Reviews (2)

Workmanlike look at Irish immigration in the 1930s
This is the same book published in hardcover with a different cover and the subtitle "storytelling in a family's past."
A son rediscovers his mother & father & all the family
this was recently read on our WPRadio Chapter -A story that a son rediscovers the journey of his mother, a most naive Irish girl who lands in Chicago, about all those she lives with and then later of his father - who she only met 2 times before he proposed and she accepted - he tells it so tenderly. the father's family is Jewish and hers, Irish Catholic- and in that era, a forbidden match. but his mother Sarah finds her way in life overcoming many losses ofrelations with their disapproval- on both sides - he discovers who they were and writes it with a way of seeing then and now and all the weaving of the many characters that we all find in our family history.I loved it and want to buy a copy to keep and reread. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1919-    2. Ahanagran (Ireland)    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Irish Americans    8. Travelers    9. White, Sara,    10. Women    11. Biography: political    12. Immigration & emigration    13. Ireland    14. USA   

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Personal Memoirs    5. Travelers    6. Travel writing    7. United Kingdom, Great Britain   

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Travelers   

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Personal Memoirs    5. Travelers   

Reviews (13)

Learning to Float
I started reading this book after I found it on the Barnes and Noble book club list. I just got done reading a very depressing book and I was in the mood for something light and happy and that is just what I found. Lili Wright has an awesome writting style that reminds me of one of my favorite shows, Sex and the City. Lili reveals her past relationship flaws and insecurities she has in order to find more about herlself and about love. She travels to all the places that she spent time with past flames and doing this she feels she will gain closure. This just creates more confussion and she realizes she needs to find out about herself and not about the past men in her life. I enjoyed this book but at times her life seemed a little too much like a soap opera. Read this book if your in the mood for a crazy romantic tale but I wouldn't recommend this book to someone who doesn't like a lot of drama. I would give this book 3 stars.

Saga of a [woman in moral decline]
What begins as a promising self-study lapses into old war stories of late-teen bed hopping, drugs, and aimless amorality.Only a puerile mind could care about how Lili gets herpes and loses her self-respect.

An interesting experience
For anyone who has ever asked questions about the way they live their life, especially in relation to others, this is a book to explore. Following Lili Wright as she examines the world inside and outside herself, you can feel the learning and growing amid the struggling. As one who struggles while learning and growing, especially when looking at the world from the inside-out, I appreciated her honesty and candor about her experiences. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. General    5. Love & Romance    6. Travelers    7. Women    8. Biography & Autobiography / General    9. Reading Group Guide   

Reviews (1)

China to Her
Well the title says it all so don't miss it: even though the author was a journalist who lived in China between 1935 and 1943, the reader will not find any sweeping historical analysis of the political or military situation there during these agitated years. Even though she met many prominent figures during the course of her stay, the book reads more like the chronicle of the daily life of Emily Hahn, an original and a socialite. The first half of her story is set in Shanghai, the second in Hong Kong, with a few months in Chongqing in between. I found the Shanghai part a bit dull. Her Hong Kong years make for more interesting reading, especially her account of the Japanese occupation - and how she dealt with it by cleverly extracting favors from the occupants without compromising herself.
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Travelers    5. Women    6. Biography: general   

Reviews (14)

Take a joyful journey to a French summer home
This book is a charming joy.The authors' successful search for a modest summer home in France will take the reader on their own dreamy journey, exploring what it would be like to live in a French country village and to succeed in making friends with the villagers. Great insights into what rural French folks are really like, and how to make them your friends.The book also underscores the importance of finding what is truly important to you in your life.

what a great story
very entertaining book about buying a vacation home in France.I love sw france--the food, the villages, the people. This book is about an American couple from Wisconsin--looking for a house in SW France-- buying a house and then living there for the summers.They become friendly with the residents of the small village.They tell of how they were invited to dinner parties ---the food that was served-- the people the conversationsetc......Its great!I really enjoyed it.

follow your dream!
I bought this book while we were looking for our own house in the Dordogne (most wonderful spot on earth -- go, see it for yourself!), and found it both comforting and helpful (as well as funny, touching and insightful).We found our own house a short time later (in Aubeterre sur Dronne, a village in the Charente just across the border from the Dordogne), and are giving this book to friends and family to help explain the experience and the lure of southwestern France. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1945-    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Dordogne    6. Dordogne (France)    7. Draine, Betsy,    8. Europe - France    9. France    10. France - History    11. Homes and haunts    12. Literary    13. Manners And Customs    14. Personal Memoirs    15. Social life and customs    16. Travelers    17. Vacation homes    18. Travel / Europe / France    19. Travel writing   

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    5. Literary    6. Travelers    7. Travel writing   

Reviews (2)

Beautifully written
A writer of outstanding repute in all his endeavors (translator, novelist, critic), Keeley has temporarily left aside all that academic stuffto write one of the five most beautiful books I have read in the past twentyyears. Greek and Anglo literati like Seferis, Durrell and Miller come alivefor us in these pages and special features of their work are examined withnew depth. There are also some minor writers who serve as attractivebackround to, and greatly enrich,the larger story. In his finalparagraphs, Keeley hints that he might have a first person narrative instore for us covering a subsequent generation of philhellene writers. Let'shope he makes good on this almost-promise.

An enlightening book about the Generation of the Thirties
An interesting book about Henry Miller/Lawrence Durrill and the "Generation of the Thirties"-Greek poets that include Seferis, and painters such as Ghikas.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1891-    2. 20th Century Description And Travel    3. 20th century    4. American - General    5. Americans    6. Authors, American    7. Authors, English    8. Biography    9. Biography & Autobiography    10. Biography / Autobiography    11. Biography/Autobiography    12. Durrell, Lawrence    13. Greece    14. History    15. Literary    16. Miller, Henry,    17. Miller, Henry, 1891-1980    18. Travel    19. Travelers    20. Friends and associates    21. History / Greece    22. Homes and haunts    23. Journeys    24. Katsimpales, Georgios Konstantinou    25. Miller, Henry    26. Seferis, George   

Reviews (4)

Great travel literature...and more
As a Canadian who has experienced living in England (and an avid Anglophile), I jumped at the chance to read an account of a Brit's experience of living in my own culture. I was in for a treat... A delightful look at Canada from a British ex-pat
Prior to reading Carolyn's book, I knew little about Canada other than it was up there north of the USA and it was huge. However when a good friend of mine emigrated there with his Canadian wife, my curiosity was piqued and I found myself wanting to know more about this country which features so little in the global news despite being the second largest in the world.
a voyage of courage and hilarity
This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It's also one of the only books I've read that made me laugh out loud, and I read a lot of books!
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Personal Memoirs    5. Travelers    6. Women    7. Biography: general   

Reviews (7)

The politics of an Obsession
I loved this book. It was honest, although at times it did teeter on the pretentious. I'm not sure if there really was a valid point to his parallel tale of Romania's last king and mistress and Benderson's affair with the his Romanian hustler. Perhaps Benderson was just trying to displace some of his guilty feelings over exploiting a poor and desperate young man. By the end it really doesn't matter - his rose tinted glasses are off and it's all just grime, grit as dirty as uncut diamonds. I came to realize that everyone is an accomplice in their own undoing.
A smart director would snatch up the rights
I am straight and was wonderfully surprised how "The Romanian" depicted facets of my own love life and how Benderson's relationship with his mother was similar --the same suffocating control and tenderness. Benderson jolts us right out of our outdated heterosexual and homosexual bourgeois notions. Whether it is his mother or a shameful street hustler, Benderson is only too aware that we are all flawed; that we are only all too human. A shocker for sure but almost right from the beginning, we stop judging and start to search, along with Benderson, deep into our own souls.
Beautiful
While I may like this book partly because I know its main locale, anyone who has ever loved a person or a place with pain, obsessed, fantasized, felt exiled, or contemplated history and fate, will find this a fascinating read. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Benderson, Bruce    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Description And Travel    4. Gay Studies    5. Gay men    6. Homosexuality    7. Personal Memoirs    8. Relations with men    9. Romania    10. Social Science    11. Sociology    12. Travel    13. Travelers    14. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs   

Editorial Review

John Bartram (1699-1777), "the first native-born American to devote his entire life to the study of nature," was an eminently practical man, a scientist devoted to the rigorous description of living things. Among his subjects was the Venus flytrap, along with hundreds of species of plants and animals, fully "one quarter of all the plants identified and sent to Europe during the colonial period." His son William (1739-1823) was, by contrast, something of a dreamer, and far less methodical a scientist than was his father. Yet his lyrical Travels, an account of specimen-collecting in the Deep South, is read today, while John Bartram's work is not. Thomas Slaughter examines their lives, noting the influence both men had on Henry David Thoreau and the English Romantics, especially Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Did William or Didn't William
One wonders if in his collection of seeds and specimens maybe William may have been spreading some. This was an illuminating experience.
Many years ago I read "The Travels of William Bartram" for a seminar course in American Literature.Recently I read "Cold Mountain" in which the main character has discovered Bartram's "Travels" and peripatetically dips into it to pass the time and sharpen his ability to observe nature.Now we have this "Natures" book which details what is known about the Bartrams--father and son.I found Mr. Slaughter's synthesis and presentation of primary sources a model of good scholarship.Perhaps it is just my way, but I found reading about the Bartrams as interesting as so many people found Pamela Harriman.I attribute this to the author's knowledge and perception of them and his ability to bring them alive on the page.I read this book in a library copy, but I just bought my own copy because I know I will want to slip intothe 18th century with the Bartrams again. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Botanists    6. Naturalists    7. Naturalists, Gardeners, Environmentalists    8. Scientists - General    9. Travelers    10. United States    11. Biography: general    12. History of science   

Reviews (5)

Sour Grapes
Two horribly mismatched people stumbling through a relationship that didn't have a chance in heck of working.I kept hoping that the protagonist would wake up and dump him if their relationship was as bad as the author describes.I also felt that there are two sides to every story and wondered what the "captain" would say if he could write a book.Was he treated fairly by "The Boat Bastard"?I doubt it.It must be terribly comforting to write a book about a break-up where you can airbrush your own flaws while highlighting those of your ex.Then all you have to do is admit to some not-too-objectionable personal foibles yourself to give the impression that you are being brutally honest. Personal Journeys of Love
Two passionate lovers, moving at a different pace, their egos colliding at high sea and on shore.This is a 13 year trip across borders with their personal history and expectations of each other . "Hell Hath No Fury..."
"Hell hath no fury..." but does not have such a talented one as she who has expressed it with thecandor, love, humor, artistry and sophistication of this intimate memoir. Deborah takes you by the hand and invites you to visit the ports of call of this stormy relationship that are the tapestry against which she portrays vividly, and with remarkablke economy of brushstrokes, the human foibles of the characters, including her own, that bring to life this memorable and deeply moving human saga.It is around The Captain and his thoroughbred yacht, who at center stage display exquisite style and presence topside but considerably less elegant and accomodating selves below deck, that the protagonists are unmasked.This is the work of a compassionate artist whose sensitivity and generosity give life to a cast that is above all imminently human. It is, in no way, a "bitch and moan" statementbut rather an expression of courageously processed and resolved experience of abandonment and loss which keeps author and reader intact as they navigate the stormy passage.Deborah offers a compelling and delightfully readable book that belongs in everybody's beach bagfor a first read, with anticipatuion of many subsequent revisits. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Man-woman relationships    6. Personal Memoirs    7. Single women    8. Travelers    9. United States    10. Women   

Editorial Review

Charlotte Hobson arrived in the Russian city of Voronezh just in time towitness the Soviet Union careening toward its last day of existence. There shefound a city exploding from 70 years of pent-up desire. In Hostel No. 4, herfellow students plunged into a sexual revolution ribald even by Americanstandards. With sudden shortages and hyperinflation, Hobson and her mates livedon cheap vodka, the imperative to escape the tedium of the Soviet era, and thefever of a transition from an oppressive government to one full of risks,decadence, and the unknown. In this tender and poignant memoir, Hobson immersesherself in the beautiful, impenetrable, and dark lexicon of the Russians--theold superstitions, the brutal military service, the vibrant and tempestuousloves nurtured by minus-20-degree temperatures--and evokes a bittersweet passagefull of excitement, mayhem, and despair. Read more

Reviews (2)

Interesting account of the new Russia outside Moscow
This account of the author's year as a foreign student in Voronezh covers much of the same ground seen in othe memoirs of the new Russia (see, e.g., Casino Moscow).Unlike most other such books, though, the author is in the provinces, away from glitter and mob life in Moscow.Worth a read, although I wish it had been published sooner after the events described.

Catapulted straight back to Russia
I spent an academic year in Russia, just as Charlotte did, only two years later.I found this book really riveting, and could barely put it down until I had quickly finished it.My congratulations to the author for capturing so well the atmosphere of magical Russia and its warm countrymen, along with a glimpse into the country's painful history and current problems.I am so pleased I had the opportunity to read this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1970-    2. 1991-    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    7. General    8. Hobson, Charlotte,    9. Personal Memoirs    10. Russia (Federation)    11. Social conditions    12. Social life and customs    13. Travel    14. Travelers    15. Biography & Autobiography / Literary    16. Hobson, Charlotte    17. Journeys   

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Editors, Journalists, Publishers    3. General    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History: World    7. Literary    8. Travelers    9. Biography: general   

Reviews (1)

The Courage to ride
At the age of 62 it seemed that Mesannie Wilkins had reached the end of the road. Her farm was about to be repossessed by the bank and the doctors had giver her less than two years to live.Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Horses    5. Travelers    6. Women    7. Horses & ponies    8. Travel writing   

Features

• Unabridged

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography/Autobiography    3. Ethnic Studies - Native American Studies    4. Personal Memoirs    5. Polar Regions    6. Travelers    7. Unabridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography   

Reviews (1)

Read the Infortunate
This book is a great way to learn about early American life in the cities.It is well written in a very unique first person, and true.Read more

Subjects:  1. 18th cent    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. General    7. Historical - General    8. History - General History    9. Indentured servants    10. Moraley, William,    11. Pennsylvania    12. Reference    13. Social life and customs    14. To 1775    15. Travelers    16. American history: c 1500 to c 1800    17. Biography: historical    18. Slavery & emancipation    19. USA    20. c 1700 to c 1800   

Reviews (1)

A must read!
The author weaves his own personal and political experiences in his new role as a Peace Corp volunteer.His words are crafted in a way that engages you in the community and envelopes you in his life at the time.This is a must read for anyone who has lived/traveled abroad or simply wants to gain a broader perspective of life in another country.It gives a greater appreciation of our teachers all around the globe and the human experience. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. General    3. Humanitarians    4. Social Science    5. Sociology    6. Travelers    7. Sociology, Social Studies   

Editorial Review

More than a century after their deaths, Richard and Isabel Burton are legend. Sir Richard Burton was a prolific writer, an insatiable explorer, a linguist, and a translator who pursued controversy and risk as surely as adventure. In 1853, disguised as an Afghani doctor, he became one of the first Europeans to enter the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina. He later led an expedition to discover the source of the Nile--whether he got there first was later protractedly disputed.He spoke dozens of languages and translated the erotic works Read more

Reviews (18)

A TRULY REMARKABLE COUPLE
While Richard and Isabel Burton were of the Victorian age it cannot be said that they shared it's values. Richard Burton was was one of the most remarkable individuals of all times. A true scholar, a writer, soldier, African explorer and master linguist he is without equal in history. Isabel tirelessly promoted her husbands career and accompanied him on some of his many expeditions. The tales of his travels in search of the source the Nile with Richard Hanning Speke are the stuff of legend. His command of languge was so great he was able to enter both Mecca and Medina and while there discuss the finer points of the Koran with those he met. He wrote many tomes and also translated the Kama Sutra and The Arabian Nights and by so doing incurred the displeasure of his Victorian contemporaries. He was greatly interested in sexual matters and studied the sexual habits of many cultures. He abhorred Victorian prudishness and by so doing spent most of his life swimming against the current. This book was amazing and I found it difficult to put down.

None
Excellent/Complete book, greatly written.
Not Perfect, but there is no option for 4.5 stars
A Rage to Live by Mary Lovell is an outstanding biography of both Sir Richard and the Lady Burton. Burton is about the only person that I have bothered to read multiple biograhies of. He was so complex and his life was just THAT interesting! There are a few other treatments of Sir Richard still in print, and Lovell takes these into account in her own telling. A great deal of data are available for the first time in this book, and the author uses this information adroitly to clear up long-standing misconceptions (and outright slanders) of both Burtons.
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Explorers    6. Explorers' spouses    7. Great Britain    8. Historical - British    9. Literary    10. Personal Memoirs    11. Scholars    12. Travelers    13. Biography: general    14. England    15. Geographical discovery & exploration    16. c 1800 to c 1900