Friday November 21, 2008
Biographies & Memoirs: Family & Childhood
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.
- Running with Scissors : A Memoir by Augusten Burroughs
- Persepolis : The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi
- Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight : An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller
- Little Heathens : Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression by Mildred Armstrong Kalish
- The Glass Castle : A Memoir (Alex Awards (Awards)) by Jeannette Walls
- The Glass Castle : A Memoir by Jeannette Walls
- Fargo Rock City : A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota by Chuck Klosterman
- The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid : A Memoir by Bill Bryson
- The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid : A Memoir by Bill Bryson
- The Lost Boy : A Foster Child's Search for the Love of a Family by Dave Pelzer
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Running with Scissors
A Memoir
by Augusten Burroughs
(based on 821 customer reviews)
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(Mass Market Paperback)
Author: Augusten Burroughs
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Price: $7.99
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
229 out of 259 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 1/21/03
Disturbingly hilarious
I found myself laughing hysterically at this book while simultaneously shaking my head in horror. It's the story of Burrough's life from the age of roughly 13 to 16. Burrough's lived a middle-classed life, but the people around him were gradually losing it. His mother began to have "psychotic breaks" (although it sounds like she may have had bipolar disorder) and hooked up with a bizarre psychiatrist - Dr. Finch. Soon, every aspect of their lives are touched by Dr. Finch and his equally bizarre family. At times, the events are horrifying, such as Burrough's molestation by Dr. Finch's adopted son. Remarkably, Burrough's manages to find the humor even in these situations. People are likely to compare Burrough's to another gay humorist, David Sedaris; however, Burrough's stories are far darker than those of Sedaris, although both of them write great funny stories. This book was a tremendously quick read, and I laughed out loud more than any recent book I've read. Highly recommended on that basis, but some readers are likely to be highly offended by some of the content.
Click here to see more reviews for: Running with Scissors
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Persepolis
The Story of a Childhood
by Marjane Satrapi (based on 172 customer reviews)
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(Paperback)
Author: Marjane Satrapi
Publisher: Pantheon
Price: $10.36
You save: $2.59 (20%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
96 out of 99 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 3/8/05
Heartwarming insight. As rich in art as it is in history.
I read Persepolis tonight.
I mean the whole thing. I started it after dinner, and just finished it at the 153rd page. For those of you who've read, or should I say "experienced" this work, that won't come as a surprise. For those of you who haven't, consider it a high-endorsement. I had other plans for my night...
..I also had my doubts about this work. Despite the rave reviews, I've never even read a comic book. That, coupled with the fact that at first glance, it seemed very...well, childish?
Oh the shame! Marjane Satrapi has created an apologetic convert out of me.
Persepolis is the story of one girls experience during the fall of the Shah of Iran, the ensuing Islamic Revolution (which included Stalin like "purges"), and war with Iraq. Only it's not told in plain text, but rather is a pictured in a comic book style.
A history buff myself, I have an above-average awareness of the historical goings on of that period. However, told in this unorthodox style, with pictures, through the creative and emotional eyes of a child, the "facts" gained a vibrance and color for me like never before. The human side of history had so much more meaning, and seemed to imprint a deeper and easier understanding in my mind than most accounts.
When I was thinking about what was so compelling about this book, I thought of Edward Tufte. He's a famous professor and scientist in the field of displaying information graphically. I went to a seminar by him once. He passionately explained the concept of neural bandwidth, and how most text and plain graphs don't take advantage of the massive processing power of our minds. The pictures in Persepolis, coupled with Marjane's rich historical account seemed to take advantage of that latent neural ability. For me, they compounded and achieved something of an emotional critical mass of understanding that few books have.
So, like I said, I'm a convert. I just ordered her second work "The Story of a Return". Only this time, I'll have a nice bottle of wine, and no plans for the night.
Enjoy,
Christian Hunter
Santa Barbara, California
Click here to see more reviews for: Persepolis
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Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight
An African Childhood
by Alexandra Fuller (based on 181 customer reviews)
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(Paperback)
Author: Alexandra Fuller
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Price: $10.20
You save: $4.80 (32%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
65 out of 71 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 1/7/02
Do Let's Read This Book Tonight
What a pleasure it is to start off the new year with a wonderful new book. I probably never would have picked this book up, except for the glowing reviews it's been getting. And, are they ever deserved. This is the story of Bobo Fuller, daughter of gone-to-the-dogs parents in 1970's Rhodesia, on the losing (depending on your point of view) side of a civil war. Covering her growing-up years of moving from one place to another in Africa always searching for a way to exist in a place where white Africans no longer had power and privilege, Ms. Fuller writes unsparingly, unsentimentally, and honestly about her family and their remarkable experiences. Don't miss this terrific book.
Click here to see more reviews for: Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight
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Little Heathens
Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression
by Mildred Armstrong Kalish (based on 93 customer reviews)
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(Paperback)
Author: Mildred Armstrong Kalish
Publisher: Bantam
Price: $9.60
You save: $2.40 (20%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
70 out of 75 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 7/9/07
This book is a winner
This is an entrancing memoir of days now long gone, but vivid in the minds of those who lived them. While I lived on an Iowa farm in western Iowa rather than eastern Iowa, and was a boy, and was about six years younger than the author, this book recalled so much of what it was like that reading it was sn unmitigated delight. The author recognizes "the all-too-human tendency to gloss over the bad and glorify, or at least magnify, the good" when recalling one's childhood, but it sure makes greater reading to read of one's appreciated childhood than it does to read of one who looks back thereon in bitterness. Thus this book beats, e.g., Angela's Ashes by a mile in enjoyable reading.
Click here to see more reviews for: Little Heathens
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The Glass Castle
A Memoir (Alex Awards (Awards))
by Jeannette Walls (based on 1138 customer reviews)
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(Hardcover)
Author: Jeannette Walls
Publisher: Scribner
Price: $16.50
You save: $8.50 (34%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
551 out of 589 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 2/28/05
WHAT A COURAGEOUS MEMOIR - - BRAVO!
First, "The Glass Castle" is a real page turner - - I couldn't put it down and finished it in about four hours - - a record for me!
It's probably the most thoughtful and sensitive memoir I can ever remember reading - - told with such grace, kindness and fabulous sense of humor.
It's probably the best account ever written of a dysfunctional family -- and it must have taken Walls so much courage to put pen to paper and recount the details of her rather bizarre childhood - - which although it's like none other and is so dramatic - - any reader will relate to it. Readers will find bits and pieces of their own parents in Rex and Rose Mary Walls.
Her journey across the country, ending up in a poor mining town in West Virginia and then finally in New York City, is a fascinating tale of survival.
Her zest for life, even when eating margarine and sugar and bundled in a cardboard box with sweaters, coats and huddling with her pets, is unbelievably beautiful - - and motivating.
If I could give a book ten stars, it would be "The Glass Castle."
Click here to see more reviews for: The Glass Castle
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The Glass Castle
A Memoir
by Jeannette Walls (based on 1138 customer reviews)
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(Paperback)
Author: Jeannette Walls
Publisher: Scribner
Price: $10.20
You save: $4.80 (32%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
551 out of 589 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 2/28/05
WHAT A COURAGEOUS MEMOIR - - BRAVO!
First, "The Glass Castle" is a real page turner - - I couldn't put it down and finished it in about four hours - - a record for me!
It's probably the most thoughtful and sensitive memoir I can ever remember reading - - told with such grace, kindness and fabulous sense of humor.
It's probably the best account ever written of a dysfunctional family -- and it must have taken Walls so much courage to put pen to paper and recount the details of her rather bizarre childhood - - which although it's like none other and is so dramatic - - any reader will relate to it. Readers will find bits and pieces of their own parents in Rex and Rose Mary Walls.
Her journey across the country, ending up in a poor mining town in West Virginia and then finally in New York City, is a fascinating tale of survival.
Her zest for life, even when eating margarine and sugar and bundled in a cardboard box with sweaters, coats and huddling with her pets, is unbelievably beautiful - - and motivating.
If I could give a book ten stars, it would be "The Glass Castle."
Click here to see more reviews for: The Glass Castle
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Fargo Rock City
A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota
by Chuck Klosterman (based on 70 customer reviews)
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(Paperback)
Author: Chuck Klosterman
Publisher: Scribner
Price: $11.20
You save: $2.80 (20%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
12 out of 15 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 6/18/03
Chuck is a Rock God -- Honestly
At first, I was a bit disappointed by the book and then I read the epilogue. Why wasn't it more of a memoir? Why was it filled with so much analysis? Then, I realized that isn't really the point of this wonderful book. Klosterman has made me a fan for life. What wins me over his unbashed honesty. I've long held that the lowest critic life form is that of rock critic. Klosterman calls them on their pretension. He hammers away at what I have always believed is that music is important if it touches you. My MP3 collection has Sinatra and Warrant. Who cares who is better, both form the soundtrack to important parts of my life. Klosterman tells some hilarious stories and his takes on music and life is so refereshingly honest that I can't stop smiling. He isn't mean or nasty--just tells it as he sees it. DOn't agree? That's ok. I learned more than I ever imagined about '80s heavy metal (some which I finally realized I liked about 10 years too late) and I suspect I would have gotten more out of the book if I had understood all the references, but I loved what I read anyway. Except for the passage where he compares the Gospels to GNR Lies, this book really does rock. Isn't that the most important thing?
Click here to see more reviews for: Fargo Rock City
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The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
A Memoir
by Bill Bryson (based on 209 customer reviews)
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(Hardcover)
Edition: 1
Author: Bill Bryson
Publisher: Broadway
Price: $16.50
You save: $8.50 (34%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
130 out of 134 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 10/19/06
I was literally sent downstairs for laughing too loud.
Seriously. I was up past bedtime, and I was reading Bryson's description of lame 1950's toys. I won't give it away, but imagine what he can do with the topic of "electric football". After a particularly vigorous episode of chortling, my wife trudged out of bed to decree that, if I insisted on continuing to read, I'd have to take it downstairs.
And that's what this book is, a laugh-out-loud remembrance of a simpler, sillier time. Bryson's travelogues are what made him famous, and he never would have made it without a fantastic memory for detail and an ability to convey a vivid mental picture of the topics he chooses. His descriptions of 1950's Des Moines are consistently evocative. It's like a travelogue unearthed from a 50 year old time capsule. I feel like I have visited there.
Still, readers of Bryson known that what truly sets him apart is his uncanny ability to attract and describe morons, as well as all manner of idiotic situations (generally self-inflicted). For a man who can do this on, say, a simple trip to Australia, imagine how much comedy gold can be mined from a childhood in the Midwest of the 50's. It is, as they say, a target-rich environment. His remembrances include family, friends, school, Des Moines, lame childhood toys, nuclear bombs, and more. Even things like TV dinners, which we have all heard mocked before, are skewered in new and amusing ways.
For all of that, though, the memoir is not mean spirited. I think that the ridicule works so well because it is easy to sense Bryson's real affection for his subjects (well, at least the ones who aren't carbonized by the x-ray vision of the Thunderbolt Kid). He's poking fun, but in a way that family and friends might poke fun at each other over old childhood foibles at a Thanksgiving dinner. It's the humor that you get when your wife knows that you're ridiculous, but loves you just the same. This book belongs with such classic tributes to youth as The Wonder Years, Stand By Me, and A Christmas Story. Buy it, and enjoy it. Just try not to read it next to someone's bedroom.
Click here to see more reviews for: The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
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The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
A Memoir
by Bill Bryson (based on 62 customer reviews)
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(Paperback)
Author: Bill Bryson
Publisher: Broadway
Price: $10.17
You save: $4.78 (32%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
15 out of 15 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 1/3/08
Made in America's Heartland
"Getting into the strippers' tent would become the principal preoccupation of my pubescent years." - Bill Bryson in THUNDERBOLT KID
"Essentially matinees were an invitation to four thousand children to riot for four hours in a large darkened space." - Bill Bryson in THUNDERBOLT KID
As I mature gracefully, reading the coming-of-age reminiscences of others that grew up about the same time I did - the 1950s - becomes an absorbing leisure activity. Perhaps I just need to supplement my failing memory with theirs. In any case, several fine volumes of the genre come to mind: Blooming: A Small-Town Girlhood by Susan Allen Toth, Sleeping Arrangements by Laura Shaine Cunningham, When All the World Was Young: A Memoir by Barbara Holland, and Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir by Doris Kearns Goodwin. As you may have noticed, all four of these are by female authors who are recalling their girlhood. On the other hand, THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE THUNDERBOLT KID, by Bill Bryson, is all about boyhood. And, as I think you'll agree, boys are an entirely different species from girls. I should know as I used to be one of the former. For example, boys have a propensity for shenanigans that would elicit an "Eeeuw!" from the gentler sex, as the following passage on Lincoln Logs, of which I myself had a set, illustrates:
"What Buddy Doberman and I discovered was that if you peed on Lincoln Logs you bleached them white. As a result we created, over a period of weeks, the world's first albino Lincoln Log cabin, which we took to school as part of a project on Abraham Lincoln's early years."
Or this regarding the elementary school's space heaters:
"The most infamous radiator-based activity was of course to pee on the radiator in one of the boys' bathrooms. This created an enormous sour stink that permeated whole wings of the school for days on end and could not be got rid of through any amount of scrubbing or airing."
I'm virtually certain that Susan, Laura, Barbara and Doris never did either.
Bill's recollections otherwise ran the gamut of those of any kid of either sex from that era: family vacations, the first televisions, favorite TV shows, the nature of contemporary comic books, toys, soda pop and candies, parents' occupations and eccentricities, Mom's cooking, the specter of The Bomb and Godless Communism, drop and cover drills, Saturday afternoons at the movie matinees, the National Pastime (major league baseball), the State Fair, Dick and Jane books, visits to Grandpa's farm, paper routes, strange relatives, and Best Friends. Oddly, there's no mention anywhere of a family pet. Is it that he never had one? How is this possible?
Then, of course, there's the budding fascination with sex that includes the discovery of Ol' Dad's secret stash of girlie mags and the unfulfilled, feverish desire to see play pal Mary O'Leary nekkid.
As in the author's other books, his ability to tell the story with a wry and self-deprecating wit is unmatched by any contemporary writer that I've read with the exception of Barbara Holland. Both are national treasures.
Bryson's young adventures took place in Des Moines, Iowa, a much different environment than the Southern California in which I had mine. But, there's a degree of similarity that transcends region so long as that region lies in the U.S. of A. One of Bill's nostalgias in particular that I wouldn't have recalled in a million years but is oh, so true was:
"Of all the tragic losses since the 1950s, mimeograph paper may be the greatest. With its rapturously fragrant, sweetly aromatic pale blue ink, mimeograph paper was literally intoxicating."
It's in the nature of the aging human to recall previous times as so much better. Nowadays, as we're inundated with rampant political correctness, discredited heroes, and the pathetic likes of Paris, Britney and Lindsay, I can look back and say about many things, as Bill does:
"... I saw the last of something really special. It's something I seem to say a lot these days."
Click here to see more reviews for: The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
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The Lost Boy
A Foster Child's Search for the Love of a Family
by Dave Pelzer (based on 451 customer reviews)
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(Paperback)
Edition: Revised
Author: Dave Pelzer
Publisher: HCI
Price: $10.36
You save: $2.59 (20%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
122 out of 128 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 5/12/00
Heart-wrenching, amazing and uplifting true stroy.
The Lost Boy is an absolutely amazing true story of Dave Pelzer, which chronicles his years from 12 to 18 years of age as a foster child. This is book two of three and now I must go and read the other two books in the trilogy. I could not put this book down. I would recommend this book to everyone.This will book will make you cry, it will make you mad, and at the end, you will be cheering and crying tears of joy for Dave. This book will break your heart and if you are a parent, you will be outraged at the abuse. Sadly, child abuse is so prevalent, and there are so many cunning, and devious parents out there, that some children do not get out and the abuse is "allowed" to go on and on or the child is killed.
Dave's strength, determination, and unbreakable spirit shine throughout this book. How he survived the brutality can only be called a miracle. It breaks my heart to read of such incredible abuse and one does have to thank the foster parents, social works and teachers in this child's life. Dave says, "It takes a community to save a child", and I wholeheartedly agree.
Dave takes you through his five different foster families during his adolescent years and his desperate determination to find the love of a family and a "home" propels him by not abandoning hope.
Dave's inner strength, courage, and fortitude are a shining inspiration to us all. God bless you Dave and the work that you are doing to help other children. Thank you for opening our eyes and sharing "your" story.
Click here to see more reviews for: The Lost Boy
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