Biographies Books

Being a bit of a nostalgia freak, I have more than a few books highlighting 50s and 60s pop culture. This is my second favorite, with only Populuxe rating higher. It's a memory-invoking rush of nostalgic nosh, with plenty for your mind to delightfully delight in. You'll treasure this book. Ton of full color pictures and lively appreciative writing makes you want to read this book again and again. Holy Nostalgia, Batman!

After hearing about this both the book and the CD, both by Hal Lifson, I just had to get these. I could not put this book down. I called my mother about it and thanked her for letting me born in such a cool year! I have always been a fanatic for that type of pop culture in the '60's. My sister once told me that I was born twenty years too late! After reading this book, I couldn't agree with her more! If you know someone who was born in 1966, and looking for a birthday gift for them, look no further than this book. This book rocks, and so does Hal Lifson!

What a groovy book, baby! I was only three years old in 1966 but I remember just about everything in this delightful scrapbook that's a time capsule for everything from that hip decade.

Hal Lifson has collected photos, ads, album covers, toys, etc. that brings back a very cool, swingin' period in American culture. The Beatles, Batman, James Bond, Playboy, Nancy Sinatra--they're all here!

Definitely a book for anyone alive at the time. Or anyone interested in what that was like.

Hal Lifson took me on a journey that was so exciting, I couldn't stand it! From Batman to The Monkees to the Beach Boys song "Wouldn't It Be Nice", I feel like I've relived my childhood all over again. Now if I only had my Batman utility belt again....

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to take that journey, even if you weren't born yet!

"Hal Lifson's 1966" is, indeed, the ultimate time machine. It works on two distinct levels. First, having lived in the San Fernando Valley during that period, I found the book to be the most delightful, teary-eyed journey back to the old stomping grounds...who says you can't go back home?! To see a picture of the old Encino Bowl...the last time I even thought about it was when I was sneaking a smoke in the parking lot on the way back from ELEMENTARY school! Second, and more important (yes, important), "Hal Lifson's 1966" captures the innocence of the period...perhaps the last innocence the country enjoyed before it was forced to grow up during the Watergate hearings. Indeed, the lack of any political references keeps the journey a magical mystery tour. Honey West, Catwoman, NANCY SINATRA...many a 13-year-old boy lost his innocence "appreciating" these classically sexy women. Thanks, Hal.

This story is heart-wrenching from the first pages. So many gay men come from homes where abuse and booze fueled their upbringing. Randy describes this with raw, real emotion that is hard to imagine anyone going through these experiences. I applaud you for having the strength and courage to tell your story - and hope your words may help heal our souls-

To those fortunate enough to read this book. Never before have I felt compelled to comment on a book, much less take the time to share my thoughts with complete strangers. This has changed my entire outlook on many things - and where I may have not trusted before - I feel like I know Randy and that we are family. No - I did not experience the difficulties such as his, however - in a different way - my life was filled many odd and sad memories of growing up Catholic. I married for all the wrong reasons - I denied who I was - and found my life only in my middle years. I was moved to write today to urge ALL men to read this. There is without a doubt - a piece of each of us in Randy's life. His honesty is so rare in life - and more so amongst gay men I believe. Few have the courage to share as he did - with such candid and forthright disclosure. So - whether your searching to find your soul or not - this is a must read for all gay men - or anyone courageous enough to face the truth of our lives. I wholeheartedly recommend this - and now I'm off to finish reading "Before the last Dance". Like I wrote to randy - to all of you - I wish you KIANGA!!

I found this book recently upon moving to the author's city of Atlanta. I was starting a new chapter in my life, and much like the author expressed early on in the book, I was running away from a horrible childhood. The graphic details in which he displays his experiences forced me to relive similar situations of my own. Eventually, I was able to even talk with a past abuser with more confidence than I had ever previously had. Before reading this book I used to laugh at my visible bravery as an activist on my college campus and my cowardice at home. For me his stories were like looking into a mirror of my past and a crystal ball of my possible future. I have come to terms with my sexuality very early in my teens, but like the author many of my friends did not make that leap until later in their lives. His life story helped me to feel as though true manliness is not a measure of masculinity, but a measure of what contributions one makes to this world in how he lives or more importantly how he loves. A few of my friends have commented that it seems as though everyone they know has had some similar experiences or knows someone who has as well. I recommend this book to anyone and everyone looking for a good read. But I mostly think this book will offer rays of hope into the lives of other men with similar experiences when they see the eloquence and maturity with which he expresses his past and the lessons the have taught and continue to teach. I have shared this book with my siblings and friends by loaning or purchasing this book for them, and I'm certain you will love this book as much as I did.

I was not expecting to thoroughly enjoy by this book as I did. While I was scanning the back cover deciding if I should buy it or not I didn't realize the amazing story of torment and self discovery that the author was going to share with his readers. As each and every chapter unfolded you felt like you were in the story, as he opened up his heart and soul while retelling his life experiences. I identified with many of the situations in the book and it seemed especially real to me. The chapters migrate you through peaks and valleys in the author's life and keeps you silently cheering for his personal triumph. Randy's style of writing is skillfully planned out and very descriptive. As you are reading the words, the images are forming in your mind. It was better than watching any show mad for TV.

As I read "In the Arms of Adam" I felt drawn into Randy's surroundings and experiences. It took my mind into similar situations, thoughts and profound emotion that I have felt in my own growth. I was drawn to the depth of the characters and felt my heart heavy with emotion throughout the journey. So many times I found myself wanting to embrace the main character and tell him that it was okay, that the struggles he was experiencing would pass, I wanted to be there for him. I found that I could not put this book down, my mind was impenetrable. I have just received Randy's newest book, "Before the Last Dance". If it is anything like his last work, I can be assured of another truly great reading experience.

Just Fine: Unmasking Concealed Chronic Illness And Pain If you have any doubts about purchasing this book, let me alleviate them now. The book not only explains these illnesses, but takes the reader on a journey through the eyes of those who suffer from these illnesses and how they cope on a day-to-day basis. Being a concealed chronic illness sufferer myself, I didn't realize how many people felt as I do. I'm going to buy more books for my doctors and family members. Feel free to do the same. This should be required reading for doctors, families, employers, etc. Well written and so very heartfelt.

I'm not easily impressed. This book impressed me.

I have read just about every book available on the topic of coping with chronic illness and pain. None of them come close to this one by Sveilich. She seems to know the subject quite well and presents unique resources from experts and professionals in the field.

Of course, the best experts are the people who actually live with chronic health disorders and they are respresented throughout this book. The profiles are amazing. I saw my story in just about all of the 55 profiles included. I also found some great coping tools to apply to my own life.

Good insights and coping tips were offered by psychologists as well as physicians. The author also discusses mind-body medicine and complementary approaches as well as traditional medicine. From Zen to Zoloft and everything in-between... this book has it all.

My only remaining question is, why isn't JUST FINE on the New York Bestseller list?

It should be.

Like others have written, JUST FINE is a gift to all those impacted by chronic, invisible illnesses and pain.

Chronic Fatigue (CFIDS) has been my challenge and teacher since my symptoms began more than 30 years ago. JUST FINE, written beautifully by a therapist surviving her own chronic illnesses, says everything I needed to know THEN when little was known and we were told it was a "psychological problem". The book reassures me - even NOW when we recently found out there are at least 5 genetic markers (see the CDC website) - that I am and have been doing MORE than "Just Fine" with the "luck of the draw" biologically & with the life circumstances that may have contributed to triggering my illness.

The photos and narratives of "people with..." function like a "support group in a book" and I KNOW that many readers may not have a group available or be able to reach one because of the limits often imposed by the illnesses themselves. I appreciate the participants' courage in speaking about often stigmatized experiences, while also knowing many of us are longing to be asked by someone who is truly willing to hear us. We continually search for language that can describe our often fluctuating experience: Carol Sveilich and her interviewees have done just that!

I have given this book to clients, friends and family. I look forward to any more writing Sveilich will do in the future, as she clearly has more to say that would be worthwhile to read - to "listen with your eyes".

Having chronic migraines, I have noticed how I can look one way, but I feel quite another way. For example, I ask myself how I can be in such horrible pain at work and no one around me even notices. Truly frustrated with this dilemma, I picked up a copy of Just Fine: Unmasking Concealed Chronic Illness and Pain by Carol Sveilich to see if I could find some answers.

The book discusses hidden health disorders in a unique way because the author not only offers insights and coping tips offered from physicians and psychologists, including traditional medicine and mind-body medicine. She also has included profiles of people living with a hidden health disorder and she lets them tell their story in their own words, along with their photographs.

What I really liked about the book was being educated about other types of concealed illnesses, and at the same time, how I saw myself in many of the stories. There were common threads of emotions from these people living double lives.

Some of the topics from the book included how to deal with canceling plans, learning how to answer people when they ask how you are, being envious of other people in good health, sacrificing personal goals, making adjustments, and how to respond to people when they question the severity of your symptoms.

I was surprised and relieved to see the author even dealt with the subject of sex with a chronic illness, which I never saw explored before in a book.

This book definitely made me feel not so alone with my double life. It was very comforting and it taught me how to look at people differently, because someone who is smiling in the office might be living with a hidden health disorder like me.

I enjoyed this book because of the suggestions for chronically ill people and also the many people in the book who wrote a personal page or 2 about their experience with chronic illness. There were alot of correlations between people who have different chronic illnesses it felt good to know that there are people out there like myself. I would suggest this book for anyone who has to deal with a chronic illness.

We are accustomed to viewing excellent documentaries on the TV and the big screen. It is nice to find a literary documentary just as enjoyable. The mid 19th century was an incredible time for change. Europe was adjusting to the post Napoleonic ideals of political and religious freedom. The United States was fighting against the secular immorality of slavery. Prussia was building a military machine to dominate Europe. Italy was struggling with a unification which would require shedding the medieval yoke of the Catholic Church. In the midst of these changes a 6 year old Jewish boy , Edgardo Mortara, is kidnapped within the Papal States under orders of the Inquisition. The charge is that the boy has been secretly baptized. The baptism cannot be undone and therefore the boy cannot continue to live with his Jewish parents. Governments from around the world protest the kidnapping and Pope Pius IX responds with traditional dogma. This is a wonderful researched narrative which brings together themes which will be of interest to Christians, Jews and any reader curious about the changing role of the Roman Catholic Church in this period of European history.

The excellent DVD, "Secret Files of the Inquisition", (available from Amazon and Netflix) dramatizes part of this story and includes commentary by the author, David Kertzer.

Simply one of the most insightful books I have ever read. Thank you Mr. Kertzer for illuminating this fascinating event in our history.

Douglas Wood has already summarized and evaluated this book, justly praising its historical worth. I'd like to add a note about its shock value; in a moment of history when anti-semitism seems to be a joke in some people's minds, surely this is a book that might make the pain and folly of bigotry "real" in terms of a single family, and therefore accessible to readers who can't empathize with mass tragedy.
It's also quite a thrilling book to read, by the way, a better detective story by far than Dan Brown could manufacture.

A Jewish family's illiterate Catholic housekeeper sprinkles well-water over an infant child and furtively mumbles the baptismal sacrament. When the Inquisitor learns of the deed, he orders the kidnapping of the then six-year-old Jewish boy. This foul deed is almost certainly sanctioned by the highest levels of the Catholic hierarchy. The police forcibly remove the child from his family's Bologna home and swiftly transport him to the Church's House of Catechumens in Rome for reeducation. Despite all protests from the boy's family and the Jewish community and in the face of a destabilizing international uproar, the Holy Father refuses to yield. By holy grace, the boy has been miraculously saved and the Church keeps him, inculcates him in the Catholic Christian religion, and assiduously converts the boy.

The boy kidnapped in the name of religion? Edgardo Mortara. The Holy Father in question? Pope Pius IX. The year? 1858. That's right 1858, not 1458, not 1658, but smack dab in the middle of 19th century Europe.

Historian David Kertzer tells the complete tale in his excellent work, `The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara.' As Kertzer relates in the epilogue he learned to his surprise that there was no reliable work on this topic. Kertzer sets out to remedy this gap and succeeds by examining the episode in fine detail. Using detailed court and police investigation records, Kertzer explores numerous evidentiary questions such as whether the baptism took place at all, whether the proper conditions for a valid lay baptism existed, who put the girl up to it, and how did the Inquisition find out about it?

The story is told against the background of the movement to unify Italy under secular rule. And here is yet another surprise for the uninitiated reader, including this one: until 1861 the Pope was still the temporal ruler of a wide swath of the Italian peninsula (this rule continued on a lesser scale to 1870). The treatment of young Edgardo was one of the factors that helped build support across Italy and internationally for the Risorgimento or Italian reunification.

The episode also hastened Pius IX's evolution, shall we say, to reactionary beliefs. Pius IX not only made papal infallibility part of Church dogma, but he also issued his infamous Syllabus of Errors in 1864, a broad attack on rationalism, science, and religious freedom - really a frontal assault on the Enlightenment and most other signs of progress in the previous three centuries. If Kertzer's book does nothing more than direct his reader's attention to this astonishing document, he has succeeded in the historian's task.

Kertzer examines the trial of the Inquisitor in detail and the formidable difficulties facing the prosecution. For example, what crime did the Inquisitor commit when his acts were legal at the time he committed them? Would the new government prove willing to violate the fundamental principle that the accused must have had notice of the illegality of his acts?

As for Edgardo, he remained with the Church fathers until he reached his majority and by then his conversion had firmly taken hold. He went on to become a famed proselytizer for Catholicism especially among the Jewish peoples. This role may help explain why this story has remained untold: it embarrassed Jews and Catholics alike.

Some readers may find the detail devoted to the investigations and trials to be excessive, but bear in mind that Kertzer is writing the seminal history of Edgardo's kidnapping. A fascinating tale full of surprises, very highly recommended.

I can't help but think that millions who do not know that they are interested in the history of the Italian Risorgimento would suddenly find themselves incapable of putting this book down. David Kertzer kept my attention while helping to answer my questions regarding how a country that is predominately Roman Catholic can name streets, buildings, and piazzas after the heroes of the Risorgimento who took by force most of the lands ruled by the Pope while Pope Pius IX called upon all the faithful to oppose them. I am now closer to seeing how statues and monuments honoring Garibaldi, Mazzini, Cavour, and King Victor Emmanuel can share the beautiful Italian landscape with cathedrals and the Vatican.
Historical events are impossible to understand without learning of the human issues of the times in which they transpired. Such a study should not be a dry recounting of the facts when it can be, as Kertzer demonstrates, a living, breathing, gut-wrenching encounter with those who created that compelling history.
I know it's almost cliché to say that this reads like a good novel, but it's true.
The trial of Momolo Mortara rivals any of the stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and it is all the more riveting in the context of the amazing events that led to it. Sherlock Holmes could not have used his powers of deduction more skillfully than Momolo's attorney used his unbiased mind to separate facts from prejudiced and selective interpretations.
I give this book my highest recommendation. I hope that THE KIDNAPPING OF EDGARDO MORTARA has been or will be translated into Italian. Perhaps a greater awareness of the past can positively influence current challenges in Italy involving the assimilation of other cultures and religious beliefs - brought on by mass immigrations in recent years.

Super killer return.


This is now probably in the class of really good forgotten novels.

The Paratwa were engineered to be superhuman killing machines.

There were enough of them that they could decide to band together and try and take over themselves.

Everybody else thought that was a bad idea and decided on a process of elimination.

A long time later it seems there may still be some around, and a man who just happens to have the physical abilities, if helped by a team and some appropriate fancy weapons tech is tasked to hunt them down.

A violent, but well characterized novel that is far above your run of the mill adventure story.

Well worth looking into.


4.5 out of 5

I will not bore you with details of the plot since other reviewers have already have done an excellent job at that. The big questions are: Is this a good book? Will I like it? What's it's like? Let me try to answer those.

This book is definitely in the genre of a science fiction thriller in the best sense. The action and the plot flows very quickly, very significant events happen that will determine the fate of human colonies, and conspiracies within conspiracies are plotted, revealed, thwarted, and rehatched. The pages do turn very quickly and the plot never stalls.

The only downside is that the characterization is somewhat minimal. The book is plot driven and the characters are interested but they're mostly there as standins for concepts rather than people you might be passionate about. If that doesn't bother you and if you like action oriented, plot driven stories, this is truly a great read.

On another note, there are two sequels to this book, Ash Ock and Paratwa. The two sequels combined to make one story, so if you're going to buy Ash Ock, you should definitely get Paratwa also. Ash Ock ends right in the middle of the action and Paratwa continues right where Ash Ock left off. Will you like the sequels? If you liked Liege-Killer, you'll definitely like Ash Ock and Paratwa. There's more of what makes Liege-Killer a thrilling read - more conspiracies, more revelations, more events that may decide the fate of the human colonies.

I haven't had this much fun reading science fiction for a long while. I highly recommend the entire series.

STORY: As one editorial review so nicely summariezed: "Two hundred years after Earth is devastated by nuclear war and genetically engineered Paratwa assassins, the humans of orbiting Earth colonies are at peace, until a series of murders reveal the reemergence of the Paratwa."

MY FEEDBACK:
1) SETTING - Prior to the destruction of all life on Earth, humans left for the stars. One group took off into spaceships headed for another solar system. The other group onto the colony capsule that orbits Earth. The later is where the story takes place. The colony capsule is 76 miles long, which is big enough to sustain different regions and groups. I had just come across a real-life group called the Lifeboat Foundation. Thus the setting seemed very plausible and real. It worked well for this story.

2) CHARACTERS - Our group of protagonists are likeable and plausible. Nick is my favorite character, but there is something to admire in each of them. The antagonists as gathered from the story description are a group of genetically created assassins. The Paratwa are very cool and deadly. The characters work well together in this story.

3) STORY - The only reason I gave this story a 4 star (very good read) vs. a 5 star (great read) is because of some of what I felt were long sections of exposition needed in order to explain man's history and how he go to this point in the future. Other than that, the story had plenty of intrigue, action and suspense. The author does give things away by page 122-125 out of 460+ page book. This worked for the most part because as characters came on stage there were two you kept looking for hints at to see which one was the "real" bad guy.

OVERALL: Fun read within a great sci-fi setting. It is not necessary to read the next book as this story resolved 95% of all plotlines. I've read that it the next two books are a bit of a let down anyhow. Nevertheless, get your hands on this book.

This opening novel of a space opera sets up an interesting world and is based on an interesting idea. In this world earth is destroyed in a biological and nuculear war and humanity has moved to colonies in orbit. A deadly killer has been released by earths old enemies. Killers that are superhumans enties that have two bodies controled by the same mind.

This book introduces several interesting characters. More importanly the book gets the mood and setting right. The characters move around in style and the story flows well. This book is really a modern dime novel, with the privet eye replaced by a special ops expert.

Unfortuneatly as a trilogy this story fails rather badly. The second and third books do not work nearly as well as the first two. Only the main two characters are kept through all three books and they simply don't stand up the rigor of another seven hundred pages. It is never truly awful the more of this you read the less interesting it is. I can recomend this first novel as a good quick read, but don't feel bad if you don't get around to the sequals.

My friend bought this book for me as a joke because I found the cover art to be amusing. I had read the synopsis on the back of the book, but never seriously thought about reading it until my friend bought it for me. Boy am I glad she did! The book was an genuine page-turner with twists and surprises around every bend. It follows a paratwa - an assassin that is composed of two bodies but one mind - and the paratawa's hunters and victims. In a relatively peaceful existence where everything (including the weather) is controlled by technology, the citizens are literally sheep for the taking as the paratwa reaks havoc. Two paratwa hunters are unfrozen from stasis and sent on the hunt... with technolgoy enabling anybody to alter their identity and the Ash Ock able to fill any position of power, everybody becomes a suspect!

Not only is the book a fascinating and well-crafted story, it brings the eery question to mind of how much technology is too much? And when, not if, will humanity become its own worse enemy?

The book is well written and entertaining. The story was nicely presented around the letters of Mary Pringle. All the similar names of the characters make it a little confusing. A nice reference chart showing the relationship of the characters should be included at the beginning of the book. Did the author hide some things to make the family look better? I wonder. It's hard for a Northerner to muster up a lot of sympathy for this family of slave owners. Perhaps Julius, who likely became a Unionist, was the real hero of the family. It's ironic that the South nearly destroyed our country in the 1860's, but is saving it today.

Mary's World helped me to understand life in the Antebellum South and the culture that thrived on slavery. But it also showed the North's response to winning the Civil War, which was anything but forgiving. It was a thrill to see the Miles Brewton House and the St. Michael's Cemetary on my recent visit to Charleston, and to feel the connection with the Mottes, Alstons, and Pringles.

In Mary's World Richard N. Cote has succeeded admirably where so many others have tried and yet missed the mark. With his succinct style and exceptional organizational skills he has laid bare the thoughts,emotions and lives of Mary Pringle, her family and their slaves, and done so in a way that has given us a book
that is informative as well as enjoyable. By putting their lives
into context with the times Mr Cote has given the reader not only the opportunity to learn what they thought and felt but the ability to understand why they thought and felt the way they
did. This book will appeal to historians and the average reader
alike.
It took me only 2 days to read Mary's World and I found myself
so absorbed that when interrupted I was momentarily confused to find I wasn't in 19th century Charleston.

FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN ANTEBELLUM CULTURE AND THE CIVIL WAR, THIS IS A MUST READ. EVEN FOR THOSE WHO AREN'T A STUDENT OF THE ERA, "MARY'S WORLD" IS STILL A FASCINATING GLIMPSE OF THE LIFE OF AN ELITE SOUTHERN PLANTER FAMILY. TAKEN FROM FAMILY PAPERS, THE STORY OF THE PRINGLES IS A FIRST HAND ACCOUNT OF THEIR INNERMOST THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS.

THE READER GETS TO WATCH WILLIAM BULL AND MARY ALSTON PRINGLE'S CHILDREN GROW UP. BY THE END OF THE BOOK YOU FEEL AS IF YOU HAVE KNOWN THEM ALL. I DREADED FINISHING THE BOOK BECAUSE I FELT AS IF I WAS LEAVING OLD FRIENDS.

DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND MAKE TIME FOR THIS BOOK. REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU ARE AN "ANTEBELLUM-OPHILE" LIKE ME OR NOT, THIS IS AN EXCELLENT BOOK.

I found this book in Charleston on vacation after touring this home. I loved this book! Now I want to visit again because I am so much more invested. I read this book for pure pleasure, and di it deliver! One doesn't need to visit the south to enjoy, the book takes you there. It gives such insight to the era and history the reader gets pulled right in.

I wanted to get a little more background on the life of a Secret Service Agent. I found this book filled with interesting tidbits of information. It was an easy read that I found entertaining, as well. His recounts of what it was like working around the Reagan administration, the Pope's US visit, etc. kept me interested for several hours worth of reading. It personalized some of the details that the public often may not realize.

This book is well written with just enough detail to keep you in every scene. It hooked me from page 1 and kept me interested all along.

If you have any interest in the presidency of Ronald Reagan or the Secret Service, I highly recommend this book. The tone is very matter-of-fact, but what comes through is what an honorable person Joseph Petro is. He lost out on a possible N.F.L career when he was drafted for the Viet Nam War, but our country, and especially its elected officials during the time of his service, gained a great deal.

A very engaging book.

I found this book extremely enlightening as to what life as an Agent in the USSS will be like. Petro does a wonderful job at writing about what he is allowed to disclose yet still keeping the reader engaged. If you are interested in the USSS, you should read this book during your application process since little is know about the Service.

This book was very enjoyable and a easy read! Joe must have been a very good agent, (I forgive him about the Mrs. Quail incident) He is someone I would like to meet. This book is a GREAT find for anyone into politics, The White House and the Secret Service.

This book is a great place to start learning about Therese. Includes the full text of the autobiography, and some supplementary material incl. a introduction to the autobiography and life of Therese and some of her letters and prayers. You can get much of this stuff online, but the book is a delight, with many pictures.

Therese is a very special person, and I recommend a familiarity with her beautiful soul.

Excellent book and in her own words unedited. Also a good little book on St. Therese is 'Heart of a Soul'. This book Iam reviewing is A MUST Read.

Rev. Thomas Taylor's early 20th century translation of the memoir of St. Therese of Lisieux was made from the only manuscript then available outside her monastery, one substantially rewritten by Therese's sister Pauline, who made five thousand changes. Scholars interested in the documents which gave rise to the cult of St. Therese may wish to consult it. I urge those who want to read what Therese wrote to read the third edition of "Story of a Soul" translated by Fr. John Clarke, OCD, and published by ICS Publications in 1976. The Clarke translation, made from the unretouched manuscript written by Therese (which was published in French only in 1956), is recognized as the standard throughout the English-speaking world. No other translation compares to it. Whether you have not read "Story of a Soul" or have read only earlier English translations (Taylor, Knox, Beevers), the Clarke translation will open the world of Therese to you. Don't miss it. You'll find it at Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux, Third Edition

It is a well written, inspirational text. I really liked the historical aspects as well as the religious excerpts. Great book for anyone experiencing an ongoing illness. It helps to put the disease in perspective. :)

From her own words, we can see how this important and popular Catholic saint dedicated her life to the unconditional love of God. Through a life of simplicity and obedience, she came to be one of the most revered saints in the history of the Church. The book takes us from her childhood to her death and clearly outlines her path to sainthood. An inspiring and uplifting book for someone who already knows Therese of Lisieux, as well as for those interested in learning about her life and her "little way."

This magnificent book is a must read for anyone who cares about humanity; who loves people and wants to ride with them. It is more than that. It is the feel of Montana, of the West, of the people who built this country and the hard, blistering work they did. Don't miss this book. You'll love it and hate when you must put it down.

This book was one of the few memoirs I have read when in the end I placed the book down and sighed "wow." What a wonderful story. The author rolled experiences together in western Montana with his dad and grandmother and turned it into a lovestory for fathers and grandmothers, for people of Montana, and all that using very little dialogue. (That gave the book a sense of truthfulness, as who can recite full conversations that took place years ago?)

The constant struggle with man against nature, man against man and man against himself come alive in these pages. Despite many obstacles of every kind, his father never abandoned him and sacrificed what he had to to raise his son and to give him what he needed. Montana and its bittersweet closeness never leave the reader; its isolation and wide open sky are always in the background. Thus the title is so perfect for this beautiful memoir.

This was my first Doig book and I will definitely read more of him. I definitely consider this book one of the top ten in American 20th century writing.

This was my first Ivan Doig book, and I loved it! As a result, I've read most of the rest of what Doig has written and thoroughly enjoy reading about (and remembering) the areas of Montana where I used to live.

Of the three best books I've read in 2007, this probably ranks number two. It took me a little while to get into it, but the wait was well worth it. Ivan Doig is a magnificent writer and his talents are well displayed in this book. The other two books were The Good Old Boys, by Elmer Kelton, and The Missouri Riders, by George Banks.

This is my all time favorite book. Period. Beautifully written, thought-provoking. It will make you want to move to Montana. It will make you love open sky and a horizon that goes on forever and the importance of family.

I have read a lot of Eric and Leslie's books, but this one has to be my favorite! This is their story about how they met, becamse friends and eventually fell in love. They don't preach or say anyone has to do it this way, but their story spekes for itself. It show exaclty what can happen when you let go of what YOU want your love story to look like and LET GOD write his own and how beautiful it becomes. I have read this book at least 3 times and it never fails to move me to tears. (It also makes me laugh as well, which in my opinion is the mark of a perfect book!) In short anyone who wants a relationship with God and the oposite sex NEED to read this book!!

Very good book. It gives a look at the way marriage should be, with God first.

This is a really incredible book! I have enjoyed reading real-life love stories for a long time, but most of them were short online articles. This is a wonderful BOOK! I was so excited when I heard about it that I immediately requested it at our library.
I was a little uncomfortable with the beginning of the book, which is the reason that I gave this incredible book only four stars. I guess I'm pretty sheltered from the world --- the references to having sex/love-making and the locker-talk were just... uncomfortable for me. I enjoyed the book, though, and would recommend it to anyone! It's incredible to see the way God works in the lives of Eric and Leslie. I can't wait to find a copy of this book within my price range so that I can add it to my personal shelf!

I've shared the Ludy's book with my own three teens and with the teens of my friends. The story stands in stark opposition to what our culture teaches and gives hope and a vision of an honorable love affair that can last forever. My own children watched as friends became lovers, broke up, had babies, and were alone, or went from one tragic relationship to the next. This book showed them that it is realistic to hold out for something better and they were rewarded for doing so. Our culture needs to know there are other options and that the way to true love and happiness does not begin in the bedroom. One of the best parts of this true story is that it involves two people who went the wrong way first. This mom says, save your children's marriages before it's even an issue, get this book and give them a vision of something wonderful that's worth waiting and trusting God for.

My 15 yo daughter just finished the book. She didn't particularly want to read it, but it's a great story and once she started, she needed no more prodding. Besides providing a "vision," the story works as a "dating manual" for those committed to Jesus Christ. The reader sees how the young lovers come to fall in love, identify their feelings for one another, but manage to take the high road of abstinence and trust God that His way is truly best. When they finally marry, they've already proved their love for one another in the way they have put the other one's well-being above their own. A beautiful story for everyone.

I've made a point of avoiding Christian-aimed relationship books because so many of them are either condescending or unrealistic. But everything the Ludys have written blows that idea completely out of the water. They break the mold by being honest and open. This book is a treat to read; Eric and Leslie tell their story as if you were sitting in a living room with them. It's bold to be truthful, and it's daring to do it in our culture. I hope every young woman looking for a good romance reads this and takes it's message to heart. I wish I had read it years ago.