Book Description

"After 20 years and many re-reads, Reminiscences is still one of my all-time favorites."
–Kenneth L. Fisher, Forbes ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

“Since the first navy frogmen crawled onto the beaches of Normandy, no SEAL has ever surrendered,” writes Chuck Pfarrer. “No SEAL has ever been captured, and not one teammate or body has ever been left in the field. Thislegacy of valor is unmatched in modern warfare.”


Warrior Soul is a book about the warrior spirit, and it takes the reader all over the world. Former Navy SEAL Chuck Pfarrer recounts some of his most dangerous assignments: On a clandestine reconnaissance mission on the Mosquito Coast, his recon team plays a deadly game of cat and mouse with a Nicaraguan patrol boat. Cut off on the streets of Beirut, the author’s SEAL detachment must battle snipers on the Green Line. In the mid-Atlantic, Pfarrer’s unit attempts to retrieve—or destroy—the booster section of a Trident ballistic missile before it can be recovered by a Russian spy trawler. On a runway in Sicily, his assault element surrounds an Egyptian airliner carrying the Achille Lauro hijackers.

These are only a few of the riveting stories of combat patrol, reconnaissance missions, counter-terrorist operations, tragedies, and victories in Warrior Soul that illustrate the SEAL maxim “The person who will not be defeated cannot be defeated.” ... Read more

Reviews (23)

Real Life Hero
One of the best books I've read about US Navy Seals. In the same category of Marcinko's Rogue Warrior and Robert A. Gormly's Combat Swimmer but Warrior Soul is more human and sentimental. The book not only describes the military exploits of an ex-serviceman but also a real life struggles of a super human being against psychological and physical odds. The real highlight of the book is its last chapter. What a formidable advice from Pfarrer: 'Hold on to the people you are close to,and love them fiercely.Get up every morning and live like there is no tomorrow. Because one day you'll find it's true.' I wish a good luck to Mr. Pfarrer in his combat against his illness.

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS YOU'LL READ ALL YEAR
I have never been a Navy SEAL but, after reading Mr. Pfarrer's excellent "Warrior Soul," I can safely say that I now understand a bit more what makes the most elite warriors in the U.S. military tick physically and emotionally. Above all else, as Mr. Pfarrer poignantly shows us, they are human beings who laugh and love and bleed just like the rest of us. Sometimes, those commonalities tend to get lost in the media's typical glorification of special forces operators. That said, "Warrior Soul" paints the most vivid picture imaginable of what it takes to become one of these special men and the lasting effect such a heroic undertaking has on their lives. This is a finely structured book penned by a truly terrific writer. I'd give it 10 stars if I could.

Real and personal
So many books out there about the military carry the hollywood theme with them from the theatres. Its high adrenaline macho talk about some guy who thinks he is the best soldier there has ever been. However, Pfarrer's book goes completely the opposite direction. He seems to talk about combat the way it really was for him without any self-serving purpose. Beautifully written with many sections that just make you squirm with their realism. This book is about a man faced with the terrible realities of war especially his involvement with Beirut. It is not glitsy or glamourous. As a young man trying to figure out if I would like to be a part of our countries armed services, I appreciate such a realistic portrayal of what its really like.

Warrior Soul
To start off, I thought this book was your normal memoir of someone who thought they were the greatest. This is unlike most of the other military memoirs.

Mr. Pfarrer does not talk about how good he was, or how great a leader he was. Unlike most memoirs, Mr. Pfarrer talks about how good his team was, not how great he was. He says stuff the way it was, he admits to not being the best husband, he admits to screwing up. This story is amazing, the stories he tells of America's secret wars that the news glanced over. It puts a lot of stuff in perscpective.

This is probably the best book I've read in the past year, and the absolute best book out there about the military, and special operations.

Candid and well written
"Warrior Soul: The Memoirs of a Navy SEAL", by Chuck Pfarrer is quite a change from what I normally read. I subscribe to AVANTGO's RANDOMHOUSE channel and one of the excerpts they provided was from the first chapter of this book. After reading the excerpt, I was instantly hooked. I HAD to find out what happened next. I bought the book the next day. It's a real eye opener when you realize the things Pfarrer describes are true and part of our history. The author has a knack for conveying a wide range of emotion to the reader, making him/her feel like they were in the trenches, jungle, sub, boat or alley with him. Looking for a SAFE adrenaline boost? Read this book. The book also mentions a number of world events that someone from my generation may have heard of, but was too young to put into global historical context. The author generated a genuine interest in me, that lead to my researching a few of these events. I can understand why, when looking for this book at the book store, I found it under military history. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The electrifying opening of James Frey's debut memoir, A Million Little Pieces, smash-cuts to the then 23-year-old author on a Chicago-bound plane "covered with a colorful mixture of spit, snot, urine, vomit and blood." Wanted by authorities in three states, without ID or any money, his face mangled and missing four front teeth, Frey is on a steep descent from a dark marathon of drug abuse. His stunned family checks him into a famed Minnesota drug treatment center where a doctor promises "he will be dead within a few days" if he starts to use again, and where Frey spends two agonizing months of detox confronting "The Fury" head on:

I want a drink. I want fifty drinks. I want a bottle of the purest, strongest, most destructive, most poisonous alcohol on Earth. I want fifty bottles of it. I want crack, dirty and yellow and filled with formaldehyde. I want a pile of powder meth, five hundred hits of acid, a garbage bag filled with mushrooms, a tube of glue bigger than a truck, a pool of gas large enough to drown in. I want something anything whatever however as much as I can.

One of the more harrowing sections is when Frey submits to major dental surgery without the benefit of anesthesia or painkillers (he fights the mind-blowing waves of "bayonet" pain by digging his fingers into two old tennis balls until his nails crack). His fellow patients include a damaged crack addict with whom Frey wades into an ill-fated relationship, a federal judge, a former championship boxer, and a mobster (who, upon his release, throws a hilarious surf-and-turf bacchanal, complete with pay-per-view boxing). In the book's epilogue, when Frey ticks off a terse update on everyone, you can almost hear the Jim Carroll Band's brutal survivor's lament "People Who Died" kicking in on the soundtrack of the inevitable film adaptation.

The rage-fueled memoir is kept in check by Frey's cool, minimalist style. Like his steady mantra, "I am an Alcoholic and I am a drug Addict and I am a Criminal," Frey's use of repetition takes on a crisp, lyrical quality which lends itself to the surreal experience. The book could have benefited from being a bit leaner. Nearly 400 pages is a long time to spend under Frey's influence, and the stylistic acrobatics (no quotation marks, random capitalization, left-aligned text, wild paragraph breaks) may seem too self-conscious for some readers, but beyond the literary fireworks lurks a fierce debut. --Brad Thomas Parsons ... Read more

Reviews (219)

A Powerful Read
At age 23, James Frey's life was broken into a million little pieces. He had skipped bail in four states, he was an alcoholic, drug addict and had managed to alienate pretty much everyone who ever cared for him. Yet, those who cared never fully gave up on him, because perhaps they could see the nugget of genius that gave us this powerful memoir. While I cannot speak to those who have lived through the horrors that Frey recounts as he goes through detoxification and rehab--this book may have a different effect for them and I have seen some reviews here who just aren't buying what he has to day--to most who pick up this work--this will be an amazing read. Frey's recount of his time in rehab is almost hypnotic, is addictive in itself. The writing is different, almost disjointed, but it works. At the beginning of the book, he recounts his experience getting root canal without pain killers--it is a powerful and evocative passage. There are several other sections of this book that I don't think I will ever forget, simply because of the power of his writing. I don't normally read memoirs--I picked this one up on a lark. It's a quick read, not quick because it is "easy", but quick because you will need to know how James got through rehab.

Harsh and Honest.
I'm typically not a memoir fan, but Frey's style has a stream-of-conciousness lyricism that I found poetic enough to keep me reading until I reached the point where I couldn't stop. Usually when book reviews quote mainly from the first chapter, I feel like the rest of the novel won't keep up (ie: The Lovely Bones). But in this case the narrative continues to bite the entire way through. And sometimes I found myself physically wincing.

What's most refreshing is the lack of irony. I loved Eggers as much as the next guy, but I can't help but feeling that 5 years from now, when I re-read Eggers' work, I'll be embarrassed that I did. Frey never attempts to attach his life to a grander meaning of the times we live in. That job is left (rightly) to the reader. Relating such gruesome facts so plainly is pure elegance. There's meaning in that alone.

This book is bigger than a memoir. It's certainly bigger than a addiction/self-help book. It's near great, in a way that makes me look forward to this author's next work, instead of dreading the ultimate disappointment of the usual second novel flop. It's coming from an honest place, which is the only foundation an author can build on.

Read it because of the press overload, or in spite of it, but i promise it's a book that'll be read for many years after the p.r. goes away.

Addiction is a CHOICE, and Frey readily admits it.
I do not believe in addiction. I believe we all make choices every day on how we want to live. I am not saying it is not a condition, but it is still a conscious choice. We all wake up everyday and choice what we want to be. Some people choose a job and a stable life, and some choose drugs and alcohol.

That being, said, I really like this book. The writing is unique and interesting and really drives the point home.

An overall great read.

This Book Rocks. Period.
Not being as eliquent with words as James Frey is, I struggle to communicate how this book has impacted my life. There is something about it. It is intriguing. It captures you from the very beginning, and I am easily distracted. The writing format keeps you interested along with what is being said. This gives NOTHING away, but he describes drinking coffee in this book to the extent that I ALWAYS think about his description everytime I have a cup of hot coffee - which is every morning. So I think about this book every morning. I don't struggle with addiction. I, of course, know people who do or have. It is just a fabulous book that really changed me. I love this book. Absolutely love it. Will read it again. But am letting it marinate for a while. Please read it. It will move you.

Possibly the best read ever
I don't think you can put into words what James Frey has accomplished. This simply is one of the most intense, heartfelt, and very often painful reads you will undertake. I was skeptical to pick up yet another book on addiction (most book stores have entire sections donated to the subject) but, make no mistake, this novel is exceptional, true, and wonderful. ... Read more

Book Description

A personal, cultural, and scientific exploration of chronic, untreatable pain.

At the age of twenty-four, journalist Paula Kamen's life changed in an instant. While putting in her contact lenses, the left lens set off a chain reaction, igniting a constellation of nerves that radiated backwards from behind the surface of her eye. The pain was more piercing than with any other headache she had experienced. More than a decade later, she still has a headache-the exact same headache.

From surgery to a battery of Botox injections to a dousing of Lithuanian holy water, from a mountain of pharmaceutical products to aromatherapy and even a vibrating hat, All in My Head chronicles the sometimes frightening, usually absurd, and always ineffective remedies she-and so many like her-was willing to try to relieve her pain. Beleaguered and frustrated by doctors who, frustrated themselves, periodically declared her pain psychosomatic, Kamen came to understand the plight of the millions who suffer chronic pain in its many forms. Full of self-deprecating humor, and razor sharp reporting, All in My Head is the remarkable story of perseverance, acceptance, and patience in the face of terrifying pain. ... Read more

Book Description

With A Year by the Sea, Joan Anderson struck a chord in many tens of thousands of readers. Her brave decision to take a year for herself away from her marriage, her frank assessment of herself at midlife, and her openness in sharing her fears as well as her triumphs won her admirers and inspired women across the country to reconsider their options. In this new book, Anderson does for marriage what she did for women at midlife. Using the same very personal approach, she shows us her own rocky path to renewing a marriage gone stale, satisfying the demand from readers and reviewers to learn what comes next. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Thoughtful Comments about a Relationship
I loved Joan Anderson's book "A Year by the Sea" and I was very happy to see that she had written another book about her life. I wasn't disappointed with this novel and read it in one sitting. I have come to the conclusion that either you like this writing style, a memoir with a homey feel, or you don't. With that said, what this book is, is Joan's opinions about her life and her observations about her marriage. This book won't appeal to everyone. Not everyone will agree with her opinions and may find her constant observations egocentric but for me, it was a wonderful look into an intelligent woman's world of what makes her relationship work and not work. I love the way Joan writes through the seasons, expressing her transformation from the self limiting roles of wife and mother to the open ones of companion, trusted friend and soulmate. Anderson is not afraid to take a hard look at herself and analyze the reasons she falls into negative behavior and attitudes. What's more she genuinely wants to transform and allow her husband to transform in his own unique way without interfering. Not an easy thing to do. As I finshed the book, I felt as if I had just ended a conversation with a friend who had shared some secrets, fears, laughs and accomplishments with me. This was an enjoyable and enlightening memoir.

middle-age crisis
I like both this book and Joan's first book, A Year by the sea. I like her written style and her honesty. When I read this book, I feel my heart beat and try to find out what is going to happen. It is a great book! As a woman, I understand her situation. I feel sorry for her. However, I just wonder how Robin (her husband) thinks of these two books. These two books unveiled their unfinished marriage, just like be naked in front of the public. I don't think I would like my husband to write and published our relationship "in public." And, I also wonder how her grown up children feel about the books? Will they feel comfortable about their parent's "problem" to be known? Will the books help their marriage? Well, I don't know. Probably I will have an answer as soon as Joan publishes her third book.

An Unfinished Woman
This is a memoir about a woman so selfish, so castrating, that it is wonder that she has any marriage left to finish. I kept wondering why her husband, Robin puts up with her. She appears to have very little to offer. She shows him no love or understanding - it's all about her, her needs, her yearnings. She has no sympathy for his new premature retired state in an isolated beach community. She resents his furniture, his music, his golfing, his plans She gives him a hard time about a TV he wishes to install in the house and his plans for some home remodling. She announces to friends that she would like Robin to take a job in social services. She complains about the lack of money coming in since her husband retirement, yet balks at going to work. She left him the year before to "find herself" It appears as though she still hasn't.

An Unfinished Writer
There is one voice in this book and every character uses it in exactly the same pedantic, stilted manner. (At a dinner party, with the alcohol flowing freely, the husband finally lets his real feelings rip: "Joan might wax poetic about the Cape's bucolic nature, and this place may have filled the soul of Thoreau, but I'm not sure what it's going to do for me".) Each tiny situation is analyzed to death within the narrow prism of Anderson's self-centered nature. Considering her broken ankle: "It is no coincidence that the left side of my body sustained the injury, as it is the left side that is thought to be the feminine side - the side that receives and surrenders. In the healing of my ankle, am I also meant to allow my softer energies to flow more freely"? Geez. Joan needs to get out and do some volunteer work.

A Unfortunate Sequel
"A Year by the Sea," to which An Unfinished Marriage" is the sequel, is the memoir of a woman who peeled off the layers of her life and found again the person hidden under those layers. This is not unique in literature, nor in the lives of women, but Anderson's story is satisfying to women, most of whom are unable or unwilling to take Anderson's drastic and courageous approach to reshaping their lives. It was well-written and, deservedly, it sold well; a lot of us who read it learned from her experiences and appreciated her insights.

Unfortunately, "An Unfinished Marriage" is a bogus effort to take advantage of that success, with little basis. "Write a sequel, Joan. A lot of readers will buy the book, thinking that you really have something else to say."

Most of this book--and most of the so-called work on "finishing" or rescuing the marriage--takes place in Joan's head, not between Joan and Robin. Robin, newly retired, is undeveloped in the book, presented as though he has little or no role in the marriage and little or no interest in taking any steps to preserve it. He is trying to redefine himself as a retired person, a position for which Anderson has little sympathy. Having spent the preceding year re-evaluating and changing her life, she has not much interest in his attempt to do the same in the year she has apparently designated for re-evaluating and changing their marriage. This is a man who has obviously failed to get with the program.

Joan seems to feel that the future of the marriage is entirely in her hands and that somehow the marriage will move forward if she is very introspective and contrives everything possible into a series of lame metaphors that supposedly represent the marriage. A trip to the dump makes her realize that the marriage can be recycled like an aluminum can or a plastic bucket? Oh, please. Robin and Joan undertake the renovation of the beach house that has now become their year-round home and that is a metaphor for the remodeling of the marriage. Yes indeed, a recycled metaphor.(Which came first, the renovation or the metaphor?)

The dialogue in this book is stilted, way too heavy for normal conversation, fraught with meaning. In fact, everything in the book is fraught with meaning, too significant. If this reflects the their daily life during the period reported in the book, no wonder reassembling the marriage was so difficult. It seems that every action, every conversation, every event must be analyzed, reshaped and forced into significance for the sake of the book.

And therein lies the major problem with this book: It was forced into being. There is no book in this book. ... Read more

Book Description

For every woman who's ever come home after a disastrous date or day at the office to the unconditional love and comfort of a pet, this funny, irreverent memoir poses (and answers) the eternal question: Why is it so easy to love an animal and so hard to live with a man?

The Pig and I follows the hilly course of Yale-educated single girl Rachel Toor's love affairs with a series of unusual pets, and the string of boyfriends who bear an uncanny resemblance to them, both in looks and temperament. There's Charlie, a rich albeit mousy male, who turns out to be such a pushover that he allows Rachel to walk all over him without so much as a squeal, and to whom Rachel shows far less affection than to her pet mouse, Prudence. Patrick, the kind but dull manager of a typesetting business who Rachel falls for at the same time she finds Hannah, a cuddly but quiet canine mutt. Then there's Jonathan, the nerdy, brilliant doctor who was almost "the one," and whose role as co-parent to Emma, the pot-bellied pig, becomes pivotal to Rachel's quest for happiness and self-satisfaction. As Rachel falls for each pet, and each man, the truth of her question asserts itself as the human love fades and her love for the animal-and her acceptance of herself-grows stronger.

Any woman who has experienced the pure joy of loving an animal and the often-less-than-pure joy of loving a man will recognize herself in Rachel; any woman who has fallen for a man for all the wrong reasons will chuckle as she sees her own flawed judgment writ large. Heartfelt and hilarious, The Pig and I will be cherished by pet lovers and romantic realists alike. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

An amazing read
I picked this up from the library after having read it mentioned in an article elsewhere.Extremely well-written, I couldn't put it down, and have recommended it highly to almost all of my female friends.I plan on reading it again this weekend, to see what bits I may have missed as I was travelling with Rachel to see what insights she'd have into her own life that might mirror my own.

Relationships with men and animals
Rachel Toor's "The Pig and I" chroniced her journey from a college student at Yale to a forty-something writer. Toor talked about her relationship with various pets; mouse, rat, dog, cat, donkey, and horse. Through each of those pets, she learned something about the animals, especially their characters. Besides her pets, Toor also wrote about the relationship that she had with various men, and the lessons that she learned from each of them. Some of the relationships that she formed with them actually lasted beyond even after they broke up. In fact, two of her ex-boyfriends actually formed a "R.E.B." which stands for Rachel's Ex-Boyfriends.

This is quite a well-written book as the author is witty, funny as well as knowledgeable. I like that she was able to explain vividly her relationships with all her pets and was able to learn a lot about them; their characters, their likes and dislike. From the way she wrote about her pets, there is no doubt that this author has great passion and love for animals. This is certainly a fast-paced and entertaining read!

Belly Laughs, Joy, and Love
I enjoy books that make me laugh out loud to myself; there were some priceless moments in this book that elevated my mood considerably.Laughing out loud raises your heart rate and is a very good thing physically; Rachel's tour of encounters with the selfish pig, bitch rat, and others left me smiling.

I, too, have passed this book on to friends and family.I find even the title makes people smile, particularly animal-lovers and women in the dating world.

Toor is also thoughtful about the deep and profound love that can occur between species and that this cross-species love should be honored and revered as much as human love.Her capacity to engage with people and pets is enormous, and she puts her heart out there (and her pen) again and again.

Insightful & Soothing
This book was a surprise.I fully expected a typical chick-lit book, fun, "candy" -- a weekend read.What I didn't expect was to shed tears toward the end, both because of some of the author's insights--about men and about life--that hit a personal nerve, and the pets to which I became attached...

The beginning was a tad slow and it took me a while to shake off my original conception (that I was in a chick-lit book) and realize that this was a whole 'nother planet.The tone is gentle and very real.Not crass-real or life-is-horrible real: just life, beautiful, difficult, day-to-day life.

Thank you Rachel for sharing your gift with us, can't wait for the next one.

Well Done Rachel Toor.
I picked this book up at Border's and couldn't put it down.Alas, I paid $7 more for it, but I do not regret my indescretion.If you are in your forties, this book is a nostalgic and acurate representation of life as you've know it thus far.It follows one woman's adventures with her beloved pets and the assorted men that she encounters along the way.If you are looking for a mental vacation, a book you can read on you lunch break or a book to relax with in the bath tub, this book fits the bill.I laughed.I cried.I gave it to my best friend and asked her to pass it on.This one definately deserves to be in circulation, not sitting on a shelf. ... Read more

Book Description

In the spirit of Scott Turow's One L and David Brooks's Bobos in Paradise, a penetrating critique of elite universities and the culture of privilege they perpetuate, written by a recent Harvard alumnus.

Part memoir, part social critique, Privilege is an absorbing assessment of one of the world's most celebrated universities: Harvard. In this sharp, insightful account, Douthat evaluates his social and academic education -- most notably, his frustrations with pre-established social hierarchies and the trumping of intellectual rigor by political correctness and personal ambition. The book addresses the spectacles of his time there, such as the embezzlement scandal at the Hasty Pudding Theatricals and Professor Cornel West's defection to Princeton. He also chronicles the more commonplace but equally revealing experiences, including social climbing, sexual relations, and job hunting.

While the book's narrative centers on Harvard, its main arguments have a much broader concern: the state of the American college experience. Privilege is a pointed reflection on students, parents, and even administrators and professors who perceive specific schools merely as stepping-stones to high salaries and elite social networks rather than as institutions entrusted with academic excellence.

A book full of insightful perceptions and illuminating detail, Privilege is sure to spark endless debates inside and outside the ivied walls. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

In the tradition of William F. Buckley's God and Man at Yale

The modern iteration of William F. Buckley's classic God and Man at Yale, conservative commentator Ross Gregory Douthat'smain arguments have a much broader concern than Harvard, namely, his disquiet with the present state of the American college experience. While the examples center on Harvard, the book is reallya crtical rumination on students, parents, and administrators and professors who view elite colleges merely as stepping-stones to high salaries and elite social networks rather than the keepers of the flame of learning and academic excellence. As Tom Wolfe did in his fictional I am Charlotte Simmons, he also focuses on the moral guidance (or lack thereof) regarding sexual relations,career, and social relations at today's universities.All in all a thought provoking book, told from a somewhat conservative perspective (which to his credit, the author makes clear where he is coming from.)

Tedious
As an early 90s Harvard grad, I must admit that I enjoyed reading this book.Douthat does a great job of describing in detail life in Cambridge.What amazes me is that non-Harvard grads would find this even mildly amusing.

I attended a large state school in the South for my graduate work and, incredibly, it wasn't that different from Harvard.The teachers were inaccessible, grades were inflated, students cared more about getting a job than getting an education.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not defending Harvard.Most of what Douthat says is true and I share many of his opinions.I just think it's arrogant to think that anyone else would give a rip.Kudos to him for getting a booked published in his early 20s and getting friends to review it positively on Amazon.In 10 years he'll learn that the world doesn't revolve around him and his classmates and most people really don't care.

Bottom line - Harvard is like most other colleges in the US only it accepts a higher percentage of the anti-social, high IQ, over-achievers that exist on any campus but in fewer numbers.If someone wants a Harvard experience, go hang out with the nerdy types at your school.Most people choose not to because they have something better to do.

America's Ruling Class Has Lost its Noblesse Oblige
Ross Gregory Douthat insightfully tells us that today's "ruling class," composed of the graduates of Harvard and other elite institutions, has lost its sense of noblesse oblige. This is so because our country has become so meritocratic.

Douthat tells us that Harvard students feel they deserve to be there because they are the most talented and have worked so incredibly hard in high school to compile an impressive enough resume to get in. "They belong exactly where they are---the standardized test scores and college admissions officers have spoken, and their word is final." Our meritocratic society has reduced the arbitrariness of a student's acceptance at elite schools, and there will be less arbitrariness than in days-gone-by about a Harvardian's place in America's elite when he or she graduates.

This attitude contrasts with that of Harvard students and graduates of 100 years ago ("in the days before Verdun and Passchendaele"). In those days students were accepted and attended because of birth, i.e. their parents had the money, their families had social connections, etc. Douthat tells us that ideals of noblesse oblige grew from the "knowledge that God (or blind chance) had given the elite much that was not necessarily deserved." Douthat goes on to tell us that "on Harvard's campus reminders of that vanished era are everywhere...in inscriptions, on bridges and gates, that offer exhortations redolent with late-Victorian themes of honor and chivalry, patriotism and piety...ENTER TO GROW IN WISDOM, Dexter Gate tells those who pass through, and DEPART TO BETTER SERVE THY COUNTRY AND THY KIND. No one speaks like this anymore---not at Harvard...."

So, at today's Harvard, according to Douthat, knowledge of the source of noblesse oblige "has been wiped away. The modern elite's rule is regarded not as arbitrary, but as just right and true, at least if one follows the logic of meritocracy to its logical conclusion." As a result, Harvard students are concerned only with themselves and their personal success, and Douthat's memoir points to apparently real life characters, like Suzanne Pomey, as examples of the troubled path down which this attitude can take us. Douthat's comparison of her with Fitzgerald's Jay Gatsby is very well done. "Society gets the sociopath it deserves," warns Douthat, and for this reason Harvard alumni, students, faculty andadministration should read this well written memoir.

A novel that contains an excellent contrast of a pre-World War I Harvard graduate with a late 20th Century Harvard graduate, and the themes from Douthat's book that I have discussed above, is "American Blue Blood" by William C. Codington.

Coming of Age
Beyond the Harvard genre and Douthat's oft mentioned political columns, this book is a great read that stands well on its own.It is about Harvard, it is about politics, but most of all it is about an American boy growing up and realizing the differences between the world of his childhood dreams and the realities of life, love, and society.

Give me a break, people.The book is excellent.
I'm a little weirded out by the negative reviews here, which focus not on any specific problems with the book itself (poor structure, awkward prose, uninteresting anecdotes), but on the author: to some, Douthat is too conservative; to others, he is not conservative enough.He is a wimp; he is a coward; he is a neocommunist.

He is also an excellent, excellent writer.

Setting Douthat's politics aside (because, in actuality, Privilege is not overwhelmingly political), let us focus on what matters most about book reviews: the prose here is sharp; the observations compelling; and the message relevant and provocative.Must a reader agree with -- or want to befriend -- a writer to enjoy his work?

I hope not, because I've heard Hemingway was a real jerk.
... Read more

Book Description

Helga Schneider was four when her mother suddenly abandoned her family in Berlin in 1941. This extraordinary memoir, praised across Europe, tells of a daughter's final encounter with her mother, who had left her family to become an SS guard at Auschwitz. ... Read more

Book Description

The first true account ever published by a victim of an "honor crime," this shocking, moving, and harrowing tale has already become an international sensation.

Souad was a 17-year-old girl living in a small village in Jordan when she had the misfortune of falling in love--an emotion that would lead to an unspeakable act of violence and a lifetime of exile from her homeland. With a childhood marked by hard labor and physical abuse at the hands of her father, who is humiliated by the birth of many daughters and only one son, Souad is desperate to leave home. Enticed into a relationship with a handsome neighbor, her short-lived romance leaves her pregnant. Forbidden to marry until her older sisters find husbands and having brought shame to her family, Souad faces the only acceptable punishment: death. How her family plots to kill her, her harrowing struggle to survive burns over 90% of her body after her brother-in-law douses her with gasoline and sets her on fire, her dramatic escape from Jordan, and her resolve to build a new life for herself is a tale of heartbreaking drama and remarkable courage. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Great book to read and share with friends and family
I could not put this book down once I started to read it. It captured my attention from the first page. It gives you such an insight on this woman's life and the different culture and ways that these men treat their women.
It shows how strong the human spirit can be and how you can overcome adversity.
You sometimes live in your own little world and don't realize what goes on in other countries. It sure does open up your eyes and your heart. A must read!!

A great book for women to read.
This book is not only an interesting story, it serves as an educational novel teaching people about middle-east countries and how women are treated. I think everyone should read this book at least once.

Riveting
I read this in one sitting. It was extraordinary. I can't believe after reading this book a reviewer could complain the author did not provide cross-referencing and documentation. She didn't even know her birthday when she escaped. She is still in hiding, fearing for her life, and would not be at liberty to send a request for documents. She wrote a personal (not historical) account, from personal memory, and it was compelling.

Stream of Horror
Souad is a stream of horror describing the mistreatment of women in a Muslim community. Although it is highly probably that many of the events actually transpired, the story suffers from a number of faults: no specific documentation or cross referencing; little background to the actual location or sect; repetitious accounts of the frequent beatings and mistreatment; and a sub par prose that diminishes the impact. It is an important subject but is done a disservice by the compilation of vagaries and sketchiness. For a more credible account, I recommend the work of Irshad Manji.

A Must Read!
The hardship of being a female child to a male controled family and male oriented lifestyle in the West Bank. Then her subsequent death because she was in love, made love, and then shunned by the lover. Burned alive due to the male honor status. Then a rebirth into a new world, where she learned to live, love, marry, have children. But with the terrible memories of her non-existant childhood and the scars she still has haunts her to this day. But my impression is that she is strong and is a survivor. ... Read more

Book Description

"One of the most influential lyricists of all time" --Rollingstone.com ... Read more

Reviews (8)

KRS-One book
I have never read the book but if it is on KRS-One it should be pretty good.KRS-One is the greatest

Hiphop Revolutionary
Ruminations is eye opening & consciousness expanding. He discusses some concepts that I've thought about before and some that I never would have. He lays out plans for a sovereign Hiphop Nation that would stand indepent of the United States. Talk about revolutionary thinking! As always he's not afraid to put forth ideas that may not be popular. I highly recommend this book, really for everybody, but especially for anyone who cares about Hiphop Kulture or even just Rap. The last chapter is The Science of Rap, apparently updated and reprinted from an earlier KRS book.
I couldn't put this book down. I often get bored with books before finishing them, but not this one.

Great Read!
This is a wonderful read! This will be a great text book for college classes interested in inner-city thought as well as social philosophy.

There's a reason KRS ONE has lectured at Harvard and Yale, and there's a reason this book is introduced by a famous philosopher. It's a good book with many insights.

It's no Plato's Republic, but if Plato grew up in the South Bronx and climbed the ladder from rags to riches, this book is something he may have written.

This book shows why KRS-One is one of the most brilliant
minds associated with Hip-Hop Today. KRS-One challenges people to think in most of his music. He is no different in his writing. The parts of the book that I found stimulating to read are his views on 9-11-01, the reparations movement, and the current state of hip-hop.

A great mind of today.
Kris Parker, better known as KRS-One,has written an outstanding autobiography entitled Ruminations.Kris Parker brilliantly tells us about his rise in Hip-Hop from beginning to present.His book also talks about many current issues,and his views on the state of society today.Kris also touches on the birth of Hip-Hop culture and his significant role in it.Kris is one of the most influential names in Hip-Hop music of all time.KRS-One is viewed by many as nothing less than a legend in the Hip-Hop community.I believe this book is excellent to read even if you aren't in any way interested in Hip-Hop.Kris has very interesting views on where he feels our world will be in years to come.For example,he spends a good amount of time discussing the serious reforms needed in order to improve the living status of African Americans today.The knowledge being displayed in this book is incredible.Just listening to Kris express his views and thoughts about the future makes me believe that KRS-One is prophet like.Ruminations is an excellent book that does nothing less than feed the mind. ... Read more

Book Description

The fascinating first-person account of the cross-dressing prince who poisoned Rasputin with rose cream cakes laced with cyanide and spiked Madeira is now back in print. Originally published in France in 1952, during the years of Prince Youssoupoff's exile from Russia, Lost Splendor has all the excitement of a thriller. Born to great riches, lord of vast feudal estates and many palaces, Felix Youssoupoff led the life of a grand seigneur in the days before the Russian Revolution. Married to the niece of Czar Nicholas II, he could observe at close range the rampant corruption and intrigues of the imperial court, which culminated in the rise to power of the sinister monk Rasputin. Finally, impelled by patriotism and his love for the Romanoff dynasty, which he felt was in danger of destroying itself and Russia, he killed Rasputin in 1916 with the help of the Grand Duke Dimitri and others. More than any other single event, this deed helped to bring about the cataclysmic upheaval that ended in the advent of the Soviet regime.~The author describes the luxury and glamour of his upbringing, fantastic episodes at nightclubs and with the gypsies in St. Petersburg, grand tours of Europe, dabbling in spiritualism and occultism, and an occasional conscience-stricken attempt to alleviate the lot of the poor.~Prince Youssoupoff was an aristocrat of character. When the moment for action came, when the monk's evil influence over the czar and czarina became unbearable, he and his friends decided that they must get rid of the monster. He tells how Rasputin courted him and tried to hypnotize him, and how finally they decoyed him to the basement of the prince's palace. Prince Youssoupoff...is perfectly objective, remarkably modern and as accurate as human fallibility allows. His book is therefore readable, of historical value and intimately tragic. It is as if Count Fersen had written a detailed account of the last years of Marie Antoinette.--Harold Nicholson, on the first English edition, 1955 By Prince Felix Youssoupoff. Hardcover, 5.25 x 8.25 in./300 pgs / 0 color 14 BW0 duotone 0 ~ Item D20143 ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Glimpse Into A Vanished World
Prince Felix Yousssoupoff is best known as one of the murderers of Gregory Rasputin just before the Russian Revolution. He was a member of one of Russia's most aristocratic families, and in this memoir, originally published in the 1950s, he gives us a glimpse of life for a nobleman in pre-Revolutionary Russia.

Life was certainly rich, if not always good, for Prince Felix. As a younger son, he was given very little education and basically allowed to do as he pleased during his formative years. Most of the time what he was pleased to do was to get into trouble. I lost count of the number of servants, governesses, and other retainers who quit with nervous breakdowns after trying to look after Felix. Under the influence of his elder brother, whom he adored, Felix had an early initiation into sexual and other kinds of debauchery. He enjoyed dressing as a woman and living the high life in St. Petersburg, London, and Paris. Felix was reticent about his sexuality, claiming several affairs with women but speaking more warmly about his men friends, including Grand Duke Dmitri, who helped him murder Rasputin. When Felix's brother was killed in a duel Felix became the heir to a vast fortune. He married Tsar Nicholas' niece Irina, whom he claimed to adore but otherwise said little about.

The most interesting parts of this book deal with Rasputin, whom Felix met several times. Typically, Felix hints that there was a sexual nature to these encounters, but divulges few details. Felix describes the murder and his subsequent exile, which saved him from being in St. Petersburg during the February Revolution in 1917, and his internment in the Crimea with other members of the Imperial Family from 1917 through 1919, when he escaped on a British warship.

This book is interesting but highly reticent. Felix never loses a chance to glamorize himself and his activities, with the result that some undeniably brave actions, like his several trips to St. Petersburg to rescue treasures while the Bolshevik terror was at its height, tend to get less attention than they deserve. A more open and informative biography of Prince Felix, The Man Who Killed Rasputin, by Greg King, was published several years ago and will help fill in the gaps left by Felix's own work.

A historical treat
I first encountered this book as a teenager and was just enchanted with it, and I'm thrilled a new printing has come out. Of the many autobiographies of exiled Russian nobility, this one stood out. Perhaps because of the historical role he played. There are fascinating stories of eccentric personalities (how about getting a mountain for a birthday present, complete with sheep?). A complex personality, Felix was, admittedly, spoiled rotten, used to getting his way and yet, had admirable traits (it's not in this book but once in exile, he never turned down a request for help from another refugee). And then there is Rasputin and his part in that assasination. Of course, Felix leaves out some details about himself other historians have noted. However, the book is still an accurate picture of a lost world. If you enjoy this era, this book is worth having in your collection. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The final and remarkable book of best-selling author Caroline Knapp underlines her gift of leveraging her life experiences into provocative lessons. On the surface, Appetites may appear to be about eating—-complete with Knapp's unflinching account of her anorexia. In fact, Knapp is writing about how every woman can decipher her hunger and loneliness by connecting with her desire to experience pleasure. She illuminates the ways in which cultural taboos about women who desire create vulnerability to disorders of appetite including food and alcohol addictions, compulsive shopping and promiscuous sex. In this expansive view, "one woman’s tub of cottage cheese is another woman’s maxed-out Master Card." Readers will nod in recognition as the author seamlessly weaves autobiography and anthropology, describing her family of origin, profiling women of appetite and countering what she calls "the culture of No!" that curbs and disguises women's desires. Knapp gets to yes by urging readers to ask: "What gives me delight and fully engages me?" Knowing that 42-year-old Knapp died of lung cancer makes this question all the more poignant. Such questions suggest Knapp’s brave and generous legacy. --Barbara Mackoff ... Read more

Reviews (11)

A Searing, Soulful Look at Women's Deepest Urges
Oh, Caroline Knapp will be missed.
"Appetites" is a powerful and profound exploration of her battle with anorexia in her twenties. She weaves the stories of other female bulemics and anorexics throughout her own-and also of other women with deep obsessions and cravings that lead to such behaviors as promiscuity, alcoholism, spending wildly, and shop lifting. What are they really hunger for, she asks. Love, acceptance, security? She writes with grace and force. The reader confronts these issues with her, but she eases them into the debate. And then he or she is engaged.
Knapp explores the emotional, psychological, and cultural reasons that drive American women to such behaviors. She has a softer, gentler voice than most feminists and she does not indict men for the most part. But she does blame society. It's interesting-most pop psychologists would diagnose some of the behaviors she describes as examples of an "obsessive compulsive disorder" (anorexia is a manifestation of it in many cases). Yet she doesn't use that term once in the book-in many ways, she digs even deeper for the causes than simply a diagnosis. She analyzes what triggers the disease.
I would recommend this book for most women, even if you haven't had an eating disorder. We all have appetites. I wouldn't recommend it for most men, except those who like women issue books or know someone who is anorexic.

Not a misprint
Plenty has been written about WHAT women want; movies have even been titled as such. But this book by Caroline Knapp isn't about WHAT; it's about WHY. Knapp's 1996 book, Drinking: A Love Story, chronicled her battle with alcoholism, whereas Appetites, a much more ambitious book, examines her early battle with anorexia, a condition which was referred to only peripherally in her previous book. According to Knapp's self-awareness revelations, the denial of food is a metaphor that explores the difficulties women have even acknowledging their deepest desires - desires for sex, love, freedom, professional recognition... just life. The message behind Appetites is made more poignant by the fact that Knapp died last year of lung cancer at age 42. Her book is full of wit and wisdom - and we can hope that before death, she came to appreciate those 2 qualities within herself.

Caroline Knapp is a must read
Caroline Knapp clearly has been through a lot. Her writing is honest andfor the most part non-judgemental. This was the first books I read by Knapp and I simply started reading it when I picked it up by chance at a local bookstore. I ended up reading all of her books. But appetites is my favorite because it deals with so many issues under the "food" topic. I recommend it to everyone, for women to re-think and to menso that they can better understand and relate. Overall it was a great read. I highly recommend it.

This is a book to buy for your sisters and daughters
By any scale, I've been a fortunate and successful woman. I deeply enjoy my work, have the opportunity to think deeply, have good health, loving family and children.
This book was originally a recommendation from a friend, one of those 'think you might like it' things, that sat on the table. Why would I be interested?
Opening it, reading it and being stuck almost motionless by recognition of deep truths has changed that attitude. I'm ordering 5 copies. Young, middle-aged and older women need to read this book and think about it. Both to appreciate the stresses and strains that our mothers experienced, and to realize the residual effect on our lives. Share this book, pass it along to others, it is important.

Well-written but same old song and dance
This book quickly draws you in with its enticing portrayal of anorexia but then drops you 15 pages later. The writing is lyrical, even poetic, the message is hackneyed and over-used. Men, society, teachers, traditional values, etc. are all blamed by the author for the horrifying statistics on eating disorders in our generation. Admittedly some of the things have put pressure on women to be thin, grotesquely thin. However, where and when will women be allowed to accept responsibility for their own bodies? The shape of our bodies, the color of our hair, and the size of our shoes is our business, not the business of know-it-all feminists who sit in their cozy little university offices writing books about the terrible pressures men put on us women to be skinny. Live and let live. Men have their own set of problems to deal with, and though they can be oppressive in their treatment of women, they also have shown increasing support and flexibility in their attitudes toward us. Men, in general are not to blame for anorexia nervosa, women must learn to treat themselves with compassion, patience, and respect. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Gripping account of borderline personality disorder.......
This is a very page turning read. I cannot put it down. I thought I was living with two borderlines but after reading this book and the extent of her mental illness and how these people can still function and work is amazing. I know now that my two family members are only mildly afflicted. (Father and Daughter). This woman is full blown and I don't know how her family and her psychiatrist could jump into her tornado with her and ride it out when the tornado always comes back. I think she could have been alittle more self disciplined and tried to control some of this bad behavior, it sounded more like she was a spoiled two year old than an adult. I have read two other books on borderlines and Rachel's case is the most severe yet. Her husband should have removed her children from this toxic environment and left her in the institution until they had her psychosis under control. All in all I do recommend this book but this woman had a more severe case than any I have heard of.

Healing From the Inside Out
Rachel Reiland's deep, unflinching account of her psychotherapeutic journey from borderline personality disorder and anorexia to the wholeness that lay ahead is an absolute must-read for those with BPD and their loved ones.

While Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and other Cognitive Behavioral Therapy programs (generally touted as the most effective means of treating BPD) approach BPD symptomatically, Reiland's first person observations of healing BPD from the inside out give amazing insight into the fundamental developmental rift that creates "borderline behavior" -- an unmistakable inner rift that those with BPD will resonate strongly with as they read Rachel's book.

As well written as it is honest, this book stands alone in the body of BPD literature in its earnest and encouraging presentation of recovery from Borderline Personality Disorder and the recovery process.

While most may not be able to afford the therapy that Rachel was privileged enough to undergo (three sessions per week with her psychiatrist for the first two years or so), the insights gained into the illness and the healing process will undoubtedly benefit those with BPD who are ready to recover.

**If you are under the care of a therapist, I would recommend asking or apprising your therapist before you begin reading, as some of the content may trigger emotional reactions.**

If you have a loved one suffering from BPD, this book will give you a glimpse of how deep BPD truly is, and how much hope there is if your loved one truly wants to be healed.

Visit www.bpdresourcecenter.org or www.bpdcentral.com for more information on Borderline Personality Disorder. Also recommended (and available here) are Linehan's Skills Training Manual for Treating Borderline Personality Disorder and Mason & Kreger's Stop Walking On Eggshells. For those with BPD and addiction issues, read The Angry Heart: Overcoming Borderline and Addictive Disorders by Santoro and Cohen. For Christians, Behind the Masks: Personality Disorders in the Church by Pate & Pate.

Exceptional Book
Reading this book is like stepping into the family of a person with Borderline Personality Disorder. It is not always a pleasant place to visit, it can be very painful. I would assume that most people who would choose this book do so because of some personal connection to BPD. To watch Rachel and her family struggle through her illness and recovery can touch 'almost' too close to home. But, you find yourself hoping for them all.

Rachel is a storyteller, and this book is written in a beautiful and very readable style. The clinical information that is presented as part of the story is palatable because it is so well ingrained into the actual storyl.

Someday soon I am going to take the time to write a long letter to Rachel Reiland, and to Randi Kreger ("Stop Walking on Eggshells."} These two women have put a tremendous amount of time and energy into giving us all a better understanding of Borderline Personality Disorder.

If you've taken the time to read this review, then I strongly suggest you read Ms Reiland's book. I hope that you find it to impact your own life in the strong, positive way that it impacted mine.

I'm Not Supposed to Be Here
Even people who have not been touched by mental illness will enjoy this fascinating, compelling story. Rachel Reiland's honest, insightful recounting of her battle with borderline personality disorder offers a vivid picture of the borderline mind and the devastation it can cause, but also testifies that recovery is possible. Those whose lives are affected by the disorder will find hope in Reiland's courageous story.

A must-read for any BP or Non-BP
"I'm Not Supposed to Be Here" is an excellent read. A very confronting read too - since it not only validates my own experiences of the relationship with my Borderline Ex, but more frighteningly Rachel's story explains how emotional abuse, lack of parental care and the ensuing cover-up campaigns cause so much harm to a child. It is horrifying to see the effects which reach so far into adulthood.

I have a son and his BP mother has sole custody. It is frightening to read parts of Rachel's story in this respect.
Maybe Rachel's book should become required reading for relationship councillors, mental health professionals and those involved in child custody decisions.

What I found especially useful was reading how Rachel's psychiatrist handled the acting out behavior. The firm responses from the psychiatrist in the face of intense provocation served as a valuable example in helping me protect myself during such potentially endless conversations and no-win situations.

Not only is this a book about BPD, it is a story of one woman's tremendous inner strength and, above all, honesty. It is incredibly readable and difficult to put down. This book is a must read for any BP or Non. ... Read more

Book Description

What is the most baffling period in our lives? Not childhood, not old age, but the decades of our forties and fifties, the period now generously known as middle age. It's both an occasion for regret and an opportunity for coming to terms, the moment when we come up against our limits and discover -- for better and worse -- who we are.

My Life in the Middle Ages is a portrait of what that unnerving experience is like. A collection of unified essays about the pleasures and pathos that attend the threshold of old age, it charts an original course between reportage and confession. Drawn from the author's own life, from the testimony of parents, children, teachers, and friends, from the books he's read and the life that he chose -- and that chose him -- My Life in the Middle Ages is a comic, poignant memoir that's both personal and generational.

Whether he is struggling with God (or trying to find out if he believes in one), celebrating the books he's loved and regretting those he'll never read, or leafing through the snapshots in his family album and marveling at the passage of time, James Atlas is always alert to the surprises of everyday life. He parses the fine points of success and failure among New York's "lower upper-middle class" (several of the chapters began as essays in The New Yorker) and expresses the largest themes: "I tried to remind myself that death was a part of life. I was here, then I wouldn't be here."

Atlas writes movingly about watching his parents age and his father die. In a wry and soul-searching piece, he recounts his perplexing quest for spiritual meaning after a secular lifetime, a quest that takes him to a private synagogue and a Buddhist meditation center. On the tennis court, he ruefully capitulates to his teenage son's blossoming athletic prowess, recalling a similar passing of the torch with his own father forty years earlier.

At once pensive and funny, lighthearted and profound, My Life in the Middle Ages is a tale of survival, but also a meditation on how it feels to flourish -- how to live.

Reviews (3)

A THOUGHTFUL READING BY THE AUTHOR

Age isn't any barrier to finding enjoyment and information in listening to "My Life In The Middle Ages" as read by the author.Former editor for the New York Times Book Review, Atlas has an impressive resume', which includes founding Atlas Books and writing for The New Yorker and The Atlantic.

If you're still enjoying your salad days, Atlas will share a few secrets with you that the years may bring.Those in mid life will find much with which to identify in the experiences the author has remembered in his own life and in the lives ofothers.

Give a listen as Atlas evaluates himself at this point in time.He is honest about his accomplishments and sometimes poignantly candid about his disappointments - what he has not done and what he now knows he will never do.Has he done as he might have wished as a young man, as a husband, a father?

The death of Atlas'sfather had an enormous impact upon him, perhaps a glimpse of what the future held.Whatever the case, "My Life In The Middle Ages" is a compilation of what some have gleaned from their life journeys - well worth hearing.

- Gail Cooke

hard to teach an old dog new tricks
This book is a very quick read and although it has some truly touching moments such as Atlas' description of the death of his father, I couldn't help but wonder why he wasn't further along on the evolutionary scale.Hard to find out the meaning of life when he paying up the wazoo for expensive private schools for his kids, shuffling credit card dept, and keeping up with the Jones.

I found myself shaking my head towards the end of it..like seeing yet another Woody Allen film- thinking ...what a putz!

a really" good read"
yes, a terrifically "good read,",and not out of stories of crime, espionage, mystery, perversion, violence, etc, but the comedies, tragedies, challengesof everyday life..keenly observed and beautifully written... ... Read more

Book Description

Memoir from television, stage and screen actor Jed Allan. Mr. Allan has starred on Broadway, in feature films, but is best known for his work in television. "Love of Life" "Secret Storm" "Days of our Lives" "Santa Barbara" and now "General Hospital" are all soap operas in which he has played a major role. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A simply fascinating personal memoir
Film and television actor Jed Allan is best known for the roles that he has played on day-time soap operas such as "Days of Our Lives", "Santa Barbara", "Port Charles", and "General Hospital" (where he currently plays Edward Quartermaine). Please, Spell The Name Right is a simply fascinating personal memoir by a veteran of the entertainment industry and a consummate actor who is much more than just another popular leading man in daytime TV. Readers will learn of his roles on programs ranging from Lassie, Walker: Texas Ranger; and Mod Squad; to Beverly Hills 90210, Love American Style, and Street of San Francisco. Here are to be found Jed Allan stories of fellow actors and entertainers Peter Falk, Milton Berle, Robert Redford, Buddy Hackett, Telly Savales, Michael Douglas, Chuck Norris, and Mary Tyler Moore. Please, Spell The Name Right is a considerable cut above the usual Hollywood memoir and a "must read" for Allan's legions of fans!

A Side of Jed Allan Never Seen Before
I concur with my fellow reviewers that say this book is a delight. As a Days fan, I -- like many -- first noticed Jed's work as Don Craig and I've followed him through the years to Port Charles and on GH today. I never knew of his earlier work in the theater and about his family life. I found his attention to detail captivating! One of the more interesting points was that he starred opposite Frances Reid (as Hecuba nonetheless!) in his early days. Thank you Jed for sharing this with us!

Terrific Insight into actor's career
Jed Allan's autobiography gives the reader a detailed insight into the trials and tribulations of a successful actor.He holds no punches when talking about the wonderful and not-so-wonderful people whose paths he has crossed throughout his acting career.It is well-written and very personal, a joy from opening page to its epilogue.A must-read for anyone who has watched daytime TV in the 80's and 90's.

Fun Read
This book was the perfect bio-short, sweet and fun to read.Buy this book.Have fun and learn the life of one of our favorite charactor faces.

A journey with famous showbiz stars
An extremely enjoyable read on the subject of showbusiness as told through the personal journey of the author's own real life
career in motion pictures and tv. ... Read more