Biography Books

You want to know God's love and mercy then read it.... I have not finished the book but i am excited to read the rest....

I love the content of this book.

However, I agree with Don--another reviewer: the print in this book is VERY SMALL. I find it difficult to read such SMALL PRINT.
Unfortunately, I didn't take Don's warning into account when I bought this edition. Avoid making the same mistake.

By the way, the only glasses I use are safety glasses, at work. And my vision is excellent.

It's just a matter of comfort. I dislike struggling reading such small print and feel the need to buy a different edition with larger print (I probably will.)

Other than that, its content is a joy. Plus, due to its smaller print, the size of the book is smaller as well. That is good if you are traveling with it or if you take it with you to read throughout the day, outside your home.

Remember: if you're are going to read it at home solely, you'd be better off buying an edition with larger print.

This is a beautiful & eye-opening book! It changes your way of thinking and your life!! I absolutely love it and can read it over and over. It helps understand God.

The print in this book is quite small making reading difficult. I would recommend searching for a copy with normal size print.

This is my all-time favorite spiritual book. By reading about St. Faustina's growth in holiness, I learn about growing in holiness and above all, God's endless mercy. I've read this book probably a dozen times and I everytime I hear something new and grow more deeply in my relationship with Christ. By this book for yourself and everyone you know! Spread the hope of God's awesome mercy!

The story of Nick Popaditch's combat performance, wounding and recovery ia a inspiring story of love of family, country and Marine Corps. It is a story without regret for the events that changed his life. These same events have caused some to wither in the face of those challenges.
Gunny Pop uses humor and raw Marinese to tell his story. I feel everyone should read this book, especially those who are facing adversity.
It is a trigger puller's story that points out that once you pull the trigger, you can't get the round back, you live with the results.

I've read a lot of books written about and by Marines and I rank this as one of the best. In the first place, it's very well written and edited so as to make it a great read that's tough to put down. In the second place, Nick's story is told with candor and humor that will strike a familiar chord with any former Marine. It reads like you're in the same room with him. Lastly, it paints a vivid picture of Nick's ordeal to recover from his wounds and drive on. Not many of us will ever have to endure what Nick has, thanks to him and thousands of other brave men and women who put their lives on the line for our Freedom. This book gives us a glimpse of their world and will make us more thankful for their sacrifices. I highly recommend this book.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2147CDJLODOCD This is a Hollywood-style book trailer for "Once a Marine: An Iraq War Tank Commander's Inspirational Memoir of Combat, Courage, and Recovery," by Nick Popaditch with Mike Steere (Savas Beatie, October 1, 2008).

Make sure you watch to the very end for a "special" photo message from "Gunny Pop" Nick. I know you will appreciate seeing him.

Nick "Gunny Pop" Popaditch is a former marine Gunnery Sergeant, a Silver Star winner, a 15-year veteran of the USMC, and was widely known around the world as "The Cigar Marine:" (Google it.). His tanks captured Firdos "Saddam" square in April 2003 and pulled down the hated statue. Nick was severely wounded one year later with an RPG to the head, which was captured live by a media news crew. He had to fight his way through an incredible odyssey of turmoil, heartbreak, and bureaucracy to recover everything he had lost. His website is www.onceamarine.com.

Gunnery Sergeant Popaditch's experience, attitude, and willingness to share it is something amazing. He goes into great detail about how his career in the United States Marine Corps, his experience in combat, his family, friends, doctors, and his injuries come together to shape who he has become. This story is compelling and was difficult to put down once I started it. I found it to be a "page turner" while I was up late at night needing to go to sleep but wanting to read more.

His story is one that anyone with an interest in what is going on in the middle east and how it is affecting people that are injured must read. I just wanted to recommend: "buy it, read it, and share it with someone else" to everyone out there, especially those that enjoy military books. And to POP I wanted to say thank you for sharing the amazing story of you and your family and your recovery from your injuries.

Readers will no doubt get an accurate, matter of fact point of view from Pop. He tells it like it is. Always has, always will. Semper Fi.

Iyer's reflections on the Dalai Lama's complicated situation, preaching idealism while attacked for his patience rather than expediency to assist the dire plight of his homeland's vanishing culture, animate this very thoughtful commentary. Through not a biography in any conventional sense, more a series of essays on the public, private, philosophical, and political facets of the monk elevated by history into diplomacy, Iyer examines the man fairly.

He interviews the Dalai Lama's skeptical brother, listens to those within the exile community who lament the advice of endurance rather than action, and surveys the predicament faced by the Tibetan government-in-exile as it witnesses from a distance one out of five native Tibetans killed or starved by the Chinese; one in ten having been jailed; thirteen monasteries not demolished or incinerated out of over six thousand before the Communist invasion.

Likewise, in the Dharmasala town set up as the Tibetan capital in Indian exile, Iyer sees a wealth of contradictions that depict the place as the ultimate global village. As you'd expect from his previous travel writing, Iyer's at his best in this section as he catalogues the clashes and contradictions of a place where the boys out of Tibet court European girls, long to get out of India to California, and then-- as Iyer a resident of that state wonders- what then? This restlessness pervades the Tibetans he meets, caught between devotion to the Dalai Lama and resignation to the collapse of their homeland.

He listens to harrowing tales by those who have fled, and about those who have returned only to be incarcerated in what Shanghai calls "New Tibet Reception Center." Since Iyer wrote this book, the recent revolts and their repression in Lhasa occurred must further deepen the despair felt by many Tibetans who have fled, or who have grown up abroad. This aura from the past year makes this account even more powerful. What I wish this book would have included, without compromising its integrity, is some guidance in the closing pages for how best for its readers, moved to act out of compassion, to practically and wisely help Tibet there and abroad.

For, as Iyer notes, combining the global with the local remains the burning core of the Tibetan predicament that the Dalai Lama raises. Gandhi and King helped their people as a small way of saving the world, Iyer agrees; "but in the Tibetan situation, again, the clock was less indulgent. If the Dalai Lama offered a new vision for the global century just dawning, he was essentially addressing a century in which Tibet as we knew it no longer existed." (225)

Yet, Iyer ponders if the Dalai Lama takes a wider, subtler range of advice for the rest of the world. "Of course, we can see the Chinese as enemies, but if we do so, we are saying, in effect, that we are going to spend all of our lives in the midst of enemy forces; the better situation is to change how we think of the situation, perhaps by seeing that our real enemies are our own habitual tendencies toward thinking in terms of enemies. We can always see the decisive effects of action; but what underlies action, in the way of viewpoint and motivation and feeling, is where the real change has to come." (226) Iyer's learned much from the Buddhists he's interviewed. No pat solutions, certainly.

As a Hindu Tamil whose father knew the Dalai Lama, and as one who has spent decades exploring the global identity he embodies, Iyer's ideally placed to examine this subject. He pinpoints the Dalai Lama's dilemma: he must leave Tibet to draw the rest of the world towards its heritage; in sharing its spiritual legacy, he must speak in a second language truisms that risk sounding childlike in their ethical simplicity and universal wisdom.

Meanwhile, as Iyer observes inescapably from the outside, the Dalai Lama also transmits the tantric, esoteric "science of the soul" gleaned from 1500 years of investigation within the Tibetan Buddhist schools. Iyer's glimpses of such controversies as the Shugden/ New Kadampa dispute whet the reader's appetite for more about this whole topic of the hidden complexities that the Dalai Lama's public, more anodyne pronouncements to the West necessarily must finesse or minimize.

I wish, in this case and others, that more documentation could have been provided. Although a fine reading list appends the book, often Iyer leaves his sources vague or anonymous. He's done his research, but pithy endnotes might have aided the reader wanting to follow up references too casually made in the text. For instance, he mentions a "Western traveler" who walked eighty-one days across Tibet without seeing another soul, but you have no idea who this was.

Still, with his range of experience in so many places, Iyer does keep the story moving with verve. Iyer also does not forget to guide the reader less versed in Buddhism or Tibet. He phrases much of what for the average Western or non-Buddhist reader might be unfamiliar in pithy terms. He sums up the Buddha as more precedent than Jesus was prophet. He notes how the Dalai Lama tends to stress the accessible, "New Testament" morality of Buddhism to ecumenical audiences instead of the "Old Testament" panoply of deities, magic, and rites known to the initiated monks. He defends such a watered-down sharing of compassion and kindness by the Dalai Lama as the essence of a practice anyone can attempt, and remember easily.

The author contrasts the path of Christians from Jesus' redemption to a linear heaven with the Buddhist progression from the dharma of the Buddha leading to an uncertain possibility of rebirth, and far less likely Nirvana. Iyer reminds us of a crucial difference. St Paul told believers to be "praying ceaselessly"-- stressing the deliverance from above; the Buddha counseled "striving ceaselessly" to work towards one's self-delivered transcendence.

The Dalai Lama's split between empowering practitioners with recondite doctrine, governing the exile and refugee communities (as even the most radical insist on no other leader), shuttling about the world talking to leaders, celebrities, seekers, and often starstruck romantics, and meditating four hours a day starting at 3:30 a.m. His lack of formality, frankness, and humor characterize a man many see as a god, but who himself appears to-- a bit wearily by now-- deflate such claims winningly. Yet, as Iyer witnesses, among newly arrived Tibetan refugees, in one powerful passage, the ancient aura remains as if otherworldly.

Iyer, long range among his dissidents and admirers and up close, gets to know the Dalai Lama over decades. While you sense always the respect between journalist and host, you also get the subtle message, as the book progresses over the decades that Iyer got to know the Dalai Lama, that Iyer begins to take in, cautiously yet ineradicably, the gist of the tolerance, long-range insight, and calm perspective that distinguish the Dalai Lama from the rushed and caustic world of the press among which Iyer has for many years earned his living. The example of the Dalai Lama appears, by the book's graceful end and within its extensive but heartfelt acknowledgments, to have rubbed off on its erudite, globetrotting reporter.

Im reading the book as I write this review and I have been surprised by the way the author describes the Dalai Lama as any human being with special and wonderful details. Im very glad to find out how many things he has in common with people around me and with myself.

Not an easy read but if you stick with it, an overall interesting read. Well worth the time.

A soulful and insightful portrait of an important world leader. Written with real feeling and humility.

Pico Iyer's new book subtitled "The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama" takes its title and theme from an essay by D. H. Lawrence about Walt Whitman and his poem, "The Song of the Open Road". Lawrence wrote "The great home of the Soul is the open road. Not heaven, not paradise, not `above'" The human person (or "soul" for Lawrence) "is a wayfarer down the open road" and democracy flowers "where soul meets soul in the open road." (Iyer, pp. 13-14)

Whitman's poetry, with its journeying, democratizing, spirituality, and sense of the private makes a fitting motto for Iyer's book. In describing the Dalai Lama and his journeys, Iyer also makes excellent use of appropriate short head notes from Thoreau, Michael Faraday, Emerson, Thomas Merton, Aldous Huxley, Marcel Proust, Etty Hillesum (Holocaust victim), and Beijing journalist Xinran Xue. These introductory quotations illuminate the story Iyer has to tell. I found especially illuminating the following Hasidic proverb which introduces the final section of Iyer's book, "In Practice" (p. 163).

" You must invent your own religion or else it will mean nothing to you. You must follow the religion of your fathers, or else you will lose it."

Pico Iyer is a journalist who writes regularly for the "New York Review of Books." He has known the Dalai Lama for over thirty years. Iyer's father, who had been born in Bombay and went on to study at Oxford, was five years older than the Dalai Lama. Iyer's father became friends with the Dalai Lama after the latter fled to India in 1959. Iyer is not a Buddhist, but he writes of the Dalai Lama and his teachings with great sympathy together with a commendable attempt at objectivity.

The book begins slowly and meanders from place-to-place. Iyer's portrait of the Dalai Lama emerges only gradually. Iyer portrays the multi-faceted characters of the Dalai Lama as spiritual leader for Tibetan Buddhism (viewed as a god by some within the Tibetan tradition), political leader and statesman for the Tibetan government in exile, religious seeker, Buddhist monk, and ordinary human being. The Dalai Lama's most appealing traits include his humility and self-effacing character under the glare of constant media attention usually accorded to entertainers and some politicians. Iyer is impressed with the Dalai Lama's ability to communicate at a simple level basic human and religious values to people of varying religious denominations or of no religion at all. The Dalai Lama has tried to encourage people to explore their own religious traditions rather than convert to Tibetan Buddhism. Yet besides the openness of his message, he is a person of great learning and practice within the Tibetan tradition, which he explores in depth in seminars and trainings beyond his public appearances.

Iyer's book is in three parts. The first part, "In Public" focuses on the celebrity the Dalai Lama has become in recent years and examines his public appearances worldwide with emphasis on visits to Japan and to Vancouver. The second part of the book, "The Philosopher", gives a more in-depth picture of the Dalai Lama and of Tibetan Buddhism. Iyer shows rituals, teachings, and schisms within this school of Buddhism that will be unfamiliar to those who know only the public face of the Dalai Lama. He describes well an encounter between the Dalai Lama and the American monk Thomas Merton just before Merton's untimely death, and he compares the spirituality of these two different traditions. Both the Dalai Lama and Merton had the goal of finding commonality among different religious paths.

The final part of the book "In Practice" offers a detailed look at Dhramasala, India, home of the Tibetan government in exile. Iyer discusses the difficulties in the Dalai Lama's path in returning the Tibetan people to their homeland under a rapprochement with China. The Tibetan people will face an uncertain future upon the death of the Dalai Lama, with the loss of the prestige and respect he has garnered on an individual level.

For Iyer, the Dalai Lama recognized early, as did his predecessor, the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, that Tibet erred in attempting to shut out modern life. The Dalai Lama has tried to learn himself the science and knowledge that the West has to offer. He has given, in turn, a perspective on spiritual growth and on humanism that people from many backgrounds and stages of life find inspiring. In Iyer's account the Dalai Lama is a possible guide to the open road that remains to be found by every person.

Robin Friedman

I knew this book was going to be good before I bought it. Americans need to read this so they won't make the same mistakes as the last time. I'e seen this man interviewed several times on TV. He appears to be very genuine whose mission is only to tell the truth.

"In Justice" primarily relates Iglesias' experience in the notorious DOJ firing of 8 prosecutors in 2006. While the DOJ actions were historic and nefarious, and ultimately led to A.G. Gonzales' resignation, Iglesias' story tells us nothing that wasn't already clearly revealed already in the press.

Most of the book is taken up with Iglesias' earlier life - becoming interested in law and then the Navy, becoming a White House Fellow (one of 17 out of 1,250 applicants), applying for the U.S. Attorney position and getting Domenici's support, etc.

Then local Republican support soured when Iglesias failed to develop voter fraud cases due to lack of evidence. Heather Wilson (Republican Congresswoman) and Senator Domenici followed up with inappropriate telephone "inquiries" aimed at propelling the cases forward.

Iglesias then learns of the others fired in the "house cleaning," DOJ makes clumsy attempts to besmirch the reputations of those targeted, the press learns of White House involvement (Harriett Miers and Karl Rove), and Roberto Gonzales ("I don't remember" 80 times during a Senate hearing) makes himself look incredibly out-of-touch, if not totally dishonest.

The only "good news" out of this episode is that ultimately DOJ was rid of some of its unjust top leadership, and the Patriot Act provision that allowed indefinite interim U.S. Attorney appointments without Senate confirmation was repealed.

It was sad, yet refreshing, to see a true "Bush-ite" see the truth about the lying, law-breaking administration that we have been saddled with for eight years.

"In Justice" is a thoroughly absorbing, detailed look at how absolute power corrupts absolutely. If a late-night walk through the White House and the Department of Justice, after all the day-workers have gone home and when the real skulduggery begins, is your cup of tea, read this book. In looking at the case of the seven U.S. Attorneys, we can see how ANY administration (in this case the Bush-Cheney brand) can simply make things happen and make good people go away with no explanations and no justifications. The book also serves as a good example of how vast power can make once-rational people think that no one will find out what they are up to, whether it's sex in the Oval Office or, in Iglesias's book, the firing of seven U.S. Attorneys for purely political reasons.

If Alberto Gonzalez wanted to fire all of these qualified prosecutors, just because they were not "Republican enough," he should have done it one by one. Then no one would have noticed. But instead, he thought no one would notice a mass firing and even more, no one would do anything about it.

This book explains how it happened, why it happened, and helps us remember we have a Constitution in this country that must be preserved.

As to the book itself, large parts are a little dull because the author must tell us more about himself and that is not all that interesting. He's an intelligent guy doing a good job. However, the last 100+ pages are riveting as he reveals the lies of the Justice Department and specifically Alberto Gonzales.

RK

Anna Quindlen is a superb writer and she's done it again with "Good Dog. Stay". Ms. Quindlen is my kind of dog-lover: no gushing, no illusions that this wonderful creature has human feelings, and no compulsion to dress him up in silly clothes. Just respect for what he is: loyal, predictable (usually), goofy, and sweet. I get the title completely - I have an elderly dog (one of several in a long line over my lifetime); I'm crazy about him, and I so want him to "stay", but I recognize that there comes a time where it's about them and not you, and that's when you have to say goodbye. The book is tiny, just like other reviewers have mentioned, (I read the entire thing while eating a sandwich) and I would have preferred it to be longer also, but nevertheless, it's a little gem.

I liked this short book, but felt that more details would have been nice. My favorite dog book is Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog.That book went into such detail and it did not leave you hanging and wanting more.

It's true - I must admit: I just don't like books about animals. Until I read this one! This is a sweet, short honest book about the love of a dog. It's not necessarily about sweet Beau (though really it is), but about how Beau completes a family. And very nice touches about how it completes a woman! A wonderful read that can be read in one sitting - on the sofa with your own Beau sitting beside you. Enjoy.

To even call this a book is an unimaginable stretch.
I love dogs and thoroughly enjoy reading almost any book having to do with them and their exploits.
This "Book??" is 83 tiny pages composed of 53 pages of photos of various dogs...cute... and 30 miniature pages of Fluff. And all this from a supposed #1 selling New York Times Bestselling Author!!!!!..And all for ONLY $14.95!!!!
When was the last time you paid $.50 per page for this kind of exploitation?
Anna Quindlen ought to be ashamed of herself

Short and oh so sweet!

Yes this is more of an essay than a full blown novel, but the writing is worth every dime. There are so many phrases in the book that I read and re-read. Spend the money and keep this book for revisiting over and over.

I bought this months ago and still have it out on my coffee table - that's how much I love this! It is loaded with excellent pictures and makes a great conversation starter when friends and family that come over. The history of the NFL is covered well and the articles offer terrific insights into sports past.

This is a unique, beautifully photographed book! It includes the history of football and large, clear photos of some of the best games! My husband loves it! If you're a football fan, you will treasure this book!

This was the comment of my 7 year old nephew (a Jets fan) when I gave him this book. It has the trademark Sports Illustrated photography, plus lots of old photos showing the infancy of the sport, which are interesting to adults and kids alike. He's a beginning reader, but we enjoyed looking at the pictures, with his guessing which teams were shown based on the uniforms. The Amazon price is a bargain. Highly recommended for boys and fans of all ages!

I bought this book for my 17-yr old who is a visual thinker, not a strong reader, but I loved it too! There are some amazing photos in the book and lots of history of the game and some players. I got a strong sense of the traditions of the game and the excitement for the sport. I am a stronger football fan because of it! I also recommend the rest of this 'series' by Sports Illustrated, The Baseball Book and The Basketball Book.

I got this book for my Dad for xmas & he loved it. It has a lot of great pictures, great articles and goes into the history of football. This is a great gift for older football fans.

This is my first Pat Conroy book. All of his books have great reviews on Amazon, so I wasn't sure which one to start with; I just picked this one. I think I made a very good choice by reading 'The Water Is Wide' first. It's an early book, and I got a lot of insight into who Pat Conroy is, his humor, his goodwill, the kinds of people he surrounds himself with, etc.

I just started reading 'Beach Music' and I really feel an affinity for this author after reading 'The Water is Wide.' I appreciate his ability to write and articulate ideas.

'The Water is Wide' is about the time period in the south in which many people grew up with racial prejudices as a way of life. As children, it's "just the way it is" and they don't know any better. As Mr. Conroy became a man, more educated and involved in the very things he had been taught to dislike as a child, he underwent a huge personal change and touched so many people along the way. I like his kick-*** attitude and how candidly he wrote about everything.

This story moved me on many different levels. This is a book about a man helping others, inspiring others, and overcoming the false beliefs about race that stemmed from his upbringing and culture. It's also about someone who was courageous enough to stand up to authority. It's a wonderful story. If it were fiction, it would be a good story. But the fact that it is based on the author's experience just makes it even better. Can't wait to read the rest of his books!

I looked up Daufuskie (aka Yamacraw) Island on Google and it seems to be a big resort island with golf courses and hotels now; probably nothing like the Yamacraw Mr. Conroy experienced many years ago. Must visit some day anyway.

I searched for the movie 'Conrack' on Amazon, but they seem to only have VHS version sold by a different seller, but not available on DVD. Conrack wasn't on Netflix either. Let's hope it gets re-released on DVD.

This is an early example of the promise of Pat Conroy. Everything I have read of his has been extraordinarily beautifully written. There are pages I have to reread just for the joy of the wording, the descriptions, the expressions of thoughts.

As a teacher he must have been a treasure. It is an indictment of the school system in which he worked that he was not fostered and encouraged. America's children are the losers in the situation. I know the people of "Yamacraw" felt the loss when he was not allowed to return to the school there.

America's readers have reaped the benefits of Conroy's education and experience and his exemplary use of the language.

Enjoy!

After having read the book, we had an opportunity to tour Daufuskie Island (Yamacraw Island in the book). After the tour we stopped at the General Store and noticed that The Water Is Wide was not offered for sale. We asked about this. We were told the Gullahs thought the book put them down and they did not want the book available on the island. ..... Interesting.

The author has an excellent command of words in describing characters and action. Unfortunately, they are not used to good effect in this autobiographical novel.

For me the book lacked interesting characters, a fascinating plotline, and impending danger and escalating conflict. Consequently it lacked ongoing suspense, failing to involve and absorb me in this so-called story.

I say so-called because the book seems more like a a series of isolated incidents, hardly focused on a particular end or goal, and therefore take on a rambling, babbling, numbing quality, one which I, for one, found increasingly boring.

There was no point in the book where I felt I couldn't put the book down and wonder or care about what was going to happen to the main, or even the subordinate, characters. It was all ho-hum. To me, a good book compels me to keep reading, even if I have to stay up all night doing so. Not this one--if anything, it threw me into an uncaring state of somnolence. And many of its points that are continually repeated contribute to this

At page 115 I tossed the book into the trash can so that I could better use my time by reading something better, hopefully a book that is more involving and fascinating.

While reading The Water is Wide, I experienced exactly the kind of heart-warming, comical, enjoyable reaction Pat Conroy had in mind while writing the book. Several themes are apparent throughout, and it was easy for the reader to recognize the most important one. Pat Conroy taught his students and readers that no matter a person's race, literacy level, age, or gender, everyone matters, and everyone is equal.
Pat Conroy moved many times as a child, since his father was in the military. His first job was teaching English in Beaufort, South Carolina. He then found himself teaching on the remote Daufuskie Island, which was referred to as Yamacraw Island in the novel. This teaching job provided the inspiration and plot for The Water is Wide.
Pat Conroy, referred to as "Conrack" by some students, has an excellent way of teaching readers the importance of acceptance and equality. He does not preach or lecture his message, but his delivery of it through countless situations is just as effective. Sometimes his point is concealed by the amusement of the Yamacraw students, but by the end of each chapter, the reader will be reminded of the seriousness at hand.
The Water is Wide never failed to entertain me. The book takes countless turns in the plot, and each turn results in comedy, sincerity, or amusement. The reader finds him or herself relating to each character, even though the lifestyle on Yamacraw Island is much different from most of the United States. Pat Conroy made me realize how lucky I am to live in a society where education is important and emphasized. This book opened my eyes to how people in other, less fortunate areas of the world live. I recognized that education is imperative, and how much the average student takes for granted.
While Pat Conroy had no problems capturing my attention with plenty of interesting stories, he sometimes overwhelmed readers with his personality. Several parts of the book were filled with Conroy's strong opinion on characters and school rules. This sometimes interrupted the plot. Other than the occasional rant by Pat Conroy, the book flowed smoothly.
The Water is Wide was an excellent read for teenagers and adults, especially those interested in teaching. I enjoyed reading this book from cover to cover, and it influenced me in ways only exceptional literature can.

Our family has started a "family book club", which consists of my husband and I, my two adult daughters, and two school-age granddaughters. Our first book was "Sadako". It's a very quick read with a character that was easy to identify with.

Although the tale is sad, it opened a lot of discussion points with everyone joining in and asking questions. We followed the discussion (over cookies) with an origami paper-folding session - everyone making one or two paper cranes.

We'll all remember this story, and will remember little Sadako.Sadako 1000 Paper Cranes PMC 3.99 Promo (Puffin Modern Classics)

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
By Eleanor Coerr
Penguin Group
1977 first published by G.P. Putnam's Sons
1999 published by Penguin Group

3.3 Flesh Kincaid reading level
80 pages

Historical Fiction

Plot:
Sadako is an eleven-year-old Japanese girl who lives with her older brother, younger sister, younger brother and parents in Hiroshima, Japan. The story takes place in 1955 after World War II. Like all young children, Sadako attends school, helps her family with chores, and has a best friend at school. Sadako loves to run and is chosen to participate in a race at school. While running one day she feels slightly dizzy. Sadako has heard stories about children being getting sick from the atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. She is too scared to tell anybody about being dizzy, so she keeps it a big secret. One day while running Sadako collapses. She is taken to the hospital and the doctors tell her she has leukemia.
While in the hospital, Sadako hears a legend from a friend that gives her hope of getting better. The legend says that if a person folds one thousand paper cranes out of paper they may be healed. Each day Sadako becomes sicker and sicker. However, she decides to fold one thousand origami cranes. Her brother helps her by hanging the cranes from the ceiling. Even though Sadako folds hundreds of cranes, she is unable to finish the project. She passes away having made only 648 cranes. Her friends from school hear her story and they fold the remaining cranes so that she is buried with one thousand paper cranes.

Review:
This book gave me lots of hope. I really loved to hear about Sadako and how she folded so many cranes. I wanted to believe that she would finish the paper cranes and she would get better. When she died in the ending it was very sad. Someone with so much hope and motivation doesn't deserve to die. The book also made me think a lot about why Sadako was sick in the first place. She was only two-years-old when the Americans dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, but she was still eventually killed from it. This book shows the long-lasting effects war has on a country and its people. It really makes you think twice about war.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It was an easy read that I had a hard time putting down. Every chance I got I read this book! While it was sad in the end, it was great to hear about Sadako's life and how her friends finished her paper cranes for her. The plot was interesting and exciting. I really like the main character too. Sadako was a very brave, strong person that I wish I was more like. She woke up every day with the will to live and that gave me a lot of hope. I would recommend this book to anyone! It is a must read!!

The 4th graders in my school read this book in their regular reading classes, and so they were ready to have some great discussions in art class about the book. We used this as a starter for an origami crane project, and we are going to donate the cranes to a woman who is struggling to fight cancer. This a a wonderful story and the kids were really interested in learning more about WWII after reading this book.

For many years after the nuclear weapons that ended World War II were exploded over Japan, the radiation effects lingered to cause sickness and death. Sadako is a young girl who was an infant resident in Hiroshima when the explosion took place. She is a lively girl and a star on her school's track team.
Suddenly in 1954, she is struck by feelings of extreme weakness and is diagnosed with leukemia. This was before there were effective treatments against the disease and she goes into the hospital where the disease progresses rapidly and she dies.
She is taught how to make paper cranes, because according to the legend, she will recover if she makes 1,000 of them. Unfortunately, her illness strikes her so fast that she lacks the strength to complete the task. After her death, a peace memorial is made where people place thousands of paper cranes each year. There is a section at the end describing how to fold paper to make the cranes.
Based on a true story, this book has a simplistic compassion about the consequences of nuclear weapons. They kill people quickly and they kill them slowly and this reality must be considered when decisions are made regarding their role in the world.

This book was purchased for our 7 year old daughters first book club. It was an interesting book for them to read. They all enjoyed trying to make the paper cranes. It was a nice length of book for their first book club also.

Whilst most TV audiences may only know the very gifted comic actor Mr Leslie Jordan as a regular guest star on "Will & Grace" (for which he won an Emmy Award) and "Boston Legal", there is oh so much more to him, as he reveals in his "autobiography" - MY TRIP DOWN THE PINK CARPET. The openly gay actor has had a very diverse career on stage, film and television. But indeed his life off the stage & screen has certainly been a wild ride, and one well worth documenting. Brought up as a Christian in the Deep South, self-tortured by his gay demons and unlucky in love, he turned to a variety of addictive substances that he thought would help him cope with life. Welcome to Hollywood! But he rose above all of that and now has his life and career well and truly back on track. He is happy and comfortable with who he is. As Mr Jordan says in his book, the secret of a healthy life is learning to love oneself. For those who like showbiz autobiographies - this is a great read. For those who might be having trouble coming to terms with their sexuality - this is a MUST read!

the stories are very funny, and I enjoyed the book. Even though the name dropping gets a little deep, his charm goes a long way! Buy this book, it really is a great glimpse into leslie jordans life, and you get to see some famous people from a different point of view.

A very funny and quick summer read. I picked it up in the morning and had finished it that same evening. I found myself laughing outloud several times. Tons of fun

This was definitely a fun read. Little man, big character, voicing what's lost and gained in life through struggles of sexuality, drugs, sobriety and spirituality. Being a gay man myself, the only non-funny part about this read was my own life reflected. Not yet sober, still falling, but the gravity always gets lighter with each new edification. The last chapter of this book really struck home. No better way though, than to deliver our blunders in a light of comedy. I hope to be as strong as this man someday.

Thanks, Leslie.

I am one of the survivors of the same generation as Mr. Jordan, even though we are in different walks of life and living in very different communities. I'm impressed with the author's ability to tell a story from his life with such accuracy while being both moving and funny. I hope volume two is on the horizon.

As an admirer of FDR I was very interested in what his relationship was with Lucy Mercer. This book answers many of the questions about FDR's affair with Lucy. Moreover it is a love story about an attraction that never died for either party. With any adultery there is the victim and the author goes to great lengths to be even-handed concerning Eleanor. Eleanor's reputation has suffered in recent histories of FDR, but here she is portrayed as a remarkable woman put in a difficult domestic relationship. The book delves into the history of the two different Roosevelt families which provides insight into the influences which affected Franklin and Eleanor. As members of the upper crust of society, we see how they lived and the prejudices which came from their class. As the title indicates the focus of the book is not limited to just FDR, Eleanor and Lucy, but describes all the women in the Roosevelt inner circle. It is a fascinating story based mostly on primary sources and only rarely comes across as gossipy. I recommend it.

With all these politicians screwing around on their wives these days, why exactly do we need to know the gritty details of one from like a century ago? I guess because he's FDR and he became a super important president, and one personal decision of his might have changed A LOT of things from a historical perspective. The bulk of what I know about the Roosevelts came from History class. My teacher mentioned once that FDR supposedly died in the arms of his mistress, which I found kind of interesting, so I decided to see what the big deal was about. At the time, I definitely felt for Eleanor being the wronged wife who did all this crap for her husband and that was how he repaid her? Of course, the story is never that simple. It's never just one person's fault.

I guess the first thing is this Roosevelt marriage that seems to puzzle a lot of people. How they got together in the first place is kind of a mystery. FDR, in his youth to middle age, is always described as kind of a McDreamy-- really handsome, rich, charming, good pedigree, etc. Eleanor, as much as I love all that she did, was never much of a looker even in her younger days. On top of that, she was passive, shy, and had serious self-esteem problems. It makes you wonder how these two ever got together and what they had in common other than a distant relation. The book mentions that FDR had quite a few love interests before Eleanor and probably could've picked any girl he wanted, yet somehow he ended up married to her. In retrospect, knowing what eventually happened to their marriage, perhaps he should've just stuck to his beauty queen debutantes. Or maybe he should've waited a few more years before getting married.

It's not until about 10 years into the Roosevelt marriage that Lucy Mercer even appears though she's billed as the female lead in this. The fact is, there just isn't enough known about her to garner her that role. If this were a movie and they were allowed to embellish/play with the facts, maybe it would work. But since they're going on hard evidence, there's not much out there. However, it's hard to deny that they had a genuine love affair. And I agree with the author that they probably had sex since they were two attractive people who were in love and alone a lot. What else would happen? Still, in the end, FDR chose to stay with his wife. If this were such an all-consuming passion, I would think he'd just go for it. And other than her physical beauty and apparent "niceness", there isn't really that much that distinguishes Lucy Mercer. What exactly made their relationship so special and long-lasting? Other than the fact that she was young, pretty, available and he wanted sex.

I can kind of see why people think stuff went on with Missy Lehand but it's all too much speculation. Who really knows what they were doing on that boat? It wasn't like the Lucy Mercer thing where the consequences were an almost divorce and eternal separation from the marriage bed.

And while I did feel for Eleanor, I can't help but give her a little blame on this too. Okay, so FDR probably didn't love her as much as she loved him to begin with.. but what did she really expect after they stopped having sex? That just "talking" would be enough to sustain a marriage? Sorry but she shouldn't have been that naive. And while it totally sucks how she found out about his death, she was the one who essentially gave up on marriage. They could've used a good marriage counselor.

Joseph Persico's "Franklin and Lucy" (Random House 2008) is a shallow collection of anecdotes centered around FDR's affair with, and later relationship with, Lucy Mercer. The stated theme of the book is the women in FDR's life, but Persico's theme ends up as nothing more than idle conjecture about how certain women, including his mother, Sara, his wife, Eleanor, and his faithful assistant, Missy LeHand, might have affected FDR as a person. Most of this has already been covered ad nauseam in prior books on FDR, and this effort ends up as a weak series of gossips, such as whether FDR's relationship with Missy LeHand was amorous.
In addition to its failure to bring any new information to the table, the book is filled with factual errors. For example, Persico has Theodore Roosevelt's first election to the presidency in 1902 (p. 51), FDR's second inaugural on March 4, 1937 (rather than the correct date of Jan. 20, 1937) (pp. 227, 249), and the Roosevelts' 20th wedding anniversary on March 17, 1926 (p. 164). This is very disappointing from an author who is well respected and who has authored a prior book on FDR, "Roosevelt's Secret War" (Random House 2001). Admittedly, these are minor errors, but one has to wonder whether this lack of attention to detail infects the entire book.

Having read but a single work by author Persico prior to this (Piercing The Reich), I was unsure of what to expect in a book ostensiby about a man and his relationships with women. Having read a number of books on Roosevelt describing his disingenuous, Byzantine, unforthcoming dealings with men, I was not surprised that he ran true to form with women. However, this book broke some new ground.

First and foremost was the particular stress on FDR's being crippled and unable to walk and how that worked out to be both a hindrance and a blessing. Here the narrative was extremely productive.

Second, this book discusses FDR and his female entourage from the point of view of a very sympathetic woman. One wonders if this book was actually written by Persico or by his wife or daughter. For example, considered this discourse on page 246: "Schiff's fascination with FDR further displayed the superiority of women in their attitude toward men in that they consider the whole man, his intelligence, power, (wealth??) humor, and charm as producing attractiveness, not simply physical appeal, an approach that cannot always be said of male attitudes toward women." Wow! Who wrote this? Gloria Steinem?

Nonetheless, this books brings together FDR's relationships with those women close to him into fascinating focus with but a passing mention of the world around them. Persico presents the facts carefully, particularly when it comes to "Did they or didn't they?" -- very much in line with the motto of Fox News; "We report -- You decide." Sometimes he begins to moralize as "... Missy was all to ready to ....", but then draws back without passing judgment. I liked that.

There are two negatives in my opinion: a number of facts and dates are incorrect, and he fails to draw a sufficiently complete portrait of Missy LeHand, Lucy Mercer, Daisy Suckley or Dorothy Schiff for the reader to fully relate to them. These were all actresses with staring roles yet their characters remained clouded in mystery. Perhaps he ran out of time, perhaps out of sources. In these cases he needed to indicate where the reader should go to draw in the missing lines.

In this book FDR is truly as Holmes said; "A second class intellect [with] a first class temperament." Eleanor, the lady who loved the Tartars but not herself is summed up by, "...[she had] great compassion for the masses... but not much interest in the individual."

All in all, a valuable read.

In this biography, Persico paints an intimate portrait of Franklin Delano Roosevelt through the lens of his relationships with various women over the course of his life, including his mother, Eleanor, Lucy Rutherfurd, and others. I came to this book without much information about the Roosevelts, and I was pleased to find an assessable and thoroughly entertaining biography. Persico approaches his subject with sensitivity and balance, as deserved by this great family, but he does not avoid the tough issues.

Persico clearly has done his research but has refrained from overburdening the book with details. Although Persico remains focused on his theme throughout the book (FDR's relationships with women), the book is not a narrow treatment of FDR's life. All of the important events are included, along with the less well-known events that give us a glimpse into FDR's true character. This book's only misstep is a strange first chapter that seems to have been plucked from the middle of the book and stuck on the front, probably as a clumsy editor's last-minute attempt to force a "catchy" beginning.