Amazon.com

Years before winning the Pulitzer Prize for his definitive history of the Vietnam War, Vietnam: A History, Stanley Karnow lived in Paris as a young reporter. The man who was later to be renowned for his thorough research and crisp prose had to begin somewhere, and Karnow had the incredible good fortune to make his way as a foreign correspondent for Time magazine in the 1950s. His original dispatches to Time's New York office make up a majority of Paris in the Fifties.

By simply calling this collection Paris in the Fifties, however, Karnow has done himself a great injustice. His treatise on the City of Light is more a biography of a city and its culture than it is a mere look at a time and place. Ever wonder where the modern-day restaurant had its origin, or what happened to the French aristocracy after the ravages of the Revolution, or even how the French maintain their status at the forefront of culture--be it food, wine, art, or fashion? Karnow provides the answers and then some. His descriptions are as rich as they are comprehensive, all the while depicting how the French savoir vivre--the zest for life that Paris symbolizes for all of us--withstood the horrors of World War II and the destabilization of society as everyone knew it. This wonderful book is reassurance that no matter what modern threats to culture may come, toujours Paris: we'll always have Paris. And that is true comfort to any expatriate at heart. --Courtenay Kehn ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Excellent recounting of France (not just Paris) in the 50s
The title of this excellent book is a misnomer.Although there is a great deal about Paris, the book as a whole rambles over much of France and even the Mediterranean.Beginning in the late 1940s when Karnow first went to Paris on the GI Bill to study and through much of the 1950s when he served with TIME in their Paris office Karnow lived in Paris.This book is a distillation of his memories and notes he kept from that period.Karnow, however, gives himself free rein to range over a host of topics, sometimes delving into French history, if it helps illuminate his topic.The result is a very personal view of France in the fifties.There is a great deal he doesn't discuss, such as French cinema and art in the decade.He writes of some of the literary figures, but not with any especial emphasis.

The range of topics that are covered in the book are not encyclopedic but they are exceptionally varied.He will write about wine, food, crime, famous politicians, infamous politicians, housing, French manners, Algerian patriots, people he knew, and a host of other subjects.Some of the chapters could be anticipated, such as a long chapter on French wine and a tour through the French wine districts.Some are unexpected, like a chapter on a man who was the last in a line of hereditary executioners.There is a good deal of name dropping (folks like Samuel Beckett pop in for brief cameos), but not too much.He writes of people whose names remain famous, like Christian Dior, and of many others, especially colleagues, whose names are not so well known.

One of the best things about the book is that while it may not give you all the facts about Paris and France in the fifties, it definitely gives you a feel for the time itself.It is also fascinating for what it reveals about the politics of the time.Karnow worked for TIME, which espoused a conservative Republican point of view (though more moderate than what would later characterize the late 1950s NATIONAL REVIEW), while Karnow himself was a liberal.In much of his political writing, therefore, one gets a sense of his take on one things on the one hand and the take of his employers, looking over his shoulder, on the other.The book therefore indirectly tells the story of how much of America felt about France during the fifties.

I can wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone interested either in the years following the war or in France or Paris in general.It is entertaining and informative at the same time.

I'd like to add that the photograph on the paperback edition of the book (and I supposed on the dust jacket of the hardback) is one of the most remarkable I have ever seen of Paris.A couple somewhere in Paris (the angles make it look to be somewhere east of Montmartre) looks over Paris with Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower off in the distance.

Karnow is excellent!!
I've been to Paris twice. This is a very accurate representation of the one of a kind Paris culture. Excellent stories and personalities. Every second of this book was enjoyable. The only drawback was the difficulty to keep track of the personalities sometimes, other than that, one of the best ever!! A rareity..

Blah de blah blah..
"A beautiful and bygone era comes to life again in this exquisite chronicle of postwar Paris, elegantly penned by an award-winning American journalist who was there..."

Makes it sound thrilling, huh? You should want to dive into the novel and find out every detail of the wonderful Paris in the Fifties. Well, you know what? Yawn!

I just got finished reading "Rebecca" by Daphne DuMaurier while I was vacationing in Mexico and I was in a hurry at the Los Angeles airport coming home to find another book for the last couple of hours on the plane. I shoveled out ... (believe me, ... saves a lot!! Always buy before the trip..) from my pocket at an airport book store after I hurriedly found this book. Well, I gave it about 45 minutes (and I read fast, not to forget) and I gave up.

This book just did not capture me. I gave it more time after I arrived at home, but soon other books and events captured my attention. I'm not saying that you shouldn't read this book. I mean, if you love Paris, totally love it, try this book. Listen to the other people that have written reviews and enjoyed this book also. Everybody has different tastes, and maybe I just didn't give this book a long enough chance.

Paris Since '45
I really enjoyed this book.While I won't go over the top and give it afive-star rating, I found it a fascinating look at both French culture andEurope immediately after WWII. The title is a bit misleading - the storiesKarnow has to tell are not Paris-specific ans much as they areFrance-specific. The cultural landmarks one might expect - painters,writers, musicians,filmmakers - expats and natives alike - modernists who filled up city up after the war, during the '50's are notoriously absent,despite the interview-appearances of John Huston, Audrey Hepburn and ErnestHemingway.

Karnow was a stringer for Life Magazine during the '50's andwas widely dispatched during his tenure. Rather than a history specificallyabout the city and its culture during the Eisenhower-era, this book is anomnibus of cultural information - the history of the guillotine, caféculture, visits with the crown-princes and princesses of Hollywood, and thebeginnings of Algerian resistance to French rule.

Karnow's done a fine -and sometimes gripping - job ofcreating a *petit-histoire* keyhole for usto view his Parisian decade through. While it didn't necessarily cover thebases I had hoped for - (e.g. George Orwell's 'Down and Out in Paris andLondon')- it filled in a lot of the gaps that lead to the student uprisingsin 1968. This bookmay or may not be for the French-cultural novitiate orfor those seeking reprisals of Goddard films, but Karnow's account of Paris- his personal narrative - freights its own reward.

Why are the French the way they are today? Read background.
Chapter 15 on the youth of France is worth the price of the book alone. Times were hard in the 1950s and Karnow knew it and wrote about it. "What do we want? A decent life and I don't know how to attainit", says a 27 year old worker whose wife also works and together havea very limited life. What do the French think about food, work, wine, sex,intellectuals, language, fashion, Coca Cola? It is all here in thisdelightful book and it is not what Americans think. Yes, it is a reportfrom a foreign country. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Interesting subject
I was surprised to find out that Ms. Christie herself had a mystery surrounding her disappearance in 1926, so I was interested to find this book. But I would have called it, "The Agatha and the Ecstasy."

The most interesting and unique mystery I've ever read!!!!!
The queen of mystery biggest mystery was her own. It was incredible to me to find out that Agetha had a mystery of her own that she could not solve. Doctor Owens approach to solving Agetha's mystery was fascinating and a real page turner. It was the most uniqe books I've ever read. Using Agetha history and passages from her books to coherently solve a previously unsolved mystery was a stroke of brillance. Dr. Owens takes us on an intelletual ride that keeps you interested from the first to the last page. The solution was so satisfing that I felt 100% confident that the ultiment mystery was finally solved. YOU WILL HAVE TO READ IT FOR YOURSELF TO BE LET IN ON THE SECRET! The solution and writting is something that Augetha would be proud to have authored herself 5 STARS!

We are the publisher of The Lost Days of Agatha Christie
The Lost Days is not an easy read, but if you are interested in solving the mysteries of the human mind and the mystery of Agatha Christie's disappearance in 1926, The Lost Days is a very satisfying experience. Author Owens, a therapist, has done a very interesting thing, she has taken Agatha on as a client and the therapy session solves a seventy-year-old mystery as no one else ever has including the great Queen of Mysteries, Agatha herself. ... Read more

Book Description

This long awaited memoir reveals the heart and soul of the most private of the megatalents -- upon the occasion of her thirtieth year as a show business great.

If any one performer defines the word "Superstar," it's Diana Ross -- a pop music legend and cultural icon who has been at the top of her profession for three fabulous decades. Secrets of a Sparrow, her inspirational and intimate memoir which takes its title from a favorite spiritual her mother sang to her, focuses on just that: the pain and pleasure of getting to number one and staying there, along with the lessons learned and the lessons taught. Here are Diana Ross' onstage electricity and allure transposed to the spoken word. Whether recounting triumphs or setbacks, togetherness or solitude, Diana is never less than open. These are the thoughtful and lyrically composed reminiscences of one of the most accomplished women of our time, a woman who is a role model in so many ways. Always true to herself, Ross is the ultimate entertainer who aims to please but never compromise -- and she's not about to start now. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Great interesting book. You have to read it.
I always liked Diana Ross, but not as much as I do now after reading this book. This book tells you of her life story. Starting off as a kid that did not have much growing up in Detroit. And how she started off as a teenager and a dream she had in music. Tells all about her success with the Supremes in their prime time, all their #1 hits to their troubles, and when she left them. And all about her family in the book. Her marrige and her kids. I thought the book was an inspiring to me. And very interesting, I could not put the book down till I was done. You absolutly have to read this book of this very talented lady.

A waste of pulp
'November 1, 1993,' the date I bought this ' within mere weeks of when it was released ' is still rubber stamped inside the first couple pages, and the jacket price ($22.00), is probably close to what I paid, given that it was a brand new title.

Not long after, in a phone conversation with a friend, I was asked 'how it was.' Words didn't dare fail me now. I said, 'Go into a book store and pick it up, and just read whatever page it falls open to. Just make sure you're leaning against something, or you will positively sway with drowsiness.'

Perhaps the most cringe-worthy element of the book is how touchstone matters of the 60s like the Vietnam War and concurrent civil unrest seem all but incidentals alongside Diana's career struggles and finding herself. If good writing is supposed to conjure photographs in a reader's mind, then I have to give Miss Ross her due here: at those moments, it was quite easy to picture a wheelchair-bound vet hurling the book into a fireplace.

Second on the same meter, is where Diana alludes to sister-Supreme, Mary Wilson's work of seven years earlier. 'Dreamgirl,' while by no means a perfect book, was eons ahead in honesty regarding the Supremes story, even as one must admit it excused it's own author much of her silence and inaction regarding the ouster of founding member Florence Ballard from the group in 1967. In 'Sparrow,' Diana decides she 'forgives' Mary. Excuse me? --- I didn't hear Mary ask for ANYone's forgiveness, and I noted Diana DOESN'T call her a liar'. The matter of Mary's book, by the way, is dismissively dealt with in little more than two pages.

Maybe the larger pity here is that the book isn't just coming out now. Given Ross's very unique perception of reality, great comic possibilities are probably lost as to how she would 'spin' items such as a Heathrow airport search fracas, a would-be Supremes reunion tour that goes bust, and a well-marinated, late-night trip to an Arizona Blockbuster'

'Secrets of a Sparrow' is 280 pages of the most blatant self-stroking of ego you're likely to come across. Who the hell gave this woman a pencil?! If you see it in a pile of 'returns' for maybe under three bucks, it might be worth it for its assortment of rare photos. Otherwise, avoid this one, kids.

Diana Ross... A Living Legend Indeed!
I've been a huge fan of Diana Ross since I was a child and this book has been long anticipated to me to finally hear her life story. Unlike many autobiographies this one focuses on her life as an entertainer, a mother, a wife, and her early childhood years and most importantly no dirt on other entertainers. I don't know about you guys, but writing trash about other people you don't really know, especially if they're not true is kinda getting old and way annoying. Diana is true 'CLASS'! I'm glad I purchased this book not only being a fan of Diana Ross, but also the inspiration she delivers through her words. If you want to read positive views on life and love from an entertainer with "CLASS", then this book is definitely one worth reading.

AN EGOMANIAC'S INTIMATE PORTRAIT
Without a doubt, Diana Ross "use to be" the ultimate diva, multi-talented?... YES, honest?...NO. Don't bother getting this book, its all Diana's self glorification. Not honest at all.

Reads like a sappy greeting card
I really enjoyed this book when I first read it. I was in middle school and needed a pick-me-up, something that read like a sappy greeting card. However, I've read the book again since, and have realized that it's so factually inaccurate that it probably wasn't worth reading at all. Diana Ross is a very talented singer, but the way she glossed over the truth in this book was terrible. ... Read more

Book Description

Within is a masterful assembly of the most personal details and gorgeous minutiae of Frank Sinatra's way of living--matters of the heart and heartbreak, friendship and leadership, drinking and cavorting, brawling and wooing, tuxedos and snap-brims--all crafted from rare interviews with Sinatra himself as well as many other intimates, including Tony Bennett, Don Rickles, Angie Dickinson, Tony Curtis, and Robert Wagner, in addition to daughters Nancy and Tina Sinatra. Illustrated with scores of photos, The Way You Wear Your Hat captures the timeless romance and classic style of the fifties and the loose sixties and is a stunning exploration of the Sinatra mystique. ... Read more

Reviews (22)

The REAL Frank
What a GREAT book about the Chairman Of The Board! The text and pictures are first-rate,and the captions quoting Frank are priceless. An absolute must for the genuine Sinatra fan, you will pull it off the shelf to read it for years to come.

A great insight to the King of Cool's thoughts and beliefs
What a great book! I have read this twice already and didn't put it down until the wee hours of the morning. To read this is to almost be talking to Mr. Sinatra one on one. The author did a great job to give the reader the essance of Sinatra and see what made him "Tick". His views on friends, enemies and lovers is blunt, honest to the point and quite refreshing in this day of political correctness. Alot of important details about how Sinatra looked and dressed are emphasized and are quite valuable to the overall picture. The heydays of the ratpack, relationship with Ava Gardner, Marilyn Monroe and his last love..his wife, are told with a tinge of regret and admiration, but lovingly honest as well. The man admitted his flaws but his style and personality made his admirers overlook them. I recommend this to anyone who wants to know what the late night swing life of the 1950's-early 60's were like. A fantastic read! Kudos to the author.

Live each day like it may be the final day...
There have been a lot of books written on Sinatra;but this one is excellent.Where does one start and what does one say?Zehme has zeroed in on what made Sinatra an icon and a one of a kind.Sinatra had a great line for all occasions;and even when there was no occassion,he had a line for that too.
"Fear is the enemy of logic"
"Don't despair.You have to scrape bottom to appreciate life and start living again."
"the big lesson in life ,baby,is never be scared of anyone or anything."
The book is a quick,concise and intrest holding read. The pictures chosen were excellent in portraying Sinatra's personna.
You can't go wrong with this book if you ever liked anything Sinatra said or did.

Life Changing Material
What can I say that hasn't already been said? About 3 or 4 years ago I wasn't doing so well. I was looking for some guidance, some help to define myself and create my own identity. I came across this book on a sales rack and picked it up. I had been a Sinatra fan for awhile, had a few books and some albums. But this, this was something special. You come away from it really knowing who Mr. Sinatra really was. You get to know the man behind the "legend."

Immediatly I began to change the way I was. I began to relax, not worry so much. I changed my wardrobe (For years I had been kind of a bum, really not thinking about my dress) to more of a "classier" one. I became less of a cheapskate and helped any of my friends who needed help. Why? Because that's what Frank did! Not to mention I discovered "his way" to mixing drinks the way with women.

One cannot talk about this book without mentioning the excellent writing of Bill Zehme. He really gets to the soul of the experiences. The writing has the same flair as Sinatra's speech, always hip, always to the point. It's no wonder he has written the liner notes for the live Rat Pack cds. He really "knows" Frank and the boys and shows it.

So read this book. Who knows what could happen? You may come away from it with a new view on life.

A way in Which A Hat Will Nevre Be Worn Again
Zehme does a spectacular job in bring what Frank Sinatra really was to the people of the world. It has an easy reading short story flow that will make you not want to put it down. Reading this book has enspired me to read more about Frank Sinatra and others by Bill Zehme. The Chariman would be proud. ... Read more

Amazon.com

When he was 16, Stan Getz was touring with Jack Teagarden. He won his first Down Beat reader's poll when he was 23. In the early 1960s, he helped inaugurate the bossa nova craze with his recordings of "Desafinado" and &quotThe Girl from Ipanema." But there were times when he was nearly as well known for his messy personal life as his beautiful musicianship. A long-time abuser of drugs and alcohol, he was a notorious philanderer who beat his wife. Somehow, he managed to age gracefully. "The thing I will always be proud of is this," he told the New York Times not long before he died of cancer in 1991, "toward the end of my life, I became what I always should have been--a decent gentleman." ... Read more

Reviews (7)

warts and all


Am two thirds into this heavy tome... Why am I reading it? Because Getz was some kind of sax playing genius, in my opinion...and we always wonder what our favorite artists were like away from the stage. Well, sadly (& maybe not so sadly, depends how you look at it), you get it here.

The trick is, once you have put the book away, to forget the negative and return to the music, appreciate the artist's art. Not always easy to do--but we do it. His art endures. You just wish he and his first wife (both junkies at one time) had been better parents to their kids, etc.

So then, was Getz a total lost cause? Of course not. He had his decent side--although when messed up on booze and/or drugs he was not pleasant to be around, to put it mildly.

Guy had demons, to be sure. Am talking about suicide attempts anddepression. But then, how many of us haven't gone through a thing or two? It happens.

Don't know if this can be called the definitive bio on Stan the Man, but it is certainly worth reading.

Be warned, though, the last third is a heartbreaker. Just finished reading the entire thing. I'd like to give this tome 4 stars, instead of the three shown above, but (for some reason) amazon doesn't make it possible to change the rating.

I'm glad this biography was written.

read it for getz's life, not his art.
I read this a few years back, and it was brutal to get through, black clouds of depression lurking on every page. This is actually by way of saying that Maggin did his job well, although it couldn't have been much fun. There is account after account of a phenonenomally gifted yet self-absorbed monster who lived in a world of rationalization and evidently felt his talent justified doing unspeakable things to people (which, of course only means doing the same to oneself). You find yourself, as reader, torn: On one hand, one feels sympathy for one of the great musicians of our time who literally grew up on the road with no parental discipline (he started out, for example, at 15 with Jack Teagarden, a great player and undoubtedly a father figure to Getz, but also a notorious lush)who had to grow up fast and couldn't quite handle it. On the other, there's the aforementioned devil that the substances either created or, more likely, merely brought out. By the time Getz sincerely tried to mend his ways (a terminal illness will do it every time)the train had long left the station leaving much emotional wreckage in its wake.

But as with Charlie Parker, also widely reported to be a less-than-admirable person, we care about the art, and want to remember that. Sadly, this is where Maggin fails. He really means well, but his musical insights and prose style on the subject are, frankly, clumsy and less than helpful. He gropes for, but does not find Getz the musician or why he is so beloved. It's really simple: Getz was a fountain of melodic beauty, even as he swung his tail off. Improvising melodically sounds easy, but is one of the hardest things to do. Plus, his sound was a miracle--a force of nature. This is what puts Getz in the rarified category of accessible musical genius that includes very few others, Parker, Armstrong, Baker, Farmer and Davis among them. Maggin also even gets musicians' names wrong, a definite no-no.

Fortunately, Getz's music speaks for itself loud and clear. Perhaps someone will write the critical work Getz's enormous corpus of work deserves. Hopefully it will be a musician (we have a bad rap for being inarticulate and illiterate for some weird reason) However, Maggin deserves credit for his unflinching portrait of a complicated, at times loathsome man who nonetheless was chosen to be a conduit for some of the most rapturous and beautiful music this world has known.

I would like to translate it to Swedish
Being a recognized translator and a Stan Getz fan, I would like to translate the book to Swedish. At the same time I am aware of the fact that certain aspects concerns an important family in Sweden, i.e. Silfverskiold.Anyway, Maggins book is of too great importance to be ignored and Stan Getzis a legend...

Lester gave him the banner and he ran with it
As far back as I can recall, Stan Getz had always been my personal favorite jazz musician of all time. Blessed with an incredible musical memory - you just have to listen to the amount of quotes he would use during the course of a solo - he was able to render some of the most obscure lines from popular music to jazz lines to Jewish anthems. His personal sound was readily identifiable, pure,wholesome and wondrously beautiful and never filtered with sentimentality. When you heard a Getz solo there was never any mistake who was playing. Lester Young flowed through him and initially set the mold to this master jazz musician. Stan Getz carried the banner from Lester and ran with it.This book covers much of Stan Getz and his musical as well as personal life. Behind his playing was a torturous life hampered by drugs, alcohol, severe depression and anger. You would never have known this about the man after spending years of following and listening to the progressions of his performing art. Unlike the Chet Baker book this book chronologically follows his music as well as the events in his personal life. I found it inspiring to read about various recording sessions and all that was happening in his life at the time. All this while following it, by listening to the particular recording mentioned. He was a perfectionist and achieved it most of the time. If he felt his playing not to be at par this depressed him and would sadly result in dissonance for him and his family. He thought he needed to be stoned to play better. The irony is that he was throughout much of his life. Maggin mentions the many times when Stan would be inspired, either by another musician or a piece of music, that his playing would suddenly ignite and reach incredible levels of Art. I, for one, have on many occasions,witnessed such performances by him.This again brings up the question that has bothered me as a very devoted jazz follower: In order for the music to become a pure art, must it have flowed through the artist through suffering and artificially altering his senses with drugs and alcohol? Further, are the jazz musicians of today too antiseptic to ever achieve pure estheticism? These are troubling thoughts and often lends me to think that it may be impossible to truly create in a totally sober environment. True, the music can be technically brilliant, intricate and interesting, but would it be Getz,Parker, Monk, Baker, Davis or Coltrane?The book is very well written by Maggin and covers the career of Stan Getz thoroughly. Maggin has struck a delicate balance between the music, life and times of Getz. The nurturing, friendships and relationships of the musicians who began playing, developing and expanding with his various musical groups are clarified throughout the book. This book is an indispensable guide for anyone that has followed any of the aspects of Stan Getz the musician and the man.

Hard to put down.
I am so fed up with jazz biographies and histories loaded with racial politics. Maggin's book is such a breath of fresh air in that regard. Through this fascinating biography, you learn how collaborative jazz has long been between the races as Getz comfortably performed with white and black musicians. It definitely needs a discography. But given the amount of work Maggin put into detailing Getz's life, he was probably too worn out to tackle a discography. Great book. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Brilliant biography of great poet
Kipling’s words give the key to understanding his real, but sadly limited, achievements. He was capable of an extraordinarily sensitive empathy with people, especially with those who did the work of the Empire, the doctors, engineers and administrators. But his political sympathies constrained his emotional sympathies. His love for the Empire was twisted in with a most unintelligent hero-worship of the scoundrels who ran it, and with hatred for those who opposed it.

His works reflect this ambiguity. Many of his writings are excellent, for instance the Jungle Book, some of his stories and many of his poems. Lycett has presented an amazingly detailed portrait of Kipling’s adopted class and milieu. But he lacks a novelist’s imagination and ease with language; the biography often just lists Kipling’s possessions, travels, guests and friends. In reflection of Kipling, he smothers his finer understandings in a blanket of conventions. We still need Angus Wilson’s fine book, ‘The strange ride of Rudyard Kipling’, to see the full peculiarity of Kipling’s career. ... Read more

Book Description

Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher, or a colleague.Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, helped you see the world as a more profound place, gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it.

For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly twenty years ago.

Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded, and the world seemed colder.Wouldn't you like to see that person again, ask the bigger questions that still haunt you, receive wisdom for your busy life today the way you once did when you were younger?

Mitch Albom had that second chance.He rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man's life.Knowing he was dying, Morrie visited with Mitch in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college.Their rekindled relationship turned into one final "class": lessons in how to live.

Tuesdays with Morrie is a magical chronicle of their time together, through which Mitch shares Morrie's lasting gift with the world. ... Read more

Reviews (1628)

Tuesday's With Morrie
This year for my seventh grade Language Arts class, we were supposed to choose a book and then critique it. I chose Tuesdays With Morrie after selecting it from a dusty bookshelf in my brother's room. Personally, I loved the book; it had a deeper meaning of life that i had never considered before. Some of my favorite quotes from the book have stuck with me like the one, "Love eachother or perish," The book is about a former college student, and his favorite professor. It all begins sixteen years after graduation when Mitch Albom finds himself watching his beloved college instructor on Nightling with Ted Koppel. Morrie has become a victum of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, leaving his body withered and sagging. Mitch visits Morrie one day and what starts as a reunion of old friends turns into the project of a lifetime. Now, I don't want to spoil anything, but the lessons that Morrie teaches to Mitch on their Tuesdays together will stay with him all of his life. I would recommend this book to anyone. If you are looking for enlightenment, deep thinking, and a true story, you've come to the right book. On a scale from one to ten, i would give Tuesdays With Morrie a nine and a half.

A Must Read!
Tuesdays with Morrie is definitely one of the best books that I've ever read. Once I picked it up, I couldn't stop until I found myself on the last page. Although the book is very short, nearly every page carries a message. It's purpose is to teach us a lesson; that was Morrie's final goal. He wanted to create this one last thesis with one of his favorite students, Mitch Albom, that would give people insight into how to live their lives and what it feels like to die. In this book, not only do we learn from Morrie (who died from ALS) how to live life to the fullest, but we learn from Mitch's mistakes as well. All too often we get caught up in our fast paced culture that we forget to stop and look around and actually enjoy things.

Mitch Albom uses a unique approach to get his old professor's message out. When I was reading this, I couldn't help but feel like Morrie was speaking right to me. The book could relate to anyone; it covers so many topics from love and life to death and trying to live even when death is knocking on the door.

I highly recommend reading Tuesdays with Morrie. You can't help but love Morrie by the end of the book, and like me, you might even tear up at the end a little.

Beautiful
<br /> Beautiful and touching, inspirational and rich. A book that not only teaches but makes you feel. <br /> Also recommended: Nightmares Echo by Katlyn Stewart, Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs,The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom

Have A Tissue Ready
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom is beautifully written. It is also an easily read and understandable. The fact that it's a true story makes it even more touching. So have some tissue ready :) . Morrie was a real person. He helped so many people during his life, and now, because of Mitch, he will touch many more after death. I strongly recommend reading this book if you are afraid of death.

There is also another book here on Amazon I have found that I highly recommend on life after death, or between death that has given me a lot to think about. It is called The book of Thomas by Daniel Aber and Gabreael. In their book everything from the suicide, the different levels of heaven, reincarnation, and so on is covered also in an easily read format

I'm Embarrassed I Read This
My younger brother had this on his summer reading list and I noticed it on his desk. Seeing it was pretty short I sat down and read it. I think the fact that my high school's English department recommended it should have been warning enough to avoid this book. In all seriousness, this is the worst book I have read in a LONG time.
Even calling it a book is slightly misleading, because that usually implies some sort of literary value. It's about as literary as Life's Little Instruction Book, but far less insightful. Albom writes at about a 2nd grade reading level, in a ridiciulously simple shallow way rather than a Hemingwayesque style. Even more ridiculous is his constant use of immature, sentimental little gimmicks that I guess the Oprah-watching soccer moms giving this book a good review would call "touching and heartfelt". For example:
"He waited while I absorbed it.
A Teacher to the Last.
"Good?" he said.
Yes, I said. Very good.

I would write something like that and be satisified with it when I was probably a freshman, and I really don't consider myself to be a talented writer. The whole Tuesday motif was also along those lines. Even more annoying was I lost count of the epiphanies Mitch has by about the 11th page. Highlight how many times he "suddenly realizes something about life". Don't be materialistic? Love other people? Is this really that breakthrough? I think Jesus said that about 2000 years ago, and most people agree he wasn't even that revolutionary(in moral philosophy that is.) Look at some of his other ridiculous "aphorisms":
Accept what you are able to do and what you are not able to do.
Learn to forgive yourself and forgive others.

If I really felt like it, I could probably spew out about four thousand of those obvious, self-righteous statements in about 5 minutes.
I also don't even see how Morrie was such a hero. In one scene, they tried to convince you that he was some hero for turning down some medicine that wouldn't have helped and, more importantly, wasn't even available. Wow. Not to mention, it's pretty easy to be so courageous about death when you have an amazing family supporting you. I wonder if he was half his age, alone with nobody to help him except some indifferent inner city hospital nurse if he would face death with such resilience and wit.
What annoys me the most is how they planned writing this book before Morrie even died. Sounds like he just wanted to pay some bills. I mean, if they are planning to write a book about all these great moments Mitch realizes, of course he's going to have them(or pretend to) because he has to write a book about it! Furthermore, it's pretty arrogant that Morrie to think that he had some great noble truths to spread.
This book has several more blatant flaws, but this review has a maxium word limit. So, I'll say if you like reading Chicken Soup for the Soul, and other empowering self-help books that like to constantly re-emphasize the obvious for $20, go ahead and buy this. If you are looking for an actual good book by someone who actually knows how to write, don't waste your time or the 40 minutes it takes to read this. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A Biography with Sparkle
C.S. Lewis was a complex man, and it would be easy for a biographer to bog down in the details. However, David Downing deftly weaves together an engaging and fast-moving story that follows various threads in Lewis's life, his writings, the major intellectual trends of the early 20th century, and Lewis's gradually unfolding Christian belief. Downing draws from Lewis's well-known writings, but also from letters and unpublished works to create a complex and intriging portrait. I found the book to be intellectually and spiritually nourishing. All in all a good story and a good read.

There and back again--CS Lewis's spiritual journey
I'm not quite sure how to classify this book. It's not exactly a biography, because it does not attempt a thorough inspection of CS Lewis's life. It's not literary criticism, because it mentions most of Lewis's works only in passing. I suppose this book is rather an examination of the various steps of CS Lewis's departure from, avoidance of, and eventual return to Christianity. In this book, Downing explores and evaluates all the stages of Lewis's philosophical and religious thought-from materialism to idealism to pantheism to Christianity, with brief stops along the way to consider spiritualism and theosophy.

Lewis's time away from Christianity was a very interesting time in his life. He toyed with many systems of belief, and struggled to come to grips with reality as he found system after system of philosophy to be flawed. Downing does a good job of exploring the influences that aided Lewis's development-his teachers, mentors, and books he read all played an important part in this. For that, at least, there is merit in this book, and Downing also uncovers a few (but they are few) details which Lewis himself leaves out in his autobiography, 'Surprised by Joy.'

Anyone who has read 'Surprised by Joy,' however, will find that this book is basically just a rewording of what Lewis himself said in that work. There is little in this book which cannot be gleaned from Lewis's own sketch of his early life, and Lewis's work has the added advantage of being both better written and written from his own point of view. This book provides a decent summary of Lewis's autobiography, but little more.

For the most part, Downing's insights are helpful, if not unique. The narrative is sometimes confused, with Downing jumping (for example) from a period of doubt in Lewis's life to a scene from The Chronicles of Narnia or other of Lewis's fiction which illustrates what he later came to believe on the subject. And the greatest flaw of this book comes in the last two pages of chapter 8, when Downing attempts to describe Lewis's spiritual experience while riding to a zoo with his brother. Lewis describes that something happened (though he admits he doesn't know what) on that ride, and that he believed in Christ as the son of God when he arrived at the zoo, but hadn't when he had set out for the zoo. Downing, in analyzing this experience, waxes psychological and attempts to get inside Lewis's head. The result is a flowery blurb of supposed thoughts which Lewis had, told mostly in the first person (as if Downing had access to a level of Lewis's conscious which even he, Lewis, did not have) and reeking of an attempt at literary prowess rather than narrative fidelity. Those two pages alone ruined the entire book for me.

Despite these flaws, however, this book deserves three stars for its interesting look at Lewis's Journey to Faith (as the subtitle implies). As I said, there is nothing new or groundbreaking here, and longtime fans of Lewis will find little which is unique, but this book is nevertheless merits a quick perusal.

Intellectual Biography of The Highest Order
David Downing has achieved something quite remarkable with this book: He has succeeded in making a thoroughly researched, philosophically-heavy, intellectual biography an engrossing read.

This is by no means a CS Lewis biography. It is, rather, a biography of Lewis' mind before, during and immediately after his conversion to a belief in Christ. Downing explores several avenues of Lewis' philosophical quest, none more so than his unceasing pursuit of "Joy." This pursuit leads Lewis, and the reader, through all stages of Lewis' intellectual and religious development--from atheistic materialism to the occult to philosophical Idealism to pantheism and finally to Christ. Along the way, the reader is introduced to many of Lewis' spiritual, philosophical and intellectual mentors.

This could have easily (almost predictably) become a dry, excruciatingly dull narrative with all the readability of a poorly-written freshman philosophy text. Instead, it is a true page-turner as Downing relates Lewis' intellectual pursuit of the aforementioned concepts. One-by-one the philosophical challengers to Christianity are discovered, honestly scrutinized, shown be intellectually wanting, and ultimately rejected.

Don't be put off by the centrality of philosophical discussion in this book. It is an easy read and it is actually quite fun to see how Lewis used his monumental intellect to punch irreparable holes in philosophical concepts considered sacrosanct by preening, self-important atheistic egotists. Though an atheist during his teens and twenties, Lewis never stopped pursuing iron-clad intellectual arguments which would quench his thirst for "Joy." His intellectual honesty never allowed him to be satisfied with answers which rested on shaky philosophical ground. And part of his restless pursuit of "Joy" was his search for a firm and unassailable theoretical foundation on which he could build a consistent belief system.

Bravo to Mr. Downing for writing this marvelous book. Perhaps no other work allows us to peer more deeply into the mind of this magnificent intellect.

Downing Delivers!
Downing does well in his concise and colorful account of C.S. Lewis' progression to faith -- thus leading to a joyful life. Primarily Downing is helpful in allowing the reader a glimpse into the patient ascension of Lewis to discovering an intimate and substantial faith in Christianity. The reader is not simply walking blindly in this telling of Lewis' conversion, but is led by Downing with a careful examination of Lewis' own thoughts through this spiritual and thoughtful pilgrimage. Thus, Downing allows Lewis to speak for himself on many accounts through highlighting his own letters; and the writings of others close to Lewis, including his brother. The reader will also recieve a luminous lesson on 19th and 20th century thought; they will be intoduced to Rationalism, Romanticism, Idealism, Modernity and a host of other worldviews and religious expressions Lewis engaged in his early adulthood.
This book affirms the reason why so many find solace and stimulation from this Christian literary giant. Lewis' genuine and ardent quest for faith should not be overlooked and can only command respect and admiration.

C.S. Lewis, the view from the outside
If you've ever wondered what C.S. "Jack" Lewis looked from the outside, rather than from inside his own head, this is the book for you. Mr. Downing writes in a very readable way, and has obviously done a tremendous amount of research. He writes mostly about the "lost" years in between Jack's early childhood, and the beginning of his conversion as an adult. Mr. Downing traces Jack's thought and theology through his own writings (letters and unfinished or unpublished works) and provides a coherent and very interesting overview of his development from a very cynical young man (though of substantially divided mind) through to the final step of his conversion, covering many things that Lewis himself either glossed over, or never discussed in his autobiographical work. It also covers how some of the conflicts that Jack ran into in his early life were later written about in characters in his novels - he actually made me want to go back and reread the "Perelandra" series, which I haven't been very impressed with up until now. If you've read much C.S. Lewis, and want to know more about him, I would recommend the book highly. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Janky Jana
This book is a disgrace.It's sad to see that any woman would stoop to such a low level as to publicly humiliate herself as well as a well-known author!

I understand that she had an affair with him, but that's it...AN AFFAIR!Get over it !!!It was an dumb-affair.I'm sure that Ms. St. James wasn't so young that she didn't realize what she was getting into!

I just think that it's sad and this book did nothing, but turn a memory of a romance (affair or not) into something that the public didn't need to know about!

Thanks...I'm done!

Big Disappointment
I was excited to find these tapes at my library and kept waiting for the "magical" love to reveal itself as it did in Waller's novel.Instead, I was told all sorts of "filler", such as what Jana St. James was wearing and what she ate each day.An unbelievable amount of extraneous material to blow smoke over her THIN story about an average affair initiated by a married man.One can only feel sorry for Waller's wife Georgia, learning what her husband was doing the night they gave birth to their daughter.Much wishful thinking on the part of St. James:I didn't see ANY parallels with Madison County, the novel, except that the characters had sex.

Jana & Bob - a simple love story
Certainly there are parallels to the love story in Bridges of Madison County, however this is a story of two young people who under different circumstances would likely have ended up together. There love seemed genuine but impossible. This is an easy read - and unlike the other reviewer, I do not judge Jana or Bob. As unfortunate as it sounds - affairs do happen.

How one girl's affair in college haunted her
I was looking forward to reading about the woman the book "Bridges of Madison County" was possibly based on.When Robert Waller was a young, married graduate student, he had an affair with whom I feel was anaive underage college student.Jana St. James wants us to believe herlove affair with Mr. Waller was like no love ever before.Sorry, Jana. You had an affair with a married man, and it ended because he hadobligations to his WIFE.What did you expect?For him to leave hispregnant wife and start a new life with a young, naive college girl?Idon't think so.Also, the affair -- the "earthshattering" loveshe experienced is exactly the same as any other "first love", nomore special or different, except that it was with a married man, andRobert Waller is just a man who has talents such as writing and signing. He is no more special than you or me. ... Read more

Book Description

A chance encounter in Spain in 1959 brought young Irish reporter Valerie Danby-Smith face-to-face with Ernest Hemingway. The interview was awkward and brief, but before it ended something had clicked into place. For the next two years, Valerie devoted her life to Hemingway and his wife, Mary, traveling with them through beloved old haunts in Spain and France and living with them during the tumultuous final months in Cuba. In name a personal secretary, but in reality a confidante and sharer of the great man’s secrets and sorrows, Valerie literally came of age in the company of one of the greatest literary lions of the twentieth century.

Five years after his death, Valerie became a Hemingway herself when she married the writer’s estranged son Gregory. Now, at last, she tells the story of the incredible years she spent with this extravagantly talented and tragically doomed family.

In prose of brilliant clarity and stinging candor, Valerie evokes the magic and the pathos of Papa Hemingway’s last years. Swept up in the wild revelry that always exploded around Hemingway, Valerie found herself dancing in the streets of Pamplona, cheering bullfighters at Valencia, careening around hairpin turns in Provence, and savoring the panorama of Paris from her attic room in the Ritz. But it was only when Hemingway threatened to commit suicide if she left that she realized how troubled the aging writer was – and how dependent he had become on her.

In Cuba, Valerie spent idyllic days and nights typing the final draft of A Movable Feast, even as Castro’s revolution closed in. After Hemingway shot himself, Valerie returned to Cuba with his widow, Mary, to sort through thousands of manuscript pages and smuggle out priceless works of art. It was at Ernest’s funeral that Valerie, then a researcher for Newsweek, met Hemingway’s son Gregory – and again a chance encounter drastically altered the course of her life. Their twenty-one-year marriage finally unraveled as Valerie helplessly watched her husband succumb to the demons that had plagued him since childhood.

Valerie Hemingway played an intimate, indispensable role in the lives of two generations of Hemingways. This memoir, by turns luminous, enthralling, and devastating, is the account of what she enjoyed, and what she endured, during her astonishing years of living as a Hemingway. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

the saddest story I ever heard
if your interested in hemingways last year ans some of what went on in spain circa 1959 and the bullfights there and miss danby- smiths`recolections, this book is for you. It is for the most part well written and you always want to know what happens next.But the real story of the book is that of hemingways son,Gig,and that is truly sad story. Probably one of the saddest storys I have ever read or heard.{google gregory hemingway and read about what happened to him after the book story ends

Autobiography par excellence
Running with the Bulls is autobiography par excellence.Valerie Hemingway openly and frankly tells the fascinating story of her life, which began as Valerie Danby-Smith.Her mother was English Catholic, her father Irish Protestant, and their marriage failed.Young Valerie grew up in a convent in Ireland, literally, and she spent the summers of her youth, when the convent school was closed, at a country hotel that attracted artists and writers.

Aspiring to be a journalist, young Danby-Smith went to Spain.There she went to interview the American author Ernest Hemingway, then 59 years old and enthusiastically visiting sites from his earlier days.Thus the 19-year-old Irish woman began figuratively "running with the bulls."

Danby-Smith became Hemingway's secretary and confidant.She traveled in Spain and France with the Hemingway entourage.She moved to Cuba to help the writer, but soon the Cuban Revolution forced the Hemingways to leave Cuba.Danby-Smith went to New York City to pursue her career, and the Hemingways moved to Idaho.There Ernest Hemingway committed suicide.At his funeral Danby-Smith met Hemingway's youngest son, Gregory, long estranged from the family for reasons she did not learn until many years later.With Fidel Castro's complacency, she helped Hemingway's widow smuggle the famous author's manuscripts and art collection out of Cuba.For several years thereafter she sorted the Hemingway papers at the office of his publisher in New York City.When she married Gregory Hemingway, he was a young doctor in New York.The marriage took her to Florida, back to New York, and later to Montana, where the tragic drama of Gregory's life eventually brought the marriage to an end.

Nothing in this book is expected.If the book were a novel, the reader would not believe the story, the famous characters, the twists and turns.But the story is true, and Valerie Hemingway lived it.She tells her story with grace, discretion, and the skill of a fine journalist whose early mentor had been the legendary Ernest Hemingway.

At the time she was hired, Ernest Hemingway had stipulated that a requirement of employment was that she would not write about the family.She honored that requirement. But years have passed and others have written about her relationship with Ernest Hemingway, so the time came for Valerie Hemingway to tell it like it was.It was an adventure!

LOVED loved loved this book
First of all, Valerie Hemingway is a fabulous writer.
She knows how to engage the reader
by including just the right amount of detail and
keeping the story moving along.
And boy what astory!

This book is what I call an "all nighter."
Can't go to sleep until you finish it.

Ernest Hemingway has fallen out of favor in recent years;
This book (if it gets the attention it deserves) could greatly enhance his
reputation.

I simply could not put the book down.
"By January 1962 I was convinced that I was expecting Brendan Behan's child."

Yes, this is a book about Ernest Hemingway but it is also about Spain, Cuba, Ireland, New York, Montana, Fidel Castro, Norman Mailer, James Joyce, bullfighting, hunting, writing, reading, the Hemingway wives, children and grandchildren.It's a book about depression, alcoholism, mania, sex change and genius.It's also a book about an Irish woman who lived a life stranger than fiction.

If you are a Hemingway fan you might or might not want to read this book.Its contents will forever change the way you think about the great man - he was human after all.

Thanks and prayers to you Valerie Hemingway.

Excellent and impressive
I must disagree with the PW reviewer who commented that Valerie Hemingway's wonderfuil book "lacks a memorable or compelling portrait of Ernest Hemingway himself."This is far from the case.RUNNING WITH THE BULLS seems to me a masterpiece of biographical writing.Although she only knew him during his fial two years on earth, Valerie knew him pretty well, and he fell in love with her, showing her sides to himself that illuminated the rest.He was not always the strutting, macho "old man," not with Valerie Danby-Smith.She was a young Irish secretary who wanted to burst out of the convent-educated world of high-echelon Guinness secretarial staff, so she went to Spain and met the actress Beverly Bentley (from Mike Todd Jr's SCENT OF MYSTERY, the first and last film made in "Smell-O-Vision" and eventually the Hemingway clan who were there for the bullfights.

I loved the way she was able in a single page to shade in all sorts of information about Hemingway--the authors and artists he admired, the kinds of food he preferred, his difficulties writing what became THE DANGEROUS SUMMER.She was in the habit, she tells us, of writing down notes every time she saw Hemingway, and she uses these judiciously.I do feel she had some bone to pick about A E Hotchner, I can't make out what it was.She has an agenda going on that's for sure, and "Hotch" is not on her happy list.

It's really three books in one because not only does Valerie describe Ernest Hemingway (and to a lesser degree Mary, his wife and eventually widow) better than previous biographers, but she also tells us all about two other men in her life--the Irish playwright Brendan Behan, and Gregory Hemingway, the tragically transvestite youngest son of Ernest, whom Valerie insanely married some years after Papa's suicide.He led her a merry chase all right, but they had four children and moved to Montana, eventually divorcing once Gregory turned dangerous.He later had a sex change and became Gloria Hemingway, and died in a women's prison in 1995.As she says, quoting from Ford Madox Ford's novel THE GOOD SOLDIER, "This is the saddest story I have ever known." ... Read more

Book Description

Hailed by readers and critics across the country, this engrossing biography of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo reveals a woman of extreme magnetism and originality, an artist whose sensual vibrancy came straight from her own experiences: her childhood near Mexico City during the Mexican Revolution; a devastating accident at age eighteen that left her crippled and unable to bear children; her tempestuous marriage to muralist Diego Rivera and intermittent love affairs with men as diverse as Isamu Noguchi and Leon Trotsky; her association with the Communist Party; her absorption in Mexican folklore and culture; and her dramatic love of spectacle.

Here is the tumultuous life of an extraordinary twentieth-century woman -- with illustrations as rich and haunting as her legend.

Reviews (23)

FRIDA KAHLO IS INSPIRATIONAL
Hayden Herrera's BIOGRAPHY OF FRIDA KAHLO is one of the very best books on women artists of all times. When I first found this seminal biography, I was a young mother in Oregon painting alone in a 5 x 8' studio with two toddler sons at my feet in the early '80s. Frida's story is inspirational. Her courage in painting about what really mattered has sustained me through years when my own art was too powerful for the market. Frida channeled lots of pain and lust for life into her art. Although she did not attain the recognition her husband Diego Rivera did during her lifetime, today people recognize Kahlo's genius as an artist. I loved the way Frida kept painting until the end despite her pain, even from her bed, like Matisse did in his later years. When the doctor wouldn't let Frida go to her first exhibit in her own country because of failing health, she had them wheel her into the exhibition triumphantly perched on her now famous bed. No matter how much pain Frida was in, she always looked her best. I've often thought of her when I was tempted to rush out of the house with paint splattered jeans and t-shirt. Frida's passion for life and art are inspirational. A highly recommended biography for anyone interested in women, art and stories about courageous extraordinary people.

Complete and Complex Like Frida
Hayden Herrera has written an excellent portrait of the great artist Frida Kahlo, complete in thought and tender in describing a woman well lived.

Frida Kahlo is the ultimate survivor and represents women for their strength, tenderness, fierceness and suffering compassion. She lived during a time when women had few rights, especially Mexican women, she faced the dreadfulness of the Mexican Revolution in her early years, a bout with polio, a horrible bus accident that attempted to cripple her for life, an often unfaithful husband, criticism of her dreams, activism, accused Communism and many exciting adventures in life. She lived a true artistic life and her paintings represent the complicated nature of her inner soul. She loved hard and fought often, for her rights, her dreams and her man. While bed-ridden and suffering in the severest of agony she taught herself to paint, her body encased in a huge white cast, she painted to survive and reached the other end with a unique perspective on art. Her life and home were surrounded with color, a rainbow that never needed the promise of something golden at the end. She danced her own rhythm and never stopped walking her own path. This is a woman to be admired!

Herrera does an excellent job as the biographer of this phenomenally complicated woman. Her research is thorough and her suggestions entirely believable. You will be transported back in time into the life of a controversial woman who deserves every ounce of recognition that Herrera has given us.

A thorough rendering of an artist's life
This biography is a complete, engaging 440-page effort of sheer reportage. Herrera, an art historian and curator, has also written a book on Kahlo's art, and books on Mary Frank and Matisse, and you can see evidence of her thoroughness on every page. The book traces Kahlo's life by setting up the lives of her parents (her father was an Austrian immigrant to Mexico) all the way to her death and funeral with great detail. As Herrera follows the path of Kahlo's life, she includes letters to and from Kahlo, Kahlo's journal excerpts (illustrations, words and poems) and explicates Kahlo's art as it becomes relevant to the storyline of her life, either because paintings were done around the time of narrative points or because they illustrate incidents or themes in Kahlo's life. There are two color-plate sections and two black-and-white photo/painting sections to which the reader may refer.

Frida's life is certainly compelling, and Herrera doesn't need to resort to emotional language or hyperbole to make her interesting -- and, thankfully, she doesn't. The narrative is quite matter-of-fact, and illustrated with the subjects' own words, one feels that one can get to know Frida, and her husband, Diego Rivera, pretty well, for being somewhat removed from them (at least I feel that way living in the twenty-first century in Arkansas). The book incorporates the commonly known facts of Frida's life -- her devastating tram accident as a high-schooler in which she was impaled on a shaft of metal handrail, her turbulent and deep connection with and TWO subsequent marriages to Diego Rivera, her Mexicanista loyalties and sensibilities, her affair with Trotsky, her personal flamboyance and her great talent -- with the over-arching idea of Frida's alegría -- or happiness, joy -- in the face of her many hardships. As one of her friends said, Frida was a woman who "lived dying." Her many health problems and her problematic and sometimes painful relationship with Rivera were great obstacles to her, but her flamboyant alegría appears throughout her life as a constant, a will to enjoy, to overcome.

I think what the book offers most is Frida's personality, explicated as carefully and well as the paintings, and the effort helps inform the viewer's assessment and response to her work. Using Kahlo's own words often, Herrera allows Frida to tell us herself her reactions to incidents, events, her successes, her health problems.

She writes to her dear friend and medical adviser, Dr. Eloesser, in the United States when she is struggling with the decision to amputate her increasingly problematic foot: "My dearest Doctorcito: [The doctors] are driving me crazy and making me desperate. What should I do? It is as if I am being turned into an idiot and I am very tired of this f---ing foot and I would like to be painting and not worrying about so many problems. But, it can't be helped, I have to be miserable until the situation is resolved..."

This passage is emblematic of Kahlo, mixing her crass language with her charming endearments to her friends, her concern for her health and her resignation to the situation, "it can't be helped..." She often curses, refers to her reader as "kid" and to money as "dough," in English.

Herrera points out points at which Kahlo is not completely forthcoming with truthful details, for instance her age, the length of time she spent hospitalized at various stages, and her changing view on whether she was a Surrealist painter or not. She also illustrates Kahlo's changes in terms of the political situation of the international Communist party, her views about Trotsky, and her public vs. private comments on Diego's never-ending philandering.

In a book on Kahlo, these life details are relevant to her art because her art is confessional and personal. She's a "Sylvia Plath" of painting and mines her life and emotions for subjects until the end. Not long before she died, she had resolved her priorities, telling a friend, "I only want three things in life: to live with Diego, to continue painting, and to belong to the Communist party."

The people around her were deeply important to Frida Kahlo, and to the end of her life, she adored her friends, wrote winning and charming, caring notes to them, and wanted them around her at the end. Her love of others plays itself out in her political beliefs; she toured the world as an artist, but she drew her subjects and methods from Mexicanista traditions, and popular as well as pre-Columbian culture. Her personal illustrations are appealing because of that understanding of others, and Herrera's sound biography renders Kahlo's work and life even more poignant and remarkable. It's a good book. I recommend it.

(I do wish that this book had Frida Kahlo's own art or a photo of her on the cover, rather than a photo of Salma Hayek as Frida Kahlo.)

Frida Kahlo is Alive and Well
The greatest compliment one could offer a biographer is that she has brought to life her subject with honesty and insight.Well, I offer this compliment to Hayden Herrera.It is supreme understatement for me to observe that the Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo, was a complex person filled with great contradictions.Yet, through liberal use of Frida's letters coupled with Herrera's own insightful analysis of her painting, "Frida" brings this great artist to life for us to bask in her brilliance, energy and strength."Frida" is one of the most remarkable, illuminating and fulfilling biographies I have ever read.I highly recommend this magnificent book.

A Great Book about Frida
I liked this book alot. It gave great details about her life from the begining to end. I thought that it got a little wordy sometimes, like the author was trying to prove how much she knew. But other than that it was an excellent book. ... Read more

Book Description

In The Last American Man, acclaimed journalist and fiction writer Elizabeth Gilbert offers a fresh cultural examination of contemporary American male identity and the uniquely American desire to return to the wilderness.

Gilbert explores what pushed men to settle the frontier West in the nineteenth century and delves into the history of American utopian communities. But her primary focus is on the fascinating true story of Eustace Conway, who left his comfortable suburban home at the age of seventeen to move into the Appalachian Mountains, where for the last twenty years he has lived off the land.

Conway's romantic character challenges all our assumptions about what it means to be a man today; he is a symbol of much that we feel our men should be, but rarely are. From his example, Gilbert delivers an intriguing exploration into the meaning of American manhood and-from the point of view of a woman-refracts masculine American identity in all its conflicting elements. Like Jon Krakauer's national bestseller Into the Wild, this book will find an enthusiastic audience among women, readers of American history, and those interested in nature and the wild. ... Read more

Reviews (62)

Read, read, read this book!
I can't say enough good things about this book. (& yes, I accidentally put my review in for the audio cd!) A fascinating and complex subject handled with the perfect amount of