1 comments about Sizeable Reflections: Big Women Living Full Lives.

1. An excellent honest anthology written by strong, sucessful women showing that that is not a barrier to acieving whatever you desire. These pieces are poignant, truthful and humorous. I recommend this book to anyone interested in size issues.

No comments about Florence Nightingale: Letters from the Crimea.

5 comments about Alma Rose: Vienna to Auschwitz.

1. "Alma Rose: Vienna to Auschwitz" by Richard Newman with Karen Kirtley is the kind of biography I enjoy most. The author provides the reader with not only a fascinating story of the Rose family but also brings to life the time in which these people lived. We see Alma' s life as a privileged young girl and woman. The many twists and turns of fate, poor judgement and unfortunate circumstances brings her to Auschwitz toward the end of WW11. Her time in the concentration camp reveals a remarkable individual existing under the most inhuman conditions. Her talent and strength of character resulted in her saving the lives of many woman who were members in the women's orchestra, of which she was the leader. An excellent, informative and ultimately powerful read.



2. Alma Rose was an incredible human being. After spending the last few evenings immersed in her biography "Alma Rose: Vienna to Auschwitz", I was touched by her ability to use her violin to transcend the evil around her.
   Alma was born into the musical elite of turn-of-the-last-century Vienna, the capital of arts and music in Europe. Her uncle was Gustav Mahler and her father, Arnold Rose, the famous concertmaster and conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic. She had a fabled childhood surrounded by musicians and artists.
   
   Alma studied violin from her father at an early age and later with Sevcik. She toured Europe as concertmistress of an all women's orchestra she organized, and was briefly married to violin virtuoso Vasa Prihoda.
   
   All of the fame and glamour ended however when she was captured and interned in the dreaded Auschwitz. Fearing that she was about to be eliminated she asked for her last wish to be able to play the violin. Word quickly spread that she was the Alma Rose of the Rose Quartet and before she knew it, the camp supervisor, assigned her to lead a women's orchestra. For many of the players, the orchestra was the only chance of survival. Alma took pity on people who auditioned and tried to fit them in, whether it was as accordion player, or guitarist, or if they had no playing talent, as copyist and scribe. She took her job seriously, practicing 10-12 hours a day in addition to giving "concerts". All this was under the constant stress and threat of elimination if they did not prove their worthiness to the SS in charge.
   
   Alma maintained a musicality, and in those moments while playing music, they were transported out of their nightmare and back to the preWar Vienna, playing in a cafe. The music also affected both SS and prisoners alike, and on the Sunday concerts, prisoners strained to hear and grasp a small slice of beauty while SS overlords sat in the front row weeping with emotion. How they could love music so much and then turn around and kill mercilessly was beyond the comprehension of the survivors.
   
   Alma saved the lives of many women, and even though she perished, her bravery and dedication lives on in the stories of the survivors she helped.
   
   The author Richard Newman based the book on firsthand knowledge, primary sources such as letters and interviews with survivors, relatives, friends and contemporaries. He maintained a historical accuracy and honest portrayal of Alma's life. You will be touched while unable to grasp the enormity of the horrors that faced the people who were interned in the death camps.
   
   I read this book alongside with "Night" by Elie Wiesel who arrived at Auschwitz shortly before Alma's death. Both books are highly recommended although extremely sad, they show the resilience of the human spirit in absolutely horrible conditions.



3. Alma Rose was born to musical royalty in Vienna (the daughter of famed violinist Arnold Rose and niece of Gustav Mahler). She studied with distinction at the Vienna Conservatory and the Vienna State Academy, and consequently enjoyed a very respectable and successful musical career. In 1932 Alma formed a women's orchestra (Vienna Waltzing Girls) and toured throughout Europe. But like so many others of her class and background, she was totally caught off guard by the Nazi onslaught. Courageously assisting her family's flight from the Nazi's antisemitic pogroms, she was nonetheless caught and sent to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. There she took a group of terrified and untrained women and transformed them into an orchestra whose music saved them from being summarily gassed by their Nazi captors. Forty women were to survive that horrific place because of their participation in Alma's prisoner orchestra. But Alma herself was to die of illness in the camps before they were able to be liberated by the Allies. A welcome contribution to Holocaust studies, as well as a brilliantly presented biography of a gifted musician, Alma Rose: Vienna To Auschwitz is a memorial to a gifted musician and a testament to Alma's personal struggle to help as many women survive as she could. It is also a damning indictment of the Nazi horror and an effective counter to the pernicious attempts of historical revisionists to suppress both the atrocities and the courage of those dark times.



4. Richard Newman has spent many years working on this book and it paid off, there can't be a biography on hardly anyone that is better researched. And he has written it in a way that doesn't judge the person, he relates the facts but doesn't try any psychological insight. He leaves this up to the reader. A beautiful, compelling book on a woman that used a difficult position to save as many lives as possible. If ever anyone deserved a monument, it is Alma Rosé. Richard Newman`s book lays the foundation. I will publish the German version in Fall 2002.



5. My review is best expressed in a letter to the authors. While the letter speaks little of the content of the story, it does the reflections of the reader:

   I have just finished your book, Alma Rosé, Vienna to Auschwitz and felt compelled to write a word of thanks for such an excellent book. I have lived in Vienna for 23 years and in our early years I walked by the Rosé house in the Pyrkergasse each day, taking our oldest to the Volkschule. Of course, at that time, I had no idea the importance of number 23. Through your book and others of Viennese history I have gained a profound sense of history that a midwest American, growing up in the suburbs, rarely has a chance to learn.

   We have since moved from the 19th district, but each time I am in the city the enormity of life that has gone on before me deeply tugs at my soul. The stones I walk on have carried the lives of so many, each woven into a history of joy and often of utter loss and evil.

   I believe your book was one of those that has allowed me to enter into a life past. Through it I have gained new perspective that the joy and beauty I now enjoy is not without the marring of tragedy and sorrow of many who were innocent. I was also able with my family to visit Auschwitz this summer. The visit has left a lasting impact on our minds and it certainly allowed me to have even deeper sense of personal presence as I read your book. The immensity of the tragedy leaves one lost for thoughts and words. The life of Alma Rosé puts a reality to that part of history that seems unbelievable, yet was played out in the very places I have lived and walked.

   I visited the Rosé grave in Grinzing last week and noted that Alma's name is inscribed on the headstone (unfortunately, the date is 4/4/44 and not 5/4/44). In honor of her courage and for the lives she most certainly helped spare, I left a memorial candle on her grave. I did not seem fitting to leave the grave without some acknowledgement and sign of respect of her family's life.

   Again, thank you for the fine research and excellent presentation of her life. The book must also be considered a memorial not just to one life, but to many who's stories will never be told.

No comments about Anne Hutchinson, Troubler of the Puritan Zion.

4 comments about Nancy Love And The WASP Ferry Pilots Of World War II (North Texas Military Biography and Memoir).

1. An excellent book from the point of historical accuracy with full footnotes, bibliography, and exhibits. But,it is also enjoyable reading as a pure biography providing insights into the complexities of a wartime marriage with lengthy separations. The postwar trials of the Love family, while not unusual for a relationship of any duration, add depth to the story and make it more than just another World War II, or Rosie the Riveter book.



2. "Rickman's delightful writing style transports the reader right into the high-flying life of World War II pilot, Nancy Love. A compassionate, yet honest, focus on the human side of our hero makes this a captivating and educational read. Detailed research, including many first-hand interviews, gives Rickman a commanding grasp of her subject. Warfare, aviation, women's rights and family matters all join together for a portrait that informs and inspires."



3. One who chooses to read this story presumably is interested in the subject matter. It is, indeed, a compelling story of a young woman who wanted to fly since riding a in barnstormer's plane as a teenager. Bartering and bargaining her way through flight lessons, she parlayed her love of flight into a job as head of the Women's Airforce Service Pilots of WWII. Along the way, Ms. Love managed to have a happy and fulfilling domestic life as well.
   Ms. Rickman wrote the story based on hours of interviews and intensive document research. She did a great job of making factual/historical a good entertaining read. I laughed out loud at more than a few passages and felt a range of emotions as I read of the trials, thrills and perils of flying in the forties. Included are many nice photos showing the fashion of the day. "Ladies" wore dresses, silk stockings, and heels to pilot those airplanes. Imagine working the pedals and controls dressed like that. Sarah Rickman transports us in space and time with her vivid descriptions of open cockpits, near misses, and battles with the "boys' club" mentality. I recommend this book.



4. Award-winning author Sarah Byrn Rickman presents Nancy Love and the WASP Ferry Pilots of World War II, the fourth installment of the "North Texas Military Biography and Memoir Series" published by University of North Texas Press. Nancy Love and the WASP Ferry Pilots of World War II tells of the women who served their country as ferry pilots when the United States needed them most, during World War II. A trailblazing figure for women's service in the military along with her rival Jacqueline Cochran, Nancy Love was a dedicated and determined aviation enthusiast and served admirably as the Executive for the unified women's programs under the name Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). Extensive notes, a glossary of military and airplane terms, and an index round out this captivating biography of a truly extraordinary woman aviator.

1 comments about Miss Bertha: Woman of Revival: A Biography.

1. Miss Bertha: Woman of Revival tells the story of one of the most amazing women Baptists have ever produced. Bertha Smith lived 100 years and influenced several generation of missionaries and pastors. Drummond does a good job of focusing mainly on her public life while still giving us a glimpse at her early years. Everyone should read this book!

5 comments about Sarah's Seasons: An Amish Diary & Conversation (Bur Oak Original).

1. This book is simply the diary of a young Amish housewife and mother going about her daily chores of cooking, sewing, cleaning, and rearing children. Interesting, but not particularly engaging look into the ordinary life of an Amish woman & the impressive amount of activity she crams into a single day in her life.



2. Reading this wonderful book made me wish for a plain and simple life. Reading about Sarah and her everyday life made me feel Like I really knew her and this book reminded me of a time when I was much younger... with children...a husband and a house to run. Sarah takes life as it comes and seems to let nothing bother her. Her faith in God keeps her on a steady path. She is someone I would like to cross paths with. Birthing her babies, her mothers death...the cycles of life are all handled with dignity and grace. This is one book that I will keep on my book shelf.



3. For those unfamiliar with Amish diaries, Sarah's musings are far from the emotion filled journal entries one commonly sees in the English world. Sarah's record keeping consists of three to five lines of basic news, usually including the weather and family illnesses, scribbled on a feed calendar. Martha Davis doggedly tries to find and analyze greater substance and meaning behind the two years worth of day to day activities noted in this way by her Amish friend. I'm not sure she succeeded, as her conclusion mirrors her repeated observations that Sarah's life is slower and more anchored in daily task work. It was still rewarding to read the news from Sarah's community in Kalona, Iowa during the 1976-77 years, and no doubt it has changed minimally since then. Overall, it was an enjoyable book that felt like a warm blanket, and I can't help but recommend it.
   
   For the curious, Sarah (Fisher) died some years back, and she'd probably be very surprised by how many people continue to enjoy this elaboration of her calendar.



4. My co-worker loaned me this book. For I used to be a member of an Old Order Amish sect. What I found in the diary were true emotions and experiences that a woman faces living in an Old Order Amish sect. This is a beautifully portrayed work. I recommend it, as well as, "The Storekeeper's Daughter", by Wanda Brunstetter, and "My Amish Heritage", by Ruth Irene Garrett.
   
   Sicily Yoder aka Teresa Phillips
   Author of, "Leaving Lancaster County."



5. I think that many of us are facinated by the Amish and their way of life. Most of us will never have the chance to become close friends with an Amish woman and have the chance to observe her life close up. This book takes you into the day by day life of Sarah and lets you vicariously experience what it's like to live the "plain life". We see the various seasons as recorded in her diary over a 2 year period of time. Her developing friendship with the "English" author is touching and enlightening. This is a special book.

5 comments about The Soulful Divas: Personal Portraits of over a dozen divine divas from Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, & Diana Ross, to Patti LaBelle, Whitney Houston, & Janet Jackson.

1. I enjoyed reading some of my favorite soulful singers such as Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, etc. Although I was surprised that the Diva of all Divas, the late great Miss Dinah Washington wasn't included. I hope that Mr. Nathan will write a follow-up edition and include Miss Washington, along with Mariah Carey, Jennifer Holiday, the late Minnie Riperton, and the late Mary Wells.



2. It is obvious that David Nathan truly idolizes his subjects which probably accounts for the calculated design at the end of each chapter to make sure in no uncertain terms that he has shown that subject in her best light. I can certainly empathize because many of the divas profiled are true favorites of mine. That said, soul diva aficionados will readily recognize this as a collection of all-too-familiar press clippings even the most casual follower has at least heard of. To his credit, it is indeed refreshing to hear about lesser publicized divas like Esther Phillips, Millie Jackson, Nina Simone, Doris Troy or Phylllis Hyman. And ultimately, the final chapter sketching younger divas appeared entirely too hastily thrown together with the end result being little more than an unsatisfying epilogue.

   Quite honestly, if you are in to black female vocalists, this, of course, was an easy, flattering read. However, the finished product is little more than an indulgent scrapbook by a journalist who, apparently, could have shed infinitely more light on the personalities he featured, but declined or refused out of either fierce loyalty or abject fear. Not only do the subjects deserve more than this, but so does the author.




3. Great book Mr. Nathan. I loved all the subjects picked in this book(I'm sorry that I don't know Doris Troy)and thought he did a fantastic job of painting a realistic portrait of the ladies using their own words and his personal experiences with them. I never knew Chaka Khan had such a turbulent past. Oh, and Esther Phillips- that temper! I laughed so hard. Diana Ross seems pretty nice (I love her) and I do love Dionne and Nina- they are such proud women. I hope the divas in the makings can successfully carry forth the diva achievements as their foremothers have done. If there is a sequel to this, Mr. Nathan, you must include Cissy Houston, Melba Moore and Donna Summer.



4. David Nathan KNOWS his R & B. For close to four decades, the book's author has been a contributor, in some way or another, to the production of over 500 albums of soul music. He has done countless interviews, provided liner notes for recordings, served as producer on several, and even done a little background singing. It is obvious that if anyone knows what a "diva" truly is, David Nathan is that man.

   "The Soulful Divas" covers the recording careers of the ladies profiled with little snippets of their non-professional beginnings, as well as individual highs and lows. However, it's these little "peeks" into the artists' characters that make the book such a fascinating read.

   Not meaning to reveal much of the text, there are many little known facts reported in each profile. Each of the women has experienced her share of failed romantic relationships, legal battles with recording companies, perceived public opinions, peaks and valleys in album sales, and personal tragedies.

   Most tragic of all showcased within the pages of the expose is the late Phyllis Hyman, a diva in every sense of the word. Like Nathan, I am a fan of hers, also, and her untimely demise still brings a lump in my throat.

   But, the chapter on Millie Jackson is a welcome find. Jackson is the only diva profiled that is not represented in my musical library, save for a duet album with Isaac Hayes. However, after reading about the singer's body of work, as well as her down-to-earth and honest demeanor, I think that this is about to change.

   I am curious about a certain "expletive deleted" symphony that she composed.

   Note for the author: The next time around, include Patti Austin in volume two.




5. Great concept, terrifc subjects. I particularly appreciated the inclusion of such greats as Esther Phillips (whom is so seldom mentioned these days), Nina Simone, and Chaka Khan, in which gave me some insight to her early years with Rufus. The section on Millie, a truly under-rated singer, and the late Phyllis Hyman were also informative and worth the read. I really appreciated Nathan's straight forward and honest, yet dignified, portrayal of the all the divas, until I got to the chapter's on Aretha, Diana, and Doris Troy whom Nathan, in my opinion, showed favoritism towards. While he did an excellent job of exposing the other divas, these three he seems to take pity- Aretha the most. Adoration is understandable, but you hinted in other chapters about Aretha's less than royal behaviors, while in her chapter she was almost hailed as a saint! Same goes for Miss Ross. Friend or not, Doris Troy could and should have been replaced with the likes of Candi Staton or Mavis Staples.

   Overall, the book is a delightful read and I would look forward to a part two, highlighting the likes of soulful artists like, Stephanie Mills, Minnie Riperton, Melba Moore, Candi and Mavis to name a few....

5 comments about Twisted Roots of Evil.

1. Montell Williams interviewed the victims and I had to get the book. This book is well written and describes the horrors that these children went through and into their adult lives. The questions that were unanswered as children, the justice system, some answers, and the shock that another individual had to endure worse by the same hands of the perp. The author shows our human ability to grow past our upbringing to become "normal," successful individuals, yet also relates that remnants shall remain throughout our lives. This book leaves the reader pondering additional questions that cannot be answered.



2. It was the most heart wrenching book I have read in a very long time. I work with abused children in one form or another and it just tears my heart out ...I am thrilled that the family has tried to find peace and is trying to move on.



3. After I picked this book up and started reading it I couldnt put it down. The author is so vivid in her writing that it keeps you pinned to your seat. While reading the book its as though you can feel the fear that these children lived with on a day to day basis. This book sums up just how cruel some child abuse cases can really be.



4. If you are in an abusive relationship. . . this book will open your eyes! You can survive. The hurt can heal. . . and "you" must learn from the experience of others and break free.



5. This book was an eye opening experience for me. Many of us tend to run from our past and refusing to deal with it. When i read the book it made me realize that i am not the only one as a child that has suffered at the hands of a trusted adult and will continue to tell others i know about TWISTED ROOTS OF EVIL, A real page turner, when i read it i had to keep a box tissue near me. Until more people open there eyes and realize this is happening and speak up and stop the abuse then it will continue.

No comments about A Woman on the Goldfields: Recollections of Emily Skinner 1854-1878 (Australian Lives Series).