Cultural Books

This book, read first when I was 14 years old, and since added to my adult library, read and re-read again, has stayed with me like so very few other books in my life.

I wont over-egg the review - Corbett wouldn't have liked that kind of lionising (good pun!) and he doesn't need it. Suffice to say I respect Corbett deeply, and often think of him. Unabashed admiration for this man is easy. All his books are worth your money, but start with this one.

Jim Corbett put together his experiences in the forests of the Himalayan foothills. The details are truly amazing. It does also provide a great ammount of details about wildlife. In a nutshell an epic collection. Does not get any better than this.

Probably the best big game hunting book ever written. Will keep you on the edge of your seat and I do not recommend reading it while camping in the woods (especially if the woods happen to be in India). Corbett describes stalking man-eating tigers and often they stalk him. These are not made-up stories nor are they self justifying. Corbett ONLY hunted tigers that the local population asked him to, after dozens or sometimes hundreds of people had been killed. His descriptions are beautiful and picture an era (India in 1900-1930) that has long since gone. I have read it many times, the first when I was about 11 years old.

This book was written by not only a very brave man but a man that possessed great character and class. His only reason for hunting these Man-Eaters was to rescue the villagers from this ever present terror. He took no money for his efforts. Very exciting reading without ever a hint of bragging about his extraordinary gift of successfully hunting the most dangerous animals on earth.

I can't speak highly enough about the book. His discription of his journeys made you feel as if you with right there with he and his men. If you like the outdoors and adventure, you simply must read this classic.

I thoroughly have enjoyed this book, looking at the people from around the world and their possessions and realizing how different I live from another. It was amazing to see each family so proud, of either how little they have or how much they have, and to have all that they own on display (from in the dead of winter to floating on a boat!).

This book is absolutely a wake-up call for many people out there who think they don't have enough! Beautifully put together. Outstanding.

Material World by Peter Menzel is one of the most exciting and informative books I have come across in a long time . No other book I have ever read has given me such in depth knowledge of the lives and circumstances of people living in other countries around the globe. The photographs are breathtakingly beautiful and the statistics are fascinating. Ursula Michelson, author of Alzheimers Patients in the Nursing Home: How Well Do Caregivers Meet Their Needs?

This book is a fascinating look at materialism, or the lack of it, around the world. Oddly enough, the American family was not the most obviously materialistic; there was a Saudi family with a 42 foot long couch! I have put this gorgeously photographed book in my classroom for independant reading time for my 9th graders. It is filled with statistics, information about the countries and the families and the stories of the photographers themselves. Also check out The Hungry Planet, a visual look at what people around the world eat, photographed and written by the same authors of Material World.

"Material World," written during the 1990 U.N. International Year of the Family, is a major achievement and, although it can seem dated in areas, is still timely and relevant for our world today.

Profiling 30 families from across a wide spectrum of the 183 U.N. member states, "Material World" depicts these families' struggles and triumphs in words, pictures, and statistics. Many of these vignettes are uplifting--the Cuban family holding on to each other as their nation suffers through communism--and many are very saddening--the three Carballo children sleeping in fear of being robbed each night. It is highly useful in perspective building and also a good way to see how others live elsewhere in the world. It is not going to make one "proud to be an American," but it is also not an "America-bashing" book. "Material World" demonstrates very powerfully the old proverb: 'It's not getting what you want, it's wanting what you've got.'

The Albanian family, with its minute amount of belongings; the Brazilian family, struggling to survive the slums; the Mexican sisters, window shopping before getting the very special treat of an ice cream bar--all exemplify this ideal. The children are in particular very inspiring, rising as they do above the conditions many sadly live in. This is their life, their daily bread--and in a powerful example, they make the most of it.

"Material World" is inspiring, beautiful, and still timely, even over ten years after its publication.

I enjoyed this book tremendously. It is funny. It is another one of those books I discovered by accident. The reviews were on average a five. So decided the majority must be onto something. So I decided to give it a chance, if I liked it, I would possibly include it on my book blog.

Mr. Townes did an excellent job of incorporating African and African diasporan history and the supernatural. He is an excellent storyteller. At times, the telling of the story is a painful one. It is inevitable, because our history over the last 500 years has been a painful. Most importantly, even though it had an urban flavor, it was not profane, predictable, and ignorant. Reluctantly, I am going to place him among this Big Boys and Gals temporarily, i.e. Tananarive Due, Steven Barnes, Charles Saunders, Octavia Butler, etc. The reason I say reluctantly is because he lacks a body of consistent good works like the authors mentioned. This is his first book and a darn good one at that. So I will wait to see the quality of his next work.

The only thing that annoyed me was his going on about good black men being screwed over by some black women. My point of view is that the main character, David and his wife's father, Mr. Levy chose these women. I know these types of men in real life, they love the lowly, abusive type and drama filled women, while ignoring the peaceful, loving sistah. The people we chose to bring into our life are a direct reflection of how we feel about ourselves. This goes for males and females. As they say, "birds of a feather flock together." I know this to be true.

Otherwise, I highly recommend this book. I give it a five star. I could see Malik nem so vividly in my mind, proud and beautiful.

IT TOOK ME NEARLY A YEAR TO GET THIS BOOK..WHEN I FINALLY RECIEVED IT , I WASN'T DISAPPOINTED! I'VE NEVER READ ANYTHING BY GREGORY TOWNES, BUT I CAN DEFINITELY SAY..THAT I LOOK FORWARD TO ANYTHING ELSE HE WRITES..
I WAS CAPTIVATED BY HIS STYLE OF WRITING AND THE CHARACTERS..
THIS ISNT A MIND BOGGLING BOOK, BUT IT IS ONE TO REALLY MAKE YOU WONDER ABOUT THE WORLD IN WHICH WE LIVE...IS IT FACT OR FICTION? Hmmmmmmm?
I WOULD LIKE TO THANK GREGORY TOWNES FOR SHARING SUCH A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE WITH ME AND THE REST OF THE LITERARY WORLD!

Gregory Townes is a true storyteller. From the onset, you are pulled into the world of the Tribe and never let go. The ride is exhilarating as we travel the jungles of Africa, through the middle passage, and around the streets of Brooklyn, a modern day jungle.

As I read, I could feel the power of the characters through the pages. Each one became three dimensional, sometimes four dimensional, virtually standing in the room with me, coaxing me to go on; turn the pages, be a part of the journey they seemed to whisper. There were moments of anxiety as I wondered how David, the protagonist, would fulfill his unseen destiny. And the role the twelve would play in bringing the past full circle.

The story is about the past, present and the future. It is about faith, strength and an unswerving belief in the power of our ancestors. The Tribe encompasses everything holy and unholy--it lays bare the evil that dwells in man. A hypnotic work, it shows us the role we play in our successes and our failures, and ultimately, in our destiny. The Tribe is the story of mankind and our quest to eradicate the source of evil.

I could definitely read it again. You won't be able to put it down.

This book is a definite "must read"!! Gregory Townes shows some of the strength of a young Stephen King!! His style of writing leaves the reader breathless at every turn.... a master of suspense!!

The living and the dead somehow merge across centuries and continents. The Curse of the Silver Eyes-an extremely powerful tribe of shunned blacks with the symbol of infinity as a birthmark and blessed with incredible gifts are destined to fulfill the curse. The tribe cursed Captain Pearson and his men who stole them and they cursed the neighboring tribes who helped them. And now the tribe has stolen a little girl to help them with their curse. It is an intriguing science-fiction mystery that will keep you riveted to your seat and turning pages because...the dead know what the living are doing.

For those that love real rural blues this must be one of the best insights into the lives and music of the last of the old time juke joint musicians. It has all the drive and raw power that most of us white kids seldom get a chance to experience even when we were lucky enough to see some of these guys on tour. Go and buy this one and see a little of the life of these great characters and experience some their great driving electric blues.

This is a wonderful DVD. The highlights for me were seeing
R. L. Burnside at his home and getting to see Roosevelt Barnes
perform Heart Broken Man. Sadly both of these great performers are no
longer around.

this is the the best concised book on the blues. few books provide so much insight in so few words

this is a serious history of the blues treating the blues with the same respect & seriousness given jazz, classical and other forms. it is a wonderful book combining interviews with blues legends like muddy waters and howling wolf with in-depth musical and cultural analysis.

for serious blues lovers or the novice looking for a deeper understanding of the music's roots, the culture that spawned and the incredible musicians who created it.

Hi,my name is Steve Kaplan.I play the keytar behind Big Jack Johnson in the movie DEEP BLUES.I just released a cd called "BITTER LEMON REVIVAL".If you liked the movie call 901-355 7210 and order my cd for 12$ plus shipping and handling tot 13.95$ Order today!!! They could pull this ad anytime! Sincerely
Lemon Bitter Kaplan

I picked this book up in a used book store. Although I am not a huge fan of his music I picked the book thinking it may be interesting. I was actually surprised to find out how good this book was to read. DMX discloses so much of his personal life in this book. He is very candid and does an excellent job telling his life story from his passion for pitbulls to his problems with drugs.

There aren't many people who possess the energy and resilience that DMX has. He connects with his audience in ways beyond belief. I met him at a recent performance, was on stage with him the whole time, and was literally blown away. He is one of the greatest performers in the industry today and should be recognized as such. I appreciate his honesty in his book and in his life. What a great man!!

I just grabbed this book out of curiosity. I knew of DMX and his music but no fan. Wow, was I impressed. To be completely honest, I figured it wouldn't be so good because frankly, how good of a story can a ghetto playa bring to the table?
Well, a very good one in fact. My favorite part of it was that he didn't restrain himself from sounding intimate. He would describe how he was living with nothing and then he had bought a little bouncy ball and that was the shiznit! lol I love that. He appreciated the small things. He still had a heart and needed love no matter how roughed up he was. I got mad respect for him and I feel his story was genuine. DMX did not try to make the projects seem cool or anything. I had a picture the entire time reading it. Dark, gloomy, dirty streets and bad vibes. I recommend this book. Seriously, just read it with an open mind. WOW.

Never could have imagined what a rough life DMX had. He has truly defied all odds!

This book offers nothing positive at all. DMX lived a negative life and he speaks negative rap. He robbed people (mostly women) as a youngster. He robbed other kids by using his dog. He stole cars. He stole for the thrill and because he wanted nice things without working for them. And he didn't care who he stole from. He stole a chain from his friend (TQ). He would offer his home made tapes for sell to people, take their money and not give them anything. He promotes violence. He spent most of his life victimizing people in and out of jail. At one point in the later chapters and in one of his raps, he implies raping men in jail. He summarizes quickly what his jail time was like, he avoids going into alot of detail about those years. He's showing you the slice of his life that he wants to show.

He spends too much time on the earliest years of his life which are uninteresting. He doesn't really cover the parts of his life that most people are interested in. He doesn't talk much about the actual business of music. He doesn't talk about how his life changed with the music business success. He doesn't talk about how he grew as a person or what he learned from his incarcerations. Did he spend his time in jail doing anything positive? Or was his jail time just fighting people and rapping about it?

I do appreciate his talent, but not his messages. There were alot of DMX songs that I used to listen to. After reading this book, I see him more vividly now. I see him as a horrible person who I would want nothing to do with. He isn't a person that should be celebrated, he should be ashamed for the life he has led.

You shouldn't buy this book. You shouldn't even borrow it. It's a waste of time to read, there are much better, more positive things that you could be doing with your life.

John Lewis' memoir tells of his pivotal role in the civil rights movement as , literally, its most prominent "fall guy." John Lewis was physically at the forefront of the major civil rights events-getting beaten, arrested, and ultimately, prevailing in the struggle to desegregate the south. He was one of the original Freedom Riders as well as the first person across the Pettis Bridge in Selma. He explains all of his actions and ethics through a mirror of highly disciplined non-violence that leaves the reader in awe of his amazing achievements. In sum, this book is a "must-read" for anyone interested in the civil rights movement.

The junior standard-bearer for civil rights during the era of segregation recounts his rise through those times toward his own national recognition. It's an intimate and introspective offering. It's a unique perspective.
After his Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, crashes, he self-imposes exile as an "invisible man" in New York working as a grant officer for a private charity:
(p398) "New York was just too big for me. I didn't feel as if I could get my hands around it. In the South, communities seemed comprehensible, manageable, workable. You could see where things started and ended. You could get a grasp of the place and the people, as well as their problems. And you could respond to those problems with solutions that might work...."
He always has the South on his mind where there remains "a spirit instilled by the civil rights movement that is still felt and remembered today, a spirit that was not and is not felt in the same way in the North. That, I believe, is the huge difference between the legacy of the civil rights movement in the North and the South. All the great battlegrounds of the civil rights movement were in the South. That fact is cherished and remembered by the people there." (p 208).
There is confusion in "Feel Angry with Me". The chapter describes the fall of Schwerner, Goodman, and Chaney. Their violent deaths in defense of the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law during Freedom Summer (1964) fixed the nation's eyes on racist brutality in Mississippi. The confusion is in character casting and mixing the ridiculous partying with his friend, actress, Shirley MacLaine and his virginity in the same chapter with the sublime. Here, especially, the book sacrifices continuity to rigid chronology.
In and out of church - and on both sides of the pulpit - his cast of characters is most colorful, including a prominent one (not MacLaine) today facing bizarre criminal charges. So many stories within the author's story could make for a better book than a strict chronology.
The author alludes to his motivation to influence the masses, (p 400) "I felt the spirit, the hand of the Lord, the power of the Bible -- all of those things -- but only when they flowed through the church and out into the streets. As long as God and His teachings were kept inside the wall of a sanctuary, as they were when I was young, the church meant next to nothing to me." Like a good, "whooping" preacher, he is, at times, poetic. It's some of his best stuff.
Congressman Lewis is no great hero, though he has a measure of both -- greatness of association to the movement he led until the times turned violent -- and heroism for holding to his sometimes politically incorrect beliefs, though not sufficiently incorrect for this reviewer. And his book is not great literature. It is his gift to us with an interest in non-violent social change.

John Lewis's powerful and moving retelling of his journey through the
Civil Rights years, much of it in leadership positions, is a walk through
important American history. His clarity of purpose, values, honed by the
beatings and jailings of those years shine through it all. This personal
insight into events we read about in history makes it real, and makes us
admire the courage and persistence of people like John Lewis. In our present
times of struggle over issues of war, environment and economic fairness,
we need both a reminder of this historical struggle and a next generation
to press us to make changes, to make a difference. A must read for anyone
concerned about our present times.

Ever since I came to the U.S. I learned about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his philosophy of non-violence, I always wanted to learn more about the civil rights movement because of the way African American citizens overcame their obstacles in a non-violent way.


Walking with the wind is a memoir of the author John Lewis, the book begins at his home town where he was raised and learned the meaning of discrimination at an early age. The book describes his whole life how he was discriminated and how became involved with the movement, and how he later on became chair man of the SNCC.
The book also has a part where it only describes the life of John Lewis after the movement, what he does and what happens to all of his close friends, this is at the end of the book, but also talks about how he tries to become something important in U.S. politics.


My favorite part of the whole book is when John Lewis is watching the presidential elections of 1976, when he sees that Jimmy Carter was elected he begins to cry because like he says, he finally sees the hands that picked cotton, picking a president, he cries because he sees that all his hard work pays off, by the government counting the black vote.


The knowledge that John Lewis wants to pass down to readers is the struggle of all African American people to gain freedom and rights, he wants the new generation of people of color to know how much the old generation had to go through to gain all the freedom kids posses these days.


This book is boring, there is almost no action, it is mostly talking about politics, so do not read this book if you are not hooked by memoirs. It takes time to get into the good stuff, like for example, there are parts where the author describes the way police responded in a violent way to a non-violent protest, there are many occasions like this through out the whole book.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the Civil Rights Movement. Lewis' broad range of experiences gives the reader a glimpse into nearly every facet of the 1960's part of the movement. However, it is also useful for the specific study of the Nashville student movement and the study of SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee).

In a world saturated with stories overcoming life challenges, Remember This Titan delivers a message unlike any I have read.
Steve Sullivan's ability to capture the essence of Coach Bill Yoast while weaving in an out of the life narrative is remarkable. He has cleverly captured in words, the essence of a man who made it his life's commitment to make a difference and inspire. Sullivan has beautifully portrayed with drama, insight and humor, the life of a man whose unwavering commitment to others enabled them to prosper- all became better, some became great. Many went on to positively impact on other's lives and for this, Sullivan's book is a brilliant reminder that the `Domino Effect' can be a powerful force.
Although Coach Bill Yoast is in the twilight of his journey, Remember This Titan and the wisdom it delivers is a legacy that will live forever.

A friend sent me the book as gift. She said it would change my life. She was right. It took me on a glorious trip. In a world filled with deceit, fear, anger and lost people Remember This Titan shows how one man can make a differance. Remember This Titan is a story that delivers integrity and courage in abundance. Coach Bill Yoast is now my hero. Remember This Titan is triumph and should be required reading for anyone looking to navigate life with a sense of purpose. Five Stars is not enough.

This is a great motivational and uplifting story. A must read for teens and parents alike!!

"Remember This Titan" is an excellent story of an American hero. In a time when personal glory is mainstream, Bill Yoast was not only an inspiration to a community but to the nation as well. Absorbing every word of a simply beautiful story of a no-nonsense man, I learned that, "In navigating life, the best lessons are learned when the riding gets rough". Not only do I believe in the philosophy of life according to Coach Yoast but our entire youth organization and metro area are looking forward to having Mr. Sullivan and Coach Yoast motivate our young men for our 2006 football season. I look forward to meeting Coach Bill Yoast and Steve Sullivan in August, (www.greenmountainfootball.org) and showing them that the TITAN theory exists in Colorado. Steve Sullivan along with Bill Yoast are truly the cornerstone of INSPIRATION.

Remember This Titan, is a wonderful accounting of Bill Yoast's life, ups and downs, the expected and the unexpected. It is the story of a man who LIVED decency long before it was fashionable. The success of the team, both on the field and in their interpersonal relationships, was nurtured by the presence of this fine teacher, leader and coach. In a time when schools go out of their way to emphasize that character counts, this is a fine, enjoyable book to share with the children/students in your life. There are so many valuable lessons, from Mary's impact on Coach Yoast to the profound influence of Raymond Tetfeller on Yoast's young life. This book is beautifully written. It flows with astonishing honesty from humor to heart-wrenching pain. Sullivan has an obvious knowledge, understanding and respect for Coach Yoast. As if all of the above isn't enough, there are action plans and lists of invaluable facts in the back. Remember This Titan is a great read which has had a lasting impact on me. p.s. I had a student at the end of the year say, "Hey, Ms. Stewart are YOU reading a football book, cool!" Enjoy.

I've read plenty of books and this book has really touched me, and I'm still reading half way and I had to stop and write my comments early..so touching that people our people we're treated this way so inhumane..sad part is this is a true story...I hope towards the end of the story that Mende escape from hell....so sad how she and many others lost there families..this book needs to be a school book for kids to read and realize and become aware of true life stories....

I absolutely loved this book. I recommend this book to all of my friends. It is very sad and heart wrenching to read all of the things that this girl has suffered. It brought tears to my eyes reading her words. But one thing I had to always remember was that this book wasn't written about something that happened 100 or even 50 years ago, this is something that just recently happened and is still happening today. Two of my friends read this book and really thought it was a great book. As said before this is a must read for all.

This book will not soon leave my thoughts, now that I have read it. Mende Nazer describes very vividly how she grows up in a poor but still happy environment, has a loving father and mother, and is able to have a happy childhood even in a third-world-environment. Then, at age 12, she is abducted by a stronger tribal force in Sudan and taken into abject slavery, torture, and mistreatment. She is degraded and humiliated, and nearly robbed of her humanity. It is not until she is taken as a slave to London that she manages to escape and see the free world again. As she makes her escape, she is back again in new heights of life, and once again can enjoy it. It also becomes evident that the horrible torture she undergoes as a slave does not break her spirit and resistance, and this then enables her to live a new life.
Prior to reading the whole book, I had become acquainted with it in the German translation while surfing through www.droemer-knaur.de, the publishing firm which published the German translation. The website of the publisher indicated that Mende Nazer, after escaping her captors, was facing deportation back to Sudan. People were asked to contact British authorities on Mende Nazer's behalf. I did that only to be told by them that "the Mende Nazer case is well known to us." No indication was made as to whether or not the government was going to help her and grant her residence in Great Britain. I was furious when I read this. Fortunately, Amnesty International was actively working on this case, too, and eventually, the British government granted Mende Nazer residence in Great Britain. I sincerely hope that the rest of her life will be happy. She nobly and truly deserves it. If she ever came to the United States, I sure would want to meet her.

This book explores a very uncomfortable truth: this is the 21st century and slavery still exists. Following a murderous raid in her native Nuba village in Sudan, Mende Nazer was kidnapped in 1994 with other native children from that area. Her simple tribal life surrounded by a loving, united family came to an end that night. Sold to an Arab family in Khartoum, she learned to survive by "simply" enduring her fate. She was stripped of dignity and humanity, her desperation worsened by the lack of information about the rest of her family, not knowing whether they had survived the raid. It all made her plunge into a deep depression. She was humiliated, beaten and psychologically abused to a devastating extent and for several years. She was later "passed on" to another family, related to the one in Khartoum. This second family lived in London and it was there, in the year 2000, that Mende's fate changed.

This story is a condensation of facts reported simply and clearly by Mende in first person, beginning with her childhood (a very happy one despite her painful female circumcision at a very young age) all the way through her life and up until the events leading to freedom in London. She was helped in this process by journalist Damien Lewis and the result is a compelling read, where all is pieced together in a very accessible way. Mende's young and sober voice emerges with a powerful resonance in its quiet simplicity, a sad reminder of contemporary slavery. It's like a blow knocking the air out of you.

I am omitting details as the reading would be spoiled (also, many reviews and the product description itself are clear enough). I abstain from commenting as the book comments itself and also because, no matter how "used" we are to hear about atrocities nowadays, it is difficult to convey in written words the outrage in the knowledge that such horrors still exist. Just one thing: this should be a compulsory read. It is not only informative and an eye-opener. It also goes to show that, thankfully, goodness still exists despite everything and it unites everybody, irrespective of race, religion, social background.

Mende's story is told in such a simple way. It's as though her emotional growth was put on pause at age 12 - in that she remains very child-like in her response to what's going on around her. Maybe this is what kept her from truly being consumed by hatred toward those who took the most precious thing from her - her family.

It's an excellent read and I'd definitely recommend it. What struck me most was Mende's comments about how she was a good Muslim and did not understand how other's who were supposed to be of her same faith treated her as or worse than the animals they kept as pets!

I think that it was her loving family and tribal life that probably played a great role in giving her the courage to continue on and finally seek means to escape - even though she often writes of her fears. This emotional armor kept her strong and proved to be a real life-line for her when things were the worst.

After reading this I somehow felt changed. Written so well that you feel her emotions immensely throughout the book. I didn't want to put it down.

When Boken Glass Floats tells the story of a young girl and her experiences and life as she lives in Cambodia with the Khmer Rouge. It is very emotional as she weaves the story of her family in the labor camps and then the periods spent in the refugee camps in Cambodia and Thailand. I recommend it as a five star book.

A great book. A very sad account of a young girl that reflect the experiences of million Cambodian refugees. Also showed what perseverance and setting goals can achieve. If Miss Him can survive and succeed, so should everyone.
Highly recommend this book.

This was an entirely good read. One of the amazing things I kept realizing as I read is Chanrithy Him has condensed a number of harrowing years of into just ~300 pages, so the reader only hears about some of her experiences - there's probably much more that didn't make it to the pages of this memoir. Also, Him's story is only one out of myriad others . . . thousands of thousands of Cambodian people who could tell a story even more devastating than Him's.

When Broken Glass Floats kept me interested from cover to cover, and I enjoyed Him's writing style. It's likely I can't say anything positive that hasn't already been said, so I'll pick out a couple of things I wonder if other readers noticed.

For one, the black and white family photos included in the book did not resemble the images I had of disease-stricken, starving children Him described. For instance - granted he is wearing a shirt in the photos, none of the pictures show Map (Him's youngest sibling) with a protruding belly - although towards the end of the book Him tells her readers Map fails to lose this effect of starvation even after his diet improves. Similarly, the photo of Ra on her wedding day shows a young woman who looks healthy (nice complexion, full cheeks, hair in an up-do, clean floral shirt), so I couldn't help but feel confused because this is far from how Him described her physically weak, skinny sister who was barely recognize at times. I realize the photo was taken during better times, but do people so sick and hungry recover to that degree so quickly? Also, the memoir chronicles countless dizzying days, months, and years of walking, working, and barely surviving from severe dehydration, starvation, infection, diarrhea, disease, and depression; personal belongings (books, valuables, etc.) were stolen, taken by the Khmer Rouge, and lost along the way. Under those conditions, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of doubt as I read about the photos Him had "managed to keep safe during the Khmer Rouge time" (p. 330) and the "cream lace blouse from Phnom Penh, which she (Ra) managed to keep safe during the Khmer Rouge time" (p.286). Given the circumstances described, this just didn't seem plausible. But who knows . . . not a major problem for me, it just caught my attention - as did the typographical errors I found from time to time.

Great book . . . would have enjoyed a bit more of a history lesson. If that's what you're seeking you might look elsewhere, because this is a tale focused on a very strong and intelligent young girl's survival.

When Broken Glass Floats is the author's journey to find the magic of a world lost as a result of the Khmer Rouge. This book, as a personal account of the Khmer Rouge regime, is also my personal journey as a reader and a Khmer person. Through this magical journey, my own forgotten memories are awakened and many traditional beliefs that I have pushed to the back of my mind resurface.

I was too young to have memories of the Killing Fields, but I have heard enough stories to feel connected to it. There were gaps missing in my memory and this book filled those gaps. When Broken Glass Floats is poetic and touching, a book rooted in the author's desire to let the world know about the tragic death of her family. It begins when her memories are awakened as a result of her work as an interpreter and interviewer for the Khmer Adolescent Project, studying post-traumatic stress disorder among Cambodian survivors. This is a story of triumph, survival, and hope written from the Khmer soul of a Cambodian-American woman.

When Broken Glass Floats is a book with two moving and powerful purposes: one, as a therapeutic tool for the author, and, two, as a reminder of an event that should never have occurred. The author describes her book as a way "to use the power of words to caution the world, and in the process to heal myself" (p. 23). The process of writing the book became a trek to the Himalayas, "a search to recapture the long-lost magic in [her] life" (p. 23). My travels have taken me to the Himalayas. I have been seeking magic for my own healing like the author of When Broken Glass Floats. The process of reading her book and other autobiographies has provided much healing. I recommend this book for everyone who is interested in this subject, but in particular to Cambodian-Americans, because this book can take you on a journey into yourself, your soul, memories, and past.

If you have any interest in human behavior, this is a must read. It is a true story of a man who has to overcome so much to succeed. The challenges he faces are so harsh, as he struggles through life as a foster child.

the ending made me switch to 5. I liked the happy ending. I think what made it kinda bad for me reading this one was that I saw the movie first. So while reading I kept trying to copy parts to scenes in the movie.

What makes this book great for me is the fact that it's written by a black man about his troubled life. Most black men won't even tell the people close in their lives things like this let alone write a story for the world to read.

End child abuse today.

This is an awe inspiring piece of literary work. The narrative from the beginning inspires the reader and allows almost a walk-along journey into the author's life and the actual steps that he took. The movie was good in its setting and up to date account of a life in the 60's. The book adds so much story that went untold in the movie and is that much more moving. Antwone Fisher writes as if he has been doing this since a child.

The novel Finding Fish by Antwone Fisher is a very good book. The book is far better than the movie and i reccomend it to all. It entails his life as well as select readings from his poetry. It is a a story of struggle and beating the odds to become a success

Antwone Fisher is a child who lives from horrible foster home to ghastly foster home and eventually, almost by accident chooses a life that saves him. For someone who cannot have children - I was crushed by the neglect and abuse this poor child suffers by people whose view of children is either as a burden or cash cow. It is not a small miracle that this human being reached adulthood without having killed himself or become a victim of what our society foists upon poor black men.

Although Fish has so much going against him, his ability to keep some semblance of balance inside himself eventually saves him. The tales of his childhood are almost too much to bear, but you will keep reading because you know that it turns out, you are cheered when he is dumped by his foster mother (who insisted he was evil and therefore deserved the horrible treatment he receives, including a denial of Christmas gifts), and you are gripped when he seems to find himself on the streets without a home or a way to make a living. He eventually joins the Navy - which saves him, providing him with the structure he needs to grow into an adult. He has to spend sometime in the military learning to manage his (completely understandable) anger, and he is bright enough to learn how to do that. Lastly, when he is reunited with the family of his mother (who gave birth to him in prison) I had a sigh of relief for the closure this provided him.

Even though this book is hard to read because of the pain that this child suffers, it is a gripping and extremely well written autobiography and is worth every page. We should all spend more time concerned about what really happens to the unwanted children in our country.