5 comments about What Lips My Lips Have Kissed: The Loves and Love Poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay.

1. This is an intimate portrait of Millay that I cherish. It is also a valuble historical account of many aspects of Maine life. The location and circumstances of Millay's estranged father and the inhabitants of the small town of Kingman in Northern Penobscot County are invaluable in my research of the area. Henry Millay lived in my house in Kingman and no doubt some of Vincent's work was conceived, if not written from my house. It is this connection which has led to my current collection of Millay's work and life. Thank you for this offering on your invaluable site.



2. It's not easy being a poet, and Daniel Mark Epstein's biography of Edna St. Vincent Millay in What Lips My Lips Have Kissed, confirms this. From love affairs with men and women to excessive drinking, this book has it all.
   However, there were some things in the book that could have been elaborated on. For example, Epstein had my attention from the very first chapters about Millay's young life as a poet. He mentions how she would conduct candlelight seances in her rooms at night, and would use them as inspiration to write her poetry. He also mentions how close she was with her mother, Cora. I think Epstein should have gone into further detail on both Millay's life as a young poet, and her relationship to her mother. Instead, the book focuses on her love affairs with many men (and a few with some of the women she met at Vassar), as well as the ups and downs she experienced within these relationships and within her life as a poet. Now granted, the book might not be successful if it tried to incorporate the points I would have liked to have seen, but I think especially concerning Millay's feelings of great love for her mother, it might make the book a stronger one.
   What I admired about the book was the feeling I got of Epstein's concern as a present-day writer looking into Millay's steady decline as poet throughout. As a reader, I sensed a certain kind of admiration and esteem for her in the tone of the book, especially at the start of her career as a writer. I was saddened at the end of the book to learn that Millay died from an intake of too much alcohol as well as a fall from her steps. Epstein's concern at the end, too, only strengthened my view that poets do not lead the kinds of high-roller lives that people would like to believe they do.
   When I finished the book, I found myself wanting to know more of the sensitive and acclaimed poet. I wanted to know what drew her so much to alcohol and morphine that she was so wont to abuse. I wanted to know why exactly her husband Eugen's reasoning was in briefly trying morphine in an attempt to make her realize that morphine was indeed not the solution to her problems. I wanted to know what Millay's reasoning was in having extra-marital affairs with other men while being married to Eugen. And I wanted to know more about Millay's sisters; why Kathleen went mad, and why she seemed to stay more in touch with her other sister, Norma, more than Kathleen. I wanted more answers than I got from reading this book.
   In short, while this book is interesting and well-organized, it does not offer a complete look into Millay's psyche and way of perceiving her world. It is most probably a book that would support research done on the poet's life, rather than being a book that can stand on its own. If you want to read a book about Millay's love affairs, read this book. If you want to read about her life as a whole, look elsewhere.



3. This is simply a great biography.
   
   Apparently Epstein was able to gain access to a vast Library of Congress collection of documents on Millay that won't be released to the public until 2010. And he seems to have done an unusually good job of sorting through all this information and putting it in order.
   
   Perhaps it's due to Epstein being a poet himself, but he's able to give a wonderfully sensitive and intelligent account of Millay's life. He's done lots of detective work, and it seems to all hold together.
   
   It's an unbelievable story -- so American in some ways: the gilded age to ragtime to the Jazz Age, the World Wars, anti-war and women's rights, passion, poetry, Greenwich Village and the Left Bank, genius, narcissism, money, fame, sex, alcohol, drugs, a skyrocket ride from poverty to success to destruction.
   
   And yet so un-American in its calm, well-behaved, almost English manner: no shooting, no fist-fights, no one calling the cops, a time when books of poetry sold 50,000 copies and folks jam-packed auditoriums to hear poetry readings -- think Bloomsbury secretly on meth and Virginia Woolf quietly dedicating herself to nymphomania.
   
   Really a well-written book, and surely the best biography of Millay so far.



4. Mr. Epstein's passion for his subject was the first attractor for me upon reading this well written, intriguing biography of Edna St. Vincent Millay, specifically focusing on her very tumultuous love life and the poetry which was birthed due to her romantic and [physical relations].

   The prose reads like Mr. Epstein has fallen in love with Edna just as the many men in her path fell in love with her.

   I also found the diversions which came later (like the horse Chaladon) and her well known descent into alcoholism and drug addiction were very compelling to dive into: I would have appreciated more of these times, although the limited documentation available would explain why there isn't more information here.

   This book does its job well: makes me more curious about Edna St. Vincent Millay: from her poetry, her plays and her life outside the written word.




5. Daniel Mark Epstein brings a special understanding to Edna St Vincent Millay's biography by virtue of being a poet himself. I think that's why this book is in many ways superior to the Nancy Mitford book.

   Edna St Vincent Millay was not only a great person of words, but a great seductress and everyone, male and female alike, fell under her spell. Apparently, accordingly to this book, she managed to live up to their expectations quite well. Mr Epstein matches the love poems to the folks they were written for and gives the details of the various affairs. It may not sound interesting, but it is quite interesting - especially since M's Millay seemed to have a weakness for men who were not quite as talented as she was. The background behind "Fatal Interview" and the story of her (apparently) one love she lost before_she_ was ready to is quite an interesting read by itself.

   Mr Epstein focuses on M's Millay as sort of a self made goddess and how her various affairs shaped her writing. M's Mitford focuses on how M's Millay's relationship with her mother shaped her life. Both of these are very interesting and I'd advise reading them consecutively and draw your own conclusions. In some respects, I think Mr Epstein is correct in what he presumes, but the same can be said of M's Mitford.

   Throw yourself into the words and life of Edna St Vincent Millay - you'll find yourself awash with her beautiful poetry and prose and this book will help you make sense out of it.

5 comments about Being Martha: The Inside Story of Martha Stewart and Her Amazing Life.

1. I could not put this book down as the story-telling style is engaging and it introduces me to a woman who is so amazingly strong minded and driven. This book humanizes Martha Stewart as a person who has gone through heartbreaks, disappointments, letdowns and lots more just like the rest of us, yet her positive attitude and loyalty towards her beliefs remain unwavering. I enjoy this book tremendously as I can get to read a lot of "behind the scenes" stories.



2. First I must state I am not particularly a fan of Ms. Stewart. On the other hand, I really have absolutely nothing against her. I don't know her, and in all likelihood never will. I do know that she has received some pretty bad press and a lot of hack writers have made a bit of money taking cheap shots at her. That being said, I rather enjoyed this work. I see absolutely nothing wrong in a friend writing about a friend and saying nice things about the friend they are writing about. The author's style is a little too gushy for my taste i.e. "to die for" is not the way people I know describe cookies. On the other hand, the author's world is different than mine, and that is okay. I dare say the author never uses phrases such as "damn, this is good stuff" when describing cookies. I do admit to finding Ms. Stewart a fascinating individual, and while, as I said, I am not a particular fan, I do admire what she has accomplished. The author gives us yet another view of this woman's life, and that is always refreshing. Like her or not, she certainly has made an impact on our society. It is people such as her we should all know about. This is a fast read and you certainly will not be the worse for wear by reading it and might even enjoy it. Overall, recommend.



3. As some other reviewers have previously stated, this book was written by an old friend of Martha Stewart's which may be cause for wondering if things are not a bit tweaked. The author has this "goody two shoes" style of writing that can be annoying at times.
   
   However, the book reads very fast and is entertaining, though it may be a bit biased.
   
   The story of Martha's life makes for interesting reading any way you slice it (no pun intended!!). She has worked hard, so hard in fact that it is almost impossible to believe that any one individual could possess such stamina, energy and focus. I am always inspired by people who start with modest beginnings and build an empire.
   
   I also read the book Just Desserts by Jerry Openheimer, which is an unauthorized biography and paints an entirely different picture of Martha.
   
   Read this one with a grain of salt! (again, no pun intended!!)



4. I was so impressed to finally read writings about Martha that were neither sappy and artificial nor spiteful and mean spirited. Allen is a true friend to Martha the kind that sees her how she really is faults and all and obviously still respects her. I love that he doesn't immortalize her as some sort of goddess but yet you can sense that he has a great deal of respect and admiration for her. I have always been a huge fan of Martha especially after she was, in my opinion, held up a bit unfairly as an example of how the government was cracking down on big business. This book takes a true and accurate look at the women, wife, mother, friend and incredible business women that Martha is. She has a temper like most of us, she is moody just like most of us, she likes nice things just like most of us. The difference is that her every move is scrutinized in most cases negatively and out of context. Yet she handles it all with grace and dignity as best she can and strives more recently to open herself up and let us her fans in. I highly recommend this book to her fans as well as those who through negative press have decided they do not like her. Give it a chance it might change your mind. Thank you Allen for an excellent view into the true Martha. Thank you Martha for Being Martha.



5. I really enjoyed the book. It certainly gave me a new perspective on Martha. I mean I never paid much attention to Martha and her story. I just heard what other people had to say about her occasionally. It is unfortunate that people tend to be swayed by what they here on the gossip mill. What a great thing Mr. Allen did for Martha! I am really glad he wrote the book and I am really glad I read it. Martha certainly deserves respect and admiration.

5 comments about The Quilters: Women and Domestic Art : An Oral History.

1. A wonderful book for quilters and lovers of history. Written in the first person, you are drawn into the simple lives of these women. A quick and rewarding read.



2. Reading about the lives of these women makes you appreciate the ease of modern life but the simjplicity of their days is enviable. Wonderful quilts too.



3. I have read many books about pioneering women who set up homes from scratch and quilted for practical and soul-fulfilling reasons. Usually though, those women are long gone and we are left with rather dry details of their lives. The joy of this book is that the women whose words are recorded in it are living, breathing members of that pioneer group, and, even though their experiences were in the 20th rather than the 19th century,the issues and incidents are the same and they tell a vibrant story.
   The book records conversations amongst Texas quilting groups, to which the authors were invited and the ladies seem eager to tell stories of their early days in dug outs and cabins, their families scaping a life from the soil and their role in that. None of them ever sound hard done by or as if they wish their lives had been different. And they are all keen to express the creative and fulfilling role that quilting has had in their lives.
   If you are not a quilter, you will still enjoy the strength, friendship and nobility that run through these conversations - they are a link with a passed era, which I felt honoured to share as I read.



4. This book is facinating with it's history of American pioneer women. It contains real quotes from real people about the lives that they lived. If you have seen or been in the play you will be delighted to see that some of the show's monologues are word-for-word from this book! I't's a moving book and a moving play.



5. This book is a wonderful tribute to women...quilters or not. The book is filled with interviews, pictures, and descriptions that bring the joy and sorrow of daily living to life. If the simple things in life are indeed the sweetest.... then these women and their quilts tell the sweetest story ever...they tell our story... they are our history.

3 comments about Women of the Harvest: Inspiring Stories of Contemporary Farmers.

1. This is a very inspiring book, and is great motivation,since i was in the farming community years ago, that will never leave me.



2. This book is fun! It's made up of excellent photos and lively interviews with 17 American women who are farmers in 9 states, and a woman who works for a U.S. government agricultural organization in Moldova.
   
   And we're not talking oats, peas, beans and barley here. The crops range from clams to watermelons to cactus plants to peppers. Alpaca fleece is another crop. Many of the farms are organic, and the ages of the women farmers range over 60 years or more. Many have their farms in arid, western states.
   
   The interviews are full of pithy quotes from the women and engaging details about the lives these women live. The pieces by Susan Gartner are especially good at putting the reader right on the scene.



3. WOMEN OF THE HARVEST: INSPIRING STORIES OF CONTEMPORARY FARMERS profiles some seventeen women who love farming: women from across the country who share their stories of making their farming dreams come true. Color photos of land and female farmers blend with autobiographies and insights on what it takes and means to be a female farmer, how to run an 'ideal' farm, and how these women made farming dreams a reality. Any agricultural or rural library will find WOMEN OF THE HARVEST: INSPIRING STORIES OF CONTEMPORARY FARMERS a winning leisure read choice.

5 comments about Strange Piece of Paradise.

1. The story of what happened to Jentz is horrible and makes for great drama. The aftermath -- her search for her still-unknown attacker, which is the main subject of the book -- could have made a decent story as well. Unfortunately the drama of it is oversold, and the story is wildly overwritten, both in length and in tone. Jentz's discovery of a prime suspect is unfortunately larded over with melodramatic writing -- those of you who've waded through the book know the title of this review is a reference to the dozens and dozens of "In Search of"-like rhetorical questions -- and a level of self-obsessiveness that, while understandable in a person's diary, should not have made it into the final version. Perhaps the editor wanted to provide an open window into how messed up Jentz became as a result of the attack; perhaps only the actual publication of far too much detail could provide her with the catharsis that she absolutely deserves. Anyone with a heart would wish Jentz peace after what she went through. But her story lost much of its power in the telling.



2. A lot of reviewers stated that this was too redundant, that the author tended to go on and on over the same territory, and that the story could have been completed in a lot fewer words. After reading this story, I have found that I was "hooked" and that this story lingers on long after the final page is turned. It is a haunting story made all the more engrossing by the fact that it is a totally truthful accounting of one woman's attempt to identify her attacker - to identify the person who hacked her and her friend up with a hatchet and left them both for dead. I understand completely her need to do so, as well as I understand completely her friend's need not to do so. This was a catharsis for the author, and a much needed one. I can identify with this. I believe had I been the one this happened to, I would also want to know the who and the why of this terrible crime. My hat is off to this very brave lady, and I feel that this book is well worth the read! You cannot truly be a critic of this manuscript unless you yourself have experienced the same as this author.



3. Imagine being 20 years old, on the first real adventure of your young life, sleeping soundly after a strenuous bike journey...only to be awakened and find yourself under a truck, staring at the well-dressed torso of a cowboy yielding an ax. That is what Terri Jentz, the author of this amazing book, asks us to envision.
   
   She and her friend, renamed Shayna, process the aftermath in two different ways. Shayna has selective amnesia based on her injuries, and is unable -- and unwilling -- to confront what has occurred. Terri, on the other hand, after several years of ennui and fear, decides to courageously confront the episode and to try to make some sense of it in order to fully heal.
   
   This journey is what comprises this book. Interestingly, the individuals she meets again -- ranging from the teenage couple who helped save them to the nurses who were there when they reached the hospital -- were all permanently affected by this senseless act. Together again, they all help heal each other. The would-be murderer himself is larger than life and also so much smaller than life. One of the tragedies is that most of the town knew who did it, and yet, thanks to the bungling of three overlapping law enforcement agencies and overprotective parents, his act would never have been totally revealed were it not for Terri's perseverance.
   
   This is a courageous book from a tenacious individual, and it spans 700 pages. I truly understand why Terri Jentz needed to write this book in its entirety, but I believe she needed a better editor. It lags in the middle pages, as Terri meets up with one after another lead (some true, some false); the momentum of the story begins to drag as a result. There is also very little reflection on her personal life -- the key focus is outward, not inward. We know that Terri is gay and she had an unrequited crush on Shayna. There is certain anger that Shayna is unwilling to be the "perfect listener" and to explore the ramifications of that June 22 night. I also wonder how Terri's sexual orientation played out in a conservative, cowboy town, when young women were blamed for their own independence. But these are minor points: all in all, I greatly admire Terri Jentz's courage and her larger observations on our society's passion for violence. She has important things to say.



4. The random 1977 crime horrified all who heard about it, although the girls survived. I even read about it when I lived in Chicago. Yet after days, months & decades though the Cline Falls community knew who'd done it, authorities never prosecuted anyone. Why? In this extraordinarily eloquent & riveting memoir of the author's life & times before & after that innocent bicycle trip that ended a hair's breadth shy of murder, she records her emotional reality & her 20 year search for the man who devastated her young self. I thought it quite unsentimental & engagingly intense. Sit back & immerse yourself in this writer's record of her quest for the rest of her soul, of her return to Oregon & the leads to who knew & helped her back then, who investigated the crime & why it was closed. With her you'll meet all sorts of people who could connect the dots of the perpetrator's violent life before & after he attacked her &, incidentally, you'll be at her side when he is at last brought to some semblance of justice, although not for his crime against her. A haunting & satisfying read by someone who knows how to write well & has an astonishing tale to tell. Very well done.



5. In 1977, Yale undergrad Terri Jentz and a school friend began bicycling across America, starting from the Oregon coast. Seven days into the trip, over the Cascades and into the desert, an axeman ran over their tent and nearly killed them both. How both women survived, in very different ways, is the core of "Strange Piece of Paradise", an epic-length personal journey and exploration of the criminal underside of a small Western town.
   
   Jentz spends the first 200 pages of the paperback edition on her life story and the next 500 on her return to Oregon as she belatedly uncovers the would-be killer's identity. She spent most of the 1990s interviewing witnesses, law enforcement, private citizens, and finally, the alleged attacker's inner circle -- a parade of victimized women. Although she never directly confronts her attacker, he's memorably described (although his pseudonym in the book is not quite as evocative as his real name).
   
   There's much political activism, too. Jentz presents herself as both liberal and tough on crime. I think it would be hard for anyone to disagree with her conclusions. She's particularly hard on the overloaded misdemeanor branch of American criminal justice. As this is where I began my legal career just after law school, I'm impressed by her points -- she figured this out a lot faster than I did!
   
   Jentz's personal journey is just as moving. Even before the attack, her feelings about her traveling companion are well preserved on page. The women drift apart quickly after the attack; Jentz' quiet devestation is stunningly portrayed.
   
   About the only complaint I can muster about the book is the same I had with Aron Ralston's Between a Rock and a Hard Place. For a book that tells such an important, personal story, it really could stand some editing. Jentz's repeated epiphanies and similes and metaphors pull away from the narrative and wear down the reader. Witness this typical aside, late in the game on page 613:
   
   "Along with flying TV pictures and radio waves, something else that connected us was vibrating in the air, as though our minds had reached out in a field beyond ourselves, pulling us with invisible rubber bands toward those who shared our preoccupations."
   
   Huh?
   
   That said, "Strange Piece of Paradise" is exhaustive but not exhausting, full of wit and outrage, and will stay with you for a long, long time.

1 comments about A Widow's Journey: A Story of Love, Loss, and Letting Go.

1. I really enjoyed reading this book. It told a lovely story of love and ultimate healing. I would highly recommend it to anyway who has loved and has lost their love. There is life after death.

5 comments about Maria Callas: The Woman behind the Legend.

1. Don't you think it'd be GREAT, if Amazon listed the book's true author as Arianna Stassinopoulos instead of Arianna Huffington? I mean, really. Oy.



2. The book is very good, but in some parts can be quite dull if you are not an Opera fan or musician. The beginning up to when she becomes famous is exciting, and the end as she is no longer quite so famous, is interesting. But the middle is redundant. Arianna goes through detail after detail of each and every performance. That to me is not exciting to read. But because I was curious about the whole Onassis/Kennedy/Callas triangle, I waited. It is important though to read everything to understand her personality. This woman was a wonderful person and a great legend, but she definitely suffered I would suspect from Histrionic Personality Disorder. Onassis is definitely a complete dick, not that this is a surprise, he reminded me a lot of Diego Rivera when it came to women as his possessions. They might have been friends had they known each other - although I suspect thier politics were different. I also purchased a CD to hear Maria sing and often played it while reading, quite a beautiful experience. I was not an Opera fan prior to buying this book. I only bought it after seeing the movie from Netflix - Callas Forever - a Historical Fiction. Curiosity got the best of me and now I am a fan - of Maria.



3. The number one recall I have about this book still haunts me to this day... her abortion. Onasis giving her the choice, him or the child.
   Haunting. Horrible.
   Above all, this book was a major "undertaking" for the author which she executed superbly! What a story! What a book!



4. (To the reviewer before me: Now we're two.)
   
   I have not read any other biography on Callas, but I listen to her avidly (her La Wally aria is particularly addictive) and have her Tosca performance on DVD as well as the documentary Maria Callas: Life and Art. But Callas's music alone has always made me wonder about her. Such deeply mined emotions in her singing, such ferocity, such purity, such power. How does she get all these in her performances? Where does she mine them? Zefirelli has compared her to Michelangelo, Bernstein has called her the greatest artist in the world. This book answers these questions and explains why. I have to say that it is a compulsive page-turner, even now in the twenty-first century where opera is no longer mainstream. There's always something interesting in each page. At the same time the biographer doesn't belabor a particular episode or detail in Maria's life as to make it boring or overly dramatized. And Arianna Stassinopoulos is no Kitty Kelly: everything seems very well-researched and reliable.



5. I can't believe no one has reviewed this book...so although I have never written one before here goes....
   Critics say that this is the best book on the intensely private yet captivating Maria Callas. I'll go farther than that and say that it is the best biography I have personally EVER read and I am a huge fan of biographies. Yet, I can't quite put my finger on why its so good. Maybe its because Arianna Stassinopoulos shows a profound empathy for the diva or perhaps it's because she interviewed practically every living person who knew her. Maria Callas, the love interest of Aristotle Onassis who later dropped her for Jacqueline Kennedy, and of course the greatest dramatic opera singer who ever lived, is brought to life right in front of you in this fantastic, well ..... just read this book. You'll love it as much as I do.

5 comments about The Lost Life of Eva Braun.

1. This reader felt ill for days after reading "The Lost Life of Eva Braun".
   
   Admittedly, Hitler's secret lover is a fascinating subject known best for her spectacular bunker suicide with him just hours in advance of the June 1945 Allied invasion. But the reality of Eva Braun turns out to be almost surrealistically mundane and author Angela Lambert tries to portray her just so; an innocent girl hopelessly in love with love. There was no evil in her soul and nary an acquisitive bone either (unlike those other grasping mistresses of famous men).
   
   That Eva loved a monster was incidental. She really didn't know of - or understand - Hitler's nihilistic politics. She simply loved Him. And yes, Eva always referred to her beloved Furher in caps, like He was a god.
   
   Eva, like the author's German mother, whom Lambert relentlessly intrudes into the story, was a moral fraulein who knew nothing of war, only that her world was being protected by her men and their great dreams.
   
   Indeed, Ms. Lambert's Eva was a butterfly who wasn't hovering over a cesspool, but a darling who changed outfits several times a day and the sole vexation of the moment was whether her hairdo and nails were perfect, or God forbid, not. And that's the point of this account of Eva's life. If you can exonerate Eva you can exonerate the millions of German women who focused on the moment and who pulled hankies over their noses to cover the stench of burning corpses and who consciously turned their faces from emptying neighborhood houses and cattle cars of bewildered and weeping men, women and children.
   
   There is no forgiveness for any of them, and particularly not for Eva, who chose to live her life as a non-entity, a covert blow-up doll who not only accepted, but treasured her submission because he said it must be so: who didn't resent being his occasional companion as long as nobody knew how much she spent at the dressmaker; who cuddled her neck into his while he and his officers effected the extermination of 11 million human beings; whose "best friend", Herta Schnieder (nee Osterhauser) was one of the Reich's premier "Doctors from Hell", later tried and convicted at Nuremberg for unfathomably cruel abuses against concentration camp prisoners.
   
   And what caused this angel's fall? Her stern father Fritz, of course, who established a pattern of conflict, suppressed her healthy spirits and thereby addicted the blameless girl to a strong and controlling man. In reality, Fritz adored Eva, indulged her, worried about her, and favored her over his other children.
   
   Born on February 6, 1912 in Munich to a devotedly Catholic mother and the spiritually, but not morally indifferent Fritz, Eva was the "lucky" middle daughter of three. Although she came from a demonstrably strong female lineage, Eva was a shallow, charming girl, who even at age seven was addicted to popularity, fashion and sports. She was also obstinate, tantrumy, and flounced, stamped and pouted until she got her way. Notably self-obsessed and always, always on show, particularly when a camera was nearby, Lambert nonetheless insists that Eva was precociously "showing signs of being gifted and intelligent". Really.
   
   The book has a haunting photograph taken in 1919 at Eva's convent school showing a prettily hatted and smug Eva surrounded by the battered, bruised and hopeless little faces of her orphan classmates - a graphic reflection of Eva's future years, and an appalling irony utterly lost on Lambert.
   
   In high school popular Eva had a "good mind", but mostly was flirtatious and by now, on continual show for an audience, a camera, and boys, boys, boys. Yet Lambert insists that Eva was deep and developing spiritually and had high morals.
   
   Eva's first job was with Hitler's personal photographer, Heinrich Hoffman, for whom the 17 year old Eva acted as secretary and in whose shop she met Herr Wolf in 1929. Eva was guileless and Hitler, at 40, was "mesmerizing and beautiful with his forget-me-not blue eyes". Eva professed not to know who he was, though he was Munich's most high-profile and radical politician.
   
   Lambert speculates that Hitler now became interested in this featherweight and his treatment of her reflected "in microcosm" his seduction and destruction of the German people.
   
   The book provides an interesting and intimate portrayal of Hitler's sordid backstory, which is material to what happened next, though it fails to explain Eva's pathological attachment, or that of the Germans. The most you'll get is that Hitler's defective blueprint caused him to thrive on slavish devotion and he expected nothing less from his followers, whether they be lovers, officers, or the German populace. They all delivered until the very end, when Eva alone proved her eternal devotion.
   
   But back to Hoffman's studio. Hitler barely noticed Eva because he was involved in an intense and troubled affair with his niece Geli. Buxom, bright, sophisticated and ferociously self-assured, Geli was Hitler's first, last and true love. Untamable and extraordinary, she resisted his control even while she gave in to it. She committed (a contested) suicide in September 1931.
   
   Eva, strangely obsessed with Hitler, injected herself into his relationship with Geli, who did not appreciate the interference. When Geli died, Eva "pursued Hitler with subtlety and persistence", consciously remaking herself into his ideal woman with the exact opposite qualities of the cursed, magnificent Geli.
   
   And so the affair began. Though Hitler was tepid and damaged, Eva was afire with submission, sweetness and optimism. And her tactics worked. Busy with his Chancellorship and later as Furher, Hitler responded yet kept their relationship secret and forced Eva to accept his terms. In love, she pirouetted and twirled and laughed and provided him with quiet relaxation and cosseting.
   
   But her obsession - and Hitler's nonchalance - soon drove her to despair, emotional chaos, and suicide attempts. He was alarmed at first, of course. No more Geli infamy for him. But he consistently treated Eva as a comrade, perhaps as a lover in private, but mostly as an after-thought.
   
   And thus was established their pattern for the next fifteen years. Hidden Eva, loving Eva, convenient Eva, who followed him or waited and pined when he wasn't there, sharing a mostly platonic relationship while he grew more unstable, power mad, drug addicted and mentally ill.
   
   Eva knew of Hitler's abhorrence of marriage and genuine fear of eugenic corruption if he fathered children of his own. He meant it. Yet her sole fantasy was marriage and children with this man.
   
   Until their bunker deaths in 1945, the relationship between them was singularly non-dimensional. She anxiously waited upon his phone calls, but when they took place the conversations were about the weather, when he'd be home - nothing important, leaving Eva "listless, empty of purpose, abandoned and depressed".
   
   Lambert keeps Eva in a bubble of emotional bondage, a loving and generous woman, but refuses to address Eva's own beliefs about the "Jewish problem". She fakes us out with unsubstantiated stories of her rescue of special Jews and we're not allowed to wonder how much she supported Hitler's dream of extermination or what she knew about how, where and when it was done. No, best to portray Eva as a lamb, gentle and unknowing, like all the other German women. They were all just products of their time.
   
   Of course she shared her man's misanthropy. Like every German who turned their heads to the killing, Eva was born an anti-Semite. And because Hitler was so rabidly so, Eva's job was to stoke this hatred as she supported him in every other way.
   
   It's hard to believe that Hitler felt any deep emotion for this clinging moron. Even Lambert admits that in private he mostly enjoyed the company of Blondi, his dog, and spent more time with her than Eva.
   
   But Eva's monumental vanity kept her buoyant. She was to star in a feature film about her life and prepared for it with glamorous photos in glorious frocks, kept a journal, tried new makeup and hairdos, and constantly acted the role of a beautiful and loyally steadfast Fraulein.
   
   Then, on April 22, 1945, when all was lost, when nearly everyone had abandoned him, when the Allied forces were at his Berlin door, Hitler did something he had never done before. He kissed Eva Braun on the mouth, in full view of all the remaining servants. After fifteen years of constant devotion, "This was her triumph; the crowning event of her life." You can almost hear celestial voices sighing with bliss.
   
   But it got better. He married her on April 29, 1945! Yes, Eva Braun was finally married to her Fuhrer with Joseph Goebbels and Martin Bormann as witnesses. "He had recognized her virtues and her devotion at last." She was wearing his favorite dress, "the black one with appliqued roses, her hair freshly washed and beautifully coiffed."
   
   This was concrete evidence of His caring for her and she was in ecstacy. She was at long last Fraulein Hitler! Though she would only be so for the next 36 hours because she had to prove her love unto death.
   
   Eva would have died for Hitler even if he hadn't married her. That's how little he knew her.
   
   Her death had to be elegant and feminine, however. Eva decided upon cyanide rather than a gun because she didn't want her face ruined. Even as a corpse she wanted to appear stylish and appealing. No icky blood or distorted features - Hitler might be disgusted and change his mind or turn away and leave her, or worse, the camera might record something really grotesque.
   
   God alone knows what emotion, if any, Hitler felt when Eva's twitching body slumped against his. But he bit his own cyanide cap and fired a pistol into his mouth to make sure there would be no near-misses.
   
   Eva was found with her coiffed head lolling against Hitler's bloody body. She was 35.
   
   WHY does the world need another biography of Eva Braun? We already know why Ms. Lambert felt compelled to write it, though it fails miserably in its objective of exoneration.
   
   At first, it seems that Eva's relationship with Hitler might illuminate some part of his black psyche. But it does not, except perhaps to reflect something of the magnetism of evil. Even so, Eva own psyche was too abnormally self-obsessed to help us understand Hitler's destructive gestalt.
   
   Perhaps there is an element of sympathy for Eva's ill-made choices, bad judgment, and the inability to admit/walk away from it: nothing is wrong with me, or Him! Or maybe their joint dysfunction just can't help but attract endless post facto psychological renderings. But though Eva worshiped him, so did thousands of sycophantic officers and millions of German citizens and no one has quite explained that either.
   
   For this reader, curiosity about Eva ended up more of amazement at her two-dimensionality than to any role she played in history, since she didn't play any. Her insignificance remains profound, even after sixty-odd years. In truth, Eva's monstrous vanity was the most notable feature of who she was. To be cherished by a god means you're perhaps a goddess yourself. And clearly Eva was ultimately more obsessed with Eva than with anyone else, even Hitler.
   
   In sum, Ms. Lambert's rehabilitation efforts are wasted in "The Lost Life of Eva Braun". Eva was and always will be repulsive, banal and irrelevant, except as an example of aberrative vanity. Read her story if you're so inclined, but expect to feel uncomfortable, ill even, for days.



2. I agree with those who say that this book was a wasted opportunity to contribute something of excellence to the thin shelf on Eva Braun. I found the references to the author's family virtually useless. At one point Ms. Lambert writes that she isn't going to rec-count World War II, because this is Eva's book. Well, she could have used this logic on her decision to write about her mother. No one cares, really, about her.
   
   This book is well-footnoted, but at least on three occasions the same footnote appears about the war on the Eastern Front. Whoever edited this book, if indeed it had an editor, simply failed to do a half-decent job.
   
   The weakest and most inexcusable section is, unfortunately, the final scenes of Eva's life. Ms. Lambert could have checked the extensive sources on the days in the Bunker, but from what I can see she only looked at two or three. She seems to write with authority about those days, only to put into place a contradictory chronology that should have been resolved or at least treated with the ambiguity that the record shows. She doesn't do this, and only on one point -- the date of Eva's arrival at the Bunker -- does she indicate that there is a question. This is simply sloppy writing. Added to this is the speculation over Eva and Hitler's final words to each other; here, after living with the subject of this book for the time it has taken the reader to read it, one wants to scream. Why here, of all places, does speculation enter the scene? This does a disservice to history.
   
   For all of that, the book makes a good case for Eva's innocence of anything to do with the crimes of the Third Reich. It does not however answer the central question: what on earth did Eva see in Hitler?
   The documentary evidence that could have answered this question is very thin; and Ms. Lambert does a good job of marshalling what she can. But, at the end, we are left with the question. Ms. Lambert seems to have begun a speculative answer when she alludes to battered women who stay with an abusive spouse. While the analogy does not hold completely, perhaps a deeper psychological profile could have been attempted that would lead us to the threshold of an answer.
   
   Ms. Lambert tries to reach too far in explaining away any possible guilt that may have been borne by German women; again, my own sense is that she is too occupied with her own family history here. It would have served the book better to have focused on Eva Braun. To the extent that she does focus on Eva, she does a good job of arguing for the essential goodness and innocence of her subject. It would have been all too easy, and all too dishonest, to condemn Eva at the bar of history. This the author does not do. Nor does the evidence exist to warrant such a thing.



3. I completely agree with the reviewer who identified this book as a missed opportunity. Although Lambert gives it a go, she is in way over her head. This book both misses the epic historical sweep of this story set across the grand stages of Europe at war, and also the finely-observed details of two people involved in a relationship.
   
   There are also severe editing, typos, and grammatical errors. Some portions appear more than once -- the dismissive language about the prior book on Eva appears twice, identically, once as text, again as a footnote. Errors like this make it tough reading, and leaves you hoping an actual historian tackles this topic next.



4. OkOk I was really looking forward to reading this book, who wouldn't, talk about an interesting subject. Then I was hammered in the first few chapters when the author repeated the same information on David Irving ad nausea. Ok we get it, anyone reading a book on this topic knows about David Irving. It was too a point that I began to suspect that the author, actually thought that anyone reading this book must be an idiot, so she need to repeat the same information over and over again in the footnotes to hammer home a point. The treatment of Nerin E. Gun book was unwarranted and petty. I did not dislike the inclusion of her mother's experience in Germany during the Third Reich, although some aspects were a little overdone. I am still waiting for the definitive book on Eva Braun. The publisher bears much of the responsibility for the errors that occur and the inclusion of useless and/or repetitive information, which is why you need to employ editors.



5. Eva really didn't leave any primary sources--just her photographs and home movies. There is a bit of a diary and a few letters. She was a photographer and had the best equipment of her day. She even developed and made prints. You can see close up and personal what a fool she was for love. The book is mainly based on hearsay evidence: old memories of people who were around at the time, all of whom are biased. Anything related to Hitler is a hot potato and the author handles the story gingerly interspercing it with memories of her own mother who lived in Germany at the time. The fact is Adolf and Eva finally got married 36 hours before they commited suicide together. I won't spoil the story by telling you any more facts. I liked the footnotes because they were short explanations.

3 comments about Celebrities Between the Sheets.

1. I would have given this a two but the fact she talks about a celeb i like that bumped her up another space ..in my opinion she cant write anyone basically could have wrote this go around an sleep with celebs an write the book at least give us something else..if you do buy this book which i recommned you dont you will see what i mean an she gives you hints she doesnt tell you who they are



2. This book tells about who this Hollywood Vixen has slept with. She gives clues and it's a day read.



3. Wow, this is a tell all book and gets down to the nitty gritty bordering on hardcore info on the rich and famous sexual exploits. It even rates each ones performance while in the act. The book is filled with clues as to the participants. Are they lovers or just another lay? My best guess produced the following players, Jamie Foxx, Shaquille O'Neal, Method Man, Sleepy Brown, Jah Rule, Shemar Moore, John Sally, Bobby Brown.

5 comments about The Prison Angel: Mother Antonia's Journey from Beverly Hills to a Life of Service in a Mexican Jail.

1. I read this book in several sittings which is unusual for me. I just couldn't stop and wanted to read some more of this fascinating story. It is a feel good story for the modern ages. If you are reading this you probably know about the former Beverly Hillls mom , twice divorced who was unable to receive Holy Communion from the Catholic Church, circumvented any road blocks and began her service for mankind(the most down and out of low people in La Mesa prison near Tijuana)and our Lord at age fifty. She produced her own habit and eventually was recognized by an official order. She has worked amongst the biggest drug dealers of Mexico, the murderer of Presidential candidate Colosio, the bloodiest of assasins and the peons who are just to poor to live in society and seek refuge in jail(now that is desperate)and the mentally ill. A prison in Mexico is unlike an American prison. Torture is common. She got involded in prison reform as well as changing men. Mother Antonia is unafraid of the toughest and meanest because she is a righteous woman and all who encounter her love and admire her. She lives in prison. She lives the same way the prisoners do. She walks and talks to the hardest of hard core. She gives them hope and transforrms many of their lives through the miracle of faith. This is an inspirational story that will leave you pondering your own existence; it is truly an amazing story that all should read as it will make you feel better about mankind. She is truly a living saint. Oh yes, there is a large print edition of this book available for the visually handicapped. God bless Sister Antonio and all who she touches.



2. This is a very inspirational book and helps people see how they can still be useful as they get older.



3. The Prison Angel is one of the most inspiring books I've ever read. Mother Antonia is so amazing that one would question the truth of her story if it weren't for the consistent witness and corroboration provided by all those who come into contact with her. She loves and ministers to everyone without distinction. This is a great book for teaching the golden rule.



4. Mother Antonia is an inspiration for us to see all people as fellow humans with similar needs - to be cared for, loved, and accepted. I appreciate that she paved the way to be valuable at an "older" age, and she welcomes women in their later years as valuable and able to serve others. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and passed it around among many friends.



5. This book touches your soul and uplifts your spirits. You would dare to judge another person after reading this book about a woman who could forgive and love the "unlovable." Very touching