5 comments about Golden Girl: How Natalie Coughlin Fought Back, Challenged Conventional Wisdom, and Became America's Olympic Champion.

1. Not everything Natalie has to say shows everyone in the best of light; that's because not everyone is exactly a "great" person. This is her book and her story--if she felt someone mistreated her or did this or that wrong, she's entitled to say. All of this is part of why she is the great athlete she is today, and that should be applauded.



2. Being the father of two USA swimming daughters, I found this to be just an "okay" read. While I did find it rather annoying for the author to repeatedly bash the Terrapins, Silver did a good job portraying the pressure coaches are under to get a name for themselves by unnecessarily pushing their swimmers too far. Nonetheless, I enjoyed how the book described McKeever's unorthodox techniques and chronicled the behind the scenes march to the Olympics. In the end, it did leave me with a bit of a tarnished view of Natalie, which is a bit disappointing given the title of the book. I strongly recommend Gold in the Water.



3. Golden Girl is an absolutely outstanding book that takes a good look at not only Natalie Coughlin's push toward Olympic excellence but also talks about subjects that many consider taboo: the politics of the sport of swimming and the need for more rational training methods. I just bought a copy for my daughter's birthday. She's an Olympian in Judo. I'm an international level Judo coach. I was fascinated by the book and can easily relate to it since the Judo community suffers from the same malaise that the swimming world suffers from. Being an unconventional coach in Judo, I'm not surprised by all the negative reviews from people within the swimming world. I get the same treatment from my Judo peers who like Terri McKeever's and Dave Salo's peers are too insecure or "know it all" to even look into alternative training methods. Since I am heavily involved in coach education, I will make this book a required reading for all Judo coaches. My advice to you, the prospective buyer of this book, is to ignore the negative reviews from the swimming culture that Golden Girl decries, unless of course you too are stuck on the conventional and can't handle outside-the-box ideas.



4. The swimming literature with which I am familiar - Gold in the Water, Champions, Four Champions: One Gold Medal, Michael Phelps: Beneath the Service, By a Fraction of a Second - satiate my interest for swimming-centered narrative, but, in my opinion, the genre, as represented by this collection of books, is one dimensional. I find that these types of books (I would include a few running, and football books among them) are purportedly about courageous young athletes that overcome and achieve through commitment, belief, and the support of teammates, family, and coaches. The narrative certainly appeals to the target audience - athletes, coaches,and parents, that are deeply invested in the system that is celebrated through these pleasing tales. In my experience, as an athlete and a coach, the narrative is fairly accurate. But there are other stories to tell, and Michael Silver tries to tell one of them. Silver, like no other writer that has told the tale of swimmer and coach, questions the hard-nosed-coach archetype. He also questions the culture, the competitive swimming culture, in which this type of coach thrives.
   
   The title of the book is Golden Girl. Its Natalie's show, and all of the inherent benefits and detriments accrue. Silver tells her story, and he is clearly sympathetic with her version of the story. Perhaps if the intentions and methods of the coaches are fair game, then so are the intentions and the methods of the writer. I, for one, understand that from an outsiders perspective the world of competitive swimming might seem as backwards and dysfunctional as we've been led to believe women's figure skating and gymnastics are. Silver, it seems clear, is an outsider, and though his view of competitive swimming must have certainly been filtered through the experiences of Natalie, he seems to me to have a fair amount of corroboration. And to be honest the corroborating anecdotes that he includes don't seem particularly damaging (excepting perhaps the stories of the Terrapin Coach badgering female swimmers about their weight). I think we all know that there are some hard-nosed, mean SOBS, coaching out there. By and large, we would agree that most of these coaches really care about their athletes. They've had their say. For swim coaches, its been chronicled in the annals of Swimming World Magazine and just about every book on swimming that has every been written. This book is about giving Natalie a say. This book is about giving McKeever a say. To some they may come off as bitter or dysfunctional or defensive. It only makes them human. Bottome line is they did it their way, and win or lose, they succeeded. A core precept of McKeever's philosophy seems to be the the journey is more important than the destination. That Silver, in giving this say, allows them to question competitive swimming's cultures, institutions, and some of its personalities, seems unavoidable and possibly an opportunity for the sport to engage in some healthy introspection.
   
   Just about every book on swimming that has ever been written tells a single tale. This book tells a different tale. Its a tale that's not all that different from one that has been told before, told by a coach, in his own words - Sprinting: A Coach's Challenge by Sam Freas. Its a different type of book - a mix of narrative and instruction - but if you liked Golden Girl you may want to check it out.



5. Based on the other comments, I thought this book would be a litany of complaints by Natalie. I assumed she would really bash her old coach. Instead, he is mentioned mostly in the context of the difference between his training philosophy and that of Teri McKeever. Ray Mitchell occupies part of a chapter. This leads me to believe that those who are outraged must not have taken the time to read the book.
   
   That being said, I thought the book was more about the Cal swim season with a focus on Natalie and McKeever. It was a fascinating look at a different approach to swimming - focus on technique, workout variety and team building. As one of the many burned out former age groupers who swam lot of 10K+ workouts, I think the whole swimming world should celebrate that coaches such as McKeever and Salo are willing to try something new. Natalie and the Cal swim program are proof that there is more to swim training than piling up yardage. This is really inspiring. I used to worry about whether I was doing the right thing by introducing my children to this sport. This book has helped to re-ignite my love for competitive swimming.

No comments about Quick, Before the Music Stops: How Ballroom Dancing Saved My Life.

5 comments about Bound Feet & Western Dress: A Memoir.

1. This book was so interesting, I think I read it in less than two days. It shows the changes Asian women went through as history marched on. I had no other way of knowing any of this information, and it's so different from my own culture.



2. I found this book to be a compelling read. It does reveal, while the author is relating the life of her great aunt from China, a lot of interesting information related to the customs, traditions and mores of the old Chinese culture in the early twentieth century. Her great aunt was the first in old china to get divorced from her husband, after being abandoned by him .She was young, poorly educated, with two children, one of whom tragically died shortly after her divorce. She morphs from a poorly educated, dependent woman into a self-reliant,educated, successful woman, who eventually becomes a VP of the Shanghi Woman's Savings Bank and helps ensure it's survival, while Japan was invading Shanghi. Luckily, she leaves Shanghi a day before the Japanese take over and moves to Hong Kong. Eventually, she remarries in 1952 and then, after her second husband dies in 1972, she emigrates to the USA. When her great niece finds her name in books while she is studying Far East Culture while studying at Harvard University, she is amazed to find her great aunt's name listed and then decides to interview her, and thus the idea of the book emerges and is completed over many years. A truely unusual and compelling book to read for anyone interested in the Chinese culture, people and history. Quite a different read, inspiring and moving in many ways.



3. In the late 1990s, the Chinese-American Pang-Mei Natasha Chang wrote her first book entitled "Bound Feet and Western Dress," which accounts the life story of the author's great aunt, Chang Yu-i. The author was the first generation of the Chang family to be born in the United States. She wrote the book about her own search of Chinese identity in the American world and the tale of her great aunt's hard and interesting life.
   
   The book is broken into fifteen chapters, which describe the early life of Yu-i, the history of the Chang family, the life of the author herself, the lifestyle of women in China, the marriage and the divorce of Yu-i and Hsu Chih-mo, and the last years of Yu-i's life.
   
   One can understand the influence of modernity on the Chinese society and the Chinese women as one look at the author's great aunt as a traditional girl and her strength as a woman, why Chih-mo marry her, and the significance of their divorce in this book. "Bound Feet and Western Dress" is intriguing work and an enjoyable read.



4. Change can be a frightening affair, and looking back at change can be something that seems almost alien when beheld in the light of certain convictions. That seems to encapsulate the whole of the experience that Chang Yu-I talks about as she tries to explain something of who she is to her granddaughter, Pang-Mei, and it is one of the things that seemed to haunt me as a reader as I listened to Yu-I's tale. The chapters switch from Yu-I to Pang-Mei to give you and idea of how things have changed and to try to identify one person with the other, and I have to say that I found myself glued to the pages and not able to stop reading this book. At first I simply thought it was a story about a granddaughter wanting to explore her grandmother's life because she was the first person to have a Western-style divorce in China, and maybe that was her reason beginning the book. Still, the book goes well beyond that and touches on the dynamics of change and strength and how strong a person can be even when they think they are at their weakest.
   
   Honestly, I thought I could vicariously feel my heart cracking under the weight of some of Yu-I's confessions, amazed by some of the things she was able to tell her granddaughter.
   
   One of the best things about this tale is the detail that Yu-I goes into about China, and about the way things were seen in the past versus the way things became seen as war loomed on the horizon. Yu-I gives a great amount of detail about what it was like to be a child in a country like China, and she vividly recollects what its like to have one's feet bound and the reasons why this practice took place. All that breaking and rebreaking, the tying of the big toe over and over again; when I read this I cringed because it seemed so debilitating just to have a crescent-shape added to the foot. Furthering this are pictures in the book, showing what the feet actually look like when this happens - you can see the shriveled remains of feet that look almost mummified, and you can tell some of the extremes that went into making a foot look like that. Yu-I talks about the pain that's she, herself, experienced because of this practice, too; she tells her granddaughter about being three and having her mother try to bind her feet, and then talks about the torment of those moments and how it was her brother that made her stop this because he couldn't deal with her suffering. Yu-I goes on to tell of the pain that this caused her, too, with her always feeling as if she were ugly because she had "big feet" and "big feet" made a person almost untouchable when it comes to marriage. Still, she does marry the poet Hsu Chi-Mo and, for a time, she thinks this is perfect and learns the rites of being a wife. She cares for the mother-in-law, she takes care of the husband's family; basically she becomes a slave and thinks that this dedication is seem by her husband as love. It is only when she moves to a foreign country with her husband that she finds out what he is like and how she is alone, and when she understands that she is utterly abandoned she explains how it feels to want to die.
   
   There are other painful things in the book, too, things I can't disclose without messing up part of the tale, but I can say that when she is in Germany and loses something more dear to her than anything that this was devastating to read, making the book almost too heavy to pick up because its honesty was like a barb in the soul. I appreciated that, to be honest, and can say that I have read a lot of pieces of literature but that I have rarely encountered a person like Yu-I that both loves the world she lives in, understands the things that she has experienced, and even knows what forgiveness is like.
   While this normally would not be something I would recommend, it has my highest recommendation and the most humble form of respect I can give, thinking it an enduring read that really has something to say.
   I cannot give the book or the voice behind it enough praise.



5. Bound Feet and Western Dress by Pang-Mei Natasha Chang is about a young girl who has a unique relationship with her great aunt, Chang Yu-i. She first meets her great aunt in 1874, at a family dinner. Chang Yu-i had just come to New York after having lived in China, and then Hong Kong. Several family members had come to these dinners in the past, but this was the first time Pang-Mei had met her great aunt. Pang-Mei explains how the family refers to Chang Yu-i as "half man" because of her strength and persistence. Pang-Mei grew closer to her great aunt as time passed, but she still knew very little about her. She first discovered some of Chang Yu-i's secrets while studying Chinese History at Harvard University. She learned that her great aunt had been married to a well-known romantic poet in China, as well as issued the first "real divorce" in Chinese History. After Pang-Mei learned of this, she asked Chang Yu-i about it at once. Her great aunt told her hundreds of stories about her life in China eventually unraveling over a long period of time. Pang-Mei and Chang Yu-i build a strong relationship together and learn about each other, as well as themselves. Pang-Mei comes to love and grasp the heritage she once tried to hide and Chang Yu-i understands herself better after having told her own stories. They are finally brought together even closer by a major phenomenon that takes place in the end.
   I found Bound Feet and Western Dress to be rather tedious. Personally, I find books that dives right into the plot to be the most enjoyable. Bound Feet and Western Dress eased slowly into the excitement. However, I found this book be written with great enthusiasm and detail. Pang-Mei Natasha Chang used delightful details that gave me a perfect picture of the context. On Page 9, Chang Yu-i tells her grand niece about the strict rules she grew up with, "Chinese paintings required admiration form above, Baba said, explaining that the perspective of Chinese paintings differed from Western ones. The best paintings were only hung when your grandfather, Eighth Brother, and I cleaned them, passing tiny feather dusters over the surface of the rice paper. Of all the children, you grandfather and I were the two that Baba allowed near his paintings, and her would hover behind us as we worked, explaining the genius behind a musty mountain landscape or historical portrait." This excerpt shows the details the author used to represent her great aunt's stories.
   The stories of Chang Yu-i told were also extremely touching. Not only did they paint a precise image in my mind of her life but were also genuine. For instance, when she was telling of her childhood and growing up with her large family her descriptions were beautifully written and conveyed. I loved hearing of her two favorite brothers personalities and what each of them gave her. I fully understood her thoughts and joy while talking about her brothers.
   Generally, I think Bound Feet and Western Dress is a thoughtful and well-written book. It is historical and educating as well as a good read. I would suggest it be read.

5 comments about Living History.

1. For me, the book was particularly a big bore. It seems as though her autobiography is an attempt to glorify her years sidelined in the White House. The book can only be truly enjoyed by Hillary enthusiasts. I'm not a critic of Hillary Clinton, but specifically this book was written with very dry, shriveled style. If you'd like to read a decent biography of Hillary Clinton, I suggest Carl Bernstein's biography of her.



2. A Memoir Review: Living History
   By Hillary Clinton
   
   Upon witnessing abridged television clips of Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign speeches, I made the ignorant assumption the Presidential hopeful was clueless: "she's the wife of a former President; based on what professional formation does she speak?" The impression was unjustifiable. I considered her candidacy an attempt to re-establish the family name given former President Bill Clinton's embarrassing impeachment. Politics, after all, is much more than meets the eye, and as I discovered via the woman's autobiographical memoir Living History, Hillary Rodham Clinton is certainly much more than meets the eye.
   
   My primary reason to pick up Clinton's book was to learn about her political career--nevertheless, the work covers her early life extensively. This is appropriate, and crucial to set the context of her years as an executive. The initial chapters are engaging: not only are they an insightful look into Hillary as a young woman, but also an insightful look at being an American youth in the sixties. Clinton's extensive resume is testament to her scholarly knowledge, and her presence behind the scenes at The White House contributes to an equally significant practical knowledge. Hearing of her pioneering speech at Wellesley College, the first student to have ever given a commencement address, her entry into the all-male Rose Law Firm, and her intertwining of typically hardball politics and compassionate child work made me recognize Hillary Rodham was bound for a high-profile political career long before meeting William Jefferson Clinton.
   
   Clinton's writing embodies humanistic qualities, as if she is still an accessible advocate for everyday hiring. This fact is emphasized by her commentary on routine activities, and her naming of each political associate with which she worked. This latter aspect truly fleshes out the memoir--regardless, the squat descriptions of her colleagues sound unappealingly phoney. Everybody in Arkansas seems to be a close friend of the couple: "As soon as Bill and I became a couple, they became friends of mine. And their sons became close to Chelsea" (Clinton 105). Speaking of partner Sara Ehrman, a member of Senator McGovern's legislative staff, "We sized each other up and decided we would enjoy the ride together, and it was the start of a friendship that endures today" (Clinton 60).
   
   Alluding to "businessman and longtime politico" Jim McDougal, he "was a character: charming, witty and eccentric as the day is long" (Clinton 87). Admiring former Mayor of Little Rock, "Webb Hubbell was a big, burly, likeable man" (Clinton 80). Referring to trip director Kelly Craighead, "she had a lot of insight, dedication and spunk." Clinton chooses three formulaic adjectives to describe each of her acquaintances, and the mechanical style soon becomes tedious. The technique corroborates the "safeness" of Clinton's autobiography: nothing shocking, nor a "tell-all"--simply reserved commentary of nationally and personally historic moments. Understandable, since she would be running for President six years later. In this sense, I do believe there were ulterior motives for the memoir's release; the 2003 year of publishing was opportunely timed for Clinton's 2008 candidacy. The latter stipulation supports my learning that a Presidential campaign begins as soon as one shakes hands with the lowest-ranking political official twenty years from an official convention, and that one's private life will be increasingly scrutinized and distorted.
   
   There is little mention of the financial burden statewide and national elections place on nominees, which I found surprising given Bill Clinton's numerous campaigns. This is insight I was looking forward to reading about, given its increasing importance in our visually driven and electronic society.
   
   Though I have not reached the chapters focussing on the infamous Whitewater scandal, nor her conversations with Eleanor Roosevelt, I have already changed my impression of Hillary Rodham Clinton: she is a well-informed Democrat, whose has consistently demonstrated her leadership skills. Clinton is an activist currently living in manner she has promoted all her life, literally living history.



3. So many people want to give their opinion of Hillary and not the book itself. I found the book extremely interesting and informative and the information she provides about all of the things she learned as First Lady I do feel made her perfectly well suited to become President. She knows all the appointments that need to be made, all the jobs that need to be filled, and she's learned what types of comments and actions can get you in trouble while in the White House. I find her incredibly smart and had no idea of all the different issues that she is familiar with and all the people and friends she has made over the years who can and do give her insight. All in all a delightful book and a good read.



4. Most conservatives give this book 1 star. Why? EVERY conservative should read this book. Now if I were judging it purely as a memoir, let's just say that James Frey has nothing on Hillary Clinton when it comes to "embellishment" (or should we call it "mis-writing"?).
   
   But for those conservatives who know how to do a web search or two, this book is rife with useful material. Contrast her story of Watergate versus Jerry Zeifman's account, for instance. Or read pages 440, 448, 465-466 on her account of how she and Chelsea learned about Monica Lewinski (and then ask after repeating the names Juanita Broaddrick, Elizabeth Ward, Paula Corbin, Kathleen Wiley, Gennifer Flowes, Paula Jones, etc. "So, you're telling me that this is how it went down? OK, so choose -- is she the dumbest woman in America or the biggest liar?").
   
   For a real laugh, read her account of Whitewater -- seriously, if you read this out loud, people would think you're doing a comedy routine.
   
   And her rewriting of the history of her health insurance debacle and the aftermath is priceless. Her tales of Bill's leadership and how she was a support are gems.
   
   EVERY conservative should buy several colors of highlighters and read this book (preferably alongside a copy of Dick Morris' Rewriting History). Besides, with every book purchase, you get a free dartboard (the cover).



5. Hillary tells it like it is! She is a wonderful person who works hard everyday to help others around her reach their goals while achieving her own! She is going to make a great frist women perident!! This is a must own CD!!

5 comments about Gift of the Red Bird: The Story of a Divine Encounter.

1. I ordered the Gift of the Red Bird by Paula D'Arcy. The book was mailed on June 13, 2007 via US Postal Service. Unfortunately the item has yet to arrive. I have a tracking number but no way of contacting Amazon.



2. This book was exactly what I had hoped for in that it was an individual description of a personal spirtual quest and the finding of the divine on this earth. A very uplifting, down-to-earth story that reads amazingly quickly



3. Very inspirational. I was totally filled with the Holy Spirit. I think I would like to go on a retreat like that. We have so much to learn. Please try it.



4. Gift of the Red Bird, a Spiritual Encounter, reads like a journal from Paula D'Arcy's life. On August 18, 1975, on a return trip home to Connecticut, Paula's car was struck by a drunk motorist. Her daughter, Sarah, died of head injuries on August 20, and her husband died three days later from a ruptured spleen. Paula was alive and three months pregnant with her second baby daughter, Beth. For this reason, she went on living.
   
   Gift of the Red Bird tells of a story of extreme loss and ache, of searching for answers, of making sense out of the pain, and of looking for some light in the darkness.
   
   This is Paula's journey, and when she goes on a wilderness retreat -- where it's just her, God, and nature -- she begins to get some comfort for her wounds.
   
   A deeply moving narrative, this book may be short, but the message is deep and lasting. It's a journey well worth taking for anyone who has ever had a tragedy hit their lives where they've had the same questions.



5. A very good book. It was an excellent testamonial. It is well written. I plan to use it to finish our year end Bible Study/

5 comments about The Peabody Sisters: Three Women Who Ignited American Romanticism.

1. The author attempts to run the three biographies in parallel but what really happens is that she jumps from one place to the other, so none of the biographies unfold properly. I found it utterly unreadable. On top of it to add to my frustration, there are generalities, like Elizabeth fought with her mother "like all adolescent girls do" or romantic creations "like on this day if you didn't watch out a dog might have showered you with water". I wanted to read a proper biography and not a society novel. I had read "Eden's Outcasts" by John Matteson before and came away with a more lively picture of Elizabeth Peabody and her involvment in the Temple School then from this book. If you are interested in the transcendentalist movement, the time, or women I highly recommend "Eden's Outcasts: The story of Louisa May Alcott and her father".



2. The Peabody Sisters is a wonderful book. It was so interesting and fast-paced, it reads like a novel. The women of the Transcendentalist Movement have been so poorly remembered it is possible to learn something new on every page. Megan Marshall's writing style is relaxed and conversational, a good balance to the 19th century melodrama, angst, sentimentality, and lofty philosophies of the sisters and their circle. Although Marshall quotes letters, sermons, poetry, reviews, journals, reports, and literature from many sources, it is done sparingly and logically integrated.
   
   The Peabody sisters were extraordinary women living in extraordinary times. A case can be made that Elizabeth Peabody, the oldest sister, is one of the most important figures in Transcendentalism. Barred from college and commerce by poverty and sex, she still managed to be more educated than many of the men she befriended and promoted. Many of the relationships we take for granted in Boston and Concord of the era can be directly linked to Elizabeth Peabody's tireless efforts to intellectually support interesting, creative individuals, make introductions, even find people jobs and students, housing, mentors - all while she is shut out and struggling to support her parents and five younger siblings while teaching herself Hebrew, Latin, Greek, Italian, Spanish. Also: teaching children and adults, writing articles, editing and publishing, and keeping up a lively correspondence with teachers, philosophers, artists, poets of the era. Her sisters Sophia and Mary are hardly less accomplished.
   
   And yet Megan Marshall always keeps things grounded. The sisters are always real people who display very normal sibling rivalries manifested in jealousy, competition, ambition, despair, frustration and anger. There was also commitment, love, affection, support, delight and generosity.
   
   What is most amazing is the strength of the women in this group. They are creative, adaptable, intelligent, extraordinary in many ways. They are continually held back by the convention of the time that women were somehow frail and that ambition and accomplishment were unseemly in the "fairer sex." Considering what hothouse flowers many of the men in this group proved to be, it's all the more unreasonable that the inequality of the sexes persisted.
   
   Megan Marshall never harangues - the rant is purely my own. Marshall simply gives us the benefit of her prodigious research in the most straightforward and appealing manner. Don't be scared off by the length of the book: the last 100 pages or so are notes and index. The book itself speeds by and the reader is left at the point when the sisters are taking up their own separate lives.



3. Somehow I overlooked this book when it was released, but thank goodness I discovered it later. The author takes readers back in time to share the amazing lives of these sisters. In the process, acquaintances of the Peabody family, that readers already know as historical figures, are brought to life as real, flawed but remarkable people. Readers will identify with these women as they strive to achieve and practice their own talents in a society that shares possibilities and limitations not so different from our own.



4. I only get to read on the train to and from work. This book makes my daily trip a real treat. I'm only half through, but hooked from page one. Not only does Marshall make a fascinating biographical and historical account of the Peabody sisters, but she provides answers as to why strong, ambitious, smart women have been so frustrated for so long. Society supressed gifted women in the 1800's so much so that women either became outcasts because they had to find expression, which in itself was restricted to motherhood, housewife or teacher, or they retreated into themselves in the form of illness or depression. Indeed, the contributions to romanticism by the Peabody sisters came at a very high cost to them. And now I can read about them and think "How strange that society was so close-minded back then!"



5. Megan Marshall has done superb work in this carefully researched account of the amazing Peabody sisters.

5 comments about Edie: American Girl.

1. I believe this is a great book about Edie Sedgwick, it's very well documented and original, you can read a lot of opinions, versions, from her brothers and sisters, to her friends and companions. I enjoyed it very much!
   
   The beginning of the book talks about the ancestors of Edie's family (the narration is a little bit slowly in that part, and personally I only wanted to read about Edie), anyhow you'll find this information very useful in the next chapters to understand the whole life of this amazing girl. The price is amazing, is a big bargain!.
   
   The book is a little bit bigger than the other kind of books we're used to read. Isn't paperback completely, don't know what material. It has a lot pictures, all in black and white, very helpful to the beginners or novice people that are interested in Edie's life.



2. This book is interesting. It is a little hard to follow because of the way it is written and some of the pictures are a little vulgar but I guess that sums up Edie. It is worth a read for anyone interested in this poor girl. There is something so so sad but so fabulous about her.



3. Great photos, great commentary from those who knew Edie on the most personal levels. Great and eye opening accounts of what it was like to live in the sixties, the drug use, the sex, the music, the scene. Really great book that I'm thrilled to add to my library.



4. When the movie "Factory Girl" (god-awful by the way) came out, it renewed my interest in this book and Edie Sedgwick. My interest in her dates back to when I first bought this book, way back in 1982. The test of a great book is that is grows richer and deeper upon re-reading. And this one does.
   
   At first, this was simply the story of a notorious party girl. Upon re-reading (I've read this countless times), "Edie" becomes the story of how the thread of mental illness traveled through generations. This book is truly unforgettable and haunting. And I'm sure, while suffering another bout of boredom, I'll read it again. - Siouxie
   P.S. Someone should give this book to Britney Spears. She's traveling the same path at age 25; Edie was dead at 28.



5. Book came very quickily (within 2 days) in excellent condition. I would buy from this resource again.

5 comments about Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman.

1. After reading this text, it is very clear to me why Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman is considered to be a classic in anthropological literature. Shostak does a fascinating job telling the story of Nisa, a fifty something female member of the !Kung tribe in the Kalahari desert of Africa. The !Kung are classic hunter and gatherers.
   
   The majority of the text is essentially an interview between Nisa and Shostak about Nisa's daily life (the remainder of the text is narrated by Shostak), and the experiences that she has had regarding many aspects of life, including marriage, childbirth, and sex, and family life.
   
   The text is exploding with interesting details of !Kung life. For Example, according to the !Kung, the gods gave them a wonderful thing when they gave them sex. The !Kung people spend much time talking about sex and about sexual endeavors. Also, !Kung women predict the coming of their menses by the phases of the moon. If the moon comes and goes without the commencement of menstruation, pregnancy can be suspected. This suspicion greatly increased when other symptoms of pregnancy are present, such as nausea or unusual emotion. This ethnography is jam packed with great conversation starters such as these.
   
   In Nisa, Shostak manages to include an abundance of dialogue of Nisa and additional narration, while simultaneously producing a very easy read. Nisa is a must read for anthropology students, those wanting to know more about the !Kung people, or anyone who enjoys biographies.



2. Marjorie Shostak offers readers an interesting and insightful account of her relationship with a member of the !Kung San people of the Kalahari Desert during the early 1970s, a woman known by the pseudonym "Nisa," in her seminal work Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman. The book is a coupling of both Shostak's ethnographic insight and Nisa's life history told in her own words, along with some very interesting photos taken by the author. Shostak admittedly runs into barriers that she must cross, particularly as to whether or not she can trust Nisa, who the rest of the tribe regards as a liar, but really, much can be seen in the lies that people choose to tell as well as the truths. Either way, Nisa's stories are compelling and give the reader a great window into their hunter-gatherer society and the dynamics that make it work. It reveals techniques of tribal socialization and ethic reasoning, the importance of intimacy, as well as offering a model (however debatable it may be) for the ways in which the status of women is compromised by changing demographics.
   
   Nisa's life history account reveals many instances in which can be seen a socialization process that is meant to turn her into a more productive and adaptive person in society. These instances can especially be seen in Nisa's childhood. The !Kung place a high value on sharing in their culture, and Nisa's early tendencies to selfishly covet and hoard food for herself was counterproductive to this ideal. Nisa's mother dealt with her daughter's stealing firmly, often hitting her and screaming such things like, "Nisa, stop stealing! Are you the only one who wants to eat klaru? Now, let me take what's left and cook them for all of us to eat. Did you really think you were the only one who was going to eat them all?" (Shostak 53). By this form of punishment, her mother not only chastised Nisa for her counterproductive actions, but she also reinforced the social norm of the culture - namely, sharing.
   
   Nisa's life history account is also filled with stories of intimacy. The frequency of these stories, as well as her descriptions, reveal much about !Kung principles and social organization. Marjorie Shostak at first assumes that Nisa's focus on sexual matters is her attempt at finding a common ground with a fellow woman, but she soon realizes that it is in fact quite characteristic of !Kung society. The !Kung say that "when the gods gave people sex... they gave us a wonderful thing" and its importance is seen as significant as that of food in sustaining life (Shostak 237). They find talk of sex to be important and it is often used as the subject of jokes "in a deliberate way to dispel tension" such as making pornographic gestures to cheer a man up who had been spat in the eye by a cobra (Shostak 237).
   
   But the act brings out other qualities of !Kung life as well. Many men and women of the society frequently take secret lovers. They see it as an exciting and passionate alternative when those fires have burned out between their spouses. For many women, especially, self-esteemed is gained through their secret games and rendezvous. It also symbolizes another belief among the !Kung, namely, the vitality of women and sex in the social organization: "women are strong; women are important... because women possess something very important, something that enables men to live: their genitals. A woman can bring a man back to life, even if he is almost dead. She can give him sex and make him alive again. If she were to refuse, he would die!" (Shostak 257).
   
   However, despite the powerful feelings a woman may have for her lover(s), it is very important to them that responsibility to their husbands are their main priority, signifying another element in the social organization. Even their lovers understand, as one of Nisa's did when she did not show as promised. He said, "if it was because of your husband, that's all right. But if you do it again, I'll beat you!" (Shostak 245). As Nisa explained:
   
   "When a woman has a lover, her heart goes out to him and also to her husband. Her heart feels strong towards both men. But if her heart is small for the important man and big for the other one, if her heart feels passion only for her lover and is cold toward her husband, that is very bad. Her husband will know and will want to kill her and the lover. A woman has to want her husband and her lover equally; that is when it is good" (Shostak 257).
   
   Perhaps the most significant aspect of this work is the changing status of !Kung women as result of environmental and demographic change. Traditionally, !Kung women have experienced relative equality with men. This is do mainly to the hunter-gatherer existence in which they live, for "!Kung women are recognized by men and women alike as the primary economic providers of the group" by gathering vegetables, roots, etc. (Shostak 216). However, as Tswana and Herero herdsmen have been in the past century moving in on their territory, and whose "village sites expanded to encompass more of the traditional !Kung waterholes, maintaining the !Kung way of life became increasingly difficult" (Shostak 194). This change has affected woman, though, most of all. As some of the !Kung began to settle in these villages they became second-class citizens, for the women's pattern of child caring began to see drastic changes. While these women had previously had a child perhaps once every four years, now those "who live more sedentary lives have shorter birth spacing between children" (Shostak 195). This could be because of cow's milk's effects of birth patterns or women being "better fed and less active," but "in any case, with two children to carry, the women are less likely to go gathering; they become more dependent of the new food sources, animal husbandry and agriculture" (Shostak 195). Because the role that gave women their equal position is now being threatened, so too is their status.
   
   Shostak's study works on a number of levels, and can indeed by appreciated on many as well. Whether one is interested in an ethnographic study of hunter-gathering tribes, or is concerned about feminist issues, or would just like a unique and interesting tale that provokes consideration, this book comes highly recommended.



3. The book is written by Shostak a woman, about Nisa also a woman, and that makes it more appealing because it deals with a lot of women issues. I know that Marjorie Shostak is now dead and Nisa is dead too. When you live with the author and the person she is writing about all this time it suddenly becomes a part of your life and you begin to mourn their death. I really admire Nisa and all these !Kung women and how courageous they live but I also know they don't live according to this book anymore. Long a go they changed their lifestyles.



4. Nisa is an autobiography of a young girl who is part of the Kung tribe. I feel that this book was a very easy read, and some parts of it were interesting but others weren't.
   
   The Kung people have many cultural customs and traditions, such as a woman should give birth alone and in silence, or you shouldn't drink your mother's breast milk if you have a younger sibling. But, Nisa is sort of a rule breaker, or as we would call her, a rebel. Nisa had three husbands, I think. Now, many women in America have had multiple husbands so it's not that big of a deal but along with Nisa's three husbands she has at least 17 affairs, or as they called them lovers. When her husband would go out to hunt for two or three nights another man would sneak to Nisa's hut and they would make love until her husband came back. Many times Nisa got caught, and many times she didn't.
   
   Nisa sometimes had reasons for leaving her husbands, but one of them she just didn't like. The Kung have something that is called a tribe headman. This man decides whether it is ok to get a divorce or not. One of the times Nisa didn't even go to the tribe's headman she just went back to her mother's village. Another time Nisa's husband, who was the father of her children died. Nisa cried and cried, but eventually she got over it. Nisa's next husband was a different story. He beat Nisa all the time, sometimes her back even swelled up. Nisa went to the headman to tell him that she wanted a divorce, but he gave her husband another chance. The next time Nisa went with bruises and the headman told her that she could divorce her husband.
   
   Nisa got pregnant many times, but actually only had 2 kids, one girl and one boy. The Kung people believe that women can have miscarriages in many different ways. For example, they Kung believe that, if the child is not wanted by the mother of father that god will take it away from them. Another way is if the mother is hit or injured while she is pregnant the baby may leave her. Nisa miscarried for many reasons. A lot of the time it was because it wasn't her husband who caused her to get pregnant, it was one of her lovers and it was hard for her to tell her husband, so she just kept lying. Another time Nisa's 3rd husband got very mad at her and hit her with a stick, which made it seem as if the baby wasn't wanted.
   
   Like I said before, I thought that Nisa was a very easy read, but it was still very informative. I really enjoyed how each chapter had a little bit about the culture, and a little bit about Nisa and how she fits in with her culture. Because the book was like that, it made it easier to stay interested because it wasn't 20 pages all about the same thing. I thought it was kind of cool that Nisa was a rebel, because if Nisa just followed all her customs it wouldn't be a very interesting book to read. Nisa seemed like she was very intelligent. She knew how to work her way out of trouble, how to cover up things that she knew she did wrong, and most of all how to lie. I never said that she was necessarily intelligent in a good way. If I were to compare this book to The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, I would say that I enjoyed this book more. I think this is because The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down had whole chapters about the war and their trip to America but I was more interested in Lia herself. That's why I liked Nisa so much, the book was more about her then the culture.
   
   I recommend Nisa to people who are interested in autobiographies, but ones that are also about other cultures. I think this book offers a wide range of topics and is a very good book to debate this book. If I were to rate this book I would rate it 4 stars, because it kept me interested yet it was a very easy read.



5. Majorie Shostak's account of her anthropology trip to Africa's Kalahari Desert examining the rituals, lifestyles and existence of the !Kung tribe is not to be read like an expanded version of a National Geographic article. It is written with academic rigor and precise examination of a !Kung woman Nisa. The majority of the book is told through Nisa's words which are translated into English with as much accuracy possible by Shostak. Shostak prefaces each chapter with a more general description of the events of Nisa's life which follow. The !Kung have such a different life style than Westerners, so naturally the story telling methods Nisa uses are a little unfamiliar. There is much more repetition of certain phrases and ideas that some of us might find excessive. If one can get past this they will soon see what an expert Nisa actually is. Also it is a tribute to Shostak that she didn't slice up the narrative to make it more accessible for Westerners.
   
   The book in begun with an extensive introduction, about 40 pages. Although at first this might feel over detailed and cumbersome, it is a necessity to read it before jumping into Nisa's narrative because some of the actions taken might seem unfathomable without a better understanding of !Kung life. For instance, when Nisa describes stealing and hoarding food for herself as a child, we might feel she is extremely selfish. But after reading the introduction we understand that in !Kung life there is virtually no private property. Imagine being a young child and having nothing of "your own." I think we all would have stolen to some extent. Also during the time the book was written there was a struggle within the anthropology communities as to whether these "field work" expeditions we're even worth taking. There were many who thought that the "white man" was so engrained with his own cultural sense of morality that any attempt to interpret or understand someone different would be wasted time. So it is possible that in parts of the long introduction Shostak was justifying to her academic circle why it was important that she did go to see another kind of life.
   
   After the introduction is over, we move into various important events in Nisa's life, described by Nisa and prefaced by Shostak. Although these interviews were not given chronologically they are presented in as workable a series events as possible. We are taken first through her childhood in which Nisa's mother has her second child and no longer allows her to breast feed because it is believed that once her younger brother is born, it is his milk. We are then taken, to various cases of childhood problems. The `Discovering sex' chapter is worth noting, children go away and as Nisa says "play sexually". Although the parent's sometimes mildly scorn this, they remember how important is was for them in developing as sexual beings, so they pretty much look away. I think that our incredibly sexually conservative and private culture could learn something from this. It shouldn't necessarily be discouraged for children to discover certain aspects of themselves, and have sexual feeling, (we should stop pretending as if they don't!)
   
   We are then taken through trial marriages; theeseoften "fail", because the girl married is too young. The most important events in a !Kung woman's life are first menstruation, marriage, and childbirth.
   
   Another chapter worth noting is most clearly illuminates why Shostak's expedition into the Kalahari was so vital to understanding !Kung life. The chapter entitled 'Change' accounts the arrival of the very different Christian cattle herders. The Hero brought, (among other things), permanent villages, alcohol, western religion, tobacco, etc. Although some people might consider some of these things "civilization", (and I would not count myself among this crowd), the sad truth is that !Kung culture is dieing. More and more are forsaking the old way of life for the much more stable continuous food source. And even if the corrupt regimes they live under exploit their way of life to promote tourism, they are being stifled the the exact same regimes. Nisa's generation is the last link to the nearly completely un- westernized !Kung life. Without Shostak's magnificent book we would have a much harder time understanding this beautiful nomadic way of life.
   
   One of the amazing thing about this book, unlike many other cross cultural examinations, is that it doesn't concentrate on some of the "shocking" taboos that might have made it a bestseller, (just under Tom Clancy). It instead just tells the story of a woman. One does not finish it and say, "wow they're different they need Jesus." One feels a connection to Nisa, and we realize not that we are different but that we are more similar than we would know or like to know. This also shows us that they're clearly are universal human emotions. Nisa goes through, love, hate, guilt, grief, regret, resentment, fear, happiness, etc, just like every human being! To go through it is to be human. Even in a culture totally different than ours these emotions are still there. In an age where we feel like we must "spread democracy", like we're spreading humanity, it is all the more important to realize that the same humanity exists whether or not they are infested with corrupt corporate puppets. I would recommend this book to anyone who feels lie they want to know more about other societies, and ways of life, in a more in depth format.
   
   We have two wonderful women to thank for this powerful book on !Kung life, or !Kung life as it should be.

5 comments about Queen of the Oil Club: The Intrepid Wanda Jablonski and the Power of Information.

1. While I expected to find Queen of the Oil Club to be an educational read, I wasn't prepared for the page turner I found. Rubino's first person and you are there approach to Wanda's amazing life was riveting. So far,I've recommended it to friends looking for a lively summer read, writer friends, my graduate student niece who is pursuing Women's Studies and a friend who grew up in Saudi Arabia in the 1960's. There's something there for each of them.



2. The seeds of today's oil crisis were sown during the five decades that Wanda Jablonski reported on industry events and, through that reporting, influenced their outcome. To understand the current surge of oil nationalism on the part of both producer and consumer nations that will determine the future of hydrocarbons for years to come, we need to go back to the earlier rise of oil nationalism that led to the creation of OPEC. This book takes us there through the life of an extraordinary woman. Wanda, her first name sufficed to identify her whether in the court of the King of Saudi Arabia or the Exxon executive offices, had access to the boardrooms and bedouins that created the oil machine. She spoke the truth to their faces and told her readers what went on behind the curtain. In an all-male oil world, she earned respect and fear for the power she wielded as a journalist who knew as much or more about this crucial industry than the men who ran it. Anna Rubino captures Wanda, a strangely reclusive woman who quietly re-wrote the rules of business journalism and influenced the world we live in today.



3. Review for "The Queen of the Oil Club"
   Anna Rubino takes us into the world of oil in the 1950's through the eyes of a remarkable woman, Wanda Jablonski. In this clearly readable book the reader is exposed to the personalities of the industry leaders, the look and feel of the Middle Eastern cities and the customs and concerns of its people. Filled with high drama, this book tells a fascinating and timely story, perhaps even more relevant in view of today's oil crisis.
   Donald and Kathie Eppert



4. Anna Rubino was a brilliant scholar of history at Yale as she pursued her PhD. Now she has written a brilliant historical study, impeccable in scholarship but also timely and exciting. Five stars all around.
   --William Lilley III, a Yale history faculty member when the author was a graduate student.



5. You will be sucked into the story from page one. How could a woman named Wanda Jablonski have climbed into the middle of the super secret, conspiratorial world of global oil and remain there for more than 30 years as big oil's top digging journalist? The author, Anna Rubino, lays it out in page-turning fashion.
   
   Wanda broke all the stereotypes. She was on a first-name, trusted basis with Arab oil sheikhs. Her publication, Petroleum Intelligence Weekly, became the must read for every global oil player. She broke all the big stories in a career that, as written in this compelling book, tracks more like a great work of fiction - except it's all true. If you want to understand the forces that have carried us into the current world of skyrocketing fuel prices, read this book.
   
   It's a great summer escape - particularly if you can't afford the gas to get to the beach! You can sit under an umbrella on the back deck, grab a cool drink and get absorbed.
   
   Wanda Jablonski - one of the most important journalists in U.S. history. Who knew?

5 comments about My Story: Illustrated Edition.

1. I have always been a fan of Marilyn Monroe. I finally decided to read a little more indepthly about her and thought there would be no better place to start than with her own words.
   
   The book is just fascinating. Although parts were miserable (mostly about her childhood), it was such a brief glimpse that her light spirit remains intact. Since I find her absolutely fascinating, so this book was a real treat.
   
   The eerie entries that almost seem to foreshadow her gradual demise are so coincidental, I wonder if that was not her friend Ben Hecht embellishing after the fact. And even though some people say she could not have written this, I see her voice in the phrasing and choice of words. My only complaint that the book, like her life, was too short.
   
   Highly recommend.



2. Lately I have been on a Marilyn Monroe reading Jag (I do recommend "Misfits Country") that was brought on by watching most of her films. This book offers unique insights as it is Marilyn in her own words. She covers everything from her early childhood, to her rise to stardom, and her rocky marriage to Joltin Joe DiMaggio. There are nuggets here that explain much about how she went from Norma Jean to Marilyn Monroe, and some interesting foresight as to her demise. The books only weakness is that it is way to short, there is so much more I wanted to hear Marilyn talk about....



3. This book is amazing!! Marilyn vividly descirbes her good/bad expierences and her dreams of becoming a famous actress. When reading the book it feels like your going back in time and watching Marilyn grow into one of the most memorable, sensitive, and discredited actress of all time. During some parts I have to admit, I felt chills up my spine and was a little spooked. I have never been able to complete this book because I know that it will not have a happy ending and will forever be incomplete and that Marilyn will never have a chance to try some of the things that she longed for. I would highly recomend that you would read other books on Marilyn before reading her autobiography. You should know some of the people and events in her life because there are no explainations and a reader my get confused.



4. I was so impressed with this book I brought a copy for my friend, this book is really easy reading (great for bedtime) and quite an insight to Marilyn Monroe's own personal biography, the pictures are fantastic and this is a must for any Marilyn Monroe fan an absolute must for any fan's collection. Most enjoyable, if I hadn't broughtit already I'd buy it again.



5. I've read that this book was not actually written by Marilyn. Despite this, I do like the way the story was put together/told. Even though it leans toward depressing, it's still a very interesting read. This book would be better as a much smaller paperback with fewer photos. We know what she looks like. The space fillers can distract. They are great photos, but perhaps limiting them, making them smaller and fitting them onto smaller sheets of paper, or placing them at the end might be better. Smaller paperbacks are easier to take everywhere with you.