United States Books

Erica Lehman was a top spy for Nazi Germany. And, yet, she was also beautiful, womanly and passionate....

She was selected to spy on the military works located in Evansville during WWII, where the LST's were being engineered and eventually built that would enable the Brits and Americans and Canadians to attack fortress Europe in mass with massive forces and materials.

This is a beautiful story with an amazing amount of background information.

I only wish that someone such as Steven Spielberg would pick up on this book and make an action movie of it as it would be notable.

Someone reading this book and interested in history might also want to know that toward the end of WWII, the Germans got a bit of payback...there was the mass evacuation of Poland, and Eastern Germany of over 2,000,000 germans, mostly civilians, and that at least 25,000 of those were killed by Russian subs.

Over 2,000,000 German women were raped by Russian troops and the following excerpt speaks to this: "It began in mid-October 1944, when Red Army forces first broke into German East Prussia. Spurred on by the hate filled calls to violence against Germans by Soviet Jewish propagandist Ilya Ehrenburg, Red Army troops systematically plundered and murdered Germans unfortunate enough to fall into their hands. [3]

One of the first towns taken by the Soviets was Nemmersdorf, in the Gumbinnen district of East Prussia. It was only because German forces succeeded in recapturing this town a short time later that the world was able to learn how Soviet troops had set about brutally raping females of all ages, and slaughtering the old men, women and children there. The fortunate ones were shot out of hand. Many were clubbed or hacked to death. After being raped, naked women were nailed to doors in crucifix positions. In one case, a group of refugees was crushed under Soviet tanks. [4]"

"Astonishingly, only about 25,000 lives were lost in what one historian has called "the greatest evacuation operation in history," a figure that is all the more remarkable in light of the fact that by this time the remnants of the German air force were almost powerless to fend off attacks by enemy fighter planes and submarines. [5]

This record of success masks human catastrophes of almost inutterable horror -- including the three most terrible ship sinkings, in terms of lives lost, in history. The first of the great German evacuation ships to go down, the Wilhelm Gustloff, was hit by three torpedoes from Soviet submarine S-13 on the night of January 30th. It sank after 70 minutes, taking with it at least 5,700 lives, and perhaps as many as 7,000. Only about 900 could be rescued from the sub-freezing waters of the Baltic by convoy vessels. [6]"

Actually, I've read that the real loss of lives on the Gustloff was more than 9,300, that there were many civilians on board than the official list recorded because of the hurried nature of their departure.

In addition, I would certainly recommend "Hitler's Willing Executioners : Ordinary Germans and The Holocaust" which goes a long way toward showing that Hitler was amongst friends and neighbors when it came to killing their fellow jews.

Even if you aren't from Evansville, Indiana, you'd find yourself engrossed in this book. But, if you are from southern Indiana, you'll love it even more. The author has written an exciting, well researched book that tells the true story of Erika Lehman who is a German spy during WW2. She and her father are very close friends with Hitler who is fully aware of Erika's profession and is proud of her accomplishments. Her last mission brings her to America and she infiltrates the shipbuilding facility in Evansville. My heart rate didn't slow for a couple hours after finishing this book. You'll love it!

This book is hard to put down once you start. Its one of the best books I've read in a long time. What's amazing is that Operation Vinland - the story of Erika Lehmann and the Mayer family is a true story with some of the unknow details fictionalized. This is a must read!

I bought this book based on the reviews, looking for a thriller that I could really enjoy. Truth be told, put a swastika on the front of any book and I'll probably buy it...the concept of unadulterated evil in civilized western Europe fascinates me. Hard to believe it was just 65 years ago. But I digress.

Apparently, Invitation to Valhalla is not a thriller, it's a fictionalized representative of actual historical events. That explains the unevenness of the novel, where I am sure the author worked hard to get the facts straight at a cost to the plot cohesion.

But what really ticked me off was when I read one of the other books I bought through Amazon, Reign of the Rat by Gil Smolin, who gave special thanks to his friend Mike Whicker, the author of "Invitation to Valhalla." Both books, while enjoyable enough, seemed to have earned praise far beyond what they actually deliver. When great thrillers like "Day of the Jackal" and "Eye of the Needle" earn 4-1/2 stars, does this book even approach 5 stars? Heck no.

Shame on any author who encourages, or condones, his friends and family stacking the reviews in favor of his book. It's a disservice to the buying public.

Maybe I'm biased because I grew up near Evansville, Indiana, and have seen first-hand many of the landmarks that provide the setting for this book, but I found this work an absolutely pleasant surprise. I didn't have high hopes simply because the trailers made it sound like a spy novel. It's a spy novel I couldn't put down. It also dives into the thought processes and propaganda machines of Nazi Germany, enlightening the reader as to why history turned out the way it did. This is one I won't forget for a while.

This is a "pick it up, and cant put it down" book. Bold and honest in it's writing and also pays respect to the other units involved in the bastonge battle. This rates as one of the better books I have read with regard to the Bastonge battles. The freshness and clarity of the accounts shine through, having been written shortly after the battle and make this book a good read. The hand drawn maps showing company movement supports the written work well. A must read. 5 stars. I will be reading more of Don's work

This is the best of the 4 books that Burgett wrote (and all are excellent). This book does a fantastic job of summarizing just how outnumbered, outgunned, under-supplied, and exhausted the 101st was at Bastogne. After reading this book, I've got a new interest in the Bulge and will be buying more books on the subject.

This is an excellent book, the kind you can devour in an night or a few days. I agree with the other reviewer that this book would be worth of 6 stars.

all four of his books are great first person accounts of his military service as a WW2 paratrooper.a very easy read.

This third of Burgett's four books about his experiences in the 101st Airborne during World War II reveals a young man (19 at the time) at what could be easily seen as his finest (or worst) hours. The author gives this book an intense personal touch that is missing in many accounts of this unit during its defense of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. Burgett takes the reader into the hell he lived through, vividly describing the shortages of basic military necessities such as weapons and ammunition, the incredible struggle for Noville in the early days of the battle and the withdrawal back to the main lines, and the difficulties of being ready to fight after coping with the harsh winter of the Ardennes and the lack of sleep, food, and water.

But what really comes through most clearly in this account is death. Burgett sees much of it in just a few weeks. He sees close friends (the "old men" of his company) and replacements die in what seems to be a random pattern. He takes the lives of German troops without a shred of remorse, yet almost shoots a fellow paratrooper who shot a prisoner of war.

Burgett does not portray himself as a hero--only as a man doing his job. He was very good (and I would also say lucky) at what he did. His story is not the nice neat narrative found in many accounts of the Bulge. It is dark, chilling, and brutal. It makes one wonder what men like him endured--both during the war and the many years since. I highly recommend it and the others volumes about his time in the 101st.

Donald Burgett gives a great view of WWII through the eyes of a 101st airborne paratrooper.

This book doesn't waste time. It picks up on the morning of the disaster when foolish decisions are made one after another, and ends at the very last trial of the villains. In between, the pace is quick and the disaster is described fully without being ghoulishly heavy on gore. The most memorable and heartbreaking parts of the book are in the descriptions of what happened AFTER the fire: the discovery that the children whose hands you were just holding had vanished; the hopeful trips through the hospitals, the inevitable multiple trips to the morgue, and the realization that most of the missing had vanished forever and would never be found. The impact of going to school and seeing that a third of the chairs were now empty. The people who went insane with grief after losing entire families. The couple who had to walk to the cemetery with their baby's coffin under their arm like a package for the post because the undertakers were overwhelmed and overbooked with hundreds of funerals taking place that week, and the next, and the next.

For all its excellence, though, I have two criticisms. One is that too many victims were singled out at the beginning of the book without being "refreshed" later on during the description of the disaster. Did the girl who sneaked onto the boat without telling her mother survive? How about the girl who received an extra ticket at the last moment from a shopkeeper? You have to go back and find it again, which isn't easy since there's no index and I'll bet you won't remember their names.

The second criticism is that the author inserts paragraphs of coolly-written modern psychology and science into dramatic descriptions of events, which is jarring because it tends to break up the narrative. The beginning of the fire is described up to the point where someone opens a door and lets in oxygen, at which point we're treated to a two page introduction to the scientific stages and nomenclatures of fire before we get back to the story. It happens again when the fire is first spotted on deck (two pages on the psychology of panic and mob mentality) and again when people first start jumping overboard into the water (Drowning 101). It's vaguely helpful in understanding why things happened as they did, but it's still annoying.

Prior to September 11, 2001, the burning of the General Slocum was New York City's worst disaster in terms of casualty rate. An estimated 1300 Lower East Side residents, most of them members of St. Mark's Lutheran parish, boarded the steamer on the morning of June 15, 1904 for the annual church picnic at Eatons Neck, Long Island. Barely two hours later, a blaze broke out in a storage compartment, possibly ignited by a carelessly thrown match or cigarette. The steamboat immediately became a floating death trap: although the Slocum had passed a recent safety inspection, the life preservers were rotted, the fire hoses were damaged, and wires immobilized the lifeboats. The captain, William Van Schaick, had also never put the crew through a fire drill. By the time the ship was beached on North Brother Island, over a thousand passengers had been burned to death or drowned. The public and the 321 survivors demanded justice, but never got it. The inspector who certified the Slocum as safe and the ship's owners, who had shied from the expense of maintaining the safety equipment, were not punished for their negligence. Only Captain Van Schaick received a prison term of ten years, but the federal parole board released him after three.

Edward T. O'Donnell has done a first-rate job in his coverage of this forgotten calamity. In addition to recounting the final moments of the doomed ship and its passengers, he explores the corruption of government officials, the callous arrogance of Gilded Age big business, and other factors that contributed to the tragedy and its aftermath. He also helps the reader understand why, considering the high death toll, the General Slocum disaster was forgotten so quickly. His research sources are impeccable: he interviewed elderly survivor Adella Wotherspoon and obtained access to a detailed scrapbook that her family maintained for years. In my opinion, O'Donnell's fast-paced writing style and attention to detail has rescued this story of devastating loss, incomparable heroism, and appalling institutional arrogance from its undeserved obscurity.

"Ship Ablaze" helps fill in gaps of history that for one reason or other our parents, grand-parents, uncles and aunts. I grew up in that neighborhood and attended the LCMS (Trinity) Lutheran Church on 9th St. and Ave. B., yet I had to wait until late in life to learn of this disaster and the long term impact it had on the area. While the congregation I belonged to was not in worship fellowship with St. Mark's, I am certain that one would find a history of humanitarian fellowship at the time. But, these would be in the old records of that congregation written in German script. We need not only researchers, but multilingual researchers, in this incident as although there were those born in America, they lived a German life. My generation was the first not to speak German from birth. When I went to Germany to live for a while, I find myself very much at home despite the fact that this was post WWII Germany. If there are researchers interested out there who are fluent in German, a place they might want to look at is the resources of the NY Public Library and Concordia Historical Institute, St. Louis (records of the original Trinity on microfilm).

An excellent book about the General Slocum disaster, a 1904 steamboat fire that killed more than 1,000 people, mostly women and children on a church outing. Absolutely mesmerizing from start to finish.

This disaster has been hidden from historical references better than anything I've ever come across. Over 1,000 people die horribly, mostly women and children, and the following has occurred:

The 2004 Microsoft Encarta DVD Encyclopedia makes absolutely no reference to this event.

The book "New York Times Page One" does not show this as one of it's important front page dates.

The book "Chronicles of the 20th Century" (1300+ pages) only makes mention of the ship's owners being found negligent, not the event itself.

The largest loss of life from a single disaster from 1904 until 2001 and they can't mention it! Thankfully, this book does it justice and brings the hidden truth to light.

I love the Laura books, I can remember my mother reading them to me when I was young. Since then, I've read then again and it never ceases to delight me.
My only complaint though, is that the illistrations are pathetic. They don't even look real, so I had a hard time seeing Laura as a real person. For me, when I see lifelike drawings, it really makes get in touch with their character. The drawer, Garth Williams, is someone I wouldn't want to be doing my book! I like the illistrations for The Caroline Years. Oh well...still love the books.

I usually buy CD's but this time got the tape version, the first tape didn't even work. I ended up buying it again on CD. Stay away from tapes.

Now fifteen-years-old, Laura Ingalls can't help but crave getting a job in order to help her family. Ever since her first taste of earning her own money, she is determined to find another position that complements her skills. Besides, with Mary away at college, as much as Laura misses the companionship of her beloved sister, she can't help but feel compelled to assist her family in keeping Mary in a place where she is learning, and happier than ever. To do that, however, she'll have to do what she can to find the perfect job. Now that she has her teaching certificate, she'll be able to do just that.

It seems like only yesterday that Laura Ingalls was racing around the schoolyard with the boys, playing ball and sharing secrets with her friends; now she is basically all grown up, and beginning her career as a schoolteacher. But being a teacher isn't as easy as Laura hoped it would be - especially when many of the students are older than she is. And, to add insult to injury, she's forced to contend with boarding with a couple who spends the late nights hurling insults at one another, and living in miserable conditions. The only consolation is that Almanzo Wilder drives in to town each and ever Friday, to pick her up and bring her to her folks house for the weekend, before she must start another grueling week. It is during these long rides that Laura begins to spend more and more time with the older man. But it also makes her question why he is so willing to drive the twelve miles to her aid each week. Laura is unsure of his motives. She is also too tired and busy to spend much time thinking about them. Instead, she thinks of the paycheck that will soon come her way; and the beauty and splendor of the items she can buy for her family as time goes by.

With each and every book in the LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE series, I have seen Laura get older and older. I have also grown to love her as much as an old friend. Laura is such a responsible, mature individual - quite different from the little rascal she was during her younger years. She seems so caring, and eager to assist her family, and see that her sister gets the education she has always craved. It is so refreshing to see a character who puts others ahead of herself. Like in LITTLE TOWN ON THE PRAIRIE, the reader has the opportunity to learn more about Almanzo Wilder; however, the more you learn, the more you see just how much older he is than Laura, and how strangely the relationship between the two of them develops. Another winner from Ms. Ingalls-Wilder!

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

I love most of the Little House on the Prairie books, as well as the stories of Laura's great-grandmother, Martha, her grandmother, Charlotte, her mother, Caroline, and her daughter, Rose. I've read every one I can get my hands on. My all-time favorite of the all the series is These Happy Golden Years. This tells of Laura and Almanzo's courtship, and it is so chaste and sweet.

This book definitely belongs on my 10 favorite children's books.

I would rate this book 4.5 stars. It tells of Laura Ingalls years between the age of 15 to 18, and her first teaching job where she goes to live with a family where the wife doesn't treats her shabbily. It's a good story but it mostly told more of her and Almanzo than her teaching.

Overall, I was pleased with Chuck Pfarrer's autobiography. I felt this is a good book which focused on the man rather than a high profile SEAL. Chuck takes us through his childhood to his combat tour at Beirut and the tragic bombing of the Marines barrack to his short time at Team Six. I felt he explained everything quite well.

I felt some parts were left blank. For example, he cheated on his wife several times, and even more so I wonder why Chuck did what he did. He explained several times how bad he felt about his cheating, but I didn't felt like he explained it well enough. Also, the part with Sam (I don't think I got that name right) in Beirut and how scared Sam was and how Chuck called him a chicken and how no one liked him. I was surprised by this and even more so, later on after the bombing, Sam actually volunteered to go on the mission to spot for the French fighters who bombed the terrorist's bases. Why did Chuck left out many of the details on him?

I recommend this book to anyone interested in just Military stuff, not only SEAL stuff. I think the book is well written enough so that you understand the person behind the SEAL, instead of just the SEAL.

On a side note, about the cover, I thought I recognized it from somewhere and I think I found it. It was the cover used for a early 1990s computer game called SEAL Teams. I felt that was kind of cool and I believe the front cover is a man during the Vietnam era.

Although this book provides a glimpse inside the Navy Seals from an team leader's perspective, it was generally dry and drawn out ,spending a lot of time on Beruit and providing a lot of background information and editorials on the politics etc of that event that I am not interested in. This guy is a stud- no doubt, but I found myself skipping through the pages to find something interesting.

A crisp and informative account of one SEAL's career. Authentic and written by a (now) professional writer and screenplay author. So much written about the SpecOps community has been pumped up, selfserving ego tripping (Rogue Warrior et al) that it is refreshing to read an interesting and factual (I believe) account of SEAL operations and training. This book is more than sensational glorification of a violent and dangerous profession; it emphasizes the dedication and self discipline needed to endure physical and mental hardships almost beyond belief. The Kindle edition was well formatted with only a few minor hyphenation mistakes and the included photographs were pretty good. One thing that comes across loud and clear in this account is that SEAL operators are usually intelligent and resourceful, not just tough. We are blessed as Americans to have such men standing between us and evil.

Seriously, this was an AWESOME BOOK. Reading the stories I was amazed at what kind of sh.. Mr. Pfarrer got himself into. From BUD/S to Beirut to Banana Republics to Cancer.. he's been at the front row of many key world events, as well as personal ones. (And I'm sure there's a few more that haven't been reported)

The book was very compelling. And he did a great job writing. I really had a tough time putting it down. I always wanted to read "just one more story".

I also enjoyed how it didn't glamorize, but also wasn't falsely modest. Chuck seems like a solid human being--and certainly went above and beyond in his service and in life. And he shares much of his experiences through the book.

Anyhow, thank you Mr. Pfarrer!

ps: and remember, it's "air-BORNE!!"

An excellent account of SEAL training and operations. Chuck Pfarrer is a veteran of the Beirut war and a witness to the car bombing called the first act of terrorism by our current enemies. He is a combat veteran and a former Naval officer. His Navy experience is important because he recalls the beginning of the war on terror , namely the situation in Beirut. This is an important book.

I both read the book and listened to it. The book carries you through the four seasons during 1849 with a young Ojibwe and her family. This book is fascinating, the history and descriptions for chores is fantastic. There is hardship and work and joy and aggravation. It's a regular family. That's what it is so easily relatable to children.

I preferred to have the book read to me through the audio book, this audio book is read by Nicole Littrell. I think this is a great book to read aloud. Once you have finished this one pick up the Game of Silence where we can continue to journey with Omakayas read by Anna Fields, the Porcupine year has not been released to audiobook as of October 2008.

After reading so many praises from young adult readers, I'd like to make a suggestion for adult readers of historical fiction. I read this book, not so that I could instill a love of reading for my children, but rather, for my own pleasure in reading young adult fiction. The books may not involve many subplots, intrigues, and thickly woven characterizations, but certain ones can immerse you into their world of historical make-believe and even lead you to tears. I for one cried when reading this book. The way Louise Erdrich handles the coping of virulent illness and death through the eyes of a child is incredible. Not only does she paint this glorious heroine from a late 1800s Ojibwa girl, but she makes me dwell on the delicate vitality of the human soul and the subtle interconnectedness of each other. Yes, this book describes accurately the lives of the Ojibwa people of that time, but more importantly, above the cultural/historical lesson, the most prominent lesson from Erdrich's storytelling is her unveiling of human transformation into maturity clothed in the culture of the Ojibwa girl, Omakayas. Her auspicious past, her gifts with animals, her perseverance in caring for her family during the smallpox epidemic, and her coping with her brother's death -- for readers to feel that the book has a slow start, Erdrich more than likely chose to portray Omakayas' life in that way because that was exactly the pace it was. Meaning to say, it's not always violence and passion every minute, every chapter. The life of Ojibwas had a steady rhythm that followed the course of nature and only when the white settlers introduced themselves did that rhythm falter. For people who'd like an exciting quick read having to do with Native American history, I can't think of any. But for people who want to see life through a young girl's eyes -- life that involved hard work, sacrifice, love, death and living with what nature has provided, then this book is an excellent choice. Otherwise, there are a lot of old western novels that involve Native Americans (inaccurately of course) that would provide more of a thrill ride, if thrills are what you seek.

I purchased this book for my daughter who is attending CSUN. It arrived in a week and was in good condition, just like the description said.
Very happy with this purchase and many others.

This sweet, tender, sometimes humorous book, chronicles a year in the life of Omakayas, a seven year old girl who lives with her tribe on an island near Lake Superior. The book is divided into four main sections, each relating to a season of the year, just as the Native America daily life is based. Through Omakayas, children learn as they read about how she helps build a birch bark house, how she does her chores, and many other important details of Native American life. This makes the book especially invaluable for the fifth grade Social Studies curriculum. Many Native American words are used throughout this book, but this is done in a manner which makes their meaning apparent. There is even a glossary for these words in the back of the book. Children will love this book as Omakayas makes friends with animals and deals with feelings about her family, loss, fear, happiness, and contentment, as well as other feelings familiar to the young reader.

Generations of American children have grown up reading Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I'm in one of those generations. These stories gave us a view into settlers moving into formerly Indian territories and the hardships of breaking new lands to the plow, fighting weather, droughts, floods, and illness. These stories are our stories of conquering the prairie West. But there's another story that needs to be told and this story is of the Indians we died of disease and starvation and were moved off the lands so that white settlers could build farms and towns.

Laura Ingalls Wilder told the only stories she could tell - one dimensional tales of white people in a white nation. Louise Erdrich tells the story she is equipped to tell - one of a rich group of people living together in the Northern prairie lands. In this story Omakayas is a young Ojibwe girl living with her family, but the characters aren't all Indian. There's Albert LaPautre, a Frenchman who bumbles through trades and wild visions. There's Omakayas' father who works to pay off his yearly debt to the trading post and knows how to play chess so well that he can sometimes win enough food to help his family through hard times. There's Old Tallow, a medicine woman with a pack of angry dogs who teaches kind lessons through harsh examples.

For Omakayas and her family life is both hard and wonderful. There's enough sadness in the book to make you cry and enough happiness to make a child play-act the parts. The one thing I love about native storytelling is the respect shown to animals and plants that are needed to survive. Ms. Erdrich tells of this relationship with the skill of a master storyteller.

This book is richer and more complete than Little House on the Prairie. It's a responsible book and deserves more accolades and a greater following than that earlier work. It's brilliant and sensitive and fun. Everyday life never made me feel so fully. Please let all children in your life read this beautiful book.

- CV Rick, May 2008

This book will open your eyes and change your life. Dan Eldon is my hero, he walked his own path and fell doing what he loved.

This book is absolutely amazing. My mother got this book for me when I was about 17 and just really starting to bud out and become an artist. Dan's work was absolutely mesmerizing and inspiring. His colorful life and tragic death spark something in you to go out and change the world.

This is a dense, rich book of images and words left by Dan Eldon, one of those brilliant, outsized people who burn through life like a flare and are gone. He surrounded himself with beauty and horror and tried to both record and to make some sense of his experiences and the constant, jarring disparity between the extremes of life.
If you love photography and art or are just drawn to precocious brilliance and the intense energy of people who are present in every moment of their lives, you should own this book.

Eldon's story of the war-torn Somolia is as much an artwork as it is an engaging story. This "book" is a reproduction of photojournalist Dan Eldon's journal from his travels in the most impoverished regions of Africa. Part insightful reading, part artistic work, this book should be on anyone's reading list who wants to know more about the world we don't see everyday, and it truly makes one think about all we have, and all Eldon lost...5 out of 5 starts easily!

I bought this book upon it's release in 1997. I can remember allowing the contents of this memoir to captivate me for hours on end. I lent my copy to a friend shortly thereafter and subsequently forgot about it. I recently ordered a replacement and I must say, this book is even more compelling than I ever remembered. Dan Eldon was a profound visionary, an articulate statesman and a devoted caretaker. As a Reuters photo-journalist, he traveled the world and served as a dipomatic embassador to many, yet his life was taken prematurely in a stoning riot in Somalia. He experienced more in his brief 21 years than most of us will over an entire lifetime. A MUST HAVE.

This book is touching beyond any words we can summon. She lets it out there and puts it all on the table for all to see. Courageous as it gets.

PS: SUPPORT FEMALE AUTHORS:
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Sarah Shikitao-Brown
Tao Cycle Therapy: Natural Happiness via Self Directed Cure for Chronic Anxiety & Depression

Tracy Angleada
Intense Minds: Through the Eyes of Young People with Bipolar Disorder

Jill Bolte Taylor
My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey

Lori Schiller has written a riveting account of her descent into schizophrenia, her many years of suffering and her courageous breakthrough. It's an amazing true story that is sure to touch you in many ways.

In this riveting memoir, Ms. Schilling recounts in detail her spiraling descent into mental illness, which began in adolescence, at camp, when she first heard the voices that she would fight for the rest of her life. Her heartbreaking narrative about this debilitating disease, schizophrenia, gives us all a compassion for these victims that we may not have had before. Her poignant tale reminds all of us who have our mental health intact just how lucky we really are.

The subject is explored from many angles. Her roommate helplessly stands by, knowing something is wrong but not knowing what to do. Her distraught parents are tortured by the worry that they may have caused this. Her distressed brother worries that the disease may strike him next. The story is told through chapters in the first person written by all those touched by Lori's illness, including hospital notes and a long chapter by Dr. Dollar, one of the two doctors who finally broke through to Lori with extensive therapy and the help of a new experimental medication.

Her courageous battle gives hope to all of us, those who have a battle of their own to wage, as well as those in the life of someone who does. I cried when Doctor Fischer left, and I cried when Lori finally put the hospitals behind her to start a new life on her own, a successful life filled with the love of family and friends.

"At last, my life is my own."

This book helps see into the confused world of mental illness like no other. Wonderful & hopeful!

This is a book that not only educates but provides the reader with a new compassion for those who deal with mental illness. Ms. Schiller presents a very complete picture of the sufferings of the mentally ill. From her writing, I gained a new perspective- including greater compassion- for those who are victims of this awful illness. I have only the highest praise for her honesty, her insight and her struggle. She is to be highly commended. A definite read.

One of the men that was shown in this book is my great uncle on my mother side. My mother told me of the story when I was a senior in high school. My grandpa never talked about it and neither did his dad but my grandpa was told but other relatives about and shown the picture. But what made my grna father tell us the story was when a show touch by angle was on they had an episode about lynching and my grandpa saw his uncle and he called my mom and was very upset about it and told my mom the story about his uncle who was lynch as a teenager in Center,Tx and how the family had left the town when it happened because they knew they could do nothing for him and didn't want to become victims.Lige Daniel is my great uncle I never knew him but to see the picture and know that this person is my blood and that he was just a kid when he died. It stuck with me it scared I was a seventeen when I first learned of this a year older than him its scary and sad to think of the pain and torment he must have went through.

THIS IS THE SECOND COPY FOR ME . SOMEONE STOLE THE FIRST ONE. WHEN I ALLOWED MY STUDENTS TO VIEW THE PICTURES.... A FUNERAL ATMOSPHERE ENTERED THE ROOM COUPLED WITH TEARS AND REQUEST FOR ME TO CLOSE THE BOOK !!! SHOCKING AND EDUCATIONAL... A MUST FOR ANY REAL BLACKMAN AND WOMAN'S HALL OF KNOWLEDGE !!

I haven't read the book yet, but plan to in the future. I went to a website dedicated to it the other day' and it featured those photos and the history behind them. I was saddened and horrified, and am still haunted by what I read and saw. I cannot for the life of me understand how so many of those people, including women and children, could have taken such pleasure in those unspeakable atrocities. I only hope and pray that none of those people involved were in my family.

What I wish they could have added to this book, however, were a few bits on the Native Americans. I'm 1/4 Native American myself and some of my ancestors walked the Trail of Tears. Their people were also persecuted and murdered and treated as non-human---and whites who killed "Injuns" were considered heroes. I imagine some Native Americans were lynched and tortured as well, and likely there were photos.

The pity of it is, I wonder if America has learned from its past? Even now we are tolerating human rights abuses in other countries, and it's only recently that the UN is acknowledging the horrors of Darfur. It's time for America to face its "demons" and really work to change things. If not, God will surely judge this nation for its crimes against humanity. Maybe He has already.

But what I definitely hope people will learn from this book is what hatred and bigotry can do to all of us. Don't hate ANYBODY for their color---black, white, whatever---or for their nationality, religion, etc. If we want to honor the memory of these poor victims, let's rise above the hatred of their murderers and strive to defeat the evil that led to these acts. By learning from history, we can hopefully not repeat it.

As a white man over sixty, growing up in the Northeast, I was sheltered from the realities of racism by my surroundings. "Colored people" were simply not socially acceptable, thats all.
When you go through this book you will cringe and shutter. What reason and why would white people do this. Not only lynch but torture and maim before they allowed the subject to die, and often for no reason - just because it was Saturday night and people needed something to do. Truly a wakeup call for white America to reflect on what we were and really how far have we come.

Buy this book !

Z

This book is the ultimate metaphor for the graphic brutality of Black people in America.
The British poet William Wordsworth once said, "Man know thee thyself, presume God not to scan, the sturdy of mankind is man". How do you begin to understand the nature of evil? The sheer barbarity of these pictures, the nonchalant attitude of the perpetrators and the wicked glee on the faces of the participants (even children) confirms the graphic truth of the institutionalization of racism and evil in our world. Dr. Martin L. King once said that "God will not so much punish the wicked for their evil deed, but for the appalling silence of the good people. For all those lily livered fools in our world, who are quick to parrot that idiotic sentence "slavery was before my time", let me remind you of James Byrd of Texas in 2000. Without a Sanctuary: Lynching photography in America is a profound documentary of unimaginable evil and wickedness. These horrible pictures can only appeal to our conscience as a society to do the right thing. I agree with Dante in his 'Inferno' that the worst place in hell will be reserved for all those who are neutral on the great issues of life. I am profoundly grateful to the authors of this great human document James Allen, John Lewis, Hilton Als and Leon F. Litwack. May the souls of these beings who endured these horrific brutality rest with God forever.

I am giving this to a friend of mine's son who is nine who could care less about Derek Jeter or the Yankees. That is how good I think that this book is. It shows how Derek was focused on his goal from age 8, and I am going to get more copies for children of my friends to give to them when they turn 8.

Great book and great lessons for kids. Shows what can happen when you are ambitious enough and try hard enough. Great book about Derek and where he came from and where he wants to go!

After reading the first couple of pages I knew right away that this book would be a good one. The reason Derek Jeter became so well known is because he started very young knowing what he was going to do in life. Throughout high school and college Derek Jeter was an outstanding athlete and student, but at times he did have those people that said that he couldn't do it and that he couldn't make it to the major leagues. This book would be recommended to those who look at Derek Jeter as an idol and also are athletes. Reading this book could change the way you look at Pro athletes and maybe even inspire you to do better.

Book review mod 1

Over the summer I read a few books. One of those books was The Life You Imagine: Life Lessons for Achieving Your by Derek Jeter. I choose this book because I'm a Yankees fan and love Derek Jeter. This book is a great book for someone who needs a role model. Derek Jeter is an amazing role model he had strait A's growing up. In this book Derek Jeter tells you how he grew up and how hard it was for him and how he never stopped trying to get what he set his goals for. This book is wonderful it shows you how any body can do it. His dream his whole life was to play short stop baseball for the New York Yankees. This book is one of those books that will inspire a person to go out and try harder then every one and get what he set out for. That's how good this book is, your are into baseball and trying hardest any way. This book is written well and will show you how a person who really like really tries his hardest and never gives up and will do what ever he has to, just to get what he sets out for. If there was a rating for this book it would get a 10 out of 10 or 100 out of 100 or 5 stars. That's just my opinion. This book is just like I said be for just one of those books that just makes a person want to do something good in life or achieve a goal or something. In this book Derek Jeter said that he would write all of his goals down and check them of as he achieved them threw out the year. This book is wonderful inspiring and just an all around baseball lovers dream book, if I was to recommend this book to anyone it would defiantly be a YES! This book is one of my favorites and would hope it would be one of yours as well. =]


By Kevin Lunn

This book starts off as derek jeter stating that he wil play for the New York Yankees when he is 8 years old. They discuss the 10 rules about how to live you life and what to do. Growing up derek had alot of racial problems with his parents. He had one black and one white, and he had a sister, they were a really close family.

growing up there were many racial problems in his town. He went to college in Kalamazoo michigan. He played baseball there and now hes making millions doing what he loves. He said he loves to wake up every morning knowing he loves his job.

Derek is always saying set your goals high so you are always working toward them. Not too high to where you cannot reach them but just high enough that you have to work at it to get to them.

This is one of the greattest books i have ever read. I will give 2 thumbs up. It was a very interesting book becuase i lvoe baseball and i want to be exactly like derek jeter.