No comments about Women Who Changed the World: Fifty Inspirational Woman Who Shaped History.

5 comments about Marilyn's Last Words: Her Secret Tapes and Mysterious Death.

1. Alot of things in this book corresponded with what I had previously read but I dont think it is all true. If you want to read a real biography of Monroe look elsewhere. One thing I can say about this book is it kept you interested in everyway and was not boring. At the time of reading it it was one of my favroites, now not so much but I still think it deserves 5 stars however it is not as good or accurate as many other Marilyn who-dun-it books.



2. After researching and reading many, many books attempting to explain the extremely complex and perplexing events surrounding the death of Marilyn, Matthew Smith's book presents a very detailed and well researched account weaving together the many threads in Marilyn's life with sobering logic. The book takes the reader on a journey through Marilyn's personal and business relationships, as well as the motives of those who sought to use her toward their own ends. It reads like a terrific mystery novel and like the pieces of a puzzle, comes to a unique and logical conclusion as to "who did it".
   
   The only piece missing is the newest evidence, which came after the publication of this book, of the release of the secret CIA file on Marilyn Monroe. This new information through, only strengthens Mr. Smith's case that rogue agents of the CIA had a hand in her murder, as to publically embarrass the Kennedy brothers and force their resignations from public office (many other authors place the Kennedys as the main orchestrators of her death - a claim that never factually made sense). When one looks at the convergence of political struggles during the early 1960's and the many players including J. Edgar Hoover, Sam Giancana, Jimmy Hoffa, the Kennedy's, the CIA, the military industrial complex, etc., Mr Smith's logical conclusion makes the most sense.
   
   Unfortunately, for Marilyn, she inadvertently got herself personally caught up the biggest political mess of the last 75 years and paid for it with her life. Because the perpetrators failed to nail the Kennedy's for her murder because of an amazing public relations campaign from 20th Century Fox studios buying the Kennedy's time to cover their behinds, it ultimately backfired on the Kennedy's and they all ended up dead as well. So if Marilyn had somehow lived, American history would be dramatically different.
   
   Bravo, Mr. Smith on your crusade to get to the truth of Marilyn's murder.



3. why do you and others continue to perpetuate the movie magazine stories and call them non fiction even da vinci code is fiction
   please guys do your research and find the marilyn monroe foundation and her daughter nancy miracle who wrote a great play which tells the heretofore untold real story ofthe person behind the image it's about time not the same old story not again please it's 2006



4. I have read many books about the life and the death of Marilyn Monroe, so when this "revealing" new book came out, I wanted to see what it had to say. What I found was trashy, questionable material. I was wary right away, after reading the Acknowledgements section, where the author gives a large amount of thanks and credit to two people who appear as sources in many Marilyn bios, both of whom have been completely discredited by other (more believable) biographers. They barely even knew the woman, and have spent the years since her death trying to cash in on her memory. The fact that the author relied on these people told me that the material in the book was going to be questionable at best. After reading the entire book, I was left feeling very sad that Marilyn has been exploited yet again. If you want to read a real biography of Marilyn Monroe, I recommend "Marilyn Monroe: The Biography" by Donald Spoto.



5. thank you thank you thank you
   
   I can't stress that enough. I have believed and it's so obvious that the Mob and Kennedy's were behind this the whole time. Anyone can do there own research and declare the same truth but, most decided it's preposterous to think some one like the "Kennedy's" could conjure such a horrible thing. WAKE up people and give me a break. Do your history research of Joseph Kennedy and the government alone. There's crap they get away with constantly don't be naive. There's has been so many facts about this I can't believe it took this long for the justice of Marilyn Monroe. I am a huge fan and now she CAN rest in peace.
   
   ashley mosely
   (...)

5 comments about The Bond between Women.

1. This book is very powerful and it will enable tools for you to take charge of your life. It brought out every emotion in me imaginable. It addressed many of the issues women endure from past to present.
   As an author of Embrace the Light-a womans story through poetry to touch your heart I was touched by this book.



2. This book remains my favorite of all time. I have read, studied, & treasured countless books about the Divine Feminine, but none compare to this woman's spiritual courage and sensitivity. It made me enraged & it broke me down to tears- Never have I been more proud to be a woman on this journey. A reviewer below criticized the author for finding enlightenment in forgiveness and resolution in righteous action. We are NOT here on this earth to deliver retribution, but to evolve and come into full SPIRITUAL POWER. Anyone can pursue revenge and remain in a self-righteous, angry abyss, but it takes a very refined soul, courageous heart, and deep spiritual intelligence to accomplish what this author has. I feel pity for those who missed the revolutionary purpose of this book. Goddess bless you, China Galland for taking me into your hell and your heaven- the journey was unforgettable and will live in my own life and actions forever.



3. The first time I read this book it made me cry, I never had experienced so much emotion for a author before. China Galland is open and honest, she shares her very personal experience with the reader and bridges the gap between western society and buddist cultures fabulosly. The book moved me so much I have given it to another 5 people including some men to read and only wish everybody could realise that this book is truely unique.



4. In "The Bond Between Women", author China Galland embarks on yet another spiritual odyssey, this time attending various festivals celebrating the Divine Feminine. Whether she is learning about child prostitution in Nepal, serving salad on the streets of San Francisco, or discussing the Vietnam War with Sister Chan Khong, Galland illustrates both the horrendous difficulties, pain and trauma these women face; and their remarkable courage in rising above them. Especially moving was the chapter on the Disappeared in Argentina.

   This book highlights little-known or discussed issues facing women worldwide, and would be valued enough for that alone. It also realistically grapples with the complicated structures of forgiveness, setting boundaries, and healing. A superb spiritual work that crosses denominational lines.




5. This is likely the best book i've read in the last several years. One of those books where you are outraged, depressed, crying, screaming and laughing at the same time, one of those books you wait for all day until you can sit down with it again. At least the first half of the book... the second half wasn't quite as powerful for me, but still wonderful. I understand how someone might think this view of compassion "wimpy" and "same old same old" But it really is a way beyond despair and rage, a way of protesting evil without letting it consume you. It's not about forgiveness, It's about power and action.

5 comments about The Other Side of the Mountain.

1. This book is the story of a very wonderful lady with courage and determination that keeps her striving unselfishly to give to others in any way possible. Although the accident left her a quadraplegic in a wheelchair, she went on to teach school in Bishop CA. My son was her pupil and he adores her to this day. She also gave him an afterschool job at her home...thats where he learned about roses and that the bushes simply 'love' milk every once in awhile! Jill is a remarkable lady that has overcome the trajedy which ended her budding career as a skier but it didn't take away her wonderful character as a caring and decent human being. I suggest that every one should read or see both books and movies...they tell the real story as it happened....no "Hollywood" additions or deveations and they used local people to be actors. I give them all a 'thumbs up'.



2. An inspiring story of Jill Kinmont, aspiring skiier who became a quadriplegic in a pre-Olympic ski race. Ms. Kinmont fought to live a normal life in a time when the disabled were considered just that - disabled and incapable of living normal lives. Her college refused to allow her to enroll in teacher training simply because of her limited mobility, which today would be recognized for the discrimination that it is.
   
   Ms. Kinmont chose to live life to the best of her ability and work around her disability rather than let it define her capabilities, and in the process opened doors and gained recognition of the the needs of other handicapped people.
   
   Recommend this biography as well as the Life magazine article, still available through libraries. Much better than the movie, which was unfortunately given the Hollywood treatment and fictionalized.



3. The Other Side of the Mountain is about a woman named Jill Kinmont. Jill was an Olympic skiing star. In one of the last skiing races before she and others could try out for the Olympics, Jill had a very, very serious disaster. When she was skiing down the hill at approximetly 40 miles per hour she lost her balance and control and crashed down hill. After this incident/disaster happend, Jill could never stand up again, is what the doctors had told her. The crash left her paralyzed from the shoulders down. After finding this out, Jill had some sort of another mountain to climb. It was from being able to do absolutly nothing to going back to a meaningful way of life again. The story is mostly about the struggle and the victory of Jill's life.



4. This memorable book is the definitve profile of courage. It tells the story of Jill Kinmont, a talented downhill skier whose Olympic success was imminent until a terrible fall in Utah rendered her a quadriplegic. But the true success of this book lies not with the representation of Jill Kinmont as a tragic heroine, but with the portrayal of her as someone whose commitment, dedication, drive, and determination have enabled her to succeed at life, despite the tremendous obstacles she has faced. Her skiing ability is legendary, but it is as a person she stands tall. Her story proves beyond all doubt than when our bodies are at their weakest our spirits are at their strongest.

   This is an amazing and memorable piece of work and will be cherished by those who believe in the immortality and infallibility of the human spirit.




5. This book is more like an novel than a biography, and it is too long! However, you will find a very brave Jill Kinmont. Her spirit has never end. She kept on fighting and never gave up.

5 comments about Raquela.

1. When Ruth Gruber began the research on this book she searched throughout Israel for an ideal figure whose life - story could embody and best exemplify the history of modern Israel. At Hadassah Hopital in Jerusalem she was told by Prof. Kalman Mann of a woman named Rachel Prywes who had been a nurse and midwife. This was the ideal figure and Gruber embarked on telling her story.
   It is that of a twelvth generation- Jerusalemite who from childhood was involved in the struggle to create an independent and free Jewish state in the land of Israel. The story is told in the form of the novel. Much of the dialogue seems simplistic and awkward. This is not great literature.
   But the story is told with a straightforwardness. It has a quality of authenticity. It tells the basic Zionist narrative in which the conflict in the Middle East was by and large created by Arab intransigence, and refusal to live in peace with Jewish neighbors. It tells of heroic chapters in the life of the country. In the course of the story the nurse Raquela also comes to work at the interment camp at Atlit where the British are holding concentration- camp survivors who want to enter Israel.They were taken at sea by the British and held in prison. Her heroic efforts there and later . The efforts made by the medical team she is a part of in saving Bedouin infants and introducing medical care to the Bedouin community , are evidence for what to my own mind has become a painful ironic truth in regard to many people's reading of the Arab- Israeli conflict today. They forget completely the great efforts made the Jews to improve the life for all citizens of the country, Jew and Arab alike. They say nothing about the way the Arabs perpetuated their own refugee problem, how they refused to settle the six hundred thousand Arabs who left the Holy Land during the War of Independence. They say nothing about the great task the Jews did in taking in and providing new lives for such a vast number of immigrants.
   The book points out again the irony that it is precisely the side that has been decent, fair, humane , the Israeli Jewish one which is perpetually accused of being the oppressor.
   The story of Raquela herself, her romantic struggles especially is again told in a simplistic, straightforward, and nonetheless not unmoving way.
   I simply great enjoyed this book, and I think most readers who want to learn more about how the Jewish state developed, while at the same time relaxing with a good novel, would do well to read this book.



2. This biography details in vivid tones the life of a ninth generation Jerusalemite. Through her life we see the history of modern Israel, joys and hardships, wars and victories, all in personal terms without any heavy-handedness. Because it reads like a novel, it is engrossing; because it is a true story it is amazing. Ruth Gruber paints a rich and vivid portrait of the woman and of the nation.



3. Terrific story, well-told, exciting, thrilling, heartwarming, and real. An eye-opener to what really went on there and just how hard the Israeli people had to fight. I have never throughout all my education and reading understood Israel the way I did through Raquela's eyes. I had no idea the British were involved in that way, and was disappointed to learn of it. I learned a lot from this book from the perspective of an Israeli-born Israeli. The internment camps were dispicable, the people who ran them disgusting and almost as guilty as nazis.



4. My son converted to Judaism last year, he went to study in Israel. He met an married a beautiful young Jewish woman who gave me this book as one of her all time favorites. It is extremely well written, a real page turner. I hated to put it down and would have read the whole of it in one sitting if I'd had the chance. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a great read, and who really cares to understand the heart of Israel's struggles for Statehood - from the human perspective.
   First rate!



5. I read this book when I was 15 years old. Wow! I was SOOO impressed with Raquela's courage and integrity that at that point I decided if I had a daughter I would name her Raquela. Nine years later, I had a baby girl and her name is Raquela. I read this book again a few years ago and was once again impressed. Just a month ago my husband, daughter, Raquela, and I were able to go to Israel and I saw Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus. My daughter was able to see and walk the same places as her namesake. Ruth Gruber beautifully laid this story out and I agree it reads like a novel and is very hard to put down.

4 comments about From Japan With Love: 1946-1948.

1. Starting with Mary (Kiddie) Ruggieri's departure from Camp Stoneman in Pittsburg, California she takes the reader on a journey across the ocean to Japan shortly after World War II and back home again. She wrote about her onboard quarters and activities on her ocean voyage as well as the family she left behind.
   
   As a member of the 8000th WAC Detachment that arrived in Japan in October 1946, Mary saw a whole new world open to her eyes. Having a penchant for photography she certainly used her hobby to intertwine her storyline in this book. She wrote of her first sight of the Japanese people and the land that would be her home for the following months. She provided descriptions of the women's quarters compared to where the men were living and to where other WACs were living within the country itself.
   
   From a non-travelers point of view this was a very interesting book. It included more than 485 photos and facts that accompanied each segment of the author's journals, letters and memories. Mary brought her photos to life with her entries. She wrote about the soldier she met and fell in love with along with the things they did for fun. But I was still amazed at how much sight-seeing time she seemed to have while in Japan. I was also surprised to read about and see photos of Nagasaki since Mary was there just a couple of years after the USA had dropped an atomic bomb on it.
   
   Throughout this book Mary takes the reader to places most of us have only read about or never heard of before this. She introduces the reader to the sights, sounds and smells of Japan following the war. When her time was finally up Mary returned to the USA aboard another ship. Again she wrote of the activities aboard the ship. She was a very happy woman once she stepped foot on US soil in May 1948.
   
   This book is well worth reading.



2. Offering a fascinating, informative, personal, and unique perspective of live in post-war Japan through excerpts from the letters, journals and photographs of Mary A. Ruggieri, an American college girl stationed in Japan from 1946 to 1948 as a member of Women's Army Corps as part of the American military post-war occupation , "From Japan With Love" takes the reader from an army hut encampment to some of Japan's most memorable shrines and august temples. Ruggieri writes eloquently of the Japanese people and culture, her falling in love with Japan, as well as meeting the American soldier who would become her husband. Remarkable for her articulate eyewitness account which is peppered throughout with her black-and-white photography, "From Japan With Love" is as engaging as it is informed, making it very highly recommended reading for anyone with an interest in the post-war Japan reformation, mid-twentieth century Japanese culture, and the transition of Japan from a defeated nation to its nescient emergence as a western style democracy..



3. Reviewed by Kam Aures for Rebeccas Reads (3/08)
   
   "From Japan With Love" is a wonderful memoir illustrating what life was like in Post-War Japan through the eyes of Mary Ruggieri, a member of the Women's Army Corps (WAC). The story of the era is told through a composition of journal entries, personal letters to friends and family, and photographs. Throughout the book there are also boxes explaining some of the historical figures, places and events of the time period.
   
   Tech sergeant Ruggieri's journey began in October of 1946 when she boarded the Army Transport Admiral Sims headed for Yokohama, Japan. The luxury of the trip with "maid service and swell meals" was a far cry from what was to await her and her shipmates when they arrived in the distant land. When they pulled into the harbor they saw the destruction and devastation that the country had suffered at the hands of war in the form of sunken ships and the impoverished manner in which the native people were dressed. Their living quarters for their occupation in Japan were Quonset huts which were void of any luxuries. Each woman had `8'9' of space into which to place a cot, a foot locker, and a wall locker." While the accommodations were less than welcoming, the American GIs that were stationed there made up for it by treating the women like royalty with barrages of parties and assistance. One of these GI's the author became especially fond of and started dating.
   
   Ruggieri's time spent in Japan was definitely not all work. On the weekends she had the opportunity to take some incredible trips and see some amazing sights. While the travel to and from these destinations was not always the most pleasant journey, the experiences that she had more than made up for any hardships along the way. The book contains over 400 photographs which definitely enhance the story that she tells. There are pictures of the Quonset huts, Japanese people, the hotels they stayed at on their trips, Mount Fuji, and plenty of the author herself and other members of the WAC. Even though Ruggieri is very skilled at writing descriptive passages, the multitudes of pictures really provide you with a complete picture of everything that happened.
   
   To have saved all of these letters, journals and pictures from over sixty-years ago and to be able to compile them to create a book as complete as "From Japan With Love" is incredible. The memoir is well-written, thought-provoking, and insightful. Her writing is so descriptive that you truly feel like you are there with her and her humor and straightforwardness will definitely keep you entertained. "From Japan With Love" is an excellent book and I highly recommend it!



4. This is a warm, rich, charming, evocative, and often humorous memoir of life and love in post-war Japan, with many rare photos of the era (certainly including the photo of the bridge from Takeishima Island, page 118), which makes this tapestry of reminiscence such a uniquely delightful and easy read.
   
   The "Rules Of The Road" posted in the Central Tokyo Police Station, in 1947, are hilarious.
   
   The letters written by the author are sometimes poignant ("Never do I forget how wondrously fortunate I am to have you. . ."), sometimes funny ("My interview consisted of a major asking me how much clerical work I had done, and my telling him that I did very little and didn't like it, so of course I got a clerical job..."), but always fun and insightful.
   
   It is a wonderful book.

2 comments about The CIA's Control of Candy Jones.

1. I have books by two other people, though not as well thought out as this one. I believe these claims because it is so unlikely that these three got together. Besides, Candy Jones ran her own business and has a very logical, pragmatic, mind. She also had enough money to get to doctors who she trusted to help get her back to normal, or at lest function as normal.
   
   I listened to her on the radio and remember her not wanting to tell this story because it is embarrassing and she was so afraid of the people who did this to her.
   
   She warned people to take a tape recorder with them to the doctor's office. I respected Candy very much and was so sorry to hear that her patriotic motivations were turned around by the government to cause her harm.
   
   I was Conservative at the time, the first two books I read, for entertainment mostly, were very disjointed, hard to read, and not organized properly. But the thought did occur to me that if these women had gone through what they claimed and did not get a lot of serious help, perhaps that is the way that they would write.
   
   When I read about Candy, who I respect, it was the start of my entire political outlook changing because there is no way that I can deny her story.
   
   It appears as though many of the things that we used to accuse the Soviets of are things that we are guilty of, too.
   
   I recommend this book to everyone.



2. I couldn't put this book down once I started it. It gives an account of how the military and CIA gained her trust, then used drugs and hypnosis to split her into two personalities to make her into a Manchurian-Candidate like person to do their bidding. This is the most readable book I have read on mind-control. I would recommend read this book FIRST to gain an understanding of mind-control, THEN read the other books.

5 comments about East To The Dawn: The Life Of Amelia Earhart.

1. I agree with the author who wrote the review, "Excellent descriptions of her flights; short on criticism." As an aviator and a student of history I was excited to find a book purported to have done such research on the subject. I was disappointed in the balance and lack of critical analysis. I was very disappointed in the writing skills of the author. There are numerous grammatical errors that are anathema to a writer who has honed her skills. These errors should not have escaped freshman composition courses. In addition there are a plethora of misplaced modifiers. I have had to reread many sentences to determine about whom the author is discussing.
   
   One review mentioned factual errors. Those errors lead one to question the accuracy or the rest of the research. Another reviewer questioned the balance of analysis and balance of the work. I have to agree with that reviewer.
   
   Overall the work is a bit disappointing.



2. I can't believe the author spent 10 years researching this book. I've found two errors in the first chapter. Pottawatomie Creek (pg 12) is not west of Atchison, Ks. It's approximately two hours to the south. Kansas State University (pg 23) is in Manhattan, Ks. It does not have a law school. The law school is located at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. These facts could be easily verified in a short amount of time.



3. I appreciate the author's honoring Amelia Earhart, someone I, along with millions of people, admire and hold in high esteem. Regardless, I believe it is a biographer's purpose to present as accurate a presentation of someone as the evidence on record provides. The lack thereof of a few important points and this author's omitting relevant facts, that Amelia was NOT considered, among the top women pilots of her day, to be the best woman pilot by any means and most importantly, that Amelia and her celebrity rose specifically due to her business partner and publicity agent George Palmer Putnam. Putnam had been looking for a talented female pilot to ride the Friendship flight that initially made Amelia famous. From thereon, it was publicity stunts arranged by Putnam and his huge publicity machine that enabled Amelia to take off in more than her plane. It was also the onset of the new film industry that enabled Amelia to get so much worldwide attention, through news reels on the earliest movie screens, all arranged by Putnam.
   
   Whatever Amelia's lacking of extensive training as a pilot (as noted by interviews of the top female pilot who knew Amelia) had also been overshadowed by her other talents and tireless contributions in other areas. It was Amelia's drive, talent, skills and her decision to continue with Putnam as her publicity agent, who she eventually married, that made her the best known woman pilot, not her being the best female pilot in the world as this biographer states in clear error.
   
   More seriously, this author fails to comprehend the severity or examine the final flight and how disaster could have been averted, in claiming in the forward that Amelia was a woman of great judgement. Here, I disagree since it is obvious to anyone that the FIRST attempt at a round-the-world flight that ended in a crash, should have been an indicator more flight training was needed to continue, rather than just repairs to the plane. The author fails to address how unnecessary it was for Amelia to surrender her life to being a legend in her last fatal flight, when she began cutting corners in preparation, all due to pressure from her husband George Palmer Putnam.
   
   I do understand the author's wanting to honor the memory of Amelia, to recover from what was a form of failure of the way her final flight ended, I just don't feel the certain omissions of relevant facts is the nature of what a biography should do. Nor do I appreciate this biographer's attempt to disspell any links with Amelia possibly being a feminist lesbian ahead of her time, such as stated in the forward in which the author strongly disputes Amelia rejecting men. Two men were in fact, pressuring Amelia on a continual basis to overcome her natural tendency to reject them as life long partners in marriage. This biographer, wanting to disspell any rumors of the possibility of Amelia being a feminist lesbian, remains in denial of these facts of continual rejection of men, and of their pressuring Amelia up to her final fateful flight.



4. East to the Dawn is very well-researched, going to many primary sources for information, but not very well-written. There are many cases in which I was aggravated by Butler's choice of words or annoying editorializing.

   However, any book about Amelia Earhart which features so many of her own words cannot possibly fail. Her letters, remarks, interviews burst out of the text full of personality, wit, and intelligence. It is no less than shocking how completely contemporary seems, and how inspiring she could be. We can only hope that in the future there are other perfect marriages of a remarkable person and remarkable circumstance, for Amelia Earhart and the early days of aviation were made for each other. Though somewhat clumsily, this book gets this across and for that it is very much worth reading.




5. This was a very interesting and informative book.
   I feel like it really let me know Amelia.
   Only thing I did not like about it was that the begining was
   a little slow. A little too much time spent on her ancestors.

5 comments about Picasso's Weeping Woman: The Life and Art of Dora Maar.

1. Dora Maar was according to most observers the woman in Picasso's life , closest to being at his own level of artistic perception and understanding. As this volume makes clear she was an outstanding photographer . The story of her relationship with Picasso, the part she played as inspiration and model for his work, her special role in regard to Guernica, her being the weeping woman of the famous painting, his abandoning her when he sensed ( or so he claimed) her impending madness, her passionate clinging to his memory, her breakdown, her turning to a reclusive life and one of deep religious devotion- are all presented in this excellent and clearly written volume.
   There are also representations of much of her work, and of Picasso's in which she is subject.
   Maar was clearly a considerable personality and artist in her own right, and not simply the inspiration for another.



2. This is a wonderful book, full of beautiful b/w images of dora, her photography/art and Picasso's work of her and more! It is really worth getting for your book collection, especially at this price, and it gives you an insight to Dora's life, I think she is fascinating woman living in a time when most photographer's were men. She is truely a pioneer and deserves more credit than being known as Picasso's muse. Very inspiring book.



3. Of some of Dora's photographs, and self portraits are a must have for any Dora fan. It shows her in her later years, it shows her paintings, it goes into detail about her love affair with Picasso as well. This is easily my favorite Dora book.



4. I would recommend this book to everybody. I am so delighted I purchased this book. It includes everything you need to know about Dora - her personal life before, during and after Picasso. I have always been interested in Picasso and by studying his life, I noticed all the fascinating women in his life. In my opinion, Dora was the one who made a big difference and who had a huge influence on him. Although it was Francoise Gilot, another woman in Picasso's life who gave him two children. Dora's own career and life as an artist (photographer, model, painter) is described in this book from the time she moved to Paris and tried to establish herself as a photographer.

   You will not only find Picasso's portraits and drawings of Dora but Dora's own work (a lot of black & white photos taken by her that remind me of Man Ray's work). She truly was a talented artist. This is not often mentioned. Most of the people saw her mainly as Picasso's model and Muse. Dora was a very complex person full of emotions. She could be very dramatic in the way she looked and dressed. This all is revealed in this book. As I said, it has it all: Dora as a private person (Theodora M.) and Dora as an artist, the famous and remarkable Dora Maar. Trust me, with this book, you will get all the information you need. I consider this book a piece of art.




5. Picasso's Weeping Woman: The Life and Art of Dora Maar

   I am grateful for this book. It is insightful but not definitive. It is not an in depth biography of Dora Maar. A better perception of the psyche of Dora Maar is contained in James Lord's personal memoir "Picasso and Dora". And a better understanding of the cruelty of Picasso is presented in Arianna S. Huffington's "Picasso: Creator and Destroyer". Both I think are necessary to truly appreciate this book as I do.

   Since Dora Maar's death in 1997, little has yet been published of her work. She is primarily known as one of the mistresses of Picasso but there was a world of complexity to this woman. She was deeply involved with the surrealists before she ever met Picasso. She knew them all, Breton, Tanguy, Man Ray, Hugnet, Crevel. She was a noted photographer, an exhibited painter, a poet and Picasso's muse and inspiration for seven stormy years culminating in a breakdown that left her a changed woman, a recluse and a religious devotee.

   Mary Ann Caws book presents a dazzling panorama of works by both Dora Maar and Picasso including some wonderful comparative paintings of both artists. Dora Maar assisted and photographically chronicled Picasso as he created his masterpiece Guernica. That chronicle is beautifully presented in Caws book.

   This book is an easy read with gorgeous reproductions of photographs, painting, sculpture, and poetry throughout not only from Dora Maar but also from Paul Eluard, André du Bouchet and others. It is a great visual companion piece to books on Picasso's works, photography and surrealism. It will occupy that regrettably tiny portion of my bookshelf devoted to Dora Maar. Thank you Mary Ann Caws for this delightful book

1 comments about The Diaries of Dawn Powell: 1931-1965.

1. Thank you, Steerforth & Tim Page (and Gore Vidal) for making the work of Dawn Powell available. Of all her books, I like the diaries the best--so candid, such a grown-up view of the world; her comments on writing, the New York literary world, and the gritty beauty and ugliness of New York are always acute. Her grasp of the complexity of relationships is amazing-her comments about her husband Joe, her sweetheart, and her child are poignant reminders that life need not be perfect to be rich. Here is the voice of a remarkable woman, one of the most clear-eyed American writers of the twentieth-century. She captures a particular New York moment as does no other writer, and that's saying something.

   I am somehow reminded of another great writer, another unsentimental woman: Natalia Ginzburg. An Italian, her work and Powell's are very different, yet they share a rare candor and stoicism.