Associations and Clubs Books

Always try to find something to keep him busy, problem is he keeps telling me about the stories he reads! Not part of the plan but he enjoys it.
MsStretch

i bought this book a few years ago and began reading it as soon as i got home. i got eally bored with it, really fast. i stopped reading it about half-way through, and have not picked it back up since.

this guy became an informant long before he could have done anything for the HA that you would find interesting to read about.

dont buy.

This, uhh, author has some serious emotional issues. This is an example of how this, umm, author might relate the experience of walking into a convenience store and briefly making eye contact with a scruffy-looking person exiting the store.
"His cold, brown eyes bore into mine, daring me to answer his challenge... I knew my life was in danger, as I watched him swagger through the door, reeking of beer, sweat, and the stench of the violence I knew he was capable of." While the scruffy guy exiting the store is wondering, "Why is this guy staring at me?"
OK- I am a woman, and I've worked with felons, some of whom were OMG (outlaw motorcycle gang) members, and some of them flirted with me and/or threatened me frequently. However, I cannot imagine ever reaching the emotional state that apparently affects this, uh, author and his "writing". Unless he wrote this book in 48 hours, immediately after being released from being held hostage by Hells Angels who hogtied and tortured him over a period of 612 days, there is no excuse for this emotionally wrought, hand-wringing diatribe. Anyone, with any passing knowledge of this subject material will find this endless editorial absurd. Yes, some bikers in OMGs can be very dangerous, break laws, threaten and murder people, ad infinitum. But- anyone who writes a book about this material, attempting to present information about OMG culture, law enforcement investigations, and other pertinant data needs to retain some semblence of objectivity. This author's emotional and biased writing style makes the reader struggle through endless sermons to get to the data. And data that is presented in such an extrordinarily emotionally biased manner, is of questionable value to any intelligent reader.

It's very hard to get a factual or non-biased read from any of this author's books. Even his commentary on TV is awful. I found it very hard to not be disgusted by his diction.

It's tough to get through this book, not just for its marginal writing, but also because the over-the-top detail seems misplaced. In the middle of what I *think* is a chronological story, why do I need to know that the Rochester chapter president reported at some East Coast Officers Meeting that one of their members had a drug bust and got 30 days?

As I was reading it I was surprised at what I was reading, not because anything there was shocking (I have read just about every book on this subject), but because I was having a hard time understanding the point!

As to Tait being a rat, and that for this reason we should not read this book, normally I would dismiss that as somewhat silly reasoning. But unlike others that have been inside an OMG and written about it, Tait really WAS a rat, in that he was just an egomaniac wannabe that turned on his brothers. At least George Wethern ("A Wayward Angel") was an upright HAMC member before situations created mostly by his MC brothers put him into a corner. Tait has no excuse at all.

Another so-called "rat" (against Mongols) was Billy Queen ("Under and Alone"), but he was in law enforcement. Same with Jay Dobyns ("Angels of Death"). Those guys are playing their game the same way those on the other side play theirs.

As for Tait, I guess I like to curb crime too, but Tait set a few too many people up for my taste. I have a bit of a hard time swallowing Lavigne's hero worship of this character. Bottom line - the book is quite complete, but be prepared for it to leave a bad taste in your mouth.

If you are into this stuff, I do suggest "Under and Alone" (William Queen), "Hells Angels" (Hunter S. Thompson) and "Hells Angel" (Sonny Barger). Those books are educational while still being balanced and fun to read.

I read Evergreen many years ago (and thoroughly enjoyed it), this was the first Belva Plain book I had picked up since - what a mistake! It was the worst book I have read in a long time. The characters were unlikeable, no worthy traits whatsoever and the character development was very poor. The timeline of the story didn't hold any meaning either - it was set in the 1970's to late 1990's, there was no evidence of this at all, it could have been 1870's with the way Robb expressed himself. Old fashioned, questionable sentiments and POOR story! Don't bother picking this one up!

I liked the story for the first 50 pages, but after that it kept getting boring. I have read other books by Belva Plain and I have to say that this was the one that I liked the least. Her stories begin to develop a pattern and her style of writing is no longer exciting. I wouldn't suggest reading this book unless there isn't another one within 10 miles.

This was a very easy and fast read. It's the story of a small town boy who's life is changed when his parents die in a car crash. He is then given the chance to become a lawyer with his parent's life insurance money, and he takes it.
After graduating college, he gets a job in a prominent law firm and ends up marrying the bosses daughter. They have two children, and over the years he becomes richer and richer.
As the years go by, he becomes more and more richer and finally gets himself into a large debt.

Well, as I said the book was really good. I didn't really like the ending, but I was expecting what had happened for a long time.

Belva Plain has made another story worthy of being made into a mini series. I can only hope it happens someday! In this one, Robb MacDaniel's life changes when he goes to law school. He leaves behind his home town, as well as, "the girl next door". He marries another generous woman named Ellie. As time goes by, Robb's career bring enormous successes and money is no longer a concern. However, soon money is all that matters. Robb never understands that cash in the bank is not the same as owning as much as possible.

Belva Plain also shows the effects all this has on Ellie, his two children, as well as the the girl he left behind all those years ago. Surprise ending! The thing I love best about Belva Plain's writing is that she can create a wonderful and realistic story, without using all the harsh language so many other authors use. Highly recommended reading!

Robb MacDaniel has his life all planned when a tragic accident changes everything. His parents are killed and he inherits enough money to go to law school instead of becoming a teacher as he intended. He puts off his marriage to his high school sweetheart and his entire life takes a different turn. The author makes it very plain (no pun intended) that Robb's pursuit of money and prestige inevitably leads to his downfall. The characters in this book are not as finely drawn or as sympathetic as many in Plain's other books and her message is pretty obviously made, but it's not a bad read.

I've met many people from different fraternities who do have honor. They have chosen to speak on behalf of victims in those few trials where the victims were able to bring themselves to report it. I've also met a few from their fraternities that thought those people were liars. "How dare they attack my fraternity?" Was the general statement.

One of the earlier reviews was saying something about how this is perpetuating a stereotype, and is an insult to his fraternity. (paraphrasing). Well, if so... keep in mind that two types of stereotypes are portrayed in this list of reviews itself.

#1: All fraternities perpetuate rape. (paraphrase)

#2: All members of fraternities are innocent people who will never committ anything more than the occasional theft of a candy bar. (paraphrase)

If you want to stop the "stereotype" in this, stop the rapes completely and entirely... then you can be happy that books like this won't need to be written again. Until then, quit your yapping and accept that books like this need to be heard and read.

While not a light subject by any means, this was the first book of its kind I could ever find. I also sent a copy to my prosecutor, Police Chief and my husband, a fraternity guy. I am the survivor of a fraternity gang rape and this book really does get to the bottom of herd mentality and why these unspeakable crimes occur, why they are covered up and why they keep happening.

If you are a parent sending a son or daughter off or back to college, I strongly suggest you read this. University brochures would have us think there is no such thing as gang rape on our bucolic campuses, but I am living proof that it happens. God bless this author for shining a light on this terrible subject. While this will never be a best-seller, it should. Well-written, compelling, repulsive and edifying, I am grateful it exists.

In response to the many Greeks who wrote reviews disparaging this book because it "perpetuates stereotypes." First of all, to some of you, do not write reviews without reading a book. Second, this book tells the truth about events that happened to quite a few women at my school. It is an Ivy league school, by the way, so just because you have researched a school for its reputation does not protect you. I am a member of a sorority, and I adore it, but the fact that I love the Greek system is all the more reason to support this book. Don't shoot the messenger... this type of event happened very often during the period Sanday researched the book (the 80s) and the book was a significant force in reducing this type of incident. If you love the Greek system, you should be willing to face the truth. A minority of Greek organizations have committed some terrible crimes, and the setup of the Greek party system, brotherhood values, and school protection of male organizations rather than female victims out of concern for their reputations combined to allow them to go unpunished. This book is about how our culture allows people to get away with this type of crime, and how on campuses this behavior is excused. If you want to end what you call stereotypes, work on helping our Greek organizations be the best they can be, and don't be upset with a woman who just told the stories of people who experienced terrible things! I am well aware of the good Greeks do (I'm my sorority's philanthropy chair), but I also know that Sanday (a professor of mine) told the truth in her book, which was only an expose of what happened. Just because we are proud of the Greek system doesn't mean we can't recognize that in some cases it can promote sexual assault (I am also a certified sexual assault counselor, and hear all too often the stories of women who are assaulted on college campuses.) We need to recognize the problem of "a sense of entitlement" and oversexualization at some Greek organizations and work to fix it rather than just ranting at people who dare to air some dirty laundry.

Sanday is one of the few researchers with the guts to expose the dark side of the American worship of fraternities and athletes. This American obsession runs so deep and has been unquestioned for so long it's no wonder her research angers those in a position of privilege (think Citadel, think Tailhook). Check out Bernard Lefkowitz's more recent OUR GUYS for a male journalist's take on the same culture of privilege. It's time for people to quit shielding campus thugs in the name of letting boys be boys. There ARE colleges where fraternities and sororities don't exist, and those of us who went there still made friends, contributed to the community, and had rich social lives. We also had far fewer rapes.

When I was choosing a book for a college health course and I stumbled across this book the word that came out was...finally. I did not say that word because I had found a book, it was because someone finally realized the truth. Sanday realized that boys in these fraternities were getting away with rape and not being punished. She also included several testimonies to display the reality of this issue. Sanday was able to research and write about an issue that is definitely prominent on many college campuses,yet is ignored. For people to think that this does not go on they are just as guilty as the person who commits the crime.

Written under one of Idris Shah's many pen names. This book provides a dated and suspicously incomplete overview of some so-called secret societies. One howler is that he considers the Tibetan Buddhists a secret society! - they never were but until the earlier 1900's certainly inaccessible to most foreigners. I guess Shah thought that his audience was too stupid to figure this one out. Another is the so-called Illuminati he makes a connection with Bayazid Ansari's atheistic cult of libertines and bandits with Adam Weishaupt group. However he provides no references to back up this claim.

Overall this book is a ok place to start with secret societies - but PLEASE take what the author says with a grain of salt. Shah has a history of playing it fast and loose with facts in order to support his many claims like being the Grand Shiekh of all Sufis and which is not recognized by any Sufi orders - Naqshbandi, Mevlevi, etc,

The author seems to be speaking from personal experience and claims that he had personal conduct with his subject. Although I tried, I did not manage to find more information about the author but generally he is not involving any personal opinions or judgments about his references but simply presents the information he collected and leaves the reader to decide; that is why I have to admit that the book is one of the best around in the specific topic. The only thing that the book lacks is bibliography which does not allow the reader for further research on his own. The only reason I gave four stars is because the author does not account the work done by some important orders and specifically does not mention any data about the enochian system of magic.

It should be kept in mind by the reader of this book that the writer's real name is Idries Shah, who is rather better known for his Sufi books. His scholarship here is about as thorough as it is in his other works. His writings on the Isma'ilis are almost totally based on the accounts of Marco Polo and are otherwise devoid of historical accuracy.

Secret Societies, throughout the ages, have existed wherever civilizations and people have existed. Living behind veils of shrouded secrecy, and remaining uknown to the very populaces which have furnished their existance, Arkon Daraul provides the reader with research, as well as travels throughout Europe and the Middle East, from suburbia to the Himalayas, in search of answers. "A History of Secret Societies" furnishes a worthy glance into a few rituals and beliefs of numerous societies. A correct reading of the entire book allows the individual to make connections throughout, whether it be a correlation between one ritual or another or one society or the other. Because the book seems to angle toward examining rituals and beliefs, as opposed to lenghty research capable of manifesting a new outlook, one gets the impression that the true objective of these societies remains untold. A good `spark-igniter' for this subject area.

I'm afraid that these 'historical' reviews seemed a little short on unique information that I haven't seen elsewhere. I was also disappointed in the apparent random placement of diagrams that seemed to have notthing to do with the text. For example, within the first 7 chapters, there were numerous diagrams of encryption codes used by secret societies, but yet there was absolutely no discussion about secret codes anywhere in the text. Perhaps I'm missing the real 'code' hidden somewhere between the typeface of the printed page, but as a useful historical perspective on what 'secret societies' are all about, how they differ, how they perhaps associalte or embattle each other, or most importantly, how they might impact (positively or negatively) our lives today, I feel the value of this book was lost on me; or perhaps it's just a 'secret'.

I found the book heavy-going. Points are hammered home and I could not help wishing the book were much shorter. I do not think I as a reader would have lost much if there had been less detail.

A Feeling for Books is an interesting collection of thoughts on the history of the Book of the Month Club and on Radway's personal evolution as a reader and scholar. But... it needed editing. Must she document every circuitous and irrelevant observation that occurs to her? This is probably a fine practice in academic writing, but in the personal narrative portions of the book she was unfocused. The book suffers from a somewhat schizo-feeling due to Radway's dual purposes of historical account and personal observation, but she is well aware of this (the reader is warned at the outset). It is not that these two areas of focus don't complement each other in some ways and lead to a rather unorthodox narrative, but the format did lead me wonder if I should even apply questions of enjoyability to the book. Academic reading is not meant to be pleasurable (or so Radway says), and this book is certainly full of scholarly language, but Radway has such sympathy and fellow-feeling for the pleasure-reader that I think she was trying to elicit a pleasurable reading experience. How did the academic community receive this book? ...For me, the most interesting observations arose through the author's interactions with the BOMC editors circa late 1980s. Their enthusiastic readings and quirky classifications of books (self-referential, inwardly-focused fiction is deemed "autistic") are well worth reading about. One last observation: the book could have used appendices with complete lists of the BOMC main and alternate selections from founding to the present, and perhaps a list of all past judges/editors.

An erudite yet bold and powerfully immediate report on the BOMC's origin and development over six decades, A Feeling for Books is also an intimate document, poignantly tracing the author's relationship to the Club from her adolescence to her maturity. Because Radway is a fine researcher, a skillful reader, and a seasoned introspective, each aspect of her project succeeds on its own terms. But juxtaposed or, more problematically, superimposed, the yields of her various ends, ideas, and methods are neither commensurable nor mutually supportive. Recurrent "lumping" and intermittent incoherencies threaten to defeat Radway's purposes, inviting at least partial scepticism about her hard-won evidence and beautifully teased-out arguments. The reader and the author would have been better served by a division of this work into two books, one a disciplined cultural inquiry into the essence of persistent, unresolved conflicts in the publishing industry, the other a memoir devoted to the discovery and synthesis of the author's own values in a world of flux.

This is the first book I read by Belva Plain and I really liked it. It's about three college graduates to keep in touch although who have very different life styles. It's a bit slow reading, but interesting to see how their lives develop. The ending caught me by surprise and made me want to read more of her books. I would recommend this book, but my husband didn't like it at all. Guess it's one you either love or hate.

An interesting story of 3 girls who went to College and graduated together. After graduation they remained in close contact with each other because they lived in the same area. Amanda married Norma's brother so that she could improve her social standing and rise above her poor, uneducated Southern roots. Cecile, the aristocrat, married well and remained in the same social circle as before. Norma, a smart but unattractive girl, finally married her soul mate after much waiting. The three remained friends until circumstances beyond their control caused them to react and defend themselves. A realistic love story with twists and turns of fate.

This is my first Belva Plain endeavor. I must say that I really did enjoy it! It was nice to find a story that is just a good story and not another murder mystery (although someone does die). The three main characters were enjoyable, however, I do agree that they were not as developed as they could have been. Yes, the ending was depressing, but I am sure these sorts of situations happen in life all of the time. I have already purchased another novel by Ms. Plain entitled "The Sight of the Stars" and I am looking forward to reading it in the near future as there are about 19 books ahead of it in my "to read" stack. I recommend this one without reservation, a good, fast, engaging read.
Guy De Rosa
Los Angeles, California

Belva Plain came highly recommended, and my book club chose "Looking Back" for the month's selection. Many of the ladies in the book club had read Belva Plain previously and had loved everything they read.

That said, I was sorely disappointed in "Looking Back." It read like a shallow romance....and that was evident from the very beginning. There's the pretty girl from bad roots, the elegant rich girl, and the rich girl with too-large calves. They're all friends in college and begin their adult lives near each other.

The story is so obvious. You know what's going to happen before it happens. You don't guess what's going to happen -- you KNOW what's going to happen. The book truly has zero depth.

The writing style isn't special. The characters are under-developed. My recommendation is to move on to another book before even wasting your time.

I happened to borrow the audio version of this from my library, and I should preface this by saying I had no prior interest in Belva Plain, as she does not fit into the typical categories I might seek out for an interesting read. That being said, this is an utterly dull story. There is nothing believable about the relationships that form in the book, and the lack of drama is astounding. NOTHING HAPPENS AT ALL till the very end of the book, and by then you are so bored your brain has no response left. I'm sure there must be something that other readers find appealing, as she seems to have a large following, but if this is any testament to the scope of her writing, I will pass on future editions of her work.

On top of the terrible story line, the reader of the audio book has terrible presentation, which makes the whole thing even more grueling. Given that I am in the car two hours a day commuting, this was almost more painful than having to drive in silence. Really, I can't imagine where they picked her up from either (although I suppose all the class A orators wouldn't touch this book, and probably couldn't have helped much anyway). It's almost funny to listen to her interpretation of any of the men in the story.

I have to agree with Brian Maitland's review. In addition, I can't believe this book does not have a single photo. I mean, a book on one of the most important soccer teams in history and not ONE photograph? That is just ridiculous...

I was really looking forward to Phil Ball's take on the greatest soccer club team in the world after Morbo--his brilliant history of Spanish soccer--but this was a tad disappointing. It's a good book, for sure, but I didn't get the relevance of references to how each Real Madrid great rated on the 100th anniversary fan poll. I also thought there'd be more than a little over 200 pages. I understand brevity but this book deserved about 200 more pages.

Whereas Barca--A People's Passion by Jimmy Burns rocked. This history of their great rivals fell a bit flat despite a lot of good info in here. It just needed more fleshing out to get a greater feel for each era in the club's history.

I do not like it. Feather broke only 2 or 3 shots (which we used). Even you can not play game for short period using same shuttlecock. i wouldn't recommend you to buy for this shuttlecock.

Book compiles and briefly profiles 1,001 oddly-themed group, fan clubs, and other assorted organizations. A few are funny, more are odd, but the rest are just boring. Are Elvis fan groups all that surprising given his iconic status in today's culture? The information provided about the groups is almost usless at times because no or limited contact information is given. You (theoretically) might find a group to your liking in here, but there's a good chance you'll have a hard time getting in touch with them using this book. Mildly diverting for a few minutes, but ultimately tedious, the book would have been better served by more in-depth looks at some of the even weirder groups out there.

If you enjoy listening to one side of a telephone conversation, or to someone who talks a mile a minute about people and places you don't know, you might enjoy this book.
Try to get beyond the British slang, and you will find a story about fairly shallow women who had one good idea.
This is almost all direct characterization; the author tells everything. The reader discovers little.

I should've listened to the other reviewers here before I bothered with this book. I bought it at a discount book store ($5 wasted) and thought I could find something in it that others couldn't. Wrong. By page 30 the author had said the word "brilliant" about 18 times and indeed rattled on incessantly about insignificant, painstaking details.

The movie version (Calendar Girls) of this book, however, was charming and highly recommended. First time I've ever said that the book sucked but the movie was great.

I expected to like both the movie and the book. The movie was just okay, and the movie was better than the book. To give credit, the movie was faithful to the spirit of the book, if not the details.

Tricia Stewart, the author of Calendar Girl, and the driving force behind the calendar, would have benefited from someone else writing her story. She rambles on at times and describes everything as "brilliant." She comes across as sometimes overbearing and a bit of of a showoff, not unlike her character in the movie, Chris, played by Helen Mirren.

The story of a group of women in an English village who decide to raise money for the local hospital by posing for a nude, but tastefully so, calendar, is irresistible. But a story has to have conflict, so there are a few tossed in, and perhaps they really happened. Not everyone in the town thinks a nude calendar is a good idea, especially when it leads to an overdose of publicity. The families of the "models" feel neglected when the calendar becomes a hit and they spend all their time giving interviews and traveling. There are strained relationships within the group of women when some think that others (Tricia) are hogging the limelight.

But everything works out in the end, and they become temporarily famous, and make a ton of money for cancer research.

I wanted to like this book; I love what those women did. I had heard about the calendar in 2000, and then while visiting England last autumn, I heard about the movie. While visiting England again at Christmas, I was given the book as a gift and was pleasantly surprised. However, because of a lack of narrative, the book is eventually unreadable; it reads like a word-for-word transcription of Ms. Stewart's diary. Some of the words are very funny -asides in conversation transcribed- but there aren't enough of them. And, without a thread of a story to lead the reader along, I lost interest; I hadn't made it halfway through before giving up and skipping to the epilogue.

In 2003, American audiences were treated to CALENDAR GIRLS, a little gem of a film starring Helen Mirren based on the experiences a group of women in their 40s, 50s and 60s in the north of England who posed starkers for a year 2000 calendar to raise money for leukemia research, and in memory of John Baker, the husband of one of the ladies and a locally well-regarded and much loved Assistant National Park Officer in the Yorkshire Dales, who'd died of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in July 1998. Of course, the nudity, both in the film and on the calendar, was tastefully presented, with the naughty bits obscured and most definitely "no front bottoms". The calendar's concept, and the driving force behind its creation, came from Tricia Stewart, a close friend of John and Angela Baker. In real life, Tricia ran a medical software company with her husband, Ian, and taught yoga and Pilates on the side. This book, CALENDAR GIRL, is Tricia's story of the 2-year flurry of frenetic activity that the calendar catalyzed, and the roughly 300,000 copies that were sold in Britain and the United States.

First of all, let me unequivocally state that the film adaptation was wonderful, and I deeply admire author Alicia Stewart for the originality of her idea and for the hard work and dedication she and her colleagues demonstrated in getting the calendar created and marketed. What started out almost as a lark burgeoned into a monster with a life of its own - as such things are wont to do - involving a grueling schedule of domestic and foreign media interviews, appearances on television talk shows and at book-signings both at home and in the U.S., product endorsements, the film, and considerable fame. And the Leukemia Research Fund in Britain and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America received a bunch of money. It also destroyed friendships, almost administered the coup-de-grace to a marriage, and, as a final insult, subjected Tricia and Ian to hateful articles in the gutter press. However, that tribute said ...

I realized what was wrong with CALENDAR GIRL about two-thirds into it. It has the flow of a diary, and I gather that Stewart used such as the primary source for her narrative. Trouble is, she failed to edit out so very much that was trivial and, frankly, numbingly boring. As a random example of the story's "feel" , which is typical of the book throughout:

"Lynda had had an invite from Preethi, the Indian girl we'd met at the bookfair, to go to her book launch at Dover Street, by the Ritz, on Thursday night. It was the same day as a shoot in London for the "Mail's You" magazine. Lynda had sent her a calendar, which was in her office. She was having a stressful day organizing her launch and when she went in her office, the calendar fell off the shelf. So she phoned Lynda who was also miserable and the depression lifted for both of them."

Then later, when they meet this Preethi for the launch dinner:

"Sunflowers mean happiness and are Preethi's mum's favourite flower. We met her mum and dad and lots of her friends and drank champagne. Her book focuses on following your dreams, following the African dancer. Later after speeches an African dancer appeared and a band, it was brilliant."

All of the above - and so much more in a similar vein -should've been left out, but perhaps wasn't because the resulting volume wouldn't have been much more than a pamphlet in length.

I really wanted to award at least three stars because Tricia's heart is in the right place, but just couldn't because I struggled to finish CALENDAR GIRL, and was so relieved when I arrived at the last period. I highly recommend the film, but not this well-intentioned but fatally flawed book.