Reviews (1)

"A Must Read"
Betty Dravis is a wonderful writer whose books I enjoy.I have had the pleasure of reading the 3 books she has published thus far and I have loved each of them.This book is no exception.It's a fabulous story based on her childhood.A book you don't want to miss!Get your copy today!!!
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Subjects:  1. Adventurers & Explorers    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Childhood Memoir    6. Personal Memoirs    7. Biography & Autobiography-Adventurers & Explorers    8. Biography & Autobiography-Personal Memoirs   

Reviews (7)

growing out of a Catholic girlhood
In this memoir Mary McCarthy's childhood appears to be marked by two contradictory principles: orphanhood and board study at a Catholic convent. Convent life appears to her as a revelation of the aristocratic principle in life. The Catholic nuncs she encounters are dazzling intellectuals, preoccupied by themes such as purification through sin and the fate of the romantics. The identification of the nuns with the romantics is stressed, and is based on their shared antimodern nonconformity, the spirit of loss and failure flickering at the side of the happy, straight road of Protestant civics. The exact opposite of the romance of Catholicism lies in the prototype exemplified by Uncle Myers, the "rootless municipalized man who finds his plasures in the handouts or overflow of an industrial civilization." The purposeless emptiness of modern municipal life is contrasted with the beautiful heroics of medieval European history.
A Conglomeration
This is the type of book that I think of as a conglomeration but not really a book. That is, she had published several magazine articles, then gathered them together and made a book. I find that style difficult to get into. She glossed over too much; so many years were packed into just a couple pages. Brilliant, analytical, and literary memoir
That Mary McCarthy's childhood was difficult and unpleasant is well recognized. She has created a worthy and literary memoir from the material gathered during the years before she was claimed by her benevolent Seattle grandparents from the truly draconian aunt and uncle who kept her for 5 years prior to that. Somewhere along the way, this child who was probably difficult and moody - and certainly intelligent and scathingly witty - developed the ability to step outside herself, observe what was happening, remember it, then later write about it. The result is a classic memoir that deserves to be read by writers as well as the general reading audience. Funny, heartbreaking, sarcastic, bitingly acerbic - and always excellent. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1912-    2. 20th century    3. Authors, American    4. Biography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Childhood Memoir    8. Literary    9. McCarthy, Mary,    10. Women    11. Women authors, American    12. Biography: general    13. McCarthy, Mary Therese    14. Roman Catholicism, Roman Catholic Church   

Reviews (4)

a verysensitive, sensual, real story of one boy's evolving humanity
This is an easy to read, very real autobiographical story -- a "memoir" -- of an intelligent, inquisitive, and observant boy.His story takes the reader on his personal journey through a variety of adolescent scenarios which are somehow familiar, yet intriguing; mostly typical -- yet somewhat tumultuous.The writing is honest, yet provoking; thoughtful yet humorous; sometimes almost painfully sincere; and as sensual as it sensitive. The chapters each tell an individual story, with thoughts, senses, and emotions evoked in the reader, much like those subtly aroused by a familiar scent from the past, or being surprised by encountering a love from long ago.It is a sweet, nostalgic, funny and very vivid story of an adolesence which was surprisingly like my own -- and maybe somewhat like yours...

The reward is in the remembrances.
Standing on a hot baseball field, a first kiss. Eluding confrontations with a larger, motivated kid. Parents splitting up. How my grandfather always says "much obliged" when he was truly grateful to someone. Comic Books.
Precious and HopefulNostalgia
This book captures much of the innocence and beauty of growing up in a small midwestern town in the sixties, as well as expressing the essence of "growing up" in any genre.It also exemplifies, in beautiful detail, the magic of community and a true congregation and fellowship in the stratum that they do positively effect themselves.A lighthearted and easy read, it gently transports the reader to revisit some delightful and comfortable personal nostalgia and, in what is equally satisfying, exudes hope for humanity still through community, fellowship and coterie. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1953-    2. 20th century    3. Anecdotes    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Childhood Memoir    9. Childhood and youth    10. General    11. Hamilton (Ohio)    12. Simer, Timothy S.,    13. Social life and customs   

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Childhood Memoir    3. Regional Subjects - Midwest   

Reviews (8)

Good Biography - Answers Many Questions
My first book about Blair was "Thirty Days" by Peter Stothard. That book was about a short time period before the Iraq invasion but it got me interested. Also I read Gerry Adam's book "A Farther Shore" and he describes his interaction with Blair. So I was ready to read a Blair biography. I would say this book is good and explains the basics of Blair's career and what makes him tick. So it was good to read but I would say it rates 4 stars. It is not a barn burner or an epic story, but it is a solid job. It is only 250 pages long and skips many things but it covers the basics.
Tony Blair:More of a Thatcherite than Thatcher herself !
I have never visited the moon but then I know that the moon exists. Similarly I have never read this book but I know that it will contain so many lies (perhaps 'untruths' is a nicer-sounding word). For many British people the election of Blair initially gave the hope of a new life in British politics after so many years of Tory rule. They had naively expecteded that a politician coming from the Labour party would restore justice and fair play - but their hopes were betrayed. Not only did Blair continue Thatcher's policy of destroying one of the greatest welfare systems in the world ( thereby making the rich even richer and the poor even poorer) but he also continued her war-mongering policies with even more zeal. He has not only attacked old age pensions, social security and the national health service (once even better than in Scandinavia but now similar to America), but he has also exposed British people worldwide to actual terrorist threats (threats which hitherto had never existed).
Nice quick insight from the FT's Philip Stephens
I read Philip Stephens' column each time it appears in the Financial Times' editorial page.Readers of that space will have realized that Stephens' has good access to Tony Blair, his inner circle and the workings of British government.As such, this book - a quick, worthhwhile read - is a good primer for the U.S.-based reader in gaining insight as to how that system of government works.
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Subjects:  1. 1953-    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Blair, Tony,    7. Childhood Memoir    8. Great Britain    9. Great Britain - History    10. Labour Party (Great Britain)    11. Political    12. Political History    13. Presidents & Heads of State    14. Prime ministers    15. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (3)

Childhood and the Luminous Self
Emily Fox Gordon may well become known as The Great American Memoirist for ARE YOU HAPPY? A Childhood Remembered, and her previous memoir MOCKINGBIRD YEARS. To read these books is to spend welcome time in the warm and brilliant company of a deeply insightful writer.
Easy to identify with
This wonderful book tranforms incidents that we can all identify with into brilliantly captured observations about life.I am struck by the book's honesty and Ms. Gordon's ability to inject an aura of mystery and intrigue into the incidents she recalls with such lucidity. It's a great read, very moving in its simplicity and yet filled with Proustian overtones, giving the book its strength and power.

Enchanting, intelligent
In the post-Frey era, it's refreshing to discover a memoir that
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Subjects:  1. 1948-    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography And Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Childhood Memoir    8. Childhood and youth    9. Children of teachers    10. Gordon, Emily Fox,    11. Personal Memoirs    12. United States    13. Williams College    14. Women    15. Biography & Autobiography / Women   

Reviews (5)

A Daughter of the Samurai
A great book if you are interested in old Japanese ways. Well written, but not hard to understand. Would recomend to anyone

A Charming and Informative Book!
Unfortunately, out of print - but seek it out any way you can. A fascinating, wonderful, and truthful account of the life of a daughter of the Samurai class, which had existed for centuries, just at the time when it was beginning its decline. Much of what you read in this book will explain the behaviour of modern-day Japanese. As an American living in Japan, that has proved invaluable. The book is well-written, focused, imaginative, whimsical, and resourceful, just like the author herself. If you can get your hands on a copy, be prepared to fall in love with Etsu-bo!

A Charming and Informative Book!
Unfortunately, out of print - but seek it out any way you can. A fascinating, wonderful, and truthful account of the life of a daughter of the Samurai class, which had existed for centuries, just at the time when it was beginning its decline. Much of what you read in this book will explain the behaviour of modern-day Japanese. As an American living in Japan, that has proved invaluable. The book is well-written, focused, imaginative, whimsical, and resourceful, just like the author herself. If you can get your hands on a copy, be prepared to fall in love with Etsu-bo! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Childhood Memoir    5. General    6. Personal Memoirs    7. Women    8. Biography & Autobiography / General    9. Etsu Inagaki Sugimoto    10. Women's studies   

Reviews (9)

a Mitford Memoir, but a little thin, interesting though
The Duchess of Devonshire is of course the youngest of the 6 Brilliant Mitford sisters born early in the twentieth century, and she is the only surviving one now. This book is really two things, a collection of her various writings and collection of her memories both of friends and of family.
Lovely Book By A Wonderful Woman
Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire, shows to the world the emotional warmth and range of interests which have endeared her to her family and friends for over eighty years. Extolled by James Lees-Milne throughout his life, Debo, the people at Hatchards tell me, is their favorite author when it comes to book-signings. When I bought a copy of this book there the clerk remarked "Ah, the Duchess, bless her." And so she has been, and is, by all.

A Small Jewel From the Last Mitford Girl
Counting My Chickens is a collection of newspaper and magazine columns by Deborah Freeman-Mitford Cavendish, the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire."Debo" is the youngest and only surviving Mitford Girl, the fabulous daughters of Lord and Lady Redesdale who scandalized and delighted the British and the world from the 1930s onward.
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Subjects:  1. 1920-    2. Administration of estates    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Chatsworth (England)    8. Childhood Memoir    9. Derbyshire    10. Devonshire, Deborah Vivien Fre    11. Duchess of,    12. England    13. Great Britain    14. Literary    15. Nobility    16. Personal Memoirs    17. Women   

Reviews (13)

Answers a lot of questions
I lived in Germany in the late 1970s with a family who would have been young people during the War. I was vastly curious about their experience as "average Germans" but they were evasive and would say very little. Irmgard Hunt, who grew up just 30 miles from my foreign exchange mother during roughly the same years, gives us a portrait of what it was like for the average German citizen. Relying on her mother's diary, and interviews with family and friends, it may be some fiction, as an earlier reviewer states, but it rings true to me. You'll enjoy this book more if you know some German.

Great Story
Excellent story of WW2 from the perspective of an ordinary little girl. I loved this story because it was a whole new look at this era of world history, a view not often captured. A must read for any enthusiast of the era.

Child's view of Nazi Germany
This proves to be an interesting and somewhat insightful look from the perception of child. Irmgard Hunt spent her first 11 years of her life living in Berchtesgaden, under the shadow of Hitler's mountain retreat. She even had a honor of being on Hitler's lap and her parents must have been die-hard Nazis themselves to be allowed to live in that Bavarian village so close to their Fuhrer's own mountain home.
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Subjects:  1. 1934-    2. Berchtesgaden    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Childhood Memoir    8. Childhood and youth    9. Children    10. Europe - Germany    11. Germany    12. Historical - General    13. Holocaust    14. Hunt, Irmgard,    15. Military - World War II    16. Personal narratives, German    17. World War, 1939-1945    18. Biography & Autobiography / Historical    19. Biography: general    20. European history: from c 1900 -    21. Inter-war period, 1918-1939    22. Second World War, 1939-1945    23. Reading Group Guide   

Editorial Review

The dozens of vignettes in Read more

Reviews (1)

Interesting stories
I had to read this book for a class, I am a senior at college. I attend school around the PIttsburgh area, so I am proud to know that this is from here. There is a story Robert Mendler who is a great speaker. he spoke to my class a few weeks ago. It is good to know that the stories are being written down so generations to come will know what happened and how people survived. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Childhood Memoir    4. Historical - Holocaust    5. History    6. History: World    7. Holocaust    8. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    9. Jewish    10. Jewish children in the Holocaust    11. Personal narratives    12. Europe    13. European history: Second World War    14. History / Holocaust    15. History, World | European    16. Oral history    17. The Holocaust   

Editorial Review

In Read more

Reviews (79)

Good understanding....
This book is written not to glorify gang life but to show people the horrors of it and the reasons why kids join gangs.these are the reasons I liked it so much.As somewhat of a gang researcher and enthusiast, I read this book with much skepticism thinking it would be another memoir seeking sympathy from the reader.Mr. Sanchez does a good job of explaining what he went through without playing on the reader's heart strings.I recommend this book to anyone interested in seeing what the gang culture is all about and see what goes on in the life of a gang member.

WOW!
This book is amazing.It's written in a way that someone would actually speak...no pomp and elaboration.It opened my eyes to a Chicago that I've heard about, but couldn't believe existed.

My Bloody Life
Ages 12 and up.The book My Bloody Life if about the life of a Puerto Rican teenager named Reymundo Sanchez.The book talks about all of the violence that he went through in order to gain popularity and to get something that he never got from his mom which was love.When he was a little kid, he would get beat up by his parents.He then began to hang out with a gang called the Spanish Lords, and with them he had his first joint of marijuana and the first time he drank alcohol.Due to some arguments that he had with the Spanish Lords, he began hanging out with another street gang called the Latin Kings.With this gang he began to smoke and drink more and became addicted to cocaine at some point.He killed someone for the first time also.He went through a journey that made him change his mind about ever joining the Latin Kings.This book is recommended for children 12 years and over because the majority of people that get involved in gangs are usually 12-14 years of age. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1963-    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Chicago    6. Childhood Memoir    7. Ethnic Cultures - General    8. Illinois    9. Puerto Ricans    10. Regional Subjects - Midwest    11. Sanchez, Reymundo,    12. Violence    13. Biography & Autobiography / Criminals & Outlaws    14. Biography: general    15. Latin America    16. Organized crime    17. Sanchez, Reymundo   

Reviews (1)

Thinking as fast as you laugh
This is a truly wonderful and unique book.Lazar's voice--conversational but concentrated, self-aware but entirely un-coy, and often just plain out funny-is unlike the voice of any other nonfiction writer I know, and his approach to his subjects is never hackneyed.He can write about such familiar topics as family, sexuality, culture and how they inform his sense of his own identity and identity in general and line by line, paragraph by paragraph, you never get that sense of "oh, he's taking X familiar line" that almost every writer gives. That's what I think the one of the blurbs means by describing Lazar as a writer's writer's writer:people who have read deeply and widely will perhaps appreciate this collection most, since they are most likely to understand the subtle brilliance that illuminates every page. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1957-    2. Anecdotes    3. Biography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Childhood Memoir    7. Childhood and youth    8. Ethnic Studies - General    9. History    10. Jewish children    11. Jews    12. Jews In The U.S.    13. Lazar, David,    14. Literary    15. New York    16. New York (State)    17. New York - Local History    18. Regional Subjects - MidAtlantic    19. United States - State & Local - General    20. Biography & Autobiography / Literary    21. Biography: general    22. Lazar, David    23. Other prose: from c 1900 -   

Editorial Review

In this elegant, wrenching memoir, Paula Fox looks at her childhood with the same detached acceptance of life's arbitrary cruelties that informs such acclaimed novels as Read more

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Reviews (16)

so so
Never got hooked on this book. Continued to read and finished the book because she is Courtney Love's grandmother and wanted some insight in that regard. I thought it was boring and all over the place. Best memoir I ever read is "The Glass Castle."

Convoluted writing style
Returned the book. Started to read the book but within the first cou0ple of pages couldn't get past the word-jams and author's long convoluted sentence structure.

Beautifully written - but didn't engage me
"Born in the twenties to nomadic, bohemian parents, Paula Fox was left at birth in a Manhattan orphanage..."What a range of people she had caring for her over her growing up years, what neglect at times, what an interesting range of geographic locations she lived in during her childhood.This "memoir" seemed to hold such promise, but really I found it a chore to read.A collection of memories, not always connected up, it never hooked me in, leaving me eager to find out what happened next.It also completely lacks any analysis - of the characters, events, Paula's reaction to them, the impact on her life, etc.Its main redeeming feature for me was its brevity - had it been longer, I may well have given up.Maybe if I was a fan of her novels (certainly her memoir is well written), or interested in other members of her family (apparently she is Courtney Love's grandmother), I would have been more motivated to enjoy rather than just tolerate this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fox, Paula    2. Childhood and youth    3. Authors, American    4. 20th century    5. Biography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography & Autobiography    8. Literary    9. Childhood Memoir    10. Women    11. Bargain   

Reviews (3)

Remembering to be grateful
Eloquently written, this small book is packed with stories and wisdoms that shaped this great man's life. One particular chapter on gratitude struck a chord in my own life as he wrote of remorse of not being able to thank those teachers and mentors that had passed on.Schweitzer's life was an example of supreme service to mankind, and he coined the words "Reverence for Life" which spearheaded a movement to remember that all life is sacred.This book will burn a desire in the reader's heart to live life with greater awareness and gratitude for all people with whom we come in contact.

Do you have an interest in the events that shape a genius?
In order to fully understand the philosophy of Reverence For Life to its full meaning one must understand the man behind the legend that is Albert Schweitzer. This book gives us a glimpse of a youthful Schweitzer from his humble beginnings in Gunsbach. As this Nobel laureate reminisces about his childhood days he reveals the poignant moments that forever shaped one of the most brilliant minds of the last century. Delightful and readable, Memoirs is a treasured classic among those who study the great philosophers. I highly recommend this book for all ages but particularly for youth as a starting place for Schweitzer study- you won't be disappointed!

Lively insight into Schweitzer's beginnings
This superbe little book is a simple and engaging introduction to Schweitzer's life and thoughts.He has a knack for describing, with directness and humor, the thoughts and feelings of himself as a childlearning some of life's tough lessons.For anyone interested in AlbertSchweitzer, what a perfect place to start! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1875-1965    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Childhood Memoir    6. Childhood and youth    7. Europe    8. Gabon    9. General    10. Humanitarians    11. Individual Theologians And Their Works (General)    12. Medical - General    13. Missionaries, Medical    14. Musicians    15. Psychology    16. Schweitzer, Albert,    17. Theologians    18. Biography: general    19. Christian mission & evangelism    20. Schweitzer, Albert   

Reviews (1)

The true story of a Jewish child who grew up estranged from his mother to the point of hating other Jews
Mother And Me: Escape From Warsaw 1939 by documentary flimmaker Julian Padowicz is the true story of a Jewish child who grew up estranged from his mother to the point of hating other Jews. Virtually ignored by his mother and raised by his Catholic governess Kiki -- who taught him that God didn't love Jews because of what they did to His Son and that the only way Julian could go to heaven was to become bapitized. Julian's world transformed forever when World War II came to Warsaw. Kiki had to return to her family; his stepfather joined the Polish army; and the mother who once barely made time for him assumed responsibility for raising him. Determined to provide for her son, Julian's mother cut in food lines and later, under Soviet occupation, befriended Russian officers for extra rations of food and fuel. In the winter of 1940 as conditions for survival deteriorated, Julian's mother brought him in a daring escape to Hungary on foot, through the Carpathian mountains. Mother And Me is an unforgettable memory of blood bonds being thicker than water, and a family love that burns most fiercely when family is threatened. Highly recommended.
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Childhood Memoir    5. Eastern Europe - Czech Republic & Slovakia    6. Historical - General    7. Historical - Holocaust    8. Jewish Studies   

Subjects:  1. (William Henry),    2. 1935-    3. Artists, Architects, Photographers    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Chesapeake Bay Region (Md. and Va.)    6. Childhood Memoir    7. Childhood and youth    8. Eastern Shore (Md. and Va.)    9. Environmental Conservation & Protection - General    10. Farm life    11. General    12. Literary Criticism    13. Literature: Classics    14. Turner, William H    15. Turner, William H.    16. Biography: general    17. Maryland    18. Mid-Atlantic States    19. Nature / Natural Resources    20. Places & peoples: general interest    21. The countryside, country life    22. Virginia   

Reviews (8)

what does a bag of marbles have to do with the story?
A bag of marbles was pretty good. If you are looking for an educational book about wwII and want to escape the gore, this is the book for you. It gets a little slow, but you really do find yourself caring for theses two boys. Plus, it is non-fiction.

Un sac de billes.
The story is about two young boys : Joe and Maurice, they are French and Jews, it's in Paris during world War 2. So they must avoid. they went to the south, near the Italian border. The author succeeds at leaving a moving testimonial...
Kudos to the translator for keeping the author's words & spirit in tact in this heroic and moving testimonial about what it took to survive the Holocaust & what we all must do to keep other holocausts from happening again.In his own words, "be brave, know how to take care of yourself, don't rely on others, don't let your emotions get the better of you, take responsibility."Clearly, this title is a story that will encourage & remind young readers to always remember and to take responsibility. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Childhood Memoir    6. France    7. General    8. Historical - Holocaust    9. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    10. Jewish children in the Holocaust    11. Jews    12. Joffo, Joseph    13. Joffo, Maurice    14. Personal narratives    15. History / Europe / General    16. World history   

Editorial Review

"There was a war on against colored people," June Jordan recalls her father telling her. "I had to become a soldier." Jordan's fierce, funny, lyrical memoir of her first 12 years reveals the seeds of her adult poetry in her childhood experiences: the magical sounds of words in the nursery rhymes her mother crooned, the awareness nearly from birth of the bitter complexities of family relations. Jordan's father (depicted in a brilliantly nuanced portrait) was a proud Jamaican immigrant who encouraged his daughter to read and took her to museums and to Carnegie Hall, but also called her "damn black devil child" and beat her for the slightest misstep. He moved his family from a Harlem housing project to their own home in Brooklyn, enrolled June at a white boarding school, and fought savagely with his wife, who argued, "The child is a Black girl ... you gwine to make her afraid to be sheself!" Jordan reproduces the rhythms of West Indian speech as vividly as she captures African American culture of the 1930s and '40s in a poignant autobiography that, for all its racial particularity, tells an all-American story of the charged emotional legacy bequeathed by parents striving to give their children a better life. Read more

Reviews (5)

This is a woman I'd like to know.
I don't read autobiographies because they're usually self-serving. I wait until someone with distance does justice to a life. A childhood testimony of courage and perserverance
June Jordan, African American Studies professor at UC Berkeley, haswritten a moving testament to her chaotic, challenging, and bittersweetchildhood.This memoir written in a poetic manner is reminiscent of SandraCisneros' "House on Mango Street".The daughter of West Indianimmigrants who revered education andhard work, she endured almost dailyverbal assaults on her gender and physical abuse from her father.He wason one hand a supporter of Marcus Garvey and on the other hand felt theneed to put down the American black at every turn.Her mother was asubmissive, silent woman who realized that her daughter was her husband'sson.Jordan's memories of the people who made an impact on her life andcharacter, her Nanny, her Uncle Teddy, her camp friend, Jodi along withtales of childhood death-defying accidents, academic excellence, and firstcrushes are just bits and parts that serve to make this memoir a compellingread.

Charming and Powerful
Sure to be a classic. A wonderfully charming and moving series of memories, observations, and poetic passages about a childhood at turns sweet, innocent, and difficult. Sometimes children make the most clear-eyedand wise observers, and it is the rare adult, such as June Jordan, who canrecapture and communicate the experience of childhood in both its wonderand bewilderment. Although the elements of Jordan's childhood are specific- 19302/1940s, brusque, occaisionally-violent immigrant father, Harlem andBrooklyn neighborhoods, racial and social inequity - the themes areuniversal. Wonderful! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. African American poets    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Childhood Memoir    8. Family relationships    9. Literary    10. People of Color    11. Poets, American    12. American English    13. Biography: general    14. Poetry & poets: from c 1900 -    15. USA   

Reviews (3)

A gift of a life: Odyssey of a Romanian Street Child
I don't think I could ever be too thankful to Mr Dobrisan and Mr Kachelmyer. Sounds too good for a critic? I must start by saying that this book was given to me as a present by Mr Kachelmyer himself and sent by post to his expense. So yes I could be a little biased.
worth every leu
I just got this book as a gift not three days ago.I read it in a single afternoon.I have to warn you that this is not an easy read.The writing is very simple and easy to understand, but the story is a difficult one to swallow.It is a frank account of the lifestyle of street children, and it is not pretty.I have seen these street kids in cities all over Romania.They are haunting images of neglect.Do not read this book of you are not prepared to have your heart broken.

Interesting and Informative Book
I have been to Romania and know something about the plight of the Romanian street children.This book's "been there, done that" account of living on the street was very interesting.It helped fill in the gaps in my understanding of the problem.It clearly explains why the street children exist, about their awful living conditions, about successes and failures working with street children, and more.I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to learn more about Romanian street children. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1979-    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Childhood Memoir    5. Christianity - Christian Life - General    6. Dobrisan, Catalin,    7. Dobriðsan, Cæatæalin,    8. Faith    9. Religion    10. Religious    11. Romania    12. Street children   

Reviews (15)

I loved this book
I normally don't write reviews but just had to when I saw all the negative feedback below. As a 25-year-old, single New Yorker working in the publishing world - I thought this book was dead on with my experiences, fears, thoughts and everything else going on in my life. I don't think the author was trying to make people feel sorry for her (as one reviewer suggested) but rather being very honest about the thoughts in her head. I thought the author described perfectly how the choices and freedom that women have today in terms of career can sometimes be a curse instead of a blessing. I would reccomend this book to anyone who is figuring out what they want to do with their life beacuse if nothing else, it makes you feel like you are not alone.

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