4 comments about Riding Shotgun: Women Write About Their Mothers.

1. There is no bigger influence in a girl's life than her mother. "Riding Shotgun: Women Write About Their Mothers" is an anthology of twenty-one pieces from women writers discussing the enigmas that are their mothers. Be it simple wisdom such as cooking or skill to win at scrabble every single time, these stories of mothers are heartwarming and charming, and will bring a smile to the face of any reader. "Riding Shotgun: Women Write About Their Mothers" is deftly compiled and highly recommended for community library women's studies collections.



2. Riding Shotgun is a remarkably honest and truly heartening gathering of essays, demonstrating with clarity and force the myriad ways that mothers and daughters share love and lives. But you needn't be a mother or a daughter - only human - to recognize what's universal in these painful, redemptive, wise, and often sweetly comic essays. This is simply a wonderful collection!



3. This book is an excellent collection of essays from women who grew up in very different situations, and with very different relationships with their mothers. Read this book with your mother and/or your sister; it's bound to strike a chord.



4. Women are from Venus. Women's Intuition. The Feminine Mystique. Whatever you want to call it, women have a different kind of sensitivity and power from their Y-chromosomed counterparts, and that perception may be the most finely tuned with regard to one's mother.
   
   "We know things, my sisters assure me. We know the future. No, sometimes we know the future, I caution. My dead sister knew who was calling before she picked up the phone. I know when a person is moving toward me across time and place. I think of them and they come back into my life. What does all this mean? I ask my mother. What have you done to us?"
   --from Jonis Agee's "Storm Warnings"
   
   That's just one of the things you'll experience firsthand reading Riding Shotgun: Women Write About Their Mothers [Borealis Books], a series of personal essays edited by Kathryn Kysar. To rise into and assume the mantle of womanhood means different things to different women, but one thing is clear: no one gets through it without a few scratches--and if you're lucky, some good advice, a proud example, and maybe a few hugs and kisses-- from Mommy.
   
   Just in time for Mother's Day, Riding Shotgun is a different kind of celebration. Grown women from all kinds of backgrounds take a literary look at this intense, sometimes frightening, intimidating, funny, and at best, loving universal relationship between daughters and their mothers. You'll find true-tales from great contemporary writers such as Sandra Benitez, Tai Coleman, Alison McGhee, Susan Steger Welsh, Denise Low, Susan Power, Carrie Pomeroy, and many others. Reading more like short stories than essays trying to preach anything, Riding Shotgun examines women--and humanity-- in a fresh way. No need for sentimental sweet greeting card poetry, or teary apple-pie baking puppy dog tales. This is a new age, a great mix of culture, and a celebration of uniquely feminine power, as daughters, parents, caregivers, cooks, gardeners, friends, victims, bullies, crazy people and everything in between. Because after all, why be cliché? We're different.
   
   Aren't you glad?
   
   Kathryn Kysar, the author of Dark Lake, teaches writing in Minneapolis. She has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Norcroft, the Anderson Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, and the Banfill-Locke Center for the Arts.
   
   [...]

5 comments about Skin: Talking About Sex, Class And Literature.

1. 
   Noted as "extraordinary" by the author Tee A. Corinne in her book `Courting Pleasure' and as `...exquisite, memorable erotic work...".
   
   This was the most intense reading I have done in a long time. This should be recommended reading in all colleges and universities.
   
   Tremendous titles from the author are - Bastard Out of Carolina, Trash, and The Women Who Hate Me. More information can be found at the author's web page dorothyallison dot net
   
   From the back of the book - A compelling collection of essays, autobiographical narratives, and performance pieces combines updated versions of earlier groundbreaking material with provocative new work. The author probes her experience of being a lifelong feminist activist, controversial sex radical, and a Southern expatriate writer with an attitude.. With humor, passion and enormous conviction, she addresses what it means to be queer and happy about it in a world that is still arguing about what it means to be queer.



2. "Skin" is a book of essays by the amazingly talented writer and activist, Dorothy Allison. I remember reading [...] Out of Carolina many years ago and thinking I might not get through it because of its gruesome and hideous portrayal of a poverty-stricken, incestuous family living in the South. Turns out that book was Allison's fictionalized account of her childhood. Skin, however, is a finely crafted series of essays with titles ranging from "Gun Crazy" to "The Theory and Practice of the Strap-on Dildo" to "Believing in Literature". She likes to talk about everything people aren't supposed to talk about, including masturbating to science fiction novels, the pain of catching a venereal disease from her stepfather when she was a child (a disease that went untreated, rendering her sterile), the thrill of S & M, butch/femme strap-on sex, and much more just as juicy. Allison's style is fearlessly intimate and unashamed. Her long struggle to escape poverty and find a voice is evident in every page, and in every page her voice is beautiful, loud, and resiliant.



3. The extraordinary Dorothy Allison can write fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and essays. Skin is her contribution to the essay genre, a collection of two dozen bits of astute rambling across a crazy quilt of subjects stitched together by the fierce honesty her readers have come to expect from all of her writing. Coming from a poor white trash family in South Carolina, she traveled beyond her origins thanks to a rampant intelligence that nothing could dull. A feminist before the word was invented, Allison is also a proud card-carrying lesbian, a writer, mentor, teacher, lecturer, and a woman who is always generous to other writers. Skin deals more explicitly and in greater depth with erotica and sexuality than her other works, so readers would do well to be forewarned. But if you're a Dorothy Allison fan, this is NOT a book to be missed.



4. An opportunity to get thinking about a few "difficult" subjects, while enjoying a few refreshing lines of thought as well as a no-nonense yet witty style.Being a woman, gay or poor not a requisite, although it might help. If you're neither of the three, buy the book anyway, you might learn something (I did).



5. Not since Andrea Dworkin's "Woman Hating" (that I read in 1978) have I been so moved by the truth of another writer that I would want to emulate it. In sharing Harris's vision of writing as an "uncompromising revolutionary act" the point is made that the mainstream literary world as well as the "so-called avant-garde and burgeoning feminist critical aristocracy" will not appreciate the lesbian writer who "refuses to obey the rules." To both women, nothing is more important than telling the truth, "refusing all categories, all who would shape your writing to their own use."

   "Yes!" I cried, " The End.

2 comments about The Mother's Story: A Tale of Hardship and Maternal Love.

1. It was pure enjoyment to read this book written by the Mother of a man I greatly admire. I have been acquainted with her son, Daniel, since December 2002. That was when I first saw him on PBS and discovered an entertainer I could love not only for his exceptional easy-listening singing voice, choice of songs, and stage presence; but because he was down-to-earth, honest, humble, and always spoke of his Mother in a respectful, loving, and admiring way.
   
   I have met him several times in Branson and have received replies to the many letters I have written him and even received a phone call after writing my first fan letter. Not many famous entertainers take time to respond to their fans and meet hundreds of them in the lobby for pictures after giving them nearly three hours on stage. His Mother's story proved to me why 'behind every good man is a good woman'! Not perfect of course, no mother is; but after becoming a heartbroken widow, she put her distress aside and supported, loved, and inspired her five young children to be their best with the talents God gave them.
   
   Her story is one of the most inspiring I have ever read, and I highly recommend it. I am not only a fan of Daniel's for life, but of Julia O'Donnell as well. May God continue to bless her and her wonderful family.



2. I am amazed at this woman, Julia O' Donnell. She has shown some unbelievable strength. I enjoyed her sense of adventure and her tenacious character. I have passed this book on to three other people at this time and all of them thoroughly enjoyed it. Our younger generation could never go through any of this hard work and keep up the spirit that Mrs. O'Donnell did. She has raised a great family and I have bought almost all of Daniel's DVD and CD's. His music inspires me as much as his mother's book did. I only wish I could meet this woman and her son. They both are a role model of humility for me. All the best to both of them and thank you for being part of my life through your story and music.
   Fran Johnston
   suziej@telus.net

5 comments about An Uncommon Woman - The Empress Frederick: Daughter of Queen Victoria, Wife of the Crown Prince of Prussia, Mother of Kaiser Wilhelm.

1. A very well written and interesting book on Empress Frederick who's mostly nowdays remembered in relation to her domineering mother Queen Victoria and her psycho eldest son Kaiser Wilhelm II. Her childhood was very interesting and it was fun to read about her courtship and marriage to a man she actually loved and loved her and how the death of her father impacted her life completely. Another wonderful addition to anyone's collection of royal biographies.



2. This was a great biography that made you feel the happiness and sadnest moments in Empress Frederick's life time. Although I must admit there were moments in the book, particularly when Kaiser Frederick as well as the Empress herself were on their death beds, that made me want to box the ears of Kaiser Wihelm if he were still alive today!



3. Hannah Pakula did it again in another superb biography of one of the last great princesses in the sunset of European royalty. The high-minded, brilliant, passionate, beautiful oldest daughter of Queen Victoria was a woman fit to rule in her own right and yet she was shackled by the narrow, rigid Hohenzollern court. The very liberalism with which her father Prince Albert indoctrinated her ended up working against her ability to influence German political affairs in a positive way. Her great love for her husband and their passionate relationship is captured as well as the tragic dimensions of his death. It is horrible how Vicky dies, and especially the way her awful son treated her. A book that shows that sometimes marrying the handsome prince of your dreams is not enough. Highly recommended!



4. An Uncommon Woman is an excellent, first rate biography of Vicky, eldest daughter of Queen Victoria who, through marriage, became the Crown Princess of Prussia, and then Princess and later Empress Frederick of the German Empire. She played an influential (and one wishes a much more influential) role in German, and more broadly European, history during the latter 19th to early 20th centuries. Vicky strove to move German politics towards a more liberal, democratic, parliamentary form of government, but was successfully opposed by the autocracy of Chancellor Bismarck and even her son, who eventually became the Kaiser. The author persuasively implies that had this "uncommon woman" been able to prevail, European history may have benefited. The book succeeds as both an intimate, full-fledged account of this remarkable woman, her family members, and the many important historical persons of the times, as well as a comprehensive history of the creation of the German Empire, the rise of autocracy and militarism, and the lead-up to World War I. The writing style is excellent; the author is exceptionally skilled at presenting a thoroughly well-researched life of Vicky and detailed history of the times in a highly readable, well paced narrative. One of the most engaging and informative biographies I have read. Highly recommended.



5. You will feel great sympathy towards Vicky, the Empress Frederick, who was an unfortunate hostage to the intrigues of the German court. Sympathy will soon give way to awe at her courage and determination to do her best while having to perform the impossible: being all things to all people.
   
   Vicky was seen as the catalyst for change in Germany. Her parents, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert did not like the autocratic, militaristic way in which Emperor Wilhelm I was running Prussia. Instead, they visualized a united German nation with a government much like that of England. Their plan was to sow seeds of liberalism and constitutional monarchy through their daughter and her marriage to Wilhelm's son, Prince Frederick (Fritz). In preparation for the eventual match, Vicky was schooled in politics and German life by Prince Albert. Eventually, she and Fritz would be Emperor and Empress of Prussia, and could bring about German unity.
   
   Little did Vicky know that upon arriving in Berlin, she was at a disadvantage from the start.
   
   As the daughter of Queen Victoria, she was encouraged to retain her Englishness yet was expected to be a Prussian wife and princess. Her efforts to raise her eldest son Willy as Prince Albert had raised her backfired. Her tendency to over-criticize (a trait passed on from Victoria) turned the young Wilhelm away, and he grew up under his thoroughly Prussian grandfather Wilhelm. Otto von Bismarck had seen his own chance to manipulate the future emperor, and along with the groveling royal court, Willy was turned into a bombastic power fanatic.
   
   Her relationship with Fritz was not seen as loving, but as an English princess scheming to Anglicize the House of Hohenzollern. Vicky was painted as "die Englanderin", unfaithful to Germany and a demon on the shoulder of her husband, whom she 'manipulated'.
   
   Hopes that Fritz's mother, Empress Augusta, would watch over Vicky were dashed. Augusta was known to be very liberal and free-thinking, unusual for royal women of the time. In her they thought they had an ally, but both the Queen and Vicky would be sorely disappointed. The once-progressive Augusta had seen her marriage to Emperor Wilhelm unravel over the years, and as a result she became a bitter, self-absorbed woman. She gave Vicky little support in her new role.
   
   When they finally became Emperor and Empress, Vicky and Fritz had precious little time to implement any real changes. Fritz died from cancer of the larynx three months into his reign. Upon his passing, Vicky was left alone and devoid of support or influence. Your heart cries at the unfairness of brilliant minds wasted, while Willy becomes Kaiser Wilhelm II - egotistical, manipulative, and dangerous.
   
   Thankfully, Vicky did not live to see the destruction of the Hohenzollern dynasty when Wilhelm II pulled Germany and England into a devastating world war. After fighting his own relations across Europe, he headed into exile, never to see the throne again. Albert's catalyst did indeed create a change, but not in the way he had expected. Germany would be unified, but the reigning royal house would fall from power, never to recover. -MandysRoyalty.org

5 comments about The Passion of Ayn Rand.

1. I am currently a law student who has an undergraduate degree in philosophy. I have spent much of my adult life studying Objectivism and integrating many of its principles into my life. I am not an "Objectivist," but I do consider myself a student of the philosophy.
   
   This book is not a fanatical denouncement of Rand, as some of the reviewers giving it a 1 star have claimed. Those that have read this book and have calmly reflected upon it, have absolutely no valid justification in giving it a 1. The author points out her own experiences with Ms. Rand, and gives her own interpretation as to Ms. Rand's psychology. The overall feeling of the book towards Ms. Rand is one of honest admiration, sincere fondness, and regretful sorrow. The theme throughout the book is that Ms. Rand struggled, achieved profound success, and experienced deep tragedy.
   
   Persons giving this book a 5 star rating, then going on to attack Ms. Rand's philosophy are despicably dishonest. The author's treatment of Objectivism is very positive. The only objections she has towards the philosophy are some of its applications to psychology (regarding free will and the origin of emotions). The author only really denounces the minority of individuals in the Objectivist movement that lack independence. If you want to understand Objectivism, read and think for yourself. But do not understand it through this biography, or the weak context-dropping reviews on this site. I suggest starting with some of the fiction if you aren't familiar with philosophy or the non-fiction if you are (either way, read the fiction eventually!) Then judge for yourself whether this philosophy is a great, complex, and powerful achievement, with positive practical application to all realms of man's life, or whether it is the 'over simplification' which the pseudo-intellectuals ramble on about in their reviews.
   
   I give this book a 4 because it doesn't adequately discuss Objectivism, which is central to understanding Ayn Rand. The author does make clear that any claimed problems in Ms. Rand's psychology were not a result of Objectivism, or vice versa. Ms. Rand was a great woman that gave to this world amazing works of fiction, and a philosophy which has already significantly impacted our culture. I do not know if everything said is correctly interpreted, or if every relevant context was given, but I do not believe that the author was being dishonest. If you want to get an inside look at Ms. Rand, read this book, and make sure to read some other sources too. Do not judge her philosophy based on your conclusion on this book, and do not judge her completely based just on what you have read in this book.



2. If you wish to continue hero worship or hatred of Ayn Rand, don't read this book. If you want a balanced view of this great Philosopher and Writer, it is a must read. I made an important decision after reading this book. I took my copies of "Atlas Shrugged" and "The Fountainhead" and donated them to a local library. It gave me closure. It is a happy ending to the story that psychologist Nathaniel Branden was to go on professionally and evolve beyond Objectivism. He puts out an excellent tape called "The Benefits and Hazards of the Philosophy of Ayn Rand." All praise to Barbara Branden for this book. Highly recommend reading Nathaniel Branden's "The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem," his opus. Enjoy hearing the good parts of Objectivism combined with an understanding of human emotion in that book.



3. A biography of Rand written by the wife of the man she shared with Rand! Another chapter in the bizarre history of Ayn (rhymes with "mine") Rand. Not bad, but likely not too reliable as biography given that the early part of Rand's bio is based solely on her notoriously unreliable recall of past events, and that the latter part of it is based heavily on Branden's personal experience and memory, likely not to be objective (ha!) given her emotional closeness to the subject.
   
   However, it certainly appears more reliable than the weirdly awful Walker book reviewed elsewhere.
   
   Just read Atlas Shrugged, and if you really have to learn more about Ayn Rand, read this book with a jaundiced eye toward specific events and focus as much as you can on the good and bad of Rand.



4. Barbara Branden (and Nathaniel Branden) were two of Ayn Rand's closest associates from the time after publishing The Fountainhead through Atlas Shrugged and "the Collective" years. In the late 1960s there was a split between the Branden's and Ayn Rand following what Branden alleges was a 14 year affair between Rand and Nathaniel.
   
   In this book, Barbara Branden formulates a biography of Ayn Rand, from her childhood in Soviet Russia to her early years in Hollywood to her death in the early 1980s. She portrays Rand as a powerful mind who had the ability to captivate people that met her and as a woman of great genius. She also portrays Rand as having an array of psychological problems, particularly during the writing of Atlas Shrugged and the years that followed. She argues that Rand often repressed many of her psychological desires and wants in favor of her rational faculties, often at the expense of others. She details Rand's alleged affair with Nathaniel Branden and the events that lead to their ultimate split in 1968.
   
   I haven't read James Valliant's response to this book yet, however I am familiar with the standard Objectivist response to *anything* by a Branden. I don't think that Branden was as unfair to Rand. While she does point out Rand's failures, she also demonstrates Rand's powerful philosophy, intense motivation, hard work, and her genius. Frankly, I could care less for the drama between the Brandens and Objectivism. However, I do care about the work of Rand and the story of her life. I highly recommend this book to both Objectivists and non-Objectivists interested in Rand and her philosophy.



5. I have read both this Rand biography and the one by Barbara Branden's ex-husband, Nathaniel. I've also read the more recent book written by prosecuting attorney, James Valliant.
   
   After reading Valliant's book, "The Passion of Ayn Rand's Critics" -which includes Ayn Rand's own journal entries written during the last two years of her relationship with the Brandens plus Valliant's analyses of both Brandens' books about Rand- I found it impossible to conclude anything but that Barbara Branden's Rand biography is a shameless, rear-end-saving, web of deceit.
   
   Valliant's book gives the reader something neither "The Passion of Ayn Rand" nor Nathaniel Branden's "Judgement Day" could (or would) have given you: Ayn Rand's own words regarding the affair and the Brandens, while she still considered them friends. These were journals written during the time when the Branden's were doing their worst manipulating of and lying to Rand. Valliant's book offers crucial evidence on Rand's character and those of her close personal "biographers",the Brandens, which both of the Brandens' books leave out.
   
   So if you're going to read Barbara Branden's book, I'd recommend an immediate follow-up with Valliant's "Passion of Ayn Rand's Critics" for a well-rounded view of the truth. If you can stomach reading both books in close proximity to each other.

No comments about Martha Skelton: Master Quilter of Mississippi.

5 comments about We're Just Like You, Only Prettier: Confessions of a Tarnished Southern Belle.

1. Rarely have I enjoyed a contemporary novel as much as I enjoyed this one. I lived briefly in the South, and can totally relate to everything.
   Fun read! Made me forget about my flight being delayed.



2. Hands down this book is the funniest book I've ever read in my 68 years. You might need to be from the south to understand the humor, but it is priceless. I have sent six books to friends, and they love it as well. I truly laughed out loud.



3. Classic Celia Rivenbark! She is intelligent, irreverent, and very funny - the kind of writer who makes you thankful you know how to read! As for this book, if you don't see somebody you know in these pages, you're not from the South.



4. When I bought this book, I was looking for quality anecdotes with humor sprinkled throughout. However, while some content was mildly amusing, it all seemed a little forced. She is trying too hard to be funny and it does not come off as genuine. It is not what I had hoped for.



5. This is the perfect light hearted, easy read. Really a collection of essays, it's perfect for those of us too busy to sit down for any length of time. I bought it at the local bookstore to cheer me out of a bad mood...and it worked! I definately plan on passing it on to my Southern friends and purchasing the author's other books.

5 comments about Hell to Pay: The Unfolding Story of Hillary Rodham Clinton.

1. "Hell to Pay" tells the story of Hillary Rodham Clinton's life, from childhood on. We see her behind the scenes in Arkansas and Washington, pushing Bill to fight back from his sometimes political problems and accept Dick Morris' advice, and helping to squelch reactions to Bill's infidelities.
   
   More significantly, Olson reminds readers of Hillary's role in "Travelgate," selecting Bill's Cabinet appointees (including Janet Reno and Joceyln Elders), "Filegate" (FBI files used to find dirt on Bush I and Reagan appointees), likely obstruction of justice in blocking access to Vince Foster's files until her staff removed selected papers, creating HillaryCare (antagonized many through secrecy, inflexibility, and leaving them out, overly complex - 1,300+ pages, holding back pay for her ghostwriter in "It Takes a Village" for revealing that Hillary did not write it, trying to push V.P. Gore to an across the street office so she could have his W.H. spot, supporting the "sale of the W.H." - $ for sleepovers, etc., the cattle futures scandal, etc.
   
   "Hell to Pay" also portrays Hillary's "never say die" nature, and bits of her temper.
   
   The only bad news about the book is that the author was killed in the 9/11 airliner crash into the Pentagon, and thus unable to update the material.



2. This book was originally published by Barbara Olson in 1999 prior to her tragic death in the 9/11 terrorist attack on the pentagon. The timing is unfortunate in that if this book was just hitting the bookstores now (April 2008) I think it would prove to be Hillary's undoing, much as the Swift Boater's undid John Kerry with "Unfit for Command".
   
   This book is a real eye opener, following Hillary from her high school years through the Clinton White House to her election as a senator from New York. I think Ms. Olson might even have one up on Dick Morris in her documentation of Hillary's past. If even half of what Ms. Olson relates is true this woman should be sitting in a federal penitentiary somewhere, not running for President of the United States, a job she is about as qualified to perform as I am to perform open heart surgery. The book makes it clear that had she not been the First Lady of the United States she probably would have done some time in the slammer. From her shady an often illegal business deals and investments, to her blatant violation of the law by holding Hillarycare meetings in secrete, to funneling money to the PLO and Communist party, to lies, bribes, threats, insults, firings, perjury, blocking investigations, obstructing justice, hiring staff for the White House who couldn't get security clearances or required random drug testing, and altering public documents. Not to mention the fact that people who get too close to the Clintons have a bad habit of turning up dead. Ms Olson depicts Hillary is a one-woman crime wave.
   
   Shortly the American public will be asked to choose between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Hussein Obama as the Democrat Party's nominee to run for the Presidency of the United States. Anybody who is even entertaining the though of voting for Mrs. Clinton needs to buy this book and read it! And quickly! It sure changed my mind.



3. In an effort to objectively write a key chapter in my book, America, You Will Be Destroyed !: Thus Saith The Lord - and Other Amazing Prophecies I read Ms. Olson's book as a part of my research. While many other Hillary books focused on her and husband Bill's scandals, Olson's book tried to capture the psyche and inner workings of the former First Lady.
   
   I felt that the little, seemingly insignificant or trivial details of her life and childhood helped me to paint a better mental picure of the driving forces in Hillary's life. As a former national and state licensed therapist, the little details helped me to create a case study snapshot. The influences of the feminist movement, her continued pursuit and espousal of radicalism and socialism, her upbringing under a driven father, the upheaval of the 60's, the me-generation of the 70's, the self-consciousness towards her own body (specifically her legs), the disdain and reproachful way Bill treated her... Whew, her issues of being driven, loathing of men in general, thirst for power/dominance and control, all make sense. as another reviewer said, "When peeling back the layers, we need to know this stuff to get at what makes Hillary tick."
   
   Looking at all the background and biographical details makes me realize (and hopefully others) that in her machinations we see clearly that she has not become more conservative or even centrist. She is a radical socialist to the core, and the most frightening thng in this revelation is that she seems to truly believe that she alone is right, that she alone is the people's champion and this sense of righteous indignation fuels her passionately to apire to the pinnacle of power at all costs.
   
   Like a true socialist, Hillary will do anything and everything to obtain power. She will reinvent herself over and over to do so. This book shows clearly that pragmatism is all a pose to make her attractive to the broad electorate. For her, the end (her obtaining power) will justify any means.
   
   By examing the actions/reactions of Hillary during key events such as Whitewater, the Travel agency firings, etc. The reader has an opportunity to see the venal, petty, cruel, vindictive, vulgar and violent side of a woman that is in a position of power and who is wanting yet more. Though all writer's have some non-altruistic motivation(s) for putting pen to paper, the work of digging out new details and reframing existing ones is crucial in the discovery phase of the case against HillaryThe Case Against Hillary Clinton (another work by a different author). There will be "Hell to Pay" if Hillary is elected.



4. One of the best reviews I have read on this personality, and I have read seven books. Underlines the development of her radicalization in politics and how her dysfunctional family of orgin undergirds her indefensible justification of her husband's sex addiction and thereby blaming Christians for his deeds.



5. Since Hillary's own "Living History" was such a sterile and lifeless academic exercise - at least compared to Obama's "Dreams of My Father," or even to Bill's "My Life" -- and thus did powerful little to reveal the real person behind the "political persona," one is forced to stoop (almost embarrassingly so) to "anti-Hillary tracts" (such as I thought this one would be), to peel back the veneer covering the "Hillary Rodham" mystique.
   
   Whether intentional or not, much to my surprise, this book is NOT an altogether uncomplimentary analysis of Mrs. Clinton's life. With many rich details that highlight the good, the bad, and the ugly -- along the often bumpy road her life has taken -- this volume, quite adequately "fills in the blanks" about who the real Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton is.
   
   Even though one can clearly see from the title that it was intended to appeal to the "I Hate Hillary Club," it turns out to be amazingly straightforward and free of the usual slander, political vitriol, and below the belt personal jabs that one normally associates with, and expects of books with titles of this sort. Nothing could have been more satisfying than to realize that I had misjudged this book based solely on its cover. I had indeed discounted its value, expecting it to be little more than a carefully disguised "attack ad." And even though much of the juicier aspects of its content seem to have been "culled" from other more respectable sources, it is still much more than just an "attack ad in disguise." It is meaty, coherent, and sticks tenaciously to the main task of trying to unravel, who the person behind the Hillary political persona really is. In short, those looking for an "attack ad" disguised as a book: Well, I am here to tell you, this ain't it. This is not the "National Enquirer's" version of the ex-First Lady's life. Ms. Olson can think and write, and has very high standards for her craft and exercises them all quite well here.
   
   The high points of the book lie in the careful way the author uses the details of her subject's life to outline, against the backdrop of the many layers of American society, the essential elements of Hillary's character and the motivation for her often difficult life choices. The ex-First Lady evolves from a "Goldwater Girl," to a "wide-eyed 1960s Leftist Radical," to Bill's "Hippy gal-pal," to a university Law professor, to a partner in a major law firm, to the ambitious "power grabbing money hungry" political predator that she is now thought by many to be. In the best of the American tradition, she "clawed her way to the top of the food chain."
   
   The public portrait of her is as a person seemingly willing to cut whatever moral corners are needed to advance herself; to protect her Golden Goose (Bill); to grab the brass ring for herself (the U.S. Presidency), and in the end" to find financial security for herself and her family. However, the author is careful to note that she is much more complex than just this demeaning portrait. Hillary does a great deal of good along this very treacherous and tortuous path, especially in improving education in Arkansas, with the Children's Defense Fund, steering Bill's campaigns and comebacks to victory, showing uncommon strength in "facing down" one scandal after another, and in raising consciousness about women issues.
   
   The low point of the book is watching the author get stuck chasing her own tail: Trying to graft her own self-created "Leftist Radical" image onto Hillary. No matter how many Saul Alinsky epigrams she uses, the graft simply does not "take." And the reason is because of the much larger, much deeper picture that the author's own analysis shows the ex-First Lady to be: Hillary, more than anything else, is an evolving political animal that is no longer easy to pigeonhole politically, morally or ethically.
   
   Yet, rather sadly, she misses her own most important lesson and contribution by failing to understand that the corruption of Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton, when seen in relief, is little more than a general critique of the American political way of life. For as she so aptly demonstrates, there is nothing unique about Hillary, her personality, her life choices, or her life journey that would make her stand out from the rest of us as predisposed towards political corruption, or towards becoming a "moral retrograde." Yet, as has been the case with so many others of American politicians, she lurched from "Right wing" idealist, to "Left wing" idealist, to a "co-opted and corrupt centrist," to a "bought-and-paid-for" pseudo-liberal democrat, and back into the closet again as a "Right wing Republican in "Democratic clothing."
   
   As a template of how to go from political naiveté to political maturity, Hillary's journey from idealist to corrupt political opportunist, could serve as THE model for anyone who gets caught up in the sausage grinding machinery of American government and politics. The sad fact is that the most likely, and the most probable outcome for any of us, is that we will be consumed by it, and will come out on the other side, grinded into unrecognizable moral mince meat -- a corrupt shell of our previous moral selves. Quite simply, we have a political system that eats and digests its young and spits them out as fertilizer for the next generation.
   
   What was most sobering about the book is that Hillary is the classic case in point. Her life's journey is an object lesson in what not to do. Through her, we can see how truly scary it is that for all but a handful of us, dealt the same hand in life as she, but for the grace of God, we too undoubtedly would have ended up in the same morally corrupt and bankrupt cul de sac that the ex-First Lady now finds herself in: with "unearned riches," dubious but exaggerated accomplishments, hanging on to a failed marriage, and still grasping for a meaningless brass ring, called the U.S. Presidency.
   
   While this is far from a balanced treatment, Hilary's own glossed-over treatment left the door wide-open for a hardnosed assessment, and this is it. Five stars

5 comments about The Wolves at the Door: The True Story of America's Greatest Female Spy.

1. I highly recommend this book. The personal courage shown by Virginia Hall is almost beyond belief. This book is one that you should share with your children and grand children so that they are aware of the tremendous sacrifices that were made to defeat the Nazis. This book details the vast suffering of the ordinary French citizen during the Nazi occupation.Additionally,it details just how tenuous life was if anyone assisted,harbored,or did not report those who were in the resistance,those who were caught were executed and sometimes their entire family to set an example for others.



2. All the reviewers are correct about Virginia Hall being an extraordinary person. No debate here. My only rather large disappointment with the book has to do with the author's writing style. It resembles the style of pulp romance novels on sale at your local supermarket. For me, at least, this gets in the way of completely enjoying the book. I also got the impression that the author projected what she thought Hall's feelings were about incidents so incidental it didn't seem possible anyone would know. Credibility.
   
   Here's an example of the author's style from page 27:
   "The tail end of spring greeted Virginia on her arrival in Paris. As May slid into June, and the Parisian summer began, solace washed over her. The quintessental French conversations, bouquinistes selling books and postcards at stands along the seine, throaty French tunes pouring out of cabaret doors...etc, etc."
   
   It's painful for me, at least, to read prose like this on such an incredibly interesting life.
   
   
   



3. Virginia Hall was the daughter of a well-to-do Marylander with no need to get directly involved in WWII. Instead, she played a major role in the French Resistance, leading up to 1,500 men in attacks on isolated German troops, locate and assist in parachute drops, send wireless messages (particularly dangerous, given the Germans' emphasis on quickly locating the source of any signals), helping downed Allied fliers escape to Spain, sabotaging rail lines. Prior to D-Day the Germans put out a "Wanted" poster on Virginia, along with a description. This forced her temporarily out of France, via climbing the Pyrennees with a guide and two Allied fliers, only to be imprisoned for 20 days until the American Consulate got word and was able to help. All this with a wooden lower leg - cut off as a result of a hunting accident.
   
   Virginia's original goal was to be an American Foreign Service Officer - however, this was precluded by her hunting accident, leading her to resign her clerical position to help the French through driving an ambulance during WWII's early days. She then was recruited as a British agent (spoke French fluently), trained (only two of the twelve women passed) and returned to France. Collaborators on both sides were typically motivated by money (France was in a depression also); even a Jesuit priest became involved as a double agent - for the Germans.
   
   After WWII, Virginia was awarded the DSC (turned down presentation by President Truman to remain anonymous), married one of her French fellow agents, and "settled down" in the CIA until retirement.
   
   A very heroic and impressive woman whom I never would have known about without "The Wolves at the Door."



4. Excellent, excellent, excellent. I plan to donate this book to a college library. Written well, engaging and informative about war, governments and resistance. Also, should be required reading for all young women!



5. Kudos to the author, Judith Pearson. I almost always prefer first person accounts of those who lived through WWII. However, this book gripped me throughout the narrative. This would make a wonderful movie with Virginia Hall played by an actress of Cate Blanchett's caliber. Exhaustively researched and well written. Thank you Ms. Pearson, I'll be looking for your next book!

1 comments about Klondike Women: True Tales Of 1897-1898 Gold Rush.

1. I really loved this book. I bought it in conjunction with a research project about Nellie Cashman, longtime resident of Arizona and one of American's earliest female mining experts. The details about the trials and tribulations of these people (women and men) are extrodinary. The author has really done her homework. She tries to tell the story of the Klondike by illustrating the trails with diary entries, personal accounts and contemporary pictures. I think she succeeds in doing just that and more. I recommend this book to anyone interested in Western history, in Mining history or even in Women's Studies.
   
   GOOD BOOK! BUY ME NOW! :)