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If Words Could Move Mountains ...
You can hear the compassion and conviction in Bobby's voices.I have listened to these two tapes many times over... I've read the speeches in text ... but nothing is like listening to Bobby's voice, slightly shaken, slightly rushed, but always genuine and sincere.Bobby Kennedy is an American leader.Though his short life span did not allow him to accomplish enough, his vision and integrity examplified what spiritual growth could be.Even with all the mistakes he might have made, you could never doubt his conviction and his good will towards all mankind.Listen to his voice, not just his words ... and let his voice give you a desire to give more than what you are required ... to live for something greater than ourselves.Even in death, Bobby left the youths of every generation the challenge, a torch to carry on. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1953-1961    2. 1961-1963    3. Abridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography    4. Audio - Autobiography / Biography    5. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    6. General    7. Politics and government    8. Specimens    9. Talking books    10. United States    11. United States - 20th Century    12. History / General   

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A long haul very illuminating at times
This is a very detailed autobiography. I think the very best parts of it relate to the period of Miller's life when he was a young and eager playwright. The whole story of the first stagings of ' Death of a Salesman'is a truly fascinating one. One of the major problems of the work for me however was that Miller could supply tremendous detail and also insight about people without really probing inwardly very deeply . I also believe he held back a lot of punches, a lot of bitter truth in writing about people closest to him.
a useable past
In an interview conducted before he wrote this book, Miller said, "I think memoirs, autobiography...can help to translate chaos into something that is a useable past. Give an image where there was only a blur." He suggests the kind of autobiography he would be interested in writing would be more about the time he was living rather than his life, so a reader would "come away from it somehow a little heavier than he went into it." In all of this, TIMEBENDS succeeds wonderfully. I learned a great deal more about the textures, realities and signficance of the 1930s, 40s and 50s through his observations and images than through any linear professional histories. A bonus for those who enjoy seeing and reading Miller's plays is his deliberate selection of significant events and people in his life that show up in the plays in one way or another. And he does have great stories and observations about famous people--Olivier, Clark Gable, etc.-- that are the more conventional pleasures of show biz autobios. Even if he wasn't among the most important American dramatists of our time--perhaps the most important--this book would be a significant literary accomplishment. Miller is a careful writer, so readers perhaps unused to tact and understatement in memoirs are advised to look beyond their expectations to what he actually says. Yet his chapters on Marilyn Monroe were vivid and gave me more of an impression of her as a person than anything else I've read.Miller's voice brings all of this varied material together, and so the reader might approach this book as if listening to a great storyteller. This is a book full of heart, humor, wisdom and perspectives not found elsewhere. It is a treasure and a gift.

jumpy and tiresome
After having read 'Timebends,' I can only say that I am grateful that Miller decided on drama rather than the novel as a form of expression. While this autobiography does give us glimpses into a very interesting life, the author, without warning, often abandons his discussion and jumps into some other person he has bumped into along the way. Meanwhile, his family, his wives and children remain shadowy figures at best. At any given point it is anyone's guess to whom Miller is married. I would gladly have exchanged much of the anecdotal material, some of which seems to drag on endlessley, for the more important influences in his life, specifically the women. Only Marilyn Monroe gets the thorough treatment, although I suspect strongly that the mother and the wives were more than simply 'props' in this colorful career. Only toward the end does the mother appear more sharply defined but, sadly, it is at the moment of her passing. I found a great deal of trivial detail which I would have exchanged gladly for insights about the impact of having a family and familial responsibilities while trying to be a writer. The treatment of his marriage to Monroe and his insights into her personality are very worthwhile, as are the discussions of his plays, particularly "Salesman." However, the reader could easily have been spared much of the tedious detail that dominates much of this great tome. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    2. Unabridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography   

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Subjects:  1. 1858-1919    2. Abridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography    3. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    4. Audiobooks    5. Biography    6. Biography & Autobiography    7. Childhood and youth    8. Presidents    9. Presidents & Heads of State    10. Roosevelt, Theodore,    11. United States    12. Biography & Autobiography / Presidents   

Editorial Review

Since hitting the American roads in

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IT IS A MATTER OF TASTE I SUPPOSE, BUT I ENJOYED THIS ONE
Differt people look for different things in a book or story and that is the way it should be.I personally enjoyed this work and am quite happy I finally read it.The author is a very good travel writer, and as another reviewer noted, he, the author, does have a good eye and has a very gifted ability to translate what he sees to paper.This is not only a good travel book, but a good adventure book.There is a lot of interesting information to be had here.No, this is not another Blue Highways, nor should it be.From my own taste, I dislike and try not to compair a writers work with his or her previous work and attempt to let the most current stand on it's own credits.The author has done a good job is discribing the country he traveled through via his boat, the River-Horse and has done a good job of discribing the people he meets along the way and has done a very nice job of telling us his feelings.The only aspect of this work that annoyed my was the author's vocabulary.I realize that I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but good grief, I had to constantly run for the dictionary to find out what the author was talking about.I like learning new words but the author sort of went over the top on this one and I felt this distracted from his overall story.All in all though, I felt this was a good read and do recommend it.

River Horse
What a disappointment after reading Blue Highways -- which this certainly is not! Had Heat-Moon given in a Prologue the tale of him giving up his marriage in order to do this boat trip I certainly wouldn't have read the book. It seemed, as I read it, that I was tempted numerous times to put it down and never pick it up again. There is so much negativism and cynicism with jabs at religion, politics and being an activist for much of the trip. I like to read enjoyable books. So, I say, if you feel you have to read it, check it out of a library.

Up a Creek
When William Least Heat-Moon takes an excursion, it is as much an inward as an outward journey.
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Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Boats and boating    4. Dories (Boats)    5. Essays & Travelogues    6. General    7. Inland navigation    8. Sailing - Narratives    9. Unabridged Audio - Misc.Nonfiction    10. United States   

Editorial Review

Benjamin Franklin, writes journalist and biographer Walter Isaacson, was that rare Founding Father who would sooner wink at a passer-by than sit still for a formal portrait. What's more, Isaacson relates in this fluent and entertaining biography, the revolutionary leader represents a political tradition that has been all but forgotten today, one that prizes pragmatism over moralism, religious tolerance over fundamentalist rigidity, and social mobility over class privilege. That broadly democratic sensibility allowed Franklin his contradictions, as Isaacson shows. Though a man of lofty principles, Franklin wasn't shy of using sex to sell the newspapers he edited and published; though far from frivolous, he liked his toys and his mortal pleasures; and though he sometimes gave off a simpleton image, he was a shrewd and even crafty politician. Isaacson doesn't shy from enumerating Franklin’s occasional peccadilloes and shortcomings, in keeping with the iconoclastic nature of our time--none of which, however, stops him from considering Benjamin Franklin "the most accomplished American of his age," and one of the most admirable of any era. And here’s one bit of proof: as a young man, Ben Franklin regularly went without food in order to buy books. His example, as always, is a good one--and this is just the book to buy with the proceeds from the grocery budget. Read more

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Exactly what I was looking for in a Franklin bio
After reading Walter Isaacson's biography of Benjamin Franklin, I have concluded Benjamin Franklin lived a very long time. This one took some time to get through. That being said, I never found Benjamin Franklin: An American Life tedious or boring. Franklin's personality was (and is) unappreciated in its complexity, and his eventful life is examined comprehensively by Isaacson. Each chapter is broken down into manageable sections, making it a great book to pick up and read a little bit at a time. In the end, all these fragments come together to form a fascinating portrait of someone who personified what it meant (and means) to be American. Only appropriate considering he was the only founding father present at the drafting of all four documents critical to the establishment of the United States: the Declaration of Independence, the treaty of alliance with France, the peace treaty with Great Britain, and the Constitution.
The Real Ben

Benjamin Franklin; An American Life
Thomas Barnes
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Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography    2. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Historical - General    6. Historical - U.S.    7. Inventors    8. Political    9. Scientists    10. Scientists - Inventors    11. Statesmen    12. United States    13. United States - General    14. History / United States / Revolutionary Period (1775-1800)   

Editorial Review

Carl Sagan muses on the current state of scientific thought, whichoffers him marvelous opportunities to entertain us with his own childhoodexperiences, the newspaper morgues, UFO stories,and the assorted flotsam and jetsam of pseudoscience.Along the way he debunks alien abduction, faith-healing, and channeling; refutes the arguments that science destroys spirituality, and provides a "baloney detection kit" for thinking through political, social, religious, and other issues. ... Read more

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Shining a Much-Needed Light
This book is, by far, one of the best explications of the spirit of scientific inquiry I've ever encountered. Sagan's earnest respect for science and clear appreciation of the natural world shine through his clear prose. Although a large part of this book is dedicated to reconciling paranormal claims with the reality of a non-paranormal world, Sagan's attitude never comes across as overly forceful or belittling. While he proposes alternate explanations for such phenomena as alien abductions, ghosts, and psychics, he always does so via pointed questions rather than shouted conclusions. His questions force the reader to think for him or herself, whether they be believers in the supernatural or not.
Sagan's 'Candle' needed now more than ever
Published just 10 years ago, not too long before his untimely death at the age of 62, Dr. Carl Sagan's "The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark" is a brilliant defense of science in the face of irrationality and superstition.
The
This is hands down the best non-fiction book I have ever read.This book has guided my thinking and opened my eyes to how we as humans can easily delude ourselves.Carl Sagan was not only a great popularizer of science and scientific inquiry, he was a visionary with and his words and admonitions are prophetic as we look at the world around us today.
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Subjects:  1. Audio - Nonfiction (Unabridged)    2. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    3. Controversial Knowledge    4. Philosophy & Social Aspects    5. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Editorial Review

The unabridged audio version of Sebastian Junger's Read more

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Excellent, exciting and interesting...
I read this book after I visited Gloucester last year and had a chance to read F/V Black Sheep before it was published, in it the author talks about drinking in a bar with Sully so it was interesting to be able to get this book and read about what happened to him. Gloucester fishermen sure lead tough lives. This is a very exciting book with lots of details and information about what their lives are like. I'll probably read it again.

A haunting sea
This is a gripping book that kept me awake many nights when the winds would push the rain against my bed room windows.They say that the New England weather is unpredictable and having lived in Massachusetts for almost 15 years I can only agree.Storms can build so fast that a sunny picnic can quickly turn into a washed out event.In fact, I remember this "Perfect storm" happening in October of 1991.It happened the day of Halloween and it rained and rained and rained.The sky was so dark and the wind was roaring like a true Nor'easter.Given my location and own personal experience of this storm, I feel very attached to this story.
The Perfect Storm
By: Travis Brountas, a sixth grader in Maine
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Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    2. Audiobooks    3. Natural Disasters    4. Nature    5. New England    6. Northeast storms    7. Oceans & Seas    8. Specific Groups - General    9. Unabridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography    10. Nature / Oceans & Seas   

Editorial Review

Theodore Roosevelt was a man of contradictions: a warrior who won theNobel Peace prize, a wealthy man who battled corporate greed, a thinker whoprized action more than words (but who wrote fine books himself).Read more

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Good book for a tough subject to pin down.
This book serves as a good introduction to Theodore Roosevelt to either satisfy or stimulate one's curiosity before indulging in a lengthier biography. This is a "short" bio, and not meant to be a treatise on T.R. The author was better with his Penguin Lives book on Woodrow Wilson, but he seemed to have more fun with Roosevelt. Excellent Series
This is the second volume in the new American Presidents series edited by Arthur M. Schlessinger, and like the first on James Madison, provides excellent, although brief insight into one of America's most fascinating characters.The prime focus of this book is on TR's presidential and post-presidential years.Limited space does not allow for anything more than a brief summary of Roosevelt's early life, which may actually be his most interesting period.Still there is enough to give the reader a basis for understanding Roosevelt's revolutionary power-expanding actions as President.Auchincloss does a wonderful job of filling this short volume with all of the important events of Roosevelt's life while keeping to a very enjoyable and readable style.It is a good introduction to Roosevelt and will leave you wanting to learn more.

John the Baptist to Edmund Morris's Volume III
This slim volume may serve as a excellent introduction to the life of TR, or as a bracing romp through familiar landscape for devoted TR aficionados. The book itself is a little pricey for what you get, however (I hope a paperback edition of this American Presidents series is made available eventually), and it is pretty evident to the informed reader that Auchincloss is merely reviewing the conclusions of previous biographers. Auchincloss does attend to a particularly interesting period of TR's life, i.e. his decline and fall. From TR's impulsive public declaration not to seek a "third" term, the bloodletting in Africa, his quixotic Bull Moose campaign, the misadventure in the Amazon, to TR's death shortly following the death of his youngest son in WWI ("poor Quinnikins"), Auchincloss's volume was for me a tantalizing foreshadowing of what is certain to be a grand event in biography -- the third volume of Edmund Morris's TR trilogy. This book should help keep you satisfied (if only for a few hours) until the release of Morris' next volume. And after you read Auchincloss's TR, you should read his THE RECTOR OF JUSTIN if you've never done so, and also Edward Renehan's THE LAST LION (excellent mini-biographies of TR's sons, fascinating characters in their own right). ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1858-1919    2. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    3. Audiobooks    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Historical - U.S.    7. Political    8. Presidents    9. Presidents & Heads of State    10. Roosevelt, Theodore,    11. Unabridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography    12. United States    13. Biography & Autobiography / Presidents   

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A Very Concise Biography

Too subjective but interesting
I agree with a_reader_999 (review elsewhere on this page) that Mr. Volkogonov allows his judgement to be clouded by his own Leninist views, blames everything bad on Stalin, and like a lot of Marxists, still lives in denial. For someone having spent his whole life on something, accepting defeat can be a very giant step indeed, so one tends to be sympathetic, but it does not make for quality objective history writing. But minus the diatribes and the nitpicking, this work provides a lot of details for the history buff, and is also quite interesting reading.

the best book on Stalin, a timepiece, frame it
I bought this book first when I was in Russia.I bought it in the original Russian.I had already read Volkogonovs study of Lenin and Trotsky and his book 'Autopsy of the Soviet empire'.THis, though, is the seminal work of a man who passed far to quickly from our view.He had yearned to detail the crimes of Stalin, the secrets also.This grand book details many obscure facts not found in other books.DIsjointed writing,as anyone fmailiar with VOlkogonov knows, this book nevertheless is very readable.Many critisize this saying it was not written by a true historian, its not organized, it smacks of a freshmens writing, in that it does not develop a topic thouroughly before going on to something else.It jumps around.THis is all true.Mr. Volkogonov was not a writer by trade.He was a military bureacrat who yearned to breeth free and compiled this information, independent of the west, for years before publishing his account after the fall of the Soviet empire.If we view it that way this book is unique, it is a testimony of a man who witnessed the evils of the Soviet system, who knew personally what Stalin had done and wanted to expose it.He could weight the good and the bad.This book is invaluable as history.It is by a Russian writing about the failings of his own country, in its formative period nonetheless. A must have and a must read.A landmark in Soviet studies. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    4. Historical - General   

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History is fun!
A look at the history of U.S. presidential assassinations.Part history, part comic commentary, Ms. Vowell extensively documents her visits to sites (official or not) associated with these events.The history of the assassinations alone is interesting and details are often overlooked (or not looked at at all - e.g., Garfield, McKinley) when these events are presented / captured in popular forums.It is a quick read that will shed light on and insight into these assassinations that you never considered before.

I will buy this book from you if you don't like it
I read this book aloud to 5 pre- and teenagers on a grueling road trip down south over Easter. Not only did it hold their attention the entire time it was an incredible coincidence to pass an important site in the book at the EXACT time we were reading about the capture of John Wilkes Boothe. Because of the author's exacting description we were able to arrive at the exact site she describes in such detail and VOILA, nearly living history. (Of course, being uncouth Northerners we allowed our dog to pee on the shrine in question and one child left eggs from his Easter basket on the marker).This book compelled me to read three or four more books about Lincoln, Booth and assorted others Vowell writes about. She captures history in such a remarkably approachable manner, I've since bought copies for every history teacher in our school district. Every American should read this book and even if you think you know about our first assassinations, you will learn something, and laugh while learning it. Spectacular.

Move over Bill Bryson, there's stiff competition
Assassination Vacation is one of the best books I've read this Summer. Ms Vowell should take up teaching American history. Her brilliant and expert knowledge of her subjects (normally written about in stententious and serious tones given the subject matter) is quite impressive. But, it is the wit and humor and unusual angle of expression and personal observations that is the most captivating. I was amazed to learn so much more about the Lincoln assassination and conspirators (despite more than 35 years of reading and research on the subject) and view it from a different and less reverent angle. But even more, I was entranced by the Garfield and McKinley coverage - which added huge amounts of information to my very limited knowledge of either of these presidents or their assassins and the events surrounding them. Garfield came off so much better than I ever knew - which was very little. And his hilarious "disappointed office seeker" far more ambitious (Ambassador to France?) and political (Stalwart for Grant) than I ever knew. Don't know how one can make an account of assassinations hilariously funny? Read this book - and don't assume that it isn't historically accurate, because it is. This one is a real keeper and I am thinking of buying it on tape - just so I can listen to it while stuck in traffic, so that fellow travellers can see someone who is having fun while in the midst of DC rush hours.Have fun with this book and share it with everyone you know who loves history and has a good sense of humor. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Travel    2. Assassination    3. Audio - Nonfiction    4. Biography    5. Essays & Travelogues    6. Homes and haunts    7. Murder - General    8. Popular Culture - General    9. Presidents    10. Social Science    11. Sociology    12. Special Interest - General    13. United States    14. Social Science / Popular Culture   

Editorial Review

Amy Tan begins Read more

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Easy-to-digest wisdom
Amy Tan's wisdom has always intrigued and enchanted me.I've absorbed it through her stories.Here it is undiluted, as she tells about her life, her parents, and her journeys, both outer and inner.

Uneven both in quality and in tone, although some essays are great reading
This book is basically a collection of essays, and to me anyway, it felt quite thrown together.The last essay might have explained this, as it revealed that Tan is suffering from Lyme Disease.I got the feeling that she wanted very much to put out a book, but just wasn't quite up to it, and so collected these essays, which did not quite add up.
As good as any fiction novel...
I absolutely adore Amy Tan's work, and have for over ten years now.However, it's taken me a long time to get to this book, simply because I couldn't help but think, "Amy's fiction novels are great, but how interesting can HER life really be?"Well, I'm only half-way through this book, and I'm wishing I hadn't waited so long to read it!Tan is hilarious, and this memoir is as good as any of her fiction novels.I love how she is not afraid to be herself.(She may not always want to be herself, but she doesn't let that stop her from doing anything that she wants to do.)She's not afraid to "live", with a "kiss-this-if-you-don't-like-it" attitude.She is brave to point out all of her imperfections for the whole world to see, and I commend her for that.There is so much to say about this book, and so much to learn about (and from) Amy Tan, but one thing's certain:Amy Tan's writing is enchanting. I very much recommend this book to everyone. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Abridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography    3. Audio - Nonfiction    4. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    5. Biography    6. Biography & Autobiography    7. Chinese Americans    8. Editors, Journalists, Publishers    9. Essays    10. Family relationships    11. General    12. Literary    13. Novelists, American    14. Biography & Autobiography / General   

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Excellent Book
A complete course in leadership and management!Rudy, run for president!You have my vote.

UGH....croak........
you people don't actually STill think this thing is a "hero" do you?oink, oink...he's ganna teach anyone about morals...what a joke...and all of you that still fall prey to his falasies...and fantacies.
Excellent
This book was an excellent purchase with insights into the leadership style that has carried Rudolph Giuliani to heights beyond those of the everyday leader.Use of his tools and characteristics are certainly to be desired. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Business/Professional    2. Audio - Business / Professional    3. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    4. Business & Economics    5. Leadership    6. Political    7. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Editorial Review

David J. Pelzer's mother, Catherine Roerva, was, he writes in this ghastly, fascinating memoir, a devoted den mother to the Cub Scouts in her care, and somewhat nurturant to her children--but not to David, whom she referred to as "an It." This book is a brief, horrifying account of the bizarre tortures she inflicted on him, told from the point of view of the author as a young boy being starved, stabbed, smashed face-first into mirrors, forced to eat the contents of his sibling's diapers and a spoonful of ammonia, and burned over a gas stove by a maniacal, alcoholic mom. Sometimes she claimed he had violated some rule--no walking on the grass at school!--but mostly it was pure sadism. Inexplicably, his father didn't protect him; only an alert schoolteacher saved David. One wants to learn more about his ordeal and its aftermath, and now he's written a sequel, Read more

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The Best Book Ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is a story about a young David.His life was practically perfect and then it all changed.His mother beats him from age 4-12!It's horrible, but it is such a great book.You will cry when he cries, and you will hurt when he hurts, but you will feel his angry and hate for his mother when he does!
A story about a Brave child
I read this book in 2 days, less then 24 hours. I was so touched by David's strength that he had from a very young age. It's hard to believe anyone especially someone's mother would do the kind of things she did to David. It's sickening and sad. I am glad David decided to tell his story, as I'm sure it has helped other people. I am currently reading David'd 2nd book the lost boy and hope to get hid 3rd book as well as his brother Richards books
"A Child Called 'it' " is a good read!
"A Child Called 'it' " is a book about a young boy,David, who is severely beaten by horrible, cruel mother.No one knew the purpose of this,(the beatings) but it maybe she was taking out her anger from her constant fights with her husband or maybe she is just very frustrated with having all the respnsobilities of being a normal,kind, and caring mother to all of David's other siblings.Although it was extremely unlikley for David to survive, his hope & faith kept him alive.
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Subjects:  1. Abuse - General    2. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Personal Memoirs    5. Specific Groups - Special Needs    6. Unabridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography    7. Biography: general   

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Too much studio politicking - not enough amusing anecdote
The term memoir is a misnomer. It's more a background history of the Star Trek movies. Shatner and Kreski have spent far too much time delving into the backroom fighting and creative disagreements, and not enough time reminiscing. As a useful study on what actually goes into the making of individual episodes of a major motion picture franchise, this book surely has few equals, and I hope it appears on the shelves of all important film schools. It has indeed been well researched. But really that should be a book with Kreski's name alone on it.
William Shatner waxes nostalgic about the "Star Trek" movies
After writing "Star Trek Memories" with Chris Kreski in 1993, William Shatner came back a year later with "Star Trek Movie Memories."Whereas Shatner was uncertain as to the fate of Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship "Enterprise" at the end of the first book, by the time he wrote the second the character had officially died in "Star Trek: Generations."This provided an obvious stopping point for Shatner's memoirs and gives this book more of a sense of finality than the first one, especially since the book's epilogue is about shooting the death scene.There are less "Star Trek" movies to have memories about than there were television episodes and all of the films were made more recently so that the memories are fresher.Shatner also becomes more than just an actor when he directs "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" and is one of three writers who came up with the story.