Chamberlain Books

Robert Cherry takes anecdotes from famous and regular people whose lives' intertwined with Wilt Chamberlain, and mixes them in with his narrative summary of the legend's life and statistics to form a biography that entertains while never sensationalizing. Anyone interested in the NBA or college basketball is going to find this book to be a captivating read.

Highly recommended, but be aware that the one thing the book lacks is a statistical record of Wilt's collegiate and NBA career.

Wilt Chamberlain once said "Nobody loves Goliath. I'm here to say that after reading "Wilt, Larger than Life" I refute that. The book gave an indepth look at not only Wilt the basketball icon, but Wilt the person. It explored relationships he established outside of basketball and how he maintained those frendships until his untimely death. After reading the book I also had more appreciation for Wilt the basketball player. I feel that not only was he one of the greatest players of all time, but he met and exceeded all of the expectations that were placed on him when he very well could and was in some cases viewed as a freak of nature.

At the risk of sounding redundant. This book was great and gives a lot of insight into a very fascinating individual. Personally I could have done with less information on what exactly happened in the quarters of key basketball games and more on the other things that Wilt did throughout his life. However this was still a good purchase, worthwhile read, and I am very greatful for the author to have taken the time and effort to write this book.

Great book. I loved every page except page 155. That Bob Kashey character can't be real. I know a Bob Kashey that hangs out at Chile's in Lake Mary, Florida and this can't be him although he keeps insisting it is. In any case, it is a great book, well worth the investment.

This is the third consecutive book I've read that is badly in need of some editing. Let's start with the front cover, which displays the following quote from sportswriter Dick Schaap: "The definitive biography . . ." Really? The book's copyright date is 2004 . . . Dick Schaap DIED in December of 2001.

Regarding Chamberlain's athleticism and interest in track and field, the last sentence of page 61 reads, "He certainly had the requisite speed, stamina and strength to become an Olympian, maybe even a medalist". Fair enough. But then, the opening line to the next paragraph starts, "Because one can't speculate on what he might have accomplished in track and field . . ." Hello? Rewrite!!!

Add to that the annoyingly endless use of parenthetical phrases to embellish sentences that need no embellishing, and this book can be hard to read. There are so many examples of this, that it's impossible to realize just how annoying it is without actually reading the book. Figure on a mininum of one per paragraph, and as many as three in one sentence.

The saving grace of this book is the subject. Wilt Chamberlain was without question one of the most interesting and accomplished of America's 20th century athletes. For me, greatness in athletics is about winning, which is why I'll always choose Bill Russell and Jack Nicklaus as the greatest of the century. But for statistical accomplishment, only Wayne Gretzky and perhaps Jim Brown can compare to Wilt. And as physical specimens go, Jim Brown is probably the only team sport player whose speed, strength and endurance match up to Wilt's. The other measure, and the one that probably puts Wilt up on his highest pedestal, is the somewhat nebulous "impact on the game". Bobby Orr in hockey and Lawrence Taylor in football are the only other athletes I can think of who are even in the shadows of what Wilt did for basketball. This was truly a remarkable athlete and an interesting man off the field as well. Although I wouldn't give this book a strong recommendation to the casual sports fan, if you are looking for an in depth biography about a great basketball player and a pretty good overview of basketball in the 50's and 60's, this is not the worst place to wind up. But I'd look elsewhere first.

Nietzsche's writings have been interpreted, misinterpreted, translated, mistranslated and mutated to serve many individual interests - from the evils of the Third Reich to the man's only sister, 'editing' his work to suit her personal, social and political gains. Like Freud, Nietzsche has been used and abused as a platform in the creation of 'new' philosophies, some citing his work as inspiration, while others, in a fit of intellectual dishonesty, claim his ideas as their own. It has been said many times that he is the most misunderstood philosopher of the modern age. From my readings and experience, this claim is not far from the truth. This brilliant book, however, in a single brush of elegance and heart, re-examines Fredric Nietzsche and his work in a gentle, unpretentious though concise way, and attempts to introduce or re-introduce readers to this intriguing, inspiring and highly complex mind.

Chamberlain writes with passion and intuitive insight about the last sane year of Nietzsche's life while he lived and worked in the beautiful city of Turin. This was more than any other a happy and productive time in the professor's life. This is much more than a biographical narrative, but a brave exploration by Chamberlain into the sights, sounds, thoughts and relationships of this fragile though contradictory philosopher. This book is not so much a cerebral approach to the man and his thought, but an emotional, visceral appraisal of a unique thinker striving to understand the human condition.

Of the many biographical narratives about Nietzsche's descent into madness, Chamberlain is the most sensitive without the sentimentalism or coldness similar to the many other descriptions I've encountered. It strikes at the heart with precision and leaves a lasting impression.

If you are a philosopher or merely interested in a unique approach to telling the story of a thinker who has shaped modern philosophy in the twentieth and twenty-first century, read this text. It will be well worth the time, money and effort.

I found Lesley Chamberlain's book to be a thoughtful, sensitive, and insightful exploration of Nietzsche's often heart-wrenching life. Many times it touched chords which resonated what so deeply moves me both about Nietzsche's philosophy and his struggles to master himself in life. With this book Lesley Chamberlain breaths new life into this misused and ill abused philosopher. I recommend it to anyone with an open heart and interest in the relationship between Nietzsche the man and his philosphy.

The book does not claim to be an introduction to Nietzsche's philosophy. It is important to remember that Nietzsche said there "are no philosophies, only philosophers." Chamberlain does an excellent job of describing the last year of Nietzsche's life, from the cheerful moments to the most painful. It helps all those studying Nietzsche to know more about the life of the great man.

Subtitled "An Intimate Biography," NIETZSCHE IN TURIN by Lesley Chamberlain might be considered a new age treatment of a life dominated by the urge to write, as exhibited by someone torn by his appreciation of the power of music to make things clearer in a far more artistic fashion, driven by a personal rivalry with Wagner that assumed more importance than his personal relationships, and suffering from a disease which would deprive him of his ability to behave. Big philosophical issues are avoided as thoroughly as Nietzsche is pictured trying to avoid having contact with anyone who would want to discuss Hegel as he takes his daily walk in a city which "has a long reputation for magic and a disconcerting number of writers, from Tasso to Rousseau, J.M. Symonds to Primo Levi, have become depressed or gone mad there." (p. 211). The final chapter, "Collapse into the Beyond," is close to "The role syphilis played in heightening his pronouncements may be glimpsed through a comparison with his fellow sufferer, and ultimate madman, the French writer Guy de Maupassant." (p. 201).

I frequently wished that the book had an index. There is some discussion of Nietzsche's appreciation of the artists of his time, but the names show up as substitutes for some picture, as when Nietzsche, in his autobiography, ECCE HOMO, mentioned the autumn of 1888 as like "a Claude Lorrain thought of into infinity, each day of equal, unbounded perfection." (p. 187). This is so similar to a comment in his letters of October, 1888, about "the leaves on the trees are a glowing yellow, sky and great river a delicate blue, the air of supreme purity - a Claude Lorrain in a way I had never dreamed of seeing him" (p. 167), with a note that only specifies "18.10.88, 19.10.88, 30.10.88" (p. 244), that I wonder if searching the web might give me more information about this artist, and more quickly than looking through the rest of this book.

NIETZSCHE IN TURIN ends with a Bibliography, pp. 253-256, which provides the sources for much of the information in the book and its notes. An American professor has written a biography called YOUNG NIETZSCHE, but NIETZSCHE IN TURIN cites a book from 1912, THE YOUNG NIETZSCHE by Elisabeth Foerster-Nietzsche, which must have at least 330 pages, as the more recent book does not. Page 330 recorded that "Fritz knew only too well how characteristic it was of all three of us in the first flush of our indignation to say and write sharp and unpleasant things which a day or two later we scarcely remembered having thought or written." (p. 239, Chapter 8, note 18). THE SCIENCE OF JOY is also used as the title of a book by Nietzsche known by other translations into English, and THE SCIENCE OF JOY makes so much sense in a new wave understanding of the world that it might lead readers to the conclusion that all of Nietzsche could be understood best in that way.

Nietzsche originally moved to Turin in April, 1888, but this book provides a comparative chronology for philosophical breakthroughs from 1819 to 1930, when Sigmund Freud wrote CIVILISATION AND ITS DISCONTENTS. A far better translation of Freud's title is given somewhere in the text, but not in the Bibliography, and Freud appears offhandedly in the notes often enough that even an index might not clarify how much this book depends on how Freud is affecting new wave thinking recently. Names of people that Nietzsche wrote to in 1888 often appear without any explanation of who they were, and events in 1882 involving Lou frequently appear as explanations for the major forces driving Nietzsche's thoughts as he attempted to turn himself into the culmination of all history, drama, and the ultimate music critic. Even closer to perfection, Nietzsche is described as "delighted in 1888 when Carl Fuchs, well placed in Danzig to know Polish, told him that the name Nietzsche could mean `man of nothing.' " (p. 123). Trying to be Polish, in the April '88 outline of his life that he sent to Brandes, who had begun to lecture on Nietzsche's work, "gave him strength against the world which rejected him." (p. 123).

NIETZSCHE IN TURIN is so sympathetic that it is no surprise to find, "Here is the moral underside of life, in which the good are destroyed by their own goodness: an excess of sympathy." (p. 105). Self-reflection predominates so much that the author pictures herself writing in Turin in the autumn of 1994, hardly modernized by the 106 years which had passed since Nietzsche was putting himself into an autobiography with unusual glee. The world could hardly appear more sane to Nietzsche now, though I think he could have found much better examples of music now, if he was willing to look beyond operas, musical comedy, and what anyone considers classical music. Chamberlain seems more concerned about how "Psychotherapy has become incorporated into the Welfare State. How Nietzsche, with his sensitivity to language, would have baulked even at that name, which might be translated back into German as *der Mitleidsstaat,* and given a Nietzschean reading as the state that killed God." (pp. 105-106).

I read this book looking for things that could remind me of "Harold and Maude," a movie about age and youth in which the young man had an uncanny ability to fake death. What was not even suggested by the plot in that movie was a comic ability to fake the death of God, an accomplishment that Nietzsche might be given credit for, if anyone could figure out precisely how that could be done. This book did not apply itself to that problem, and most readers might not be surprised that such an attempt is missing, but something might still seem to be lacking.

I have to begin this review by saying that after sporadically reading Nietzsche over the last fifteen years, I still consider myself an amateur philosopher. Like most that appreciate his work, I have recognized the impact that his pen has had in my life. Still with that said, I lack the experience or ability to compare and contrast him with other philosophers, ideologies or viewpoints. I do believe that Nietzsche left the world a very human energy, a connection if you will that flows through his many words right into the hearts of those who feel they understand him the most.

This is the first biography of Nietzsche that I've read that seemed to capture the essence of a very human man. Chamberlain's account is warm, sensitive and wonderfully written. To me, it depicted a brilliant man whose philosophies were all encompassing, not limited to classical thought and who battled disappointment, brilliance and physical handicaps.

As a layman, who has admired Nietzsche for many years, I recommend this book to those who are interested in learning more about a wonderful and often misunderstood philospher.

I don't need to recount the synopsis: a très jolie vignette of the life of an ex-pat American family in France in the mid 1930s, with their French cook. Everything in this little story is perfection in defiance of reality. Picture if you will, a French marché where one can pile just-picked haricots verts on top of new potatoes, and buy fresh cheese, butter and eggs. Oh look, a bunch of rascally children scampering around an unshaven accordion player and his wife who is trying to sell sheet music, c'est charmant! If one reads this with one square centimeter of one's toe still attached to the real world, as I did, one could not resist a little smirk, because there's nothing charming about this picture of a man a half-step from poverty trying to scratch out a living as a street performer. In this world, the hired cook obligingly and tirelessly turns out table after tables of cuisine de bonne femme, every corner in Paris is dotted with café-restaurants whose patrons leisurely enjoy a sportsmanly round of belote, or boules, or billiard before settling down on pristine marble-top tables under rainproof awnings of tree branches and pour themselves a glass from the generous carafes of vin rouge. It's unreal!

Half of this book is recipes, which I deem to be near useless due to their inaccessibility from our modern life. Braised jellied beef tongue repose next to roast duck with white turnips. This is country French cooking of 50 years ago, heavy with wine, butter and cream. Some could be considered classics, but the instructions are very simple and has little in ways of technique. I suspect most people who read this book skip over the recipes. Pick up one of Le Cordon Bleu cookbooks if you want to cook French.

The best part of this book is a translation from an old French cookbook for Escargots De Bourgogne. It's a gem! Is this even a recipe?

"You ambush them in the morning, while they are parading nonchalantly on the humid leaf, when their slow, fleshy promenade makes one think of a voluptuous woman shuddering under a gross and clumsy caress. ... The beast beats the air in distress with its bewildered tentacles and then retreats glowering into its kiosk, like a much-teased maiden who rushes sobbing to her bedroom. But no pity! These melodramatic gestures no longer move the soul of a gourmet."

More along that vein of florid prose, it's a great detour from the dry practicality of the recipes we encounter these days.

One more thing bothered me, besides the picture-perfect pastoral prettiness. The author is Samuel Chamberlain, who was supposedly writing as Phineas Beck, the young boy of the fictional Beck family. Phineas wrote the foreword to set the tone. However, the narrative voice is definitely not of Phineas, but as the father of the family. Some illustrations are captioned as "Maison Beck, Senlis," and another as "Courtyard of the Chamberlain House, Senlis." This narrative inconsistency breaks the flow. One other reviewer pointed out that Clementine is an imaginary character invented by the author and not a real person as this roman a clef intends for us to believe. Ruth Reichl is the editor of Gourmet magazine, she also is the editor for Modern Library's Food Series, surely she could have said something in the preface? This smacks of artful dissembling to me, readers don't like to be insulted this way.

Excellent entertainment, but you can easily read it in one sitting!

More a recipe book than a memoir.

Great traditional french recipes.

If you've been reading heavy, deep, take-themselves-way-too-seriously type books lately this might be just the ticket if you want to take a break. It's a fast read and if you enjoy reading recipes/cookbooks then you'll love this.

The entire second half of the book is a cookbook and every recipe looks great! I can't wait to try a few.

My only complaint is the use of French was a little tough for a non-French speaking person. I don't mind a word here and there but there were whole sentences and/or paragraphs occasionally. There was no translation so at times I felt a little left out. I completely understand why the author did this and since I like to also read books that use lots of Spanish (a language I do speak a bit of) I know if you speak French you'll love the book all the more for it.

If you love cooking, eating and want to read about some really lovely people then don't let the French thing stop you. Just don't be surprised.

This delightful part-memoir, part-cookbook is a poignant tale of times past, probably never to be recaptured. The author and family lived for a decade in France where they enjoyed the services of their excellent cook, Clementine. When war clouds broke over Europe, they were somehow able to convince this estimable lady to cross the ocean with them and settle in Marblehead Massachusetts.

Clementine braved the culture shocks of 1940 USA very well to hear Mr. Chamberlain tell it. The mighty American supermarkets, the excesses of packaging, and the difficulties of a one-language nation left her unfazed and French to the core. Unfortunately for her, the one language was not French. I suspect Clementine was not as innocent and circumspect as the author believed, and I am sure at times was very lonely.

The occasional recipes in the memoir section of the book can be daunting to the American cook who is used to exact measures. Mr. Chamberlain rather grumpily hints we should use our imagination. I think I can handle "butter the size of an egg," but confess "a handful of flour" makes me uneasy. The recipes are not exceedingly difficult, though many are painstaking, and all will make a cholesterol counter wince. The recipe for Coquille St. Jacques (scallops) is a marvel of simplicity and excellence. The latter half of the book contains recipes with measurements translated by Mr. Chamberlain's wife and daughter. Somehow, these lack the charm of Clementine's unexpurgated notes.

The book is lavishly illustrated with the author's charcoal and line drawings expertly done. This is a fun book to own for anyone with a taste for provincial French cooking and warm-hearted memoirs.

Although not discussed much publicly (and the reviewers below don't seem aware of it), Clementine was an imaginary character that Samuel Chamberlain made up when his friend at "Gourmet" asked him to contribute to the magazine. It's written as a memoir, but it changes the feel for me when I know it's a made-up character. Laura Shapiro wrote about this in her recent book, "Something From the Oven." Also, the recipes are hard to follow, unlike Julia Child's French recipes.

I was given this book as a gift, and although civil war history wasn't a topic I had a serious interest in, the story captured my attention right away. The author made the character very appealing and really brought him to life, including stories of his personal life and relationships with his wife, parents and children. It was a memorable book, and a good depiction of the hardships of the Civil War. The book brought tears to my eyes several times - he was really able to bring out the heart of the character. I'd recommend this to those with an avid interest in the war, as well as to those who love history as a novel instead of a textbook! I bought extra copies to pass along as gifts this season.

This is a great story for people who enjoy a look into our past, but are often put to sleep by normal history books. By focusing on the virtues of Joshua Chamberlain, the Author took me on a ride through the civil war like never before. Not only do I have a better understanding of the war and the time period in general, but Oliver did a wonderful job of reminding me what a hero really is. This book is a quick read and admittedly the first history book of its type that I couldn't put down. The author did a great job of mixing history with the personal struggles of one of our nations finest men. Oliver puts a human face on the war many of us have forgotten. A must read for anyone!

I enjoyed the book very much. It was easy reading and kept my interest. I found it hard to put the book down. If you like reading about the civil war you will find this book a must.

I had read much about the Civil War and much about Joshua Chamberlain. I though I knew the man and his life but Thomas Oliver taught me a lesson or two. Within his clear and precise prose he has brought a book which is a very pleasant experience. Oliver's style lends itself to "just turn another page" and before you know it you're far into it and unwilling to put it down. I read it in one evening. Chamberlain's life is a true American story: The sheltered professor who became a soldier and ultimately a hero at Gettysburg. A Medal of Honor winner, promoted to general and selected by Grant to accept the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia. The book is full of wonderful details, both historical and personal, and is guaranteed to keep your interest. I learned, for instance, that Chamberlain's medal was awarded decades after the fact and was actually mailed to him. Thanks, Mr. Oliver, for a fine historical effort and bring us more!

If you love American history but like hearing it or reading about it from a story teller and not a stuffy old professor, this is for you. I've taken up to a month to finish your typical long-winded popular American Hero biographies before and when I finally closed those books, I could appreciate the main character's endeavors but I've never literally sat in a chair afterward with a lump in my throat. This book gathers momentum quickly and because it's only a few hundred pages, it's simply almost impossible to put down. I challenge you to read this book and not want to run out and shake every American war veteran's hand.

Susanna Miller has just lost custody of her son, Tyler, to her ex-husband and his new wife (the other woman). Unwilling to give up taking care of her son, she runs off with him in the middle of the night, leaving behind a brokenhearted lover, Linc, her son's distressed stepmother, Peggy, and an indifferent ex-husband, Jim. She begins to make herself a new life in Annapolis, MD, light-years away from her former home in Boulder, CO. Yet she feels as though her whole existence is temporary and is constantly looking over her shoulder. Enter artist Adam Soria and his sister Jessie. Adam's wife and two children were killed seven months prior in a drunk driving accident. He and Jessie have been overcome by grief ever since, but with the introduction of Susanna (now known as Kim) and Tyler (now known as Cody) into their lives, things seem to be looking up.

Yet strange things are happening. Two bombings have occurred in Annapolis and Kim's new computer had a file on it with a list of the locations where the bombings occurred as well as more locations for apparent bombings-to-be. She returns from a trip only to find that her apartment has been broken into and her computer left on. Her brakes are tampered with. Obviously, someone knows Kim has the file.

Though this book contains many elements of romance, there is lots of suspense to flesh out the plot. It took me a while to get started, but then once I was into the book, the pages seemed to turn themselves. I am not sure if I will read more by Ms. Chamberlain or not because I was over halfway through the book before I was sure I would finish it. However, it was a good read.

The Escape Artist was my third book by Chamberlain and a very quick read. I live in the Annapolis area, which made the book even more interesting to me, as Chamberlain describes the scenes downtown near the waterfront.

This is a story of a Susanna, a single mother's fight for her only child as she looses custody to her ex-husband and his new, child hungry, unable-to-bear-children wife. Unfortunately, the theme is all too relevant today in our society, with courts awarding custody not to the parent who can provide the most loving, stable, and balanced home, but instead to the parent to has the most money and can "buy" the child. I could relate to Susanna totally and could not condone her actions, nor can any other mother reading this book! The reader is able to feel her terror and fear as she formulates her plan and carries it out. Yet it is in the day-to-day activities, in which we feel Susanna's fear and her loss of Linc. Susanna sacrifices her own happiness and her chance for love for her only child.

This book was similar to the other Chamberlain books I have read, in that there were a lot of little subplots going on, each a mystery in themselves!! I thought that the characters showed depth, emotion, and portrayed a very real believable element in the plot. Chamberlain writes of very strong female characters, who seem to push out of their paradigms and prove to themselves that they are capable, despite what family and society seems to say about them.

This book will keep you guessing to the very end and the ending once again, will take the reader completely back! I love the way Chamberlain completely fools the reader at the end, when the reader thinks they have it all figured out!! It is not what it appears to be!

Another good story from Chamberlain!

Rarely does one read a book that "stays" with you. This was one such book for me. Ms. Chamberlain writes a beautifully, poignant story of one woman's journey to overcome adversity. One cannot help but feel compassion and support for the main character, Susanna as she's always looking over her shoulder wondering if and when law enforcement will find her; as well as her inner, personal struggle in becoming a strong, self-reliant, woman, especially at the climatic end of the story.

This is another amazing story from Diane Chamberlain. This time she takes a young womans life which is turned upside and brings it right side up only turn it around and around again. The ride was great, I loved this book.

Ms. Chamberlain writes a beautifully, poignant story of one woman's journey to overcome adversity. One cannot help but feel compassion and support for the main character, Susanna as she's always looking over her shoulder wondering if and when law enforcement will find her; as well as her inner, personal struggle in becoming a strong, self-reliant, woman, especially at the climatic end of the story.

After reading SECRET LIFE OF CEECEE WILKES, I went on to read BEFORE THE STORM and BAY AT MIDNIGHT. I loved these three novels so much that, based upon recommendations here and at Diane's blog, I purchased the KEEPER OF THE LIGHT trilogy. I am so glad I did. I love the characters and plots in these novels, and I especially love how there were always secrets to be learned in each book. HER MOTHER'S SHADOW was a real page-turner, and it is my greatest hope that Diane will continue this excellent series by eventually writing a fourth...

Diane Chamberlain is a master storyteller, able to blend romance with women's fiction in a seamless flow of words. In a trilogy set in North Carolina's Outer Banks, HER MOTHER'S SHADOW is the grand finale to a tale that began with Keeper of the Light and flowed flawlessly into Kiss River (Mira).

HER MOTHER'S SHADOW focuses on Lacey O'Neill, a woman in her late twenties who has spent the past decade molding herself into the image of her mother. When Lacey was thirteen, her mother, "Saint Anne," was fatally wounded in front of her, the result of a gunshot wound from a distraught husband coming to take his wife and son home from a women's shelter. For ten years, Lacey has done everything within her power to emulate the woman who could do no wrong-Annie O'Neill, the perfect mother, the doting wife, the community volunteer, the Mrs. America of North Carolina. She's living a good life, working as a stained glass artist with a man she admires, living with her brother, Clay, and his wife and daughter.

Lacey's life is thrown into turmoil, not solely with the arrival of an almost-teenager who resents being uprooted after the death of her own mother, but with the knowledge that her perfect mother, the bastion of North Carolina society, was not the woman she had thought her to be. Because suddenly everything she's ever believed to be true comes crashing down upon her.

Secrets are dangerous things to keep. And everyone involved in HER MOTHER'S SHADOW has secrets. Who is mysterious attorney Rick Tenley, and what is he doing in Kiss River? Bobby Asher, a fellow artist who brings out deep feelings in Lacey, spent a lot of time with Jessica, her young charge's mother. Could he be the father Mackenzie never knew she had? And what about Lacey's own father, the man who somehow forgot to mention for the last twenty years or so that his own wife engaged in acts with half the town's male population that were far less than saintly? Her boss and mentor suddenly takes on a new roll in her life, her brother, Clay, and his wife begin having marital problems over a young girl who should have nothing to do with them, and suddenly the lighthouse Lacey lives in is no longer the refuge it's always been.

HER MOTHER'S SHADOW is a wonderful book. Filled with characters as real as any you know in real life, it's a page-turner that will keep you reading long into the night. This book is a story of forgiveness, of redemption, of love, and most of all, of hope. How many children really know their parents? How many parents do outrageous things to keep their children innocent? And how many people, being as imperfect and human as they are, have secrets that are kept solely to protect those they love?

I'm sorry to see this trilogy end, but I'm looking forward to what Ms. Chamberlain comes up with next. HER MOTHER'S SHADOW is definitely not a book to be missed.

Do you remember the last time you started a book at 9:00 PM and read all night until you finished? I thought I was too old to do that anymore, that surely no matter how good a book was that I would fall asleep before long. I was wrong. Last night at about 9:00 PM I went into the bedroom to watching Trading Spaces (hubby was watching TV out in the living room) and started HER MOTHER?S SHADOW by Diane Chamberlain. Eight hours, three cans of Diet Pepsi and a bag of microwave popcorn later, I finally turned the last page (#380) and turned off the light. I would have read faster but I did watch quite a bit of TS and SNL .

I can?t for the life of me figure out why Diane Chamberlain's books aren?t regulars on the bestseller lists (she is the second author I think this about, the other being Emilie Richards). She is definitely on par with Kristin Hannah, Barbara Delinsky, et al.

HER MOTHER?S SHADOW concludes the ?Kiss River Trilogy? that began with KEEPER OF THE LIGHT in the early 90s (reissued last year) and continued with KISS RIVER last year. As much as I loved KOTL, I think I liked this one even more. For those of you unfamiliar with this series, KOTL has one of the most powerful opening chapters I have ever read where Olivia is called to the ER to try to save the life of a woman who has been shot. She is shocked to find that the woman is Annie O?Neill ? the woman her husband has been having an affair with; a woman who does so much good in the community she is referred to as ?Saint Anne.? So that is really Olivia?s story. When I heard Chamberlain was writing a sequel, I thought sure the second book would be Lacey?s story ? the daughter of Annie who witnessed her murder and began a downward spiral of self-destructive behavior told in KoTL. But KISS RIVER instead brought in a new character, Gina, who although new to Kiss River, had family ties there. I was thrilled to know though that the third book in the trilogy would indeed be Lacey?s book.

In HER MOTHER?S SHADOW, Lacey?s story is interwoven with the story of Faye Collier, a nurse in San Diego. Her connection with Lacey and Kiss River isn?t known right away but her story is very interesting as she helps a successful physician overcome the grief of losing his wife. Of course, Faye has a secret, one that is not revealed until much later in the book. There are two main story lines in HMS, one of Lacey?s mother?s killer coming up for parole, and the one of Lacey?s childhood best friend being killed in an auto accident and inexplicably putting in her will that Lacey is to be 11-year-old Mackenzie?s guardian.

I am trying so hard to avoid spoilers here! As in her other books, suffice to say there are rather shocking secrets, family relationships, and romance. We also have appearances by characters in the other two books of the trilogy. All of this combine for a book that is absolutely unputdownable!

I read the other reviews on this book and I'm a little confused. I never read another book by Dianne Chamberlain until this one. I will admit that she totally grabs you from the beginning and you just want to keep reading it. However, I found the story line to be completely predictable. I didn't know anything about the characters but I knew exactly where she was going with the story as it progressed. I figured out the relationships before she wrote them down, so I was a little disappointed in how predictable everything was. Of course, I wanted to keep reading to see if I was right (which I was) but I would have appreciated a little more creativity on her part. In any event, I did like the characters and the story line and would recommend reading it just for something light and fun to read. It is fast reading and definitely holds your interest but I wouldn't look to his book for thought provoking insights.

Lacey's mother was known as Saint Anne. Known for her good works, it was not unusual for Anne to have spent her Christmas working at a women's shelter, and for Lacey to be with her. It was that goodness that placed Anne in the line of fire when a crazed husband broke in and killed her as he aimed for his wife. But, it was not Anne's goodness and tragic death that scarred Lacey's heart. It was learning about the bad side of her promiscuous mother that hurt the most.

Almost karmically, Lacey finds herself having to take in her best friend's daughter after Jessica's death. Mackinzie has no father that she knows, and resents Lacey. However, when they make it home ot Kiss River, Lacey thinks she knows who Mackinzie's father is. Letting Bobbie into the girl's life brings him into hers, and the attraction she feels for this bad boy conflicts with her romance with another man, an apparently good guy who hasn't forced her to violate the strict rules she lives by.

Under all of the growingly complex web of relationships lie a deep well of secrets and pain. Chance and danger will force the truth to surface, but you have to feel the pain to be able to heal it, the star players will learn.

**** Sometimes, like real life, the plot seems to move slow, but when the pace picks up, the reader will find herself on a roller coaster of unveiled secrets. The importance of forgiveness and dealing with grief properly for the one offended more than the offender is made clear in this moving story. ****
Amanda Killgore

After reading SECRET LIFE OF CEECEE WILKES, I went on to read BEFORE THE STORM and BAY AT MIDNIGHT. I loved these three novels so much that, based upon recommendations here and at Diane's blog, I purchased the KEEPER OF THE LIGHT trilogy. I am so glad I did. I love the characters and plots in these novels, and I especially love how there were always secrets to be learned in each book. KISS RIVER, the second book in the trilogy, was no exception. My greatest hope is that Diane will continue this excellent series by eventually writing a fourth...

I fell in love with the characters in Keeper of the Light and was looking forward to this book. It did not disappoint me. While having strong characters and storylines that could stand alone, it had an added strength for the reader who already knew the background of the characters, almost like a reunion catching up with old friends. Diane's ability to create lifelike situations and people assures her books will always be superb!

Having read the first book of this proposed trilogy - KEEPER OF THE LIGHT - which captured me from the very first pages, I was anxious to return to the locale of the Outer Banks to continue the story. This story comes across in a much slower vein with a female lead, Gina, in her thirties, divorced, with a mysterious diary that switches back and forth along in the chapters. The diary turns out to be written 60 years earlier during WWII and it was written by a 14 year old girl who was the daughter of the lighthouse keeper. Throughout much of the story you have to figure out the mystery of why, Gina, is so intent on raising the Fresnal lens of the partially destroyed lighthouse from the sea, and what the connection is to a small child in India.

The son and daughter of the first book, Clay and Lacey, are the other leads and they each are dealing with issues. Clay is now a widower of less than a year carrying baggage of guilt, etc. Lacey seems to be following in her mother's footsteps after learning `some' truths about her parentage. Lacey seems to be trying to perpetuate the Saint Anne persona that her mother had acquired yet her promiscuity keeps her at odds with her brother Clay. Although the two siblings have their problems neither seems to be featured as prominently as Gina and the young girl, Bess from the 60 year old diary.

There was very little romance in this book, but more a story of healing, trust, issues and the mystery of why it was so important to have the Fresnal lens resurrected from the sea. This was a good story, a little slow for my taste, but again exquisite writing that gives you a good flavor for the marvelous setting of the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Because, the author gave little attention Lacey's problem who by the end of the book was left with a whole new outlook on who her mother really `was' I would predict that she will give us this story in the last book of this trilogy in order to wrap things up. While the book does stand up alone, you will get more enjoyment from it should you read the KEEPER OF THE LIGHT first.

I love "Diane Chamberlain" books so this was no surprise that is was another hit. I found it a little hard to get started but then it just kept getting harder to put down. This is the second book in her trilogy and I can't wait for the last one.

There are some books that readers enjoy so much they hope for a sequel or even a trilogy. One book for me was Keeper of the Light by Diane Chamberlain that was published over 11 years ago. Imagine my surprise when it was announced earlier this year that Ms. Chamberlain was not only going to publish a sequel to Keeper of the Light but there would be a third book in the near future as well. This news had me sorting through my keeper books to find Keeper of the Light for a quick reread. And as soon as Kiss River was available I purchased this second book and gulped it down quickly. While no nook of Diane Chamberlains will most likely ever supersede Keeper of the Light as my favorite read from this author, Kiss River is a very good addition to the many books I have read by Ms. Chamberlain.

Kiss River takes place in the same area as Keeper of the Light, the Outer Banks of North Carolina that the author describes beautifully. The wonderful lighthouse, an integral part of the plot of Keeper of the Light has all been but destroyed and the Fresnal lens remains somewhere on the ocean floor. To this beachfront community comes Gina Higgins, a stranger intent on finding and raising the lens for reasons known only to her. While visiting the sight where the lighthouse once stood Gina makes the acquaintance of Lacey and Clay, a brother and sister who temporarily now occupy the home of the deceased lighthouse keeper. Providing Gina to stay with them, She not only becomes involved in their lives but others from the area as well while trying to solve a mystery from World War II. And all the while we as readers are treated to the alternating story of Bess Poor the lighthouse keeper's daughter who at 14 fitted prominently into this mystery.

This is a gripping plot that does an excellent job of blending two stories set 60 years apart. How the story from 60 years ago affects the characters from the book today will have you turning the pages quickly. This book is also filled with grand emotions that center around the love of a young woman for a man, the love of a mother for her daughter and the love of a child for her mother and grandparents.

I do recommend reading this book, perhaps this summer while you might be vacationing on the beach. A word of advice, while this book can and does stand alone, I do suggest reading Keeper of the Light for the beginning of the Kiss River trilogy. Now I eagerly look forward to the third book set at Kiss River.

I needed to assess whether this application would work for me, and this book did great with getting me this information.

I was very dissappointed with RT Essentials. I had been using and administering an older version of RT for some time, but when I upgraded to the current version I thought I would benefit from reading this book. There are a lot of new features in the later versions and this book just barely mentions them. I had the feeling that it just almost told me what I wanted to know, but not quite. I would very much like to see an expanded, more detailed more comprehensive edition. I think it would take a book twice the size of the current edition to do RT right. I want complete tutorials on writing scrips, using templates, using custom fields, using saved searches, etc.

Request Tracker (RT) is a great product. I am the only sysadmin at a small company, and having an automated tracking system is going to be an immense benefit for me. I bought "RT Essentials" to help me get up to speed on RT3 really quickly. And, since it was written by the programmer who's responsible for RT, the book had lots of detail and tips.

However, when it came down to implementing some of the code in the book, I found that it was already outdated. For example, I tried to set up the Autoreply template with Password by copying the code straight out of the book. It didn't work because the program codebase has changed too much since the book was released.

I was able to fix my template problem by hooking into the great RT user community, where the author contributes frequently.

All in all, I thought the book was really helpful for getting RT installed and getting me up to speed. For the nitty-gritty, I'd rely on the online wiki and great user community.

Are you an end-user, system administrator or developer who interacts with RT on an occasional or regular basis? Authors Jesse Vincent, Robert Spier, Dave Rolsky, Darren Chamberlain and Richard Foley, have written an outstanding book that is for everybody who has to use RT to manage tasks.

Vincent, Spier, Rolsky, Chamberlain and Foley, begin by providing some background about what ticketing systems are and how they can help save your job and your sanity. Then, they walk you through the process of setting up an RT server and configuring sane system defaults. The authors continue by showing you how to get up and running with RT's web interface. In addition, they explain how to interact with RT from your shell or console window. The authors also step you through the basics of turning a virgin RT server into a useful tool for tracking what you need to do inside your organization. Then, the authors show you how to extend RT's standard behavior with custom business logic. Next, they provide a look inside the RT configuration at Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems, a nonexistent company that makes heavy use of RT to manage their internal processes. Next, the authors walk you through RT's files on disk; as well as, the details of its database tables. Then, they describe how DBIx::SearchBuilder works. Finally, they show you how to set up a local sandbox for modifying and extending RT without putting your production server in harm's way.

This excellent book will be considerably more useful to you if you have at least a basic understanding of the Unix command line. Above all, this book will be very useful to you if you also have a basic understanding of Unix systems administration skills, and at least a little bit of experience programming in Perl.

We've been using RT for several years. As one happy customer mentions at Best Practical's site, managing a project or service driven organization without RT is like watching TV without a TiVo. The software is powerful, flexible, and above all, adaptable to many styles of management for more than just technology projects. No question, the software gets 5 stars.

This book, however, is largely a reorganization of the information provided with the software. If you prefer to read printed materials instead of PDFs or HTML, this book will save you money on printer paper. But if you're looking for best practices, recipies, or enhancements such as those you'll find in the RT Wiki, you may be disappointed. In fact, for most of the advanced capabilities, you are referred by the book to other resources. The book does contain the occasional nugget, such as a half dozen lines of code to truly delete a ticket and related data. With some searching, you'd be able to find those, and better, at the RT Wiki, such as the particuarly valuable contributions from the University of Oslo (do an A9 search for "RT prosjektgruppen").

Compared to most O'Reilly books which set the bar for excellence, this one is merely average. However, I do recommend this book as an introduction for those considering whether it's worthwhile to move to RT from some other enterprise ticketing system, and for techs to give to managers who are more comfortable with hard copies than electronic documents. For any RT admin, it's certainly worthwhile to have documentation printed and organized in an easy reference, considering how much you've saved on the excellent software itself.

A good composite of what has already been recorded. Well written, easy to read book is all that can be expected due to the dearth of information on the man most of his contemporaries said was their greatest chief.

Too bad he got lost in the history pages....we need to keep his legend alive.

Having followed anthropology and sociology in college, I appreciate the intermingling of fact, ethnology, and oral tradition interwoven throughout this latest biography of Victorio. And would easily recommend this book to other readers.

That said, the book I still prefer is Dan L. Thrapp's 1974 monumental study. Here's a few thoughts why:

In many chapters of this newer book, Victorio's existence is relegated to the background, while in the forefront general, traditional Apache history and culture are recited. In doing this oft times the author seems to use words such as "may be", "may have", or "undoubtedly" in place of concrete historical fact. Since a paucity of fact admittedly exists for much of Victorio's life, any sidestep from fact could reasonably lead directly to errors resulting in misleading conclusions. With Victorio being such an atypical Apache warrior it cannot necessarily be stated, removed from known fact, just what his early life would have been like. And sadly many facts of Victorio's daily, early life just are not available.

If Victorio, for example, similar to Crazy Horse of the Oglala Lakota, was not the 'normal' Apache, then his entire life, as true with Crazy Horse as well, probably defied in many ways rather than conformed to the Apache cultural norm. As in the case of Loco, which the author sites, a warrior could exhibit at times deviate behavior rather than the Apache cultural norm and not only get away with it, but at times be admired or feared because of it.

As such the application of the words "may be", "may have", or "undoubtedly", simply may fall far short when attempting to link Victorio's behavior to other Apache children or warriors. We just do not know the exact details constituting the early life of Victorio, much less many details of his later life. Although the Apache have an oral tradition as examined by Eve Ball and others, that tradition much of the time does not help us on our fact finding quest.

Though I enjoy Dan L. Thrapp's scholarly works, I find no reason not to recommend this book to others. However, my reading taste runs rather to a more military approach to biography as contained in Dan L. Thrapp's works. His book on Victorio is also more voluminous in pages and maps, and offers several more photographs to bolster the text.

And though this author understandably feels her recent book the superior work, I cannot agree. While most excellent, her newer biography does not, in this reader's opinion, surpass Dan L. Thrapp's earlier, elegant time-honored work.

However, reading both of these studies on Victorio can only aid our understanding of this very remarkable person of history.

Semper Fi.

I received this book for Christmas. "Victorio"; Apache Warrior and Chief by Kathleen P. Chamberlain helped to bring out the spirit of an Apache Warrior too long forgotten in the dust of time for the more famous contemporaries such as; Cochise, and Geronimo. Victorio has always been under-played and unappreciated (much like Mangus Colorado),but who... in reality embodies the "classical" aura of the Apache warrior.

Ms. Chamberlain does a good job of interweaving the historical facts and traditional Apache lifestyles as cohesive material in bonding what little written records remain of this truly magnificiant Apache who kept both the U.S. and Mexican armies at bay for such a long time. With a few rifles, bows and arrows, and pure determination, Victorio and his band of renagades proved to be one of histories best guerilla fighitng units.

I did however, at times find the book somewhat slow and tedious in places. There were sections that became somewhat "text-bookish" in nature. However, these parts became quickly overridden each time Victorio decided to saddle up and "jump the reservation!"

So; if you enjoy history, if you like stories, and you appreciate real men (or real women), who died for a real cause....read this book!

Apache chief Victorio was a champion of his people during wars with the whites, but is much lesser known than his contemporaries Cochise and Geronimo. That's why college-level collections strong in Native American studies needs Victorio: Apache Warrior and Chief: it uses ethnographic sources to surmise Victorio's life, integrating insights into traditional Apache lifestyles and culture along the way, and revealing his life beyond the usual military records. It's an important survey of a spiritual and military leader and is a recommended top pick for any collection strong in Native history and culture.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

A good story for young readers. An great bood to use to introduction classification and characteristics used to classify.

This simple little book will provide hours of entertainment to any child who has a mom or grandmother with a botton collection. As children, my sister and I would spend countless hours sorting my mothers botton collection. Believe it or not - buttons are fun! This book is the perfect compliment to any botton collection.

I use this book for grades 3-5, reading the story first, then showing them my button collection. Each child chooses a button and writes a story. It is amazing to me how a small button can "spark" a story but it works! And I give this book a lot of credit for creating enthusiasm for doing so.

I am a First grade teacher and this book compliments my Math series at school beautifully! I am currently using the "Investigations" program in Math, and this book really allows for the children to see the different kinds of buttons and how the little boy sorts them. This book is a good introduction to any lesson about sorting!

I use this book for Kindergarten story time and, as always, try to find a way to help them see a relationship between the story and their lives. Sorting by colors and sizes is something they enjoy, and they are thrilled when I bring out a REAL button box for them to poke through. The artwork in this book is well done and shows the wide variety of buttons students might see; I thought having Girl Scout uniform buttons was a nice touch. "Cute as a button" (which I print on bookmarks for them) is a phrase we hear often over then next few months, and everytime someone finds a button they bring it straight to me. This book is an excellent reminder to students about finding joy in everyday things.
P.S. I also set out Taback's "Joseph Had A Little Overcoat" which has buttons on the back cover.