Biography Books

A fun read for any movie buff, ERNIE is Ernest Borgnine's wonderful, open autobiography that touches on virtually everyone who was anyone in Hollywood from the 1950s to the 1980s. Borgnine is very honest in his praise for co-star/mentors like Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster and Lee Marvin. He also lets it be known that while he appears to have gotten along with EVERYONE, there were the occasional sour apples (Shelley Winters drove him crazy when they got together for a Love Boat episode, Jan Michael Vincent was a trainwreck during their AIRWOLF days and Gene Hackman was extremeley standoffish on the set of THE POSIEDON ADVENTURE (surely Borgnine's most famous movie).

Never what you'd call a typical leading man, Borgnine still had the good fortune to share the screen with a bevy of major leading ladies (Joan Crawford, Susan Hayward, Bette Davis [twice!], even Raquel Welch [again, twice!]). He's candid about his marriages, including the infamous few days with Ethel Merman. There are stories about Sinatra, Steve McQueen, Sam Peckinpah and even Don Rickles (they performed in a very off-Broadway revival of THE ODD COUPLE).

Borgnine, like his signature character MARTY, is self-effacing, very grateful for a LONNNGGGG career and has written a terrific, very conversational autobiography.

Well... I finished Ernest Borgnine's autobiography this morning, and enjoyed every minute of his memoirs. His book is very entertaining, and it made for a wonderful summer read. I watched the Poseidon Adventure for the 50th time the other night, and must say in this review, that he is a wonderful actor.
This is a fun autobiography of a great actor. Get yourself a copy of this book.

I found myself enthralled with Mr. Borgnine's story and with the manner in which he told it.

I felt as if I were sitting at his kitchen table and listening to him personally tell me his story. It's captivating, endearing, informative, but mostly, it's personal.

I loved it. I couldn't put it down. Buon lavoro, Sig. Borgnine!

While I think Mr. Borgnine has led an interesting life as an actor and shares with us moments from his past, I feel like he hasn't revealed everything about his days in Hollywood. Did he tell us everything about his failed marriages or how he presented his previous wives as gold-diggers and fame-seekers? Mr. Borgnine would have the reader believe he did not contribute to his four failed marriages at all. He also states he was the perfect gentleman on the set and never complained. And he has nothing but positive things to say about everyone he refers to in the business. Come on, Ernie? What would Ethel have to say (though a blank page speaks volumes). While Mr. Borgnine is a great actor, I just wish he would have been a little more honest in his writings with less sugar coating.

I was familiar with Ernie Borgnine's work in "Airwolf" and "The Single Guy" and of course being the beloved hubby of my favorite perfume lady Tova. She wrote a great deal about him in her book so I picked up Ernie's book to hear his side of the story.... and what a story it is!
This book was a real treat! I felt like I was sitting with my favorite relative and they were telling me their life story.. filled with humor and such great detail! Ernie is 91 years young God bless him so he has a story to tell!! From his early days as a son of Italian immigrants to his Navy days that really was such a big part of his life and then his long career in acting. He tells everything with a big dose of humor and modesty and you really feel his love of people and of America ... he kept me entertained throughout the whole book! I would highly recommend this book!

A short but well written book that sheds light on an almost forgotten man who changed the world. Interesting and fun to read, worth checking out.

Dava Sobel's Longitude manages to be both entertaining and enlightening. It's hard to imagine a book based on such a taken for granted historical landmark could prove to be such a good read. Personally, I must to confess a preference for historical issues, and John Harrison proved to be an engaging figure if for nothing else than his single mindedness to the task at hand. He spend the larger part of his life trying to solve a single riddle, and in the process, solved many others.

John Harrison completes his first pendulum clock in 1713 before the age of 20. He made the gears for this out of wood which was radical for such a use, but as a carpenter, perhaps not to him---which is a mark of genius, I'd say; to reach beyond accepted norms in this manner. This he did after borrowing a book on math and the laws of motion; which he copied word for word, making his own copy. He incorporated different varieties of wood into his clock for strength and later invented a bi-metal pendulum to counteract the expansion and compression of various individual metals. He also employed friction-free movements so as to do away with problematic lubricants. When intrigued by the puzzle of time at sea and the issue of longitude he contemplated substituting something not prone to gravity, as a pendulum of course is, to track times passing. In 1737 he creates a cantilevered clock 4 foot square. This the longitude board (which had offered a cash bonus to anyone who could devise a method in which time at sea could be kept) admired. Four years later he returns with an improved model; then starts on a 3rd model, like the previous two, also a fairly large sized clock.But there exists a problem within this book: An artisan freemason by the name of John Jefferys at the Worshipful Company of clockmakers befriends Harrison and then later presents to him a pocket watch in 1753. Then in 1755, while still working on his 3rd model, Harrison says this to the Longitude board: I have..."good reason to think" on the basis of a watch "already executed that such small machines[he's referring to pocket watches] may be of great service with respect to longitude." He then completes version 3 in 1759. His fourth version appears just a year later, however, and is a 5 inch wide pocket watch! The obvious inference made by the author is that after he received the pocket watch from Jeffreys he seemingly put his version #3 on the back burner and soon started on the pocket watch 4th version. The author does not claim Harrison copied anything from the Jeffreys model, but she certainly phrases this section so as to lend one to believe that this may have been the case; that Jefferys had a hand in the masterstroke invention Harrison eventually produced in version #4. This is not true. Harrison commissioned the watch he received from Jeffreys and was based on Harrison's specifications. It seems that Harrison simply asked Jeffreys to test an idea which he himself hadn't the time to attack just then; as he was still working on his 3rd version of a table-top prototype clock. Hence Harrison's above statement to the board in 1755 whence his ideas were validated by Jeffreys. In addition, the author plays up the part of the Astronomer Royal's part in attempting to impede Harrison from convincing the longitude board of the efficacy of a time-piece solution to this problem over a celestial answer to this conundrum. The author also jazzes up the issue of whether Harrison received the prize the board promised to pay for a successful solution herein; even though the board supported him for upwards of 20 years as he pursued this quest. It's as if the author intentionally omitted some facts (that the Jefferys was a Harrison commission), and pumped up others (of a rival/foil on the board trying to impede Harrison and the compensation issue; implying that Harrison was jipped) just to make the story more compelling. John Harrison's story, however, is extremely compelling as it is and didn't need this extra spice served up by the author.Do read this (very short) book on how this Mr. Harrison solved the problem of knowing where one is when at sea; and if you're in London, visit the Old Royal Observatory and the Clockmakers museum (in the Guildhall) where you can see Harrison's wonderful creations in person. Enjoy!

What do Galileo and John Harrison have in common? They both had run-ins with bureaucracies that impeded the acceptance of their breakthrough ideas. And they are both subjects of books by Dava Sobel. Longitude is second book by her that I have read, the other being Galileo's Daughter. As with the latter book, Sobel combines the science of the times with a lot of background on the politics and religion of the age. She weaves these together into a coherent story that is entertaining and informative. I had never even considered that there was a ever a problem in determining longitude, so this book opened my eyes. The book I had purchased contained color illustrations that helped bring the devices that are the subject of this book to life (more can be found at http://www.portcities.org.uk/london/server/show/ConNarrative.132/chapterId/2685/Greenwich-and-the-story-of-time.html). These devices were one inventor's way of solving the problem of determining longitude at sea. Sobel covers her topic with a great deal of sympathy. Indeed, the blatant way in which the establishment hampered Harrison was very frustrating, meaning that the writing was very compelling. Interestingly it speaks to Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific revolutions, which pointed out the great steps forward in science can be accomplished by those newer to the field and that science doesn't really change until the older generation passes. I recommend this book to anyone interested in boating or science or anyone who uses a GPS device to have an appreciation for how difficult travel used to be.

One of the most pressing issues for early sailors was the problem of longitude. Because it was impossible to determine longitude, many ships and sailors died. Also, captains used the same routes as pirates or enemies of the state, which made it easy to lie in wait for your next victim. In 1714, English Parliament passed the Longitude Act which created an award for the first person to accurately determine longitude. Longitude, by Dava Sobel, explores the work of John Harrison, the man credited with accurately determining longitude for ships at sea.

Contents:
Acknowledgements
Foreword, Neil Armstrong
Chapter 1: Imaginary Lines
Chapter 2: The Sea Before Time
Chapter 3: Adrift in a Clockwork Universe
Chapter 4: Time in a Bottle
Chapter 5: Powder of Sympathy
Chapter 6: The Prize
Chapter 7: Cogmaker's Journal
Chapter 8: The Grasshopper Goes to Sea
Chapter 9: Hands on Heaven's Clock
Chapter 10: The Diamond Timekeeper
Chapter 11: Trial by Fire and Water
Chapter 12: A Tale of Two Portraits
Chapter 13: The Second Voyage of John Cook
Chapter 14: The Mass Production of Genius
Chapter 15: In the Meridian Courtyard
Sources
Index

Today, ships have GPS to tell them where they are on the seas. But before John Harrison created his first sea worthy clock, sailors were pretty much lost at sea as soon as they lost sight of land. Watches were not accurate and clocks worked on a pendulum, which didn't help on a rolling sea. Sobel weaves an interesting tale of John Harrison, a carpenter turned clockmaker, who created an extremely accurate clock for determining longitude. But this story isn't solely about Harrison. There are others that are attempting to do the impossible as well, using the heavens to find longitude. Harrison must battle prejudice, and himself, to get his timekeeper judged for the prize (£20,000 is the award). In the end, Harrison developed several chronometers, extremely accurate and able to withstand the seas and weather, that by the 1780's all log books had an entry for longitude readings by timekeeper.

This is a topic that many may not find interesting. But Sobel hasn't written an academic dissertation on the subject, she has created a highly engaging study of a man dedicated to solving one of the greatest issues facing the world at the time. Her writing style makes this an easy book to read, as there are few technical details. However, for those that need more information, she provides a rather detailed source listing. I found the book to be a fascinating look at early sailing and the answer to a problem that plagued those sailors. Also, the background on Harrison adds to the story. While he worked as a carpenter, his knowledge of wood aided him in his quest for an accurate timekeeper. His chronometer was accurate to less than a second, in the 1700's, when other, more learned clockmakers could only be accurate to 15 minutes a day (plus or minus).

This is a very good, enjoyable book on a fascinating subject.

Monster Kody Scott has been in one of the most ruthless gangs since age 11. He was drawn by the fame and respect that gang members in his 'hood received. Everything he did since age 11 was done to gain a reputation for his name and his set.

When I purchased this book I was very excited to get an inside look at the life of a gang member from one of the toughest streets in America, South Central L.A. I have always been interest in gang activity and thought this would be a great read on that fact alone.

For the most part the book was able to enlighten me on gang life, however, it wasn't able place me there, so to speak. The book was very very very dull and dry. There was no talk of emotion, from his first kill to his last. There was no talk about how stealing his first car made him feel, whether it be good, or bad, powerful, or paranoid I don't care which it was, but make it interest for the readers!!! I guess the hard streets have left Monster emotionally empty. Everything is stated very matter-of-fact manner, with minimal descriptions of events to make them coherent.

As I said before, this made for an extremely boring read. After reading about his 100th raid, I found I could care less, they were practically all the same. This book has no depth and at the end it felt like a homework assignment, forcing myself to finish it. Which is a shame because given his status in the Crips, Monster Kody Scott, could have given one of the best if not the best accounts of gang-life in America.

Over all I rate it 3/5. I know really only focused on the negatives of the book, but there are also good qualities. It is pretty rare that we get an autobiography written by a gang member, especially an O.G. It did add a level of authenticity that a D.A. or police officer would not be able to provide. All said and done, I would not recommend this book to a friend.

The author offers a stark portrayal of daily life in 'the other Los Angeles,' the one they don't write about in travel magazines, and the situation has only worsened in the sixteen years since this book was first published.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who is seeking more understanding about the factors that lead to gangs and a life of crime.

Love this book but this book left me wanting more like what happened after he left prison in 91.I learned alot from this book things i didn't know;very good book.

There are so many things that can be said about this book, because it makes you think on so many different levels. It's brutally honest, and no holds barred, violent and as ruthless as things can get but... Then there is more... And I to date haven't read a book to surpass this in actually putting one "There" in the life of a Gang Banger. It made me think about the loss of innocence, it also made me think about what would have happened if this same man had of been raised else where in a different environment? I'll leave that one to the philosophers and all but the conclusion I came up with is he would have survived no matter where he was planted. When I first read Eldridge Cleavers "Soul On Ice" I was shocked at the intelligence pouring from the pages. I had the same feeling reading "Monster" by Sanyika Shakur. Highly intelligent! This book reads like a birds eye view of his life! It even inspired me to write on the subject so I give credit where credit is due. If you want to know what is really happening in the streets and neighborhoods of America then read this book!!!!

Raw? Without a doubt, but as shocking as all it is, there is also compassion revealed and revelations and for the man to live to write about it is a miracle to begin with.

I think this book deserves far more than what Amazon has in levels to rate.

To understand the real picture you have to see the underside...

And this book reveals it as few have and is an important part of American Literature and a testimony of how it really is with no holds barred!

And in addition to all the other things this man has been, one that he has certainly proven himself to be, without a doubt is an exceptional author and one who knows how to truly write something you won't have to worry about forgetting...

Because you won't...

Your Chance to Hear The Last Panther Speak

Okay, it's exciting to read about all the murder; downtown LA must really be another world, and if that's what you're looking to read about, here's the book. My eyes were really opened by that aspect of this book, and I've passed the book on to a new owner for that reason.

So why only two stars?

The back of the book talks about the author's ("Monster Kody") transcendence of his gangland origins.

Bah.

He's unrepentant, he glorifies gang life, and his 'personal growth' was when he realized that he needed to stop hating other black people for living on the wrong street and so started hating white people for the crimes of their ancestors and for the way the racist cops and prison guards treated the serial-murderer willful criminals.

A young black man who is mistakenly treated like a criminal is a victim of injustice. A young black criminal who is assumed to be a criminal because he is black, however, needs to examine how he's helping support the stereotype.

A lot of bad things happened to Monster Cody in this book, and a real percentage (not as high as a quarter, but still) of those things were done by corrupt white people. Every one of those things was earned. Monster Cody is racist. Reading the book has me struggling not to become so myself.

I thought the author became a bit lost between the history of the Maori people and her own biography. At times I almost felt that she married her Maori husband as a research project and then failed to tell the reader about it. However, I did learn a great deal of the history of New Zealand.

I picked up this book at my local bookstore and could not put it down. Thompson's book mixes memoir with historic research to create a very accessible and interesting book. She smoothly combines her research on the literature of colonial-Maori contact with her own story of how she met and married her Maori husband. One of the best books on the contacts between very different cultures that I have read in a long time. And it will make you want to go to New Zealand too.

As an American transplant to New Zealand, I have to say that I found Christina Thompson's book an absolutely fascinating read. And as the author of two books on New Zealand myself (the second one a work-in-progress), I have to say that her volume has add immeasurably to my effort to understand, not only the historic Maori, but Maori today. I can also appreciate her cross cultural experience via marriage, being that my wife was born and raised in France. If Pakeha--Europeans--have historically viewed Maori with some ambiguity, I can testify to the fact that my French in-laws view me in a similar fashion. To put it politely they see me as a creature only a generation off the frontier that doesn't even know how to use a knife and fork properly--the French version of a savage, one might say. Ms. Thompson's Maori in-laws, on the other hand, impress me as being my idea of what in-laws should be. (I hope my mother-in-law doesn't read this.)
I have only one complaint about this book, and that is that I found the lack of signposts disorienting. That is to say that the reader has no way of knowing when Ms. Thompson's journey began. Was it in the 1960s, 1970s, or 1980s? Except for that omission, I would have to give this book five stars.

Kate Braestrup has every reason to be mad at God. Her husband, a Maine State Trooper, was killed in a car accident, leaving her widowed with four young children. Instead, she took the opposite tack and went to seminary, eventually finding herself as chaplain to the Maine Fish and Game Wardens, accompanying officers throughout the state as they patrol remote areas, arrange search and rescue efforts, and aid lost and injured hikers.

Far from being a "come to Jesus" tale of renewed spirituality, this book shares Braestrup's own struggles with spirituality (I loved the phrase, "I'm religious but not particularly spiritual.") and the dogmatism of her required courses, at the same time sharing a glimpse into the grace and beauty of the wilderness of the Northeast.

Easy to read, moving, enthralling, this book made me respect these men and women in a whole new way.

I first picked up this book because I, too, am a widow. I was hoping for insight on someone else's life by hearing their story. This isn't the story of widowhood, it is the story of strength, love and grace. I found this to be a truly moving book about a "plucky widow" who found she had a heart to share and share she does by becoming a chaplain to the Maine Warden Service. It inspires me to be a better person and to see the good around me. Well written, full of stories, reflections and events I found it hard to put down and was sorry to come to the end. I hope she will someday write about her own personal journey in greater depth.

Outstanding book. It was hard to put it down until I had finished reading it. Unlike any other book I've read. The author wrote ths book with her heart.

one of the best memoirs i've read in years and it's my job to read them. this is an act of love. i felt the leaves crunch beneath my feet as kate took me into the wilderness, both internal and external. beautiful.
-lauren elise daniels, prose editor

A memoir is a written account of the events that have been observed by someone throughout their life; an autobiography is the story of a person's life as written by that person. Most "memoirs" these days are really autobiographies. But in Here If You Need Me, Kate Braestrup makes sure that the star is her colleagues, her "clients," her state, and the God she shares with all of them.

Surrounded by death, accidents, and lost children, Braestrup reveals that an amazing kind of grace can come with witnessing trauma on a daily basis. She lives on the turn of a dime in others' lives, where loved ones don't come home and lives end. Somehow, though, it isn't sad. It's beautiful and thoughtful and poignant and funny, and though you may cry, you feel somehow blessed after reading it. Braestrup clearly loves her job, which more than anything consists of just "being there" for others in some of their most trying moments. The title couldn't be more appropriate.

I'm being pretty saccharine about this book. But in a world where "minister" usually gets attached to political agendas, Braestrup is a reassuring figure, there only to make the transition easier, no matter what kind of transition it is. Be warned--it may move you so much that by turns you will want to either become a Unitarian Universalist minister or move to Maine.

The most entertaining interviews I've read, Klosterman's short pieces on everyone from Britney Spears to Val Kilmer to Steve Nash work on so many levels. Some of them make me actually wonder if I haven't met and become best friends with these people, as Klosterman's questions and descriptions seem to delve that deeply into his subject's psyche. Other times, Klosterman comes off as though my iTunes learned to write at a "New Yorker" level.

Still, my favorite essays were his opinion-styled columns on the Olympics, determining your archnemesis, and even a 24-hour VH1 binge. He says things that strike so close to home and are so simple in their brilliance that you hate yourself for not thinking them first, but his wit and humor make it impossible to hate him.

His short "fictional" story at the end, like his longer semi-autobiographical "Killing Yourself to Live," was underwhelming, but considering that it accounted for at most 10% of the total book, he can be forgiven for that.

My third time around with Klosterman, and I can say definitively that he's a winner. I'll read anything he writes.

Though I find most essay compilations disjointed and wildly varying in quality between the pieces, Chuck Klosterman's consistent excellence has always impressed me. The selection of his best articles is what makes this so good. Klosterman has a unique way of looking into seemingly vapid pop culture celebrities and occurrences with an intellectual bent that's funny and intriguing.

If you're a person who's ever found yourself thinking WAY too deeply about the implications of our musicians and tabloid darlings, this is for you. Klosterman's cynical yet self-deprecating sense of humor gets me laughing all the time. His writing style, though a little cerebral considering his topics of choice, is truly unique.

Chuck Rambles at Times. He is Also a Bit Crude.
Yet All in All He's a Pretty Brilliant Writer.
Fresh Read.

Klosterman's work reflects creativity and interesting insights into American culture. His major frame of reference is modern-pop music. Interesting read with fascinating "what if" scenarios. Good basis for discussion with friends. Worth the quick read.

Contains previously published interviews and essays on personalities and topics as disparate as Britney Spears, Radiohead and the phenomenon of Latino Morrissey fans. Generally speaking, this is a pretty fun read. Klosterman's Advancement Theory is one of the most brilliant hypotheses I've ever encountered and it almost makes sense....kind of. At times, though, his analysis of social issues makes him sound a bit condescending and he has a tendency to over simplify issues (such as his take on international political dynamics). Fortunately, there's more than enough mirth and playful self-deprecation to make up for these slight lapses.

I bought my book from a private person by way of Amazon.com. The book was brand new and it had everthing I needed for my class, it was an extra bonus. The book was a lot cheaper than what the school wanted for it. It is very easy to understand and not only that but I like the way it is layed out. When I thought it was missing the workbook I contacted the seller to see if he had sent it, he had. I was very pleased that he responded right away. Turns out that wookbook was part of text. I would recommended the book and the transaction highly.

I don't believe there can be much more to be said about the Charms of Frank McCourt. Even when he is divulging his shortcomings, his wit and bare-knuckled honesty draw you in.

"Teacher Man" is, to me, quite different than his previous two works, but completely enjoyable down to the last tale. I think it makes a great gift to every teacher who has ever struggled with their profession and the demise of their idealistic vision. It stands out as a shining beacon that you don't have to be "perfect" to make a life changing difference in the lives of a student.

A fellow teacher and friend recommended this book to me; I had never heard of it previously, surprisingly. I knew I would like it just by looking at the cover and first few pages: Frank McCourt's sense of humor and finesse with teaching really shows through with two photographs there especially. He takes the reader easily through the span of his teaching career with a string of hilarious anecdotes and shares invaluable, yet typical, insight along the way. McCourt really refreshed my sense of what teaching was, is , and can be along with putting teaching situations and education in perspective. As a teacher of high school Language Arts, I often wonder whether or not it's me, the kids, or both. Whether he intends to or not, McCourt reassures educators like me that educating youth is an ongoing, if not sometimes stifling, doubting, and frustrating struggle. Kids have always been kids, so to speak, and the best teachers have always been just that too. A true reality check for public school systems in a time of No Child Left Behind. It does a stunning and long-lasting job of reminding us that making kids think is what we yearn for and that, sometimes, we realize that yearning, in spite of ourselves. Thanks Mr. McCourt for revitalizing a part of me that had been a bit bogged down!

I am puzzled by this book. The first paragraph stated McCourt's pride over having made something of himself after a terrible childhood. He then proceeds to tell the story of his teaching as part of this. He admits himself that he felt like a fraud much of the time. I can see why! Most of the anecdotes cover stories of his childhood and he admits to not having control over the students. (He seems to waver between intense pride and self loathing.) Although I enjoyed many of his anecdotes(the assignments to write a suicide note, a excuse note to God from Eve, and reading recipes to music), I spent a lot of time wondering how he could have been a wonderful teacher and had kids flocking to the classroom. I must assume that there is something key to McCourt's charming classroom manner that he left out.

I was very surprized about this book. Frank McCourt was not the jovial , funny loving man I thought he would be. In this memoir, Mc Court writes briefly about his college education, his early years teaching at vocational high schools, and finally with pride some interesting lessons he taught at Stuyvesant High School.McCourt writes honestly about the difficulty of teaching . There is some humor in his story ( McCourt developed his students' writing skills by having them practice writing excuse notes). McCourt also had some sexual affaires before and during his unhappy marriage.

I liked this book. It was honest.I came away from the book thinking that we shouldn't give up on ourselves. No matter how old we are we can still make a differnce. Frank McCourt was 66 years old when he wrote his first book.

I purchased this book with the hopes of having something fun and enjoyable to read, but ended up struggling to finish it. I have never read Angela's Ashes or 'Tis, but at this point I don't think I want to!

The book started off with McCourt being a teacher trying to find his way in the teaching world and trying to figure out what works with the students, but then it seemed to stay there. Throughout the entire book it seemed that he was more worried about the students liking him than actually teaching them anything. And even after 30 years of teaching apparently he still has no idea what he's doing and still just wants his students to like him.

As I haven't read his other books I didn't mind the flashbacks to his childhood in Ireland, although he seems to repeat the same types of situations over and over. But his stories about his students and their parents were even more repetitive. At one point I thought i'd put my bookmark on the wrong page because I was sure i'd read a certain part already, but, no, he was just telling a "different" story that was exactly like the others.

As this book is only 257 pages long I expected to finish it in a day or two but it took me almost a week because I just didn't WANT to read it. Maybe if i was a teacher i'd find it more amusing, but I say don't waste your money buying this!

Wangari Maathai is such an inspiration because she is identifiable to so many groups. She is empowering to women, to mothers, to advocates for education, for biology, for equality, and most importantly she is an inspiration to anyone who ever thought their one voice could change the planet. Maathai writes with a sincerity that can be identified in any language! Read this book, to learn about Africa, about plants, about women, about everything. Most importantly read this book to learn about a rather amazing woman who never backed down from a fight for what's right. Let the greenbelt movement, move you.

This person is exceptional, but don't let that stop you from emulating her! She has courage, integrity, and intelligence to spare--and she used it to save her country's ecological health as well as struggling for democracy and the rights of women for equality and dignity. She went through very perilous circumstances, but fortunately for us all, she still continues to this day as a voice for democracy and honesty in government. We need more like her!

Reviewed by Charles Shea LeMone [...]

Nobel laureate, Wangari Maathai was born in Nyeri, Kenya, in 1940. Her earliest memories of the highland country are of a paradise of fertile soil, lush forests and abundant crops. The land was rich with rivers and streams. However, returning home from college in America, one of the first things she noticed was how deforestation and the mass cultivation of cash crops had devastated the countryside, causing severe top soil erosion and many creeks and streams to dry up. Furthermore, the people in her region were no longer as robust and strong as she recalled. Instead, having changed their diets to eat like Europeans, they now appeared weak and undernourished. She found the same to be true of the animals that her people raised.

As a professor, a biologist, and a Kikuyu woman, she turned to the women of her country to help restore the decimated forest. Launching the Green Belt Movement to plant trees--more than 30 million since 1977--she was subjected to beatings, arrest and death threats. Nevertheless, she and her women followers remained unbowed. In fact, the discrimination she faced for merely being a woman, led Maathai to question all human rights abuses that the corrupt government was guilty of perpetrating.

She also fought for free elections, which further alienated her in the eyes of the local leaders. Despite all of their efforts to discredit her, though, in 2002, she was elected to Kenya's Parliament. A year later, she was appointed assistant minister for the environment; and in 2004, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She continues to live and work in Nairobi.

On the back cover of "Unbowed a Memoir" there is a quote from former president Bill Clinton. "Wangari Maathai's memoir is direct, honest, and beautifully written--a gripping account of modern Africa's trials and triumphs, a universal story of courage, persistence, and success against great odds in a noble cause."

I agree with the other reviewers about this being an amazing memoir of a brilliant, undaunted woman, and I highly recommend it. I found it intriguing and instructive for other reasons as well: it's an eye opener into Kenya from British colonial times - when the author was a child in an indigenous society close to the land and animals. Her village seems very much like a Native American village surviving (or trying to survive) through missionaries, reservations, racism and harsh, coerced cultural assimilation, etc. Many of her memories are strikingly parallel to my own, growing up in the Arctic in Inupiaq culture colonized by whites but maintaining much of its old collective ways and animistic ties with the land.

The effects of this colonial legacy are still with Kenyans today, for better or worse. Maathai does not romanticize her indigenous, tribal roots. She admits her father beat his wives and Kenyan women had somehow lost their ancient role of authority, but she evenhandedly points out beneficial aspects of polygamy - for example, children were well taken care of and loved with multiple mothers, so she grew up with a powerful sense of security and groundedness. She describes British farmers who were kind and friends with the locals they used as serfs. Life is full of moral ambiguity and she does not deny the good aspect of missionary boarding school where they beat her for speaking her native tongue: it launched her into her a western education and knowledge of the greater world, which she put to such good use.
The memoir continues through the Mau Mau uprising (which was a rebellion against the cruelty of British taking all the good farmland and forcing thousands into far off impoverished reservations, and pitting the many tribes against one another). Maatthai proceeds into current times, always with keen insights into the increasing degradation of the ecosystem with climate change, the introduction of foreign species to turn Kenya into plantations, and the destruction of the old native wisdom/stewardship which helped keep things in balance.
"Unbound" was published before the current conflict that is spiraling into full civil war, with ethnic cleansing and the use of mass rape as a terror instrument. I am sure that Maathai would have plenty to add about this in her memoir if she updates it, with equally keen insights. She would point out that the conflict has its roots in colonial rule and the destruction of a sustainable ecosystem and native life ways, as we see in so many parts of the world now. She would surely have some advice on how to stop the violence.
I really admire this woman, and hope a lot more will read her book. It seems very important!

Maathai is the first African woman and the first environmentalist to win the Nobel Peace Prize-in 2004.

Masthai's life is inspiring-from her humble beginnings as a child laborer on the plantation of a white English colonial farm with her family, to her early education in the primitive Ihithe primary school at age 8, to further education at St. Cecilia's at the Mathari Catholic Mission, to college in the United States. She taught at the University in Kenya, and was active in the National Council of Women in Kenya (NCWK) for many years.

Many failures are scattered throughout her life: she was divorced by her husband; she lost her job at the University when she tried to run for office, and she was arrested many times for her work in promoting democracy in Kenya. One of the projects she worked on was to stop the construction of a huge 60-story skyscraper in the middle of Uhuru Park in Nairobi; another was to obtain the release of over 50 men who had been imprisoned for agitating for a multi-party system. She held a hunger strike with their mothers, in Uhuru Park, and then they all retreated to a nearby Anglican cathedral to continue to protest after being routed from the park by armed police (Along with many others, Maathai was beaten and taken to hospital). Eventually the men were released.

Maathai started the Green Belt Movement in 1977. In 2002 Kenya finally held free and democratic open elections and Maathai won a seat in the Parliament. See the Green Belt web site for extensive details of her grassroots tree-planting program. The act of planting a tree is helping women throughout Africa help the environment. The GBM has planted more than 40 million trees across Africa, resulting in reduced soil erosion has affecting the critical watersheds

Everyone can make a difference. Just today I watched a report on the news about the devastating drought in the Southeast United States. Hard times are coming. We need to learn about climate change and what we can do to manage it.

Armchair Interviews says: One woman helping other women and her country.

If you have seen No Way Home, you'll have a better idea of how to take this narative. Suze Rotolo seems to be a true child of the 60's, sweet, with a very good heart.

I say this because the book reads much like the diary of a 13 year old. Lots of long walks with sketch pad and book of poetry in hand.

If you don't know a thing about the early 60s, Greenwich Villiage and the folk movement that brought you Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, et al, then you'll enjoy this book.

If, on the other hand, you are looking for the slightest insight into the enigmatic Mr. Dylan, you will be sorely disappointed.

In A Freewheelin' Time, Suze Rottolo pens a beautiful and nuanced portrait of Greenwich Village in the `60s. Her position was a unique one, as she was Bob Dylan's girlfriend during his sudden rise to fame, but the book is much more than just an after-the-fact tell-all. From her Communist parents to her own acts of civil disobedience, Rottolo focuses on the spirit of a place and time, crafting a really lovely memoir.

I purchased this book because I currently rent a studio in Greenwich Village and wanted to learn as much about the neighborhood as possible. Reading it served that purpose but I enjoyed the book on so many other levels as well. I learned the context of Dylan's early songs. Never a big BD fan, I bought a CD featuring his early hits and listen to it often as a backdrop to the love story of two young artists. Moreover, anyone who has ever experienced betrayal by a lover can feel Suze's almost indescribable heartbreak when she learned at a party that Bob had been with Joan Baez. Truly wrenching. Most meaningful of all to me, however, was her frustration at having feminist feelings before there was a feminist vocabulary. As a woman of the same age, I can remember and relate. I loved this book!

I read the book and found out pretty quickly that Suze appeared to be capitalizing on her relationship with Bob Dylan without revealing very much of anything. The writing was sincere and without any information that added a new slant. Sorry, but I think this one's a waste of time.

After spending 45 years as a subject of one of America's most iconic images, Suze Rotolo is entitled to say her piece. To her credit, she says it with great humility and dignity. This is not a "tell-all" about Bob Dylan. She treats her relationship with Dylan with respect, and presents an engaging portrait of young love in general. While I enjoyed Rotolo's overall picture of artistic life in NYC in the early 1960s, it tends to be a bit slight. Her lengthy love affair with Dylan provided entree to a fascinating scene. But while her other experiences and artistic endeavors were interesting, I never felt she quite succeeded in connecting them to any larger context. Still, as a fairly small-bore portrait of the life and work of a bright young woman in an exciting time and place, the book succeeds. I pondered whether to give it three or four stars. I went with four because the book is pleasantly readable and Rotolo comes across as such a likeable person. I wanted her to end up OK, and while she doesn't bring her story beyond the 1960s, it sounds as if she did.