Amazon.com
Part melodrama and part parable, Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven weaves together three stories, all told about the same man: 83-year-old Eddie, the head maintenance person at Ruby Point Amusement Park. As the novel opens, readers are told that Eddie, unsuspecting, is only minutes away from death as he goes about his typical business at the park. Albom then traces Eddie's world through his tragic final moments, his funeral, and the ensuing days as friends clean out his apartment and adjust to life without him. In alternating sections, Albom flashes back to Eddie's birthdays, telling his life story as a kind of progress report over candles and cake each year. And in the third and last thread of the novel, Albom follows Eddie into heaven where the maintenance man sequentially encounters five pivotal figures from his life (a la A Christmas Carol). Each person has been waiting for him in heaven, and, as Albom reveals, each life (and death) was woven into Eddie's own in ways he never suspected. Each soul has a story to tell, a secret to reveal, and a lesson to share. Through them Eddie understands the meaning of his own life even as his arrival brings closure to theirs.
Albom takes a big risk with the novel; such a story can easily veer into the saccharine and preachy, and this one does in moments. But, for the most part, Albom's telling remains poignant and is occasionally profound. Even with its flaws, The Five People You Meet in Heaven is a small, pure, and simple book that will find good company on a shelf next to It's A Wonderful Life. --Patrick O'Kelley
Book Description
From the author of the number one New York Times bestseller Tuesdays with Morrie comes this long-awaited follow-up.
Eddie is a wounded war veteran, an old man who has lived, in his mind, an uninspired life. His job is fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. On his 83rd birthday, a tragic accident kills him as he tries to save a little girl from a falling cart. He awakes in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a destination. It s a place where your life is explained to you by five people, some of whom you knew, others who may have been strangers. One by one, from childhood to soldier to old age, Eddie s five people revisit their connections to him on earth, illuminating the mysteries of his meaningless life, and revealing the haunting secret behind the eternal question: Why was I here?
A moving and profound contemporary fable,
The Five People You Meet in Heaven is an important reminder of the interconnectedness of us all.
Customer Reviews:
Existential Food for Thought.......2007-09-30
This tiny book is huge in provoking thoughts about life after death. It provides the reader with another theory of the after-life, the author's. According to Albom, five people whose lives we have touched, meet us in their very own heaven, endowing us with answers and experiences. It is a moving, thought- provoking, and uplifting book.
I would have enjoyed it more if the characters had been more finely developed. But in this little book, there wasn't enough time.
always a great read.......2007-09-29
I love this book. This was the second time I read it and it was better than I remember.
A Parable More Applicable To Life Than Death.......2007-09-08
I have read and liked Mitch Albom's other works, especially the brilliant "Tuesdays With Morrie." I was given this book as a gift, and was a less sure about it because I am not generally fond of fiction, especially spiritually-based fiction. I shouldn't have been concerned: Albom delivers as usual.
The book concerns the life, and more to the point, the death of a man who had lived an ordinary life, and who finds himself entering heaven as Albom envisions it. While I certainly don't agree with or endorse Albom's specific spiritual or religious views, the point of the book isn't really about the specifics of heaven or life after death, but rather it is a reflective parable which focuses the reader on the relationships and situations of genuine importance in life.
The book follows Eddie, an elderly widower, as he meets five people who played key roles in his life on earth, even though their roles were rarely what they first seem to be. I was most impressed with the two lives which intersected Eddie's in wartime, the Captain who was his commanding officer in World War Two, and Tala, a little girl whose life most dramatically intersected with Eddie's in a defining moment of his life. I read the book in one sitting, and while I was captivated by the entire book, the encounter with Tala was one of the most emotionally charged passages I have ever read, and is in and of itself a good enough reason to recommend the book.
This book is easy for intellectual snobs to dismiss with an elitist sniff, but I think that's an inappropriate response. The book, while not conforming to the specific religious beliefs of many (including myself), is a great reminder of the importance and value of relationships in this life, and teaches readers to never take people, especially friends and family, for granted. With that in mind, I can say that the book is generally excellent, and has moments of utter inspirational brilliance. I recommend the book highly.
5 Stars for 5 People.......2007-08-24
I would recommend this book for anyone. It is a smooth good read. Not at all what I thought when it was recommended to me. You will enjoy this book.
Delightful.......2007-08-23
I read this book in one day. As 'Eddie' catches glimpses of his life and some of the people and events that took place, you will be tempted to look back on your own life. There are so many lessons to be learned about yourself as you read about Eddies life and death. This is not a book to keep in your collection; it is a book to pass on because everyone you love deserves to read it.
Book Description
She was a vision. She was a siren. She was a nightmare. She was dead. Now he needed her to disappear. And he knew just how to make it happen. The Palm Beach elite go to great lengths to protect their own—and their own no longer includes Elena Estes. Once upon a time a child of wealth and privilege, Elena turned her back on that life. Betrayed and disillusioned by those closest to her, she chose the life of an undercover cop, the hunt for justice her own personal passion. Then a tragic, haunting mistake ended her career. Now Elena exists on the fringes of her old life, training horses for a living. But a shocking event is about to draw her back into the painful vortex she’s fought so hard to leave behind.
First she finds the body—a young woman used, murdered, and dumped in a canal. Not just a victim, but a friend. As Elena delves into her dead friend’s secret life, she discovers ties not only to the Russian mob but also to a group of powerful and wealthy Palm Beach bad boys known for giving each other alibis to cover a multitude of sins. A group that includes a man Elena once knew very well—her former fiancé, Bennett Walker, a man she knows has already escaped justice at least once in his life.
Finding her friend’s killer will put Elena at odds with her old life, with her new lover, and with herself. But she is determined to reveal the truth—a truth that will shock Palm Beach society to its core, and could very well get her killed.
Customer Reviews:
Another page turner from Hoag.......2007-09-08
Alibi Man became my alibi to read this book instead of doing something else. This book speeds you through twists and turns like a highway begging for you to reach the climax. Tami knows how to hold your interest and build to that climax and along the way some of the scenes she describes are so vived they are grotesque. Will not reveal plot as that is the story. A fat book with many pages that I finished in less than four days and read at night only for one hour each.
Nice Detective story.......2007-08-21
I had read Dark Horse, the precursor book with the same leading characters and setting as Alibi Man, and found that I just couldn't get into the heroine Elena. I happen to like Tami Hoag's books mainly for her character developments and even though I didn't really like Elena Estes as a character, I still decided to read Alibi man to see if she's developed as a person.
I liked Alibi Man much more than Dark Horse. Elena is still rash but in Alibi Man she is more self reflective and less rash with the general boldness still present. Still set in the Equestrian world, which I find interesting as I know nothing about it, Elena and her "former" on again off again lover Det. Landry work to find out who killed the groom whom Elena works with. Not as hard nosed in Alibi Man as in Dark Horse, Elena helps Det. Landry behind the scenes to find this killer, while at the same time being forced to deal with painful family relationships with her parents and her relationship with Det. Landry, although, he is on the back burner in this book as in the last. I enjoyed that she seemed a lot more vulnerable in this book, which made her seem more real to me. The plot itself was very well done and interesting and it kept my interest.
Alibi Man was a quick (read in one day), easy, and much more pleasant read for me than Dark Horse was. I really love the way Ms. Hoag writes. What I really enjoyed was that Ms. Hoag's usual verbosity was not as present. Much shorter than many of her other books, only 351 pages, she makes her points without rehashing them over and over as she's wont to do in other books. I don't really mind that she usually does re-hash thoughts and feelings of her characters over and over throughout a book, but this was a pleasant change.
Tami Hoag created a terrific story.......2007-08-03
It has been awhile since I have read something by Tami Hoag and I really enjoyed The Alibi Man. I understand that I have been out of the loop with the main character Elena Estes. However, when I finished the book it didn't appear to me that I missed anything from Elena previous adventures, because I thought The Alibi Man stood on its own. Elena has her fair share of knocks and I couldn't help but root for her. The story moves along at a quick pace, with a number of unrealistic scenes that I had trouble with. But still it was an entertaining read and I thought Tami Hoag did a terrific job and I would gladly recommend it to all my friends.
For you Mystery fans that want a refreshing and thrilling mystery with a bit of romance then feast on the novel The Monopoly Factor by Robert L. Saunders. It's a story of corporate deceit, greed and murder and I rooted for Barry and Susan from the time they first met until that climatic ending in the story. I'm enthralled with this author's prose and I highly encourage you to check it out. Have a good read.
Elena Estes should def. have a series!.......2007-07-30
One of the best books I've read in a long time. I received this book Friday and was finished by Sunday night. I could not put this book down, except for my Saturday night fun... Excellent Tami Hoag thriller.
Elena Estes is back!.......2007-07-13
Elena Estes (who I recognize as a character from a previous novel) is back and better than ever. Investigating the death of a co-worker and friend, Elena soon discovers that events from her past, are effecting her present and future. More than anything, Elena wants to solve Irina's death, and having recently broken up with her lover, Detective Landry, she struggles to keep him at arms length while assisting in the investigation. I will not retell the story, or tell you who killed Irina and why (enough reviewers have done that), but I will make a few simple statements. This novel contains everything that you need to make a terrific suspense novel. There were wealthy men (Brody and a host of other interesting characters) who have formed an "Alibi Club" (a bad version of a Good Ole Boy Club, who provide alibis to each other if needed); sexy polo stars (Barbaro)looking for redemption; a grieving and vicious Russian Mobster, Alexi Kulak; a person referred to as a "Freak" (who walks around looking like a circus reject); blackmailers; a victim who is more than she seemed; and a murderer. But what I found to be the most compelling was the character of Elena. You really grow to understand why she has become so jaded, so filled with guilt, and so sad. We understand why she pushes Landry away, but secretly desires what they could have, but what she is too afraid of. Anyway, Elena is a product of her past. We find out that she has left the police force, 3 years ago, because of guilt that she has about causing the death of her partner during a meth bust. The incident left her with physical (she was drug by a truck) and psychological scars (blames herself). And on top of that, her ex-lover/fiance', Bennett Walker (20 years ago), appears to be the number one suspect. Elena remembers all too well how Bennett asked her to be his alibi when he was accused of raping and assaulting a girl, and would it be unreasonable to think that someone who has everything would not kill to protect themselves. And on top of that, he is a member of the Alibi Club. Having escaped punishment for his past deeds, with the help of her estranged/defense attorney father, Elena would like to see him brought to justice if he is guilty.
As the story develops, you learn a lot about Irina, her lovers and her good friend Lizbeth, but you learn even more about Elena, and what makes her what she is....a truth seeker. How all of the injustices she has been a witness to, have shaped who she has become. I would love to read another Elena Estes story to see how her life evolves and what becomes of her relationship with Landry. So, I can tell you with no hesitation to read Alibi Man, I think you will enjoy it.
Customer Reviews:
Not all "Northwest Coast".......2006-12-27
Great, yet another book about "Northwest Coast" and "Coast Salish" art that ignores the art of the Salish Indians of Western Washington. Ever since J. E. Standley flooded the Seattle tourist market with the fake Kwakiutle artwork, fake totem poles, and other hybrids of art forms from the northern coast Salish tribes, the art forms that are indigenous to our tribes here in western Washington have been all but forgotten, brushed aside by authors who chase the market with books that pretend to deal with all "of the Northwest Coast" but in reality ignore anything south of the 49th Parallel.
Beautiful and Informational.......2006-10-10
Interesting and well written, this book has been not only a wonderful source of entertainment but a good reference for this native art style. Every image is a beautiful example of the style, and covers several medias (print, paint, clothing and carving). Stewart spends time covering all the basics, from the rudimentary design principles, to the myths and symbolism of the many animals and figures represented by the examples. Differences between tribal styles are also covered, each group accompanied by several wonderful examples of the art. This book is a great starting place for anyone wanting to study this art form, whether it be primarily cultural or artistic.
Encyclopedia of Haida.......2006-03-16
This is a great book if you are looking for explanations of the history of the Haida artwork and drawings. It also includes many examples of the artwork and is easy to read and understand for all ages.
What I needed.......2004-12-25
Great pictures, explainations, and examples, Put in wonderful catagories and easy to understand!! Fully recommend!! I wish there was more of it as it is so well thought out!!
Great details and good reading..........2001-08-02
Through well-detailed photographs and drawings, this book provides a nice introduction to Northwest tribal art. It uses examples of two- and three-dimensional works of art to explain the meanings and symbolism behind the animal motifs. You will quickly learn to recognize the ovoid, and S and U shapes that are characteristic to the art form. It also explains stylistic differences between the different cultural groups. I used this book on a trip through the Northwest and it really enriched my experience.
Book Description
SPIRITUAL DARKNESS A devastating interplanetary war has been raging for decades. The fallen ones have instigated mankind's downfall, waging a sinister campaign leading towards a singular goal, universal domination. A WARRIOR RACE Long the ordained guardians of peace, the Barudii, have been reduced to a scattered remnant struggling to survive. All but wiped out by the Vorn clan, they have little hope of stopping the genocide that threatens mankind's survival. THE LAST HEIR Young Tiet soone, the only remaining heir to the Barudii throne, returns from exile to avenge his fallen people. He is the final hope for restoration, and the only one that can mediate a peace between the warring clans before its too late...before the dark forces opposing his every effort succeed in enslaving humanity. To claim victory he will do what Barudii warriors do best-fight-to the death if need be.
Customer Reviews:
Somers' Soone Debut!.......2007-09-20
New author James Soone debuts his first novel in a seemingly new series that comes off reading like a mix of Star Wars vs Terminator.
Both genres of both film and novels here are quickly apparent in the prose. Well, that can be good...and also bad.
We felt that James Somers holds great potential, but overall after reading the first 1/3 of the novel, we got a feeling of lack of quality in terms of much-needed descriptions and characterization. Unfortunately, those came as run-of-the-mill.
On a more postive note, Somers never lets up in pure high-octane action/adventure. But after reading Best-Selling authors for many years, action/adventure is not enough. It is just a couple of important elements, yes, but cannot hold up the whole novel idea as a whole.
There was also the major problem of editing. Numerous mistakes here made this reading experience a headache at times. But James Somers CAN write. And we would look at a 2nd novel of Soone.
And hope for a more well-rounded novel.
from Wayne Thomas Batson, Author of The Door Within Trilogy and Isle of Swords.......2007-03-17
The Promising First Step in an Ultra Cool Space Epic!--that's what I'd call James Somers' Chronicles of Soone, Heir to the King. Being an author myself, I read a little differently than most people. I read like a scientist, analyzing every inch of the story: the craft, suspense technique, character development, general hook, etc. After all the analysis, I'm impressed.
Please realize this is Mr. Somers' first book. Of course it has rough edges and some editing foibles, but whose first book doesn't? If the story's cool, most readers {except perhaps, for book snobs, lol} can forgive a few errors in the written craft. Rather than technical precision, what readers should look for in a first novel are the following: an intriguing hook, sparks of creative genius, and a story worth hearing. CoSM has all of that.
An Intriguing Hook: CoSM begins with a mysterious, but utterly black betrayal...the underpinnings of centuries frought with genocide. An enemy, who while not exactly sympathetic, has motives we can understand. The hook comes when you realize the rabbit hole is A LOT deeper than you first thought. WOW, I couldn't believe how the story just seemed to balloon with each new revelation.
Sparks of Creative Genius: Somers' strength is plotting. No bog down scenes here. It just keeps amping. Wait until you meet the cyborg assasin Vale. He alone adds a rogue suspense mechanism worth the price of admission. The Vorn, the Barudii, the transdimensional rift--all very cool elements.
A Story Worth Hearing: CoSM has definite spiritual themes. There's truth in this book, but it is not preachy in any way, shape, or form. Somers somehow tells a thrilling story that simultaneously makes you think about yourself and the world in a pure light.
Order a copy of Chronicles of Soone now, and like me, look forward to the release of Rise of Lucin, CoSM2!
An action packed read with spiritual overtones.......2007-02-06
Everything an action sci-fi fan could ask for: Full of battle scenes packed with blazing swords and "ray" guns. From the opening scene I was captivated. Woven into the action are moral dilemmas and tragedy, coupled with a unique perspective on the battle between good and evil. An excellent read.
You Must Get This Book!.......2007-02-03
THE CHRONICLES OF SOONE: HEIR TO THE KING, by Rev. James Somers is a no-stop roller-coaster ride of adventure, terror, love and hate. The plot starts out pretty straight-forward, but then does an odd, but enjoyable twist. Soon the reader becomes caught up in a maze of adventure, battles, wisdom, love, hate and sorrow that is hard to find elsewhere. For his first novel this is a most remarkable story. It is in some ways simple and straight-forward, yet in others it is almost unbearably complex. As a mystery writer I like the fact that I couldn't quite get a handle on the story. I mean, I could never predict what was coming next. With the introduction of new terms, that make their way into your vocabulary as if you'd know them all your life, the clan of Barudii warriors and the races of Castaillan, Vorn and Baruk all seem to make sense. I would love to say more, but if I did I'm afraid I would start giving away pieces of the story that would take away from your uncovering them for yourself. Treat this story like a gold mine in which you have found a vein of gold. As you follow that vein and mine it just as it seems to thin out and threaten to disappear altogether it breaks open into a new and larger vein. And this Somers is able to keep up throughout this epic novel. You just know the next one is going to be just as fantastic. - David Brollier; author of THE 3RD COVENANT
(You're wondering why I didn't give it a 5? That's because of some mechanical problems with the writing that the editors failed to pick up on or imposed on his otherwise great story. Otherwise it would definitely have been a 5)
Exciting and fast paced, great story line.......2007-01-26
The action never stops in this story of futuristic war pitting races of humans with various super powers and mass produced war clones. I became wrapped up in the families involved in their struggle of survival in this centuries old war. James tells a story as only the best authors can. You will not be disappointed when you read this book.
Average customer rating:
- An outstanding tribute which works as well alone as with the exhibit
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Impressions of New York: Prints from the New-York Historical Society
Marilyn Symmes
Manufacturer: Princeton Architectural Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Similar Items:
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The Historical Atlas of New York City: A Visual Celebration of 400 Years of New York City's History
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Still New York
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New York: An Illustrated History
ASIN: 1568984928 |
Book Description
From its birth as a remote trading outpost on the fringes of the Dutch empire to its current status as the so-called Capital of the World, New York has always captivated visual artists. The extraordinary prints collected by the New-York Historical Society over the course of its history vividly preserve these impressions on paper. In this handsome volume more than 150 of these views of the city -- including two spectacular gatefold panoramas -- speak eloquently of the surging power of this dynamic urban center. At the same time, they present an intimate portrait of everyday life as it has been lived and savored in this great city for more than three centuries.
The companion to an exhibition celebrating the New-York Historical Society's bicentennial anniversary, this beautifully printed volume presents a full range of historic images, from 1672 to the present. In the lively essay and information-filled captions, curator and historian Marilyn Symmes tells the unique stories behind the people and places, parks and buildings, streets and neighborhoods, parades and events depicted in each image -- in essence, the story of New York City itself.
Customer Reviews:
An outstanding tribute which works as well alone as with the exhibit.......2005-12-05
Impressions Of New York: Prints From The New York Historical Society serves a dual purpose: it provides a companion to an exhibition celebrating the Historical Society's bicentennial anniversary, gathering a selection of historic images of the city from 1672 to present; and it also serves as a stand-alone volume capturing the images and written stories of the people and places of the city. Each duotone print or illustration is centered on a full page with a facing page describing history and painting origin. An outstanding tribute which works as well alone as with the exhibit.
Book Description
A lively, affectionate salute to an over-the-top decade.
Customer Reviews:
The decade I wish I was old enough to remember.......2001-03-06
The fall of Vietnam, the disgrace and resignation of an American President, the rise of Disco and the Club Scene...these are the moments that categorize the 70's.
Having been launched in the same decade, what better magazine to chronicle these heady, heavy and hillarious times than People magazine.
Even though it has gotten a bum rap from historians reeling from Avacado overload and shag carpteting, it was also the decade which reminded us (via the women's liberation movement) that human rights could not exist without a fair and serious discussion of women's subordination and gender role conditioning, as well as the gay and lesbian movement's emergence into an equal player in the national civil rights coalition.
Although my 1979 birth meant I was too young to remember the 1970's, I am still facinated by this time period. America underwent it's bicentential at a time when various left wing movements were still close enough in the national conciousness to charge those celebrations with a feeling of working for improvement. Somehow, I don't think the nation would have been as introspective earlier.
In keeping with the Magazine's focus, the book is largely focused on trends and events (in that order) but it is still a good tool for those who want a glimpse of what life was like during the "Me decade".Winkler, the star of 70's megahit "Happy Days" provides a wonderful introduction to a book nobody, historian or otherwise should be without.
Book Description
An inspiring and profoundly enlightening exploration of one doctor’s discovery of how hope can change
the course of illness
Since the time of the ancient Greeks, human beings have believed that hope is essential to life. Now, in this groundbreaking book, Harvard Medical School professor and New Yorker staff writer Jerome Groopman shows us why.
The search for hope is most urgent at the patient’s bedside.
The Anatomy of Hope takes us there, bringing us into the lives of people at pivotal moments when they reach for and find hope--or when it eludes their grasp. Through these intimate portraits, we learn how to distinguish true hope from false, why some people feel they are undeserving of it, and whether we should ever abandon our search.
Can hope contribute to recovery by changing physical well-being? To answer this hotly debated question, Groopman embarked on an investigative journey to cutting-edge laboratories where researchers are unraveling an authentic biology of hope. There he finds a scientific basis for understanding the role of this vital emotion in the outcome of illness.
Here is a book that offers a new way of thinking about hope, with a message for all readers, not only patients and their families. "We are just beginning to appreciate hope’s reach," Groopman writes, "and have not defined its limits. I see hope as the very heart of healing."
Customer Reviews:
The Role Hope Plays in Sustaining Quality of Life.......2004-03-13
I have read this author's books before, and I genuinely like his descriptions about the medical profession. This book particularly explains the tensions that physicians face in the conflict between being frank with patients and yet not taking hope away from them, even in serious circumstances. I believe it's easy for people, when they are well, to say that they would fight an illness with no holds barred, but when reality strikes, that dedication may falter or fail. This book does not gloss over the trials of cancer and other debilitating illnesses, but helped me understand in many ways why different patients react in radically differing ways when facing a crisis of their health. As so many baby boomers are aging themselves or facing the crises of aging parents, this book can be a godsend. But it's not just for those of us who are older. It's a wonderful read by a very interesting, compelling writer.
Book Description
In this lyrical, unsentimental, and compelling memoir, the son of a black African father and a white American mother searches for a workable meaning to his life as a black American. It begins in New York, where Barack Obama learns that his father—a figure he knows more as a myth than as a man—has been killed in a car accident. This sudden death inspires an emotional odyssey—first to a small town in Kansas, from which he retraces the migration of his mother’s family to Hawaii, and then to Kenya, where he meets the African side of his family, confronts the bitter truth of his father’s life, and at last reconciles his divided inheritance.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Customer Reviews:
Moving, eloquent and inspirational..........2007-09-26
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama is a moving, eloquent and honest book that was originally published in 1995. This is an amazing story, and not just because he is a presidential candidate. Although autobiographical in scope, it is not intended to be a complete history of the author's life. Instead, it is "a boy's search for his father."
Barack Obama had a most unusual childhood. His mother was a white American living in Hawaii. His father, Barack Obama Sr., was a brilliant black Kenyan who received a college scholarship to the University of Hawaii. When Obama was two, his father graduated college and received a scholarship to obtain his PhD at Harvard. Unfortunately, the scholarship did not include living expenses for his family, and this proved the end of the marriage. After that, Obama only saw his father one more time before being killed in an auto accident when Obama was 21. Obama's mother subsequently married a man from Indoesia, where Obama lived for several years. But that marriage also ended and Obama returned to Hawaii to live with his grandparents. Dreams from My Father also includes Obama's college experiences, as well as the work he did as an organizer in Chicago.
The most moving part of Dreams from My Father involves his trip to Kenya for the first time several years after his father died. As a youth, he describes the reaction of others when they discover his background "Privately, they guess at my troubled heart, I supposed--the mixed blood, the divided soul, the ghostly image of a tragic mulatto trapped between two worlds." In Kenya, he meets his African family including grandparents, half-brothers and sisters, step-mothers, aunts, uncles and cousins. At the Kenyan airport, an airport employee recognizes his name and knew his father. "For the first time in my life, I felt the comfort, the firmness of identity that a name might provide, how it could carry an entire history in other people's memories...My name belonged and so I belonged." I was also moved by Obama's discovery of faith.
Even if Obama was not a presidential candidate for the 2008 election, Dreams is still an eloquent and inspirational story about his search for his father and his efforts to reconcile the histories of this white and black families.
A worthy memoir of Obama's complicated early life.......2007-09-06
Due to its multi-section arrangement, falling into three precise stages, this book feels like a well-paced coming-of-age novel, an impression buoyed by the fact that, to a degree that is unusual for politicians, Obama can actually write well. If you are looking for information on what policies Obama would support as a presidential candidate, you should look elsewhere. However, the book does give the impression that the writer is unusually forthright, both about himself and his beliefs.
Watching Obama's attitudes on race evolve is one of the key points of interest in the book, and the reader comes away with a picture of a man who is both reflective and self-critical. It is somewhat apparent that the author was not running for office at the time the book was written, and yes, it (very briefly) mentions his now infamous flirtation with cocaine use. However, if you want to read a portrait of the man, if not his political platform, and interested in the struggles of someone growing up in between two different cultures, this book is well worth reading.
just great.......2007-08-17
Obama wrote his memoirs of his growing up some years ago (and with his political career I expect he'll be writing them again in twenty or so years). It is an honest book about a remarkable man who had a remarkable life. Nothing political about it.
Worth the read, but slow to start..........2007-08-06
I chose to read this book because I am very interested in Obama as a presidential candidate, and logically wanted to get to know him a little better. His memoir gives a really good picture of his life and has helped me understand where he is coming from in his politics. That said, this book was a little slow to start and a bit hard to get through, partially because he is a bit verbose throughout. The good news is that the excerpt of "The Audacity of Hope" in the back was not in the same vein as this book. So, I'll still read the second book without hesitation.
Accurate reflection of its title.......2007-08-04
Well written depiction of how Barack Obama came to be a man with much focus on his paternal side of the family. I would like to read a follow up book with more focus on his mother's influences on him.
Average customer rating:
- Get a cavity from the endless amounts of ridiculous sugar
- A Warm and wonderful story
- The book is better than the movie
- The Epitome of Romance
- It's good!
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The Notebook
Nicholas Sparks
Manufacturer: Thorndike Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
United States
| World Literature
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| 18th Century
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ASIN: 078620821X |
Amazon.com
"Somewhere," muses Noah Calhoun, while sitting on his porch in the moonight, "there were people making love." The Notebook, a Southern-fried story of love-lost-and-found-again, revolves around a single time-honored romantic dilemma: will beautiful Allison Nelson stay with Mr. Respectability (to whom she happens to be engaged), or will she choose Noah, the romantic rascal she left so many years ago?
Book Description
A man picks up a very special notebook and begins reading to his beloved wife, his voice recalling the story of their poignant and bittersweet journey to happiness...so begins THE NOTEBOOK, a touching novel that is a dual tale of love lost and found, and of a couple's gentle efforts to retrieve the most cherished moments of their lives. THE NOTEBOOK is irrepressibly romantic and has become a classic.
Customer Reviews:
Get a cavity from the endless amounts of ridiculous sugar.......2007-09-09
How did anyone actually like this? It is badly written, has all the cliches of a second rate romance novel, no plot, no characterization worth even mentioning and I got a cavity from the endless amounts of syrupy sugar. It actually worries me that so many people liked it. I have to wonder why and what is missing in life that makes someone say "this is wonderful!" about a turd.
A Warm and wonderful story.......2007-08-28
The Notebook will have you rooting for the characters from the beginning and crying at the end. There are certainly similarities with "Bridges of Madison County", but I really enjoyed this book over that book. "The Notebook" will touch your senses to make you remember exactly how much you treasure your spouse. An excellent story.
The book is better than the movie.......2007-08-25
My dad first told me about this book. It sounded like a good old fashioned love story. I bought it before, loaned it and never got it back it was so good. So I bought it again. After this came out, Reader's Digest had a short story to continue on with Noah through the years. The sequel The Wedding, is about their children. I loved the book and only mildly enjoyed the movie. I own all Nicholas Sparks books, he is an amazing author, all his books have a different lesson on love.
The Epitome of Romance.......2007-07-27
This has to be one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read. I've read a lot of romances, and this is the only story that's ever made me cry. Nicholas Sparks has woven a touching, poignant tale of true love. It's simply timeless. I highly recommend this book even if you've watched the movie. While the film is excellent, it doesn't quite do the story justice. I would give The Notebook 10 stars if possible.
It's good!.......2007-07-20
After recommended by a co-worker, I watched the movie then read the book recently. Personally, I like the movie much more then the book. As one reader mentioned in the review, the story is lack of details which the movie I think, has filled the gaps for it. I like the movie more then the book!
Average customer rating:
- Beautifully detailed, intriguing
- Confusing bonds of attachment and guilt
- very thought provoking
- Pleasantly surprised by this tale of dual plotlines
- Good read with a glaring oversight
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The World Below (Random House Large Print)
Sue Miller
Manufacturer: Random House Large Print
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0375431314
Release Date: 2001-10-02 |
Amazon.com
There is nothing remarkable about the plot of Sue Miller's graceful novel, The World Below. Cath Hubbard, a San Francisco woman in her 50s, returns to her grandmother's small Vermont house after the death of an aunt who left the property to Cath and her brother Lawrence. Cath had lived with her grandparents for a few years in her teens, after her mother's suicide, and now makes her wounded way back, in the wake of a divorce, to sort through her memories of her beloved grandmother, Georgia. This is the standard fare of American literary fiction: a life change prompting a search into the past. What is far less ordinary is Miller's placid, nuanced depiction of her protagonist's emotional journey. None of Cath's feelings can be easily predicted by the reader, but all of them ring true. She finds her grandmother's diary and begins to fill in the stories that Georgia had hinted at over the years. What Cath discovers in her grandmother's journal is a secret that has lost its power to shock; and that very wearing away of taboo adds to the poignancy of Georgia's restricted life. Her story unfolds against a backdrop of Cath's more immediate griefs and concerns and begins to recede as Cath's San Francisco life returns to claim her. Miller's prose appears effortless, but is like the gestures of a magician that conceal how the trick is accomplished. The result is a sage, continually surprising novel about finding peace of mind in a combination of habit, love, and self-determination. --Regina Marler
Book Description
From the author of While I Was Gone, a magnificent new novel that showcases Sue Miller's singular talent for exposing the nerves that lie hidden in marriages, families, and the lives of women.
Maine, 1919. Georgia Rice, who has cared fro her father and two siblings since her mother's death, is diagnosed, at 19, with tuberculosis and sent away to a sanitarium. Freed from the burdens of caretaking, she discovers a nearly lost world of youth and possibility, and meets the doomed young man who will become her lover.
Vermont, the present. On the heels of a divorce, Catherine Hubbard, Georgia's granddaughter, takes up residence in Georgia's old house. Sorting through her own affairs, Catherine stumbles upon the true story of Georgia's life and marriage, and the misunderstanding upon which she build a lifelong love.
In the stories of these two women—linked by bitter disappointments, compromist, and powerful grace—Sue Miller offers us a novel of astonishing richness and emotional depth. The World Below captures the shadowy half-truths of the visible world, and the beauty and sorrow submerged beneath the surfaces of our lives—the lost world of the past, our lost hopes for the future. An extraordinary novel from one of our finest storytellers.
Download Description
From the author of While I Was Gone, a stunning new novel that showcases Sue Miller's singular gift for exposing the nerves that lie hidden in marriages and families, and the hopes and regrets that lie buried in the hearts of women.
Maine, 1919. Georgia Rice, who has cared for her father and two siblings since her mother's death, is diagnosed, at nineteen, with tuberculosis and sent away to a sanitarium. Freed from the burdens of caretaking, she discovers a nearly lost world of youth and possibility, and meets the doomed young man who will become her lover.
Vermont, the present. On the heels of a divorce, Catherine Hubbard, Georgia's granddaughter, takes up residence in Georgia's old house. Sorting through her own affairs, Cath stumbles upon the true story of Georgia's life and marriage, and of the misunderstanding upon which she built a lasting love.
With the tales of these two women—one a country doctor's wife with a haunting past, the other a twice-divorced San Francisco schoolteacher casting about at midlife for answers to her future—Miller offers us a novel of astonishing richness and emotional depth. Linked by bitter disappointments, compromise, and powerful grace, the lives of Georgia and Cath begin to seem remarkably similar, despite their distinctly different times: two young girls, generations apart, motherless at nearly the same age, thrust into early adulthood, struggling with confusing bonds of attachment and guilt; both of them in marriages that are not what they seem, forced to make choices that call into question the very nature of intimacy, faithfulness, betrayal, and love.
Marvelously written, expertly told, The World Below captures the shadowy half-truths of the visible world, and the beauty and sorrow submerged beneath the surfaces of our lives—the lost world of the past, our lost hopes for the future. A tour de force from one of our most beloved storytellers.
Customer Reviews:
Beautifully detailed, intriguing.......2007-09-02
Cath is the narrator of "The World Below" by Sue Miller. Cath tells her own story and the story of her maternal grandmother, Georgia.
Cath is as real and honest and open as anyone you are likely to meet. Probably more, because she is so articulate. One gains an ineradicable affection for her.
Cath's descriptions are beautifully detailed and intriguing. They bring to mind the work of Jan Vermeer, that supreme painter of women and domestic scenes, like his "Girl with a Pearl Earring" and "The Milkmaid."
Cath forthrightly describes her desires and relations, also Georgia's in the earlier world. She can be more vivid even than Henry Miller but always tender and believable, never strained or raucous.
We meet Cath at a turning point in her life. At age 52, twice divorced, and the mother of three grown, independent children, she has learned that she and her brother have inherited their grandmother Georgia's house in Vermont. There Cath had gone to live at age 15 when her own mother had died.
Now her memories and the house call her back. She wants to return to that world, partly to determine whether she might want to remove there permanently. So, she obtains a half-year sabbatical from her teaching job at a private girls' school in San Francisco.
We follow Cath from about Labor Day until Christmas. Once in the house, she discovers her grandmother's diaries and letters, which supplement the stories her grandmother had always told her and reinforce the parallels in their worlds. Cath relates the memorable details of their lives and loves.
In the end, Cath must make a decision about where she will live. San Francisco? Or Vermont?
A well-told tale.
Confusing bonds of attachment and guilt.......2006-12-02
Two girls are laughing. It is the burial of their mother. Their father is a new widower. The girls are Ada and Georgia. They care for their little brother Freddie. A Mrs. Beston has done the laundry, cleaned and cooked.
The narrator's grandmother is Georgia. She tells how the girls had laughed at their grandmother's plan to have the the three children stay with her on her farm weekdays while their father traveled for work. Catherine Hubbard is the narrator. She is divorced from her second husband, Joe, and living, at the start of the book, in San Francisco. She thinks she might want to live in her grandmother's house in Southern Vermont now that her Grandmother has died. It is 1988.
Following her mother's death, Georgia had felt lost and alone. She was diagnosed-- tuberculosis. She married Dr. Holbrooke. Going to the sanatorium, Georgia felt unclean. And yet, the institution was out of time, and being there made her grow. Catherine Hubbard discovers her Grandmother's diaries. Catherine finds the sanatorium buildings still standing. Georgia's daughter Dolly, Catherine's mother, had had dementia. In time Catherine discovers Georgia's grandmother's diaries, the grandmother who had lived on a farm.
Catherine has married twice and feels herself to be a failure. Moving into the house in Southern Vermont is a sort of consolation to her disappointments. An historian friend, Samuel, tells Catherine that Georgia had always been a churchgoer. Georgia married four months after leaving the sanatorium. Dr. Holbrooke died when Catherine was nineteen. At age fifteen Catherine had lived with her grandparents. Later she went to France where her aunt lived. Catherine's daughter Karen has a baby prematurely. Catherine moves back to San Francisco.
The book abounds in parallelisms. It is well done.
very thought provoking.......2006-05-05
I read While I Was Gone first and loved it, this is my second Sue Miller book. It didn't instantly grab me as the first one did, but halfway though I really started to wonder about the story. It's the kind of book that is so subtly involved that it didn't seem like much was happening, but once you thought about it the ideas were profound. Every detail means something. Very unique and believable characters. Definitely worth the read, especially for Sue Miller fans.
Pleasantly surprised by this tale of dual plotlines.......2006-02-27
I didn't expect to like Sue Miller's writing. I'll admit that straight out. Holding a degree in English literature, and being a reviewer for several publishing houses, I've become a bit (okay, a LOT) of a book snob. But there was some quality to Miller's writing that drew me in. Perhaps it was the way she gracefully switched between the two plot lines, one in 1919 and one in modern times, that impressed me. In any event, I didn't expect to be impressed to begin with, and if I hadn't found something to recommend the book I'd have thrown it across the room with great force, despite having actually paid cover price for this one (it was for a book group, and I was in a rush..).
I was most interested in the 1919 sections, being someone who's a fan of Edwardian/turn of the century settings in the first place, but even the sections set in contemporary times were compelling enough to keep me interested. I simply liked the two main characters, grandmother and granddaughter, despite the granddaughter's distressingly EASY conduct early in the book. A bit too much information, if you ask me, but then again you really didn't. I was able to forgive Catherine, though, as she was after all moving into the big, rambling home of her late grandmother, and there was my favorite convention of a trunk filled with mementos to be gone through. A character gets very high marks from me for respecting the past and honoring the dead, etc., though not for dropping knickers for every man who happens by. I do have my standards.
Though this isn't high literature, it's at least a cut above so many other authors writing today. Yes, it's somewhat a romance, and yes, there is a cheese factor to deal with, but this is an entertaining, readable sort of book. It's something to read when you're lazing around on a Sunday, or to bring along on vacation, or when your library book group is reading it, and you work at the library so would like to stay in the good books of your co-workers.
So, read this one, but for god's sake PLEASE read something more literary at least on a semi-regular basis, then it won't be a crime to have a bit of this sort of "junk food" from time to time.. And support your local public library!
Now I shall shut up.
Good read with a glaring oversight.......2005-08-10
Overall, it's a good read. Yet after writing so intelligently about the nature of relationships between women and men, I was so disappointed that the author characterized Georgia's choice to send money to Seward's family as "robbery" in her marriage. I can understand that in the context of Georgia's time it might have been viewed this way, but this doesn't seem at all consistent with the voice of the modern day character. The majority of the book so excellently traverses the landscape of love and marriage, and captures the feelings and sensibilities of a modern middle aged woman revisiting childhood memories with an adult perspective. For the majority of this book, the author expertly navigates the different societal norms between the generations and the threads of continuity in relationships that transcend those norms. For Catherine to fail to question the concept of a wife keeping money aside for private reasons as "robbery" with a modern understanding of partnership and community property in marriage, kind of marred the story's conclusion for me.
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