Reviews (2)

A new perspective
During a five year assignment in Cairo (1961-1966) as head of the U.S. Embassy cultural and information programs I naturall tried to learn as much as I could about our audiences but I never saw an account of growing up in Egypt or nearby nations until this one. Elizabeth Fernea and her husband have lived in intimate contact with their peoples from the swamps of eastern Iraq to the bazaars of Morocco. She has a gift for describing her surroundings. Here she has assembled the memories of a panoply of individuals from every walk of life from royalty to villager during the momentous changes of the 20th Century.

absorbing
this is an excellent book and has the memoirs of a large range of individuals from the middle east. Easy to read and understand ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Childhood Memoir    5. Ethnic relations    6. Historical - General    7. History    8. Middle East    9. Middle East - General    10. Social life and customs    11. Sociology    12. Sociology - General    13. Asian / Middle Eastern history: from c 1900 -    14. Biography & Autobiography    15. Children    16. Social Science / Anthropology / General   

Reviews (2)

South to a Very Old Place
If Langston Huges is the poet laureate of Jazz, then Albert Murray is its scribe.Murray's indelible style continues in this wonderful trip down South.Murray grew up in Mobile, Alabama, after high school he went to Tuskegee Institute then on to the military where he was the first black tobecome an officer in US Air Force history. After retiring from the AirForce Murray settled in New York City where he lives today.A number ofyears ago Murray's publisher suggested that he go home and write about thedifferences in Mobile before WWII and Mobile now.Murray takes the readeralong with him on his trip through his own personal history with remarkablerhythm.There are any number of notable sequences including the firstparagraph which destined to join the ranks of"Call me Ishmael"and "It was the best of times it was the worst of times..."Another striking point in the novel is when Murray checks into a celebratedhotel in his hometown and his bags are carried by a young white boy whocalls him sir and mister.It is contrast against Murray's memories of thissame hotel that he was not allowed to enter when he was a boy because hewas black.The book also includes plenty of the rhythmic writing that hasmade Murray one of America's most cherished authors.

South to a Very Old Place
If Langston Huges is the poet laureate of Jazz, then Albert Murray is its scribe.Murray's indelible style continues in this wonderful trip down South.Murray grew up in Mobile, Alabama, after high school he went to Tuskegee Institute then on to the military where he was the first black tobecome an officer in US Air Force history. After retiring from the AirForce Murray settled in New York City where he lives today.A number ofyears ago Murray's publisher suggested that he go home and write about thedifferences in Mobile before WWII and Mobile now.Murray takes the readeralong with him on his trip through his own personal history with remarkablerhythm.There are any number of notable sequences including the firstparagraph which is destined to join the ranks of"Call meIshmael" and "It was the best of times it was the worst oftimes..." Another striking point in the novel is when Murray checksinto a celebrated hotel in his hometown and his bags are carried by a youngwhite boy who calls him sir and mister.It is contrast against Murray'smemories of this same hotel that he was not allowed to enter when he was aboy because he was black.The book also includes plenty of the rhythmicwriting that has made Murray one of America's most cherished authors. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. African Americans    3. Alabama    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Blacks In The U.S.    9. Childhood Memoir    10. General    11. Homes and haunts    12. Literary    13. Murray, Albert    14. Novelists, American    15. People of Color    16. Social life and customs    17. Southern States    18. Biography & Autobiography / Literary    19. Childhood and youth   

Reviews (21)

Informative
I live across the river from Chester, WV; however, I did not grow up in this pottery area.This book helped me to understand what life was like in an area that was once part of the pottery center of the world. I do not feel that the author denigrates the citizens.The story is a memoir. It is her view of her grandmother's life circumstances.Poverty and joblessness are still part of this area's history; to deny this is also to deny the kind-heartedness and character of its people.

So far from garbage...so beautiful
Well, I don't know what the negative reviewers were reading, but they clearly took some offense to components I did not see in this beautiful book.Having grown up in the mountains of North Carolina, I am always on the lookout for books about life in Appalachia, and "Beauty Before Comfort" has to be one of the best in recent years.The honesty, reality, humor--they recall Dorothy Allison's "Bastard Out of Carolina" and the poetry of Kathryn Stripling Byer.Glock deserves a place at the table of strong, stunning Southern women writers.

ick............
I found the the story excruciatingly boring, virtually pointless.After Jean marries Don, the next sixty years of their lives are dealt with in ten pages.Ms. Glock may be a gifted writer, but she is a poor storyteller. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1920-2002    2. 20th century    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Blair family    7. Case studies    8. Ceramics factories    9. Childhood Memoir    10. Company towns    11. Family    12. General    13. Glock, Allison    14. Hancock County    15. History    16. Newell    17. Regional Subjects - South    18. Thornberry, Aneita Jean Blair,    19. West Virginia    20. Women    21. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (5)

A bit to narcissistic
Davis writes extremely well and the images of his youth are quite powerful.He also does an excellent job conveying the difficulties of relating to his parents. Reads like a novel...
This could become a classic.I really felt everything hewrote about.I felt badly for him - his childhood was rather bleak.However, his intelligence and good humor won the day and he has become a successful person, as a writer, inacademia and his personal, family life.To me this showsthat unique situations often produce unique people, and in this there is hopefulness for those of us who feel we grew up as "outsiders."Frankly, I think everyone fits into that category one way or another, so I recommend this book to...everyone.

Interesting but I wanted to know more...
It was very enlightening to learn of a hearing individual's experience being raised by deaf parents...the author's first awareness of his parents'deafness, his alertness and response to nighttime sounds, his role asinterpreter even as a small child, his excitement at attending schoolsurrounded by those who could hear, his need as a young adult to escape hislimiting home environment, etc.However, there were times during myreading when I felt the author strayed from what I perceived as the mainintent of the writing, that is, to understand or empathize with thedifficulties and problems of growing up in a somewhat restricted household(at least, in his mind). These were the parts of his story that were not asinteresting, and I wanted to hurry through them to get to the portionswhere I learned something about the deaf experience.Otherwise, it was avery good book and well done.I did notice that the author at times usedsentence structure reminiscent of his descriptions of "deafspeak".I wondered whether this was intentional or just a slip to hispast. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1949-    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Case studies    6. Childhood Memoir    7. Children of deaf parents    8. Davis, Lennard J.,    9. Deaf    10. Deaf parents    11. Family    12. Family relationships    13. Handicapped    14. Personal Memoirs    15. Social Science    16. Sociology - Marriage & Family    17. Sociology Of The Mentally And Physically Challenged    18. Specific Groups - Special Needs    19. United States    20. Biography: general    21. Disability: social aspects    22. USA   

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Childhood Memoir    3. Europe - General    4. Historical - General    5. History    6. History - General History    7. History: World    8. Holocaust    9. Military - World War II    10. Women   

Editorial Review

Between December 1938 and the outbreak of war in August 1939, some 10,000 children, the vast majority of them Jews, from Germany, Austria, Poland, and Czechoslovakia were evacuated to Great Britain. The stories of 18 witnesses to this Read more

Reviews (13)

A painful and inspiring chapter of human history
The story of the rescue of thousands of Jewish children is told here in good part by eighteen individuals involved in the Kindertransport. The stories are often heartbreaking as most of the children left behind parents and family they were never to see again.
A lesson for all of us
Imagine being 10 years old and having your parents put you on a train to a foreign country!The stories told in Into the Arms of Strangers are heartbreaking AND inspiring.9 out of 10 of the 10,000 children who were part of the Kindertransport never saw their parents again, but they survived WWII because hundreds of British opened their arms and hearts to them when they arrived as refugees.The experiences of the Kinder are an important lessons for the world, especially in light of recent human rights violations in places like Yugoslavia, Chechnya, and Africa.We should look toward the unselfish example set by the British people as a model of compassion and action during a time of need.
Interesting read
This book is based on the memories of several people who were involved in the Kindertransport -- children, organizers, and foster parents.It well-written and easy to read.Also, should one desire, one can follow one individual all the way through the process or read all the accounts based on time. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Childhood Memoir    3. Historical - Holocaust    4. History    5. History: World    6. Holocaust   

Reviews (3)

A Truly Wonderful Book about Two Truly Wonderful People
who enriched our lives over five decades.
Cowboy Princess
I loved this book! I became a little girl again with eyes wide open in awe of my heroes - Roy and Dale. Cheryl is very honest about the fun, the hectic schedules, the grief over the loss of her siblings, her rebellious nature in an innocent way, the strengths and weaknesses of her well-known parents who raised their family well, loved them dearly, lived a honorable life and had a lot of adventures in the way. Where the fans viewed Roy and Dale as super heroes ... Cheryl presents them as parents. I highly recommend this book!

Highly recommended for fans of Roy Rogers
Cowboy Princess: Life With My Parents Roy Rogers And Dale Evans is Cheryl Rogers-Barnett's true story of growing up as the daughter of "the King of Cowboys" and "the Queen of the West", whose popular exploits on movies and TV captivated the nation. Joy, the gruelling demands of the entertainment industry, the terrible loss of three siblings, and the lively personalities of those who shared their lives with Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, and Cheryl Rogers-Barnett fill this highly readable and personal account. Highly recommended for fans of Roy Rogers and the western movies of yesteryear. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1911-    2. 1940-    3. Acting & Auditioning    4. Actors    5. Biography    6. Biography & Autobiography    7. Biography / Autobiography    8. Biography/Autobiography    9. Childhood Memoir    10. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Actors & Actresses    11. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    12. Individual Movie Actors And Actresses    13. Instruction & Study - Voice    14. Rogers, Dale Evans    15. Rogers, Roy,    16. Rogers-Barnett, Cheryl,    17. Singers    18. United States    19. Vocal Music    20. Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts    21. Biography: film, television & music    22. Films, cinema    23. Religion / General   

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Childhood Memoir    6. Historical - General    7. Historical - Holocaust    8. Holocaust    9. Holocaust survivors    10. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    11. Jewish children in the Holocaust    12. Personal narratives    13. Poland    14. Biography & Autobiography / Historical    15. History / Holocaust   

Editorial Review

Ted Solotaroff's memoir of growing up with his father takes on a number of time-tested themes: paternal rage, the American Jew, a boy's love for his mother, an intellectual coming of age. But as one might expect from an editor and critic as prominent as Solotaroff, it does so in language so elegant and perceptive as to make these all seem utterly fresh. Granted, he has the decidedly mixed blessing of a subject who is larger than life, a father who rages the way through these pages like a character straight out of Shakespeare. Solotaroff Senior was a tyrant, a bully, a pathological miser, the kind of man who would "take the tender part of the steak, the breast of the chicken, and then push the platter over to Mom to cut up what was left. 'Eat bread, kids,' he'd say. 'Don't fill up on meat.'" But this is hardly a '90s-style victim memoir; Solotaroff doesn't dwell on his father's physical violence, and his analysis of his father's crippling fears and jealousies is scrupulously fair--even, at times, tender. A series of equally vivid portraits round out the book: his mother, a sensitive, cultured woman who was terrorized into passivity; the aunts, uncles, and teachers who aided young Solotaroff's intellectual development and showed him that a different way of living was possible. But again and again, it's to his father that Solotaroff returns:Read more

Reviews (1)

Very Good
This is a well-written evocative memoir.Painful to read in places.Someone once said that we read to know that we are not alone.This sums up my feelings about this book.I'd add that we read in order to get enoughdistance to empathize."Turth" is an elegant tale aboutstruggling to grow up in sometimes dire emotional circumstances.It'sespecially refreshing because it is not a mewling, raging therapy sessionas so many similar stories are today.It's a painting of a time(Depression era America) and place (industrial burgs of NYC) and an attemptto come to terms with great suffering in a dignified manner.And it's somuch more. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Childhood Memoir    5. Editors, Journalists, Publishers    6. General    7. Historical - U.S.    8. Biography: general    9. Reading Group Guide   

Reviews (41)

'Go Ask Ogre' is a fresh and brutally honest book; recommended
what can i write about this book that hasn't already been said before? its great, and obviously a great deal of care was taken when this book was put together. recommended for cutters, ex-cutters, goths, punks, and any other "outsiders" in general.

Can't stop myself
I can't stop reading this book. I'm not much of a reader but Jolene is an awesome writer. I can relate to it in so many ways. I'm a huge fan of Ogre. I love Jolene's artwork and the part about making handcrafted envelopes for each letter. ^ _ ^

An Emotional Workout
I began reading "Go Ask Ogre" one Sunday morning and, by early afternoon, I was halfway through it. I could not tear myself away. This book is so gripping and poignant that it felt like putting the book down would be turning my back on the teenage girl crying out for help. The inclusion of photocopies of the author's actual letters and artwork contribute to the effect of immersion in her life.
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Childhood Memoir    4. General    5. Ohio    6. Patients    7. Personal Memoirs    8. Popular Culture - General    9. Rock musicians    10. Self-mutilation    11. Social Science    12. Sociology    13. Specific Groups - General    14. United States    15. Biography: general    16. Rock & pop    17. Social Science / Popular Culture   

Editorial Review

Theater director Peter Sheridan's bracing memoir is timelessly Irish in its lyrical, word-drunk portrait of a boisterous family touched by tragedy: his younger brother, Frankie, died, aged 10, from a brain tumor. The book is also very much a document of the 1960s. It opens on New Year's Eve as 10-year-old Peter and his Da struggle to install a roof antenna: "Half an hour into 1960 we all sat staring at the television." The television goes on to play a major role in the Sheridans' perceptions of life beyond 44 Seville Place, Dublin, particularly when the Troubles explode across the border in Northern Ireland, their mother's birthplace. Rock & roll provides the soundtrack of Peter's youth, though theater becomes the lifeblood for him and older brother Shea (better known now as film director Jim Sheridan--Read more

Reviews (16)

Irish yarn unravels into beautiful story
As if drawn by a gravitational pull, Irish yarns seem to center on the relationship of children with their mothers. In a break from this natural order, Peter Sheridan's memoir, 44 Dublin Made Me turns to the bond of a boy with his father for its compelling tale. A Rewarding Read
In the opening chapter of his memoirs, Peter Sheridan pedals off on his bike to run an errand for his father.Even at the age of 8, there's no way he could get lost in his own city.He "loves the statues and monuments.If Dublin were a woman, he'd marry her." The Lines Are So Fine
When you read a McCourt memoir you read of bleak reality, a reality rarely tempered with happiness much less joy. There is humor, however of the sort that more often increases your respect for those who are able to find humor where few could even imagine it. At times the light moments are not so light, just bright in comparison to what you have read. At the other end there is Brendan O'Carroll and his trilogy of, "The Mammy", "The Chisellers", and "The Granny". This is fiction and it is outrageously funny, so much so that when there is a tragic event the pain you feel from laughing often tempers the darker moments. And then there is Peter Sheridan's work, "44 Dublin Made Me". And this work lies somewhere between the two others I have mentioned.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1952-    2. 20th century    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Childhood Memoir    8. Dramatists, Irish    9. Dublin    10. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Theatre    11. Homes and haunts    12. Ireland    13. Literary    14. Personal Memoirs    15. Sheridan, Peter,    16. Biography & Autobiography / Literary   

Reviews (5)

Thank you, Thank you
As an adoptive mother of 4 children myself 3 of which have an emotional and/or mental illnesses I was moved to tears, feelings of joys, able to relate to her sense of accomplishments and feelings of failure.The emotions of raising these chidren is unbeliable and Ann puts it all in words that speak to my heart and to the very core of our family and life raising these children.
A Must Read
Ann Yurcek takes the reader on an inspiring family journey.As a fellow adoptive parent, the second half of the book closely chronicles our own family's journey of adopting siblings with FASD.Many of the challenges the Yurcek's experienced are what we live daily in our home.
A journey for financial and health answers
In 1989 the author's sixth child Becca was born with a rare genetic disorder, driving her parents into poverty as they struggled with medical bills and despair. Their journey for financial and health answers would lead to the adoption of five siblings separated in foster care, and a newfound battle for resources in mental health. TINY TITAN: JOURNEY OF HOPE will find many audiences and its autobiographical account of a struggle is truly inspirational.
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Subjects:  1. Adoption    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Children with Special Needs    5. Family & Relationships / Children with Special Needs    6. Specific Groups - Special Needs    7. Women    8. Child Development    9. Fetal alcohol syndrome   

Subjects:  1. 1934-    2. 20th Century American Prose    3. 20th century    4. American - General    5. Authors, American    6. Biography    7. Biography / Autobiography    8. Biography/Autobiography    9. Childhood Memoir    10. Childhood and youth    11. Country life    12. Dalton Region    13. Essays    14. Literary Collections    15. Missouri    16. Missouri - Local History    17. Regional Subjects - Midwest    18. Vance, Joel M.,    19. Vance, Joel M   

Reviews (17)

Cheeky, poignant,and just plain delightful!
The audio version of this book is so entertaining as to merit a repeat listen.Nigel Slater's narration of his childhood and adolescent memories relating to his most favorite (and detestable) foods, brought floods of recollection of my own peculiar eating habits as a child.
Wow!
Who would have thought that anyone would have the audacity to base an entire book on being a bit hungry and wanting some toast! It's preposterous! However, it was strangely riveting. Especially the part where he was deciding whether to have marmite or jam. Two thumbs up.

One Boy's Story, one Meal at a Time
Toast tells the story of Nigel Slater, one meal or snack at a time.Instead of chapters, he divides his book into sections where he tells a story surrounding food.He remembers his grandmother by her lemon drops that she kept in a tin.Slater tells of growing up with a mother who could not cook very well.Above all, she allowed him to help around the kitchen.The last memories he has of his mother are about the pies they baked together.Then many stories follow, detailing his father's cooking, until he hires a helper.Nigel Slater learns a lot about cooking from the woman who eventually became his stepmother.Many stories are told while he learns to cook in classes and the jobs he eventually receives.Many sections are just about the different candies, some he loves and some he despises.
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Subjects:  1. Anecdotes    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Childhood Memoir    6. Cookery, English    7. Cooking    8. English cooking    9. Food    10. General    11. Slater, Nigel    12. Cooking / General   

Features

• Bargain Price

Reviews (4)

A refreshing take on the memoir
I am not Jewish, I did not grow up in New Jersey, and I was born the year the author graduated from Harvard. How can I explain the reasons I loved this book? Perhaps the reviewer below summed it up best: it IS refreshing to read a memoir that is not fueled by anger, contempt, or confession. This is a very pleasant visit to a time and place that, while not my own, echo a love of family connections and triumphs. I hope there will be a sequeland I applaud Mr. Roberts for taking the time to reflect upon and share his childhood. We need more books that aren't someone else's therapy.

What a waste of paper
I cannot imagine wasting nearly a year of ones life to write a silly and superficial book about a very small and plain vanilla family. Like millions of immigrant families, Roberts' family came to the US, set up shop, had kids, worked hard and passed on their genes. For Steve Roberts, his very ordinary and undistinguished career as a writer for The New York Times and other publications was only made significant by his marriage to Cokie Boggs, whose only claim to fame was being the daughter of a big time pol from the south before he died. She then spent a lot of time at ABC as the classic liberal reporter before she got dumped for George Stepyounopulous, Clinton's mouthpiece.
Warm, insightful and honest
First: I'm a big fan of Team Roberts. But I was not expecting the depth of emotion and connection this book evoked in me. I'm a bit younger than Steve, grew up on the West Coast in a WonderBread world, but his descriptions of his background and growing up, full of all the anguish of the less-than-perfect teenager, were astonishingly affirming. I have passed the volume on to another, and expect it will continue to make the rounds. I'm hoping for volume two that picks up at the time they were married and carries on, since there are surely many more stories! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1943-    2. American Journalism    3. Bayonne    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Childhood Memoir    9. Ethnic neighborhoods    10. Jews    11. Jews In The U.S.    12. Journalists    13. New Jersey    14. Personal Memoirs    15. Roberts, Steven V.,    16. United States    17. Biography & Autobiography / General    18. Bargain   

Reviews (2)

great novel
I got into this novel right away and couldn't put it down.I loved how the story kept jumping back and forth but that it all came together so well.Totally inspirational read in so many ways.

An engaging look at the impact of depression on a life.
Louise DeSalvo's memoir captivates the reader.It offers an honest portrayal of depression's effects on her life, as well as the lives of her more clinically depressed mother and sister.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1942-    2. Appreciation    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Books and reading    7. Childhood Memoir    8. Childhood and youth    9. DeSalvo, Louise A.,    10. English literature    11. Italian American families    12. Literary    13. New Jersey    14. Personal Memoirs    15. United States    16. Women    17. Women's Studies - General    18. Biography & Autobiography / General    19. Biography: general    20. DeSalvo, Louise A   

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Childhood Memoir    5. Personal Memoirs    6. Specific Groups - General   

Reviews (3)

A WONDERFUL TRIP BACK HOME
My mother is in her eighties and her dictum has become (for gifts), A book with heart
This is a beautiful book written by a writer and illustrator who grew up on an Iowa farm in the 1930's as the "age of the horse" was giving way to the "age of the tractor."The author, Bob Artley, illustrates with detailed sketches and color drawings of such things as walking through the spring mud from barn to barn carrying a bucket of feed, a birds eye view of the farmstead, one of father and son cleaning oat seed with a hand powered fanning mill, planting corn behind a team of horses, milking a cow the old fashioned way, the details of a cream separator, threshers at harvest time and much more.Mr. Artley writes a description of the work they did, what was hard, what was fun and a few of his personal memories of the feelings that he as a child had living this life.It is a touching book written with love and realism describing a lifestyle that has passed by.I especially loved his description of the barn chores where each cow had her chosen place where they were fed silage topped with ground oats and linseed oil, and where they would bed down in the straw with their heads in the stanchions feeding on clover hay.Mr. Artley is not overly sentimental in his memories.He also explains the distastefulness of cleaning out the gutters, working in the cold and the heat etc.He gives us a balanced look at farm life prior to telephones, electricity and indoor plumbing.This is a wonderful book for both those who also experienced farm life in the 1930's as well as younger people like myself who are simply interested in the lives of an older generation.

Boy, do the memories come back with this one!
This book is incredible. It's like a technical manual for those who wish to draw back upon fond memories of a rural life they either once had, or wish they had. I picked this book up and couldn't put it down, the thoughtful attention to detail that Artley puts into this thing just blew me away. On one side, as an artist and someone who appreciates clear, instructive visual art, I loved this book, and when you combine that with the fact that I also have specific visual memories of the farm, this book delivers on a number of levels. I immediately gave it to an elderly in-law who was also fascinated by it's images and stories; I'll get myself another copy right away. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Artley, Bob    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Childhood Memoir    4. Farm life    5. Farmers & Ranchers    6. Hampton    7. Hampton (Iowa)    8. History    9. History: American    10. Iowa    11. Regional Subjects - Midwest    12. United States - 20th Century    13. Agriculture & Farming    14. Nature in art, still life, landscapes & seascapes    15. Other prose: from c 1900 -   

Reviews (16)

Modern Southern Humor-Juliette, Georgia Style
The title is what initially caught my attention, and I was impressed with the quality of writing exhibited by the author, Ed Williams. The humor and sarcasm displayed in this book hovers steadily on a tightrope between earthiness and family-friendly aw-shucks hilarity.
"Laugh til you cry " funny
I won an autographed copy this book in a unique essay contest.I honestly didn't know what to expect when I started reading it.Funny and hilarious are mere words that simply don't do this book justice.I literally laughed until tears were running from my eyes.Ed Williams can spin a tale like no other.Anyone who picks up this book and fails to find a master story teller spinning tales of a simpler life in a simpler time has no sense of humor.Williams has the ability to reach out and take the reader back to a simpler time of nostalgia and humor.
Tries too hard to be funny
"Rough as a Cob," by Ed Williams III, is a compilation of ten stories that attempt to be hilarious, but fail to deliver the punch at the end.They are based on growing up in the rural South of Juliette, Georgia and attempt too hard to use this as the root of the humor.(...)
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Subjects:  1. 1956-    2. 20th century    3. Anecdotes    4. Biography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Childhood Memoir    7. Form - Essays    8. Georgia    9. Humor    10. Personal Memoirs    11. Regional Subjects - South    12. Social life and customs    13. Williams, Ed,   

Editorial Review

Everybody has a guilty secret--but most people tend to want to keep their skeletons well hidden in the closet. Not so Caroline Sullivan, a noted rock journalist in the U.K. In Read more

Reviews (32)

Fun if you've ever had an all emcompassing teen star crush
I wasn't sure what to expect with this book, but once I got a couple of chapters into it, I had an epiphany. Caroline Sullivan and her Tacky Tartan Tarts could have been me and my friends had we had the means to follow any of the teen idols we adored. That's when for me the story stopped being about the BCR and started being about a slightly tilted mirror image of myself. If you go into to this thinking you're getting great insight into Leslie, Eric, Woody, Derek, Alan et al, then this isn't the book for you. If you want to remember the pure joy you experienced in loving these guys, and you're not afraid of taking off the blinders and seeing how they saw you in return, then get this book. Thanks, Caroline, for the memories and sharing the mirror!

This is IT IT IT!
This is the book to read if you ever thought you'd found the rock star that you were meant to love for life! Fantastic tale of obsession and fear and joy and fun and desperation. Kudos for this honest and grand story.

Ahhh...the memories!
Okay...it was just great fun to read the memories of another Bay City Roller fan who actually had the resources and, well, nerve to go chase them down.It was a superb trip down memory lane ... well written, funny, sad, absolutely loved it.The Bay City Rollers took over two years of my life as a teenager ... if you liked them, you were nothing short of obsessed with them.Great job, Caroline ... thanks for such a wonderfully inspired read. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1958-    2. Bay City Rollers    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Childhood Memoir    8. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    9. Genres & Styles - Rock    10. Groupies    11. Sullivan, Caroline,    12. United States    13. Women    14. Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts    15. Sullivan, Caroline