Book Description

Few tales capture the spirit of the American Dream with the unabashed enthusiasm of Mawi Asgedom's inspiring memoir, Of Beetles and Angels.

Mawi's fascinating story takes on a remarkable journey: from civil war in east Africa, through a refugee camp in Sudan, to a childhood on welfare in an affluent American suburb, and eventually, to a full-tuition scholarship at Harvard University.At every step--whether learning a new language, overcoming racial discrimination or succeeding despite personal tragedy--Mawi forges ahead with unshakable optimism and devotion to his family.

More than the retelling of an immigrant's struggle, Of Beetles and Angels demonstrates how the values that led to Mawi's success can uplift us all.It reminds us that no goal is beyond our reach and that we can all find greatness through our love for another. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Ethipoian Boy
Of Beetles And Angels is about an Ethiopian boy that used to live in a refugee camp. He changed his life when he came to America. He became a really bad boy, with his brother. But his brother died in a car accident, so Mawi changed his life. He started to work and study with really good grades at Harvard.
His parents deserve thanks for him becoming a good man. This is a story about a boy from refugee who becomes a really well educated boy. But he had to pass through a lot of problems to have the things he has now.

I recommend this book to students who are from different country, so they can't forget their own culture.

Inspiring and motivating
The book by Mawi Asgedom is a story of the author's journey from war torn Ethiopia to Harvard University. It is also a story about Mawi's father, Haileab. Haileab was determined to give his children a better life. He could not hand that life to his children and so he motivated and inspired them. He gave up everything-his job, his dignity, his respect, his country, his friends, and more so that his children might have a better life. The impact of this father is visually represented in the book in that all of his words are in capital letters.

My entire family has read this book. We spent several hours discussing it together. Mawi is a great storyteller. He made us laugh and he made us think. I have given at least 15 of Mawi's books to friends and relatives to read. One friend and her husband were so moved by the book that they went and visited the organization, World Relief, in Wheaton, IL to find out what they could do to help refugees. They gave their Christmas bonus to helping several families. Everyone should read this book, adults and children in fourth grade and older, refugees and especially everyone that has contact with people of another culture. I give this excellent, insightful book the highest recommendation.

Of Beetles & Angels
Of Beetles & Angels

I think the book, Of Beetles & Angels is a good book for reading, and so I recommend it for teachers that teach reading, and read it to students, because students from other regions can learn that people that are not from America can go far in their studies and have a successful life.

This book is about a family that lived well in Ethiopia, but then the father had some problems, and they moved to America. America wasn't like Ethiopia; they had a little trouble when they got here, but with time life treats them better. Selamawi the main character get support from his parents to learn. Selamawi learns English and studies very hard and because of that he goes to study at Harvard.

I'm Hispanic I'm from Baja California, Mexico I go to Roosevelt High School and I read this book in my English class.

Of Beetles & Angels
Of Beetles&Angels is a contemporary autobiography of a young man's journey to success. Young adult readers might not be able to relate to the cultural changes Mawi endured but will be able to sympathize with his emotional plight of poverty, racial poverty, and sense of not belonging. Told from his own point of view, Mawi Asgedom graphically describes his people's escape to Sudan's refugee camp and the move to America. Maw's father's optimism in the human race is uplifting. The inspirational theme of seeing angels in the lowest form repeats throughout the book and attempts to teach the reader a moral lesson. He describes the characters he encounters throughout his life so that the reader can identify with most of them, ex. the class bully, the helpful neighbor, or the church community.
Maws inspirational story is motivating and courageous and a must read for teenagers.

Emotional & Inspiring - A Must Read
I have never written a review on Amazon, but feel compelled to share my thoughts. This is an inspiring book that speaks to anyone who, in their youth, failed to appreciate the wisdom, sacrifice, and well-meaning of their parents (despite their flaws). It speaks equally to anyone that that doubts or wants to be reminded of: the power of the human spirit and goal setting; the importance of searching for the goodness in every living thing; or the positive impact mentors - and even strangers - can have on one's life.

Mawi - thanks for having the courage to share this road map to your sole. Peace be with you... -WLK ... Read more

Book Description

Sherman Alexie, David Sedaris, and fifteen other writers on their recent experiences in American classrooms
Tales Out of School is a luminous collection of diverse and passionate life stories—on-the-ground testimonies of sitting in an American classroom today. Sherman Alexie writes of the "sweet, almost innocent choices that Indian boys [are] forced to make" in school. Stuart Dybek tells his own story of highly instructive Catholic grade-school field trips to the county jail and the stockyards, and David Sedaris narrates a horribly funny account of life underground as a gay eighth grader.

These and other writers contribute original essays that tease out the powerful, flawed, wildly diverse experience of school in America. A book for teachers wanting to understand, parents needing to make decisions, and anyone who's sat in a classroom and can't ever forget it.

"Give this book an A+. . . . Unlike many books about American education, Tales Out of School avoids the temptation to pigeonhole our system. There are no rights or wrongs here. Only truths." —Vineyard Gazette ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Re-experiencing school
In her smart Introduction Dr. Susan Richards Shreve says, "I have had a half a century of an uneasy alliance with school." She tells about that alliance from a variety of angles, beginning with herself as "a bad student, a very bad student, and finally a good one." She's an English professor, a mother of four children, am impassioned advocate and an able observer and memoirist. Her son, Porter Shreve, has his great own story to tell - as the bedeviled (and bedeviling) 'scholarship kid' at the school that employed his dad.

There are 16 additional pieces in this somewhat uneven collection. All of the contributors are Americans; academics and/or professional writers.More than a few grew up poor and felt ostracized -and talk about that experience. The domestic debate regarding public versus private schools continues, with varying success, in several of these pieces. (Nina Revoyr, Francesca Delbanco, others). In some of the stories,memories are likely fresh because the writer is only a decade or so away from the actual experience. Theremembered pain and turmoil of adolescence combines is here.Sherman Alexie's young life was under a long shadow: poverty, alcoholism, and an awful disconnect. Alexie's account - of Indian cruelty to Indians - is powerfully bitter. (He reports having asked a bulimic female classmate to "Give me your lunch if you're just going to throw up." ) Immigrant experience, feelings of being an outsider for other reasons - and the ever-present threat of bullying and ostracism are here, too. Learning disabilities, sex, death, vandalism, parents, good and bad teachers - all present. Class conflict and political tension, too. Teachers have enormous powers- to annoy and to hurt, but also to love and redeem. Michael Patrick MacDonald's "Fight the Power" offers an astonishing picture of violence in to-be-integrated South Boston that slyly compares it to Belfast.Jeff Richards' essay "LD" talks about family, learning disabilities, persistence and love- with honesty and passion. David Haynes writes, straightforwardly and well, about teaching - in the dark, really, at first, and by default. He says blithely but not flippantly that he had neglected to choose a profession, so he began to teach.

Class clown David Sedaris ("I Like Guys")does not fail to deliver - in one of the liveliest of the stories.

Definitely worth reading. ... Read more

Book Description

As a five-year-old in Home-wood, Alabama, Shelley Stewart watched his father kill his mother with an axe. Two years later, Stewart escaped the care of abusive relatives, making a living as a stable hand. A stint in the army led to electroshock treatments for trying to integrate whites-only dances. But despite numerous setbacks, he never gave up his will to succeed. Eventually, odd jobs at radio stations laid the foundation for a 50-year career in broadcasting. As an African American radio personality, Stewart reached out to Jim Crow Alabama, using music to integrate his audience. Along the way, he helped launch the careers of such legends as Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, and Gladys Knight. Instrumental in the Civil Rights Movement, he publicized the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. A remarkable witness to and participant in the momentous social changes of the last three decades, Stewart, now a successful businessman and community leader, shares his courageous personal story that shows the indomitable strength of the human spirit. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Not the man he appears to be.
Shelley Stewart is absolutely NOT the man he appears to be. As a member of his family, I have seen his astonishing greed and selfishness towards the family he supposedly cares so much about. He has poor relationships with his son, and most of his other children. He cares only for himself, and offers no help his family. Take it from me; buy another book. Large portions of this book were admitted to be largely fictional.

you think you had a bad childhood?
you think you had a bad childhood? Shelly Stewart had one that is hard to believe. This is shown in this wonderful book, and how he overcame this handicap. He is now a successful businessman and is helping other people. This memoir reads like a novel, I could not put it down.

Unforgettable
I don't know how to start this, but I just got to write something about this book. If this book don't affect you to the point of sadness or tears, I don't know what to say for you. This book was nothing short of a miracle. I have encountered people with similar backgrounds and they just get by, and expect you to feel sorry for them. With Mr.Stewart, you just want to applaud him. The fact that their father would kill his wife in front of his children with an axe and let her fall out the window onto a tree with not so much as remorse,well, I had no sympathy,no nothing for him, and like his sons, I felt nothing for him or that second wife or those aunts for that matter. What kind of woman feeds fried rat to children? Where is your humanity, where is your heart? what kind of man tells his son(a child) such heartless things, and allow such treatment that your own children leave you before puberty? what kind of woman mentally and physically break down a child just so the white man doesn't? Yet, it was a white man that took him in his own family when you didn't want to be bothered? This is just too much, and then here comes the military giving shock treatments just because you speak up for yourself and feel that despite your early life you should just go on? What kind of stuff is that? This is what happens in Shelley Stewart's life. He went through so much abuse, so much living from one pillar to post,so much betrayal(like the high school principal who wouldn't give him a chance at a scholarship despite the fact that he had the grades and know how to do so) yet despite all of that, he STILL makes something out of himself and is one of Birmingham's living legends..Folks, we hear of how we can't do this because of our background, childhood, someone said this or whatever, I say if this man can go through the stuff he went through and still live to tell the story, and is a man(and we know that men just keep their feelings to themselves and all),well, he deserves my salute, and I say GET THIS BOOK. You may want to scream, you may want to cry(Lord knows I did), but if the best thing you can do with this book is give it to some person who needs a lift in the right direction and say,"Read this",perhaps, we have made the life of one person better in order for him to make a contribution to this world.I reccommend this book highly, but, if you are faint at heart and always need a kleenex(which you may need), you have been warned.This ain't no pretty story.It's gritty,and if I could get this man down to my neck of the woods in lower Alabama, I would. Matter of fact, the book deserves 10 plus stars.

The Road South
This is an excellent book. I stayed up two straight nights just to finish it. I couldn't put it down. It will surely become as big as The Color Purple. It is inspiring in that it proves that nothing is out of reach to even society's must unlikely acheivers if only we extend our hands to grab!

Powerful Story Sold Short
There's no disputing that there is a wealth of raw information here - and certainly Shelley Stewart has lived a compelling life. Regrettably, The Road South is just that - a road without destination. The subjects life is presented in a somewhat disjointed narrative that plods the reader along with nods to various low points along the way. The introspection is superficial, and perhaps that is a result of the first person retelling of the tale. It seems that the tale could benefit strongly from some outside perspective, opinion, and research. Mr. Stewart has no doubt survived his journey through dogged determination and deep repression. Those same factors that help him live do his story a disservice.

For example, after suffering horrific abuse at the hands of a relative - he returns to her side under the explanation "She was family" and later puts other children in her care. He buys her a home. There has to be more to the tale than that. Two foster children leave his home because "They couldn't handle discipline". That begs a further look. How did his own ramshakle life affect what his view of discipline was? What did the children think of the situation? How do they view it now? Ditto his relationship with an abandoned son.

There is a great book to be written about this man and his family saga, but this venture is ultimately far more frustrating than rewarding. It reads like a Cliff's Notes version of an epic. There are plenty of dots here but few lines. It's left to the reader to try and flesh the outline into a whole picture, and possibly do the subject a disservice in the project. I wanted to love this book, but right down to the last page I felt like I was rooting for a player who chose not to leave the bench. ... Read more

Book Description

"Mayme Sevander and Laurie Hertzel tell a poignant tale of a hidden corner of U.S. and Soviet history. Tracing the hopes and hardships of one family over two continents, They Took My Father explores the boundaries of loyalty, identity, and ideals." —Amy Goldstein, Washington Post

"What makes Mayme’s story so uniquely—almost unbelievably—tragic is that her family chose to move from the United States to the Soviet Union in 1934, thinking they were going to help build a ‘worker’s paradise.’ They found, instead, a deadly nightmare." —St. Paul Pioneer Press

"This gripping and timely book traces the beginnings of communism not as dry history but as a fascinating personal drama that spreads across Russia, Finland, and the mining towns of Upper Michigan and the Iron Range of Minnesota. . . . An important and largely ignored part of history comes alive in one woman’s story of her tragic family, caught up in the all-consuming struggle of the twentieth century." —Frank Lynn, political reporter, New York Times ... Read more

Book Description

Growing up is bewildering and exciting to every child. This was particularly true for a child born during the Great Depression (1930's) and who also experienced the "Home Front" efforts of World War II. Coupled with these great national events was the fact that this child lived in amulti-ethnic "melting pot" city of Passaic, New Jersey.

The true growing up adventures are told in a series of stories, some withside-splitting humor, others highly poignant.

For example: How learning the "facts of life" from the older guys on the street corner caused a major lifetime disaster; how, with his best friend, he personally helped defeat Japan and Germany in WWII; how he witnessed the three greatest aeronautical events of the 20th century; how the handwriting rules in the Passaic schools caused a blunder in front of President John F. Kennedy which helped Kennedy to decide to send a man to the moon; how the structural design of the giant Saturn rocket booster was actually invented in a Passaic toilet bowl.

But more important, the stories provide the secret of how the immigrant-dominated Passaic uniquely prepared its children to succeed in America, and how it still doing it today.

Reviews (3)

Truly wonderful
I did not grow up in an ethnically rich city like Passaic. In fact, the opposite was true, as I grew up in a suburb of Washington, DC. However, even though I did not grow up in the same town or even the same decade, there were amazing parallels.

Parallels such as girls, or more precisely, the courage to talk to them. Or the camaraderie of boys growing up together and forming bonds that would last a lifetime. What about the big poker game and striptease? Wait a minute That didn't happen when I was seventeen (I sure wish it had though)! It did, however, happen to Bob Rosenthal.

Yes, "Wonderful Passaic" is just that; wonderful. It will inspire your own (possibly forgotten) recollections of growing up.

A dance through time
Robert Rosenthal's book is a glorious narrative memoir. His style, naive, gentle and kind, takes the reader back into the uncomplicated moments of youth. In recounting his memories, we are transported through the history of Possaic, a town brimming with multiethnic culture. It is the essence of America and it touches your heart. I recommend this book ...it is a joy to read.

A nostalgic look at a typical American town
I've been in New Jersey on a couple of occasions, each time just passing through on the way from somewhere to somewhere else. To the best of my recollections, I've never set foot in Passaic. But, after reading Bob Rosenthal's recently published book, Wonderful Passaic, I wish I had.

Subtitled "Memories and Recollections," Wonderful Passaic is exactly that: a charming, understated, wistful collection of closely observed and warmly remembered vignettes. Collectively, they beautifully illustrate what it was like to grow up at the height of the Great Depression, through the Second World War and the Korean War, in the ethnically diverse melting pot that was and is Passaic--a town that could seve as a metaphor for simpler, more innocent times.

In its pages, Wonderful Passaic covers the full range of experiences that a boy of any era could expect to encounter in the coming-of-age process. There are lessons to be learned about the importance of familiy ties. There are friendships established that will last a lifetime. There's the discovery of sex. There's the joy and heartbreak of public education. There is a wealth of other meaningful events, trials and tribulations, all of which contributed to the transformation from the naive child of yesterday to the man of today: a well-traveled and highly respected research engineer (among other talents) who influenced America's space program.

The common thread among all these waystops of life is, of course, the author's beloved hometown, which witnessed a number of surprising incidents, all filtered through the consciousness of someone who was on the spot at the time. Did you know, for example, that during WW II anti-aircraft gunners in Passaic mistakenly shot at (and luckily missed) a friendly plane, causing fires to spring up around the city? Were you aware that the cathode ray tube, one of television's prime components, was invented and built in Passaic? And what explanation can there be that the master clock at Passaic's Number 11 School stopped at the exact moment of FDR's death?

Told in unadorned, straightforward prose, Bob Rosenthal's Wonderful Passaic is by turns a humorous, poignant, heartwarming, and nostalgic paean to a specific place and time. It is highly recommended for anyone who has ever longed to return to the less compicated days of yesteryear. ... Read more

Book Description

Reminiscent of Frederick Exley's A Fan's Notes and James Dodson's Final Rounds, First and Last Seasons is not only a courageously confessional memoir but a work of resounding originality-a Rust Belt requiem for a father written by the black sheep son he leaves behind.

Dan McGraw did not plan to go home to help his father die. To the thirty-nine-year-old Texas-based senior editor for U.S. News & World Report, Cleveland, Ohio, was a million miles away. Dan was the prodigal middle son within a large Irish-Catholic family, and life never really got going until he was far away from the city and his dominant father, Richard. But the gravitational pull of his hometown grew stronger as each year passed by. The final tug home came when the NFL announced that the Cleveland Browns football franchise would be resurrected for the 1999-2000 season. All McGraws and Clevelanders are die-hard Sunday afternoon football fans, and Dan decided to take a leave of absence and cover the Browns' first season. Soon thereafter, Richard was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Dan came home to a press pass and the caretaking chores for a father intent on dying the way he lived, on his own terms.

First and Last Seasons is a heart-wrenching work about fathers and sons, the binding influence of community, and how emotionally disconnected men find a common language in sports. It is also a poignantly funny and charming celebration of one man's life and how his sacrifices and mistakes helped his son find the best part of himself. A beautifully written, intensely personal story, this cathartic chronicle of how Dan participated in his father's final season is sure to speak to the millions of fathers and sons who have trouble finding the voice to express their love for one another.
... Read more

Reviews (12)

a great book about a father and a son, and funny too.
This is kind of the anti-Morrie. Nothing against that book, but this is not a warm and fuzzy kind of story. It's very unsentimental, and more effective because of that. IF you're not into honesty, don't read this--it's easily the most honest look at a father-son relationship I've ever read, and I've read a lot of them. So many American men and their fathers have a curiously aloof relationship, often based on doing things together instead of talking and sharing feelings . . . and sports is often one of those activities. I think almost every guy in America will identify with Dan McGraw and his memorable and terminally ill dad, who, when his son tells him he's writing a book about the two of them, asks, "When would it be good for me to die? You know, for the book?" The process of McGraw making peace with his father, with the "expansion" Cleveland Browns' season in the background, is by turns awkward, painful, corrosively funny (there's no shortage of drinking and profanity here), and beautiful. The elder McGraw is simply one of the most unforgettable characters I've ever read about. I just can't recommend this book highly.

Can you go home again?
Dan McGraw returns to his hometown to write about the return of a Cleveland Browns team. Somewhat a prodigal son, he also returns to a father dying of cancer. This is the anti-Morrie book, the story of a father and son who didn't ever seem to remain on common ground for long, and their coming to grips with death and their differences. It is not a feel good book, it is filled with depression, fear, profanity, pain, drinking and self examination seems to be closer to self-loathing at times. It is the story of a father and son and the differences that could completely tear them apart, and the compassion and struggle that binds them. It is an honest book, the feelings expressed by McGraw about seeing his father laid out for the wake and the confusion, relief and anger that accompany the grief of death ring true. Paralell to this story is the story of the Browns struggle to reestablish their place in pro football...not a pretty sight.

McGraw running away from the truth
While I applaud the author's honesty, I am saddened by his unnwillingness to grow and change from this experience. For all his just-as-I-am bravada, Mr. McGraw, in the end, seems destined to drink away his life as a means of running away from himself. I found it fascinating -- and a tad pathetic -- that he writes with such confidence about his so-called life. But like his drinking, it's obviously just a way of ignoring the truth. His "drink a beer and do it again" life has that swashbuckling feel of life lived boldly. But it's really a selfish life. And I can't help but wonder when he's going to grow up, look in the mirror and ask himself: Is this how I want my daughter to remember me when I'm gone? When she writes her book on me? I can't remember when I've read a book that offered so little hope or inspiration.

This ex-Clevelander loved Dan McGraw's book
I must admit being prejudice about this book. This book was written for me.

I grew up in Cleveland in the 70's and 80's and was a big Cleveland Brown's fan. I actually attended the last Championship game a professional Cleveland team won...the 1963 NFL title game. So, I understand the pain Clevelander's have experienced for the past 40 years.

McGraw moves back to Cleveland to spend time with his Father who is dying and to cover the first year experience of the "new" Browns. It sounds like a smaltzy experience, but it is anything but.

The power of the book is the complete honesty that McGraw relates about his Dad and himself. There is no sugar coating of the "good and bad" about their character and their relationship.

McGraw also gives an accurate description of how Cleveland has been homogenized into "any town" USA and gives a feel for today's predictable NFL machine. I'm one of those "don't care about the new Browns" type.

I would love to sit down and have a beer with Dan in one of those old crappy Cleveland bars.

Like life that it describes, the book is a little messy
The book was supposed to be about the author spending the first season of the Brown's with his dying father. But like so many things in life it does not go exactly as planned and the father dies after the first preseason game. The author improvises a little and does backwards looks at his relationship with his father. He also examines the strange relationship between a town and its team. The town pays for the stadium to bring the Brown's back, but it is not really a team of the common Clevelander, which is probably true of most of the NFL. While these are the two main topics (the author's relationship with his father and the new Browns) the author bounces around on other topics such as his own drinking issues and race relations in America (or at least Cleveland). In almost every topic he touches he shows how life is almost more complicated and messy that it seems it should be. Overall, a good read for football fans. ... Read more

Book Description

Merging both his scientific and personal lives into one compelling history, author Degna Marconi recalls the turbulent existence of her father, Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of the radio. Unable to gain admittance to a university, child prodigy Marconi instead set up a laboratory in his father's attic. These boyhood experiments led to the development of the radio. Marconi transmitted the first transatlantic wireless message in 1902. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Degna Marconi: My Father, Marconi pub. Guernica
I was held captive by a book that is a generous tribute of a loving daughter to her Father, Guglielmo Marconi.Degna Marconi allows us an insight into a chapter in her family history, and introduces us to the science behind her Fathers' inventions, his passion, his single-mindedness, his genius.
Marconi grew up in Bologna, at the center of his Mother's world.Without formal schooling, bright and gifted Guglielmo was allowed to develop at his own pace.Inspired by a book on Benjamin Franklin, his imagination was fired up, and he started experimenting with electricity and passing signals across distances.Later as a young adult in Great Britain, Marconi together with a small group of dedicated and passionate men and scientists made his ideas a working reality.The rest is history, and we all are beneficiaries.
Last summer when I stayed at Cape Cod, I took a detour and a walk at South Wellfleet. Marconi Station is no longer there, but the display tells us of messages that were relayed for the first time over great distances, between Great Britain and America.One of the early demonstrations of importance of communicating over long distances was when the signals were received, informing the world of the tragedy of the maiden voyage of Titanic.
While most of us still grapple with understanding the way signals travel, the ideas and inventions of Guglielmo Marconi have become a life transforming reality.As a mother living in Melbourne, Australia, with a daughter in New York, and a daughter in London, I bow to the genius of Marconi.His work made it possible for us to remain close, it made the "tyranny of distance" more bearable.
This book is more interesting than any fiction.Degna Marconi writes with literary skill that is outstanding.
We are closer to understanding Guglielmo Marconi, the man, when we read his own words: "genius is gift of work continuously applied"
Recommended reading!

My father Marconi
Review: My father, Marconi

What magnificant reading this is! This book is a must for those who would agree that a good biography is incomparably more valuable than even a great work of fiction. Degna Marconi has succeeded in recording her father's life with both scrutiny and filial affection. She has maintained a very high level in every aspect: what she tells us about scientific evolution in its historical context is witty, precise and fascinating whereas her personal touch never errs on the side of biased family pride. She is as good an author as her father was a man of science!
This portrait of Marconi and his times at the beginning of the era of global communication is all the more interesing right now a hundres years after it all began.
"My father, Marconi" should be on the shelf of anyone who prefers reflection to mere consuption.

Susanne Regehr

Marconi's eldest daughter writes about her famous father.
If I had to pick the one book (and there are many out there) that best describes Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of wireless communication, this would definitely be it. This book, written by Marconi's eldest daughter, Degna, is one of the best biographies I have ever read, in part because of the enormous charisma of the subject and in equal part because of the obvious respect and affection with which he is treated by Degna Marconi.
With only a vague idea of who Marconi was and fearing a book filled with technical jargon I picked up this book with a little suspicion at first. What a wonderful surprise! Degna Marconi's story was engaging from the first few paragraphs and rivetting up until the end. I quickly became engrossed in this fascinating story of a young man who, instead of going to university, spends his days experimenting with sending radio signals across his parents' garden, using homemade equipment and information gathered from scientific magazines, and then his tireless struggle to improve and promote his inventions which takes him first to London, then Canada, and the U.S. Degna Marconi presents the historical and scientific facts in a clear and concise manner without sacrificing detail. The work is both rewarding for those interested in science as well as those of us after a good read. Indeed, the charm of this book is that it reads like a real page turning novel. Loads of little anecdotes and commentaries colour the story without obscuring it. The reader gets a wonderful insight into a world of wealth and luxury, cut-throat competition and scientific innovation.
The book describes the novelty and excitement of Marconi's first experiments and then moves on to describe Marconi's struggles to patent his inventions, circumvent his ever more numerous competitors and expand the range and use of his technology. In fact, Marconi emerges not only as a brilliant scientist but above all as an energetic and resourceful entrepreneur. This account of Marconi's work to establish radio as a practical and useful alternative to other more established technologies (such as the telephone) is thrilling to read and is as relevant today as it was 100 years ago. I especially enjoyed reading about the heroic radio operator who continued sending S.O.S. signals from the sinking Titanic and about Marconi's long, lonely and often frustrating struggle to establish radio contact across the Atlantic.
Marconi's private life was no less exciting and tumultuous. The book's description of Marconi's love of the beautiful Beatrice O'Brien, his efforts to win over the undecided Beatrice and their wedding is entertaining and often humorous. The strain of Marconi's ever increasing work and fame on his family, the tragic divorce that neither he nor Beatrice really wanted and Marconi's complicated relationship with his children, especially his son Giulio, are all described with subtle and touching insight. Degna Marconi is also able to convey Marconi's charm and subtle sense of humour. Highly recommended.

A look through the eyes of a daughter
This book by Mrs Marconi was extremely touching; we know so much about Marconi the inventor, the public figure but what makes this book so original is that it was so clearly written by someone who knew him well and loved him even more. Set side by side are descriptions of his scientific breakthroughs and very intimate glimpses of him as a person, many of them humorous and understanding.

The book is also very well written, interesting but at the same time readable and enjoyable. I have lent my copy of the book to many of my friends. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

Elena Kozhina was just eight years old when the Germans laid siege to Leningrad in 1941. Evacuated to a no-man's-land in the heart of the Russian steppe, she watched her family perish around her-and witnessed the indomitable strength of her mother in the face of life's greatest adversity.

Drawing comparisons to Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl and comparable works by Tolstoy and Gorky, Elena Kozhina's jewel of a memoir is poised to become a classic of the genre. As affecting as a historical novel, Through the Burning Steppe introduces a natural writer of unerring grace. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A Gem - On Many Levels
Elena Kozhina's Through the Burning Steppe: A Wartime Memoir is so much more than a highly compelling narrative of the horrors and heroism experienced by a young Russian girl and her mother during World War II. It is also a revealing glimpse into the realities of life in the Soviet Union, not just during the war, but from its earliest years to its final decade. It is a chronicle of a young person's growing literary, artistic and cultural awareness. And it is, ultimately, a timeless story - not simply of good and evil, or of simple joys amid enormous tragedy, but also of human frailties and strengths, of ruthlessness and compassion, of islands of clarity in a sea of complexity. This gem of a book packs volumes of interest - and of insight - into its fewer than 200 beautifully written pages. I recommend it highly. ... Read more

Book Description

The Secret Life of a Schoolgirl is an extraordinary memoir—a jewel. Rosemary Kingsland was born in India during the dying days of the British Raj. While there, she and her family lived a life of privilege. But with the fall of the Raj, they were forced to return to England, where their fortunes took a decided turn for the worse. In London, then in Cornwall, then back in London, the simmering tension between Rosemary’s parents erupted into outright warfare fueled by alcohol and her father’s persistent, unrepentant womanizing. It was a lonely, dangerous childhood.

But one day Rosemary’s life changed forever. At a café where she had gone to escape from a party her father had insisted she attend with him, she met Richard Burton, the dashingly handsome Welsh actor who was then the toast of the London stage. She had seen him in Under Milkwood some months before. She was an adolescent schoolgirl. He was twenty-nine.

The Secret Life of a Schoolgirl is a deeply felt evocation of first love, and of family bonds forged in intense isolation. It is made all the more remarkable by the luminous quality and riveting narrative voice of Rosemary Kingsland. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Delicious reading
This book made a big splash when it was published, there were oodles of headlines screaming, "Richard Burton was a pedophile!" Ah hem... not quite. The only portions worth reading here are the Burton ones, the rest of the tome is one rather large snooze fest. Kingsland lived a teenage life to die for: as a 14 year old school girl in London, she meets Richard Burton, then 29 and starring in various Shakespearean productions at the Old Vic. Not surprisingly, she was instantly attracted to Burton (what female between the ages of 9 and 90 wouldn't be?), and told him she was 17.

Then their affair began. It was long afterwards that Kingsland admitted to Richard that she was actually only 14 years of age, but Burton didn't seem to care, and continued making love to the girl for several more months. He finally dumps her, as he dumped all his mistresses of that era: Jean Simmons, Claire Bloom and Susan Strasberg, to name a few of his thousands of conquests. Kingsland writes well and her chapters on Burton are engrossing, to say the least. Richard comes off as a drunken but charming cad, and his lovemaking prowess seems to have been rather limited: a slam, bam, thank you, ma'am sort of guy. But when you look like that, who is going to complain? There are some problems with dates, the author puts Burton in London when he wasn't there, and he was certainly not playing Hamlet at the Vic in 1954!

I can think of worse things than to be deflowered by Richard Burton, even if he should have done the proper thing and waited until this girl was out of school. If you're into Burton, this will do you nicely.

Ohboy, more dirt on Richard Burton
This delightfully lusty memoir's core bit of cheap gossip is a secret she's kept for more than 40 years: she lost her virginity to Richard Burton. After a rather shaky beginning, Kingsland settles down to a slower pace, pulling readers into a lush background tale of her parents' life in India during the era of the Raj. When Partition forced them back to England, her father was devastated by the change in their circumstances and comforted himself with women and writing poetry. Her mother became agoraphobic in defense - until their fortunes were changed by their improbably huge winnings in a football pool, which allowed them to move from the provincial Cornwall into London.
The episodes surrounding her relationship with Burton, when he was a stage star and she was a star-struck, infatuated 14yo schoolgirl, are written with insight that can only be gained by the passage of all the intervening years.
Charming and evocative coming-of-age memoir.

BEAUTIFUL WRITING!
Don't be fooled by the slightly salacious title--this is a gorgeous memoir that's sexy without being trashy.Rosemary Kingsland tells a truly unique coming-of-age story: raised in the English Raj, she and her family move back to England from India when the Empire falls, only to live in poverty, first in the misty wilds of Cornwall (the descriptions in this part are among the most enchanting of the book) and then in grimy post-war London.Her family is like something out of "Long Day's Journey Into Night", full of frustration, alcoholism and violence, but she renders them fully human and sympathetic.Of course, the most shocking part of the book is about her affair, at age 14, with Richard Burton. An inveterate womanizer, Burton manages to seduce young Rosemary while simultaneously carrying on other affairs.The story of their relationship is surprising, but the author appears to have no bitterness or anger towards Burton, and he comes across as surprisingly sad, despite his dashing ways and handsome looks.

Overall, this is a rare literary memoir that is also compulsively readable and provocative.I highly recommend it.

A Riveting Memoir!!
A wonderfully poetic and lyrical memoir beginning in India, where Kingsland was born.Her teenaged affair with Richard Burton is certainly good and even "delicious" reading, but it's the story of her life, and of her family, that keeps you turning the pages long after midnight.This will be my most recommended book to friends this year!

Thoroughly enjoyable
Not salacious in any way, this is a touching memoir that focuses on a bittersweet childhood and adolescence. Naturally the teenage romance with the older Charismatic Burton is the shocking and exciting factor, but there is more to enjoy in this book than just this relationship.
Rosemary's descriptions and tales of her family and environment thrilled me from beginning to end.Like all good memoirs, this one generously reveals the author's individual perspective: we are allowed to climb into the window and visit her life.I enjoyed the book! ... Read more

Book Description

A storybook biography which spotlights the life of an Amish-Mennonite girl who later becomes the queen of pretzel franchising. ... Read more

Book Description

Bestselling author Connie May Fowler tells her own extraordinary story for the first time–the harrowing years of her childhood followed by the abusive relationship she endured as a young woman–and how the unconditional love of her dog helped her escape her physical and emotional bonds.
Before Women Had Wings, Connie May Fowler’s award-winning and bestselling fictional account of domestic abuse, touched thousands. In this piercing memoir, Fowler chronicles the emotional battery and physical abuse that marked her own passage to adulthood. She draws a searing portrait of growing up with her manipulative and needy mother, a woman unable to give the love and comfort every child has a right to expect.
And then, as a young woman, Fowler found herself involved with a man whose behavior disturbingly echoed her mother’s. The man she lived with alternately displayed a desperate need for her or rejected her as if she were worse than useless. With heart-wrenching candor, Fowler records the abuse she suffered at his hands, from his constant attempts to undermine her self- confidence to his acts of brutal physical violence.
The unconditional love Fowler longed for finally came–in the shape of an adoring Labrador puppy named Kateland. With Katie at her side, she was able to withstand her mistreatment and the crushing weight of her childhood and, miraculously, managed to create a small refuge from the horrors that surrounded her. This is the story of her decision to end the years of mistreatment and even to open her life to a new, gentle man, whose love and understanding helped to transform her.
Well known for her fiction and her work with victims of domestic abuse, Fowler now offers a strong helping hand to women everywhere in this startling, revealing, and ultimately inspiring memoir.
... Read more

Reviews (13)

An answer to WHY
Quite often, the question is asked WHY does a woman stay in an abusive relationship, and the misguided answer is that she likes being abused and deserves it. In this memoir, Connie Fowler answers the question that I've often wondered myself. She shows in a very clear, understandable, and engaging way the recipe for a battered woman--low self esteem and self loathing. She tells how she identifies with an abused and unwanted female dog, Katie, and how they help each other through tough times. Her story is written in a way that it seems she's speaking directly to the reader, so that I cried and rejoiced along with her. Her abuser is portrayed in a way that is not sympathetic to him and shows without sugar-coating his unforgivable abusiveness, but manages at the same time not to go overboard and make him seem like an unbelievable monster. Despite his terrible acts, he still comes off as human and believable. Reading it, I could feel Connie's pain, insecurity, and fear, and read quickly, eager to see her find her sense of self and escape the terror and misery she was living in. This is a well-written story with a meaningful message.

Every woman should read this book
Connie May Fowler brings the places of her stories to life with such detail that one can almost smell the air in these Florida towns. Although her character's lives are sometimes unsettling, her honesty and skillful dialogue help us feel their pain with the deepest compassion. Every one of Fowler's novels has been a treasure. When Katie Awakes is a brave and powerful story. As other readers have said, this memoir brings better understanding to the question, Why do women stay in abusive relationships? But I think the book is much more. Fowler's account of her own abuse, and the abuse of generations of women and children before her, really takes us inside the female psyche, shedding light on what women believe about themselves, how we punish ourselves and suffer shame and guilt for the most (seemingly) illogical reasons. Not all women know abuse at the hand of a parent or a partner, but most women suffer from birth the covert abuser, a society that still tries with all its might to stifle our independence and crush our self esteem. The story is tragic but the will to emerge is what makes this book so compelling. Every woman should read When Katie Awakes.

extraordinary recounting of abuse, despair, ultimate triumph
When you get right down to it, authors like Connie May Fowler are not much different than the rest of us. Fowler bears the scars of a horrific childhood and early adulthood, one strewn with the wreckage of a shattered self-image fueled by the alcoholic abuse of her mother and the degradation of a hideous relationship with an older man. She, as have many of her readers, has suffered through despair thick enough to reduce her to attempted suicide and has faced the depths of self-abdication so profound that she began to absorb the very evil identity her tormented partner imposed on her.

What makes Fowler different from us, however, is language. In her hands, words make anguish palpable, sadness tangible, struggle imperative. As an author, Fowler is able to make sense of her life, and, in so doing, help us make sense of ours. "When Katie Wakes" may well be the most brutally coarse and ugly memoir you will ever read, but, at the same time, one of the most beautiful and impassioned pleas for individual integrity and indomitability ever composed. It is nothing less than a masterpiece.

Though Ms. Fowler credits her adoption of a loyal and loving dog, Katie, as the symbolic act of reclamation and reaffirmation of life, she sells herself far short. The grandchild and child of abused women, the child Fowler becomes the target of her drunken mother's rage. The Fowler children become adept actors, hiding the shame of family disgrace and brutality under the veneer of achievement. Keeping verbal assaults invisble, preventing others from recognizing the constant physical beatings absorbed by Mama, Connie's family life resembled "smoke and mirrors, deception and shame." A "wall of silence" shrouded suffering. As a child, Connie received sustenance from words and books, and her resultant triumph as an adult vindicates her choice. Her older sister, however, absorbs and internalizes the viciousness of her home, and, consequently, develops anorexia as an adult.

In a remarkable self-portrait, Fowler describes a wretched adult woman, unloved, unlovable, disgusting and repulsive. Her self-hatred is "untainted and unhinged." She believes herself "so ugly" that only an abusive, impotent, failed radio celebrity would be willing to love her. Yet, there is not a single note of self-pity in this wrenching memoir. Fowler reminds us that her mother's life, obliterated from a childhood rape, transcends her own in loss. Mama was "an angry woman who believed life had let her down. And it had." From disappointment to the target of her own husband's physical abuse, Fowler's mother recirculates and intensfies the pain, deliberately deflecting it on her children.

As a young woman, Fowler has not escaped her mother's imprint. Indeed, her chosen partner encapsulates her mother's jagged opinion. Tense is irrelevant when Fowler hears herself described as "stupid," or "an ungrateful whore," or a "lousy excuse" of a lover or daughter. When she hears her mother decry her existence, "I wish...I had died the day you were born," Fowler must come to grips with an essential life choice: descent into emotional self-immolation or ascent into a struggle for life and affirmation.

"When Katie Wakes" bravely portrays Fowler's battle for identity and wholeness. Her steadfast determination to "take responsibility for my own happiness, for my own sense of self-worth" is the best medicine for any person struggling to make sense of inner turmoil and despair. When she proclaims her need to discover "what my placer in the world should be," she speaks for any person on the cusp of a life-altering decision searching for the courage to embrace life's potential. This emotion-laden memoir is eloquent testimony to the ability of one person to wrestle life from death, hope from despair, the future from the past.

An insightful journey into the mind of a battered woman.
Connie May Fowler's, "When Katie Wakes" is masterful glimpse into the soul of a battered women. I could not put this book down once I started and I finished it in an afternoon. A heartfelt account of one women's journey from both inner and outer torments to wakefulness and a sort of freedom, I would recommend this book to anyone. Fowler's easy writing style opens the door for us to descend easily into the hell that is home to the battered woman. Often wondering exactly what is was that kept a woman from mentally walking away from her abuser when she could physically do so, Fowler's insight has put the answer into perspective and I will never have to ask that question again.

AN AWAKENING FOR VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC ABUSE
READING THIS BOOK WAS EMOTIONALLY DRAINING. THE ABUSE CONNIE WENT THROUGH BOTH FROM HER PARENTS & THEN HER OLDER LOVER WAS UNBELIEVABLE. KATIE(CONNIE'S LOVABLE DOG) GOT HER THROUGH SOME DIFFICULT TIMES. KATIE WAS LOYAL TO CONNIE UNTIL THE END. CONNIE WAS ABLE TO MAINTAIN BECAUSE SHE HAD KATIE TO FALL BACK ON. THANK GOD A GOOD MAN LIKE MIKA CAME ALONG. THIS IS A MUST READ FOR ABUSE VICTIMS. GOD BLESS KATIE FOR THE SUPPORT SHE GAVE CONNIE & GOD BLESS CONNIE FOR SEEING A BETTER LIGHT & GETTING OUT OF HER HORRIBLE SITUATION. ... Read more

Book Description

An immigrant from a small Armenian village in eastern Turkey, Arshile Gorky (c. 1900-1948) made his way to the U.S. to become a painter in 1920. Having grown up haunted by memories of his alternately idyllic and terrifying childhood-his family fled the Turks' genocide of Armenians in 1915-he changed his name and created a new identity for himself in America. As an artist, Gorky bridged the generation of the surrealists and that of the abstract expressionists and was a very influential figure among the latter. His work was an inspiration to Willem de Kooning and Mark Rothko, among others. Matthew Spender illuminates this world as he tells the story of Gorky's life and career. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

You're a wonderful person Anne!
I am not a fan of reading books, but the title of this book caught my attention. I could not put this book down once I started reading it and finished it over a weekend. I recommended this book to my entire family and I hope everyone gets a chance to read it. I was so moved on how Anne survived through all of the horrible obstactles she faced. It is sad to think that all of her "supposeable friends" during that time in her life took advantage of her the way they did when she needed them the most. I feel like I know her and forever I will think of Anne. I wish her the best and I hope the future for her is the most rewarding, for she has earned it!!

A 5 star story that will change your life forever
I was #87 is a true story, neither my daughter or I could put this book down until we finished it. It is about a little girl who was severely abused and also diagnosed as being retarded when she was actually deaf and of above average intelligence. The determination and survival of this child is so riviting and also inspiring at the same time. It makes you thankful for what we do have in this life. You will realize that the day to day things we might think of as obstacles or problems are so trivial. I would reccomend this book to everyone. There is a limied supply since it is out of print but it is available through the library also.

great book
I was so touched when I read Anne's book. She went through so much and I cannot tell you how brave I think she is. I wish her all the best. Thank-you Anne. Carole

I can relate perfectly... what an important and vital book
This was the most moving book I have ever read. I am sad to see it isn't available and very hurt that I cannot share it with my deaf friends. I was shocked to see the amount of abuse this poor gal suffered but sure could relate to how the general public and even family members treat the deaf and hard of hearing. What the brothers did to her was nothing extraordinary. Nothing different than most folks with hearing losses experience, ignorant attitudes, that's all. What is most horrifying about this book is what the school in Bridgewater did, and how many of her so-called friends had no conscience and cheated her, taking advantage of her innocence, robbing her of money and of life. Now this will be hidden forever. I am so upset. Sorry to vent, I just don't know what to do. My heart goes out to Anne, she is one courageous soul and an inspiration for us all to overcome any obstacle.

With Sincere Happy Wishes to You , Anne In Your Future!
Dear Anne and Adair, I was in the libary one day last week and while glancing at titles randomly, your's stuck out. I picked up the book and since I am a Direct Care Worker in a Gp Hm, it appealed to me. I wasn't 5pps into it and I had real tears flowing... My heart ached as I read your book, I still can't comprehend the horror you went through and how you survived. Then your family to treat you so utterly terrible too! My gosh Anne, You are a very strong person to have done so. I have wanted to talk with you, tell you how sorry I am society treated you so badly, how I felt every word you wrote! I have passed this book onto so many people. If possible, can you please wb to me, I would like to be email penpals with you and get to know you better and hear you are doing well! If not, I understand, but I should hope you and Adair would write your present life and Ms. Renning, you did a beautiful thing to helping Anne out sincerely. Best wishes to you both and happiness always, dawn~ ... Read more

Book Description

In the early 1970s -- between the dawn of the sexual revolution and the disillusionment of Watergate -- a young Dutch woman named Xaviera de Vries was transformed overnight into an international celebrity and sex symbol as the author of The Happy Hooker, her racy chronicle of life as a high-class New York madam. As Xaviera Hollander, she became the voice of that era's new sexual freedoms even as her book was banned and she herself was deported to Amsterdam in the wake of the scandal.

Reviews (2)

Interesting story
Great read, incredible life story, my only criticism is towards the end, Ms. Hollander just kind of glosses over things quickly and the book ends abruptly. I would still highly recommend it!

The amazing 20th century of a rather special family
Xaviera has managed to captivate the 20th Century without losing herself into that what would have sold best, her life as the happy hooker.

In fact, being "the happy hooker" is only a very small part of her life. Born in Indonesia during the second world war, her family was captured and her mother and father separated. At the time Xaviera was only 3 weeks old and she spent the all important first 3 years of her life in this Japanese prisoners camp.

Her father was a psychiatrist. Her mother a famous model with French/German blood married Xaviera's jewish father. In that era of the emerging national socialist party, this wasn't the mainstream marriage at all.

Child no more is a memorial and a memoir, a dedication of a daughter who does want to share the life and the memory of her incredibly special parents. She's at times painfully honest. Her darker demons are not hidden, nor does she try to be the "good daughter". And it is the struggle of her coming to terms with the death of her father, and the more recent death of her mother that is the most gripping. Everyone who'se lost (a) parent(s) will recognise it and find comfort in it.

I've known Xaviera and her mother for a long time. When Xaviera used to invite you to her home to one of her very special parties, her mother would always be there. Enjoying some of it and shaking her head jokingly at the more extravagant guests. I miss her mother, not just at these parties. She was an incredibly strong and charming lady, who knew about her daughter's escapades, but couldn't and wouldn't condemn them. And I've seen Xaviera's love for her mother, especially during the last years of her life. I'm sorry that I've never had the chance to meet her father. Both Xaviera and her mother kept him alive by talking about him openly and in that way he was always there.

I'm amazed how resilient children can be. Spending the first 3 years in a Japanese prisoners camp, where the corporal punishment was incredibly refined, painful, intimidating and brutal. Neither her mother nor Xaviera ever really complained about that horrible period. Only once did I see the horror coming back, and that was when we saw the movie "Paradise Road". Only then Xaviera was able to cry.

If you're more into The Happy Hooker, then you'll be happy that Xaviera's publisher is reprinting this title.
Should you, however, be interested in a very honest, interesting memoir of a family living in the roaring twenties, the depression in the thirties, the war and its after-effects in the forties, the bouncing back in the fifties, the sweet sixties, the happy hooker years, all the way to the millennium, then you will love Child no more. Keep the tissues ready though, this is a book that isn't shy on emotions! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Both heartbreaking and inspirational
Maria Ritter returns to Germany as an adult, and through the recollections of her early childhood, recalls the horrors and devastation brought to her homeland through the Hitler regime and the post WWII years under the communists.
With her father fighting in the German Army, her family becomes refugees from both the Russians in the east, and Allied bombs from the sky. Making numerous moves to try and ensure their safety, they go to Dresden and become victims of the firebombing in February, 1945. Dealing with the reality that her father may never return to them, her brave mother takes the initiative to escape to the west, leaving behind loved ones in the east during the post war years...and the resulting story of their escape and subsequent life is one of inspiration and encouragement. Coming to terms with much of the heartbreaking events she suffered as a young child, makes this read a heart rending and touching memorial to all the innocents who have had nothing whatsoever to do with politics and war. ... Read more

Book Description

Recalling his childhood in fascist Italy during WWII, the author unearths a multicolored array of characters and situations, from the comic to the grotesque. His elegant and extremely odd aunt and uncle host a lunch party; his precocious teen cousin daringly allows young Nazi soldiers to follow her all the way to the door of the synagogue; the temple's choir director, having lost his position at La Scala because he is Jewish, leads the temple choir in a rousing rendition of Verdi, leaving the congregation in tears. These people, many of whom died horrible deaths, are brought to life on the page, their weaknesses, charming idiosyncrasies, and glories intact. Through vivid details, Zargani recreates their humanity with humor and love-and in some cases with envy or lust. The title refers to the author's father, Mario, a violinist forced to give up his livelihood with the fascists' ascension into power. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

an astonishing book which should be much better known
I came across this book on a shelf, and could not stop reading it. I could not believe such events could be written with such humor and poetry; it reminded me a little of "Angela's Ashes" but in that book the boy only faces terrible poverty (as if that could be an "only"); in this book the huge forces of war are out to kill young Aldo and his family and hundreds of thousands of others because they are Jews. The book is told in no chronological order, but the seven years between 1938-45 are relayed a month here, a season or perhaps a harried afternoon there, as one might recall them in passionate memory fifty years after, as the author does indeed relate them. The small intimate and ordinary bits of the lives of the author, his brother and their parents ring against the great tragedy of war: in the midst of running for their lives, they stop at a hospital for a minor test for the children, the young boy in boarding school with almost nothing to eat devours another boy's lard sandwiches sent from home. A young woman appeals suddenly in lacy black underwear, her despair overcoming her modesty in a desperate cry for life..why is this book not better known? It is astonishing.

Alexander Stille review from LA Times
Against the Odds

FOR SOLO VIOLIN: A Jewish Childhood in Fascist Italy, By Aldo Zargani Paul, Dry Books: 230 pp., paper
By ALEXANDER STILLE
Alexander Stille is the author of several books, including "Benevolence and Betrayal: Five Italian Jewish Families Under Fascism" and "The Future of the Past."

August 25 2002
With the gradual passage of those who survived the Holocaust and World War II as adults, we have an increasing number of memoirs of the generation that experienced that time as children. Aldo Zargani was born in 1933 and was 5 when Benito Mussolini passed the racial laws that forced him to leave Italian public schools and cost Zargani's father, a violinist, his job. Zargani was 7 when Italy entered World War II and 10 in 1943, when Italy tried to withdraw from the war and was occupied by Nazi Germany, forcing the Zarganis--father, mother and two sons--to spend a ter