United States Books

Plans for our two-week road trip to the National Parks of southern Utah were rather chaotic -- lots of bits and pieces from several guidebooks were difficult to organize. But, thanks to Laurent Martres' book, I think we now have a much better chance of being in the right place at the right time to truly enjoy the sights. The photographic illustrations are really magnificent.

I loved this book...however. On a trip to Moab 3 wks ago I hiked to the location of False Kiva as described in the book and originally described by Tom Till. It was a very windy, gusty day with gusts over 45 mph. I nearly pulled a Thelma & Louise without the T-Bird under me. With the wind and final assault up the slickstone, death was brought into the equation & I aborted. Also, I got lost for an hour and everything I owned was coated in sand. Avoid this recommendation when there is even a hint of wind. This advice comes from someone with 55 missions over North Viet Nam.

I already own the 1th Edition and used it extensively to find rare to be seen places in the Southwest. I am German and visit the Southwest once or twice a year and found this book to be invaluable. Easy to follow directions, great images, good advice. You don't need any other guide to see all the best places (which no one else finds).

One of several books by this author and I think that the information here will be very helpful in getting great photos on vacation. The biggest problem in getting a good photo is the location. Having a starting point is invaluable and then the only variable is the weather. Having photos in the book to illustrate the locations is a major plus.

If you're planning a tour of the American Southwest these brilliant books are simply the best possible guide to what to photograph, and how. In three volumes Martrès guides you to all the photographic highlights of Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. At the well known tourist spots he tells you what and when to shoot for best results, but he's also not afraid to take you off the beaten path to some less frequently visited scenic gems.

I've just completed a photographic holiday following roughly the traditional "grand circle" route, and I couldn't have got some of my most successful shots without these books.

The author provides consistent, detailed instructions for each location, including guidance on lenses and timing. Sometimes he even tells you which rock to stand on! Follow his instructions carefully, and you'll usually get good results, although some instructions require careful interpretation.

It's also great fun shouting "snap!" when you realise the only other souls in some lonely location are also clutching a copy of the same book.

All three volumes have recently been updated, with high quality colour photos throughout, and a comprehensive index of locations including ratings for accessibility and scenic and photographic value, invaluable if a tight schedule means making difficult choices.

I'm already planning my next trip using volume 3! Highly recommended.

A friend maintains that "very few conspiracies don't get found out".. this is definitely true in this case, but how many other experiments have been done on children, perhaps wards of the state in numerous states using private agencies subcontracting with state child care agencies that we might never hear about?

Of particular interest is the Fernald school chapter, where MIT researchers befriended vulnerable kids and traded "friendship" and "caring" for doses of irradiated milk the kids were made to drink without their knowledge or consent in Massachusetts.

This book was completely amazing.

First, you want to be appalled {as well you should} with the amount and type of experiments that were carried out {radioactive cocktails for pregnant women!!}. How could anyone do this to another person??

Then, you think of the people in your own life who have gotten bone marrow transplants, or radiation treatment for cancer. It gets harder to hold the original doctors as evil monsters. Don't misunderstand me - informed consent is a must. How do you inform them of outcomes that are absolutely unknown - how do you start to know?

I thought a lot about this book as I read it, and continue to think about it now that I'm done. I'm sure there must be a middle ground between what they did, and what needed to be done. It is riveting and amazing.

The release of Eileen Welsome's book "THE PLUTONIUM FILES- America's Secret Medical Experiments in the Cold War" in paperback will hopefully make this important book more accessible to the general public.

Detailing the effort of the US government to test the effects of Plutonium and other radioactive substances on people, the book outlines first the creation and evolution of the nuclear program that created the need for such testing, and then the US government's attempt to conduct such testing on its own citizens without their knowledge or informed consent. On strictly a superficial level there is much here which will attract the "x-files" crowd: Super-secret installations, eccentric scientists and far-fetched experiments on unsuspecting citizens. The kind of information that makes conspiracy theorists sit back from their computers in darkened little rooms, pump their fist in the air and utter that now-hackneyed phrase: "The truth is out there"

Fortunately for the reader, Welsome assiduously avoids such sensationalism and instead draws a largely compassionate picture of the US government's program and of the people who perpetrated it and who participated in it. Welsome's well structured and organized account of the growth of the plutonium testing programs involving critically ill persons across America during the Cold War years teems with information and insight, yet it manages to treat victim and perpetrator alike with a measure of respect and empathy that places this book well above the level of the standard "Shocking Expose". To her great credit Welsome goes beyond merely packaging the results of her extensive research and alarming discoveries in a "tell-all" book.

Certainly, THE PLUTONIUM FILES introduces information which, by its nature is bound to shock and disturb many, but the book also addresses the too-often forgotten issue of context: Was what happened acceptable by the standards of the time in which it occurred? In addressing this question Welsome probes more deeply into her subject, examining the duality, the moral dichotomy, inherent in the decision to implement this program. In a time when the world was still dealing with the results of a devastating world war and the possibility of another seemed likely the need for answers had an immediacy which could be ignored only at the world's peril. Hard decisions had to be made and extraordinary measures taken; Welsome is clearly cognizant of this as she assess each program and as she examines and balances the need against the action and its end result, the author treats the reader to some of her best analysis.

The Plutonium Files- America's Secret Medical Experiments in the Cold War is certainly an important book; one which adds a significant chapter to the recorded history of the growth of atomic science. Despite its scientific topic and exhaustive sourcing the books narrative is direct and engaging, its organization straightforward and its conclusions informed and objective. A book that is well worth its price, Welsome's book would be a great Christmas present for everyone from an avid historian to the omni-present x-files fan; who will find much in here to confirm their most exotic fears. Overall an excellent book for which the author has received two much deserved awards.

This book has been haunting me since I finished it almost a year ago. How could we justify human experimentation? In the name of national security in the time of war? In the name of national pride in the age of nuclear arm race? Or, simply for the sake of personal career advancement? The answer is: WE CANNOT. What strikes me is that some of the scientists in question were building their career and reputation by conducting these secret experimentation. They were enjoying their fame and success while their victims and many generations after (if the victims still managed to have children) continued to suffer. What disgusts me the most is that even in the final moment of their life some of these scientists still denied any wrong-doing. When I read to that part, my heart ached and I could not hold back my tears, for I was a scientist too. Now a year later, I am still haunted by those stories. But more so I have come to realize a new question: If those experiments were done on other animals instead of human, would the book still raised the same controversy and interest?

This book is scary to say the least. It is well researched and details what is a practice probably still going on today in experiements we do not know about. I was particularly troubled by the Fernald school, where unwanted kids were befriended by MIT researchers who took them on trips and gave them presents in return for the kids drinking radioactive milkshakes. Was some of this done to generate data for use in bringing the first commercial microwave to market by Raytheon?

I was a guinea pig of sorts growing up in state child care and years later was confronted in an interview with what i suspect was a NSA employee as to whether i knew what " a controlled experiment is". As a young child, a former Pentagon official befriended me and tracked me,keeping files for research purposes over a 20+ year period.

Whitey Bulger is alleged to have been a participant in the MK Ultra experiments involving LSD.

I strongly recommend this and Jonathan Harr's "A Civil Action" to anyone!

woderfull,Rabbi Chefitz is a wonderfull story teller and this novel is profaund ,really enjoy it!

The fictional rabbi at the center of this novel is a thoroughly modern mystic who is all too aware that some lessons can be dangerous if the teacher doesn't meet the student where he/she stands. Goldberg's "Bee Season" suggested that mystical strains of Judaism could propel American fiction; Chefitz's "Seventh Telling" proves that American fiction can teach mystical Judaism. "The Seventh Telling" is the more ambitious and more successful of the two novels. It is the best book I've read this year and the only book for which I've ever been moved to offer a testimonial.

This is a powerful,beautifully written novel that has the ability to speak to the reader in many different ways. The first time I read it was for pleasure and I could not put it down. I literally finished the last page and went back to the first page to read it again. Each reading has given me a different level of understanding and I am sure that when I read it again I will learn on still another level. What a rarity for Kabballah to be made so accessible and what a surprise to have it in the form of a very readable novel. You will be swept up in the lives of the characters and captivated by the stories. I am looking forward to the sequel that is due out next year!

I don't know why this book called my name as I chanced upon it at a bookstore. But, it did. I picked it up, began reading, read at every opportunity, ordered the sequel before I was finished, moved right on to the sequel, and am now re-reading the first book. I even e-mailed Mitchell Chefitz (he answered my e-mail, by the way). I hardly recognize myself.

This book is transformative. It took this hard-headed realist into the nature of mysticism, slowly, evenly and intelligently. (I think the ancient kabbalists were on to quantum mechanics well before the 20th century physicists were.) It can be read on so many levels that there is something in it for everybody.

It changed my view of death. Read it.

Certain books call to me. Most books I won't buy until I've read and analyzed all the reviews on Amazon, but this book I picked up in a bookstore, read til the store closed, and then at every opportunity until I finished it. The narrative is real enough to be believable, but strongly tinged with the mystical, and works at many different levels. The telling of stories to teach and heal is an art and science, and Mitch Chefitz has mastered both ends of the spectrum with this extraordinary work.

have a problem with using words like "brilliant", "masterful" and "intelligent." But willing apply all words to this brilliant book, masterfully research and intelligently told.

The author gives a very full and complete treatise on Brown versus the Board of Education, but of greater interest, he writes of all the history that lead up to the ruling.

An exceptional book chronicling an extremely important issue in our country's history.

This is certainly the best book ever written -- the best book that ever will be written -- about race, law and American society. It is a remarkably insightful history and one of the most stunning existing examples of narrative journalism. It is a masterpiece.

I'm a fan of nonfiction works and this easily moved to my top 5 favorite books. When I was growing up there were no courses on the contributions blacks made to America. There was no black history month. And I was cheated. I'm a 50+ white woman who lived through desegregation and had no clue that it was a struggle. I honestly don't remember a time when my elementary classes were all white but they must have been. I do remember clearly when my elementary class stopped being all white. That was when Richard Harris became my Batman buddy. On the aftenoons following the show we would go to the neighborhood soda shop and have a coke and discuss all the action of the previous evening's show and check for new Batman bubble gum cards with the intensity that only 5th graders can bring to such an important endeavor. It felt normal to chat Batman with Richard; and I'm so sorry for all the children that had such a dumb practice as segregation rob them of those moments.

This book read like a thiriller for me. Couldn't put it down. Underlined and highlighted parts. Read other sections out loud to my husband and to some friends at work. This is American history. Everyone should have the opportunity to learn about the value of education, the value of varied experiences and the perseverance to acquire the rights that should never have been denied to the black people. It's made me hungry to know more and I'll be keeping my eye out for other works by Kluger. Excellent author.

I just finished this book, A Simple Justice, and it is fantastic. It's the story of Brown vs. The Board of Education of Topeka, which is the landmark Supreme Court case that desegregated compulsory public schools in America. But it's so much more than that. After reading this book, I felt almost ashamed of my previous ignorance to the struggles and condition of black america at the hands of almost everyone else in the country. It is comprehensive in its scope and perspicacious in its analysis, sparing no feelings on either (or rather, any) side. I believe myself to be, for the most part, a judicious man when it comes to philosophical or sociological observations, but Kluger was able to open my eyes to angles I had previously missed on issues I thought I had resolved long ago. So if you're not too scared of big books, this one's worth the time.

Long a mainstay of every 1L's pre-law school summer reading list, SIMPLE JUSTICE is more than a retelling of the tortured history of the landmark cases now known collectively as Brown v. Board of Ed. It is more than a retelling of the agonizing struggles of both gifted and ordinary people---black and white and every other---to reverse the four centuries of racial disparagement that make up the ugliest of all underpinnings of the American Experiment. What SIMPLE JUSTICE is, is an exhaustive sociological history of race relations in the United States to the 1950s.

It is a book every American should read. The endemic quality of racism in the American psyche is so overwhelming that it is easy to lose the human element. SIMPLE JUSTICE restores that element with sensitive, intelligent writing, exhaustive and documented research, and a tone which is pitch perfect, strident when need be, reasoned and thoughtful throughout. Ultimately optimistic, SIMPLE JUSTICE will renew your belief in the American system even while tempering it.

In it's retelling of nightmarish incident after nightmarish incident (the explosive and hideous lynchings are often easier to understand than the equally hideous and more subtle segregation and caricaturing that endured for, it seems, ever), SIMPLE JUSTICE shows us an America riven by its view of itself as a noble nation being eaten by the canker in its soul.

Although many Americans now consider race discrimination passe, it is not so hard to see the continuation of a pattern of violence toward blacks and the denigration of the black experience, even today. And yet, there is more, for not only are Black Americans denigrated, but White Americans as well, both suffering because this nation is only a fraction of what it might othewise be.

SIMPLE JUSTICE is a crucial Civics lesson. Read it to learn. Read it to know. Read it. Read it again.

I loved loved this book....I checked it out at our local library and read it cover to cover in two days...Thats a record for me...I love that this woman took a sensible approach to her weight loss and over a course of 4 years, took the weight off. I find it frustrating when all the books tell of 100+ weight loss in a matter of 10-12 months...It made me feel lazy and inadequate to have lost 60 in a year...but not anymore having read this book. So many of the things she went thru I can relate to and know that there is light at the end of the tunnel gives me so much added motivation to keep doing what I am doing and it will pay off...It has already...Definately a book to read over and over again:)

This is a wonderful book showing some ups and more downs of the scale. This woman shows by example in her experience that if we don't follow a food regiment 100% you can still attain your goal of loosing weight. It is really refreshing to read that you can make a goal even when you slip away from it now and then, but you have to not give up. A good read hard to put down.

I bought this book on Saturday and finished it on Tuesday. I could hardly put it down. I also weigh what Sandra did and then some. This book was really motivating and I saw so much of myself in it so I could relate to it. It really gives me hope and shows me I am normal. I have been going to T.O.P.S. since April 2001 and have lost over 30 pounds and began backsliding. Now I see that may happen from time to time and I just need to stay motivated. Thank you for this book.I am a 37 yr. old widow with 2 children and really need to stay on track to be here for them and I think this book will help me.

I enjoyed the spirit with which this book was written. By the time I finished I felt as though I knew Sandra and her wonderful supportive family. I was cheering her on throughout the book. Not only did she lose weight for herself but she chose this time to help others and start up aerobic classes for women who feel left out at most health clubs. Her relationship with Richard Simmons made me smile. They had such mutual respect. It is wonderful that she accomplished what she did, helped others and at the same time wrote an enjoyable uplifting book.

In particular I liked the way she did not hold back her feelings or her problems. She tells it "like it is". I recommend this book even if weight loss is not the goal. She puts a positive spin on other things as well.

Not only is this book the bargain of the year, but it is literally the best diet book ever written. This lady tells her story from the beginning to what is going on today. It is like reading her diary. There are no gaps to the story-which I really appreciated. She tells you every step she took to lose the weight including what exercise she did along the way. She also tells you how your family and friends will react to your weight loss. For anyone who wants a "Step by Step" account of how a friend lost her weight, this is a "must" read. After reading Sandra's book, you feel like you are her friend. Very inspiring with an honest approach to weight loss. I can't say enough about this book!!

If you are interested in and fairly familiar with New Jersey politics and politicians this is a reasonably entertaining and informative book. It's no page-turner, but not bad.

Even if you live a continent away in Washington state, "The Soprano State" will amuse, educate and yes, horrify you. Authors Bob Ingle and Sandy McClure have put together an appalling catalog of the "worst of the worst" New Jersey politicians and public servants and their most outrageous shenanigans.
As the authors note, "why should such a wealth of lunacy and depravity" be enjoyed only by New Jersey? My personal favorite, in a chapter titled "All Aboard the Gravy Train," is an anecdote about how sometimes "the legislative gravy train delivers real gravy." In that case, New Jersey taxpayers coughed up $124,000 over three years to purchase 300 lunches each day the Legislature was in session to feed 80 members of the assembly, 40 senators _ and lobbyists. The lunches were trucked in from a well-connected restaurant 57 miles away!
¶ It's tempting for us outsiders to feel smug, but there's also a nagging worry: what if our politicians are just less obviously outrageous, and our reporters more lapdog and less pit bull?
¶ Beyond the entertainment value, this book is a cautionary tale, reminding us that citizens anywhere can be fleeced by those we elect.
¶

Reads easy and smooth like good fiction. 5 stars plus one. I must say though that only God himself really knows the depth of this modern day corruption that seems to permeate this most heavily populated State. The authors did a swell job expounding on the alleged conditions in NJ. I've known people from NJ and at least some of the subject matter in this book corroborates their stories. I myself have visited NJ before and I found that it had many desirable attributes, like the Jersey Shore for instance. Conversely, I don't have any doubts whatsoever why anyone would desire to move out of this beautiful State due to the preposterous school taxes and the high cost of housing. Could it be that the developers pay off politicians to skirt environmental and building moratorium laws? I don't believe everything in the printed form but this book, along with others, points to the "signs of the times" so to speak. This book was worth the price and the time expended to digest the information given. Where the population is multiplied, so too the corruption it seems. The most interesting and prominent feature in this book was the Public Sector accounts which point to the lack of accountability. Is this book a clarion call for better checks and balances? Read for yourself and make your own assessment. By and large, the funniest part was chapter 8: "The Gospel According to the Mob." In closing I must say that truly there is nothing hidden that will not be made manifest eventually.Lethal Option: A "Simon Says" Detective AdventureThe Den of IniquityThe Partner

As a former kid from New Jersey I purchased the book as
somewhat of a lark. After devouring the material it was
no longer a lark. The pathetic corruption is so clearly
detailed and documented it makes your head spin.The New Jersey I left in 1974 had an outstanding public school system which has been decimated by the lads in Trenton,
draining resources from small school districts and pumping
those funds into inner-city enviroments. No measurable
improvement is to be found. the State is bankrupt,under-
funded pensions and corrupt at every level of government.
If you live in NJ you have to read this.Then start packing

This book should be called, "The Corruption State," which is a better title, since New Jersey is one of three in our country that's known for corruption from the top all the way down to the smallest town. If you can dream up a way to squeeze money out of a taxpayer, then you can be in NJ politics. They are professionals here and have perfected the art of stealing from your wallet.

After this book was published, they came out with two more ways to take money out of our wallets: They want to charge us $.10 for a deposit on every can and bottle that can be recycled IN SPITE OF US ALREADY RECYCLING! So...if you want your dime back, YOU have to take it to a redemption center to get your dime back.

The next new tax (they call it a "user fee") is they want to add $.40 per 1,000 gallons of water onto our water bill. Call it what it really is: a tax.

This book was at times so funny it was infuriating, so maddening it made you furious, so ridiculous it drove you insane, yet us as residents here are powerless to do much about it as long as these jerks run this state. The endless pay-to-play, patronage, favoritism jobs in Trenton (the state capital) and beyond will continue as long as there is a New Jersey. Even if you vote, they will still continue to run this state using the newly elected as their puppets. It's been done before.

We are NOT in debt; not if Atlantic City gave Trenton $468 MILLION dollars in 2007! This is just one example. It's the wasteful spending, it's the three, four and five jobs one person holds PLUS their pensions and benefits that's draining our state's treasury and the cronies who run this state allow all this! Why? Because they're part of it, they receive it as well and they make damn sure that their family members and friends are also on the dole as well so everyone has a piece of the action.

Excellent book. My only regret is that I can't move out of my home state (NJ) sooner than I want to! What a shame...I grew up here, I love the area, but I can't afford to live here anymore, not when the pickpockets control this state and it's never going to change, even with Christopher Christie doing his best to root out the corruption.

"Space Shuttle: The History of the National Space Transportation System. The First 100 Missions." Long title. Big book. Loads of detail. A treasure for shuttle geeks like me.
This book is packed with mission details and hundreds of rare photographs. One shows a close up of one of the struts that holds the shuttle onto it's 747 carrier. On it are stenciled the words: "PLACE ORBITER HERE. BLACK SIDE DOWN. LEFTY LOOSEY, RIGHTY TIGHTY." Where else are you going to find things like that? It's all here. Pictures, histories, charts, and diagrams. Like the missions chronicled inside, this reasonably-priced book will take some time to analyze and review again and again so you can catch all the details.

I bought this book as a keepsake, but have found it very informative. Shuttle workers and space enthusiasts alike will enjoy this book.

If you want to know more about the developmental history of the Shuttle program, Jenkins' book is for you. Within the books pages there can be found a wealth of information going back to the early 1940s and stopping in the year 2000 with the launch of the 100th shuttle mission. With the conclusion of the program in 2010, I am looking forward to the 4th edition (if one is on the horizon).

gave this book as a gift, there appears to be a lot of information with a lot of pictures.

This is the 3rd Edition, by Dennis Jenkins, which covers the first 100 missions.

This is one of the most, if not the most, comprehensive work on the background, concepts, and evolution that led to our Space Shuttle, for the non-technical reader. I purchased it because whenever I looked up winged spacecraft on the Encyclopedia Astronautica website (itself a marvel of space history; even National Geographic was referred to that site by NASA!), this book was cited as a reference. It has provided me with weeks of enjoyable reading since Christmas, and I'm still not finished with it! Highly illustrated. It will be one of the primary references in my space library for years to come. Hopefully Mr. Jenkins will produce a 4th edition after 2010, after the Shuttle retires, which will cover the Columbia disaster, and the final history of the Space Shuttle. My highest recommendation!

This is a good example of a start up and how much work is involved. By highlighting the ups and downs, it paints the real picture of a start-up, not just the glam.

If you wanted to read a definitive true story about pre dotcom, bubble and post bubble trials and tribulations, this is the one, sinc eat the end they built a solid profitable company. I chuckled at all the characters that McVickers met with the language that was used when reason left the industry to be totally replaced/driven by greed. . For those of us lucky enough to enjoy that whole wild ride, this book brings it all back. The start-up struggles and financing on debt. Placing bets on directions with your own well being/family. The people are all there, reluctant angels, greedy guys, lazy guys, arrogant amd humble types, disaster hires, reluctant hires wanting a big piece of the action, VCs, investment bankers, handlers, hold-up artists, PR pros, Barney deal makers, aggressive Competitive cos and their VCs, Take no prisoners sales guys/CEOs. This is all played out from the point of view of a fairly humble technical guy who just wanted to do something good. And the money stories, they all were happening. This is well written, easy to follow and a good pleasurable read. If you are in start-up and looking for something big, read this one!

This book covers many aspects of the entrepreneurial process. Written in a journal-style, the book takes on more the form of a dramatic novel, covering the growth of McVicker's company, Neoforma, from their beginnings as a poor internet start-up, all the way to their IPO. McVicker navigates through the convoluted process of starting this business, and provides a tremendous amount of insight into his experiences. The names in the book take on life as McVicker describes them interacting in the start-up process. Well written and packed with information, this is a good read for anyone interested in starting their own business.

Starting Something captures the rocket ride to IPO in a truly remarkable way that makes the reader feel he's riding co-pilot. I found the discussion about their venture investor, Venrock Associates, to be of particular interest because it appears that "Bret," the Venrock Partner, was given additional equity in Neoforma after Venrock's investment (pp. 308-310). The problem with this kind of thing is that Bret works for the limited and general partners of the firm, not himself, and he took equity right out of their pockets.

Is there any way to justify Bret's actions here? Please, tell me that I'm missing something here.

I fully admire the guts it took for Wayne to start a business, I fully admire the hard work he and his employees put in, and I fully admire his candor, since there was a lot in his book that deserved to be told, especially on the company-investor relationship side. But I couldn't help noticing that whenever he spoke glowingly of the company's progress and achievements, he measured them in terms of employee growth and fundraising stats, rather than REVENUE or PROFIT.

Here's why:

1999 - $1 million revenue, operating loss of $51 million
2000 - $10 million revenue, operating loss of $219 million
2001 - $3 million revenue, operating loss of $273 million
2002 - $4 million revenue, operating loss of $81 million
2003 - $11 million revenue, operating loss of $65 million
2004 - $13 million revenue, operating loss of $62 million
2005 - revenues finally started growing for real, because they bought some with their own stock, and then were acquired by another company end of 2005/beginning of 2006

Total for the six full years:

Revenue = $42 million
Losses = $751 million

That basically means the company spent $793 million in order to get $42 million of revenue. Think about those numbers for a second. If you're providing a service, and people are paying you 5 cents for every dollar you spend, well, maybe that's not such a great business to be in.

This book's an engaging and well-written chronicle of one of the shining examples of bubble era craziness. I'm not at all downplaying the truth or value in the general lessons, in the growing pains & emotional reversals of fortune Wayne goes through, and I'm not trying to pin the blame on him for all the missteps. I just hope that aspiring entrepreneurs who read this book balance it out with one on a business that worked, because there are a lot of those that make for interesting reading too, and luck isn't the only thing that distinguishes their trajectory from this one.

Great read for people who love to travel (and eat) off the beaten path. Probably should add that it's often from a female point of view. Loved the recipes.

Linda Ellerbee is a little older than me but I can still relate to her view on the world. In her book, her experiences take us to far away places where she meets fascinating people. She tells of her time in Greece where while she lives as a local for a month, British tourists experience Santorini from the seat of a tour bus. I will never travel as a tourist again. Yet, she remembers to bring these experiences home - linking them with her past and present. Her "take the bull by the horns" approach to life and travel may not be for everyone, but it sure has inspired me to look at life a little differently - make things happen, don't wait for it to happen.

Linda writes just the way she speaks and when you read this you feel like she's talking directly to you. This is a book that you never want to end. It's a memoir about travel and food and friends and lovers and misadventures - and she has done it all.
Most of the time she travels alone - she prefers that so she's forced to talk to the people where she's visiting. Occasionally she goes with a family member or friend to revisit a place from their past. She's been to some places that you've never heard of but want to go to after she describes it. Linda says that `our travels are not always the voyages of discovery we say we seek, but rituals of reassurance.' What fun!
When Linda gets together with her girlfriends, she reminds us that to women girlfriends are not a luxury they are a healthy necessity. They sit around and talk-talk-talk and even though they are now women, they feel like a girls again. And her holidays will remind you of your own and others when she describes how despite tradition, love, hope, passing time and sweet memories the holidays will always be messy.
She tells us about becoming a grandmother and says she will be available, understanding, and weird - because as a mother she was mostly weird. She plans to take her grandchildren places and show them things and give them wings. We all wish we had a mother/grandmother like that. I especially related when she talked about giving her children cookie dough to eat. My girls still keep a roll of cookie dough in the refrigerator for emergency sugar fixes.
And the food - she makes it part of every story and it all sounds so good. She even provides you with recipes.
One delightful thing she tells us (and she tells us quite a lot) is that `sometimes in life, if you're lucky, you are where you most want to be at that moment'. And wouldn't we all like to do that at least once.

[...].

Ellerbee creates in words the literary equivalent of the best dinner, the best trip, and the best dessert you ever had. Whether heartwarming or heartbreaking, her adventures around the world making strangers into friends (and meeting herself in the process) are truly memorable. She makes you long to break out of the tedium of your own life and discover the world as she has. A delight.

Ellerbee writes just the way she speaks, and when you read Take Big Bites, you feel like she's talking directly to you. This is a book that you never want to end. It's a memoir about travel and food and friends and lovers and misadventures. She has done it all. Most of the time, she travels alone. She prefers that so she's forced to talk to the people where she's visiting. Occasionally, she goes with a family member or friend to revisit a place from their past. She's been to some places that you've never heard of but want to go to after she describes them.

"Our travels are not always the voyages of discovery we say we seek, but rituals of reassurance," she writes. What fun!

When Ellerbee gets together with her friends, she reminds us that, to women, girlfriends are not a luxury, they are a healthy necessity. They sit around and talk-talk-talk, and even though they are now women, they feel like girls again.

Her holidays will remind you of your own and others when she describes how despite tradition, love, hope, passing time and sweet memories, the holidays will always be messy.

She tells us about becoming a grandmother and says she will be available, understanding, and weird because as a mother she was mostly weird. She plans to take her grandchildren places and show them things and give them wings. We all wish we had a mother/grandmother like that. I especially related when she talked about giving her children cookie dough to eat. My girls still keep a roll of cookie dough in the refrigerator for emergency sugar fixes. And the food... She makes it part of every story, and it all sounds so good. She even provides recipes.

One delightful thing the author tells us (and she tells us quite a lot) is that, "Sometimes in life, if you're lucky, you are where you most want to be at that moment." And wouldn't we all like to do that at least once.

by Doris Anne Roop-Benner
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

This book is awesome! I had breast cancer over 3 years ago. Several friends tried unsuccessfully to find "good reads" to help me along my road. I found this book recently and loved it! It is an actual experience with truth, humor, and insight. I have gone to Amazon to find as many copies as I can. I want to be ready to hand someone a copy if the need arises. Be prepared to shake your head in agreement, laugh outloud, heavy sigh, and cry.

This is an incredible book. Laura Jensen Walker has beautifully and sometimes humorously, written about her breast cancer journey. I read this book in the hospital following my breast cancer surgery (3/01) and have been very inspired by Laura's writing. This is the first book I loan out to others when they are first diagnosed. I highly recommend "Thanks For The Mammogram" !!
Karen Lange, Asst. Mgr., FriendsInTouch.net (an online breast cancer support site)

"Almost everyone - whether it's your friend, neighbor, coworker, wife, mother, or sister has been touched by breast cancer. The cancer survivors I've talked to over the years say that what helped them through their ordeal was faith and often humor." ~Laura Jensen Walker

What is more healing than laughter when you are faced with a situation you can't control? Even science has shown the healing power of laughter. Cancer isn't funny, but somehow the author finds a way to heal through her own vibrant wit. Many of the chapters are rather serious until the end when she gives the punch line.

This is a book about courage, hope and humor. Laura Jensen Walker demonstrates her ability to face the challenge of cancer and fight it with faith, hope and "mild/laid back" humor.

I learned a lot about reconstruction, chemo and was amazed at how Laura's husband stood by her through the entire process.

"How to Lose Thirty Pounds in Thirty Days: The Chemo Diet Way. The original Slim-Fast liquid diet. (But not one I'd recommend.)" was an interesting chapter to be sure. This spells it all out, tells you what chemo is all about and it isn't fun especially if your nurse forgets to give you "zofran." Yes somehow Laura finds a way to appreciate the effects of rapid weight loss even when it is the result of chemo.

If you want to understand what a cancer survivor goes through, this is the book. I recently read "Knowing Stephanie" which I can also recommend for the detailed information and pictures.

The last chapter on what really matters was also quite inspirational.

You may also enjoy:

Mental-pause
Through the Rocky Road and into the Rainbow Sherbet: Hope & Laughter for Life's Hard Licks

~The Rebecca Review

I have never been diagnosed with breast cancer, but I am certain anyone facing this disease would want a copy of Laura Walker's "Thanks for the Mammogram." Mrs. Walker remarks that this book was the hardest thing she ever had to write. Like any good memoir, it takes in the uncomfortable, even embarrassing moments as well as the lighter and uplifting ones.

Walker includes a lot of detail, from procedures like reconstruction, chemotherapy right down to the day-to-day patient care and how she felt emotionally. But this is not a gruesome story--instead it is intended to help anyone else along the road to recovery. The best chapter "Where do I go from here" gives eight important points (such as taking charge of your treatment, talking to your family, dropping the Wonder Woman cape for women who do it all) and also useful addresses and a list of books.

This book is interesting reading for any woman, but if you have a loved one facing this challenge or if you are a woman who has been diagnosed with breast cancer, you should get this book. Nothing I have read comes close to this book for frankness and assistance.

Breast cancer is a big deal. Serious stuff. Many women die from it. Other women endure masectomies. Why make light of such a heavy topic? Simple: humor is healing.

Laura Jensen Walker has something to say about breast cancer. She's a survivor. She has faced this beast, and now is able to articulately help readers smile in the midst of a tough time.

In "Thanks for the Mammogram!" Jensen tells her story. Most of the book details a narrative of her diagnosis, treatment and how she survived. However, in reflecting through the most difficult of moments, she draws us in ala Erma Bombeck into candid silliness. It is as practical as it is funny.

Boldly bringing humor into a discussion of cancer marks this book as a standout among its peers. Having lost my mother to lung cancer and flipping through too many solemn tomes of pop-psychology, I read through Jensen's book refreshed. I wished my mom could've read this book. At a certain point, cancer is cancer, and anyone with any cancer would enjoy "Thanks for the Mammogram!"

Each page is a different view of her situation. For example, she spends a delightful chapter on the end of her chemo, and how she and her husband (a 'Disnoid') celebrated this landmark at Disneyland. We read of her struggle to find a decent book to read (unless Mickey Mouse's various adventures appealed to an adult woman, that is).

The chapters are in very chewable chunks--none too long.

With chapters like, "To Baldly Go Where I've Never Gone Before" (a consideration of Capt. Jean Paul-Luc Picard, Michael Jordan and other sexy baldies, she looks for the upside of a hairless head), you, like me, might find a new way of seeing what so many people go through.

She admits her fears, but pushes also the benefits of having a realistic, yet positive view of dealing with breast cancer. Jensen explains her husband's point of view in the whole matter (even letting him write a chapter, "Her Body, His Pain"). She walks the reader through the process, citing how she related to people who had or didn't have cancer.

I fully recommend "Thanks for the Mammogram!" by Laura Jensen Walker. It is a very worthy gift for those whom you love who have cancer, or know someone who does.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com