5 comments about A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City: A Diary.

1. I must admit after reading this woman's diary, I was enlighten by the nature of her situation and the sheer impact of Nazi Germany after the fall of Berlin. The writing style is so "descriptive-of-the-events", it was personal and direct. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is missing their soul as a writer, this woman really speaks about truths in unique way where her words paint a vivid picture of harsh reality.



2. Despite all of my attentions paid to the history of man's cruelty to man,
   (and women), over the course of the past few decades, I have never exper-
   ienced a more poignant accounting of same than that which "A Woman in Berlin" had to offer. The author's physical survival and psychological victory over the most tragic circumstances imaginable is a testament to the power of applied intellect in the face of mindless savagery. Truly, this literary work is a wonderful testament to the strength of the female spirit and the durability of a pure human sole.



3. An intelligent, resilient, compassionate, resourceful woman chose to keep a diary during the dark days of the end of World War II in desolate, bombed-out Berlin, when the Soviet Red Army's `liberation' of the city included the rape of an estimated 100,000 German women, including the author herself. She chose to remain anonymous, and also shielded the identities of most of the fellow Germans around her.
   
   The attitudes of the `Ivans' who arrived in Berlin ranged from the ruthless bullies who gang-raped German women from age 14 to 74 at one extreme, to the older, more senior, more refined Red Army officers who treated the German vanquished with respect and even compassion. Alcohol consumption by the Red Army was a catalyst for rape, pillaging and destruction. The Nazis consciously left behind stores of alcohol, believing that an inebriated Red Army would be a less effective fighting force. The Nazis clearly failed to realize that the alcohol would fuel a wave of revenge and violence against its own female civilians.
   
   The author and most Berliners were without water, electricity and decent food for weeks on end. Red Army soldiers would wander in and out of the Germans' apartments, at all hours of the day and night, stealing whatever they wanted, grabbing and abusing the women, and defecating everywhere, indoors and out.
   
   On the one hand, the Germans realized that they had this abuse coming to them, after the Nazi atrocities. "Our German calamity has a bitter taste - of repulsion, sickness, insanity, unlike anything in history" (page 257). On the other hand, the Germans fear and resent their liberators, who force them to work twelve hour days dismantling factories for shipment to Russia, with the only compensation being meager food rations. Out of hunger, many German women succumbed to the offer of food from the Red Army soldiers, in exchange for sleeping with them.
   
   Despite living amid rubble and a largely hostile occupying army, the Berliners were remarkably calm and organized. Certainly there was looting by locals, and skirmishes in queues for water and food, but by and large the vanquished cooperated with one another. As the author wrote, she wanted to get busy in a constructive way, re-connect with herself spiritually, try to return to a normal life, to whatever extent that was possible. Berliners were mindful that they would no longer be masters of their own realm; rumors flew around that Germany was going to be converted into one huge field of potatoes. Berliners lived with discomfort and uncertainty during this period.
   
   Gender roles were turned upside down at the end of the war. Erstwhile pompous Nazi men were now either dead, or emaciated and humiliated prisoners of war, or deserters in hiding, or elderly, hapless and hopeless as they watched or listened to their wives and daughters being raped. By contrast, the women took a lead role in cleaning up the ruined city, forming work crews to remove rubble.
   
   Antony Beevor, author of "The Fall of Berlin 1945", states of "A Woman in Berlin" "... this book is one of the most important personal accounts ever written about the effects of war and defeat." I share his admiration for this book, and recommend it highly.



4. This diary is a chilling first-hand account of a German woman's horrific ordeal under the occupation of the Red Army in 1945 Berlin. The main reality of that occupation was, of course, rape- brutal, nightly gang rape of every German female that could be caught- no matter her age, infirmity or physical appearance. The dustjacket blurb was incorrect when it said that this diary details the "...shameful indignities to which women in a conquered city are always subject." The Germans never behaved like this in conquered cities, nor did the Americans or British or French. In its almost unbelievable scale- an estimated 2 million victims- the rape of the eastern German women is an event unprecedented in Western history, even in our modern, crime-ridden hellholes of "diversity". Certainly, the idea of a whole population being violated was something that hadn't been seen since ancient times. That's why those who recorded their experience of the horror, like this anonymous author, can tell us something new and unique about humanity- specifically women: about the depths to which we can sink and the resilience with which we can survive.
   
   The author admits to the expected feelings of shame and uncleanness, but in the jungle existence of defeated Berlin, those feelings paled next to the necessity for survival. Rape was a risk one had to run in the search for food, and shame was a feeling one could suppress when prostituting oneself to a single Russian officer meant protection and sustenance. There was a unique solace found in the collective nature of the violation, which helped the women cope, commiserate and recover. They were able to talk about it openly and matter-of-factly. When the author visited a friend for the first time since the occupation, her first words of greeting were, "How many times were you raped?" Men at the front could easily understand how gallows humor and callousness help a soldier deal with the barbarities of war, but the men couldn't understand the similar way their women were dealing with the experience of rape. When the author let her returning fiance read her diaries, and told him about her and her neighbors' experiences, he exploded: "'You've all turned into a bunch of shameless b*tches, every one of you in this building. Don't you realize?' He grimaced in disgust. 'It's horrible being around you. You've lost all sense of measure.'" The relationship between the sexes was altered. The author writes that the women of Berlin viewed their defeated men with pity and scorn, as the weaker sex which needed protecting since they had so obviously failed at protecting their women. The long term effects can only be imagined.
   
   The attitudes of both men and women were surprising. For fear of antagonizing the Russians, the German men made no attempt to defend their women, and the women were in agreement with that decision, in the interests of everyone's physical survival. I have to admit that, like the author's befuddled fiance, such modern and pragmatic attitudes seem strange to me. It's one thing to cope with life's tragedies stoically; it's another to embrace masochism and submissiveness. I was surprised at some of the self-flagellating and apathetic attitudes expressed by the author and her neighbors in this book. She records her neighbors as saying things like "We can't complain. We brought it on ourselves" and "We shouldn't look at what happened too personally". She reacts with utter equanimity when a German Communist (one of many degenerates who crawled out of the woodwork in the days after the Russian takeover) speculates with glee that the German people will be nationally exterminated and the people scattered to the four corners of the USSR as slave labor.
   
   Maybe such impassivity was just a natural reaction to all the suffering the people had gone through. Maybe the decadence and degeneracy of the Weimar Republic and modern Western society had not been effectively extirpated by 12 years of Nazi propaganda. Maye Goethe (or maybe it was Nietzsche) was right with his metaphor of Germans as pigeons (when they're up they crap on your head; when they're down they eat out of your hand). Maybe Hitler was right when he said, to justify his scorched earth policy in the last days, that only the weak would survive the war. In any case, this diary describes the birth of a new German people: defeated, passive and self-hating. They survived, but only to be colonized, physically and mentally. Perhaps some day nature will take its course and their nation will throw off the spiritual shackles imposed on them in 1945.



5. I'm a history buff and I relish reading history from first hand accounts. And especially when it's a perspective from the other sex. This is a fantastic journal from a first rate, insightful writer. I got this book two days ago and could not put it down until her last journal entry. I immediately gave it to my wife for her to read. Women throughout history have always been the spoils of conquering armys and this is a vivid first hand account. Berlin is the most fasinating city from a continent that dominated the worlds attention through most of the last 300 years. I've visited a good deal of Europe and unlike Paris or London you still feel the embers smoldering. Between the suffering of two World Wars, one being lead by a lunatic Austrian artist, and Russia's Iron curtain dropping down literally acoss thier front yards, it is amazing the people of Berlin have managed to withstand the onslought. And to rise to such an economic and cultural capitol as it is today, is amazing to say the least. Reading this lady's journal is a testiment to why Berliners and Berlin have been so resilient. A must Read.

No comments about The Prodigal Daughter: Reclaiming an Unfinished Childhood.

5 comments about Everyday Sacred: A Woman's Journey Home.

1. I read this book years ago and forgot about it. At a recent book club meeting, I noticed a similar picture on the book of a friend. I went in search to find it. It's second only to her first book, Plain & Simple, which I've enjoyed immensely and purchased several copies as books. A good book for our times.



2. I was given a copy of this book many years ago..it sat on a shelf for a number of years before one day I picked it up and started to read it. It is one book both men and women should read. I have given it as gifts at least 60 times and just recently purchased 3 more for gifts. It truly hits the soul...if you want to do something for "yourself"...read it!! You won't be sorry.



3. "Everyday Sacred; A Woman's Journey Home" by Sue Bender is a book about the author's spiritual journey while living amidst the Amish. Bender highlights that each day, and the 'everyday' within each day is sacred. There are many opportunities to experience sacred encounters in one's life, by focusing on appreciation of simplicity and the little things in life such as enjoying a warm cup of tea or noticing the beauty of flowers in your garden. All in all 'Everyday Sacred' offers clarity, optimism and hope amidst our modern world that is all too often hectic and stressful. What I enjoyed most about 'Everyday Sacred' is that reading the book really did take me on an experiental journey into the sacred; most remarkable! Congratulations Sue Bender on writing such an inspiring and successful book.
   
   If you like 'Everyday Sacred' then you'll love NEXUS by Deborah Morrison and Arvind Singh, a successful, new age debut novel, an absorbing guide to the dazzling universe of spirituality in terms of life's joys and sorrows. NEXUS enriches our understanding of heart-centered, soulful living, enlightenment and compassion. All over the planet people of all faiths and backgrounds are suddenly experiencing an intense attraction for the wisdom and knowledge of NEXUS, a book that has already achieved top 100 status on several bestsellers lists! Nexus: A Neo Novel



4. After witnessing the recent horror (school massacre) inflicted upon the Amish community, "Everyday Sacred" is a timely reminder that they and the human spirit will endure.
   
   It reminds us to ask not what we lack, but to appreciate, daily, what we already have. My favorite quote from the book is: "Don't try for perfection. Trying to be good enough will be plenty."
   
   I am giving it my highest recommendation because it is more than good enough - it is a spell-binding read!
   
   Reginald V. Johnson, Author, "How To Be Happy, Successful And Rich"



5. It's a great description of the Spritual Cure.... but we never analyze what was wrong in the first place... it's a type of Narcissism which in her case comes into conflict with her religious values and forced her to develop her spritual walk as a cure.
   
   And it's a good cure, often overlooked because we neglect to name the Beast thats at the core.So the spiritual cure goes untried.

5 comments about House Rules: A Memoir.

1. I find this book to be a definite must read. I enjoyed a great deal, the honesty and raw experience the character shared with us all. I found her father to be a sad, sad excuse of a parent. Clearly he suffered from some sort of chemical imbalance.
   
   Quite frankly, it irritated me to no end the weakness her mother portrayed. I suppose having never been in that type of relationship maybe it is difficult for me to understand, but come on! Her daughters clearly needed her to be strong, to be their role model. I think she failed them, and to me that is so sad and oddly frustrating.
   
   To those who continue to review this book from either IL or Evanston, shame on you! You are not fooling anyone. Get help... Save your self the humiliation. Without even knowing you Rachel, I am so proud of you. Clearly it must have been difficult to write this, having to revisit all of these very hurtful moments in your childhood. KUDOS TO YOU!



2. I can't begin to understand how Rachel made it through her life the way she did. I too grew up with an abusive Parent, albeit a Step-Father, and a Mother who stood by and allowed it to happen because she was too weak to stand up to the man she married. I know all too well the lasting damage that has caused. I am 43 and still trying undo the damage that was done to me. It really affects us mentally. However, Rachel has proven that we can overcome our past by re-programming our thought process and to aim for our dreams. I applaud her for her courage,to get out and move on. What a strong person!



3. We are all a product of our childhood and past - whether it is what we remember or what we some-how forget. Rachel's memoir is both self exploratory and questioning; family, relationships, perceptions, ego and our need for acceptance and love.
   
   I don't think this book tried to present the story of an abusive childhood but rather the intense influence the family dynamic can have on each individual's perception of themselves and their lives. Rachel makes a point of stressing the advantages her family's financial situation afforded her in contrast to the less fortunate. Furthermore, she never denies her love and it's crippling affect. To me, it seemed less a diatribe of self pity but more a deep exploration of how events in our childhood can indelibly sculpture how we see ourselves and the way we deal with the future and our relationships.
   
   For that reason, I think her book resonated for so many readers. It is much more a story of love, not torture, and the conflict of need for parental approval and the realisation that our parents' faults exist and may also be reflected, or more frighteningly, reincarnated in ourselves.
   
   To that end, I think she was so curious about her father's childhood and what made him the way he was. Ironically, it was her father's (now deleted) hateful reviews of her book that made me buy it and I was so pleasantly surprised on what I expected to be a self-serving parental bashing exercise.
   
   You don't have to take sides with this book - just read it!



4. House Rules is the story of Rachel Sontag's childhood, of living with an abusive father, a respected doctor in the suburbs of Chicago (Evanston). When she was twelve, her father duct-taped her stereo dial to National Public Radio, measured the length of her hair and fingernails with a ruler, and regulated when she could shower. We soon learn that monsters can take any form. To say that her father was an emotional terrorist would be an understatement.
   
   Sontag's account is a quiet but beautiful one. It's about survival, survival of a controlling father's tirade of insults, the cruel silences - all for minor infractions. And it's also about heartbreak and how loved ones can manipulate our trust. Sontag's mother, although well-meaning, was an enabling and emotionally unstable parent, who decided that delivering the appearance of an idyllic family - the successful doctor, the talented daughters, the mother devoted to social work - was paramount, even at the expense of her children's happiness and psychological stability.
   
   Although this book is at times a painful read, it's also an inspiring one. Because House Rules is also the story of a woman fighting her way out by making the difficult but brave choice to end the relationship with her father, and fighting her way back to herself and a semblance of family (by forging healthier relationships with other family members and making sense of her childhood through therapy and self-reflection).



5. Although an interesting read - It is insulting to children of abuse for Rachel Sontag to put herself in that category. Her dad definitly had issues and was in need of serious parenting classes - but one only need read a story such as "A Child Called IT" to glimpse the true horror and suffering of child abuse. Many true child abuse survivors would have dreamed of having a life like Rachel's.

5 comments about Crossing to Avalon: A Woman's Midlife Quest for the Sacred Feminine.

1. This book DID literally hit me over the head - in a book shop! I was browsing through the books and this novel fell off the top shelf landing on my head before it hit the floor. At the time I was more interested in the books I had under my arm so I placed it back on the shelf....but 6 months later I regretted that decision and trackedit down.
   
   I have a large interest in Avalon - I find that era particularily fascinating and this book was a great insight but more importantly it was just a great read about one womens journey and connection to Avalon. There are so few books like this around (that I can find) - I am grateful this one smacked me over the head to be noticed, lol!



2. This book was appreciated from perspective of a younger woman also, so not only midlife women will enjoy! Made me think!



3. I just read this book as I approach my 60th birthday and am having some discomfort with reaching that age. I had read Crones Don't Whine several years ago also by this author, but didn't connect it when I purchased Crossing to Avalon.
   I found this book so interesting, enlightening, and helpful that it will go on the shelf with other books I lend out but always want back. I was able to connect the Goddess ideas with the Jungian archetypes and then directly to how I feel personally in a more direct way than with any previous books I've read. I would highly recommend this book. I'm not sure if it would have made the same great impression on me if I hadn't earlier done some reading on these subjects.



4. Crossing to Avalon is part of the Goddess Movement that many women are finding after being raised in male-dominated religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The Goddess of Ms. Bolen is almost a material, earthy Person as opposed to the spiritual sky God. The author makes several interesting points about opening oneself to Spirit and accepting the Body as sacred as a monstrance or a shrine. Other reviewers have given their opinions on the strengths of this book, so I will not repeat them here.
   
   The book has many of the same weaknesses as others in the Goddess genre. Avalon posits that before the horrible men got into power and forced their horrible male gods on us, everyone worshipped a Goddess figure and celebrated female things like menstruation, menopause, birth, etc. There was little violence and women ruled over men with their profound wisdom and magic powers.
   
   It does not bother Ms. Bolen, who is a psychiatrist, that there was no writing from these times and therefore no way to really know what the people said or did about almost anything. Feminist spirituality devotees can write a novel about a little figurine that looks like a pregnant (or perhaps obese) female and turn it into the Venus of Willendorf. Reality on the historical front is not as important as creating a misanthropic mythology that puts the Female front and center. I doubt Ms. Bolen would be as open-minded about the medical information she reads in psychiatric review journals. She would want footnotes and facts and testing done, something that is not a part of Goddess History.
   
   I found Ms. Bolen's musings on pregnancy, birth, breast feeding, and menstruation to be fanciful. I doubt that it was "patriarchy" that decided to call menstruation "the curse." I imagine it was coined by women who were sick and tired of bloating and cramping every single month and feeling exhausted and bitchy. There is a reason the birth control pill that allows a woman to bleed only once or twice a year is wildly popular. A lot of male-created religions have menstrual taboos and I used to think they were ridiculous until I thought, "perhaps women started them to give us an excuse to take a break once a month. 'Make dinner? I'm on my period; you know I can't touch your food/go to the mosque/have sex with you for a week!'"
   
   Ms. Bolen's ideology of Body as Sacred ignores that it is our Body that we have in common with every other mammal, and it is only our Minds that have evolved beyond them. A dog menstruates, gives birth, and suckles. It is precisely our Body that gives us a disadvantage to men -- before antibiotics and hospital births, women died years and years before men. Before chemical birth control a woman could expect to become pregnant every year until menopause, and traditional families all over the world had more kids than you can count with your fingers. Before formula, children sometimes died because their mothers did not make enough milk to sustain them. Women are on the average smaller, weaker, and slower than men. This sort of feminist spirituality seems to take what makes us vulnerable to "patriarchal oppression" and celebrate it. It reminds me of Buffy the Vampire, where anorexic Sarah Michelle Gellar would fight off males who could have snapped her neck in a second and not broken a sweat. THAT is the reality of the female body.
   
   I admit that I hold to an Aristotelian view of the Primacy of the Mind and not the Body, and I am not an epiphenominalist as I think Jean Bolen appears to be. This influences the way I read books like this. I get the impression as I read that Ms. Bolen is soooo spiritual that she can miss that "sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." Women consoling each other becomes a Goddess infusion in her mind, rather than the very physical brain response that people and animals get when touched and comforted. The fact that the author is a psychiatrist interests me, since she does not appear to hold that emotions and responses are related to a physical brain but are instead part of a numinous Thing that lives within us, perhaps the Goddess.



5. You know, I have to say - this book is awesome - especially if you are a woman.
   I am not.
   I am reading this as a women's studies requirement at a "womens centered" university I attend (what can I say?).I am struggling to read this book and find parallels to the male journey... argh. If you are a guy, skip this!
   I know all of you are going to click on the "no" helpful voting button for this review - I don't care.CLICK IT TWICE FOR ALL I GIVE A RATS TUSHY. I just spent more than 800 bucks AND WASTED 3 MONTHS OF MY LIFE to take this class called the 'Psychology of Women' that took me on a womans mid life spiritual quest. Men, stay away from this book. Women, bare your teeth and vote NO to this review because I am evil. Thank you.

5 comments about Under a Wing: A Memoir.

1. Reeve Lindbergh gives a most interesting overview of her very famous parents - her father with his eccentric behavior - her mother with her focus on life through the eyes of a true poet. Her parents would be proud of her writing skills and her father would probably have given her rare praise for this particular book as well as her others. Kathleen Wyatt



2. I really have enjoyed reading Reeve's memoir of her family. She has an amazing memory and can describe details of any past situation like it just happened minutes ago. I am always amazed by people who can do that (especially since I am not one of them). I come from a famous family too and enjoyed reading this book because I have always been fascinated at hearing about someone elses recollections of the past. Reeve's family experience isnt much different than my own family's and in some cases I laugh because some of the stories she has told (i.e. burping a fountain pen) is the same as my familys. My grandfather, who's stories are much the same as Charles Lindberg's, was also raised in Minnesota (St. Paul & Hallepin) so I was delighted to hear Reeve inform the reader of her father's recollections of this same period and place.
   
   Reeve writes her book in a way which makes you feel like your her best friend. She opens her soul to you and pours out all that makes her happy and sad. Although I am confident that this book will be considered one of the best memoirs of its time, I am sure that her family will be very glad she wrote it because she has unearthed the legends of her family's past and how it made them who they are. This is truly a great book...



3. What I especially like about Reeve Lindbergh's memoir is its candid and utterly sincere tone. This is not a dusty historical treatise; it is a simple sharing of thoughts and experiences. The reader is drawn into the life of a young girl with remarkable and famous parents. We already had an idea of what it was like to live with Charles Lindbergh from the diaries of his wife, Anne Morrow. Now Reeve's book gives another view, helping to round out the picture. Along the way she presents us with snapshot images that offer glimpses into his character. Charles Lindbergh wasn't an easy man to understand; and if he is difficult for us adults to get a handle on, what was it like for his offspring? Reeve tells us in her straightforward and heartwarming manner. This book should be an essential part of any Lindbergh fan's library. I highly recommend it.
   
   Richard Salva--author of Soul Journey from Lincoln to Lindbergh [UNABRIDGED]



4. Reeve Lindbergh tells stories that we want to hear about everyday life with her famous, complicated father and her intelligent, artistic mother. Reeve's delicate, precise prose is reminiscent of her mother's style of writing. A reviewer said of Anne Lindbergh that she "combed" her life for meaning and the daughter seems tuned into that same compulsion. It helps that she writes with as much insight as did her mother. The passage that describes the hours mother and daughter spent together after the death of Reeve's child is heartbreakingly revealing of the private Anne and her anguish after the kidnapping and death of her own child. Reeve's reminiscences of flying with her father (she was not an enthusiast) and her longing for her enigmatic father are poignant. She does not avoid discussing Lindbergh's perceived anti-Semitism; she does not attempt to defend him but rather keeps her emphasis on the effect this controversy had (and has) on her connection with him. I challenge any daughter to read Reeve's account of her visit to her father's childhood home without weeping.



5. There can be no doubt that Reeve Lindbergh's memoir is the most touching book about that family that I have read. Through her eyes we go beyond the covers of other books and see what it really meant to be a Lindbergh.

   They were almost a closed society onto themselves, yet they still experienced the same joys and sorrows as the rest of us. We find the man who was depised as an isolationist to be a concerned and loving father who read to his children.

   We dine with the children at their grandmother's house and we soar above the Connecticut house on Saturdays. The famed aviator at the controls and a bored child in the rear seat.

   After reading this book I felt very attached to this famous family. Being the same age as Reeve herself, my only knowledge of the Lindbergh's was the famous flight and the kidnapping as I read in history books. Now, after this book, I feel as though I have become part of them.

   It can only be summed up in one word, wonderful.

5 comments about Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses.

1. John Updike once said that there are three great mysteries in life: sex, art, and religion. Isabel Allende has added food to that mysterious mix in a delightful way --- food is sexy and erotic and enticing in her book and is explored in a way that reminds one of lacy lingerie, seductive but mysterious at the same time. Allende, over fifty and still recovering from the painful loss of her daughter, writes boldly and bravely of how loss and all its pain is still concurrent with life's joys.
   
   As a writer myself who has written both a cookbook and about the erotic lives of people over fifty, I found Allende's honesty, sensuality, and joy utterly luscious and also comforting in that even as we grow older we have our senses and can celebrate them as long as we allow ourselves to. This is a beautiful book with wonderful illustrations including the sexiest peaches you will ever see. The recipes are intriguing. But more than anything it is an affirmation that our senses have the power to heal us and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.



2. This collection of stories reads like an erotic cookbook of sorts. There's even a recipe section!



3. This book weaves a beautiful tapestry of life, love and food. The information on the aphrodisiac ingredients is not very in depth but always accurate. And the prose reads as though it is tumbling straight from Allende's mouth. Although I have not cooked from the book, I love that she added a section of recipes.



4. I have read "Paula" and there is no doubt that Isabel Allende is a talented writer. Her passionate tone seems to just find a way to your heart.
   
   Aphrodite is acookbook erotic-style... truly inspires fun ideas for both food and foreplay. Great historic facts on spices, a collection of rather comical stories and the recipes are to die for.
   
   If you are a hedonist. Get this!



5. I have read this book in installments. Why? Because I knew my mother would have a fit if she knew I had read it. Lusty, juicy, it's wonderful education for a curious young lady like me.

5 comments about Not Without My Daughter.

1. A very boring story about a seemingly very vengeful woman. We all make mistakes in life, and try to learn from it. But Betty Mahmoody is making money out of it but making up a story in which potrayes herself as the victim. I watched this woman complaining on the Dr. Phil show recently, still sobbing and feeling sorry for herself and at the same time promoting her book and trying to squeeze the last couple of bucks out of her story.
   Thanks to the Finish documentary `Without my daughter' which shows us what really happened we now know that this book is just one big lie.
   Maybe they don't show you these documentaries in the US, I'm sure your government would like you to believe that all women are suppressed in countries like Iran.
   Do not buy this book, don't buy the DVD. Dishonesty should not be rewarded.
   
   Herman, Europe



2. There is no doubt in my mind that the experience Mrs. Mahmoody has had, if one can describe that as an ''experience'' has been rather an unpleasant one. As others have pointed it it is also surprising that she has opted to travel to Iran in one of its most shacky moments, during the middle of the war between Iraq-Iran. Also, it seems that Mrs. Mahmoody was not completely out of guard to this, as she herself describes in the book that the trip was made at a moment before which there had been many struggles between her and Mr. Mahmoody, hence it seems their relation was not completely right even before the trip, well... false promises and hopes she accepts to travel to Iran to please her husband.
   
   The experiences she describes must have been very difficult, she is beaten, treated like nothing, nobody helps her or listens to her, as it seems every body is scared and tries to stay away. I completely must disagree with the way she pictures Iran and the society, about the hygiene issue particularly how she describes the food and the people in the family as being completely unclean, yes it's possible that she was not so lucky and the people she had to live with were not clean, but this can not be fitted to the society entirely, neither can it be fitted to any other society, it just seems these particular people seemed rather uncareful in this matter, though when one reads the book with no previous Eastern experience one might think that ''this is how life is over there'' I could not disagree more.
   
   Also, she describes how ''horrible'' the life is in Iran, due to its restrictions and so on. I think this is rather completely another story, and do not take for granted what she says, I have met Iranian people and have had Iranian friends and I think it's better to read further on this matter. The book is nice in my opinion, I admire the courage of Mrs. Mahmoody in her struggle to protect her child, nevertheless I do believe that the descriptions of many things in this book have been emotionally affected by her terrible experience, which may be in a way understandable, had things gone right for her and her husband perhaps she would not have described life as being ''so terrible'' in Iran, I am not sure but a pleasant read in any case.



3. When I was in high school, a friend of mine recommended "Not Without My Daughter." Twenty years later, I finally got around to reading it. I wish that friend were still in my life to discuss the book with. I recall her saying she stayed up all night, unable to put the book down, and I had much the same reaction. It is a riveting tale of domestic abuse and a harrowing escape, occuring in Tehran in 1984. Yes, there were moments that made me squirm because Betty Mahmoody seemed like a spoiled American making sweeping generalizations about a culture she had little time to experience, but the story overall is a compelling one.
   
   I recommend the book highly, with reservations. I also read "Persepolis" recently and that provided a much needed counterpoint to Mahmoody's biases. It is essential to consider more than one person's experiences. Not everyone in Iran is like the family she married into. That said, this is a compelling story and one worth knowing about.



4. Take all the figures in this painting(The Death of Sardanapalus, 1827 Fine Art Stretched Canvas Poster Print by Eugene Delacroix, 22x17) and dress them up as modern Iranians.
   
   You would get this book.



5. Great story but I am going to recommend Detained Differencesby J. Robert Rowe in conjunction with this novel

5 comments about Really Bad Girls of the Bible: More Lessons from Less-Than-Perfect Women.

1. Finally all the 25 books arrived. They came from many different vendors. They will be much appreciated by our church woman's group.



2. I had reservations about it when my small group decided to give this book a whirl, and although I was game and tried to like it, I just couldn't.
   
   Liz's overfamiliar style, her judgemental tone, and pandering to churchy already-good-girls reads like a book that reinforces smugness among the churched.
   
   I especially did not like the way she glossed over the difference in 21st Century standards for women, and instead just judged them against today's free-er women's options and opportunities.
   
   I will say that we had many good conversations because we read the book, but in the end, we were all severely disappointed in the book itself.
   
   Examples of what I mean: some of the "bad girl" scenarios seemed like she was stretching to fill pages, "bad for a good reason" - what?, or nattering on and on about David's sin with Bathsheba - wait, he's not a girl!



3. Our church's women's ministry used this book for our Bible study and enjoyed it tremendously. I could relate to so many of the characters and was so horrified by some of the others! I enjoyed reading about the many relatively obscure Biblical women. We had several elderly ladies in our group who were surprised to read stories they'd never remembered reading before. I liked that Higgs focuses on Biblical women who were strong leaders, even if they were bad for a season.
   
   We laughed, blushed, cried, and enjoyed every minute of discussing this book and how it related to our lives. Her message of grace for bad girls is one we all need to hear. I look forward to reading and sharing more of Higgs' books.



4. I have to say Liz Curtis Higgs sheds new light, at least for me, on a lot of those women in the Bible. You know, I've read about all these women in Ms. Curtis's book before, but somehow when I read my bible I missed a whole heck of a lot. I don't know how, because when I read this book I wanted to slap myself upside the head plenty of times. Duh, I'd mudder, how come I didn't see that? How come I didn't get it? Well I'm getting a lot of it now. As a Bible teacher, Ms. Curtis really excells and she makes it oh so interesting. I highly recommend this book.



5. Our church has a Women's First Friday Bible Book Discussion Group and we've just finished "Bad Girls of the Bible" . Now we're beginning "Really Bad Girls of the Bible" and boy are we ready. Liz writes in truly personal way, with intense, genuine passion. Her discussion questions make fabulous jumping off points for our women's group. Fantastic author, FABULOUS book!

5 comments about Heroes: From Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar to Churchill and de Gaulle.

1. Paul Johnson remains one of the few serious writers who combines an immensely accessable prose style with an intellect rarely encountered in contemporary non-fiction. In his vivid snapshots he compresses larger-than-live historical figures into human beings while simultaneously making the case as to why they are "heroic". Many of these insights are cleanly fresh and restorative to a reader like myself who has read biographies of them all. Johnson explains his criteria for judging who and why he chose who he did as a hero. And in the process makes a powerful case for each individual, even those who are frankly a little tough to swallow. Among them deGaulle.
   From other works (Malraux's "Felled Oaks" for example) and lengthy biographies, my own assesement of deGaulle never changed. I'd always considered him a mostrously egotistical chauvanist who'se WW2 credentials mainly lay in his lucky proximity to true greats like Churchill, Roosevelt and Eisenhower, who in one way or another tolerated his insufferable ego and pretentions.
   Louis X1V presumably said, "c'estate ce moi" I am the state. In a seventeenth century king it's one kind of conceit, but in a 20th century military and politcal leader of a free democracy, it is a disgrace. Or so was my conclusion. However, Johnson's book brought me a new veiwpoint. I didn't conclude I'd been totally wrong, but Johhnson made me see that had deGaulle not existed, he probably would have had too be invented. And in a way, it wasd probably on balance, more fortunate for France that he was the invention, rather than some of the absurd French leaders who preceeded and
   succeeded him. Johnson made me see that. And in that respect and in all the other sketches, ever new lights went on.
   Paul Johnson is one great writer, historian, thinker. And to me, in this age when so much garbage flows from the media.
   Strongly recommend it and all his other books.



2. This is the first book I read of Paul Johnson and I really enjoyed it. In this book, we are introduced to well-known figures in history who are regarded as heroes. But a hero to one might be a villain to another. Genghis Khan was a hero to many, but a murderer to many others as well. Paul Johnson uses the example of Samson. Samson is a heroic figure in old Judaic scriptures. He was a Nazirite, and God had blessed him with extraordinary strength. However, in order to keep his superhuman strength, he had to make sure he never cut his hair. One day, however, he admits to Delilah that the secret to his strength is his hair. She then lulled him to sleep on her knees and called a barber to shave off his hair. The Philistines then seized him, gouged out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. There they bound him with bronze fetters. Eventually his hair grows again, unnoticed by his enemies, and his strength returns. When the Philistines take him to their great feast in the Temple of Dagon to taunt him, he gets a little boy to guide him to the central pillars. Calling on God to give him the power, he pushes aside the pillars from their bases and brings the entire temple down, killing all the people who were in it. According to the author, this ruthlessness in heroism makes Samson the first suicide-martyr-mass killer, adumbrating the suicide bombers of today's Middle East. Samson's act was a brutal unconcern for human life, whether guilty or innocent. Samson kills all the Philistines, including the innocent child who had befriended him and many of those in the crowd who had nothing to do with his capture or blinding. Nonetheless, Samson was honored, and became a hero in the teeming biblical pantheon. The Jews loved Samson, and still do. (p. 18-20). The author says, "Anyone is a hero who has been widely, persistently over long periods, and enthusiastically regarded as heroic by a reasonable person, or even an unreasonable one."
   
   A hero is also created by our own perception of him, and might not be at all the way we perceive him to be. The author gives as an example President Ronald Reagan. Reagan gave back to the United States the self-confidence it had lost, and at the same time tested Soviet power to destruction. He is credited with ending the cold war. He cut taxes, freed Americans from unnecessary burdens, and enlarged freedom whenever consistent with safety and justice. He had a great sense of humor, his smiles were genuine, and he was a charismatic leader. He was viewed as a hero by the American people and the rest of the world. However, according to the author, Reagan was superficially, and also profoundly, ignorant. He did not seem to know how bills were put together or passed through Congress, or how the entire budget process took place. He had little education, and no desire to acquire much more in a general sense, at any rate through books. He was intellectually lazy, and he did not read one word of the carefully prepared briefing book on the eve of the world economic summit in 1983. During his presidency he spent more time watching movies than doing anything else. Sometimes he believed in fantasies, such as that the United States really had much larger hidden oil reserves than the whole of the Middle East. At other times he appeared incapable of speaking coherently about the simplest matters without reference to the cue cards in his left pocket. In some ways he was ill-equipped to run anything, let alone the mightiest nation on earth. He was deaf and sometimes could not hear what his staff was telling him, even with the volume of his hearing aid switched right up. He confused names and faces. He thought his own secretary of commerce was a visiting mayor. He believed Denis Healey was the British ambassador. He addressed the Liberian president Samuel K. Doe as "Chairman Moe." (p. 256-258). Yet despite these deficiencies, he is viewed as an American hero.
   
   This is a really fascinating book that will show you a different side to well-known heroes. The author discusses the human flaws of such heroes as Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Henry V, Joan of Arc, Thomas Moore, Lady Jane Grey, Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I, Walter Raleigh, George Washington, The Duke of Wellington, Lord Nelson, Emily Dickinson, Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, Mae West, Marilyn Monroe, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and Pope John Paul II.
   
   I really liked the chapter on Mae West, and feel encouraged to read more of her books. Mae is really a fascinating character study. I was surprised though that the author included Marilyn Monroe as a hero. I learnt things I never knew about her, like the fact that she suffered from Syphilis and severe depression.
   
   One beautiful quote from this book will be stuck in my head for the rest of my life. Henry Ford once said, "It is a disgrace for anyone to die rich." I truly believe in giving, and being a philanthropist. For this reason, I view Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, among many others, as true heroes. Here's the irony: Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, among just a few, are viewed today as heroes, despite the fact that they killed millions of people. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, among a few, are also viewed as heroes, but for different reasons: they save the lives of millions!
   
   I recommend this book to all readers who are fascinated by the lives of great people (and some not that great but still viewed as heroes).



3. Paul Johnson, the well known historian, writes a less weighty book that looks at heroes through the lens of history and these peoples contributions to politics, culture, religion, and yes, entertainment. All of these things are often intermix, yet, they can also be studied in isolation if needed.
   
   Johnson starts off with the Hebrew (or Jewish) heroes. It must be of some interest that Moses is briefly mention and is Judaism's greatest heroes and prophet, Johnson spends more time on Deborah and Judith, Samson and probably rightly so, David. His analysis of Samson is interesting and it goes beyond the Sunday School version or the solely negative critical and sees Samson as a hero with great strength and "tantalizing weakness."
   
   The next Chapter, "Earthsakers" is tied for one of the best in the book. Foibles and greatest are revealed when the reader is once again acquainted with Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar. Johnson provides a quick bio, yet, highlights enough "heroism" and "villainy" to make this more than an encyclopedia version of these two men and make them leap of the page. Hopefully, it will spark others to read more on these two, arguably great and fallen figures.
   
   I have always liked the story of Joan of Arc. Every movie has failed in bringing her to life, although many have tried. Johnson briefly reminds me why she is so spectacular a heroine. She is the proto-Wonder Women, except she was real, alive, fighting for France. Yet, she may have been a proto-Protestant, yet, in many ways still distinctly Catholic. She was such an enormous figure that today many English Churches are named after this French heroine.
   
   There is more of course such as interesting work on Churchill (whom Johnson met in 1946) and Reagan, Thatcher, and Pope John Paul II. Lincoln was necessary for this book, but Johnson here didn't bring anything really engaging in a way I hadn't read before. I found, however, the chapter with Mae West and Maryland Monroe to be a bore - I just didn't care. Maybe it is because, there are better "Hollywood" heroes such as Audrey Hepburn, Sean Connery, Alec Guinness, or Bruce Lee not too mention possibly Cary Grant, Charleston Heston, Angelina Jolie, or Christopher Reeves.
   
   In total, this is a great book. It is difficult to provide so many stories on so many figures on 300 pages; but, Johnson does a pretty good job of it.



4. There is no doubt that Paul Johnson is one of the great historians of our time and one of our leading public intellectuals.
   
   In this volume, Johnson attempts to explain heroes and heroism within the context of historical setting. The effort is a mixed success. Consider, for example, his use of Mae West and Marilyn Monroe as examplars of female heroism in the 20th Century.
   
   Both portraits make their point and make it well. Both West and Monroe were more accomplished than most might give them credit for. West was a dynamic self-promoter for all of her life and an accomplished writer, actress, comedian and business person. But Monroe was a different story. She never fully actualized the person she wanted to become, though Johnson leaves no doubt that she did want to be viewed as a different kind of person. Does Monroe's failed effort make her a hero? Not to me, though Johnson draws a sympathetic portrait.
   
   Overall, Johnson's portraits do indeed make the case that heroism comes in many guises and that men and women can be heroes. As well, the qualities of heroism remain constant, a steady moral compass regardless of what the crowds are doing.
   
   While interesting, though, "Heroes" is never totally engaging. It is a pleasant and informative read, but not a particularly challenging one. Johnson is telling us his views here set in historical context.
   
   Jerry



5. 
   We all love heroes, brave ones, achievers we can admire, try to emulate, and set forth as examples. To a greater or lesser degree, the lives of many of these men and women are known to us yet there is always something to learn as we revisit their accomplishments and the challenges they faced.
   
   Noted British historian Paul M. Johnson is a prolific author having written some 40 books ranging from Modern Times to The Quest for God. He has lectured throughout the world and often contributes to the New York Times and Wall Street Journal among numerous other magazines and periodicals. His choice of subjects for Heroes is eclectic and, to some, may be surprising. Lord Nelson is almost to be expected but Marilyn Monroe? She is noted along with another blonde bombshell in Chapter 12, Heroes Behind the Greasepaint.
   
   You see, Johnson's heroes, whether they be Samson, Caesar or Margaret Thatcher, are very human thus flawed. They are not presented to us on pedestals, not as stone figures but as flesh and blood beings, subject to all the temptations and constraints that mortality entails.
   
   The author begins his stories of heroes with God's Heroes - Deborah, Judith, Samson, and David, noting that "No people were more in need of heroes than the Hebrews." Next we meet The Earthshakers - Alexander the Great and Caesar, and from there his subjects are presented in chronological order, closing with the present day. Thus, we are privy not only to entertaining and enlightening visits with those who made a difference but to mini history lessons as well.
   
   Radio host, author, and managing editor of London's Sunday Times, James Adams, has narrated a number of books for Blackstone Audio. He's the perfect voice for the work of British historian Johnson as the slightest bit of a British accent can be detected in Adams's clear, crisp diction. Enjoyable listening!
   
   - Gail Cooke