1 comments about Bail Bonds Babylon.

1. This is a great book for anyone looking for true crime or an inspiring story of how one woman, a single mother created a life for herself that one could only dream of. She is now one of the most successful private eyes in the country and that's not bad for what is technically a senior citizen. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in that genre or who is even just a little curious. Laura's written voice is raw, it's real, it's unforgettable. -- Jeff Rivera (Author of FOREVER MY LADY on Amazon.com)

5 comments about My Invented Country.

1. If you have not read a book by Isabel Allende, you probably should not start with this one. It reads like a work of fiction (and an excellently crafted one, at that). Allende herself admits that she remembers things that cannot possibly have happened, and she includes these memories in her memoirs. She also uses the same texture and meandering style that she uses in her novels. She alludes to many of her works of fiction, so it is better to have read at least a few of her books before you start with this one. This is Allende's second memoir. The first deals with her life as a mother and is infinitely more emotional and intimate. This one is about her life as an immigrant and exile. It is less heartbreaking but still poignant, especially considering the discussions about immigration in the news now.



2. Allende shares her family and a bit of her own life in this book about Chili as a nation. Your opinion about Latin America may be different after you read this book.



3. Isabel Allende's "My Invented Country" does not pick-up where her previous memoir "Paula" left off, instead it expands on some of the biographical details from the previous book and is more of a deep, dreamy memoir of her native country of Chile. In fascinating, poetic detail Allende describes a land rich in culture, heritage, history and passion. There are vivid descriptions of the beautiful Andes and the native indian cultures who populated the region before the Spanish conquest and those who populate it still. And yet it doesn't feel like a travelogue, "My Invented Country" is probably the best book to read about Chile because it is about Chile as a nation and not a chunk of land, it is the strip of country Pablo Neruda immortalized in his poetry. As in "Paula" Allende here shares more about the wild, romantic history of her family and their peculiar history. There are hilarious moments and sweet ones where she recounts her relationship with her grandfather through the years of her youth and adulthood. The politics of Chile are also widely discussed, which is pleasantly expected considering the author's uncle was Salvador Allende, Latin America's first elected socialist president who was tragically overthrown by a fascist CIA-backed coup lead by the general Augusto Pinochet who established a junta over the country. Allende describes a time when there was hope for change in Chile, when Allende won the presidency and even Fidel Castro visited the country for 27 days. With frightening detail she also describes the dark days of the military dictatorship when radical right-wing laws were passed, thousands disappeared and others brutally tortured and killed. As always Allende writes here with beautiful expressions, funny anecdotes and a sense of humour when it comes to attacking hypocrites and contradictions in her own opinions. "My Invented Country" is a pleasant memoir to read, it is a trip down the memory palace of Isabel Allende, and a journey through a country we know so little about in the United States. Those who term Latin America as "backward" should read Allende's book, it might change their opinion.



4. Isabel Allende is a captivating writer, one who can spin tales of intrigue and magical mystery as well as any of our Latin American writers. Though this version of MY INVENTED COUNTRY is the paperback edition of the hardcover MY INVENTED COUNTRY: A Nostalgic Journey Through Chile - the one this reader found on the 'sale book' counter in the local bookstore! - hopefully the writing is the same despite the change in title.
   
   There is much that could be said about Allende's writing style: she moves from colloquial, humorous conversation and sharing to a manner of relating history in the form of the best historian writers. And it all works. Throughout the book Allende warmly describes just what makes Chile and its people unique and the information is not only fascinating but warmly charming. And then she very astutely takes us by the hand and for the last third of the book shares with us the political history of Chile over the last 200 years. Of course she is intimate with the Allende years, being part of that family that was forced into exile with the toppled government, but she does not present an acrid, angry stance but rather an optimistic view of the peoples' ability to change from Christian Democracy to dictatorship under Pinochet. For the first time this reader came away with the feeling that the entire process is understandable.
   
   Allende never forgets that she has been a stranger in different countries all her life, that the Chile she knows is as much a part of nostalgia as it is fact. This book was written from her home in San Francisco and she shares with us the following insight: 'But that is how nostalgia is: a slow dance in a large circle. Memories don't organize themselves chronologically, they're like smoke, changing, ephemeral, and if they're not written down they fade into oblivion.' This is a warm insight into the mind of one of our important writers of the day. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, November 06



5. I read this when it first came out, and after reading Paula this summer (her earlier memoir written during her daughter's critical illness) I went back to it to see how Allende had managed to cover so much of the same territory in a way that was fresh enough to merit a second memoir. And the answer, unfortunately, was that she hadn't. My Invented Country provides some interesting information about the people and country of Chile (often in the form of sweeping generalizations that I suspect are no more uniformly true than any sort of broad characterization one could make about Americans), and does so with Allende's characteristically sharp and funny prose (I particularly enjoyed her explanation on why it is unwise to faint in a Chilean supermarket). But the parts that I recall as being the most interesting--the political history of Chile and her own decision to go into exile--are covered so much more completely, and in so much more compelling a fashion, in Paula, that reading My Invented Country after Paula feels like being told the same story repeatedly by a storyteller who has lost interest in the tale and no longer thinks the details are very important. My best recommendation is to skip this one but do read Paula: a brilliant, moving and often very funny memoir that closely examines Allende's life and the loss of her country and daughter.

5 comments about Life in the Treetops: Adventures of a Woman in Field Biology (Nota Bene Series).

1. This unique book is about Margaret Lowman's life as a self-described field biologist who studies the mysteries of forest canopies, one of the last biotic frontiers on Earth. In Life in the Treetops, Lowman is a pioneer canopy scientist she describes the little known worlds of the treetops, their inhabitants, flowers and fruits, growth and mortality, patterns of diversity, and plant and animal interactions. Lowman writes about how, in order with the scientific hypothesis she was focusing on, a different canopy access technique was used. She's particularly good at exposing the life of a field biologist from a woman's perspective, what it was like to cope: with the demands of a challenging career; with marriage to an Australian sheep farmer; with housewifery; with motherhood to two young sons; with conflicting cultural differences about gender roles; and with divorce and single parenthood. Lowman's descriptions of her various arboreal ecological projects were fascinating. She emphasized the pleasures and intellectual rewards of studying the natural world without ignoring the projected vicissitudes of researching in wilderness settings. In the end Lowman is the director of research and conservation at the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota, Florida. This is an inspiring story for everyone, not just for women or those interested in careers in science, but for everyone.



2. As a young woman who hopes with all her heart and works with all of her passion to be a scientist one day, I recommend this novel without a doubt. Dr. Lowman attacks every issue she faces head on, candidly describing her emotion and scientific endeavors as if the reader is a personal friend. As a female, I myself can relate to her described frustration of being a woman in a primarily male field. Even my closest male friends look at me with doubt and treat my five year love affair (ongoing, of course) with science as a joke simply because I am female (as the butt of their jokes imply). It's wondorous to read of other accounts involving similar emotion. On a scientific note, Dr. Lowman makes no adjustments for fear of the reader who does not care for biology; she writes about science just as she writes about emotion. For that, I urge parents to prod their children to read this memoir, adults to read, and all others to digest.



3. Margaret Lowman writes candidly about her life... as though we were the closest of friends. I expected her to write about her research, the difficulties of climbing into the rainforest canopies, and her globe trotting. And she did. She also writes of the professional challenges, cultural clashes, and personal problems she encounters as a woman in field biology, and that makes this book something quite special.

   ON THE PERSONAL SIDE: Lowman married an Australian, had two children and lived in the outback, while conducting research on the Australian rain forests. On the personal side, she was expected to be a housewife, and mother. Her new Australian husband, and in-laws, did not understand her inner drive to spend time in her work. While clearly her new family did not support her in her work, Lowman persisted and achieved. She also made a decision to accept a teaching position at Williams College back in the US. She packed up the boys, and headed for home. She exchanged her marriage, and the boy's father, for a surprisingly supportive scientific community and her own supportive parents. Lowman tells of her personal life with candor, but without bitterness. While no one could accuse her of having an ordinary life, Lowman's book is also an every woman's story in that she chronicles the kind of day-to-day struggle of professional/career women faced (particularly in the 1970's and 1980's) in balancing career and family.

   ON THE PROFESSIONAL SIDE: To help understand the interdependence of the rainforests Lowman mostly studies the small things... leaves, and the insects that eat them. It sounds easier than it is. Most of the leaves to be studied are high up in the canopy of the rain forests. Early in her career, she gains access using ropes and harnesses, and even a cherry picker when she was pregnant; later she has the luxury of using a construction crane, a dirigible, and even a walkway. Lowman loves the forests, and her work. (Her book contains an illustration of her favorite tree, ficus watkinsiana.)

   Lowman ends the book telling us that it takes about the "same amount of energy to complain as it does to explain-but the results are incredibly different." Her book explains a great deal. I highly recommend it.




4. Margaret Lowman is a gifted biologist with a knack for finding ways to teach others the importance of her field and the need for conservation. Her adventures range from the humorous to the frightening and are guaranteed to hold the reader's interest. I held off a five-star rating only because I would have liked a little more information on some of the animals she's studied. Her impressions of Nature's little-known and often-overlooked creatures are valuable and fascinating, and I wish more space had been devoted to them. That's a minor quibble, though. As a writer on nature myself, I came away from reading this book with an improved understanding of how complex the "web of life" is, not to mention a determination to get my own children out into the forests more often.



5. Margaret Lowman's story, Life in the Treetops, is an inspiration for young women considering a life in science. She tells how she balanced a career as a field biologist, studying the forest canopy, with being a wife and mother, and eventually a single parent. Her stories of her experiences as a researcher and tree climber in such exotic locals as the Australian outback, Cameroon, Belize and Panama are intermingled with her observations about the inhabitants of these locals, the people she worked with and her sons. Her perseverance in a field dominated by men has given her an interesting perspective about science and life in general.

2 comments about Van Gogh's Women: Vincent's Love Affairs and Journey into Madness.

1. Indeed, this book is not well written. It reads like a college term paper, with attendant deficits in argument development, source citation, etc. There are huge amounts of speculation with little or no evidence to support them. It also loses its focus; although ostensibly about relationships with women, the book devolves into a loose biography of van Gogh's life.
   
   Having said all of this, there are worthwhile portions of the book. I enjoyed knowing about his strong family history of psychiatric illness, and of his seemingly endless capacity to engage in doomed relationships. I wondered about van Gogh's diagnosis: bipolar, borderline personality disorder, neurosyphillis, lead toxicity, all of the above? There was enough here to stimulate some thought.
   
   This book is worth a brief skim, at the library, but should be complemented by a more authoritative biography if you are more interested in fact than speculation.



2. In this book Derek Fell takes a sensationalist, speculative approach to van Gogh's relationships with women, attempting to deconstruct them psychologically. Speculation about van Gogh's life is inevitable, since there are many things we do not know or do not understand. However, problems arise when the speculations in question have no basis in fact, or else are built upon erroneous information. This book is positively riddled with both errors of fact (large and small) and unqualified speculation, severely damaging the author's credibility. Given my limited space, I'll pick just two random examples to demonstrate the range.
   
   Small: Fell cites at length (pp. 225-26) a letter describing van Gogh's funeral and says it was written by the journalist Albert Aurier. Wrong. It was written by the artist Emile Bernard TO Gabriel-Albert Aurier.
   
   Large: On p. 173, Fell discusses the painting "First Steps," done while van Gogh was in the asylum at St-Remy. Painted while van Gogh's sister-in-law was pregnant, Fell interprets the painting as van Gogh's fantasy of himself as the father of the child. He does this through the painting's iconography, which depicts a man in a gardener's hat holding out his arms as a little child attempts to take its first steps from its mother to its father. The man's hat looks like the hat van Gogh wore while working, Fell tells us, and he uses that resemblance to anchor his psychological interpretation of the painting. What Fell does not say (maybe because he does not know?) is that this painting is van Gogh's copy after the painting "First Steps" by Millet-- the gardener's hat is Millet's motif, not van Gogh's. Theo had sent Vincent a photograph of that Millet painting together with others in October 1889; Vincent (a longtime Millet fan) admired it so much he made a copy of it as he sometimes did with other paintings, particularly in the asylum when it was not always possible for him to go outside and find subjects. Knowing this makes Fell's psychobabble analysis fall apart.
   
   And there's speculation after speculation along that line. Allegations that Theo physically abused Johanna; that Vincent carried on an affair with Marguerite Gachet and that's why he committed suicide, etc. These kinds of things might --*might*--be acceptable if the book were a novel, but it's classified as nonfiction. That means it's just sloppy scholarship, the second most grievous sin of academic publishing (after plagiarism): unverified information, hearsay, quotes taken out of context from letters, etc. (With reference to Marguerite Gachet, we're treated to more silly interpretations of paintings.) When Fell does mention a source, it's usually some psychologist whom I suspect doesn't know much more about Vincent than he does.
   
   The danger of a book in a format like this one--without footnotes--is that the author is able to make errors and heap speculations without the reader knowing where he got his information (or didn't, as the case may be). As a result, the unsuspecting reader with a casual interest in van Gogh might find him/herself believing what Fell has to say. The bibliography has gaping holes, so it's not at all clear where Fell *did* get his ideas.
   
   As for Fell himself--he's described as an "art historian" on the back cover. Allow me my own speculations based on the scholarly quality of this book: I'd venture a guess he either has no degree in art history at all, or certainly not an advanced one (M.A., Ph.D.). I'm tired of unqualified people writing drivel about artists and paintings and calling themselves "art historians" (or publishers calling them that). It's a professional insult to the rest of us who actually went to graduate school and built legitimate careers in the subject as professors, authors, etc. Cease and desist!

5 comments about Sweet Caroline: Last Child of Camelot.

1. A lot of celebrity biographies, or "tell-alls", I take with a grain of salt, but this one seemed very credible when I was reading it. Most of the author's sources were people from the Kennedy's inner circle, including Pierre Salinger, Ben Bradlee etc. I didn't think this book would expose anything new, but I was actually quite surprised and intrigued. Most often I was surprised by the behavior of Jackie Kennedy and new facets of her character were revealed that made me see her in a totally different light from her Camelot image (an image which she created). A fascinating page turner!



2. Not only does this book do a fabulos job of detailing the intimate life of Caroline the only remaining survior of Camelot. But it also gives an imtimate look of the lives of her family. Jackie, John and John Jr. And even the before and after family events surrounding the assination of her father President John F. Kennedy. Whom Caroline herself, first heard about the assination from the radio. Also intimate details of the power and control that Jackie exerted over her family. Her (Jackie) extreme drive to obtain her vast wealth and to protect the family image and to shelter her and her children's privacy from the public-at all costs. The struggles that Caoroline faced with being a Kennedy, how she could't understand why she was famous for nothing more than her name. So, if you like me, enjoy reading about the intimate life of America's royal family, this book is for you.



3. this was a good book, and we got to know a lot about caroline, and how sweet she was, despite her tragedies. it broke my heart to learn that she always felt neglected without a strong male figure in her life, especially since her mother centered all her efforts on her son having a strong father figure, or risk having him "grow up to be a fruit." yet, caroline made it through. i absolutely felt sorry for her, and i don't even know how the erroneous belief that jackie kennedy onassis was such a great mother has lasted up until today. she spent most of her time on vacations and shopping, and sent her kids off to boarding school when they were so young, spending little time with them. i feel caroline suffered greatly from it, since she got taken care of mostly by nannies, and not so much by her parents, since her dad was killed when she was young, and her mother was so into shopping and money that she neglected her daughter's needs regarding the idolization her daughter felt for her father, and being there for her in this aspect. overall, a great book



4. Andersen misleads the reader when he markets this book as a book about Caroline Kennedy. In fact this author does nothing more than re-hash everything that has already been written about the family. He sells it as a book about Caroline simply because he constantly uses the possessive form of her name to refer to the actual main characters in this book (Caroline's mother, Caroline's brother, Caroline's father etc.).After reading this book, I realized that this is because Caroline has lived a rather simple and scandel free life. The only remarkable thing about Caroline's life is that it's not that remarkable. Like so many Americans, she cooks her children breakfast every morning, video tapes their school pageants, and considers being their mom her most rewarding job in life. Caroline is to be commended for her stellar academic record and her accomplishments as an author. However, without the last name "Kennedy" no one would find her life particularly compelling reading. There simply isn't enough provacative information out there to fill up an entire book about Caroline alone. Unlike her mother, she wasn't first lady of the United States, married to one of the most beloved presidents, she didn't hold up an entire nation during three of the darkest days in our nation's history, she didn't marry a wealthy shipping magnate from whom she inherited 26 million dollars and then went on to parlay that money into 200 million. I could go on and on about Jackie but in the interest of brevity, I think you've got the picture.
   That said, I believe Mr. Andersen has done a great disservice to his reader when he sold them a book complete with the tacit implication that we were to really learn who Caroline Kennedy was as a person. The information may well be out there but Mr. Andersen has yet to find it.



5. I have read all of the Kennedy biographies and there is very little new information in this biography. The first part has been covered in all of the others, and the second part has been covered in the tabloids, which makes we question the accuracy of anything here that has not been lifted from another source. I noted two parts of this book that do not appear to be in keeping with what has been well documented. 1. The books states, that on April 4, 1968, Caroline was in her classroom when a teacher came in and whispered to her teacher that Martin Luther King had been shot. Quick research on the Web states this happened at about 4:30PM EST..Are 11 year olds in class at that time? 2. The books states that when visiting the White House JFK Jr. told then President Nixon, that he used to play under his desk. Everyone knows that the famous Kennedy desk was removed when he died, and not used again until it was brought back by President Clinton.

5 comments about God, Dr. Buzzard, and the Bolito Man: A Saltwater Geechee Talks About Life on Sapelo Island, Georgia.

1. Being a life-long resident of the South Carolina Lowcountry, many of the things Bailey described in her book hit home. A fear of the otherworldly, grave respect for elders and ancestors, and contentment with life in its natural simplicity are telling traits that Bailey has really invested herself in the life she describes. The book shifts in interests as Bailey describes her experiences of reaching maturity in the natural, social, and spiritual senses, but her worldview remains consistent with the old traditions.
   
   For those who are interested in the actual speech patterns of Geechee (or Gullah) people, this is not really the book for you. There are sparse renditions of the Lowcountry/Island way of talking, but one gets the sense that Bailey was a good code-switcher; indeed, any Geechee with solid home-training would try to avoid speaking with one's home accent in public. Nevertheless, the culture that came up with the language is presented panchronologically; the very distant past is treated with the same sense of importance as the events that took place during Bailey's lifetime, and just as much gravity is given to as much as she can foresee of the unknown future.
   
   I really enjoyed this book. It gave me a sense of culture and was an excellent reference concerning the culture of the greater African-American culture overall. It is filled with lively stories, unforgetable anecdotes, thoughtful philosophizing, and hope.



2. This is a great book to learn about the culture, history and traditions of a Geechee community on Sapelo Island, GA. Compared to other books I have read about this area, Ms. Bailey really focuses on the folklore and superstitions that shaped life on this isolated island during the second half of the 20th century. Although some of these traditions continue, many are fading away as this unique community shrinks in size. Ms. Bailey considers it her duty to be a storyteller, to pass these stories down to whoever will listen, and to keep the traditions alive. Ms. Bailey succeeds by telling her story with a vibrant narrative - a very fast and rewarding read.



3. The Golden Isles of Georgia are mysterious and fascinating. The Spanish moss, tabby walls, the "shout" of the Sea Island Singers, and cloudy past reach out to visitors today. The author of this book, a salt-water Geechee, grew up on Sapelo. Her story is wonderfully interesting. The beliefs of the slaves' descendants were so little changed for so many years. Traditions born in western Africa are still hanging on to life even today on Sapelo. I hope the government, even in the name of saving the environment, never succeeds in taking the land away from the Geechee families who lived such true lives there. Their life deserves to continue as long as their faith lives.



4. Part memoir, part cultural history, part plea on behalf of a fragile culture, God, Dr. Buzzard, and the Bolito Man is as affecting as the best magic realism. You do not simply read it, you savor it and absorb it into your very soul.

   In the book, Cornelia Bailey, resident griot of Sapelo Island off the Georgia coast, spins the story of her growing up in that place and in a time when lives were governed equally by religion, magic, and chance. She admits us deep into the culture of her proud people and introduces us to folkways strong enough to have survived the Middle Passage and the centuries since. So it is with infinite sadness we learn that the forces of progress are rendering these same folkways as fragile as a paper-thin fig shell that washes onto the beach.

   It goes without saying that God, Dr. Buzzard, and the Bolito Man will appeal to cultural historians, anthropologists, naturalists, and environmentalists. The book's strongest appeal, however, will be to lovers of lyrical prose -- and to anyone who delights in the sheer magic of the way words fall on the ear and follow one another on a page.

   This is a special book, one that should find a home on every reader's short shelf of well-thumbed volumes that are read and referenced time and again.




5. God, Dr. Buzzard, and the Bolito Man transports the reader to the Georgia sea islands. You swear you can smell the marsh, hear the sea birds cry and taste the sweet potatoes. The writing is so pure and the people so true that you come away afraid of Mama Lizzie, furious at Bukra and proud of Grandma when she faces down the deacons. The issues the book tackles are important - ownership of the land, the insidious effects of slavery, the origins of sea island culture in Africa - but it is also a book that captures your heart. A must for anyone who is interested in people. Highly recommended.

4 comments about Woman on Death Row.

1. That's the question this book made me ask. Velma Barfield's case reminded me a great deal of the heavily publicized lead-up to the execution of Karla Faye Tucker of Texas who admitted her crimes, and by all outward appearances reformed, (found religion) but it was not enough to save her life.
   
   Velma or "Mama Margie" fully blames the pills that she was addicted to for her actions. She glosses over her crimes, blaming her hazy drug-blurred memory. Her victims are never characterized as anything more than irritating alcoholics, or overbearing elderly crones who demanded too much from her. We don't get any sense of their suffering or pain. She wants us to believe that there was no premeditation or really much thought at all given to the murders.
   
   Overall the book is very well written but left me scratching my head, I was hoping to get a look inside a killer's mind, but I came away with very little insight.



2. this womans life story was sad and gripping in many ways. its told in a straight forward and frank manner. but the fact remains is that she killed many people in cold blood and deserves to die. the story focuses on aspects of her life, the murders and her religous beliefs. she may have grown up in an unhappy household, been addicted to painkillers, or had an unfulling life. but this does not give you the right to take another life. woman murderers are not so common so if you are looking for a different kind of story, this will be a good one for you.



3. ...Velma Barfield's life in her own words....She was very honest and straightforward--yet, confused about certain parts of her life, as if they were so awful that she had blotted them out.

   It was hard to believe that the unassuming, faith-filled mother and grandma who was sharing her story with me could be the same one who had killed so many people.

   Yet, the people were dead and buried--and, long before I read this book, so was Velma Barfield.

   But was it the arsenic-giving woman that was legally-murdered by the state of North Carolina? Or had they killed a new creation who could have lived much longer and could have continued to help and support others.

   The one who committed the crimes was a woman with a lot of emotional scars that had surfaced after she had been given both an unnecessary hysterectomy and pain-killers to help her through her recovery from being hit by a hit-and-run driver.

   The one who was killed several years later had come out of her drugged haze and had rededicated her life to Jesus--and knowing Him in a more mature and real way than she ever had in her entire life!

   I oppose capital punishment. Always have and always will. Don't tell me that I'd feel differently if somebody I knew and loved was murdered, because it has already happened--several times, with one of those times being a man I used to date!

   We need to be better than the criminal in how we treat others--and we need to also realize that people CAN change, even if they can only make a difference from a prison cell for the rest of their lives. Life has value!

   As I read this book, I thought how wonderful it would be if Velma Barfield were still reaching out and encouraging people from her prison cell, and I wonder how her kids and grandkids are doing now...




4. I would love to find another copy to share with others. Velma's life story changed my thinking toward people who are prescription drup abusers. I will never be the same. Everyone needs to read it.

2 comments about Covered Wagon Women 7: Diaries and Letters from the Western Trails 1854-1860 (Covered Wagon Women).

1. We journey once again with the emigrants over plains, prairies, rivers and mountains via these womens' diaries and letters. The years covered in this volume are 1854-1860.
   Without being overly exhaustive, a few to mention would be:
   
   Forty-eight year old Sarah Sutton whose 1854 wagon train had lost numbers of cattle from the Snake River westward due to alkali water, dust and exhaustion; how crowded the trails were at their time of passing; Indian occurrences along the way; etc. Sarah was very articulate in all her observations and died just before reaching the land of her dreams.
   Twenty-nine year old Mormon Sara Mousley's 1857 account of traveling to Salt Lake City. Her description of a cattle stampede is rendering; the many way-stations along the trail to aid the Saints in provisions, etc;
   Julia Anna Archibald (Holmes) who was twenty-years old in 1858 when she went to Colorado. A very outspoken advocate on women's rights. She wore the avant-garde attire `bloomers' and was somewhat admonished by others in her train. First woman to climb Pikes Peak.
   Thirty-four year old Hannah Clapp's 1859 letters from Salt Lake City to a Wisconsin newspaper lashing out at the Mormons' zealous ideologies and fanaticisms.
   And twenty-two year old Martha Missouri Moore's 1860 adventures of driving 5100 sheep to California.
   
   All these diaries and letters give the reader an understanding as to the resolve, determination and sacrifices these emigrants endured while traveling westward so long ago. Excellent reading.



2. The yearning for friends and family left at home; the constant concern for the health and safety of spouse and children; the physical challenges; the inconveniences of camp cooking, laundering, bathing -- what was it really like for those women who traveled the Western trails? Told in their exact words, transcribed faithfully, these diaries give you have the rare opportunity to "walk in the shoes" of someone who really lived in those times. This is Vol. 7 in a series edited and compiled by Kenneth Holmes, and I have read and re-read the first ten. I recommend all of them.

5 comments about Dizzy & Jimmy: My Life with James Dean: A Love Story.

1. I had a great deal of expectations to this book and finished it within 24 hours. I have been a Dean fan for almost 10 years and have read a great deal of biographies on him. Im not going to give a resume`of what the book is about, obviously Liz Sheridans romance with James Dean. The thing that kinda lost my interest halfway through is the way Sheridan describes the romance, excuse me for not bealiving the mushy love they shared and the feely romance. Its too fictional for me, and I do bealive they shared a romance but that it was so defiant and heavy loaded with passion and love, sorry dont bealive it.



2. This book is written by the wonderful, funny, and deeply honest Liz "Dizzy" Sheridan. All of these attributes show up in this beautiful, wrenching love story about her time with James Dean. I enthusiastically recommend this book to anyone who wants to read of the joyful glow and searing pain of love affairs, to step into Dizzy's heart, mind, and world--Manhattan in the early 1950s, and to gain unique insight into the real James Dean rather than the icon, who lived fully until his tragic death in 1955, to the beat of his own drummer, letting few others deeply tap that drum along the way. Dizzy was surely one of those few.



3. I bought this book online because I couldn't wait for it to come to the nearest Borders store. I received it earlier than expected and I was very excited. Elizabeth Sheridan describes to us a man who did not always appear to others the way she knew him. Many other books describe James Dean as being an angry, introverted, and selfish young man. All this may have been true about him, but he also had a sweet side to him which was not always seen. From this book, it is clear that it meant you meant something to him if he expressed his feelings, thoughts, and emotions to you. It portrays a young man who had a sense of humor and who was a hopeless romantic. Reading what Elizabeth Sheridan has said about him shows his fans that he was capable of love and that other books about him aren't 100% true, that he wasn't a cold-hearted person. This is a firsthand account of James, before he became a star and it truly captures the essence of who he was, who he was when he let his guard down and trusted others. By the end of the book, I started to tear up when they parted from each other because I myself wouldn't have been able to do that with someone I loved. I then broke down crying when it described how Sheridan found out about his death. Just reading the words about it made me feel so empty inside, as if I had known him personally, as if he had once been a part of my life. It's as if I had been there. This book is truly a heart-felt account of a misunderstood young man, who in the midst of all things, really wanted to love and be loved. I love this book and whoever reads it shouldn't be disappointed.



4. Its just love, thats all it is. Its not ment to BE a story about the great James Dean. Its truly about a girl named Dizzy and the boy named Jimmy who she fell in love with. Somehow you can drift into this book and become the characters, you can feel the love, you can remember how it feels to be in that kind of love, where nothing else matters and reality is just something other people talk about. I read this book over and over. I bought it because it was about James Dean and i am a fan. I love it because its about the kinda of love that everyone should get to experience at least once.



5. This is the love story of James Dean and Liz Sheridan (she played Jerry Seinfeld's mother on "Seinfeld.") They met in New York when he was barely scraping by and not yet famous and she a dancer. She was quite a looker with a long ponytail and he was of course scruffy and hunched over with the ever-present cigarette hanging from his lips. I enjoyed reading about their short-lived romance as it shows a side of James Dean that I'm sure he did not reveal to too many people - very sweet and tender. If you are a James Dean fan you will enjoy this book.

5 comments about Diary Of A Crack Addict's Wife.

1. I must agree that this book was very hard to put down and that the author's messages to the reader are truly inspiring and moving. However, if you are like me, and are very analytical when it comes to reading, it seems as though the author's message is lost somewhere along the line when she does not turn out to be the "martyr" she portrays herself to be. (SPOILER ALERT...don't read on if you don't want to know what happens!)
   Initially, you feel sorry for the author and understand where she is coming from...you want to sympathize with her as she always looks for the good in people. However, as the book progresses, you realize that the author is just as irresponsible as the crack addict himself. She goes along through the book, pointing out what a "bad" man he is all the while skipping and glossing over her own obvious issues as if there is nothing wrong with them. This author has had 3 children out of wedlock with 3 different men (did they ever actually get married or was it a common-law marriage). Not once does she ever mention that perhaps this was irresponsible (oops..she "got" pregnant!) Now I'm no fuddy duddy but this preaching of hers is completely clouded by her obviously un-Christian lifestyle. The clincher is the obvious addiction of her own...spending. The minute she gets any money in her hands, she is out buying clothes, cars, shoes, getting her hair done. It never stops. She also glosses over her past battles with alcoholism and has a baby born addicted to crack in the end. I agree a woman should treat herself once in a while but come on...if your crack addict husband is blowing all of your money and you were pregnant, wouldn't you be saving for a rainy day? Maybe he isn't the only irresponsbile one...I lost my sympathy for her character as soon as I realized she had her own demons she refused to acknowledge yet expected him to change. Huge disapointment.



2. The book was pretty good until I reached the very last chapter. Then I was utterly disgusted. This woman had me feeling horrible for her and what she was going through only to find out at the end that her baby was born addicted to crack. HELLO???!!!! The only way this can happen is if SHE was the crack addict and not the husband!!!! I have no sympathy for this lying manipulative woman who is now whoring her story for money. Research the facts, a baby cannot be born addicted to crack unless the mother has been using it! I feel no remorse for this woman and threw the book away immediately. I want my money back. This woman is a liar and gets no sympathy from me. Her kids deserved to be taken from her.



3. This book hit home for me in many ways--and was pretty tough to get through, only because I could only read a little at a time without either getting pissed off at my situation, or feeling a little too much--either way, highly recommended for anyone, but particulary those to whom the title speaks.......



4. CYTHNIA D. HUNTER........Author eludicated and incorporated her characters and life situations so consummatively. That I embraced her experiences in a positive aspect of live and not negatively.
   
   "DIARY OF A CRACK ADDICTS WIFE" will be most memorable and heartfelt to me for many reasons
   was elated with how she tackled her daily obstacles by holding steadfast to faith. Finding her way through it all, left me bewildered. I'm glad she took her bad situations and redirected it in diverse ways.
   She eloquently exhibited to us as readers that God never forsakes us.
   So as I conclude...... Walk by Faith not by Sight......



5. "Diary of a Crack Addicts Wife" is an excellent story that everyone should take time out to read. I think that everybody in their own way can relate to the story. Either someone knows someone that is a user or has been affected by the drug in their past. And this is one of the best books that talks about that specific issue. You won't find to many other women to come out of the closet and say that their spouse is on drugs. There is a problem in society and that is keeping the drugs off of the streets. Ms. Hunter is one of the very few who is attempting to do that.