Friday November 21, 2008
Biographies & Memoirs: General
Displayed below are the top selling items for today, Friday November 21, 2008 along with the review customers have voted "most useful".
To find top selling items in for a specific category, use the menu on the left or click here to see all categories.
- Three Cups of Tea : One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson
- Too Fat to Fish by Artie Lange
- Dewey : The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron
- The Snowball : Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder
- Why We Suck : A Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid by Dr. Denis Leary
- Team of Rivals : The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
- A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity by Bill O'Reilly
- American Lion : Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham
- Letter to My Daughter by Maya Angelou
- Dreams from My Father : A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama
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Three Cups of Tea
One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time
by Greg Mortenson
(based on 1447 customer reviews)
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(Paperback)
Author: Greg Mortenson
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Price: $9.00
You save: $6.00 (40%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
498 out of 567 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 6/2/06
STOP what you are doing...
you.. yes YOU behind the terminal, surfing the web, maybe finding that cheap chotcky to buy or something. Stop what you are doing if you have come across this book and this review. You need to read this more than you think!
Within the confines of 350 pages you can be transported to a world that for most Westerner's and specifically Americans, is probably very unknown, and more than likely, highly misunderstood. In this world you will be introduced to a man named Greg Mortenson, or as you soon to know him, as Greg Sahib..
The story that is told by David Oliver Revin, will not just be inspiring, will not be just teeth clenching, it will make you re-evaluate what you do in your life. While most of us may talk about the incapacity of the administration, or some (unfortunatly) the hatred of the middle East, or maybe some of you are even lying down in the streets, but there is ONE person who is TRULY doing something about the problems of foreign policy by litteraly getting his hands dirty touching the earth to build a school foundation, and risking his life ten times over.
When you have read this journey, you will be saying to yourself, did he really do that? That guy is CRAZY! Did that really happen?, the Taliban? , How is that possible? In the journey that is fortold of a change of fate through a failed mountain expedition, you can see what the spirit of the individual can do and how it can be transformed. As the events of 9/11 soon come to fruition, Greg couldn't be in a better place at the right time, and with David's narration, you are litteraly put in the drivers seat.
After reading Mortensen's journey, you will want to litteraly book a plane ticket to somewhere you have never been before. In reading the accomplishments of a somewhat flawed (hey what person is perfect) individual, you will feel small and insignifigant. David Relin will not just explain what Greg did, he will make you live it, with some enjoyable side narrations that will make you grin.
In Three Cups of Tea, David has managed more than anything to explain the heart of a problem (Islamic hatred of the West) of a very complicated nature (through numerous foreign policy debacles and politics spanning decades), and how one man knows of an easy solution (Go to poor regions of the Middle East and give education and extend the olive branch. Build schools for the poorest of the poor, ecspecially for girls. And more importantly, let them know that it was done.. by an American).
As if it was so difficult to understand.
I encourage you to take this journey and figure out that sometimes the biggest problems in life require some of the most common sense solutions. I also echo the other comments on here that you should buy this book from the actually CAI institute and consider a donation as well.
Greg Mortensen is doing what he is doing best, and his passion comes through the pages. For myself my passion is to write. Like Gregg I feel it is what I can do best (when I put my effort my passion, and my soul into it).
now if you'll excuse me...
I have to go write a check.
Click here to see more reviews for: Three Cups of Tea
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Too Fat to Fish
by Artie Lange
(based on 37 customer reviews)
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(Hardcover)
Author: Artie Lange
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau
Price: $13.72
You save: $11.23 (45%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
35 out of 39 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 11/12/08
Do Yourself a Favor: Read this Book
There is just no way to not love this book. Whether you are a fan of Artie Lange or not, the book is fresh and insightful, and it almost goes without saying, funny as hell. Not for the faint of heart (but seriously is anything connected with Howard Stern for the faint of heart?), the narrative is laced with expletives, the situations are sometimes raunchy or downright gross, and the author is not trying to paint a pretty picture of his addiction-riddled life. Once you get past the reality backwash, it is a book filled with honesty and humor as well as some surprising insights.
Artie Lange fully admits to having lived his life thus far as a first-class f***-up, allowing himself to be caught up in every imaginable vice and addiction. But he firmly believes, along with his boss, that his vices feed his amazing comedic genius. His ability to survive his own behavior in itself seems an act of genius. Personally, I think that Artie is one of that rare breed of comedian who can make people laugh hysterically with the most offhand unscripted comment. The life of decadence may make for some inherently funny situations, but I think this guy could make the telephone book funny. Ease up on yourself Artie, the world needs funny guys like you.
While I expected a book filled with humorous stories, what I didn't expect was the down-to-earth telling of them. The narrative is sometimes simplistic, but it really makes you feel like Artie is in the room with you telling you these stories. While I laughed myself sick at times, I also had tears in my eyes over the author's description of his relationship with his father, and his family's life after his father's tragic accident.
All in all the book will leave you feeling that there is a great deal more to Artie Lange than raunchy humor. He came across to me as a genuinely nice human being who cares deeply about the people who make up his universe. His occasional deeper insights (such as his description of the happiest moment of his childhood) reveal him as a complex man, whose flaws only make him that much more interesting. I loved this book, and I like Artie Lange more than ever. I wish him a long life with many fishing trips.
Click here to see more reviews for: Too Fat to Fish
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Dewey
The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World
by Vicki Myron
(based on 136 customer reviews)
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(Hardcover)
Author: Vicki Myron
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Price: $10.99
You save: $9.00 (45%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
170 out of 185 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 9/17/08
HAPPY, HEARTWARMING, AND HOPEFUL
Remember Marley: A Dog Like No Other, a canine greatly loved by his master? Well, here is Dewey, an abandoned orange kitten not only beloved by his mistress but by the entire town of Spencer, Iowa.
Dewey's origins were questionable as was his introduction to library director Vicki Myron. January 18, 1988 was a frigid Monday in Spencer. "It was a killing freeze, the kind that made it almost painful to breathe." When Vicki arrived at the library that morning her assistant told her she had heard a noise coming from a metal slot, the library's after-hours drop box behind the building. Soon, they both heard the noise and thought it was an animal. The opening of the box was only a few inches wide, so whatever it was had to be very small. Being metal the box was even colder than it was outside, and there in a corner of the box was a tiny kitten.
It was the most pitiful thing she had ever seen, so thin she could see every rib, and she could feel its heart beating, its lungs pumping. "The poor kitten was so weak it could barely hold up its head, and it was shaking uncontrollably. It opened its mouth, but the sound which came two seconds later, was weak and ragged." But one look into his big eyes and she was Dewey's and he was hers.
Dewey was not the only one who had endured hardship - Vicki was a single mom who had lost the family farm and survived an abusive husband. The people of Spencer were going through tough times during the farm crisis of that time. Depression, ennui seemed to be everywhere.
Nonetheless, Vicki was determined to capture the interest of those who came to the small library and hopefully make them a little happier. With the help of Dewey she did that and more. For 19 years he returned the affection of the townspeople twofold, amusing them, enchanting them, rubbing against many hands in gratitude for their caresses.
What difference can one small animal make? Dewey's story spread across state lines and even around the world. In 2003 Japanese Public Television filmed Dewey, and his obituary ran in well over 200 newspapers. His story will warm your hearts, make you laugh and cry. Don't miss it.
Highly recommended.
- Gail Cooke
Click here to see more reviews for: Dewey
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The Snowball
Warren Buffett and the Business of Life
by Alice Schroeder (based on 81 customer reviews)
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(Hardcover)
Author: Alice Schroeder
Publisher: Bantam
Price: $21.00
You save: $14.00 (40%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
153 out of 167 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 9/29/08
The New De Facto Buffett Biography
Alice Schroeder has done a wonderful job parsing the incredibly interesting and complex life of one of the world's true, living legends.
This should become the tome to site for all things Buffett. It is thorough, examining his family history, his father's career, and details of his youthful adventures; which in many instances, went well over the moral line he now teaches people to steer away from. The hardships suffered by close family members of the financial, psychological, and personal variety are honestly portrayed through the biography, as are details of the complex relationships he has had with women throughout his life.
For students of business and investment, the book details clearly the growth of his business knowledge early on and the success of his many investment partnerships. Alice details the countless problems he experienced once owning Berkshire Hathaway and the businesses that were later rolled in to create the present Berkshire. The details of his many acquisitions highlight his unique intelligence, as well as the intellect of his contemporaries, who in-fact were first to discover many of the corporate gems he acquired over the years. His collaboration with other investment managers proved vital to his success, contrary to much of what has been said elsewhere. Lastly, flaws are exposed in his investment acumen numerous times with regard to operations of target companies, and his early judgment in management teams. The very fact that he has been so successful, even given these errors, is testament to his unique abilities as a businessman.
The book highlights Buffett's amazing focus and zest for life. His relationships and personal experiences, which have never been exposed in any detail, have led to the unique character of Warren Buffett. His development into a great human being and quest to create something enduring in Berkshire, the Foundations, and his many "students", is wonderfully explained in this thoroughly enjoyable biography.
Click here to see more reviews for: The Snowball
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Why We Suck
A Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid
by Dr. Denis Leary (based on 9 customer reviews)
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(Hardcover)
Author: Dr. Denis Leary
Publisher: Viking Adult
Price: $17.79
You save: $9.16 (34%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
12 out of 17 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 11/19/08
Classic Denis Leary
We've been waiting a long time for more biting wit from Denis, and this book does not disappoint. If you're already a fan, you will love this book. A new person investigating Leary - may be well, leery of this book. Fine. Stay away. You probably won't understand the humor anyway. As a prerequisite for anything Denis Leary, you need to be able to laugh at yourself and others without compunction. The thin-skinned & PC crowd need not apply.
Click here to see more reviews for: Why We Suck
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Team of Rivals
The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
by Doris Kearns Goodwin (based on 374 customer reviews)
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(Paperback)
Author: Doris Kearns Goodwin
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Price: $11.55
You save: $9.45 (45%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
216 out of 230 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 12/1/05
The Lincoln Cabinet: A Character Study
Ms. Goodwin has created a gem of a masterpiece with her most recent book on Lincoln. In the millions of pages already written on the subject, there are no books that I know of that do in essence, a character study on Lincoln and his cabinet members. The 754 page text is one of the best ever written regarding the true and underlying nature of those men who served with Lincoln in his cabinet.
While events and persons such as Antietam, Jefferson Davis, Fort Sumter, Maryland's secession attempt and many other events receive short shrift from Ms. Goodwin, this treatment is as it should be for her book concentrates on the personality and character of Lincoln and his cabinet.
While Lincoln never committed himself during the convention to any of his rivals in terms of cabinet positions, to gain votes for his eventual nomination; he voluntarily chose most of his cabinet from men who were his greatest rivals for the Presidency. He did this with clear and present knowledge that they were the best men for the jobs and the country at the time. The incredibly impressive exposition of the character of these men and especially that of Abraham Lincoln and his political and personal acumen in holding them together is given new life in this book.
Through careful reading and perusal of literally thousands of personal letters from cabinet members and from President Lincoln, Goodwin is able to put together a wonderfully clear and unique picture of the character of these men. In addition, she is able to paint a picture of each in words, and point out how their true character differed often from the public perception that abounded.
Ms. Goodwin should be noted for her fine and excruciating work in creating this book which will remain as a must read classic for Lincoln scholars of the present and the future. All of us who track the Lincoln Presidency, 140 years after its termination are grateful for her assiduous work in creating this wonderful book.
Click here to see more reviews for: Team of Rivals
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A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity
by Bill O'Reilly (based on 61 customer reviews)
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(Hardcover)
Author: Bill O'Reilly
Publisher: Broadway
Price: $15.60
You save: $10.40 (40%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
162 out of 201 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 9/24/08
An entertaining and somwhat enlightening "thoughtography"
Forgive me if my critique is not "pithy"
I couldn't wait to read this book. I bought it this morning and left work early so I could read it. Why? Because Bill Oreilly fascinates me and I thought his memoir would give me some real answers as to how this man, who truly is an American original, thinks.
First off, I actually had the privilege of meeting and briefly working with Bill Oreilly. After graduating college in the early nineties, I wrote to Mr. OReilly and asked him for advice in getting a job in television. I knew nothing about him, only that he was a fellow graduate of my high school (Chaminade High in Long Island) and that he was the anchorman of some show called "Inside Edition (which I had never even watched)
To my surprise, Mr. OReilly not only responded, he invited me to the studio, took me to lunch and offered me a temporary production assistant job for Inside Edition. After the temporary assignment, I began a Wall Street career but I have always been grateful to him for helping out some kid he didn't know. He is a man of character.
And let me tell you. The man is fearless in every way and he is not a phony. He is exactly like he is on screen (albeit more reserved). Which is why I wanted to read this. I wanted to know- what makes this man tick? How did he come to be the person that he is today? Does this book answers the question? -
Sort of
Not really a complete life memoir "Bold Piece" is a kind of "Thoughtography"-a collection a remembrances of his early life followed by essays on how they shaped his current actions. With chapter titles like "Politics" Fear" "Saving the World" and "Standing for something", Mr. Oreilly intersperse stories of his early life with how they affected his later life dealings and adult philosophies.
Does it shed light on the inner life of the man? To a degree, yes.
The book has many entertaining and insightful highlights including:
1) A story about a grammar school classmate names Norma was especially touching. It will make you understand his sometimes-heated anger at injustice.
2) As a graduate of Chaminade High School, I especially enjoyed his thoughts on class warfare at the school. It is subject rarely discussed to any effectiveness. His story about the "Levittown Sandlot- Chaminade football game" could be a n entertaining Disney Movie
3) I never knew he had so many life experiences. Unlike Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, who I doubt have EVER sought to expand their horizons, Mr. Oreilly has walked the walk. He has traveled to 70 countries, received 2 graduate degrees, and even taught at an inner city high school. His stories about a student named "Miss Jones" and his exposure to Anti Americanism abroad will help you further understand his self reliance and love of country view point
4) His stories about friendship are especially touching. An expansion of his Friendship Factor: theme in his first book, he gives examples of why his friends are so important to him. The Joe Spencer - Peter Jennings story is especially moving. He really should write an entire book about the importance of friendship. It is his most astute chapter
But the big question I wanted to know -why is this man so confident and fearless?- Is never quite answered. Having grown up in his native Long Island, I have known many a person like Bill OReilly. You could magically drop them onto the far side of the galaxy and they will always espouse hard work, faith, family, and the goodness of America without the slightest doubt. After reading this book, I've come to the conclusion that Mr. OReilly simply is one of those men. And always will be. Some people are just born that way.
A few critiques-
1) I do think Mr. OReilly should fess up and admit that he took a teaching job in the early 70's to evade being drafted (he quits the job in 1973 just as the war ends) . It is clear that that was at least a strong possibility
2) I also think he should have elaborated on what I think is his greatest dichotomy. Why does he have so a low opinion of the competence of federal government yet sincerely believes their actions in Iraq were not to be questioned.
3) I think he is a little too hard on Katrina Victimes. In one section, he explains that he would have "gotten in his car and left" in the same situation, never once thinking that most of the people couldn't do that because they didn't HAVE cars.
4) I also think he was just a little too hard on the movie "Love Story" (you have to read the book). I loved that movie!
All in all - a good enlightening read but not the "Window into the Soul" that I was hoping for.
Click here to see more reviews for: A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity
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American Lion
Andrew Jackson in the White House
by Jon Meacham (based on 6 customer reviews)
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(Hardcover)
Author: Jon Meacham
Publisher: Random House
Price: $18.00
You save: $12.00 (40%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
51 out of 56 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 11/11/08
My Husband was right again!
I started this book with trepidation as I am not a big nonfiction reader, I love thrillers and mysteries, but my husband said I had to read this new Andrew Jackson book that he had some how wrangled an advance copy. I have to grudgingly admit that he was right, this book was as much a page turner as the recent Patterson. Even more so because this stuff actually happened! Also my enjoyment of the book was probably enhanced given the current political season. One of the things that struck me was how thier are so many who complain today about the rancor in politics, and what happened to bipartisanship? After reading this book I realize political discourse was a lot more wild in the past, much more wild than anything we could imagine today. There was a time when it was not uncommon for two political rivals to settle their differences with a duel.
This is the story of the life and times of the seventh President of the United States, Andrew Jackson. I have to admit I did not know much about the man prior to reading the book, but his life makes for a fascinating read. His life was an adventure full of drama. A real man of the people I found myself identifying with him in spite of his serious faults. This book made me see how his individualist outlook is still with us today and traces back in part to Jackson. Pull a twenty dollar bill out of your pocket and this is the man and his times "American Lion" is about. Hopefully, young people will read this book and get a better idea about the roots of our great country. So I have to give my husband credit for recommending my two favorite reads of 2008 Across the High Lonesomeand "American Lion."
Click here to see more reviews for: American Lion
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Letter to My Daughter
by Maya Angelou (based on 20 customer reviews)
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(Hardcover)
Edition: 1
Author: Maya Angelou
Publisher: Random House
Price: $15.00
You save: $10.00 (40%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
72 out of 72 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 10/10/08
Absolutely inspiring; I couldn't put it down
"I gave birth to one child, a son, but I have thousands of daughters. You are Black and White, Jewish and Muslim, Asian and Spanish-speaking, Native American and Aleut. You are fat and thin and pretty and plain, gay and straight, educated and unlettered, and I am speaking to you all. Here is my offering to you," writes Maya Angelou in the introduction of her inspirational new book Letter to My Daughter. The following pages are full of stories and life lessons Angelou has learned over eighty years. "I have only included here events and lessons which I have found useful," the famous poet writes. "I have not told you how I have used the solutions, knowing you are intelligent and creative and resourceful and will use them as you see fit."
There are few books that I love so much I would read again. This is one of them. I got Angelou's Letter to My Daughter in the mail around 4 p.m. and finished it before bed. I read it to my children as they played, read it after they had gone to sleep, and far into the evening hours. Angelou's words were so poetic and musical I felt as if she were speaking directly to me. I learned of her best and worst moments in life, her ideas about love, death, violence, patriotism and spirituality. I really liked how she illustrated an important situation in her life without telling the reader what to take away from the scene.
My favorite story was when Angelou visited the famous actress Samia in Sengal. Angelou had heard that women in Egypt did not let their guests walk on their gorgeous Persian rugs and decided to test her hostess. She noticed the other guests at Samia's party were not stepping on the rugs and believed Samia had informed them not to do so. So Angelou walked on them, back and forth, back and forth. The other guests smiled at her weakly. Angelou engaged in a conversation with a fellow writer and barely noticed the maids rolling up the rug and replacing it with an equally beautiful floor covering. The maids covered the rug with place settings and dinner. Angelou had been walking all over their table cloth! She was so embarrassed she could barely eat. "In an unfamiliar culture, it is wise to offer no innovations, no suggestions, or lessons," Angelou wrote.
Here is one of my favorite paragraphs in the book: "You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them. Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud. Do not complain. Make every effort to change things you do not like. If you cannot make a change, change the way you have been thinking. You might find a new solution."
Letter to My Daughter is a gem of wisdom and inspiration. Every woman should read it at least once. This book has become a permanent fixture in my personal library.
by Jennifer Melville
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
Click here to see more reviews for: Letter to My Daughter
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Dreams from My Father
A Story of Race and Inheritance
by Barack Obama (based on 321 customer reviews)
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(Paperback)
Author: Barack Obama
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Price: $8.22
You save: $6.73 (45%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
293 out of 328 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 8/31/04
Inspiring Life Story...Somewhat Less Than Complete
U.S. Senate hopeful Barack Obama has an inspiring story to share, and yet he doesn't simply rest on his laurels in this critical evaluation of his life and in his continuing search for himself as a black American. He wrote "Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance" almost ten years ago, but his stock has obviously surged since his star-making speech at the Democratic National Convention last month, perhaps to the chagrin of Hillary Clinton...unless she is dreaming of a Clinton-Obama ticket in 2008! Growing up mulatto in Hawaii and Indonesia, Obama discusses trying to come to grips with his racial identity through a period of rebellion that included drug use, becoming a community activist in Chicago and traveling to Kenya to understand his father's past. It is in Kenya where he discovers a nation with 400 different tribes, each of them saddled with stereotypes of the others. It is also in Kenya where he recognizes the dichotomy that has been his lifelong existence between the graves of his father and his grandfather. His description of this defining moment is worthy of a passage in Alex Haley's "Roots".
Obama is also candid about racism, poverty and corruption in Chicago, and he pulls no punches in his account of this period. Because the book stops in 1995, it does not get into much detail on his learning experiences, culminating in both missteps and triumphs, as a state legislator. For all the value the book provides on Obama's history, I would have appreciated a more substantive update than the preface on the last decade, as he gained political prominence in Illinois, so that we understand more why his time in the spotlight has come at this moment. Perhaps that will be Volume 2. I was also disappointed he spent so little time writing about his mother and the influence her side of the family has had on him, a narrative gap Obama acknowledges and over which he expresses regret in the preface. Perhaps inclusion of such details would have made for a less compelling story from his originally intended Afro-centric perspective; but at the same time, I think a more balanced look at his own racial dichotomy would have made his story resonate all the more given where he is now.
Obama is open in the preface about using changed names and composite characters to expedite the flow and ensure privacy of those around him, but it does somewhat lessen the impact of his story when one starts to wonder who was real and who was a fictionalized character. Regardless of these literary devices, this book is still a very worthwhile look into the background of someone who is on a major upward trajectory in the current national political scene.
Click here to see more reviews for: Dreams from My Father
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