5 comments about The Oatman Massacre: A Tale of Desert Captivity And Survival.

1. This is a deeply flawed, revisionist retelling of the Oatman Massacre. McGinty leaves out the shockingly brutal details of the assault and captivity. Instead we get seemingly endless speculation about which tribes may have been involved and what their motivations may have been.
   
   In an apparent attempt to protect book sales, Amazon refused to post my original review of this book which challenges some of McGinty's most ridiculous and disturbing speculations.
   
   Unless you are looking for a revisionist account of the massacre and captivity, avoid this book. The original account, as related by Olive Oatman after her liberation, is still available. You don't need someone like McGinty to interpret it for you.



2. I love books that review actual accounts of the people that were there. This book does a good job of that. It's only weakness is that the author goes a little too in depth into trivial things. The story line was great.



3. While this book was very factually accurate in its description of the events which shaped Olive Oatman's life forever, at times it was a very slow read. Don't get me wrong, it was very well written and researched but it just didn't have that kind of gripping energy that keeps you up late reading. It is an excellent account and definitely worth the read though so please don't let me discourage you from reading it, I just felt that it at times, dwelled too much on the factual correctness of Royal Strattons original account of the incidents and not enough on being the kind of compelling read that keeps you coming back for more. But hey, that's just me...



4. 
   For those of us who read on the history of the west, this book has long been waited for. Before this study the most accepted history of that event was one published in the late 1800s which omitted much, and made up as much, with much bias against Indians in general. This book page by page, passage by passage, should now become the standard text of our times.
   
   The author allows the book to progress as if it were an investigation into all things historical and cultural that focus on that event of 1851. One of the more revealing aspects of the book is his focus on the fervor of the religous climate of the day, especially the turmoil of the Mormons seeking a person to replace Joseph Smith. Many things become clear as to why the Oatman family from Vermont, Pennsylvania, and Illinois, ended up alone on the Gila River the day the Indians struck. That Olive and Lorenzo did not perish with the other members of the family is a small miracle.
   
   As usual the University of Oklahoma has issued a valuable addition to our western history in general and one family in specific.
   
   Well done.
   
   Semper Fi.



5. The Oatman Massacre: A Tale Of Desert Captivity And Survival by Brian McGinty is the historical study of the killing and capturing of the Oatman family at the hands of Native Americans. Motivated by his religious beliefs as a dissident Mormon, Roys Oatman set off for Gila and Colorado rivers' intersection with his family of nine and followers seeking to settle in a fertile country he called the "Land of Bashan". The Oatman Massacre is the descriptive story of what came to be called the "Oatman Massacre" in the mid-nineteenth century when all members of that doomed family were killed except for eight-year-old Mary Ann and thirteen-year-old Olive Oatman, and their wounded fourteen-year-old brother Lorenzo Oatman. The young women's captivity amidst the Mohaves tribe, and the experiences of Olive throughout the eight years prior to her rescue is ably recounted. The Oatman Massacre is a remarkable account and a welcome contribution to understanding the Mohaves culture, Mormon history, and a particularly harrowing event on the American frontier.

2 comments about Ella Baker: Freedom Bound.

1. Everyone has heard of Martin Luther King, but few remember what Ella Baker did. Baker helped to develop the civil rights movement by working at the grass roots level with the NAACP and SCLC but, since she worked outside of the spotlight, she has received little credit for her accomplishments. Known to most activists of the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, Baker is well-deserving of a biography and this is particularly well-written one. More information about her private life could have been included though.



2. More than any other single figure, Ella Baker represents the heart and soul of the civil rights movement at its highest and best. Starting earlier than most any other central leader, Ms. Baker was instrumental in sparking more of the major events in civil rights history than any other. Yet always working as the behind the scenes organizer and pushing others forward, particularly grassroots and youthful leaders, Ms. Baker is probably the least known outside the movement. No more important task exists than preserving her memory and Joanne Grant has done an excellent job in this important book. Even insiders will be surprised at what they'll learn in this comprehensive account. A great followup to Joanne's earlier documentary: Fundi - The Life of Ella Baker. Ms. Baker is universally revered among movement people for her wisdom, courage and acute political analysis that taught and guided thousands. Truly she was as close to a real saint as this world produces and to! ! uched her times in the most redemptive and revolutionary way.

5 comments about Wise Girl: What I've Learned About Life, Love, and Loss.

1. This book was very eye opening into Jamie's life however only a small section was devoted to eating disorders. For an ED book, it was pretty small. But as far as a book into Jamie's experiences it was good and interesting. It really humanized Jamie.



2. If you are interested in learning about a person's experience with an eating disorder, AND you're interested in celebrity writing, this is a very good, easy read. The star of "The Sopranos" tells how she developed an eating disorder and then worked to overcome it. It also documents her experience in the arts, so, really, this book is for someone interested in both. If you're ONLY wanting to know in-depth information about eating disorders, you will want to find a different book. If, however, you like theatre and acting as well as learning about anorexia or bulimia, this is the book for you.



3. This was an eye-opening book. It's always interesting to see that the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Just because Jamie-Lynn is pretty and famous and wealthy etc, doesn't mean she doesn't have her own share of problems. It was kind of scary to read about how hard she'd exercise in order to stay in shape (because of all the pressure she felt from everyone), and the lengths she went to to keep this secretive. She talks about her life growing up, now working in a hit TV show, a few health problems here and there and toward the end of the book, she has a section dealing with how to get help if you or someone you know has an eating disorder. Overall, I'd say this is a good interesting read that is easy to get through, but helpful for the younger girls out there who may fall into the trap of extreme dieting or exercise because of today's pressure to look a certain way. Good job Jamie-Lynn.



4. Sopranos star Jamie-Lynn Sigler has experienced more in her life than many people twice her age, including severe anorexia, paralysis from Lyme's Disease and extreme career changes. This book contains fun backstage tidbits about The Sopranos and the recording business, in addition to valuable insights about the many pressures of normal teen life.
   
   Sigler is honest about her mistakes and discusses ways to help other young people avoid image problems. She even revealed that Sopranos producers were secretly auditioning other girls for her part as Meadow because she was so thin. Instead of using her fame to write a fluffy celebrity tell-all, Sigler is eager to have her written experiences help promote the National Eating Disorder Association, for which she is now a spokesperson.
   
   Pictures that show Sigler in the worst stages of anorexia are powerful. The description of her secret 2 1/2 hour daily exercise routine is vivid, but the before and after pictures reinforce everything. A valuable chapter at the end also advises readers on the warning signs of anorexia and how to get help.
   
   This is an important and enjoyable book for young women to read. Sigler's voice is refreshingly conversational, but a good editor should have helped her smooth over some of the language to do justice to the heartfelt topics she discusses. I hope she will continue to write, as she has a lot to share with readers.
   
   --- Reviewed by Amy Alessio



5. This novel,by Jamie-lynn Sigler, is a wonderful story. It is a perfect book for teenage girls to read to teach them about the pressures of being a teen and a star. It is a wonderful example of how a strong conviction can help to overcome anything. It teaches girls about the dangerous effects of eating disorders and how to get yourself out of a deep hole. This is a story about a girl goiung through what everyone goes through, love, loss, and the daily pressures of life.

No comments about Love and Friendship.

5 comments about Let Me Go.

1. i just finished the audio version of 'Let Me Go.' Over the course of a lifetime, thanks to countless tv documentaries, books, movies, museums exhibitions, etc., we're aware and informed of so much that occurred in the death camps during the Holocaust. We have heard many barbaric specifics before or at least enough to extrapolate much of the rest; much of it is not a surprise or revelation, per se, but more than half a century later in this story, the truths of the Holocaust still shock. Can you call an audio book a 'page turner?'
   
   What sets this book apart in this audio version, is it's no-holds-barred, accounting straight from the mouth of a former female Nazi SS guard, the mother of the author, Helga Schneider. The author's rollercoaster of emotions and pain is pitiful and incredibly moving enough and in Rosesnblat's hands, the mother's undiminished hatred is so palpable; she is vile, repulsive, and totally unrepentant. This book speaks to the pathological motivations and complicity of that time. This is the voice of one woman and it is the voice of many. The question has been asked incessantly, by so many as to render it trite; 'How could this have happened?' In this book, in these words, and especially in this superb reading, you sit there and say to yourself, "This is how such a thing can happen."



2. Let Me Go is one of the most un-put-down-able books I've ever read. Though in general my husband and I have very different reading interests he also found it to be so. We each had it finished within 24 hrs. In it Helga Schneider exposes the raw emotional journey of seeing her aged and estranged mother for the last time. This is an intensely personal book focussed entirely on this exchange and to a limited extent the intruding context of Helga's childhood and Helga's previous visit decades ago. The book leaves questions unanswered, and that is it's strength. Just as some readers may find that there are no satisfactory answers in some respects, there are none for Helga. The book does not interpret it just tells you the story with an honesty that is incredibly courageous. There may be things that the reader wishes had been resolved or discussed in the exchange, but this is not the reader's story, it is Helga's story. I have read a lot of Military history and I found this book a wonderful, powerful and moving counterpoint as it illustrates the lasting legacy for the innocents even so many decades on.
   I consider this book to be one of the most precious in my library.
   This review is based on the hardcover edition.



3. Something was missing for me in the historical recount.
   
   She meets her 90 year old mother in a nursing home and starts asking very leading questions that suggest she should feel pity (whether she should or shouldn't isn't the point) when I was just waiting for her to head in the direction of how her mother came to believe in the nazi lifestyle in the first place. The previous reviewer is right, they pick right up where she leaves her children and joins the SS party and is viewed as a monster but I think it's responsible to attempt to understand humanity's motives and find out what the catalyst was to her drastic life change. There are even hints that she missed her old life terribly but these reasons are not explored, only pondered over by the writer in hindsight. As the famous saying goes, if you neglect to understand these situations, however painful they may be, history may repeat itself.
   
   Overall, it was a very good read but the detail above it why I'm giving it 4 stars.



4. History is often written on the grand stage. The huge battles or landmark laws are recorded. The feelings of the children whose parents are caught up in the "monumental events" are rarely recorded. In "Let Me Go, Helga Schneider has given us just such an account. Her mother was a seemingly unapologetic nazi who abandoned her family to serve Hitler. Helga is now going to visit her dying mother, who is possibly suffering from dementia. Helga just needs to know, and engages in incredibly difficult conversations with her mother. Is her mother still rational? Is she telling the truth? Why would she do the brutal things that she herself describes (including tortures and nonchalantly sending another woman who offended her to be enslaved in a brothel). This is compelling reading, and an underappreciated way of knowing history. The only comment I have, and it is not directed at Schneider, but at society in general. We are always surprised when it is a woman who in engages in such terrifying acts, as it violates the stereotype of female behavior. We would probably not be as surprised if this book were written in terms of going to see her aged father.



5. I enjoyed the book but kept wondering why the mother's name or the camp she worked at ever mentioned. Would have made the book more enjoyable.

5 comments about Startling Beauty: My Journey From Rape to Restoration.

1. Heather Gemmen's book, Startling Beauty (my journey from rape to restoration), is so much more, if you can image that, than the title infers or conveys. Heather is able to convey transparent insights into our struggles as Christians and flesh and blood human beings. I don't think she even knows she's doing it, but I think she could re-titled her book "Struggling with our humanity as you follow Him". When you read her book, you feel like you're sitting with a dear friend and she's sharing her heart, without hesitation and of course it's a true blessing. You're gonna fall in love with Heather and her hubby and they're likely to become subtle heroes in your Christian quest. When she leaves you palpable quotes like "Integrity is so much more than claiming noble ethics. It is more than holding passionate conviction. Integrity is living out expressed beliefs. It is making choices that accurately reflect core values.", you know you're dealing with someone special. Bless yourself, take the time to read this book, it will touch your heart in places that need touching.



2. I find I'm never disappointed when I open a book written by Heather Gemmen. Regardless of the topic, her books inspire me to read the entire work in one sitting so I can find out how each ends. In this case, I admire the way Heather opens herself and describes not just the very personal attack she experienced, but she also shares the details of her life surrounding that time. She shares the effects on her marriage, on her views on abortion, and racism. Oh, that I could express my own feelings half so well as Heather does that I could have readers needing to know what will happen on the next page. I spent the majority of the book cheering for all of the characters and then reminding myself that they were all real life characters, not fictional.
   I highly recommend this title, but be prepared to set aside a few hours to read the entire story once you start because you'll get caught up in it as I did. What an encouragement to know that God used Heather and her difficult life experiences in such remarkable ways! She definitely has experienced the abundant life promised to all believers, and more importantly, she comes out victorious through her faith.
   Thanks, Heather, for another great read!



3. Heather Gemmen was raped at knifepoint in her own home while her two young sons slept down the hall. The subject matter is real and not sugar-coated. We feel her pain and read her thoughts as she shares honestly and openly the struggles faced by herself, her family, and friends, and the agony surrounding each day and every decision.
   
   After I read the book, I stood in the shower and sobbed. I wept for Heather, for myself, and the others who have endured this torment. Rape is violent, degrading, and demoralizing. Startling Beauty is proof that God can heal, restore, and turn suffering into a thing of beauty.
   
   Thank you Heather.



4. I bought this book after hearing Heather interviewed on a radio programme. She sounded so friendly, serene and content with her life. If I hadn't heard her before I read the book I might have thought she was 'too good to be true' because in the book she comes over as a unbelievably forgiving and accepting of God's will.
   However this really IS a story of hope and positivity and shows that if you have a positive nature and strive to put your trust in God (do what your instincts feel are right and good)then you can overcome anything. Like Heather I truly believe God never gives us anything we aren't equipped to cope with.
   
   A book that I didn't put down until I'd finished it!



5. As a reader of Heather's blog, I couldn't wait to read her book. I've always been impressed by how 'real' she is - no holds barred, tell it like it is, but gently. She is always full of wisdom and great advice.
   When I received my copy of Startling Beauty, I was immediately taken by the front cover, and moved by the wonderful picture of Heather and her daughter on the back. As I started to read, I thought, oh, this is in first person. I'm not a fan of books written in first person, but after the first page, I didn't give it a second thought.
   This story is told in a way that draws you in to Heather's world. I felt as though I was one of her friends, perhaps one of the women in her bible study, or a member of her church. I was there, living this story with her, crying with her, praying for her, and feeling her pain.
   I asked myself some hard questions as I read this book. What would I do in Heather's situation? How would I react? What choice would I make?
   I confess, I have no answers.
   The stark reality of the evil that exists in this world moved in to Heather Gemmen's life without invitation. It affected her, physically, emotionally and spiritually.
   But she did not allow evil to ruin her life.
   She allowed God to rule, and she allowed Him to bring her through what I can only imagine would be the worst experience a woman could go through.
   Heather's story is one of hope, perseverence, and restoration. It is a true gift for any woman who has been a victim of rape, or any physical abuse. It is a message of faithfulness, of following God when everything within you wants to run in the opposite direction.
   I couldn't put it down.
   After two days, when I finally closed the covers of this book, with tears in my eyes, I silently prayed for Heather. And I thanked her for her bravery in telling this story.

4 comments about Morning Glory: A Biography of Mary Lou Williams.

1. It's too easy (and condescending) to say that Mary Lou Williams was one of the greatest female jazz artists; she actually was one of the greatest, period. Her compositions and arrangements for the Andy Kirk band while she was a member throughout the 1930s brought much praise and admiration at the time (and still do today). (She also arranged for Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, and other top-rated swing band leaders.) She was a sensational pianist, too, one of the finest boogie-woogie and stride players in jazz; she was also a great innovator and was among the first to master and play bebop in the 1940s. She greatly influenced many modern pianists, and personally changed the styles of Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk. Mary Lou was a deeply religious person and wrote much religious music and kept very close relations with the Catholic Church (Ms. Dahl covers this aspect of Mary Lou's life very thoroughly.) Williams was a demanding player and seemed to have her greatest difficulties dealing with incompatible bass players (she once fired the great bassist Richard Williams during a New York club engagement). Linda Dahl has written a detailed and comprehensive biography of Mary Lou, covering all her musical and extra-musical activities. Included is a nicely organized selective discography. Anyone familiar with Mary Lou's playing or arranging and would like to learn more about her will benefit greatly by reading this excellent biography.



2. Morning Glory: A Biography of Mary Lou Williams is an interesting work that captures the personality of the wonderfully talented musician. The biography captures the struggles and achievements of Williams; it also shares some amusing details that make the book hard to put down for anyone interested in the careers of early black musicians.



3. An engagingly written book on a much ignored, extremely talented musician. Mary Lou Williams was (and is) respected by music giants the world over, including the likes of Duke Ellington. This book puts Williams' importance to American music in perspective, and gives her the overdue credit she so obviously deserves.

   My recommendation is to put on a MLW disc, sit back and read. It will be a rewarding experience.




4. Mary Lou Williams' jazz experiences are detailed in a biography which covers both her life and career and her role as an Afro-American female musician. Dahl was given unlimited access to the Williams archive and her first full-length biography of Williams makes for an important coverage.

No comments about Vanished Arizona, Recollections of the Army Life by a New England Woman.

No comments about The Showman and the Slave: Race, Death, and Memory in Barnums America.

2 comments about Unveiling Kate Chopin.

1. I hope this is a good biography of Kate Chopin, an author whose work I admire. However, if you read this book, I suggest you be very careful of trusting any conclusions the author reaches based on anything less than complete evidence.
   
   Emily Toth makes many assumptions and interpretations which are shaky at best. For example:
   
   Bud Aiken is a representation of Albert Sampite because they share an initial (A). That's weak at best.
   
   Alcee Arobin is a representation of Albert Sampite because the first and last pieces of Albert Sampite's name make Alcee, thus: Al---- -----e becomes Alcee ... say what?
   
   Early on, Toth says evidence suggests that Oscar Chopin helped his mother escape from her husband's (his father's) house. Most of her evidence is based on her interpretation of Oscar's character and what he would have done. Later in the book, she states Oscar's assistance to his mother as an established fact!
   
   I could go on and on but that's enough to give you the idea.
   
   Also, Toth's writing is overblown and florid, especially at the ends of paragraphs where she states her conclusions.
   
   Probably Toth's underlying research and scholarship are sound. It's a pity she marred the book with conclusions she seems to want to be true, and writing that doesn't serve the subjecct.



2. Emily Toth wrote Unveiling Kate Chopin after the remarkable recent discovery of Chopin's diaries and manuscripts. This intimate perspective paints a whole new picture of her life and work. Throughout this biography, Toth draws parallels between actual experiences from Chopin's life to characters and incidents in her writing. Suddenly, her stories have new depth of meaning. Toth begins her saga when sixteen-year-old Eliza Faris, a genuine Creole, married thirty-nine-year-old Thomas O'Flaherty, a wealthy businessman in St. Louis. A domineering patriarch, O'Flaherty sent his daughter Kate away to boarding school at age five. Although the reason why is unknown, Toth suggests "a dark family drama triggered sending Kate away." Shortly after this, Thomas O'Flaherty died in a tragic train wreck, and Kate came home to stay. This incident of her father's death closely parallels Chopin's "The Story of an Hour," with a different twist at the end. Toth describes Chopin's childhood as a paradise dominated by women. Life bloomed until the Civil War brought the invasion of the Union army to St. Louis. Speaking out against the Union, Kate herself narrowly escaped imprisonment. Union soldiers intruded the family's home, committing, what Toth refers to as, an "outrage." Chopin married a sensitive and wealthy young Louisiana Frenchman, Oscar Chopin. A non-conformist, Kate never quite fit in with his people, displaying such radical behavior as smoking, walking alone, riding bareback and astride, and lifting her skirts to provocatively show her ankles. It is no wonder that she felt like an outsider, similar to Edna Pontellier in The Awakening. After her husband's death, Kate began developing as a professional writer, following the classic rule of "Write about what you know," and submitting her stories to newspapers and magazines. She learned that as long as her heroines never triumphed over their men, they were accepted. Her passion was for exposing the realism of social problems women faced in a world where men wrote the rules. Audiences embraced her book Bayou Folk, yet they looked past the courageous qualities of the women characters, seeing only the quaint local color. In April, 1899 Chopin published her finest work, The Awakening. The crushing reviews of her masterpiece labeled it "morbid," "unhealthy," "not wholesome," "shocking," "crude" and "sex fiction." Thus the novel modern audiences celebrate Kate Chopin for writing, brought her career to a scandalous end. Like Edna in The Awakening, naked and unveiled to the world, she had swum out too far. Chopin died a few years later in 1904. Toth portrays Chopin as a brilliant creative woman with the courage to brave the controversy against conventional traditions of Victorian America. She captures the sensitive world where Chopin bloomed and relates how it cultivated the genius who wrote of subjects nearly a century ahead of her time.