New thread.........

#50. American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham

As the 7th American President, Jackson set the course of the presidency and political life in a new direction. He was the first chief executive not to come from Eastern elites; an orphan from the Carolinas, he rose to become a lawyer, US attorney, congressman, senator, and judge- a major general and hero of the Battle of New Orleans. He was the consummate self-made man and proudly lived and served his country as a man of the people.

He brought a new sense of individual purpose and direction to the presidency, feeling that this was the one elective office in which all the peoples of the nation (white and male, of course) had made a choice and therefore to be administered with a strong and decisive hand. He moved the White House to the center of the nation's business, had no fear of challenging entrenched interests such as nationalized banking and fought the early rumblings of Southern succession with relentlessness and passion. Of his inner circle of family, friends, and political cronies, he demanded and gave in return absolute loyalty. Jackson had an intensely strong connection to the American people which allowed him to steer the nation, and those who stood in his way did so at the peril of his wrath.

This same formidable warrior was a sentimental and kind family man and could be absolutely charming and generous. His years as president, which are the focus of this book, reveal his ambiguities - virulently pro-Union but an ardent believer in slavery, proponent of extending rights to ordinary citizens yet the architect of the bloody removal of Indians from their native lands. Jackson's maipulation of the Presidency, his use of his popularity as a political force to strengthen the Democratic Party are in many ways a founding blueprint for what the chief exective's office is in modern times.

Jackson's life is not as familiar as many of our presidents, yet Meacham does a compelling job of highlighting his years as national leader and its importance in the shaping of the country and government.

This completes my reading of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize books - fiction, non-fiction, and biography. Olive Kitteridge and The Hemingses of Monticello were, for me, most outstanding reads of their genre; this is not as superlative but a very good book for interested historians.

Message edited by its author, Jun 26, 2009, 2:10pm.

Got you starred again!

#51. A Lucky Child: A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy by Thomas Buergenthal

Odds of survival - astronomical. A Jewish boy growing up in Nazi work camps, separated from his family and on his own in Auschwitz survives and lives not only to tell his story but to devote his life to human rights.

The kindness of strangers, the serendipity of being in the right place at the right time or sometimes the wrong place at the right time, courage and cleverness, a street smartness honed by his father, all these combined to help Thomas Buergenthal live through the horrors of the Holocaust. There are few stories of children (he was 10 when taken from his family) who survived the camps but he is one. Time and again lucky circumstance snatched him from certain death; along the way he suffered unimaginably and witnessed inexpressible horror. He saw in both victims and oppressors humanity and mercy as well as depravity and barbarism.

Beyond the miracle of his survival is the joy that after the war - once again with good fortune and the kindness of others - unvelievable obstacles were overcome and he and his mother were reunited. He has gone on to live a life of distinction, devoting himself to the law and the ongoing work of fighting for human rights around the world. He is currently the US judge at the International Court in The Hague.

A remarkable story - thanks to all at LT who recommended it. As we well know, there is inconceivable evil in the heart of men.......and phenomenal decency and compassion as well.
Hope springs eternal and Thomas Buergenthal's life shows us that it well should.

Message edited by its author, Jun 30, 2009, 1:51pm.

#3: I have got to find that one soon!

I've got you starred as well -- I'm a long time lurker :)

#52 Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Steinbeck's novella of lonliness and failed dreams reflects his own experiences as a laborer during Depression era California. The story of George and Lenny - migrant workers, one mentally deficient and the other his protector, is also one of their friendship as well as the powerlessness of men in their social and economic circumstances.

As always, Steinbeck's writing is compelling. Even in so short a work, characters and themes are well defined - vivid sense of the bleakness, the repetition of their lives. Everyone in the story is filled with aspirations and all their dreams are dashed...."the best laid plans of mice and men." It also carries with it Steinbeck's oft repeated thread of misogyny. Film and stage productions often gloss right over that, but it is very evident in the book. I have read quite a bit of Steinbeck and think this is likely his most emotionally moving work - even more so than the great East of Eden.

Message edited by its author, Jun 30, 2009, 1:52pm.

I am currently reading Steinbeck's The Moon is Down, but I think Of Mice and Men will be next for me. Thanks for the recommendation!

#53 The Sound of Freedom: Marian Anderson, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Concert that Awakened America by Raymond Arsenault

I heard the author on NPR and that piqued my interest. Anderson grew up in South Philadelphia amid poverty and in a time of binding segregation throughout America. Hers was a voice "that comes along once in a hundred years" and imbued with a strength of faith, family, and community, she became a internationally reknown classical artist. Music was the driving force of her life and gave her the confidence to face demeaning racial restrictions with poise and integrity. She initially achieved first class artistic status in Europe; her enduring goal was that in her own country talent and hard work would triumph over racial prejudice.

One of the first chapters is the civil rights movement in the US is the story of Marian Anderson's famous concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, singing "America" before 75,000 people. The Daughters of the American Revolution, following traditions of the times and their bylaws, refused to hold her concert at their Constitution Hall. A host of citizens, organizations, and her mangement brought the issue to the forefront of national attention and arranged the concert at the feet of the Great Emancipator's statue. It was a mesmerizing event - establishing Anderson as an extraordinary artist and giving a first piercing touch to a nation of its grievous injustices.

History and activism that should be remembered and honored. Not spectacular, but a good book.

Message edited by its author, Jul 5, 2009, 9:13pm.

Glad to see you're a Steinbeck fan. Winter of Our Discontent and East of Eden are my favorites from him but he never disappoints me.

orangeena, you got me curious about Marian Anderson singing there, wondering if there was a clip anywhere about it and I found this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhd-Q6tBk...

Kind of cool to think of Aretha singing at Barack Obama's inauguration, by contrast.

#9 "he never disappoints me" - well said about Steinbeck. I agree; he draws a reader in quickly then doesn't let go.

#10 thanks for the link to Marian Anderson - amazingly, there are more you tube clips of her than I might have thought. What a voice - a contralto who could cover three octaves!

An absolutely astounding moment when Aretha sang at the inaguration - the tears were rolling down my face......"the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice."

That arc had a lot of shoulders behind it pushing it to bend that way. ;)

How very wonderful to find another Steinbeck fan in our midst.

>#9:
BDB:
The Winter of Our Discontent is my favorite of his as well. I always enjoy Tortilla Flat and Cannery Row because they just crack me up. I love that humor in him. But other than the lady who owns my favorite independent bookstore, you are the first person I have ever heard say that "Winter" was a favorite of his. Nice to hear. And you hit the nail right on the head. Steinbeck never, ever disappoints. He has it all.
belva

#8: Adding that one to Planet TBR, Emily. Thanks for the review and recommendation!

2nd Quater Reading Summary

25 books

FICTION 7
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
Careless in Red by Elizabeth George
Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Amith
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Empire Falls by Richard Russo
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys

NON FICTION/BIOGRAPHY 6
A World of Trouble: The White House and the Middle East by Patrick Tyler
The Man Who Loved China by Simon Winchester
Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China by Leslie Chang
The Hemingses of
Monticello: An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham
The Sound of Freedom: Marian Anderson, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Concert that Awakened America by Raymond Arsenault

ESSAY/MEMOIR 6
Snark by David Denby
Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure by
Larry Smith
Frankly My Dear: Gone With the Wind Revisited by Molly Haskell
The Principles of Uncertainty by Maira Kalman
A Lucky Child: A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Boy by Thomas Buergenthal
Our Lincoln: New Perspectives on Lincoln and His World by Eric Foner

CLASSICS 4
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

ART 1
Hockney's Pictures: The Definitive Retrospective by Gregory Evans

POETRY 1
Good Poems by Garrison Keillor

Message 3.

WOW! What an incredible review of A Lucky Child: A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy by Thomas Buergenthal. I finished this book a few weeks ago and believe it will be one of my top reads of 2009.

I appreciate your insightful, well written comments.

#15: Nice summary, Emily.

#54 Howard's End by E.M. Forster

A Forster I really loved. Oddly, I found his great classic A Passage to India rather passionless and wanting when compared to Paul Scott's memorable Raj Quartet; Where Angels Fear to Tread wasn't terribly appealing either. But a recent viewing of the Howard's End movie convinced me to give him another try and this one was a great read.

The story is one of class conflict and contrast in Edwardian England. The Wilcox family who represent wealth and materialism, the Schlegel siblings, idealism and creativity and then the Basts who are undeducated and poor lower middle class - these are the central characters. Forster wrote this in some ways as an allegory, in another view it might be called a bit of a melodrama. He was writing at the turn of the century and the question is who would inherit England - what would be the character and outlook of the social structure of the nation in a new century?

The families' lives are woven together in humor, romance, and tragedy and much of it centers around the perceived value, the ownership and the symbolic and real prescence of the Wilcox family home, Howard's End. Forster gives what is ultimately a balanced view of the necessity of the practicality and conservatism of the Wilcox family as well as the liberalism and compassion of the Schlegels. How to live a meaningful life within the bounds of practicality is a question for all peoples in all times and this book is Forster's very excellent and clear social commentary exhorting the examined life.

Loved it, a favorite now. I just finished it also. Great review you've got there and it boils the book down wonderfully.

#55. Dreams from My Father: a Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama

It has been in the TBR pile for a while now - finally decided to dive in. This is not a political manifesto or even the writing of an aspiring national figure. Penned in 1994, it is lately popular given the prominence of its author.

I think we can all appreciate the search for self that anyone of mixed heritage such as Obama might travel in maturing and reconciling an identity with roots throughout the world. His background - family ties, seemingly endless half-siblings and cousins through his father's many liasons, along with the Indonesian and Hawaiian influences from his mother's family and marriages make for an ancestry of tremendous complexity.

This is how he found and worked through it all to more fully understand himself and reconcile his life with a father he knew only by reputation and a mother and grandparents who reared him.

I was disappointed to find more narrative of events and names than prescient thoughts. Having seen an old program on BookTV of a panel discussing Obama's life-shaping books and the readings which helped him find a sense of self, I was hopeful to find some of those books examined here - not so. It is a voyage of self- discovery, written with balance. It is his story and valuable to understand - a little disappointing to me if strictly judged as a work of non-fiction but I'm glad I read it.

Orangeena
After your excellent review, I need to reading Howard's End. I enjoyed your comments!

Good review, Emily. I loved Howard's End too. Passage to India was good as a movie and made the book better for me, which doesn't often happen.

This message has been flagged by multiple users and is no longer displayed.

I have no bloomin' idea what #23 means.....

glad to see Howard's End generated much interest. It is great on many levels - funny and contemplative at the same time.

#56. From Square One: A Meditation, with Digressions, on Crosswords by Dean Olsher

If you are a crossword enthusiast (and I am) and if you enjoy reading a bit about people's fascinations with them and the psychology of those who love them (and I do), then you might make a point to seek this book out (and I did). And you might find it mildly interesting, but mostly disappointing (and I did).

Too many digressions, as the title hints, for me. He spend loads of time pushing "cryptic crosswords" and veers into all manner of vague and shifting commentary. A little history, some good explanations of the satisfactions those of us who are driven to the crosswords experience. Too much other randomness.

Personally, I'm a NYTimes, Will Shortz, crossword-solving girl and perhaps not quite driven to the lunatic fringe of puzzledom he seems to delve into. Shortz's puzzles value cultural literacy as opposed to obscure knowledge - the author does explain that well. For instance - KEYBISCAYNE- the clue "reached by the Rickenbacker Causeway" is just trivia. The clue "Nixon's Florida home" is a test of general knowledge and seems more satisfying when we fit it in a puzzle.

So if you love crosswords, work them instead of reading this, IMHO. ;-)

#24: So if you love crosswords, work them instead of reading this, IMHO. ;-)

OK, I will!

A week of hiking and reading in the Rocky Mountains......

#56 Selected Short Stories of William Faulkner by William Faulkner
This includes 13 short stories, most written during the time Faulkner was most prolific; they deal with many themes and characters found in his novels - the Snopes family, Mississippi life, superstition, violence. His most well-known story, A Rose for Emily is among the best here - Barn Burning and Two Soldiers equally excellent. I find Faulkner maddeningly difficult at times and struggle to follow his characters and their meanings but have been determined not to abandon an author so many find so compelling. This collection of short stories were wonderful representations of his style and the breadth of his work -somehow their shortness made even the most obtuse more readable.

#57 The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford
The author's identity as a member of a controversial and fashionable titled English family is more generally known than her writing. This book is largely autobiographical, with characters based on the Mitford sisters and their brother, their parents and the bizarre upbringing they shared. The real story of the Mitfords is an entertainment all to itself and leaves no wonder as to why their adult lives were stranger than
fiction.

This book is clever - written in a style that has the very English appeal and comedy of Wodehouse with a dash of Dorothy Parker.There are phrases of beautiful prose and moments of great hilarity with an undercurrent of easy mockery and understated English temperament, taking place just prior and during WWII and often in the environs of the family country estate. Very enjoyable - I look forward to Love in a Cold Climate which is most often paired with Pursuit in editions of the book.

#58 The Poets' Corner by John Lithgow
Noted actor of stage and screen and author Lithgow has loved poetry all his life. This is a collection of verse by 50 poets - varied in style, subject, and era - poems which have special resonance for him. There are many well known favorites as well as some less familiar. He tells a bit about each poet and then gives his understandings, emotions, and the meaning the poem has for his life - - not a crititique, but a personal reflection. A wonderful bonus is the accompanying CD with lovely recitations of many of the poems by the likes of Helen Mirren, Eileen Atkins, Morgan Freeman, Sam Waterston, and others. A great book for a scatter shooting of meaningful poetry for readers like me who are striving for a better understanding and appreciation of poetry.

#59 The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thorton Wilder
This book was quite a sensation when written in the '20s and remains a staple of reading in educational institutions today. Wilder is the only American writer to receive Pulitzers for fiction and drama - this novel and well as 2 prizes for Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth. His themes are as thought-provoking and powerful today as when they were written.

Bridge is a moral fable - a story that attempts to explain an ethical or moral question with a practical story that can be recognized and understood by a common reader. Here Wilder posits one of the great questions of life - is there a purpose and meaning in life beyond our own will as individuals. A bridge collapses ending the lives of 5 people - a missionary witnesses it and devotes years of his life examining those lives in an attempt to show those lives had purposeful beginnings and endings, that their deaths were a logical conclusion to their accomplishments and span of time on earth. Either we live and die by accident or we live and die by plan and this event gave opportunity to prove even as our lives seemed skewed to randomness, they have divine purpose and control.

Of course, he does not find or prove this at all. His findings shows the complexity and interrelated web of life - an examination that reveals what such would reveal of all our lives - neither as good or as bad as others might have thought but only more involved and mysterious. The common thread of humanity is the struggle to know and understand our human nature and the interconnections of love we all share. That may indeed be a proof of faith and the grace of God - or it may not. Wilder doesn't answer it for you.

Message edited by its author, Jul 28, 2009, 12:44pm.

I wondered where you had been, Emily. Aren't the Rockies beautiful?

Looks like you got some good reading it, too!

Yes, it was wonderful. We have been there many many times and my younger son spends his summers as a hikemaster at the YMCA of the Rockies in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Perfect for reading - I usually take about 6 books and then get more from the little library there.

Your younger son is very lucky to be able to spend part of every year there.

ditto what Stasia said.

The United States is so very fortunate to have such a wonderful National Park system.

After eight days in Yellowstone, I have such an appreciation for our country and all the beauty!

orangeena;
I really have enjoyed reading your thread.
You have read some truly wonderful books
this year and your reviews and comments
are so to the point and easy to understand.
That makes it easier for a reader like me to
know whether I want to read said book or not
and I appreciate that.
Also you have other readers who take part in your thread and make interesting comments.
Your LT home is a very pleasant place to visit.
Thank you for the recs. Love your thread.
belva

Wow- such kind words about my very eclectic and sometimes odd reading choices!. Thank you so much. It is an added pleasure to have read something wonderful or meaningful and then to pass along one's thoughts to others who might enjoy it as well - or even to discuss books that didn't hit the mark.
I love it when other readers comment - LT is such a great tool. Thanks again for your compliments. I enjoy keeping up with your thread of reading, as well.

#60 To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

No character more marvelous in all of literature; no story more piercingly beautiful in all of American fiction.

Of course, I've read it many times, but I could not resist an audio recording performed by Sissy Spacek. Her East Texas twang improves perfection.

Oh, I hope my local library has the audio version.
To Kill A Mockingbird. I agree with you regarding the fact that that it is a piercingly beautiful story! It remains my #1 favorite all time book since the day I read it years ago.

# 61 Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

This week we have had to put our much loved dog to sleep - the aging and sick dog who came to us a lively puppy when my boys were little. I have often said if each of us had to rank family favorites, Molly would appear #1 on every list and the rest of us in some descending order. We've moved three times, the boys are men, but her prominence and importance as a friend and companion never waned.

That doesn't have much to do with this book except that most of my reading these days is done through cascades or drops of tears, and I am grateful to Ms. Lamott and to mr. blackdog for recommending this in his wonderful review several days ago. It was a trusted therapy and respite - perfect to pick up and read in small portions. Fans of Lamott know her to be witty, brutally honest, and penetrating. She cuts right to heart of matter and yet brings warmth and good feeling to all she writes. This has very concrete and specific suggestions and instructions for those who are called or driven to write - she sugar coats nothing but along the way the reader sees the deepening power of writing and reading in life.

I'll likely never be a writer except here for reviews and informally. But this book is for any and all who believe "writing and reading feed the soul." I'm thankful it was the book next on my list.

Message edited by its author, Aug 11, 2009, 5:13pm.

Bird by Bird is my favorite Lamott book and my favorite book about writing! Glad to see that it was the right book at the right time for you.

Terribly sorry about your dog. I can relate - the dog that my husband and I called our 'son' died last summer, quickly and unexpectedly. He was still young. It was gut wrenching. I'm sure it's much much worse when you've had so much time together. (((Lots of hugs)))

Angela

Emily

BIG, BIG hugs to you. I understand the tears and the loss. My lt name of Whisper1 is in honor of my beloved dog Whisper, who, like your dog was aging and sick and alas a very tough decision had to be made. Like your dog, she was the soul of our family and I still miss her lo these years later.

I am so sorry for your pain.

My condolences on the loss of Molly. I gather she had a wonderful life and will always be remembered.

#35: I am so sorry to hear about Molly, Emily. I know she will be greatly missed in your family.

My thoughts are also with you and your boys, Emily. I had the same experience several weeks ago, and I know how you must be feeling.

Thank you to all - you have been been so kind and supportive. It has been wrenching, that's for sure.

I would like to add my condolences to you. I still get choked up remembering past furry family members that have died. On a brighter note, your writing from the heart was exceptional as you can see by the responses that you are getting. Ms. Lamott would be proud of you.

#62 Ballistics: Poems by Billy Collins

Recommended and quoted so often by Carolyn that I sought him out for myself. Wonderful, clever poetry that expresses ordinary life with its fears and joys, written with concise humor and detail. Poetry that is easy to read, thought provoking but not obtuse. Here's a favorite on a subject close to all our hearts....

Envoy

Go, little book,
out of this house and into the world,

carriage made of paper rolling toward town
bearing a single passenger
beyond the reach of this jittery pen,
far from the desk and the nosy gooseneck lamp.

It is time to decamp,
put on a jacket and venture outside,
time to be regarded by other eyes,
bound to be held in foreign hands.

So off you go, infants of the brain,
with a wave and some bits of fatherly advice:

stay out as late as you like,
don't bother to call or write,
and talk to as many strangers as you can.

(I just love "put on a jacket" and "bound to be held")!

#63 The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Currently living high atop the fiction best seller lists at a bookstore near you......not the usual thing I read but recommended by a friend who will persist in asking for an opinion.
The author is a child of the Deep South, writing about a time of realization and the beginnings of tiny steps to change. The Help are African American women, maids to the white families of the segregated and racist 60s in Jackson, MIssissippi. Their lives are unknown, really unthought of, for the most part. A young white woman, an aspiring journalist, begins a quest to chronicle the lives of these women, to let them tell their stories - their sufferings and humiliations as well as their joys and pride. The fullfillment of that quest is fraught with great risk to all concerned - ostracization, loss of jobs, physical danger - and yet through the endeavor, the women find hope, strength, and reason to believe in themselves.
A good story, easy to involve yourself in the lives of the characters.

Emily
I'm simply stopping by to say hello.

right back atcha.....thanks :-)

#63 Dangerous Games: The Uses and Abuses of History by Margaret MacMillan

The author and historian puts it best...."always handle history with care." The uses and maipulations of history are legion - to justify wars, fuel political campaigns, manipulate religious movements, to boost or denigrate leaders, formulate questions and find signifigance. This small book is an examination of history as it been used so often for these purposes and more. History is not just written by the winners - it is often generalized or reconstructed, ignored or embellished. Whether it be Iraq or the American Civil War, the French Revolution, or the struggles of indigenous peoples in Australia, history helps us makes sense of a very complicated world. We should rightly look to history to learn, for inclusion and identity. But this book reminds us all that we should look and learn with an open minded awareness - should be willing to consider other alternatives and raise questions and analysis and especially to be wary of those who write and conclude in absolute certainty.

MacMillan writes with clarity and realism. She does not espouse the notion that there is no truth or that certain inalienable facts can never be determined in a study of history - only that the centuries are rife with the consequences of believing at face value claims that often are multi-faceted and should be approached with humility and a healthy skepticism by nations, their leaders and populace.

I am so sorry about you beloved animal friend. I am a dog lover and I understand completely. I am glad that the recommendation was a good fit for the rough time.

Thanks so much. As I told someone - in the grand scheme of things and amidst the true tragedies of life, losing a dog is not so major, but if you have been there, you know how really wrenching it can be.

#47: Having read and appreciated MacMillan's Paris 1919 I will definitely be looking for that one. Thanks for the recommendation, Emily!

#63 Not Becoming My Mother: and Other Things She Taught Me Along the Way by Ruth Reichl

The author is the editor of "Gourmet" magazine and former food critic for the LA Times and NY Times. Anyone who has read either of her memoirs, Comfort Me With Apples or Tender at the Bone, knows Reichl did not grow up whisking hollandaise or preparing pot roast at her mother's side. Her mother was a disasterous if not dangerous cook - scraping mold off weeks old food, concocting horrid culinary experiments, even serving items that gave guests food poisoning. She (Reichl's mother) was a creative, intelligent woman - stifled by the expectations of her times and family that marriage, children, and home should bring happiness and fullfillment. It didn't, and the sublimation of her ambition and intellect to society's restrictions led to frustration, unhappiness and certainly less than a positive role model for her daughter, Ruth.

On what would have been her mother's 100th birthday, Reichl had the courage to delve into a trove of letters and diaries to fully face the psychic damage and instability that resulted from her mother's sacrifices and in doing so, learned how focused and tenacious her mother had been to instill in Ruth a determination and drive to have a full life, to follow her talents and desires.

Reichl did just that, of course, and has led an interesting personal and accomplished professional life. This small book is not like any of her others - not humorous, foodie oriented, or filled with colorful characters. It is a loving memoir but also a painfully personal one.

Message edited by its author, Aug 22, 2009, 9:54pm.

good review, orangeena - you've made me want to read this very much.

#51: I read Reichl's Garlic and Sapphires last year and enjoyed it very much. I will look for this one too. Thanks for the review, Emily.

#64 Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Nancy Milford

It is hard to imagine today - a poetry reading filling to overflow auditoriums and college venues across the country, publishers beseeching a poet for more, anxious readers buying tens of thousands of a new work in the depths of the Depression. And yet this was the world of Millay.

Her life was the prototype of the female bohemian - wildly promiscuous, outspoken and often outrageous, spokesperson and agitator for feminist and political causes. She was passionate and fearless, living out of the mainstream and mining her experiences and fertile genius for verse and prose.

Vincent, as she was known by family and friends, was born and lived her early years in rural poverty in Maine along with her sisters and an often absent, working mother. Their bonds would remain the strongest emotional ties of her life, eliciting unconditional love and support but also symbiosis and scathing competitiveness. Her expressive genius was acknowledged at an early age - she attended Vassar through a benefactor who heard one her recitations on the radio. Her life was always on the edge - financially, emotionally, and physically. Millay was a mesmerizing presence, often likened to a fairy, attractive and seductive to both men and women. She was petite with auburn hair and glowing green eyes; her voice had a magnetic quality that drew listeners in whether live or via the airwaves.

Her poems and writings have been in and out of favor through the years. Initially Millay was the torch bearer for a new generation and her verse a devil-may-care, drink to the fullest statement. Later generations often thought it melancholy and maudlin.

This book is an examination of her life gleaned from letters, papers, and visits with her sister. It does not worship her genius but details its cost, for Millay's passions eventually thrust her into alcohol and morphine addiction and the end of her life was a harrowing chronicle of pain and struggle. Her poetry, however, still has the clarity and power to strike boldly at the reader.

Well written, a portrait of a time and one of its spokeswomen.

I own that one but haven't read it yet. Thanks for the review!

I picked up Not Becoming My Mother on a whim the other day. It called out to me sitting there on the library shelf. Now I can hardly wait to get to it. Nice review.

Great review! I also own it, but haven't read it. I'll try to get to it later this year or early next year.

What a wonderfully written review. How I wish the students who write articles for the university yearbook and newspaper could write like you do.

WOW!

#54: I already had that one on Planet TBR, but am bumping it up considerably. Thanks for the great review, Emily.

You are all so very welcome - I hope you all find Millay (and Reichl's book as well, Donna) and her life interesting reading.

love your pic, kidzdoc! you obviously found your great calling. Are you a fan of Atul Gwande? I'm not a scientist but he certainly has a gift for making clear the mysteries of medicine.

Linda - Flattery will get you everywhere, everywhere; I have a few years on your writers - they will likely improve with age and experience and they are all probably better spellers than I am right now! thanks for your praise. :-)

Message edited by its author, Sep 5, 2009, 5:36pm.

I'm definitely a huge fan of Atul Gawande, especially after I attended a talk he gave at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco two or three years ago, when his latest book, Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance, came out. I've also read his other book, Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science, and I've read most of his articles in The New Yorker and his Op-Ed pieces in The New York Times. But, above all of his accomplishments, he is both confident and humble, very down to earth, and approachable, with a good sense of humor. I was able to speak with him for about five minutes at the end of his talk, which was quite rewarding and memorable.

#54: Oh I would love to get my hands on a copy of that book, Emily. Thanks for the good review.

#65 My Life In France by Julia Child

This is Julia's story of her years in France where she found her great calling as chef, author, and teacher. The current movie, "Julia and Julie," is based on this book as well as that of Julie Powell, the young New Yorker who works her way through Julia's culinary tome.

Child moved to France with her husband Paul, a US diplomat and found herself throughly captivated by the country and its cuisine. She writes with great gusto and passion about her facination and growing adeptness at mastering French cooking and then successfully translating it into a cookbook which would open the door for Americans to experience fine cuisine.

A fun book filled with travel, food and wine experiences and the great loves of Child's life - her wonderfully supportive husband Paul, France, and the joys of cooking and eating.

#63: I have that one on Planet TBR already, but I definitely need to move it up!

I like the sound of this book! It seems like a fun read. I'm adding My Life in France to be ever growing to be read pile.

It just arrived in the mail from the BookDepository. Looking forward to it.

#66 Alfred and Emily by Doris Lessing

Lessing won the Novel Prize in Literature in 2007 at the age of 87 or so. This odd little book was her next publication. She seems to be striving to come to peace with her parent's legacy and to free herself, even in old age, from the burdens they imposed.

The first part of the book is fiction - her parent's lives as they might have been had WWI not intervened. Her father, the farmer he always wanted to be - her mother, following an unremarkable marriage (not to her father), a force for progressive education. Its not a fairy story but a rather conventional fiction of where their talents and proclivities might have taken them.

The second part of the book is a collection of remembrances of their real life of disappointment, suffering, and thwarted dreams - her father physically and emotionally wounded from his war service, her vibrant and intellilgent mother abandoning a nursing career for a family. They moved to Rhodesia to farm - it was far from what they had thought it to be, no prosperity as a family or as individuals. Lessing recounts the uniqueness, the remembered pleasure of her unusual upbringing - she well understands the shaping of her life from enduring all she did there. This is not a tribute,though - not by any means. In spite of, or perhaps because of her literary success and the making of her life into something of worth, she recounts her unhappy childhood, her rebellion, her bitterness towards her mother, the futility of her father's life, all with a lot of unrequited fervor. It seems even at her advanced age with her purpose and accomplishments of life clearly defined, she finds it difficult to put it all behind her.

Conflict makes for great art and literature, certainly. And for Lessing's many fans, perhaps that is the greatness of this book. I have twice abandoned her The Golden Notebook so I can't count myself among readers with a depth of knowledge about her. She says in the intro..."Do children feel their parent's emotions? Yes, we do, and it is a legacy I could have done without. What is the use of it?"
I must conclude the bitterness of her unresolved issues with that burden brought forth her literature and is still consuming her.

If you didn't like The Golden Notebook, but want to read more Lessing, her semi-autobiographical series of novels beginning with Martha Quest is interesting. I like her African Stories and The Grass Is Singing, both fairly early works of hers, and both set in Africa. I recently bought Alfred and Emily and am looking forward to reading it--thank you for the great review.

Thanks for those recommendations, Deborah. I do want to try some of her other writings so this helps to know what to focus on.

I'll keep an eye out for your thoughts on A&E - the beauty of her writing certainly jumps out in places, but she has kept a heavy burden with her throughout her long life, that's for certain.

3rd Quarter Reading

18 books

NONFICTION/ BIOGRAPHY 5
Dangerous Games: Uses and Abuses of History by Margaret MacMillan
Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Nancy Milford
My Life in France by Julia Child
Alfred and Emily by Doris Lessing
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn

CLASSICS 4

Howard's End by E.M. Forster
The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
A Moveable Feast by Earnest Hemmingway

MEMOIR/ESSAYS 4

Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama
From Square One: A Meditation with Digressions on Crosswords by Dean Olsher
Bird by Bird by Anne LaMott
Not Becoming My Mother: And Other Things She Taught Me Along the Way by Ruth Reichl

FICTION 3

The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Selected Short Stories by William Faulkner

POETRY 2

The Poet's Corner by John Lithgow
Ballistics: Poems by Billy Collins

Currently reading:

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
The Clinton Tapes: Wrestling History with the President by Taylor Branch

The beginning of a new school year always slows down my reading, but once the pump is primed, I'll get back up to speed. I have many intriguing titles on my library request list, from Columbine to Ted Kennedy's new bio, Tracy Kidder and A.S. Byatt's latest offerings and NurtureShock so the last quarter of the year looks to be outstanding.

That is quite an impressive list. I like the way you divided the books into categories.

I've read a lot of YA and Newbery medal winning books this year so most of my books would be in that category.

I, too, like how you have listed your books and divided them into categories. It makes it look like you are trying to help us as well as yourself. Very nice going.
Are you a big Byatt fan? I have only read one of hers, but have several. I have also only read one of her sister's, Margaret Drabble and I have no others of hers.
It's rather strange; the older I get and the more I read, the more I want to read about the author of the books I've read and I am not nearly so crazy to get my hands on their new works. IDK. Just seems strange to me.
Well, I had better move on to the next one if I am going to catch up with all these threads.
Talk to you later,
belva

I wouldn't say I'm a big A.S. Byatt fan although Possession is one of my "10 Books I'd Save In a Fire.....if I Could only Save 10" -as Anna Quindlen says.

Your observation about reading about the authors is more and more true for me as well. Their writing seems infinitely more real and clear when you know their story - education, family, etc.

Message edited by its author, Oct 2, 2009, 3:49pm.

Looking forward to your take on the Ellison book. I read that one earlier this year.

#75 - did you review it? I must have missed that. I'd love to know your thoughts. My initial rections are jumbled - portions are so beautifully written and the desciptions and emotions so vivid it takes your breath away, other parts leave me scratching my head - unsure of what he is saying. Maybe that life if too varied and chaotic to be stereotyped or predicted. I read on.....

#67 Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity For women Worldwide by Nicholas Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn

I broke all my book rules for this - didn't wait for it at the library, didn't purchase it used or from an indie book store, just rushed out to the big box around the corner and paid full price so I could begin reading right away.

Kristoff and WuDunn are the first married couple to receive the Pulitzer Prize in journalism - they won for their coverage of China in the NY Times. This passionate and compelling book is their call for action in the most pervasive human rights violation of our times - the oppression of women and girls in developing countries around the world. This is a hugely persuasive book focusing on the absolute certainty that empowering girls with education, creating economic opportunity for women, supporting health services for women in developing countries can do more to alleviate poverty, create economic prosperity, and defuse terrorism than anything else. Their statistics and facts are irrefutable; incredibly, in the midst of unspeakable brutality, forced prostitution and sex trafficking, prohibition of schooling or medical care for females, atrocities that we cannot imagine, the authors take us to women in Asia and Africa who have overcome and to men, women, and groups around the world who have made it their life's mission to emancipate and empower women in developing nations.

The authors do not shy from the challenges, the ambiguities of culture and religion, the misplaced efforts of many. And yet the many successes they have found, the many grass roots movements that are making a difference give you hope that a change can come.

"Women hold up half the sky" is a Chinese proverb. Not only is the treatment of women in emerging countries a matter of decency and humanity, in general the best clue to a nation's growth and development potential is the status and role of women. No nation can prosper if half its talent pool is wasted.

I could wax on and on about this book but instead I'm pouring over their appendix of organizations and movements supporting women in developing countries - particularly those supporting schooling for girls.

I don't exaggerate to say this is a book that will change your thinking or open your eyes;it is a call to arms for certain - to be the change we want to see in the world.

Emily, What a great review!

#68 The Lost Art of Gratitude by Alexander McCall Smith

#6 in the Isabel Dalhousie series - I suppose one would call her an ethics philosopher, but she is also a bit of a snoop and a detective in her own way. This is definitely mind candy -a character and series not as well known as the author's #1 Ladies Detective Agency. McCall Smith is a professor of medical law and bioethics - his heroine balances the pure and practical ethics of thought and behavior in the serious and mundane relationships and circumstances of her life. It makes for pensive yet easy fun. She also lives in Edinburgh Scotland and the descriptions and feelings of her beloved homeland make you want to catch the next plane!

Yikes - I've just started Taylor Branch's 600 page The Clinton Tapes
and the library sends a notice Tracy Kidder's new book Strength In What Remains is here along with my request for Anne Frank: The Book, the Life, the Afterlife by Francine Prose. I may not see the light of day for a while.

Happy Reading!

#79: I may not see the light of day for a while.

I understand that feeling all too well - I am going out of town next week and trying to get all my library books read before then!

>77 - What a great review of Half the Sky. I put it on my TBR list after I read the NY Times review, but I'm moving it closer to the top after reading yours. Thanks!

I'm hoping readers everywhere will be moved to action by the message of Half the Sky.

#69 The Clinton Tapes: Wrestling History with the President by Taylor Branch

What to call this book ..oral history, memoir, biography, the day to day story of a presidency, the story of a friendship? It really is a melange of all of that - compelling at times, laborious at many others.

Branch is the Pulitzer Prize winning author of the magnificent trilogy, America in the King Years, the definitive story of the modern struggle for civil rights and the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King. Early in the Clinton presidency he was asked to be an unofficial historian. As such he met with the President for 80 or so sessions - from an hour to an afternoon -and recorded Clinton's recollections, stories, reactions, and answers to Branch's questions. Branch then recorded his own impressions following each interview. Clinton used the interviews in his autobiography and now Branch has come forth with his book.

Domestic issues, foreign policy discussions - impressions and reactions to the great men and women of the day, golf and family stories, all you would expect from presidential interviews. An amazing intelligence, an uncanny gift for understanding politics and peoples, a stunning recall of facts, figures, historical interpretations and relationships - most of that we know to be Clinton along with his effacing self-pity and the great moral weakness which so damaged his presidency. All that is discussed in varying detail.

Branch, though not initially a close friend, was certainly supportive of Clinton's policies and as such, found himself constantly torn between roles as objective observer and recorder and friend and advisor. Their discussions were unpredictable and intense and this book is more a record of an eight or so year conversation. I think Branch could never quite decide to offer strident counsel but was conflicted because it was often asked for and even appropriate at times.

In some respects this is a fascinating book, but I suspect only a complete history wonk would find themselves pouring over every page with absorbed interest. Mr. Branch has his much deserved Pulitzer and reputation as a stellar historian, and I'm fairly certain he didn't write this for my readership, but I was very disappointed. It had long been on my watch list and in the end seemed more his story of his listening to Clinton's story than anything else.

Thanks for this great description. I have to admit that I'm not a Clinton fan.

Great review of Half the Sky. I just saw the book mentioned in Bookmarks magazine. I'm adding it to the wishlist.

Thanks for the review of The Clinton Tapes. I still might read it, since I was fan of a lot, if not all, of his policies, if not his personality. It sounds like it has some definite stylistic problems, however. What do you think would have improved it?

#86 - hard to say and there may be those who find it innovative and valuable. For me, I would have preferred Branch either tell a story with his conclusions drawn from their sessions or present the tapes and discussions as given to him - the ambivalence of his role gave a sort of stream of consciousness feel to the writing and that isn't ideal for nonfiction, IMHO.

#70 Strength In What Remains by Tracy Kidder

Kidder tells yet another of his remarkable narratives - this a story of providence and perserverance. Deo is a refugee from Burundi who comes to America at age 24 with $200 in his pocket, knowing no English, and having no contacts or prospects here. He has survived the genocide and vicious civil war of his country, the refugee camps of Rawanda, the murders of friends and families, and death and destruction of the most unimaginable brutality. His story is reminiscent of the young boy who survived Auschwitz - the kindness of strangers, providence and luck, courage, and his capacity to overcome helped him to move from sleeping on the benches of Central Park to completion of his medical studies and eventually a return to his roots where he has founded a clinic for his village.

A compelling and well written story - Kidder never sensationalizes but presents fast- clipped and easy to understand realities. This reminds - sometimes the hope in the unseen can be realized.

Emily

As always, you wrote such a great review! Your recent read sounds fascinating! I'm adding it, with all the many others from your thread, to my tbr mountain.

I've read two of Kidder's books. I find him uneven—I thought Mountains Beyond Mountains was well-written and thought-provoking but I found Among Schoolchildren not worth recommending to anyone. I'll add Strength in What Remains and hope I find it more like the former.

I have never read anything by Kidder, so I will look for Strength in What Remains. Another nice review, Emily, and I thank you for the recommendation.

#71 Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife by Francine Prose

More than the life of Anne Frank, this is the life of the book - her diary - as history, as literature, as a personal memoir, and of the play and movie based upon it. Prose looks into the controversies over its uses and adaptations through the years and examines the growth of Anne's writing capabilities through her original diary and the edited one as well as the one her father initially had published.

The diary has been an influential work for many years and this is a good comprehensive look at the book - how and why it has become such a force in the world.

#91: I will give that one a try. Thanks for the review and recommendation, Emily.

Hang in there. You are close to the 75 challenge goal! Congratulations

>77 I really love the sound of Half the Sky. Having read Three Cups of Tea and Kabul in Winter near the start of the year, and had a similar reaction to the one you describe here, it would fit right in. Will look it up...

You've read some good books lately. I have added several to my wishlist. Thank you for the great reviews.

Thanks - nothing like book talk and sharing good reads.

#72 A Room With a view by E.M. Forster

Lucy Honeychurch travels to Italy with a chaperone - a kiss in fields of violets from a young man turns her life on end. She returns to England to find she can't quite follow the life of manners and class slated for her.

Forster is at his best here and in Howard's End, IMHO, - this a story of social behavior and custom, a plea for relationships and connection. The characters are memorable, the action filled with comedy and spirit and in the end the message is - follow your heart. Wonderful.

#96: It has been a while since I read that one. Maybe it is about time for a reread!

#96

I heard a very good BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of Howard's End that made me want to pick it up recently. Perhaps I should read A Room With a View instead, as I already know what happens in the former.

I think both are excellent - certainly re readable.
I believe Passage to India is considered Forster's great classic, but I prefer his social commentaries, these comedies of manners much more. For some reason, Passage just didn't resonate with me - The Raj Quartet a much more deeply felt book about the British in India. But when I read HE and RwithaV, I became a Forster fan for certain.

Message edited by its author, Oct 27, 2009, 8:51pm.

Emily
Have you read Freedom at Midnight? I highly recommend this excellently researched and well written book regarding India's break away from Britain and the resulting turmoil in India and Pakistan.

I've read A Passage to India but I was a lot younger and I can't really remember much about it. I don't think I liked it very much but that could be because it went over my head. I was probably only 13 or 14.

#100 - Oh yes, Linda - Freedom at Midnight was the first book I read that really introduced me to the British in India and the partition. I read it many years ago and since have always had a great interest in the place and era.

#73 Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell

After waiting an eternity for this from the library, I succumbed and bought it at Half Price Books. Oh to have my $7.95 back - what a disappointment.

She's almost 30, decent husband, no kids, in a dead end job and feeling bereft and without purpose. So she takes on Julia Childs' cookbook recipes - all 524 in one year. This is the memoir - this is also complaining and whining and lamenting. This is way too much information about her cramped and filthy apartment, her love/hate relationships with family and friends, her sex life - past, present and fantasized, her drudge of a job and coworkers. I think the idea was a witty, sassy narrative about the motivations and experiences of procuring marrow and setting aspic, sieving lobster innards and such, but honestly, I didn't see much joy or fulfillment for her - just a slog to the finish in concrete shoes with lots of vodka gimlets and f words thrown in.

Still, she got a book and then a movie out of it,so I guess she is now rich and fulfilled. Speaking of the movie with the incomprable Meryl Streep and wonderful Amy Adams - it is fun and clever and all the things I had hoped for in the book. My normal recommendation is turned on its head -see the movie and skip the book.

Message edited by its author, Oct 29, 2009, 8:52pm.

Hi Emily,

I've just caught up on everything from post #64 (and am supposedly doing the dishes, not on LT) but I just had to say YEEEESSSSS another likeminded soul who thought Julie Powell was a whinger!!! I went nuts reading that book and when the movie was suggested for a fundraiser for our local toy library I couldn't help making loud nauseated groaning noises.

I mooched it off to an unsuspecting readersoon after reading it. But I still want to read Julia Child's book!

Back later to add a whole lot of your books to my wishlist.

#103 - glad you didn't buy the book - I'm passing mine right along.

Do read Julia's book -certainly not great literature but interesting and fun and sooo much better. The movie works too. The screenwriter seemed to portray Streep as the Julia C. in her My Life In France and Adams as a quite different character than the Julie P. of the book (thank goodness!)

#102: I own that book and have it somewhere buried in my library. I think it will be a while before I unbury it!

# 74 Columbine by Dave Cullen

Exhaustively researched and written by a journalist and author who chronicles an account of the school, the students, the shooting, and the killers - prior to, during, and the aftermath. Ten years later it is possible to look back with some accuracy and with access to tapes, journals, witness statements along with the reporting and interviews of the day and tell what really happened.

Much of what we initially were told about Columbine turned out to be false - about the killers, their victims, the rescue effort, the law enforcement efforts. Of course words cannot begin to describe the horror - this is the truth and it is anguishing.

#75 When Everything Changed; The Amazing Journey of American Women From 1960 to the Present by Gail Collins

Collins is a journalist and former op ed editor of the New York Times. She has written a history of the progress and real revolution of American women in the last 50 years. As opposed to a feminist manifesto or a plodding textbook, Collins has a witty and engaging style - she used interviews, oral histories along with historical research to note the enormous, almost unbelievable, strides in politics, economics, family realtionships and roles, work, education, and sexuality that women in America have made in the last 50 years. She reminds us of what has happened since a time when women's options in everything from fashion to career were scripted and limited, when women could not secure a credit card in their own name or dare to wear slacks to work or think of becoming a firefighter or police officer to a time when a major political party fields a female candidate and women are achieving in previously unthinkable roles. There are stories of the heroines of this progress and the stories of those unknowns who struggled in anonymity.

Collins is noted for her down to earth style - for practicality and common sense in her editorial writing and this book is the same - it is good reading, informative and entertaining. Young and old, male and female will find amazement, recognition, pride, and surprise throughout.

Message edited by its author, Nov 12, 2009, 6:13pm.

Hurrah for hitting the target!! Sounds like a great book too.

Congratulations on reaching the goal!

Your 75th read sounds like a good one - kind of fitting reading it at the 75 mark too. Having lived through this period, it sounds like a must read, O. WTG!

Congrats!

Congratulations!! And that 75th book looks great.

Congratulations on the 75th book! And it sounds like a winner!

Congrats on reaching 75! You've had some good reads!

Congrats on 75!

Emily - I had When Everything Changed in my hand today at the bookstore and almost bought it, but ended up with Barbara Kingsolver's The Lacuna instead. Now, I may have to go back and get the Collins book too.

And congrats on 75!

Thanks everyone - I've not had a lot of time to respond semi-intelligently to everyone else's reading exploits but I appreciate everyone's encouragement and applause!

#76 Love, Mom: Poignant, Goofy, Brilliant Messages from Home by Doree Shafrir & Jessica Grose

In the spirit of Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure, this is a compilation of about 200 of over 100,00 submissions received by the authors at PostcardsfromYo Momma.com. All are email missives from moms to ther adult children - recipes to life style, nothing is off limits. For anyone who is a mom or who has a mom (that's most all of us somewhere in there) this is hilarious reading of motherly advice, admonitions, health, relationships, on and on. Easy to whip through in an evening - you'll find yourself or someone you know in these messages.

#77 Nutureshock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson & Ashley Merryman

My interest in this book was spurred by a "Newsweek" article called "Is Your Baby Racist?," detailing new evidence and studies refuting the parenting adage that raising children to be "color blind," and to ignore racial differences is the key to eliminating discrimination and racial prejudice. Conclusions being - recognition of differences is innate and discriminatory patterns will emerge naturally unless diferences are vocalized, discussed and dealt with as a part of everyday living and interactions.

This book is that plus nine other chapters of new perspectives in child developement and parenting, turning on their heads many of the axioms of experiences and strategies that we have always believed best for influencing children to be fair, honest, and intelligent. The authors highlight studies which indicate there is really an inverse power of praise and esteem building in young children, cite new studies which indicate early competition for spots in gifted programs may be jumping to conclusions far too early, and much more.

The book is not really riveting reading although many of their conclusions are thought provoking. A lot of reasearch and analysis has gone into this - some of their hypotheses are well proven and convincing and others you might think twice about but not be certain.

Interesting novel viewpoints - valuable for young parents or anyone instrumental in the lives of children.

Hi Emily
I'm simply stopping by to wave hello.

I like your descriptions of #76 and #77!

Right back atcha :-)

After books about Columbine and women's history and then child development, I've got to get in a bit of fiction, a classic, or some other direction - creeping myself out with all this heady knowledge!

>119 have to admit that Po Bronson's name on the cover I now find a bit of a deterrent... sounds like it might be worth reading an "executive summary" version, perhaps, but I'll skip the full thing!!

#78 The Inauguration of Barack Obama: A Photographic Journal by The Washington Post

Coffee table book of the Post photography staff's coverage of the inauguration - pageantry and detail, the known and unknown - on an historic and wonderful day in our nation's history.

#79 True Compass: A Memoir by Edward M. Kennedy

His autobiography, based on five years of oral history and recollections, written and edited as he fought his final battle against brain cancer. Kennedy faces his life squarely and addresses all the issues and questions - his legendary family, his personal indiscretions, his long and fruitful Senate career with candor and a soft touch. He doesn't shirk from the hard stuff, but in tragedy and defeat as well as triumph and victory he is neither combative or gloating.

Unlike so many memoirs, this has the ring of authenticity - not pages and pages of catharsis or "if only they'd done it my way...I knew all along." Like him or not, agree with him or not - he led a remarkable life as the standard bearer for an historic name and perservered in political service.

HI There!

I so agree with your statement regarding liking Ted Kennedy or not, he was the standard bearer....

The pressure on this man was incredible!