Book Description
Heather Whitestone. Her name has become synonymous with incredible determination and unprecedented achievement. In Listening with My Heart, Heather tells her own story and the stories of others who have inspired her, proving that with hard work, perseverance, and faith, each of us can move mountains. Profoundly deaf since she was eighteen months old, Heather strove to live a normal life, and refused to listen to the voices of discouragement that many of us so often hear, no matter what problems confront us. She wouldn't listen to the doctor who said she wouldn't develop beyond third-grade abilities, or to those who said she would never dance ballet, or even speak. She did, however, hear the encouraging spirit of her family and followed the guidance of her own heart's dreams. Struggling through her difficulties, she was sustained by every success--no matter how small--and ultimately became Miss America 1995. Though she is disabled, her incredible gifts have inspired many throughout the world, and in Listening with My Heart she at last shares her life-changing wisdom.
Customer Reviews:
great story.......2006-03-13
really good book. only thing not perfect is the quality of the pictures in the softcover version. Otherwise great.
Refreshing!.......2006-01-11
Struggling to come up with title for this review shouldn't have happened, for "refreshing" describes this enjoyable read.
Heather is an honest, open and Christian person. Her humility to share her fears, exasperations, even private darker moments is refreshing!
And then there is her deafness. She is honest and open here as well, lamenting at times the deaf culture, but also showing sensitivity to their plight.
I'm a page-bender, underliner, note-taker kind of reader who continually marks passages in the great reads that I have, and this book has so many of them. I wanted to communicate them in this review, but will choose to just give some salient phrases from them so that you'll read this marvelous book: "going to bed means getting some sleep"; returned autographs which included Scripture quotes; Miss America wearing a clown on her head; dreaming and God's Word.
Haven't read such a refreshing work in quite some time; treasure as a precious Christmas gift that it was.
Inspirational book.......2004-08-31
This was a really good autobiography about Heather Whitestone, former Miss America. She talks about her struggles as a deaf person and her experience as Miss America, and how God has worked in her life.
I really enjoyed her book. I like how she was so open about her struggles with a deaf person. She didn't feel like she fit into the deaf world or the hearing world. Yet, she continues to persevere, and with God's help, she overcomes her obstacles to become Miss America. And she is open with her struggles as Miss America, too. She talks about the need for privacy and her struggles with criticism from the press.
A great, inspirational book.
An Inspiring Story.......2002-10-22
Because I have a grandbaby who was just diagnosed with profound deafness, I have been reading all the books I can about how deafness affects those who are deaf. Heather Whitestone's story was so inspirational and gave me a great deal of insight of how it feels to be deaf and different from the hearing world, and to understand what obstacles might arise, and to take heart knowing that most can be overcome if you have faith and the fortitude to meet the challenge. Her story also gives insight into the debate between the use of sign language, oral education, and cochlear implants, and the prejudice that still exists among some people in the deaf culture. A truly informative and inspiring book.
Heather's an Inspiration!.......2000-08-04
I am inspired by Heather Whitestone when I read this book...she is an inspiration to many deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals like myself. She taught me in this book that no matter the outcome, anyone with a disability can do just about anything in life...even marrying a good, handsome man named John McCallum and being the first deaf Miss America. This Christian autobiography is one of my favorites because it is very interesting to read and there are good pictures of her and her husband, family, even deaf actress Marlee Matlin. I even noticed by reading this book is that Heather and I have things in common with each other such as we both grew up as oral deaf. I love this book and I know you will too...you will enjoy it as much as I did.
Product Description
Playmate of the Month
ANNA NICOLE SMITH (As "Vickie Smith") photographed by Stephen Wayda.
Interviews
Michael Jordan by Mark Vancil.
"The Joe (Heller) and Kurt (Vonnegut) Show" by Carole Mallory.
Profile
"The Worst Senator in America" (Alfonse M. D'Amato) by Joe Conason and Jack Newfield.
20 Questions
John Leguizamo by Warren Kalbacker.
Features
"In The Company of Coyotes" by Elizabeth Royte
"Playboy's 1992 Baseball Preview" by Kevin Cook.
Elizabeth Ward Gracen (Miss America 1982) (cover and inside) photographed by Richard Fegley, photos by Byron Newman.
Product Description
A former Miss America from Colorado tells the gripping story of her life as an incest survivor. A Colorado best seller in hardcover, new in pb.
Customer Reviews:
A gift to those who've suffered.......2007-09-15
I read the article in People Magazine when Marilyn Van Derbur first told the world she had been a victim of incest. I shuddered and literally sobbed because it triggered a new memory for me. I'd just learned a couple years earlier I, too, had been a victimized, and I was in the process of healing. When I read her book I could relate over and over again to what she'd been through. This is a must-read for victims who want to become (or already have become) VICTORS! Soar Unafraid: Learning to Trust No Matter What
Believing Our Children.......2007-04-02
Painful as this book was to read, as a mother and a massage therapist I found it invaluable. It gives not only a gripping and heart wrenching story, but also useful ways that we can protect our children from abuse. Incest is not what you think, it affects so many more people in so many more ways than I ever thought possible. Miss Van Derbur uses her own remarkable story with statistical facts that make it impossible for anyone to say 'it would never happen to my child'. I'm so grateful that someone recommended this book to me for my own awareness of how our bodies store trauma. I have told almost every mother I know about some of the shocking facts this book reveals. Most importantly, it reminds us to talk to our children and believe them when they tell us the truth!
Excellent resource .......2007-01-10
This is a great book for both rape survivors and those who love them. This book talks about the social stigma over survivors, how they are not the ones who should feel shame, but those who abused them, helping rape and incest survivors understand they can be proud of the people they are. It also makes a beautiful connection that it doesn't matter what someone did to you, if it was a word, a touch, a brutal attack, it is how that interaction made you feel, how it hurt your spirit. This book does not minimize what happened to you and how that made you feel. It is a guide with eye opening stats, and useful advice to help protect children along with conversation starters. Even if you do not know anyone who has had this life experience, but unfortunately we all do, this is a great read for everyone to be better educated to support someone or prevent others from being hurt. Please read this book.
This book gave me hope.......2006-07-20
If you - or someone you love - has been raped or sexually violated, read this book. It is a step by step guide to recovery.
Healing.......2005-10-16
I, now, call this book my "peace". It has helped me ten-fold understand and begin healing my mind, body and spirit. It is a must read for those who are survivors and for those who are friends and family of those who are survivors. It helps me understand that what I have gone through, does not constitute "crazy" but rather what is to be expected of the experience. I would recommend this book for any and everyone who wants to truly understand.
Average customer rating:
- just as good
- The FCC should Ban this book
- Howard's back for more of the same?
- Not Very Impressive For The King Of All Media
- ...
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Miss America
Howard Stern
Manufacturer: Harper
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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ASIN: 0061095508 |
Amazon.com
Stern's second memoir focuses more on his professional family than on his biological family, and those who listen to his syndicated radio program will LOVE the chance to know more about Stern's crew. If you've been dying to see Stern in drag, here's your chance. But he's still at his best when he's assessing his celebrity guests, trashing the Kennedys and describing his relationship with his computer. For fans of Stern's longsuffering wife Allison, there is a very funny description of her 40th birthday party, and how Stern came through for her and "her yenta friends.".
Customer Reviews:
just as good .......2005-10-19
as private parts, if not better. i can't say enough about the two howard stern books. the man puts out perfect art!
The FCC should Ban this book.......2005-01-31
It's next to the worse book I've read yet, "Private Parts," is the worse. My gosh, you'd think with all his money he could write something worth reading except about his ham life; this guy has got to figure out what a plot and theme is, there is none. And just run on sentences going nowhere. He must sell them to his followers, becasue there is nothing of interest in it just talking and talking and talking of the FCC, and how he did this and that, where ever he ends up, he does. It was not a disappointment in that, I figured it would be something along that order, especially after I read the dirty mouth garbage and seen the pictures in "Private Parts."
Howard's back for more of the same?.......2004-04-07
It would be far too easy to dismiss this book as "just more of the same from the author of Private Parts" because by and large it is just that. But if you do write off (no pun intended) Howard's second novel, then you will truly miss out on discovering the real Howard Stern.
What Howard does in Miss America that he did not in Private Parts, is take his time to think. In his second novel he does not seem in such a mad rush to blurt out every intimate detail of his existence and of those around him. This time we discover a slightly older and more thoughtful Howard Stern. Don't get me wrong he has not seen any error in his ways, nor does he intend to change them. But he does stop to consider why and it makes the whole reading experience far more enjoyable.
Howard has still not lost his rapier wit and it is still delivered with a sledgehammer. Nor has he lost his love of naked females and that is sort of reassuring, for if he were to change at this point, we would know he was a phoney.
In Miss America Howard does go back over some old territory, but this time gives us another perspective. For Example we see the World of Howard, from Robin's eyes and it is an eye opener. Howard also has fun exploring and analysing his friendship with Fred Norris and this all makes for great reading. But the fun really begins when he gives us full chapter and verse on how he totally destroys a rival DJ and it is then that book becomes (to use a cliché) a real page turner.
Miss America is not as funny as Private parts, but a more thoughtful and enjoyable read as once again we are get another look at the world through Howard's small and very dark glasses.
Not Very Impressive For The King Of All Media.......2003-01-20
First off, I would like to state that I never read Private Parts by Stern, which I was told was a better book. I personally was disappointed in this book. After reading this book, I felt like he was just writing another book because Private Parts did so well. It had some parts that were funny, but for the most part, I felt like it was a book for Stern to insult everyone that he could in a book. I believe that Stern is one of the smartest men in radio, and that he does what he does very well. I am not part of that audience, and perhaps that is why this book did not appeal to me very much. After having read this book, I felt like I had gained nothing by reading it. It left me with no good feeling, and I really wasn't any more educated because of it. I was quite disappointed to say the least.
..........2003-01-07
Better than Private Parts. Howard is hysterical in this book. I especially love it when he goofs on the Kennedy family, celebrities (Michael Jackson riff is great), and his own radio crew. No one is safe from his tirades. If you're a fan (and really, who isn't?), get this!
Also recommended, a funny little gem I found on amazon entitled "No One's Even Bleeding".
Book Description
When Confederate troops surrendered Vicksburg on July 4, 1863--the day after the Union victory at Gettysburg--a crucial port and rail depot for the South was lost. The Union gained control of the Mississippi River, and the Confederate territory was split in two. In a thorough yet concise study of the longest single military campaign of the Civil War, Michael B. Ballard brings new depth to our understanding of the Vicksburg campaign by considering its human as well as its military aspects.
Ballard examines soldier attitudes, guerrilla warfare, and the effects of the campaign and siege on civilians in and around Vicksburg. He also analyzes the leadership and interaction of such key figures as U.S. Grant, William T. Sherman, John Pemberton, and Joseph E. Johnston, among others. Blending strategy and tactics with the human element, Ballard reminds us that while Gettysburg has become the focal point of the history and memory of the Civil War, the outcome at Vicksburg was met with as much celebration and relief in the North as was the Gettysburg victory, and he argues that it should be viewed as equally important today.
Customer Reviews:
A popular history.......2007-01-11
Mr.Ballard's book is another popular history,it contains little if any new information excepting a defense/excuse of the CS commander Gen. Pemberton.
US Gen.Grant is given considerable credit and deservedly so. The various Union naval commanders; Farragut, Porter etc get much attention also. Mr. Ballard does do a fair job of placing credit on both side's better commanders and lambasts CS Gen. Joe Johnston constantly. He lists the manuevering and prior failures of Union forces throughout the Mississippi region but successfully does so without losing the reader.
However, detail is lacking and the writing style itself is tepid and uninspiring. Contrary to some of the other reviewers, I found the maps poorly drawn and overly cluttered. Done in one color, roads and streams litter the maps; competing with arrows listing advances and retreats and unit markers do not differ between CS/US, infantry or cavalry...an attempt to clarify this on this small maps lists various brigade/division unit commanders but without listing what side is what. Numerous misspellings imply either poor editors or poor research. He consistently describes units as "crack" outfits to the point of the reader wondering, were there any "normal" units present? Any force smaller than a battalion or regiment is listed as a patrol or roadblock. His handling of first person history, the best aspect of recent military writings, is slipshod and often generalised. Few regiments are listed and in general, brigades get the most mention in combat descriptions.
A bright spot was the emphasis on the various naval movements in and about the Vicksburg area. Union naval ability and the Confederate lack of, gets serious and well deserved attention.
Mr. Ballard's theme of the Western Theater being the war winner is well supported by many other current works. Overall, this book is no masterpiece nor is Ballard a Pfanz as a writer. Well read students of this theater will not be well served by purchase of the book but it is a fair one for general or new readers to the subject.
A good start to an important history.......2006-12-14
The newer research on the Civil War suggests that it was won in the west and that the action in the east is not what caused the end of the war. Vicksburg was the crucial campaign in the west and while this book can get bogged down in details it does a very good job of providing information. The challenge of taking this city on a hill and the importance of the navy are all well explained here. A look at what happened to the south as the war progressed is not readily apparent but if read in between the lines it is easy to see what happened. The analysis about the importance of opening up the Mississippi to union forces is very good and brings new light on a subject that needs a lot more exploring and debate.
Honest and sincere account of an inmensely important campaign.......2005-07-14
I like this book for several reasons.Number one, Mr Ballard is very sincere and called everything by its name.When it comes to describing generals and soldiers on either side of the conflict,he tells it like it is.Number two, the way Mr Ballard describes the military campaign in all its details it's terrific which helped me understand the imporatnce of every battle and the strategies involved.The only flaw in the book is really a minor one which is that sometimes the author gives too many details in things that i dont think are not that important.BUt ,in general, it's a very good book!
Excellent book on the key Civil War Battle of Vicksburg.......2005-06-24
Dr, Michael Ballard has written an excellent book on the Vicksburg Campaign. Ballard has had good mentors in his study of the Mississippi River City which fell to US Grant in July, 1863
He is has been guided by Terry Wenschel the National Park Chief Historian; read the massive three volume work by Mr. Civil
War Ed Bearss on the campaign and is a lifelong native of Mississipi who has visited Vicksburg since his youth.
Vicksburg was a complex campaign pitting the inept Northern Born Confederate General John Pemberton against the aggressive and brilliant US Grant. Grant's Union Army worked well as a team.
Even though Grant did not like McClernand he used him well in launching the blue horde against the city on the bluffs. Grant
worked well with Sherman and McPherson, Logan and others as they tried many ideas to conquer Vicksburg. Grant and David Dixon Porter worked well on coordinating army-navy operations.
Grant succeeded when his forces crossed the Mississippi to
Bruinsburg, Ms. Union victories at Port Gibson, Jackson and
most importantly Champion Hill (May 16, 1863) led to a 47 day
siege of Vicksburg which fell to Federal forces on July 4, 1863
Vicksburge the key to victory in the Western Theatre was then
put into Mr. Lincoln's pocket. The fate of the Western Confederacy was sealed.
I am surprised how little many Civil War buffs seem to know little about the Western Theatre of the War. Those whose approach has been "Virginia-centric" will find much to explore as they gaze at the Western Theatre.
Grant emerges as a tough, imaginative, never say never commander while the Confederates Pemberton and Joe Johnston wee weak and indecisive leaders. Grant's star rose in the West as Lincoln discovered the man who could beat Lee and win the war!
Ballard's book is well illustrated; the maps are clear and
easy to follow. Ballard has done his homework as the many pages of bibliography attest to his acumen. While dealing with the battles he also quotes the thoughts of civilians of Vicksburg and Misssippi who saw their society rent asunder by the blue
hordes from the north.
Ed Bearss is still the dean of Vicksburg scholars but Michael Ballard has also contributed greatly to our understanding of this vital, complex, too often overlooked campaign. This book
can be read by the buff or the neophyte with equal pleasure. Thank you Dr. Ballard for your work!
Good Book for the Libary of a Civil War Buff.......2005-02-18
This is a good book for anyone interested in studying on the Civil War. As the author mentions, this campaign to capture Vicksburg is a rather unknown period of the war and this is a good book on this campaign. It has its plusses and its minuses. On the positive side, it covers the campaign in detail with a number of human interest stories. The experiences of the citizens and soldiers who lived in Vicksburg, e.g. living in caves, the casualties, the experiences of soldiers in the hospitals (for example, he goes through the procedure that a doctor used to remove a leg - interesting although somewhat gruesome but it highlights the suffering). He is an apparent fan of Pemberton (although he recognizes his mistakes well) and not a fan of Joe Johnston (but I haven't found a Civil War writer who is...). He covers them well and also the top Union generals: Grant, Sherman and McClernand, including Grant's supposed bouts with alcohol and the feud between McClernand and Grant. This is a balanced coverage. On the minuses side, I found myself getting confused at times about what was really happening. For example, the coverage of the battles including the maps which are very confusing, which ramble about this unit and that unit going this way and that. The early book with this Confederate general and that Confederate general doing this and that is also confusing and may cause you to get you to get frustrated with the book, but stick with it. At one point, he has Pemberton in Vicksburg and needing to go to Vicksburg in the same paragraph. So, I read it again, and... huh. But then the story picks up when Grant tries one approach versus another to reach Vicksburg and decides on approaching it from the South. This is very interesting showing the chess moves between Grant, Pemberton and Johnston which Grant ultimately won. This is a good book, on a period that should be covered more. It may be confusing because unlike Gettysburg, where each writer can read the other books and build on them, there are few sources. So, I recommend it.
Average customer rating:
- Excellent Coming of Age Story
- As Always With Veronica...Perfect
- Loved it!
- A coming of age gem with universal appeal
- Veronica Chambers Does It Again
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Miss Black America: A Novel
Veronica Chambers
Manufacturer: Harlem Moon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0767914678
Release Date: 2005-06-14 |
Book Description
A dazzling fiction debut from the author of Mama’s Girl, Miss Black America is the warm and tender story of Angela, a young girl growing up in 1970s Brooklyn. Angela goes to school one ordinary day and returns home to find her glamorous and fiercely independent mother gone. Her magician father, Teddo, left to raise Angela alone, insists on keeping Melanie’s disappearance shrouded in mystery. As Angela grows to womanhood and struggles to understand her mother’s motivation for escaping the bonds of her family, she wryly observes, “My father was a magician, but my mother was the real Houdini.”
A universal story that is both finely tuned and elegant, Miss Black America captures the intricacies, pleasures, contradictions, and complexities at the heart of every family. Spare and finely told, this novel will seep beneath your skin and stay with you long after the last page has been turned.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Coming of Age Story.......2005-10-24
I thought this was an excellent book. It focused on the struggles of a young girl growing up with her father. It forces you to take a look at what motivates people to do the things they do and how the fallout of those actions will effect the ones closest to them.
It also took a strong look at the beliefs and values held by parents and how those values or lack there of, will shape the lives of their children.
At the heart of the story is a daughters love for her mother. When that love is taken away, the book explores the grief the daugher must endure and how she learns to cope.
As Always With Veronica...Perfect.......2005-07-24
An endearing story from an amazing writer. Little Miss Black America is an emotional rollercoaster ride that touches its reader from every angle. You laugh, you get angry, you want to cry, but you love its main characters and ultimate message delivered throught the story. For Mama's Girl fans, it reaffirms Veronica outstanding talent as a writer. For those who have never read Veronica, you will fall in love with her writing, and run out to read Mama's Girl.
Loved it!.......2005-07-12
I fell in love with Veronica Chambers with her memoir "Mama's Girl," and she proves equally skilled at fiction with "Miss Black America." Not only is the novel beautifully written throughout, but some of the pop culture references are laugh out loud funny.
A coming of age gem with universal appeal.......2005-07-08
This finely written, exquisitely detailed coming of age story may be called Miss Black America, but its appeal is universal. Veronica Chambers skillfully explores the delicate, fraught, often confusing and competing ties that bind daughters to both their mothers and fathers. The mother's dominant presence -- heightened cleverly by her absence --is beautifully woven throughout the story without diminishing the strong presence and influence of Teddo on the woman Angela becomes. Frequent interwoven references to touchstones of popular cultural throughout Angela's life --from news clips to fashion trends-- help place and pace the story in a colorful way that should conjure up fun personal memories for many readers. Miss Black America is a fast paced, thoroughly enjoyable, and ultimately uplifting take on the resilience of us all, because of, and in spite of, our families. A great read.
Veronica Chambers Does It Again.......2005-07-06
In her memoir, Mama's Girl, Veronica Chambers had me so spellbound that I finished the book in one sitting. She does it again in her first novel, Miss Black America, grabbing your attention in the first paragraph and not letting go until the last.
This moving story is full of glimpses of the 60's and 70's and glimpses into the hearts and minds of the people there. She makes you care about her characters, especially Angela Davis Brown whose sassy, irrepressible voice tells her story. From one scene to the next, the action is fast paced, making it impossible to put down. With such heroes as the magic man Teddo the Amazing Magician, Miss Black America and Mohammed Ali gracing the pages of this book, it is a terrific read that leaves you cheering the resilience of the human spirit.
Customer Reviews:
Heather Whitestone.......2007-05-12
As a relatively new Miss America junkie, I am reading a lot on this topic. I was fortunate enough to see Heather dance at Miss A, and met her last year at a conference where she was the keynote speaker. I found her to be very passionate about her beliefs and faith in God and family, and a truly delightful person. Although this book is not always smooth reading, it is truly a description about living with, loving, and supporting your child who developed a disability. I found it a good read, and have shared it with my friends.
READ IT, READ IT, READ IT!.......2004-12-07
Okay, so I am a little biased towards this book. I actually had the most amazing experience this past summer. The company I work for brought her in as a guest speaker for our annual meeting's Christian breakfast. I have never been a Miss America fan, but her story amazed me, so I spent the $20 to see her speak. Never, in my life, has a speaker brought me to tears and laughter in just one sentence. She is such an amazing person.....absolutely amazing.
After the breakfast, I stayed behind and got my picture with her! Out in the lobby they were giving out her new book and I read it on my plane ride home. I literally got sick to my stomach when I thought about all the times I told myself that "I can't do it." This book showed me that you can do whatever you want, within reason! Her mother never gave up, her family never gave up, Heather never gave up, and the schools that specialized in her hearing program never gave up.
Well...since the book was written by her mother and not a professional writer, of course it will be dry and choppy at times, but it was the story and the fight that made it worth reading.
Oh, and one more thing, the part that touched my heart the most is when she talks about how she learned to dance ballet as a deaf child. Wow...I get teary-eyed just thinking of it. God is such an important part of her life and you should think of that while reading it.
:0)
Yes You Can Heather!.......2000-10-10
I found this book extremely cut and dry. It dragged on to me. I was very intrested in the story of Heather Whotestone but found this book just to be a bore.
a wonderful book about climbing over obstacles.......1998-12-04
This book showed me that everybody can over come big or small obstacles and be what you what to be. That even if you are diasbled or handicaped that you can accomplish your dreams and goals.
A mother's life with a hearing impaired daughter.......1997-05-07
I find it educational and fascinating! As a hearing impaired person, I can relate to Heather's experiences through life. Her mother, Daphne Gray, is reminded of my mother, too so we all related to that ! I love the book and I think it's a very educational for new parents or parents with hearing impaired child/children!! Anybody who has a friend who is hearing impaired must read this book to understand how a hearing impaired person may go through life
Book Description
"How Do You Know He's Real? God Unplugged," the second book in the successful "He's Real series," shares the profound real life journeys and dramatic encounters with the living God by young celebrities from the worlds of sports and music. The book addresses issues that young people deal with, like insecurity, anger, peer pressure, addiction and self-esteem. Always inspirational and often miraculous, "God Unplugged" is a must-read for those who desire to go deeper in their relationship with God.
Download Description
Between the covers of this book are testimonies from Christian role models from the worlds of film, sports, and music. The stories are real and powerful, and are presented in a way that believers and seekers alike will find compelling.
Customer Reviews:
People teens admire talk about God.......2007-04-13
Author Amy Hammond Hagberg wanted to help teens--her own and others--answer questions about God, including the big question: "How do you know he's real?"
Hagberg wrote to sports stars, recording artists and other celebrities, asking them to reflect on their life experiences and share how the reality of God was making a difference to them personally and professionally. The responses she received--from NBA players, Christian musicians, 'American Idol' contestants and others--are honest, revealing, and often compelling.
The resulting book is a collection of celebrity essays: mini-bios that focus on the reality of God in the midst of media attention, success and failure, and broken relationships. Contributors include Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic basketball team, quarterback David Carr of the Houston Texans, and popular Christian recording artist Clay Crosse.
Some of the interviews are especially helpful for Hagberg's original target readers: teens. Among these, Chrissy Conway of 'Zoe Girl' talks about her parents' divorce, the party scene, and the twists and turns along her personal career path in ways that connect with teens and with anyone who has ever considered attempting a career in music.
Hagberg is a gifted and skilled writer who keeps readers turning the pages as she unpacks celebrity affirmations of the presence of God in their lives. A great gift book for readers from teens through Gen X, but the stories here will interest readers of any age!
Note: Reviewer Dr. David Frisbie is an author and Executive Director of The Center for Marriage & Family Studies in Del Mar, California.
Armchair Interviews says: Anything that can help teens understand their role in living a good life is good.
Celebrities share their faith.......2007-03-11
This is an ideal book to give to people who have questions about becoming a Christian, and who love sports and music celebrities.
44 extreme sports and music celebrities tell their stories in this book, from Jonny Lang (recording artist), to Barlow Girl (rock group), Kimiko Soldati (Olympic diving), CJ Hobgood (surfer), Dwight Howard (NBA player, Orlando Magic), Mick Hannah (downhill mountain bike racer), Jimmie McGuire (professional motocross rider) and more.
They share hard times they faced, how they became Christians and how their paths are more joyful due to their faith. Being a Green Bay Packer fan I turned to Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila's story of growing up in South Central Los Angeles with a tough background, a Muslim dad and a Christian mom, and how his becoming a Christian led to his current happy family life and NFL career. Christian Hosoi, professional skateboarder, after serious drug problems, is now leading a skateboarding ministry.
The two page "God's Road Map" at the end of each celebrity's story contains perceptive questions and Scriptures. Sports and music lovers will enjoy this book, and it can even be a "past watchful dragons book" that will steer doubting people on a new clear path.
god unplugged.......2007-02-02
God Unplugged by Ammy Hagberg was very interesting. It is 403 pages long and was published in 2006 by Destiny Image. In the story top athletes, musicians, and also stars tell how god helped them get where they wanted to be and changed their lives.
In the story there were 44 celebrity reflections on true life experiences with god. Many of these celebrities have been extremely low in their lives and god has pulled them out of them. Also in some cases they have had no luck in there lives and finally achieved their goals after they gave there lives god. All of these people believe that god has either given them opportunities or even the strength to work through where they were to get to where they want to be.
I thought that this was a good book. I enjoyed reading it and seeing how god has changed all of these people's lives. The strengths of this book are that it has top named celebrities that people actually want to read about. The weakness of this book is that there is nothing to find out nest so you don't have a reason to keep reading. I did like how god actually gave them the strength to continue and succeed in life. The writing was very boring to me, but I liked the idea.
The book gave a lasting effect on me because I have a saint Christopher necklace that my grandma gave to me before she passed away and that keeps me safe when I race motorcross. So, I think that god has a great power on us. I would recommend this book, it will make you think.
After reading this, you certainly KNOW he is real!.......2007-01-25
Truly, this, and the book before this, are really awesome books!
** Why?
Because they give some very good insights into other peoples way to God. Not only that, if you don't know the Bible inside and out (and even if you do, actually!), there are quotations from the Bible explaining the why and hows, depending on the story of the person interviewed.
All this, with Amy Hagbergs very nice way of writing (down to earth serious mixed with a nice blend of humor) makes this book a pleasure to read!
Personally, I strongly recommend this book to everyone. It might be those who Seek, or those who have found, it doesn't matter, in my opinion! :)
Fantastic book!.......2007-01-24
What a great book! Amy Hagberg has gathered some of today's biggest sports and music celebs to talk about how they know God is real. This book is in stark contrast to so many of today's depressing, tragedy-focused headlines. And the list of celebrities is impressive! [...]
Amazon.com
In 1940, when an automobile accident prematurely claimed Nathanael West's life, he was a relatively obscure writer, the author of only four short novels. West's reputation has grown considerably since then and he is now considered one of the 20th century's major authors. This superb volume, edited by Sacvan Bercovitch, compiles all of West's novels and a great number of other documents, including stories, plays, and letters. Novels and Other Writings is the most complete West now available in a single volume. Film buffs will be particularly fascinated by Miss Lonelyhearts, which served as the basis for two intriguing movies and The Day of the Locust, West's final novel, which many consider to be the most withering attack on Hollywood ever written. Among the papers included in this collection are a never-filmed screenplay, Before the Fact, and a screen treatment of West's novel A Cool Million.
Customer Reviews:
The man who burned Los Angeles.......2005-04-30
The quartet of piquant short novels Nathanael West had published by the time he died in a car accident at the age of thirty-seven occupy a unique niche in American literature. A Hollywood screenwriter who migrated from studio to studio in search of sustenance, West was a humorist with a warped conscience, a young man who had fraudulently gained admission to Brown University and probably belonged there anyway, an intellectual misfit trying to make a living and a name for himself in a glitzy industry. Like Kafka with a comic-strip aesthetic, West saw the world and the people around him as the tortured products of an insane creator, cartoons to be stretched, punched, and mutilated.
"Few things are sadder than the truly monstrous," West observes in "The Day of the Locust," the last of his novels, which made an indelible impression upon me when I first read it a few years ago. Ironically, sadness is definitely not the note he strikes in his portrayal of a congregation of hilarious cretins who populate the fringes of 1930s Hollywood; it is a very brash and "loud" novel, but incredibly it is more refined and less outrageous than its three predecessors. The surrealistic narrative of "The Dream Life of Balso Snell," by contrast, is not to be read with a queasy stomach. The unassuming Mr. Snell happens upon a giant wooden horse--apparently the same the ancient Greeks used to infiltrate Troy--and, entering through the posterior, finds the intestines inhabited by unhinged writers in search of an audience.
In "Miss Lonelyhearts," the title character (who is a man) is an advice columnist for a newspaper, unable to muster anything better than empty platitudes in response to tearful letters from barely literate and improbably pathetic losers who are mostly beyond help. He is not, however, doing this just as a hoax; he approaches his role soberly because the trust his correspondents place in him forces him to "examine the values by which he lives." If "Miss Lonelyhearts" seems farcical, consider how accurately it prophesies the Jerry Springer era of televised dirty laundry and voluntary public embarrassment.
"A Cool Million" is a relentlessly cruel Horatio Alger parody that follows the misadventures of Lemuel Pitkin, a Vermont boy who goes to New York to try to make a fortune in order to save his mother's house from foreclosure but is foiled continually as he encounters an endless procession of human sleaze: corrupt businessmen, brutish cops, brothel operators and their clientele, rapists, thieves, and con men. (The screen story West wrote for "A Cool Million"--a project never filmed--is understandably so much cleaner and more optimistic that it hardly resembles the original novel.)
The four novels combined constitute only half of the Library of America volume, the rest of which includes miscellaneous fragments, plays, and letters. Among the detritus are the unsuccessful play "Good Hunting," a relatively conventional satire of war and war correspondence, an unfilmed screenplay based on Francis Iles's novel "Before the Fact" (a different screenplay by another author was used by the studio instead, and was filmed by Alfred Hitchcock as "Suspicion"), and a college essay praising Euripides to the stars. This juxtaposition effectively illuminates the two dichotomous worlds of West--the true artist and the commercial hack, the grotesque emerging from the mundane.
Artless?.......2003-05-28
It's beyond me how anyone could describe the prose of Lonelyhearts and Locust as "artless" (as one reviewer did). I can understand how some might find the bitterness and despair of these two works not to their liking. But artless? Years after reading these two novels, I can recall entire passages by heart and picture the scenes vividly. Such effects are not achieved by artless amateur writers, only by those with considerable literary talent.
That said, I must agree with the other reviewers here: The remaining stuff collected by LOA is distinctly second-rate, the product of West on a bad day or before he reached his stride. Only if you are a scholar researching twentieth-century American novelists should you buy this volume. Get the inexpensive paperback book published by New Directions, containing the two imperishable works Lonelyhearts and Locust.
Is LOA Running Out of Good American Authors?.......2002-10-18
As a long-standing and avid reader of the fiction volumes produced by the Library of America, I eagerly awaited this book and now I can't understand why they printed it. I stopped reading after about 400 pages and haven't been able to garner the energy and patience for more. 'Miss Lonelyhearts' was slightly interesting, but a very slight novel written in an artless manner. As for the rest of what I read, I consider it time not at all well spent. Dreiser, another author featured by the Library of America, created artless prose also...but he did so in the context of engaging stories that offered intellectual stimulation. I'll give this book away rather than have it consume valuable shelf space.
Of Greater Academic than Casual Interest.......2002-06-15
Little known during his lifetime, Nathanael West is today considered one of the 20th Century's most influential authors, a writer whose pitch-black satires focus on the emptiness of an American society choking on its own regurgitated mythology. His reputation rests squarely upon two works: MISS LONELYHEARTS, the tale of a newspaper advice columnist who is overwhelmed by the tragedies of those who write to him for advice, and THE DAY OF THE LOCUST, a savage vision of American society turning upon the illusions fosted upon them by a Hollywood mentality.
Both MISS LONELYHEARTS and LOCUST are powerful works, every bit as vital and unnerving today as when they were first published in the 1930s; I recommend both very strongly. But the remainder of West's cannon is extremely problematic. Like the little girl with the curl, when West was good he was very, very good, and when he was bad he was horrid. And with its inclusion of his lesser writings, this Library of America anthology gives us a detailed tour of the latter.
THE DREAM LIFE OF BALSO SNELL, West's first novel, was an experimental tale that parodies intellectual pretentions through religious, mythological, and aesthetic motifs--but while it has a number of fascinating ideas and conceits, it is at best an interesting failure. A COOL MILLION, West's third novel, is a satire on the Horatio Alger myth; it is considerably more readable than SNELL, but it lags far behind both LONELYHEARTS and LOCUST.
The rest of the anthology consists of a failed Broadway play, an unfilmed screenplay, unpublished stories and fragments, juvenalia, and personal letters. Both the play and screenplay--GOOD HUNTING and BEFORE THE FACT respectively--are written very much against the grain; it is not difficult to see why the play failed and director Hitchcock (who filmed BEFORE THE FACT as SUSPICION) ordered a completely new script. The remaining items are mediocre at best, dire at worst, and although West's letters are interesting from a historical standpoint they have no literary merit per se.
West's life was cut short by an automobile accident just as he seemed to be finding his true voice, and it is interesting to speculate on how his writing might have developed if he had lived to write more. This is an important collection--but it's importance is largely of an academic nature rather than a literary one, of more interest to the serious student of American literature than to a casual reader. If you fall into the latter catagory, I strongly recommend that you read MISS LONELYHEARTS and DAY OF THE LOCUST (both of which are available in inexpensive editions) rather than purchase this particular volume--and only after, if you like so many others among us find yourself fascinated by West's work, contemplate purchase of this anthology.
hard work by Harvard grad students.......2000-04-30
Thanks to the efforts of a bunch of Harvard grad students, this is the only book you need to become a cocktail party expert on Nathanael West (born Nathan Weinstein, 1903; died in Hollywood in 1940). My favorite part of the book is the capsule biography in the back. He drops out of high school (like me!) and alters his transcript to get into Tufts. He flunks out of Tufts but gets hold of a transcript for another Nathan Weinstein, who was apparently a pretty good student. He uses this to get into Brown and becomes an Ivy League graduate in 1924.
Oh yes, the writing... West's prose could easily pass for a New Yorker story circa 1985. Furthermore, his characters behave a lot like our contemporaries. None of this struck me as remarkable but I think it accounts for why he was so widely admired by good writers of his day and so roundly ignored by readers during the 1930s (perhaps 6,000 copies of his books were sold during his lifetime). Even if his writing style hadn't been so modern, releasing the bleak Miss Lonelyhearts in 1933 cannot have been an inspired marketing idea (the publisher went bankrupt just as the book was released).
If you want to read just one West novel, my personal choice would be Day of the Locust (1939), his last work. It is about the people destroyed by their dreams of California and Hollywood, seen through the eyes of a journeyman studio artist. He's obsessed with an aspiring actress, Faye Greener: "Her invitation wasn't to pleasure, but to struggle, hard and sharp, closer to murder than to love. If you threw yourself on her, it would be like throwing yourself from the parapet of a skyscraper. You would do it with a scream. You couldn't expect to rise again. Your teeth would be driven into your skull like nails into a pine board and your back would be broken. You wouldn't even have time to sweat or close your eyes."
The strangest novel in the collection is A Cool Million, wherein a Candide-like young man, Lemuel Pitkin, goes out to make his fortune in what a variety of Panglosses keep telling him is the Land of Opportunity. As in a Horatio Alger story, Pitkin meets a lot of rich and powerful men who are in a position to help him. West departs from Alger in that Pitkin is cheated and mutilated by all of his encounters with the rest of humanity.
Customer Reviews:
Best Parenting Book on the Market.......2004-04-14
Forget all those smarmy books full of buzz words and advice that will never work on real kids. Miss Manners knows what it really takes to raise polite kids. She also is so funny that you will literally laugh out loud while you read through this book. You'll read it straight through like a novel and you'll be so glad to have it on hand to answer questions that pop up. A fantastic baby shower gift!
Everything my Parents and Grandparents practiced on ME!.......1998-01-30
"Judith" as she is called so often (and improperly!) writes with such a playful tone that even my 12 year old wants to read her insights on Rearing Perfect Children. (She likes finding out just WHY I make her do certain things!) I grew up without such a book, but I assure you, each and every "rule" that Judith posits, is RIGHT ON POINT. My older cousin and I recently marvelled at how lovely our lives have been BECAUSE those same Rules were inculcated into us,time and time again, all of our lives. Neither of us has EVER had an awkward social moment, and yes, we each know how to be presented to Royalty, AND which knife is the fish knife and which is the oyster fork! (knowing the Rules early on makes life such a breeze-one never has to THINK about them--one is on auto-pilot from age 14 or so!
Miss Manners makes you the PERFECT parent........1997-03-15
Did you ever wish your children were presentable in public? Did you ever wish they were tolerable at home? Then this book is for you! And if your children are already presentable and tolerable, you'll die laughing at Miss Manners' wit and wisdom. You'll reread this book every year and enjoy it every time. Before you know it, you'll be enjoying an outing to the mall with all your kids in tow.
Books:
- May It Please the Court! From Auto Accidents to Agent Orange: Building a Storefront Law Practice into America's Largest Suburban Law Firm
- Messies Manual, The: A Complete Guide to Bringing Order & Beauty to Your Home
- Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts
- Monster Manual: Core Rulebook III (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.0 Fantasy Roleplaying)
- Moses (Caldecott Honor Book)
- National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Eastern Region - Revised Edition
- Nothing's Sacred
- On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society
- Pattern Classification (2nd Edition)
- Physical Computing: Sensing and Controlling the Physical World with Computers
Books Index
Books Home
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Let God Surprise You
Heavenly Crowns
Yes, You Can, Heather: The Story of Heather Whitestone, Miss America 1995
Deaf Child Crossing
In This Sign: The Highly Acclaimed Novel of a Family Whose Love and Courage Enable Them to Survive in the Silent World of the Deaf (Owl Books)
