Biography Books

I laughed, I cried, I remembered. Great book written by someone who knows. I highly recommend this book. Yes, it tells stories about wartime, but it is written in such a way that the whole family could read it together.

Once I started reading Chuck Truitt's book, I found it very hard to put it down. He writes in a down to earth manner just like you were there with him.

The author and I were in Vietnam during approximately the same time period though in very different roles and locations. The book conveys a sense of immediacy and presence that evokes many memories of that unique conflict, and the story is told with genuine irony and humor unusual in books about Vietnam. The reader will find the book rewarding whether they are veterans of that war or not.

Charles Truitt is a gifted writer whose stories are a pleasure to read. Pop A Yellow Smoke is a refreshingly different outlook on life as a Marine during the Vietnam War. Never has a history lesson been so amusing. A pleasant combination of facts, explanations and real life experiences givers the reader a glimpse of the every day lives our men lived. A soldier of the cross, Charles Truitt is still a true Marine at heart and I would highly recommend this book to anybody!

A refreshing glimpse of reality in the "war zone". Very subtly forces you to reconsider your priorities. After over a year since reading the book, I still find myself reflecting on various episodes that brought back wonderful memories of my own experiences in the Corps and in everyday life. I wish the Commandant would make this required reading for all Leathernecks. Great job, Gunny!

Gary "Gunny" Johnson, USMCR '82-'93

This book is a well-written chronological account of Kennedy's presidency. Minimized is the personal gossip and inuendo while highlighted is the decision-making style of JFK and his entourage as events unfold. You get a sense of what it's like being thrust into the vortex of events for which no president is totally prepared. The writer attempts to reveal President Kennedy as both more and less than the Camelot charisma would have you believe. Thoroughly enjoyable and informative must-read addition.

President Kennedy did not have the easiest presidency imaginable: big issues abroad including Cuba, Vietnam, Berlin, the nuclear arms race and test ban treaties with Russia and the highly contradictory issue of integration at home were all begging for his attention and often at the same time. This biography gives a good insight into the way decisions were taken and that there is a lot of on-the-job learning involved. It is in a sense shocking to read that the way a superpower is run is not that much different from the way an average manager runs his group of a few people.

I found it slightly disappointing that this biography deals exclusively with the presidency of Kennedy, not his formative years as a student, a soldier and a senator. But all in all a revealing insight into the presidency of a man who, after his assassination, become a posthumous hero.

Jackie Kennedy is said to have given copies of this book to her children with the advice, "If you want to know your father, he is in this book." Reeves was said to be surprised at her endorsement and commented. "I wasn't terribly flattering to Jackie in the book."
Well worth the read.

As the leading civilian authority on the U.S. Secret Service (and President Kennedy's interaction with the agency), I was much interested in this book by Richard Reeves. I am a big fan of Mr. Reeves---in addition to a great book on Richard Nixon, he is a great writer and speaker. You can't go wrong in purchasing this fine book. vince palamara

After reading this book, I feel that I come out understanding the Kennedy presidency in better terms. While Sorenson and Schlesinger wrote impeccable accounts on the admininstration, they are somewhat distorted, and make Kennedy out to be a hero. This well-written and higly researched account, I feel to be the definintive account of the administration. It shows the flaws of President Kennedy, and the true personality of the man in the White House, his battle with Addison's disease. Kennedy was a very inexperienced leader at the beginning of his presidency, and I don't feel that it really dawned on him until the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

This detailed account covers his meetings with Premier Krushchev, how he dealt with South Vietnam, and the apparent sickness that came upon him after learning of the death of Ngo Din Diem. You also see that Kennedy was very much a womanizer, almost to the point of obsession it seems. This book deserves much attention, and for anybody who has never read about President Kennedy, an excellent start.

I ordered this book for myself after having read a borrowed original first edition hard cover from a friend.
The story is wonderful and inspiring, and I wanted to own this book. This soft cover reissue version is O.K.,
but the photo reproductions in it are shamefully bad. I'll continue to search for an original copy ...

I read this book in middle school YEARS ago, well, ok, I wore this book out in middle school. When I saw it on Amazon I had to get it! What an amazing, inspirational story. Anyone with an interest in flying or history will find this a fantastic read!

An excellent and accurate story of a historical figure, Douglas Bader. It was interesting to read and thoroughly enjoyable.

This was one of the first war ace biographies I've ever read, back when I was fourteen.

It's a pleasure to see it published again, to replace my old copy.

Of course, Mr. Brickhill seems to be a huge fan of Bader, but who in England is not, even those who realize that Bader had a difficult temper, but a difficult temper that was responsibels for getting back in a warplane in war tiem RAF without both legs!

Good read, a classic.

I read this book when I was 9 yrs. old and now that I read it again I think that this is one of those books that I will keep and read over and over.
This is a riveting story that makes you feel like you are there experiencing the events yourself.

I loved this book! It has amazing photos and stories and tells all about each of the girls different walks of life. I loved it! Geri was always my fave and now I think I understand why she left. As one of her quotes goes "I'm a restless person and I'm not satisfied yet. I don't know what I'm to do yet but something else has to be coming my way." I think that was an amazing and brave thing to do so Cheers Geri!

I may not be a big book reader for my spare time, but I can tell you this is the best book I have ever read. I love the Spice Girls, and Ginger was always my fav, and to find out more about my favorite female in the world, well, is awesome. she is such a cool person and a great writter! I was talking about it at school once, and one of my classmates came up to me, and wanted to read it. she agreed, this is a good book! she couldn't put it down (as I couldn't, either!). it explains a lot, and fills in the holes as why Geri left the Spice Girls. this is her whole life story, and you also get to learn even more about the Spice Girls than you probably knew from before! oh, and if you have her solo album, you might not understand some of her lyrics- but once I read this, and listened to it again, the whole album made sense, and I could relate everything back to her book. it's awesome. a definte for spice girl fans.

Great book for all Spice Girls fans. It tells the real story, with in depth about their feelings and about their family, too

This book is wonderfully written. The Spice Girls are brilliant recording artists and now they're brilliant authors too! I definately think you you should read this if you're a Spice fan and even if you're not, you'll still enjoy the book. It is a real attention catcher. Tou won't be able to put your book down! Spice Up Your Life by reading this!

This book is undoubtedly the best book I've ever read. It tells the story of pop music's biggest phenomenon, the Spice Girls. Learn about Mel C's hundreds of awards, Emma's early modeling career, Victoria's many hair styles, Geri's Girl Power!, and Mel G's cute side. If you love the Spice Girls, this book is definitly for you. Also check out Geri Halliwell's new book If Only. Girl Power!

The Soloist is a poignant journey into the harsh world of a brilliant and talented homeless musician whose story will pluck at your heartstrings.

Through the very compassionate and capable voice of Steve Lopez, the reader is led into a world of stunning surprises and shocking insights into the very real domain of mental illness and homelessness where doors are opened and scenes displayed with unrefined veracity.

This novel seems to beg to be read as a clever work of fiction...however it is far from fictional!

This is a true story of amazing strength and of the careful 'baby steps' required to navigate the delicate emotions that continually thunder inside the heads of the mentally ill... and to walk beside a man of enormous talent who is also afflicted with schizophrenia; living on the streets of Skid Row while creating beautiful music for all around him to hear.

Nathaniel Ayers once had a brilliant career ahead of him in the music world and was a stand-out student at Julliard.
Everything changed as his slow descent into mental illness evolved and one day he found himself on the outside desperately seeking the comfort of the euphonious chords that sweetly sooth the scattered thoughts of his present-day schizophrenia.

Nathaniel worships Beethoven as he pushes his shopping cart full of instruments and his survival cache through the streets and tunnels in the slums of downtown Los Angeles.

The chance meeting of Nataniel Ayers and Steve Lopez is what makes this startling story and the friendship that is formed fills the novel with charity, empathy and grace.

This novel will change how you look at the mentally ill and homeless around you forever....Mr. Lopez has helped to shine a bright and fresh light on the 'stigma' of what we call madness.

With true compassion, we see how delicate the path to well-being can be and learn the deeper meaning of "There but for the grace of God go I"

Thank you Mr. Lopez...you really DID make a difference!

Having read each of the columns where Steve Lopez introduced us to Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, I wasn't surprised by most of the content of the book. Where I was pleasantly surprised was in Mr Lopez' admissions that he was unprepared for the depth of Mr Ayers' illness, and that he, at times, attempted to rush Mr Ayers' treatment. His growth ahd changes are unmistakable. Mr Lopez is to be commended for what he has done to bring awareness to mental health issues faced by many residents of LA, and specifically Mr Ayers.

Steve Lopez has written a moving story of a talent musician and, in the process, written an illuminating two-year autobiography.

Great story line. Towards the end, I began to read slower, then pick the book down for a few days, because I did not the story to end. I think this fall around October, November the movies based off this book is scheduled to come out, Starring Jamie Fox. Might not be a bad idae to pick this box up and read it before the movie comes.

"The book was better." Moviegoers are always saying that.
Back in 2005, *Los Angeles Times* columnist Steve Lopez wrote a series of stories about a homeless man who turned out to possess orchestra-level talent on several stringed instruments.
Lopez turned his columns into *The Soloist* -- and now it's being turned into a movie (an early Oscar contender, no less, to be released Nov. 21) starring Robert Downey Jr. as Lopez and Jamie Foxx as Nathaniel Ayers, the musician who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia.
So why not just wait for the movie? Downey Jr. is a great actor, and Foxx, having played another gifted-but-disabled musician in Ray, just might pull off the mix of inspiration and delusion.
Because books provide detailed, verbal pleasure, that's why. In real life, fore example, Lopez is married and very much involved in the life of his young daughter; in the movie, he's divorced. OK, so screenwriter Susannah Grant (*Erin Brockovich*) needed to streamline the narrative.
But scenes recorded for the movie won't capture the author's commentary. Movie directors can compel our focus, but they can't enter into the characters' interpretations. At one point, for example, Lopez decides to spend a night on the streets as a homeless person alongside Ayers, who demonstrates how he taps a stick on the sidewalk at night to scare off rodents. And Lopez observes: "He's a classical musician who has taken a great fall and now finds himself fending off sewer rats, but when I look into his eyes, I find no hint of regret, no recognition of this nightly collision between beautiful thoughts and ugly reality."
Most important, the process of reading through the months and months of coordination it took among several people to get Ayers off the streets and into treatment (tentatively, provisionally) -- the reader's act of setting the book aside, then returning to it days later -- mimics the one-step-forward, three-steps-back hassles that Lopez endured just to make Ayers' life a little better. Movies accelerate problems, then "solve" them in two hours.
Director Joe Wright allowed us a glimpse, in *Atonement,* of a happily-ever-after ending that's severely undercut by stark realities. Reader-viewers of *The Soloist* will anticipate an ending that offers the hope of continued treatment for Ayers, not a cure. Lopez's book ends with the question of whether Ayers will be able to continue attending concerts at Walt Disney Concert Hall, let alone performing in them. No sentimentalized Hollywood endings are welcome here.
If they intrude, then this Thanksgiving, you can stroll out of a cineplex somewhere and justly say, "The book was better."

This is another book I read cover to cover in one sitting. I'm sad that it's over. The thoughtfulness and ethics and, well, honor of the writer touched me. Lots of cool insider info without compromising security. No bitchy backstabbing. No gratuitous back-slapping either. A very easy read that I couldn't tear myself away from. A couple months back, the current president was in my city for a couple of hours and the amount of disruption to traffic was startling. I now have far more appreciation for how difficult these visits are and how much orchestration they involve.

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.

Ivan Doig is one of the leading writers of the modern American West. I have read, and thoroughly enjoyed, at least four of his novels. THIS HOUSE OF SKY is a memoir of Doig's youth in the hard-scrabble high-country of central Montana in the 1940s and '50s. Despite the hardships Doig's parents encounter, the book is a heart-warming story of decent, hard-working people who personify the pioneer spirt and work ethic so central to our myth of the American West. THIS HOUSE OF SKY shows that in large measure that myth is grounded in reality, although it also betokens some of the places where reality trumps the myth.

As grand as Doig's story is, the telling of it is less so. THIS HOUSE OF SKY was one or Doig's first published works; so far as I can tell, it was his first book-length work other than edited anthologies. For my taste, in THIS HOUSE OF SKY Doig is too idiosyncratic in language, style, and syntax; ultimately, the book seems overly contrived. Especially grating is the frequent use of nouns in various verb forms: for example, "epitaphed", "prowing", "monumented", "embered", "croupiered", and those few are just the tip of the iceberg.

After reading THIS HOUSE OF SKY, I read "Heart Earth", which Doig wrote 15 years later as a sort of continuation of his memoir, a kind of appendix to THIS HOUSE OF SKY. "Heart Earth", too, has a distinctive style, but it is much more accomplished and less mannered. Likewise, Doig's novels, for the most part, are better written than SKY. So, to demark SKY as a less mature work of Doig's, I have given it but four stars, despite the richness and wonder of the story itself. But having said that, if you love the West and treasure stories (especially true stories) of plain, straightforward, hard-working folks who just lower their heads and do what has to be done, with wry humor and gumption, you undoubtedly will enjoy THIS HOUSE OF SKY.

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.

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 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 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.

The title of Chase Von's book caught my attention immediately as would anything that mentions Panthers speaking. I'm from the school of poets who believe in Che Guevara's statement "speak the truth". The truths in Your Chance to Hear the Last Panther Speaks, however, travel the gamut from the personal to the political and back again without getting tired along the journey. The sheer wealth of material makes it highly difficult to pick a few pieces as the best of the bunch.

From the desire to retain a child's innocence in Rainbows:

I hope to always retain
That kind of a heart
I want to always be
The one adult standing
With the children
Looking at the fishes in the aquarium
With wonder

To the challenge to "woman up" in Partway:

Boundaries have been drawn
Limits have been set
And where as I want to reach for the sky
You are afraid to have your feet
Leave the ground


Your chance to hear the last panther speak is a solid delight.

This is a collection of thought-provoking poetry, lyrics, quotes and short stories that tell about life in all its many moments. Most are hope-filled and positive. Others deal with the hurt and loss that occur in our modern day world.

Chase Von has such a deep and meaningful poetic voice. Each poem has a flavor all its own. He uses emotions and images to capture the reader and draw him in to the very heart of the action.

Among my favorite poems were Pink, Blue and Green, A Poem, I Am The Future, and A Letter Home. Each of these touched me very much.

Pink, Blue and Green is a poem that talks about racial intolerance. It is very clever. Not even an albino is free of this bias.

In A Poem, Chase shares the moment when a couple breaks up. He works through the loss by creating a poem. What a fitting tribute to what they once had!

I Am The Future shares the joy and importance a child brings to a family. How they become the focus of the parents. They are their present AND their future.

A Letter Home discusses the heartache of never knowing your ancestors because of slavery tearing cultures apart. I am part American Indian, and it made me think of how my ancestors were devastated, too. This poem touched me the most.

The lyrics are about friendship and love. They stand well on the written page. But, when I've heard some of these performed, they are great!

My favorite is I'm Your Friend. It is a very heart-felt song. Read it when you are sad or lonely.

Chase Von's quotes are quite profound. They make you realize how special his talent is. He can encapsulate a deep thought in such a way that it becomes immortal. His one about the universe being big enough to hold your dreams should be tacked on the wall of every child.

The short stories are very diverse and interesting. My favorite is The Tree and the Butterfly. It talks how helping each other in this fleeting world is important.

In closing, this showcase of selections is only the tip of the iceberg of Chase Von's talent. Take your time and enjoy them. I'll eagerly await the next book!

Dawn Huffaker
Author of Flights of Fancy, Volume 1 (Second Edition)

This varied and earnest volume reveals the devotion Chase has for the power of words. "The Face Of," "Falling Stars" and "Will Be" are highlights, but there is something witty, wise or wisecracking to be found in virtually every poem.

Challenging, reflective and motivating, delivered with panache.

The Last Panther Speaks to us through poetry, lyrics and short stories that does much more than just touch your life.

"Don't live behind the walls that guilt built
The longer you stay incased in that tomb
The harder it becomes to break free
And write a new and different story
With the pen
That is your life"

Love it!

"True love is the bridge
That covers the gaps
Left by
Misunderstandings
And like wise
Understanding
Is the passage way
Through which
True love
Enters our lives"

"Your Chance To Hear The Last Panther Speak" is a huge asset to the literary world as well as anyone, from any background, who takes the time to read it. I specifically suggest it to young adults and teenagers on a path to figure themselves out and too unsure of how to surpass the labels instilled within their life through the ignorance of society.

One thing that impressed me most is that Chase Von does not only help people surpass their label but also leads by example. A tough feat for anyone, but especially someone who lived within the label of a strong, unemotional gangster.
No matter what I face in life I can always find a write that I can relate to. He has the ability to put what other people are thinking but can't always articulate, into words. Beyond that, his writing style is versatile (Which is a talent few writers have) but the content always remain powerful!
I was reluctant to pick up the book, reading the words 'Black Panther" within the title I made an incorrect assumption that the book was aimed towards an audience interested in reading the message of the group The Black Panthers.

"Don't judge this book by its cover"

The works are moving (sometimes to the point of tears) and will teach you life long lessons.

Audrey MichelleVanity? The Pieces of Audrey MichelleVanity? The Pieces of Audrey Michelle

Mandatory reading for humans, along with Jorge Masetti's In the Pirate's Den, which allows to see the other side: the middle-class, comfortable punk turned communist, the appropriate accolyte for Castro's genocide.

This book is a victory of faith and resistance against totalitarianism. Castro deceived the poor, the peasants of Cuba, he perverted the revolution those humble people were expecting. Castro had declared a thousand times that he was not a communist and that the revolution was "greener than palm trees", but when he got the power he proclaimed unashamedly the true nature of his beast.

This books stands as an invaluable monument to the Cubans whom Castro broke but never bent. Those who refused to say: "Yes, Commissar, I have done wrong. I accept Political Rehabilitation because I see now that communism is the only just system, and it alone can bring happiness to humanity" (p.358).

Notes on communism: "The authorities thought, moreover, that weeding out the cabecillas (leaders) would leave the less educated, less 'dangerous' prisoners, lacking leadership, easier to manipulate ... but if there is any ideology based completely on a misunderstanding of human behavior and the workings of men's psyche, their motivations, that ideology is without doubt marxism ... time would show that every man's conscience, system of values, and personal pride were what led him to resist. No man needed another to show him the way" (p.219).

"A communist always seems to prefer an angry, blurted, uncontrolled manner (of speech from their opponents). The truth, spoken calmly to his face always exasperates him. As what I said was unarguable, the two men turned angrily and walked away." (p.477).

I have to encourage the reader to get hold of this astounding book if only for the story of Alfredo Izaguirre (pp.239-242): "The only prisoner I know of who never performed any forced labor for his jailers -not even a minute's. It is fitting that his name go down in the history of the rebellion of the Cuban political prisons."

On Castro's true revolutionary companions: (Eloy Gutiérrez Menoyo) "led the bloody fighting against Batista's Army (in the mountains of Escambray), he had the sympathy of every peasant there -but Eloy had fought to establish a truly democratic system in Cuba, not another dictatorship. Therefore when he saw that Castro was becoming a tyrant, he fled the country; a while later he came back with a small group of armed men who tried to reach the mountains to continue the struggle. But he was trapped, captured and sentenced to 30 years in prison".

"Rafael del Pino had been one of Castro's closest allies when Castro was in Mexico preparing the Granma landing. One night Castro confided his plans for Cuba to Rafael, and Rafael was so shocked at their totalitarian aspect that he abandoned Fidel. Castro never forgave Rafael that 'betrayal' ... Rafael was jailed". In 1977 he died in jail. "No one ever saw the body. The Ministry of the Interior flatly refused to turn it over to his family."

"Ex-commander Mario Chaves, who had assaulted the Moncada barracks with Castro, been in prison with him, and accompanied him on the Granma landing, was brutally beaten (in jail) and literally dragged to the punishment cells" (p.458)

Pierre Golendorf, a French marxist intellectual who had come to Cuba and worked for the Cuban government ... realized that the island was one big farm that Castro ran like a slave plantation ... he wrote letters about the lie the revolution had turned into ... the political police accused him, like everyone who stood up to the revolution, of being an agent of the CIA. He got 3 years and 2 months in prison. "The tribunals do nothing but read sentences (imposed by politicians)". Spain is not very different today. See how judge Gómez de Liaño was disposed of his toga for sentencing a big pro-government media shot (the El País media group).

Children of the Devil: "One would naturally assume him to be a doctor, but he wasn't. He had been a traveling salesman for medical supply companies. This man, "Dr" Herrera Sotolongo, a Spanish communist, had fled to Cuba because of the civil war in Spain, and thanks to the solidarity of the Cuban revolution with Spanish communism, he had become chief of all medical services of all jails and prisons in Cuba. And you always had to call him doctor, or he wouldn't answer you. He knew nothing at all about medicine, of course, but he was a man the leader could trust." (p.233-234)

The Western world's ignominious role: Conversation between Martha, Valladares' wife, and Pierr Schori, social-democrat big shot in Sweden: "-So if you know there's an implacable dictatorship in Cuba, if you know all liberties have been suspended, why don't you speak out? -Because that would be giving the Americans a publicity weapon." (!!) "Schori warned her not to speak to the press about this interview. Perhaps he didn't want to provoke Fidel."

This undescribable book by Valladares, who should be the president of Cuba and give Castro a tour of his own jails and lacks, ends by remembering one of the anonymous victims in this genocide, a Christian martyr at his moment of death: "a heart overflowing with love, raising his arms to the invisible heaven and pleading for mercy for his executioners. 'Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.' And a burst of machine-gun fire ripping open his breast."

Valladares writes beautifully, and even through all the horrors od more than 20 years of torture described here he keeps a tone of hope, of mysterious sanity and confidence all along, and which assures him that what he's doing is write, according to his conscience and to the power the Almighty God sustains him with. Why is this book unpublished in Spanish-speaking countries or so hard to find? That's another ignominy.

I read this book in Spanish, in condensed form, when I was fourteen years old. (1987, to be exact) Twenty-one years later, I still think about it. It made an anti-Communist out of me, and made me absolutely abhor what Fidel and Raul have done to such a beautiful island as Cuba, and to its people, for almost fifty years.

Sure, you might say they have "free health care". Trust me: they have paid a terrible price for "free."

It should be a must-read, together with Vaclav Havel's essays, for those who need to know what Communism really is: the rottenness of the soul, and an ideology borne out of the bowels of hell itself. Nothing else can describe it.

Viva Cuba Libre! (And this from a boricua.)

A beautiful and terrifying memoir of Castro's Cuba. This man suffered unspeakable injustices at the hands of Castro's servants. The honesty and heartfelt memories of this man persecuted by the Communists is one of the best memoirs I have ever read. Wonderful testimony to the bravery and courage of the human spirit in the face of horrible odds.

Another Amazon reviewer got it right when he wrote that this book should be given to all one's deluded friends sporting hip "Che" T-shirts. This eye-opening, stomach-churning account of the author's 22 years in Cuban prisons, the conditions of which make Shawshank seem like a Club Med, demolishes the romanticized memory of "freedom fighters" like Che and exposes the lie that Castro's Revolution created a socialist paradise. And it highlights Communism's inability to understand or erase one of the most important traits of human nature: our hunger for individual freedom and personal dignity.

Valladares wastes no time plunging us into a hell Dante himself could barely have imagined - on page one he is abducted in the middle of the night by the political police on trumped-up charges (having been denounced, he feels, by a jealous coworker for his disapproval of Castro's embrace of Communism), and before his prison odyssey is over, he endures and observes the worst extremes of totalitarian repression. The tension and the drama never let up, and often reach the breaking point. The litany of sadistic human rights abuses goes on page after page, every page; the degree of physical and psychological cruelty is so incomprehensible as to nearly defy belief. And yet Valladares and others maintain an almost superhuman strength of character and will to live that are inspirational and humbling. Amazingly, there are even flashes of humor and an ultimate triumph in this maddening and disturbing memoir.

Against All Hope is one of the most gripping books you will ever read. It has a compelling social conscience and an inspirational message of hope, faith, courage, determination, and even love, and it will leave you with a changed perspective on yourself and the world.

Give a copy of this book to all your friends wearing Che t-shirts. After so many descriptions of beatings and hunger strikes, you become numb to the next ones. I recall the AI campaigns in the 70s-80s to send letters and postcards to the Cuban and Soviet embassies just to remind them that the world was watching. Sadly today AI has degenerated into just another wacko outfit. The UN comes in for a beating of its own in this book, as it just sat back and closed its eyes, passing resolutions against Israel and other nonsense instead of putting pressure on Cuba. This continues today with Zimbabwe, NK, and others.

Take a look at "The Aquariums of Pyongyang" for a look at the same song, different verse.

A friend of mine from the Bronx told me about this book, and I'm glad she did. This if a beautifully written story that gets at the truth of both the time and the heart. The Bronx is a place that seems mythic and all too real to me and this writer keeps both of those images alive.

I loved this book. It gave a shape to Pearson's life and let me understand that there is a shape to all of our lives. It's just up to us to find the meaning that is there for us notice.

For me Dreaming of Columbus read more like a novel than a memoir. I mean that as a compliment to the writer. The story had the feel of fiction to it, as if you could see inside the characters lives and enter the story for a while. I loved it.

Michael Pearson has the right idea, but the ideas that are gathered into the book are a little disjointed and fractured. If he could smooth out the stories so that blend one into the other, the entire book would read better.
On the positive note, Dreaming of Columbus would definitely stir memories of the neighborhood for those growing up in that part of New York. He does have some descriptive stories of people, places and landmarks in the book that are entertainingly delightful.
If you are a Bronx native, I would recommend this book so you can remember things you may never see again.

Despite the images of sea voyages inspired by its title, Dreaming of Columbus is not the story of a young man spending his salad days in exotic, foreign settings. Instead, Michael Pearson takes the road less traveled and keeps his story closer to home. The reader looking for journeys will not be disappointed, however, in the imaginative way the Pearson uses literature to break away from the confines of the Bronx and the unpredictable, bourbon induced, violent outbursts produce by his father's rage to live. Although Pearson engages in excessive epigraph dropping, the means by which literature provides an avenue for escape adds a universal element to his narrative from which we call all learn something about the art of bridge building.