Book Description

Here is the action-packed sequel to Boy, a tale of Dahl's exploits as a World War II pilot. Told with the same irresistible appeal that has made Roald Dahl one the world's best-loved writers, Going Solo brings you directly into the action and into the mind of this fascinating man.

Performed by Derek Jacobi.

Reviews (22)

If you're looking for a good read, you've found it!
Going Solo

Going Solo by Roald Dahl is an action-packed adventure full of laughs and frights. Dahl uses up-front, to the point explanations that provide detailed and somewhat sudden images of events from his life. The book itself, Going Solo, is based on Dahl's experience in Africa and in the air force. Dahl starts his tale as a young man headed to an African coastal city where he will help in the management of a Shell public relations group. Dahl encounters much more than he bargained for and provides readers with a great bed-time reader. I wouldn't however suggest it for bed-time reading, because you won't be able to put it down.

I typically read books that fall under the Fantasy genre because the author has the ability to constantly fill the characters with excitement as opposed to a biography in which the author may only use real events, which are not always as fast-paced. Dahl, however, has had a life that really has very few dull moments. I had no problem keeping the movie in my mind going. He transitioned well from event to event without stopping the action. I was drawn in at first by the experience Dahl had on the ship. He explains that the ship taking him to Africa was occupied by men who were somewhat mentally unstable. His colorful imagery of all his situations and scenes makes for a compelling and intriguing story-line.

In addition to detail through words, Dahl has pictures in his book. This is not a critical component of literature, but it allowed me to complete my mental images. His photographs depict people he met and things he encountered. These pictures aided in my idea of the time period and culture of the setting. This book is by no means a picture book, but it has several images throughout the book.

The book also drew me in because it was Dahl reflecting on his life. As I read the book I felt as though it was the first time since his war experience that he had looked back on the events. I felt as though he was developing his opinions of his decisions throughout the war as he was writing the book. In a sense, it felt like I was the first person to here his reflection on his life. This display of a relationship between author and reader further demonstrates Dahl's mastery of literature.

I would recommend this work to anyone seeking a short-term commitment as far as reading goes. This book can easily be finished within a few devoted days. The book is not a very high reading level, but leaves the door open for deep thought and role-playing. I enjoyed this piece and through it's creativity it compelled me to read another of Dahl's pieces. For those who choose to try this book, I invite you to spend equal time reading and reflecting to get the most out of the book. Enjoy this piece.


-Jess
13
KY

Wonderful read aloud book!
I read this book to my 11 year old son. Both of us were captivated with Roald Dahl's experiences prior to and during World War II.

Though our family has thoroughly enjoyed all of Dahl's fiction, this is the first non-fiction Dahl book we have read.The way he describes the people, places and machinery he encounters is so real and honest. He comes across as an astute observer during the times he describes. I found this book to be entertaining and educational. I only wish he had written more books about the next decades of his life.

Wonderful Author biography for young readers
I didn't expect Roald Dahl's account of life as a fighter pilot to interest me at all, but to my astonishment I found it gripping. It's a real page-turner; I couldn't wait to read the next chapter!

As always, his style of writing is a pleasure to read, and although most younger readers prefer his macabre tales of fantasy, this is well worth adding to their Dahl Library.

Both `Boy' and `Going Solo' are the perfect way to introduce the developing younger reader to biographical/true-life stories, rather than remaining forever stuck in the magical realms of fantasy fiction. This book can be equally enjoyed by young and old alike ... the sort of book a grandfather and grandson can read together!

Great
Great read, moves along very well, good adventure and reflections on author's time in Africa and WWII.

This may be even better than Harry Potter!
Going Solo talkings about Roald Dahl being from an tennager to an adult.In the book, Roald Dahl talks about his experience in Africa working for the Shell company
He also talks about WWII as a raf fighter pilot
His biograph isn't boring like most but very exciting!
I would reccommend this book to most readers who have finished reading the first part of Roald Dahl's biograph, which is called Boy Tales of Childhood
If you haven't read that yet, I suggest that you don't read Going Solo. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Roll up your sleeves and settle in for a rough and tumble story of the hard life and fast times of an original Irish American rogue. Read by the author in his thick and hearty brogue, A Monk Swimming expands on the up-from-your-bootstraps tale of the McCourt family, which was so beautifully detailed in his big brother Frank McCourt's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Angela's Ashes.

Reared on "warm words, serried words, glittering poetic, harsh, and even blasphemous words," McCourt has storytelling in his blood. In this life-affirming recording he carries on a vocal tradition learned at the knees of family and friends as they "spun out the silver-gold yarns and, by sheer eloquence, made our miserable surroundings disappear."

From his arrival in America wearing patched clothes and broken boots, McCourt swore he'd fight before ever tasting the bitterness of poverty again. In this heartfelt memoir he pulls no punches and carries the listener along as he climbs up through every level of society: from the flop houses of Calcutta to the swank poolside cabanas of Beverly Hills. A celebrity barkeep, society darling, Hollywood striver, and world-class drinker, McCourt has lived a life of outsized adventure. In A Monk Swimming, he shares each hard-knock lesson in the passionate cadence of his uniquely Irish voice. (Running time: three hours, two cassettes) --George Laney ... Read more

Reviews (24)

Insightful in some places; spotty in others.
Like others, I'm sure, I wanted to read Malachy McCourt's book as a companion/comparison book to his brother's bestseller. My guess is that it will sell well -- it is already on the NY Times best seller list -- primarily because of his brother's reputation via Angela's Ashes.

While Malachy's writing is entertaining and occasionally insightful, I think he relies too much on the stereotypical Irish blarney rather than on truthfully exploring his life.

My impression is that by the time he got to the last few chapters, Malachy was running out of steam and depended too much on (inflated?) memories of his sexual encounters.

My 3-star rating is sympathetic -- I think this book actually is closer to a 2+!

How do I give zero stars?
The worst book I've ever read. Alcoholic pomposity and constant name-dropping does not a good book make.
Holy smokes was this bad. Can I have my time and money back?
I wish I could give negative stars, much less zero.

Good Read
Malachy is not Frank, and thus has a very different style. I have recommended this book to others. Worth the read.

No humor here!
I'm sorry that I wasted my money on Malachy's book. Unfortunately, the author did not inherit any family talent for story telling.
His stories of habitual drinking, raw language usage and continual celebrity name dropping over and over again made for an extremely boring read.

Audacious Audio Treat
Stunned at the opening expletives, I was prepared to dislike listening to this in my car. Since I don't travel long distances, it took me awhile to hear this abridged 3-hour version, but I savored every syllable.(Found myself running back to the store just for an excuse to listen.)His brogue is delightful, his self-depricating, roguish tales "picaresque" and raucously funny, his masterful use of the language nothing short of inspirational. I am now ordering the book so I can study his lilting Irish phraseology and colorful vocabulary (no, not the curse words) and am looking forward to hearing the unabridged tape for another round of laughing out loud while driving. (What must the other drivers think?) ... Read more

Book Description

In 1986, Laura Blumenfeld's father was shot in Jerusalem by a member of a rebel faction of the PLO responsible for attacks on several tourists in the Old City. Her father lived, but Blumenfeld's desire for revenge haunted her. This is her story.

Traveling to Israel, Blumenfeld gathers stories and methods of avengers as she plots to infiltrate the shooter's life. Through interviews and extensive research, she explores the mechanics and the psychology of vengeance.

But ultimately it is a journey that leads her back home -- where she is forced to confront her childhood dreams, her parents' failed marriage, and her ideas about family. In the end, her target turns out to be more complex -- and in some ways more threatening -- than the stereotypical terrorist she'd long imagined.

A rare, ambitious, personal, and intellectual tour of dark urges often denied, Revenge: A Story of Hope is a beautifuly written story about family, loyalty, and home, about the personal passions behind public events, and about the thin line between love and hate. ... Read more

Reviews (26)

Comfort and Transformation in a Brilliant Book
This is one of the best books I have ever read about the personal impact of violence on an individual. However, instead of my comments, I would like to forward a quote from an article that appeared in Newsday on April 2, 2003. The article is about a good man named Arie Bucheister who was gunned down, senselessly, while at work in his store. His wife, Beth, talks about the lessons learned and the comfort she has gotten from Laura Blumenfeld's book, "Revenge."

"If anything was on Arie's mind, Beth said, she was unaware. He had not seemed troubled when he left New York. There was no sense that he was afraid or anxious.

But he had been reading a book that may have put him in a pensive mood.

"Revenge: A Story of Hope," by journalist Laura Blumenfeld, is an account of the author's search for the Arab man - a militant member of the Palestine Liberation Organization - who shot and wounded her father, David, a rabbi, during a trip to Israel. Though Blumenfeld, who grew up on Long Island, was at first consumed by anger, "Revenge" shows how the writer's fury was transformed.

Beth said the story resonated with Arie.

"Now that I've read that book, I know I have lived my life the right way," Arie told Beth.

Blumenfeld's exerience confirmed Arie's notions of basic decency, Beth said, and emphasized his conviction that "teaching each other right from wrong does make a difference."

By the time he completed "Revenge," Arie was in tears, Beth said.

He died a few days later - shot in his office, door open, believing the best."

Copyright (c) 2003, Newsday, Inc.

Clearly, this book will have a major impact on every reader.

--------------------

A Transcendent Revenge
Twelve years before Laura Blumenfeld wrote this book, a Palestinian gunman grazed her father's skull in a botched attempt at murder. Her subsequent desire for revenge slowly, suspensefully, becomes a magnificent tale of personal growth, insight, compassion, humor, and tragedy. The book is also a nuanced examination of the human desire for revenge from the myriad perspectives of different cultures. Blumenfeld, a young Jewish American woman, travels back to Israel with the inital idea of becoming friendly with the incarcerated shooter's family. After gaining their confidence and winning them over on a personal level, she hopes to then reveal her identity to them and then revel in their guilt, anguish and mixed emotions. She tells us of this project and letters that she writes to the shooter to gain insight into why he shot her father and how he feels about it now. It is a cat and mouse game, in which she tries to gain his confidence while hiding her true identity and yet at times she wonders if he is playing with her. Blumenfeld is also a newlywed at the time and we see the effects of what she is doing on her husband, an account often oddly but touchingly humorous.They love to tease each other. At one point, her husband buys a chicken from an Hasidic Jew to slaughter and give to the poor as part of a sacrificial ritual of atonement for past sins. Amidst her husband's difficulties in dealing with the resistant bird, Laura asks him to explain the purpose of the ritual and then says to him the chicken functions like Christ at the crucifixion. He warns her that if she does not stop bugging him he will end up henpecked. Blumenfeld's research project also affects her parents estranged relationship in an eventually positive manner. Blumenfeld goes on to explore revenge rituals in which agrieved parties defuse potentially violent responses. She interviews interesting people like Vitka Kovner, a Holocaust survivor who plotted to poison the German water supply after World War II but who had very rigid boundaries about what she considered ethical. One moment of irritation I had in reading this book was when Blumenfeld refers to Allah as the god of the Moslems. Surely she knows better than this; that part of the tragedy is that both Moslems and Jews, despite significant theological differences, worship the same God and share many of the same Biblical stories. Was this just her anger and alienation coming through at this early stage of the story? I will not reveal the book's ending and the courtroom drama of the shooter but it is definitely worth reading. Though the central action rises out of a political situation, Blumenfeld seeks a personal understanding of what took place. She does give us insights into the Jewish desire to fight back, to not be suckered into a passive victimhood, and how that motivates Israeli politics. I was not aware before reading this book that that revenge for murder is an important motivating factor in the increase of Jewish West Bank settlements. If there is a shortcoming to this book, it is perhaps the failure to explore more wide ranging solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its seemingly endless cycles of violent revenge fueled by the tragic events of the recent past. Nevertheless, this is a beautiful and hopeful story arising out of ugliness and despair. If it inspires even a few individuals, it will be well worth the sacrifice of Blumenfeld's actions and writings.

Humanity, Courage, Forgiveness, and Hope
[Audio edition, abridged] As a work of fiction, this nicely bridges the psychological drama and the suspense novel, and proves you can write an interesting tale without explosions, betrayals or mayhem.
While perhaps not as well crafted as Fuentes or Marquez, the author creates a disarmingly flawed heroine, who nonetheless becomes endearing. The theme of "is the world essentially good or bad?" is well dramatized, and the climactic courtroom scene as suspenseful and dramatic as a prime-time thriller. A "ripping good yarn", especially considering the themes of family values, hope and peace.
It will be interesting to see what further works this author creates, and how her craft progresses.

Interesting but self-centered
Clearly, the author is oblivious to the seemingly unending suffering of the Palestinians. She fails to comment on the history of the situation, as if these attacks truly evolved from nothing. Zionism is the problem in Israel and the cause of her father's attack. She might realize this if only she would quit whining. I'd expect more from someone with a Master's Degree.

Cultural revelations
Laura Blumenfeld's style of writing is lyrical and translucent. Her political philosophy is as close to the words of Jesus, as anyone can get - love your enemies. But I doubt if this philosophy will work for Israeli Jews. The heart of her story is not about the shooter, but about her mother's lack of empathy when her father is shot and wounded by an Arab. I applaud her courage in revealing this personal material to the reader.

In the course of far and ranging research on the subject of revenge (who paid for all her trips to various countries?) she reveals a great deal about human nature. The German victim is sure the Arabs meant her no harm, they only wanted to kill Jews. Hmmmm! The young Christian felt it was his destiny. His family assigned no guilt to the Arab gang that planned the killings just to get publicity for their political cause. Laura's father, a rabbi, and her husband, a federal prosecutor, believe in justice tempered by truth and mercy. Not a bad philosophy. That leaves the family of the shooter, who I can assume represent the Palestinian culture. They chuckle when recounting the shooting of the rabbi. They also chuckle when recounting how neighbors stoned their puppies to death, and they had to get rid of the father dog because he howled too much after that. The dog showed more compassion than the Palestinian family. It makes you wonder. I'll side with the Judeo-Christian ethic any day. The Muslim ethic leaves me cold. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A study in genius with its blessings and drawbacks
Naxos is doing a wonderful job with its emerging "Life and Works" series. Quite some time ago, we had a Life/Works of Mozart, more recently one of Chopin and now two more, Liszt and Beethoven. Both are even better packaged than are the earlier sets, with a thick booklet that offers us essays on the historical background, the position of the composer in his time, a look at the major works, a listening plan, recommended readings, personalities, a calendar of the artist's life, a glossary, a discography--and finally something I thought I would never see, the text of the recording's narration. This booklet is worth the price of the set alone.

The Liszt set starts with the sound of artillery, the Beethoven with the sound of a cork popping. A good way to grab your attention, surely, but also to make you think they packaged the wrong disc in the jewel case!

Written and narrated by Jeremy Siepmann, the production enlists some excellent actors to play the people in the composer's life. In the "Beethoven" set (8.558024-27), we have Bob Peck as the usually tormented voice of Beethoven, who is joined by David Timson, Neville Jason, Elaine Claxton, and Karen Archer as the voices of Beethoven's friends, critics, and loves. The musical selections are drawn from the bottomless well of Naxos recordings.

As I commented with regard to the other sets, the music is well chosen but some of it simply lasts too long for those who are eager to get on to the facts of the composer's life. On the other hand, this IS called the Life and Works series, and perhaps a balance is to be maintained between the two aspects.

Beethoven's idiosyncrasies make a good comparison with those of Chopin, the former doing everything he could to call attention to himself, the latter withdrawn--but both acting like bloody fools in so many ways. Perhaps that is the price of genius. The tale of his "Immortal Beloved" is briefly treated here, but it is fascinating to follow his amores, which are invariably with women he could never hope to attain. The most surprising element is his early popularity as a Very Witty Person, an estimate he quickly lost when deafness came upon him.

Along with the other three sets, a both fascinating and informative recording.

Question: ... ... Read more

Book Description

Hardship, sacrifice, determination and ultimate triumph make up Blind Faith, the frank and compelling biography of Lula Hardaway, mother of superstar musician and singer Stevie Wonder.

A motherless child born in a sharecropper's shack in Alabama, Lula was passed from relative to relative, unwanted and unloved. As a teenager she was sent to Chicago where she married a much older man who abused her and forced her to work as a prostitute. Determined to build a better life for her children, she eventually made her escape to Detroit.

Although Stevland Judkins was blind virtually from birth, Lula noticed that this little boy impressed everyone with his outgoing personality, his intelligence, charm, and his incredible musical talent. Berry Gordy dubbed the boy Little Stevie Wonder and launched him into musical history when he signed Stevie to his Motown label.

When Innervisions won a Grammy award for Album of the Year in 1973, Stevie Wonder refused to accept the award unless Lula walked with him to thepodium where he proclaimed, "her strength has led us to this place."

Indeed, it was Lula's drive and her willingness to sacrifice the now for the future that saw them through. Blind Faith is not only the story of the birth of a superstar, but a stirring testament to a mother's love ... Read more

Reviews (17)

Great read but too little about Lulu after Stevie's success
I am almost done with Blind Faith. It's a fast book to get through and was well written by two journalists. At times, the writing style reads more like a magazine article than a biography, which took me some time to get used to. But after a while, I could rarely put it down.

The story about Lulu Hardaway is very inspiring for struggling single parents and parents of children with so called disabilities. The book gives a great lesson on post World War II Black history. My only issue is that the second half of the book is basically the Motown story that I've read about so often. I did not mind the history lesson because I enjoy reading about developments in American music, which Motown played an important part.

In the book, Lulu's story fades to a point where we learn little about how her life developed as Stevie Wonder became famous. I did not learn how Lulu and Stevie's relationship was affected by his fame or what happened in the lives of her other children. It's almost as if she did not have much to talk about post Stevie's fame, or maybe Stevie and her lost touch due to his constant music career traveling.

The book is well written, interesting and entertaining. I applaude Stevie's life. It would have been interesting if the book was written by Stevie himself, or from his perspective.

Courageous
Stevie Wonder and Lula Hardaway showed courage in telling this deep, sensitive and great story. Stevie WOnder owes his mother more than just a thank you and so do we. It is one of the most fascinating biographies I've ever read. It made me cry.

Interesting Story
Lula's story was truly heartbreaking. She endured so much adversity in her life. Stevie's success was really a "blessing" for the entire family to come out of proverty and for her to accept the fact that his visual impairment was not a hindrance to his happiness.

Stevie's story is remarkable as well. He began an extremely talented young boy that just wanted to play his music and enjoy his life the best he could. I am truly proud of his accomplishments. One thing that could have been better for the story overall is a better ending!

It ended somewhere in the eighties for Stevie and did not mention what ever came of his siblings. A good read though, and gives a pretty good overview of how Stevie came to be the great artistic genius that he is

amazing,courageous,determined...AWE STRUCK
Belinda Sampson,

This has got to be one of the best books I have read about a child that grows into a woman with so much courage and determination in her character no matter what was put upon her shoulders. Mother to the famous Stevie Wonder or not, this woman is an inspiration within herself for all of the pain she has went through. The book speaks of a hard life, a hard childhood like that of Nightmares Echo-a memoir. It also reminds me of a couple of other books such as A Child Called It and Running With Scissors. I am just in utter amazement with this book. Pride shines in my eyes along ith the tears I shed while reading this wonderful book.

Amazing story of Stevie Wonder AND his mother
Loved  the taped version of BLIND FAITH: THE MIRACULOUS
JOURNEY OF LULA HARDAWAY, STEVIE WONDER'S MOTHER
by Dennis Love and Stacy Brown . . . it is an authorized biography
of Wonder and his mother, based on interviews with the both
of them.

I had listened to Wonder's music over the years, but did not know
too much about his background . . . how he achieved the
success that he did is nothing short of amazing, especially
given his blindness.

He comes across as a talented worker not fazed by his blindness,
along with being a loving son, a prankster and a womanizer . . . his
mother's tale of devotion was particularly moving, though I would
have liked to have heard more about what happened to her
after her son's success . . . I'm also curious as to what
happened to his brothers since very little information is given
about them.

The narration by Viola Davis was excellent; so much so, in fact,
that I want to find more about her . . . I'll be curious to find out if

she has read other books and/or appeared on screen. ... Read more

Book Description

As an artist and persona, Jim Morrison epitomized the late 1960s, bridging a burgeoning counterculture and popular culture, while acting out the iconoclastic rage, rampant libido, and spectacular flameout of a tumultuous era. The music he created with The Doors has sold over 50 million records worldwide—with over 13 million in the last decade alone, as their songs have been embraced by a new generation. But despite Morrison’s seminal importance, there has not yet been an authoritative biography that does justice to him and his creative legacy. Until now.

Stephen Davis, the preeminent rock biographer and author of the classic Led Zeppelin history Hammer of the Gods (over 600,000 copies sold inthree editions, and a #1 New York Times bestseller), has uncovered never-before-seen documents, conducted dozens of original interviews, and scoured Morrison’s unpublished journals and recordings to write the definitive biography of a misunderstood legend. Jim Morrison is packed with startling new revelations about every phase of his life and career, from his troubled youth in a strict military household to his blossoming as a rock icon among the avant-garde LA scene to his voracious drug abuse and secret sexual experiments. Davis also investigates one of the greatest mysteries in rock history—the circumstances surrounding Morrison’s mysterious and unsolved death—as he pieces together new evidence to tell the true and heartbreaking story of Morrison’s last tragic days in Paris.

Compelling and unforgettable, Jim Morrison is destined to become a classic. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Anticipation exceeds realization
Awaited over 6 months for this book to be published and was let down almost immediately. Almost all but 2 pictures have been published before and the story itself has already been covered by previous bios. Still, it's an ok read for the uninitiated, but for those who have read other Morrison bios, there is nothing new covered here--except maybe that the surviving Doors were not the best friends with Morrison that they now make themselves out to be. One glaring error was the author has Morrison arriving in Paris in June '71 when in fact he had been living there since March. Would've loved new info from post-Miami to July '71 and would've loved to have seen rare photos from that time.

Innacurate and embarrasing
This has got to be one of the most inacurate books out there.First off the man can't label pictures correctly.Did he not take the time or care enough to label them correct?.There is nothing new here maybe except for a few odds and ends.He is just basically going into things weve already read inother books,trying to put them into his own words and such.This is indeed embarrasing--for the author

Lizard on the Road
The book is worth reading in spite of the author's desperate need to paint an even darker side of Morrison.
The best parts are the anecdotes of many, many Doors concerts.
This is what keeps the book from being like all the rest and a good read.

It's worth reading.
Unlike the other reviewers, I liked this book. I have read many biographies about Jim, and in this one I learned a few things that I had not read (or heard) before. Of course there were a lot of rehashed stories, but to only include previously unknown facts would turn the book into a pamphlet. The author stated which stories were substantiated and which were not. It's too bad the Doors' lawyer Max Fink didn't write a book. That man knew a lot about Jim.

A tremendous disappointment
Perhaps with the mysterious cover and the grabbing editorial reviews, Stephen Davis thought that he would fool Morrison/Doors fans into believing that this would be THE book, THE final word on this enigmatic man's life and work. In my case at least, he was right.

This is nothing more than rehashed, oft told stories about Jim Morrison and his chaotic life, spliced with occasional, unsatisfying references to his private notebooks. You might as well buy "Wilderness" or "The American Night" for all the new information he gives us. Nothing that hasn't been written is revealed about his death in Paris. There are intimations that he was bisexual, but nothing solid. Davis even has balls enough to reference "Wild Child", the blatantly fictional account of Morrison's supposed "relationship" with groupie Linda Ashcroft. This book is some where between "No One Here Gets Out Alive" and "The Lost Diaries of Jim Morrison"--in other words, like these wastes of paper, it floats between fantasy and truth, melding one with the other. Don't bother. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Dianne Middlebrook launches Her Husband: Hughes and Plath: A Marriage, appropriately, with the birth of the poets’ lives together. Through her retelling of the historic moment of their first meeting, Middlebrook sets the balanced, literate, and brutally honest tone that she maintains throughout the book. According to Middlebrook, Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes’s first encounter was violent and almost mythic, punctuated with kisses and biting. In 112 days they were married. Together, as Middlebrook shows, they formed a unique literary bond. They remained aggressive intellectual and erotic partners. But, six years later, Hughes left Plath and their two children for another woman. She committed suicide shortly after, while Hughes would go on to a long and successful career as a poet and as Plath’s literary executor.

What Middlebrook brings to this story, outside of the almost voyeuristic details gleaned from letters, diaries, interviews, and past biographies, is a scholarly commitment to infuse the reading of Hughes and Plath’s marriage with a reading of their poetry and prose. In less capable hands, using literature to reconstruct biography can lead to an undisciplined avoidance of real historical research. But Middlebrook drafts the writings to bolster her understanding of the couple in sophisticated ways that link their private language to their public statements in published works (especially Hughes’ Birthday Letters). At the same time, Middlebrook remains deeply aware that Hughes and Plath worked to re-construct themselves through their writings, often with conflicting self-portraits, for posterity. She is comfortable letting their contradictions exist side by side.

Her Husband is wonderfully told; it is difficult to imagine how this narrative of the marriage could be surpassed. One only hopes that Middlebrook will have the stamina to amend her own work—if necessary—when Hughes’s most private papers are made public in 2023. --Patrick O’Kelley ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Enjoyable - but still lacking in areas
I first read about 'Her Husband' on Salon.com - and was very excited to read a detailed study on the Plath/Hughes dissolution.

The book is excellently detailed.Middlebrook does a fantastic job in showing the slow-to-rapid erosion of the marriage.And its clear that Middletook took great pains not to take sides in her presentation.

But that's where the problem lies.This push to remain objective and neutral seems, at times, forced.There are several instances where it would have been smart to provide some sort of critique of either Plath or Hughes' behavior - but Middlebrook remains maddenenly neutral - and therefore robs the book of any emotional content.

In any relationship, there are key flashpoints that contribute to a dissolution - but Middlebrook shies away too much in an effort to appear impartial.

Despite that, the book is well detailed in the specifics of what went on.And to touch upon the above criticism - she doesn't resort to pointless (and unfair) finger-pointing.

A good read if you are interested in either poets.

The Myth they Created to Outlive Them Both
When I first began reading Diane Middlebrook's "Her Husband," I was disappointed.

"This is all the stuff I already know," I thought. "St. Botolph's...black marauder...pushy American girl...I've read this all before. Where's the new stuff?"

Plath fans like myself, who've read every biography and scrutinized every poem, need to hang in there for a bit. It takes a while to tap the riches in this book, but once you hit pay dirt, you'll be buried in it. You can expect nothing less from Diane Middlebrook's exhaustive research and crisp, yet sensitive writing.

The book is essentially a biography of Ted Hughes, but it is a biography of Hughes in relation to Plath -- possibly the only kind of biography that could ever be written about Ted Hughes.

Middlebrook takes what has been said over and over about Hughes and Plath -- that they were larger-than-life, highly charismatic, very intense people -- and digs deep with research and literary analysis. The result is two fully-fleshed mythical figures, with the history of -- and reasons for -- the shaping of their mythic status.

Speaking of the literary analysis, it is incredibly detailed, dissected to a dizzying extent. Middlebrook is quite a scholar, and makes bold connections between various Plath and Hughes poems (some of which were written on opposite sides of the same piece of paper -- a practice Middlebrook calls Plath & Hughes's "hand-to-hand combat"). The poems take on squirming new life in the illumination Middlebrook provides.

Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes were complex, inscrutable people. They believed their relationship was fated, and that indeed seems to have been the case. They goaded each other to produce writing that was better and more unique than anything else being written at the time. The destruction of their marriage was the catalyst for Plath's final poems, the ones that would guarantee her immortality.

It's hard to know how to feel about Ted Hughes. I have a lot more interest in, and respsect for, him after reading this book. One thing is certain -- he is the only man who could have endured life in the shadow of Sylvia Plath. A hunter, a creator of myths, only his questing, questioning nature could have been strong enough to stand up to all Plath threw at him, in life and in death.

Overrated!
I like Diane Middlebrook's writing, but this book is not one of her best. In general I thought it thin and shallow, and not very well structured. She didn't seem to have a point except gossiping and giving us a bland narration of the events. I felt like a voyeur reading this. I really felt she needed to do more analysis rather than just report on Plath and Hughes. For example, why did the birth of their son Nicholas send Hughes into such a tizzy? Its evident from several sources she cites that Hughes rejected the child unaccountably, and it seems that was a key event in the unravelling of their relationship. Well, why? She merely cites this evidence without analyzing it. Why did Hughes want "ten daughters" but could not tolerate one son? It seems rather obvious that the guy couldn't bear to have a male "competitor" in the family. If you're going to do a biography, then don't hold back! I felt Middlebrook repeatedly dropped the ball on a full analysis of Hughes and his psychology/behaviour.

For example, the way he treated Plath's estate was mind-boggling. Just randomly leaving it floating around his house so others could steal parts of it? Why does she not comment more on this! What a flagrant disrespect this shows for Sylvia Plath! That material should have been stored properly, at the very least! I've never read any in depth narrative of their marriage: this is the first one. I must say I formed an extremely negative view of Hughes from it--he seemed like a pure egomaniac underneath it all, and Middlebrook simply won't take a stance towards the evidence. Certainly, one could formulate a stronger critical stance without going to the extreme of blaming him for the behavior of the women who attached themselves to him. She seems blinded by a need to defend him while on the contrary, most of the material she cites paints a much more negative picture.

It bothers me that in some passages of the book Middlebrook celebrates the way Plath's poems after Hughes left her were able to help her heal and take responsibility for attaching herself to "dominant males," and for "collaborating in her own oppression" --yet then she goes on to (subtly) defend Hughes. Well which is it? She's read "Daddy"--it seems that Middlebrook wants to grant a feminist power to Plath for that poem and its sentiments but at the same time completely deny their truth. "Oh, he wasn't really that bad."

In general, a fuller account of the psychology and dynamics of both the main protagonists is needed in this book. Plath, also, is often rendered in a shallow and gossipy light.

I felt Middlebrook didn't have a clue about how to analyze the way Plath and Hughes helped each other write, and what the function of writing was in their relationship. I've read much much better analyses of creative marriages (i.e., by Susan Rubin Suleiman for example.) This was just superficial.

Another thing I found problematic was how Middlebrook does not do a better analysis of some of the events leading to Plath's suicide, such as, the publication of the Bell Jar. Why did this trigger Plath's last depression, as the evidence suggests, and why did Hughes resent that "damn" book so fiercely? The argument that it was just "brain chemistry" I found not convincing at all! Again and again I felt Middlebrook just drops out pieces of information but does not fully discuss them.

I think her bio of Anne Sexton is a much better book which I have read several times. This one I will never read again. For a better analysis of Sylvia Plath I think Rose's Haunting of Sylvia Plath is excellent.

Don't bother reading anything else!
Having read just about everything on the Plath/Hughes partnership I have to say that Diane Middlebrook's book is simply the best in the lucid intelligence and even-handedness with which she tackles a subject which has hitherto excited a great deal of sensationalistic biography and shallow "analysis" . Her understanding of both poets' work and placement within the culture is a tour de force. I can't praise it highly enough!

We did whatever poetry told us to do...
This is the first biography that doesn't portray Ted Hughes as a monster,
but as a man with weakness like anybody else, although, he may have had more weakness than others. But then, Plath knew this before she married him, didn't she?This may have been a part of the fascination, attraction. After all, Plath was no angel herself.

"Her Husband"begins with the famous 'Meeting'... Plath sees Ted at a party, flirts with him, recites some of his own poetry from across the room.(Now,this would turn a man on!)
He rips off her headband, trys to kiss her, she bites his cheek, drawing blood.A lusty, sexual,intense first meeting. A memorable first meeting. Ted had the scar to prove it.

Middledbrook has broken her book down chronologically...the first meeting,the romance,struggling artists,prospering,
separating,etc...

I have read everything about Plath ... but this book adds new and fresh details into her intriguing life. For instance how she and Ted would annoy one another during the writing process..he picking his nose, she twirling the ends of her hair.Absolutely adore those kind of real-life elements.

"Her Husband"has allowed Ted Hughes to come out into the world as a human being, not just be remembered as the man who betrayed Sylvia Plath, caused her to throw her head into an oven, generated her darkness. No.He was more that that, and that is why Plath loved him.

My favorite chapters are those where Plath and Hughes are together, reading to one another, cooking great meals, talking about literature, having great sex, loving one another.

But... to be honest, Plath would not have written "Ariel" without the darkness and hopelessness that consumed her. She says so fittingling in her poem 'Edge' ...The woman is perfected/her dead body wears the smile of accomplishment.

Did you accomplish what you wanted Sylvia?

Sexton says in the book, "That was my death! She took it before I could."But then she took hers later, didn't she?

Loved "Her Husband" and would recommend it for all who appreciate Plath...

But beware...

you may appreciate Ted Hughes in this one too,
but that's alright.
With him and without him... Plath did her most brilliant work! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

An excellent introduction to boh the life and the work
Not having known very much at all about Chopin, I cannot vouch for the accuracy in the Naxos entry in their CD and cassette Biography series; but I can vouch for the enjoyment (NA 421912) afforded me.

Written and produced by Jeremy Siepmann, this audio-bio not only tells the strange story of Chopin's life but also includes generous examples of his music, drawn from the bottomless pit of Naxos musical CDs. An excellent idea was to use actors for the voices of Chopin (Anton Lesser), George Sand and other females in his life (Elaine Claxton and Karen Archer), and other male acquaintances (Neville Jason). It is the kind of reading that would fascinate even if the work were fictional.

His letters are particularly fascinating, especially as they are read dramatically by the small cast; and one would rather hear about all his faults--physical and psychological--from people who knew him well. Perhaps his strange epistolary relationship with his Titus is dwelt upon a bit too much, but such are the times (then and now).

My only criticism in a negative direction is the length of the musical examples. I do not really think the entire "Revolutionary Etude" had to be played or the entire "Funeral March"; a minute or two with a fadeout would have been fine, especially on repeated hearings where one wants the facts. Nevertheless, highly recommended.

By the way, the listing above of this work as "abridged" is simply inaccurate since the text (I am told by the publicity person at Naxos) was written specifically for this recording and is by definition "unabridged." ... Read more

Book Description

At once a love story, a portrait of a marriage, and an answer to a riddle, Véra explores a remarkable literary partnership - that of a woman who devoted her life to her husband's art and a man who dedicated his works to his wife. Open a volume of Nabokov's and there is Véra on the dedication page. But search for her elsewhere, and his wife of fifty-two years, the woman who literally plucked Lolita from the flames, fades from view.

Véra's story, never told, never really known at all before - is based on new material, including Vladimir's diaries and letters, and family correspondence.

Reviews (20)

PERFECT THREE-WAY UNION: HUSBAND, WIFE, AUTHOR.
In a vein not unsimilar to Brenda Maddox's biography of Nora Joyce a decade ago, Stacy Schiff compassionately and vividly weaves together the beautiful tapestry of Vladimir and Vera Nabokov. For those who thought the master's works can speak for themselves, they may want to think again. This lucid, brilliant book brings together the complex author's life, marriage, loves, ideals, frustrations, and, ultimately, genius as biographies rarely do. At the same time, Vera is no shrinking violet either and one wonders about what would have become of the author had she not been a tad forward about meeting him in the first place; certainly the history of 20th century literature would have suffered by it. My wish is that Ms Schiff continue in this vein...perhaps a different view of Frieda Lawrence or the long-suffering Mrs Dickens? Like this book, they will most likely be indispensable.

The Ultimate Woman Behind the Man
"Vera was a pale blonde when I met her, but it didn't take me long to turn her hair white."

The above was taken from one of Nabokov's own journal entries and, although it may seem humorous, it is no doubt true. Pulitzer-Prize winner, Stacy Schiff, suggests, even in the title of her book, that Véra Nabokov was a woman who was only capable of being known as Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov. Her relationship with her famed husband, no matter what its course, was the defining factor of her life. And Véra would have it no other way.

Véra Nabokov has been described as Vladimir Nabokov's "disciple, bodyguard, secretary-protector, handmaiden, buffer, quotation-finder, groupie, advance man, nursemaid and courtier." She is, not unjustly, celebrated as being the ultimate Woman Behind the Man.

Véra graduated from the Sorbonne as a master of modern languages, but, sadly, she did not keep copies of her own work as she did her husband's. In fact, she probably would have denied that her own work was worth keeping, although everything leads us to believe otherwise.

In addition to transcribing, typing and smoothing Valdimir's prose while it was still "warm and wet," Véra cut book pages, played chauffeur, translated, negotiated contracts and did the many practical things her famous husband disdained. This remarkable woman even made sure that the butterflies he collected died with the least amount of suffering.

A precocious child who read her first newspaper at the age of three, Véra was born into a middle-class Jewish family at the beginning of the twentieth-century in Czarist St. Petersburg. In 1921, with the advance of communism, her family settled in Berlin. It was there that she met the dapper and non-Jewish Vladimir. Their marriage would last fifty-two years and be described as an intensely symbiotic coupling.

Although Vladimir traveled and conducted several affairs, Véra supported him throughout, struggling to raise their son amidst the Nazism that was beginning to fester in Berlin. Blaming herself for her husband's infidelity, Véra managed to rejuvenate her marriage and the couple moved again--this time to New York City--where Véra typed Valdimir's manuscripts in bed while recovering from pneumonia. Forever believing in her husband's creative instincts, Véra stood by his art even when debt threatened to overtake them. It was she who intervened on the several occasions when Vladimir attempted to burn his manuscript of Lolita.

Véra Nabokov's tombstone bears the epithet, "Wife, Muse and Agent," and Nabokov knew the immensity of the debt he owed her. Late in life, he even refused to capture a rare butterfly he encountered in a mountain park for the sole reason that Véra was no longer at his side. Like her husband, Véra had highly developed aesthetic tastes and the two enjoyed a "tender telepathy." Often described as "synesthetes," the couple would have debates about "the color of Monday, the taste of E-flat." It is certainly without exaggeration that Nabokov wrote to Véra, "I need you, my fairy tale. For you are the only person I can talk to--about the hue of a cloud, about the singing of a thought, and about the fact that when I went out to work today and looked at each sunflower in the face, they all smiled back at me with their seeds."

Although many feel the Véra should have been encouraged to develop her own considerable talents, it can be argued that she did, and that her greatest talent was that of wife and helpmate. It is certainly one she choose freely and without rancor. The fact that her husband was fortunate, indeed, cannot be denied.

Véra is a book rich in detail, analysis and affection. Like all couples and all marriages, the Nabokovs were unique and they were special. To know one, was to glimpse the other, for with the passing of years, neither was wholly himself or herself. There are those who might not have understood Véra Nabokov's choices and might not have agreed with them, but they are the ones who have never known the ecstasy of a truly close relationship. Véra Nabokov was a most fascinating woman, one that made her own choices in life and lived them most happily. We can only admire her greatly.

yes, but....
it was a very good biography, but if you read the Boyd bio of her husband first you may be left wondering if he had already snatched up all the good quotes.

The talented woman in the background
Although I would advise a Nabokov fan to read "Speak Memory" and Brian Boyd's biography first, I definitely recommend this biography of the devoted Véra. She was an extremely strong-willed and talented woman. The fact that she didn't try to become an author in her own right and even downplayed her contributions to Vladimir's work will baffle some readers. These same readers (especially females), many of whom believe the secret to happiness is in "self-expression," will decide that Véra paid an exorbitant price for her very happy marriage.

A quibble: most of this book is about Véra and Vladimir after 1940. One of the many interesting things about Nabokov was that he had been a leading Russian émigré writer years before he arrived in America (with Véra's help, of course). And this part of the story is not developed as fully as the years after the Nabokovs arrived in America. Perhaps this book, and the many Nabokov biographies, will have be re-written some day by an author who moves as easily through the Russian and English languages as Nabokov did himself.

A stunning look into the intricacies of marriage
Even without the Pulitzer Prize, which this book won for Biography, Schiff's scrupulously written paean to marriage--well, to one complex marriage in particular--would stand out as an extraordinary achievement. Including vivid writing that reminds one of the best fiction, and strong research that follows the trajectory of two strong-willed "characters," Vera and Vladimir, this is a work of Richard Ellmann-like quality, and it will be remembered. ... Read more

Book Description

An illuminating portrait of Anne Morrow Lindbergh--loyal wife, devoted mother, pioneering aviator, and critically acclaimed author of the bestselling Gift from the Sea.

Anne Morrow Lindbergh has been one of the most admired women and most popular writers of our time. Her Gift from the Sea is a perennial favorite. But the woman behind the public person has remained largely unknown. Drawing on five years of exclusive interviews with Anne Morrow Lindbergh as well as countless diaries, letters, and other documents, Susan Hertog now gives us the woman whose triumphs, struggles and elegant perseverance riveted the public for much of the twentieth century.

... Read more

Reviews (23)

A Fascinating autionary Biography Of Anne Morrow Lindbergh!
This book is a wonderful reminder of just how remarkable a woman the long-suffering Anne Morrow Lindbergh was in her own right, and of the difficult time she had emerging from the extremely dark shadows of husband Charles Lindbergh life of accomplishment, aggravation, and pathetic self-absorption. In this literate and quite readable biography by Susan Hertog, a portrait of this singular woman comes soaring to the heights despite of life of incredible personal hardship and sorrow. It is also a sad reminder that into each life rain must fall, regardless of how affluent, famous, or privileged.

It is a common place by this point in our history that Anne Morrow Lindbergh was a victim of colossal proportions, not only in terms of the controversial and shocking kidnapping and death of her infant son in the early 1930s, but also by her domination for decades by "Lucky Lindy", and she was trapped by convention and circumstance into an incredibly difficult life with this brilliant but strangely detached human being she was married to. From the moment they met her life was destined to trail in the shadow of his, both by virtue of tradition and her own desire to have a predominantly private life. Yet, curiously, she ironically married the man most singularly unable to give her all that she wanted and needed. Their life together is a somber and complicated modern American tragedy on the scale of "Death of a Salesman".

Yet Anne Morrow Lindbergh rose above her situation and their personal life of tragedy and disappointment. Lindbergh was a peripatetic traveler, and while she often accompanied him (indeed, he insisted in order to keep her primary focus exclusively on him rather than on their children or anything else), in their later years they came to live increasingly more separate and distinct lives, even while together. To say Lindbergh was a bizarre man and a strange soul is to be kind to a man described in pitiless terms by his widow herself and his adult child. It is easy for younger readers ignorant of how difficult and scandalous divorce or separation would have been for her, it may seem difficult to understand why she stayed with him despite his cruelty, indifference, and prejudices all those years. But for older readers more familiar with the older and more common character virtues people of Mrs. Lindbergh's generation, social background, and time subscribed to, it is a tragic set of circumstances that only she can understand in all its tragic overtones.

This is a close up portrait of a woman tragically trapped by fame, marriage, and social convention into a life of limitless advantages but cruelly wasted opportunities. That she was as successful as an author, humanitarian, social activist and early feminist later in her life is a tribute to a remarkable woman, and yet a bittersweet reminder of how much more she might have been had she never met her future husband. This is a interesting, well written, and captivating study of a woman and her times, and is one I recommend to people interested in a most fascinating yet offbeat biography. Enjoy!

Her Extraordinary Life
I just finished this book. Anne Morrow Lindbergh was an amazing and inspiring lady and this book gives the reader a detailed account of her life. My tastes in reading material usually are geared more towards contemporary fiction but I picked up this book on a recomendation from a friend. And if you are like me, you probably have a stack of books on your bedside table that you are systematically reading. Well, Anne Morrow Lindbergh: Her Life, came to the top of that pile and dutifully I started reading. I was so pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this book (seeing as how the 'biography' has not been my first choice in reading material). The content (AML's life) is just so interesting that it is better then most of the fiction I have read as of late. Anne Morrow Lindbergh is just such a remarkable lady and the author has gone to great length to "know" her subject. You will find the depth of the research Ms. Hertog did on AML to be nothing short of phenomanal. The chapters on the Lindbergh Baby kidknapping literally took my breath away and kept me up until three o'clock in the morning. The writing was that fresh and intense, I felt as if I was experiencing it all first hand.

Susan Hertog's Incomplete Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Susan Hertog takes full advantage of ten audiences with her subject, Anne Morrow Lindbergh. She manages to capture the complexities of Mrs. Lindbergh's character and the contradictions of her marriage to an American icon, Charles Lindbergh. The fact that the Lindbergh family has largely disavowed the book doesn't detract from Ms. Hertog's insights.

Unfortunately, the lengthy book, published almost 20 years after Charles Lindbergh died in 1974, virtually ends with his death...when Anne Morrow Lindbergh was 68 years old (she lived on until 2002). Almost nothing of Mrs. Lindbergh's life in widowhood is mentioned, which gives the unintended impression that in the final analysis, she was simply Charles Lindbergh's wife, not an accomplished woman deserving of her own biography.

In fact, the middle-aged Anne Morrow Lindbergh became a role model for working women, albeit she was always too self-effacing to occupy a leadership position in the gender wars.

A crashing disappointment
Having read Anne Morrow Lindbergh's diaries, her daughter Reeve's first memoir, Berg's biography of Charles, and Gift from the Sea, I was truly looking forward to this biography. Knowing that the author had interviewed Mrs. Lindbergh, I was expecting new insights into someone who, I believe, was one of the 20th century's most remarkable women. What I found instead was a rehash of all the material I had previously read linked together with lame "psychological insights" and platitudes.

Another thing that bothered me was her considerable reliance on the published diaries without taking into account that they were edited for publication, and by Charles at that, who saw them as a way to refurbish his public image, using his wife's popularity following the publication of Gift from the Sea.

In short, there is no depth to this book at all.

A LIFE GUIDEBOOK
I loved this book. We used it in book club and it became the foundation for an incredible discussion. I am adding this to my best friend's wedding shower gift and I'm getting a copy for my mother-in-law who is going through the "I'm getting older - what now?" phase. It's one of those books people should read at every new life stage: marriage, kids, empty nest... It's truly a guide book, or a "logical reinforcement" book that tells you what you already know - that people need private time to nourish their soul. This is NOT new agey - it is more a woman revealing intimate discoveries. Coming from a H.S. English teacher, this one is meaty. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Fascinating
I found out about Akhmatova when I read Jane Kenyon's translations (One Hundred White Daffodils). This audio cassette is one of the best productions I've heard. The voices (Christopher Reeves is of course wonderful) are authentic and it is like seeing a play on stage. Her story is fascinating and for all her suffering, she continues to stay loyal to her love of her country and to love. Her poetry is so beautiful. You'll love this cassette & Anna. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

A TESTAMENT TO THE RESILIENCY OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT...
This is the story of a young man who was born in Ireland in 1932, after a difficult birth and with asevere disability that the doctors of the time were unable to name. They urged his parents to disavow him, as he was, they believed, an imbecile with a severely spastic body. Moreover, his parents then had five otherchildren, all healthy. Christy's mother, however,refused to institutionalize him, keeping him at home and treating him as she would her other children. It would not be until years later that she would learn that Christy's affliction was severe cerebral palsy.

Imprisoned in a world all his own and seeming without means to communicate, Christy, at the age of five, made an attempt that was to change his life forever. Rather than being imbecilic, Christy was actually highly intelligent. He took a piece of chalk with his left foot and, having captured the attention of his family, proceeded to scrawl on the floor a reasonable facsimile of the letter "A", astounding his loving family in the process.

By breakingthe communications barrier, Christy demonstrated that he could learn and understand. From then on, his capacity for learning was prodigious. Who would have thought that within his severely contorted and convulsed body lay a razor sharp mind and a thirst for knowledge? Certainly not the medical community, which had been so willing to consign him to institutional living. Armed with his left foot, the only part of his body over which he seemed to have some control, Christy Brown would demonstrate to the world who he really was. He was, after all, not the imbecile that the medical community had originally thought but an intelligent and sentient human being.

This is Christy Brown's triumphant and inspirational story of his battle to learn to read, write, and paint, all with the aid of his left foot. It is an inspirational story of his quest for fulfillment. His yearning to be as others are is palpable, and his struggle for acceptance beyond the borders of his home and his physical limitations are well articulated. Christy Brown gives the reader a birds-eye view of what it is like to be a person with severe cerebral palsy. First published in Great Britain in 1954, when Christy Brown was twenty-two, this book, written with his left foot, is a testament to the resiliency of the human spirit.

My Left Foot
The book My Left Foot by Christy Brown was an inspiring novel about a young boy yearning to live a life full of communication. The story began with doctors giving his parents no hope for the future for this boy with cerebral palsy. Life takes an unexpected turn when his left foot comes alive. Over time challenges arise. Some obstacles are over come while other hurdles are left for him to face. With his mother by his side they were determined to struggle through poverty and his severe disability.

my left foot review
The book my left foot is very interesting because it deals with a child born with a disease that gives him no control over his body
but he, at a young age learned to use his left foot to write, eat, actually do anything a normal person can do with there hands. christy shows in this book how any person of any race, or even with any disease has the same feelings and are capable of almost anything.

My Left Foot a story of hope and dreams
I think my Left Foot is a very touching novel that shows a kind of spirit in a person to succeed that was never thought possible. In places in the book I was sad , happy and places were funny. Thats one of the things that made it good all different emotions and the life of a real person with real problems.

My Left Foot
I think that this book is pretty boring because it is about a dude that has to use his left foot all the time and it just tells about his life which if you ask me I don't think that he has one. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

COULD'NT PUT IT DOWN!
I received my copy in the mail from Amazon.com today and I'm already on page 149. This book is something else. Everything from suicides, various children out of wedlock, STD's to Katherine, Janet, and Randy marching in Joe's office and beating his mistress bloody. And I'm not even half way done yet, This book is EXPLOSIVE. A great read and a must have for Jackson fans and collectors who want a glimpse into the REAL life of the Jackson clan.

Memories of Margaret's Madness
Honestly, I don't know what does this woman think. She has no respect for others or for herself, and if you read her book neither will you feel any respect for her. She begins her story by writing about her teen years spent as a drug addict, now I don't want to judge her by this, nobody is perfect, but it doesn't make me have a high opinion about her. Then she wrotes about how her relationship with Mr Jackson began. Without feeling any shame she describes how she dated a man who was MARRIED with children, then writes about the birth of their first son (Jermaine Jackson was still married to Hazel Gordy then). Now I don't know about Ms Maldonado's standards but if I had morals like hers at least I wouldn't publicly announce it in a book. (I don't say everything is only her fault, though. The book reveals that BETWEEN the births of their two sons Mr Jackson also had a child by his wife.

From the book we get some interesting tidbits about the Jackson family, but those you can find in other books too. We also learn that she is suffering from the infidelity of her common-law husband (I guess nobody has ever told her that what goes around comes back around), then they finally break up. From then the whole book is about Ms Maldonado's endless wailing about not getting any money and her trying to pose as a good mother. She's badmouthing the whole Jackson family, with the exception of Michael (who -- what a strange coincidence -- is the only one who supports her financially).
This book was written as a revenge against the Jacksons. If you love them, don't buy it. Don't support this woman. Go and buy "My Family, the Jacksons" by Katherine Jackson, or if you want a less varnished one, try the unauthorized biographies, maybe not everything is true in them but at least their pages aren't filled with hate towards our beloved entertainers.

Confused and Wondering
This book left me kind of confused and wondering about some of Ms. Maldonado's statements and motives. First, why does she use the last name Jackson? Jermaine never married her. Second, I don't understand why she didn't use some of her producer's fee she received from the miniseries to move herself and her children from the "house of hell". Instead of paying Jermaine's back child support, storage fee, etc., which was well over $65,000.00, she should have used the money to leave. Third, she claims to have suffered physical, mental and emotional abuse, then why did she stay in this relationship for so long? There were organizations that she could have turned to for help. When she first found out that Jermaine was still a married man, that should have been her clue not involve herself any further. Not only did she have one baby by this married man, but she allowed herself to become pregnant the second time! I think she thought she would live the life of glitter and glitz when she found out who Jermaine was, but unfortunately, she didn't prosper as well as she thought she would because he was not the Jackson with the money ... Michael was.

Ms. Maldonado sounds like she is extremely bitter, vindictive, suffers from a bad case of low self-esteem and in desperate need of cash (as she alludes to in the closing lines of her epilogue). She is also a notorious name-dropper and this book was filled with many typos and grammatical errors. Some of it just didn't make sense and I question some of her accounts. She REALLY tried to make herself sound like a saint! Hmmmmmmmm......

I presume her telltale account of some of the Jacksons' private affairs and "dysfunctionality" did little to heal her relationship with the Jackson family. I think her overt viciousness only served to further distance the Jacksons from her boys ... how sad for the children.

This family needs SERIOUS prayer and counseling!
I've been an admirer of the Jacksons for many years, and it's so sad to hear of the layers of dysfunction that exist in this family. At the very least, this book talks about the other Jacksons besides Michael, which is a refreshing change. It is also the story of a woman who discovers that even celebrities are not immune from problems, and that fame and fortune are no substitutes for a healthy home life. What is WRONG with these folks? According to the author, it seems that Marlon and Tito are the only ones among the 'other' Jacksons who have made a life for themselves apart from sponging off of Michael and Janet (thank God Marlon and his wife Carol are still to