Biography Books

The product was great and Woody's book store communicated great through email about the purchase and ordering information. The only thing is the number of days that it took to ship was confusing; I thought it would get to me sooner, but what the number of days meant was when it would be shipped as opposed to it arriving to me.

This is a great book. Inspiring, entertaining, hilarious, and real. Mark doesn't pull any punches in this. It is not a self-pity book nor does it try to lecture the reader. It is a real account of someone who is very inspiring, yet doesn't pretend to be what he isn't.

Once I started reading this I couldn't put it down. Awesome!!!

Mark Zupan makes you think about what you have, not what you do not have.

He may be in a chair, but he is not handicap. Mark Zupan speak frankly and openly about his life before and after. He does not blame anyone for his injury.

Make you think you life is O.K. and despite what happens you can survive and go on.

Life is not so bad.

Sometimes, people who have been "handicapped" in some manner end up withdrawing into themselves. A few of them are downright miserable. Mad at the world for being stuck in the situation they're in... the best they can hope for (because they're depressing to be around) is to have people feel sorry for them.

Mark Zupan (who, hopefully, you know from the astoundingly-good, and deserved-to-win-the-Oscar documentary, MURDERBALL), is NOT one of those people. He doesn't WANT anyone to feel sorry for him. (In fact, he doesn't even want to be seen as a "role model," or an "inspiration," though [sorry Mark!], to a lot of people, he is.)

Mark was an athletic, fun-loving 18-year-old, having a blast in South Florida when everything he knew changed in an instant. Sleeping off a night of heavy partying in the back of his buddy Chris Igoe's parked pickup, he had no clue when his friend got in and (also drunk) drove off. Not too long thereafter, Igoe swerved off the road and Mark ended up flying out of the truck-bed, over a fence, and into some dense foliage overhanging a small lake. (Igoe had no idea Mark was in the truck bed, so when the police came, they never looked for him.)

Mark regained consciousness, only to find himself unable to move (he didn't know it yet, but he was paralyzed from the neck down), hanging upside-down from a branch with his nose just inches from the water... and getting closer by the moment. He hung there for 14 hours, before a workman heard him yelling for help.

And that's just the START of the story!

In the years that followed, he has not only become one of the star players of the sport known as Quad Rugby (a.k.a. Murderball), his attitude about his "situation" (whether he likes it or not!) has helped untold numbers of others* to better cope with their own situations.


* I know of what I speak. My young and lovely wife has been in a wheelchair for several years due to Multiple Sclerosis. After seeing the movie MURDERBALL --and *especially* after meeting Zupan at a tournament, her attitude went from "good" to fantastic. She's no longer "the girl in the wheelchair." She's simply my wife, who's fun to be around, and who's interested in doing the things she CAN do, rather than fretting about the things she can't.

-Jonathan Sabin

A fast paced, gritty look into an Athlete's brush with death and the long road to recovery. If you are looking for the next inspiration for a cheesy After School Special on overcoming adversity...don't read this book. If you are looking for a well written, insightful look into how one guy copes with tragedy and disability, then this is an excellent read. To say Gimp has texture is an understatement thanks to its subject, Mark Zupan, a quadriplegic athlete who was made famous by the documentary Murder Ball. Gimp details how this proud, perhaps arrogant athlete dealt with a tragic accident that cost him the full use of his limbs thanks to drunken night that resulted in a brush with death and a debilitating spinal cord injury.

Gimp does not spare us the details that are often left out of such stories including the uglier side of human emotion. The books subject faces Zupan's denial, doubt, guilt, fear, despair and loss as a result of his tragedy. While he ultimately comes to terms with his injury and recovery, it is not without some serious setbacks, some self inflicted. It is this part of writer Timothy Swanson's writing that really sets Gimp apart. He does not spare Zupan some hard looks into his darker nature to include arrogance, self indulgence and outright self destructiveness at times. If there is a villain in the book, it is Zupan himself and his own feelings of despair and anger. It is Swanson's description of Zupan's struggle with his own dark feelings and fears that give the story its power.

The book is not without its own sense of humor and offers a dark amusement that Zupan has for the hand life has dealt him. Gimp deftly shows Zupan's outlook on life which is headstrong and confident but not without his fair share of hidden frailty in the face of a near death experience. In fact, the description of the actual accident that describes Zupan clinging to life, literally perhaps, is the book's strongest section. I have many friends who suffer from war wounds, especially brain injuries from IED's or "danger close" air strikes and I can say from personal experience that Gimp does an excellent job at looking at how proud warriors (in Gimp's case a world class athlete), deal with injury and recovery. I recommend this book without reservation to certainly anyone who knows someone who suffers from a disability or who has seen the documentary Murder Ball. The book has broader appeal to fans of sports writing as well since the book leaves no doubt that Zupan is an athlete. The fact that it is an easy read and has a brisk pace is no small feat given that other works of this genre tend to drag on, lack direction and are often burdened with sappy and clichéd, touchy-feely housewife book club nonsense. Zupan's force of will as described by Swanson carries the book along as does the suspense of how he will cope with each stage of his recovery and his entrance into the world of quad rugby aka Murder Ball. I thought it was a great read and recommend it without reservation.

I often play with Nigerian scammers though not to the extent that the author does. Some of his responses to the scammers email are really funny. A lot like the annals of "The Porcine Princess".

There are some hilarious pages in this book, some that had me crying and unable to speak. If the author had a little more variety it would have been a great book, but it did seem to repeat its formula in the responses to the email scams after a while.

A laugh-riot from start to finish--the funniest book I've read in years.

This was one of the funniest books I have enjoyed in a long, long time. The content is fun and light and makes for an easy read. There were times I had tears in my eyes and pain in my stomach from laughing so hard. It's an excellent book for when you need a break from this mad, mad, world.

It's one of those purchases you won't regret.

Highly recommended!

The Publishers Weekly review above is on the money, in that this book is gleefully offensive.

I'm fine with that.

If you're fine with that as well, this book will make you snort with laughter at inappropriate times. Do not read while sitting in bed next to your sleeping spouse. She will eventually punch you in the chest for waking her up.

It'll be worth the bruise.

Lamb Chops...What do lamb chops have to do with this story, well everything! Lamb Chops is the vaudeville routine that brought fame to this comedic duo in the late 1920's. I have the link to a You Tube movie short that was filmed in 1929 for this popular routine here. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzFcsdgkg54 ) In this clip and others that I've seen with Burns and Allen, I think Gracie is the reason that they had so much success. She was so natural in her role as the "ditzy dame". She was good if not one of the best funnymen to a straightman role. This book takes the reader back to the waning days of vaudeville and the beginnings of film, radio and television as the new media for bringing entertainment to its audiances. George Burns takes us back down memory lane with a personnal love story that lasted nearly 40 years. His memories include many places and friends that I as a reader enjoyed visiting. I don't read love stories usually, but this love story is one that I enjoyed and won't soon forget.

In our disposable transient society of today, it is a refreshing change to see a love and a marriage that lasted so long. As time goes on, it is becoming an even rarer event.

In this book, Mr. Burns fondly remembers his wife, Gracie Allen. The stories that he tells about her, how they met, and how they managed to stay together so long were interesting to read and entertaining.

I would recommend this book to all ages. It is easy reading and also tells somewhat of the history of vaudeville, radio, television, and movies.

If you love old Hollywood, read this book. If you loved George & Gracie, read this book. If you want to read a true life love story, READ THIS BOOK. I just love the inside scoop on the old Hollywood that George dishes out. I never knew Cary Grant sold neck ties before becoming a screen idol. Harpo Marx (the quiet one) wanted one child in every window to wave goodbye or hello when he pulled up in the drive. George wasn't all that impressed with Marilyn Monroe.

This book is an easy read and so hard to put down.

Growing up, I really only knew Goerge Burns for the occasional television special he would host. Other than that, and his "Oh, God" movie (which came out when I was very young), I was relatively unfamiliar with him.

In the mid 80's, when I was about 10 years old, I found that a local radio station would run old time radio comedies from 8-10pm, and as such, I used to fall asleep nightly listening to the like of Jack Benny, Fibber McGee and Molly, and, of course Burns and Allen.

I finally just purchased this book from and Amazon bookseller about two months ago, and honestly, it's as good a $2.95 as I've spent in a while.

As other reviewers have said, many times bigraqphies can be a bit on the dull side, but George really did well with this. It is an easy read... a page turner. It's very interesting to get more insight on what a great performer she was, and how natural it came to her. One always got the feeling that even though she was delivering her "dizzy" Gracie charater, that underneath that was a very smart, clever person. This book certianly backs that up, and it backs it up with all the warmth and affection George Burns had for his wife.

I thoroughly enjoyed this not only for the story of Gracie, but also as a way to look inside the life of an entertainer at that time. I neverquite understood before what it was to work the vaudeville circuit, but there is a ton of insight in this book.

This is a must read for even the most casual fan of old time radio and the celebrities of that era.

I glanced at the reviews here to see if my opinion of this book was just a fluke, but they pretty much bear me out. I didn't expect this book to be nearly as good as it is. On second thought, though, it's not that surprising. This pair was magic and it was seen in everything they touched, the prime and lasting example being the without parallel Burns and Allen Show.

Burns and Allen successfully weathered many storms, making the transition from Vaudeville and stand-up comedy to radio and later to television. The earliest TV shows are the only ones available on DVD, but in later seasons they really hit their stride. In this hilarious and ground- breaking show, George would turn on the TV in the den to see what Gracie was doing, and regularly chat with viewers about events in progress. Gracie would walk in the wrong side of the set and regale viewers (or listeners) with non-stop comedic patter, malapropisms and surrealistic humour (ala Ernie Kovaks) with George as the straightman and pinnacle of style puffing his ever-present cigar.

Even as an octagenarian he could still act (Oh God, You Devil) but as a nonogenarian (92) he could still write. This marvelous memoir is not only the most delightful reading I've had in a long time, but makes me all the more want the Burns and Allen show on DVD. This book was a bestseller in hardback, but is now unaccountably out of print. Yet many readers would love this book, and would enjoy making the acquaintance of the remarkable Gracie Allen.

In "Howard Zinn: A Radical American Vision," Professor Davis Joyce has made a valuable contribution to twentieth century American historiography. This intellectual biography of Howard Zinn is scholarly and entertaining. Davis provides lucid summaries of Zinn's major books. He also skillfully places Zinn's works within the context of recent American history. Anyone who is interested in better understanding Howard Zinn's approach to history would benefit from reading this book.

This volume is a very good introduction to the life, thought, and times of Howard Zinn, which should be of broad interest to students of society. I found the details of Zinn's struggles with John Silber fascinating (such university presidents are not at all uncommon--right Kern?). While many readers will be familiar with Zinn through The People's History, they should especially enjoy the overview and critique of such writings as Disobedience and Democracy (very relevant today), and The Politics of History (addressed to all of the social sciences). Dr. Davis Joyce is an excellent writer; he obviously admires both Zinn and his thought (if not his grading policies). This is truly an excellent intellectual biography.

BUY THIS BOOK as a gift for someone in need of hope.

In these times of desperation for so many among us around the world, it is in the inspiring story of Howard Zinn that the message every individual makes a difference, shines bright. That our collective efforts, both large and small, do indeed change the world.

Howard Zinn makes me proud to be a liberal and an intellectual, and his well-written biography gives me hope that in the end, reason, compassion, and common sense will prevail over prejudice and dogma. After reading it, I feel energized, and optimistic about the future, confident that my efforts at stemming the tide of ignorance in this country are worthwhile.

This book, is in my opinion, a must-read for all liberal-minded individuals. Howard Zinn's life is an inspiration, and his clear, concise viewpoints are brilliant -- a much needed counterpoint to Medieval, Dark-Age ideologies.

Zinn shows us that we are not, as special interests would like us to believe, "an obedient, acquiescent, passive citizenry." He articulates what many of us feel, that the ideologies which we take for granted "...are not the result of independent thought on our part, and indeed do not match the real world as we experience it..." A real eye opener. I enjoyed this book, and I'm sure you will too.

Howard Zinn: A Radical American Vision
Davis D. Joyce, Published by Prometheus Books
By Denis Mueller
I met Professor Zinn about eight years ago and began, with my Co-filmmaker Deb Ellis, a journey that would lead to a film about his life and the idea that the individual can make a difference. It was an amazing experience and one that has changed my life. I learned how to speak in public by watching this tall angular man walk to the podium and begin his talk with a joke usually about himself. I learned about his courage both physical and intellectual. Zinn was a bombardier who risked his life against the war on fascism, so when he gets to academia, it is nothing to risk his job for what he feels is the right thing to do. This gets him fired at Spelman for supporting the Civil Rights Movement and constantly at war with Boston University dictator John Silber.
What we did not do was chronicle was his development as a historian and teacher. A film cannot do everything, and some historians felt we had left out his importance in the study of American history, but if that was what they were interested in there is no better place to look at some of those critical debates than here in this book by Davis D. Joyce. Howard Zinn's book, A People's History of the United States, has sold over 1,000,000 copies and has helped change the study of history itself. He has been at the forefront of American radicalism, both as an activist and as an intellectual, yet some in the historian profession fail to understand the importance of the activist-scholar. He was a leader in the Civil Rights movement as an advisor to the Student Non-Violent Co-coordinating Committee, an adult who respected the students, and gave them the intellectual backing they needed in the antiwar movement during the Vietnam era. He remains an outspoken critic of our disastrous policy in Iraq.
Yet, when American historians are mentioned, some dismiss Zinn as a populist and fail to understand his importance in the study of American history. Davis D. Joyce, while acknowledging his work as an activist, goes a long way to correct that assumption and positions Zinn as a leader in what could be described as a revolution within the study of American history. Joyce looks at all of his work but plays special attention to his book, The Politics of History, which is perhaps as important as A People's History. It is here, more than anywhere else, where Joyce is able to fuse Zinn's influence as a historian and his life long commitment to a history that speaks to the great issues of our time. Joyce does this quite well when he illustrates the importance of a quotation by Denis Diderot on the writings of Voltaire, which Zinn uses in The Politics of History.
"Other historians relate facts to inform us on facts, you relate them to excite in our hearts an intense hatred of lying, ignorance, hypocrisy, superstition; and the anger remains even after the memory of the facts has disappeared."
Joyce has a keen eye for a quote and his selection of quotes from Zinn, whose quotes are a dream for any biographer, is one of the great joys of this book and they are used quite well to articulate Zinn's unique point of view. This is a book that is needed to help illustrate Zinn's contribution to the intellectual development of American history. In an essay about the historian as citizen, and the forgotten role of the public intellectual in today's society, we would be wise to listen to what he has to say:
"In a world hungry for solutions, we ought to welcome the emergence of the historian-if this is really what we are seeing- as an activist scholar, who thrusts himself and his works into the crazy mechanism of history, on behalf of the values in which he deeply believes This makes him more than a scholar; it makes him a citizen in the ancient Athenian sense of the word."

The book starts out with, "Don't read this book if you are pregnant" (or something like that). I was six months pregnant with my first child, yet steamed ahead anyway. I am glad that I did. The description of the insanity, temporary or otherwise, that can be brought on brought on by modern motherhood that Ingman paints is exactly what a parent-to-be like myself needed, because it prepared me for the worst, and let me off the hook from the overambitious expectations that I had (elaborate birth plan that did not go as planned? check. Dreams of cooking my own organic baby food now making way for Gerber jars? check). The writing had a way of taking me to the absolute depths of her experience while at the same time injecting humor and compassion that made me feel like everything was going to be all right. I didn't expect to laugh out loud, but I did many times while reading.

This book is WAY more complex than any review can possibly hope to convey. It's personal, and political; funny, and sad. While reading, you realize that a lot of the problems Ingman faces are not just parents' issues, but women's issues. Are the mothers crazy or is the world crazy? Read and decide for yourself.

I think pretty much everything that the author has to say can be (and is!) said in the first 30 pages or so. After that, it's bits and pieces, loosely strung together but without a goal in sight. Neither a great resource for those dealing with PPD nor a good comic relief.

"Inconsolable" is smart, funny, and heartbreaking. This book should be required reading for any woman considering motherhood--it rips off the layers of Hallmark sentimentality and reveals exactly how agonizing post-partum depression can be. Frankly, it made me want to send my mother a bouquet of three dozen long-stemmed red roses.

This is a brave book written by an astonishingly talented writer Whether or not you're considering having a child, this book will change the way you think about motherhood, pregnancy, and mental health long after you've put the book down. I will never play Nine Inch Nails without thinking of Marritt ever again, and man, I play a lot of NIN.

Thank you for this book, Marritt.

When I suffered from debilitating depression after the birth of my 2nd daughter, I searched everywhere for something to grasp onto. Anything to grasp onto. Somehow I found this book. All of a sudden, here was someone like me - someone else who wanted to drive off a bridge. I felt like I had finally made a connection and I wasn't alone in this anymore.
I can honestly say that this book was pivotal in my (LONG) recovery. It is what ultimately encouraged me to push through, connect with others and reclaim motherhood. Marrit's accounts of early motherhood are real, moving, poignant, and honest. I highly recommend this book to any new mother - if you aren't suffering from PPD yourself, you might be able to understand and reach out to someone who is.

If you are a mom and you think you are loosing your mind, read this book!! You'll find out that you are not alone. I think all moms feel this way at times but most are too worried about what people will think if they admit it. Props to Marrit for being brutally honest.

This is one of the better first-person accounts I've ever read. I highly, strongly recommend that you take the time to read it. It's well-written, relevant, and hard to put down.

A great day in an day out story about the war. No hype, no frills. Just the story of what the days were actually like for a foot soldier in WW II.

I had to read this book for a course on WWII. Neil does an excellent job of "putting you there" as the cliche goes. The complexities of battle, to the horrid conditions to the mindstate of men about to die are all covered well in this novel. Neill really does a good job of keeping the reader attached to the book, and helps bring to life something that many people have only read about in history text books. I recommend this novel to anyone interested in War in general, and of course in WWII.

George Neill presents a front line soldier's view of what it was like to be part of the WWII American infantry. While reading the book, I almost felt the cold and fear that were the soldier's constant companions. while the rear echelon soldiers got the winter boots, and the generals got heated quarters, Neill and his fellow soldiers tried to survive the cold, boredom and attacks. I felt like I was there. This book gets my very highet recommendation.

The ASTPer's were the brightest, most intelligent young citizen soldiers of their part of the World War II generation. Originally deferred from military service to be allowed to attend college, they were thrown into the battlefields of Europe when America needed bodies to make to final push to Berlin, just in time for the Battle of the Bulge. Infantry Soldier: Holding the Line at the Battle of the Bulge is an accurate account of the fighting and front-line conditions facing the common infantry rifleman during one of Europe's coldest winters. Neill not only served as one of these men, he has done the research and interviews needed to complete the picture, not just of the men on the ground who knew little beyond the events of their immediate foxhole, but events on the German side and U.S. Army rear echelon and high command decisions. Included is an excellent description of the destructive power of a German artillery barrage, and the problems encountered when supply lines are stretched and items desperately needed by the front-line soldier for survival are being diverted to rear-echelon personnel. Neill also takes an intelligent look at war in general, and the conclusion is that we should never forget the horrors and untold human suffering caused by war.

This is one of the bases for the movie "Wonderland" but reading this book will creep you out on J.M.Barrie. You might never really like Peter Pan again. Author had access to his papers, letter, diaries etc. Very weird stuff.

I read this book over 15 years ago in an attempt to find out who the author of Peter Pan really was, and what his life was like. It was not a pleasant or easy read. I wanted to forget all about it and just have the enchantment of "Peter Pan," but as with the real life of the author and photographer of "Alice in Wonderland," the truth can wound deeply. But lies and half-truths can never reveal the relationship between biography and art, so one must often face much disturbing information in order to understand the art itself. This is not to say that art is reducible to biography; it is not. There is, nevertheless, a kind of dialectic (God, I do hate to sound so gawdawful jargony, but when it so plain, other words just do not work) between the life of a genius and the art of the same individual. The truth of art can only come from the struggle between an artist's vision and the life that made such a vision a necessity. Yes, a necessity: there are those artists whose lives were so fraught with sheer catastrophe that revelation through a skewed fantasy can be so powerful as to take on a "life" of its own. And this is why it is so grievous to "paint-over" the unpleasant details of such a life. There was a recent film with an appropriately disturbing title: in the attempt to not really "find" Neverland in Barrie's life, the art itself is drained of its truly tragic roots. At the time such "nice" little fantasies are presented, they seem so harmless, but they are not. Successful attempts to eradicate truth can also eradicate the depth of the art itself. "Neverland" is a word that begs a little attention: a land where children "never grow up." This is not to say that they physically die - no - instead they live their lives, as did Barrie, in a desolate, lifeless, and desperately lonely "land" and try, from within their internal isolation, to bring others along for the rides to nowhere and "never." Where else could such a person bring another? If one lives in "Neverland" of the mind, there is nowhere else to lead another - nowhere else to go. And if we do not face unpleasant truths as they are revealed in the crucible where life and art meet, we learn nothing further from the art. It is better, actually, to know nothing of an artist's life than to be fed untruths. I would suggest the readers either read this book and/or see Peter Pan, but would urge them *not* to see Peter Pan after experiencing a false represenation - no matter how "well-performed" the falsehood is presented. The play or story would be meaningless. The truths, whatever you choose to make of them are here in this book, like it or not. And once the genie is out of the bottle (such as when you have been fed a disingenuous Hollywood film or other disingenuous account), to refrain from the truths of an artist's life is a violation of the art. No one can any longer understand or be truly moved by Peter Pan, much less try to interpret it based upon a sugar-coated Hollywood paint-job. And the effect goes on: if other artists were inspired by Barrie's work (perhaps because it touched the nerves of their own catastrophic lives), and all we have is a candy-coated film, their art and whatever in their lives might have inpired their interest in Barrie's work is also distorted. I do not know if truth sets anyone "free," but I do know that untruths distort and harm. And then the distortion goes on . . . This book cuts deep, but struggles for truths, which is what a biography of an artistic genius should try very hard to do.

I found this book to be a well-researched and moving account of not only Barrie's life but also the lives and deaths of the original "Lost Boys". After reading this book, I read Peter Pan again in a whole new light and enjoyed it even more. I think reading this book is essential in order to fully appreciate the entire Peter Pan experience as it truly helps to bring the characters alive.

Having found this little book before the advent of the film "Finding Neverland" I was able to read it originally without comparing it to the film, always a good thing. The film, of course, changed much of the true story as films usually do. This book standing alone as far better, but note, it is not a happy story with a happy ending, it is a tragedy, and no one is left unscathed.
The photographs, almost all, were taken by Barrie himself, and are absolutely wonderful. He had a natural artistic sense, and his unposed photos of the five Llewelyn Davies boys, Michael, George, Peter, Jack, and Nico at their play, stay with you. They are dressed in the Edwardian clothes of the time, or in costumes they wore in the elaborate make-believe games they played with their childlike grownup friend Mr Barrie, and those are truly memorable in themselves. Often they are playing with J.M. Barrie's large dog, and one can't help but think of the big dog, Nanna, in Peter Pan, it's acutally quite eerie, seeing that the play "Peter Pan" itself wouldn't be written yet for years.
J.M. Barrie came from a lower class Scottish family, and in childhood lost an older brother to illness. His mother took to her bed griefstricken, for a long period, and once, trying to cheer her, young Barrie put on the older brother's clothes and went to see his mother. For just a moment she thought it was the older brother, and he seemed to see happiness in her eyes; for all his life, the message stayed with him, the boy who would never grow up was the loved boy.
He was a strange, brilliant, gentle, childlike man. Highly regarded in his own time, considered a great playwright, equivilent to George Barnard Shaw in his day; and very prosperous due to his books and plays, married, but childless, and probably not very happy in his marriage which would end in divorce, one day in Kensington Park he saw one of the five young Llewelyn Davies brothers. They struck up a friendship, based on Barrie being quite willing to talk to a child on the child's level. Soon after, he met the rest of the family, who were impressed to meet the famous playwright. Their family was also upper class, well to do, but would soon lose their father to cancer, they would thenceforth be in precarious financial straits. Barrie immediately became a combination father/ big brother to the boys. He also became close friends with their mother Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, but not, I suspect, to the degree the movie implies. It was all about the boys, their innocence, and something he wished to capture and hold on to. His obsessive photography of them makes that clear.
Tragedy struck again, unbelievably, when their mother died of cancer as well, at a young age, after a relatively brief illness. By then Barrie was such a part of their lives that his continued influence, and the benefit of his money in seeing to it that all five boys finished school in the manner befitting their "class", was accepted by the boys' extended family. He stayed involved in all their lives indefinitely, though it is interesting that he had his favorites, and the two who were not favorites resented and disliked him as they grew older.
The book stops with the boys' growing up, though he did stay involved with them as a surrogate parent. Tragedy did hound the family, but unlike some reviewers I am not sure that it can be blamed on JM Barrie's role in their lives. In fact, without him, financially they would have far worse off.
It is true the boy named Peter resented that the play was named "Peter Pan", and of course he was teased at school, and Barrie probably should have thought of that. (Of course without Barrie he most likely wouldn't have been at Eton to be teased.)
Two footnotes: all the proceeds of the play went to the Children's Hospital in London for 100 years, until recently with the 100 years anniversary, the copyright ran out, and now it is in the public domain. No proceeds of his biggest success ever went to Barrie.
Also, the girl's name: "Wendy", was first used in the play. It was an unknown name before that. Barrie used it in memory of a young daughter of a friend who was named Wendy, and who died at age 5. (Not known where that family got the name from, or if it was a nickname.) It was not a name known previously and "Peter Pan" popularized it.
Its an excellent book, an opening via the photographs into another long-gone time, a sad story, but not I believe, due to Barrie. I believe he meant well, and tried his best to be a friend to that unfortunate family. He had his demons as do we all, but to "love" children, in that era, to befriend them, and even play with them when they were pre-teens, could still occur without any implication of perversity; and even to sleep with a child, the concern of one reviewer, was, at the end of the Victorian world, seen as a pure and innocent act, like a parent and child might sleep together...I think it is hard for us in our cynical age to see things as the late Victorians/Edwardians did. No whisper of scandal or of anything improper ever came from any of the five boys, their family, servants, or anyone else connected with them; and I think had there been it certainly would have come to light. I believe he truly loved the boys, and they in turn, after he knew them several years, and had observed their play and their natural talk and style, influenced him to write his masterpiece "Peter Pan".

Prompted by the movie "Finding Neverland" I wanted to learn more about the Davies family and their relationship with Barrie. My research lead me to this book. The tragic story of the boys and Barrie was an eye opening read. Birkin is an artful weaver of ancedotes, interviews and history. While I was reading the book I got lost.I started feeling like I was an intimate friend of the families, instead of curious observer. Furthermore, Birkin's website has been updated with more pictures and media files. The website coupled with the book really saturates you into the life of the 5 boys and the mindof the man who loved them very much. A beautiful account of a flawed and tragic life.

The life of John James Audubon could have been a historical novel. This West Indian French bastard survived revolutions, wars, earthquakes, floods, economic collapses, and epidemics. He called everywhere in North America, as well as Europe and the Caribbean, his home. He combined entrepreneurial skills with a love of the outdoors and the gifts of the naturalist and artist (not to mention hunter). His equally-amazing English-born wife Lucy took to the frontier as readily as he, raising a family and providing frontier hospitality wherever their fortunes took them.

A biographer or historian may lack a novelist's eye for the kinds of background details that make the past come alive to the reader. But Richard Rhodes has immersed himself in his subject's world. He's read everything, not only what Audubon himself wrote, but also what his family, acquaintances, and others who experienced the same things wrote. Suppose you'd been in New York City on 9/11 but hadn't written much about your experience. A future historian might use the descriptions by others who were there too to fill in the gaps. That's what Rhodes has done for Audubon.

Before this book, Rhodes was known for his Pulitzer-winning history of the development of the atomic bomb. Now he's known as Audubon's biographer, having edited the Everyman's Library edition of The Audubon Reader and contributed an introduction to the forthcoming Audubon: Early Drawings. This is a remarkable book by someone who really knows his subject, his period, and his craft as writer and historian.

This book is nothing short of MAGNIFICENT! Rhodes is an elegant writer who knows and loves his subject as well as history and gets it all right. This is more than the biography of one brilliant man; it is a history of frontier America in its early days and is populated with much more than birds. There are Indians, friends, enemies, 4-legged animals, and yes, loads and loads of American birds. The voyages back and forth from Europe to America are enlightening and amazing to think about. I knew next to nothing about birds when I bought this book; I bought it because of an interesting book review I read a couple of years ago.

There is another Audobon book that came out the same year, Under a Wild Sky by Souder, and I own that book, too. The Souder book was a finalist for the Pulitzer, but I really don't know how it could have been selected over this book by Richard Rhodes. For example, this book goes into all the details of Audubon's personal life right up to his last days on earth, whereas the Souder book covers most of it in a few paragraphs at the end of his book.

I LOVED this book! I had a couple of bird books next to my chair as I was reading (one, a condensed version of Audubon's Birds of America), and referred to them throughout reading, which was fun and very enlightening and educational. Audubon knew and loved his birds so well that he even wrote biographies of individual species, and indeed individual birds themselves! What could be more amazing than that?

This is a truly delicious book that I wish more people would read. Right now there are only 18 individual reviews, which is much less than this book should have. I always blame the publishers for not doing justice to the fabulous books they are entrusted with. Do yourself a favor and read this special book! It is about a great man, yes, but also covers so much more. In these days of being green, Audubon predicted (and saw the beginnings of) the sad ruination and ultimate demise of nature in all its forms, and that was in the early 1800s. He was a pioneer as well as a bright man, and a funny man, and a driven man who loved and adored his family and his birds.

In its own way, this book reveals as much about the early 'natural history' years of the nation's founding as "Roots" does about early 'social history' years of Americans' tangled involvement with its imported slave population. Just as a national audience sat transfixed before TV sets watching a human drama unfold, so too, a reader following Audubon's manic treks back and forth from the East Coast to Louisiana to capture and sketch American birds, and his inspired obsession develop and finance a folio of ornithological plates by selling subscriptions in England, would marvel first at his tenacity, second at his self-awareness, and finally recognize that we live in a much less fecund animal world than the one he captured.

Audubon was an innovator of the first rank, in devising a systematic methodology (wire-frame supports) for accurately posing the bird in its natural setting, and a keen observer of the world he was both illustrating and helping to eradicate. Throughout his collecting and drafting career, he noted the transformations of habitats and ranges, and recognized that the 'natural' world he knew would look very different after his death. Large-scale conversion of woodlands to other uses, and the relentless pressure of colonization, exerted a profound impact on the distribution and range of avian species, and Audubon watched it happen in real time. His descriptions of the 'bird counts' he conducted tell the story. Repeatedly, he describes flocks that 'blacken the sky' - something we'll never see today.

Rhodes' biography is exhaustive, and a review should note that there is quite a bit of superfluous detail brought into the description of his early years. Furthermore, Rhodes in this effort did not turn out to be a great prose stylist, so some serious editing for length would have helped. Those criticisms aside, the Rhodes biography succeeds in bringing to life a vanished world, one in which colonists, pioneers and settlers were surrounded by 'wild nature,' and most of the people could actually name the animals (and birds) they saw!

If you want to really gain a great deal of insight into the forming of the American Frontier...read this book! It is really far more about that than it is about JJ Audobon although he is a very interesting character all by himself. A fascinating person at a fascinating time in history. I highly recommend it.

In the tradition of the great biographers, Rhodes leaves no stone unturned in his exploration of this remarkable fellow. The author carries us through the journey of the quintessential self-made man as he comes into maturity with his new country, the United States.
This is a study of a man, not an ornithological treatise. We all have seen the beautiful portraits of birds (terrific color plates in the paperback edition I have) and, through Rhodes efforts, discover Audubon's ingenuity in rendering them with the sort of lifelike quality he hoped to achieve. He earned his passage on many early excursions as the boat's hunter and trapper requiring lone forays into the hinterland. He clearly absorbed everything in his environment while he was making his way. His love for wildlife extended beyond avian society to all flora and fauna contained in the natural environment. He painted other animals and plants, as well. In his waning years, he executed a series of North American mammals with his sons. He had hoped to do much more.
Audubon's history is entwined with early America. He surely enjoyed his notoriety in European courts but always longed for his wild territory. In his later years (he died a decade before the Civil War), his assessment of the burgeoning nation was that it was becoming too crowded, overpopulated; ruined. THAT America was gone before Audubon died but Mr. Rhodes allows us an almost palpable glimpse at it as he illuminates one of it's most colorful citizens. Who would be a better guide into the young U.S. than this great naturalist, so skillfully revealed by this delightful writer?

What an incredible book! You can tell that talented writer John O'Dowd has poured his "heart and soul" into this book! What a amazing story...... a very beautiful and talented actress who is starring in films with such superstars as James Cagney, "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" Gary Cooper, "Dallas" Gregory Peck, "Only The Valiant"! And earning 10.000 a week to five dollars a day! This is the incredible story about this beautiful women's meteoric rise to fame..... then suddenly just as quick, a swift tragic descent! This book covers every aspect of Barbara's incisive "descend" into Hell! Her many amorous scandalous affairs with Bob Hope, Errol Flynn, Gary Cooper, Steve Cochran, Tom Neal, Franchot Tone, and the famous headline fight between Neal and Tone its all here. But O'Dowd is not here to denigrate Payton, he wants to get at all the facts and the (real) story. You can tell that he wants to bring some humanity and respect for this actress! I firmly believe he succeeds in that! It had to take MANY painstaking years of flawless thorough research and devotion to write this prolific biography! O'Dowd doesn't seem to miss anything! This is hands down one of the BEST biographies I ever read! Also in this very thick(479 page)book are many rare photos through-out. I did not know that much about Barbara Payton but after reading this well-written book I certainly do now! I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Barbara Payton! Could it had been certain "influences" that led her down the path of this nightmare world of alcohol,drugs,and prostitution..... you be the judge. But I know that O'Dowd's book in reading it brought to me compassion for this actress and why not! Yes we get to see the "dark side"........ the seedy apartments,the prostitution! But when I read that she was a loving mother, loving and protective of her son! And when I read where she had hit rock bottom living on "skid row"! And yet she had enough compassion in her disillusioned heart to bring in a homeless straving dog into the run-down hotel that she was living in, that pulls at my heart! This is definitely a "heart-breaking" tragic story,that pulls no punches! The insurmontable suffering this dear woman went through is horrible! I believe John O'Dowd proves that with this book that he is one of the BEST biographers out there in the literary field! This is the type of imformative riveting book that once you pick it up and start reading the book it is hard to put it down until you are finished! Thank you John O'Dowd for writing this book! There is no doubt that this fantastic "compelling" book should be turned into a screen-play and made into a movie! What a movie this would make! This book and story of anguish and torment definitely "cries out" to be made into a movie! This book is worth every penny it cost and much more! Again highly recommended!

Lawrence Fultz Jr.

I highly recommend Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye, The Barbara Payton Story.
While I was reading this book I was totally consumed by Barbara and her story of highs and lows.
I feel she is the most beautiful actess in my eyes.
I was able to lose myself in Mr O'Dowds writing and took the journey of imagining Barbara's true life experiences with the author.
It was a read I will never forget. The research,time and heart felt writing shined through the whole book.
I purchased this book online and was not dissappointed. This book is worth every cent!!!!
The book is over 400 pages and I never lost interest or the desire to read. Plenty of glamorous and startling pictures included in this book as well.
I was sorry when I finished the book, I was compelled to keep reading online about Barbara and visited John O'Dowd's website on Barbara Payton.
Found that to be very interesting along with updates.
If you are an avid reader of biography's this is the book to read. absolutley one of the best.
Sincerely Beth

"Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" delivers an entertaining account and perspective on the life of one of Hollywood's most troubled starlets. Authored by John O'Dowd, the book does a masterful job of piecing together the many sides of this complex individual. It works not only because John has spent years researching the former actress, but he's tracked down the people that knew her best. Interviews with her son, sister-in-law, and a former husband proved paramount to a full understanding of who she was. For the most part, this is the first time they've publicly spoke at length about her life.

While John presents an uncensored view of Barbara's demise, he does so with respect for her as a human being. Predictably the book details her struggles, but it also underscores her many strengths. Prior to "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye", we remembered her through tabloid headlines and a dozen or so films. Thanks to John O'Dowd, we now have a complete and accurate view of the real Barbara Payton.

Lee Martin
www.atomicpinup.com

I REALLY ENJOYED THE BOOK AND IT HAD ALOT OF PICTURES OF THE ACTRESS. IT WENT IN DEPTH OF HER LIFE AND HAD INSIGHTS FROM RELATIVES AND FRIENDS. I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS BOOK IF YOU WERE INTERESTED IN THIS ACTRESS. SHE DID SOME OUTRAGES THINGS BUT YOU CAN'T HELP FEELING SORRY FOR HER.

John O'Dowd is clearly the authority on Barbara Payton and the roller-coaster existence that was her life in Hollywood. John brings out all the humanity and frailties that help us empathize with a woman whose life held such promise, but who ulti amately succumbed to her demons -- deftly aided by the machinery of a town that can break down stars as quickly as build them. In the age before Spears and Lohans, Barbara received no second chances and couldn't recover from her abrupt dismissal from the near pinnacle of stardom -- therein lies a cautionary tale and a potentially compelling performance for a new generation of actresses. As a film producer I say, "Bravo John, we'll see Barbara's story on the silver screen yet!"

Cindy Guidry lives in Neverland. Living and working in Los Angeles is difficult enough; try dating there. Guidry is a smart, funny, sexy woman who is trying to get in touch with her own power as she approaches 40. She's knows it's in there, somewhere. But it's hard to feel powerful when you live in a town where everyone is judged by appearances, and most of those are plastic.

I really enjoyed Cindy's voice. This is a book written by a clever woman who realizes that most of the men she meets are bombarded with too many choices on a daily basis. They can no longer make a decision about anything, especially the most important one of all, the decision of commit to a mate.

Guidry takes her readers on an enjoyable ride through Hollywood as she starts to put the pieces of her life together (accompanied by a Dave Matthews soundtrack) all the while feeling like she's the Last Single Woman in America.

She may get stuck with the easy "chick-lit" label, but Cindy Guidry has written a book filled with enormous humor, wit and poignancy -- and a well-earned understanding of relationships between men and women. Her trenchant observations -- on her own life, the men in it, her career, her family -- take no prisoners, including herself. More importantly, I loved her voice: the one of that smart, way-funny girlfriend who always tells the truth, no matter how uncomfortable, and god bless her. Men will be pleasantly surprised by their un-chick-lit treatment here, if they ever read it (mine have, and responded overwhelmingly positively -- "She gets it!"). Definitely a worthy read.

I have never found a book in which the writer (and narrator in this instance) seemingly gave forth so many of my own thoughts. I always considered myself to be a little too jaded, cynical, or critical, and am now glad to see there is a whole generation of us. Cindy Guidry shows there is really nothing too depressing about not knowing what you want to be when you grow up and, guess what?, there are lots of us out there. To heck with Generation X, it's Generation Cindy Guidry all the way!!!

Having been a former lover and devout follower of the series "Sex in the City" and having had to settle for vacuous attempts to fill that time slot or reruns on TBS ever since, I am looking forward to seeing this book and the idea behind it coming to life on HBO.

You get it all here..answers to the dating Universe and some.. I laughed, i cried and i was shocked at the honesty..very refreshing indeed!
.. highly recommended from this Goddess (and not just a chick read guys).

If you're a guy and you cringe that this might be another MEN SUCK book written for only women to read and rally together around the flagpole of self inflicted injustice, this is the book for you. Although she has her complaints about men, this is a refreshingly fair-handed, often sympathetic book about both men and women and their attempts to find and understand each other in this isolating cyber-world. While there are bestsellers as well as entire television networks dedicated to the proposition that MEN SUCK, Guidry offers the possibility of individual empowerment and an unflagging belief in Love, all the while making you laugh out loud about waxing and nail polish and cats and other things men don't generally care about. Men really do want to know what women think, and Guidry tells us in a way both entertaining and enlightening.