Book Description

Born to humble but prosperous peasants in 1901, the Year of the Ox, Diki Tsering grew up a simple girl with a simple life and the ordinary ambition to be a good wife and mother. When faith and fate led her son Lhamo Dhondup to be recognized as the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, her world altered completely.

In Dalai Lama, My Son she recounts her own amazing story from her early life with her "tended family and siblings to the customs and rituals of old Tibet and her arranged marriage at age sixteen. She vividly recalls the births of her children and their Buddhist upbringing; His Holiness, unfolding personality; the visitors who came to her town to seek the new Dalai Lama; the family's arduous move to Lhasa; and the years there until the Chinese invasion of Tibet and the family's escape and eventual exile.

Rich in historic and cultural details, this moving glimpse into the origins of the Dalai Lama personalizes the history of the Tibetan people, the magic of their culture, the role of their women. and their ancient ideals of compassion, faith, and equanimity. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Dalai Lama, My Son
A serious, yet interesting audio book about the story of the Dalai Lama as told from his mother's perspective. Only 4 cassettes long, this unabridged version of the book drew me into the unique culture of Tibet in the early 20th century. The music was peaceful as well as the voice of the reader. In addition, I recommend the breath-taking video "Kandu"; also about the upbringing of the Dalai Lama.

...
I beleave this book was insightful. It was fairly simple to read, and was worded well. however, reading this, and several other books for an honors project, i must say that it takes a different reader to enjoy. i also read invading tibet, which i thought was much more fun to read. Dalai lama my son is a good book, but to me it seemed flat.

Tibet in a Different Light
This is a magnificent autobigraphy. Also, a very upsetting one. The "Tibet in Exile" website claims that Tibet had women's rights. This book by the Dalai Lama's mother claims otherwise. In Amdo, which is Eastern Tibet, they had a custom that seemed to work for adultery. But not for women. The family of the woman who was the offender were required to kill her. Dike Tsering goes into more detail. Also, if a man died leaving his wife alone, she was required not to marry for three years. Then the family would conduct "secret negotiations" for profit. This caused many Tibetan women to commit suicide. The book also displays the tremendous impact of astrology. How you got married, who you married, and so forth. The astrologer was consulted on all matters of importance in the family. And there were ghosts. One ghost was resposible for the deaths of four of her children. In Lhasa, there were tremendous class distinctions! And Diki Tsering displays them simply as horrible snobs. This applys to the aristocrats who lived off their "bonded laborers". And wouldn't even call them by name. They also acted like Diki Tsering was nothing but "a farm hand". The two regents who controlled Tibet while the Dalai Lama was growing up were Reting Rinpoche and Taktra Rinpoche. Reting was the first regent, until he was supposedly assasinated by Taktra Rinpoche. The author also believes, as did the people of Tibet, that Taktra Rinpoche poinsoned her husband, the father of the Dalai Lama, because he was friends with Reting Rinpoche. Nevertheless, Reting Rinpoche was not without violence. A Tsipan Lungshar led a movemovement for reform. Reting Rinpoche had his eyes goughed out as punishment. I find the testimony of Diki Tsering very good. She is really strong and seems to speak with great truth. I believe her about the ghosts and the astrology. But about the other issues, and as a follower of Tibetan Buddhism, I am more depressed than usual! But I do feel that this is a must read for people who do want to save Tibet. We have to know our "weakspots" so that they don't come back later to haunt us. And I don't mean ghosts! Please buy and read the book. Thank you very much.

An interesting and honest (except title) account.
If you're looking for an in-depth portrait of the Dalai Lama as a child, you will probably be disappointed here. This is not the story of "Dalai Lama, My Son," but of the mother. The first almost half of the book tells of her youth and married life in Ambo, or Qinghai Province. A few pages in the middle do describe the Dalai Lama's early character leading to his selection. From there on, his mother refers to him as "His Holiness" and says little about him, but tells her personal and family story after fate plunged them into politics.

I did enjoy the book, though, especially the first part. I've lived and traveled in the Himilayan foothills of southern China. Reading the author's description of her familie's life style -- celebrations, marriage, story telling, being snowed in during winter -- made me want to go back and see more.

A famous missionary doctor, Dr. Paul Brand, once said his ideal lifestyle, apart from a need for modern medicine, would be that of an Indian villager. This account of the Tibetan lifestyle, and my own travels through the minority areas of Yunnan Province, confirm how much that is human and natural we lose in our surrender to technology: rhythms of the seasons, traditions, the hard pleasure of sowing and reaping, and what it means to depend on family and community.

The later part of the book is interesting sometimes, but is a bit like the story of a pawn who wanders onto a chessboard by mistake and gets moved around by both sides without quite knowing what is going on.

Despite the quarrel below, there is little about what Westerners call Buddhism in this book. What most Asians call Buddhism is a mixture of polytheism, various superstitions, practical concern about evil spirits, and a cycle of annual festivals, with priests occupying a respected but mostly ceremonial position. One of the most surprising things about this very open and simple account is that the Dalai Lama's mother is allowed to speak as a typical Asian in this respect.

In fact, there may be more about ghosts here than about the author's most famous son. Tsering blamed them for the loss of four of her children (out of sixteen), and did not seem embarrassed by the odd character of the stories she told. Her stories set me thinking. One of the foundational myths of Tibetan Buddhism is the tale of how the monk Phadmasambhava conquered the demons of Tibet, and having conquered them, put them to work for the forces of good. Tsering's experiences with ghosts might cause some to reconsider the relative merits of the "tolerant" Buddhist approach and the more confrontational Christian approach to powers and principalities. One also wonders, of course, what relationship these spirits bare to the diseases that marred the lifestyle of such peasants.

Author, Jesus and the Religions of Man

d.marshall@sun.ac.jp

I know this is not a bulletin board but...
as someone mentioned "The last Buddhism in the World ": I would like to tell you that you are behind the hill. There are many kinds of Buddhism. Tibet is just the one and it's named because Chinese-- tried to colonize it in the past. I am not saying Tibet Buddhism is bad, instead, I love it. Please do not just write something you want, but make it useful too. Some error can be memorized by someone naive in the area and it will damage the story itself. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

An 'American Dream' Realised
I did a research study on American Dream in America during the 20s-30s decade. I've read a lot of books concerning the subject; literary works, forming the main portion of my resources. These ranged from Fitzgerald's 'Great Gatzby' to Steinbeck's 'Grapes of Wrath', from Dreiser's 'An American Tragedy' to Lewis's 'Main Street'. In addition to these quite old literary works, I collected statistical, analytical information about the particular decades, to verify what I've acquired from the novels. It was a hard study, but I managed to write a reasonably concise thesis, with the help of not the sources I listed, but with this book, 'Maggie's American Dream' instead. Why?

Almost all of the books I've read were productions of imagination. Even Dreiser, who was inspired from a real account, did not stick to facts in his book, but altered them to create a fiction. However, 'Maggie's American Dream' is a true story. It is told from James Comer's point of view, in a very poetical fashion. The second part of the book is his mother's story, which is again expressed by James. The book also contains a nice section of pictures of the Comer family, which are quite interesting after reading about the family.

James P. Comer had a very hard childhood, as it could be expected during the years of never-ending racism issues. Comer beautifully expresses how they managed to stand tall, and get their share in the competition of living. Mr. Comer is now working as a psychiatrist in New Haven, after having completed his doctoral work in Yale University. It is a dream that is realised, indeed.

This book will provide you with a lot of insights about the lives of black families, American societal norms, family relations during the 20s and 30s, which you cannot find easily in any other source this clearly and truely.

I didn't want the story to come to an end ....
What a wonderful book. Very easy to read with lots of short chapters so that even the busiest of us can get through it quickly. And of course Maggie and her family are so real that you find you can't put the book down...you just have to find out what happens to them all next.
It's a great story, and worth reading from that angle alone. But all the way through this book also gives you plenty to ponder - whether you are someone with an interest in education (and doesn't that include all parents?), someone who wishes that all people had an equal opportunity to realise their potential, or someone who really wants to know what life is like for others from different backgrounds and countries. The author also inspires us to think about how we can make a difference, in some small way, wherever and whoever we are.

Maggies American Dream
This book I have read is the best book I have ever read. It has inspired me by not being mad ever time someone gets in my face and be racis toward me. I really like this aurthor he is a very insperational writter. I would tell everbody who is going through something very hard, reconmemd this book to any and every one

Inspiring and insightful look at an amazing life
This "dual biography" impressed me in many different ways. First, it is a lovely tribute to a wonderful mother who was extremely devoted to her children. I'm so glad the author kept the first part of the book in his mother's own words--it made me really get a sense of her. Second, it provides a description of black life (both in the South and later, in Indiana) that I found extremely compelling. Third, the last part of the book tells of some of the experiences the author has had in his field of education that are very insightful. This book really got me thinking about what is would have been like to be in Maggie's shoes. She was kind and wise and I learned much from her experiences. My life is richer for having "known" Maggie!

This book is absolutely wonderful!
After reading this book, I read it a second time so that I could highlight parts of it. I was so inspired by the love that this woman, Maggie Comer, had for her family.

The author, Dr. James Comer uses very simple, yet descriptive language to tell the story of his mother's dream for her children. It is a beautifully written tribute that will certainly inpsire the reader. In addition, because the story spans several generations, it is entertaining to both younger and older audiences alike. Parents should share this book with their children, and discuss it at length.

"Maggie's American Dream" is an easy read. After you start reading it, you won't want to put it down. ... Read more

Book Description

At the age of sixty-six, author David Hays is studying, along with a group of twelve-year-old boys, to be a bar mitzvah boy. "Today I Am A Boy" follows Hays on an exciting and life altering experience as he struggles to learn Hebrew alongside his rowdy classmates, whom it nicknames "The Hormone Hurricanes." ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Should've stuck to the topic, IMO
The topic of this book as stated is highly misleading. Yes, Mr. Hays traces some of his experiences on becoming a Bar Mitzvah at age 66. However, he digresses so much from this theme that it was downright annoying!

I was really looking forward to reading about a 66-year-old man's journey into spirituality and rediscovery of Judaism, rather than a name-dropping autobiography.

What little Mr. Hays did write about his spiritual journey back into Judaism was sparse, and even his way off-topic autobiographical sections didn't include much of his family's, friends',or peers' reactions to his becoming a Bar Mitzvah, which to me would have been very interesting.

He also didn't talk much at all about contemporary Jewish renewal and problems of assimilation and how others might, as he did, find meaning in a religious path they've ignored or rejected.

Why, instead, should I care that he went back for a school reunion and one of his class members won the Nobel Prize? Why should I have to wade through the life stories of some of his uninteresting relatives who are not even marginally part of his spiritual story?

In this catch-all manuscript, Mr. Hays also tangentially subjects the reader to an entire fantasy theatrical piece he has imagined about a grown-up Anne Frank (for which I wouldn't buy a ticket, BTW).

What we also get is too much information and commentary about the 12- and 13-year-olds in his class, including an inappropriate (IMO) dwelling on one of the pubescent girls about whom Mr. Hays admitted over and over he had major sexual fantasies.

Great story of a great journey
This is one of those books that you could borrow from your library, or from a friend, but you will likely need to buy your own copy since there are so many passages that are either so wise, so funny, or so meaningfully touching that you will need to use your pencil in order to happily jot checkmarks, brackets, and asterisks throughout the book. I know that I did.

David Hays has a surfeit of academic, personal, and professional accomplishments. In his sixties, he was semi-retired, kids grown, had good health and a happy family life. His mind is unquestioningly fertile (yet organized) and he seems to embrace new experiences. As a child he gazed into a mud bubble, and glimpsed eternity. As an adult he throws himself into the grass in his back yard, in order to look more closely at the earth. His life was full, and meaningful, but he does not brag, and he is likable from the outset.

Rather than rest on his not inconsiderable laurels, he decides to become a Bar Mitzvah, joining a class of local eleven and twelve-year olds - in order to devote himself to study with his congregation's rabbi, Doug, for more than a year. It is this journey - and there is a steady unfolding, with no outburst of religiosity - that forms the starting point for this wonderful narrative.

Hays has an ability to tell you a lot about himself by telling you about other people. He respects himself, and he respects others. He is never boring. His parents, in-laws, grown children, grandchildren, his wide circle of friends and acquaintances, and his classmates are interesting to him, and worthy of reportage. He lets you in on these people and their lives and their histories with unstinting (and never maudlin) respect, even awe. In doing this you find out a lot about Hays and his subjects. Their privacy is never violated, and their dignity is sustained.

There is uncloying, laugh-out-loud humor throughout. Family lore emerges, and it is often funny. Hays delights in his wife Leonora's knack of elegantly summing up a situation with a trenchant malapropism. Of his new-found fervor for religious study, she says, "He hooked, line and sinker!" Of the Bahamas: "It's a third-war country." He also shares his family history, including a terrific (true) story, "How my family saved Israel." His feelings and observations as a sensitive member of his class (of the kids at recess he marvels, "They always know where to go.") - and his relationship with his wonderful rabbi - are a pleasure to watch unfold.

Hays includes a piece on Anne Frank that is dramatic, thoughtful, and not at all funny. It is appropriately included, given that the concerns of an adult approaching his bar mitzvah are different from those of a child. And at one point, he attends a Harvard reunion - which maybe could have been left out of this book, with no loss of substance to this great story.

In all, a wonderful book. ... Read more

Book Description

In their own words (and we all know howcolorful those can be), the five members of thenotorious Osbourne clan tell the amazing story of the first family of rock.

Reviews (12)

A keeper
I've read the book and listened to the audio cassette, and it's hard for me to pick which one I like more. The book has more stories, it's true, but the cassette has Donald's lovely Southern drawl. He has an infectious manner of telling that makes car trips--no matter how long or short--out and out fun. I've never laughed or cried so hard as at Listening for the Crack of Dawn. The last story, "A Different Drummer," is by far my favorite, since it makes me do both. Donald Davis is truly one of America's best storytellers, for kids, teenagers, and adults. Buy this title, in whatever format, and you won't be sorry!

Donald Davis is wonderful`
I have read and listened to several of Donald Davis' books. He is the best story teller I have ever listened to. He makes you laugh, cry and remember. I encourage anyone who loves to hear a good yarn, listen to any of D. Davis's works. He is awesome.

My favorite audiobook of all time
I don't think anyone can listen to Donald Davis tell his Different Drummer story and not be touched by it. Just it alone is worth the price of the set of cassettes. You also get to hear LSMFT (yes, that's the title of the story), which has a nearly perfect ending. Each is a story so good that you wish you could forget it, so that you'd have the pleasure of listening to it again for the first time.

Donald Davis is a Great Storyteller!
Listening to the story is better than reading it. His accent and voice make the vivid stories come alive. His stories, about growing up in western North Carolina are nostalgic, yet the issues will appeal to anyone of any age. My children 9 and 15 love his tapes along with my 70 year old parents. He is one of our favorite people to listen to in the car on trips.

Donald Davis--Storyteller Extrordinaire!
I am buying Donald Davis' cassette, "THE CRACK OF DAWN" for the second time. I owned my first copy for many years until by stereo was stolen from my car and had Mr. Davis' tape in it. I had the privilege of meeting him at a storytelling festival at Cal State University, Los Angeles and heard this story in person. It is every bit as good on tape. Mr. Davis spins his yarn in such a mesmerizing way that you can almost see his Aunt Laura and hear the "Crack of Dawn." ... Read more

Book Description

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

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

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

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

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

Reviews (9)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks and prayers to you Valerie Hemingway.

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

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

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

Book Description

Ghost light, in theater parlance, is that single light left burning at center stage after the audience, actors, and musicians have gone home. Superstition says that without it, a ghost will take up residence in the dark theater. Frank Rich's compelling chronicle of his youth tells how theater itself became his ghost light, a beacon of security for a child finding his way through a tumultuous world. Struggling with his parents' divorce and the universal trials of childhood, Rich took refuge in the spectacle and emotional power of the great musicals - South Pacific, Carousel, The Music Man - and eventually found a second home at Washington's National Theatre, where he worked as a ticket-taker. The author writes lovingly of how his favorite songs, shows, and actors became a lifeline, leading him from the terrors of daily life to the tinsel dreams of Broadway, whose denizens welcomed him into its last golden era. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Thanks for the memories
Frank Rich's memoir "Ghost Light" is a painful reenactment of a lonely childhood. His parents divorced and he found solace in the wonderful world of the theatre. His stepfather shared his passion for this although he was abusive and difficult to live with. Personally, it was painful for me to read but I understood so much about my own childhood. Like Mr. Rich I found comfort in the wonderful world of cast albums, dreaming of seeing a Broadway show,keeping a vast collection of programs, etc. Mr. Rich proved to me that there were other kids like me and he had the guts to write about it. My one criticism of the book is that it tends to plod in places. Particularly in the beginning. He describes his bucolic childhood before his parents divorced with a little too much detail. Mr. Rich I salute you. Thanks for the memories

Ghost Light Shimmers!
Fifty years ago, legendary playwright and director Moss Hart published an authobiography entitled Act One that instantly became a classic and held its place among the greatest theatrical memoirs ever written. This month, former New York Times Chief Drama Critic Frank Rich published his own story, full of passion, literacy, and wonder, that at once pays homage to Act One and transcends it. Rich has crafted the definitive stagestruck story, and there is no more significant book on growing up in the theatre. Rich's boyhood becomes a spellbinding play, a story that is joyous, crushing, funny, moving, and indelible. Anyone who cares for the American theatre, who has ever been shaken by the pulse of an orchestra begining an overture, who can find in himself even a glimmer of the passion bursting from Rich on every page, must read this book.

yawn.
I used to live in Washington, DC so this book held some intrigue for me. But because I did not grow up in the 1950s, but rather in a time when divorced parents could be found anywhere, I was not that into this memoir about a boy from a broken home who loved the theater. Perhaps that's because I just finished a really great memoir (The War At Home by Nora Eisenberg) about something similar where the girl and boy have to help each other survive because the parents were so violent .... this seemed like the watered-down version of that. I know it's a memoir, so I don't like critiquing it, but I found it to be just boring and could not get through it.

A poignant memoir
Frank Rich's boyhood story was touching, and I found I couldn't put it down! He gave a very good account of how the theatre saved him from a very loney and confusing childhood. I was fascinated with the parallels he saw in his own life and the characters in the plays he enjoyed so much. The story is told through the eyes of a child. Mr. Rich does an excellent job of providing details of life in Washington during the late 60's and the people he met along the way, and the influence they had in his life, good or bad. I look forward to his next book.

A thoroughly engrossing memoir
I heard this book on audio tape in my car and found myself longing to go to work or do an errand so that I could get to the next chapter of Frank Rich's fabulous memoir.He remembered so many details of his life and presented them in such a candid way, that he endeared himelf to me. We listen to his feelings intenetly because he doesn't hide a thing. His joys and fears are all there and we experience them with him. I felt like I really got to watch him grow up, and I could feel his passion for the theatre grow along the way. I greatly identified with Mr. Rich because I also came from a divorced family with a very difficult stepfather. My only regret with this book is that it ended! I can't wait for the sequel. ... Read more

Book Description

The remarkable honest and inspiring story about the

struggle and triumph of raising a child with learning

disabilities will be an encouragement to any parent in this

situation, and instructional for those who seek to understand

how to better help both these children and their families. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Wonderful
As a man who grew up with LD, this book hits the mark!

A remarkable woman--Anne Ford!

Dignity and Respect
Anne Ford has written a remarkable book. This is tremendously helpful for all parents that have children with learning disabilities. Also, it is a great lesson that shows the rest of us to reach out to others with love, patience and dignity.

I cannot recommend a book more highly than this!
When a child is born, parents are filled with positive dreams for his or her future. These typically include success in school, supportive friends, good health and a life filled with joy. If the child were a painting, it would have bright colors, sharp focus, every detail in place. But that fairy-tale existence is just that --- a fable. We are imperfect, and so are children.

And then there are families that get an extra helping of imperfection. Instead of dreams, they get challenges which can either pull them together or fracture them. In Anne Ford's case the "perfect world" dream dissolved when she learned that her daughter Allegra had learning disabilities. While they were not visible to the naked eye, what was going on inside Allegra was impeding her development and her ability to learn. It's never easy to accept a dark, definitive verdict, especially when it concerns a small child. To her credit, Anne did. And then she became Allegra's advocate and cheerleader, as well as her mother.

Few books have moved me as much as LAUGHING ALLEGRA. While the story of our family is different from Anne's, I do know what happens when the picture gets blurred. What works about this book is that Anne writes this memoir with candor and feeling --- right from the heart. She captures the swirl of emotion that surrounds this diagnosis, the questions that every parent asks and the path through what is always uncharted territory, as each child is his or her own mosaic. At the same time, she offers concrete information that parents of learning-disabled children need. Most important of all: Anne Ford shows us, beat by beat, how she helped her daughter build a world in which she could laugh instead of cower, succeed instead of fail. She empowered Allegra and along the way empowered herself as well.

The book is by no means whitewashed with only upbeat anecdotes. In her writing you can feel the pain that filled many of these years, as well as the uncertainty. The book took four years to write and along the way Anne had to dredge up some feelings that readers will see are still raw. There is no quick patch when you have watched your child hurting; clearly, she ripped the bandages off to write this.

Often when people learn that things are not "perfect," there is a natural feeling of being overwhelmed with the unknown. For parents who have found themselves either on the cusp of the diagnosis, or grappling with its meaning, or even those who are further along the path and want to read how another family grew with this, I recommend LAUGHING ALLEGRA. I also recommend it for parents of so-called "normal children," who may want to understand rather than dismiss the schoolmate their child knows who is different, or special.

Anne's book stresses that this is a family issue as it affects the entire family. She was a single mother, but also had a son, Alessandro, whose role as Allegra's older brother took him on a journey that he also had not expected. The effect on him is spoken about with enough depth to ensure that readers realize that that all people in the family must grapple with the challenge.

One thing to note here. Allegra is now thirty and living independently. As I read I thought about the great strides that are being made every day in the diagnosis and treatment of learning disabilities. Anne and Allegra came to tackle many of the challenges without the tools that are now in place. This, as much of any of Anne's stories, can bring parents great hope.

The back of the book has appendices with list of resources and excellent guidelines on such topics as Questions Parents Ask, Mothers and Fathers Understanding Each Other and Your Legal Rights. They are as well-written as the rest of the book, and provide more nuts and bolts information.

I cannot recommend a book more highly than this. Halfway through I found myself making lists of people who would enjoy it. I encourage you to pick it up --- and then spread the word.

--- Reviewed by Carol Fitzgerald ... Read more

Product Description

Create paintings, play games, and learn all aspects of music from composition to interpretation while you record it all in your own "journal". REQUIREMENTS: Windows 3.1 or later; 486SX, running at least 33 Mhz; 4 MB RAM; 4 MB free hard drive space; 256-color VGA monitor; sound card; cd-rom drive & mouse. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

one of an excellent series
I started buying this series for my 6 year old one year ago. She received "Mr Bach comes to Call" for her seventh birthday. She has spent hours listening to it and then to other Bach CDs. The music is well selected and the historical content is described quite well. Her imagination has really been excited. As we live in Germany for the moment she has expressed a wish to visit Liepzig to see Bach's grave. We have four in this series now and think they are brilliant. All of us enjoy listening especially on long car journeys. Great entertainment with educational value. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A lot better than I thought it would be!
My mom was always encouraging me to read biograhies.One day, my mom sat me on a chair and forced me to read at least one chapter.I didn't think I would like it, but I loved it!Tons of info on Abe Lincoln!Some conversations were added to make it more interesting, but most of it wastrue.I am reading tons of bios from the same series (the Childhood ofFamous Americans series).I would encouage everyone to read this book andother books of the series!

Interesting.
This has been one of the more interesting biographys I read. This book focoses in more on his childhood than more on his life in polotics. ... Read more

Book Description

The Depression in America.Never forgotten by those who lived through it.Humor and good luck is examined--especially growing up in a grocery store. Twelve chapers of uplifting thought in spite of hardships endured. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Chinchian-buy this book without hesitation
This book shares great insight on the human experience. The author's unique perspectve is marvelously conveyed through his charming and intelligent style. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Dr. Sidney Winawer, chief of gastroenterology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, thought he was being paged. "Winawer. Winawer," a voice called. But it wasn't the hospital's paging system that was beckoning him; it was an intake nurse, calling to admit his wife, Andrea, for her surgery for metastatic stomach cancer.

While Winawer had treated thousands of cancer patients before his wife became ill, seeing Andrea wearing a shapeless, flimsy hospital gown shocks him; how could the hospital make someone wear something that unflattering? From the invasiveness of endoscopies to the brutal side effects of chemotherapy, the treatments he administered day after day horrify him when he's forced to examine them from his new perspective. After the surgery to remove her tumor, Andrea's grim prognosis--six months to live, given that the cancer has spread to her liver--leaves him powerless and embarrassed. One of the world's preeminent cancer experts, a man who admits he entered medicine mainly for the power it provides, won't be able to save the life of his own wife.

The story gains momentum when Andrea seeks out alternative medical treatments. With hyperthermia treatments in Wisconsin and interferon shots in Atlanta, her condition starts to improve. Of course, the Winawers' access to medical care at Sloan-Kettering and the awe that Sidney commands from his peers and other doctors around the country assure them immediate appointments; they also have full access to the stacks of research papers at Memorial's medical library. Their wealth allows them to even ship tumor tissue samples on dry ice to a doctor in Bern, Switzerland, to check for somatostatin receptors, a test that becomes key in their approach to her treatment. And Andrea, who never returned to work after the birth of their children and who has the luxury of a housekeeper, fortunately has the time to delve into books on meditation and the mind-body connection by Dr. Bernie Siegel and Dr. Lawrence LeShan.

Despite the Winawers' advantages over most other cancer sufferers, Andrea's condition eventually worsens during the following years. As she desperately resorts to supplements of vitamins and coenzyme Q-10, coffee enemas, then 10 different kinds of chemotherapy and a bone-marrow transplant, we see the family alternately falling apart and coming together. The ultimate triumph of the book is Andrea's wonderfully willful spirit. While its intricacies will be of most interest to those directly affected by cancer, the Winawers' poignant story will thoroughly move anyone looking for inspiration. --Erica Jorgensen ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Highly valuable & poignant
This book was by far one of the most poignant I have read in some time. I could not put it down and very often the tears will flow...be forewarned, but it is worth every word. The book makes you feel--an important and very often critical contribution a writer can make. Winawer learns about the doctor patient relationship, but concurrently learns how important it is to put aside your own ego for the benefit of those dear to you--patient or spouse. His greatest lesson was the one his wife taught him -the ability to humble oneself. I highly recommend this book and suggest reading it more than once-it has many valuable lessons about life and is a must for all people, not only those who have had personal experiences with cancer. It has many contributions.

I couldn't put it down...
I recommend this book to those living with cancer and those who love them. This book reveals that those of us who care about someone with cancer, even a world-reknowned physician at Memorial Sloan-Kettering, are feeling many of the same emotions and drains. Sloan-Kettering is a wonderful hospital and Sid Winawer is amongst its many, many stars. ... Read more

Book Description

Dogs do the doggonest things. They often make us laugh, usually outsmart us, and sometimes break our hearts. No creature can top our canine friends in showing us the absurdities of life and even sex ... or in teaching us about kindness, courage, and love. Now America's number-one dog trainers, Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson, tell us their favorite stories in a book as warm and wonderful as James Herriot's delightful Yorkshire tales, but set in our world and our time.

Tails From The Bark Side

A Jack Russell Terrier with a great and terrible passion for a tennis ball ... Murphy, a Rottweiler who played practical jokes ... a Newfoundland who was five minutes from death ... a Bullmastiff with a huge libido ... an unforgettable Christmas in a kennel running amok with queasy canines. Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson, partners in business and in marriage, let us into their fascinating days and nights as animal trainers ... and into their private lives.

Along with adventures in faraway places such as training a celebrity's seven Akitas in an Italian villa and a Siberian husky in the Bahamas, Brian shares delightful anecdotes about his mentor, the great and very eccentric Barbara Woodhouse. Here, as well, are his memories of the dog who owned a piece of his soul, a Rottweiler named Beau. Sarah tells of Urs, the German Shepherd she and Brian found on their honeymoon, of Caras, their amazingly smart Aussie, and of her incomparable Bouvier des Flandres, Kesl, the dog she loved ... and lost.

Throughout Tails From The Bark Side, we discover dogs who are psychic, heroes, or just plain clowns. They are creatures who hit our funny bone and take aim at our emotions. But with expert training tips and gentle do's and don'ts, Brian and Sarah show us human mistakes and follies too...as they candidly, outrageously expose the reasons the nobler species on this planet is the four-footed one in this tail-wagging treat of a story collection for everyone who has ever loved a dog. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

FINALLY, a book for dog lovers
What a delightful book! If you have little time to read...if you have a dog...if you have a sense of humor...if you fit all these qualifications, read this book. The stories are short, but packed full of humor, warmth and love for our canine friends. Read it while in line shopping. Read it during a TV commercial. Read it in the hammack with your best canine friend. You will love this book.

Ups & Downs of dog training is a smash!
Brian Kilcommons is one of my favorite trainers. He's amazing to watch and very practical in his training. What makes this book stand out is the collection of stories from his years of training dogs, and it's difficult to tell which is more entertaining; the dogs or their owners. Filled with touching stories and hilarious anecdotes, I was delighted with this book and sorry it wasn't longer. Anyone who has ever attempted to train a canine can understand, enjoy and even learn from this light read.

A Great Book of Stories
I absolutely LOVE "Tails From the Barkside"! I first heard about it on GreatPets.com, bought the book, and have read it several times since then. Tails is a wonderful collection of stories from the real life training experiences of Kilcommons and Wilson. A must read!

Lovely addition to your collection on dog stories.
These stories are great insights into dogs and their personalities. I admit, James Herriot is still my favorite author when it comes to telling a tale. Looking beyond the lack of narrative richness, it's still a great, easy read. I finished this book in two days. It was funny, heart-wrenching, educational, and highly entertaining.

Great Tails!
Tails From the Bark Side, by Sarah Wilson and Brian Kilcommons is a great look at the human animal bond, especially the funny parts! Tails from the Bark Side has laugh out loud funny stories of dogs and humans and the funny quirks about both. I rate this book among the top dog stories I've ever read. ... ... Read more

Book Description

In 1698, Elias Ball traveled from his home in Devon, England, to Charleston, South Carolina, to take possession of his inheritance: part of a plantation and twenty slaves. Elias and his progeny built an American dynasty that lasted for six generations, acquiring more than twenty Plantations and enslaving close to four thousand Africans and African Americans until 1865, when Union troops arrived on the lawns of the Balls' estates to force emancipation.

Edward Ball, a descendant of Elias, has written a nonfiction American saga that is part history, part journey of discovery. Ball chronicles the lives of the people who lived in his ancestors' lands: the violence and the opulence, the slave uprisings and escapes, the white and black heroes of the American Revolution, the mulatto children of Ball masters and "Ball slaves," and the culminating shock of the Civil War. He reconstructs the genealogies of slave families—from the first African captives, through ten generations, to the present—and travels to Sierra Leone to visit a prison from which his family once bought workers.

Most remarkable of all, Ball has traveled all over the United States to meet descendants of Ball slaves (who number between 75,000 and 100,000 living Americans). In a series of memorable encounters, Ball hears from black families—some of whom are his blood kin—their stories, passions, and dreams, and reveals how the effects of slavery live on in black and white life and memory. Slaves In the Family is a microcosm of America's defining national experience, a story of people confronting their inescapable common history. ... Read more

Reviews (91)

This book is full of gifts
'Slaves In The Family' is amazing. The research Edward Ball was able to do for this book was tantemount to a sisyphean feat. By tracing the heritage of several slave decendants back to the mid 1600s, he fullfilled something so profound for those families, almost no words can describe it. Most African Americans in this country are resigned to the fact that we'll never know who our great, great, grandparents were, where in Africa our ancestors once lived, or who we are beyond stolen people. To be able to say 'I've traced my heritage as far back to a relative named Binah, which is a common name in Sierra Leone, so my people are probably from there' is one of the most spiritual, life-altering pieces of information an African American (who is searching) can be given. In my personal experience, there has always been lack of understanding of myself. I can read and study and dance and commune, and on one level that is all of the knowing I need. But is that because that satisfies my soul, or because that's all the knowing I'm likely to get in this lifetime? Whatever the case, all my life there's been this yearning to know who my people are, and it's a yearning I've heard echoed in my sisters and brothers all over the country. Edward Ball is also a brilliant story teller. There are times when I'm reading, that I have to remind myself that it's non-fiction. Not only because it's so well written, but because I'm so far removed from the brutal, chattle existence my acestors survived, it is often times impossible to reconcile on the D train to Brooklyn that this country (and on a larger scale - the world) has a continually unpleasant history of treating fellow human beings deplorably, and in some instances, ungodly. Ball's able to relay American history, not black history (because there is no such thing in this country - we're all intertwined), in such an unbiased, sometimes humorous, sometimes somber way, that you really can't believe he's a descendant of one of the largest, earliest, and longest held plantation owners in South Carolina. The book dedicates equal time to his European relatives, and is unique in that no one is demonized, nor depicted as saintly. It is what it is.

I highly recommend it. Just came out in paperback. And there are glossy pictures.

Easily followed history
I enjoyed this book a lot. It took me a little longer than usual
to read this book (it is a lengthy book). I blame it on the holiday season and my work load. If you are a busy person, it might take you some time to read as well, plus you find yourself flipping back and forth to the pictures to place a face with the names mentioned.

Edward Ball did a good job in researching his family history and piecing together the slave's family tree as well. I liked the fact that he did not show any bias in his writing. He could have taken the oral history of the Ball family as fact, but he decided to collaborate his findings with the former slaves families. In doing so, he found out that many slaves where actually blood relatives of his.

I didn't buy this book (I borrowed it from the library), however after reading it, I will purchase it, because if I ever plan to research my family history it will help me to organize my findings. I also plan to buy his second book "Sweet Hell Inside."

Great Subject
Mr. Ed Ball does a good job traveling the U.S. to find relatives in his family from the slave years. While details are almost non-exsitant, he was able to form his family tree though family documentation and oral history.
My lack of starts comes from my feeling this book didn't get deep enough into how the relatives today truely feel about their past relative's situation. While he did a great job setting up his family's history and relating to it, he missed on the compassion needed for the slave side of his family. He must have had it since he was accepted into so many families and told their stories.
In one of the end chapters he went to Sierra Leon to trace the African side of the slave trade. Again he falls short of writing with feeling.
This book is worth the read because it gives you a documented slice into a family's life as slave holders in South Carolina. I do think it helps reveal some of the issues of slaves during the founding of the United States-something that isn't taught well enough in America's school system. I only wish the book were more personal instead of factual. But I guess that's why there are other books.

Coming to grips with the past...
National Book Award-winner, Slaves in the Family, is one of the best nonfiction books I have read in the past ten years. Edward Ball comes from a very prominent family of plantation owners in the Charleston Low Country. The patriarch, Elias Ball, immigrates to the colonies in the late 1600's. Being very prolific when it came to progeny, he soon had children and grandchildren owning over two dozen plantations along the Ashley and Cooper Rivers. After the Civil War, the Ball plantations were sold or lost, one by one. Yet today, the Balls are still very prominent in Charleston Society. Their family tree is well documented, and instead of being plantation owners, they now count lawyers, judges, doctors and priests among their ranks.

In Edward Ball's first effort, he sets out to find the descendants of the thousands of Ball family slaves. This was no easy task. Many slaves had no last names. Others moved to distant states. Some descendants had no wish to speak with him. Ball also encountered reticence from his own family. The extended family did not like to talk about slavery. On the few occasions when the subject was raised, they all espoused the party line: 1. Balls never mistreated their slaves 2. Balls never separated slave families and 3. Ball masters never slept with female slaves.

Using surviving Ball journals, diaries, ledgers and inventories, Edward was able to contact a good many slave descendants. I found the most moving parts of the book are when Edward's research validates the oral history of many slave ancestors, and in some cases, helped them to fill in the missing pieces of their genealogical puzzle. Edward's research also helps him to discover more about his own ancestors. Contrary to Ball oral history, not all Ball plantation owners treated their slaves admirably. Also, slave families were sometimes separated-although mostly due to economic necessity (i.e. when slaves were sold to settle an estate). But what really shocked the author was when he discovered that he had ancestors of color! But save that topic for another book.

The only part of Slaves in the Family that bothered me was Edward Ball's insistence on being an apologist for slavery. Although slavery was a horrible institution, Ball was in no way responsible for what his ancestors did hundreds of years ago. Still, this is just a minor distraction in an otherwise fabulous book. In addition to reading Slaves in the Family, I also listened to it on tape and enjoyed it just as much the second time around. Edward Ball truly gives us a remarkable effort in his first at bat.

Interesting and revealing historical journey
This book educated me more about the history of slavery in the USA than any other thing. The author's investigation about his family's history of owning slaves spares no facts, however disturbing they are. It traces the history of the slave trade and focuses on the slave business of Charleston, SC where his family settled and started several plantations where many slaves lived and worked. He finishes his exploration by describing his presence at the family reunion of his family's slaves' ancestors. This book explains the plights of slaves and slaveowners without any slant caused by some political agenda. It is a straightforward presentation of slavery and its consequences. The evils of slavery become apparent by the mere description of history.

Ball meanders at some times in ways that may not be interesting to some readers; however, I appreciated some of the details about the history of South Carolina and its environment.

I think this book accomplishes a healing and educational purpose that trancends Ball's family and reaches to all Americans, as we have all been affected negatively by the heritage of slavery in this country. ... Read more

Book Description

Winik traces the trajectory of their unique and touching relationship--a straight woman and a gay man falling in love, marrying, setting up house, and raising two beautiful sons; their against-the-odds happiness eventually crumbling under the pressure of AIDS, drug addition and betrayal; and the harrowing, heartbreaking final moments of their life together as Winik helps her husband die. Simultaneous hardcover release from Pantheon. 2 cassettes ... Read more

Reviews (22)

strange, but fascinating love story
This book was fantastic from beginning to end. I can only describe it as a form of voyeurism on my part. Never could I imagine having a life like Winick had, yet her story was so riveting and well written, that I couldn't stop reading it. It made me long for more stories of her life. I quickly recommended it to every reading friend I have, the outline did not interest them, but after much pushing from me, they read, and loved it. I, too wish that I could know what Tony was thinking and feeling about their relationship. What a wild, sad, sometimes wonderful life they led. You will not be sorry that you picked this treasure up.

heartbreakingly honest
Marion Winik's funny, honest, and ultimately gut-wrenching memoir First Comes Love answers, in the end, what true love is. In clear, unwavering prose, Winik tells of her meeting, marrying, having two children with Tony Heubach, a gay ice-skater. Given their differing sexual orientations -- Winik is straight -- sex never was a big part of their relationship. Drugs, however, were, and it is the drugs which first brought the two together and drove them apart as Tony desperately sought any respite from the AIDS that killed him (neither Winik nor their two children ever tested positive). The most accurate phrase I can come up for Winik and Tony is that they were "soul mates", and this compatibility on levels more intimate than intercourse made their relationship work. Involving as it does drug addiction and AIDS, many parts of this book are sad. Winik and Tony, however, shared many good times together, including a number of years when they were off drugs, were happily married with young children, and before Tony became symptomatic. This book deserves a wide audience both for its honesty and for Winik's marvelous writing.

Amazing Story of What Love Can Do
Yes, the two main people in this memoir are self-indulgent, but there is one, and only one, thread that holds them together: Love. It cannot be sexual attraction, because one is gay and one is straight. And the thread of love holds and holds and holds and finally snaps. Marion Winik's writing held me from the first chapter to the last and never snapped.