William Hoffer

"Taraf is the Iranian conversational custom of making polite but vacant offers.”

Not Without My Daughter by Betty Mahmoody

This was a really harrowing read. Reading it, I could not get over Betty's courage and how frightened and alone she must have felt. It's a page turner and is unputdownable.

I also liked very much how Betty detailed the kindness of the people involved in helping her. The actual escape itself is nail biting. I also saw this movie but did not care for it. The book is way more powerful.

I am glad Betty and her daughter made it out safely. This was a great read and I would recommend it to anyone interested in Betty's story.… (more)

I was moved by the racism, sexism and nationalism portrayed in Betty Mahmoody's book. I had to wonder, given the timing of the publication, if there weren't hidden motives in the extremism of the anti Islamic "behavior" towards the United States. Certainly, any situation where a mother and daughter automatically lose their human rights just by crossing a border is extremely worrisome. I was left with much research to do about the actual data of Americans in Middle Eastern countries. A well written book.… (more)

I've read this book once a year for the past, oh, twenty years. The story of how the Andrea Doria collided with the Stockholm is in my mind waaay more interesting than the story of the Titanic. How was it possible for two mammoth ships to steer directly into each other? When tested by this disaster, some people became heroes and some behaved abominably. I will never forget the stories of the last man left alive aboard the Andrea Doria, the girl who was thrown in her bed from one ship to the other, the crewmembers of the Andrea Doria who dressed as women to get into the lifeboats, the woman who threw her baby into the sea because she panicked, the doctor who worked tirelessly to save his wife, or the Captain of the Andrea Doria finally addressing the ship after hours had passed with a single trembling word. With today's sad new "Chicken of the Sea" cruise shipwreck incident, this book becomes more timely than ever.… (more)