clothes at all. For women of average size, all you need to take in your carry-on (and checked bags, too, for that matter) is possibly a single change of shirt and some underwear. As soon as you arrive in the country, head to the nearest market, and you can purchase an entire wardrobe of attractive, comfortable clothing for less than what you might pay for a single outfit here. Meanwhile, in your carry-on, since you don't need to take other clothes, you'll have room for essentials like a camera, medications (especially aspirin and antiseptics), and maybe even an air mattress if you think you're going to need one. (Basically, the same advice goes for men, although larger men may have to look longer and go to tourist markets in order to find clothing in their size.) As Johnston meets up with the other female members of the crew, she is blown away by their beauty, and treats us to some catty remarks on their behavior. Finally, as the trip progresses, Johnston finds that in order to survive, she must become more introspective, and at this point, the story finally takes off. This is not a story about Borneo or Indonesia-instead it is a survival tale of hurtling down a river out of control.



4. I have to give Johnston credit for being able to record and recount this arduous trip with such clarity. When one is exhausted, hounded by sweat-sucking bees, fearing that she may not survive, it takes a lot of persistence to keep a thorough journal. She's done this and written competently about the adventure, but this book ultimately is a let-down. Here's why:
   
   Johnston is too self-absorbed and often expects others to take care of her needs. Her luggage is lost and even after another member of the trip lends her a sleeping bag, she's miffed that no one would loan her an air mattress. She feels that because she has a back problem every one should accommodate her needs. It's classic lack of self-responsibility - you often see this on river trips and other risky expeditions. Just as Jon Krakauer discovers on his "assault" on Everest in "Into Thin Air," people on guided trips expect all their needs to be met. Rather than thinking what she could do, despite her physical limits, to help the group, she castigates the others for not helping her enough.
   
   As a raft guide, journalist, and author ("A Sense of Place"), I'm aware of the challenges Johnston faced, but I wish she'd painted a better picture of the other people on the trip. We hear about the guides' daring rescues and Sylvie's preening, but we don't get more than a two-dimensional view of the other guests on the trip.
   
   And I notice that though Johnston often talks about the jungle spirits, she doesn't revere the life of the jungle. She goes out of her way to toss a centipede in the river, smear a leach to death even though it wasn't on her, and chortles over drowned bees. Of course I can understand this reaction to pests but it shows a lack of reverence for the place.
   
   A couple of quibbles: she often uses "oar" as a verb, as in the guide was "oaring" the boat. You don't oar a boat - you row it. And the cover isn't a real image - it's two pictures, one of a longboat superimposed on the rapids. I don't blame Johnston for the cover - doubtless she had little or nothing to do with it - but it seems somehow symbolic of the book's lack of authenticity.
   
   Despite all these faults, once I started reading I wanted to keep going to the end.
   
   
   
   
   
   



5. Unlike Redmond O'Hanlon's book on the same subject, which is hysterically funny, Shooting the Boh is midly funny and one that I think will appeal more to female readers (my husband found this to be quite dull) due to the self-confessed menopausal musings of the author on traveling down river with a boat full of men and a younger, svelte, pretty (French) woman whom Johnston claims seemed to be immune to sweating or even appearing the slightest bit wrinkled by their circumstances!

   Unlike O'Hanlon's interactions with the locals or his constantt making fun of himself (and his effete poet traveling companion), at times Johnston seemed to turn her narrative too much to her own neuroses (and internal observations of herself & the other travelers) and thereby lose the experience of going down a river in Borneo for the reader... which is why I read the book in the first place.

   Eric Hansen's STRANGER IN THE FOREST or O'Hanlon's book on Borneo are far superior.

5 comments about The Climb of My Life: Scaling Mountains with a Borrowed Heart.

1. Kelly's story is one of humor, laughter, pain, tears, and totally inspirational. Ever feel down and out? Read Kelly's story - it is uplifting knowing that one can reach death's portal, only to turn back and say "I've got mountains to climb." When you think things can't get any worse - read Kelly's story. Life gives each of us obstacles to overcome. Kelly has done so with grace, good humor, determination, with a husband encouraging her every step of the way, and with gratitude for the gift from a donor.



2. Thank you Kelly and Craig for such a wonderful, inspirational account of your lives. This has truly changed me in a very positive way. My priorities and outlook are back in the proper perspective. I do not know that I would have handled everything as positively as you two, and pray I will never have to find out.
   This book should be read by everyone. It provides a very unique perspective into personal motivation, unbelievable drive, and magnificient teamwork.
   WONDERFUL !



3. I have just finished Kelly's book The Climb of My Life and am left truly inspired... It is an amusing, poignant, and motivating read that reminds us all that each life is to be cherished and lived to the fullest capacity. Insightful and inspiring, I have mentioned this book in many discussions, as I feel any and every person can benefit from reading Kelly's story. One of the many sentiments I want to incorporate into my own life is greeting your loved one at the end day with "what was the best part of your day?" automatically creating a positive round of communication as opposed to the typical "how was your day?" which often leads to dwelling on the negative. I have taken Kelly's book to heart - I catch myself referring to Kelly and Craig's attitude "well, it could have been worse" when I encounter trivial irks, and then find myself consciously acknowledging how great life truly is. Kelly's personal narrative left me smiling, my eyes misty, and a genuine tug at my heart. Her emotional and physical strength is truly admirable, as is her adoring husband who never let her give up.



4. This is an amazing story about medical miracles, undaunted courage, steely determination, steadfast love, and ultimate triumph. While most of us won't face the sorts of challenges described here, there are many lessons to be learned. The inspiration of Kelly's story is a gift. If you want an exciting story about real adventure, this book is for you. If nothing else, this book should inspire every one to become an organ donor.



5. It's not every day...
   It's not every day you come across two people with such unconditional love and devotion for each other; it's not every day you come across someone who is able to embrace courage, hope, and determination with death staring her in the face; it's not every day you come across someone who has turned "giving back" into their main mission in life; and it's not every day you come across someone who has not only been given a second chance at life via a heart transplant but has lived a life which most can only dream to attain.
   
   "The Climb of My Life" is a well written, captivating journey that will be hard to put down. It reveals to the reader, through humor and tears, how Kelly has faced adversity and pursued her journey. I am inspired by her courage and strength to step out beyond my boundries. Thank you Kelly for this.