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| 1. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand | |
 | Hardcover
list price: $27.00 -- our price: $13.99 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 1400064163 Publisher: Random House Sales Rank: 3 Average Customer Review: 
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Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) I read this book in two days flat and I know that, had I had the time, I would have read it in one sitting. This is a book that grips you, draws you in and leaves you feeling a slightly better person for having read it.
The story is that of Louie Zamperini - a track and field star of the 1930's, who participated in the Berlin olympics, was part of the US air force in WWII, was shot down over the ocean, was adrift in the Pacific for over a month, was held as a POW by the Japanese forces and finally made it back to his life and has had the courage to live it to its fullest. Hillenbrand is a marvellous author. I was never tempted to read Seabiscuit and this was my first introduction to her work. She is one of a few authors who can write a non fiction story in the most gripping and vivid way imaginable. Instead of being flowery or overly embellished her prose relies squarely on research and on witness accounts and yet manages to never be dull. The swiftly moving story takes the reader from Zamperini's early beginnings, his swift rise to track star, the Berlin olympics and then to the World War. This is where the story really blooms. Hillenbrand settles in for the long haul here and we get to see the air force and the B24 bombers through the words of the men who actually flew them. The sequences where Zamperini and his friend Phil are adrift at sea are vivid and strangely beautifully described. The horrors that await them at the Japanese prison camps are not glossed over but neither does Hillenbrand wallow in the gore and violence as some authors may be tempted to do. There is always a strong sense of the respect the author holds for the men whose story she is being allowed to tell. History has perhaps focused its eye too exclusively on the war in Europe to the extent where the situation in the Pacific and the plight of POW's there has not recieved the attention and the respect it deserves. Hillenbrand's book and detailed research certainly makes a strong attempt to change that. Solidly based on statistics and army reports from both sides of the war, Hillenbrands book paints a clear picture of the hellish conditions that the POW's endured and the utter madness of the war that was being waged in the Pacific. This is a hard story to read but one that is well worth it. The falling apart of Louie's life and his slow path to regaining his life and sense of purpose is a story that is truly inspiring. This book will find a permanent place of honor on my bookshelf.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Louis Zamperini? Who is he? Laura Hillenbrand's near 500-page reply will answer the question not only once, but for all. He is the California boy who was a kleptomaniac. He is the running prodigy who competed at Hitler's Berlin Olympics, shook hands with the Fuhrer, and was almost shot by Nazi guards for stealing a Nazi souvenir. He is the American serviceman who entered the Pacific theater, crashed into the sea, and spent a harrowing forty-odd days floating on a disintegrating raft circled by aggressive sharks, scorched by a relentless sun, and gnawed to the bone by an inescapable hunger.
Who is Louis Zamperini? He is a man who overcame all THAT only to be "rescued" by the wrong side -- the Japanese. He is the man who went from being a prisoner of starvation and sharks that actually leaped up and tried to snatch him out of the foundering raft to being a prisoner of Japanese guards who were every bit as predatory as the great white of the seas. He is the man who was beaten every day by a particular Japanese corporal named Mutsuhiro Watanabe, a.k.a. "the Bird." He is, in short, the Unbroken One -- the man who kept getting up, coming back, rebounding, and holding on to the tenuous thread that connected him with life and hope, past any duration that any of us could possibly imagine. And, as YOU can imagine, his story is compelling. In fact, in the capable hands of Laura Hillenbrand, author of SEABISCUIT, it reads like a thriller, a page-turner, a fictional product of a keenly talented mind -- proving once again that truth can trump fiction when it comes to stories and mankind's love of hearing them. When you reach the end of this man's incredible journey, you will be awed by the scope of Hillenbrand's writing. It is clear that she did a vast amount of research -- reading letters, telegrams, newspaper clippings, radio transcripts, etc., AND interviewing not only Zamperini himself, but his family members, friends, surviving fellow servicemen, and even Japanese captors. Woven in her biography are many statistics and facts from the history of World War II as well. You will learn about the science of survival -- why certain men live and certain men die -- and about the strengths and weaknesses of America's planes that carried servicemen over the vast distances of the Pacific Ocean. You will learn about the war strategy, the Japanese culture and its effects on treatment of POWs as well as on conducting (and refusing to surrender in) a war to the bitter end. And, sadly, you will learn about the aftermath of war in Japan. It's all here, bigger than life, packed into the small frame of one man from Torrance, California -- a man that could, and did, live to tell about a page in history we hope never to repeat. Both a personal tale of redemption and resilience, UNBROKEN is destined to become a classic in the category of narrative nonfiction. Ordinarily I'm a fiction guy, but I was spellbound from the start. Honest. Give it a try. It's big, but reads small. I think, when you reach the end, you, too, will sing its (and Louie's) praises (at 93, Zamperini is still alive and still "Unbroken"!).
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This is the long (500 pages) extremely detailed, meticulously researched and extremely moving story of a Hero. And yes, the caps on "hero" was intentional.
In the first half of the book we get a detailed biography of Louis Zamperini- bad boy, then track and field star and Olympic contender. Possibly too detailed here, I admit. We then segue into WWI and Lt Zamperini's Air Corps career as a B-24 bombardier. Great stuff here, goes into fascinating detail about the B24 Liberator and the men who flew them in the Pacific. The last portion here is a harrowing tale of survival in the open seas, one of the best I have read. Then, Louie Zamperini gets captured by the Japanese. Folks, watching Bridge on the River Kwai will not prepare you for the brutality and inhumanity of the horrors Laura Hillenbrand brings to life here. Now, this is a gripping adventure story, well told, one that is hard to put down. But I had to put this book down in a couple places here, the story was that brutally true. A tale of unbelievable endurance, hardship and heroism. A real page turner, extremely well written and readable.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) No one can accuse Laura Hillenbrand, author of Seabiscuit: An American Legend, of ever doing a half-effort job of research when she writes narrative nonfiction. Spending seven years on this effort, the Author has produced one of the most detailed stories of an American POW being held by the Japanese during World War II that I have ever read. With the many interviews with the subject during her research, along with interviews of family members, other POW's and their families, reading over unpublished memoirs, personal letters, and military documents, it would have been easy for this book to have become a long drawn-out and sterile narrative that would read like a text book. Instead we're treated to a captivating and at times heart-wrenching story that takes a group of unknowns and present them in a way that you truly come to know them.
The subject of the book is Louis Zamperini, whose life would have been an interesting read even before the events during WWII. A relatively trouble child who stole everything in sight, he grows up to become one of the greatest track stars of his time, shattering the national high school record in the mile and becoming one of the youngest members of the U.S. Olympic team in 1936. Many felt that Zamperini would become the first person to break the four minute mile. With the onset of the war, he was drafted into the Army Air Force and became a bombardier assigned to the semi-unreliable B-24. After surviving a number of bombing missions against Japanese targets his plane goes down in the middle of the ocean while searching for another downed plane. What follows is a story of survival by sheer will, first being adrift at sea for 46 days and then spending over two brutal years as a POW in Japan. Hillenbrand takes us step-by-step through the events, introducing us to other Allied prisoners as well as a number of the Japanese guards and personnel. Her descriptions of the brutality Louie, as well as other prisoners, went through are very detailed and heart-wrenching. His daily beatings from a guard known as "The Bird" would have been enough to break anyone but Zamperini endured each one. One thing I found interesting is not only did she name names of the guards that tortured the prisoners mercilessly she also did not shy away from pointing out the Japanese personnel who did their best to shield the prisoners even at the risk of their own safety. Then after the war the Author takes us through the post-traumatic years as Zamperini's life spirals downward, and his eventual rebirth as he learns forgiveness and peace. I would highly recommend this to those looking for an inspiring story of, as the sub-title of the book says, "Survival, Resilience, and Redemption." Just be aware, a large portion of the story will focus on the brutality and suffering inflicted on the POW's by the Japanese war machine. It can be at times a very disturbing and difficult narrative to read, one that can bring tears to your eyes. It is both one of the best books of the WWII POW experience I've read, and one of the most troubling.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) In "Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption," author Laura Hillenbrand (of Seabiscuit: An American Legend tells the story of Louis Zamperini, a bad boy turned track and field star, who participated in the 1936 Berlin Olympic and even met Hitler. Narrowly escaping arrest for attempting to piler a Nazi flag, Zamperini returned home, washed out as a pilot and eventually ended up in the Army Air Corps as a B-24 bombardier.
Then, in May 1943, his plane goes down. He and one of his crewmates endure over 47 days before they find land, but, unfortunately, they land in enemy terrain, and are sent to a POW camp, where the story gets even more harrowing and brutal. The story of Zamperini's ordeal, survival and eventual return home, with its own attendant struggles, is one of the most gripping tales of heroism and sheer toughness, mental and physical, that I have ever read. I must admit, I was a bit worried that Ms. Hillenbrand, after having written the excellent Seabiscuit, would suffer a "sophomore slump." My worries were completely unfounded. Ms. Hillenbrand has the rare gift for setting atmosphere, including vast amounts of tightly-integrated background information, yet her narrative never drags or slows. Every detail was meticulously researched - I can only imagine how much work that took - and she did an incredible effort of setting the stage. I also appreciated the even-handedness of her approach, particularly when singling out the kind and humane guards in the Japanese POW camp, who took tremendous risks. Another standout section of the book, although brief, was the difficulty soldiers had in returning back to "normal life" after the war. This is one of the best books, historical or not, that I have ever read, and would make an outstanding movie as well. Five-plus stars.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Laura Hillenbrand's new book, "Unbroken", is one of the most incredible books I've read in recent years. It is the true story of Louie Zamperini. Zamperini, an Olympic 5000 meter runner for the US(Berlin; 1936) survives the plane crash of his bomber in the Pacific in May of 1943. The book recounts in vivid detail all that occurs over the next 2 and 1/2 years. Mr. Zamperini's story is absolutely incredible. This ranks with the best personal accounts of WWII ever written. This book is riveting!! Ms Hillenbrand's narrative style compels you to continue turning pages long after her accounts of the horrors Zamperini has endured have left you exhausted. This book is a MUST READ!! It is destined to be perched at the top of the bestseller lists for months to come.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) There are thousands of books written about World War Two. Some tell the story of battles; some follow the history of the whole war, or this or that theater. Some focus on the plight of the Prisoners of War. Some are memoirs, or biographies.
Unbroken must join the bibliography of the Pacific War as one of the best personal narratives written. Laura Hillenbrand, famous for her story of Seabiscuit, picks up the story of one young man, Louie Zamperini, troublemaker, runner, bombardier, and runs with it. He was lost in the crash at sea of his B24 Green Hornet. Lost at sea, he drifted for weeks in a life raft with two of his crewmates. They broke all records for survival in such a craft. Two of them made it, through shark infested waters, hunger and thirst to land. That's where their ordeal began. Now, a survival against nature story turns into something more terrible and ominous. Zamperini must contend and deal with the blackest shadows of human nature while a POW in wartime Japan. Against all odds he survives, after being officially declared dead and returns to a grateful nation. He and his fellow POWs suffer the after effects of their ordeals for years after the war and again, Zamperini sinks into his own private hell. Then, when in deepest despair, he meets a young Billy Graham and his life turns around once more. He finds finally redemption and returns to Japan not as a messenger of hate but as a herald of hope and forgiveness. I loved this book.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) I remember quite clearly when reading Laura Hillenbrand's "Seabiscuit" about the famous racehorse that this might be a once-in-a-lifetime book for the author, that she would probably never find so compelling a story to focus upon. Hillenbrand herself says much the same thing in the afterword to her new "Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption" (due to be released to the public in the next couple weeks) -- but then she learned about Louie Zamperini. Zamperini, as the son of immigrant Italians in California in the 1930s, seemed a sure candidate for everybody's "Most Likely to Go to Reform School" list. Then, his older brother convinced him to try out for the high school track team, and a great natural gift for running was discovered. In short order, his academic and disciplinary record reversed itself, and soon Zamperini was a student at USC and one of the brightest stars of the American track scene, often touted as being the man most likely to break the fabled four minute barrier in running the mile. He was on the US team at the 1936 (Berlin) Olympics where he did respectably, although it was believed that with a little more maturity his real opportunity to win gold would come at the 1940 (Tokyo) Olympics. Then, World War II started.
Louis Zamperini found himself a B24 bombadier in the Pacific, where long distance over-water flying in aircraft of dubious mechanical reliability probably killed more air crew than combat. In 1943 Zamperini's plane disappeared while on a search-and-rescue mission, and Zamperini and the rest of the crew were presumed killed. Instead, he and the pilot survived 47 days in a life raft before being found and "rescued" by the Japanese, landing Zamperini in a succession of POW camps for the next two years. It was a horrid, brutal experience, and it makes for intensely distressing reading. Zamperini was singled out by one particular chief guard, perhaps because of his sports fame, perhaps because of his unbowed attitude, for unrelenting, sadistic attention. Yet, despite the beatings and torture and almost nonexistent food and terrible living conditions Zamperini survived. Restored to the States after the end of the War, Zamperini married but quickly descended into a desperate spiral of alcohol and anger that threatened his marriage and his life. But, improbably enough, when he was dragged reluctantly to a Billy Graham camp meeting by his estranged wife, Zamperini found it within himself to let go of his wholly understandable anger and thirst for revenge, and literally reformed himself overnight, becoming an inspirational speaker and advocate for troubled youths. As of this writing, he is still hale and hearty, an indomitable optimist. Hillenbrand has once again found herself a perfect subject (Zamperini told her that it would be easier to write about him than Seabiscuit because he, at least, could talk), and again has demonstrated her skill in constructing a highly compelling story, vividly drawing upon the memories of a large cast of friends and family and former enemies. "Unbroken" is a marvelous book. The account of Zamperini's POW years is tough stuff, to be sure, but Hillenbrand's focus on an extraordinary character is unwavering.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This is a splendid book. It describes the terrible hardships endured by Louis Zamperini, former Olympian athlete, during World War Two bombing missions in the Pacific. In World War Two, I flew bombing missions over Germany, so the author's description of the tension, fear (even terror), and shock at the death of one friend after another rings painfully true. But for Zamperini, the worst was yet to come. On a flight to find a missing bomber in the vast expanse of the Central Pacific, his B-24 bomber developed mechanical trouble and plunged into the ocean. Zamperini and several of the crew managed to escape the sinking bomber and get onto a small life raft. There was precious little food and water on the raft, so they had nothing but occasional rainwater. For food, they ate raw fish, if they could catch one before the sharks did. Under a blazing sun, they drifted for an amazing 47 days before they landed on an island. But they were captured immediately by Japanese soldiers. Shipped to a prison camp in Japan, they suffered month after month of beatings, torture, and the threat of instant execution. When the war ended, the prisoners were liberated and sent home. But the war was not over for them. Although it was not discussed much back then, many suffered from post-traumatic disorder, a horror that can go on for years. Laura Hillenbrand has done a magnificent piece of writing here. It may leave you breathless, but it is well worth reading.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This is likely to be the book of the year for several reasons. It is beautifully written and beautifully structured. It has a compelling and inspirational subject. It is filled to the brim with fascinating facts (Which parts of a shark are edible? What was the mortality rate in Japanese prison camps versus that in Italian/German ones? What is it like to fly a B-24?). It is the product of exhaustive research. It combines the advantages and attractiveness of biography with the strengths and strategies of suspense fiction.
By now, most will be familiar with the subject. In Seabiscuit Laura Hillenbrand studied a California racer. She does the same in Unbroken, with the distinct advantage that (as her subject pointed out to her) he can actually talk and tell her what happened. Her subject, Louie Zamperini, was a difficult child who matured into an Olympic runner, racing in Berlin in 1936. He joined the Army Air Force in WWII, serving as a bombardier. His hideously-unreliable B-24 plummeted into the Pacific and he and two fellow fliers floated in an open raft toward the Marshall Islands, fighting heat, thirst, starvation, sharks and strafings from a Japanese plane along the way. Interned in several Japanese prison camps he was treated mercilessly and criminally. Saved by the American forces in the Pacific, the relentless bombing of Japan by B-29's and, quintessentially, by the flight of the Enola Gay, he was freed and returned home. Enslaved by persistent memories and alcohol, his marriage on the edge, he was saved by none other than Billy Graham. He remains alive today at 93, still feisty and active. This is the perfect Christmas gift for anyone, but particularly for those who remember the war, those who experienced it directly and those who need to be educated concerning it. Be warned, however. Once they start reading the book they will be absent from the rest of the family's holiday activities until they complete it. I highly recommend it and tip my hat to the author for her personal courage and tenacity in writing a great book. ... Read more | |
| 2. Decoded by Jay-Z | |
 | Hardcover
list price: $35.00 -- our price: $18.88 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 1400068924 Publisher: Spiegel & Grau Sales Rank: 12 Average Customer Review: 
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| 3. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot | |
 | Hardcover
list price: $26.00 -- our price: $14.29 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 1400052173 Publisher: Crown Sales Rank: 11 Average Customer Review:
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Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This is hand's down one of the best books I've read in years and I wish I could give it more stars. It is going to be difficult to capture exactly what makes this book so outstanding and so captivating, but I'm going to give it my best shot.
First of all I want to say I am STUNNED that this is the author's first book. She has poured ten years of her heart, soul, mind and her life in general in this book. What she has given birth to in that long period of labor is worthy of her sacrifice and honors Henrietta Lacks and her family. Other reviews have given the outline of this amazing story. What I want to stress is that Ms. Skloot has navigated the difficult terrain of respecting Mrs. Lacks and her family, while still telling their story in a very intimate, thorough, factual manner. What readers may not know is that the Lacks family isn't just a "subject" that the author researched. This is a real family with real heartaches and real challenges whose lives she entered into for a very long season. The Lacks' family has truly benefitted from the author's involvement in their life and that is something I am very appreciative of. I believe that Ms. Skloot was able to give Henrietta's daughter, Deborah, a real sense of healing, deliverance, peace and identity that she had been searching for her whole life...that story alone would have made the book for me. It would have been very easy for the author to come across as condescending or patronizing or possibly as being exploitive as she wrote about a family that is poor and uneducated. Instead the story is infused with compassion and patience as she not only takes the family along with her on a journey to understand their current situation and the ancestor whose life was so rich in legacy but poor in compensation; she educates the family in the process. I get the sense that the author grew to genuinely love Henrietta and her family. I am in awe of this level of commitment. The author has managed to explain the complex scientific information in a way that anyone can comprehend and be fascinated by. The author's telling of the science alone and the journey of Henrietta's immortal cells (HeLa) would have made the book a worthy read in itself. Ms. Skloot and Henrietta captured me from page one all the way to the final page of the book. I read it in one pass and I didn't want it to end. The author manages to beautifully tell multiple stories and develops each of those stories so well that you can't help but be consumed by the book. This is the story of Henrietta. It is the story of her sweet and determined daughter, Deborah. It is the story of the extended Lacks family and their history. It is a story of race/poverty/ignorance and people who take advantage of that unfortunate trifecta. It is a story about science and ethics. It is a story that should make each of us reflect on the sacrifices made by individual humans and animals that have allowed us to benefit so much from "modern" medicine. It is a story about hope and perseverance. It is a story about love and healing. I cannot imagine a single person I know who wouldn't love this book and benefit from reading it. I will be purchasing the final copy of the book and am looking forward to reading the book again. I am counting the days til Ms. Skloot writes another book and can't wait to attend one of her upcoming lectures. A fan is born!
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) As I recall this book was categorized as CANCER, I believe it might be more aptly described as science based non-fiction. In the last two decades I've seen occasional news items alluding to human cells taken from a black woman in the 1950's that have been replicated millions of times. The cells are referred to as HeLa and on the face of it I wouldn't have thought there was much of a story behind the extraction of these cells and their use by the biomed industry. However, this book dispells that rather naive assumption completely and puts a name and a face, a family, and a story behind the contents of many petri dishes and slides. THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS explains how the cells were obtained, replicated, distributed, and used without informed consent of the owner and family by John Hopkins and how they benefitted mankind w/o compensation to the family. Author Skloot tells the story of a family victimized by socioeconomic conditions and racism that can't get fundamental things like health coverage while these cells make a lot of money for the health establishment. It is a disturbing read that will stay with the reader long after the book is finished. It may also make the reader take a long hard look at the need for standardized health care in our society among many other things.
The one thing that I found fascinating about this book is how Skloot managed to take a generally dry topic that might have been addressed in a scientific textbook and humanized it on a very personal level by developing a close relationship with Henrietta's family. The input received from the family took this book to a higher level and made it a very personsl story. From my perspective, it was very hard not to get involved with the Lacks family and not feel their sense of betrayal and loss.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Equal parts history, psychological drama, expose and character study, Rebecca Skloot's gripping debut is a deeply affecting tour de force that effortlessly bridges the gap between science and the mainstream.
Her subject is the multilayered drama behind one of the most important--and in many ways, problematic--advances of modern medicine. Captivated by the story of Henrietta Lacks, a poor African-American woman whose cervical cancer cells (dubbed HeLa) were the first immortalized cells grown in culture and became ubiquitous in laboratories around the world, Skloot set out to learn more about the person whose unwitting "donation" of the cells transformed biomedical research in the last century. Her research ultimately spanned a decade and found her navigating (and to some extent, mediating) more than 50 years of rage over the white scientific establishment's cavalier mistreatment and exploitation of the poor, especially African Americans. Skloot deftly weaves together an account of Lacks's short life (she died at age 31) and torturous death from an extremely aggressive form of cancer; the parallel narrative concerning her cells; and the sometimes harrowing, sometimes amusing chronicle of Skloots's own interactions with Lacks's surviving (and initially hostile and uncooperative) family members. Moving comfortably back and forth in time, the richly textured story that emerges brings into stark relief the human cost of scientific progress and leaves the reader grappling with many unanswered questions about the ethics of the scientific endeavor, past and present. While the goals of biomedical research may be noble, how they are achieved is not always honorable, particularly where commercialization of new technologies is at stake. Skloot offers a clear-eyed perspective, highlighting the brutal irony of a family whose matriarch was a pivotal figure in everything from the development of Jonas Salk's polio vaccine to AIDS research to cancer drugs, yet cannot afford the very medical care their mother's cells helped facilitate, with predictable consequences. The LA Times book review section named Skloot one of its four "Faces to Watch in 2010," an honor that, based on "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" is well-deserved. Five stars--it was hard to put down this compelling, admirable and eminently readable book.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Rebecca Skloot's story of Henrietta Lacks and her cancerous HeLa cells is both a fascinating history and an engrossing work of art. The book combines sharp science writing with some of the best creative nonfiction techniques and a heartbreaking story. The result is a stunning portrayal of twentieth century medicine, science, race, and class like nothing I've ever read before.
Skloot skillfully interweaves the saga of a poor young black mother and her children with an elucidation of the almost primitive-seeming medical practices that were once customary, and the culturing and dissemination of the woman's cancer cells (unbeknownst to her or her relatives) around the world. This was a period when even paying patients were seldom if ever asked for consent and frequently experimented on without their knowledge. Skloot brings to life not only Henrietta's tragedy but also her own quest with Henrietta's daughter to find the woman behind the HeLa cells and the incredible accomplishments those cells have made possible. Just about all of us on the planet have benefited, while medical corporations have made billions and Henrietta's children received not one cent. A disturbing and even haunting aspect of the situation is that the 'Immortal Life' involved here is not that of Henrietta's cells alone but rather of her cells overcome and transformed by the terribly aggressive cancer that killed her. That is what has lived on and been used in thousands of experiments and inadvertently contaminated other cells lines around the world, replicating so much times that one scientist estimated all the HeLa produced (laid end to end) could circle the earth more than five times. As the author states in her opening, the history of Henrietta Lacks, her cells, and the way the medical establishment treated her family raises critical questions about scientific research, ethics, race, and class. It's also a supremely engrossing story and one that taught me more about race in America, medical ethics, science, and what makes writing matter than anything I've read in years. Original in scope and presentation, personal, thought provoking, and even profound, this is the kind of nonfiction that rarely comes along.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Rebecca Skloot has written a book that certainly sounds like it could be science fiction, but in truth it is incredible science. However, it's not only about the science, but more importantly about who is behind it all. She has put a very real face to one of the most important medical research discoveries of our lifetime and given an appropriate name to the HeLa cells used in that research all over the world; Henrietta Lacks.
This book recounts the life of Henrietta, the death of Henrietta and the immortal cells she left behind that became the basis of many life saving discoveries in the medical field. HeLa cells are those which were taken from Henrietta's cancerous tumor many decades ago. They were easily replicated and viable for testing therefore they became an important staple in laboratories doing medical research right up to the present. Many have her cells to thank for their treatment and cures of deadly diseases. Sounds like a generous donation to the medical community, doesn't it? But, what if Henrietta and her family had no idea any of this had taken place? They didn't know that her doctor had taken the cells, and upon realizing how unique they were, shared and traded them with other researchers. They especially were unaware that these were eventually being sold for a profit among labs and medical companies. Was this a case of explotation or was it simply how science progresses? The author finds the surviving family of Mrs. Lacks and realizes there is far more to the story than it would first appear. She touches on each of the sensitive topics that present themselves as the family approaches her with so many questions left unanswered. The more I read, the more fascinated I became with the complexities. The Lacks family are uneducated and living in poverty, struggling to understand how their loved one could have saved so many lives while her own could not be saved. They find it hard to believe their mother has done so much for the medical community, and made some companies millions of dollars, yet they cannot even afford good medical care. They wonder how cells were named after her yet there was no true recognition of her by her full, real name. The children hope that Ms. Skloot will not be another journalist to take advantage of them, but that she will give their mother the place she deserves as a real person, not just a "cell donor". Ms. Skloot does exactly that and I believe they would be very happy with the care she has given to the subject. It's my opinion that everyone studying medicine & science should read this book to gain insight as to the genuine lives of patients. The understanding that there is much more to a person than their cells, their lab results, their disease, etc., is such an important lesson to be learned. To take a quote from the book, stated by the assistant who helped retrieve the cells while Henrietta was in the morgue, "When I saw those toenails I nearly fainted. I thought, Oh geez, she's a real person. I started imagining her sitting in her bathroom painting those toenails, and it hit me for the first time that those cells we'd been working with all this time and sending all over the world, they came from a live woman. I'd never thought of it thay way". I would also highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the ethical and legal aspects of the medical and scientific communities. There is also a significant component relating to the Johns Hopkins, the black community and black history. Every aspect was fascinating and eye-opening. If you are wondering how this could have happened, be warned that it could just as easily happen to any of us tomorrow, as there are still no laws in place preventing any doctor or hospital from keeping and using our tissue, or our children's umbilical blood, or our parents tumors for research once collected. Perhaps it is better that we all contribute to furthering scientific discoveries. But, you might rethink "immortality" after hearing this story. Just one more good reason to read this book.
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| 4. Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family by Condoleezza Rice | |
 | Hardcover
(2010-10-12)
list price: $27.00 -- our price: $15.79 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 0307587878 Publisher: Crown Archetype Sales Rank: 398 Average Customer Review:
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Editorial Review Condoleezza Rice has excelled as a diplomat, political scientist, and concert pianist. Her achievements run the gamut from helping to oversee the collapse of communism in Europe and the decline of the Soviet Union, to working to protect the country in the aftermath of 9-11, to becoming only the second woman - and the first black woman ever -- to serve as Secretary of State. Reviews
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| 5. Same Kind of Different As Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together by Ron Hall, Denver Moore | |
 | Paperback
(2008-03-11)
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Editorial Review A dangerous, homeless drifter who grew up picking cotton in virtual slavery. An upscale art dealer accustomed to the world of Armani and Chanel. A gutsy woman with a stubborn dream. A story so incredible no novelist would dare dream it. It begins outside a burning plantation hut in Louisiana . . . and an East Texas honky-tonk . . . and, without a doubt, in the heart of God. It unfolds in a Hollywood hacienda . . . an upscale New York gallery . . . a downtown dumpster . . . a Texas ranch. Gritty with pain and betrayal and brutality, this true story also shines with an unexpected, life-changing love. Reviews
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| 6. Zeitoun (Vintage) by Dave Eggers | |
 | Paperback
(2010-06-15)
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| 7. Is It Just Me?: Or is it nuts out there? by Whoopi Goldberg | |
 | Hardcover
(2010-10-05)
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Editorial Review Well, Whoopi Goldberg has noticed all this and more and asked herself, "Is it just me?" Unleashing her trademark irreverence and humor, her new book of observations takes a funny and excruciatingly honest look at how a loss of civility is messing with the quality of life for all of us. So if your pet peeve is folks who talk in movie theaters like it was their living room, or if you get bugged by people clipping their nails and performing other personal hygiene next to you on the bus, or if you cringe when "please" and "thank you" get replaced by "gimme" and "huh?" . . . you have found a kindred spirit. Because Whoopi has witnessed the growing disrespect and rudeness in our lives and realized she is not alone. And, as you'll discover in these pages, neither are you. Reviews
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| 8. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl | |
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(2006-06-15)
list price: $13.00 -- our price: $10.40 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 0807014273 Publisher: Beacon Press Sales Rank: 728 Average Customer Review:
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Editorial Review
Reviews
One of the most interesting, and disturbing, issues in the book was the idea of the Capo. These were were people put in charge of their fellow prisoners, in order to keep them in line. Dr. Frankl describes these people as, often, being more harsh than the actual guards. This seems to be a disturbing lesson in the abuse of power. This also goes along with Dr. Frankl's discussion of how the camps brought out the true personality of the people within it (after all the social trapping had been stripped away): The cretins, the saints, and all of those in between. The second half of the book is made up of two sections "Logotherapy in a Nutshell," and "The Case for Tragic Optimsism." These two sections basically describe Dr. Frankl's theory on as to how to conduct therapy (Logotherapy). The idea behind this therapy is that man is driven by his search for a meaning in life. This differs from the psychoanalysis perspective (driven, at this time, by the ideas of Sigmund Freud) in that the psychoanalytic school believed that humans were driven by their unconscious desires. For Frankl, the need for meaning seems to outway the unconscious. In fact, he goes into detail about the negative effects that the abscence of meaning, or what he calls the "existential Vacuum," has on people. To illustrate many ideas, he often uses his experiences in the concentration camps, as well as various cases for treatment (which help to solidify his view of life, and therapy). I would recomend this book to almost anybody. I feel that it's interesting, and worthwhile. I would especially recomend this to people interested in psychology, as well as those who wish to learn something about the experiences within the concentration camps.
This particular work is one I keep at hand and re-read on a regular basis. I read it for the first time a few months after I started medical treatment and therapy for life-long depression. I get more from it each time I go back to it. Logotherapy manages an incredible balance. It does not put man himself at the center of the universe, thus avoiding the kind of narcissistic self-reflection common to much of the therapeutic literature today. Yet, it does not sweep man aside as irrelevant. Instead, Frankl argues that we have an incredible power to shape our attitudes and responses to the challenges life presents us and that we inevitably grow thanks to these challenges. This is a quick read and could conceivably change your life. Man is more than the sum of his biology and his environment. We inevitably choose to be who we are. Frankl's argument is that, if we choose wisely, we can triumph even in tragedy. It's a truth many of us have lost sight of in our cynicism.
After recounting the horrors of everyday life in a work camp - the initial selection process in which 90% were sent to the gas chambers while 10% were kept to extract the last ounce of work as slaves for construction firms; the Capos selected from the most brutal who had lost all scruples in order to save their life; how everything was subservient to keeping oneself and one's closest friends alive - Viktor Frankl tells of the psychological problems they met. The most important seems to be the hope of release as shown by the very high death rate in his camp in the week between Christmas 1944 and new year 1945 which had no explanation in food, treatment, weather, disease or working conditions; it was that the majority had lived in the na�ve hope that they would be home again by Christmas. In the absence of encouraging news, the prisoners lost courage; disappointment overcame them and their powers of resistance dropped. Frankl noticed that it was the men who comforted others, who gave away their last piece of bread who survived longest and who offered proof that everything can be taken but one thing - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances. In the camp every decision determined whether or not you would submit to loss of inner freedom. The sort of person the prisoner became was the result of an inner decision and not of camp influences alone. It is this spiritual freedom which cannot be taken away which makes life meaningful and purposeful. Only those who allowed their inner hold on their moral and spiritual selves to subside eventually fell victim to the camp's degenerating influences. Most inmates believed that the real opportunities of life had passed. In reality, however, one could make a victory of those experiences, turning them into an inner triumph. Frankl saw himself giving a lecture on the psychology of the concentration camp, living Spinoza's observation that "Emotion, which is suffering, ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear and precise picture of it." Armed with the insight that any attempt to restore man's inner strength had first to succeed in showing him some future goal he tried to help would-be suicides to realize that life was still expecting something from them - a loving son awaiting his return, an unfinished work to complete. When the impossibility of replacing you is realized it is impossible to throw your life away. When you know the why of your existence you will be able to bear almost any how. Frankl had to learn and then teach that it really did not matter what we expect from life but rather what life expects from us. The answer lies in right action and in right conduct; life ultimately means taking responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill tasks that it constantly sets for each individual. These tasks, and therefore the meaning of life, differ from man to man and from moment to moment, making it impossible to define in general terms or in sweeping statements. No man and no destiny can be compared to any other man or destiny. It may require a man to shape his own fate, contemplate or accept his fate. There is only one right answer to the situation at hand. When a man finds that it is his destiny to suffer, he will have to accept his suffering as his single, unique task. His unique opportunity lies in the way he bears his burden. Once the meaning of suffering has been revealed, suffering has hidden opportunities for achievement. When he had the opportunity to address a group of prisoners his purpose was to help each man to find a full meaning to their life in that practically hopeless situation by pointing out the joys each had experienced in the past and that no one had suffered irreplaceable losses. Whoever was still alive had reason for hope; health, family, happiness, professional abilities, fortune, position in society, could all be restored. Life never ceases to have meaning and this infinite meaning includes suffering and dying, privation and death. God or someone alive or dead would hope to find them suffering proudly. After the war, Frankl introduced Logotherapy, which focuses on the meanings of life to be fulfilled by the patient in the future. The patient is confronted with the meaning of his life. The meaning of human existence as well as man's search for such a meaning is unique and specific and can be fulfilled by him alone. He is able to live and even to die for the sake of his ideals and values. The more that you forget yourself by giving to a cause or serving in love, the more you actualize yourself. We can discover meaning in three ways - creating a work or doing a deed; by experiencing something or encountering someone; and by the attitude we take to unavoidable suffering. When we are no longer able to change a situation such as inoperable cancer we have to change our attitude. He asks his patients to project themselves forward to their deathbed and look back on the meaningful things in their lives. Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be; he has control over what he will become in the next moment. This book has certainly provided much food for thought!
This is a WONDERFUL and INSPIRATIONAL book that I recommend for anyone suffering from any tragic cirucmstance...cancer, death in the family, divorce, etc. All of the phsychiatric nonsense might help (I doubt it), but this book will get you on the right road.
The first (and largest) section of this book is the searing autobiographical account of the author's experience as a longtime prisoner in a concentration camp. These camps claimed the lives of his father, mother, brother, and wife. Frankl's survival and the subsequent miracle of this book are a testimony to man's capacity to rise above his outward fate. As Gordon W. Allport states in the preface, "A psychiatrist who personally has faced such extremity is a psychiatrist worth listening to." I agree, and highly reccommend this book. As the sub-title says, it is an "introduction" to logotherapy, and anyone who wants to go deeper into the principles and practical application of Frankl's existential psychiatry should go to his excellent "The Doctor And The Soul". Frankl was fond of quoting Nietzsche's dictum..."He who has a WHY to live can bear with almost any HOW."
My connection to Viktor Frankl dates back to a Hannukah party in which I found myself conversing with a baker who used to deliver his bread. It took me a few more years to discover this absolute gem of a book, itself both bread for the soul and leaven for the mind. The first half of this book consists of Frankl's reflection on his time in a Nazi concentration camp. "An abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal behavior," (p. 18) he notices, "Yet it is possible to practice the art of living even in a concentration camp, although suffering is omnipresent." (p. 43) Distilling the essence of his experience at the hands of the Nazis and the resilience of his soul, he states, "If there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering." (p. 67) Finally, he notes that "Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms--to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." (p. 65) He segues into the second part of the book, a description of "logotherapy," based on the challenge learned behind barbed wire, downwind from the ovens "Whenever there was an opportunity for it, one had to give them a why--an aim--for their lives, in order to strengthen them to bear the terrible _how_ of their existence." (p. 76) Frankl states that "Man's search for meaning is a primary force in his life and not a 'secondary rationalization' of instinctual drives." (p. 99) He finds this meaning specific & unique to each individual. Logotherapy focuses on the future, the assignments and meanings to be fulfilled by the patient in _his_ future, breaking up the self-centeredness of the neurotic instead of fostering and reinforcing it. He believes that "the meaning of our existence is not invented by ourselves, but rather detected," (p. 101) that "_logos_, or 'meaning', is not only an emerging from existence itself but rather something confronting existence." (p. 100) This _logos_ frustrates by not being available to finite minds, but nevertheless continues to confront man. In wrestling with this confrontation, each individual enacts their "will to meaning," defining a "meaning of life [that] differs from man to man, from day to day and from hour to hour. What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general but rather the specific meaning of a person's life at a given moment." (p. 110) Logotherapy sees responsibility as the very essence of human existence: "each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by _answering_ _for_ his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible." (p. 111) Thus, the "categorical imperative" of logotherapy is "Live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now!" (p. 111) Beyond the philosophy of logotherapy, Frankl discusses technique briefly, addressing anticipatory anxiety, "it characteristic of this fear that it produces precisely that of which the patient is afraid." (p. 123) The mechanism for this is "hyper-intention," which, by focusing on the problem, magnifies the problem. He confronts this with "paradoxical intention," suggesting that the insomniac try to stay awake and that the phobic patient "intend, if only for a moment, precisely that which he fears." (p. 125) He concludes the book with "Our generation is realistic for we have come to know man as he really is. After all, man is that being who has invented the gas chambers of Auschwitz; however, he is also that being who has entered those gas chambers upright, with the Lord's Prayer or the Shema Yisrael on his lips." (p. 136) I find this short book incredibly full of life and meaning; it's one of the most powerful I've ever read. The act of creating a philosophy and psychology of life out of the horrors of Auschwitz confronts my own whinings about the discomforts I find in life. I find courage here, not just Dr. Frankl's courage, but an inspiration to my own courage, and a challenge to live more fully, to create more meaning, instead of simply accepting the meanings thrust upon me by TV sitcoms, billboards, and internet banality. The epitome of a five star book. Worthy of more if Amazon would allow it. (If you'd like to dialogue about this book, please click on the "about me" link & drop me an email. Thanks!) ... Read more | |
| 9. Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Life by Tony Dungy | |
 | Paperback
(2008-05-07)
list price: $14.99 -- our price: $10.19 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 1414318022 Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Sales Rank: 904 Average Customer Review:
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Editorial Review The softcover edition of this #1 New York Times best-seller includes a new chapter! In it, Coach reflects on the 2007 football season and last year's successful hardcover release of Quiet Strength. Also features a foreword by Denzel Washington and a 16-page color-photo insert. Over 1 million in print! Reviews
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| 10. Night (Oprah's Book Club) by Elie Wiesel | |
 | Paperback
(2006-01-16)
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Editorial Review Night offers much more than a litany of the daily terrors, everydayperversions, and rampant sadism at Auschwitz and Buchenwald; it alsoeloquently addresses many of the philosophical as well as personalquestions implicit in any serious consideration of what the Holocaustwas, what it meant, and what its legacy is and will be. Reviews
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| 11. Setting the Record Straight: American History in Black & White by David Barton | |
 | Paperback
(2004-09-01)
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Editorial Review Reviews
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| 12. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope (P.S.) by William Kamkwamba, Bryan Mealer | |
 | Paperback
(2010-08-01)
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Editorial Review William Kamkwamba was born in Malawi, a country where magic ruled and modern science was mystery. It was also a land withered by drought and hunger. But William had read about windmills, and he dreamed of building one that would bring to his small village a set of luxuries that only 2 percent of Malawians could enjoy: electricity and running water. His neighbors called him misala—crazy—but William refused to let go of his dreams. With a small pile of once-forgotten science textbooks; some scrap metal, tractor parts, and bicycle halves; and an armory of curiosity and determination, he embarked on a daring plan to forge an unlikely contraption and small miracle that would change the lives around him. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is a remarkable true story about human inventiveness and its power to overcome crippling adversity. It will inspire anyone who doubts the power of one individual's ability to change his community and better the lives of those around him. Reviews
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This is the story of William Kamkwamba, a clever boy in Malawi, Africa who built his own windmill from found materials at age 14. Much of the energy of the book is that it is a very recent story, the main events taking place just in the last six years.
The story is in three parts. The first part tells of Willam's life growing up and that of his father, giving a fascinating glimpse of the village life of subsistence farmers whose culture has changed little in thousands of years. Daily existence includes very real fears of witchcraft, shamans for healing, and strong currents of superstition. Although written in clear, simple narrative (mostly by the co-author, Bryan Mealer, an AP reporter with extensive experience across Africa), it is by no means a child's bedtime story. Malawi, an interior country of 13 million, has minimal health care, primitive agriculture, and no free public high schools. Villagers can be killed by wild animals in the forest. In 2001 the maize crops failed, plunging the countryside into famine and near social collapse, and William loses friends to disease and starvation. The government comes off badly in this episode, incompetent, brutal against the local village chief who complains, and corrupt. William is a bright boy eager for school, but his family cannot afford the fees. He is forced to drop out. In the second part of the story, doing the best he can in spite of this disappointment, William finds an elementary physics textbook in a local library and sees diagrams of windmills - he cannot even read the English text. From this bit of information, with impressive focus and persistence he manages to build his own version from scraps of wire, an old bicycle hub, and flattened PVC pipe for blades. He has zero resources - not even a soldering iron, which would be useless in any case since there is no electricity in his household. But he is a natural engineer, and even with no guidance or help, he succeeds in making an operating windmill which powers a few lightbulbs for home and village, charges cell phones, operates a water pump - all of which make a real difference in village life. The third part of the book, just as remarkable as his technological triumph, is about William's discovery by the outside world. The hero of the discovery phase is really the Internet. William's windmill comes to the attention of an engineer working in the capital city, who blogs about it, inspiring others to take a four hour bus journey to find William, who then quickly comes to the attention of international entrepreneurs and technologists. His life quickly expands - amazingly, straight from his village he is invited to speak at an African conference organized by TED, the California organization which publicizes emerging ideas about technology and design. Taken under wing by US sponsors, he travels internationally and finds scholarships for his own education as well as funding for his village technology. He now has a website of course (just Google his name), a PayPal donation account, and a promotional video here on Amazon - more international attention within a short time than the coolest MIT Media Lab guru! There are a few technical errors in the text - malaria is not a virus for example, and the core of a transformer is a ferromagnet, not a conductor. These are minor points; William is an appealing character and the story is inspiring. But there must be millions of Williams across the developing world. What the book really shows is that the best international assistance is in response to local energy rather than top-down through an ineffective government. The tools to find those kids and offer that help are now at hand. Whereas electric windmills are not new - everything William did has been known for a hundred years - instant cheap global communication is a revolutionary innovation which can help bring the best minds of Africa and many other places into the world community.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) After barely surviving a famine in Malawi (sub-Saharan Africa), 14-year-old William Kamkwamba was determined to find a way to make life better for himself and his family. What if he could somehow bring electricity to his village, to pump water for crops in times of drought? Using diagrams in an old forgotten science book called "Using Energy" that he found in a grade school library, he cobbled together a contraption out of scraps and junk that worked to power a few light bulbs -- and changed the life of his village forever. His neighbors, steeped in superstition and with little or no knowledge of science, thought him crazy. But he had a gift for mechanical things, he understood the principles, and he knew he could do it. And he did. Eventually he got a second windmill going, powering a water pump from a deep well, which is now used by all the women in the village. Today every house there has a solar panel and a battery to store electricity, too.
But this is much more than a story about an African boy who built a working windmill. It's a monument to the human spirit. In fact, we don't even get to making the windmill itself until halfway through the book. In the first half, William tells us a lot about his life in Africa, the terrible famine that swept his land, how he and his family survived, and the clues along the way which eventually led to him making the windmill. Even as a little kid, he was taking apart radios to see how they worked -- with no books or training, just trial and error. Then he saw a bicycle light that ran from a mechanical dynamo -- the kind that generates electricity when you pedal. Experimenting with this, he figured out how to get it to power his radio when he turned the bike pedals. When he finally found a picture of a windmill in the "Using Energy" book, it all came together. "In my mind I saw the dynamo," he explains, "saw myself with my neighbor's bicycle those many nights ago, spinning the pedals so I could listen to the radio... The wind would spin the blades of the windmill, rotating the magnets in the dynamo, and then creating current. Attach a wire to the dynamo and you could power anything..." Sounds simple? In principle, yes -- but there is no local Radio Shack in a Malawi village for William to go get the parts. He must make do with what he can scrounge -- and that's the really amazing part of this story. Step by step, Willam explains what he needed for the windmill, how he adapted things he found in the junkyard, or took odd jobs to get money to buy what he could not make. Some simple tasks took three or four hours because he did not have the right tools and had to improvise. But he kept at it. All in all, he probably put a hundred or more hours into this project. Talk about determination! As I read the story, I could not help thinking how wasteful we are here in America. Over and over, I was astonished at William's creativity in finding uses for things I would have considered useless junk. That gave me serious pause for thought. One more point: I finished this book the same week as President Obama's "stay in school" pep talk to students in America (Sept 8, 2009). Here in a land where every child can get a free education, we have a 30% dropout rate, even higher in some places. In Malawi where William is growing up, school is only for those who can afford to pay tuition, and he is desperate to study. Because of the famine, his family had lost everything and could no longer afford to send him to school, so he was forced to drop out. Yet he wanted to go so badly, he was sneaking INTO class. Eventually he does get a scholarship, thanks to the publicity generated by his windmill project. Had it not been for that, his genius might have gone to waste, and who knows what future inventions the world would miss? Perhaps this book should be required reading in American schools, so kids here will know just how lucky they are to have such good educational opportunities. I give William's book ten stars!
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This is the autobiography of William Kamkwamba, who grew up in rural Malawi, Africa, in poverty and famines, and who would eventually build a windmill to provide electricity for his family. I found this firsthand account of life in a third-world country fascinating, especially his account of living through a famine. And, this is really what the bulk of the book is about. He's over halfway through the book before his windmill even enters the picture, though you can see his fascination in similar things earlier on.
I would have appreciated this book even if it had a more standard ending, because the depiction of his life is enthralling, vivid, and hard to put down. The descriptions of famine, and shortages, and riots, and the desperation that starving people are driven to is riveting. But, his character is also fascinating in his desire to dream and to obtain a better future for his family. The building of his windmill is inspirational, persevering in the face of ridicule and making do with junkyard parts. I very much became interested in William and desired to see his success by the end of the story. For those who are mechanically inclined, the details of how William improvised his windmill and other inventions will probably be fascinating. I am not so inclined, and cannot visualize things like that without a diagram, with was not included in the advance reader's edition, but I understand will be in the final version. So I just skimmed through some portions. But, these are only small portions of the book. I would have enjoyed seeing a bit more shared about his family's faith. His parents are Presbyterians, and his father isn't caught up in the fear of magic and curses, unlike many around them. "Respect the wizards, my son, but always remember, with God on your side, they have no power." There's the passing reference to Canaan or Noah or some such thing that lets you know William is knowledgeable of at least some portions of the Bible, but I really think a good portion of his hope and reaching to the future was because of his religious background (superstition does cause some opposition against his windmill). Overall, I would probably rate this book 5 stars, assuming the mechanical diagrams in the final edition are good, but even if not, I'd rate it a 4.5. This is a wonderful description of life in a poor African country, and a wonderful story of a boy striving for a future for his family. As he's currently in his early 20s, it will be interesting to see what he does in the future, and hopefully, he will be a further blessing to his countrymen. I will definitely read this book again in the future, and quite probably aloud to my children (currently 8 and under) a few years down the road. I highly recommend it.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) An incredible memoir about a young boy who becomes fascinated with the way things work. "How does this radio work?" ... "But HOW does it work?" From humble beginnings, William begins to figure out how to fix things, then create things, in turn creating a better life for himself and family and those around him.
It doesn't read quite like the other memoirs I've read recently. It reads like a novel, you forget that these are events that actually happened. This kid lived through this and accomplished feats that many of us in the modern, developed world can only fathom. It would be unfair to cite too many examples but from his early questions comes his first experiments with figuring out how radios work. Using cheap batteries and found wire, he figures out the difference between AC and DC, why FM and AM are different, different sources of power... of course all this leads to creating MORE power. All in all, a really great book. William Morrow (publisher) has been putting out a lot of great memoirs lately. Good job on their part for finding all of these gems! I hope they keep it up.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Caution: Some spoilers below. This is the most awe inspiring book I have read in years. William Kamkwamba is a tribute to human inventiveness and persistence. William grows up in a society in Africa that believes that witchcraft can cause children to steal people's heads and play soccer with them during the night (without the headless person even noticing). All around him people are quite literally starving to death, eating corn husks and sawdust in an attempt to stay alive during a famine. He does not attend school because his parents can not afford the tuition (you and I spend more on a pair of shoes). In spite of all this he gets a hold of some science textbooks, written in English, and teaches himself the basics of electricity and magnetism. He scavenges junk yards and begins to build a windmill. Almost everyone thinks he is slightly crazy, even his own family. Until he gets the windmill working and powers up some small lights for his home. Then they are lining up to charge up their cell phones from his "electric wind". (one does wonder why they have cell phones in such a poor country) The book reads well, his voice comes through the prose and at the end you have some understanding of how he accomplished this astounding feat. This book humbled me, made me cry and also laugh out loud. Highly recommended.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This autobiography of William Kamkwamba from Malawi, Africa tells about his journey from having little schooling and no resources to being able to build a windmill that generated electricity for his family, and eventually was able to power a water well for his village, improving their quality of life, and perhaps even saving lives. He details his father's conversion from a drinker and a fighter with quite a reputation, to becoming a Christian, and then setting a good example for his son. Along the way, we learn a little about the political and economic history of his country, and the basic problems that have led to frequent famines and food shortages. His determination to figure out how to build something that would generate electricity is fascinating. Hours and hours reading a few books from a library about electricity, tinkering around with transistor radios, eventually creating a little businees of repairing them, banging on junkyard parts for days to liberate a needed part, and ingenious makeshift tools makes this a fascinating and inspiring journey. Imagine using a nail driven through a corncob as a drill; and stamping a knife out of sheet metal and sharpening it by hand are a few samples of his resourcefulness.
I couldn't put this book down, it was so captivating. There are some heart-rending passages about the effects of famine; no longer is lack of food in Africa an abstract concept to me. Living for weeks, on one meal a day, consisting of a few mouth-fuls of cooked corn, and working in the fields for the next harvest, are detailed so well you can feel the strain. I would recommend this as a good book for mature teens to help them realize what can be accomplished when you have so little. There is some mention of superstitions and witch doctor magic, and some descriptions of violence, of people fighting to get food and seed from the government and others.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) I was actually thinking this book was going to be about the technical challenges that the character (who is also the author) had when attempting to build a windmill to harness power for his village. My initial take was wrong - this book is so much better.
This book is The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl, mixed with The Invention of Air: A Story Of Science, Faith, Revolution, And The Birth Of America, but with its own twist... a struggling country that hasn't known anything else in modern history (rather than Depression/Dust bowl America) is "introduced" to a person who is unwilling to let things play out as others have. Can't pay for school? Then become a lazy drunk or a farmer. William Kamkwamba proves that those are not the only two options for those struggling with 3rd world poverty and a corrupt government. It's not so much that he is willing to build the windmill (or do self-study, or experiment on his own), because, given time, parts, and lack of distractions (TV/Video games/etc), I think many intelligent individuals would attempt similar feats. The powerful message here is - it can be done, and it was done. Despite challenges, being called crazy, living in poverty, and his own turmoil of almost starving, there was no giving up. A very good book - would recommend to anyone. While it doesn't deter at all from the value of book, for my own interest, I wish there would have been a few pictures of his windmill...it would have visually driven home the fact of technical improvising.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) As a scholar working in African Studies I always approach popular writing on Africa with a degree of skepticism, given the narrow range of tropes and stereotypes that one usually finds (see Binyavanga Wainaina's brilliant satire, "How to Write About Africa"). Fortunately this book runs against most of the common (mis)representations of rural Africa. From the start Kamkwamba is writing of a world shaped by colonialism, cash cropping, and the brutal pro-market policies of the World Bank and IMF. He vividly brings to life the risks of rainfed agriculture and the realities of hunger and HIV without falling into a depiction of Africa as victim, instead focusing on the myriad strategies (including his own) that people use to survive the uncertainties of climate and neoliberalism.
Overall the book is a delight to read, grounded in anecdotes of everyday life in rural Malawi, and evoking for me many memories of travelling and living in east and southern Africa. Some readers may find it a bit too free of descriptions of landscape and setting - I was constantly conjuring images from my own memory of the kind of small trading town where William seems to live. The last part of the book is probably the least satisfying -- after the dramatic stories of impoverished people on the edge of survival, the account of various wealthy Western sponsors who pop in and out of rural Africa was not so interesting. I was also frustrated that the nature of the relationship between author and co-author had been clarified -- the text makes no mention of the process of authorship. Despite these minor complaints, I really enjoyed the book, from the tales of witchcraft to the recaps of basic electrical engineering. It's certainly suited for high school level courses, and maybe first-year college courses. I could also see using some chapters as supplementary readings on famine and food security. Readers should also check out the afrigadget blog which has dozens of examples of African "makers" as well as reprints of some of the Malawian newspaper coverage of William's windmill. ... Read more | |
| 13. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank | |
 | Kindle Edition
(2010-09-03)
list price: $13.00 Asin: B0041OT9W6 Publisher: Anchor Sales Rank: 1035 Average Customer Review:
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Editorial Review
Reviews
To understand the Holocaust (if one can understand such a thing at all), you simply have to look into the cell of a soon to be dead prisoner; to stand in the mustering ground of the prisoners' barracks and feel the hard gravel crunch beneath your feet; to peer into the terrifyingly etched interior of a human oven and let your mind try to wander its way through it all; to imagine, at the end of all other imaginings, what it must've felt like to live HERE. Not 6 million. Just you. Or someone you love. THAT'S why Anne Frank and her diary will live on. Not because it' s a well written example of literary prowess. Not because it has a magnificent plot. Not because it has lasting value as a work of literature. It will live on because it's the voice of so many people who went voiceless, who went into the night, into the dark, to be shot from behind or in front, blindfolded or eyes open, gassed in sterile shower rooms or tortured to death in the name of "science." I've read some of the reviews here, and the majority of those who gave this book anything less than five stars usually point to the diary's defecincies in the "interesting" section. Time and time again, that's exactly why I found this book to be so engrossing - whatever faults it has comes from the writer not being a writer! She was a girl, on verge of her flowering into womanhood, full of the hopes and dreams and fears we all are at that age. Whatever picture this book paints is one of her, to remind us not only of who she was and that she was real but also to remind us of those 6 million (and more, so many more, in those ghastly 6 years of death) silent voices. The trip to Buchenwald was not totally disenheartening. In the middle of the mustering grounds is a small marker, maybe 4 feet by 4 feet, surrounding by a small collection of flowers and cards. It's made entirely of a steely gray metal, and in the middle of it is a small square with words on it: Albaner, Algerier, Andarraner, Argentinier, Agypter, Belgier, Baenier.... These are the German names of all the nationalities of all the people who died in World War II. They comprise 60 different nationalities. At the bottom is written K.L.B. But the most spectacular thing happened when I touched the plaque - it was warm. It's kept heated, 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, in the depths of winter or in the middle of Germany's summer season, in the memory of all those who died. Our tour guide explained it to me, in his accented English: "It stands for the warmth of those who have passed, the life. They are gone, yet this warmth remains. Life remains." That's why Anne Frank's diary is what it is: life remains because of it.
Every detail of Anne's experience rang true -- there were no doubts in my mind as I read it that this truly was Anne's diary, even though I knew parts of it were missing. The way she wrote spoke to me as a human being in general, but as a 12 year old it was amazing to me to realize that this person who was going through such an awful ordeal also had some of the same feelings, experiences, emotions, worries, hopes, and dreams that I did. Anne Frank's diary encouraged me to start keeping my own. This is obviously a book about World War II, but it's also about adolescence, the human condition, families, and writing. It's possibly one of the most important books of the 20th century.
I admire Anne Frank. Some negative reviewers said that there is nothing to admire about Anne - that she only reacted to a situation that she had no choice but to be in. They also stated that she is not a good writer - but I disagree. I admire the way she was able to see herself and to be able to put her thoughts and feelings into words. I tried keeping a diary myself, but found that the only things I put in it were descriptions of my daily events - I was unable to portray any emotion or feelings. I loved this book because it is about the holocaust which is one of the most significant events in history. It is an easy way to learn about the holocaust. Obviously if someone is looking for extensive knowledge regarding this then a diary of a young lady is not the right type of book. But for those of you who would like to learn about it from someone who was there - then this is the book for you. And, for those who have negative comments - try keeping a diary and let's see if yours is interesting enough to be published - let alone considered to be one of the best books of all time!
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| 14. Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend by James S Hirsch | |
 | Hardcover
list price: $30.00 -- our price: $19.80 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 1416547908 Publisher: Scribner Sales Rank: 1744 Average Customer Review:
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Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) When I received this hefty tome I have to say I was impressed by just how many pages had been written on one of the greatest baseball players I've heard talked about, but as I tried to read through the book I started coming to the conclusion that much like movies that have had scenes cut for time, this book could probably use more editing to give it a tighter focus and more brevity.
There's nothing wrong with giving multiple examples in support of a point, but after a while readers, like viewers of TV shows or movies, get bored with seeing the same thing written just slightly differently. (See for a fine example of this, a film that I do like, but most others look at and call a bloated film that is far too repetitive: Jackie Brown (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)) If a film, book, TV show episode, whatever doesn't stay focused it loses its audience and then will struggle to get them back. That struggle is part of why it's taken me so long to write a review of this book. I want to heap praise on it, but yet I can't quite do that. It is a very thorough book, the definitive book on Willie Mays certainly, but it isn't a great book. More editing and a sharper and more condensed focus would have helped for sure. If you'd like to learn more about Willie Mays then by all means read this book, but if you'd like to do it without possibly boring yourself or being overwhelmed by the volume of material here then you may have to hold out hope someone takes this book and uses it as the basis of a biopic. (Something along the lines of what we got with the great biopic Ray (Widescreen Edition) or another similar film, Walk the Line. Heck, if you want to stay in the sports genre, then try something like the very fine film, The Express) Willie Mays certainly deserves such treatment, and I'd like to think an entertaining film could come of something like this biography, but perhaps Mays' life story isn't as appealing to a broad audience as I assume he would be.
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| 15. The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore | |
 | Hardcover
(2010-04-27)
list price: $25.00 Isbn: 0385528191 Publisher: Spiegel & Grau Sales Rank: 4647 Average Customer Review:
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Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) In 2000, a Baltimore newspaper ran a story with the headline, "Local Graduate Named Rhodes Scholar." It was a story about the author, Wes Moore, a young black man who rose from the drug, crime and poverty-stricken streets of the city to attain this prestigious academic honor.
Several months earlier, in the same paper, Mr. Moore had noticed a series of articles about two young black men who killed a Baltimore policeman while robbing a jewelry store. The name of one of the killers struck him: his name was Wes Moore. This coincidence prompts the author to seek out "the other Wes Moore." He contacts Wes in prison. "How did this happen?" he asks. The question jumpstarts the story of these two young men whose life paths diverged, one into triumph, the other into tragedy. The author comes to realize that this seemingly complicated story, a too-familiar story that is freighted with societal, economic and racial impact, comes down to a few simple moments in time. "These forks in the road can happen so fast for young boys," he says. "Within months or even weeks, their journeys can take a decisive and possibly irrevocable turn." I would more specifically pin the divergence on the boys' mothers. The author is born into a two-parent home, both parents college educated, but his father dies when Wes is just three. His mother moves to the Bronx, so that her parents can help provide a stable home life. She works multiple jobs so that she can put her boys in private school. When the author starts to feel the pull of the streets, she packs him off to military school. The other Wes Moore grows up in a single-parent household of starkly different character. His father is absent and his mother frequently dumps him on friends and family so she can go out clubbing. Although she'd been attending community college, she loses her Pell Grant and simply gives up. Disagreements in the home are handled with beatings. The older brother gets into the drug trade, and all three of them, mother and two sons, bring babies into the world without the stability of marriage. It's no surprise when the other Wes Moore's run-ins with the law begin. This is a compelling story told with passion and understanding. While the author is compassionate, he also makes clear that he is in no way excusing the other Wes Moore for his heinous deed. Even so, I imagine this is a tough book for the family of the slain policeman to read. If you want another great story of a young black man from Baltimore who succeeds thanks to his determined mother, read Byron Pitts's Step Out on Nothing: How Faith and Family Helped Me Conquer Life's Challenges.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) At first glance, this book looks like an interesting read based on an unusual coincidence. A young Baltimore man named Wes Moore, an Army officer who had just graduated from Johns Hopkins and was named a Rhodes Scholar, learned that another young Baltimore man also named Wes Moore had just been sentenced to life in prison without parole for his role in a robbery that resulted in the murder of an off-duty policeman. The first Wes Moore naturally began to wonder about why he had avoided the fate of the second Wes Moore, even though their surroundings and upbringings had been quite similar. So, in a way, this is a "Wow! It could have been me in prison!" story.
That probably would have made for an interesting book, but Moore chose to examine his life and the second Wes Moore's life in parallel with one another in an effort to determine where-- and, more importantly, why-- their fates diverged. That makes this an important book, because it raises a critical question: What makes so many young men-- and particularly black, poor young men raised mostly by their mothers-- choose the drug trade and all of the violence that attends it as a career? As it turns out, Moore can't answer that question. As he explains, both he and the other Wes Moore were raised at the same time in the same high-poverty, drug- and crime-plagued area. They both began to struggle in school at about the same time. They both had early brushes with the law due to petty crimes at about the same time. However, their lives took dramatically different paths. Moore never specifically says it, but nonetheless, as one reads his account of their parallel lives, the difference is in the ways that their mothers lived their own lives and reacted to what their sons were doing. Moore's mother was raised by college-educated parents, and she spent her life working and struggling to achieve things for herself and her family. She moved several times in an effort to find stable, safe places for her kids to grow up, and she worked several jobs so she could afford to put her kids into private schools. When it appeared that Moore was going to fall into the thug lifestyle, she sacrificed economically and emotionally to put him into a military school. In short, she simply refused to allow herself or her kids to succumb to the conditions and temptations that surrounded them. In contrast, the other Wes Moore's mother tried to resist those conditions and temptations, but she eventually did succumb to them. She simply gave up. At the same time, unlike the first Wes Moore's mother, she allowed her kids to see violence as an acceptable way to resolve problems in their lives. In the end, it comes down to forks in the road of time. At several critical points in his youth, the first Wes Moore went down one path, mostly due to the influence of his mother. Unfortunately for the other Wes Moore, there was no one to influence him to take the "right" path, and he chose the easier, more glamorous path of thug culture and the drug trade. Moore isn't at all smug or self-righteous about how his life compares to that of the other Wes Moore. Nor does he pity the other Wes Moore. That's because there is a difference between reasons and excuses. That is, there are abundant reasons for the choices that the second Wes Moore made and their tragic consequences for himself, his family, and his victims. However, the first Wes Moore clearly doesn't regard any of those reasons as acceptable excuses. Both Wes Moores came to forks in their lives; one of them made-- or was forced to make-- the right choices, and the other one didn't. But they were choices, and they are ultimately responsible for making them. This is a unique and compelling book. I recommend it most highly.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) I'm not one who usually reads "uplifting" true stories with words like "hope" prominently featured in the title or subtitle, but I gave this one a chance for three reasons. First of all, some of it takes place in neighboring Baltimore in the mid-'90s, which is interesting to anyone, like me, who loved the HBO series The Wire. Secondly, at lot of the kids who come into the library I work at are in the same position as the two young Wes Moores described in the book -- they might succumb to the call of the street, or they might not. Finally, it's short and quick -- if I'm going to read a book like this, I don't want it to be padded out to reach 300 page ideal (note that the final 80 pages of the book are a list of organizations across the country that work to improve the lives of disadvantaged youth).
The premise of the book is that two young black men with the same name, coming up in roughly the same area, ended up in very different places in life. One is serving a life sentence for his role in a jewelry store heist in which a guard was killed, and the other ended up Rhodes Scholar and White House Fellow. The book came out of the latter one's desire to trace their histories and try and figure out why his life has worked out, while the other Wes's hasn't. He tells their life stories chronologically, alternating from himself to the incarcerated Wes, laying out the choices they made, and the context for those choices. He does this efficiently and fairly evocatively, managing to convey what goes on inside the heads of boys and young men without being overly analytical or judgemental. However, at the end, I was rather shocked to see him write the following of his grand investigation: "What made the difference?...The truth is that I don't know." Well, any reader of the book could tell him -- the difference is class. Both his parents were college educated, his mother was more involved in his life and had vastly greater financial resources to devote to him, and he had high-achieving siblings. That's pretty much it. When the eventually-successful Wes made some poor decisions as a kid, his mom was able to ask her parents for the money to put him first in private school, and eventually in an elite military academy. Once he prospered in that environment, doors started opening for him, as the network of connections started helping him up the ladder. The other Wes's mother had no financial or familial support to draw upon, and eventually lost control of her son, who main male role model was his drug-dealing half-brother. So, ultimately, there's not much of a lesson here, nor any kind of revelatory strategy for helping young black men. But it is a very instructive case study on how class mechanisms work in America, and what they mean in a tangible, concrete sense.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful and Inspiring., April 29, 2010 This review is from: The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates (Hardcover) I had never heard of Wes Moore before I was lucky enough to be in the audience of the Oprah Winfrey Show when he was a guest. As a parting gift, we received an advance copy of The Other Wes Moore. In the few minutes that this Wes Moore was on stage, I was immediately struck by his charisma, enthusiasm for life and belief in a brighter future for others who begin life as he did. I read the book from cover-to-cover the moment I returned home. As I read, I was searching for the thought processes that made this Wes Moore, successful and upwardly mobile in life and the other Wes, headed for defeat and failure. I wanted to know what this Wes Moore was made of - whether inherent or implanted and nurtured by others. The book sheds light on this.
Our Wes Moore comments, "Young boys are more likely to believe in themselves if they know that there's someone, somewhere, who shares that belief. To carry the burden of belief alone is too much for most young shoulders." At crucial junctures when our Wes was unable to carry the burden, his mother, friends, grandparents and mentors helped shoulder it with him but he remained part of the mix. By contrast, from prison, the other Wes Moore comments, "We take other's expectations of us and make them our own. The expectations that others place on us help us form our expectations of ourselves. We will do what others expect of us. If they expect us to graduate, we will graduate. If they expect us to get a job, we will get a job. If they expect us to go to jail, then that's where we will end up too. At some point you lose control." To that, our Wes Moore, adds, "True, but it's easy to lose control when you were never looking for it in the first place." Both Wes Moores started out with the odds stacked against them and innately, I think, both wanted to succeed but there finally came a time when they each chose a different path for themselves. At a later point in his life when our Wes is firmly on the right path, he visits South Africa and speaks with a woman who survived apartheid. She states, "The common bond of humanity and decency that we share is stronger than any conflict, any adversity, and challenge. Fighting for your convictions is important but finding peace is paramount. Knowing when to fight and when to seek peace is wisdom." Also in South Africa, Wes meets a boy who is days away from going through the Xhosa adult circumcision ritual and when Wes asks if the boy is scared of the pain and the process, the boy replies, "It's not the process you should focus on; it's the joy you will feel after you go through the process." That sums up the meaning of this book for me. Life is a process and the end result is the prize. Our Wes Moore is deserving of joy. He has earned it and he continues to pay it forward in his life. I am now a fan of Wes Moore. He realizes that he is one of the lucky ones and he wants to make sure other kids with similar backgrounds find and stay on the right track. He continues to be in the lives of at-risk youth and encourages other people to find a child to champion, mentor and encourage. Pick up several copies of this book, as I have, to give as gifts to those looking for inspiration. A local Boys and Girls Club or other families-helping-families type organization would benefit greatly from this book. Ultimately, I think you are left with the realization that we are responsible for ourselves and for each other. These are not mutually exclusive events. Wes benefited from a loving, self-sacrificing family but he kept himself as part of the equation. The other Wes did not.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Wow--what a difference opportunity can make. This book brilliantly lays out the paths of two very different men who share the same name. You can really see how the circumstances in each of their lives contributed to their success and failure. This does not take the responsibility away from the error of the Wes Moore that is in prison for murder nor does it excuse his crimes. However, it will make you wonder and consider what roll you can play in your own neighborhood, your children's lives, the lives of strangers--to help improve the chances of a successful outcome.
I realize this world has many very privileged people who have not taken advantages of the opportunities given to them as well as many people who have a life of hardship and suffering that have made tremendous successes in their lives. But there seems to be no doubt that the more support, propping up, and opportunities a person has, the more likely they are to achieve success. I hope this books sparks inspiration in readers to think of 1 thing--even if it is very small--to do to help give someone around them a better opportunity. We all benefit when people succeed and all suffer when they fail. Unfortunately for the victims of Wes Moore, they suffer the most from his mistakes. But on some level, we all do--whether it is in higher taxes to support the criminal justice system, or whether a child now grows up fatherless, or whether it means that as a society we lose out on the potential accomplishments that Wes Moore could have achieved if there were different opportunities for him. Again--I am not suggesting Wes Moore the Rhodes Scholar should not get credit for his success--he earned it--he did it. yes he had support, but he ultimately put in the work. I'm also not suggesting the other Wes Moore isn't responsible for his actions--he is--in every way. This book is a great read. Hopefully it will make you think regardless of the conclusions you draw. It certainly touched my heart and i found it very interesting, engaging, and an easy read. ... Read more | |
| 16. Strength in What Remains (Random House Reader's Circle) by Tracy Kidder | |
 | Paperback
list price: $16.00 -- our price: $10.88 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 0812977610 Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks Sales Rank: 2932 Average Customer Review:
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Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower; We will grieve not, rather find Strength in what remains behind; William Wordsworth Rarely does an introductory quote capture the essence of a book as well as Tracy Kidder's choice of the above poem, and rarely does irony reach the intensity of genocide survivor Deogratias' name (Thanks be to God, in Latin). The star rating system for books can be frustrating and misleading. Does a five star rating mean a new Jane Austen is on the loose? Does a four star rating mean a merely decent read? In the case of Kidder's Strength in What Remains Behind, my four star rating means a fascinating, thought-provoking, big-hit-with-your-book-club read. With serious books, and this is one, sometimes I get the sensation that I've put myself in harness, and in the effort to get the fruits of my labor I will be forced to trudge forward until the job is done. Strength in What Remains Behind is the opposite: once attached to the book by the first few pages, it will draw you wide-eyed and enthralled rapidly towards its conclusion. Tracy Kidder's book, briefly, is the non-fiction tale of Deogratias. Raised in Burundi (neighbor to Rwanda), Deo lives a nearly idyllic life until the outbreak of ethnic violence in his country replaces Wordsworth's "of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower" with a living hell that makes Dante's Inferno look like a pleasant winter destination resort. Deo, a Tutsi third year medical student, flees Burundi, arriving at age 24 in New York City with $200 in his pocket, the clothes on his back, and his will to survive. Kidder artfully alternates between Deo's fight for survival in the United States and scenes of the genocidal massacres that Deo witnesses in Burundi. Deogratias emerges as a complex and rich personality, more a testament to human resilience than a hero (though certainly not lacking in heroic qualities). So many books, so little time... What will you get if you devote a few hours of your life to this book? Here's a sampling: a well told tale; repeated examples that support the premise that no matter how ragingly black the night of human behavior, some amongst us will light candles, and fight vigorously to protect that fragile light; a truly fascinating view of New York City's underbelly; and finally, you will get a detailed examination of modern African genocide. Kidder's description of the madness of the violence in Burundi and Rwanda is never pornographically detailed, but is nonetheless devastating. Genocide is an ancient human story, with Antarctica the only continent that has escaped its bloody stain. Kidder's somewhat labored search for the causes of genocide in Burundi and Rwanda may be the weakest part of his book. He cites one authority who claims that genocide in Burundi was caused by fear, as opposed to Rwanda, where it was caused by prejudice. Um.....is there an essential difference between fear and prejudice as root causes of genocide? Experts in primate behavior, including human, suggest that prejudice IS fear, of "the other". And do we truly care about whatever tiresome reason is being used THIS time to justify genocide, rather than about why it happens at all (consider reading Sex and War: How Biology Explains Warfare and Terrorism and Offers a Path to a Safer World) for an interesting take on human-on-human violence), or the profound slumber of the developed nations when it occurs outside of their spheres of interest? Fans of Kidder's also fascinating book Mountains Beyond Mountains will be intrigued by the intersection of the lives of Paul Farmer MD (controversial and hyper-dedicated founder of Partners in Health) and Deogratias that is described in Strength in What Remains. There is inherent tension in store for the reader of Strength in What Remains, and not just in the suspense of the story itself. The triumph and the tragedy of human behavior are contained between the front and back covers of the book. You, and if you belong to one, your book club, will be stretched between these two poles: Deogratias (Thanks be to God) and the unattributed quote "Tell me God, should I thank you, or forgive you?". May a rich discussion ensue!
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Tracy Kidder's latest triumph follows in the footsteps of his masterwork, Mountains Beyond Mountains. The true story of Deogratias from Burundi to New York and beyond is for everybody, not for any particular special interest. The title, Strength in What Remains, is from Wordsworth's romantic "Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Reflections of Early Childhood". There are many other good reviews if you want to hear more of the particulars, so I want to instead introduce the author to those unacquainted.
Mr. Tracy, like John PcPhee and precious few others, is at the tiny top tier of journalistic authors of books, as opposed to articles of immediacy. Two years he spent listening to Deogratias tell his story and spent in other research. Years ago at the beginning of my technology career I read his "Soul of a New Machine", the story of the skunkworks of Data General Corp. at the dawn of mini-computers and client-server architecture. From then on I learned just to buy whatever he wrote. You teachers might start with his "Among Schoolchildren". Mr. Kidder is the selfless writer. He does not choose topics to sell books. He has no ideological drum (or horse) to beat. He is not attracted to fads or celebrity, power or the rich. Those are left for the sycophantic, the mediocre, those unencumbered by talent and skill. He uses some sort of dowsing rod for profundity. He is also something of a phenomenologist, letting the truth bubble up from his uncompromising observation of people and circumstances. He does not editorialize or advocate. He does not pretend to understand more than he can show. But he introduces you to all the best people, besides his central figures, taking time to capture them fully. In "Strength in what Remains, Mr. Kidder appreciates that he is is taking us places we do not know. So he includes all things of importance from different points of view. He himself does not appear until Part II, where he is finally comfortable explaining himself and his approach. He has a good historical section and five pages of sources. Here we meet again the sainted star of an earlier landmark opus, Mountains Beyond Mountains, the redoubtable Dr. Paul Farmer of Haiti and Harvard (Kidder's alma mater). Also, cameo appearances by Chaucer, Hanna Arendt, Primo Levi and St. Benedict. It is instructive to point out that nowhere does Mr. Kidder mention his earlier book. He refuses to hawk his own stuff. He describes the episodes of Deogratias and Farmer without any mention of his own connections. He merely mentions Deogratias, Deo as called by others, at the library encountering a work called Infections and Inequalities. Deo must meet the author, I instantly recalled from the prior book. Sure enough, there is the great doctor himself, scourge of the self-absorbed. I almost want to say read Mountains Beyond Mountains first because you will wish you had, once you do. Besides, these monumental gifts do not last long. This is the kind at 3:00 a.m. where you are saying "Just one more chapter, dear" when finally a shovel turns out your lights. When I came to, I found her with the book, "just one more chapter, dearest". I close with a short anecdote he tells of an Auschwitz survivor, who when asked about the blue numerals tattooed on his forearm replies that he always had trouble remembering his phone number. This book is an antidote to the bloated, grasping self-obsession which has infested our America. With so many fine, worthy books we are showing each other in these pages, competing for our limited time, do not let these pass unconsidered.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This is the story of Deo, a survivor of the Tutsi-Hutu genocide in Burundi and Rwanda and how he fared after escaping to America. Even though he was a medical student in Burundi, he started life in America as a homeless person living in New York's Central Park, who made a subsistence living delivering groceries. Through a series of almost miraculous encounters, he was able to lift himself up, graduate from Columbia University, and build a medical clinic in his native Burundi. Deo's is a life still in progress, and although his clinic is a triumph, we know he still has great things ahead of him.
This is to some extent a sequel to Kidder's earier book Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World, about Dr. Paul Farmer and Partners in Health. Farmer is one of the people who Deo meets, and Deo begins working with PIH. Kidder's writing is very vivid and immediate, and is told from Deo's point of view, so you feel as if you are traveling and experiencing all this with Deo. In particular you feel that he's not much better off as a homeless person in America than he was on the run in Africa, except that in America no one is trying to kill him. On the other hand, because events are presented out of sequence, the vivid writing does not build much tension--the narrative starts in 2006 with Deo's return to Burundi, so we know that he has survived all the events that are detailed later and has prospered in his new country. In Kidder's earlier book The Soul of a New Machine, the action was presented chronologically, and the book was always a cliff-hanger: you never knew until the end whether the team would succeed. In the present book the narrative tension is not in the arc of the story (which we know almost from the beginning) but in the anticipation of learning further, possibly horrifying, details about the kinds of lives most of us know nothing about.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) I remember listening to NPR's in-depth reports about the genocide in Rwanda and Burundi. Horrified, I turned off the radio, but I couldn't turn off my imagination. Even though I admire other books by Kidder, I wasn't sure I was up to reading this one. I'm glad I took the chance.
Although Kidder's book is the story of genocide and the mad rush to survive, it's also a moving character study of Deo's family and life in Burundi and of his life living on the fringes of New York's immigrant population. The story of his arrival in New York City with $200 and a firm conviction that French is the universal language is an amazing journey, one which opens readers' eyes to the people it's all too easy to overlook as they do the jobs no one else wants. Years ago I heard Kurt Vonnegut speak, and I'll never forget him saying that good fiction mirrors real life in that it is impossible to know the ramifications of individual actions in advance. Miss the bus? A Bad Thing in most fiction, but in real life the missed bus might prevent a tragedy. The story of Deo's survival would have been an excellent illustration of his thesis -- small actions, done differently, would almost certainly have led to his death. Had some people not decided to go good in the face of evil it is hard to imagine him living long enough to even reach the United States. Once in the United States, the kindness of strangers, coupled with his own talents and fierce determination, were awe-inspiring. For whimps like me, I will mention that the structure of the book made it a bit easier to read about Deo's past than I had feared. The story is not told chronologically, so there is some small relief -- bits of horror interspersed by other narrative. The second part of the book is less intense, but moving, as we share Deo's return. Deo's story deserves to be heard. How wonderful that Tracy Kidder is alive to tell it.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) I just finished this book late last night. It took me only a couple of days to read it and after reading the harrowing journey of Deo, an African forced to flee his homeland, I am still reeling from the story. Like most Americans, I can not imagine life in other countries where one is slaughtered just because you're a member of a different tribe. Nor can I imagine how difficult it would be to go to school, let alone be in medical school, or even to get medical care. Life is vastly different from my corner of the world to other remote parts of the world. I am woefully ignorant and this book has enlightened me just a little bit more of my ignorance.
This book is a must-read for all serious readers. It is thoughtful and thought-provoking (which is my favorite kind of book to read). It is inspirational as well. This story is more than about a young man's fight for survival, it is about his home-coming as well, to build a clinic in his homeland in the midst of the fighting that has just stopped. Throughout this book, I can definitely relate to Deo's confusion as to why people are being slaughtered simply because of their tribal heritage. Who is exactly the Tutsi and who is the Hutus? Does it matter to the common folks caught in the middle of the genocide? Did it matter to Deo? Deo is not from Rwanda, but is from the neighboring country Burundi. This book starts out with Deo's journey to New York City, a land so far removed from his country and the war that is ravaging his homeland. He started out as a delivery man for a grocery store, delivering groceries to the richest part of NYC. It was a totally alien world for Deo and I am ashamed to say, definitely the most unfriendliest world for him. One day he met a former nun, who eventually opened the doors for Deo to go back to school, and finding friends among the New Yorkers who can help his cause. This book also dives into his childhood, where he grew up on a mountain with his family, where he went to school and eventually making it to be a medical student. He was getting ready to do rounds when the attacks began. This book tells of his tale in getting out and trying to get back home ... and the confusion he felt, the numbness of watching a baby at its dead mother's breast, seeing hundreds of people being slaughtered, his brief time at the refugee camps, ... and more. This book cannot make the reader experience exactly what Deo felt but it did a good job of trying. The genocide of Rwanda and Burundi is now more real in my mind and it is awful. It makes the war in Sudan and Dafur have a more human face to it ... it is just no words to describe the atrocities of war. This is not a bitter book. Deo is far from being a bitter man. Instead of just living in America and becoming a doctor (so far, in this advanced reader's guide), he put his medical studies on hold and went home to build a medical clinic there, with the help of his friends and co-workers. Deo took Kidder on a tour of his flight as well as a tour of his homeland of where he grew up, his first school and medical school and more ... Kidder did a great job of describing it from Western eyes and conveying the grace that makes Deo a memorable person. Instead of being bitter, Deo is human and graceful and honest. This is definitely a reading that is worthwhile. It is written thoughtfully and Deo's voice comes through loud and clear. His sorrow, confusion and wonder all come through in Kidder's words. It is definitely an unforgettable book and one that I will recommend to everyone. I hope the finished version is just as wonderful as this advanced reader's copy is. One cannot put this book down and not be moved by the story. It is an incredible journey, one not to be forgotten. 6/27/09
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Fans of Tracy Kidder's incredible "Moutains beyond Mountains" are likely to be attracted to this book. It tells the harrowing story of Deogratias, a medical student from Burundi, caught up in the horrifying Rwandan genocide of 1994. After a mind-bending six-month escape, he finds himself in New York City, practically penniless, and not speaking the language. With the help of his incredible inner strength and the fortuitous help of some generous souls, he finds work, enters college and begins work on his medical degree.
But "Strength" is not a feel-good story about happy endings in spite of difficult beginnings. The subtitle, "A story a rembrance and forgiveness" is only half right. Deo is trapped in his terrible memories and struggles over years to come to terms with them. But forgiveness? If forgiveness is the ability to work alongside your people's killers without murdering them in return, I suppose the book is about forgivenss. But the word never comes from Deo himself. Deo is an extraordinarily intelligent and resilient man. But it's hard to feel that his story is enough to fill this book. Kidder is a gifted writer, but even he seems to struggle. About 2/3 of the way through the book, he inserts himself into the story, as he accompanies Deo on a tour the sites of his youthful trauma. Kidder shares his impressions of people that he spoke about through Deo's eyes in the first half of the book. But the one thing that could bring unity to the book, a glimpse of Deo's inner life, is nearly absent from the writing. Kidder watches Deo from the outside, but cannot inhabit him, and seems not to want to. This is a major shortcoming, especially for such an important topic. In the end, the book is neither about Rwanda, nor about Deo's struggele to become a doctor, nor about living poor in New York, nor about the mindset of genocidal killers. It is not about much beyond a telling, from a safe remove, of one man's story. But in glimpses, it is a book about the pain that must be carried following an absurd encounter with death and horror. And it is about the few human beings who are humane and generous enough to extend a hand to a fellow sufferer. It is about the never-dying face of ethnic violence in central Africa. Aspiring to be paean to the human spirit, "Strength in What Remains" chronicles the daily dilemma of surviving in a world tilted toward death.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) I'm not certain what I expected when I ordered this book. I knew that Tracy Kidder was a fine writer having read excerpts of his work in magazines. However, I had never been really 'grabbed" enough previously to read one of his books in toto. Amazon Vine gave me a great opportunity to discover this powerful writer.
Kidder has an astonishing way of describing the horror which Deo escaped. Yet, the book is more...much more...than the story of genocide. This is the story of every immigrant who left his country to escape persecution, violence, starvation..and the story of the shattering adjustment that immigrants have to make to survive in a new culture and country. This is the story of everyone who has experienced a trauma which shakes their belief in humanity and their own ability to survive...how victims forge forward, how they seek help or help comes to them, how their upbringing and spiritual beliefs give them the strength to reclaim their lives. There is a Deo everywhere...the guy who barely speaks enough English to give you change when he delivers your pizza, the stooped woman who empties your office trash, the faceless men who manicure our lawns, the families who go through the garbages in affluent neighborhoods in hopes of finding shoes for their kids. I hope that we can now look at each of them as Kidder looked at Deo. Each one of these is a hero and we should honor them.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This is one of the most powerful books I've ever read. The first section is beautifully written and fascinating: what it's like for an African immigrant with $200, horrendous wartime memories, and no English to find himself alone in New York City. I learned about an underclass I'd seldom thought about, a war I've never previously understood, and people who help others in ways most of us would never consider. It's a gripping, horrible, and ultimately very inspiring story about not just one hero but many, and how individual acts of kindness can change the world.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Genocide is hard to grasp in the large view. It almost becomes impersonal--so and so many Jews, Armenians, Rwandans etc. In telling the story of one man's horror, the reality of the experiences hits home. If you read this book, be prepared for some horrendous imagery that will stick with you for a long time. Many of the scenes are vivid enough to live on in your dreams. I won't recount them here. You need a strong stomach and a stable personal base for some of them.
One thing we know about trauma, is that transcending it requires some measure of repair, of doing for others, of trying to make sure this does not happen again. Trauma is transformed--eventually and with great pain--into effective action to make the world a bit better. And this is Deo's story--the story of one remarkable man's survival and his later transformative work. I found the first part of this book, where Deo's story is told, to be captivating; the Victor Frankl of the Ruwanda/Burundi genocide. I was a bit less pleased with the second part of the book where the author talks about his own travels with Deo and Deo's eventual work in Burundi. I wanted to hear that story again through Deo's words, not Tracy Kidder's. I found Tracy Kidder writing about Deo a bit jarring. Overall the book is mesmerizing. ... Read more | |
| 17. Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman | |
 | Paperback
list price: $15.95 -- our price: $10.85 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 0394747232 Publisher: Pantheon Sales Rank: 2026 Average Customer Review:
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Editorial Review Reviews
I first read this book as a teenager, and would highly recommend it to people of any age. Over the years, I have re-read it frequently and shared it with friends of all ages. All have taken much from Spiegelman's tale. A few notes must be made in response to the 10/26/97 comment posted below by a reviewer from Ontario, Canada. It is quite clear that this reviewer did not, in fact, read the book. (S)he mistakenly attacks Spiegelman for portraying the Poles as rats, and wonders if he would be offended if a book were written portraying Jews as rats. Anyone who took the time to read Maus (or merely to examine it's cover!) would know that it is, in fact, the Jewish people who are portrayed as mice/rats, whereas the Poles are portrayed not as vermin, but rather as pigs. In fact, far from a "vicious" attack against Poles, there are many acts of kindness by Polish people portrayed in the book. Certainly there is unkindness as well, but how can the reviewer forget that this is a factual account of Vladek Spiegelman's life, told from his perspective. If unkind acts by Polish people are a part of that life, then they should be in the book. Finally, the reviewer in question inelegantly raises a point of some merit, though it is one that is only tangentially related to Spiegelman's work. The Polish people did, in fact, suffer horribly at the hands of both Nazis and Soviets alike. Their death toll in the concentration camps numbered in the millions, and should never be forgotten or omitted when discussing the Holocaust. This book, however, is about Vladek Spiegelman, and so surely it cannot be assailed for its focus on events from his perspective. Spiegelman's fidelity to his father's! story is to be admired, not attacked. And certainly not by a reviewer who could not be bothered to read the book.
I was looking over some of these reviews of Maus because I am going to see Spiegelman speak this weekend and just wanted to know what others had said in the past. I was disheartened to read some of the negative responses to the use of animal caricatures, especially since I have always felt this was the most ingenius part of the works. Looking at these reviews, though, I remembered an interview with Spiegelman I read a while back. He explains the animal caricatures a bit, and I thought it might be beneficial to place a quote here, in this forum. Published in The Comics Journal, October 1991: Spiegelman says of the animal portrayals, "These images are not my images. I borrowed them from the Germans. At a certain point I wanted to go to Poland, and I had to get a visa. I put in my application, and then I got a call from the consul. He said 'the Polish attache wants to speak with you.' And I knew what he wanted to talk to me about. On the way over there, I tried to figure out what I was going to say to him. 'I wanted to draw noble stallions, but I don't do horses very well?' When I got there, he gave me the perfect opening. He said, 'You know, the Nazis called us schwein' (German for pig). And I said, 'Yes, and they called us vermin (German for mouse or rat).' Ultimately, what the book is about is the commonality of human beings. It's crazy to divide things down the nationalistic or racial or religious lines. And that's the whole point, isn't it? These metaphors, which are meant to self-destruct in my book - and I think they do self-destruct - still have a residual force that allows them to work as metaphors, and still get people worked up over them." I guess he's right. People do get worked up over the metaphors. Too bad some of those people can't understand them. If you haven't read Maus, you are missing a true piece of art.
Art Spiegelman attempts to tell the story of his father Vladek's life in Hitler's Europe. By and large, the book is a detailed, objective retelling of his Vladek's story. However, as Art himself will realize, "I can't even make sense out of my relationship with my father--how am I supposed to make sense out of the Holocaust?" and "Reality is much too complex for comics--so much has to be left out or distorted." Thus liberated from the impossible standard of complete objectivity, Art is free to insert two important subjective elements into the story--the depiction of different races as different species, and the insertion of himself as a character in MAUS. Obviously, Art is not a overt racist--in fact, in the second part of MAUS, Art will scold his father for distrusting a black person, and a German-Jewish couple will help Vladek return home after being freed from the death camps. The point of portraying Jews as mice, Germans as cats, Poles as pigs, etc. is to show what race relations during Hitler's Europe might have been like. The characterization of race doesn't end there, though--as the scene shifts from Nazi Germany to the present, and as Art must suffer the daily trials and tribulations of life with a father permanently scarred by his experiences, Art depicts himself as a mouse as well, a confession that he himself is unable to completely escape the aftermath of the poisoned race relations of the Holocaust. Maybe this makes him a covert racist. But if he is, then who isn't? Art's involvement in MAUS goes beyond interviewing his father, though. Later in the story we will see that Art was treated in a mental hospital and sees a psychiatrist regularly. As the book cover declares, "MAUS is a story about the survivors of the Holocaust--and of the children who somehow survive the survivors." The storytelling in MAUS is stellar, and the craftsmanship is as well. The comics medium allows Spiegelman to employ some interesting tricks. For example, whenever Vladek is trying to sneak around, he is portrayed with a pig mask. When Vladek and Anja are trying to escape from the ghetto, Anja, who in real life was easily identifiable as a Jew by her appearance, is drawn with a long tail, while Vladek is not. In sum, MAUS is a gripping story of his parents' experience during the Holocaust, filled with countless brushes with death, tales of betrayal, and plenty of terrible, graphic illustrations of victims being executed. It is not a history text in the most austere and empirical sense. Rather, it is a confession that the Holocaust defies dispassionate and detached analysis.
This volume of Maus is mostly about Vladek trying to avoid the Nazis, as all the Jews in Europe were trying to do at this time. There are many colorful characters and stories packed into Maus, and it is a grim reminder of a dark period of world history. Beware though . . . the second edition (And Here My Troubles Began) is even more horrifying. Maus is brilliant. Buy this and the second part too - there is no way you'll regret it.
Written in comic book form, Art Spiegelman tells the tale of his father's hardships and survival in the Holocaust. Vladek Spiegelman (his father) was a POW, but managed to sneak out of one of the camps that held him, only to later have him and his whole family thrown into terrible death camps. Uncertain of what tragedies they would endure or when they may be the next to be sent to Auschwitz, Vladek was always certain that they would make it out alive, no matter what obstacles were thrown in their way. This is a survivor's tale, as well as a tale of how a son tries to patch up a damaged relationship with his father. The account we are given is absolutely horrifying, but at the same time triumphant. I literally could not put this book down once I started it. It's a very fast and easy read. This is a great advantage because this makes it easier for those who do not read a lot to be able to read it without any problems. It's an important tale that needs to be told and it is one that needs to be read by as many people as possible. The Holocaust is something we should never forget and it's something that needs to be taught to everyone. This book is a great way to get people aware of the situation who may not know a lot about that terrible time. The comic book structure and style really makes the story work. While this is something I could've read in plain text or in a regular novel, the drawings help you experience just exactly what is taking place. It makes it easier for you to want to continue reading without forcing you to strain yourself. The style and structure also insures that more people will give it a chance and read it. "Maus I" is an important tale of survival, hope, hardships and family. It's a tale worth being told, that much I can assure you. If you have never read this before, I strongly recommend that you pick it up sometime and give it a chance. It is an easy and fast read that will give you an experience like none you have ever encountered. It may be a sad and terrible tale to hear, but to know that somebody can survive such a horrendous scenario like the Holocaust and come out of it alive just goes to show you how strong a person can be, both inside and out. It is an important tale that deserves to be heard by as many people as possible.
Tragically, as Vladek reveals more of the events that irrevocably altered not only his own life but that of his son, Artie is repelled rather than drawn closer to his father and the gulf between then becomes clearer. Knowledge, which should bring insight and understanding, fails and creates only bitterness. However, you must remember this is but the first half of the story, which concludes in "And Here My Troubles Began." What makes "Maus" remarkable is not that it is a "comic book," what the "New York Times" called "an epic story told in tiny pictures," but that it is a very intimate story about someone who survived the Holocaust. The body might survive the concentration camp, but "Maus" is about what happens to the mind, the heart and the soul. I have been reading the concerns of those who are bothered by the portrayal of each ethnic group as a different animal, particular the decision to represent the Poles as pigs. The main oppositional pair here of the Jews and Nazis as mice and cats certainly can be seen as arguing that the Holocaust is another example of "cat and mouse" that has been played out between the strong and the weak throughout human history. No matter when the Holocaust stands on your own personal list of historical atrocities, clearly it is not as much of an aberration as we would like to think. With regards to the Poles being pigs in Spiegelman's schema, my understanding is that "swine" was an epithet used by Germans to all races, since all non-Aryans were, by definition, sub-human. But Spiegelman also shows the French as frogs and a gypsy is a moth (in "Maus II"), which seems to indicate he is taking advantage of existing conventions. Obviously the selection of some animals has inherent symbolism: the dogs/Americans are the ones who beat the cats/Nazis. Then again, in practical terms, what other animal, easily recognizable, could the Poles be in this iconography? Still, an interesting question to debate with valid points on both sides of the issue.
The author is the narrator as he interviews his father, Vladek, day after day, and uses juxtapose as he tells the story of past events alongside current events, involving relationships with Vladek and his second wife, Mala. Art and Mala are disturbed by Vladeks behavior, which epitomizes the racist caricature of the "miserly old Jew." Maus: A Survivor's Tale, My Father Bleeds History is a fascinating account of historical events that happened in the lives of one family and the people they came in contact with, before, during, and after the Holocaust, and culminates with a sequel, Maus II: A Survivor's Tale, And Here My Troubles Began. The book has won several literary awards including the 1986 National Book Critics Circle prize in biography, and a Pulitzer Prize for Special Awards and Citations. Although Maus has been classified as fiction because of the lack of footnotes and bibliographic references, there is no doubt that Art Speigelman has an ingenius approach to the recording of historical, and factual events of the past.
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| 18. The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron by Howard Bryant | |
 | Hardcover
list price: $29.95 -- our price: $19.77 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 0375424857 Publisher: Pantheon Sales Rank: 2520 Average Customer Review:
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| 19. Flyboys: A True Story of Courage by James Bradley | |
 | Kindle Edition
list price: $1.99 Asin: B000Q80T1Q Publisher: Little, Brown and Company Sales Rank: 716 Average Customer Review: 
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| 20. Dear Mrs. Fitzsimmons: Tales of Redemption from an Irish Mailbox by Greg Fitzsimmons | |
 | Hardcover
list price: $25.00 -- our price: $16.50 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 1439182698 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Sales Rank: 7035 Average Customer Review:
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Editorial Review Greg Fitzsimmons has made a lot of what appear to be bad decisions. It’s what he was raised to do. Most parents would hide or destroy any evidence so clearly demonstrating their child’s failures, but—lucky for us—Greg Fitzsimmons’s family has preserved each mistake in its original envelope like a trophy in a case, lest he ever forget where he came from. Dear Mrs. Fitzsimmons is Greg’s life, told through this cavalcade of disciplinary letters, incident reports, and newspaper clippings that his parents received from teachers and school officials. Greg picks up where his parents left off with his own collection of letters received during college and throughout his successful career as a writer, producer, and stand-up comic. Revealing the larger story of how Greg’s distinctly dysfunctional Irish-American family bred him to blindly challenge anyone, anytime, anywhere, over anything, Dear Mrs. Fitzsimmons comes full circle to show that the Fitzsimmons torch has been passed on proudly to a new generation. Reviews
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Disappointed, December 7, 2010
I thought it would be funnier, October 23, 2010
Disappointing..., October 21, 2010