Book Description

In August 1984, Michigan housewife Betty Mahmoody accompanied her husband to his native Iran for a two-week vacation. To her horror, she found herself and her four-year-old daughter, Mahtob, virtual prisoners of a man rededicated to his Shiite Moslem faith, in a land where women are near-slaves and Americans are despised. Their only hope for escape lay in a dangerous underground that would not take her child...

Now the true story of this courageous woman and her breathtaking odyssey bursts upon the screen in the Pathe Entertainment production starring Academy Award-winner Sally Field!

A Literary Guild Alternate Selection.
... Read more

Reviews (151)

An absolutely compelling story.
This book tells about one woman's courage and strength. Those who panned this book should remember Betty Mahmoody agreed to go to Iran only because her husband "promised" her they would only stay two weeks. He announced just a few days before their scheduled departure that he lost his job and they would remain in Iran. He betrayed her in a very big way. Since, according to government rules, she could not divorce Moody without losing her daughter or if she left the country without Mahtob to visit her dying father, she would not be permited to return. Remember, Betty did not want to live according to their culture and she had that choice since these are modern times. As a result, Betty was going to leave the country anyway she could. There have been Iranian women who have left the country never wanting to return also. Yes, she is negative toward the country but she is not the only one who has escaped Iran or other such countries. Not Without My Daughter is one of the most compelling life experience stories I have ever read. I will read it again and again.

zero stars
This book deserves zero stars, not 1! A one-sided, racist, diatribe against Iranian people, its publication almost rises to the level of a hate crime, in my opinion. Like most stories, there are two sides, but this only tells it from the perspective of the mother who unlawfully and immorally took away the father's daughter and for years has refused to even let him see her! There is a documentary film showing the father's side of the story (there was also a shameful film, starring Sally Field that was based on this book), but it is not generally available in the U.S. This propaganda book should be taken only with a mountain of salt!

Nerve-wracking
Don't read this book when you go to bed if you want to get a peaceful night's sleep. Its tense, but never a dull moment. I love true stories and this is one of the best.

Betty's Iranian husband was medically trained in the US and was an anesthesiologist. I have never heard of anyone going to an anesthesiologist for a mental problem, unless they beg to be euthanized and put out of their misery. The reviewer from London, UK also says maybe Betty's attempts to escape Iran was the cause of her husband's anger and abuse. Well, since her husband had promised they were only going for a 2-week visit to Iran to visit his family, and then held her against her will there, I think she had the right to be very angry herself. Too bad she couldn't give back some of the beatings he gave her. Also, Betty said they bathed every two months, not once a year.

I marvel at Betty's determination and courage. She was lucky to have such honest, kind, Iranians, Kurds and Turks to help her get home to America.

This book is absolutely not true!!!
This book provides a false image of the iranian culture. The story provides false details and description of the role of iranian women in iran. Although, the revolution required the women to wear Hejab, however it did not limit their freedom. Women were NOT slaves, rather they enjoyed complete autonomy like the women in the United States of America. Women had the right to vote, make decisions, study, enjoy life; in other words they had complete autonomy. Not only the laws and court system of iran, gives women their right; the society also forbids infringing upon women's rights. This book further provides a false description of the Iranian cutlure after the revolution. The city as described in this book, is completely false. Tehran is one of the most modern cities in the world. One can even compare it to modern New York and Tokyo. The author of this book took advantage of the political situation of the time, in order to sell a novel. One must know that this book is 99% inaccurate.

Fascinating
I was absolutely fascinated by this book. I can so identify with this woman, because I am in the same situation. Only my abusive husband is an American, and I am not allowed to go back to my home country with my daughter. When it happens to an American woman in Iran there is outrage. When the exact same thing happens to a Dutch woman in America, then it's okay. What's wrong with this picture? ... Read more

Book Description

For the first time, a respected biographer focuses on the complex relationships among three famous Kennedy wives in a book that is at once absorbing, controversial, and heartbreaking.

Jacqueline Bouvier. Ethel Skakel. Joan Bennett. Three women who married into America's royal family and lived in the glory and glare of politics' highest echelons. The Camelot years taught marekedly different life lessons to each of them: Jackie's hopes became reality, but at an unfathomable cost; Ethel's dream to be First Lady died along with her brutally assassinated husband; and Joan's years as a Kennedy were the most confusing of her life. But whether dealing with their husbands' blatant infidelities, smiling on the campaign trail, enhancing the family's legacy, or raising their children, the Kennedy wives did it all with unquestioned grace, style, and dignity. ... Read more

Reviews (95)

A Kinder Camelot Than We've Seen Before
This is the first book I have read by J. Randy Taraborrelli, and I was impressed. I am distantly related to the Kennedys -- a distant cousin -- so I like to think I know a little bit (probably not much) more than the "normal" reader. But even I didn't know this material. Taraborrelli approached his women of Camelot with such grace and evenhandedness, he makes other biographers of the women seem like samari warriors. I most enjoyed reading about the differences in the Kennedy women's background prior to their marrying into the powerful family. These are three very different people --- Jackie, Ethel and Joan -- and in reading about them you wonder if they ever would have known each other or spent a second with one another had they not married into the family. (Though I do think, from reading this book, that Jackie and Joan may have been friends, anyway ... though I don't know how they would have met.) Taraborrelli writes about the rumors having to do with Jackie and Bobby (not true, he says) and Marilyn and Bobby (again, not true, he says) and Marilyn and JFK (very true, and much to Jackie's ongoing unhappiness.) Plus there's lots of political suspense in the book, too -- though we all know how it works out in the end. I enjoyed this book tremendously and would recommend it to anyone. You don't even have to like the Kennedys to enjoy this, it's such a good read. A-Plus effort, and thank you Amazon for giving me a chance to voice my opinion.

A Fun Political Wives Insight
This book about the wives of Kennedy rogues Jack, Bobby and Ted reads like Valley of the Dolls goes to Washington. Booze, pills, bitchy rivalries -- it's all here in this bloated but fun read by celebrity biographer Taraborrelli.

Based on interviews (though not with the wives) and previously published material on the Kennedys, the author -- dishy tone aside -- provides surprisingly three-dimensional portraits of queenly Jackie, sharp-tongued Ethel, sensitive alcoholic Joan and their complex relationships with one another. (Ethel's jealous sniping at Jackie is a hoot.)

While the book upholds old rumors, such as Ethel's affair with singer Andy Williams, it leaves a question mark surrounding alleged flings between Jackie and Bobby and Bobby and Marilyn Monroe. (The book was completed, of course, well before a family imbroglio -- the Jan. 19 arrest of Ethel's nephew Michael Skakel, 39, who is charged with the 1975 murder of his 15-year-old Greenwich, Conn., neighbor Martha Moxley.)

Though none of the cheating Kennedy men was any bargain as a husband, it's Joan -- if the long list of Teddy's cruelties here is to be believed -- who got the rawest deal. After she campaigned for his Senate re-election in 1964 as he recuperated from a plane crash, Teddy's way of saying thanks was to head directly from the hospital into the arms of a mistress.

Ah, politicians and their wives, do indeed make for strange bedfellows and fun dishy reading.

DELICIOUS DISH DELICIOUSLY READ
Just when we thought we knew all there was to know about the Kennedy clan Taraborrelli proves we didn't. Of course, much of what we now discover reads like a tabloid tell-all.

These women had nothing in common save for their last name - soignee Jackie wasn't about to get on a touch football field with athletic Ethel. Shy, later alcoholic Joan, was sandwiched between the two of them.

History? No. Tawdry tattled tales? Yes. If gossip is your meat, it doesn't get any juicier than this - deliciously read by Beth Fowler.

Jackie Ethel Joan
This is a great book especialy if you are interested in history or the Kennedys. Even if you aren't it is still a great book. It keeps your intrest and does not bore you with things you don't want to read about. I strongly recommend reading it.

READ THIS BOOK!!!
I just loved this. How could you not? It's warm and lovely and really paints such a memorable picture. I totally got it, in terms of understanding not only the women, but the author. He sincerely cared about these women. I've read all the millions of Jackie books and Kennedy books, and this is the one I will always go back to because it's such a heartwarming work. I also saw the movie, and loved it -- but not as much as the book. Isn't that always the case? I would recommend this book to anyone who loves Jackie, and to anyone who may want to know a lot more about Joan and Ethel. I've also read this author's book about Princess Grace called Once Upon a Time and it, too, really made me think. This author writes the best books, if you ask me. ... Read more

Book Description

The Good Life of Helen Nearing Helen Nearing

Come sit at the side of the late Helen Nearing and share the rich harvest of her life’s lessons with The Good Life of Helen Nearing. For 90 years she followed her personal truth, and embodied the qualities that bring the deepest fulfillment. Now this modern wise woman offers you her heart’s wisdom in a session that will leave you thoughtful and inspired. Elder Helen Nearing unfolds her thoughts on many topics, including: how to gain a clear vision of your life’s path; creating your own opportunities; how to live with commitment and integrity, and much more. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Best gift I've ever received
The message is loud and clear, the simple life is a beautiful thing. I've passed this along to so many people, it's a wonderful companion on a long drive. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

fiction reported as non fiction
As opposed to Tim Tyson, I have lived in Oxford most of my life and therefore truely know of the people, events, locations he supposedly researched extensively to write this book. This is a fictionalized account of an event. A black man was killed by a white man, but Tim Tyson doesn't know the truth as to what led up to it, nor the subsequent events. . I find it interested that the whites are depicted as "terrorists" and the blacks as "military operators".

As I know that many so called "facts" are not so, (names, events, locations, etc.) I have to suspect the remainder of the book. The sad result is to question all books written by him and ALL graduates of the Duke PHD program. Tyson should advertise his future writings as fiction as he would make a good writer of the southern genre.

The making of a man committed to peace and justice
This extremely well-written memoir/nonfiction book about a horrible, racially motivated killing in N. Carolina illustrates the author's coming of age in the American South. As a professor in African-American history, the book is grounded in thorough research and historical context. I was even impressed by bibliography at the end of the book. This man has done his research and documented it well.

Tyson not only writes about the tragic event that changed his life (and the history of his hometown) when he was 10, but he also shares some of the history of the Black Freedom movement and the history of his own family, and the way it has affected him throughout his life.

What I thought was particularly interesting was how the U.S. has sanitized the history of the Civil Rights Movement and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in particular. When he was killed, Ronald Reagan actually had the gall to imply that he brought it on himself because of his lack of respect for law and order, and he accused the anti-war protestors for the assasination!

I was particularly touched by the stories about Tyson's amazing parents and feisty relatives, and others who stood up for justice and compassion. Tyson also writes openly about his angst and struggles to come to grips with his own prejudices.

I will recommend this book to everyone I know--I believe that it's a book that every American needs to read, to better understand the history of race relations in this country and how far we have yet to go.

How The Rights Were Won
"'Daddy and Roger and 'em shot 'em a nigger.'" These are the initial words in _Blood Done Sign My Name: A True Story_ (Crown Publishers) by Timothy Tyson. A shock opening is often to be distrusted, but not here; the words are those of a friend to the ten-year-old Tyson himself, and the book explains his efforts to come to an understanding of the 1970 murder and the subsequent revolution in race politics in his then home of Oxford, North Carolina. It lead him to do his master's thesis in history about the Oxford trials, but in this book he has not only given the history and the aftermath of the event in historical context, but has made it a memoir of his own growing up and his family's involvement in race relations. Parts of the story, including Tyson's relationship with his "Eleanor Roosevelt liberal" parents, are told with the love, humor and detail that many readers will associate with _To Kill a Mockingbird_. The struggle between the races is far from settled, but Tyson insists that this story from his time is an antidote to the "sugar-coated confections that pass for the popular history of the civil rights movement."

Brown vs. Board of Education, The Civil Rights Act, and the Voting Rights Act made no dent in Oxford. No black officials had entered into the local government. Blacks were employed in menial labor only. The public pool had been sold to become a private one, so that blacks never swam where whites did. Violence by blacks against whites was ruthlessly pursued, but not vice versa. The motivation for such action by whites, Tyson shows, was the same fear that has worked for centuries, that black men would have sex with white women. The trouble in Oxford was sparked by an allegation that Henry Marrow, a 23-year-old black veteran, had made a flirtatious remark to a white woman. He was in the store of Robert Teel, probably a member of the Klan. Teel and his son Larry ran down Marrow and shot him in the street as he pled for his life. Mobs the night of the murder firebombed buildings, destroyed stores and "...scared the hell out of most of the white people in Oxford, and some of the black ones, too." The violence was worse when the Teels were declared not guilty. White liberals like Tyson's father had Christian faith that white people would share power rather than having to have it seized from them by black people. He was eventually shifted out of Oxford because of his racial moderation. Tyson clearly admires the stance his father took, but concedes that moderate whites who spoke up and tried to be good examples wound up doing little to really improve racial equality.

Tyson quotes a liberal paper of the time that "discussion is a more promising way to racial accommodation than destruction," but says that there is an uncomfortable, indisputable fact: that in Oxford, whites "... did not even consider altering the racial caste system until rocks began to fly and buildings began to burn." Abolition was not accomplished by simple moral persuasion, nor was integration during the twentieth century. When he returned to the town to do his research for his thesis (including interviewing Robert Teel) he found that the local newspapers covering the period were absent from the newspaper's office, and the microfilms of them were gone from the library. The records of the trial from the courthouse, he was told, had similarly disappeared (but he sneaked into the basement of the courthouse and found them). He eventually delivered his own thesis to the library, which by the time he did so was glad to accept it; but he found later that someone had torn out the pages dealing with Henry Marrow's murder. _Blood Done Sign My Name_ may well be a story that some Americans would rather not hear. This eloquent book is not just a bleak assessment of the times. It is full of love for some very odd family members and friends. Tyson is unsparing about his own slow awareness of racial matters, explaining how he didn't want to drink from a playground fountain after a black boy did, finally taking a drink after letting the water rinse everything out first; "I guess that made me a moderate," he winces. The humane touches of memoir by a masterful storyteller lighten the sad history; the characters are good guys and bad guys still, but drawn realistically: "There is no moral place in this story where anyone can sit down and congratulate themselves," he writes. And finally, "We cannot address the place we find ourselves because we will not acknowledge the road that brought us here." Tyson's book is an eloquent invitation to such acknowledgement.

A reminder to remember
"Blood" is a story that doesn't tell us to be pristine in our attitudes about race. In fact, the book reminds us actions speak a whole lot louder than words. Nevertheless, I was thankful that the author has a gift for the written word.

The author's father, a minister and a race liberal, was not typical of his time or place with respect to his racial attitudes. Yet his attitudes were obviously born of his religion and region just as much as the Klan's. Likewise the black community is portrayed as heterogeneous even in the small town South, a fact which is highlighted by the militancy of Vietnam veterans whose path to equality was informed by their military service.

This book impressed on me the importance of being honest about our past. Murders, kidnappings, beatings, riots, and rebellions are not just "excesses" committed by evil and emotional people, sometimes they are tactical. Violence and the destruction of property communicate as powerfully as as sermons or stump speeches. And the because memory of violence survives, reconciliation can only be based on acknowledgement and investigation. Especially in the context of the re-opening of the Emmett Till investigation (not to mention events in Iraq), this book will hopefully inspire fresh local investigations of the violence (South, North, East and West) that fueled the acommplishment of formal legal equality.

Freedom is a constant struggle
In BLOOD DONE SIGN MY NAME, Timothy Tyson details the triumph and the shame inherent in American history, with no quarter given to any assumptions or preconcieved notions. Interweaving his stirring personal narrative with an often disturbing, yet ultimately enriching, examination of the freedom struggle in North Carolina and beyond, Tyson spares no one - not even himself or his family - of his hard and direct analysis. Thus, BLOOD acts as a striking blow against our gauzy reminiscing about the Civil Rights Movement, while simultaneously reminding us of the true value of that movement and the people within it (as well as a reminder that the work isn't nearly done). Tyson's urgent tone is consistent with William Faulkner's assertion that the past "isn't even past," nor was it a series of easily achieved inevitabilities. Funny, brash, unflinching, BLOOD DONE SIGN MY NAME is the best kind of American non-fiction, one which travels on both sides of a road that, to quote an old bluegrass song, is often mighty dark to travel. A secular sermon of the highest order, helping us to better understand ourselves and leading us to fellowship. ... Read more

Book Description

Three Cassettes, 5 hrs. 15 mins. abridged
Read by Sandra Day O'Connor


What was it in Sandra Day O'Connor's background and early life that helped make her the woman she is today-the first female justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and one of the most powerful women in America? In this beautiful, illuminating, and unusual book, Sandra Day O'Connor, with her brother, Alan, tells the story of the Day family and of growing up on the harsh yet beautiful land of the Lazy B Ranch in Arizona. Laced throughout these stories about three generations of the Day family, and everyday life on the Lazy B, are the lessons Sandra and Alan learned about the world, about people, self-reliance, and survival, and the reader will learn how the values of the Lazy B shaped them and their lives.

Sandra's grandfather first put some cattle on open grazing land in 1886, and the Lazy B developed and continued to prosper as Sandra's parents, who eloped and then lived on the Lazy B all their lives, carved out a frugal and happy life for themselves and their three children on the rugged frontier. As you read about the daily adventures, the cattle drives and roundups, the cowboys and horses, the continual praying for rain and fixing of windmills, the values instilled by a self-reliant way of life, you see how Sandra Day O'Connor grew up.

This fascinating glimpse of life in the American Southwest in the last century recounts an interesting time in our history, and gives us an enduring portrait of an independent young woman on the brink of becoming one of the most prominent figures in America today.


... Read more

Reviews (23)

Beatifully captures a bygone era of the American Southwest
I loved reading this beautiful, gritty account of the remote Arizona cattle ranch where O'Connor and her brother grew up. The book is a portrait of the Lazy B ranch and the family and cowboys who created and sustained it for over a century. O'Connor's account is unromantized and yet touching, and it succeeds in vividly revealing a bygone way of life from the old West.

We see the the daily rhythms and activities of ranch life, the ongoing struggles of the Day family to keep the ranch afloat, and portraits of the colorful, rugged cowboys who worked at the Lazy B for most of their lives. And we hear the perspectives and fond recollections of the young girl (O'Connor) and her brother who grew up there.

If you are drawn to the West, you'll enjoy this book as much as I did.

A Fascinating Memoir
Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor and her brother, H. Alan Day, tell the story of growing up in the harsh yet beautiful land of the Lazy B Ranch in Arizona. The book is organized as a series of vignettes ranging from character sketches of the cowboys who spent their lives on the ranch to rain to the BLM.

I loved this book. I first became aware of it during a trip to southern Arizona. The authors describe a way of life -- on an isolated cattle ranch -- that is almost extinct. I knew that water was important in such a land, but I didn't know that the majority of the time of the owners and employees of the ranch was spent in maintaining the wells, windmills and pumps that provided that water.

I also enjoyed comparing the book to Jimmy Carter's An Hour Before Daybreak, his memoir of his childhood in rural south Georgia during a similar time period.

Semi-BORING
This book seemed politically written. The "right" word took center-stage over the substance.

Only the B was Lazy
Growing up in a city, I always wondered during car trips through ranchland how the people there lived. Was it a hard life? Lonely? Were they like us in the city?

I knew from movies and TV that calves in pastures were grown into large steers through a gradual process of fistfighting and gunslinging, with the cowboys taking frequent breaks to drink whiskey and play poker. But that was only part of the story. What role did the women and children play? Why the windmills? Who provided basic services?

All these questions and more have now been answered by a Supreme Court Justice, of all things. Lazy B is Sandra Day O'Connor's memoir of her girlhood on a ranch in the desert Southwest. The simple unaffected style of her writing is just right to convey the power of the story: a family living on a desolate ranch for 113 years--a happy family, a resourceful and persistent family.

The Day ranch had already been operating for 50 years when Sandra was born in 1930, and was still going strong when she was appointed to the high court 51 years later. The Days didn't have hot running water until 1937, but when they did it was from a solar heater designed by Sandra's father--40 years ahead of the solar energy craze of the 1970s.

That sort of self reliance and innovation is one of the main themes of the book: when they needed more water they built windmills to bring it up out of the ground. When the windmills broke, they fixed them. Before the windmills and solar heater, the limited hot water for bathing was used in sequence: first Sandra's mother, then her father, then the children, then the ranch hands, if they had any interest in the water that remained. Not a cushy life, but several of the cowboys liked it enough to stay at Lazy B for over 50 years.

The self-reliance in the area of first aid is even more striking: Sandra's father successfully mending the uterus of a cow with a wine bottle and some stitches; one of the cowhands giving himself a root canal with red hot baling wire, or taping his broken finger to a nail so he could keep working.

And while all of them--Mom,Dad,kids,cowhands--did whatever they had to do to keep working, O'Connor's memories are overwhelmingly happy ones of card games and wild animal pets and riding through the desert and, more than anything else, conversations. One gets the impression that no one ever had a better childhood.

O'Connor may or may not be a great justice--I don't know much about the law--but it seems to me that she was a part of something great long before she ever got a law degree. A happy family and a solvent ranch are two things which are hard to maintain for more than a dozen years. The Days did it for a dozen plus a year and a century. Looking at the picture on page 257, I see the very bedrock of the country.

A Facinating Portrail of a Time Gone...By a Facinating Woman
Sandra Day O'Connor is simply one of the most impressive women to have lived in the 20th Century. I've only very recently reached this opinion, primarily based on listening to her read 'Lazy B'. Her childhood was remarkable, and it is indeed a testament to her character. Her voice is distinct and understated. Yet, one can tell that she is at once humble and proud. I highly recommend listening to her reading of the book, and I believe that you will come away with a strong impression of this distinguished lady. ... Read more

Book Description

Read by the author
4 cassettes/ 6 hours

Mary Karr told the prize-winning tale of her hardscrabble Texas childhood with enough literary verve to spark a renaissance in memoir.The Liar's Club rode the top of The New York Times bestseller list for more than a year, and publications ranging from The New Yorker to People picked it as one of the best books of the year.But it left people wondering: How'd that scrappy kid make it outta there? Cherry dares to tell that story.Karr picks up the trail and dashes off into her teen years with customary sass, only to run up against the paralyzing self-doubt of a girl in bloom.

In this long-awaited sequel, we see Karr ultimately trying to run from the thrills and terrors of her sexual awakwening by butting against authority in all its forms.She lands all too often in the principal's office and--in one instance--a jail cell.Looking for a lover or heart's companionwho'll make her feel whole, she hooks up with an outrageous band of surfers and heads, wannabe yogis and bona fide geniuses.

Karr's edgy, brilliant prose careens between hilarity and tragedy, and Cherry takes readers to a place never truly explored--deep inside a girl's stormy, ardent adolescence.Parts will leave you gasping with laughter.But its soaring close proves that from even the smokiest beginnings a solid self can form, one capable of facing down all manner of monsters. ... Read more

Reviews (54)

A Joyless Memoir
First of all, let me echo other reviewers in saying not to expect anything like The Liar's Club. Mary Karr is still an enormously gifted writer, but while The Liar's Club had it moments of joy interspersed with various traumas, Cherry is just plain dank. Mary's exploits as a child weren't hopeless -- she had a resiliancy about her that assured the reader that she'd be all right, or some version thereof, in the end. The adolescent Mary descends deeper and deeper into a darkness that she manufactures for herself with the help of a pharmacy's worth of drugs and a heapin' helping of teen angst thrown in for good measure. I found it extremely interesting that Karr resorted to telling her story in second person in the last part, in which her relationship with drugs begins. I wondered to myself as I was reading whether she was using the second person narrative as a way of distancing herself from her high school self. In any case, the book is a much more difficult read than The Liar's Club, and I would definitely recommend that book before dipping your toes into this one. The reader emerges thoroughly saddened by Karr's own outright and between-the-lines admissions of her mistakes. I found her relationships with people especially dismaying -- but perhaps that was simply the way she chose to tell the story. The adolescent Karr is far from the precocious child of The Liar's Club. Her story is told from the bottom of an abyss -- I read an interview with Karr where she said that while writing Cherry, she would write for an hour and a half and then just collapse on the floor and fall asleep from exhaustion. I don't doubt it. A difficult yet rewarding book.

Angst of adolescence with a hard-edged sense of humor
Mary Karr is a fine writer. When I read her memoir, "The Liar's
Club" about her rough and tumble childhood in a working class
Texas town, I loved every word. That's why I was so anxious to read
this sequel, which deals with her adolescence. There are definitely
some differences between the two books, but I wasn't
disappointed.

The voice of the young Mary Karr comes through loud
and clear. It's honest and foul-mouthed and disrespectful. It's a
sharp-tongued blade that dares to illuminate the angst of adolescence
with a hard-edged sense of humor. And yet it brings the bittersweet
sadness of disappointments and awakenings to the page. The reader
cannot help but love her.

This book tells her story from age 11
through 17. It's about her friendships and boyfriends and coming of
age. As it takes place in the 1970s, there are a lot of drugs. Mary
is sent to the principal's office for not wearing a bra. Mary hangs
out with long-haired surfers and does drugs. Mary gets arrested.
Mary's sister takes a different path than Mary.

In this book, Mary's
parents take a back seat to the peer group. The story of their
tumultuous marriage, psychological breakdowns and heavy drinking has
been explored in "The Liar's Club". By this book their
eccentricities and foibles are already accepted as givens. Again,
their love shines through.

I'm glad that Ms. Karr decided to
continue her story. It might have been a little more episodic than
the first book and the events not as traumatic. But the strength of
her writing is not in the events, but in her view of them. And that
is why I enjoyed this book so much.

The book ends when Mary is 17.
Hopefully, they'll be yet another book that will follow her through
the years.

A Remembrance Of Innocence Lost
What does Mary Karr have left to prove? She already wrote the definitive memoir of a child's life in an East Texas hellhole, "The Liars' Club," which as a first-person narrative remains better than anything I've ever come across. Why risk another trip to the well? Can you exceed expectations when so many of them, like mine, are off the charts?

I'm in a funny position writing this, because I expected to come here and write about my disappointment with "Cherry," why it wasn't up to par with "Liars' Club." But reading all the one- and two-star reviews, some of which raise valid points, others of which are just all wet, I feel a little more protective about what I just read.

No, it's not as involving as "Liars' Club." Karr isn't the passive youngster anymore, and she takes on a wider swath of her life, from just before sixth grade all the way up through high school, meaning there isn't the concentration of time that worked with "Liars' Club." Our narrator is changing this time, and quickly.

More problematic, there is Karr's use of the second-person singular for the bulk of the book, describing her actions as if you are her. It doesn't work, feeling arch and odd instead of inclusive. Karr's budding sensibilities as a poet also come into play, with the help of a friend suspiciously named Meredith Bright, and you either will identify with their precocious conversations on absurdist theater or, like me, feel distanced by it. But it's her life, and she should tell it as it is.

The best part of the book is its first third, with its account of elementary and junior high school life. Karr's sharp eye for detail and her fluidity with language, so stunning in "Liars' Club," doesn't fail her here. She recalls the posture of a picked-on classmate "till her whole body became a sort of living question mark, the punctuation with which she responded to every mean sentence we could construct." Then there's her fear when approached by a boy she likes: "Part of me is also crazily rewinding to play back my whole walk across the field, for surely I did some stupid thing. I wouldn't pick my nose or anything...but I could have been skipping or singing some goofy song under my breath."

Later, she will find herself recruited to give this same boy a long leg massage, in a riotously funny passage in which she gets hot and bothered learning the critical distinction between gastrocs and hamstrings.

While people here note the presence of drugs, in all fairness they don't show up for more than a hundred pages, and she doesn't exactly turn into Ozzy Osbourne. She smokes some joints, and tries a few other things, but seems a bit removed from the drug culture even as she writes about it. Actually, I was glad to have the drugs come into play, as it beat reading about her reading Howard Nemerov. She has sex, too, but is shier about describing that than I would have expected from "Liars' Club."

Karr is a virtuoso at description, and tying up the loose ends of a disorderly life. She makes for exciting, vivid company. If you liked reading Stephen King's "The Body," or Russell Baker's "Growing Up," you will like "Cherry." Even if you didn't like "The Body" or "Growing Up," you will like "Cherry."

But you will like "Liars' Club" so much more.

The summer you and Meredith reread Franny and Zooey together
I am so glad I thought of doing this or was compelled to do this or whatever. I have just finished reading this book and I felt so strongely that I had to do something, give it to the perfect person or leave it in the perfect spot so the perfect person would come along and scoop it up or send it across the country to my Meredith who no doubt read it already and will tell me so quite flatly apon it's arrival. If you were ever a girl, or wanted to understand one especially the akward, angry or teenage type here is your book. It is totally unlike my youth and is an exact description of it all at once.....I laughed...I cried....I read until 4am because the truth hurts. I may be a "young adult" now but the things that happen to you in that part of your life stay, what's the line--the first cut is the deepest. I do not doubt that if some day I am with child, the teenage type, I will hand it to them if only to remind them I might not be very cool now but once believe it or not we were all a flutter. And whatever it is I can't say to their face about how hard it will be and how fun and seemingly pointless it will all seem is in this book just far enough away to seem like a dumpy town fairy tale. Simply remembering the sheer hilarity and cruelty of your own youth will mezmerize you as Karr weaves around you the stories of hers.

Touching remembrance
A touching remembrance of a 1970s adolescence. Karr made me both want to go back to the innocence and exploration and made me so relieved to be independent and no longer affected on a daily basis by the disfunctioning parental bodies. Startlingly honest, Karr makes one feel the joys and pains of adolescence as if they were currently going through it. Recommended. ... Read more

Book Description

Giving Birth, Finding Form
By Alice Walker, Isabel Allende, Jean Shinoda Bolen

Three eminent writers and strong women join in this once-in-a-lifetime dialogue about giving birth to life, to love, and to art. Share in this meeting as Alice Walker, Isabel Allendé, and Jean Shinoda Bolen unravel their lives from their books – and illustrate how creativity can kindle the feminine spirit. Using words and stories like brushstrokes, they draw us into the sagas of their lives. We learn how pain, anger, and sorrow give birth to the treasure that is their writing. Giving Birth, Finding Form offers precious words of inspiration for all people struggling to express their creativity – spiced with many stories from the lives of these award-winning writers. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Tea for Four
Listening to this tape is like sitting across the table having tea with these three wise and wonderful women. They bring their insights into life from different cultures, and yet show how much we all share. You will absolutely love this tape. Listening to any one of these women is a fabulous experience, and here that is compounded.

Uplifting and enjoyable
One does not have to be Alice Walker's, Isabel Allende's or Jean Bolan's admirer to listen to this tape. The language, sincerity and humor are simply irresistable. I would recommend this tape to everyone - not only women. Men can learn a lot from these three wonderful writers. ... Read more

Book Description

Hey.Hey, you.Yeah, you.The one looking at the computer screen.I'm so glad you're reading about this.I wrote it and read it so you'd listen to it.

Now, here's where I'm supposed to say all kinds of hip, Whoopi-esque stuff to get you to buy this.Reading about this is just the first step.Buying it--that's a whole other contract.So this is when we seal the deal, when I tell you, in my own inimitable way, how uproarious and provocative this audiobook is, how out there, uncensored, cutting edge and whatever else I can think to throw into the mix.

Or, I could say things like, "Not since War and Peace. . . " or "Move over, Alice Walker. . . " or "This audiobook does for the spoken word what Pat Boone did for heavy metal. . . "Well, come on now.Let's face it, if this audiobook were all those things it'd be a novel, and I wouldn't resort to such low tactics.You'd just buy it and go home, or wait for someone to turn it into a movie.So I'll give it to you straight.This audiobook doesn't suck.

It'll make you laugh--maybe not out loud, but in that place deep down where you know a good joke when you hear one.It'll make you think--also not out loud, because, you know, that'd be a little strange.It may shock you.Hell, it might even get you to reconsider a few things, and consider a few others for the first time.

You can take this audiobook to bed, or to the beach, and it won't ask you to swallow, or rub lotion on its back.It doesn't cost a whole lot of money.And (best of all!) it's collectible.Buy a few--one to listen to and a couple more to set aside for your retirement, 'cause these suckers are gonna go up in value like nobody's business.Trust me on this.One to listen to, and a couple more to set aside.You won't be sorry.

And neither will I. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

One Great Book and Audio Tape By Whoopi Goldberg
I bought this because Whoopi is great , her ideas are great her jokes EVERY THING. I dont usally shop from the internet but hey! I thought this was worth it and it was. This tape got me laughin' it got me to think about stuff. Yeah there is language but who doesnt use the "F" word every now and then?This is a collectable and a definatly a MUST HAVE. So WHY ARE u still reading this? GO AND BUY IT!

Mildly funny, but shockingly unfocused...
Whoopi Goldberg in her usual standup and movie routines is absolutely wonderful, so I was expecting big things from this audiobook. Perhaps my expectations were set a bit high.

Instead of the string of jokes I'd been expecting, a full 2/3rds of the book was devoted to Whoopi expounding on her political viewpoints. Despite the fact I usually agreed with her political views, her soapbox-ranting style left me wanting a more eloquent spokesperson for her position. Much of the time, she simply comes off as a less thoughtful Dennis Miller.

All of this would be bearable if she had some tiny shred of humility, but about the fourth time she assured me that she is, in fact, "a funny person," I was ready to toss the tape out the window.

An example of someone who "thinks too much."
Much like George Carlin, in "Audiobook," Goldberg manages to obsess -- sometimes to the point of shrieking -- over such issues as picky eating, men's grooming habits, favorite popes, Christmas, drivers from a certain Eastern state and politically correct language. If you don't like authors or comedians who can't let something drop, don't purchase either "Book" or "Audiobook." However, if you love a good, sustained rant -- that isn't directed towards you -- that seems to end in catharsis, do yourself a favor and get it. I'd definitely lean towards "Audiobook," because Goldberg gets her point across as perfectly as if she was onstage.

Yes, Whoopi does use "language," as she warns people at the beginning of the tape. If you didn't get the implication, it means that she uses profanity from time to time, saying the "s" word, the "f" word and a few others, too. She doesn't hold back, but says what she wants and expresses exasperation however she wants. If you want polite commentary on some of the same issues, there's always etiquette books. (Hey, Miss Manners is always amusing.)

Goldberg addresses her relationship with Ted Danson (mainly the minstrel decible), her premature status of grandmother, Clinton's extra-carricular activities as well as those of a few other recent presidents, discloses how she got her name and some stories from her childhood. "Audiobook" is basically a series of essays about why she sees the world the way she does.

I don't always agree with her opinions. Some of her essays are more serious than funny. However, I did find this glimpse into her mind fascinating and engaging. It feels a little like hanging out in the back booth of a diner while an outspoken friend holds court, which is probably one of the best statements I can make about what is essentially an autobiography.

Whoopi G. was never an easy artist to experience. If you're not prepared to be uncomfortable or take issue with what she has to say, don't bother. She claimed to want this project to spark conversation between people and, like it or hate it, chances are you'll be talking about it for a while.

Don't listen while driving!
I bought this to listen to on my daily commute. I had to listen to it at home because I kept driving off the road from laughing so hard. Whoopi Goldberg is honest, funny and real. Book was hilarious, but this is so much better from her reading and adlibs. Find a copy and share!

not for kids
Whoopi is normally hilarious. But the language in this book really turned me off. People who use language (swearing) like that sound like common street trash. ... Read more

Book Description

Zoya's Story is a young woman's searing account of her clandestine war of resistance against the Taliban and religious fanaticism at the risk of her own life. An epic tale of fear and suffering, courage and hope, Zoya's Story is a powerful testament to the ongoing battle to claim human rights for the women of Afghanistan.

50 percent of the proceeds from the sale of this audio book will be donated to the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA).

Reviews (16)

An Inspiration to all Women
What can I say about this book. It made me cry, but it also gave me hope. I admire Zoya's courage and strength. It took me on a journey of Afghanistan and its people. I saw her grandmother praying on the pad, I was there when she almost fell down, because she couldn't see through the burqa. I can't tell you how much this book can change you as a person. You have to read it for yourself and experience the heart of a child and the courage of a woman. That is Zoya. I would like to know what she is doing now.

Zoya's Story: an Afghan Woman's Struggle for Freedom
This was an informative, well written account of Zoya's life as an Afghan woman. Since September 11 Americans have been inundated with news reports about the Taliban and Afghanistan. This book goes inside the country and puts a human face on recent events in Afghanistan. I started reading Zoya's Story this morning and did not put it down until I had finished it. Some may be surprised by the end of the book, in which Zoya says that refugees do not want to return even though the Taliban have lost control. They are just as fearful of the Northern Alliance now taking power.

This book is a reminder that no one, especially women, should take their rights and freedoms for granted.

Great book!
I loved the book and love the courage of Zoya. Women like Zoya should become all oppressed women's role models!
This book is entertaining and the same time educating!

The Veil of Resistance, Courage, and Sorrow
Those that live through the destruction of their homeland will have their lives forever changed. The rest of us only have to glimpse into the window of a world in which we are only too grateful to be far removed from.

From her youngest days as a child, to a full fledged member of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA), Zoya tells her story simply but it holds much impact. Her courage and determination are remarkable as she tells of a childhood occupied by the Russians, driven out by the Mujahideen, and overthrown by the Taliban. As every new oppressor, each more savage then the previous tore her country apart, she continued her work to reveal the truth to the world, to fight for a women's right to education, and to bring relief to refugees who have lost everything.

Her story and message is one of continued hope for her country that has been betrayed so many times, and she seems unshaken in her loyalty to her country and her mission. She continues her covert work to this day, and like her RAWA sisters, continues to keep her true identity hidden.

Putting a name & face to the numerous victims
It is so sad to read about Zoya & the numerous other women's plight in their war-torn country. They do not only suffer from the physical effects of war but more so on the debilitating suppression on womanhood brought about by culture & religion. Putting a name & face to these numerous victims we often hear about brings their woes closer to heart. It makes me realize how much we take for granted simple things we enjoy in life that would equate to a beating or degradation to their kind.

I admire what Zoya & RAWA is doing for the Afghan women. I wish them more power & success in their endeavors. ... Read more

Book Description

Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl is among the most enduring documents of the twentieth century. Since its publication in 1947, Anne Frank's story has become familiar to millions all over the world, and remains a beloved and deeply admired testament to the indestructible nature of the human spirit.

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

The Definitive Edition

Included in this Definitive Edition are diary entries previously omitted from the original, passages which reinforce the fact that Anne was first and foremost a teenage girl, not a remote and flawless symbol. She fretted over her emerging sexuality; often found herself in disagreement with the adults around her; and veered between the carefree nature of a child and the full-fledged sorrow of an adult living under extraordinary conditions and unbearable strain. Anne emerges more triumphantly and heart-breakingly human, more vulnerable, and more vital than ever.

Anne Frank and her family hid in the back of an Amsterdam warehouse for two years in an effort to escape the horrors of Nazi occupation. Only thirteen when her family went into the Secret Annex, she reveals her daily life as the world around them succumbed to the worst horror the modern world had seen, facing hunger, the threat of discovery and death, estrangement from the outside world, and above all, the boredom, the petty misunderstandings, and the frustrations of living in such confined quarters.

A timeless story rediscovered by each new generation, The Diary of a Young Girl stands without peer, and acclaimed actress Winona Ryder brings this unforgettable young woman to life in a stunning performance for listeners of all ages to cherish. ... Read more

Reviews (436)

The Diary of Anne Frank was a wonderful book.
I read the book, "The Diary of Anne Frank." I thought that it was not only a wonderful book, but it was very real. It is the captivating story of a young girl, told to her diary about her life, growing up under sone of the strangest, and saddest conditions. It was written in Holland in the early 1940's, during the anti-semetic movements of the Nazi party. Is is told from the innocent eyes of a child, forced to go into hiding to escape Nazi persecution. She lives under close quarters, with seven other people. I felt, because the book was so real, that I actually knew the characters in the book. I found myself relating to ideas that Anne had and things that she said. I think that everyone should read this book because is is an insight into life, love, and hate. I believe that this is a great book and could be enjoyed by anyone.

Anne Frank The Diary of a Young Girl
The book that I just finished reading is called Anne Frank The Diary of a Young Girl written by Anne Frank herself. It is one of the best book that I have ever read. It tells you about the life of a teenage girl who is trying to survive the awful times of the Holocaust while in hiding. Along with her, there are seven other people living in this hiding place. She learns how to cooporate with other people and how to live while all cooped up. The story takes place in Amsterdam and the hiding place is called the "Secret Annexe". There are two people who get them their food and take care of them. The end of this book is so heart-wrenching that it is unbelieveable. I would definately give this book nine stars out of ten. This book is so informative that is really makes you realize how fortunate we really are these days. It explains everything so well that you can't even believe that something this horrible could ever even happen. This book has definately made me think completely different in a good way and I hope that it will do the same for you.

Franco's Fabulous Book Review
Anne Frank, a 13 year-old, strong-willed, and courageous girl, is living in the Secret Annex during WWII to escape the Nazi regime. Anne, along with her family and close friends, are hiding from the Nazis because they are of the Jewish faith. Anne falls in love with Peter, a 15 year-old boy who is living with her in the Secret Annex. They become very close as they spend time in the attic trying to escape Peter's annoying mother. The group living in the Secret Annex has to be extremely careful. If they make too much noise, they have a chance of being caught. If they are caught, they will most likely be sent to a concentration camp. Any loud noise or movement could cost the eight tenants of the Secret Annex to die.
"Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl" is an amazing book. It lets you realize how lucky we are to live in the world we live in today. The struggles that Anne and the group go through to live a "normal" life are nothing like anyone in today's world would be forced to go through. It allows people interested in WWII to gain information as to what is was like to live during the war.
"Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl" is a must read. It is ver informative, yet allows the reader to learn about WWII in an interesting way. So, if you like WWII and are interested in learning what it was like to live back then, this book is for you. It is also a good piece of historical fiction. Pick it up today!

Julie Francolino

A diary that truly depicted War...
I earnestly almost cried after reading this book.I was 13,the same age as Anne's when she started writing her diary,whom she called "kitty".

For those who have no idea who Anne Frank is,she is a Jewish girl and the youngest of two girls.Her father was successful businessman...and the family led a happy and wonderful life after settling down in the bustling city of Amsterdam,that was until Adolf Hitler started the Nazis.The Nazis was an anti-Jew operation,where they would capture Jewish men and tortured them.The women and young and old were not let off either,many were sent to concentration camps,where living conditions there were so bad,many died of diseases rather than the slow torturings.

It was at this time that Mr Frank decided to go into hiding with his family.With some of his kind-hearted co-workers,they managed to perfect a secret hideout.Anne,her mother and sister Margot began moving into the hideout,which was located just behind the office.Joining them were the Van Dans (not sure if spelling is right)who had a son named Peter and a doctor.Life was very tough,for living behind the office with barely a bookshelf as a wall means not making loud noises.No one must know of their existense,so all everybody could do is to crept round their area softly,tip-toeing and even speaking in hush-whistle.

For almost 2 years,that's the life of Anne.A growing teenager,she could not go out to the streets to watch a movie,play with her friends or even talk to boys,for that means getting caught by the Nazis.It was also round this time that Anne had one true friend where she can confide everything to:kitty,her diary.

In her diary,she wrote of how talkative she was in class(she went to school before the hiding),how she hates her mother when the latter compared her to her sister Margot,how she detested Mrs Van Dam...and her deepest thoughts on growing up in a secret hideout.She also shared about her crush on Peter,who also liked her.

Anne,as we could see,was a normal girl,someone who detested writing,someone who likes a boy and someone who wants to grow up being an author.Well,you could say she is one now,with her diary published after the war, which was later translated to more than 50 languages and sold millions worldwide...but the young girl,unlike her diary,did not survived through the war,for she was captured from her hideout one fine day.Mrs Frank,Margot,the doctor,the Van Dams and Anne herself,all died.All except for Mr Frank himself,who survived...

By the way, a little unknown fact about her Anne:her real name is Annelies Marie Frank.

Anne Frank:The Diary of a Young Girl
The epic Adventure of Anne Frank, born in Germany Anne Frank spent two years of her life in Astonishing Circumstances. Anne faces adventure when the Nazis where murdering Jews. Anne, Mummy, Daddy, Mrs. Van Daan, Mr. Van Daan, and Peter. All hid in a secret passage in an old warehouse in Amsterdam. Anne and her diary explains of the fear of being discovered by the Nazis. Yet within it, a tender love story slowly unfolds-from her shy avoidances with peter to incessant glances and first kiss! Thus her diary is not a lament but a song to life, no matter the circumstances, no matter what the threats.
Great book for all ages, and you can't beat the low price. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Alison Smith’s close-knit Catholic family is the very picture of contentment--right up until the day her 18-year-old brother is killed in a car accident. In Name All the Animals, Smith walks readers through the breakdown and breakthroughs of her family in the days and years that follow.

Cleanly written and only occasionally maudlin, this memoir reads like a gritty coming of age novel. Included are all of the pieces one would expect in a book that starts with a death--bereft parents, good samaritan neighbors, even a somewhat rote post-funeral scene back at the house--but Smith manages to throw in a few unexpected curveballs. A sweetly scandalous lesbian experience, a pair of skinny-dipping nuns, and a suspiciously undetected bout of anorexia come together with a quiet but ever-present insurance investigation to create a truly original story.

Written in the same vein as The Lovely Bones or The Dogs of Babel, Smith’s story manages to convey the beauty that can be found in coming to terms with grief. Ultimately triumphant, this is a great read for anyone searching for meaning after the loss of a loved one. --Vicky Griffith ... Read more

Reviews (32)

Wonderful
"Name All the Animals" is extremely touching. It is a wonderful book and one I highly recommend. It is very similar to "My Fractured Life" and "The Lovely Bones".

Calm, Confident, and Creative
Alison Smith writes with a calm confidence. Her book "Name All the Animals" is thought provoking and enjoyable.The emotional trigger point is the death of 18 year old Roy in a senseless car accident and the actual story is the ripple effect that has on the family. There is a great contrast between the parents and the narrator in how they deal with the loss and grief, creating fantastic human drama. Readers who enjoyed "My Fractured Life" will be pleased with "Name All the Animals" which follows that same ripple effect after a loved one's death. An excellent story.

Excellent Book
Excellent Book
From despair to triumph, this is a wonderfully well written book that is a real page turner and so hard to put down. You will really enjoy it. Think your life has been rough? Well read this book and find that you may not have had it so bad.

Also recommended: Nightmares Echo and Sickened

Truthful Slice of Life - and Loss
"Name all the Animals" has a pulse, a heartbeat - a quickening despite the realistically gritty and tragic tale of never-healed loss of a son and brother. Alison Smith courageously puts her story out there in a clean, concise and often connecting manner that simply says, "Here is what happened." - and we, the readers, get to witness the unfolding right before our eyes, our hearts and our spirit.

We read of the three years between the time of young Roy's death and when Alison reaches the age Roy was when he died - and then lives beyond him... something that we can intuitively understand is among the most difficult aspects of being a surviving sibling for her to face.

Alison became "The One Whose Brother Died". Her community supported her and yet, allowed her to starve herself and not sleep and withdraw. I loved the section where her mother discovered the work of Kubler-Ross and attempted to get Alison and her very religious, ritualistic husband to share their feelings about Roy's death and their survival - but neither would budge.

There isn't a trace of judgment in the tone of this book - it is vibrantly fresh and true.

One note of interest: I was grateful I started the book in the back - in the Interview with the Author.It gave insight into Alison and made me smile in recognition.... It was like I was rooting for her and for this book and for myself... if she can do it, I can (and YOU can), too.

Just a Comment About the Title
I noticed that someone wrote that the book had nothing to do with the title - that is because the title is a metaphor it is using a biblical reference to Adam in the garden of Eden when he is told to name all the animals....that is where the title comes from. I haven't actually read the book yet - but I read an article about the reference made in the title. Just thought I would mention that to all of you who have read the book and are confused by the title. ... Read more

Book Description

Born in 1937, Madeleine Albright came from an Eastern Europe torn by war and the Holocaust to reach the highest echelons of American government as Secretary of State under President Clinton.Her memoir will cover her childhood and emigration, her role as wife and mother of three daughters, the painful breakdown of her marriage, and her life in politics.She will bring to life the world leaders and politicians she worked with intimately in her years in public service.She will talk very candidly about the real difficulties of being the only woman at the table and the battles she had to fight to prove her worth.And at a time when the US is examining the legacy of its policy in the Middle East during the Clinton Administration, Secretary Albright's testimony will provide essential listening-throwing light on the key players, explaining and exploring foreign policy for the non-specialist. ... Read more

Reviews (41)

A Far-Ranging Autobiography --- Readers Will Learn Much
In winding up her far-ranging autobiography, Madeleine Albright tells us with amusement that once, after leaving office as U.S. Secretary of State, she was mistaken in public for Margaret Thatcher.

It's worth a chuckle to the reader --- but there are indeed interesting similarities between the two women, even though their political leanings are light-years apart. They both reached the highest rank ever attained by a woman in their respective democratic governments, were fiercely partisan political figures, and held very strong opinions and were never afraid to battle for them (Albright's favorite expression for this is that she never hesitated to "push back" at those who opposed her).

Albright is best known for serving as U.S. ambassador to the UN in the first Clinton term, and as Secretary of State in the second. Readers of this book will learn in detail about the early years and long political apprenticeship that led up to those two high-profile jobs. They will also learn, in perhaps more detail than they care to absorb, about the many foreign policy crises in which she was a major player under Clinton.

The other thing about Albright that most people will recall is that only after she became Secretary of State did she learn that her family ancestry was Jewish --- that three of her grandparents had died in Nazi concentration camps. This personal revelation is duly covered but not dwelled upon in extraordinary detail.

Her life, though unsettled due to wartime exigencies, was not a rags-to-riches tale. She was born Marie Jana Korbel in Prague into a comfortably situated family. Her father was a respected Czech diplomat and college professor. Fleeing the Nazis, the family spent time in England during World War II. They arrived in the United States when she was 11, and her father took a teaching job in Denver. She entered Wellesley College in 1955 and became an American citizen two years later. She married into a wealthy and well-connected American family in 1959. Her first political idol and mentor was Edmund Muskie, in whose doomed presidential campaign she took part. After the breakup of her marriage, her career in government and politics took off during the Carter presidency, her only personal setback being a painful divorce in 1983.

This is all dispatched in the first 100 pages or so of her lengthy book. The rest of it details her UN and State Department years with a thoroughness that seems at times compulsive. All the heroes and villains of those years pass in review --- Carter, Havel, Milosevic, Helms, Clinton, Putin, Arafat, Barak. The complexities of Rwanda, Serbia, Kosovo, the Middle East, Somalia and other trouble spots are laid out in prose that can get ponderous --- but her incisive personal portraits of these people lighten the mood.

Albright makes no pretense to real objectivity. She is a committed Democrat who admired both Carter and Clinton, and she defends them against all the charges that have been flung at them by their opponents. She defends such controversial actions as Clinton's successful ousting of Boutros Boutros-Ghali as Secretary General of the UN, and his policy of opening up trade with China and warily seeking a somewhat civil relationship with North Korea. Her two biggest regrets are the failure of the UN to stop genocide in Rwanda and Clinton's failure to forge a solid peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (in that regard, while gently critical of Israel on occasion, she holds Arafat mainly responsible for the breakdown). The two biggest villains in her cast of characters, not surprisingly, are Arafat and Milosevic.

There is naturally a strong feminist slant to her narrative. There is also a vein of sharp observation, character analysis, and even humor. The writing, when not bogged down in the minutiae of crisis management, can be bright, though we are left to wonder how much of the credit is hers and how much belongs to her collaborator, Bill Woodward.

Mercifully, Monica Lewinsky remains a bit player in Albright's narrative. Two other things, perhaps more important, are also missing: detailed assessments of the effect of the 9/11 tragedy on America's global course and the George W. Bush administration. Those would have made an already long book longer, but one wishes she had covered them anyway.

--- Reviewed by Robert Finn

Exemplary
Madam Secretary is a wonderful capsule of a remarkable life and highly recommended for anyone who is as much of a current affairs geek as I am. While most will be drawn to read this book because of the insights Ms. Albright provides into the Clinton Administration's roles in the Middle East conflict, Kosovo, and North Korea - all of which are discussed in fascinating detail - some of the most compelling (and poignant) sections of the book have to do with her pain associated with the sudden dissolution of her marriage, the discovery of her Jewish ancestry, and her life in Czechoslovakia as a young girl.

Ms. Albright's narrative voice is warm and inviting and utterly without pretension. This is my vote for the best non-fiction book of 2003.

An inside view...
Madeleine Albright led a remarkable life - fleeing as a child across war-torn Europe, first from the invading Germans and then from the invading Soviets, the little girl from Prague came to America before a teenager, and ended up becoming the first female Secretary of State in American history (although, interestingly, not even the first non-American-born Secretary of State in the last half century!). She reinvented herself as an American, someone who fell deeply in love with her adopted country, even to the extent that her name Madeleine, isn't the one with which she was christened (although it is the French version of her name, and thus we are reading the memoirs of Madeleine, not Marie Jana Korbel).

She weaves together her personal life and insights together with the professional experiences she has had throughout her various careers, culminating with the office of Secretary of State for several years in Bill Clinton's administration. Her father, part of the Czech government-in-exile, immigrated to America and became a professor (interestingly, one of his student was Condalezza Rice, one of the principle voices in foreign affairs in the current Bush administration). Albright thus had training from the very beginning in terms of both academic and practical aspects of governments and diplomacy.

Albright's academic credentials are impressive, and her experiences in school shaped her later career. For undergraduate work, she studied at Wellesley College in Political Science, and then went to the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. She finished her formal education at Columbia, receiving a Certificate from the Russian Institute, and her Masters and Doctorate from the Department of Public Law and Government. This is also where she got involved with political and media affairs in earnest.

She was a White House staffer, including staffing the National Security Council, during Carter's presidency; during the 12-year Republican administrations in Washington, her career focused on the Center for National Policy, a non-profit liberal think-tank/research organization formed in 1981 looking at issues in domestic and foreign policy. This gave her continued presence in the field so that when the time came, Clinton tapped her to be the ambassador to the United Nations, and then later Secretary of State.

She met and married Joseph Albright, part of a wealthy media family, and recounts in some detail and emotion the difficulties with the breakup of that relationship. She also confesses an affair with a Georgetown professor, and other difficult times in her life. However, these take a back seat most of the time to her professional career.

Albright makes the claim to have not discovered her Jewish ancestry until late in life; there is reason to discount this belief, given that she is the kind of person likely to know the details of her background, and given that she visited family back in Czechoslovakia back in the 1960s. Reasons for not wanting to be identified as being of Jewish descent during her career are unclear, but in an otherwise very straightforward autobiographical account, this one point seems less than convincing.

Albright does reflect with candor on many world leaders, including her boss Bill Clinton, and his wife Hillary; few of the key names of the 90s are missed here. Ultimately, one comes across with the impression of a erudite diplomat, a skillful politicians, and a sincere worker for the best interests of the nation.

Smooth, captivating and thoughtful
A fascinating story of a remarkable person who has served her country well.

Filling in What the Media Neglects
If your interesting in knowing the truth about one of the 1990s most important foreign policy personalities, this book won't necessarily help. While it is an easy read with lots of details about what was happening behind closed doors, Ms. Albright also spun it to her own advantages. But that is to be expected. Considering her harsh handing at the hands of the right wing, it is good to get her point of view. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Insightful, but Biased Look at the Justice System
This book gives a very interesting inside look into the world of criminal defense attorneys. The author gives her unique perspective on the law through stories of several cases she defended. While I found the book very interesting, especially her explanation of the Menendez case, I couldn't help thinking that she was giving only one side of the story and leaving out facts that didn't support her views of defendant's rights. Still, it was very enthralling and hard to put down.

Dull But Intelligent
I have always liked the way that Leslie Abramson handles herself as well as being a fairly big fan of her courtroom practices.So, I went into this book with some preconceived biases.Well, they were all provenwrong.

Abramson is an extremely intelligent woman, and an excellentattorney, but her writing, as well as that of Richard Flaste, is quite dryand rather boring.She has some nice stories to tell, but the manner inwhich she delivers them is undeniably dull.

The book clearly had nocogent flow to it whatsoever.The book was somewhat hard to get through,but I read on, hoping it lead to something better.But, it trulydidn't.

I gave the book two stars simply because the information on thecases, and the behind the scenes stuff was pretty interesting. Unfortunately, that is all this book really has to offer you.

State the facts please!
I have to question the factuality of the stories written in this book.My family is the subject of one of the stories Leslie chose to discuss in detail within her book.I have to say I was shocked and infuriated to findmy family story, including names and a picture sent to Leslie in aChristmas card, printed without our consent or knowledge.After theinitial shock I sat down to read the book and was again outraged at themany erroneous facts intertwined in our brief story.I have to wonder ifshe even looked at our file or if she just tried to pull from memory and/orembelish this brief condensed story of our life. I do not know all the lawsgoverning what you can or can't print in an autobiography, but