Biography Books

Honest, emotive, and informative, these are the three qualities that define David Sheff's Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction. As a young adult, I find this to be an excellent book not only for its vivid and eloquent writing style, but also because it engages the reader in the emotional journey that the author embarks on when learning about, trying to "cure," and coming to understand the long-lasting effects of his son's meth addiction. Most importantly, Sheff's story allowed me to see the world through the eyes of a parent for the first time: as a result, I have been given a first-hand illustration of a parent's unconditional love and support for his or her children.

The narratives of Sheff's sleepless nights in which he waited for Nic -his son- to come home, Sheff's futile attempts to find Nic in the streets of San Francisco, and the mutually destructive reality of drugs are the most heart-breaking, emotionally-driven, and tangible accounts of the book. In addition, Sheff's inner battle between his sense of guilt, frustration, impotence, and uncertainty provides the reader with a parent's attempt to uncover the reasons for which his son turned to drug consumption. The constant objective and subjective turmoil present in this book provides a humanistic touch to the struggles of Sheff, allowing his narrative to transcend his book's pages and reflect the lives of millions of people throughout the world.

This book does not only describe a teenager's/young adult's addiction to methamphetamines -among other drugs-, but a father's race against his son's addiction, against the inability to help his son overcome his addiction, and against the unwanted effects Nic's addiction was having on Sheff's personal life (marriage, job, health, finances, etc.). In other words, this book presents the reader with the idea that that a person's addiction -in this case Nic- expands to infect all of those around him or her, especially those to whom s/he is closest.

I would strongly recommend this book to any parent, but especially to those parents who are experiencing or have experienced the hardships of addiction. Likewise, this book can serve as a source of information for young adults, teenagers, and the general public, since it speaks of the devastating physical and emotional effects of addiction from a first-hand perspective.

This was an amazing, heartwrenching true story about a father who is dealing with his son's addiction to meth. I loved this book and feel that it is a MUST READ for every parent in America.

David Sheff was able to write the most tragic story of his life beautifully. I could feel every emotion that he went through. And boy did I learn some things. He researched the drug while living through this story and shares his research with the readers. If for no other reason that what you can learn about this drug through this book, it should be read by everyone.

Read it! Read it! Read it!

This book is very good, I'm using it for a substance abuse class I am taking and it is very helpful in understanding substance abuse. The book came in perfect condition and came on time with the shipping time I chose.

Excellent book, very well written and really hits home. Reading this book and going through addiction with our son for so many years, its nice to know we, as parents, are not alone. Hopefully, 4th time is rehab is the charm for our "beautiful boy".

The author is wonderfully expresses his pain about his loving son. I also have a daughter the same age whose drug of choice is heroin. The book opened my eyes to go to Hazeleden to joint the parents program and to go to Al-Anon.
In short I thank the author so much for being an inspiration to me.
Robert Sterling

I am Cuban-born, and have throughly enjoyed this book and am buying copies to send to all my children, one of which is NPR's Baghdad Bureau Chief. It is historically accurate, very well written, and portrays Cuba and the Bacardi family with knowledge and understanding. It is truly a brilliant achievement and recommend anyone who is interested in Cuba to read it.

Looking for insights on Cuban history, culture, politics, Castro--this is a good historical exposition of a country that has gone through more turmoil and experiments in government than perhaps any other in the Western hemisphere. Looking for an informative and exciting narrative about a family owned company--this is a very moving story of a strong-willed entrepreneurial family blessed with three masterful CEOs in succession who figured out how to succeed worldwide despite being headquartered in a relatively unsophisticated financial backwater. Put these two stories together and the result is the proverbial whole being greater than the sum of its parts: an excellent journey juxtaposing financial acumen combined with patriotism, on the one hand, against a variety of dismaying governmental experiments, on the other, including Spanish colonialism, years of revolution, US intervention, embryonic democracy, dictatorship, and a Marxist state economic system. This was obviously a labor of love for Gjelten, a first rate NPR reporter and analyst, as reflected in the source documentation provided unobtrusively at the end of the book, the very thorough and useful Bacardi family tree and the extensive photograph collection that brings even more life to the already well-drawn characters.

There has recently been a renewed interest in pre-revolutionary Cuba. This stems from the fact that Cuba today is so un-romantic, so poor and stricken with prostitution, that peopel want to understand not only the pre-history of Castro but also the time before Castro. This has given us new studies of the Mafia in Cuba (Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba and Then Lost It to the Revolution) and recent books on the Americans who fought in the revolution. This book examines a previously unstudied subject, the history of the Bacardi family and Cuba. Most would have assumed the family, being some of the wealthier citizens of the island, would not have been Castro supporters or progressive in the least bit. But the truth is quite different. The patriarch of the dynasty was a fighter in the original war against Spain in the 1890s and by the 1950s they were disillusioned with Batista. This is an excellent history of this family and its biography, which in many ways is the biography of Cuba itself in this period. A very nice book that fills both a gap in history and sheds light on a fascinating story.

Seth J. Frantzman

Several people in my family recommended this book and I managed to avoid it until yesterday because the one asking was a young person. How could I say no to a kid telling me to read a book she liked? What kind of ogre would I have to be to say no? It turns out I'm the kind of ogre that realized I could have lived without reading this. There's not much that's new here or that someone other than a rich, spoiled sports reporter wouldn't have known about the importance of family and the necessity to find your own path to the waterfall. My guess is that there are millions of people with the money to buy this book but without the most basic idea of how to be human. This book is just some basic, simplistic rules about how to be a good person. Nothing drastic or thought-provoking here. Again, I wanted to like it, but I can think of dozens of other books that have really touched me in many more ways than this one. Morrie Schwarz sounds like he was a nice man, but I think I would have gotten more out of one of his sociology classes or from spending an afternoon with him just talking than from reading Albom's book.

This is a quick, easy read, all about dying but not a bit depressing, uplifting and cheerful. Give it to somebody who is having a hard year or having a hard time remembering their priorities.

this book reminds me a lot of Conversations with my dog by Ziglar.....if I had to choose one book out of the two.....it would definetely be Albom. Both books offer life lessons about many things in life....thought it would be better though....i am getting the DVD to see how the movie does.

After reading so many spectacular reviews, I decided to give this book a whirl myself, and I'm so thankful I did. First of all, I hate to read. Well, let me rephrase that. I USED to hate to read. Doing so much reading in college leaves me with little energy outside of schoolwork to read, but I quickly polished this book off in two sessions.

This book grabs you almost immediately and reels you in, and once you reach the first Tuesday conversation with Morrie, there's no turning back - you're anxious to see what lies ahead. In the midst of this beautiful story between two friends - Morrie, the former professor, and Mitch, his former student - you are taught valuable life lessons between the pages as Morrie battles Lou Gehrig's disease.

The best lesson I took away from this book is that love and relationships are the most important things in life. This book has really changed how I perceive life. I, at 25, was so convinced that life still seems so lengthy, so certain, when in reality, it could end at any moment. How do I want to be remembered? That's something that Morrie's words really make you think about. I tell my friends and family a lot more often now how much I love them, and I've let a lot of bitterness about petty things go because this book has reminded me how small those things really are in comparison with the big picture of life, and life is too short to be anything but happy.

In summary, this book reads quickly (so quickly!) yet there are hugely valuable lessons to be learned in its short length. If you're looking simply for a heartwarming story, this is the book for you. If you are perhaps one of those folks who takes life and those around you for granted sometimes, then this book is for you as well. You might even learn a thing or two. :)

Tuesdays with Morrie is about a professor (Morrie), his former student (Mitch), and their final "class" with one another as the professor is in the final stages of ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). Mitch taped their discussions together and transcribed them into the book while throwing in slices of college memories of Morrie and other seemingly inconsequential moments that add to the humanity of this life-altering work.

Tuesdays with Morrie allows the reader to glimpse into someone's mind who knows he is dying. We all know we are going to die, but we don't necessarily act like it. Morrie addresses what is really important in life and says that if people lived like they were going to die, they'd live differently. They'd live better.

"How do you detach from the agony of physical and mental pain when you know you're going to die?" "How can someone with ALS be so incapacitated and yet still be happy?" "What would you do on your last day?" Morrie addresses these questions and they are what taught me the most from this book. I'll be writing on them in the coming days.

Mitch was able to learn lessons from a man he admired. I have been blessed with such relationships and of these I am eternally grateful. Dr. Bill Greenwalt was one of these men. We met every Tuesday so that I could earn my license as a professional counselor. He would encourage my good ideas and chuckle at those he knew wouldn't work. I didn't care because I valued his insight. He was patient and always thought deeply about everything I said. These two virtues (patience and thoughtfulness) are hard to find. Dr. Bill Greenwalt died suddenly of a heart attack in January of 2006. I envy Mitch in that I was unable to tell Dr. Greenwalt goodbye and how much he meant to me.

So we don't have to plow through every mistake in life, the Lord blesses us with people who can light our ways as we realize our potential. The person may be a teacher who always knows your name, or a supervisor who takes time for you no matter how busy he is. We need more people like this. I hope you will notice them around you and work to become one yourself.

"The Duchess" is the movie tie in version of Amanda Foreman's excellent 1998 biography "Georgiana". Except for the cover depicting Keira Knightley as Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, it is essentially the same book.

Georgiana Spencer Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, was born in the eighteenth century and died in the early nineteenth century, but her life was very modern in many ways. She was an open activist at a time when women were supposed to stay behind the scenes, a bold and flamboyant hostess who used her social prestige to advance her political agenda, and a beautiful but ultimately self-destructive woman whose emotions helped shape British history.

Georgiana was born into one wealthy and powerful aristocratic family and married into an even wealthier and more powerful one. The Cavendishes were bastions of the Whig oligarchy, which governed Britain almost continuously through the eighteenth century until the 1760s, when King George III forced them out of power. In opposition the Whigs became the progressives or liberals of the day, calling for curbs on the King's powers, protection for the liberties of the people, and for progress and social reform (with the ultimate aim of regaining power for themselves, of course). Georgiana was married to the Duke of Devonshire, who was retiring where she was outgoing, far more interested in living a quiet life with various mistresses than in helping to advance the Whig cause. Georgiana, frustrated with a husband who did not appreciate her, threw herself into politics, becoming a friend of Whig leaders like Charles James Fox and campaigning openly for him and others.

Georgiana's private life was complicated. She and her husband were involved in a years long menage a trois with Lady Elizabeth Foster, who was simultaneously Georgiana's best friend and the Duke's mistress and mother of his illegitimate children. Georgiana was addicted to gambling and lost enormous sums which she feared to reveal to the Duke. Eventually Georgiana herself had a love affair which nearly caused her marriage to end and forced her temporarily out of sight. Although she returned to political life after some years, her health broke down and her influence remained diminished.

Amanda Foreman has produced a work of great scholarship which reads like a novel. Georgiana's life is so fascinating that I've read this biography several times just to see what she would get up to next and how she would get out of one scrape after another. Foreman makes the good point that Georgiana epitomized many women of the eighteenth century, who were far more active and involved in politics than is generally supposed, as well as being a harbinger of the kind of power base to which women in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries still aspire.

"You just cannot make this stuff up. The true story of the real Lady Georgiana proves that she would fit right into the spotlight today. She used society to get her way in 1774 and the late Princess Diana probably used her as a role model. Read the book before you see the movie!"

I am too young to remember Diahann from her heyday, but my mother was a fan and she was still definitely a household name for me growing up. This book not made me laugh, it also taught me a lot about Old Hollywood, especially in its pre-politically correct days. If you like Nora Ephron's I FEEL BAD ABOUT MY NECK, THE LEGS ARE THE LAST TO GO is similar but with more substance, and more glamour! So many entertainment legends cross these pages. It's a must read not only for Diahann's fans but all Hollywood and Broadway buffs.

Back in the 80s when she was appearing on Dynasty ,one of the hottest shows in the country, Diahann Carroll wrote "Diahann", her first autobiography detailing her life, careers and loves up until that point. Although interesting and informative, the book's prose seemed stilted and overly dramatic at times. In addition, one got the impression that Miss Carroll was holding back in some areas perhaps over fear of repurcussions to her career.

Her latest book, The Legs Are The Last To Go, is informative but even more interesting as it comes from a woman who now seems comfortable enough in her own skin to speak her mind about her 50 year career. In this book, Miss Carroll is more frank in telling her story . Her demeanor is also looser. After reading the first book, I didn't expect her to be such a funny storyteller but I found myself laughing out loud at her recollections of working with Pearl Bailey as well as a fleeting encounter with a certain music superstar of the 70s.

Her recollections and updates on her relationships with her daughter and former husband Vic Damone are candid but not exploitative. Instead they reveal her emotional growth. Many readers will relate to the stories about her aging parents who she comes to recognize as flawed but good people. Even as a veteran actress, Carroll isn't totally jaded about the entertainment business. You can feel her excitement and appreciation when she writes about meeting and working with Shonda Rhimes, the creator of Grey's Anatomy.

I strongly recommend this book. Hopefully, Miss Carroll will have more stories.

I've known and loved Diahann Carroll for quite some time, so I was more than happy to read "Diahann Unplugged" in The Legs Are the Last to Go! She is quite funny, always glamorous, and very honest in this memoir that covers her entire life. The photos are great, and whether you know her from Broadway, from TV, or her singing career, this is a great read!

Do yourself a favor & buy this book!
Diahann Carroll is still amazing today...
70+ yo & going strong.

I enjoyed Murakami's previous fiction work. I never realized he was a runner. So to my surprise, when I saw this book I was excited. It's a great read and inspiring - for both runners and not-so physically active readers...

Like many people I love Murakami. I don't have 1 favorite. It can be Windup chronicles, Kafka on the shore, Dance dance dance or even Hard-boiled wonderland and the end of the world. Yet, if you do like Murakami like me and don't want to be disappointed. I strongly suggest you avoid this book. It's autobiographic and has nothing of that magic of his fictional books. The only reason to read this book is when you run like he runs. If you want to read about other people preparing for a marathon this book has some insights you want to know about. If you don't run long distances and just like literature in general and/or specifically Murakami avoid this book. Don't spoil your feelings/associations/recollections by reading this book. Preserve Murakami as you know him!

Murakami-san books tend to be surreal and the endings could leave you in suspense. Hence, this non-fiction gives you an insight to him as a person and what goes through his mind as he runs the original marathon in reverse, his attempts in ultra-marathons and triathlon. Very interesting reading and his coming to terms that he can no longer improve on his timing and injuries resonates with runners around the world.

I'm an enormous fan of Murakami's work, and I'm also a long distance runner and a budding triathlete, so this book was almost tailor made for me. I think if you fall into any one of those three buckets you will find this book compelling and enjoyable.

Murakami's insights into the significance of running in the lives of runners is perfect -- it's a very hard thing to articulate to the majority of people who think you are crazy for running and would never do so voluntarily.

Also, the autobiographical tidbits are a joy for Murakami fans: they feel like clues to some of the mysteries in his novels.

I'm not sure if I would take any training advice from Murakami, but I loved the book!

I did not know Murakami's work at all before I purchased this book. I saw it in the running section at a bookstore and decided to give it a read. As I was purchasing the book the sales staff got very excited- turns out they were all huge fans. One person had even done her M.A. Dissertation on Murakami!

I was expecting some running inspiration. What was amazing is that I found an honest exploration into why someone does what they do, written in a way that was simple, moving, and eloquent. It had been so long that I cried when a book was over because it was so good, until I read this.

If you are a fan of Murakami, then the details of his life will be interesting, and are outlined very nicely by other reviewers here. If you are like me and not familiar with his celebrity, then what you will find is a moving memoir that is humble, insightful, and through its simplicities, leaves you changed. Even if you cannot relate to his perspective, you come to understand him and feel a sense of empathy.

If you are a runner, you will love this book, as Murakami speaks of his running rituals and motivations as metaphor for larger life lessons. If you are a writer, you will love this book, as Murakami illustrates some of the insights he has into himself as a writer and his writing process. If you just want a nice, easy read that is entertaining and touches the heart, you will love this book, because it does just that.

disappointed-- narrative is hard to follow, maybe it's the small print. I was hoping that Georgiana would jump out at me -- but she still seems distant. Well-researched.

I was never a biography fan until this book. Foreman does a dazzling job of bringing Georgiana to life. I could read this book over and over again!

if some one told me what really happen 18th century upper crust i would not believe them.money,sex,adultery,hidden preganacy,lesbianism,royality,gambling and drug addiction.fashion theather social scandals,politics,betrayal, blackmail and war.it's a soap opera that really happen.even a evil bestfriend who bears two childern by georgina husband is through in.this book is addictive.i didn't put it down till last page.

After finishing "Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire" by Amanda Foreman, I have come to the conclusion that the flaming youth of the 1770's and 80's were just about as wild a bunch that could be. It seems that the generation of aristocrats who came of age in the decade and a half immediately before the French Revolution liked to live life at the edge. Fashions were extreme, homes were elaborate, and fortunes were gambled blithely away. Traditional morals and religious practice were given a public nod while being privately cast aside. The "sweetness of living," as Talleyrand nostalgically referred to the "ancien régime," was to be replaced by the wars and successive revolutions of the next two centuries.

The decadent old world, which would soon be turned upside down, was in England presided over with glamor and opulence by Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. In France, Marie-Antoinette was perceived as being the queen of the fashionable whirl, but she was never so popular in society and genuinely influential in politics as was her friend Georgiana in England. Also, Marie-Antoinette's domestic life became calmer after the birth of her first child at age twenty-two. With Louis XVI to steady her, she eventually gave up gambling, and became the strong and courageous queen who was able to face the upheavals of the Revolution. Furthermore, Louis did not indulge in chronic infidelity as did the Duke of Devonshire. Georgiana, on the other hand, went from one personal fiasco to another, hardly ever letting up until she was in her forties, and even then died with enormous debts.

The book gives a detailed account of the vast political influence wielded by ladies of high society in the days when women could not vote. The assortment of characters depicted by Reynolds and Gainsborough were finally given personality for me in Foreman's well-written biography. My trouble was with Georgiana herself. I could not grasp why she was so psychologically needy, what with the drinking and all night parties and spending and inordinate attachments to her friends. She had come from a loving family, although they were not perfect, but at least they cared and actively intervened in her troubles. Her husband did not love her, clearly, but many women were in loveless marriages. Unlike Marie-Antoinette, Georgiana could not seem to get her gambling under control. I do not understand why such a charming, intelligent and popular woman would be so insecure. Part of this is because I am so used to reading and writing about people who had extreme traumas and upheavals, such as Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette and their immediate family. Most of poor Georgiana's troubles were of her own making and completely avoidable. While she is a fascinating character, adored by the common folk for her ability to mingle, she is a bit puzzling.

For one thing, it was so odd for Georgiana to tolerate Bess Foster's presence in the Duke of Devonshire's bed for all those years. Georgiana was such a bottomless pit of emotional need that she insisted on keeping Bess as her friend no matter what. As for Bess, she wanted everything Georgiana had; she wanted to be Georgiana. In the end, she had her way, and became the Duchess of Devonshire, but she was never loved the way Georgiana was loved. Georgiana's daughter Harriet described Bess thus: "...More perverted than deceitful...I really believe she hardly knows herself the difference between right and wrong now." (p. 308) Foreman says that Bess' version of events in her diary "was more fantasy than truth." (p.177) This is why I take it as a grain of salt when anything Bess wrote in regard to Count Fersen and Marie-Antoinette is given as evidence that they had an affair.

The person I find to be most sympathetic in the biography about Georgiana is her long-suffering mother, Lady Spencer. I do not blame Lady Spencer one bit for having the governess as her spy. After all, she had to keep track of the various illegitimate children who were being smuggled into the Cavendish nursery, after being born and fostered out with utmost secrecy. Between Bess Foster and Georgiana's sister Harriet, I lost track of which child belonged to whom. And then Georgiana herself, fleeing to France to give birth to little Eliza. At least the children were not abandoned or destroyed; each was given care and love. For Lady Spencer to try to supervise the situation, and attempt to have Bess thrown out, was basic prudence. She was the only responsible adult in the clan and how her daughters carried on must have broken her heart.

I wish I could have understood why Georgiana plunged into the affair with Charles Grey, Eliza's father. Her life was already a mess, what with the heavy drinking and gambling; her involvement with Earl Grey served to further complicate matters. The affair seemed to come not so much from a great love but from sheer recklessness on the part of someone who had totally lost control of her life. However, the book does not capture any sense of passion. Perhaps that is because so many of Georgiana's letters were censored or destroyed by her Victorian descendants, quite an editorial feat in itself.

To Georgiana's credit, she often displayed genuine remorse for her disordered ways and tried to amend her life. Her failing health eventually forced her into a simpler, calmer existence. Her oldest daughter wrote that she was the best of mothers. The Duchess was devoted to her family, no question about it, while struggling with so many addictive behaviors, so many demons. Tormented she was, without a doubt. I only wish I understood why.

Georgiana Spencer Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, was born in the eighteenth century and died in the early nineteenth century, but her life was very modern in many ways. She was an open activist at a time when women were supposed to stay behind the scenes, a bold and flamboyant hostess who used her social prestige to advance her political agenda, and a beautiful but ultimately self-destructive woman whose emotions helped shape British history.

Georgiana was born into one wealthy and powerful aristocratic family and married into an even wealthier and more powerful one. The Cavendishes were bastions of the Whig oligarchy, which governed Britain almost continuously through the eighteenth century until the 1760s, when King George III forced them out of power. In opposition the Whigs became the progressives or liberals of the day, calling for curbs on the King's powers, protection for the liberties of the people, and for progress and social reform (with the ultimate aim of regaining power for themselves, of course). Georgiana was married to the Duke of Devonshire, who was retiring where she was outgoing, far more interested in living a quiet life with various mistresses than in helping to advance the Whig cause. Georgiana, frustrated with a husband who did not appreciate her, threw herself into politics, becoming a friend of Whig leaders like Charles James Fox and campaigning openly for him and others.

Georgiana's private life was complicated. She and her husband were involved in a years long menage a trois with Lady Elizabeth Foster, who was simultaneously Georgiana's best friend and the Duke's mistress and mother of his illegitimate children. Georgiana was addicted to gambling and lost enormous sums which she feared to reveal to the Duke. Eventually Georgiana herself had a love affair which nearly caused her marriage to end and forced her temporarily out of sight. Although she returned to political life after some years, her health broke down and her influence remained diminished.

Amanda Foreman has produced a work of great scholarship which reads like a novel. Georgiana's life is so fascinating that I've read this biography several times just to see what she would get up to next and how she would get out of one scrape after another. Foreman makes the good point that Georgiana epitomized many women of the eighteenth century, who were far more active and involved in politics than is generally supposed, as well as being a harbinger of the kind of power base to which women in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries still aspire.

For the first time...in my adult life, I am proud to read such a great book. Bless you for opening my eyes to this creep.

A must rea! Obama is al talk. He use "change" when this country is desperate for a change but his change is BAD. Look for another change. Read this book and you will know his trick!

This author wants to claim that most of America disagrees with beliefs held by Barack Obama. If you go to this author's website, and read through his survey ([...]) upon which he bases so much of his conclusions, you discover the extraordinary biased and manipulative nature of his "test" that purports to reveal whether or not "you agree or disagree with Barack Obama".

Here are some typical questions:

- Some say Barack Obama's plans to implement sweeping environmental regulations will raise the cost of gas, groceries, heating and air conditioning. Do you favor or oppose Obama's environmental plans?

- There are 104 nuclear reactors in the US today that produce 20% of America's energy needs and no accident has occurred at these reactors in 30 years. Other nations, such as France, are far more reliant on nuclear power, as 77% of that nation's electricity comes from nuclear sources. How much of America's energy needs would you like to see nuclear reactors meet?

- Some say Obama's proposed increase in deductions for taxpayers would increase the number of those who donate pay taxes closer to 40%. Do you agree or disagree with Obama's proposed increase in deductions?

- Should America's laws be written following Judeo-Christian values or should America be an entirely secular society, devoid of any decisions based upon Judeo-Christian moral values?

- Recently, Barack Obama was asked when he thought life begins, in reference to the issue of abortion. Obama responded by saying that decision was above his paygrade. Knowing that the next president may be able to appoint two or three U.S. Supreme Court Justices, who may be called to make rulings on the issue of Abortion; do you support or oppose a president who does not know when life begins?

The questions are often unbelievably leading, they are written in a vague manner, and they set up false dichotomies. Any cursory understanding of basic survey construction will reveal this author's "research" as unreliable and invalid. If you can read through a survey like this and the conclusions that are drawn from it, and not realize how invalid it all is, then you at very serious risk of being fooled again and again by anyone with a slick presentation and a loud voice.

For real truth backed up by ACTUAL FACTS (not the made up variety the right tends to prefer), check out: "Lies, and the Lying Liars who Tell Them; a Fair and Balanced Look at the Right." by Al Franken. If you love America, you will read a book of facts, not distortions.

My title says it all.

I read the book from cover to cover, and it is nothing but a smear campaign and a demonizing attempt.

Dont waste your time, there is virtually NO Facts in this book!!

An excellent book about the detriment occurring to children around the world everyday. Parental Alienation is child abuse. The scars are there, they can't be seen like physical abuse, but they are everlasting. Alec does a great job of sharing the very sad reality of the child abuse that is allowed, supported, and in some case encouraged by our sad, inadequate legal system.

Many people may read this book and believe it could not be true. Believe it or not, there are far worse stories than this that happen everyday.
Perhaps Alec could produce a movie next, based upon someone else's true story. The public must be made more aware to get the state legislatures to actually do something about this abuse to children.

Thank you for increasing awareness to the issues so many "Target" parents and their innocent children face from the Alienating Parent.

I wonder if Haley177 has had the children she loved and nurtured daily for years ripped from her and been unable to see them except through court ordered visits. When someone she once loved started rumors, downright lies about her. Something most people are unaware of is why would a mother do this to her children when there is no evidence of abuse of any kind.
An alienating parent is most likely to have mental illness issues. This makes sense: What mentally or emotionally healthy parent would force their child to choose between parents? What mentally or emotionally healthy parent would continue fighting when they have "won" full control of the child? What mentally or emotionally healthy parent would so abuse their child (because poisoning a child against the other parent is truly child abuse)that the child, himself/herself would have mental health issues to work out throughout her life.
Only a "Narcissist"
A narcissist cannot take any responsibility or blame for their actions. It is always the other persons fault. They project all their own unpleasant traits, behaviors or feeling by attributing them in an accusing way to someone else. When their feelings don't fit the facts, they may unconsciously revise the facts to fit their feelings. This may be one reason why their perception of events is so different from yours.
You can surely feel the pain that Alec Baldwin has endured all those years. To have someone you once loved and had a child with do what was done to Alec Baldwin is unconsciousable.
The "Phone call" was the only tangible evidence that could be latched onto and was used in a very abusive way to the child.

haley177 is absolutely wrong, is either a female or a male who has never gone through a divorce ( at least in CA ). What Baldwin says is right on the mark. I recently read an article about a divorce attorney who changed careers, because he finally realized that he was stoking the anger between husband/wife, who until they went into full-fledged attorney mode, had come to a reasonable agreement between themselves, amicably. My ex hired her Beverly Hills attorneys, and it was most definitely the cause of our inability to forge a post-marriage relationship and has hurt our children. With attorneys, divorce is MEANT to be adversarial, that is how they make their money, and ostensibly make "gains" for their client. When I went to court, my female attorney warned me ahead of time that the judge I was going in front of was anti-father, and would grill me like I had never been grilled before. My ex was able to get a letter she wrote about my family ( whom she never got to know ) admitted into records, her pseudo-psychological review, without question by the court. My mom was already dead, so couldn't defend herself. WTF relevance did that have to anything? That kind of crap made me extremely angry, and I was told I couldn't respond in kind. I think Baldwin crossed the line with that phone call to his daughter, but I do understand the anger and rage that the non-custodial parent ( read 99% men ) feel during the divorce process. Glenn Sacks has made a career out of the disparity in the courts against fathers. It is a sick system, and only ends up draining future college funds from the kids, enraging the NCP, and most importantly, allowing the former spouses to forge a good relationship for the sake of the children. Let's make it as hard to get married as it is to get divorced. Maybe some court hearings on compatibility, what-if scenarios, are you going to have kids, etc. The critical mass of angry and more importantly, very sad fathers, is testimony that this isn't just a bunch of guys pushing blame onto someone other than themselves. I've moved twice to stay close to my kids, and the only choice I had was whether to do it or not. The court didn't care, my ex didn't care. So that is my rant. If we could all get published, I'm sure each father could and would right a book. Good on ya, Alec.

And it's not easy to speak of these matters in contemporary America, but Baldwin's line about being pulled into the American family law system is akin to being tied to a truck and then dragged down a gravel road late is excellent. As he put it, no one can hear your cries, and it is not over until they say it is. I'm sorry that Mr. Baldwin had to go through what he did but hope that this memoir/analytical work sways minds and adds to the preponderance of the evidence concerning the lack of justice men now find in our courts of law. Protecting women is fine but the juridical operationalization of this notion has resulted in the persecution of the opposite sex. People need to be aware about what's going on so I'm appreciative that Baldwin is using his fame for the worthy and noble purpose of generating awareness. The great thing about this book is that the author does more than tell his own story. He includes the narratives of several men who experienced the same horrors he did. In conclusion, I'm very grateful Mr. Baldwin has graced us with this publication.

Alec Baldwin has written an important book showing the painful side of divorce in a court system that routinely strips fathers of their dignity and parental rights. His book shows the reality of experiences countless fathers in America experience while suffering in silence. But, Alec Baldwin has shown the strength to speak out about these injustices and parental alienation. Alec Baldwin's book seems to me to be an important and powerful philosophical sequel to fathers' rights by the famed fathers' rights attorney Jeffery Leving.

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.

If Sen. McCain weren't so humble on the campaign trail, and every American knew the story of his life as told in this book, he would be elected in a landslide. This man personifies honor.

I found this book so interesting that I had trouble putting it down. It is a true story of honor and three generations of men who truly love/loved our country. It is well written, documented, and very informative regarding true incidences in the McCain family.
Sincerely,
Gerald Graczyk