Book Description

Read by the author
3 cassettes, 5 hours

The culmination of a unique achievement
in modern American literature: the six volumes of autobiography that began more than
thirty years ago with the appearance of
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings


A Song Flung Up to Heaven opens as Maya Angelou returns from Africa to the United States to work with Malcolm X. But first she has to journey to California to be reunited with her mother and brother. No sooner does she arrive there than she learns that Malcolm X has been assassinated.
Devastated, she tries to put her life back together, working on the stage in local theaters and even conducting a door-to-door survey in Watts. Then Watts explodes in violence, a riot she describes firsthand.
Subsequently, on a trip to New York, she meets Martin Luther King, Jr., who asks her to become his coordinator in the North, and she visits black churches all over America to help support King’s Poor People’s March.
But once again tragedy strikes. King is assassinated, and this time Angelou completely withdraws from the world, unable to deal with this horrible event. Finally, James Baldwin forces her out of isolation and insists that she accompany him to a dinner party—where the idea for writing I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is born. In fact, A Song Flung Up to Heaven ends as Maya Angelou begins to write the first sentences of Caged Bird. ... Read more

Reviews (25)

Another splendid addition to Angelou's memoir collection!
A Song Flung Up To Heaven is a continuation of the experiences of Maya Angelou. If you've read any of her previous memoirs, you will know that Dr. Angelou has lead and continues to led a rich and full life - something that cannot be covered in one or two books.

This sixth memoir starts with Dr. Angelou's return to the U.S. from Ghana, West Africa. It ends with the time she was about to write her first memoir, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. In between, the book is filled with her encounters with various people and her experience during some disturbing times in American history - the murder of Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King, and the Watts riots in California.

I most enjoyed reading about my favorite personalities from Dr. Angelou's past memoirs - Vus Make, her handsome, intelligent, charismatic African husband; Bailey Johnson, her older, caring big brother; Guy Johnson, her intelligent, independent son and Vivian Baxter, her smart mother.

Reading Dr. Angelou's continued memoir is like sitting with an old, trusted and respected friend; there's a treasured feeling as you listen to her stories as they come one after the other.

Fafa Demasio

A Final Song
We began following the life of Maya Angelou through her first biography, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." Now many years and several installments later we conclude with her latest work "A Song Flung Up to Heaven." Although, Angelou focuses primarily on a short span of her life in this book, she reflects over her entire life and at the end of the book the reader will surely feel as if she has come full circle.

Angelou's path to success was a rocky one. As a child she was the victim of abuse and her young adult life was far from easy. She shares her experiences with candor and grace, I never felt as if she was telling the glamorized version of her experiences. She shared both her triumphs and her regrets, her successes and her failures. Her writing was conversational, and as I read through this book I felt at times as if we were sitting and chatting. Maya's relationships with such figures as Malcolm X, James Baldwin, and Martin Luther King Jr., were discussed at length in this novel and several other famous figures were featured with less detail. I appreciated that she didn't "dish dirt" about these people, instead she portrayed the people behind the work for which they were famous.

This book continued the journey of Angelou's often difficult life, but I felt like I was left hanging. I respect her decision not to write about writing, but after reading about so many of the difficulties she had to overcome in her life I wanted to hear about her ultimate success as a writer. Still, I appreciated her openness and willingness to share her life's arduous journey with readers. I truly believe that her life symbolizes strength of character and perseverance in a manner that should serve as an inspiration to all, and particularly to women. As such, I highly recommend Maya Angelou's final chapter of her collection of memoirs.--Reviewed by Stacey Seay

Still I Rise
THIS POEM WAS THE BEST POEM I HAVE EVER READ AND I LOVE TO READ IT OVER AND OVER SO I GIVE THIS POEM 5 STARS

a song flung up to heaven book reaview
Nick short A song flung up to heaven book review
3/4/04

There were a lot of things I found in the book a song flung up to heaven. One of those things I found was that it was very insightful. I learned a lot about the history of blacks and whites in the United States. The chapters in the book could be very complex and sometimes very maundering. Maya Angelo is one of those writers that writes one chapter and explains that chapter in the next. Once you read one chapter she builds it so you can understand the second chapter. From my read prospective and reading level I found the book very easy to understand. The reading was very mature and infer stable. Her style is like a poem except in does not rhyme.

The book a song flung up to heaven is an autobiography on a famous and by my option the best poet and writer ever. This book is one of the six books in her series. At the beginning it betrays her life as a black woman on a plan heading for the United States. She is one board a plain full of whites. The time was 1960 and blacks and whites would rage war to each other. Maya is forced to coop with the lost of one of her closed friends Malcolm x at the beginning of t he book. After the death of a close friend Malcolm x Angelou feels there is no reason for her to stay in America, but soon realizes that she needs to be part of the black community and fighting against poverty and saving the rights of blacks and pour people. During the novel she goes many different trials she is forced to understand the truth behind the fact that even blacks can be anti-black. She also talks of a controlling lover from Africa who she says "he tears my heart out of my chest and wars it on his shoulder". This is saying that the lover she had was taking away what she wanted to in life and not allowing her to for fill her wants and needs. She then realizes than she needs to live life for her self and is able to leave him. When Malcolm x died she was very angry and confused do to how they forgot about what contributions he gave to team.

Maya angelus is not afraid to use dialoged that may be offensive because she is confident with what she writes. For example- the use of the word "niggard" because she is black and it might help the reader under stand the substance.

Maya Angelo is a writer and a person who has fought along with the black community and protected the blacks and pours people what she writes. She is a visionary though her autobiography- miss Angelo shows her option about the angry nature between the blacks and whites. She does this se well that her option becomes our opion.She carried the weight of t h black people on her back. She still supports the pour and black commodity in what she writes in her books and poems.

Like listening to history come alive!
Heard A SONG FLUNG UP TO HEAVEN, written and read by Maya
Angelou--the sixth volume of an autobiographical series that began
more than 30 years ago with the appearance of I KNOW WHY THE
CAGED BIRD SINGS.

I had read CAGED BIRD, but nothing in-between . . . I now am
tempted to go back to see what I've missed because I liked this
latest volume so much . . . it was like listening to history come
alive.

Angelou has certainly lived an amazing life, having worked
with Malcom X and then Martin Luther King, Jr. . . . she was
there when Watts exploded in violence, and she also got
to visit black churches all over America to support the
Poor People's March.

She never had it easy . . . as a child, she was the victim of
abuse . . . and throughout the rest of life, she has had to
overcome various other obstacles and prejudices . . . yet
she has managed to survive and succeed and, as such,
made her life (and this story) an inspirational one. ... Read more

Book Description

"Blind? I think there's no doubt that Marla Runyan can see things much clearer than most of us with 20/20 vision."(Lance Armstrong)

Marla Runyan was nine years old when she was diagnosed with Stargardt's disease, an irreversible form of macular degeneration.With the uneasy but unwavering support of her parents, she refused to let her diagnosis limit her dreams. Despite her severely impaired, ever-worsening vision, Marla rode horseback and learned to play the violin.And she found her true calling in sports. A gifted and natural athlete, Marla began to compete in the unlikeliest event of all: the heptathlon, the grueling women's equivalent of the decathlon, consisting of seven events: the 200-meter dash, high jump, shot put, 100-meter hurdles, long jump, javelin throw, and 800-meter run. In 1996, she astonished the sports world by qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Trials and, along the way, set the American record for the heptathlon 800. It was then that she decided to concentrate on her running. Four years of intense effort paid off. In 2000, she qualified for the U.S. Olympic team by finishing third in the 1,500 meters. In Sydney, she placed eighth in the finals, the top American finisher-the highestwomen's placing for the United States in the event's history.

With self-deprecation and surprising wit, Marla reveals what it's like to see the world through her eyes, how it feels to grow up "disabled" in a society where expectations are often based on perceived abilities, and what it means to compete at the world-class level despite the fact that-quite literally, for her-there is no finish line. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Obstacles and Perspectives
One can never truly understand a piece of literature, much less an autobiography, without actually becoming that person. In this case, one may "understand" that Ms. Runyan had a painful and frustrating past, but since we are not that ones that experienced it, we do not truly understand. Being blind takes away from you just as much as it gives. You take on a completely unique perspective on life; you take nothing for granted, and take great pleasure in the small things that make life worth living. Ms. Runyan, you will win a gold medal in the Olympics.

Witty, insightful, humorous inspiration.
I'm not legally blind, but I could really understand it and identify with the struggles she endured in being different throughout most of her life. The writing style is so engaging and easy to read that it feels almost like conversation. Just when you have a question, the answer appears. Marla's dry wit is refreshing and intelligent. There is no pity party here!

Marla has really struggled in life and sport. She continues to learn and perservere as a person and athlete and that is what makes a champion in life and on the track. I can't wait to see her medal in Athens at the next summer olympics. I'm a better person and athlete after reading her story. ... Read more

Book Description

Osama bin Laden's formersister-in-law provides a penetrating, unusually inti- mate look into Saudi soci-ety and the bin Laden family's role within it, aswell as the treatment of Saudi women.On September 11th, 2001,Carmen bin Ladin heard the news that the Twin Towers had been struck. She instinctively knew that her ex-brother-in-law was involved in these hor-rifying acts of terrorism, and her heart went out to America. She also knew that her life and the lives of her family would never be the same again.Carmen bin Ladin, half Swiss and half Persian, married into-and later divorced from-the bin Laden family and found herself inside a complex and vast clan, part of a society that she neither knew nor understood. Her story takes us inside the bin Laden family and one of the most powerful, secretive, and repressed kingdoms in the world. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

answers many questions
Have you ever wondered how on earth a Western woman could marry a man from a culture that is totally alien to hers? In Inside the Kingdom, Carmen Bin Laden tells the story of how she went from being a free spirited Swiss schoolgirl to the wife of one of the members of the Saudi Arabian Bin Laden clan. It was easy. She was young, he was charming, handsome, rich and seemingly easy going. They fell in love. She thought they were going to live in America and Europe. She was wrong.

Imagine living in a place where it's against the law for you to show your face in public. Imagine not being able to go shopping even for your own clothes or personal items. Imagine shocking your in-laws becuase you want to go for a walk.

One of the most vivid and sad scenes from the book describes how Carmen's husband had to make special arrangements in order for her to go to a grocery store to buy baby formula. While she rushed to the baby section the customers (all male) left the store and the staff turned their backs to her.

Carmen quickly discovered to her horror that listening to music was considered sinful, reading books was considered odd and having a thought in one's pretty head was seen as completely unnatural.

Eventually, the marriage soured and Carmen decided to leave Saudi for the sake of her daughters. The book will attract attention of course because of the author's infamous brother-in-law, Osama (he was apparently a foreboding figure even as a young man) but it's more than a tragi-comic look into the Bin Laden home. This book is a clear eyed look at Saudi life.

Carmen Bin Laden went to Saudi thinking that modernity would prevail and that in a few years Saudi women would have more rights. She was wrong then and things don't look any better now. Since Saudi Arabia is ostensibly an American ally taking an honest look at it makes sense. Can such a culture really change? Are we fools to it expect to?

Inside the Kingdom is a very good book.I'm glad I bought it.

A Must Read for all women
Normally I don't read biographies. Usually they focus on rags to riches stories that I can't relate to. This book was the exception.
This bio starts normally: boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, boy and girl get married. But this is where the normality ends. Carmen marries into the Bin Ladin family,which back then were not synominous with terrorism. Carmen, who is foreign to Saudi life, is forced to live in isolation. She cannot come and go as she pleases without being completly veiled. She is forced to live in a world where women are property of the men; she is viewed as a foreigner by the other women because she was not born Saudi. Women,imagine going in a time machine from 2004 to the mid 19th century. At least that is the closest analogy I can think of.
This book made me appreciate the simple freedoms that we Americans take advantage of. I couldn't imagine living a life where I felt so powerless as a woman. I admire Carmen for being strong enough to get away from Saudi Arabia once and for all. Every female should read this book. It is an eye opener how far we women have come in America. ... Read more

Book Description

Known around the globe for her indefatigable work on behalf of the poor, the sick, and the dying, Mother Teresa has devoted her life to giving hope to the hopeless. She inspires us all to find a way to translate our spiritual beliefs into action. How has one woman accomplished so much? And what are the guiding principles that have enabled this humble nun to so profoundly affect so many lives?

Now, Mother Teresa shares her thoughts and experiences that have led her to do her extraordinary charitable work. A candid look at her everyday life -- at the very simplicity and self-sacrifice that give her the strength to move mountains. A Simple Path is a unique spiritual guide, full of wisdom and hope from the person who has given us the greatest model of love in action on our time.

Mother Teresa, born in 1910 in Yugoslavia, went to Loreto Abbey, Dublin, in 1928 and from there to India to begin her novitiate. She taught geography at St. Mary's High School in Calcutta from 1929 to 1948 before becoming especially interested in helping the poor. She started her own order, the Missionaries of Charity, in 1950. She has won many awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize, and has founded hundreds of homes throughout the world.

Read by a narrator and supporting cast.

A Simple Path is available in hardcover from Ballantine Books. ... Read more

Reviews (20)

A Simple Path but an Extraordinary Book
A Simple Path by Mother Theresa is an inspirational book. Mother Theresa wrote it as an informative narrative of segments of her life. It tells of her many good works and the works of others. Collectively, they share their many tales of heartwarming acts of love for the poor and less fortunate, the diseased and the broken-hearted, and the wounded and lost souls of the world. The sisters heal the wounds of those who have strayed away from the path of God and they urge everyone to help bring people back into the light, back to God.
The focus of the book is to promote serving others. It was once said that the best way to lead is by serving. This is the simple message and the simple path Mother Theresa explains throughout her many encounters with people of every age, race, and religion. She urges the reader to take this path as Jesus took up his cross. "One must not love and expect love in return, because that is not real love," as Mother Theresa once said. Love can be received by serving another and by watching that individual's happiness grow because of one kind act.
Mother Theresa does not want the reader to save the world, but to help in one small way. She says, "If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one." It does not require money, but it does require time to love. A Simple Path describes the life every human should take up, the life of service. This book is inspirational and serves as a spiritual seed, helping spirituality to grow and flourish. It helps one's faith to grow and teaches how to act on faith as opposed to just claiming faith. This book helps to prioritize what is truly important in life, and that is God. In a world that is full of hatred, violence, and misery, it points to God. Mother Theresa shows the way to hope. She leads by serving. She serves by loving. A Simple Path shows the way.

Why do we make it so stinking hard?
Mother Teresa used to threaten me, the way all good people do. I thought she had nothing to say to me (that I wanted to hear anyway) because she would challenge a part of me that didn't want guilt. How could I relate to a non-stop self-denial works machine? Surely, a part of her had to be dead or dying or in denial. I wanted to find out more. In her book, "No Greater Love", I learned that Mother Teresa was a person who saw Jesus in "the distressing disguise" of not only the poor, but the abused and the cruel and the mean and the unloved. For Mother Teresa, response to that person is response to Jesus. ("When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat...") In "A Simple Path", two paths seem to be explored: the simple life path Mother Teresa herself followed, and the simple path the volunteers of the Missionaries of Charity (the order she founded) follow. The exploration of both pathways was, for me, an eye-opener. Here are people who simply minister to needs, and who do not force feed Jesus to the one in need. The paradox is that many who are ministered to end up turning to God...perhaps because they saw a little bit of God in the person who helped. And Mother Teresa's take on finding God? Pray. "If you find it hard to pray," she says, "you can say 'Come Holy Spirit, guide me, protect me, clear out my mind so that I can pray.'" I didn't realize a works machine could teach me so much. A Simple Path, maybe; a simple woman, never. This review may be wordy, but I'd never have enough space to quote the things she said that stopped me dead. Read this book and discover the depth of a woman who is called a saint, and how she happened by the name. I've learned Mother Teresa can teach me something, and I can still eat chocolate and spend money with no serious guilt. Means she said a few things that went beyond coughing up change for the poor. (I only wonder if she could see Jesus in the distressing disguise of a manic four year old.)

Inspiring
I bought this book about 6 years ago. It's one of those books that you pick up and cannot put down. I was totally enthralled with it from the first few pages and every chapter became more and more inspiring. I was not a Christian when I read this book, so it's not just for believers. Rather it is a book for those who long for something more in their lfe, to walk in a deeper yet more 'simple' way. All of the chapters such as the ones on prayer, love, faith etc touched me deeply and even though it's been several years since I read it, I would read it again most definately. I lent it to someone and have never been given it back. I may just have to buy it again! --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

A good reminder
This book is a good reminder of how to love. Many of us discuss, debate and guess at what real love looks like. This book reminds us that love can range from serving to just holding someone who is living their last days. This book often wisely suggests that we could preach less and serve more. Inspiring.

Fake
Mother Teresa was a self-aggrandizing fake. How can you all be taken in by her???? ... Read more

Book Description

A moving tale of oppression and courageous defiance -- the true story of a teenage girl growing up in war-torn Afghanistan.

From 1997 to 2001, sixteen-year-old Latifa was a prisoner in her own home as the Taliban wreaked havoc on the lives of Afghan girls and women. This is her testimony -- a young woman's reaction to the inhumanity taking place before her very eyes. Latifa's life was turned upside down the moment the Taliban took Kabul. The oppressive regime banned women from working from schools, from public life, even from leaving their homes without a male relative. Female faces were outlawed as the burka, or head-to-toe veil, became mandatory. Latifa had planned to pursue journalism, in a quest for the truth about the ever-shifting power structure in her country. From the Russians to the warring factions, Latifa's existence had been marred by violence and upheaval. But when the Taliban took over, her world was reduced to the few rooms of her apartment. Like a contemporary Anne Frank, Latifa was forced to observe, absorb, and make sense of what was happening to women, to her country, from the!confines of her four walls. Frustrated by the sight of children wandering the streets below, and despite the danger to her own life, Latifa established a school and attempted to defy a regime, one child at a time. In May 2001, Latifa and her parents escaped through dangerous Taliban territory to Pakistan, then Paris. After several weeks, their flight was discovered, and the government issued a fatwa against them. Now in 2002, with the Taliban in retreat,Latifa's future seems brighter, although her homeland is still in turmoil. Written during her exile, this book is an extraordinarily powerful account of a teenager's life under terrible circumstances and a celebration of the resilience of the human spirit. ... Read more

Reviews (27)

The Truth About the Taliban
Letifa is a valuable eye-witness to the terror the Taliban visited upon it's own people. With the help of Pakistan, these fanatics pursued a policy of anhilation of the Afghani people, particulary, the women. These are the same evil people who bombed our World Trade Center on September 11th. They are truly anti-life. Letifa's book gives me yet another reason to feel good about my country's role in freeing Afghanistan from the evil Taliban. Letifa and her family are all Muslem but they found the Taliban version of "Islam" unrecognizable. It is to religion what cancer is to healthy cells. May it be erradicated!

The truth about the Taliban and Islam
For anyone interested in reading about women's history this is an excellent book. It was especially an eye opener to me due to the way Latifa talks about true Islam. I have a new appreciation for a culture and religon I do not totally understand. Every American should read about Islam before judging it. All I hear on TV is about Moslem radicals and not about average Moslem people who are good loving family oriented individuals. Latifa states that the taliban distorts her religon to suit their needs. They use Islam only to get what they want and to hurt others. Her story is heartbreaking and full of hope. It has given me a new appreciation for my freedom, and for the strength and spirit of women. As a teacher I was especially moved that she opened a school in her home and taught children who, under the taliban could not learn. She is truly a modern women. She shows alot of courage and I hope to hear more of her story. I also recommend Harriet Logan's book "Unveiled-Voices of women in Afganistan".

Pretty well written.
Nice book, well written. shows the real face behind the talibans and portrays life of afghani women from another perspective besides the media.

Amazing eye-opener, an easy explanation to the ignorant.
As I was reading through the reviews I completely identified with Rachel, from Dallas, Texas. I read this memoir as an individual project for a Philosophy course. By the end of the book I was absolutely stunned how much I did not know about Islam, Afghanistan and the Taliban. I came to realize through Latifa's explanations and recounts how absolutely ignorant I was. I assumed that women in Afghanistan had been treated unfairly for centuries, and had no idea how similar life was to American life for most women and men. By the end of the book, I felt utterly guilty for thinking the way I did about Latifa's culture. I am so glad that I read this book, as it was a wonderful eye-opener.

I recommend it to all American women so they can understand how precious our freedoms and liberties are. Also, any person who is interested in learning more about the Islam religion would greatly appreciate this book.

My only complaint is that her recount is somewhat impersonal. Her memoir is more factual, when I felt she could have put a lot more of her own feelings and emotion into the book. Other than that, it is a maginifcent read.

One of the best books I've read this year!
A touching story that was so easy to read. I recommend this book to anyone! ... Read more

Book Description

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER--NOW AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK!

Known to millions of readers of The Perfect Storm as the captain of the Hannah Boden, sister ship to the Andrea Gail, Linda Greenlaw is also known as one of the best sea captains on the East Coast. Here she offers an adventure-soaked tale of her own, complete with danger, humor, and characters so colorful they seem to have been ripped from the pages of Moby Dick.

"A beautiful book...a story of triumph, of a woman not only making it but succeeding at the highest level in one of the most male-dominated and most dangerous professions." -- Douglas Whynott,

The New York Times Book Review

"An authentic, insightful account of the intensity of captaining a crew of strong men in an ocean which does what it wants." -- Daniel Hays, co-author of My Old Man and the Sea

"A crystal-clear account of fishing the Grand Banks in a modern swordfish boat. Greenlaw is an excellent captainand an excellent writer." -- John Casey, author of Spartina

... Read more

Reviews (191)

A Surprise and a Treat
When I first picked up this book I thought "Here is someone trying to cash in on 15 minutes of fame" as a character in Sebastian Junger's A PERFECT STORM. Nothing could be further from the truth. Linda Greenlaw does not write about the storm that claimed the crew of her sister ship, the Andrea Gail, but rather describes the routine of a normal month-long fishing trip on board the Hannah Boden to the Grand Banks in search of swordfish. I found the narrative to be honest and straightforward with wonderful moments of humor. The book was difficult to put down. Greenlaw captures both the adrenaline rush and the utter fatigue brought on my thirty days spent at sea. When I came to the end of the book, I had the same question the owner of the Hannah Boden always had for Greenlaw when she returned to Gloucester. "When are you going back out?"

The Hungry Ocean will eat your soul!
In the words of the only woman Swordboat captain plying the Grand Banks fishing fields, you get a glimpse into the life of a modernday Ahab. It takes a special kind of person to sign up for a month of crowded quarters & hardy hygiene; mind-boggling hours of either endless maintenance or baiting & trolling. With a poet's eye for the beauty of her surroundings & her vessel & a fine sense of humor when it comes to her mischievous crew, Linda Greenlaw's memories, aspirations & impeccable courage & skill make this book a grand read. By the way, this is the life & times of the captain of the sister ship "Andrea Gail" about which Sebastian Junger wrote in "The Perfect Storm", soon to be released as a motion picture.

A very good read about something most of us will never do
This book isn't life-changing or even inspirational--in a good way. I was hesitant initially because I thought the book might work a 'girl-power' angle as Greenlaw is one of, if not the only, female swordfish captains in the world. Instead, it does a fantastic job of describing a world most of us will never know--the inner workings of a fisherman's (woman's) life: the politics involved in pleasing a demanding boat owner and restless crew, the tedious waiting game where instincts and electronics seek the elusive fish many days away from shore, and the excitment of the non-stop work when the fishing is good. It even gives an account of the finances involved including a breakdown of the market price of fish and how it affects everyone's pay. I had no idea of the immense costs each fishing trip takes in equipment, food, and gas. It is a great look at the day-to-day life. Where it falls short is addressing some grander issues such as the environment and the history and future of fishing. Greenlaw does have a few sentences sprinkled throughout and it's clear that from her viewpoint that the environment hoopla about overfishing is overblown and while these statements do make the reader long for more knowledge on the topic, I guess the authenticity of the book is that we get the raw one-sided opinion of a true fisherman (woman) and not some policy wonk. A very good read.

Fantastic!
I actually could not put this book down--I read it in one day. It provides a vicarious experience of a truly unique profession. Totally engrossing.

Well written description of longline fishing and leadership
Longline fishing remains a controversial subject. The author touches on slightly the issue of over fishing but simply states that the USA has the best managed fishing regulations in the world and it's all those pesky foreigners that cause the problems. The issue of longline fishing itself and the havoc it causes to sea life not associated with the catch is not addressed in the book. Ms Greenlaw, however gives a very well written and detailed and fascinating exposition of the organisation, equipment, and techniques that go into a single voyage which she peppers with individual anecdotes of incidents at sea. But, it is also an exemplary study of leadership and those who fly our planes, drive our buses and trucks, steer our ferries, or manage work sites of any kind might read this book and see how they measure up. As my idea of a sea adventure is to catch the Manly Ferry from Manly to Circular Quay, across Sydney Harbour Australia, THE HUNGRY OCEAN also gives a real feel of the beauty and power of that beast. ... Read more

Book Description

In 1996, a small Irish press approached Nuala O'Faolain to publish a collection of her opinion columns from the Irish Times. She offered to write an introduction to explain the life experience that had shaped this Irish woman's views. Convinced that none but a few diehard fans of the columns would ever see the book, she took the opportunity to interrogate herself as to what she had made of her life.

But the introduction, the "accidental memoir of a Dublin woman," was discovered, and Are You Somebody? became an international bestseller. It launched a new life for its author at a time when she had long let go of expectations that anything new could dislodge patterns of regret and solitude, well fixed. Suddenly, in midlife, there was the possibility of radical change.

Almost There begins at that moment when O'Faolain's life began to change. It tells the story of a life in subtle, radical, and unforeseen renewal. It is a tale of good fortune chasing out bad -- of an accidental harvest of happiness. But it is also a provocative examination of one woman's experience of the "crucible of middle age" -- a time of life that faces in two directions, that forges the shape of the years to come, and also clarifies and solidifies one's relationships to friends and lovers (past and present), family and self.

Intelligent, thoughtful, hilarious, fierce, moving, generous, and full of surprises, Almost There is a crystalline reflection of a singular character, utterly engaged in life. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Beautiful and Brutal
This is the first book I have read by author Nuala O'Faolain, but it far from the first autobiographical piece I've read. The latter part of my opening comment allows me to state without reservation that I have never read a more brutally and painfully candid work. Using the word beautiful may seem contradictory but it is her unstinting honesty about everyone, herself most of all, that makes this such a remarkable memoir. I don't think I would have gotten through the book if she had only been candid about everyone except herself. Her willingness to place herself, fears, regrets and anger out on view for the world to read is nothing short of remarkable.

This book covers about 6 years from her first memoir which apparently had the same sort of candor although she did offer it to people who were included prior to its publication. How much she may have changed is not entirely clear, but judging by what was included here I doubt she changed very much.

The book is also a philosophical exercise by a woman who has seen the majority of her life and is brutally honest about what she is and is not willing to do with the balance of the 16 and three-quarter years the actuarial tables allot to her. Initially the most startling part of the book was toward the end when she spoke of the 8 year old daughter of her partner. At first I was put off, and then my reaction changed completely. If there has ever been a case of the truth hurts, and the truth will set you free, in a manner of speaking, this lady has written it.

I don't know how many males will read this book but they should. Much of what she discusses is not bounded by gender, and when there are gender specific issues there are plenty of issues that males can plug in. This is not an easy book to read but when I finally finished I found myself hoping for all the best for Ms. O'Faolain and anyone else who has experienced the pain she has. If we all could view our lives with such honesty, my guess is the level of pain in most lives would be greatly diminished.

Ms. Nuala O'Faolain, I wish you all the best!

Amazing story of potential
Enthusiastic Recommend: Almost There by Nuala O'Faolain
This is a memoir of six years in the life of a woman in her 60s. It's her story of struggling with her past, with the long series of things that shaped her into something that she decided she did not want to be. So she changed. O'Faolain's life is nothing like mine - not even remotely like mine. She's Irish. She suffered as a child from the neglect of a drunken mother. She's never been married, has no children. She earned her living being a journalist. She's not really athletic, and that doesn't bug her. One of the few things we have in common is that we both love dogs. But she also goes for cats, which I can take or leave. And yet so much of what she wrote resonated, spoke to me, got me to say right out loud, "Yea, wow, that's it." It's a wonderful read for anyone who thinks it's too late for ... well, for anything. O'Faolain shows that it's never too late. We've all suffered, physically and emotionally. Some more than others, Nuala more than I. But she demonstrates that there is always a way to strike out on a different path if you are willing to work at it. And though it's not easy, there's progress, not always in a hurriedly straight line, but it's there and it's substantial.

Everybody Has a Hungry Heart
Nuala O'Faolain is completely frank and honest without sacrificing elegant prose... sa memoirist unconcerned with image. Her experiences take on a universal quality--I'm not a fifty-something Irish writer whose parents were miserable together (one cold, the other alcoholic) when not being charming. Yet in her descriptions of fear, loneliness, hope I find myself feeling singing "she's killing me softly with her song."

This is no feel-good "How I overcame bad times" memoir in which the heroine is homeless/battered/deathly ill but survives "with a little help from my friends." Nuala recounts successes, mistakes, bad judgement, anger, joy without ever portraying herself as a victim. And the result is that her story lands in your gut.

Few writers would admit worrying about the cat being lonely if she went out for an evening-- they'd be too self-conscious and worry about looking pathetic. Not Nuala. The result is that she wins us over utterly.

This book opens with a great deal more joy than her other books (the wonderful memoir Are You Somebody? and the novel My Dream of You). She recounts with wonder the unexpected success of her memoir and the opportunities it brought her-- the waves of approval from TV talk-show audiences, the trip to New York where she met Frank McCourt, the money. But it didn't ultimately protect her heart from a painful end to a long-standing lesbian relationship, a one-sided affair with a married man, and a troubled relationship with a man she met on line, whose little girl Nuala had to struggle not to resent.

I heard O'Faolain read at Colliseum books New York, and she recounted how in Dublin, everyone criticized her for having had an affair with a married man (who, to be fair, did not ever tell her he was married until very very late in the game) while in America, people were shocked at her attitude to the child. Yet in both, O'Faolain is nothing more than honest. Who hasn't felt jealous and wished they didn't? O'Faolain is never malicious, vindictive or cruel.

She writes with candor about being down-and-out inside, though material circumstances look well. She's an inspiration in every way-- she gives the reader permission to empathize, to say, "yes, it's like that, and she survived, and I can too". You don't have to have a terrible illness or crushing poverty to have legitimate feelings of despair, and O'Faolain is proof that they can be overcome-- with grace.

And her prose is terrific. Simple without being simplistic, somehow she turns a riff on 9/11 to a consideration of voting in Africa.
She's a real writer, and one for the ages-- her main focus is on herself, but her gaze takes on all humanity.

Nuala's Long Journey
This is the first book by Nuala Faolain that I read so I don't have anything to compare it with. I am also a middle aged woman so many of the statements she made hit me right in the chest.
I could feel her pain. Although I related to her story, I found the book tedious at times. I would not recommend this book for everyone. I don't believe that women in their twenties or thirties would fully appreciate Naula's story.

Poor Follow-Up to the Great AYS
Nuala is a talented writer, but we knew that already. I found this book a bit, well, boring. It was like reading my own journal - too much stuff that would be of interest only to me and, possibly, my closest friends or kin; "boring" to most others.

She's an easy read, an acute observer, and (as far as I am concerned) one of the few writers who will address the issue of advancing age - or most other issues - with candor.

I loved AYS, as did most readers. This smells like a commerical follow-up and lacks the appeal of the original. It could be 50% shorter, and be the better for it. Bit of a shame, Nuala. ... Read more

Book Description

Long Quiet Highway Natalie Goldberg

From bestselling author Natalie Goldberg, here is the story of her life as a spiritual seeker struggling to "free the writer within." Threaded with the story of Goldberg’s 12-year relationship with legendary Zen master Katagiri Roshi, Long Quiet Highway illustrates the challenges – and rewards – that unfold when a Western student seeks a teacher of Eastern wisdom. Observant and relentlessly honest, Long Quiet Highway is a reflection of the people, places, and experiences that helped Natalie Goldberg discover the transformational power of writing and the truth of the spiritual life. Original author adaption of the book with commentary and exclusive interview. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Banality, Boredom and Buji Zen Make for a Looong Ride
I came to Goldberg's eight hour audio work with high anticipation. I'd read, reread and shared Writing Down the Bones with anyone who cared to listen about my enthusiasm for it. One of my treasured memories is that of riding in the dead of night through West Texas landscape and unexpectedly coming upon a taped interview with Golberg just after she published her book of paintings. I felt a connection with Goldberg's experience as a Soto Zen practitioner, having launched my own practice with the benefit of time spent in a tiny Soto sect Zendo.

None of this prepared me for the disappointment of Long Quiet Ride. Goldberg's reading voice traced and retraced the same four-note drone with mind-numbing precision for six and one-half of the eight hours of listening. The only thing that saved the last hour and one-half was that she was not reading, but being interviewed. I almost cried to hear her natural speaking voice in that interview. Despite its fancy packaging, this Sounds True production bears the marks of no effort, not in the Zen sense, but in the simple sense that NO ONE cared to bring Goldberg's drudge of a reading voice to this poet's attention, and Goldberg HERSELF evidently did not care or was not awake enough to really hear herself reading in a voice that would have made Mr. Clemente (a former English teacher) groan aloud.

This book's effort (or lack thereof) at clear, descriptive and inviting prose is largely confined to banal descriptions like that of Goldberg eating a sandwich in a deli after witnessing the cremation of Katagiri Roshi's body. Don't get me wrong. It could have been a profound moment in the history of prose, but Goldberg refuses to press even one inche below superficial description to any semblance of specificity. Such is the case again when she visits Katagiri's grave in Japan. "I saw a bird, a brown bird," she states and then repeats the statement. "What kind of bird is that?" she asks someone. No reply is given. Goldberg drops the observation, half-baked, unexamined and unresearched- essentially undenoted- and moves on to more banal descriptions punctuated with lots of adolescent angst and hysteria. Yet we are asked, by the author's insertion of this bit of trivia, to treat the presence of this "brown bird" as somehow significant. If the writer is aiming at mystery, then her attempt fell miserably short of the target. To create a mystery (or to evoke a sense of the mysterious), one must awaken interest in the reader.

Such basic mistakes in writing were so numerous in this work that I stopped counting. After three hours I even stopped feeling embarrasment or pity for Goldberg, the teacher of writing who can't seem to write. Much more serious than the above stylistic concerns (and I say this after having spent eight hours in a car being assaulted by that droning monotone GoInG Up aNd DoWn with maddening precision)are my concerns about Goldberg's understanding of Zen and her ethics in allowing Sounds True to hawk this book as a legitimate look into Zen.

Perhaps it is in this most profound disappointment that I actually do feel great connection to Goldberg, and real empathy for her task. She wrote the book in a self-admitted effort to keep her teacher alive, much as John Krakauer wrote Into Thin Air to exorcise the demons of his participation in the Everest disaster of 1996. I can and did hear this book as a grief journal of someone who was quite undone by the death of a surrogate father figure. I only wish that Goldberg was awake enough to realize the depth of her own grief, or that she exhibited some signs of having com to insight in the course of her writing. I only wish that Goldberg had somehow found the courage of Nanzen's students and kept her peace (you'll have to listen to about four hours of the tape to get this story- sorry) when she was tempted to speak where she had no knowledge or experience. As far as I could tell, Goldberg never once said "no" to that temptation.

She witholds much about the true nature of Zen, but is unabashed in her eagerness to claim the mystery, the specialness, and the fantastical elements that lie on the periphery.

Krakauer's work towers over Goldberg's attempt in mastery of language, eye for detail and pure poetic concision (compressing feelings too big for words into a single sharply focused image). Both works, however, are fundamentally flawed. Krakauer sacrifices truth to his anger, need to blame others, and his own self-loathing. Goldberg sacrifices Zen to her loneliness and need for a father. Thus it is only in the last half-hour or so of the tape, in the interview, that we find that Katagiri was guilty of the same sexual predation of his students that Goldberg decries in others. She knew this information when she taped the book, but leaves it up to the interviewer (whose voice, by the way, saved me from insanity) to unearth this fact.

Goldberg's portrayal of Katagiri is fleeting, vague, constantly clouded by her obssessive description of her inner world. Indeed, every object external to Goldberg is portrayed in this way. No clarity of vision here. No big mind. Only hypnotic fascination with the fermentation of her quest for . . . well, something. Goldberg titilates us with visions of Katagiri after death, reveres her teacher and claims a kind of relationship with him that is difficult to swallow even after the most determined attempts to suspend disbelief. She does all this in clear contradiction to Zen teaching.

And this, dear reader, is what I am writing to warn you of. If you are looking for dependency relationships, if you want to risk your spiritual and sexual well-being by brokering your trust, if you seek fantastic visions, then by all means read and "eat" Goldberg's long quiet highway. That is what she's selling. This approach to spiritual practice has long gone by the name, "Buji Zen" that is crudely translated as "bullshit zen." Fascination with the experience, a quest for the special moment and the special relationship so that one may enter the lineage of THOSE WHO ARE SPECIAL.

If you seek Zen, however, my advice to you is to take the path less often traveled by the author and reader of this work. In short, look elsewhere.

Eclipses the Book
Natalie Goldberg's reading of her book Long Quiet Highway truly enhanced the amazing content of her work. Her wonderful New York accent, complete with its dry wit, wonderfully transformed the recollections of her search for true direction in her life through both her writing and her Zen Buddhist practice.

The motion and rhythm of her voice as she describes the depths of her great love for her teacher makes for both warmth and a riveting story. Her travels take her from the suburbs of New York to New Mexico and beyond. The greatest of her travels, of course, proves to be the journey into herself as she continues her challenging Zen practice. ... Read more

Book Description

In the first volume of an extraordinary autobiographical series, one of the most inspiring authors of our time recalls--with candor, humor, poignancy and grace--how her journey began.... ... Read more

Reviews (255)

compared to To Kill a Mockingbird.....
Our 8th grade English class was required to pick an independent reading book. I picked I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou. At the same time, my class was reading To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is similar to To Kill A Mockingbird in many ways. Both books portray a girl and her brother growing up in a Southern town. The main character represents the author as a young girl learning about prejudice and the hardships of life. Both authors express their views and opinions through the main character. The key difference between the two books is "as simple as black and white." Maya is black and sees the whites as a group of prejudiced rich people. Scout is white and sees how her classmates and her town is prejudiced against Tom Robinson and other blacks. An interesting observation that I made was that although both books are against prejudice, both authors are partly prejudiced themselves. Maya Angelou seems to see all whites as evil and prejudiced, while Harper Lee shows kind whites like Atticus. Lee makes the blacks seem accepting of prejudice and docile while Angelou sees blacks as people who are very aware of their situation and rebel against prejudice as often as possible. I think that each of these books only show half the story. To get a complete picture of growing up in a racist town you have to read them both.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
This is an enjoyable, easy-to-read short book written by Maya Angelou about her childhood in the segregated deep south. She skillfully decribes both good-times and bad in Stamps, Arkansas where she and her brother, raised by her grandmother and uncle, took on many childhood adventures in and around her grandmother's general store in the Negro section of town. She devotes several chapters to a time when she and her brother lived in Long Beach, California with her fast moving mother and indifferent father. When things go bad, she describes her return to a simple yet orderly life in Stamps.

The reader is touched by the difficulties overcome by Maya Angelou and has a new appreciation for those who were raised in a different place and time. Her upbringing filled with discipline, hard-work and solid roles models had a positive impact on her as a person. She was able to overcome the negative influences.

Most of all, the key to her success is contagious and when finished, the reader is left with a glimmer of hope that if she can do it, so can I.... no matter what my walk of life. Very inspirational book!

literary brilliance
<br /> <br /> Ms. Angelou writes with literary brilliance, and "I Know Why The caged Bird Sings" is no exception. Part poetic, part memoir...she brings her life in to full view for all to see, read and feel. She has triumphed.and isn't afraid to tell about it. I rate this highly with books such as "Nighmares Echo" and "The Color Purple" among other wonderful memoirs written in the past year or so.

Machiavellian
Not a man to judge others by their Christian names, I opened this book expelling my prejudices and bias. I admit, however, that my history has caught up to me, and I will be unable to complete the undertaking. It is now obvious to me that the author, like the central character of the novel, is an insidious rebel and a Negress who will never belong here. Shut your mind - and your soul - from this treason.

Impressionable
This is an amazing autobiography. Ms. Angelou is a beautiful story teller. She leads you in with beautiful words, but don't get the impression that it is simply a sweet book because its not. She tells the way it really was for her growing up and all the courage needed to survive.

Also recommending highly: Nightmares Echo (courage and determination in the life of a child of abuse,self-healing)Running With Scissors (deals with abuse,dysfunction,also courageous) ... Read more

Book Description

Imagine that you are twenty-four years old and have been confiding in one of your closest friends about your on-again, off-again relationship with a married man twice your age.Then imagine your name is Monica Lewinsky, the man's name is Bill Clinton, and your friend's name is Linda Tripp--who has secretly tape-recorded your confidences and passed the tapes along to Kenneth Starr.Suddenly you find yourself surrounded by government agents who threaten you with twenty-seven years in jail if you do not tell them every detail of your private life and cooperate fully in their investigation of the President.

In the summer of 1995, Monica Lewinsky, then twenty-one years old and fresh out of college, went to work as an unpaid intern at the White House.What happened next, as a vivacious young woman's "crush" on her boss led to her public humiliation and the impeachment of the President of the United States, has been documented in shocking detail.

But have we heard the true story?Betrayed by Linda Tripp, Monica found herself a pawn in the power struggle between President Clinton and the Office of the Independent Counsel.As she waited to face the grand jury investigating the President, the media conducted its own trial of Monica, while her legal predicament prevented her from telling the world what really happened.

Monica's Story at last sets the record straight.Drawing on his exclusive conversations with Monica, her family, and her friends, bestselling biographer Andrew Morton paints a complex and compelling portrait of a generous-hearted but troubled young woman whose dreams of romance had unimaginable consequences.

Monica was compelled to answer the grand jury's questions, but it was to Andrew Morton that she unfolded the whole story of her experiences before, during, and after the White House scandal.The result is a candid, intimate biography of a young woman whose life holds some surprising secrets--and whose public image is very different from the private truths revealed in these pages. ... Read more

Reviews (77)

Walk A Mile In HER Shoes
Everyone knows that there are 3 sides to every story: theirs, yours, and the truth. This book tells Monica's Story . . . and make no mistake about it, it needs to be told.

Having worked with politicians for many years, I feel that it has more than just a ring of truth to it. Whether or not one chooses to believe it, Monica was one of the victims in this fiasco. Not an innocent victim, but a victim none-the-less.

Was she young, naive, and impressionable? Most definetely. Was she wrong to have an affair with Bill Clinton? No more so than anyone else who has an affair, because - like it or not - she's human like the rest of us. Is it easy for others to throw stones? Apparently so.

In this book, you'll discover how Monica was able to develop a relationship with the President of the United States, what she was thinking, what went wrong, and how her life and that of her family and close friends was subsequently affected.

You'll also get an up-close-and-personal look into the life experiences that helped shape Monica into the young woman she WAS and the woman she has BECOME.

But perhaps most disturbing of all, you'll see just how far Ken Starr was willing to go in his obsession to ruin Bill Clinton.

Andrew Morton tells Monica's Story with candor and precision, leading us expertly through events that won't be documented in history books. He shows us that Monica wasn't/isn't some ogre to be reviled . . . simply a young woman who had the misfortune of falling in love with the most powerful man in the world. Someone that, unfortunately, others had a vendetta against and, because pf that, she paid dearly.

It is a story of passion, obsession, betrayal, and corruption. It happened to Monica . . . and it could happen to you.

Excellent insight into Kenneth Starr's tactics
I highly recommend this book, as I found it to be an excellent read. I wanted to read the book so I could see exactly how the Independent Counsel's office treats people targeted by it. I found out by reading the book that it was much worse than I thought, and I was disappointed that this happens in America. Regarding Monica's personal behavior, people are commonly of the opinion that Monica Lewinsky shouldn't have had an affair with a married man, shouldn't have shown him the top of her thong, shouldn't have done a lot of things. I wonder if the most intimate, secret, private lives of these common critics would stand up to similar scrutiny. She made mistakes, and the book tends to be somewhat apologist, but any woman reading the book who was ever young and in love with the wrong man, and found herself unable and unwilling to extricate herself in a healthy manner, will be nodding her head throughout the book. I think that people who are so quick to judge should step back, take a breath, and think about the mistakes they have made in their lives and be thankful those mistakes were not specified in explicit detail before Congress, and broadcast live on CNN. The greatest thing I took from this book, though, was a true fear at the lack of checks and balances in the Independent Counsel statute, and how Orwellian the system really is.

Puritanical virtues alive and well, but the economy?
This book was quite dumb, and all that it does is emphasize how dumb people can be. If you're a Republican right-winger who's more interested in a president's, a man's, sexcapades than what he does with the economy, then read on by all means. This mindless book was made for you.

A Valuable Historical Document
This fine biography illuminates for us a portrait of a man who is the quintessential, literal embodiment of all the Democrat Party's morals, ethics, ideologies and standards -- along with the woman who does the same for all Democrat females. It is a valuable historical reference. Don't miss it.

Monica RULZ
Any woman in her early twenties, who has ever fallen in love with a man who is married and forbidden by conventional ethical and professional standards, will find empathy in this book.

Whatever side of truth or political scenario this book attempts to portray, I primarily read it as a romance and enjoyed it more than ever. The book's appeal lies in the dynamics of the affair between the young intern and the president, rather than any political truth-finding. Maybe, there are too many 'truths' out there, and who are we to judge which one is true. This is Monica's version, so why quibble about absolute realities?

The book certainly does a good job of revealing her a human figure rather than a man-hunting slut responsible for the impreachment of Clinton.

Why marvel Marie Antoinette and Josephine, and not Monica? I admire Monica Lewinsky as a person who enjoys poetry, loves life, watches her weight, experiments with men, and most of all braves what the world thinks of her. I really think people ought to stop thinking of her as a sex symbol.

Tragic as the love story's end is, Monica RULZ!!! ... Read more

Book Description

"SAY GOODNIGHT, GRACIE..."

With those now familiar words, George Burns and Gracie Allen bid farewell to devoted audiences at the end of each of their broadcasts throughout the Golden Age of radio and television. Now, in this moving audio portrait, George Burns tells the story of his life with Gracie, the dizzy comedienne whose "illogical logic" charmed America. Burns recalls their first meeting, the vaudeville tours, family days in Hollywood, and their lasting friendship with Jack Benny and other entertainment greats. Here is one of America's most beloved comedians remembering the woman he loved best and the extraordinary life they shared together. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

You can feel the love in the writing.
George Burns may have been a comedian, but he wrote one of the best love stories ever! This book starts from the beginning of his first encounter with Gracie Allen. He chronicles their careers and home life with honesty and truth. I don't believe he left anything out! This was one of the few books I have read that made me laugh out loud, and sob like a baby. I did not want the book to end! George wrote with so much love and honesty, it gave me a new understanding of this great person. God bless his memories!

"Alternate take" of book: same topic but different delivery
The audio version of "Gracie" is unlike most audiobooks in that it isn't a literal recording of the text. Rather than simply reading his book, George Burns relates the same material as anecdotes. The result is funny and charming, and Burns's spontaneity lends the book unusual intimacy: George is talking privately to YOU. There are occasional time-outs for Burns & Allen performing their radio routines. Two mild drawbacks: Burns-on-tape doesn't tell the same stories with as much depth as Burns-in-print, and the tape editor has seen fit to interrupt Burns with occasional musical effects. But the subject overcomes the presentation, and if you've read "Gracie," you'll still want Burns's "alternate take" of the story.

Say Goodnight, Gracie
George Burns published this wonderful tribute to his wife when he was ninety-two years old, still head over heels in love with his dear Gracie, who died thirty years earlier. This book is a memoir of their personal and professional life together starting as the toast of vaudeville, continuing with their radio show for seventeen years, and later, situation comedy stars on television. Both George and Gracie started appearing on stage as children, and they teamed up in 1923, earning five dollars a week, doing four shows a day. At first, Gracie was the straight man and George said the punch lines, but they soon learned it was better the other way around. Gracie played the ditzy girlfriend and wife for thirty-five years and, as George said, he just stood next to her. He never stopped being amazed at her talent, beauty, and intelligence, and he loved her more with each passing day. The book ends with her death, from heart disease in 1958, and one is left with a lovely and intimate picture of their marriage.

Burns wrote the book as if he were talking with a dear friend, and there is a vaudeville joke in nearly every paragraph. The jokes are still funny today, and the book is a quick and very entertaining read. There is a lot of behind the scenes chatter about their famous Hollywood friends, especially Jack Benny, but it is first and foremost a tribute to Gracie and the love they shared for so many years. I heartily recommend this book, especially to those who enjoyed the Burns and Allen TV show in the fifties. It will bring back a lot of happy memories.

You'll laugh until you cry
The first and last pages of this book will hit you really hard. In between, you'll laugh harder than you've ever laughed. I was 2 when Gracie died. I have no recollection of her, and hadn't seen/heard much that she did. My aunt loaned me her copy, and I read it. When I finished, I felt I lost someone dear to me. The story is told that well. It could not have been written any better. I now own it, and have read it five times! I recommend it to anyone and everyone.

funny and touching
This book singlehandedly turned a 13 hour plane flight into a pleasant 5 minute jaunt. For that, I will always be greatful.
The books is the story of their life told through a massive collection of jokes that just never stop coming. You don't get an intimate portrait of Gracie and sometimes it is hard to tell when he is "puffing on the cigar" or not. But you do get a VERY funny and interesting look at the life of two celebrities and most importantly you get a candid and touching glimpse into George's love of Gracie. I can't believe he carried such a flame over 20 years after her death. We all should be so lucky to be so much in love. ... Read more

Book Description

A compelling, at times devastating, ultimately inspiring account of how much can go wrong on the ocean and how, miraculously, one person conquered her own fears.

Tami Oldham and her fiancé, Richard Sharp, set sail for Tahiti under brilliant blue skies, and their future together was just as bright. Young and in love, they were both expert sailors who had already seen much of the world and planned to see more.

Twenty days into their journey, Tami and Richard sailed directly into a monumental hurricane. With every ounce of their strength, they battled the elements. Richard tethered himself to the boat and sent Tami below. Seconds after leaving the deck, she heard Richard's terrified scream over the roar of the wind. And then all went black. Red Sky in Mourning is the story of tami Oldham Ashcraft's forty-one-day journey to safety, which she survived through fortitude and sheer stregth of character. The description of her awaking to the boat's capsize -- realizing that Richard had been blown overboard, her motor was shot, and her masts were gone -- is only one of many moments captured with wrenching realism in this dramatic, detailed account.

Even more remarkable, though, is how Tami overcame seemingly insurmountable tragedy, injury, and mechanical failure to navigate herself to safety. Interspersed with flashbacks to her romance with her doomed fiancé, this survival story offers an inspiring reminder that even in our darkest moments we are never truly alone. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Riveting
I have read more harrowing shipwrecks-at-sea story than this one perhaps, where odds of surviving were even less favorable. It also stands to reason that if you go sailing during a storm-racked area of the ocean, you may very well not make it back to land. But the story of Tami Oldham and what happened to her and Richard Sharp when they encountered Hurricane Raymond while sailing Hazana from Tahiti to California is absolutely compelling. This book has a richly detailed narrative; the story is woven skillfully using flashbacks to inform the reader of the history of these two people before they became caught up in a horrific experience.
The story also contains lot more. When I first started this book, I was not sure if I liked Tami. Her character seemed rather headstrong. But character she had. You learn to like her a lot. From the admission of her fears and mistakes to the sadness and guilt she shares over Richard's death and to the responsibilites she resumes after rescue, you see a new person emerge. This is a person who experiences a very dramatic epiphany.
Tami and Susea also brought Richard's character to the fore, right up to the last desperate moments of his life where he protects his fiance's, an act of what we call chivalry but that in his case, was truly part of who he must have been.
Another element introduced in the story was The Voice that helped Tami throughout her 41 days alone at sea. We guess that it is really the common-sense side to Tami that is trying to keep her in balance during this time but guess is all you can do - we will never know for sure but as a reader, I found it a satisfying mystery. Perhaps,as Tami had wondered, I hoped it might be Richard himself.
I cried towards the end of this book at Tami's symbolic letting go of this man. And again, when she mentions, years later, how her second daughter was born with the birth sac still intact - and what the midwife informs Tami is its significance.
Despite the letting go, however, I can't help but believe that Tami has resurrected Richard in the eyes of her readers, a last kind act on her part to thank him for helping her make it to safety.

The Weaker Sex?
Let's never hear about the weaker sex again. The riviting story of Tami Oldham's tragedy at sea will convince anyone that there is no such thing. A storm at sea swept her fiance, Richard, away to his death and knocked her cold for 27 hours. She awoke to find a demasted yacht, little food and devasting loneliness. But she pulled herself together with the help of a "Voice" and navigated across the open sea in a crippled, jury-rigged vessel to safety.

Even though the reader knows that she made the journey successfully one can not help but be anxious for her safety and welfare throughout 41 day voyage. When she happened to find an unexpected container of drinking water on board I could taste the sweet water and rejoiced with her.

A splendid read. I just caution anyone to be prepared to stay up very late reading this sad, but uplifting adventure, and to keep a glass of water nearby, because you won't want to stop.

Important Life (and Sailing) Lessons Revealed
What a wonderful book, by a courageous woman. As I read the book, I felt that I was there with her during her struggles and triumphs. And the ending is very positive and doesn't leave the reader hanging. She's overcome a great deal in life at a young age, and has gone on to become a very solid and interesting wife and mother, I suspect. Yes, the book describes a real tragedy, the kind of thing that a sailor prays to avoid. However, there are real lessons to be found, such as equipment and design flaws aboard her boat, as well as the 'human factors' which she discusses openly. I've made purchases and upgrades to my boat (I liveaboard and cruise fulltime) based on her book and her lecture at the Annapolis sailboat show. Just buy the book, and you won't be sorry!

An intense story
This is an intense and riveting story of talent, guts and luck. I would have left out some of the slightly gooey romanticism, but it's her story, not mine.
She does a great job narrating on the audio cassette.

Excellent read
I can't say much more than the previous reviews except to say I was captivated by the story. You won't be wasting you time if you decide it will be your next read. ... Read more

Book Description

An extraordinarily frank, honest and generous memoir by one of America's most famous and admired women--the head of a great newspaper, the Washington Post. Simultaneous hardcover release from Knopf. 2 cassettes. ... Read more

Reviews (113)

I couldn't put it down!
From the opening page, I was hooked. Graham chronicles most of the 20th century from the unique perspective of her family and her own life. It was a life of privilege but not necessariy an easy one. The research that went into book was remarkable. Each paragraph reads like a diary entry of people, places and conversations. It is just gossipy enough to really be deliciously personal as well as very funny at times. She seems to have met every important person alive from 1930 forward and has fascinating relationships with many - including the many powerful men and women who shaped the course of history and the world we live in today. Graham became self aware enough to see her faults and strengths and her the book is a tribute to a woman who grew with her times and circumstances into an example for women and men alike. She is often brutally honest, but in a nice way, revealing her unique style of interacting with others. It was like reading a novel. It is dense, fascinating reading. I highly recommend it.

Katie, We Hardly Knew Ye...
Few passings have effected me in the manner in which Ms. Graham's did and I went back to my audiotape of her book to revisit the life of the most powerful woman in American journalism. There are so many reviews, it seemed silly to add another, but loyalty drove me to add my two cents. Born to wealth, shy and reserved by choice, controlled by marriage and the societal pressures of the day, this woman broke out of the preset mold after the long mental illness and eventual suicide of her husband to take the Washington Post to the people and to the Fortune 500 list. She gave the order to run with the Watergate story, to publish the Pentagon Papers, and lived through the pressman's strike. I reveled in her story as read by the woman herself. I cried when her voice broke as she retold the death of her life partner and her regrets about her sometimes limited parenting skills. Katharine Graham crows about her successes and openly admits her failings. Not the usual celebrity self worship and well worth hearing. I'll miss you, Katie.

A BUTTERFLY SPREADS HER WINGS
Today I finished Personal History by Katharine Graham, longtime publisher of the Washington Post.

It's interesting, because Kay Graham is such a legendary figure in Washington, lauded for having stuck it out as the only woman in a man's world (business executives in the 60s/70s/80s).

But yet, she is not the steadfast person that everyone believes her to be. She has to deal with a husband with manic depression, and his eventual suicide. Her one son volunteers for Vietnam, the other gets arrested for protesting it.

She basically suddenly finds herself CEO after Phil (Graham's) death, and almost drowns under the pressure, but somehow manages to stick it through. Even when she does the right thing, she often second guesses herself and is extremely sensitive to criticism.

The book seems to unfold as a butterfly emerges from a cocoon; at first she can hide behind her father and then her husband, but eventually must learn to make things fly on her own.

Towards the end it gets more business-y, with some CEO jargon and discussions about the Post company. I thought it was kind of boring how she seemed to name every single person she ever hired or fired.

But some parts are really interesting. Especially the bits about her childhood, the Pentagon Papers, and Watergate.

I would really recommend this book as a good read. Kay Graham is like Forrest Gump- she's done a little of everything.