Reviews (2)

Insightful and Riveting and Revealing
I read this book over the course of one weekend, it was that good. The book gets to the heart of what our severely wounded veterans face from the exact time of the injury on the battlefield to the care they receive in our military hospitals, to their day to day recovery, relationships with their families and how they cope with the loss of not only a limb but in some cases, their whole identity.This book made me realize how much they really do lose and sacrifice to defend this country no matter where or when.I have a new appreciation for the true heroes of our day, the men and women of our military, especially the heroes who lose limbs in the line of duty.

A Must-Read for the Wounded and All Who Care About Them
With great insight and compassion, Michael Weisskopf brings us the stories of the amputees of this generation's wars.Weisskopf himself lost his dominant hand while embedded with soldiers in Iraq in preparation for Time's 2003 Person of the Year edition. He picked up a grenade that landed in his vehicle and awoke to a whole new life: Ward 57 of Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
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Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Embedded war correspondents    3. History    4. History: World    5. Iraq War, 2003-    6. Military    7. Military - Iraq War    8. Military - United States    9. Modern - 21st Century    10. Personal narratives, American    11. United States    12. Weisskopf, Michael    13. Wounds and injuries    14. History / Modern / 21st Century   

Reviews (74)

Take the Cannoli
She's a staple of This American Life on Public Radio International, and she's also appeared in GQ, Salon and Request. Her humor and wit are sharp and perceptive. But, let me work from the back cover blurbs.
More Sarah Vowell, Please
Take the Cannoli was a wonderful mixture of essays that was throughly enjoyable. As I have become used to with Sarah Vowell, her family, her relationship with her twin sister, her friends, her thoughts on the world in which she lives, her love for history, and the challenges of her everyday life flow through many of these essays, interconnecting them in ways that you do not expect. The essays in Take the Cannoli are consistently good, often made me laugh out loud, and in some cases changed my perspective on a particular subject. Although I didn't always agree with her, I certainly appreciated her passion.

Ms. Vowell: American Hero
Sarah Vowell is one of America's best writers in the genre of humor. Personally, having read both Sedaris and Rakoff, two other fantastic humorists, I am rather partial to Vowell. Take the Cannoli seems to demonstrate her ability to both make us think and laugh. It seems that in most of her essays, I learn about as much as I laugh. Personally, I thought the title essay was extremely well done and isdeserving of much praise from the literary community. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Editors, Journalists, Publishers    5. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    6. General    7. Women    8. Biography & Autobiography / General    9. Cultural studies   

Editorial Review

Stock investing is a relatively recent phenomenon and the inventory of true classics is somewhat slim. When asked, people in the know will always list books by Benjamin Graham, Burton G. Malkiel's Read more

Reviews (151)

Mark Twain meets John Meynard Keynes.
This is a well worn classic. Anyone who has ever worked on a trading floor has heard of this book. If you haven't, and you are thinking of trading, stop reading this review, get off your computer, and read it. There is no better description of the type of personalities and mentalities that have always existed on Wall Street (or "The City", or Tokyo, or any trading floor in the world). Although it was written nearly a century ago, and the writing style seems to be more Huck Finn than High Finance, make no mistake; this is how trading and traders go about their business.
A classic investment tome, and a very entertaining narrative
This book is truly a classic in investing.When I first became aware of this book I had my reservations-how could anything written over 80 years ago carry THAT much weight in today's investing world?The time chronicled in this book occurred before the crash of 1929, and in my mind I couldn't conceive how anything that dated could be very pertinent to today's market environment.Regardless I picked this book up, and immediately realized my incredible short-sightedness.Not only is this book as relevant now as it was 80 years ago, in many ways it's more so.The tremendous insights to be gleaned from this book will no doubt make anyone a more effective trader or investor.
Classic but stilll timely
Great read covering the psycological aspects of trading(Winning, Losing, and learning from one's mistakes.) ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Business    3. Business & Economics    4. Business/Economics    5. Investments & Securities - General    6. New York Stock Exchange    7. Personal Finance - Investing    8. Speculation    9. Stocks    10. Biography: general    11. Business & Economics / Investments & Securities    12. Stocks & shares    13. USA   

Reviews (2)

Required Reading For Today
This is a wonderful, thoughtful and extremely interesting book. We can always learn from the past. Myra MacPherson tells a compelling story. A fascinating must read!!!
You Don't Have to Agree with Him
With the hindsight of several decades, it is easy to poke holes in I.F. Stone's writings.Yes, his notion of combining a free society with socialism was utopian. Yes, his economic arguments tend to be wooly in the extreme. Yes, he was wrong in denying the Soviet connections of some of his communist friends. Stone's books stay fresh despite those mistakes because he was right about a lot: governments, racism, wars.
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Subjects:  1. (Isidor F.),    2. 1907-    3. American Journalism    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Editors, Journalists, Publishers    9. Journalists    10. Media Studies    11. News Reporting    12. Stone, I. F.    13. United States    14. United States - 20th Century    15. Biography & Autobiography / Editors, Journalists, Publishers   

Editorial Review

Fans of Read more

Reviews (94)

Interesting, Entertaining, and Well Written
I loved this book.It was educational and at the same time highly entertaining.There are several themes going on in the same book.First there is the actual review of restaurants and education of food and wine.Second, there is the truth about restaurants, food, and service that is exposed.Finally, there is the journey of the author and what she learns about herself, desires, and needs.All three themes are woven seemlessly to make a highly fun book to read.

Kudos to Ruth
I just read this book cover to cover on a flight back to NYC from Barcelona.My mouth watered as I read the included reprints of her past reviews of NYC restaurants - even after my five days of fantastic Spanish cuisine!But more surprisingly, I was drawn in by what seems to be quite an honest glimpse of the NYC restaurant experience seen through the eyes of many "characters".The book left me such respect for the depths that Ruth Reichl went through in order to dine as the everyday person would experience, especially in NYC's "best" restaurants.Her recounts made me actually appreciate the research and dedication required to write a truly objective (as objective as food tastes get, I suppose) review.A very easy and enjoyable read.
Made me want to eat out more
Ruth's description of the lift of a restaurant critic was both a fascinating read and mouthwatering at the same time. Her descriptions of the disguises and deferring treatments in New York's finest restaurants made for a quick page turner.Her recipes and reviews scattered in each chapter made me bothwant to eat out more often and try to cook some of those dishes myself. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Business    6. Cookery    7. Cooking    8. Courses & Dishes - General    9. Editors, Journalists, Publishers    10. Food writers    11. Hotel And Restaurant Management    12. United States    13. Women    14. Biography & Autobiography / Editors, Journalists, Publishers   

Reviews (73)

Disappointed
In the beginning of this book I found it a bit disturbing; however, I pressed on and I was glad. I soon came to be highly disappointed by this book though because it seemed so cliche` in the fact that almost every drugged out junkie seems to find a god and heal themselves; then discuss it for 15 chapters. Aside from that fact, almost 3/4 of the book was about doing various drugs, I felt it was drug out too long and could have been summed up in fewer chapters. It got to be monotonous and tiresome reading about the authors junkie habits over and over again. Although the book had great potential and could have been one of the greats; I felt it became monotonous.

Cupcake, you are an amazing and inspirational woman who needs a better editor and copywriter
Cupcake Brown is, without question, an amazing woman who has risen from the ashes by her bootstraps to become a highly respected, influential lawyer and professional speaker.She has many important life memories to share with her readers; however, her memoir, as a whole, is a poorly edited, slightly-rambling account of a troubled youth and early adulthood.I'm not begrudging the author her success, or her well-deserved acclaim, but as a book, her memoir is sub-par.
There is a God!
If you do not believe in God or a higher power, you will after reading this book. This book is not a religious book but a testement to having a purpose in life, even when you dont believe or know you have a purpose. She does not through God in your face but from the troulbe teenage years you know that something greater than herself and propelled her to the point where she is now. This is an amazing book that lets you know that no bad thing last forever and that you can overcome ANYTHING. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. African American families    2. African American women    3. African Americans    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography And Autobiography    8. Biography/Autobiography    9. California    10. General    11. Lawyers & Judges    12. People of Color    13. Personal Memoirs    14. San Diego    15. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Editorial Review

As teenagers from a rough part of Newark, New Jersey, Sampson Davis, Rameck Hunt, and George Jenkins had nothing special going for them except loving mothers (one of whom was a drug user) and above-average intelligence. Their first stroke of luck was testing into University High, one of Newark's three magnet high schools, and their second was finding each other. They were busy staying out of trouble (most of the time), and discovering the usual ways to skip class and do as little schoolwork as possible, when a recruitment presentation on Seton Hall University reignited George's childhood dream of becoming a dentist. The college was offering a tempting assistance package for minorities in its Pre-Medical/Pre-Dental Plus Program. George convinced his two friends to go to college with him. They would help each other through. None of them would be allowed to drop out and be reabsorbed by the Newark streets.Read more

Reviews (46)

The Pact... Packs some good information for young people and their parents
The Pact was a book that I was interested in reading for some time. My son (9 yrs old), and I decided that the best time to read the book would be before his bedtime. We would alternate reading different chapters. The Pact was an inspiring story that I believe anyone could relate too. It's about community support, friendship and perserverance. This generation needs to hear stories about what is possible, and this book delivers on that message. I strongly recommend it for youth groups everywhere. We need to teach our kids how to choose friends, and that friends can support and nurture each others dreams. Dream BIG!
I will put this on my recommended list for students
One of my biggest challenges as an educator is building literacy. I know that the most successful students read outside of class, but I have a hard time finding books that manageable and interesting enough to grab the interest of the students that I work with in DC. I will recommend this book to my students because it helps make the choices of black students real in clear language. How do you successfully defer gratification for years and years to build a career? This book doesn't have definite answers but it does give an example that students can look up to. More programs like the Seton Hall program that helped bridge the transition to college are necessary for first-generation high school students. I also dug the fact that these three black men did not seem to be supermen in the way that Cedric Jennings was portrayed in "The Hope In the Unseen". Books like "The Pact" show that the best dreams are birthed by students in the presence of consistent mentoring. I hope that all urban mentors and educators will consider this book for motivational fuel.
Great read...
I read about these three in some magazine (Essence?) while I was in a bookstore cafe. I went upstairs to browse the book and ended up buying it. I'm so glad that I went to that bookstore just to browse around or I would have never known anything about it.I'd heard of these three from another magazine I subscribe to but never really knew what their deal was.It was very interesting to read about three young men who grew up in the inner city projects of Newark, two of them exposed themselves to crime, all of their manhood was tested, and two went to jail/juvenile hall. But with all those pitfalls, each one of them had a personality that would not let each other fall down.One was an activist, the next was a serious hard worker, and the third an optimistic motivator who stayed out of trouble.These guys were so good for each other. It was interesting to read about their sides of the story in a conversational tone that showcases their down-to-Earth personalities, their mild secrets that the other two will enjoy reading, and even a couple love interests would probably be flattered too.
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Subjects:  1. African American physicians    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Ethnic Studies - African American Studies - General    7. Medical - General    8. Medical - Physicians    9. People of Color    10. Practice Of Medicine    11. Sociology Of Medicine    12. Biography: general    13. Family & Relationships / Child Care    14. Medicine    15. Reading Group Guide   

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Business    6. Corporate Philanthropy    7. Economic History    8. Industrialists    9. Philanthropists    10. Political    11. United States    12. Biography & Autobiography / Business   

Reviews (42)

Legacy--4.5 stars
This autobiography is unusual to say the least.It is replete with deep, profound, mystifying, eye-opening, tantalizing personal experiences rather than mundane happenings.It reads, at times, like a fantasy novel.I'd call this powerful book an impressionistic painting of Jung's life and work.It's very personal and very revealing.It's no wonder he left it to the very end of his life.Fortunately for us, he did provide the data & it was posthumously published.It provides a depth of context for his work that is available nowhere else.It is, however, expurgated--presumably by his family who didn't want all his dirty laundry (e.g. affairs with clients etc.) made public.After all, it was published not long after his death.There is much to learn from this book--even by those offended by it.As Jung says, p.247 "Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves."George MacDonald said "Those don't know England who only England know."Jung asks, p. 246 "How, for example, can we become conscious of national peculiarities if we have never had the opportunity to regard our own nation from outside?Regarding it from outside means regarding it from the standpoint of another nation."Similar to his more scientific works, this one contains innovative thinking & timeless observations.
You gotta be crazy to analyze crazy people
If a regular person described the things that Jung describes in this biography, you'd say "this person is completely insane".
"But Who Manipulates The Apparatus?"
More than any other work in his oeuvre, Carl Jung's biography, Memories, Dreams, Reflections (1961) takes the reader inside the mind of the eminent Swiss psychologist.Jung was both a self-admitted gnostic and an introvert, and this very personal account of his life, which he was completing at the time of his death, is correspondingly subjective in tone.
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Subjects:  1. (Carl Gustav),    2. 1875-1961    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. General    8. Jung, C. G    9. Jung, C. G.    10. Jungian Psychology    11. Movements - Behaviorism    12. Movements - Jungian    13. Psychoanalysts    14. Social Scientists & Psychologists    15. Switzerland    16. Psychology & Psychiatry / General   

Reviews (158)

I LOVED this book!
This book had me laughing out loud from start to finish. Jacobs is clever.And he seems completely honest and unafraid to write candidly about the sorts of thoughts and feelings that everyone has but few admit.Well okay, maybe not everyone; maybe just me and him. Anyway, I have trouble imagining any intelligent person not liking this book.

Now, I Know!
A plain- old -fashion-just down right-enjoyable book full of twists, turns and laughs!
amusing and diverting
This is a great book to read right before bed as it is light, easy to follow and profoundly amusing. It cheers you up. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1968-    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Books & Reading    6. Editors, Journalists, Publishers    7. Encyclopaedia Britannica    8. Encyclopedias (Multi-Subject)    9. General    10. History    11. Jacobs, A. J.,    12. Learning and scholarship    13. Personal Memoirs    14. Scholarship And Learning    15. United States    16. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Military    5. Personal Memoirs    6. Specific Groups - Male Gay Studies    7. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs   

Reviews (5)

Truly magnificent...
As usual I found myself wondering around the science section of a local bookstore. I tried to convince myself that I should finish reading one of the seven books by my bed before spending anymore of my, rent, money. After browsing the covers of numerous books, I was just `looking', one caught my eye. A very visible font read: "Richard Dawkins". I picked it up assuming, wrongly so, that this was Dawkins biography. I usually have a habit of reading the preface of the book I have my eye on, this time I went straight to the register. I started reading the book in the car when I walked out of the bookstore. Two days after, of non-stop reading, I have just put it down.
Not just a cheering section
If Darwin's revelation of natural selection is "the best idea anyone, any where, ever had", then Richard Dawkins' identification of the "selfish gene" must run a close second.While Darwin's concept explained the workings of life, Dawkins' insight disclosed the mechanism of natural selection.The 1976 publication of "The Selfish Gene" not only stimulated a fresh wave of thinking among biologists, it also stirred public interest and imagination.If life was under the thrall of those strings of chemicals in our cells, how far did that influence reach?In this set of excellent essays on the issues, Dawkins ideas and their impact are presented and discussed.The fruit of his insights are bittersweet, and while most of these writings applaud his probity and communication skills, there is the tang of doubt about some of them.
Reflections on a major biological thinker of our time
The subtitle of this book, "how a scientist changed the way we think", is entirely justified: Richard Dawkins really did. Even people who thought they understood evolutionary theory quite well found that they had to rethink it all when The Selfish Gene appeared 30 years ago. Not all biologists agreed with his message, of course, Stephen J. Gould and Richard Lewontin being well known as opponents, but many of them did, and even when they did not agree with everything they still agreed with a great deal. Patrick Bateson provides one of the most interesting contributions to this book, in which he explains that he continues to disagree with Dawkins about some details, but he says, rightly, that "those who hope for bloody gladiatorial contests are disappointed when they discover that the circles of our interests and beliefs overlap much more extensively than they had believed".
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Subjects:  1. 1941-    2. Dawkins, Richard,    3. Essays    4. Influence    5. Life Sciences - Biology - General    6. Philosophy & Social Aspects    7. Science    8. Science/Mathematics    9. Scientists - General    10. Biography: general    11. History of science    12. Life Sciences | Evolutionary Biology    13. Science / Biology   

Reviews (2)

Market Analysis
If you believe Market Analysis,you ought to choose Jesse Livermore.If you believe Company Analysis,you ought to choose Warren Buffett.If you believe Country Analysis,you ought to choose Jim Rogers.Good lucky!

Picture this; it's the early 1900's, the dawn of the Roaring 20's. Gatsby like characters abound ...
Picture this; it's the early 1900's, the dawn of the Roaring 20's. Gatsby like characters abound and are romanticized in the Saturday Evening Post, Horatio Alger rags to riches stories are all the rave. Along comes Jesse Livermore, a ballsy, throw caution to the wind and risk it all by leveraging it up to the hilt and letting it ride type of guy. It's a time when the market is on fire and behaves something like the late 90's but the regulators are nowhere to be seen. Charles Ponzi takes Boston by storm with his promises of 50% in 45 days with his Ponzi Notes and creates an all out frenzy engulfing what seems like half of the City.
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Subjects:  1. Business    2. Business & Economics    3. Business / Economics / Finance    4. Business/Economics    5. Finance    6. Investments & Securities - General    7. Investments & Securities - Stocks    8. New York Stock Exchange    9. Personal Memoirs    10. Securities    11. Speculation    12. Stocks    13. Business & Economics / Finance    14. Stocks & shares   

Reviews (15)

Quite intriguing
This book is another in a recent spate of very well written books that explain (and translate into modern terms) key aspects of Spinoza.This book is unique in its seamless style of inserting these concepts as rewordings and quotes.The single most amazing aspect of this book is its ability to humanize and personalize what seem to be necessary aspects of Spinoza's lifestyle and personality.I liked this.

A wonderful book
A wonderful book indeed. Ms. Goldsteinreveals Spinoza's philosophy, but never all at once. No "sound bytes," no "catch phrases," but a gentle and progressive exegesis, slowly building to a denouement, one idea or part of an idea at a time. She claims to be very moved when her college students begin to 'see' Spinoza, begin to understand this remarkable man's philosophy and approach to life - and she wants us, her anonymous readers, to share in this excitment as well...and I, for one, got very excited (knowing very little of Spinoza beforehand, the author has stimulated me to want to go out and learn everything I canabout Spinoza.) It's a wonderfully personal book - I don't know Professor Goldstein, but I suspect she is the only person who could have written this particular book in this particular way. It is a wonderfully quirky book--and I mean that in a very positive way. Sometimes I had to go over a paragraph 5 or 10 times to "get it," and even then I'm sure Imissed a lot-- but, stimulated by Prof. Goldstein, I've bought a copy of Spinoza's Ethics , and hope to correct at least some of my deficits.
The iconoclast behind the icon
As with her biography of Kurt Godel, Rebecca Goldstein has a way of intuiting the flames that fired a crucible of genuis.
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Heretics, Jewish    6. Jewish Sociology    7. Jewish Studies    8. Jewish philosophers    9. Netherlands    10. Philosophers    11. Biography & Autobiography / Philosophers    12. Biography: general   

Subjects:  1. Antibacterial agents    2. Bacterial diseases    3. Bacteriology    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Chemotherapy    6. General    7. History    8. Immunopharmacology    9. Life Sciences - Bacteriology    10. Medical - Physicians    11. Pharmacology    12. Science    13. Science/Mathematics    14. Scientists - General    15. Sulphonamides    16. Therapeutic use    17. Science / General   

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Business    3. Business & Economics    4. Business/Economics    5. General    6. Personal Memoirs    7. Rich & Famous    8. Business & Economics / General    9. Business & Management   

Reviews (14)

Entertaining but Lacking Any True Gems
This book has a particular appeal for two reasons: 1) Citigroup is the world's largest financial institution 2) it describes in some detail, the conflict between two storied CEO's - John Reed and Sandy Weill.Coming from the school of thought that says analyzing great business leaders may lead to my own success, I considered this book a must.
Disappointing...
I love and admire sandy weill.i purchased this book to learn more about the man and his deal making prowess.although this book was well research,its presentation was what turned me off.i have never read a book so disjointed and dull.it doesnt follow the conventional chronological sequence that most biographies does but skips back and forth from one event to another i.e 60's-to-the-80's-to-the-70's-to 60's again...this goes on and on and on.this can be very very very frustrating.Also i dont think the authors did a good job in capturing the readers since the paragraphs come and go in that fasion throughout the entire book!
A recommended read
I liked the way Stone and Brewster broke the book into small, interesting chapters.It made for an easy read.I felt like I had a good sense of Weill's character and business style by the end of the book.The only criticism I would make is that the book seemed like an "authorized" biography in that it was overly flattering of Weill at times - like commending him for his restraint in only having three large mansions.Also, like all biographies written during the person life, there needs to be more chapters for events that take place after the book stops.In spite of that, I recommend the book to anyone who likes good biographies of business leaders. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bankers    2. Banks & Banking    3. Banks And Banking    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Business    8. Business / Economics / Finance    9. Citigroup (Firm)    10. Corporate & Business History - Strategies    11. Finance    12. Financial Economics (General)    13. Financial services industry    14. United States    15. Weill, Sandy    16. Banking    17. Biography & Autobiography / Business    18. Biography: general   

Reviews (1)

Cohen's Book Offers Rare Insider Insight on Cable News
Jeff Cohen's new book Cable News Confidential offers readers a rare behind the scenes look at the 24 hour cable news world.Cohen describes his experiences at CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. He offers many personal stories, which were always engaging and often quite humorous. They painted a clear picture of how conservatives control and frame the news we see on cable. While I have read many other books on this subject, I have never seen a bo