Editorial Review

Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Robert "Buzz" Patterson was a military aide to President Clinton from May 1996 to May 1998 and one of five individuals entrusted with carrying the "nuclear football"—the bag containing the codes for launching nuclear weapons. This responsibility meant that he spent a considerable amount of time next to the president, giving him a unique perspective on the Clinton administration. Though he arrived at the job "filled with professional devotion and commitment to serve," he left believing that Clinton had "sown a whirlwind of destruction upon the integrity of our government, endangered our national security, and done enormous harm to the American military in which I served." Read more

Reviews (471)

You elected him, TWICE!?!
I'm not a very political guy as a rule of thumb, so when I bought this book I was determined to read it quickly.Turns out, that wasn't a problem.I read the book, then read it a second time, then went back and read the parts I had underlined.
A tale of virtue dealing with slovens
This book provides details about the Clinton Administration which are shocking.Indeed, they are horrifying: how could the President have delayed a critical decision because he was WATCHING GOLF?
Clinton helpedterroism flourish
This book shows the real Clinton as eyewitnessed by one of his closest friends.Clinton used and abused his power and the people of this country while he was in office and he is still basking in the limelight.What a shame he was as he led this country down the road to almost obliteration.This is a must read for conservatives and liberals. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1946-    2. 20th century    3. Biography    4. Clinton, Bill,    5. Government - Executive Branch    6. Government - U.S. Government    7. History    8. Military leadership    9. Military policy    10. National security    11. Political Freedom & Security - International Secur    12. Political Science    13. Politics / Current Events    14. Politics/International Relations    15. Presidents    16. Public Policy - Social Policy    17. United States    18. Biography & Autobiography / Presidents    19. Central government policies    20. Social welfare & social services    21. USA    22. Warfare & Defence   

Reviews (35)

This is a terrific insight into the Sierra and to the Park Service Rangers
I loved the book. I spent 20 years backpacking in this same area every summer in the same time span and loved the insights and details of the author regarding the environment. Wallace Stegner gave advice (detailed in the book) to Randy about how difficult it is to write in general about nature. Eric Blehm successfully overcomes this difficulty. I felt back in the mountains and reliving my experiences due to his details. Thank you Eric. The dedication and professionalism of the park rangers in the search is a tribute to these men and women. Thank you to them also.

Who, or what killed Randy Morgenson
Eric Blehm's book "The Last Season is the biography of a Sierra Nevada National Park Ranger, Randy Morgenson. Despite decades of experience and an intimate knowledge of the terrain in which Morgenson patrols, he goes missing. Blehm captures the search and rescue operation that spans over years and in the process details Morgenson's life history.
A stunning book abouthuman nature and the natural world
I will admit that I usually do not do things like review books. This book though has been one of the most enduring books that I have ever read. In a most tragic way it shows one mans bond with the natural world that few if any will ever match. Then it goes on to show the nature of those closest to him, and the profound impact he left on their lives both in life and in death. Reading this book has totally changed my outlook on the natural world. Thank You Eric Blehm for delivering the "Gospel" of Randy Morgenson to me. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1942-    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. General    7. Morgenson, James Randall,    8. Mountains    9. Outdoor Skills    10. Park rangers    11. Parks    12. Sequoia National Park (Calif.)    13. Sports - General    14. United States    15. Nature / General   

Reviews (57)

Boring and stupid
Out of fairness, I should tell you that I didn't listen to the whole audiobook.I got about 1/2 way though the first CD and just couldn't stand it anymore.What I heard was boring and extremely slow moving.It's read like a "see spot run" story for children, which makes the boring storyline even more boring and I found it to be a bit insulting.I think an audio book of names and nummbers in the phone book would be more exciting.Maybe it gets better as it goes along, but I am not willing to endure any more to find out.

just okay, not great
I have read three of Augusten's books (Dry, Running With Scissors, and Magical Thinking), and absolutely LOVED them.This book, however, was really disappointing.It wasn't funny, nor particularly interesting.It was just bland.None of the stories were really entertaining.I can't pinpoint exactly what this book is lacking, but it's simply not as well-written as his other books.I would definitely recommend his previous work.This one?Not so much.

Hopefully He's Not Slipping Already
While there are still the stories that make you cringe, cry and laugh at the same time, we're now also subjected to his "horror" stories of success: sweating while at book signings; famous-author-recognized-on-airplane-with-bloody-nose; Bad accommodations while on speaking tours.We should all have such problems. On top of this, the book is by-and-large written in fragmented sentences..where was the editor on this one?
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Subjects:  1. 20th Century American Literature    2. 20th century    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Burroughs, Augusten    8. Childhood and youth    9. Health, Exercise & Fitness    10. Literary    11. Novelists, American    12. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Editorial Review

For most writers, the greatest challenge of spiritual writing is to keep it grounded in concrete language. The temptation is to wander off into the clouds of ethereal epiphanies, only to lose readers with woo-woo thinking and sacred-laced clichés. Thankfully, Anne Lamott (Read more

Reviews (287)

Come as you are
Anne Lamott's Some Thoughts on Faith is delicious nonfiction. It's at once irreverent, reverent, poetic, rusty, sad and joyous. Anne starts by sharing her experiences with religion in childhood and then how she finally found a home in religion. But she is never preachy. She's at once religious yet more real than any religious person you've ever met, sharing her ups and downs in life, her struggles with various issues like alcoholism, bulimia, drug abuse, and, less seriously, her jiggly thighs and buttocks that she refers to lovingly as her "aunties." Her descriptions were like poetry in so many places as she describes the people she's met in her travels. Take this, for example:
An Honest Faith.
Let's be completely honest for a moment.Life is hard.Sometimes it can be incredibly hard.Bad things happen to good people and this happens quite often.We live in a fallen and sinful world.Contrary to the "Gospel of Prosperity" (aka greed) that seems popular in many places (and promoted by preachers such as Joel Osteen), you can sacrifice everything and still have nothing to show for it in this world.In fact, as followers of Jesus we have been promised "trials and tribulations".Yet, as followers of Jesus we have hope, joy, love, and peace.We have everything that the world (and what we ourselves) seek.It's not easy to not give into the despair and disillusions around us.We can get caught up in existing instead of living just as easily as anyone else.But, we can truly live and live a life abundant.It is a struggle, but it can be done.
We kill tree's to make books like this?
I wish I could have given this turkey zero stars. I tried very hard to connect with this train wreck of a book but I just couldn't. If this junk makes for good book fodder then I stand a pretty decent chance of becoming an author someday. I desperately tried to search for some kind of redeeming value in this book but I guess I just didn't get it. I'm not sure why this is a best selling "Christian" book either. It was this best seller status that led me to give it a read. Don't do what I did. Give this one a pass. She kept swearing and cursing, taking Gods name in vain, kept referring to God as a female, she stated that she prefers women pastors to men pastors, perhaps worst of all, had an abortion (almost got a second abortion) and prefers to have no father figure in her sons life. (It's pretty safe to say she doesn't like men, except for when she's getting knocked up of course...). So much for traditional American/Christian values. I don't see how this is considered a good "faith" story. It's a good thing I just checked this out from the library, I would have felt more than just alittle slighted had I bought it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Christian biography    6. Literary    7. Mothers and sons    8. Religion    9. Religious    10. United States    11. Women    12. Women novelists, American    13. Religion / General    14. Reading Group Guide   

Editorial Review

Short and snappy as it is, Stephen King's Read more

Reviews (662)

Plain everyday wanting to write
I'm your plain everyday wanting to be writer. I found, 'On Writing' to be one of the best books I've read. Mr. King writes of his childhood and life in the first part of this book, then in the second half gives advice on how to write, which I have highlighted and marked up something awful. I was one of those teenagers he talks about in his book, that failed English in high school, and thought I was dumb, because of it. I did write as a child, only for myself, not like Mr. King who wrote for Dave's Rag. I loved the parts that spoke of his and his brothers dreams, escapades, or just having fun growing up. It brought back memories of me and my brother. I've read a few books by King, but I find I loved this one the most. I'm one of the older crowd, five years older then Mr. King. I wish he would write more books on plain everyday life, as he lived with his brother and mother, for me and others out there who don't want to read murder, mystery, etc. I'm not saying I didn't like Misery, because I did. I guess now in my elder years I'm just looking for a little less anxiety. I guess I'm what you call "old" and want to think of the world as a loving place and nothing more. I know I'm just dreaming about loving your neighbor, but I "do" believe that people are out there to love one another. I tried my hand at self publishing a book named, "Fears Flutterby", maybe if Mr. King reads this he can give me some tips.
As Much of a Writer's Manual as a Riveting Tale Told By a Master Story Teller
I am not sure how I should classify ON WRITING. It is part memoir, part guide or manual, and part autobiography. As a reader, this book entertained me. As a writer, this book empowered me.
On Writing, by Stephen King
So you've finally come to it: you wake up in the morning, and decide to heck with this nine to five job, bills, and a squinty-eyed boss that smells like old tobacco - you want something better out of life. You've decided to do what you always wanted to do; become a writer, and create worlds and whole universes for a living.
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Authors, American    3. Authorship    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Composition & Creative Writing - General    9. Horror tales    10. Literary    11. Language Arts & Disciplines / Composition & Creative Writing   

Editorial Review

Heralded as the "best book on the dope decade" by the Read more

Reviews (381)

This is one heck of a fun book!
Thompson's classic novel shows that quest literature (in this case the quest for the American Dream) is not at all dead. This is tale is wonderfully crafted and will entertain until the last page.
Sometimes you just have to give it another chance
I have read this book about a dozen times, and I won't lie, the first few times were hard. I wasn't sure if I even understood this book, let alone liked it. My husband was a big fan, and convinced me to give the book another shot one day- and am I happy he did. I got it. It is funny, sad, crazy and weird. It's a journey that I am happy I took, and will take again. It is one of those book that each and every time you read it you will take away something new and fresh. Great read. Try it, you will like it.

hilarious!
If you are looking for a good laugh and are not offended by drugs, lewd behavior, and hooliganism, then I would highly recommend this book.90% of the story takes place while the two main characters are doped up on various drugs or combinations of them, and the consequences are hilarious.I laughed most of the way through.
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Journalism    5. Journalists    6. Literary    7. Pop Arts / Pop Culture    8. Popular Culture - General    9. Thompson, Hunter S    10. United States    11. United States - 20th Century/60s    12. American English    13. Biography & Autobiography / General    14. Modern fiction    15. True Stories   

Reviews (64)

Eternal truths (and lies)
This is the most candid and honest record of Trump's deals by the great master to date, or so it seems. This impression can be attributed, however, to the great job Tony Schwartz did on this book. Compare this to Trump's "How to get rich" and you know what I mean.
Written After The Early Years: Good Trump Entertainment
Let us give him his due. He has great style and tenacity and the nerve. This book was written in better days before his fall. I have visited a number of his buildings - which I understand that he was closely and personally involved in the design and construction - and they are beautiful.
For What Its Worth
You never know whether to ever really trust what Trump says or not. I actively avoided reading this book for some time. I just resisted it. I must have felt that it is a propoganda piece and I was right. It is just another win for Trump. Another chance to boast about himself and his competence. And the ironic thing is the lesson to be learned by the man on the street is exactly that. In real estate, it is simply connection and bravado after a certain level of core competencies have been achieved. This book does not go into the details of how to do what he has done.....as step by step approach beside being boring would have been ridiculous. First thing to do is go back in time and be born in a family where your father is a wealthy builder. And be born to a father who was historically in the right situation himself--building homes when the soldiers came home and started families. The second thing is go to the premier business school in the nation. After that, you do a few deals with your father and learn the business inside and out. After that make some connections through your father's friends. And the most important thing is to start your career and venture when the real estate market is absolutely deppressed. You can't help but make money.
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Business    5. Personal Memoirs    6. Real Estate Finance    7. Rich & Famous    8. Business & Economics / General   

Reviews (43)

A Brilliant Addition To A Great Story
I can recall being 13 years old at summer camp in 1977 when I read the incredible non fiction book "Alive" by Piers Paul Read. It was a story that haunted me and stayed in my memory for many years. As I came of age, I wondered what had become of the two "expeditionaries", Nando Parrado and Roberto Cannessa, who traipsed their way for 10 days out of the wreckage of the fuselage of the wrecked Uruguayan Fairchild and through the Andes to freedom and rescue. It was then, a great thrill, to have Nando and Vince Rause write this awe-inspiring followup 30 years later. The factual chronology that Read used were incredible, but this firsthand account takes the story to a different, more personal level. His daily struggle to survive, both physically and spiritually, are nothing short of extraordinary. To paraphrase Nando, the opposite of death IS LOVE. This is a book that makes one believe it and seek to live it.

This book has the power to change your life!
First let me say I read about a book a week and this is the best book I have ever read.If your not hooked by page 42 or so I dont know what book could hold your attention.This story, this incredible story of the will to survive and the process the human mind goes through in the face of unimaginable pain, suffering and starvation should be manditory reading for everyone.

Even the casual reader will be glued til the end
After reading an excerpt of the book in a outdoors magazine, I knew I had to buy and read this entire book. I am not a frequent reader, and I feared that I would end up buying this and not finishing it as I so often do. But I knew just a few pages into the book that I would finish it. I had too many questions that I knew would be answered if I finished it. The only real certain part(having never seen the movie 'Alive!') was that Nando would make it out, since he wrote the book. But past that, I had no idea who would and wouldnt survive and the series of events about to unfold.
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Subjects:  1. Aircraft accidents    2. Andes Region    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography And Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Cannibalism    8. Personal Memoirs    9. Survival after airplane accidents, shipwrecks, etc    10. Travelers    11. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (152)

The Translation for Our Times........
Simply the best translation of the Tao Te Ching available. Stephen Mitchell has done us all a great service by bringing this ages old book of wisdom to the modern era.

stephen mitchell presents the tao te ching
The tao te ching is a great book, I'm not giving that a one star review, I'm giving mitchell's interpretation of it one star.As many other reviews have stated, he doesn't speak chinese, so this translation is comprised of his reading other peoples' translations and what he thinks it means.He then tries to modernize it and make it accessible to 21st century americans.I like the old world feel of this book, you don't need to change swords to nuclear warheads, I know what a sword is.At least though, this change makes sense, some chapters Mitchell changes so much, that the entire chapter loses its meaning.A couple chapters made no sense, so I went to the back of the book where he tells what parts he changed, and then I was able to understand exactly what Lao Tzu intended to say.Don't buy this book.

Comments on reviewers
It's funny, people are giving it 1/5 because it isn't a "literal translation." It has to be the exact translated words by someone who is "scholared" for it to be worth reading.
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Subjects:  1. General    2. Philosophy    3. Religion    4. Taoism    5. Biography: general    6. Religion / Taoism   

Editorial Review

How can you join the ranks of America's wealthy (defined as people whose net worth is over one million dollars)? It's easy, say doctors Stanley and Danko, who have spent the last 20 years interviewing members of this elite club: you just have to follow seven simple rules. The first rule is, always live well below your means. The last rule is, choose your occupation wisely. You'll have to buy the book to find out the other five. It's only fair. The authors' conclusions are commonsensical. But, as they point out, their prescription often flies in the face of what we think wealthy people should do. There are no pop stars or athletes in this book, but plenty of wall-board manufacturers--particularly ones who take cheap, infrequent vacations! Stanley and Danko mercilessly show how wealth takes sacrifice, discipline, and hard work, qualities that are positively discouraged by our high-consumption society. "You aren't what you drive," admonish the authors. Somewhere, Benjamin Franklin is smiling. ... Read more

Reviews (674)

Wow- I had no idea!
I guess that when you think of millionaires, you think of flashy people with nice cars and a lot of bling, but I had no Idea that there were so many BORING millionaires!I guess it's not really pboring to have over a million dollars, but I want to be able to enjoy my monye.THeat's the purpose of this book , though- to show that you have to be boring and then you can get to be a millionaire with all the money you didn't spend on fun stuff!I almost fell asleep a couple times reading this, but when I stayed awake it was really eye-opening.I won't scoff at those people who don't have "big hats" but have a lot of cattle anymore.

Common Sense
Nothing really groundbreaking here.Mostly common sense.You can visit a few websites and virtually get the same info presented in this book.

Unrealistic, repetitive, couldn't finish
This book was interesting at first.It shatters what most of us think the typical millionaire looks and acts like, but that only takes a chapter.After that, it just keeps repeating itself over and over."Who do you think bought the $1000 watch and who bought the lower priced watch?"Yeah, yeah, I get it; the millionaire has a lower priced watch than the overspending, no real wealth guy.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Consumer Finance    5. Finance    6. Millionaires    7. Personal Finance - General    8. Rich people    9. United States    10. Wealth    11. Advice on careers & achieving success    12. Biography & Autobiography / Business   

Reviews (41)

Memorable
I read this book shortly before visiting Guatemala, and I have to say it made my travel experience alot richer.I felt more sensitized to the currents of racism and political struggle still present in the country, as well as to the pain of a people recovering from a horror in the not so distant past.Nearly every Guatemalan that I met had some powerful story of the genocide, and this book gave me a good background on the facts and politics behind the peasant struggle.
Just 2 or so hours South of Miami!
It is incredible that such human suffering went on, and in many ways is still going on, just a couple of hours (by pane) away from where I live. Rigoberta Menchu's book, written as dictated by her, is sad and tells of horrible situations.
A Credible and Important Piece of Literature.
Mench�'s book is the inspirational testimonial of an indigenous Guatemalan woman's rise from absolute obscurity and extreme poverty to become a champion of human rights and eventual Nobel peace laureate.In her book, Mench� describes the typical life of a Quich� Indian who is forced to survive in a world filled with never-ending hardships. She talks about her world and how she and her penurious people struggle daily to uphold the dignity and traditions of their forefathers while suffering under extreme oppression, exploitation, and genocidal practices inflicted upon them by the wealthy ladino landowners, the Guatemalan government, and, in particular, the Guatemalan military.
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. General    5. Guatemala    6. History - General History    7. Indians of Central America    8. Menchu, Rigoberta    9. Quiche women    10. Quichâe women    11. Social life and customs    12. Women    13. Women revolutionaries    14. Biography: political    15. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    16. Sociology, Social Studies   

Reviews (6)

A great and sordid tale
This is a greeat and depressing book. I documents how America is a country of many laws and little enforcement. Believe it. That the book was trashed as anti-Semetic in The NY Times Sunday Book Review only makes it a more important read (The dolt Times reviewer reviewer had a tribal agenda and comes from self-admitted mob affiliated tax cheat family should be all you need to know about that review)
HOPING FOR AN UPDATE
This book tells how Sidney Korshak and other mob fronts moved from Chicago to Las Vegas and Southern California in the 1940's.Using such notorious hangouts as the Bistro and City National Bank in Beverly Hills, some of which are still as sinister as ever, they gained influence in unions, business, and politics at the local and even national and international level.
Worth the wait?
It's 490 years since Sir Thomas More wrote Utopia, a model for any society desiring to live rightly.The Utopians had little interest in money or the false pleasures of jewelry and high fashion.They disdained gambling and the pursuit of "empty and worthless honors," and anybody arrogant enough to run for public office could never gain it.The legal profession was absolutely banned, as was private property.Everybody worked for the greater good of all.There was no "conspiracy of the rich," in which a few preyed on the many and amassed wealth through crooked schemes.
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. California    5. Chicago    6. Illinois    7. Lawyers    8. Lawyers & Judges    9. Organized Crime    10. True Crime / Espionage    11. United States    12. History / United States / 20th Century   

Reviews (7)

SUPERSTARANDYWARHOL BLOWS UP
"Gee..." as Andy would say. "It's so big..." Brilliant compilation of Warholia with analysis and photos as evidence of His Genius. Two chapters- "America the Beautiful" and "Matinee Idols"- written by David Dalton who was there at the Creation are especially perceptive and insightful. Andy Warhol lives- Bigger and Better Forever!

ANDY ANDY ANDY ANDY ANDY ANDY ANDY ANDY ANDY
this book is really really big.
Great
I really enjoyed this book.If you are at all interested in Warhol this is the book for you.The format is amazing.The book has everything Warholian that you could want. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American - General    2. Art    3. Artists, Architects, Photographers    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Contemporary Art    6. Fine Arts (General)    7. Historical - U.S.    8. Individual Artist    9. Techniques - Painting    10. Art / Individual Artist    11. Individual artists    12. Pop art    13. Postwar period, 1945 to c 2000    14. USA   

Reviews (1)

Excellent Firsthand Accounts by a Veteran Journalist
Anyone who loves to read first-person accounts of current events will find this book exceptionally interesting. From its intriguing title, "Uncivilized Beasts and Shameless Hellions," to the text itself and the photographs included, the reader is presented with a tour of eleven locations around the world where veteran NPR journalist John F. Burnett found stories to report and personal experiences to describe. This book is one of the few nonfiction "page-turners" I have read in recent times. Once I started reading, it was difficult to put down. His writing is fluid and crisp and as impressive as his height (6' 7").
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography And Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Burnett, John F    7. Editors, Journalists, Publishers    8. Essays & Travelogues    9. Personal Memoirs    10. Radio (Performing Arts)    11. Radio journalists    12. United States    13. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs   

Editorial Review

In Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel's memoir