U Books

Few people, even non-golfers, can escape ever having heard of Ben Hogan. Maybe you don't know exactly who he was, but the name is oddly familiar.

To golfers, Ben Hogan is as close to legend as anything. Other players, even Bobby Jones and Tiger Woods, lack the mystique which has encompassed Hogan, even many years after his death.

What few of us know is just who he was. This information may not be so pertinant to people who play the game, since they are mostly interested in his swing. However, anyone who has touched even in a small way on part of his career realizes the great mysteries that lie in his life and being.

"Hogan" may not answer everything satisfactorily, but it comes as close as any are likely to get. This covers his life in as much informative detail as could be needed, and presents Hogan not so much in a less-than-glamorous light, as is common to biographies, but rather in a "judge for yourself" presentation of evidence for what made the man what he became.

Anyone curious about this modern legend will get more than he bargains for. Where perhaps the book does not go into his game to the extent golfers may want, the story of Hogan's life is engaging enough without it.

In my very large golf library this is clearly the best book on golf
I have read period. For the first time you get an insight into the "wie ice mon" in what reads like a novel.

This book really only confirmed what I had thought for a long time, behind Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan was a tremendous golfer who was way ahead of his time. Hogan nearly won the grand slam, and could not compete in the PGA because of the fact it started almost the same time the British Open was finishing. As we all watch Tiger Woods try for the grand slam, let us not forget Ben Hogan who was as close as anyone has ever come to doing it. The most amazing part of Hogan's story was the fact he won the US Open after almost dying in a car crash.

Sampson does a nice job with this book, telling about Hogan like he was, stearn and driven, and definitely not writing a fluff piece like some biographies can be. Hogan was tough, and I would equate him as the "Ted Williams" of golf, so good it was hard for him to teach anyone because he set such high standards for himself. I recommend this book to golfers and people who want to read about a remarkable man.

Ben Hogan was a no nonsense, focused champion who realized early in life that hard work was the path to success. Curt Sampson does a great job in presenting the real Hogan, not just the golf legend. This book should be required reading for all golf fans.
Especially the goofs who scream "You da man!" everytime Tiger hits a shot. There will never be another Ben Hogan.

When I was growing up the names of Palmer, Nicklaus, Trevino, Player, and their generation were the top competitors. Ben Hogan was a revered name, but one of past glory. His great year of 1953 was in the past. I had heard about his auto accident and his amazing comeback, but this book helped me see the man who "dug it out of the dirt" through hard work, discipline, and ferocious tenacity.

Mr. Hogan started out with less than most. His father's suicide and the family's subsequent poverty didn't leave him with many open paths to success. He found golf and found that it not only matched his physical skills, but was an even better match for his nearly obsessive temperament.

The swing he developed has become the pattern millions of us try to emulate, although he would find our haphazard approach to the game less than useless. Why we love being duffers would be beyond him. He knew how to work and to practice. I still cannot fathom the kind of internal strength it would take to come back from that terrible leg shattering accident when his Cadillac was struck by a bus. He played in great pain for the rest of his life and had four surgeries on his left shoulder. When I realize that his greatest achievements and most of his wins at major tournaments were after the accident I am simply dumbstruck.

Mr. Hogan was a very private and enigmatic figure. Mr. Sampson does a good job in teasing what facts we know into a good story. We get interesting stories from the golf side of his life (mostly stories told about Hogan by others) and those are very enjoyable. However, I like the way Mr. Sampson puts all that in the context of a real person - a real man. Ben Hogan wasn't a fictional character even though the media version of him was a distortion of the actual hard working man who practiced, practiced, and then practiced some more, who loved his wife, Valerie, and built a successful golf equipment business.

Ben Hogan made a long journey through life and I think this book tells the story well.

While the 17th century witnessed the failure of the libertarian Levellor revolution, the 18th century can be said to embody its partial victory in the form of the American Revolution. The radical libertarian nature of the Yankee revolutionaires has only recently been acknowledged by historians. Bailyn's volume broke new ground when it was published in 1967 by showing the Radical Whig foundations of the American Revolution. He says "attitudes and ideas that would constitute the Revolutionary ideology was present a half-century before there was an actual Revolution".

The two most widely read polemical Radical Whig authors were Thomas Gordon and John Trenchard. By means of their anti-clerical and anti-military essays, known collectively as "The Indpendent Whig" and "Cato's Letters", they kept alive the Radical Whig traditions of natural rights, suspicion of the ever-encroaching nature of state power, and justified rebellion. Gordon and Trenchard were able to transmit these revolutionary ideas in popular form to the American colonies.

Bailyn says "Everywhere groups seeking justification for concerted opposition to constituted governments turned to these writers [Trenchard and Gordon]". He adds "By 1728, in fact, 'Cato's Letters' had already been fused with Locke, Coke, Pufendorf, and Grotius".

Another important connecting link was Thomas Hollis. Bailyn says "that extraordinary one-man propaganda machine in the cause of liberty, the indefatigable Thomas Hollis" distributed libertarian tracts in England and British America, and subsidized the publication of American revolutionary pamphlets, as well as reprinting the classics of the 17th century Whig tradition such as Sidney and Locke. He was instrumental in supplying radical libertarian literature to libraries in France, Switzerland, Italy, and to Harvard University.

Radical Whig libertarianism comprises a coherent body of principles that are held together and given meaning by two fundamental moral principles. The first being the right of the individual to own justly acquired property; the second being the right of the individual not to be aggressed against.

The individual is defined by his physical uniqueness and so has the potential to develop into a mature and responsible acting individual. The individual's uniqueness forms the basic element of all social interaction and is the source of the division of labor and the exchange process. Similarly, privacy is the result of recognizing the dignity, worth, and sanctity of every individual. Only by permitting the individual to enjoy his or her property unmolested, within the protected sphere defined by the self-ownership principle and the derivative right to own property in other physical objects, can there be true privacy and protection of the private side of human life.

Tolerance results from the recognition that all individuals are potentially morally perfectable. As long as no property rights are violated, then all consenting, peaceful activity must be legally protected. Tolerance is vital because it allows each and every individual to exercise moral autonomy. Only by being free to choose between different courses of action can the individual learn from past mistakes and so strive for moral perfection and self-fulfillment.

It is a consequence of the ownership of one's body and the moral autonomy that springs from this ownership that no one can act on any individual's behalf unless expressly and formally delegated to do so. This means that individuals have to begin claiming their rights of self-determination, the right to withdraw or secede from any political organization that is not to their liking, and the right to resist political intervention in their social and economic activities. Bailyn says "Such ideas, based on extreme solicitude for the individual and an equal hostility to government, were expressed in a spirit of foreboding and fear for the future".

In 1765, Charles Carroll of Carrollton said, "corruption . . . will produce the same effects . . but that fatal time seems to be at a great distance. The present generation at least, . . . will enjoy the blessings and the sweets of liberty". Bailyn says "Suspicion . . . of an active conspiracy of power against liberty . . . rose in the consciousness of a large segment of the American population before any of the famous political events of the struggle with England took place".

Bailyn cites the Report of Speech in the House of Lords, 1770: "Lord Chancellor Camden . . . accused the ministry . . . of having formed a conspiracy against the liberties of their country". Bailyn also cites the Boston Town Meeting to its Assembly Representatives, 1770: "A series of occurrences, many recent events, . . . afford great reason to believe that a deep-laid and desparate plan of imperial despotism has been laid, and partly executed, for the extinction of all civil liberty . . . The august and once revered fortress of English freedom - the admirable work of ages - the British Constitution seems fast tottering into fatal and inevitable ruin. The dreadful catastrophe threatens universal havoc, and presents an awful warning to hazard all if, peradventure, we in these distant confines of the earth may prevent".

Colonists such as radicals Thomas Paine and Richard Price added to these fears. Paine is best noted for his popular tract, "Common Sense"(1776), which attacked monarchical government and urged immediate declaration of independence from the Crown and the formation of a Republic, as well as for his passionate defense of the French Revolution in his "Rights of Man"(1792). Richard Price, a Dissenter and self-styled "Honest Whig", defended natural rights, justice, and the right of a people to rebel against oppression in his "Observations on the Nature of Civil Liberty . . . and the Justice of War in America", also publishe in 1776.

Bailyn says "the colonists' ideas and words counted too, and not merely because they repeated as ideology the familiar utopian phrases of the Enlightment and of English libertarianism. What they were saying by 1776 was familiar . . . ; yet it was different." He says "The radicalism the Americans conveyed to the world in 1776 was a transformed as well as a transforming force", namely "to make federalism a logical as well as a practical system of government".

Proponents of liberty were mistrusted as well. Bailyn says "denunciations of the work of seditious factions seeking private aims masked by professions of loyalty, which abound in the writings of officials and of die-hard Tories".

It is significant that Bailyn seems only to touch lightly upon the views of the Tories - predecessors of today's neocons. He draws heavily from the radicals. This cozy accomodation and convenient oversightedness is also suspicious. It is an approach that is commonplace concerning the American Revolution. State public schools do not teach the Tories' views, rather their aim is to justify the present organization of American society.

More questions arise from reading Bailyn's work. Why did the Radical Whig revolution in England fail to attract the ruling elite and beneficiaries of monopoly profits resulting from the political system? And why did their counterparts in the American colonies embrace Radical Whig ideology?

My guess is that, when examined closely, the American Revolution fails to live up to its libertarian origins. My particular concern is with the Declaration of Independence - the supposed listing of reasons for the revolt. The facts indicate that the goals of most of the signers of the Declaration were quite different from their rhetoric. They sought freedom from Britain, it is true - the freedom to govern the lives of Americans THEMSELVES. This is obvious, not only from the words of the Founding Fathers, but from their actions as well.

In short, a valuable collection of primary sources. It should be read alongside Raoul Berger's "The Founders' Design" and Cecelia Kenyon's "Men of Little Faith".

Bernard Bailyn's seminal Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece is the starting point to understanding the central theme of American political thought -- the struggle of Liberty versus Power.

In particular, it demonstrates the crucial role Cato's Letters played in shaping the minds of our Founders in formenting our American Revolution.

Read Murray N. Rothbard's four volume history of Colonial America, Conceived In Liberty, as a magnificent follow up to Bailyn's beginning.

Research on a previous project provided Bernard Bailyn an intellectual treasure trove of over 400 pamphlets, written between 1763 and 1776, from which he crafted his Bancroft and Pulitzer Prize-winning The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1992). This work, first published in 1967, remains a standard volume for students of early American studies at all university levels. Bailyn crafted a pointed examination of thoughts of American colonial leaders that culminated into the Revolution. Not only is his analysis wide-ranging, but it explores the depth and fallaciousness of eighteenth-century American revolutionary rationale with force and clarity.

Bailyn lays out the basic argument in the book's sixth sentence: "The ideology of the Revolution, derived from many sources, was dominated by a peculiar strand of British political thought" (v). Around this central thought, Bailyn details the convergence of thought that formed the colonists' case for a break from the British empire; he explains the change over time in American thinking on long-held political views; he highlights contemporary issues, i.e. chattel slavery and established religion, that gained argumentative force from the colonials' complaints against the British Parliament; and he illustrates the difficulties that Revolutionary thinking posed for participants of the Constitutional Convention who sought to replace British authority with a central American government.

The first part of the book describes the vehicle, voice, and ideological basis of the Revolution. The leaders of the Revolution propagated their thoughts through newspapers, broadsides, and almanacs. The primary writing form of the Revolution, however, was the pamphlet, which allowed polemicists of all different vocations to broaden the political debate. The American revolutionary pamphlets, though a "distinctive literature of the Revolution," had roots in seventeenth-century American sermon publishing and early eighteenth-century English polemical pamphleteering techniques.

The Revolutionary crisis did not originate during the crisis period from 1763 to 1776. Elements of the discourse had been long present in the colonies, but the post-1763 turmoil fused the ideas into "a comprehensive view, unique in its moral and intellectual appeal" (22). Bailyn nods to the intellectual influences on colonial leaders from quotations of classical writers, a rather superficial knowledge of the Enlightenment, citations of English common law, and the covenant theology of New England Puritanism. One of Bailyn's significant contributions to the present thinking on eighteenth-century American revolutionary thought is his understanding that "the ultimate origins of the this distinctive ideological strain lay in the radical social and political thought of the English Civil War and of the Commonwealth period" (34). He identifies early eighteenth-century English radical writers, such as John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon, as shaping the mind of the American Revolutionary generation more than any other single group.

Change in America did not begin to happen only with the Revolution; it began a century before and progressed slowly. Bailyn constructs an intellectual chronology of Revolutionary thought that consists of three phases, beginning with the years of Anglo-American struggle before 1776, the execution of state constitutions from 1776 through the 1780s, and the crafting and ratifying of a national constitution. The final section of the book exquisitely displays the difficulties encountered by participants at the Constitution Convention to form a federal system of government in the wake of the force of argument put forth at the Continental Congress against the encroaching powers of a central government. Bailyn's discussions of imperium in imperio bookend with sheer mastery his understanding of the entangling intellectual obstacles which American colonists laboriously yet successfully maneuvered to produce the Revolution and the Constitution.

Throughout the Revolutionary period corruption served as the greatest threat to liberty, and, according the federalist view, a constitution establishing a government endowed with the separation of powers would ensure the existence of virtue, the necessary attribute for the sustenance of liberty within a republic. One area of frustration throughout the book is the use of terms like "corruption" and "virtue" that portrays an almost given denotation of such enigmatic expressions.

A true gem within the book is Bailyn's demonstration that the colonial leaders could not contain revolutionary fervor. Opponents of chattel slavery in America and proponents of religious disestablishment used the American leaders' own arguments for freedom from the British Parliament and taxation without representation to assail the continuation of the slave trade and ecclesiastical taxation against religious dissenters.

Bailyn's The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution is nothing less than a most persuasive, brilliantly crafted work that will influence the way Americans think about the Revolution for years to come.

Bernard Bailyn's Ideological Origins of the American Revolution is a centerpiece in much, if not all, of contemporary historians' viewpoints and methodologies for understanding the philosophical constructs and ideological underpinnings of the American Revolution. It was, according to Bailyn and many learned historians, after this writing first appeared in 1967, a revolution of ideas. What Bailyn did was to read prodigious amounts of writings of the time, mostly in the form of pamphlets and synthesize the thoughts that were being discussed and written about at the time. Essentially, he put the revolution of ideas into the context of the time. That was, some forty years ago, revolutionary within of itself.

Many of today's more serious readers of the period have read much of Bailyn and Gordon Wood indirectly, if not directly reading their own work. Both have been that influential in the field. The "disappointment" in this book is caused by Bailyn's own success, ironically enough. It was his work, along with select others, who began to pay attention to history within its own context - that is what was occurring in life and politics at the time rather than a chronological and linear view of the time. More of an interdisciplinary viewpoint and, as such, more accessible to the reader. Since the time of its first publication, many others have emulated its style (a good idea) but made its rather seismic effects at the time, feel much less so today. Effectively so much hype over the years (deserved then and de rigor today) makes for more than a bit of a letdown for today's readers. That said, those truly interested in the ideas, the philosophies, and their interpretations and misinterpretations of the day are well served reading Bailyn. Others should approach the read with caution as it is fairly dense but filled with moments of sheer academic brilliance.

This is a book that all students of the American Revolution should be forced to read. Without understanding Bailyn's argument, that the "conspiracy against liberty" was the main reason why America decided to break away from the British Empire, a student will be forever lost in trying to understand the roots of the American Revolution. Almost all of the books on the outbreak of the American Revolution have had to take Bailyn's argument into consideration; so, if you're interested in the study of the American Revolution, then this book is an imperative read. Read T.H. Breen's "The Marketplace of Revolution" after this book, and you'll have a decent grasp of the roots of the American Revolution.

I am not an accomplished reader so it has to really hold my attention to finish a book. This book is written exactly from L&C's journals. Lots of mispelled words and some confusion. Sometimes hard to follow. Sometimes the minute details are a bit much. They don't really expound on things. I guess what they go through on a day to day basis is somewhat mundane at times. Overall a decent read IMO...I wouldn't get it again if I knew what I know now. Oh well. Enjoy!

I read books in a wide variety of topics. I decided to read about Lewis and Clark because I felt I just did not know enough about it and I felt that I should. When I received the book, I opened it and was fearful that I made a mistake because it was made up of journal entries, day by day in Lewis and Clark's own words. I started reading and I found myself immmediately engrossed in the story. I mean immediately. You can read the letter from Jefferson containing the instructions and mission of the expedition- just fascinating. Then you get the story of the expedition, day by day, straight from the horses' mouth. I could not put this book down. I could not stop talking about it. I used Google Earth (so cool!!!) to follow the Missouri River into the Rockies, across the mountains, finally to the Columbia to the Pacific and then back. Canoeing up rivers, down rivers, fighting bears, trading and smoking with indians, fighting with some indians, at times overheated, at times freezing. Surving on the land with strategy and forethought. I learn an incredible amount of information about that time in our country's history. I was blown away. And the greatest part, I had to keep reminding myself of, is that it was absent all of the politically corrected revisionism we read today. This story is straight from them. They are sitting down at night and recording what they experienced in 1804 (05-06). Those notes are delivered to you via an author Bernard Devoto who uses only the most relevant parts of the journals (leaves out the volumes of strict scientific research data). Then, when he has to make the occasion insertion of a letter or two to make sure a misspelled word is not misinterpreted, he gives very clear instruction on how he has denoted the change. He also, upon occasion will give a summary of events, or a note of interest.
The end result is a splendid story, rich in historical information, written by the men who lived it, about one of the most important events in our country's history. I leave you with this excerpt, logged Sunday August 18th, 1805 by a man who is in the middle of the American West, where no white man has tread before, trading and smoking with Indians, shooting bear and deer to survive, canoeing upriver for 2000 miles;
"This day I completed my thirty first year, and conceived that I had in all human probability now existed about half the period which I am to remain in this subluminary world. I reflected that I had as yet done but little, very little indeed, to further the happiness of the human race or to advance the information of the succeeding generation. I viewed with regret the many hours I have spent in indolence..."

I would use one word to characterize this work: Timeless. To relive the great expedition through the words of Lewis and Clark themselves is a fantastic experience. I think that most people who enjoy American history will love this book. People who are not inclined to read or enjoy historical non-fiction might find it tedious (such as students forced to do so for class assignments), as it is long and detailed.

I previously read Ambrose's "Undaunted Courage" (which itself is excellent), which contains many passages from these journals, but the journals themselves are unsurpassed.

I recently took a college class about the hidden history of the West--and it was a great class, one of the best ever--but one of the books we read in there was all about the Native American perspective of the Lewis and Clark expedition and while it was interesting to hear that take on the subject, I couldn't have been more at odds with the discussion that followed, most of which had to do with the low characters of the men of the expedition, the subversive agenda behind it all, and the thought that the world would have been a better place if the entire undertaking had never taken place.
That's because, to me, there has never been anything cooler than the Corps of Discovery, than the journey West, than Lewis and Clark and their whole ragged crew.
Actually, I take that back: the journals they kept...those are even cooler.
From Lewis's insightful reflections, to Clark's lyrical descriptions, to their hilariously bad attempts at spelling, to the thought of moving unknowing into America at its most pristine, these journals have it all. This is the quintessential American adventure story, an amazing account of men against the unknown. This edited collection of the journals, well-compiled by Bernard DeVoto, is one of the greatest things I have ever read, and ever since reading it, I have had an undeniable love for Lewis and Clark, and for their expedition.
Words fail me, but they didn't fail these guys, because here is the West of 1803, vividly rendered for us all to see today. When I first read these in 1999, they convinced me to move into the wild, onto the water, and I spent seven months afterward living out of a canoe...keeping a journal of my own.
If you haven't read these journals, do yourself a favor, and do so now: read them. DeVoto has already made it easy for you, by picking out all the most interesting parts, and by putting them in context with a well-written introduction. You need this book, and you may not even know it.

This work has been edited for the general reader. Many entries have been considerably shortened in the hope of gaining a wider public. For the most part only the highlights are kept, being the actual journal in its full version is so extensive. Most of the original punctuation's and spellings are kept (this gives it a feel of nostalgia). There is repetition. But this, I would think would be impossible to overcome. DeVoto has "produced a straight forward text which could be read without distraction".

The introduction is lengthy; discussed are: the importance of the Louisiana Purchase; the history and purpose leading up to the exploration; earlier expeditions, such as Thompsons' and Mckenzies'; and Lewis' and Clark's background. This was said of these two great men: "The two agreed and worked together with a mutuality unknown elsewhere in the history of exploration and rare in any kind of human association", and "Ingenuity and resourcefulness [by Lewis and Clark] in the field are so continuous that a casual reader may not notice them".

Each chapter is identified by the author whose journal it is taken from, such as Lewis, Clark, Biddle, Orduray, and others. The journal writings have been left as original, giving it that early America mystique. On the 14th of May, 1804, 32 men embark in search of a trade route from the Atlantic to the Pacific:

Dangers lurk around every curve. Indian, grizzly, and immense animal herd encounters are prevalent throughout the journey. To think of the rich bounty contained in the wilderness of the past is beyond comprehension. With leadership that is both strong and wise, Lewis and Clark take this large party of men on a blind epic journey. And on looking back, it was relatively safe. The treatment of the Natives is to be commended, even though many tribes were untrustworthy and warring to other Nations. Trade with the Indians was essential if they were to survive. Also recorded were observations and behaviors of the different tribes. A few of these tribes possessed a huge wealth in horses. Lewis and Clark's party purchased these horses both for traveling overland (which I was never aware) and for food. They did not seem to be displeased with eating horse-meat, dog or roots, which they bought and traded for. The days spent on the Pacific coast were to be the most miserable. The medical remedies used were almost comical; some that were proved beneficial have since been lost through time. The journey ends over 28 months later on the 25th of September, 1806.

I don't know if we can understand completely, how important this expedition was for our country. The undertaking involved in putting this book together from the hundreds of pages of numerous journals is truly amazing. And finally: Appendix I contains Jefferson's instructions; Appendix II is the personnel (32+); and appendix III is the list of specimens brought back.

Wish you well
Scott

For me, the most interesting thing about Rachlin's very interesting memoir was the incredible strength she showed in forging a life for herself that was so different from the culture she was born into in Iran and for which she had very little or no family support. It is a very personal tale of courage. Rachlin was given to an aunt to raise shortly after her birth and then wrenchingly, for both Rachlin and her aunt, taken away from her when she was about 8. I suspect it was this horrible experience that later gave Rachlin the courage to leave her family to attend college on a scholarship in the United States and to live an independent, solitary and self-sufficient existence in the United States for awhile before she met her husband.

If I am at all disappointed with this book it is because of the emphasis Rachlin places on arranged marriages as the cause of unhappiness in women in the culture she was born into. Rachlin's sister was in an abusive arranged marriage as were other women in her family. I know some couples who are in very happy arranged marriages and I know a lot of women who are very unhappy in marriages of their own making. The divorce rate in the United States certainly attests to that.

No, I would not have liked my life and/or marriage determined for me. And I value the ability to chart my own course. But Rachlin goes too far I believe when she seemingly equates arranged marriages with unhappiness and abuse.

But overwhelmingly, this is a very interesting, and although somewhat sad, nonetheless a charming book.

Very interesting to learn about the Iranian culture from an author who is unafraid. I felt her writing portrayed her pain as well as her strength. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Particularly in the current political climate, I was hoping that this book would provide a fascinating look into a culture that is, at best, underrepresented in mainstream English language books and, at worst, criticized, discriminated against, and even hated; the fact that the author is a woman made it all the more enticing as I simply can't read enough of how my fellow women live, survive, and thrive in other cultures.

PERSIAN GIRLS delivers on all accounts and has made me want to learn more not only about this intriguing woman--cappuccino is on me if you're ever in southern Italy Ms Rachlin!--but also about Iranian history and culture in general.

From Rachlin's difficult childhood with a mother who didn't seem to want her and a father who wanted only control to her struggle for independence and acceptance in America, PERSIAN GIRLS places the reader in the very heart and mind of the author as she rises to each successive challenge placed before her.

From the time Rachlin was taken from the only mother she knew, I found myself cheering her on-a credit to an outstanding opening scene that transports the reader to 1950s Iran amidst a prayer rug, a Koran, rose water, a paraffin lamp, and hot summer nights spent talking about a golden ladder descending from the sky.

And yet Rachlin's writing style isn't nostalgic or wistful. She presents her life with such an objective tone sometimes that I forgot she was telling her own life story--and this is not a criticism. To the contrary, I felt like what I was reading was a true, fair account of events, and knowing that I'm able to trust the author is so very important.

At times, however, I did feel that there was just a bit held back regarding the working through of her feelings in some of her relationships, particularly the most difficult ones; the fact that some family members are still alive surely had something to do with this, but overall I don't find that this guardedness distracts from the memoir. Rachlin gives plenty of clues into her personality to provide the reader with a sense of what the author might've been feeling, and I don't think there's anything wrong with a little mystery in any book, even a memoir.

On another level, Rachlin's expat status in America really spoke to me, and I'm sure to plenty of other expats as well--the feeling of being caught between two cultures, two languages, two ways of life. On whether she regretted her choice to go to America, in a subsequent interview, Rachlin said:

I have never really regretted my choice to come to America, pursue my own goals. But I am always aware of a loss, a price to pay for the independence I have gained. I don't have easy access and closeness to people I love, because of all the distance between us.

Indeed I wouldn't mind another memoir (or even a how-to!) from Rachlin on her marriage to an American and raising her daughter in a country that is a sometimes enemy of her own. I look forward to reading Rachlin's fiction as well.

I wholeheartedly recommend this memoir to anyone with an interest in women's history, cultural differences, the Middle East, family relationships, love, or, you know, life.

This review originally appeared on my blog here: [...]

The front cover of Persian Girls: A Memoir by Nahib Rachlin has a quote from a Boston Globe reviewer saying that the "memoir reads like a novel", which I felt was very accurate. Nahib has provided us with a peek into her world, spanning over fifty years, and immersing us in the culture of Iran and her family.
Nahib pulls us quickly into her world, showing us her split childhood - life with her adopted mother for her first 9 years, and then life with her birth family. Nahib's birth mother, Mohtaram, was very fertile, she agreed to give a child to her sister, Maryam. It was when Nahib turned 9 that she was considered "of age", able to legally marry, and that is when her father came to get her. When her father took her from her adopted mother, Nahib lost an attentive mother, she gained a sister and confidante.

Nahib's relationship with her older sister Pari is incredibly moving. Both girls loved American movies and the idea of new freedoms for women. I look at my daughters, and hope for them to continue their close relationship - one like what Nahib and Pari had. There were many times as I was reading Persian Girls that I wished I was reading a novel, and that the author could guarantee me a happy ending for everyone involved. The relationship between Nahib and Pari was so intense, and yet fraught with obstacles. Their middle sister, Manijeh, was their mother's favorite, and the obvious favoritism made for a lot of rivalry between them. As time passes, and physical distances between them increase, the bonds between them change and strengthen.

The Iranian Government and its changing laws cast a shadow over the lives of Nahib and her family. Every choice they make has to take the laws and social mores into account. Nahib's brothers go to college in the US, which is seen as a very modern thing to do. However, her two older sisters are married traditionally - in arranged marriages. While all families worry about appearances, in Nahib's father seemed to worry even more than usual. His job as a lawyer seemed tied to how his family is perceived, and he must balance the traditional and the modern.

Parts of Persian Girls feel like a mystery, and one that cannot be solved. Without an omniscient narrator, we only know what Nahib has experienced or discovered. I wish I could see into the heads of many of the characters, but there is an intimate feeling reading one person's memories, one person's truth.

Nahib states at one point in Persian Girls that she feels like she doesn't belong in either culture. I know that feeling is common among many ex-patriots, but I have to wonder if the problems in US-Iranian relationships made her transition more difficult. I found myself identifying so much with Nahid, finding many universal truths within her words, no matter your background.

I highly recommend Persian Girls to anyone who enjoys memoirs and non-fiction, as well as to anyone who enjoys women's fiction or literary fiction - it really is a memoir that reads like a novel. It pulls you in, with vivid imagery of Nahid Rachlin's world. Watch out, though, once you start it you won't be able to put it down easily! I look forward to reading Nahid Rachlin's other books.

Persian Girls is the true story of Nahid Rachlin's experiences growing up in Iran during the years leading up to the Iran hostage crisis.

I was particularly interested to read this when I learned there was an adoption theme to the story -- until she was in elementary school, Nahid was raised by her aunt Maryam. Nahid's biological mother had given Maryam baby Nahid to raise as her own, since she had been widowed without children and Nahid's biological mother already had several children. And interesting sisterly pact.

But at the age of nine, Nahid was yanked from her peaceful existence as the only daughter of religiously observant Maryam to live with her estranged biological family.

The story is a mostly sad one -- there are not very many happy endings in this book, partly because of the iron fist with which her father ruled her family, and because of the fall of the Shah and the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini. But it is an interesting portrait into life in Iran and what it was like to be raised as a girl in a country where daughters were, at least at that time, thought more of as chattel than individuals.

My one reservation about wholeheartedly recommending this book is Rachlin's writing style. I have never read any of her fiction, but this book read more like a series of journal entries than a narrative story. I also kept waiting for there to be some sense of hope, but this seemed to be more a story of resignation than one of triumph -- a tale of the bonds of sisterhood and how the lives of Nahid and her sister Pari came to differ on many levels as Nahid eventually made her escape to America.

While not every story is a happy one, and I certainly enjoy memoirs that aren't 100% happy and joyful, I kept waiting for there to be some relief in this tale about how lives were shattered and how families were torn apart. I found the writing style to be a bit disjointed in places, but not enough to keep me from finishing the book.

For those of us who grew up in a time of new awakening and women's rights in America, this was a fascinating look inside patriarchies of the Middle East, the small roles women had in that society. There are some poignant story arcs that I don't want to spoil, but ultimately, Persian Girls reinforced the stereotype we have about how women are treated in that part of the world and the lack of value placed on women's lives.

The U-boat war off America's coast "Operation Drumbeat" was merely one of Germany's U-boat operations. This book is an interesting read. I, like others, wasn't aware of the magnitude of U-boat operations off America's coast. It's a great account. It's limited to that operation. There's hardly anything beyond Operation Drumbeat...but that was the book's intent. It's a good account.

I've read a number of books over the years, both about WWII and other topics. I can say that Torpedo Junction is the most fascinating book I've ever read. Even though the author gives lots of details about the attacks, he keeps it moving along at a steady clip. I didn't want to put the thing down. It's very well-documented (albeit with some secondary sources), but also provides a lighter narrative style along to way to break up the "action reports."

Ultimately how good I like a book is if I'm committed to finish it. Torpedo Junction by Homer Hickman is a book I had to finish, but I was so interested in what it revealed I hardly wanted it to end. Many factors were at work here. First, Mr. Hickman's writing is so clear and linear that it belies the painstaking research such an easy to read factual narrative requires. Thank you Mr. Hickman for doing the work so I could both be reviled and astonished!

This little known yet very tragic part of World War II played out right at our doorstep. Because of Japan's audacity to hit us with one massive surprise salvo the even more insideous U-Boat war on the U.S. coastline played out largely unknown to the general public. For months that seemed to drag on and on the Germans sank boat after boat after boat. Maybe for our protection or maybe because we couldn't quite get a handle on how to stop the German U-Boat threat the mounting damage was kept quiet. It was a tremendous tragedy which caused great loss of life as well as massive destruction of resources. With Torpedo Junction we can finally see how close to home death truly came. Also, we get to know the true courage of those who protected our home shores so we could both support the war effort as well as keep that all important semblance of a "normal life" at home. To know the facts surrounding the North Atlantic U-Boat war helps to rectify those long years of not talking about it.

I recommend this book as both educational and entertaining. As with Rocket Boys I was pulled inside a time and place as if I was there. Storytelling really doesn't get better than this.

As the U. S. Coast Guard Cutter Dione's lead soundman during period of Hickman's book I can attest that he did a wonderful job telling our story about some real hazardous duty. Homer's collaboration with our Radioman 1st, Swede Larson really paints the futility and danger of our sub chasing before and after convoys. I'm so glad Homer wrote about us. Now maybe we won't be forgotten.

Reads like a Clancy thriller. I recommend this book along with Michael Gannon's "Operation Drumbeat" so one can understand the havoc wreaked by German U boats along the Eastern seaboard against totally unprepared and in many cases complacent ships in the early days of World War II.

Bad

A. The narrative pace is just awful. I don't know what it is about this book I almost didn't make it past the first 40 pages because the begining moves so slowly.
B. The idiotic "conspiracy theory" idea regarding the Texas Revolution. Someday right minded people everywhere will be able to laugh conspiracy nuts right off the street.
Good

The book has a great deal of information regarding the beginnings of an organized abolitionist movement in this country. Garrison was the focal point for this when the movement started to move beyond isolated groups of idealists and Quakers and started to be taken seriously as a genuine force for social change.

Overall-Once you get into the book it is amazing, but you have to be in the right mood to do so.

Now a book that shows two sides of slavery that all white people were not all for slavery .Like Dr.martin luther king was saying that slavery was not about black against white ,but justice againt injustice.Because if all men and women are not free then we are all in chains.Books like this one has giving us a balance look at one of america darkest sides. But men like Garrison showed us that their were men and women that were a light of hope that all men are created equal . And being a black man I must say thank you to all the blackmen and women and white men and women of the past for fighting a fight that many of us still fight for today .And that is for an opportunity to live as we were when God created us in the beginnig as, a human being thank you.

This is the last and probably the best book completed by the late Henry Mayer.

Mayer admired Garrison, the most important leader of the abolitionist movement. In this book, he succeeds in renovating the reputation of a great reformer and activist who has often been neglected or written off as a crank.

Garrison and the abolitionists were originally hardly more popular in the North than in the South. They were seen as disrupting the Union and were regarded with suspicion for their pro-black beliefs - public opinion in the North was only marginally less racist than in Dixie. Garrison's courage and consistent refusal to trim his convictions for popular acceptance led to a career with an outsized share of controversy, oppobrium, and in several cases physical danger.

Some reviewers have felt the book is too long, and it is hefty. But the length is necessary for Mayer to give a full portrait, which shows not only the man, but also the era he lived in. In particular, Mayer writes extensively about abolitionism as a movement. Abolitionists, and Garrison himself, struggled with many problems - whether to compromise by supporting politicians whose platforms called for less than full abolition, evolving from a paternalist movement of mostly privileged whites to a movement in which free blacks and escaped slaves could play a meaningful role, and reconciling the pacifist leanings of many to their role in a war against slaveholders - that will be of interest to contemporary political activists. Mayer also shows how, after abolition was accomplished, former abolitionists seeking new causes worked for other advances, including the first stirrings of the women's suffrage movement.

Let's just get the obvious criticisms out of they way. First, the author pretty much flat out states that The Civil War was fought only because of slavery--and in the preface! Yawn. Will I ever be able to find a Northerner who can write a book that examines both sides of the conflict? I mean southern writers do it all the time. The second problem is the assertion that the Texas Revolution was some kind of government conspiracy--from Pres. Jackson on down to Sam Houston--to perpetuate slavery and continue manifest destiny. While I'm sure some men fought for those reasons, this moronic conspiracy theory about secret government shenanigans has no basis whatsoever. In fact, I would recommend the wonderful biography, Sam Houston, by James Haley. It expertly destroys that awful line of thinking that has somehow survived all these years.

But, being from Texas, I tend to be sensitive to such things. For most people it won't matter.

I still highley recommend All On Fire, though. It is very well written and researched. But most of all, it is the only real biography on Garrison worth reading. And say what you want about the author's biases, he can't muddle the fact that Garrison was one of this country's great patriots, willing to stand up to anyone to free his fellow man. He dedicated his entire life to this noble cause--and except for a few references in some Civil War books--is largely forgotten. What a shame.

William Lloyd Garrison was a man ahead of his time. Not by years or even decades, but centuries. In the 1830s he was an outspoken proponent of not just the abolition of slavery (many advocated various ways to deal with the South's "peculiar institution"), but called for the immediate abolition of slavery with complete and full civil rights for African-Americans. He dreamed of a time when a black woman might succeed a black man as Secretary of State a decade before the Supreme Court ruled that blacks were something less than human in the infamous Dredd Scott decision. He was also an early advocate of women's rights, labor reform, temperance and civil disobedience, as well as an outspoken critic of organized religion (Garrison was what we might today call a fundamentalist "born again Christian" who recognized no formal church other than Christ's teachings).

Given Garrison's role as founding father of the abolitionist movement, his passion for the cause, longevity in leadership and terminal impact on the greatest political issue of the nineteenth century it is puzzling that he has left such an obscure historical legacy. As author Herbert Mayer notes, Martin Luther King Jr. cited Gandhi, Thoreau and the Gospel as his inspiration and motivation in the Civil Rights movement with no reference to the man whose peaceful agitation did more to eradicate bondage than any other -- and who in turn may very well have been Thoreau's inspiration in writing "Civil Disobedience."

So why the obscurity? Mayer's biography does little to address this paradox. In fact, his book makes Garrison's general absence from the mainstream of American history all the more tenebrous. The man that emerges from the pages of "All on Fire" is a moral giant, a crusader in the purest and best sense of the word, who risked -- indeed, welcomed -- verbal and physical abuse, a life of indigence and scorn, all in pursuit of a truly noble cause. Garrison grew up in New England and never traveled further south than Baltimore until after the Civil War, yet he dedicated his life to the abolition of slavery with an intensity and zeal that surpassed dissident southern whites (such as the Grimke sisters) and even some blacks that had escaped from bondage themselves. Because of his central role in establishing and leading the cause, "All on Fire" is, as the full title suggests, as much a history of the entire abolitionist movement as it is a biography of its leading agitator.

However, a close reading of "All on Fire" also reveals a hidden side of William Lloyd Garrison that Mayer, unfortunately, never fully explores: a man of extreme ambition, vanity, and conceit. Garrison fought tenaciously to keep himself at the front-and-center of the moral movement he came to regard as his own. One senses that the fame and notoriety he gained by his agitation came to mean quite a lot to him. In this sense, Garrison reminds one of a contemporary political gadfly increasingly enamored of his high-profile image: Michael Moore. Perhaps Garrison's attraction to celebrity never fully outweighed his commitment to the ultimate prize of freeing three million humans from bondage, but it certainly meant more than the pious Christian in him would have liked to admit -- and certainly more than biographer Mayer is willing to concede. Again and again throughout the narrative Garrison experiences a painful and personal falling out with some of his closest friends and coadjutors: Frederick Douglas, Wendell Phillips, the Tappan brothers, etc. And time after time Mayer attributes the rift to simple misunderstandings or the result of the stress and pressure of the times. That Garrison might have been something less than the Galahad on ante-bellum America is left unexplored.

Nevertheless, for anyone with a desire to know more about America and especially to learn about a man that was once one of the most controversial and well-known figures of his century, only to sink to near anonymity, this National Book Award finalist can be highly recommended.

This is the fourth book in David Macaulay's series of how things in history were built. In both text and detailed drawings, the author describes the planning and construction of a typical castle and adjoining town in thirteenth-century Wales. In 1283, Kevin le Strange was named Lord of Aberwyvern in Wales by King Edward I of England. While Lord Kevin's castle is imaginary, its concept, structural process, and physical appearance are all based on several castles that were built to aid in the English conquest of Wales between 1277 and 1305. The town of Aberwyvern is also imaginary but is drawn from descriptions of towns founded in conjunction with castles in Wales during that time.

Anyone who enjoys learning about the Middle Ages will like this book. The description is sometimes technical but is written so that young children can become familiar with the terms, and the marvellous illustrations are very helpful in visualizing what is being done. From the choice of location, through the building of the walls and the inner ward, to the completion of the castle and the establishment of the surrounding town, the reader will follow, step by step, Master Engineer James of Babbington and all his workers in their labors. The story ends with a visit from King Edward, followed by an attack from the Welsh under Prince Daffyd of Gwynedd whose defeat leads to the decision by the Welsh to end their resistence, although the complete "conquest" did not occur until 200 years after Edward's death. This book won a 1978 Caldecott Honor award.
REVIEWED BY: Wayne S. Walker

My 13 year old and I read this book together. He absolutely loved reading about the history and building of the castle. He has another larger DK book on Castles and as we read told me about his previous knowledge on the topic we were reading about and expanded our discussion. The images (drawings) being b/w are a perfect match so that details of the castle stand out. After reading this story, we watched the accompanying PBS special Castle by the same author. The movie is s a perfect tag-a-long going into further details and highlighting real castles and showing the details that were discussed in the book. To follow up on the book/movie, my son is now building his own brick castle. We ordered a kit and it includes everything to make little bricks from molds and then directions on exactly how to build the castle. I highly recommend purchasing the book, movie and castle building kit together if you or your child is interested in castles and/or medieval studies. All three provide great discussion, for both visual and auditory learners as well as a hands-on experience.

We bought this book for our four year old who always wants to know how things work. He, and his Daddy are both fascinated by this book. It is a work of art, and a historic fictional work in one. The pictures are all in black and white, but the line drawings are incredibly detailed. This book will be a favorite in our library for years, and I can see him reading it to his kids one day.

After reading this book, I gave it to my grandson for Christmas and he is enjoying it very much. It is interesting not only to him but to his father as well. It really makes history and social progress come alive.

I remember reading this book back when I was in Junior High and High School. I'm 30 now (ugh!) I have always been fascinated with history (especially why folks did what they did when they did it) and while characters are fictitious, the design and building practices as well as the situations involved in the story are truly as it happened. The pictures are highly detailed such that you almost feel like you leap into the pages of the story. I primarily purchased this for a bit of nostalgia but would highly recommend this product to anyone who might be interested.

I was given this book as a gift from my son. I read it on an airplane and laughed and cried so much that at the end of the flight, the man sitting next to me said, "you are quite an emotional lady!" I bought a copy of this book for the lady that helped me when I got stranded when the flight was delayed a day. She read one of the stories in it while I was changing clothes and I found her in tears when I returned. It's a great feel-good book.

In this collection of stories from and about mothers, there is something for everyone. Whether you need to be inspired, comforted, or amused, whether if you are looking for a laugh or a cry you can find a story for your mood. The Chicken Soup authors always know how to pick a collection of stories that truly brings the subject to light, a tear to your eye, and a smile to your lips! This time, what a worthy topic: mothers. As a positive psychologist in private practice I certainly know the powerful and permanent importance of our mothers in all of our lives!

I CAN NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN! Some real tear jerkers too. A must for all moms.

my family got this as a gift about 8 years ago. I don't remember much about it but I remember the stories about the mother losing her son during a skiing accident, the girl who bought her mom bobby pins for her birthday and the story where they're celebrating a grandmother's birthday and she dies at the end of the party after seeing her entire family at the celebration.

AFTER READING THIS I AM REASSURED THAT GOOD HONEST BOOKS ARE FINALLY MAKING A COME-BACK!!!!!!

Dr Robert Ballard will forever remain the man who found the Titanic. In so doing, he became the world's most famous ocean explorer who found the world's most famous ship.

It is not for me to inform readers of the story of the Titanic. Almost everyone grew up knowing something about that ship - even if the finer points of information they thought they knew were inaccurate.

Having then achieved the outstanding feat of finding this elusive shipwreck, Bob Ballard has put together the most complete - and yet again "outstanding," tale of search, discovery and finally success, coupled with an accurate portrayal of the life and death of the ship itself. All the facts and historic photographs are there - and, speaking as a professional shipwreck historian, he really has done the most thorough job of work here.

Finally, he has put together the most (and I deliberately use that word again) "outstanding" collection of artwork created by Ken Marschall. I may be wrong, but it seems to me nobody had heard of this artist until the first editions of this book appeared - now he is a household name amongst those in the know.

From thousands of photographic images taken far below the surface, Bob Ballard created montage after montage of the various sections and profiles of the wreck (i.e. big photographs made up of thousands of little photographs) so that Mr Marschall was able to provide us with paintings which look like single colour photographs of this and that section which go together to make up the entire wreck.

I congratulate Dr Ballard on an excellent and professional job of work. Altogether, the most outstanding book for which 5 stars are not enough.

NM

This book describes the discovery of the Titanic in a perfect way. Besides telling the sad story of her maiden voyage, that ended so tragically, Dr. Ballard describes his own struggle to complete his long time wish to find Titanic. He talks about troubles raising funds, the tragedy of almost losing the discovery to another expedition and the very exhaustive and mostly boring search. But also about the joy of finally finding the wreck and his emotions during all of this. All this is told from a integer point of view, also crediting the other people for their part in the discovery. The book includes many photographs and two nice full-color foldouts of the wreck. This new edition also includes a chapter in which Dr. Ballard comments on more recent visits, conducted by others, to the Titanic and his views on the (commercial) salvaging of Titanic wreckage.

The ever interesting Titanic lives on.

The best part about this book is almost being there with Ballard as this great ship is seen again by human eyes for the very first time in many decades. And of course the great images (both the actual pictures and the illustrations of how the parts of the wreck are situated on the bottom) that this book contains.

Very worth while if great historic event in general and the Titanic in particular are among your interests.

I bought this book soon after the hype brought on by the film. I have always been a history fan. The stories surrounding the fate of the Titanic have always intrigued me.

I knew of Ballard from previous expeditions that he had done. I have seen his work on The Discovery Channel and The Learning Channel.

This book is well thought out. From the search in the early days to the actual discovery and exploration. It's amazing how Ballard was able to stick with it over the years and the difficult times.

The book is written more as a story than as a text book. Plenty of history. The underwater photos are magnificent. I read the book and just wonder at all the problems that they had to overcome. The setbacks. The failures. It's all here in an easy to read and follow book.

If you are at all interested in the Titanic and it's discovery, this is a good book to read.

This is a sensational book.I have read this one quite a bit.
I love the bit where they find the boiler on the bottom of the ocean.
It talks about the trials they went through trying to find the elusive Titanic.Nobody had seen that ship since it sunk in 1912.
I have always loved reading about that ship,something about the whole story has fascinated me.
I think the era it all happened in,as well as the beauty of the ship itself.It certainly had a mystique of its own.
To look at the pictures of the ship how it has deteriorated over time is very ghostly.To see objects such as dolls heads and boots realy shows you the tragedy that once happened on a very cold night.
The stupidity to push the ship full speed through an iceberg field maked the mind boggle.Playing dice with all those lives,and to top it all off the lack of life boats on board.
Dr.Robert D. Ballard became a legend himself after the discovery of the most famous ship to ever hit the waves.

Julia Garrison Fox writes her experiences after suffering a stroke at the age of 37. This is a must read for all healthcare professionals especially those who work in the rehabilitation field. She pulls no punches and write candidly about what it feels like both physically and emotionally to go through a life altering incident. This is a wake-up call for all in the healthcare field, we are real good at treating the body but we sometimes forget the human spirit we are also caring for.

I really loved this book, and would recommend it to anyone and everyone. Although I've never suffered any of the physical impairments that the author has, her story is very easy to relate to. Not to mention that it serves as a reminder to all of us to never give up, and to never take anything for granted.

Ms. Garrison's persistance is to be admired, as is her sense of humor through ordeals that have broken the spirits of many. Kudos to you, Julia, and may you never lose your courage, love of life, and wonderful spirit!

I am a rehab nurse and I just couldn't put this book down.

Yes, all of the portraits are not flattering of folks in the healthcare profession. We must view patients as people, with all their likes, dislikes and quirks.

I found it to be a very funny, uplifting first person account.

I read the first two paragraphs, stopped, and read them again. I then got up from my comfy chair, found my husband and daughter and read the first two paragraphs aloud to them. We were all blown away. The rest of Julia Garrison's story is just as breathtaking. I couldn't put it down. I cried hard twice and laughed out loud too many times to count. When I finished, I just sat for a long while with the book in my hands, looking at the cover, wishing for more. I'm the same age the author was when, without warning, she had a massive stroke, and her life changed forever. So I keep imagining myself in her shoes, wondering if I possess the courage, determination, and positive attitude Julia has, wondering if I would survive...and then thrive. I don't know, but I know this: Her story inhabits me now. And I carry her messages of positive attitude, dignity, and hope with me. This book should be read by everyone who has ever been a patient, everyone who has ever faced overwhelming obstacles, every doctor, and definitely every medical student. Have I left anyone out?

This is yet another insight into the hellish situation that exists when healthy people become incapacitated and end up in rehab or nursing home situations. (For comparison, read Joni Eareckson's autobiography and Stephen Thompson's Genesis: A Portrait of Spinal Cord Injury. Each one of these author's stories begin in different decades, but all, including Julia Garrison, describe first-hand similar experiences of dealing with a health-care system that is both abusive and neglectful).

If Julia's family hadn't been there for her, including a devoted husband, mother and eight brothers, she would have quickly withered and died in a nursing home. A simple request for tampons was denied, and she was offered adult diapers as a substitute, because the home didn't stock tampons or even pads. It was far easier for the nursing home staff to have a compliant patient in diapers, rather than an ornery, loud and gutsy 37-year-old woman who refused to roll over and accept the cards that fate had laid out for her.

The medical profession will move heaven and earth to save the life of an accident or stroke victim, but then doesn't seem to know what to do with the patients whose lives they have just saved. Julia Fox Garrison, with an insane will to survive, and surrounded by the love of her family, took charge of her own recovery and made her own plans for the rest of her life, the one she would have to live after she was discharged from the hospital and sent home.


Garrison's book is must reading for anyone whose life has been altered by a single event. Life does somehow go on, and the book is blessedly free of the heavy-handed preaching that often accompanies the retelling of tragic true-life stories.