Friday November 21, 2008
Biographies & Memoirs: Memoirs
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
- Eat, Pray, Love : One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert
- Dreams from My Father : A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama
- Multiple Blessings : Surviving to Thriving With Twins and Sextuplets by Jon Gosselin
- Too Fat to Fish by Artie Lange
- The Snowball : Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder
- My Stroke of Insight : A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey by Jill Bolte Taylor
- A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity by Bill O'Reilly
- Dreams from My Father : A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama
- 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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Eat, Pray, Love
One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
by Elizabeth Gilbert
(based on 1730 customer reviews)
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(Paperback)
Author: Elizabeth Gilbert
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:
279 out of 398 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 2/26/06
HER OWN SEARCH - HER OWN VOICE, BOTH IMPRESSIVE
Reading the subtitle of Elizabeth Gilbert's latest book, "One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia," one can only think well, she certainly knows where to look! Also, upon learning that this is her chosen way of recovering from a particularly acrimonious divorce and a trying-to-make-up-for-that-loss romance that didn't work, we might think how fortunate she is to able to seek solace in such intriguing places.
Whatever our opinion of her reasons for this journey it has been established that she's a super writer (The Last American Man), and she brings all of her wit, intellect and stylish pen to Eat Pray Love. More than that, she brought a great deal of courage to her chosen task of traveling the world alone at the age of 34. She felt she needed a dramatic change, and it may be that she has found it.
It's a pleasure to listen to this memoir/travelogue in her voice. Many will associate with her initial confession that she's not a very good traveler in that she suffers from various digestive interruptions. However, on the plus side she easily makes friends with anyone. As she puts it, "I can make friends with the dead." Or, if there isn't anyone around she claims that she could chat with a pile of Sheetrock. Whatever the case, she is a very lucky lady as her travel experiences prove.
No Viva Italia for Italy because of Messina, a port town in Sicily that she describes as "scary and suspicious." Perhaps that's one reason why she's lonely and depressed there. But things definitely take a turn for the better in India and Indonesia, although her meditation needs a little more work.
Did Gilbert find what she was searching for? Listeners may not be too sure but they'll certainly enjoy the trip!
- Gail Cooke
Click here to see more reviews for: Eat, Pray, Love
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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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(Hardcover)
Edition: Reprint
Author: Barack Obama
Publisher: Crown
Price: $15.57
You save: $10.38 (40%) 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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Multiple Blessings
Surviving to Thriving With Twins and Sextuplets
by Jon Gosselin (based on 64 customer reviews)
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(Hardcover)
Author: Jon Gosselin
Publisher: Zondervan
Price: $11.99
You save: $8.00 (40%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
34 out of 39 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 10/29/08
Very well written. Good writting style, flow and timeline of events.
When the book came out I noticed that the author is Beth Carson (along with Kate Gosselin). On the TV show "Jon and Kate Plus 8", it has been shown that Beth Carson is Kate's good friend, so I was concerned that the book itself may lack an experienced writing style. I was wrong! This book is VERY well written with an excellent flow and time-line of events.
The story is told by Kate with in-depth details that go far past what the TV show documents. One way to explain it is that the TV show lets you see all the action while the book provides insight into the emotional roller coaster and thoughts experienced by the parents, immediate family and some volunteers. Kate does a good job of explaining the mental and physical stress of raising six infants who are all the same age along with a set of twin toddlers. Kate didn't paint herself as a saint and openly talks about the times she was wrong and as she stated "not winning any friends". As a mom myself of multiples I thought the book gave an accurate portrayal of the stress of bed rest, carrying multiples, the sheer mental exhaustion that takes it's ugly toll.
The TV series is based mostly in their current home but the book focuses on their early days in the condo by the hospital and their first house. So fans of the show will enjoy reading about events that haven't been a part of the series. Each chapter of the book has a personal photo from the Gosselin family. The photos are fairly generic and similar to what has been seen on the TV series. But unlike the TV series the book goes into detail about the parents of Jon and Kate and other immediate family members. Those family members are mentioned lovingly quiet often which Fans of the show may find interesting.
Whether you are a fan or a critic, I think you will agree that the book is well written. It is a fairly quick read that is well worth it for anyone who is curious about this family or for someone who has struggled with raising multiples.
Click here to see more reviews for: Multiple Blessings
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Too Fat to Fish
by Artie Lange (based on 40 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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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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My Stroke of Insight
A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey
by Jill Bolte Taylor (based on 121 customer reviews)
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(Hardcover)
Edition: 1
Author: Jill Bolte Taylor
Publisher: Viking Adult
Price: $14.97
You save: $9.98 (40%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
177 out of 184 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 3/13/08
Important
This is, indeed, a first-person description of stroke by a scientifically and dare I say it -- spiritually -- sophisticated person. The author describes a range of experiences that make sense given our knowledge of localization of function. I'm not sure that such a detailed and consistent report by a scientist is available anywhere else. As such, this story is unusual and important. Moreover the author reports how she turned her stroke into an opportunity for profound wisdom and insight. Amazing stuff! And this may save lives.
Personally, I don't share all the author's ideas about strict functional localization in the brain... but that is secondary and doesn't detract from my admiration of her remarkable contribution.
My enjoyment of this book was enhanced considerably by the material and links at the author's website. She has posted a number of video and audio presentations, radio shows, etc.
Click here to see more reviews for: My Stroke of Insight
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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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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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Dreams from My Father
A Story of Race and Inheritance
by Barack Obama (based on 321 customer reviews)
-
(Kindle Edition)
Author: Barack Obama
Publisher: Crown
Price: $5.99
You save: $8.96 (60%) 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 forty 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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