Reviews (98)

entertaining but the conclusions are suspect
I enjoyed the book, except when the philosophy major came out. Her conclusions about the secret life of men are silly from the point of view of a lifelong male. However, the story if fun to read.
Tepid
While there was some useful information,this book appeared to be an effort to prove Ms. Vencent's prejudices, rather than the voyge of discovery that it could have been. The author seemed to be searching for the very worst in men, and of course, she found it.The fact that she would join a men's bowling league, when she couldn't bowl was simply amazing.I don't think a man (or most women) would ever consider doing such a thing. In addition to the lack of substance, I feel the book was written in a very unengaging and simplistic style. Overall, it was one of the few books I have bought over the years that I don't believe was worth the money.If you must buy this book, find a used one, or better yet, get it from the library.If I ever see another book written by Ms. Vincent, I will pass.

Thoughtful, honest and painful
One of the best books I've read in decades. This woman writes like a lyricist, digs like an anthropologist and observes like a scientist. She immerses herself in a shockingly foreign world, one we women didn't know existed. Our suspicions about what it's like to be male in America are completely right... and heartbreakingly wrong. Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Gender Psychology    4. Gender Studies    5. Male impersonators    6. Masculinity    7. Personal Memoirs    8. Sex Roles (Sociological Aspects)    9. Sex role    10. Social Science    11. Sociology    12. Women    13. Popular culture    14. Social Science / Gender Studies   

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Correspondence    5. Letters    6. Personal Memoirs    7. Political    8. Radicalism    9. United States    10. Women    11. Women In The U.S.    12. Women communists    13. Women journalists    14. Women radicals    15. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (3)

ALL SHE EVER NEEDED WAS THE MUSIC
All she's ever needed was the music and the mirror and the chance to dance for you . . . Musical theatre fans will always recognize the last lines of the 11 o'clock number from A Chorus Line. The show, returning to Broadway this month in it's first revival since it closed there after 6,137 performances in 1990, starred Donna McKechnie. In her autobio, co-authored by Greg Lawrence, who wrote Dancing with Demons, the definitive bio of Jerome Robbins, there is much to like. The book, however, is not without a few jarringly uncomfortable moments.
one opinion from Italy
a true indispensable treasure of information for a lover ofamerican musical shows.
I couldn't put it down.
This is a wonderful read.Broadway and musical fans will be thrilled to hear the insider stories, but also saddened that a woman as talented and driven as Donna McKechnie never became a household name.Unflinchingly honest, almost painful at times.I practically inhaled the book and I recommend it highly. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Actresses    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Dance    7. Dance - General    8. Dancers    9. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    10. Personal Memoirs    11. Production Of Musical Drama    12. United States    13. Women    14. Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts   

Reviews (80)

Melissa Albert's review is filled with inaccuracies
Like Catherine Maurice, I have two children that were diagnosed with autism at age two; one in 1994 and the other in 1996. I am a registered nurse and a long-time autism advocate. My kids are at opposite ends of the spectrum at this point but both were very severe at diagnosis. I cannot help but wonder what field Ms. Albert is in; perhaps a restaurant reviewer?She appears to have so little basic knowledge of autism, its symptoms and effective evidence-based treatments. Do you have or know any children with autism Ms. Albert?The Maurice kids displayed very classic signs of autism and the doctors that diagnosed them and later published a study detailing their descent into autism and recovery are some of the most respected autism experts in the country. To question their credibility and the reality of her children's diagnosis just makes Ms. Albert look foolish. And to actually endorse Martha Welch's holding therapy, which borders on child abuse, along with other useless or unproven treatments just adds to the absurdity of her claims.
Interesting, just a bit dated at this point
As a special ed teacher of an autistic classroom, I found this book very interesting. It was written at a time when ABA treatment for autism was a little known and cutting edge treatment, whereas now you can barely Google the word 'autism' without countless ABA references. As a result, Ms. Maurice describes a journey through a world of therapy options that have fallen by the wayside in today's treatment world...play therapy, holding therapy, and the like. This book is famous because it helped, in part, to make ABA the widely used therapy it is today.
Take with extreme caution
First the good points:
Read more

Subjects:  1. United States    2. Autism in children    3. Family relationships    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Specific Groups - Special Needs    6. Methods Of Instruction In Special Education    7. Autism    8. Parents of autistic children    9. Parental Memoirs    10. Treatment    11. Behavior Analysis    12. Biography: general    13. Coping with illness   

Reviews (1)

A must read for anyone--buddhist or not.
This is an extraordinary, from the heart account of life with a Mahasiddha, written in the most intimate terms of a love affair that continues to this day.This book goes beyond the aspects of any religious dogma into the ordinariness of everyday love of a woman for a man.This book is completely inspiring.Just put yourself in the author's place to see how that feels.Dragon Thunder is a must read for anyone. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1939-1987    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Buddhism    5. Buddhism - General    6. Lamas    7. Mukpo, Diana J    8. Personal Memoirs    9. Religion    10. Religion - World Religions    11. Religious    12. Trungpa, Chogyam,    13. Women And Religion (General)    14. Biography: general    15. Religion / Buddhism   

Editorial Review

Haven Kimmel's memoir Read more

Reviews (34)

Zippy's Memoir, "Chapter 2" Just Leaves Us Longing for More!
In this "sequel," Kimmel continues sharing her story of growing up in small town America."She Got Up Off The Couch" picks up where "A Girl Named Zippy" left off.Not surprisingly, Zippy is growing up: she's no longer smart but niave -- she's smart and realizing that the world is not just full of fun and magic, and things are not just peachy within her family. Her mom, virtually frozen on the couch for the entire period covered in Zippy, decides to go to college. Dad is not supportive. The family seems to be disintegrating.Although darker than the first installment, "She Got Up Off The Couch" is written with the same wry humor and charm.We can only hope that Kimmel will, again, bow to her readership's requests and write "Chapter 3."

Zippier yet
A Girl Named Zippy was fun and touching.She Got Off the Couch is funnier and so much richer. Finally the truth about her childhood comes out around the edges, and you learn what you suspected in Zippy, that there was much not right in her world. This is a happier story by several removes than The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls, but it reveals some of that perplexing realization that children do love their parents, no matter what.If we are ever going to fix the world we will need to start with this truth.

Good Summer Reading
Gave as a gift & reports are good, provides laughs & reflexions. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 21st century    2. Authors, American    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Family relationships    8. General    9. Homes and haunts    10. Indiana    11. Mooreland    12. Personal Memoirs    13. Women As Authors (American Literature)    14. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs   

Editorial Review

A breed of woman once existed who made their lives by marrying powerful men and polishing themselves to patrician perfection. These women would not think twice about traveling around the world with Truman Capote or going shooting with Ernest Hemingway. Slim Keith was one of the most successful of these women, and she'll charm your pants off with this book.Be careful. Howard Hawks and Leland Hayward couldn't resist her. What makes you think YOU can? ... Read more

Reviews (6)

not as alluring as thought
Slim Keith's name comes up in so many memoirs and biographies and it's a pleasure to finally know more about her.
Slim Keith is a class act!
I found this book wandering through my local library and what a find!Iwas thrilled to be able to order it through AMAZON.Slim Keith is an American original and one of my all-time favorites.Along with Claire Booth Luce and Lady Diana (Mrs. Duff) Cooper she was a beautiful blonde that was graced with extraordinary intelligence and a scathing wit. They just don't make them like they used to.

Slim Keith is a class act!
I found this book wandering through my local library and what a find!Iwas thrilled to be able to order it through AMAZON.Slim Keith is an American original and one of my all-time favorites.Along with Claire Booth Luce and Lady Diana (Mrs. Duff) Cooper she is a beautiful blonde that was graced with extraordinary intelligence and a scathing wit. They just don't make them like they used to. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1917-    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Celebrities    6. Friends and associates    7. General    8. Keith, Slim,    9. Relations with men    10. United States    11. Women In The U.S.    12. Keith, Slim   

Reviews (12)

Fighting for Home and Country
There is so much to be learned from this book.It is a history lesson of Iran.It provides a window into Koranic teachings and Islamic law."In Islam, there exists a tradition of intellectual interpretation and innovation known as 'ijtihad', practiced by jurists and clerics over the centuries to debate the meaning of Koranic teachings as well as their application to modern ideas and situations.Sunni Islam effectively closed the door to 'ijtihad' several centures back, but in Shia Islam, the process and spirit of 'ijtihad' thrive."
Inside Iran . . .
Written by Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, this highly readable memoir reaches out specifically to American readers to help them understand the Islamic Republic of Iran as the two countries continue on what gives every appearance of a collision course. While Iran (Persia) can look back over a history of 3000 years, recent memory of political history dates from the 1953 CIA-assisted overthrow of its democratically elected prime minister, Mossadegh. The more than 50 years since then, as remembered by Ebadi, are a record of sometimes concealed, sometimes open animosity between our two nations, leading to the current dispute over Iran's development of a nuclear capability.
Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope
Shirin Ebadi's book helped me to understand Iran's people.It is interesting to read what other countries think of ours and why.She has done remarkable work over the years in a country that holds women down.She was not born to wear veils and even when she married they were not worn.The book is not overly political.I would recommend it highly. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Iran    6. Middle East - Iran    7. Nobel Prize winners    8. Personal Memoirs    9. Political    10. Women In Islam    11. Women judges    12. Women lawyers    13. Women's Studies - General    14. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs   

Features

• Bargain Price

Reviews (146)

Not believable
It is impossible that someone as drunk as she claims to have been could have such absolute recall of details.I don't doubt this girl had a drinking problem and that some of this happened, but really, who remembers this level of detail about their teenage years even if sober?Much of this is just a made up story and that bothers me.I also found strange what others have mentioned - the author denying that she is an alcoholic.How strange.She states that alcholism has a genetic component that she lacks, but that is just not true, and made the whole confessional very odd.

Wrong book for the right time
The book made me ask some important questions about alcohol, particularly how it relates to college and how it can be somewhat overwhelming to function as a non-drinker in today's society. Given the cost and injuries of alcohol at a time when everyone is pointing fingers at drugs and tobacco, this book arrived at the right time to make a real impact in my opinion.
Amazing book about an "alcoholic"
I loved this book, and have reread it many times. Her guilt and shame from blackouts and experiences she has to apologize for to others will ring true for many. To lose time and never get it back from drinking too much is something truly dreadful, in every sense of the word. Her writing is fantastic, and she is truly gifted in getting the reader to feel they've experienced what she is going through on these pages. That said, I kept flipping back to the pages where she writes "I am not an alcoholic" in confusion and disbelief. No one is ever supposed to label another person as an alcoholic, but she fits every single criteria for it. She is obviously knows she has a problem, but just does not like that label whatsoever. I hope someday she can admit to herself that she, who is powerless over alcohol, is what she says she's not. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alcohol Abuse    2. Alcohol use    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography And Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Girls    9. Personal Memoirs    10. Substance Abuse & Addictions - Alcoholism    11. United States    12. Women    13. Women alcoholics    14. Social Science / General    15. Bargain   

Reviews (60)

Right up there with Frances Mayes, for sure.
I felt obliged to give this four stars instead of five only because I could not relate with Mrs. De Blasi not matter how hard I tried (did that rhyme?).And I DID try - very hard in fact.I found myself WANTING to relate because her's was SUCH a story of faith and risk and love and adventure.But at the end of the day, I, personally, would have booted Mr. Moody, "the stranger" out on his butt in two shakes and told him to paddle his sorry behind back down the canal.
A fantastic book
Few books make me both misty-eyed and laugh out loud... This was one of them.Can't recommend it highly enough, even if you don't care to move to Venice in the near future.

Absolutely Wonderful!
This book is truly magnificent. It is a beautiful and very realistic love story (both with the country and the man). I identified very much with the story and with Marlena's character and her willingness to put-up with a difficult husband that she is very much in love with. Marlena De Blasi is an inspiration to everyone who wishes to "always be a beginner" and who wants to live life to the fullest. This is also a very sensual book, so many flavors, smells, sensations.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. De Blasi, Marlena    4. Description And Travel    5. Europe - Italy    6. General    7. Homes and haunts    8. Italy    9. Personal Memoirs    10. Social life and customs    11. Travel    12. Travelers    13. Venice    14. Venice (Italy)    15. Women    16. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (107)

A passionating story
The life of the young Esmeralda Santiago is interesting, well-written and full of colored details.

Loved this book!
My husband is Puerto Rican (I am not) and read this book years ago. He said that it reminded him of a combination of his mom and grandmother's childhoods. He lent it to his sister, mom and grandmother to read (they all loved it) and eventually to me. I just couldn't get enough of it. Then my mother-in-law lent us "Almost A Woman", which I just finished. Esmeralda Santiago is an amazing writer with a great story.

Dripping with Delight; A Guava Worth Picking!
Bursting with vividly vibrant details, Esmeralda Santiago's autobiography, When I was Puerto Rican will inspire all ages of readers. Santiago's story is captivating and refreshingly presented.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Childhood and youth    6. Ethnic Cultures - General    7. Ethnic Studies - Hispanic American Studies    8. General    9. New York    10. New York (State)    11. Puerto Ricans    12. Puerto Rico    13. Santiago, Esmeralda    14. Women    15. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs    16. Biography: general    17. Ethnic studies    18. Reading Group Guide   

Editorial Review

Ruth Reichl's first book, the autobiographical Read more

Reviews (79)

An account of the personal experiences of an author
This book is a memoir. It is not a simple tale of food. If you somehow are confussed about this like some of the reviewers you may not like this book very much.I actually enjoyed this on many levels - the honesty took my breath away. But is also made me feel uncomfortable knowing the people in this book might be hurt all over again by the telling of the tale. Hoping that's not the case I must say this book has a unique "flavor" and may not appeal to everyone. It did me.

Light, fun read
Easy, fun read. Much better than watching mind numbing garbage on the telly. I agree with some reviewers that the author went on a bit too long about her sexcapades but nevertheless I was entertained. I really enjoyed her style of writing. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on "Tender at the Bone."
Hippie Time Warp
I could not finish this because it was written from such a negative and downbeat perspective. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Cookery    5. Cooking    6. Essays    7. Personal Memoirs    8. United States    9. Women    10. Women food writers    11. Biography & Autobiography / Women   

Editorial Review

At age nine, Lucy Grealy was diagnosed with a potentially terminalcancer.When she returned to school with a third of her jaw removed, shefaced the cruel taunts of classmates.In this strikingly candid memoir, Grealy tells her story of great suffering and remarkable strength without sentimentality and with considerable wit.Vividly portraying the pain of peer rejection and the guilty pleasure of wanting to be special, Grealycaptures with unique insight what it is like as a child and young adult to be torn between two warring impulses: to feel that more than anything else we want to be loved for who we are, while wishing desperately and secretly tobe perfect ... Read more

Reviews (74)

It had Potential...
Avoid this book like the plague.
Achingly honest and touching memoir from a real human being
Many reviewers have beautifully reviewed this haunting memoir. I just wanted to add how touched I was by Lucy's struggle, not to be special, but to be normal. Her memoir describes acutely the psychic distress of finding oneself outside the norm in society. Despite Lucy's struggle for acceptance and normalcy, she still displays true wisdom and strength from her "outsider" perspective. Some think her stance toward others is unsympathetic, I found her to be as unflinching in revealing her thoughts and found her level of awareness of herself refreshing, if self-oriented, at times. There is something about standing out in an unwanted way that can create a barrier between us and the rest of the world and perhaps Lucy had a protective barrier that closedher off from others. Who am I to judge, I just stand in awe of the courage she displays time and again.Other reviewersalso criticize Lucy for not overcoming her need for acceptance, or normalcy. I can only thank Lucy for incarnating and being who she was, so honestly, so vulnerably, and for offering us an uncensored, heart-breaking, and ultimately revealing view of her experience of the world. I am sure many will resonate with the experience of being "outcast" and feel we have a friend and supporter in Lucy. Thanks Lucy, for not putting any masks on in your writing but allowing us to see youin your true complexity. I salute you wherever you may be.
The Spiral Staircase Revisited
This book was much better written than Karen Armstrong's The Spiral Staircase but it was the same whining and self-pitying all over again. The author had no real feelings about her father's death yet she can't understand how people lack compassion for her deformity. When a woman who had had a mastectomy spoke to her about her own deep feelings of ugliness and loss, she dismisses the other woman's feelings because no one else's suffering can be as great as her own. It seems like she could only think of herself, her own feelings and her complete misery at being "ugly" without the slightest inkling that other people might have feelings and tragedies in their own lives.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Cancer (Psychosocial Aspects)    6. Diseases - Cancer    7. Disfigured persons    8. Ewing's sarcoma    9. Medical - General    10. Patients    11. Personal Memoirs    12. Specific Groups - General    13. United States    14. Women    15. Biography & Autobiography / General    16. Reading Group Guide   

Editorial Review

When reality got "too dense" for 18-year-old Susanna Kaysen, she was hospitalized. It was 1967, and reality was too dense for many people.But few who are labeled mad and locked up for refusing to stick to an agreed-upon reality possess Kaysen's lucidity in sorting out a maelstrom of contrary perceptions. Her observations about hospital life are deftly rendered; often darkly funny. Her clarity about the complex province of brain and mind, of neuro-chemical activity and something more, make this book of brief essays an exquisite challenge to conventional thinking about what is normal and what is deviant. ... Read more

Reviews (399)

A Funny and Heartbreaking Memoir of a Girl, Interrupted
Girl, Interrupted is about an eighteen year old girl named Susanna Kaysen, who attends McLean Hospital- a psychiatric place for teenage girls. Her new therapist sent her there because he said that she had a personality disorder. Along the way to recovery, she meets new people with problems of their own.
not for me....
In my opinion this was not a good book. If it hadn't been such a short read I probably wouldn't have been able to finish it. Maybe the movie is better.

Country Club living
In one of the reviews found on my edition states that "Girl, Interrupted" is a writer's book" (Boston Phoenix Literary Section). The Philadelphia Inquirer' review states, "Remarkable....In prose lean and mean," and "it avoids the romantic inflation that most other sufferers of psychoses fall into when they describe their experience". Kaysen simply lets us know, with spare prose, what it is like to have a life interrupted by madness." These reviews praising Kaysen's book are the main reasons why I didn't care for the book as much as would have liked to. Because of that sparse and lean prose the book lacks depth. It reads more like a series of unrelated vignettes rather than a cohesive novel. The reviewer praises Kaysen's book for avoiding "romantic inflation," while I feel it shows the exact opposite.
Read more

Subjects:  1. 1948-    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Kaysen, Susanna,    7. Literary    8. Massachusetts    9. Mental health    10. Psychiatric hospital patients    11. Specific Groups - Special Needs    12. Women    13. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs    14. Kaysen, Susanna    15. Reading Group Guide   

Reviews (37)

You have to read this!
As a young person who is baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses, I can relate to some of the things that Simone has to go through, like persecution at school (although never anywhere NEAR the degree she faced.) I couldn't believe what she had to go through. I was moved to tears many, many times throughout the book. Simone's strength is incredibly encouraging to me. Even if you aren't one of Jehovah's Witnesses, this book will still capture you. I would recommend it to everyone!

A must read!!
This book was truly amazing!!I enjoyed every word, and as a person who does not do a lot of "pleasure reading" I was amazed that I could not put it down, I finished it in 2 days!!Those who have accepted pure worship, and have come to understand the truth from God's word the bible will have appreciation for this little girl who at such a young age decided to accept Jehovah as the only true God, and to worship him to her death if necessary.The truth in the Gospels shone through when she and her mother aquired a bible of their own and realized that the teachings they were learning at church were not accurate.Her strength and conviction and complete trust in Jehovah is an example that we all do well to follow as the end of this system draws ever so close, we do well to keep examples like Sister Leibster in the front of our minds as we enter into our time of persecution.This book will strengthen any person no matter what religion or background you may be, I am glad that I had the chance to read about a fellow believer who stayed faithful, and I am reminded too, as we all should that African American decendents, Homosexuals, Gypsies, the mentally and physically disabled, Jews, Jehovah's Witnesses and many more suffered together as a human race.We hear so many accounts of certain religious groups being tortured under Hitlers regime, this book reminds us that not just one but many groups suffered, and we may feel inclined toward the suffering of one group over another, however, they were all people, strong people, and this book reminds us that the ones who suffered were mothers, fathers, someones sister or brother, child or grandparent!!That is what you should remember when you finish reading this book!!

MC
This is an outstanding book. It shows how important it is for parents to train the children early in the way they shoud grow up. This girl was not baptised as one of Jehovah's Witnesses but she conducted herself in an a manner that showed she had dedicated her life to God, (Jehovah)> ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Childhood Memoir    5. Historical - General    6. Historical - Holocaust    7. History / Military / World War II    8. Women    9. Biography & Autobiography / General    10. Childhood and youth    11. History    12. Jehovah's Witnesses    13. Liebster, Simone Arnold    14. Military - World War II    15. World War, 1939-1945   

Reviews (6)

Queen Emma and the Vikings
It is difficult to write a positive review of this book. I would not call it good. The writer begins each chapter with a fanciful, novel- style account of what Queen Emma might have felt and done, which, in my view, is out of place in a scholarly work. This is not to be confused with actual historical fact. Also the book is permeated with slang terms that irritate. In addition there is a great deal of detail on subjects that have nothing whatsoever to do with the Queen, such as cures for pimples and warts. These sorts of reminiscences are more in line with a book on the life and times of Anglo Saxon England than with Queen Emma herself. Historical fact on the Queen is thin and is hidden in a lot of extraneuous detail. It is a mildly interesting book, once you get past all the irrelevant detail, but no more than that. In short, the author could have written the details of the Queen'slife in half the words she has used.

Kudo's to the Authoress
I absolutely loved this book, and I am confident that any fan of European, British, or medieval history will love it as well. The authoress deserves praise not only for her research and captivating writing style, but because she refreshingly tackled a new subject by writing a biography of a relatively now-obscure queen who lived a millenia ago but whose story deserves to be told. To someone such as myself who enjoys reading history and despairs that the farther back in time one goes the less information there is to read about, Miss O'Briens biography is a
Queen Emma
I have not been able to give this book my full attentioin as yet, but in browsing through it appears to have the sort of info that I expect to find on the period in question.So I really cannot give the book a fair rating until I have read it.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. England    6. Great Britain    7. Historical - British    8. Historical - General    9. Normans    10. Queens    11. Royalty    12. Vikings    13. Women    14. World - General