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Right around the turn of the 20th century, G.I. Gurdjieff initiated a group of spiritual adventurers called the "Seekers of Truth." These intrepid intellectuals of every stripe crisscrossed Africa and Asia in search of the hidden mysteries of antiquity. In Meetings with Remarkable Men, Gurdjieff narrates their exploits while drawing portraits of these extraordinary figures (including one woman and a dog). Half travel journal, half autobiography, Meetings with Remarkable Men begins with Gurdieff's childhood, when he finds his book learning at odds with paranormal events that were self-evident but inexplicable through modern science. Later he discovers a map of "pre-sands Egypt" and evidence of the Sarmound Brotherhood, alleged keepers of ancient wisdom dating back four and a half millennia. He climbs the Himalayas, follows the Nile, and is led blindfolded to a mysterious monastery. In his encounters with dervishes, monks, and fakirs, Gurdjieff recovers the wisdom he seeks; by comparison, European understanding, he says, is backwards and barbaric. A controversial figure in his time, Gurdjieff inspired deep love and loyalty in his pupils and ridicule from skeptics. At the bookends of Meetings with Remarkable Men, Gurdjieff suggests the value of blurring the line between allegory and straight reporting. But then what exactly is Meetings with Remarkable Men? You be the judge. --Brian Bruya
Customer Reviews:
Gurdjieff's First and Last Good Book.......2005-10-30
When I was in college in the late 70's, my small circle of friends were philosophers, shaman, and spiritualists... which really means, we liked to discuss amongst ourselves the deep meaning of it all, around bong hits and Budweiser. WARNING: Budweiser is BAD for you, and I no longer drink alcohol!!! One of these friends loaned "Meetings With Remarkable Men" to me, and it made a lasting impression, just as David Carradine did in the TV series "Kung Fu", which kicked off the kung fu - Buddhist - Shaolin - Taoist journey for Americans, more than Bruce Lee was able to accomplish (Bruce Lee was all about martial arts, and didn't have a whole lot to offer the spiritually thirsty. His lack of dimension was his failing). Anyway, we sat around, smoking and drinking, discussing, and watching "Circle of Iron", and formulating the shape of civilization to come.
The other interesting aspect of "Meetings" is that it is an introduction to the trans-Caucasus, a geographic area with a diversity of cultures, religions, and ethnicity as colorful as the plumage of the peacock, which happens to be the embodiment of the Yzidi Lord of the World, Shaitan. One lasting impression was the scene from Gurdjieff's youth, when he witnessed the Yzidi boy being entrapped within a circle that bullying school children had inscribed around him. This event triggered Gurdjieff's quest for answers to life's eternal mysteries.
The book is a story of that quest for answers. It almost doesn't matter if the events actually happened or not. Read this book in the spirit of the late Gary Jennings's adventure fiction (The Journeyer, Spangle, Aztec) and you will have a better appreciation for this book as adventure fiction, if not spiritual revelation. "Meetings" is introductory, and prerequisite, to the Gurdjieff story. I would have to seriously disagree with another reviewer here, who claims that a beginner should first read "Beelzebub's Tales To His Grandson". I see no such obligation, and Beelzebub is something to read when, and if, the desire strikes you. In fact, my opinion of Mr. Gurdjieff was high until I DID read his other works. I also read biographies by J.G. Bennet, and of course, P. Ouspenski. I am sad whenever anyone wastes their own life enthralled by the ego of spiritual salesmen, maybe that is the lone wolf in me, who cannot paddle the length of the River in a single canoe.
Like others here, I am now persuaded that Gurdjieff was a con-man and egotist, and his teachings were probably often harmful and abusive, without consideration for the welfare and ego of those whom he pretended to impart deep wisdom. Compare with Aleister Crowley, who, though regarded as having an abrasive bedside manner and hopelessly self-absorbed, was still a mighty pillar of spiritual intelligence and wisdom (and produced a classic tarot card deck). That not withstanding, this one book is the only one of Gurdjieff's books I truly enjoy. "Beelzebub's Tales" may be a good story, and has some profound concepts, like the "three-brained beings", and what those three brains are within the human animal. Even now, researchers are beginning to query the role of the heart, which is a massive nexus of nerves, as having a role in our decision making processes. Gurdjieff recommended reading "Beelzebub" three times, but I could barely finish it the first time. On the other hand, "Meetings With Remarkable Men" is worth reading three times (although I have only read it twice), because it is as unpretentious as Beelzebub was pretentious.
Gurdjieff had a tough life, and his abilities, ways, cunning, these are what poor folk like myself admire about this book. And, as another reviewer discussed, the end chapter, "The Material Question" is a good case study of how to liberate funds from the wealthy for, well, art! Gurdjieff was an artist, and though enshrouded in esoteric spiritualism, his dance troupe is STILL a dance troupe, and any such artists are at the mercy of the beneficence of art afficionados with means.
Perhaps I'm confused.......2005-04-24
I'm not sure. Maybe it's because I'm not a Gurdjieff follower or studier, but this particular book seemed like it was written by the founder of the Ego Strokers Anonymous Club. Throughout, Gurdjieff doesn't talk as much about other remarkable men as how remarkable he himself is in these meetings with these others.
He consistently portrays himself as a sage, a knowledgeable business man as well as mystic philosopher. He's just good at everything gosh darnit!
Not my cup of tea, but then again, maybe Gurdjieff wrote this book in a manner that it would only appeal to his real followers.
Whatever, in the end I persisted through it and was very disappointed- I found no good messages. In fact I barely underlined a single kernel of mystical, business or any other wisdom. Rather unfortunately, I ended up making notes in the margins to dispute some of his arrogant assumptions and "know-it-all" expressions.
Perhaps I'll find one of his worthwhile works at some other point in my travels, but I doubt I'll ever come back to this one to look for anything.
journey to pursue truth.......2004-01-29
This is the story of Gurdjiefffs journey to pursue truth. His life itself looks like the journey to the truth. He is the mysterious thinker in the twentieth century. But his and his friendsf motivation to pursue something is fundamental interest of human nature and really pure. Mysterious incidents slip into daily life. Most people ignore them or doubt their eyes. But some people stick on and investigate them. They went anywhere to find even just a clue to the mystery. It is like seeking treasury. For them treasury is neither jewel nor money. In the trip they run across various kinds of remarkable people. It is true that gbirds of a feather flock together.h You can enjoy this journey with Gurdjieff deep in Orient and mystery of human being and accumulated wisdom.
There is a lot that can be learned from Gurdjieff.......2002-09-17
Gurdieff is one of those men, who are hard to understand. They are hard to understand because they are different, they shun the very beliefs that are a part of our everyday living.
While there were many instances where I thought "what is he talking about?", this book was a good read.
If you are to read this book, I suggest that you read it like a fantasy travel journal.
Decide for yourself.......2002-07-08
Does G.I. Gurdjieff have anything to offer you? Consider the following quote (which is not atypical) from p. 210 of Meetings with Remarkable Men:
"In my opinion in employing contemporary maps it would be ideally useful to put into practice the sense of a judicious saying which declares, 'If you wish to succeed in anything then ask a woman for advice and do the opposite'."
Book Description
The haunting story of a Jewish family in Eastern Europe in the 1930s that prefigures the fate of the Jews during World War II.
At the center is nine-year-old Paul Rosenfeld, the beloved only child of divorced parents, through whose eyes we view a dissolving, increasingly chaotic world. Initially, Paul lives with his mother–a secular, assimilated schoolteacher, who he adores until she “betrays” him by marrying the gentile André. He is then sent to live with his father–once an admired avant-garde artist, but now reviled by the critics as a “decadent Jew,” who drowns his anger, pain, and humiliation in drink. Paul searches in vain for stability and meaning in a world that is collapsing around him, but his love for the earthy peasant girl who briefly takes care of him, the strange pull he feels towards the Jews praying in the synagogue near his home, and the fascination with which he observes Eastern Orthodox church rituals merely give him tantalizing glimpses into worlds of which he can never be a part.
The fates that Paul’s parents will meet with Paul as terrified witness–his mother, deserted by her new husband and dying of typhus; his father, gunned down while trying to stop the robbery of a Jewish-owned shop–and his own fate as an orphaned Jewish child alone in Europe in 1938 are rendered with extraordinary subtlety and power, as they foreshadow, in the heart-wrenching story of three individuals, the cataclysm that is about to engulf all of European Jewry.
Customer Reviews:
Always Compelling.......2007-06-08
I have only read four books by Appelfeld incuding his Memoir.
They are always very engaging and compelling and very moving.
I decided after reading this latest, which I liked a lot and could not put down, because it was very readable and intriguing, that I would get all of the rest of his novels that I have not read and read them this summer.
All Whom I Have Loved: A Novel.......2007-05-30
A metaphorical novel that resonates of the past and the present.
There is no other author like Aharon Appelfeld.......2007-04-01
I have read, and own, all of Mr. Apelfeld's books in English. The prose is literate, his words are almost poetic, and all of his stories build up from serenity to crescendo. A must read for anyone who loves fine literature.
Book Description
All for the Union is the eloquent and moving diary of Elisha Hunt Rhodes, who enlisted into the Union Army as a private in 1861 and left it four years later as a 23-year-old lieutenant colonel after fighting hard and honorably in battles from Bull Run to Appomattox. Anyone who heard these diaries excerpted on the PBS-TV series The Civil War will recognize his accounts of those campaigns, which remain outstanding for their clarity and detail. Most of all, Rhodes's words reveal the motivation of a common Yankee foot soldier, an otherwise ordinary young man who endured the rigors of combat and exhausting marches, short rations, fear, and homesickness for a salary of $13 a month and the satisfaction of giving "all for the union."
Customer Reviews:
Only A Boy.......2007-03-01
If you are interested in more than big names and big battles this book is well worth reading. Elisha Hunt Rhodes shares his experiences from his enlistment as a boy having never been away from home until his mustering out as a man having earned the rank of Col. He writes in an honest straight forward manner about every aspect of daily life. His strong belief in duty, sense of right and wrong and his ever important sense of humor show in everything he writes. He's an optimist that made it through the war with all these attributes intact. Thankfully for us he kept this diary so that we can understand a little more about life during the Civil War.
Following the footsteps.......2004-11-25
It isn't easy to find quality diaries written so well from the Civil War sometimes; although this book will rank with in the top 10. Popularized and quoted often in Ken Burn's Civil War series on PBS, Rhodes' book about his life as a soldier come to life. Rhodes brings the excitement and patriotic fervor of being a new recruit in the 2nd Rhode Island Infantry early in the war. This patriotic spirit never dies through out his writing. Many times he writes about the daily hardships such as bad weather, sickness and death while always falling back on the duty to ones country and the saving of the union. Rhodes' duty carries him many engagements where death lingers around every corner. Battles such as Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg are just a few that this man witnessed and wrote about firsthand. Rhodes' was really an ideal soldier and loved the life. He started the war as a private and by the end of it was a colonel. Many people would benefit from reading this book be it a historian or beginner looking to further understand soldier life in the Civil War.
Excellent diary of a Civil War Soldier.......2004-07-01
This is a very well written diary of a Civil War Soldier that enlisted as a private and ended the war as a Col. He does not go into great detail about battles but, he does go into detail about the daily life of a soldier. E.H. Rhodes writes a very easy to follow text. I highly recommend this book!!!!
One of the best.......2004-06-09
I have an extensive Civil War Library,and, once in a while, read a book that stands out alone. I postponed things I needed to do in order to finish this as close to one setting as possible.
Elisha Hunt Rhodes was a 'soldier's soldier, and a patriot's patriot. His diary will take you through the hum drum of camp life and the heat of battle. It takes you through the good times as well as the bad times. Your emotions will swing with his. Through all, Rhodes was "All for the Union."
As I finished this book, I realized this must be the best eye witness account ever written.
A Civil War Classic.......2004-04-11
I purchased this book more than a decade ago after Ken Burns' series on the Civil War "discovered" Elisha Hunt Rhodes. I find the his words so compelling that I re-read this book at least once a year. As a self-professed Civil War buff, it continually amazes me that Elisha survived the carnage of four years of an absolutely brutal conflict with his optimism and values intact. Some angel was definitely looking out for him. Today, as America finds itself embroiled in another war, I take more than a little comfort in Elisha Hunt Rhodes' spirit and resilience.
Book Description
For three centuries--beginning with the accession of Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov in 1613--the Romanov Dynasty ruled Russia. Its reign ended with the execution of Nicholas II and Alexandra in the early 20th century. Noted Russian scholar W. Bruce Lincoln has brilliantly portrayed the achievement, significance and high drama of the Dynasty as no previous book has done. His use of rare archival materials has allowed him to present a portrait of the Romanovs based on their own writings and those of the men and women who knew them.
Customer Reviews:
A Very Readable Account of Imperial Russia's Rulers.......2003-12-05
W. Bruce Lincoln's history of the 300 years of Romanov rule in Russia (1613-1917) is easily his most readable account of Russian history. While Professor Lincoln's research is meticulous as ever, in this volume he has to cover far more ground than in his other more focused histories and thus he avoids some of the digressions that he normally might allow himself. The result is a superb one-volume history of the Tsars and Tsarinas who determined Russia's development from a minor principality into the largest empire on earth.
The Romanovs consists of four parts: Muscovite beginnings (1613-1689), the Rise of an Empire (1689-1796), Empire Triumphant (1796-1894) and the Last Emperor (1894-1917). The first three parts each consist of several chapters, with the first covering biographical details of the Tsars and Tsarinas in that period, followed by chapters on political and cultural changes in that period. There are only two significant problems with what is otherwise a superb presentation: a non-chronological methodology and a lack of a single supporting map of Romanov domains (there are two maps of St Petersburg's layout). In the first case, Lincoln tends to keep coming back to Tsars in subsequent chapters on culture, politics, etc which is very confusing. Indeed, he seems in a rush to plow through the biographies of the Tsars, then revisit their cultural accomplishments, then come back again and discuss their political accomplishments, and then maybe discuss a few scandals or wars. As for the lack of maps, it makes it extremely difficult for the reader to evaluate the territorial expansions of the various Romanov rulers or Russia's growth over three centuries.
Despite these two flaws, the Romanovs is a delightful read for anyone with a scholarly interest in Russian imperial history. Perhaps the three most significant rulers that Lincoln assesses are Peter the Great, Catherine the Great and Nicholas II. Most histories tend to elevate Peter to hero status, but Lincoln's evaluation is more mixed. While Peter gets great credit for pushing Russia to modernize, the costs he incurred may have been too great. In particular, Lincoln questions Peter's obsession with building his capital on totally unsuitable terrain; the fact that the Russians were able to eventually succeed in constructing Peter's dream capital often disguises the fact that the human and financial losses were exorbitantly wasteful. The reader will be left to ponder the question that if Peter had built his capital elsewhere, Russia's development might have been much less painful. As for Catherine, Lincoln prefers to minimize the scandal and corruption associated with her court and view this as the golden age of Russian cultural development. Finally, Nicholas II appears as even more of a fatalistic dolt bent on self-destruction than he did in Lincoln's previous books. In sum, The Romanovs provides a solid and very readable account of Russia's development under the Tsars and Tsarinas.
Read It!.......2002-07-22
A genuinely great book. Lincoln certainly could write, and make
all those old Russians seem really interesting. As Lincoln's
former students (including me) know, his lectures were tediously
boring, so that makes the books all the more remarkable.
The best there is...........2002-03-06
Mr. Lincolm, unlike Robert Massie who wrote "Peter the Great," left me with the clear impression that he understood the source material he had at hand, and was able to verify through corroboration every thing he said. Some of the more incredible stories, or speculative rumors are left out. This does not make his work any less enjoyable, but it does lend Mr. Lincoln's work a feeling of solid thoroughness in its research--something that is lacking in Massie's book. If a story was left out, I felt quite confident that Mr. Lincoln knew of the story, but could not corroborate it to his satisfaction.
This book is very thorough and incredible in its vast sweep. But it is broken apart into major periods. Each period is further broken down into topics, such as political history, economic history, social history, and so on. This format makes the book quite useful as a reference as well as enjoyable to read. This is the best book on the story of the Romanov family in the English language to date. And I can see this book firmly establishing itself as a timeless classic, alongside Shelby Foote's "Civil War," or Gibbons, "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire."
Remarkable.......2001-12-17
Lincoln opens his book with a candidely written note to the reader explaining the intentions of his book. Quite rightly, he admits that a real account of so vast a subject would take several volumes of this size: instead, he has set out to put concisely and organically the history and biographies of the Romanovs, reflecting his own preferences, prejudices, and feelings. Such a task relies more on the author than the subject: thankfully, Lincoln is the most canny and insightful writers on the subject that I have ever come across. His book is a triumph in every sense; fair, complete, well-researched, and drawing from so many great resources that it seems as though Lincoln has drawn together every rich fountain of knowledge on his subject and made a great pool for every curious mind.
The scope of this book is stunning, but Lincoln's organization brings great coherence. First he details and outlines the lives, the personalities, and the administrations of a certain era of the Romanovs; then, in a series of subchapters, he details the events, the wars, the civil unrest, the art, and the accomplishments of that same period. Doing this, he has managed to collect in one relatively short volume what a myriad of books have tried to capture individually. The writing is fluid and lively: professional and not novelesque, but still managing to draw on the imagination of the reader while conveying clearly a great avalanche of knowledge.
The author does write from his own perspective, but his views are not overbearing, unfair, or masked with selective facts and underhanded reasoning: in short, the author is not trying to sell you to his point of view, and his understanding of the Romanovs is based in pure reasoning, not political bias or ideology. He clearly thinks little of Catherine II -- but he writes of her with remarkable understanding and honesty. His view is not unfounded: he presents her has a devout autocrat with a shrewd and tactful mind and great mastery over foreign policy who nevertheless was hypocritical in the lip-service she paid to the Enlightenment. Indeed, this is not a radical conclusion and many have come to it before. His views of Peter the Great seem mixed; the author reflects on the magnitude of Peter's accomplishments and the cost of status that eventually took its toll on the Russian identity. His portrayal of Nicholas I is particularly great, having written a separate biography on him, and treating him as every other does with a subject they know so well. The book covers well other topics, from the building of St. Petersburg and its great architechts, to a responsible chapter on the Gold and Iron ages of art and what they meant, in a larger sense, to Russia (He curiously leaves out the Mighty Five composers, which would have fit his theme quite well, but probably for brevity rather than oversight).
Lastly, the book treats the touchy subject of the last Tsar and the Revolutions with great skill. Unlike so many other authors who write on the topic with a predetermined political conclusion, Lincoln is a disciplined historian, and his duty (he knows) is to treat the past fairly. At no point in his sweeping and breathtaking final chapters does he fall into tendentious or snide language. He gives a great account of the mismanagement of the last regime, the interim governments, and the feelings of the Russian people, which confrims that the move to the Left was driven both naturally and by outside forces. Extremely responsible.
I was extremely skeptical when I picked this book up: I could not have been more pleased with it.
One of a Kind!.......2001-10-30
This book is absolutely astounding for it's breath taking, and most unusual layout and scope. Lincoln has managed,apart from a somewhat strange dislike for Catherine II to put forth an honest and forthright account of the lives of the Romanov autocrats. This book is truly to be applauded.
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CCEL Classics CD: works by Saint Augustine, John Calvin, John Donne, Julian of Norwich, Brother Lawrence, Martin Luther, Saint Teresa of Avila, Thomas Aquinas, Thomas a Kempis, John Wesley, and more!
Dr. W. Harry Plantinga
Manufacturer: Christian Classics Ethereal Library
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ASIN: 1931848076
Release Date: 2006-12-15 |
Product Description
The most important spiritual writings of Christian history are available on this Classics CD by the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) at Calvin College. It contains 118 Christian classics, including three versions of the Bible, several commentaries, Bible dictionaries, readings, spiritual guides, sermons, poems and journals -- all in a convenient, searchable form. Books are available in HTML and PDF formats. The easy-to-use CCEL Desktop software powering the CD enables users to browse and print books and install additional books from the Web. The top-of-class search engine can search for words or phrases in books, in authors works or in the whole library. In addition, it can search for dictionary definitions of words and commentary or references to scripture passages. The interface is a Web browser. The CD is compatible with Windows 2000+, Macintosh 10.3+, and most Linux versions.
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All the Russias/the End of an Empire
Fitzroy MacLean
Manufacturer: Smithmark Publishers
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- Substance and Beauty, Too
- A meticulously researched historical novel
- Moving story of a mine strike's politics and dangers.
- Beware that movement that generates its own songs.
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Bread and Roses, Too
Katherine Paterson
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ASIN: 0739331078
Release Date: 2006-09-12 |
Book Description
Rosa’s mother is singing again, for the first time since Papa died in an accident in the mills. But instead of filling their cramped tenement apartment with Italian lullabies, Mamma is out on the streets singing union songs. Rosa is terrified that her mother and older sister, Anna, are endangering their lives by marching against the corrupt mill owners. After all, didn’t Miss Finch tell the class that the strikers are nothing but rabble-rousers–an uneducated, violent mob? Suppose Mamma and Anna are jailed or, worse, killed? What will happen to Rosa and little Ricci?
When Rosa is sent to Vermont with other children to live with strangers until the strike is over, she fears she will never see her family again. Then, on the train, a boy begs her to pretend that he’s her brother. Alone and far from home, she agrees to protect him . . . even though she suspects that he is hiding some terrible secret.
From a beloved, award-winning author, here is a moving story based on real events surrounding an infamous 1912 strike.
Customer Reviews:
Substance and Beauty, Too.......2007-03-23
This lovely story tells about two children caught up in the infamous Lawrence, MA, mill strike of 1912. Rosa Serutti is caught between the anti-union pronouncements of her teacher and the harsh reality of tenement life for her immigrant family. Jake Beale runs from his alcoholic father and finds friends among the Italian mill-workers. As the story progresses, Rosa and Jake are taken in by Mr. and Mrs. Gerbati in Barre, Vermont. Here they receive clothing and food and love from Mrs. Gerbati, but both Jake and Mr. Gerbati are troubled by something from the past. Through the beauty of roses blooming from granite, Jake finds a new life and Mr. Gerbati breaks out of his shell. The strike ends and Rosa returns to her Italian mamma, the woman who deserved not only bread for her family, but roses too.
This is historical fiction of the highest calibre, with authentic details, well-developed characters, and a touching ending. It is a story of substance and beauty, too.
A meticulously researched historical novel.......2007-02-09
Bread and Roses, Too is told from the alternating perspectives of two very different children. Jake Beale has faked his papers to work at the local mill, is largely illiterate, and spends most of his time running away from his abusive, drunken father. He respects no one, and sleeps literally in garbage heaps. Rosa Serutti is the daughter of Italian immigrants, and attends school, though her mother and older sister work in the mills. She's studious, prissy, and quiet, and worries a lot.
Though they have different backgrounds and experiences, both children find their lives turned upside down when the Lawrence mill-workers go on strike. To tell the truth, neither reacts well. Jake steals, lies, and fails to appreciate people's kindness to him. Rosa lectures her mother about the perils of striking, and slinks along on the fringes of the marches and demonstrations that arise, even as she is sometimes inspired by them. I didn't much like either child, early in the story. But things do get better. Eventually, Jake and Rosa's lives intertwine. Rosa is sent away to live in safety with a family in Vermont, and Jake escapes along with her, towing a dark secret.
All of the major events in the book are based on meticulously researched historical events (as detailed in a historical note at the end of the book). The Lawrence strikes are depicted as they happened, in terms of local and state responses, the presence of union organizers, and the humanitarian "vacations" provided for many of the mill-workers children. Barre, Vermont really did host several children from Lawrence during the strikes. A photo of the children inspired the author to look further into the story.
The historical detail does slow the book down a bit, especially in the early part, when Jake and Rosa are still in Lawrence. Because of this, I had a bit of trouble getting into this book. However, it won me over by the end, and had me in tears (in a good way). The two strongest aspects of the book, I think, are the depth of the immersion into the world of the immigrant mill-workers, and the complexity of the characterization.
Regarding the immersion, this is a book that will make readers feel lucky to have food, and warmth, and clean water, and not to have to worry about basic survival. Here's an example, when one of the Italian strikers buys lunch for Jake, giving him a platter of spaghetti:
"It was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. The tomato sauce even sported a few bits of greasy sausage. Jake forgot the crowd around him, forgot the strike, forgot the menace that waited for him in the shack, and fell to, his nose almost in the steaming plate. He hadn't had a full platter of food to himself in his entire thirteen years of life."
None of the characters in this book are one-dimensional, with the exception of Jake's dad, who is largely off-screen. Rosa's teacher is not very nice to the children in her class, and she tries to coerce them to convince their parents not to strike. And yet... she travels though the violence-prone streets to ask why Rosa isn't coming to school anymore, and she ends up providing lunch every day for the kids who remain in her class. The man in Barre that Rosa and Jake are sent to stay with, Mr. Gerbati, starts out silent and grouchy, and especially resentful of Jake. But when Jake actually gives him reason to be disapproving, Mr. Gerbati displays unexpected kindness "like his flowers blooming from the cold gray granite." Rosa's mamma is uncouth and uneducated, and somewhat careless of her children, but she has a voice like an angel, and she wants better for her Rosa than she ever had. Isn't that the immigrant dream?
I think that the book is accurate in capturing Rosa's struggles as the "smart one" in an immigrant family. She wants to fit in with her family, but even though she's still a child, her education is taking her beyond them. She's the only one who reads and writes fluently in English. At one point she thinks:
"She would be an American, an educated, civilized, respected American, not a despised child of an immigrant race. When she grew up she'd change her name and marry a real American and have real American children. She wouldn't go out to work in a mill and leave them in the care of someone's old granny who couldn't even speak English. She'd stay home and cook American food and read them American books and ... But even as she thought these determined thoughts, somewhere in the back of her mind she could smell rigatoni smothered in tomato sauce with bits of sausage in it and could hear her mamma's beautiful voice singing Un Bel Di."
I think that there are plenty of immigrant kids today facing the same sort of conflict between the promise of being American and the pull of their own culture.
This is a book that I'll remember for a long time. There is so much unflinching detail: Jake sleeping in the garbage; the welts on Jake's back; the wide-eyed awe of the children when they visit the Gerbati's house for the first time; and the feeling that Rosa has of being part of something larger than herself, during the demonstrations. I think this is one of those books that gets better in your memory, the longer it stays with you. I hope that kids will be able to get past the "good for you" feeling of the early historical parts, because the story has a lot to offer.
This book review was originally published on my blog, Jen Robinson's Book Page, on February 8, 2007.
Moving story of a mine strike's politics and dangers........2006-12-10
Rosa's mother seems happy again after recording from the mining death of Rosa's father - but she's out in the streets singing union songs, and Rosa's frightened of the corrupt mill owners. When she's sent away to live with strangers in Vermont until the strike is over, she worries she'll never see her family again. Her adoption of a younger boy will help protect them both in this moving story of a mine strike's politics and dangers.
Beware that movement that generates its own songs........2006-09-25
Doggone it, Katherine Paterson, stop making me cry! Under normal circumstances the number of books that make me tear up is a slim number that could be counted on one hand. And most of those books, if I was going to be honest with you, were probably written by Katherine Paterson. Ms. Paterson is a bit of a wonder. Year after year, decade after decade, she churns out consistently well-written meaningful pieces of children's fiction. The last book of Ms. Paterson's that I read was her rather remarkable, "The Same Stuff As Stars". Now, however, she's decided to traipse back into the world of historical fiction, alongside all the other authors this year, and produce a bit of fascinating history that can show a situation clear distinctions between good and bad, and yet leave enough room for people with nebulous motives. If complex narratives is the name of the game, consider Paterson a player.
On the one hand there's Jake. On the other hand there's Rosa. Both children live in Lawrence, Massachusetts in less than stellar conditions. For Jake, life is especially rough. His father's a drunkard who steals his son's money all the time and beats him senseless. And though Jake can usually make a little money in the local mills, it's rarely enough to keep him fed and warm. Rosa, in contrast, is relatively lucky. She lives with her mama, elder sister, and little baby brother in one of the city's many tenements. But life at the mill has been getting worse and worse and when it looks as if the mill owners are going to cut the workers' pay yet again, that's the straw that breaks the camel's back. Now Rosa's mother is joining in with the 1912 strike alongside workers from a variety of different backgrounds. And that might not be so bad except that Rosa is firmly convinced that her mama is putting their entire way of life in jeopardy. Her worst fears are confirmed too when her mother puts her on a train to Barre, Vermont to wait out the strike with a kind family there. On the train Jake meets up with Rosa and though they are only barely acquainted, he convinces her to say that he's her brother so that he can get out of town fast. As it happens, Jake has a secret he's trying to escape while Rosa has a life she's trying to remember.
Though it's clear from the get go that the mill owners are bad and the mill workers are good, Paterson works tirelessly to muddle the issue through Rosa's eyes. As far the girl is concerned, joining in the strike is dangerous and common. And Jake's no better a person with his constant schemes on how to get ahead and lie his way out of most situations. When he finds himself with the striking workers the book reads that, "This was the excitement of being a thief in the middle of hundreds of thieves, all set to steal away the world of Billy Wood", who is the mill's owner. In fact, you could probably say that there are few main characters out there half as self-centered as Rosa and Jake. For a long time all they think about is themselves. It takes a long time for them to get on that train headed for Vermont (150 pages or so), though once they do they're taken far enough away from what they're used to to think about something other than me me me. Rosa's schoolteacher Miss Finch is another complicated character. Unlike the mill schoolteacher in "Counting On Grace", Miss Finch is completely on the side of the owners. She doesn't want Rosa to be taken out of school, but she also encourages the children vehemently to keep their parents from striking. Rosa is, of course, completely on her teacher's side, and it's interesting to watch as Paterson pulls the child reader's strings back and forth and back again. She never tells her audience what to think and she doesn't have to. This book is an excellent example of "show, don't tell".
For those amongst us who don't know their American history as they should, I think I might not be the only one who thought that the title, "Bread and Roses, Too", meant that this story was a sequel. I know, I know. I'm a Neanderthal. I accept that. Really, it wasn't until the story showed how Rosa participated in naming the Bread and Roses Strike personally that I knew where the title even came from. Ms. Paterson, who is always good with clarification, mentions in the book's Historical Note at the end that no one really knows who came up with that phrase. She just took the liberty of assigning the job to Rosa, and it works like a dream.
Part of the privilege that comes with being a writer is that if you would like to set a book partly in your own hometown, you have that right. Ms. Paterson sets part of this book in Barre, Vermont where she herself lives. The people of Barre have long been known for the role they played in hosting the children of the Lawrence strikers. Ms. Paterson used all kinds of Barre historians to aid her in the writing of this book, and the result is a story that certainly gives the city its due. The writing for its own part is, of course, pitch perfect at all times. And while the book's first sentence is nothing to crow about, its last one is amazing. You won't understand much of what it means without having read the book, but I'll write it here just so you can get a taste of what Paterson's about. "How strange, how wonderful it semed to be running, not away from petty crime or deadly fear, but toward a new life where bread was never wanting and roses grew in stone."
It's interesting to note that Paterson doesn't go into the details of what working in a mill would entail in this book. We see the result of horrid working conditions rather than the cause. Technically she already showed the cause in her book "Lyddie". And if you happen to be desperate to read about what it was like for mill children, definitely seek out Elizabeth Winthrop's remarkable, "Counting On Grace". If children reading this book can get past Rosa's self-centeredness (she doesn't ever seem to get behind the strike until it seems as if she's named it herself) and they don't get bogged down in the story's first half, they'll be rewarded with a remarkable addition to the Paterson oeuvre. Reading "Bread and Roses, Too", makes you feel, when you are done, as if you've become a better person for the reading. A lovely little novel.
Book Description
Dean Reed had one of the strangest careers in the history of popular culture. Failing to gain recognition for his music in his native United States, he achieved celebrity in South America in the early 1960s and then, unbelievably, became the biggest rock star in the Soviet Union, where he was awarded the Lenin Prize and his icons were sold alongside those of Josef Stalin. His albums went gold from Bulgaria to Berlin. He made highly successful movies and, naively earnest, was an unwitting acolyte for socialism; everywhere he went, he was mobbed by his fans. And then, in 1986, at the height of his fame, right after 60 Minutes had devoted a segment to him, finally giving him the recognition he had never attained at home, he drowned in mysterious circumstances in East Berlin.
Drawn magnetically to his story, Reggie Nadelson pursued the mystery of Dean Reed’s life and death across America and Eastern Europe, her own journey mirroring his. As she traveled, the Berlin Wall came down, the Soviet Union crumbled, and Reed became an increasingly alluring figure, his life an unrepeatable tale of the Cold War world. Encountering the characters— musicians and DJs, politicians and public figures, lovers and wives—who peopled Reed’s life, Nadelson was drawn further and further into a seedy, often hilarious subculture of sex, politics, and rock ’n’ roll. Part biography, part memoir and personal journey, Comrade Rockstar is an unforgettable chronicle of an utterly improbable life
Customer Reviews:
COMRADE ROCKSTAR.......2007-07-30
I read this book when it first appeared and wrote a damning letter to its author. It is little better than a smear job by someone who can not understand the sincere motivations which guided this talent and unfortunately led to his tragic end. Reed deserves much better!
The Rise and Fall of Dean Reed, American Communist Rock Star.......2007-01-22
The title got me the moment after I saw it. This book sketches out the life of Dean Reed, who went from being a potential star in LA of the 1950s and then moved to Chile to begin his rise to a superstar behind the Red Curtain in the 60s, 70s and into the 80s. Dean was a true believer in socialism and he fully supported the USSR and East Germany, and went so far as to defend the Berlin Wall and Communism during an interview with MIke Wallace for 60 Minutes. Finding that his career was sagging with Perestroika, he began to put together a movie about the Wounded Knee and had plans to return to the US. Then, in 1986 Dean died under very mysterious and strange circumstances, his death officially being ruled an accident.
Nadelson interviews all the main players in Dean's life and gives you a good taste of what it is. She also talks about what it was like to be in East Germany, USSR and the Czech Republic during the times she interviewed those people between 1988 and 1990. Weaving the threads of Dean's life between her travelogue, the book is very compelling and an interesting look into the fall of Communism and the rise and fall of Dean Reed. The book is well written and very easy to digest. I could hardly put it down since I wanted to know more about Dean. Some parts of Dean's life are skimmed over, especially his time in Latin America between 1960 and 1966, but the author admits she was more interested in Dean in the USSR and East Germany, where she was able to get more information and material for her book and where her main focus lies.
According to the book's last chapter, Tom Hanks has optioned it for a movie. So far, nothing has been done with it, although some of Dean's music is coming out in February 2007. If you want to read a look into a strange and fascinating life during some very interesting times, read this book.
The curious tale of "rock star" Dean Reed.......2006-09-03
I was immediately attracked by the premise of the book: how does American Dean Reed end up in the USSR and later East Germany, and become a huge "rock star" in the Communist zone during the 70s and early 80s? I am a pretty big rock music fan, and I had never heard of Dean Reed until I read this book.
In "Comrade Rockstar" (333 pages), author Reggie Nadelson brings the life story of Dean Reed, and also writes a travel book of what her experiences were traveling in those countries in the late 80s (before the Berlin Wall fell) while doing research for the book. It is the research part that I have some doubts about, as the suthor brushes over large parts of Reed's life. (Comparw this, for example, to the pain-staking reasearch done by Bob Spitz for his recent "The Beatles: The Biography" book...) That said, having visited the USSR myself in the mid-80s, I very much enjoyed the author's observations on how life was in the USSR and East Germany in the late 80s. My main criticism of the book is that it is never really clear to me how exactly Reed became such a big star in the communist block. Reed died in 1986 under mysterious circumstances: was it suicide? was it a KGB hit? some other sucpicious interference? The final conclusions on this from the author (which I won't spoil here) come across entirely reasonable and plausible.
Finally, it should be noted that this book was first published in England in 1991. Now 15 years later, it is released in the US as well. Why? Because none other than Tom Hanks has bought the movie rights to the book. We'll have to see if it ever does reach the silver screen, but in the meantime we now can at least enjoy the book for ourselves.
A Truly Intriguing Story About a Rock Star More Americans Should Know.......2006-07-26
'Comrade Rockstar' is a genuine page-turner. I literally couldn't put it down until I finished it. Ms. Nadelson paints a vivid picture of Eastern Europe & Russia during the Cold War. She likewise gives readers a glimpse of the world of Soviet rock and roll. Music fans and history fans alike should love this book.
On top of all this is the compelling figure of Dean Reed himself. A product of 1950s America, this cross between Frankie Avalon and John Denver ended up being the biggest rock star East of the Berlin wall. Through Nadelson's studied though accessible prose, I came to feel like I knew Dean Reed---warts and all. Was Reed a Communist turncoat or simply a politically naive sucker who ended up being Mother Russia's pet American? By the end of 'Comrade Rockstar', you'll have the answer to this question. And as hard as resisting the urge to read ahead was, the real-life "cliffhanger" ending was worth the wait.
Reggie Nadelson has written a fine, balanced biography of a musician more Americans should know. I recommend it highly.
Three Chords That Shook The World.......2006-07-19
Not very well written, this book was apparently written and published about 15 years back, and now reissued with some minor updating by the author, based on Tom Hanks' interest in producing a movie version of Dean Reed's life. Author Nadelson, in an engaging foreward, thanks Oscar winner Hanks for making it all happen for her. But others will feel they are paying 2006 prices for a 1991 book, that feels like it was written under water by s wildly imaginative journalist who thinks her every musing worth capturing in stone.
She did an okay job in tracking down many who had known Dean Reed, even his mother, and legendary rock figures from the 1950s who had known like Phil Everly, and folks beyond the Iron Curtain. The truth is that Dean Reed was hardly well known in the USA when he defected, and the scandal might have been bigger if he had been a bona fide star but basically he was a nothing, a never was, and it took the combined talents of the Politburo and the Russian film studios to push Dean Reed into the big time. Nadelson cleverly observes that his astonishing resemblance to US actor Kurt Russell helped his career in Russia and East Germany. Reed made eight or nine movies, hard to come by in the USA. Not all of them were propaganda pictures, some of them mere "spaghetti Westerns," but all of them -- at least the ones I've seen -- have a certain charm, for Reed had the fragile screen presence of a Brandon de Wilde, you wanted to shield him from the troubles of this world.
In real life he was a serial cheater and a man with a priapic libido who made love to four women every day. Nadelson's biography would have been much better if she had seen fit to leave out the details of her "Wuest for Corvo" investigation, for her observations about her travels in Perestroika era Moscow reveal she's no Rebecca West; it's like watching someone's endless home movies about visiting a grim place.
Average customer rating:
- Thanks For The Memories, Nate
- Family, Race, Class and Farming in Alabama
- The Real Nate.
- Just looking for help with a book report
- A Natural For Oprah's Book Club
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All God's Dangers: The Life of Nate Shaw
Theodore Rosengarten
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0226727742 |
Book Description
All God's Dangers won the National Book Award in 1975.
"There are only a few American autobiographies of surpassing greatness. . . . Now there is another one, Nate Shaw's."—New York Times
"On a cold January morning in 1969, a young white graduate student from Massachusetts, stumbling along the dim trail of a long-defunct radical organization of the 1930s, the Alabama Sharecropper Union, heard that there was a survivor and went looking for him. In a rural settlement 20 miles or so from Tuskegee in east-central Alabama he found him—the man he calls Nate Shaw—a black man, 84 years old, in full possession of every moment of his life and every facet of its meaning. . . . Theodore Rosengarten, the student, had found a black Homer, bursting with his black Odyssey and able to tell it with awesome intellectual power, with passion, with the almost frightening power of memory in a man who could neither read nor write but who sensed that the substance of his own life, and a million other black lives like his, were the very fiber of the nation's history." —H. Jack Geiger, New York Times Book Review
"Extraordinarily rich and compelling . . . possesses the same luminous power we associate with Faulkner." —Robert Coles,Washington Post Book World
"Eloquent and revelatory. . . . This is an anthem to human endurance." —Studs Terkel, New Republic
"The authentic voice of a warm, brave, and decent individual. . . . A pleasure to read. . . . Shaw's observations on the life and people around him, clothed in wonderfully expressive language, are fresh and clear."—H.W. Bragdon, Christian Science Monitor
"Astonishing . . . Nate Shaw was a formidable bearer of memories. . . . Miraculously, this man's wrenching tale sings of life's pleasures: honest work, the rhythm of the seasons, the love of relatives and friends, the stubborn persistence of hope when it should have vanished . . . All God's Dangers is most valuable for its picture of pure courage."—Paul Grey, Time
"A triumph of ideas and historical content as well of expression and style."—Randall Jarrell, Harvard Educational Review
"Tremendous . . . a testimony of human nobility . . . the record of a heroic man with a phenomenal memory and a life experience of a kind of seldom set down in print. . . . a person of extraordinary stature, industrious, brave, prudent, and magnanimous. . . . One emerges from these hundred of pages wiser, sadder, and better because of them. A unique triumph!"—Alfred C. Ames, Chicago Tribune Book World
"Awesome and powerful . . . A living history of nearly a century of cataclysmic change in the life of the Southerner, both black and white . . . Nate Shaw spans our history from slavery to Selma, and he can evoke each age with an accuracy and poignancy so pure that we stand amazed."—Baltimore Sun
Customer Reviews:
Thanks For The Memories, Nate.......2005-02-23
This is a timeless classic, and not just among memoirs, because the subject was a great American---a man who "had no get-back in him." Nate Shaw (real name Ned Cobb) had an amazing memory, and also an acute understanding of the post-Civil War rural South. The rhythm of the seasons, work routines, knowledge of livestock, nature and people too, combine for a profound view of a vanished America. (If you want to really know about mules, Ned's the man.) But Ned didn't just observe, he worked with the Alabama Sharecroppers' Union and defended powerless friends, serving 12 years in prison for his pains. This activism sets him apart from Kas Maine, a South African sharecropper to whom he's been compared in recent years. The earthy dialect wears out some readers, but otherwise "All God's Dangers" is compelling from start to end. Writers from Wendell Berry to Pete Daniel praise both man and book, while John Beecher's "In Egypt Land" is a moving poetic rendition of Ned's story. R. Kelley, "Hammer & Hoe" vividly recreates 1930s Alabama; on Kas Maine, see C. Van Onselen, "The Seed Is Mine." But Ned tells about his world far better than the others. In living, then narrating, a life of great struggle lived with great dignity, Ned Cobb performed a signal service---for all of us. We are in your debt!
Family, Race, Class and Farming in Alabama.......2005-01-06
In the middle of Rosengarten's book, truly a masterpiece of oral history memoir making, Nate Shaw says "all God's dangers ain't a white man." This would seem truly a remarkable thing for a black man who spent over a decade in an Alabama prison to say, but as a farmer growing cotton in Alabama during the first half of the twentieth century it quickly makes sense once he explains it. Shaw's story of his chaffing under his good for nothing father's roof; his growing prosperity as share cropper and than as a yeoman farmer; his hucksterism when dealing with violent and hostile whites attempting to cheat him; the defense of fellow small farmers that got him thrown in jail during the Great Depression; and his takes on the science of farming, race relations, the American class system and his own life experiences show Shaw to be a master story teller and Rosengarten and master interviewer. The combination of these two was absolute dynamite.
The Real Nate........2001-01-05
Nate Shaw was the father of my Uncle Oscar Turner's best friend. His real name was Nate Cobb and the family of the son, Lorraine, is prominent in the Middletown, Ohio ghetto.
The author has done a masterful job of illustrating how greatness was thrust upon him. Nate never set out to become a hero, only to protect his own dignity and provide for his children.
I do not believe that there is a better book for teaching about the lies of 20th century sharecroppers. Theirs is an overlooked legacy.
Just looking for help with a book report.......2000-10-30
I am hoping that by entering a review here, I can see other reviews that I can use to write a book review on this title. Its due tomorrow! Yikes!
A Natural For Oprah's Book Club.......2000-04-06
Ted Rosengarten is a masterful writer. All God's Dangers is an amazing undertaking that brings Nate Shaw's story to life. After a few pages, it's almost as if you can hear Nate talking. A must read for anyone interested in history and anyone who wants to learn how a book should be written. And Rosengarten's Tombee, if it can be found, is another must read.
Customer Reviews:
Compelling, heart rending, well-written true crime.......2007-05-24
Written by David Smith, who lost his infant and toddler sons when his wife sank her car with their children into a lake and watched it sink - and them drown. She then reported that she had been carjacked, and her children stolen. For nine days there was a media frenzy as the nation looked for those boys. I remember that.
And then, finally, she confessed, and the car, and the boys, were found at the bottom of a lake. I thought his story would be compelling. It certainly is.
If this story isn't an argument for abortion, I don't know what is. Of course, Susan Smith didn't choose abortion. She was a "Christian" and "didn't believe in abortion." She sure as hell didn't want to be a mother.
She also had a narcissistic personality, as well as a narcissistic mother. Self-centered to the absolute maximum. No one existed outside of their own little world, no one else mattered.
Susan Smith also had a stepfather who molested her. She may also have been an alcoholic, with very deep roots. This is a woman who desperately needed attention, and she was getting it the only way she knew how. Too bad no one else noticed...until it was too late.
Amy Fisher: Anatomy of a Scandal : The Myth, the Media and the Truth Behind the Long Island Lolita Story
Two innocent babies.......2005-06-22
This book made me rather emotional. You learn about two teenagers who meet and fall in love. The young couple is David and Susan, and they both have a far from easy life behind them so far. Susan's parents had a violent relationship, and sometimes Susan's dad would threaten to kill Susan's mum. Three weeks after their divorce Susan's dad commits suicide, and a couple of weeks later Susan's mum remarries. Susan's new step-father sexually abuses her, and when her mum finds out, she decides to stay with her new man. Several members of Susan's family have committed or attempted to commit suicide, and some (like her father) have been too fond of alcohol.
Even though David's family background may not be as bad as Susan's, his life hasn't been too easy either. His father tried to commit suicide, while his mother was very religious. In the end David decides to follow his brother and move in with his grandmother. Another blow happens in his life while he is dating Susan: His brother Daniel dies. Because Susan is pregnant, Susan's mother presses on and the young couple marries two weeks later.
After reading the book and some additional information, I am sitting with the impression that these two should never have started a family. They were far too immature and their troubled background made things even worse. They fight a lot and both have extra-marital affairs. David seems to have big problems in sticking to one woman at the time. Susan's second pregnancy is a tough one, and David seems too immature to face it. He finds new love with Tiffany, and instead of staying with his pregnant wife and baby Michael, he spends his time with her. For a short while David splits up with Tiffany, and she becomes crazy and starts to keep David and his family awake at night. My opinion is that David does little to protect his family during this time.
Shortly after Alexander's birth Susan and David parts again, and just over a year later; in a period of six weeks Susan has four lovers: Her boyfriend, her boyfriend's father, Susan's stepfather and David.
In the middle of all this there are two small innocent babies: Michael and Alexander. They are bystanders, while their parents try to figure out their lives. Their lives gets a very cruel and tragic end when their disturbed mother kills them.
It wasn't difficult to get through the book, even though the narrative is of average quality. Still, the picture of these two innocent children and their father's story about their short lives, make this into a book it is very difficult to forget.
Amazing book.......2004-02-28
This is an incredible book. Instead of writing a book and claiming he was the perfect guy and he was the victim, David told it how it was (unlike Susan Smith's mother, who also wrote a book that basically blamed everyone but Susan and the Russell family). He admitted that he was at times a bad husband. Both he and Susan were immature in their marraige. He made mistakes. But, he and Susan were perfect parents. Which makes this case all the more puzzling.
Why would Susan murder her two boys like this?! I get so angry. At 14, no one my age understands how I feel. All the way through this book, I kept having to stop and ask myself WHY. WHY didn't she give MIchael and Alex to David. WHY didn't she tell anyone that she didn't want those babies anymore. WHY did she drown them? WHY did she let their bodies rot for nine days?!
I sympathize for David. It's happy to report that he has a new wife and two more kids (Savannah and Nicholas), but imagine that, everytime one of your kids do something, everytime something new in a tabloid or the mail shows up about the case, the facts come hurling back to you.
David, you are one strong man!!!
Remember who are the TRUE victims!!!.......2003-05-27
This was such a sad bad. Like David Smith said, "Remember who are the true victims in all this, Miicheal and Alex, NOT Susan Smith! It was a good and fast reading and I a book is so much better when it's write by a person who the story concern them and not from a famous writer, is even better when the writer is not a writer, so from people who said this book is good but the editing is bad, I don't see what is bad, I thought the book was very good and it comming from the heart and soul to who that real story had happen, you can feel his pain! Everybody was saying how Susan was too good for David, my God it was the other way around, David was too good for Susan. Susan was picture as like a hot, sexy girl, sorry to me she look like a ordinary house wife and kinda chubby, she come from the South right? Yeah she do look like redneck, the way she dress and wear her hair are out of fashion even in 90th, well I am out of context here but can't help saying that to me see doesn't look hot stuff and one of the book with her glasses and her hair pine up she look like a geek! Like David Smith said, the two persons who love her the most, (their kids), she had killed them, how can a mother do this to her own children and said she love them? Why David Smith want so much the death penalty for Susan, if she got a soul she suffer much more in prison, well if she got one. She seem only to think for herself and feel pity for herself. Killing her children because she was in love with a guy that didn't want a family allready made, so she killed her kids and to have the pity of the man she love she make a a big lie that a man took over her car and push her out put kept the kids. Did she really think she could live with the rest of her life with that story and have back the man she love? She was stupid, he was also having other affair and like I said Susan is no hot thing, why he would go with her? Still a part of me pity her, if she really was having depression it can make you do stupid things, yeah maybe she was really insane!
Couldn't put it down.......2002-07-20
It was fascinating to hear the story from an iside perspective.Its so awful all around.David Smith must be a strong man to have went on with life like he did.I think Susan was seriously crazy, so I do feel a touch of sympathy for her. Its awful what happened to those poor kids.
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