Donna Ferrato: Living With The Enemy

Book Description

This critically acclaimed, graphic report on family violence reveals the lives of ordinary women-and the men who batter them.

Customer Reviews:

shocking book.......2000-04-23

I read donna feratto book, when iam working for campaign for violence against women. that book is not just pictures. It shows to us the unbalance structure of relationship between man and woman, and woman and state. She's really doing this book in the sense of what people in anthropology called "depth" It shows something that people and community wants to hide. Because it's domestic, instead the costs that have to pay by domestic violence

A Must-Read... by award-winning Donna Ferrato.......1998-06-21

I first came across Ferrato's pictures in *Ms.* magazine. The pictures struck me with their realism and honesty. How, I wondered, did this woman get involved in this issue? As a survivor of domestic violence myself, I felt that she had helped to give a voice to all women, whether currently in abusive relationships, or already free and in the process of healing. It ended up that, through friends of friends (you know how that goes... small world)... I met Donna. I didn't even realize she was the author of this book until one day, while sitting in Donna's apartment, she showed me a few of her photos. I immediately recognized them. "Donna.. I had no idea... I have those exact pictures on my bulletin board!" I told her about how I felt when I first saw the photos in *Ms.* magazine. Then I had the opportunity to hear the story of how Donna explored the world of domestic violence, actually living with and photographing couples, as well as living in shelters and jails along with women who were surviving abuse. Donna's life was so changed that she began the Domestic Abuse Awareness Project (DAAP) in New York, devoting her career to educating people about this issue. I keep the book on my coffee table, rather than in my bookshelves, so that it might start conversations in my home with friends. You never know when someone might need the information that the book gives. I highly, highly reccommend this book. It can truly change lives. It's one loud shout to the world that domestic violence can not remain hidden behind closed doors. Best of luck to you!-A Survivor in Arizona

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Reads like a Hand Stitched Quilt Made With Love!
-----A nostalgic and unforgettable story-----
Bemused...
A warm title of an old woman's activities
A senstive look at the journey of life for children

The Moon Quilt
Sunny Warner
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin/Walter Lorraine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0618055835

Book Description

It is a day in June, and the old woman is sitting on her porch with her cat. She has fallen asleep and is dreaming of her man, who was lost at sea. When she wakes up, the old woman is smiling. She goes to the quilt she is making and cuts new pieces of cloth. She is sewing her dream into the design. As the season turns and the moon waxes and wanes, the quilt grows beneath the old woman's needle, recording life as it flows around her. When at last the quilt is complete, she sleeps and finally joins her man in his boat sailing past the moon.

Customer Reviews:

Reads like a Hand Stitched Quilt Made With Love!.......2007-09-20

I just received this book and it is already becoming a favorite of mine as well as my 3 year old daughter. The story reads beautifully and delicate, like an enchanting poem. It stirs all the senses, and the gorgeous illustrations bring it all together in a warm, cozy feeling. I'd call this a "home cooked" book. It truly feels like we own a little piece of magic in this book. A great bedtime read.

-----A nostalgic and unforgettable story-----.......2007-07-06

THE MOON QUILT by Sunny Warner is enchanting! It's the story about the last few months in the life of an older lady. In the story she is referred to as the "old woman."

Her days are spent sitting with her cat and dreaming. When she's awake the cat sleeps and when the old lady sleeps the cat is awake! The lady is dreaming of her old man who was lost at sea. In her dreams he is crossing from his boat to a rainbow which reaches to the moon. She decides to sew her dream into a lovely quilt. The old woman never forgets her daily chores and also works in the garden and plants pumpkins. Her evenings are spent working on her quilt. Her quilt is becoming a story and she sews a picture of herself and her cat onto the fabric.

When Halloween comes she makes delicious pumpkin pies for children who live nearby. The children arrive dressed in costumes and have a fun evening carving pumpkins and eating pie! The old lady sews the entire Halloween experience with the children into the quilt.

One evening as winter approaches the old woman and her cat sit outside watching the moon and they both fall sleep. The last illustration shows where they went.

The story is told simply and the book has many colorful pictures. This book is proof that good and meaningful stories are being written for young children

Bemused..........2001-12-10

This is a beautiful book, with many of the illustrations looking like they are fashioned from snippets of cloth, as a quilt top would be. The story is gentle and cheerful. Here is the old woman working in her garden, and here she is entertaining a group of happy youngsters at Hallowe'en. Clearly she has a full and fulfilling life. And then in the next-to-the-last frame, after she has added her cat and herself to the quilt, they sit down together under the moonlight and...die??? I guess i'm used to authors who clobber you over the head with the punchline. I had to go back and read the story again to make sure i'd reached the right conclusion. Then i had to go look at some reviews of the book to see if other reviewers reached the same conclusion. I suppose that this book can be used to show children that death is a gentle thing when it comes to those who have lived a long and useful life...except that the ending really startled and upset me. I guess i didn't see it coming, and i didn't want the story to turn out that way. I would only recommend reading this book to children if you are prepared to have a potentially upsetting discussion about death and dying.

A warm title of an old woman's activities.......2001-07-06

An old woman is sitting on her porch with her cat and is dreaming of her husband, lost at sea. Her dreams lead to new ideas for the quilt she is making, and her life takes on new purpose and reflection as she stitches in the changes in this warm title of an old woman's activities.

A senstive look at the journey of life for children.......2001-05-23

This book full of wonderful illustrations, provides a senstive look at the journey of a woman's life for children and adults alike. It takes the reader through a colorful adventure through the eyes of an old women and her cat. The author's exquisite drawings enhance the warm feeling the book gives the reader. A must read for any age.

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Spun Gold
The Artist's Wife--Somewhat incomplete, inconsistent
Truth can be stranger than fiction. Sometimes.
She did not falter on a trip to the altar...
Utter Delight

The Artist's Wife
Max Phillips
Manufacturer: Welcome Rain
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1566492734

Book Description

Deftly blending period detail and modern sensibility, Max Phillips presents here a bold, unapologetic Alma Shindler, who narrates her own provocative story from beyond the grave.

Customer Reviews:

Spun Gold.......2002-04-30

"The Artist's Wife" is based on the life of Viennese beauty, Alma Schindler, an incredible woman with hair of (seemingly) spun gold, who married, believe it or not, the composer Gustav Mahler, Bauhaus architect Walter Gropius and the writer Franz Werfel. All of them, including Gustav Klimt, the most important painter of fin-de-siecle Europe, loved her to distraction and swore that a part, at least, of his most profound and greatest work was inspired, both by her and by his passion for her.

Alma, while being quite successful as a muse, was less successful as a mistress and a wife, and she was certainly no "good girl." She sometimes had more than one lover at a time and felt no shame in the situation. Instead, she called herself "a collector of geniuses." She was, by turns, a seductress, a flirt, a romantic and a real delight. She was also dreadfully anti-Semitic despite the fact that she had, not one, but two, Jewish husbands, Mahler and Werfel.

This book is called "fiction" but it is really based on Alma's own memoirs. Phillips writes the story from Alma's point of view, however, from beyond the grave, and he tosses in carefully chosen bits of imagined conversation, etc., causing the book to be classified as "fiction" rather than "fact."

Alma is not a character we can admire, but she is certainly interesting. She is a restless spirit in death and in life she was often selfish and downright mean. More than anything, she is vain, but she is not vain about everything. She does realize that she, too, has her faults. As she says about her voice, "I screeched all the Wagner roles until I ruined a good mezzo-soprano voice." And, as she once wrote in her diary, "I'm utterly vulgar, superficial, sybaritic, domineering and egoistic!"

If Alma was hard on herself, she was even harder on her husbands and lovers and even her potential lovers. She was a notorious flirt who often brought men to their knees only to spurn them in the most ungracious manner. One sometimes wonders why she bothered marrying at all; her opinion of the men in her life seems so very low. Gropius, who seems like an Adonis to Alma at first, sours as well, leaving Alma bored and lonely at only thirty-two and ready for an encounter with the wild, possessive and jealous painter, Oskar Kokoschka, who is six years her junior. Kokoschka, in the end, loses out to Gropius who, despite his boring qualities is more of a genius than is Kokoschka. Kokoschka doesn't take his humiliation at all well and what he does is pitiful, a little shocking and even a little funny. And, to be sure, the humor of the situation isn't lost on Alma.

Sadly, in some ways, Alma Schlinder, whose life so depended on her good looks and her vibrant wit, oulived almost everyone around her and lost both her looks and her wit at about the same time.

Although some readers have complained about the rather staccato prose in this book, it is prose that fits exactly the way Alma wrote in her own memoirs, so I think it is very fitting that Phillips adopted this style. And while some readers will no doubt see Alma as simply vain and mean-spirited, she was fascinating...there can be no doubt about that. I think Phillips has done a marvelous job in capturing the qualities and the vibrancy of Alma that made her so irresistible to so many men, despite the fact that she never really respected them, and perhaps, never really loved them.

I loved this book. I thought it was interesting, well-written and vivacious...just as vivacious as was Alma Schindler in her youth. And that is really saying a lot.

The Artist's Wife--Somewhat incomplete, inconsistent.......2002-01-04

This book was a disappointment. While the subject matter was very intriguing--the life and loves of a famous woman in Europe at the beginning of the century, I found Phillip Max writing unbearable. He does not manage to give any depth to his characters. We learn about Alma and her inconsistences and caprices, but we do not understand what drives her. The reader is left to his/her own trying to figure out why Alma and the people around her act the way they do. At points tedious, the story rushes through Alma's life and does not leave the reader with a real idea of time.

The only plus to this novel that I found is that it sparked my interest to look for Alma's autobiography--I would never think to rely on Max for even a fictional perspective on her.

Truth can be stranger than fiction. Sometimes........2001-10-17

I approached this book with some trepidation, not quite "fear and loathing" perhaps, but close enough. My reason? Simple enough. My fondness for Gustav Mahler's music - irrespective of what warts the man may or may not have had - made me think twice before reading a fictionalized version of "the wild brat's story" and how it might have distorted my own version of reality concerning my favorite composer. I shouldn't have worried.

Some thirty-odd years ago, I had the opportunity to read an English translation of Alma Mahler Werfel's "Ein Leben mit Gustav Mahler" ("My Life with Gustav Mahler"). The book was not mine, and I regret not having my own copy to this day, if for no other reason than that Alma edited these reminiscences with a rather heavy hand, lest the reader get the idea that she was less than devoted to Mahler. Of course, even then, her legend preceded her. Those of a certain age (and I am one of them) well remember Tom Lehrer's send-up of her, sung to the melody of "Alma Mater." A tune as trenchant commentary, deservedly so.

Well, if there's nothing new under the sun from Tom Lehrer (and others) from then till now, why in the world should one read this "autobiographical" novel? For the simple reason that Max Phillips has fashioned an excellent tale about a fascinating woman whose greatest adventures occurred during a time when her fin-de-siècle Vienna and Hapsburg world was simultaneously both filled with intriguing characters and at the brink of chaos and collapse.

Despite her own heavy hand at personal "damage control," there is plenty of historical corroborating information (including those parts of her diaries and memoirs that she did indeed approve for publication) to state that Alma was clearly all of these: Self-absorbed, wilful, modestly talented, unafraid of her own sexuality, a flame to the moths of creative genius of the times, a sometime muse to these geniuses, and self-appointed - or perhaps self-anointed - champion and guardian of the arts of her times, with her "Sundays" (salons at which all the rich and famous of the arts of the period grovelled for her invitations and attention). She was also beautiful by the day's standards, and suffered from both deafness and alcoholism. Nevertheless, she outlived all but one of her husbands and lovers, living to the ripe old age of 84, by that time a barely-subdued doyenne. (Of her paramours, only Oskar Kokoschka outlived her, finally expiring at the very ripe old age of 94 in 1980.)

In an endnote, Phillips begins by stating "To put it mildly, this is not a work of scholarship." While perhaps true - because Phillips does take minor liberties with the timings and juxtaposition of events and (probably) major liberties with words placed in the mouths of his panoply of characters - he is being entirely too modest (perhaps with tongue implanted firmly in cheek) regarding these liberties. For, at the end of it all, one does come away with a clear sense of "what Alma was all about," and of an epoch and its end. The latter is detailed better in "Wittgenstein's Vienna" by Allan Janik and Stephen Toulmin, a true work of scholarship available elsewhere at Amazon.com. But, where Janik and Toulmin are factual - almost, but not quite, to the point of pedanticism - Phillips is downright trenchant in his observations on the epoch and in the words he puts in his characters' mouths.

At the end, the tale turned out to be both a hoot and a valuable backward glance at an artistic period and place which we in America regrettably understand not well at all. As I said at the outset, "I shouldn't have worried."

Bob Zeidler

She did not falter on a trip to the altar..........2001-09-15

Alma Mahler is one of the most intriguing figures in an era filled with some of the most significant (and slightly crazy) figures in the 20th century. As someone who has read Alma's own diaries, as well as books by and about her numerous lovers (Gustav Mahler, Oskar Kokoshka, Walter Gropius, Franz Werfel, among the most famous), Max Philips does a fabulous job of getting at the essence of this astonishing woman. Philips does not claim to have written a book of historical accuracy, but the details aren't as important as that maddeningly willful yet passive tone of voice, and Philips captures that brilliantly. A wild ride through the Vienna of Freud, Klimt, and Mahler, if you aren't already familiar with Alma's excellent adventures, this is a great place to start.

Utter Delight.......2001-07-29

This book was intriguing from the moment I picked it up and examined the cover...Max Phillips has the female perspective down to a tee--his genius spanning our abilities to endure, to dream, to quip {silently of course} one liners at poignant moments,and to eternally adapt to what falls into our path each day/each season of our life. His narration of Alma's telling of her life is mesmorizing and I rationed myself a sparingly small nibble a day to make the delight last...I found this book fascinating and fulfilling. That it was historically true made it 3 dimensional.

Paul Gauguin: Letters to His Wife and Friends

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Paul Gauguin: Letters to His Wife and Friends
Paul Gauguin
Manufacturer: MFA Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0878466657
Release Date: 2003-09-02

Book Description

"May the day come--and perhaps soon--when I can flee to the woods on a South Sea island and live there in ecstasy, in peace and for art," Gauguin wrote to his wife, Mette, in 1890. As both art history and enduring legend have shown, Gauguin's life in the South Seas was anything but ecstatic or peaceful, even as he created some of the most revolutionary and iconic objects of his time. This book, to date the most comprehensive volume of the painter's letters to be published, offers an uncensored glimpse into Gauguin's life, from his days as a young newlywed reporting on the birth of his first child, through his early developments as an artist and finally throughout the extraordinary adventure of his years in Tahiti and the Marquesas. Gauguin's writings, from Noa Noa to his Intimate Journals, have proven him a talented, uninhibited literary stylist. Nowhere is this more evident than in these letters to many of his closest associates and, above all, to Mette, for whom he detailed his plans, described artworks in progress, and gave running accounts of his life and states of mind on distant shores. Published to coincide with the centennial of Gauguin's death and with a major international exhibition, Letters to His Wife and Friends restores to print, after many years, one of the most compelling, intimate and revealing epistolary autobiographies ever assembled.

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I think this book is wonderful!

Notecards: Venetian's Wife
Chronicle Books LLC Staff
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Misc. Supplies

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ASIN: 0811813991

Customer Reviews:

I think this book is wonderful!.......1997-03-13

This is a very unusual story... it is so unusual, I thought it was weird at first. But it is so profoundly beatiful... a story about love and how it can cross centuries to meet again. But it was how Nick Bantock wrote it that made it so interesting. I reccommend this to anyone who enjoys thinking about what they read. This will certainly get you thinking for days

The Artist's Wife: Reflections On Summers At The Cottage And Life In The Door County Arts Community, 1979-1985

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The Artist's Wife: Reflections On Summers At The Cottage And Life In The Door County Arts Community, 1979-1985
Betty Bowers
Manufacturer: Guest Cottage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Artist and His Wife
Sue Donem
Manufacturer: Authorhouse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1414019297

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The Artist's Wife

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 9650712615

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The Artist's Wife
Jim Morgan
Manufacturer: McPhee Gribble
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

$Distaff Diplomacy or My Elegant Life As a Diplomat\'s Wife$
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Distaff Diplomacy or My Elegant Life As a Diplomat\'s Wife
Rae Hardy
Manufacturer: Trafford Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1552127052
Release Date: 2006-07-06

Book Description

Memoirs of the wife of a Canadian Foreign Service Oficer from 1953 (when the department was a scant 6 years old) to her husband\'s retirement in 1980. The book covers postings to New York city, Vienna, Austria, Helsinki, Finland, TelAviv, Israel, and Port of Spain, Trinidad.

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excellent new author

A little disappointing.

not bad

Better than the first

loved it!
The King's Own: A Borderlands Novel
Lorna Freeman
Manufacturer: Roc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Covenants: A Borderlands Novel (Borderland (Roc))

His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire, Book 1)

Black Powder War (Temeraire, Book 3)

Throne of Jade (Temeraire, Book 2)

The First Betrayal

ASIN: 0451460715

Book Description

When Rabbit joined the Royal Army of Iversterre, he was just trying to get off the family farm. Instead, he got mixed up with a magical from the Border, learned he couldn't escape his noble lineage, and developed some surprising talents that he can't always control. But with Iversterre sliding toward the abyss, Rabbit needs to master his powers quickly-before someone else does it for him.

Customer Reviews:

excellent new author.......2007-10-10

I've purchased both of Lorna Freeman's books after reading them at the library. She has definately become a new favorite author. How do ordinary citizens deal with magic in their midst? How long can people close their eyes to their own history? A hero named Rabbit is only the first unusual part to this tale of swords, elves, elementals and ordinary people. I can't wait for another installment of Rabbit's adventure. If you want the real story. Buy the books!

A little disappointing........2007-05-15

So I read and reviewed the first one, also giving it three stars, and shortly afterward read the second book. As in the first, the narrative voice--Rabbit's--remains strong. The flaws of the first remain, too--the book is poorly plotted and overlong. There's waaaaaay too much running around to little effect in the latter half of the novel. Another reader has commented on the 'white room' problem. Like that reader, I had trouble visualizing many of the settings.

The main problem? It was forgettable. I read it a little while ago and can barely remember the plot.

Summary? Competent, but not distinctive.

not bad.......2007-01-26

This is a good book, the style is very hard to comprehend and understand. Eventually you get used to it, overall it drags when it is not supposed to and goes through major events way to quick or just does not really acknowledge it and goes on with the story. The plot was good and that is the only reason it is getting four stars, if written a little better with more thought then yea it gets five stars.

Better than the first.......2006-08-16

In the first book the author made some serious mistakes with the main character in trying to describe him as one thing and have him behave in a manner that didn't make sense.

Second book, much better consistency between a character acting like what he is supposed to be. I especially loved the way the author played off of his youth and apparent inexperience when it came to dealing with the opposite sex.

The story line was interesting again and the originality of how magic and different races exist is worth thinking about. I really enjoy the interactions between the various races and the fact that they are not automatically all best friends. To often authors neglect the conflict that is innate when bringing new people into a group to work together.

I wish that there was a little more detail on what is happening that is helping him gain better control of his powers because it felt like it just "magically" happened. I also like the fact that despite his great powers he is very limited in how much he can do with it all. It's like saying he has great talent, but no technique in how he uses it. Very good and understandable explanation.

On the whole I can't wait for the next book because the author is getting better at writing the characters without getting bored. To be honest, I can't wait to see what she is going to write next!

loved it!.......2006-07-17

I can remember picking up Covenants when it first came out and being utterly surprised on how much I enjoyed it. This one was not a disappointment. It's been some time since I read the first book and I had to really think hard about the previous situations and people from the first, but it did not ruin the storyline of this one. Yes, previous characters are mentioned and are active in this one, but I found it easy getting back in the grove of this strange and interesting land.

Rabbit, our hero, has two teachers now--Laurel(the cat man) and Wyln (the elf--also great, great uncle to the king). Speaking of the king, King Jusson is a primary character in this novel and I found him quite endearing. Someone is trying to bind Rabbit to them and the group doesn't know who, but the attack continues on Rabbit as his previous home town is attacking the king and Rabbit, also. It doesn't take long before the king and Rabbit realize the two are connected.

This book is very well written. The characters are well-rounded and full of life. The world in intriguing. I'm looking forward to the next in the series!

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