Biography Books

Harvard Business School is a mystery for anyone outside of that exclusive and influential club, until now. Ahead of the Curve provides an intimate, detailed and comprehensive look inside an experience that influences businesses and government around the world. Philip Delves Broughton achieves a unique balance of personal diary, travel log review, and business book in this book one that makes it highly recommended. Ahead of the Curve can be read from each of these perspectives with the reader gaining different lessons from the author's experience.

From a personal perspective, Broughton continually highlights the struggle between work and family throughout the book. It seems like everyone at HBS is locked into a struggle between being successful at work and having some semblance of a home life. As I recall, not one person had a balanced life where they were described as having both a strong position home life and a successful career. The extremes of either multiple divorces or putting their life on hold is a theme many will resonate with and use as a reason to explain their current situation.

From the travel log perspective, the book gives you a Fodor's view of what it feels to be two years in the pressure cooker of HBS. The layout of the classroom, the structure of the sections, the top flight facilities, living in Cambridge, the John Jakes style encounters with HBS professors and titans of business all are strong points of the book. This travel log perspective gives the book a sense of reality and its more novelistic touches. These also make the book very readable and plausible. This was the color and contrast that turned what could have been a binary morality play about work and personal life into something that was real.

The gem of this book however is in its explanation of the core business concepts that are the foundation of HBS. Broughton effortlessly puts concepts like Porter's four forces model, corporate finance, and other into prose that is understandable and powerful. While this is not the focus of the book, each chapter contains a few paragraphs or a page that describes what these concepts are, how they fit in the context of the HBS experience, and what they are intended to mean in the larger business world.

Broughton is a journalist, so some of this was to be expected, but rather than reporting on the concept, he explains it in a way other people can understand not just comprehend. While Broughton did not get a job after his two years at HBS, his ability to make these concepts simple and accessible points to a gift - one that we are in dire need of as business faces tough and complex challenges.

Overall, highly recommended and I have already passed my copy on to a colleague who hopefully will return it so I can pass it on again.

I enjoyed reading Ahead Of The Curve, however I am at a loss as to how any student can spend the amount of time the author claims preparing for class (I have an MBA, though not from Harvard). Anyway, the anecdotes/descriptions/comments on in-class and out-of-class behaviors of fellow students/ professors and vistors is great. I could spot old classmates, and current colleagues, behaviors and attitudes (loved the 'sharking' term) throughout the book.

I passed it on to a colleague who is thinking about grad school in the near future (an MBA).

In his highly personal review of two years at Harvard Business School, Broughton always maintains a certain detachment and a sense of humor about the rather odd things that are happening around him. His endless interviews at Google and some of his classmates' obsession with total preparation for class are easy targets. Broughton was not the typical HBS student, a fact that he readily acknowledges. This would have been a different book if it had been written by a middle-class Pakistani who was at HBS to bring the lessons of economic development to his native land, or by a student from Iowa who wanted to run a nonprofit, or by a top Harvard undergraduate who planned to make millions at a hedge fund.

With all that understood, I enjoyed the book immensely. Broughton has a journalist's eye for detail, and this is by no means a one-sided demolition of the HBS experience. Broughton has a great deal of empathy for the people he writes about.

I've read most of the b-school books about student life and I truly enjoyed this one. It was an intelligent take on the experience. The b-school content - and the fever around recruiting/careers - is perfectly captured.

For many of us (and possibly you, the reader), this is an authentic perspective, albeit a somewhat conservative one. I'd also recommend Snapshots from Hell (also about Harvard) and The Blushing MBA (woman's view, based on Harvard or some top-tiered school).

As the father of a recent HBS graduate, I was drawn into the book to understand more about the inside workings of Harvard. As a graduate of a community college in New York, and the father of eight children, and owner of a 30 year successful technology business, I quickly realized that this book was about true success. The balance of family, love of work, and of course, making a living. The chapters replayed much of what my daughter talked about, but I could now truly understand the life and pressure of those embarking on this trip. It was amazing to hear from somebody almost half my age that he truly understood what most people didn't.He heard of the loss by those that did not follow their hearts, but allowed the brand they wore to set their direction in life. The guilt I sometimes feel for being a parent that pushed their child to fufill their own dreams is now diminished, since I know, just like Philip chose to stay true to his heart, my child may elect to do the same. This book is not aobut Harvard, it is about life. I want to thank him. Although many books have talked about life-work balance, "ahead of the curve" shows us what we need to consider when raising our children, and helping them in their life choices.

If you read this book and got nothing from it, I'd have to say you don't know how to read between the lines.

I'm only on page 7 and have found the following thus far:

* Great description of a Multiplier in the Prologue: "When Albert Einstein attended a press conference after he won the Nobel Prize, a reporter asked him, 'What is the strongest force in the universe?' He smiled and replied, 'Compound interest.' All the journalists laughed. But as every successful investor from neophyte to hedge fund manager knows, the greatest mind of the twentieth century was only half kidding."

* Pages 1 & 2 talk about hedge funds, which finally explained to me why mainstream consumer magazines lean so heavily on subscriptions (a form of hedging for the magazines; Kindle might disappear the dependence, though).

* Page 7 provides a great short-list of specific areas for writers to focus on, although it's only for those who are hungry for success.

Cool.

SK
The Great Multipliers (Edocster)

Sams' book is an easy read that outlines how not only how he rode the wave into the digital era but created it. With short chapters that give a broad view of important people and events in Sams' life rather than much detail about his strategies to creating his wealth. Its a fast bedtime read that is lite but worthwhile.

Everyone starts with just about nothing. "1,000 Dollars & an Idea: Entrepreneur to Billionaire" tells Sam Wyly's story of risking his entire savings on a gamble of starting up a new business. Now one of the wealthiest people on the planet, this biographical account is helpful with tips and advice on how to establish one's own business when one doesn't have much to play with. Entering the mind of a financial genius, "1,000 Dollars & an Idea" is solid and highly recommended to aspiring business people.

Please dont waste your money on this book. I have read over 100 books on entrepreneurs and investing, and this is by far the worst one. The book is written poorly, the flow is terrible, and the grammar is bad . Not to mention it seems more fiction than fact. Mr Wyly, albeit a shrewd and agressive businessman, wants everyone to believe he is an investing genius and brilliant innovator. Yet he really is just a huge self promoter... From his comments, that LA Tech is one of the best accounting schools, and then of course to how he always bought at the bottom and sold at the top.. The funniest thing is his comment concerning his chief investment officer Lee Ainsle of Maverick capital, whom he states is the most brilliant software analyst and best short seller alive.. Meanwhile, Mr Ainsle's fund as we speak is down 40% in 2008, not to mention I bet there are some MIT and Caltech grads, who might be a little better software analysts than Mr Ainsle, a former consultant and UNC MBA..

"What I learned creating and building University Computing, Sterling Software, Maverick Capital, Bonanza Steakhouse, Michaels Stores, Green Mountain Energy." This guy is a good writer and a thoughtful researcher. I lived through the times he is talking about and the man is audaciuos to the nth degreee. I read this almost in one sitting last nite - it reads so easily and is also so compelling. Very good coast to coast airplane ride book. There is little for every type of businessman in this book. The man has strong ethics and character and he speaks the truth - loudly. Now if only I could figure out how and why his market timing is so good as he seems to sell his companies at the top of their markets.

How can a book be hilarious and drab at the same time? Well, imagine this situation: you've arrived at a huge party with your friends. You're really pumped, you're telling jokes, and everyone is laughing, and your friends are enjoying your company, and everyone is having a good time. But then, a few hours later, your adrenaline runs out, and you've already told your best jokes. Now, you have to force yourself to have fun -- you're talking much louder than you should, trying to affect a witty tone for some laboured one-liners. Nobody wants to leave the party, because they came to have a good time, but everyone is already kind of tired and mildly irritated. At the end, you feel like you shouldn't have bothered.

That's exactly this book. The fun part of the party is over in the first few pages, when Thompson and his attorney embark on a road trip to Vegas in a car full of drugs. That introduction conveys a sense of excitement, the guys seem to be looking forward to a good time. The rest of the book is the irritated, laboured stage of the party. The guys keep pushing themselves to be manic and devil-may-care, apparently for no reason. Often, their insults and one-liners are grotesquely funny. But they are also hostile and snarling. There's no sense of friendship between them whatsoever.

Frequently, the protagonist tells long, complicated lies (well, more like "yarns," I guess) to various people. This is exactly the part of the party where you're trying to be funny and you keep talking and talking in the hope that, if you're not actually saying anything funny, maybe sheer volume will work. Sometimes it does, and one reads in disbelief, wondering how far Thompson can go.

The book occasionally recalls Kerouac with the road trips and the drugs, but they're taken to extremes, with none of Kerouac's literary name-dropping or his muddled thoughts on enlightenment. Thompson is more honest than Kerouac, in the sense that Thompson's characters casually say and do horrific things (like the scene with the underage artist girl, or the one where Thompson's attorney pulls a knife on the diner owner in North Vegas), without trying to cover up their nastiness with insincere booze-soaked lamentations about the sorrow of life. But that doesn't make Thompson's characters any more appealing, just honestly nasty.

Then again, Thompson's recurring references to the "American Dream" are kind of similar to Kerouac's Buddhism, putting a half-baked intellectual veneer on a trip that had no aim other than doing lots of drugs from the outset. This inspires the most unfunny and laboured part of the party, the dialogue allegedly transcribed directly from a tape recording. Thompson tells some people that he wants to find the American Dream and asks them where it is. A very laborious conversation ensues, it feels that Thompson is trying very hard to be outlandish and unpredictable.

Drugs are the one subject that the main characters are interested in, and possibly the only thing they have in common. They talk about drugs a lot, and Thompson's descriptions also expound in great detail upon the finer points. For instance, when they sneak into a national police conference about drugs: "I suspect we could have done the whole thing on acid...except for some of the people; there were faces...who would have been absolutely unendurable on acid. The sight of...[the faces]...was just barely tolerable on mescaline--which is mainly a sensual/surface drug that exaggerates reality, instead of altering it--but with a head full of acid, the sight...would not be emotionally acceptable." (143) The pedantry is great, he just has to carefully explain that distinction there. Or this one: "Acid is a relatively complex drug, in its effects, while mescaline is pretty simple and straightforward--but in a scene like this, the difference was academic." (144) That whole episode is hilariously pedantic, like the use of the word "academic" to describe drugs. It really is academic!

Thompson goes around ridiculing the clueless cops, because they were "telling each other that 'we must come to terms with the drug culture,' but they had no idea where to start. They couldn't even find the...thing." (144) He repeats this many times, but after all, he doesn't say much about the "drug culture," either. There are a few times when he appears ready to explain the essence of the "drug culture," but he never finishes his thought. It's kind of frustrating -- since he's so pedantic about drugs, and so contemptuous of the clueless cops, you'd figure he might as well go ahead and explain this "culture" for the benefit of the audience. But all that really comes out is his heartfelt regret (possibly the only emotion expressed in the entire book) for the passing of the sixties. It seems that he regrets it so much, that he decides to purposefully dedicate his life to acting out what he believes to be the spirit of that time. It's less clear why he feels that way.

The book is very fast-paced and easy to read, often funny. While you're reading, you'll probably want to finish the whole thing, and you'll laugh at Thompson's creative insults and yarns. But, after I read the book, I have to say, I don't really feel like ever meeting the main characters.

I read this first in college, and then again recently. It's still just as funny and wonderful as ever.

Just to be short, this book is great. Unfortunately for me, i've seen the movie for 5 or 6 times before reading it, so the book just felt repetitive. Especially since all the movie is like a quote of the book. Which is great if i wouldn't have seen the movie.

So if you liked the movie, you'll definitely like this book. No surprises there, but some of the blurry situations in the movie are cleared out.

For those who haven't seen the movie, you should read the book first. it makes the movie so much rewarding, and of course, you don't want to miss Hunter S Thompson's great writing skills. He just writes everything the way he thinks and sees (hence the idea of Gonzo journalism).

My father had always liked hunter thompson but i had yet to read him. When my friend told me of this book I knew I had to check it out. What a trip. If you're looking for a straight forward book that explains everything with a nice plot and central characters who learn valuable life lessons...then this isn't the book for you. In many ways I say this book rings more true than most others. The character is really just an everyday druggie with a job and a hotel room in Vegas. The writing is superb and the illustrations were out of this world (literally). Even if you saw the movie and didn't like it, i would still read this book. It explains a lot more.

Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is one of the most powerful most inspired and most read books off all time. I bought this book after seeing the movie starring Johnny Depp. After reading it I as quite please the the movie version of this novel was pretty well adapted to screen.

If you guys like a book/movie about psychedelics drugs, and a head full of acid this is the book for you.

From a reviewers note, it might be hard reading the whole book in one setting, I spaced mine out. And got more satisfaction with my buck.

Enjoy Hunter S. Thompson fans. This is one book that you if a fan or just a reader don't want to miss.

My husband loves this book and the others by the same author. He bought a copy for everyone in management on his staff.

It's an entertaining read, but I found the practical use a little lacking. He gives a few good examples and he knows how to tell a good story. The book doesn't go very deep into the decision making or anything that might be ambigous or where there might be a trade off involved. It will make you feel good to read it but if you had to summarized what you really learned and internalized you will not come away with that much.

As a ten year Navy veteran, I was riveted to this book for it's common sense approach to leadership. There are many books available today about management but damn few that focus on great leadership. That's where this book's niche is. It's a quick and very interesting read. As I was going through the book I kept thinking "why don't more leaders act this way"? The answer, unfortunately, is that to be a great leader you must set your course and then get out of your own troops way.

I loved the book and highly recommend it to anyone who wants a quick course in leadership.

It's Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy
Excellent Read! One of the easiest books that I have read in a while. Although this was mostly his experiences, it has great insight to the qualities of a great leader. I couldn't put the book down!

ISBN: 978-0-446-19966-4
Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for ReviewYourBook.com 5/08


Captain D. Michael Abrashoff brings his vast experience and expertise from the Benfold to business leaders. The Benfold went from "a dysfunctional guided missile destroyer to the best damn ship in the Navy."
With experience comes maturity. Abrashoff has learned that it takes teamwork to achieve success. A good leader will inspire, challenge, and demonstrate excellence in those he leads. He will cultivate truth, trust, and respect. Positive results will come from example. Abrashoff offers readers advice through stories. His methods are practical and proven successful. He presents the information in a simple easy-to-understand form. Regardless of whether it is a large or small business, persons in all positions of leadership will find It's Our Ship a priceless tool.

This book was an honest, hardcore look at Nic's life as a drug addict. Nic was a talented, smart teenager who started drinking and taking drugs. This book describes in detail his life when he was using and in recovery. I read this after I read Beautiful Boy, and it was very interesting in that it filled in some of th gaps in Beautiful Boy. When Nic disappears for long periods of time in his father's book, he tells us what he was doing in Tweak.

Nic Sheff writes this book using his own language, the langueage he used when living on the streets and using. It is easy to read, but difficult to swallow. Tweak is a very scary book, because it is real. I highly recommend this book for every parent and every teenager that may think it is cool to try drugs.

I didn't finish this book. Not because I wasn't interested in the subject, but because the writing left me frustrated. I found the author's repetition of the phrase "or whatever..." to be very distracting. The book seemed to have been published after only one draft, and I didn't care about any person in it. Another "quirk" seemed to be a kind of laziness in the writing (though, as we get to know the author's tastes and heroes, it is understandable). Some examples of this are his constant use of the word "some" after such statements as 'it had begun to rain, or he had stopped crying or vomiting'. The same goes for "things". The word seemed to end every list of objects in the book. To me, these are small problems that could have been fixed by an editor. Perhaps, all involved were trying to portray the author as a scrappy Gen-Xer with no time on his hands to tune up his work, instead of keeping the reader at a distance by creating muddy prose. Fine, but after a hundred pages of this sort of thing, it wears thin. Mr. Sheff lost me, and therefore, I learned nothing from his tale.

I read Beautiful Boy and then Tweak and I found that the empathy I had for Nic went out the window when I read his personal account of his drug addiction. With his Father's book, I kept pulling for him to turn his life around. In reading his story, I kept hoping he would overdose and put his family and friends out of their misery. Be sure to read Beautiful Boy - you can skip Tweak.

Sheff has created a one of a kind dark memoir of his own life. The book starts off like any drug affiliated book: dark, despair and pain. Drug addiction can be a life-long struggle, Sheff has illustrated the horrors of addiction. Like any addiction, it's only fun for a season but this particular book takes you through a decade of use and sorrow. The only draw-back is the conclusion has not yet been written, which gives this reader hope that Sheff has come to terms with his past. A must read for anyone in the struggle of addiction.

This is one of a kind book. It is the kind where you really cannot read too long , but you cannot stay away from reading too long either.
It shows you the scary reality of our young generation who can easily get hooked to bad lifestyle and refuses to know how or when to get out of it. It is an amazing book

still have not read book but was a tim russet fan...this book was a must have

Big Russ and Me was in the condition described. The book came in a timely manner.

Cheryl

We enjoyed this book very much. Listening to Tim Russert's voice made it feel like you were sharing stories with an old friend. His appreciation of his humble beginnings and up bringing are very evident. You can see why so many people connected with how he delivered the important world happenings and made it relevent to all. A great story of how simple a fathers love can be. Do not turn it off until you hear the epiloge, very tender, especially now.

Wonderful reminiscences of his childhood and relationship with his Father. The book took me back to my childhood and fun times in the empty lot with kids. Being out all day. Riding bikes. Mom making donuts for the neighborhood kids while we were busy building snow forts or christmas tree forts. What fun times!

A personal story of the relationship between a father and his son. This story personifies what a father/son relationship should be. The values of the father handed down to the son serve to bring that son into manhood and establish his outlook on life, his ethics and moreover his treatment of this fellow man. An excellent book and a must read for every father/son relationship.
Robert Allen, Author: A "Guest" of the Confederacy The Civil War Letters and Diaries of Alonzo M. Keeler, Captain, Company B, Twenty-second Michigan Infantry

This is a detailed account of the rivelry of Woody and Bo. They hated each other on the field but loved each other in their hearts. A book that people who followed Michigan and Ohio State football should read.

One of the finest books on football, and a turbulent era in American history, to come along in years. Like a great novelist, Michael Rosenberg deftly weaves together multiple stories and complex characters, while making all of the original connections and conclusions of a fine historian.

An excellent chronicle of an intense athletic rivalry set against the background of one of the most politically and socially tumultuous eras in modern American history. Rosenberg's in depth research and behind-the-scenes insights offer a glimpse of how two genuine titans in collegiate sports met the period's unique challenges of impacting young men...all the while establishing winning football programs in the traditional sense. Most deninitely "a story worth telling." Very well done!

Michael Rosenberg did a superb job illuminating the larger than life personalities of coaches Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler. How do I know Rosenberg did a superb job? I know nothing about football except that two teams, wearing two different uniforms come together on a large field. Yes, I am a woman almost totally ignorant of testosterone-soaked sports. Yet I have to admit I was completely enthralled by "War." My family is from Ohio and though my husband isn't, he attended OSU during Woody's early era. So, I had some familiarity with the Ohio coach and wanted to learn more about him. Though the author is grounded in Michigan, I never felt that he treated one rival at the expense of the other. Rosenberg was completely fair and even-handed in his appraisal of the two men.

Those in the know about football (which is probably almost everyone else in the world), will enjoy the specifics of the plays. Though I could not because of my lack of experience, I will confess I raced to the end of the description to find out how the games turned out. What made the book compelling to me, though, was how the author reveals the depth of character of the two coaches. Through thoroughly researched primary sources, Rosenberg authentically sets each scene. The reader comes to know the two coaches as if one had known them firsthand. And, in doing so, one both loves and loathes them at the same time. At times I found I wanted to grab them by the neck, shake them and discipline them like children. But then I had to remind myself that the very quality I was reacting to was what made them the competitive fighting animals they were. And how they played off each other. Their antipathy compounded at the same time by their respect for and understanding of each other, was exquisite. Place all of this in the context of the tumultuous times of the 60's and 70's and you're in for a great ride. I especially loved learning about Don Canham, an ancillary character, whose luck, pluck and instinct, propelled him to success.

I highly recommend this book to people interested in sports, in football, in life. How Hayes and Schembechler chose to live their lives in their time in history has relevance for us today. If we could take away with us, the best of them, we would not do poorly.

The first part of the book in Cairo, as others have mentioned before me, was intriguing for a reader like me who loves to read about people and places outside of my sphere of experience. And especially I seem to be drawn to Middle Eastern/African settings.
The elegant Cairo of a long gone era was very interesting as were the family members.
But the book went downhill in the second half. I kept hoping for a larger understanding from the author and a comprehension and conclusions drawn about her family and their situation that would raise it above the whine level.
And as an animal lover as much as I tried the nagging thoughts of how the cats who were so much a part of their family were cast aside so easily became symbolic of the family's ethics in general.
So basically I ended the book feeling more sorry for the abandoned cats than the family members who I increasingly found harder to like.

My parents were actually Egyptian Jews living in Cairo and Alexandria in the 1950s and fled in the mid 50s due to Nasser's tyranny. My mother has been reading the book the past week and has goose bumps reading essentially the same story, addresses, schools, bakery, cafes etc. of her life. True, every family's story is slightly different, but the facts are essentially identical. My mother and her family lived this story and actually knew some of the people in the story. Well done to Lucette on shedding light on a part of history that many do not know - only the Holocaust is focused on. So many Egyptian Jews lost their livelihood, fortunes, property and dignity simply because of their religion.

I found the book very interesting and the story well told. Her conclusion that that the bureaucrats who wavered about bringing her father over should be pleased that he was a good credit risk is totally wrong. Yes, he paid back the JEWISH relief agency for their passage, but sold ties under the counter, for cash so never had to report any income and pay any taxes to this country. His family had large medical expenses paid for by the welfare system of this country. None of his children served in the military of this country. So as far as the United States is concerned all this family did was take. They also seem to have no appreciation for the large economic burden they placed on the citizens of this country.

What a wonderful book. In may ways it is a book that anyone who's family has immigrated from another country can identify with and enjoy. She is a wonderful writer, you will find yourself laughing out loud at some passages and terribly sad at others, but it is worth reading. I enjoyed every page and have already passed it on to others who feel the same way. Don't pass this one up.

This is my favorite book of the year. It combines all of my interests - Jewish history, family struggles, impact of culture, and so much more. The author spent her early years in Egypt and the family was forced out by anti-semitism. While in Egypt, they lived a glamorous life for many years, but with a father whose moods ranged from loving to abusive. From there they entered a generation of poverty. The writing is beautiful. Too often personal memoirs seem to wane 1/2 way through, but this book continued to engage me and I really didn't want it to end.

I first discovered this book in Oprah magazine, excerpted as an essay and what struck me besides the absolute beauty and starkness of the language was the understanding, the grace, the simplicity of the words and the complexity of the words all at the same time.

I will just quote Elizabeth here at the beginning of her memoir:

"A child dies in this book: a baby. A baby is stillborn. You don't have to tell me how sad that is: it happened to me and my husband, our baby, a son."

And that, my friends, is the beginning of a book that takes your breath away with sadness, with laughter, with hope, and with the ultimate faith in life.

Is it a book for parents whose children have died? I don't know. I am reading it. I put it down several times a day. I will read it. My husband may not. He doesn't like sad books anymore. He doesn't like books or stories where babies die. He doesn't find comfort in that. I somehow still do.

And because I first discovered Elizabeth in The Giant's House, a novel that sings, I know that I cannot be disappointed in her writing. And because Ann Patchett and Alice Sebold love McCracken's writing, well then, that also says a great deal. And because I think, Elizabeth's first love is of the literary genre, it too is evidenced here.

But of course there is a paradox because the book, however lovely, is here because her son is not. And that will always be the real tragedy.

Do I have any disappointments about the book? Only one. When I picked it up, it was lighter than I expected, and I realized in that moment, that I wanted it to weigh a healthy eight pounds. I wanted to hold it in my arms and rock it. And that perhaps is all that is left to be said except for this:

Go and buy the book!

It's easy to write a book about a baby's death; the minute we hear or read "a baby's death," the subject matter alone will evoke the stock emotions we know that come from something so traumatic - heartache, despair, tears, senselessness, depression...the list goes on infinitely.

What's not easy is writing that story in a way that gets at the heart of the true emotions beneath the ones we so easily rely on. What Elizabeth McCracken does so wonderfully in her memoir "An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination" is unflinchingly real and will break your heart and make you hope all in one breath. It's not just the painful story of her baby's death; it's also the true, minute details of thought, of feeling, of reaction that most people don't talk about. It's not just the painful story of her baby's death; it's also the story of moving on yet holding on, of loving but learning to let go, of learning to accept the new beautiful things in your life (like the birth of a beautiful baby boy) while learning the ongoing process of forgiveness. It is the epitome of how LIFE GOES ON and how we should never forget what we've lost but embrace it, accept it, and take pockets of it for good memories to help us when the sadness and heartache invades.

Elizabeth McCracken is an award winning, happily single author in her late thirties. But when she meets Edward Carey, they fall in love and get married. Both have wanderlust and it is in France where she disover she is expecting their first child. They spend an idyllic nine months waiting for the birth of "Pudding", the pet name given to the unborn baby boy.

However, tragedy strikes at the eleventh hour. McCracken's son is stillborn.

How does one deal with such sorrow? How do you go forward?

An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination is the story of that pregnancy and loss, written after birth of her second child, a little more than a year later.

"This is the happiest story in the world with the saddest ending."

I felt like I was privy to McCracken's journal, reading of the joy, anticipation, hurt, anger and grief that she and her husband went through. She is unwavering in her honesty, sharing her most intimate thoughts and emotions.

I haven't (yet) read any of her novels, but was captured by the way she uses words to paint vivid descriptions.

" Just then another would-be renter showed up, a yellow-clad lawyer from Boston, with wooden skin and leaden hair and the official dreary insinuating underfed brittle aura of a number 2 pencil".

Whether you are a parent or not, this is a personal and moving memoir that will touch you.

I've never had a baby. That may be in the cards one day, but it's not something my husband and I have planned for anytime soon. So you might ask: how can this book, about a woman who loses her unborn child, speak to me?

The answer? I don't know. But what I can tell you is that this book is amazing. It is simple and beautiful; a tribute to a child that didn't quite make it into the world. It is a work of enduring and unconditional love from a mother to a child. Though I haven't been a mother, I have been a child and I have seen the quality of that love firsthand. It pours from each page, love and grief mixed into one.

However, somehow the book is still joyful and full of hope. On every page, as the reader takes in McCracken's unfathomable sense of loss, there is also hope. Don't get me wrong - it is sometimes difficult to read. I found myself tearing up more than once. But the book is so unflinchingly honest, so real, that it feels like real life. There are all the emotions present, mixed in with the grief.

I can't recommend this book highly enough. It is beautifully written, honest, emotional, and full of the wonder of life. It is McCracken's tribute to her unborn child, so that she, and everyone else, will always remember what she had and what she lost.

I wonder if when Elizabeth McCracken writes on page 112 that she "flipped through stacks of magazines until I found a copy of O, with a cheerful, childless Oprah Winfrey on the front" if she knew that Oprah gave birth to a stillborn boy when she was just fourteen years old?

Honor and duty, bravado and pluck, independence and irreverence - these not only define John McCain, but have apparently been passed down through the generations that preceded him. This contemporary memoir almost seems to be from another time, when deeds and valor exemplified leadership much more than speechmaking or image-polishing.

His personal history provides a glimpse into how military families think and operate, reflecting both the call to serve and the embrace of adventure that have typified the warrior class throughout the ages. The senator shares instructive snapshots, warts and all, allowing the reader to clearly see what he stands for and what has shaped him. You need not agree with McCain's politics to appreciate and admire what he and his family have contributed to our country.

Everyone should read this fascinating inside look at John McCain. He does not hold back with his past and helps us see where he comes from today. Especially his quick temper and his refusal to go along with the majority. He has a long history of being a trouble maker just for the fun of it! His "Oh, Well" and "but it was all in good fun" attitude got him in plenty of hot water with his superiors. He owes a great deal of gratitude to his grandfather and father for excusing his behavior. This was his way of coping with prison. Unfortunately the American People are not the enemy now! This book helped explain some of the decisions he makes and is now making at the close of this election!

With the current political race between McCain and Obama I wanted to read as much as possible about each candidate. I enjoyed the McCain book very much and was impressed by his fascinating military background.

No Politics Here, this is simply an autobiography of the man and his family. Overall I enjoyed it, and got through the book in a matter of days (which is more than I can say for "Audacity of hope"). Despite what people might say here, I came away with the impression of McCain as a main who has his flaws but has come to understand his flaws. I believe intellectual Honesty is one of the most important characteristic a person can develop. I believe he edited out most of the gratuitous aspect of his imprisonment, but one cannot leave without thanking the powers that it was me that was subjected to the punishment that McCain suffered, and for those naysayers and critics, I wonder how we would have performed in those circumstances. The Book is a little choppy in parts and drags a little in parts, but I had no problem with it, and am glad I read it before McCain's Political destiny is fulfilled, and we have to plow through the revisionist versions of his life.

This is a good book for anyone wanting to know what happens in a POW camp.