5 comments about Condoleezza Rice: An American Life: A Biography.

1. I was never a Bush, certainly no supporter of the PROJECT FOR THE NEW AMERICAN CENTURY, the most pompous concept and surely the downfall of America. But this book on Condi reveals a feisty, intelligent woman with a mind of her own. You soon realize that Condi has given her colleagues in the administration a run for their money. One thing this book reveals is that had Condi not been there, perhaps Rumsfeld and Cheney would have been even more destructive in their already negative and irrational ways. Perhaps she has to be a bit of a sycophant to Bush to keep her job, but this book reveals a Condi that has a mind and an agenda all her own, and all good for the American people, read the book. And this is from me, a strong supporter of liberal values.



2. Where's the analysis?
   
   There's not a lot new here about Condi Rice, especially for people involved enough with tracking politics to have formed a basic picture of her already.
   
   That said, there is a fair amount of information from her childhood and pre-NSC adulthood to confirm what became apparent then was not new.
   
   That includes:
   1. A blinkered mindset, not just on things like Iraq issues, either;
   2. A lack of original thought;
   3. A lack of bureaucratic steel at times, especially when limited by blinkered or unoriginal thought.
   
   The first point goes all the way back to segregated Birmingham, Ala., of Rice's childhood. She maintains to this day that segregation wasn't as bad as MLK and other civil rights leaders maintained, and, even more laughably, that more upper-crust black leaders there were making progress.
   
   The lack of originality? The lack of relative depth in her PhD study. Her time as Stanford provost.
   
   Tying some points together, that Bumiller doesn't look at enough:
   1. WHY the blinkered mindset held all the way back to childhood?
   2. WAS Condi's PhD that "derivative"?
   3. DID she get tenure, not just appointment at Stanford, on minority grounds? Or female grounds? Or a combo?
   4. DID she, per a book like Randall Kennedy's "Sellout," "pull the ladder up" after her at Stanford, both vis-à-vis other minorities and vis-à-vis other women?
   5. HOW RESPONSIBLE is she for the federal lawsuit against Stanford for discrimination against women? How responsible is she for that having spread to racial discrimination, too?
   6. PSYCHOLOGY of her attachment to older, "mentorish" men? Effects on her two stints in Washington?
   7. HARD-CORE CONSERVATIVISM after her Bush I service in 1989-91? Everybody at Stanford remarked on the changes, but it doesn't look like Bumiller asked Question No. 1 about this.
   
   Through in the fact that Bumiller swallows the conservative/BushCo talking points about the pre-9/11 "firewall" between domestic and foreign intelligence, calls Wolfowitz a "conservative" and not a "neoconservative" and you see Bumiller in over her head as much as Rice was on Jan. 20, 2001.
   
   How Bumiller got to be a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center, or how Random House thought they would get a serious analytical bio (if it wanted one) from an author whose other publishings are all non-analytical women's issues books, is beyond me. And, using that leave of absence from the New York Times to write this book and it STILL being this shallow? That is what got it knocked down from three to two stars.
   
   As for alternatives? Judging by other reviewers, I think Kessler's bio has to be better, and Mabry's possibly worse than this.



3. A good biography should provde interesting personal insights not readily known and engaging examples that show character strengths and flaws. Once an author interjects his or her own political bias, as this "liberal" author clearly does on more than one occassion, then the reader feels as if the biography has turned into political analysis, which is precisely what happens in this book about midway through.
   
   The author does a nice job describing the childhood, adolescence, family, and personal crises of Ms. Rice through and including her appointment as provost as Stanford. But then the author decides to simply discuss in chronological order the various political events that Ms. Rice was involved in as she entered the realm of politics and ultimately became Secretary of State. From that point on the book becomes not biography, but a superficial and biased presentation of various political events into which the author intersperses quotes from Ms. Rice. It sounded more like a series of newspaper articles than a biography.
   
   In short, the first half of the book through the events at Stanford is worth reading. You can simply skim the rest and skip to the Conclusion, which is rather pedestrian.
   
   There are no great insights provided in this book, but in the early chapters there is a wealth of personal and fascinating details that makes this book worth reading at all.



4. Elisabeth Bumiller's tentative (and sometimes maddening) portrait of Condoleeza Rice amounts to little more than a rehash of information already known to those familiar with Rice's life story. Bumiller dutifullly revisits Rice's exceptionally sheltered middle-class upbringing by Black professionals who were single-mindedly determined to mold, polish and harden their only child. In fact, Rice's most notable (and indirect) brush with the turbulence of 1960's civil rights struggles came with the death of a childhood playmate, one of three victims of the infamous Birmingham church bombings, which in turn figured prominently in the ascension of Martin Luther King.
   
   Bumiller traces Rice's relatively swift rise from noncommittal music major to Cold War specialist, who quickly garnered the attention of West Coast conservative think tanks. Bumiller also details Rice's tenure-track post as Provost for Stanford University, where her ruthless budget-cutting drew widespread grievances of minorities and women--many of whom took umbrage at her (Clarence Thomas-like) tendencies to pull up the drawbridges after she'd had her opportunities.
   
   
   As National Security Advisor for the second Bush administration, Rice was outgunned and often outmaneuvered by the likes of Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney---both of whom were contemptuous of her lack of experience. But Rice prevailed, given her proximity to the President, who pushed her historic appointment as the first Black female Secretary of State. Still, Rice's legacy will be forever linked to her disastrous advocacy of the war in Iraq.
   
   Though Bumiller tip-toes around her subject, the facts speak for themselves. Rice's frenetic public life notably contrasts with her relatively tranquil (and, some would say, barren) personal life. Aside from Rice's near-egregious lack of empathy, her general refusal to admit mistakes and her shrill indifference to plight of those far less fortunate, what's maddening about this biography is Rice's unquestioning complacency (in at least one famous Freudian slip, Rice caught herself referring to George W. as her husband). Indeed, Rice comes off as someone who is rarely, if ever, given to introspection, self-examination or self-doubt. Like her great friend George W., Rice seems to be proud of these deficiencies. But then her inordinately close relationship with the Bush clan probably speaks volumes more about her than any biography ever could.



5. a surprisingly astounding life story told in new york times opinion page fashion....not an emotion biography.

5 comments about The Sacred Bath: An American Teen's Story of Modern Day Slavery..

1. This is a phenomenal book which should wake up all of us. Theresa's story is unimaginable as a woman and even more so as a mother. Every mother should give this book to their daughter and to any young woman.
   
   The circumstances which Theresa has endured through should make everyone realize that although we are in modern times and woman are more respected than any other time in history, this does not insulate them from evil predators.
   
   My heart goes out to Theresa and thanks for sharing your story so that others can learn and try to prevent this from happening to others.



2. My sister lent me this book for a 2 hour flight. I was nervous about reading it because I hate reading about the abuse of women. But, I'm glad I read the book. While she does describe a few graphic situations, for the most part it is mostly you following her mental journey.
   
   She's a strong woman and very brave for writing this. I had a hard time staying objective and not "judging" when a certain decision or path was made - but I will never understand the situation she was in. However, I can appreciate the emotions she describes and I promise I will never turn my head and ignore a situation. Her story reminded me it's okay to be that annoying stranger who double checks that everyone is okay - and I will never ignore violence, no matter how "harmless" it may seem.
   
   And as a native Michigan citizen, it breaks my heart to know this happens where I live. Some strangers would have helped you. I know I would not have left you in that diner, love, no matter what.



3. Wow. This story tells about a woman who was forced into sexual slavery in America for two years before able to escape her horrors. She is very open and gives some details about what she goes through and the tactics that were used on her that scared her as she feared for her family's life. She also tries to encourage parents, teachers, etc. to be willing to help and be a part of your child's life in case this is happening to them (because her parents had no idea). It was a very sad book but she now works to help stop human trafficking because she can connect to others who have been harmed through this slavery (and wants to help them since no one was helping her). My heart truly goes out to the strength she somehow gained through such abuse.
   
   My only problem was that she didn't really explain how she was able to get over the sufferings overall. I have read 5 human trafficking based books so far and really want to know what the healing process may be like for someone coming out of such a hard time. She seems to be a spiritual person but doesn't share enough about how God was able to comfort her as she got away (she makes it seem like the bath was more comforting than God) while she did mention that God protected her from further hurt, I just wish there was more details (the book is relatively short).
   
   I loved the story just as well. It is graphic so I really don't recommend it for kids or those who are ultra sensitive to where they can't sleep at night after reading or hearing horrific stories like this. It makes you more aware of your surroundings and wonder how much of this goes on in your own neighborhood so you can help them in some way!!! I could hardly put this book down (read it in a day and a half).



4. Although the circumstances are tragic, if you want to learn about the issue of human trafficking, this book does not reflect the extent of what global human trafficking is about. It's a light read, one evening to skim and you'll have the gist of a suburban white girl who is raped by a Middle East origin classmate and then repeats the act over and over for fear of her parent's finding out about some suggestive pictures. A "made-for-TV" movie script.



5. I think Theresa Flores is an amazing woman, she is very brave to write about the horrible things that happened to here. She is making an effort to educate people so this does not happen to anyone else. We should listen to her carefully and learn from her experience, this could happen anywhere, to anyone. I believe her words are true. I applaud you Theresa for your courage!!!! May God bless you always!
   
   Sarah

5 comments about Blackbird: A Childhood Lost and Found.

1. I received a copy of this book along with enthusiastic reviews from two of my co-workers. I both expected and wanted to share their enthusiasm, but for me the book lacked credibility. The first section of the book dealing with her mother's progressive illness, her brother's anger, and her father's growing physical and emotional absence resonated with me. However, the later parts of the book concerning her relationship with her stepmother and her abandonment in the commune seem so exaggerated as to be false. (What about her elementary school teachers? Would they be indifferent to her absences, illnesses and obvious neglect?) I doubt very much that the author has verified her account either by interviewing any of the other participants or revisiting any of the places in the story. For me, this tarnishes what should be a powerful story of overcoming loss, anger and estrangement and abuses the term "memoir". I suspect that had this been submitted to her publishers as a work of fiction, Ms. Lauck's editor would have demanded a "truer" story.



2. This book was simply amazing... As a person that has had the chance to meet Jennifer and talk to her the book it just makes it that much more amazing. This story is all true and it is amazing that one person can go through so much.



3. Wow. This book and the sequel took me on a roller-coaster ride that I didn't really want to be on in the first place. It opened up some doors I thought were closed in my own life, forgotten childhood things that weren't quite as resolved as I thought they were.
   
   I believe that most women will find a strong voice in the words and true life story of Jennifer Lauck, but I wasn't prepared for the reaction this book would have for me on a personal level. Readers with unresolved personal issues are advised to proceed with caution - this is a good book to use in a discussion with a group, but some readers may not want to journey by themselves into the places and the emotions that Lauck so vividly writes about.



4. I kept thinking, "This has to get better, this downward spiral can't continue."
   
   And yet it does. And it does again, and oh Lordy, not again... and yes, there it goes again.
   
   Ms. Lauck's beautiful writing is what carried me through. I tried to read this title once and had to set it down, it was simply too much heartache encapsulated in one read for me. On my second attempt, I devoured it in three days and I am hungry to read the sequel.
   
   Many of the reviewers here have synopsized the story of "Blackbird" - Jennifer Lauck's story opens as she is a little girl, preschool aged child, with a very sick Mommy and simply doing the best she can - idolizing and learning from her Mommy, quoting her Mommy's favorite self-care mantras... and attempting to understand what is happening while following the rules-of-life-according-to-Mama.
   
   Her handsome, hardworking Daddy does what he can, and little Jenny (who he calls Juniper) does her best to keep things afloat even when Mama dies and brother Bryan creates mayhem and insta-wicked-step-Mom sends her to a cult camp... it is one sad (yet life-affirming, somehow) tale after another until at the very end when fate turns... or so we hope.
   
   Fabulous writing from a child's point of view.... and if it is hard for you to get through on your first attempt, try again later. You will be glad that you did.



5. Jennifer's memories of her childhood contains the detail and emotion that captures readers and draws them into her early life. At a too-young age, she assumes much of the care of her terminally ill mother. You are drawn into the vivid scenes of her mother's illness, the all-too-brief attention from her father and the cruelties of her brother.
   Her life becomes increasingly difficult as first her mother dies, her father remarries and the stepmother resents and mistreats her. After her father's heart attack, Jennifer suffers greatly from neglect and malice from her stepmother and step-siblings.
   You can't stop reading, but at times it is hard to keep going as you relive her life through her words. You fear for the child and hope it doesn't get worse, but it does. If you've read The Glass Castle and Angela's Ashes, then add this book to your reading list. It's a memorable account of a dreadful childhood and the ability to endure and overcome hardship.

5 comments about A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story.

1. A taste of Power by Elaine Brown is a compelling and passionate
   autobiography which highlights the internal tensions inside the BPP and
   the fascinating stories of party members. It is at times heartbreaking
   and beautifully written.



2. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Black Panther Party. Comrade Brown's memior is well written and very interesting.
   
   The main problem I have with this book is that I feel Elaine's narrative is biased and self serving. (Especially her commentary on Bobby Seale.)Furthermore, I can't help but to wonder if some of her sexual adventure chronicled in this book are overblown.



3. Intelligently written and inspiring!! The truth about the black panthers is revealed in this book. Enter Elaine Brown, Smart, intelligent, witty, and truthful. A member of the black panther party exposed and subjected to the sexism, chauvinism, and often sinister side of the party. Elaine Brown has endured the harsh realities of living in a time of revolution. In their search for social and economic change, the party insisted on doing things on their own terms by setting up programs, fighting against oppression, police brutality, and racial discrimination. However, there was a darker side to the panthers only few knew, and in this book Elaine tells it all. The sex, drugs, and divisiveness of the panthers is only the beginning of what eventually caused the destruction of the party. A long but powerful look into the nation's most powerful revolutionary group.



4. Elaine Brown went from the hood to the governor's office in her search for identity as a black woman coming of age in the 1970s and to make the black power movement - the Black Panther Party - a powerful voice in California state politics.
   
   The autobiography is seemingly an act of catharsis as Brown bares her soul without justifying what she has done with her life. It is what it is and she keeps it real.
   
   There will be segments that you'll be touched by, others that will repulse you and some where you question why, but it ultimately is her life story. Sexuality and violence - oftentimes at the hands of her lovers in the BPP - overshadows Brown's quest for love and acceptance, but you will find segments of her life that intertwine with snapshots from your past.
   
   Brown takes what I consider some unnecessary swipes at Angela Davis - it is taken for granted that many in the black power movement questioned her membership in the Communist Party, USA - but she does have unapologetic portraits of people throughout her life.
   
   If you are looking for an autobiography solely on the BPP from a party member's perspective, you may want to look for another book to read. But you will be missing one of the most powerful writings on one's life that has ever been published.



5. While reading this book I experienced a wide range of feelings because Elaine Brown basically bared her soul when writing this book. She also has a great sense of humor. I give her the highest respect for the soul searching she did while penning her autobiography.
   
   The book gives a clear look into the BPP and its members and the changes the party went through. I found the information of Huey P Newton, Eldrige Cleaver, and George Jackson especially eye opening and helpful-it answered some of the questions I had been seeking answers for.
   
   The book also gives a clear look of what it was like to be a woman, a black women, in the 60s and 70s operating in a male dominated party and society as a whole
   
   I noticed there are a lot of negative reviews on this book and wonder if the people who left them, wrote them because they really disliked how Elaine presented her story or are using the media's interpretation her legacy and the historical legacy of the BPP to fuel their comments. The story in the context of times and situation of the party and Elaine along with the political and social changes the party was trying to achieve.
   Anyway I high recommend.

5 comments about Lulu in Hollywood: Expanded Edition.

1. I first read LULU IN HOLLYWOOD long ago but I did not see Louise Brooks in a full-length feature until I bought PANDORA'S BOX on DVD a couple of years ago. I believe you have to see her on film to truly "get" her. While I don't agree at all with the French proclamation, "There is no Garbo, there is no Dietrich, there is only Louise Brooks", I was impressed by her performance and her intensely charismatic and erotic/quixotic presence. She should've become a superstar after this - but the times and her own idiosyncrasies were against her. She faded into obscurity, alcohol, poverty, ill-fame till the 1950's.
   
   LULU IN HOLLYWOOD is of most interest to Brooks aficiandos. I recently re-read the book and enjoyed it - but this time around I was more aware of the ax Brooks was grinding. Most of her essays are ostensibly about Hollywood stars and creatures of the movie business, but she is really writing about herself and what she writes is telling. Brooks had earlier written of herself that she was "selfish and stubborn" with a "rotten temper", and that's obvious, but she is also cleverly observant. While I agree with another reviewer that she tends to generalize and ramble, she can be poetic:
   "...he reduced reality to exclude all but his work, filling the gaps with alcohol whose dim eyes transformed the world into a distant view of harmless shadows." ("The Other Face of W.C. Fields")
   
   More than the book, I recommend the Criterion Collection's PANDORA'S BOX DVD package. The film is a classic. Brooks is captivating and the viewer instantly understands the uproar that ensued when the film and the star were rediscovered. This set includes the TCM production, LOOKING FOR LULU, Kenneth Tynan's profile, a 70's interview with Brooks herself, etc. Lots of extras.
   
   I highly recommend LOUISE BROOKS, the 1989 bio by Barry Paris. It's extremely thorough and well-written. Paris is very even-handed in his treatment of Brooks. He provides much background and documentation but leaves conclusions to the reader.



2. What made Louise Brooks interesting beyond just the typical celebrity she was unusually intelligent. She was an extraordinary beautiful woman but if that were all - she would have been just another face in the Hollywood crowd albeit a striking one. Her life was not so much one of just ups and downs but most generally straight down starting at the top. Lucky to have so much success early in life but maybe unlucky for her vision as to witness the folly of those who gave it. Louise's insights and critical assessment of her life and those around her were a " blessing and curse" but then again she had no choice but to follow her own mind as it played out to the end. She was certainly not one to parlay her attributes as a cunning femme fatale as it were but she existed as a passing player through a masquerade of "bread and circuses" orchestrated by those with lesser sensibilities. No, Lulu could have never been satisfied with the status quo, the mundane of the hoi polloi, the trappings of the superficial she was an individual who saw life in its raw form and played no game and for those who did not understand Louise - missed - that her only glory was the truth and its price to pay. She was an intriguing and talented woman who deserved more but would not sell her soul to gain it. Her book tells of her life and times and the pathos within it.
   I will recommend highly Barry Paris' biography of Louise Brooks as a necessary read for anyone interested in reading about the life and times of Louise Brooks. The book is excellent and engrossing. It gives a most informative detail of all aspects of Lulu's life. Actually Paris' book should be read first to gain a comprehensive overview of Brook's life before reading "Lulu in Hollywood." A better biography you could not read.



3. This book will be helpful for anyone interested in silent film. Brooks' insights about certain aspects of Hollywood are original. She has no fear of revealing some of the ugliest secrets of the past, and also has valuable things to say about why she believes certain directors and players created works of art. However, in my opinion she could have been a better writer if she'd had more education and/or editorial experience. Some of her essays are rambling and disorganized, and a number of her claims are unsupported. (e.g., that many actresses were pulled from the screen not because of the arrival of sound, but because they couldn't live up to Garbo, p.88.) She also tends to make bold generalizations (e.g., "Every actor has a natural animosity toward every other actor"), which, depending on whether you agree with them, are either smart and charming or arrogant and imprecise.
   
   Some of Brooks' cleverest comments are reported in the introduction by Kenneth Tynan, not in her own writings. My favorite was her joking suggestion that she and Marlene Dietrich write each other's memoirs: "'Lulu' by Lola, and 'Lola' by Lulu".
   
   Note: this is a collection of essays, which don't necessarily follow a sequence. The brief history of her family and childhood given in the first chapter fooled me into thinking this book would be an autobiography, but Brooks leaves much of her own story untold. (In fact, the epilogue is titled, "Why I Will Never Write My Memoirs.") Tynan's introduction fleshes out a little more of Louise Brooks' history, but fans will probably want to keep looking for other writings and biographies after they've read this one.



4. This book is a collection of Brooks's autobiographical essays together with an interview by Kenneth Tynan.
   
   It shows a Louise Brooks as a fiercely independent character, as well as her failure as a social creature, because of her open critic of people's false faces.
   But at what price? She survives as a kept woman by three lovers and ends in poverty, rejected and lonely.
   
   She characterizes her work in Hollywood's film factory as slavery and throws a shrill light on Hollywood's morals (the casting couch) and cynicism: the end of the silent period served as an excuse to terminate all contracts.
   
   The all important feature of her life was sex, not love: 'I have never been in love.' But, 'A person's sexual loves and hates and conflicts ... It is the only way the reader can make sense out of innumerable apparently senseless actions.'
   She considers that 'the most fateful encounter in my life' was a sexual one with George Preston Marshall.
   Nevertheless, she had some regrets: 'How often do we change the whole course of our lives in pursuit of a love that we will have forgotten within a few months.'
   
   She never wrote her biography because 'I am unwilling to write the sexual truth that would make up my life worth reading.'
   
   Barry PARIS did it for her, admirably. His book contains also a few corrections on Louise Brooks's statements in her book.
   
   A moving text with admirable pictures.



5. I remember when this book came out, but, unfortunately, it took me over twenty years to read it. Though Louise Brooks is far from a household name, in film scholar circles, she is an icon. Her rememberances here of certain individuals and events from her years in the "Dream Factory" are brilliant. Aside from the fact that these are names that most are familiar with, Bogart, Hearst, Pabst...it is her writing style and unique observations that make these recollections interesting. Where as someone as, say, Adela Rogers St. John, a famous reporter and contemporary of Brooks, wrote accurately of that long ago time, her dusty rememberances would only interest the most devoted of film student or fan. But Brooks writings are so fresh and witty and humourous, often at her own expense. She is not only unimpressed with most of silly society, but, she was equally unimpressed with her status as film icon. In those pre Hepburn-Davis times, she was a true rebel, who was more than willing to saboutage her career rather than do anything she didn't want to do. There is no remorse detectable in her memories of her fall from status. Though it would be unfair to imply that most film stars would not be expected to be good writers, it was surprising, then and now, to find that Miss Brooks was such a highly intelligent and captivating writer. In my review of her most famous film, "Pandora's Box", which isn't so much a review of that film as it is a homage to our Miss Brooks, I recounted my having met her more than once, when I delivered her prescriptions to her in my hometown and her final, adopted city of Rochester, New York. I was very young at the time, and though I had been told that she had once been a famous actress, which fascinated me, I am sorry to have to honestly admit that my memory of her is only of a shadowy figure who I remember with intimidation. How I would have loved to have been a little older, to possibly converse with this great lady, though she may have found what undoubtedly would have been my reverence to her "legend" as film icon to be obnoxious at the least, silly at best. Well, never mind. She was and is wonderful. And, as this book attests, a scathingly intelligent lady. Celebrities of her league are no more, now we have tarts, thugs, and arrogant, illiterate self-important jerks showing off their bling-bling. How sad. If you want to hear the entertainingly clever views of this great lady who, though she went from brilliant star to near- pauper obscurity, yet never lost her class, intellect, nor pride, then read "Lulu In Hollywood." One wishes she had written much more, and, left behind more films where her inate brilliance reaches out from the screen eighty years later. But, if all we have is this book and "Pandora's Box", that's legacy enough.

5 comments about Sister Freaks: Stories of Women Who Gave Up Everything for God.

1. This book is a very product of true christianity!! If your ever feeling selfish or like your life is so rough read this book to jolt you back into reality. These women in this book know the true meaning of living their lives for Jesus Christ and I only hope to even come a little bit close to there devotion to our Saviour. Excellent book for anyone to read!



2. I bought this book to send to my daughter while she was on the mission field in South Africa. I started reading a few of the stories and could NOT put the book down! This is an excellent devotional book!



3. repetitive of Jesus Freaks
   not enough new stories in it that differ from the Jeasus Freaks book.



4. This is a good book. Easy to read. However, I found it a bit slap dash.
   
   For instance, the chapter on Clare of Assisi sadly lacking. The proper translation for Friars Minor (Latin) is Lesser Brothers. Not Brothers Minor. Lesser Brothers comes from the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 25 Verse 40. The omnipresent NIV translates it as "least of my brothers."
   
   She skips entirely over the part that as sick as Clare was, she refused to die until the pope granted that the sisters be able to live in poverty. Stating only that the pope was impressed by her. Superficial don't you think?
   
   If one is going to write a book about courageous women, then tell us exactly how courageous they were!



5. After reading Rebecca's "Wait for Me" book I looked to read more of her work. I was impressed with how it related to "today's" up and coming women. It is definetly a book I would recommend for the younger generation of women and young ladies to inspire them to be bold for God. I also liked the weekly questions to really make one think about their own faith. It is also a nice formate to do as a group study to really make the girls/young women think about who they want to become and where they themselves are headed in their faith. The stories range from acts of great courage in a unbelieving world to everyday ways to living for God. It shows that one doesn't have to lose their life or be tortured to stand up for their faith and live a life worthy of being call a Christian. It shows that any age person can be bold and give everything for their faith. A great book!

3 comments about What Almost Happened to Hedy Lamarr.

1. I have so many issues with this book in terms of the many ways it failed to live up to expectations:
   
   1. At a most basic level, the book is filled with mis-spellings. "Choked" is spelled as "choaked" and there are many more such errors to find throughout the book. Totally unacceptable.
   
   2. The writing is so simplistic and contrived. A character who is implied to be Greta Garbo uses "I want to be alone" as part of the first thing she ever says when introduced -- and repeats this several times for the few pages she occupies this novel. This book is so full of tired cliches, it's so disappointing.
   
   3. Given the press and the publisher's description of the book, I really thought it was going to be more biographical rather than sensationalizing on a dead celebrity with mostly made-up trash.
   
   4. Perhaps most egregious, I learned the author based this story on notes she had taken back in the 60s when she was invited by Hedy Lamarr to write her biography. Shortly thereafter, Lamarr was arrested for shoplifting and that somehow ended the author's associations with the actress. I can't help but feel the author is doing a disservice to someone who is dead and who can not defend herself. She used information that Lamarr gave her in confidence over 40 years ago to profit by writing a completely sensationalistic book. Looks like Lamarr is being used once again.



2. "I just read "What Almost Happened to Hedy Lamarr" and found it to be fascinating, sexually interesting and humorous. It kept my attention to the last page and made me think it would make a great movie!" What Almost Happened to Hedy Lamarr



3. Hedy LaMarr to this day can arouse the most impotent of the male species by just looking at photos of her in her prime. Millions of men and women the world over have at one time fantasized about having sex with Heddy Lamarr or at least watching her having sex. Someone finally came forward and provided the next best thing to fullfilling that fantasy. Although it is based on a true story from the author Devra Hill, who claims LaMarr confided in her about these sexual trysts (including working around the one testicled Adolf Hiter, the book reads like an eyewitness account, but coupled with a modern day style as though you were reading an x-rated sex story from the pages of Hustler. The corraboration with a notorious Hollywood Madam in writing this book now makes sense. Prudes need not read this book. It is an orgasm of delighful eroticsim yet tells the inner most secrets of one of the most beautiful women who ever walked this planet. Brian Cowan

5 comments about Portrait of a Marriage: Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson.

1. This book shows how a marriage can and is a legal arrangement as well as an emotional one. From inside the story, the author describes how his parents built a life and marriage together that protected the whole family legally, while allowing both partners to express themselves sexually in outside relationship, mostly of the same sex variety. This was so much more necessary in an earlier time than it is now. About the only thing we can liken it to in contemporary society is the marital arrangement between parties that allows one of the parties to immigrate to another country.
   
   
   Higher Love (Lavender Line) (Lavender Line)



2. The centre of the book and its raison d'etre is Vita Sackville-West's own extraordinary memoire about her life so far including her catalytic 3 year affair with Violet Trefusis. The affair came very close to wrecking her life with her husband, Harold Nicolson, who she loved deeply but no longer felt sexual passion for. Harold threatened to leave Vita and it was only under such pressure - on both sides of the affair - that it was ended. The memoire, written in 1920-21, and discovered by Nigel in 1962 begged a narrative and an afterword; Nigel provided this and presented an eloquent, classic book which has never been out of print since it was published in 1973.
   
   Whether this marriage is to be admired as much as Vita, Harold and Nigel felt it should be admired is for the reader to judge. What makes it most extraordinary is the homosexuality of Vita and Harold and the fact that their once discreet open marriage is now in the public domain. They would each be getting on for 120 years old today but they still seem so fresh that readers, whatever their sexual preferences are, might learn lessons (positive and negative) from them even today.
   
   Towards the end of her life in 1961, Vita wrote (in a letter to Harold not included in 'Portrait') that she had been 'madly in love' with Violet but the affair was now 'passion completely spent'; she wrote 'the true love that has survived is mine for you, and yours for me.' She also gently rebuked Harold for not explaining his own homosexuality in the first place. 'It would have saved us a lot of trouble and misunderstanding. But I simply didn't know.' Harold's reply, if there was one, is not published.
   
   The intimacy of Vita and Harold's relationship is contained in their voluminous correspondence. Harold's diary, Violet's letters and Vita's mother's diary are also key sources for this book. All these were at Sissinghurst in the early 1970's. Nigel separates Vita's memoire into two chapters, draws from the other sources and adds his own voice and, to a lesser extent, that of his brother Benedict. Vita's relationship with Virginia Woolf is affectionately documented. The book created the legend of Vita and Harold who led compartmentalised lives, had multiple relationships, multiple careers and remained devoted to one another. It is a well written and well crafted tribute.
   
   `Portrait' is, as it would be, slanted in favour of Vita and Harold. This book could not be the whole truth or a detailed portrait of the marriage but it is a portrait of two fascinating and productive people. Because of the scandal it caused, Nigel was excoriated by some for publishing this book and in essays written afterwards he would defend his decision and fill in some of the gaps. But the gaps are justified in this labour of love because it is written from such a personal stand-point. This is a wonderful read and is well recommended.



3. I recently re-read this book for research on the novel I was working on (having not looked at it in many years). Unlike many things read in youth, it was even more searing and electrifying this time than the first go-round. Perhaps that's because the subject matter has become routine (there are even web sites devoted to polyamory, lesbianism, bisexuality, open marriage, etc.), while the emotions that Vita Sackville-West's affair with Violet Trefusis have not been dealt with by this explosion of sexual variety.
   
   This book is not for the faint-hearted. It's not great writing, as it was meant to be a personal diary of Vita's passage through fire, and is not literary in that sense. But given the weakness of Vita's professional writing (most of which has been forgotten), it's perhaps a good thing she couldn't re-write and mar the freshness and raw emotion of this tale.
   
   The book has been a Bible for some, including the protagonist of my novel. It has that kind of "read me if you dare" emotional dynamite.



4. Both those unfamiliar with the extraordinary life of British aristocrat Victoria (Vita) Sackville - West and those who have read Victoria Glendinning's compelling Vita (1983), Virginia Woolf's Orlando (1928), or Sackville -West's own multiple published works of fiction, poetry, or nature and travel writing will thoroughly enjoy Portrait Of A Marriage (1973). Composed around a posthumously discovered confessional manuscript Sackville - West wrote and hid away in 1920, the book's chapters alternate between portions of Vita's nuanced, forthright manuscript and son Nigel Nicholson's more objective recounting of the facts in the lives of his parents, Sackville - West and her spouse, author and diplomat Harold Nicholson.

   Chiefly remembered today for her garden at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent and for being the romantic ("Better to gloriously fail than dingily succeed"), daring, and bisexual inspiration for Woolf's historical, gender-addressing novel Orlando, Sackville - West was a temperamental, multifaceted, and deeply emotional woman who followed the dictates of her heart and defied the conventions of her era to what many would think an alarming degree. As her manuscript clearly reveals, Sackville - West was a very human, self - honest individual who was conscious of her moral and ethical weaknesses and who continually struggled with her wayward nature and its debilitating affects on her husband, children, and extended family. Today a hero to some and a somewhat ridiculous figure to others, readers of Portrait Of A Marriage are likely to come away with more than a modicum of sympathy for the not - entirely enigmatic Vita; throughout her life she managed to straddle a great number of seeming paradoxes and today remains potent proof that many Western conventions concerning love, marriage, parenthood, sexuality, and friendship are as not as tightly mapped out as most would generally like to believe. Unlike fellow writers and contemporaries Hilda Doolittle, Djuna Barnes, or Jean Rhys, her excesses, dependencies, and emotional vacillations did not ultimately undo Vita, either psychically, artistically, or socially. Admittedly, Sackville - West was a child of privilege and remained financially comfortable most of her life. However, her managerial skill, expert monetary planning, and her own hard work as an author, radio broadcaster, lecturer, and internationally acclaimed gardener went a long way towards securing that position.

   Portrait Of A Marriage and the story of Sackville - West's life may be the ultimate romantic tale of the twentieth century, though one in which the glamour of wealth, palatial family estates (365 - room Knole), creative talent, international fame, and steadfast love were offset by dark episodes of betrayal, spousal abuse, transvestitism, emotional violence, and apparent child abandonment. Remarkably, Vita's story was ultimately a happy one, and the end of her life, relatively serene. Increasingly a loner with age, Sackville - West sequestered herself in her private tower at Sissinghurst, where she continued to write novels and other literature. But men and women continued to fall in love with her and she with them; as Victoria Glendinning wrote, "For Vita the great adventure was never over."




5. Despite the fact that Vita Sackville-West was the subject of Virginia Woolf's Orlando as well as her lover, the author of numerous books, and a world famous gardener, she still manages to be a somewhat enigmatic character. This unusual and engrossing portrait, written by her son, contributes a great deal to bring substantial light on Vita's very interesting life and loves. Nicolson is generous in quoting her verbatim from her diaries, the most compelling of which recounts her wild affair with Violet Trefusis, during which the two women fled to Paris pursued by their husbands, where Vita passed as a man by dressing as a wounded soldier. This is one of the most passionate accounts of any love affair I have read.

   Nicolson's act of documenting his parents' intimate passions is a great contribution to literary history. He did us a great service by writing this book and in quoting liberally from their own writings, in many ways lets his parents speak for themselves. Any one interested in Bloomsbury, women of the left bank, passing women, feminism, gay/lesbian/bisexual history should make this part of their library.

3 comments about The Glen Rock Book of the Dead.

1. The writing, the illustrations, the size, the look, the content, finally someone , everyone got it right.



2. Oh, I have not been so captivated by a book in a long, long time!! I read it cover to cover without pause; and laughed and cried and revisited my own storehouse of ghosts with increasing tenderness. In chapters limited to two to six paragraphs each, Winik lauds the dead with whom she connected in life. These aren't chapters as one is accustomed to; not even essays, in that they are so spare. In recommending this book to everyone I bump into (my mother, the grocer, joggers who pass me on the city bridges!), I keep referring to the chapters as mini portraits, flamboyantly colored edges of a burned or shredded masterpiece that hint at the majesty we'll never again see fully. How Winik crammed such wisdom into so few words, I do not know. As an author myself, this work earns the highest and most enviable praise I can summon: How I wish I had written this brilliant little book myself!



3. I read this book in one sitting. It's so beautiful, sad, interesting, funny, and true that I simply could not put it down. This is one cool book. Each chapter is about a dead person the author knew. The chapters are short and intense and riveting and beautifully written. Winik has many gifts as a writer, but one I appreciate the most is her ability to write about the hardest, darkest subjects with a light, knowing hand. Situations are bleak, but life is not. Life is hard and hilarious and good and complex and often, entirely inexplicable. Winik shows us that in this book. I love The Glen Rock Book of the Dead. I think you will too.

5 comments about After Long Silence.

1. I'm sorry but I couldn't finish it... so I did not get to the part of the author being lesbian (!) It was... funny, predictable, I read books like that before written by Jewish Americans, they all seem to use the same myths over and over and base whole book around them. You read one, you have a feeling like you read them all. Boring...



2. I really enjoyed reading about the holocaust from the perspective of the second generation. The content was often not pleasant (what holocaust story is?)but the effect on the next generation and the family relationships made for a different story line that I appreciated. I definitely recommend this book!



3. Imagine as a young adult, passionately involved in your career, you start pulling away the pieces of the facade your parents had created to protect you and your sister fom the truth about your own family. Like pulling a thread and unravelling your entire wardrobe to show your nakedness, Helen Fremont knew whe was dealing with sensitive, even explosive issues, but he could not stop pulling that thread.
   What she has done with this remarkable memoir is show her family's roots and branches in ways she never knew existed before she and her sister began discussing the "What if's?" It is a moving story packed with complicated relationships and the true history of her parents' lives and the terrors they went through during the Holocaust era in Europe. You finish the book wondering how such a powerful story could be supressed, and cheering for Helen Fremont for unearthing it. As with so many memoirs, you are also left wondering, "where are they now?" and hoping for a sequel.



4. I have given this book as a gift to at least five friends. I couldn't put it down!



5. From today's perspective, it is difficult to comprehend just why a couple who survived the Holocaust would hide their Jewish identify from their daughters for years, insisting that they are Polish Catholic refugees in the USA. This memoir, however, explains how their fear of a repeat pogrom drives them to deny their heritage, keep secret their loss of religious identify, and assuage their horrific memories and guilt at surviving.Fremont and her sister's quest to discover the truth causes their parents much pain, but the author is clear that the family's pain had dominated their lives since birth.