4 comments about Woman of Valor: Clara Barton and the Civil War.

1. Stephen Oates is an outstanding narrative historian and a first-rate biographer. In this volume, he explores the life of one of the most remarkable woman in American history. Clara Barton was absolutely unwilling to accept the limited, simplistic role 19th Century society designed for women. Well-educated and dedicated to public service to the detriment of any personal life, she accomplished more in a lifetime than most women would a century later when opportunities were much easier for them to find. One of the finer qualities of Oates' writing is a complete unwillingness to pass judgement. Viewed from the perspective of her time, Clara Barton was pushy, ambitious, and entirely too willing to do things that were inappropriate or "unfeminine" in the pursuit of her goals. Viewed from a more modern time, these qualities are less objectionable, but at times she still seems to be an overpowering force that many men today would find difficult to endure. Oates offers few if any opinions on Clara's personality but gives us a completely honest and utterly objective look at a woman who was absolutely unwilling to conform to society's expectations. One can only wonder to what heights of government service she would have aspired if she were born in the 20th century. I suspect from reading Oates' account of her personality and ingenuity that she would have won my vote.



2. The book is wonderful. Every woman should read it. It shows that anyone can stand out in a crowd and lend a hand no matter what form it takes. An inspiration to women everywhere! A very real account of her life, feels as if you are there with her. Please read it!



3. As a nurse I have heard and read about Clara Barton for years. This book finally reinvents the tired images - melodramatic icon of female self sacrifice and courage, angel on earth and of the battlefield - and offers the reader a compelling, warm and very real picture of the person and personality of this famous individual. We see all aspects of Clara's character and the impact of the many choices she makes. We even get to see a few of the skeletons in her closet. Without this book, I doubt we would know that there were any! The amount of detail - and it is considerable - is so beautifully woven into the historical narrative that the story, like the Civil War, sweeps the reader from one new experience to the next. Read this and you will feel the jolting of army wagons along rutted roads, struggle to rest as the canvas flaps of your tent crack and strain in storms, gallop with joyful abandon along the beaches at Hilton Head - and much more. I purchased my copy at Gettyburg and it is the best "souvenir" purchase I ever made. Bravo to Stephen Oates!



4. Mr. Oates has done it again. You will know Clara Barton ambitions, downfalls, her emotions as well as her eager drive and personal duty to serve those who suffered so much during the Civil War years. The contents of this book will jump out at you and you'll feel that you're right next to the personalities involved. Oh, what women had to go through to pursue a dream or an ambition to contribute to society. Clara has a heart of gold as her patients in and off the field well knew, yet she was being torn apart on the inside by the constant fear that she wasn't doing enough for "her boys". Her personal life was put on the back shelf as she persued her one desire, to help those who were less fortunate. You'll follow Clara as she goes through the blood, sweat, tears, agony and the horrors of the war. This is a true story of a dark chapter in our american history when brother fought against brother literally. It is also of a dream turned into reality that Clara Barton followed with a sincere robust ambition to pursue the betterment of her fellow man. By caring for the soldiers on the battlefield, she proved to the Union Army that those suffering needed love, compassion and of course medical care where it was most needed - on the front lines of battle. This is a must read book for those interested in hero's, Civil War history or nursing history. Stephen B. Oates is the author of other fine books in history and ranks right up there with the big boys in the writings of history

5 comments about Marie Curie: A Life (Radcliffe Biography Series).

1. I've admired Marie Curie (born Maria Sklowdowska in Russian-occupied Poland) longer than I can remember, quite literally. I first read her biography in a "written for children" edition while I was in grade school - Grade 5, perhaps? When I sat in my first day of Laboratory Chemistry class, as a high school junior, I bit my tongue half off as the teacher included this gem of wisdom in his opening remarks: "I know you girls are only taking this class because you need it to get into college. I'll go easy on you. After all, there are very few Marie Curies in the world!" I still wish I'd had the guts to be sent to the office for saying the words that rose up without my bidding them: "And just as few Pierre Curies, Mr. ****."
   
   Anyway, perhaps that anecdote offers a clue as to how much Madame Curie's biographies have meant to me as I've read them over the years. This most recently published one draws on materials not available to previous biographers, letters and journals that were sealed until 1990. While it's hard to beat Eve Curie's 1937 biography of her mother (after all, who knew the woman better?), Susan Quinn's scholarly work adds illumination in plenty because of those additional resources.
   
   This biography tries to be all things to all readers, and that may be cited as a flaw although it's also clearly a virtue. Readers who are primarily or entirely interested in Marie Curie, the individual human being, are likely to slog through the lengthy and detailed descriptions of scientific work while yawning. Readers who want to know about Marie Curie, the scientist, are apt to be bored or even annoyed by the passages that concern her relationships with parents, siblings, husband, children, and (once, during her widowhood) lover. For me, though, it all fit together beautifully. Madame Curie was all of those things, after all. Scientist, daughter, sister, wife, mother, and friend. I'm interested now, just as I was at age 10, in all those aspects of her life.



2. I had mixed emotions on this book and so did many of the numerous reviews I read. While trying to celebrate Marie Curie in light of our feminist times - a motivating factor in the book's writing, I'm sure - the author spends far too little time on the actual physics of Curie's accomplishments and instead dwells on her love affair with a married collegue, on household matters, trivial matters of her everyday life that may make her seem more approachable to the book's readers, but do nothing to clarify her position in historical physics or her winning, jointly, the Nobel Prize, admittedly then in its infancy. I felt Curie to be an extremely passionate woman, both in her work and in her bed. But I wanted much more detail of the physics than was given.



3. This book has excellent historical information about Poland and Marie Curie's family before she was born and after. It gives a very good description of her life growing up and her family, as well as personal experiences gleaned from unpublished letters. It brings information hitherto unpublished about her personal life, and it presents her career in a fascinating way. I cannot rate the book highly enough.



4. Marie Curie A Life by Susan Quinn takes you on a journey as you discover the life of Marie Curie. From her difficult days under the Russian repression in Poland, to the sexism she faced in Paris, her two Nobel Peace Prizes, and the scandal that almost lost her everything. I especially liked this biography because it was to the point and it did not over glorify Marie's life. The fact of the matter is that Marie's life was full of hardships and this book depicts all of them. I think the author wanted to write this story because she wanted to depict the life of Marie Curie who was an inspiration to several women, and who contributed a great deal to the scientific community. I believe that the author however, wanted to portray her in a real light, so while other biographies might be a little bit more glamorous this one is more realistic. This is an extremely fascinating biography and you should read it because it shows how Marie's life was filled with obstacles, and how she overcame them all.



5. Susan Quinn does a wonderful job of describing the hurdles that Curie's family had to overcome during the occupation of Poland by Russia, Austria, and Prussia. The interesting fact is that all of her siblings were bright and well educated despite the denial of public education. Reading this book has been a delightful experience.

5 comments about Somebody's Someone: A Memoir.

1. The story of such an intelligent, creative, insightful, imaginative girl and the obstacles she was dealt in life alone makes for a great book. Add one of the most unique writing styles imaginable and it becomes a masterpiece. I can't say enough about this book. Get it immediately.



2. I wish I could have gotten the same understanding from this book that some others got. It is to me a hard story to follow. It has no continuity. The book was not as good as I thought it would be. I don't expect anyone to to agree or disagree with me on this review. I'm just expressing my thoughts about the book Somebody's Someone: A Memoir.



3. It wasnt at all what I thought. I really didn't like the writing- the ending wasnt great and I thought it could've had more details on foster care. As a FC worke I've seen things 1000x worse then the book. It really didn't capture how horrible the system can be.



4. This book is not to be missed, a must read for everyone. It transends all races, ages and genders It is the true story of hope and finding one's way through a hard unforgiving life.



5. Regina's memoir revisits memories through the eyes a ten year-old girl. She recounts her journey through foster homes and her quest to find a family that will love her. Regina's story is beautiful and tragic - a unique glimpse into the life of child determined to find her place in a confusing and indifferent world.

5 comments about The Mezuzah in the Madonna's Foot: Marranos and Other Secret Jews--A Woman Discovers Her Spiritual Heritage.

1. Alexy was a child in Prague, in 1939. When World War II broke out, her father suddenly announced that the family was leaving, and that they would be baptized as Catholics. Up to that point, the author had not even known that her family was Jewish. From Prague, they fled to France, and then to Spain.
   
   Years later, after she was living in America, she learned that many Jews had fled to Spain during the Holocaust, but that most had not converted or hidden their Jewishness.
   
   As she began to trace her roots, she discovered the irony of Jews seeking protection in a country that, centuries before, and persecuted and expelled them.
   
   There are a couple of books here, fighting for supremacy!
   
   The first book is about how and why Spain opened its borders to Jewish refugees from the Holocaust.
   
   "The irrefutable fact remains that, although the presence of Jews placed the whole country at risk of being drawn into another ar or occupied by Hitler's forces, Fascist Spain, both officially and unofficially, accepted thousands of foreign Ashkenazic Jews within its borders and allowed them to remain until they were able to secure residence elsewhere."
   
   Why? The question is probably unanswerable, though Alexy tries her best. Guilt over the expulsions of 1492? Maybe, but this does not account for the welcome to Ashkenazic, as well as Sephardic, Jews. Maybe Franco had Jewish ancestors? There's no proof of that. A political decision in case the Allies won? Perhaps, but in a country devastated economically by the Civil War, Spain gave much. One interesting suggestion is that because of the expulsion, and the concomitant absence of a Jewish population, Spain did not develop the kind of anti-Semitic attitudes seen in other European countries.
   
   Whatever the reason, the fact remains that thousands owe their lives to an official blind eye, and open Spanish arms.
   
   Alexy begins by explaining her quest, her need to understand her own family history that sent her to Spain, and to the New York archives of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee ("the Joint"), the organization that was responsible for helping stateless Jewish refugees in Spain. She interviews several people who found, or whose parents found, a haven across the Pyrenees, and in the section called "The Rescuers" she writes of those, Jews and non-Jews, who provided the means to safety. People such as Lisa Fittko, who acted as a guide, and Renée Reichmann, who from Tangier arranged material support, and Spanish diplomats who told the Gestapo, "these are our Jews" and taught the children a few words of Spanish in case they should be challenged.
   
   The next two parts seemed to me as though they should be in a different book. "The Reformers" writes of present-day liberalization of Spanish laws and attitudes about non-Catholics (not merely Jews). It's interesting but although it touches on some theories as to why Spain helped, it is really more focused on the present and seems out of place.
   
   The same is true of the final section, about contemporary Marranos and other "secret Jews". This is a huge topic about which a whole book could, and should (and probably has, I'll have to look) be written. In fact, the subtitle of this book suggests that that's what it's about. But it isn't.
   
   Either this book should have been much longer, and made into a history of Spain and the Jews (and that would be a seriously long book!), or it should have been shorter, and the last two parts saved to become another book or books.
   
   But those are quibbles. This is a fascinating, and very personal, discussion of an unexpected and little-known part of the Holocaust.



2. Highly-readable account of Spain's indirect role during the Holocaust as many Jews sought escape to the West through Spain. There are interesting portraits of both the rescued and rescuers, with additional chapters on modern Spanish Jews and Marranos or Crypto-Jews of Spanish descent. Alexy did a great service bringing these stories to our attention as very few have thought of Jews in Spain beyond the Inquisition.



3. This is a good book, all the stories gathered and told really paint the picture of what people went through trying to escape the Holocust, and how Spain really did help them.



4. Once you read this book,the title makes sense. The author was a holocust survivor and was so grateful and impressed with Spain that she felt compelled to go back to see if others felt the same. Lot's of interviews in this book regarding that perticular era. What a twist for Spain!

   Excellent Read!




5. I found this book at my Jewish boyfriend's mother's house. She checked it out of the library as part of a Sephardic reading group. I started skimming through it and couldn't put it down, had to buy my own copy here on Amazon! Trudi Alexy and her family fled Czechoslovakia to escape the Germans and were chased through France and finally Spain before they felt safe. Spain, in spite of its history of ultra-conservative Catholicism, Inquisition, expulsion of the Jews, etc., was one of the few safe havens for Jews fleeing the Germans during WWII. I was surpised to find this out, since Franco was a part of the Axis powers, a rigid ultra-Catholic, a dictator, and a Fascist. But I guess he wasn't an anti-Semite, because he basically looked the other way when Jews began pouring into Spain illegally to escape being killed in the concentration camps of Occupied Europe, especially Vichy-controlled France, which practically did all they could to deliver the Jews over to the Germans, nasty anti-Semites that the French are. In contrast, Spain not only looked the other way when Jews came pouring over the border, in many cases Spanish diplomats would demand that arrested Jews in other countries be released to them as Spanish citizens, even in cases where the Jews were Ashkenaz, not even Sephardic! The Spanish Red Cross also made a great effort to get food, clothing and letters shipped to Jews in concentration camps in the rest of Europe, even as the International Red Cross did absolutely nothing to help. There are horrific stories from the survivors themselves, tales of fleeing the Nazis with only the clothes on their backs, of escaping concentration camps and struggling over the Pyrenees in mid-winter without even a proper coat. Tales of getting to Spain and turning themselves in to the police to find warm beds, food and even money provided for them by kind hearted Spaniards from all walks of life. Then there are stories from the people who smuggled them into Spain, the risks they took to save thousands upon thousands of people from certain death. And tales of the Secret Jews, or Marranos, or Crypto-Jews, who were forced to convert during the Inquisition, or who were expelled from Spain, and the constant threats that they faced. Many of them continued practicing their Jewish rituals in absolute secrecy, in most cases not even letting their children know that they were of Jewish blood until age 12, when they were less likely to slip and give the secret away to outsiders. Many Crypto-Jews live in Mexico and New Mexico today, their ancestors having arrived in the 1500's after the expulsion from Spain. The Inquisition follwed them to the New World, however, so they continued practicing the most minimal Jewish traditions, such as ritual prayer, in absolute secrecy. Trudi interviewed some people who only identified as Catholics, but had listened to an NPR show on the Crypto-Jews and identified ancient and distorted Jewish traditions that their own family practiced! These people were utterly shocked to find out that they were of Jewish ancestry. I don't personally see the big deal, but I guess if you're a major Christian, then you might think it's a bad thing. In most cases though, the families were not only aware of their Jewish ancestry, but fostered it in secret while living a public life of Catholicism. They would intermarry only amongst one another and kept to fairly tight-knit communities. I liked the stories of the people who escaped to Spain during WWII best, since they were so full of heroism and drama, but really the whole book was fascinating.

5 comments about My Father's Daughter : A Memoir.

1. I had read this book quite a few years ago and liked it a lot. Knowing my dad is a big Sinatra fan, I thought he would enjoy a copy for Father's Day. He really enjoyed it. Here is a touching but warts and all memoir of a father who wasn't always around, at least in person, by a loving daughter. Quite a bit of 'insider' information on Frank Sinatra and some great pictures that I hadn't seen before. Very interesting to note that in Tina's opinion, the love of Frank's life was not Ava, but Tina's mother. I also wasn't aware of how controlling Barbara Sinatra was in the last years of Frank's life - what a shame. Overall a great read, just wish it had been a longer book!



2. This book was a quick and easy read that sweeps past the professional details and gets at the story from the point of view of Frank Sinatra's immediate family. Tina Sinatra gives a loving account of the private man, presented as a bundle of conflicts - a man who loved both the pretty motherly wife and the sultry movie stars, who dearly loved his children but often from a great distance. The tomcat in need of a home-cooked meal, who relished family holidays.
   
   Tina reveals the agony of the visits from Frank, with the buildup preceding those visits to the inevitable let-down when the time came to leave. She details the genesis of her adult relationship with her father, a relationship which became very close and loving.
   
   One suspects that the purpose of this book was go get to what was REALLY bugging Tina Sinatra...enter, Barbara Marx. The last half of this memoir is devoted to the tense ups and downs of the relationship between the Sinatra children and Frank's controlling, grabby wife. The saga of Barbara's greed begins with her making a sweep of the valuables of the recently deceased Sinatra grandmother, and it goes downhill from there. The reader truly gets a sense of the isolation and helplessness that the increasingly feeble Frank must have felt as he was bullied time and again to amend his will, prenup, and his wife's considerable allowance.
   
   Did Tina air a little too much laundry here? Maybe so, but this reader got the sense that this memoir, written within two years of Frank's passing, comes from a place of deep grief and sorrow for not only the loss but for the last painful years of Frank's life, a life possibly shortened by the antics of the manipulative Barbara.
   
   I can relate to this memoir as I watch my own once happy-go-lucky father subjected to endless conflict and pain at the hands of his miserable and unstable wife - even following his heart attack last year. I watch as his fire goes out, spark by spark. And judging by some of the reviews on here, I am not alone. It is my hope that Tina found some much-needed peace since writing this book.



3. I recently learned of this book by Tina Sinatra about her late father. When I read it, I felt very sad. I have been a fan of Frank Sinatra for well over 50 years. My father used to sing Sinatra songs to me and I will never forget it. Tina has used her father, the "Chairman of the Board," a very private man, to try to fix herself.
   
   As for her comments about Barbara Sinatra: Tina had favorable comments regarding her other two stepmothers, Ava and Mia. During those years, not only was Tina young and impressionable, but she did not have to go through the death of her father with those women. Having lost both of my parents, I know the experience can be horrible; and many times people look for someone to blame. I believe Tina is taking out her grief on Barbara. When a loved one dies, it is not a glorious scene as in a scripted movie. Frank Sinatra loved Barbara; she was his choice. His kids couldn't take it. They look back fondly on the ones who didn't stay with him. Barbara "stuck with him" (as the other two did not) for over two decades, even with three very spoiled stepchildren. She was there for him in his twilight.
   
   Frank Sinatra worked a lifetime to create a persona, and he become a beloved American institution. Tina, in her selfish quest, has attempted to smudge his reputation and negate his life's work. Frank Sinatra will always be an icon to me and to many millions of fans. I would recommend this book to no one.



4. Not a big fan of Sinatra's, however this book was highly recommended so went online and rolled the die. VERY impressed. A big fan of biographies in general, however I've certainly plowed through my share of mind-numbing tributes with clear issues of partiality. Was a bit wary with Tina (daughter) doing the narrative, however was favorably impressed. She's clearly a "daddy's girl", yet at the same time gave a brutally honest depiction of her father and his relationships. Wish she would've devoted a few more pages on his fall-out with the Kennedy's, however. Overall one of the best books I've read in quite a few years. I'm a fan.



5. I thought I'd read it all, seen it all and heard everything there was hear or know about F.S. but, curiously enough, I never bought this book! It was given to me at a time in my life when I had stopped reading about all the celebrities I had ever wanted to. The day before yesterday I found this book in the place I had put it years ago, next to all the other books about F.S. that I had read through the years. The books fill the space between Ava Gardner's, "Ava, My Story" and Mia Farrow's, "What Falls Away." I cannot thank Tina Sinatra enough for sharing her world with her father with us and Jeff Coplon for co-writing. This is the definitive book on Frank Sinatra, the man. Tina takes you on her journey and journal of loving memories about her relationship with her father over many years. From his final months as the husband of Nancy Barbato Sinatra until his death at age 82, Tina rode the F.S. rollercoaster which was her father's life. Through it all, the highs, the lows, the failed marriages F.S. remained loyal, respectful, loving, caring and protective of his first and only family. Then came Barbara Marx. If Leona Helmsley was the "Queen of Mean" this, then, was her adoring protege. How Tina, Nancy Frankie, Jr. or Nancy, Sr. tolerated this wretched individual is beyond comprehension, however, they respected her as the wife of their father. Respect was absolute in the real Sinatra family and he taught his family well. It was because of Barbara that Tina, Nancy or Frankie, Jr. did not have the opportunity of being with him in the final moments of his life. His children were everything to him and he garnered their esteem by never smothering them, never being judgmental and by always trying to be there when any of them needed him. As complex as he was, he was a pretty darned good father. To see him through Tina's eyes is to know who he really was when the glitz and the glitter were stripped away. This is a must read for any true Sinatra fan.

5 comments about When All the World Was Young: A Memoir.

1. Nostalgically deep yet painfully honest account of a young girl who never quite fit in set in the halcion days of America's golden age.



2. WHEN ALL THE WORLD WAS YOUNG is an immensely readable book. Barbara Holland's story kept me interested from start to finish. She left me wanting to know more about her writing career, her marriages and mostly her children. The story had added interest to me because, like Barbara, I also grew up in the Washington, D.C. area.
   
   I could also identify with the distress that she experienced during her school years. So many children are happy until they start school. I guess it's a major awakening when the world intrudes into our lives for the first time. We're on our own with opinionated teachers and other children who may not like us for reasons that we don't understand.
   
   This is a memoir and so not everything is answered, but the true measure of any good story is not wanting it to end.



3. "Growing up is the process of learning how many things you can't do and how many people you can't be. When you've winnowed them out, what's left is you." - Barbara Holland
   
   I've said before of author/essayist Barbara Holland that she has a remarkable talent for perceiving the small details of life and living. Or rather, a talent for remembering what she perceives and subsequently bringing it to the attention of the lumpish rest of us.
   
   In mid-2006, Holland wrote a piece for the magazine AARP, "Being 70: The View from Up Here." So, published in 2005, WHEN ALL THE WORLD WAS YOUNG can perhaps be taken as Barbara's final word on the subject of her formative years. Somehow, I don't expect a sequel.
   
   This volume is Holland's episodic narrative of her life from shortly before the beginning of World War II, at which time she was about six, to her first job in the display department of the Hecht Company in her (apparently) very early twenties. Measured against the comparatively happy memoirs of other female writers - Laura Shaine Cunningham (Sleeping Arrangements) and Doris Kearns Goodwin (Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir) come to mind - WHEN ALL THE WORLD WAS YOUNG is surprisingly bittersweet. The author is not reticent about her sternly authoritative stepfather, a self-absorbed mother disengaged from maternalism, her shoplifting phase, her high school abortion, and her wretched first marriage.
   
   As in all of Holland's books that I've read to date, her wry, iconoclastic humor is a joy. She relates how, in the fourth grade, she was given the assignment of reading a passage from the Bible to the class every morning.
   
   "I read my classmates a psalm a day, looking for the most rousing ones to hold my audience. ('Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies, that I might destroy them that hate me. They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the Lord, but he answered them not. Then did I beat them small as dust before the wind. I did cast them out as dirt in the streets.' Psalm 18, perfect for the playground.)"
   
   Because of her talent for perception, she comes across with unorthodox snippets of insight, such as: "Peculiar relatives make good stories in later life, but to a child they're a wobbly rudder." Or this: "Down below the grownup eye level, even the best-kept suburb seethed with action."
   
   I wished WHEN ALL THE WORLD WAS YOUNG was two, three, four times as long. As a child, Barbara was an awkward loner who found companionship with only one or two really close friends, and who otherwise found escape in books. I soon realized that she and I, when growing up, were much alike. And my affection for her has grown accordingly.



4. I wish it hadn't ended -- but it ends, just the way it begins, with the perfect sentence. OH my gosh, where to begin. I can only say that I adore Barbara Holland's phrases and analogies. This is memorable stuff, turning me right into an annoying cheerleader along the lines of "You HAVE to read this book!" I feel it's my duty, as a friend and relative, to recommend it to others, especially my three sisters. We were born in Washington, D.C. (post-war), raised in the Virginia suburbs, and frequently visited our aunts in Maryland, in what's now a neighborhood more dangerous than Fallujah, so "When All the World Was Young" has the added allure of familiar nostalgia. But mainly, it's just a perfect memoir: rich, comic, dark, fearlessly honest, revealing, highly comforting. With two children in public high school in the much-touted Fairfax County School System, I feel great heaps of despair over the whole shebang (for lack of ability to better describe our personal education woes and utter lack of "school spirit"). Just reading Ms. Holland's reminiscences about school has bucked me up enormously, really more than anything else ever has. For this alone, I owe her much gratitude, but I'm also thankful for laughing my head off over subjects like the 1950 government's instructions on dealing with nuclear attack. I don't want to give anything else away; incidentally, be forewarned about reading Lynn Harnett's review because she basically gives the whole book away - yikes! For me, "When All The World Was Young" is right up there with Betty MacDonald's memoirs and Cornelia Otis Skinner's "Our Hearts Were Young and Gay", and that's high praise. Highly recommended; thank you, Barbara Holland! (Please keep writing)



5. Unlike many autobiographies, this one avoided two frequent mistakes. First, it did not read like a boring recitation of events which plaques so much nonfiction. Barbara Holland is a gifted and interesting writer. But more importantly, she does not make excuses for, sugercoat, or gloss over her sometimes none too stellar behavior. She avoids the mistake of portraying herself as a heroine, always right, at the mercy of the mistakes of others. Her hobby of shop lifting as a young child is described and explained forthright, not excused. Even at the end of the book as life whirls out of control, she never whines. She always accepts responsibility for her behavior. Although she explains why she was misunderstood or why she was just plain acting badly, she never (like so many autobiograhers) blames anyone and everyone else for her troubles. This is an insightful look into the disturbed life of a sometimes happy, but mostly unhappy childhood, and a brilliant portrayal of the times. Growing up in the late fourties and fifties myself, this book jogged my memory over and over. It truly was a time like no other, an atmophere in American that our children and grandchildren, unfortunately, can never experience. Kids went out to play without supervision and had free rein of the neighborhood. We did not wear bike helmets and knee pads and globs of suntan lotion, and we certainly didn't carry music and cellphones. An innocent (and, as one reviewer says) a not so innocent time, when the world was neither more glorious nor less evil, but truly simpler, quieter, and incredibly, gloriously different.

5 comments about Ordeal.

1. I have known women who have done porn and based on this as well as the testimonies of countless other sex industry survivors such as Shelley Lubben and Crissy Moran, I have no reason to doubt the claims made by in this book. The sex industry is an evil exploitive, multi-billion dollar industry and LL was brave in sharing her story with the public. This book haunted me years after I read it as a teenager.



2. What really did happen with Linda Lovelace? According to ORDEAL, waved as a bloody flag by feminists as a symbol of the so-called oppression of women, she was a nice girl who found herself in an unbelievably abusive relationship with a man who put her in porn. Given the tone of our times, one cannot question this account without finding oneself the object of hysterical execration.
   
   And yet.
   
   There are just too many questions. For all the adamant talk coming from certain quarters about how abused women can't, just can't, leave their abusers, the facts is that, although at times difficult, they can. And the portrayal of Chuck Traynor, Lovelace's husband, is so over the top it is as if he were specifically created to play the role of the literary wife-beating bogeyman. Traynor allegedly made Lovelace engage in the most degrading and humiliating sexual practices imaginable, all presented to the reader in the style that makes one drool with excitement in that guilty sort of way. No way are you actually going to admit to liking it, are you?
   
   Events subsequent to ORDEAL's publication have cast doubts on its accuracy. Some fellow adult stars around at the time have stated that they saw no sign of abuse and that Lovelace herself, far from acting like the poor frightened waif, instead was as sexually voracious off the screen as she was on, even, or even especially, when her husband was not around.
   
   It is a cliche to say that the truth is somewhere in between. Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't. But Lovelace's saga is probably one of those times when it is. She seems like a girl who dreamt bigger than her personality and talents could lead her, got in with a tough crowd, and got swept away. When things don't go as planned, many people re-interpret things to make themselves more passive than was actually the case. And for Lovelace, aided by feminists who exploited her as badly as any man ever did, re-interpretation of her past was the way to face the future. Hers was a sad life, but probably not as sad as portrayed in ORDEAL.



3. I'm an ex-sex worker. I now belong to Sex Workers Anonymous. I've lived this industry and I know the crowd Linda spoke about in her books. She had the courage to write about what wasn't just her experiences - but also many of ours experiences - but we go off into hiding and fear once we leave rather then speak out like she did knowing what it could and did cost her. I watched while people who knew nothing of this industry attacked her for speaking out about this industry doing what men do - always blame the woman/victim. Speaking out about what really goes on in this world affected her health deeply from the stress and contributed to her early death I'm sure. She's not the only one who had lasting health problems to deal with after having left the sex industry though no fault of her own. In America - a man can go to jail for raping his wife - but not for raping a sex worker. What people don't realize is that many of these men, women and children are living out Linda's story - they can't get out without fear of themselves being killed or their family members. I knew a pimp once who would hold a woman's child hostage until she came back each night with "his" money. One night she got arrested and wasn't able to come home on time. The pimp cut off the left arm of this six year old girl. Anyone who thinks you can't be held in this business against your will - obviously hasn't been there and should shut up about something they know nothing about. I consider Linda a martyr for taking all the guff she took to tell our stories and to try to enlighten people about what goes on every day - but we don't have the guts to tell about our stories ourselves. Anyone who wants to know what this industry can really be like - should read her stories. If all she wanted was to keep making money and just made this up to sell books - she would have done what Xavier Hollendar or Norma Jean or Heidi Fleiss - did. Sell a hell of a lot more books feeding into the american myths about this business - without any of the flack she took for telling the truth. The woman had the courage of a lion - not only to survive what she did - and to live to tell about it - but also to tell about it in the hopes that us "unknowns" are more believed when we try to tell our stories and try to get help to get out.



4. I am going to defend Linda Lovelace against those reviewers here who really don't believe her story by quoting from the groundbreaking psychotherapy book "Trauma and Recovery" by Judith Herman:
   
   "Most people have no knowledge or understanding of the psychological changes of captivity. Social judgment of chronically traumatized people therefore tends to be extremely harsh. The chronically abused person's apparent helplessness and passivity, her entrapment in the past, her intractable depression... and her smoldering anger often frustrate the people closest to her. Moreover, if she has been coerced into betrayal of relationships, community loyalties, or moral values, she is frequently subjected to furious condemnation.
   
   "Observers who have never experienced prolonged terror and who have no understanding of coercive methods of control presume that they would show greater courage and resistance than the victim in similar circumstances. Hence the common tendency to account for the victim's behavior by seeking flaws in her personality or moral character."
   
   So, think hard before you judge her.



5. I found this book unexpectedly in a public library about 7 years ago and was elated. I believe that it was out of print at the time. This book did move me. I have read several of the other reveiws and some of the folks were and still are skeptical about Linda's story of abuse and being forced into prostitution and porn.
   
   I couldn't help but feel so passionate about this story when first read it. I zealously defended her story (or I wanted to believe it so much). I still believe that there are elements of truth to her story, but as someone else once said in their review, you don't need to look carefully to see that she has a tendency to blame nearly everyone else for her mistakes and for the bad things that have happened to her. I sincerely believe that Linda was abused by her husband, Chuck Traynor, and that he was not a nice person. The question is whether or not she willing engaged in prostitution and pornography, or if she was forced or coerced into doing it. There is still much debate over that. The problem is that once LL became an overnight sensation (something she wasn't expecting or prepared for) she made some damning statements about loving what she did and these things later came back to haunt her when she tried to recant those things that she said. Unfortunately, many of the things that she said and much of the unspeakable things that she did on film followed her all of her life. She apparently couldn't escape LL.
   
   To me, it is interesting that the woman that Chuck Traynor married and managed the career of none other than Marilyn Chambers. Unlike Linda, Marilyn Chambers always said that she liked what she did and had no regrets. In her book, LL says that she had been advised to just be the person that the world knew as LL, because no one would believe otherwise. She said all along that this was not really her. She tried to hold her ground. Some people believed her and embraced her, while others scoffed at what she had to say and said that she was just bitter. Who knows?
   
   I'm not a fan of porn. To me, this book is a harrowing story of abuse.

5 comments about Mulder, It's Me: Gillian Anderson : An X-Haustive X-Pose of the Woman Who Is Special Agent Dana Scully.

1. THIS BOOK IS GREAT, REALLY GOOD AND FUN TO READ IF YOU ARE AN X-FILES OR GILLIAN ANDERSON FAN. I HIGHLY RECOMAND THIS BOOK



2. Straight from the cutesy title that X-Philes know and love as one of Scully's trademark phrases, Mulder, it's Me really hits the spot. Gil Adamson and Dawn Connolly's biography about the amazing Gillian Anderson is extremely informative without being invasive of Ms. Anderson's privacy. The well-written fourteen-chapter biography is only the beginning of this stunning masterpiece - the book also includes candid interviews, a comprehensive episode guide of the first four seasons of The X-Files, a section on the 1996 Burbank convention by the renowned Autumn Tysko, a listing of internet resources, and 16 pages of color photos. Whether you are a newbie or a veteran fan, Mulder, it's Me: The Gillian Anderson Files is the must-have biography.



3. This book is great for people who want t get all the facts and want awesome color Photos .I think Gillian is agreat person and Actress and this book helps you realize that.AS well as info there is a great X-files episode guide section.Many thanks to the athur and gillian for being the great actress she is.



4. This book has, well, everything you wanted to know about Gillian Anderson (Agent Dana Scully on the X-Files) and more! The colour photo's are excellent, as well as the black and white ones. Each chapter has a unique title, and very good detail into herself, her daughter, and her work. A must have for any Gillian Anderson fan.



5. This is the best Gillian Anderson biography on shelves today. But this isn't just a biography, this book also includes television and radio interviews with answers to some of the most frequently asked questions. You get to find out what people did when Gillian Anderson appeared at the X-Files convention and what questions her fans asked. It also includes the speech she made in Washington D.C. for public awareness about Neurofibromatosis, the disease her younger brother has been diagnosed with. This book also includes great Gillian Anderson Internet sources and an X-File episode guide with all the shows from season one to the end of season four. But best of all, this book includes a great section of full page color photographs of Gillian. If you are a Gillian Anderson fan, you have to get this book!

5 comments about Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood.

1. I just finished reading Jennifer Traig's incredibly engaging memoir. Who knew a book about a serious condition- OCD, more specifically srucpulosity- would be so entertaining, yet endearing? I was constantly reading parts of the books outloud to my husband, who was wondering why I was giggling.
   Traig is both a gifted and clever author as she gives us an inside peak into a world of extreme religion and cleanliness.
   The story was captivating, the writing wonderful, and yes, the devil is in the details. If you are considering buying this book, definitely buy it. Put a tissue on your head and read it!!



2. Is it wrong to fall over laughing when reading a book about a person with severe OCD? If so, I'm in some deep cosmic trouble, because this was hilarious.
   
   "Scenes" aptly describes the book because, as Traig herself makes clear, her battles with the disease were sporadic. Plus, the book has scattered through it various (also very funny) quizzes, proofs, sample SAT questions, and so forth that give insight into the OCD mind. Somehow, Traig helps us find humor in the horror of bloody, chapped hands, anorexia, and hair-pulling. It's almost a hat trick; I'm not sure how she did it.
   
   Traig and her family, as presented in the book, are immensely likable and weather the bizzare with good humor. There are colorful portraits of them as well as of Traig; no member of her immediate family is there as a mere prop to her own story, which is a real strength in the book, something that helps make it more substantial than many of the more "me-centric" memoirs.
   
   Religion plays a heavy part in this memoir, something that many readers may not expect, but it was the key piece of Traig's disorder. I personally found it fascinating to read about, as so many elements of Orthodox Judaism were unfamiliar to me, and, again, I thought it gave the book a good deal of substance. Some readers may be put off by this element of the unfamiliar, while others may find it intriguing (and it certainly makes this book stand out from any other OCD memoir). The book becomes not just a "book about a girl with OCD" but also a more profound look at a girl coming to terms with her identity and faith. And again-- to be able to make all of this side-splittingly funny reveals rare talent indeed!



3. Intrigued by the excellent art design on the cover of this book, I recently enjoyed stepping into the mind of author Traig as a young girl struggling with a mental disorder amongst other pains of growing up. She writes with a very sardonic tone, which suits the serious subject quite well, making it a fun read instead of a potentially dreary one. The only aspect that seemed slightly out of place was how she didn't really wrap the memoir up with any sense of finality. There was hardly any sense of the author in the present tense, aside from a few mentions of her religious life currently. Perhaps the intent was to create a snapshot of her as an adolescent, but it seems like an abrupt ending to the book regardless. Would definitely recommend to anyone interested in reading a sharply written memoir.



4. Jennifer Traig uses a distinctive comic voice throughout this book that makes it very easy to read. The author describes the trials and tribulations of growing up with OCD, and her anecdotes are both poignant and funny. She provides a non-clinical point of view, describing the impact of OCD on her everyday life. I would recommend this book and am looking forward to reading more works by Traig.



5. I really liked this book. A good read about growing up, religion, family and OCD. I just saw that the author has another book, and I'm ordering that one right now! Good read!

5 comments about Whose Face Is in the Mirror?: The Story of One Woman's Journey from the Nightmare of Domestic Abuse to True Healing.

1. She had it all. Good looks. Her own business. Even a Mrs. Arizona title. But Dianne Schwartz hid a gruesome secret. She was a victim of continued physical abuse by her first husband. How does a seemingly successful, beautiful woman fall into the snare of an abuser? Schwartz tells us, beginning with childhood issues that evolved into setting her up as a victim for domestic violence.
   
   In the preface to Whose Face is in the Mirror, the author introduces us to an essential part of healing from abuse-ridding oneself of shame. Through her story, Schwartz seeks to share her abuse, insight into how and why she came to be abused, her steps to recovery and her ongoing journey and encouragement to other survivors of abuse.
   
   Painful at times, this true story rings more than true - it resonates within the soul. We all have known a woman just like Dianne Schwartz - a woman who we shake our heads at and wonder, "Is she nuts? Why does she listen to that loser? Why does she go back? How can she trust him again?" No, Dianne isn't nuts, and neither is any other woman caught in the deadly game of domestic abuse. For the abuser, it's just that: a game of control. For the victim, however, it's a test of survival.
   
   Whose Face is one short portrait into the lives of the abused and the abuser. It shows the damage done to children. It brings out childhood issues that might contribute to one's being abused. It provides answers and courage to take the steps to safety, to life.
   
   Schwartz's no-nonsense approach is a wakeup call to women who are being abused. She challenges the many abuse victims in today's world to look in the mirror and recognize the part they play in being abused. For without a victim, the abuser cannot abuse. She exposes the lies that litter an abusive relationship, such as:
   
   * He will change.
   * We cause him to be angry and abusive.
   * We want people to like our spouse (so we cover for him).
   * I'm nothing without him.
   * I can't make it on my own.
   * I deserve to be beaten. I'm useless.
   * All men are terrible.
   * No other man will be attracted to me.
   * I stay because I love him.
   * My children need their father.
   
   Schwartz doesn't stop there. For every lie, she exposes the truth and gives real-world answers to getting out and staying safe.
   
   In Part Three of Whose Face, Schwartz details the healing process, including recognizing the signs of an abuser. More importantly, she educates women, through her own process of healing, of how to recognize if they are attracted to an abuser. Some of the personality traits an abuser attracter might have are:
   
   * The need to rescue.
   * Accepting abuse during the dating stage.
   * A dysfunctional family history of verbal or physical abuse.
   
   Schwartz goes several steps further and looks into the effects our abuse may be having on our children. Are we setting our children up to be either abused or to be an abuser?
   
   Healing from abuse is not something to be done alone. Schwartz's life example illustrates the importance of therapy and recognizing a Higher Power - in Schwartz's case, that power is God. Through therapy and God, she discovered her passion in life and finally recognized whose face was in the mirror. After 42 years of living with self-hatred, this woman chose to heal, and to share her journey to self-love.
   
   Today, Schwartz is the founder and president of Educating Against Domestic Violence, a nonprofit organization providing assistance to battered persons. She is happily and healthily married and continues to heal, as are her children.



2. Dianne's husband was verbally and emotionally abusive and also a batterer, but no matter what form of abuse you are dealing with this book is one you must read, because all forms of abuse are damaging to the body, mind, and spirit. As a survivor of domestic abuse this book helped renew my strength and helped me keep my resolve not to return. There were so many aspects of Dianne's story that I could relate to; from the struggle she had with leaving, to the emotional damage done to her spirit, to the extreme conditioning that happens in abusive relationships. Dianne is a true survivor and her very candid and honest approach in telling her story will help any woman, whether she is just coming to terms with the fact that she is being abused, just gathering the strength to leave, or has already gotten out and needs the validation and strength that comes from reading about others who have been there.



3. This was the key book for me in my search to escape a violent relationship. The author has obviously lived through and survived things that anyone in an abusive relationship has experienced first hand. More than anything else I read (and I read everything I could get my hands on) this book helped me get out and then beyond an awful situation. I highly recommend this book!!!!



4. If you could give a book 6 stars on Amazon, I would give this book 6 stars.

   Once in a while, a book comes along that actually SAVES LIVES. This is one such book.

   If you know someone in an abusive situation and you can only do one thing for her, give her a copy of this book.

   There is magic in this book in that Ms. Schwartz knows the many denials, repressions, and fears in the mind of the battered woman and slays them all with her mighty sword of truth.

   She tells it like it, sparing no one, and by sparing no one, she saves the lives of the battered women reading this book.

   I recommend this book with all of my heart and soul. Anyone who reads this book will find her life to be changed -- for the better. It is a very powerful and important work.




5. Dianne's book is the best I've read ever. She really lays it all out and gives the honest to goodness truth about domestic abuse. It takes a rare and brave person to step forward and do what she has done in this book. I hope women everywhere, no matter if you are in an abusive relationship or not, read this book and learn from it. The best chapter is "In the Mind of a Battered Woman". For anyone wanting to know what goes on in women's minds this chapter is it. Read it and know there are millions of women and men facing this everyday. Domestic violence isn't only physical violence it is mental warfare. Congrats to Dianne for writing such a wonderful book. Honesty truly is the best way to go. Good luck to Dianne in her work and her new life.