Biography Books


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Biography Books sorted by Average customer review: high to low .

Biography
Mothering Mother: A Daughter's Humorous and Heartbreaking Memoir
Published in Paperback by Kunati Inc. (2009-01-01)
Author: Carol D. O'Dell
List price: $12.95
New price: $10.36

Average review score:

Laughing and crying your way through
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-25
If you have lived thru what Ms.O'dell is writing about, you will appreciate this book more. However, if you haven't you can still love it.I have lived it and she is so honest--she put into words all the ambivalent feelings I had caring for my mother. I would not have traded the experience for the world but no one understands like someone who has been there. I laughed and cried and exorcised my guilt. Thank you Ms. O'dell....my mom's spirit was right there with me when I was reading. The only thing that that would make it better would have been our moms writing a chapter from their point of view. I often looked in my mom's eyes seeing her lost but unable to tell me what was in her brain.

A powerful memoir..
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-10
Carol wrote a very heartbreaking memoir..she says on the cover Mother Mother a daughter's humorous and heartbreaking memoir..I did see some humor but I also saw a very vibrant picture of Carol's Mother. I read some--reflected--read some more--as I got closer to the end of the book I read it straight through. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who has a loved one that has Alzheimer's--the beginning, middle or end of the disease and I recommend this book to anyone that has a loved one that is dying. Carol has a list of recommended reading in the back of the book and a list of many organizations that might help someone who is looking for help.

Writing might not be a cure, but it helps
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-09-02
Caring for a parent with Alzheimer's must be devastating. The disintegration of personality, the abusiveness, and the confusion. It calls into question the whole notion of sanity. When Carol O'Dell's mother adopted her, she insisted that Carol would be taking care of mom when she got old. As the Alzheimer's set in, so did the promise. As mom becomes more abusive, this commitment feels almost overwhelming.

As the disease advanced, O'Dell became more immersed in her mother's daily care, but with less and less emotional reward from a mother who no longer recognized her. And what about O'Dell's husband and kids who also wanted her attention? It is strange going from the craziness of caregiving for mom to the normal concerns of kids and husband.

While most of us who are not in the situation would probably rather not think about it, this strange stew is part of the human condition. One of the reasons I read memoirs is to put myself in another person's shoes, and experience what their world is like, and Carol O'Dell's book has given me that, an intimate look at this most disturbing experience.

In addition, she has offered me a sort of hope, in a surprising direction. Carol O'Dell faced the painful situations, she used writing, both to eloquently communicate to the reader and also to contain and absorb some of her own experiences. She talks in the book about walking out to the river to center herself after an especially painful bout. I also can feel her retreating to her room and writing in her journal.

I believe the act of writing is the opposite of Alzheimer's. It doesn't cure the disease, certainly, but it helps establish or re-establish the sanity and purpose of life, so that we can stay alive, energetic, and hopeful despite such horrific and confusing setbacks. Writing about inhumane situations creates a sort of humanity of its own.

I wish I'd found this book sooner!
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-14
I thought "Mothering Mother" was enlightening, encouraging, humorous and heartwarming. I read excepts from it out loud to my husband and he asked me if Carol O'Dell was writing about her mother or MY mother! My Mom, the Ancient Toddler, has quite a few of the traits that Carol's Mother had. Carol doesn't pretend to have all the answers, but she does a terrific job exploring and writing about the many emotions a caregiver goes through. I'm SO glad I read this book!

Mothering Mother
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-05
I can't tell you how much of an impact this book has had on me. I'm also a daughter caring for her mother and it was almost like I was reading my own thoughts. It was just so extremely comforting to know that I'm not alone with the thoughts and emotions I'm experiencing as my mom fades further and further away from me as Alzheimer's takes over. She's in the later stages of that dreadful disease now. This book was written with such honesty and raw emotion. It has greatly heartened me to know that maybe some of my own thoughts aren't so bizarre after all, and that maybe I really can make it through this without completely losing myself along the way. Thank you so much, Carol, for sharing this part of your life with us. You are truly a gem! I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

Biography
Only as Good as Your Word: Writing Lessons from My Favorite Literary Gurus
Published in Paperback by Seal Press (2007-09-28)
Author: Susan Shapiro
List price: $15.95
New price: $2.99
Used price: $2.40

Average review score:

Witty and Engaging
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-09-08
"Only as Good as Your Word" is a witty and engaging account of one writer's ability to make a career for herself doing the thing she loves most. Shapiro tells the story of her successes and stumbles with humor and humility, while sharing sage advice of her own and words of wisdom from the mentors who guided her along the way. "Plumbers don't have plumbing blocks," said her cousin, the writer Howard Fast -words anyone who has frozen at the sight of a blank page would do well to remember. Shapiro's insights are helpful, entertaining and inspiring. One can't help but admire her perserverance and appauld the success she has achieved. "Only as Good as Your Word" is a great read.

The adventures of making it as a professional writer - it's more than an endless stack of rejection slips.
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-09-04
The adventures of making it as a professional writer - it's more than an endless stack of rejection slips. "Only As Good As Your Word: Writing Lessons from My Favorite Literary Gurus" is author Susan Shapiro's memoir of her life trying to make it with her pastime of writing. Focusing on the wisdom imparted on her from her countless mentors over the years, it serves as an excellent source in itself for writers and aspiring writers. "Only As Good As Your Word: Writing Lessons from My Favorite Literary Gurus" is highly recommended to community library memoir collections.

Always an inspiration
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-24
Susan Shapiro brings the same lively, smart, hilarious prose to the history of her writing life as she brought to her sex/love life in Five Men Who Broke My Heart. Who would have thought this book could be just as compelling and entertaining? In writing about her mentors, Shapiro is full of priceless advice about writing--and about living in general. She was a girl who never gave up, who fought hard and worked hard and listened and learned when older and wiser writers spoke. Most of us would do well to read this book with as much attention.

Insightful and Hilarious
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-19
Susan Shapiro's memoir sparkles with humor and insight that any writer could put to good use. Every chapter chronicles her courtship of and relationship with a different literary mentor, each of whom she psychoanalyzes into a substitute familial role - the emotionally available father, the kind older brother, the intellectually-minded maternal figure. What makes this work is Shapiro's endearing candor about her analytical bent, and the way it shapes the narrative into a cohesive whole.

As Shapiro navigates the rocky world of the NYC literary scene, she never hesitates to admit her own mistakes and point out the pitfalls to her readers. The stories are engaging and poignant, and most importantly, they demonstrate that mentors are cultivated in all the expected places in unexpected ways. This book is a useful and entertaining choice for anyone curious about the New York publishing world, and an invaluable resource for those who want to become a part of it.

Good Words, Good Insight, Great Reading!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-12
Shapiro's "Only as Good as Your Word" is an informative, well-written, humorous and heartening book that should be mandatory reading for any aspiring writer. The mentor-protégé relationship plays such a crucial role in the literary/journalism world--which is why the author's no-holes-barred insight on its highs, lows, psychological underpinnings and ramifications as they relate to her are breathtaking. She pulls no punches when it comes to indicting her own neurotic behavior--and in doing so deconstructs the myth that having it all means having it all together. That Shapiro does it with such seemingly effortless yet loaded prose makes for quite the feat; her poetry training has obviously served her well.

If you've ever, had, been or needed a mentor, this book is for you.

Biography
A Reason To Live : The True Story of One Woman's Love, Courage and Determination to Survive
Published in Hardcover by Front Street Pub Inc (2001-05-15)
Authors: Billy Hills and Dale Hudson
List price: $24.95
New price: $13.32
Used price: $9.95
Collectible price: $24.95

Average review score:

WHAT A BOOK!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-14
THIS IS ONE OF THE BETTER TRUE CRIME BOOKS I HAVE READ IN AWHILE. NEEDLESS TO SAY, I DIDN'T GET ANY WORK DONE. JIMMY AND WANDA AND TRACI ARE AN INSPIRATION.

My Father, The defense attorney
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-07-01
Today is the nniversary of my father's passing, Cleveland Stevens, Atty. at Law. My mother and I helped Mr. Hudson with this book and I feel that he did the entire case justice and wrote extremely well. There are many sides to the story of what his daughter and wife, my mother and I, went through as we watched this case being tried, watched my father agonizing over what he knew would be the inevitable, and watching Rusty Woomer eating his last family meal with his cancer stricken mother and devoted sister. Again, there is another side to this story. The human element of the side of the guilty. The book does a marvelous job displaying Wanda's tenacity and strength. I recommend everyone read this, and if you ever want to know the inside of the other side, you will have to wait for my book! Thanks Dale for capturing such horrific and life changing events in such a great way!

The Best!
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2004-12-15
This is The Best True Crime book and one of the best books I have ever read! I Read alot of books and this one just haunts me..Its a inspirational story of Wanda Summers who survives a Shot gun Blast to the Face.It tells of her struggles,The Case,Its much more than a True Crime Story..Its a Story of a Survivor! I look forward to reading more by these Authors!

Inspiring Story of Courageous Woman
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2002-04-16
Wanda Summers is a courageous woman who fought to live
and survive at the hands of sociopath Rusty Woomer and
Eugene Skarr. The story is so well-written I felt as if
I was right there with her, Louise Sellers, and the
other victims all the time. The authors did a very
credible job of mixing the action and narrative so as
to keep the story moving forward. Most true crime stories
have several sections which are difficult to read, but
not so with this one. Thumbs up for this story and the
authors. I am off to find something else they have written.

A Definite Must-Read!
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2002-03-28
From the intriguing and unusual cover to the contents of the book to the back cover -- this book is one of those books you just can't put down.

Wanda's courage and strength comes shining through due to the incredible writing of Hudson and Hills. This woman defied all odds and should have never lived, much less have the nerve to tell her story to all. But she did.

The story reads easily, like fiction, but you must remind yourself at all times this is REAL. Events really DID HAPPEN. In order for Wanda's suffering to have been worthwhile to share, we have to learn from her.

I implore women especially to read this book and to see that we do have a way to take an extremely bad situation and right it.

Another fascinating part of this book is the way Wanda's husband stood by her, throughout it all. This man has had to suffer his own grief and guilt. Another title could have been "In Hell: A Love Story Emerges."

Wanda is -- tragically -- not just another pretty face, she was a daughter, a mother, a wife, a friend ... a survivor.

Thanks for a story well told.

Biography
Remember This Titan: Lessons Learned from a Celebrated Coach's Journey
Published in Hardcover by Taylor Trade Publishing (2005-10-25)
Author: Steve Sullivan
List price: $22.95
New price: $6.00
Used price: $4.42
Collectible price: $65.00

Average review score:

A Message Worth Remembering
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-03-28
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.

WOW, WHAT A GREAT BOOK !!!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-11-18
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.


Positive and Uplifting
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-11-09
This is a great motivational and uplifting story. A must read for teens and parents alike!!

Green Mountain Football Loves This Titan
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-06-26
"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.

Inspiring!!
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2006-07-12
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.

Biography
Rena's Promise
Published in Hardcover by Weidenfeld (1996)
Author: Rena Kornreich Gelissen
List price:
Used price: $17.52

Average review score:

Amazing Rena and amazing struggle to live
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-11
It's my #5 book on memoirs of the Holocaust. All of them I discovered right here, on Amazon.
The first one was "Thanks to my Mother" by Shoshana Rabinovici about life and survival by a minute in the Vilna Ghetto. Then was "Alicia", "Cage"...
Rena and Danka are two sisters in Poland. Rena promised their mother to be with her littler sister and watch her. And all she was doing in Auswitz was to keep Danka alive. Amazing woman and very very street smart. There were so many situations where most people would loose the will to live, but Rena kept finding the ways to save herself and Danka at the last split of a second. Over two years to be in the Death camp and survive!
An amazing Courage to fight for Life!
An amazing example for us all!

Excellent reading!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-01
I just started reading this book yesterday, and I must say I am completely intrigued! I do like this type of memoir reading and I love to read about the atroscities of the holocaust. This book is a very easy read and it really captivates you; I haven't wanted to put it down yet!!

Excellent example of a Holocaust event
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-18
On a day where a person has everything that they need and no need to cry is the same day that a person may be going through what one would consider the "worst" day of their life. The novel Rena's Promise is the best novel that a person could ever read because it talks about the Holocaust but, not only does it describe the bad times but it makes one feel as though they were right beside Rena during those years. Rena's Promise is the beautifully told story of two remarkable young women in their early twenties who endure and survive nearly three and one half years as prisoners of the Nazis in Auschwitz and Ravensbruck. My favorite aspect of the book is how no matter what goes on in Auschwitz or Birkaneau, Rena still made sure that she would stick to the promise that she made to her mother which was that she would take care of her sister. In addition, Rena's Promise is powerful because as Rena was describing the events that took place in the camp it felt as though I were right beside her the whole time due to the imagery that she used. Although I can feel her sorrow and pain, I cannot feel the cold freezing my body at every minute, I will never starve the way in which she did and I will never be treated as badly as she did. For anyone who may have been involved in the Holocaust or is just a fan of the Holocaust, this book will definitely captivate you and you will not want to put it down. It's an amazing book so I would absolutely suggest that you read it. (Fonda Walker).

Unbelievable but True
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-27
This is an incredible story of sisters in a concentration camp. I've done a great deal of research into the Holocaust, but never have I come across a book quite like this one. It literally changed my life. I found myself thinking about it for days afterwards, little things reminding me of Rena's story--eating a potato, walking outside with a coat on, seeing a young child playing. I found a distinct connection with Rena, even asking myself if I could do what she did.
Rena is an astonishing woman who is responsible for her sister surviving Auschwitz. The critic got it wrong when s/he said that Rena's promise was made to her mother to protect the baby; Rena's promise is to her sister, that if her sister is to die in that terrible place, she will not die alone. Rena went through a terrible ordeal to keep them both alive, and to attempt to recount it here would be a great injustice to Rena's story and spirit.
Read the book. It will change your life.

Courageous but a dead giveaway
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-17
I came away from Rena's Promise with a new found respect for people who have experienced racial discrimination. Rena Korneich Gelissen and Heather Dune Macadam did an excellent job of reconstructing Rena's life prior to the Holocaust and what happened as the Allied Powers were beginning to win. Although I never read a novel about any historical issue, Rena's Promise seemed to portray an acquire example of many historical events within that time period. Even though I came away from the novel very pleased, it did possess some limitations. In my opinion the pictures within the book should be at the end of the novel because it takes away from the suspense of surviving her terrible ordeal. If this was put into thought, then the reader would have enjoyed her escape or her survival even more. I also enjoyed the author's use of diction because the reader is able to learn Polish or German words while they are reading, although they may have been hard to pronounce. Nevertheless this is an excellent book about a courageous young lady who went through some horrendous events during the Holocaust, although it was a little far fetch.

Biography
Tisha Story of a Young Teacher
Published in Mass Market Paperback by Bantam Books (1983-11)
Author: Robert Specht
List price: $3.50
Used price: $0.27

Average review score:

super super super
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-18
read this book about 10 years ago and wanted to read it again... it's a wonderful book it's an easy read and very enjoyable...

Captivating!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-07
I read a professional review on this story from several decades ago, back when this book was originally published, that, while certainly much celebrating the story, suggested that it was almost stereotypical! I beg to disagree. What admittedly could have easily become a flat commentary on folks of differing races in a typical Alaskan setting actually touched my heart and even had me at times understanding the mindset of those we would have considered to be racist. This is an honest sample of what life was like in the Alaskan frontier and what those who lived there felt and thought as well as a beautiful pastoral.

Annie Hobbes is a young teacher from Oregon who falls in love with the romantic idea of teaching in the adventurous and beautiful Alaskan wilderness. Her fun romp turns serious as the ideas with which she was raised are challenged by the citizens of the little town Chicken who demonstrate negativity toward the local Native Americans. This girl, who begins the story as less than a tenderfoot, eventually earns the respect of the same people that want to run her out of town for her ideals.

And yet, fortunately, Annie is never portrayed as a perfect Saint. She is quirky and likeable and, heck, I could sometimes see why everyone was annoyed by her--thus is the magic of the writing.

This story also appealed to me on the level of teacher to teacher. I read this book at the end of my first year of teaching when I was all drained out--this reinspired me to do everything for my students.

The characters are wonderful as well as the plot. The gorgeous descriptions are quick as not to slow down the necessary fast pacing. This is both a story of prejudice and a delightful and fun Alaskan adventure.

I don't know how much of this is actual fact, but goodness me, the author did very well!

THIS BOOK SUCKS!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-29
THIS IS THE MOST BORING BOOK AND ANYONE WHO SAYS IT IS GOOD IS OLD AND PERSONALLY IT IS THE MOST BORING BOOK!

Excellent book about life in Alaska!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-03
This is a delightful story about a young woman teaching in the Alaskan interior. Since I love books about life in Alaska, I found this book to be a very enjoyable read. If you loved this book, you might also enjoy a new release by author Cheryl Schuermann.


When the Water Runs: Growing Up with Alaska

Tisha
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-27
This book is a keeper. I really enjoyed this story and each
time I have recommanded it they have come away loving this
story also.

Biography
When Broken Glass Floats: Growing Up Under the Khmer Rouge
Published in Hardcover by W. W. Norton & Company (2000-04)
Author: Chanrithy Him
List price: $23.95
New price: $12.94
Used price: $3.23
Collectible price: $23.95

Average review score:

moving
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-29
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.

A sad experience but wonderfully written.
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-01
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.

When broken glass floats
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-11-29
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.

A Trek to the Past
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-18
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.

Every page kept my interest.
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-26
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.

Biography
I Hate Your Guts
Published in Hardcover by Simon Spotlight Entertainment (2008-11-04)
Author: Jim Norton
List price: $24.95
New price: $12.25
Used price: $14.73

Average review score:

YIIIIMY!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-11-18
There isn't much to say, if you like his stand-up, you will love the book!
it's hysterical!

JIM NORTON IS MY GOD :)
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-11-16
THIS IS BY FAR THE GREATEST BOOK EVER...I LEARNED HOW TO READ JUST SO I COULD PURCHASE THIS BOOK AND MAKE LIL YIMMY PROUD...EVERYONE SHOULD BY THIS FOR A FRIEND SO YIMMY CAN MAKE LOTS OF $MONEY$ BECAUSE HES A FANCY MAN WHO DOES FANCY THINGS..AND THEN WHEN HES SO RICH FROM THE PROFITS OF THIS BOOK HE SHOULD HAVE A FREE COMEDY SHOW IN NEW YORK CITY TO THANK ALL OF HIS FANS RIGHT YIMMY? GREAT BOOK...RON & FEZ NOON TO 3PM XM RADIO

And the Nobel prize for Literature goes to.....
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-11-16
....little Yimmy!!! Boy,our friend sure has a lot of hate in him,about 253 pages worth.Maybe it's time to bring back his box of tender sentiments.Frunnnnnkis.

DO THE BIT
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-11-12
This book is simply NAAHT FUNNY. It's HILARIOUS. I skipped right to the MAXWELL part as I am the fool who originally "took down" his myspace page. I laughed damned hard... how often do you do that when READING? Maxwell, it's time to cry "AND PUNT MY CAREER" you silly sod. I want to invent the time machine so that I can go back and hand Maxwell's mother a pamphlet on abortion.

TED THE AUTHOR
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-11-12
When making doodie, this book helps because I'll laugh hard and push out more logs.

When finished reading, this book makes an excellent hat.

Good day - BUY THIS BOOK.

Biography
Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window
Published in Paperback by Kodansha International (1996-05-15)
Author: Tetsuko Kuroyanagi
List price: $11.00
New price: $6.04
Used price: $1.00
Collectible price: $11.00

Average review score:

GREAT BOOK for EVERY ONE.
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-11
I have this book since 1984 when Tetsuko Kuroyanagi became a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. I was in 7th grade at that time. I have read it over 20 times. Every time, I found joyful, happiness, and touching. But I lost it when we moved. I did get an used one. And I have read it over and over again. This book inspired me to study Japaneses. I love it. GREAT BOOK for children and for adult. READ IT if you want to find your childhood and refill your imagination.

Gentle Leadership
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-12
In 1969 I was part of a group of teachers who created a school much like that featured in Toto Chan. We thought we were on the "cutting edge" of educational practices without knowing that a school in Japan had been delivering many of the same holistic, humanistic educational practices over a quarter of a century before. I'm sure many U.S. educators who thought/think they were/are in the vanguard of educational practices would appreciate this beautiful story of a dedicated educator and his students.

Ascending the status of a classic
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-06-02
Honestly I read this book over 25 years ago and thought that this book has long been discontinued. I guess this proves what a time-tested treasure it is. The author, a TV celebrity in Japan, recalls her childhood and the unorthodox school she went to. Absolutely adoring in the simple story of how a concerned mother tried to do the best for her daughter and how a simple man did his best to give a bright and meaningful future to the few children who comes into his life.

It is the type of book that makes you wish that there were more teachers like him and that you had a teacher like him.

The little girl who grew up to help so many other little girls &boys.
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-03-14
This is one of my all-time favorite books. First published in Japan in 1981, this beautiful book depicting the true story of innocent little Totto-chan, her family, friends, and above all, the innovating educationer she befriends in the years leading up to, and during the first years of WW2, remains a national best seller in Japan to this day. I don't have any children of my own, but if I did, and if Tomoe-Gakuen (the elementary school Totto-chan attends) existed today, I would immediately enroll my children there. Since there is not, I hope I have the good luck of finding somebody like Sosaku Kobayashi to help make my child the happiest and kindest child in the world.

It was due to this book's beauty that then UNICEF Executive Director, James P. Grant persuaded those working at UNICEF to appoint the author, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi (who is Totto-chan grown up), to UNICEF's International Goodwill Ambassador, enabling her to visit and help children in need all over the world.

For people who have read this book and those who have not, I also recommend "Totto-Chan's Children : A Goodwill Journey to the Children of the World" by the same author. It tells the story of Totto-chan grown up, still big-hearted as ever, striving to help children in need. Check it out!

Unforgettably good
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2006-08-12
I have not read a better book which has made me laugh, cry, love, and ponder over is such a way! This book is awesome and worth much more than 5 stars.

Biography
Das Leonardo Dicaprio Album
Published in Paperback by Ullstein-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Zweigniederlassung de (1998-12-31)
Author: Brian Robb
List price:
Used price: $19.39
Collectible price: $40.00

Average review score:

AwEsomE!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2001-12-04
I love this book! Of course, I love EVERY book about Leo! but this one was one of the first ones i bought about 3 or 4 years ago, so it'll always be one of my favorites :-) i recommend it

It was a fantastic book!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 1998-12-18
This book was really fantastic!! I love Leo. He is one of the most beautiful men on Earth. I love him more than any one of you wannabes out there.

MUST FOR EVERY LEONARDO FAN!!!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 1998-12-08
this book is exelent! many pics (great ones!!!) and lots of info about his films, his life etc. also well writen with many quotes, his or his co-stars in several films. helps you descover many things about him. generaly great book..!!!! you must buy it!!!

a wonderful book
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2000-03-02
i think the book was great, i learn so many things about leonardo, he seems to be such a wonderful person,very kind hearted,i love his pictures, anyone who is interested in leonardo dicaprio, i recommend this book, it's great.. ..

Not worth it.
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 1999-08-14
Although this is a good book for slavering preadolescent female fans who don't understand words more than two syllables in length, the book was unsatisfactory for anyone but the most devoted. Containing quotes, pictures and a short bio, get this one for your daughter only if you want to waste your money.


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