My Life So Far

Amazon.com

One of the most recognizable women of our time, America knows Jane Fonda as actress, activist, feminist, wife, and workout guru. In her extraordinary memoir, Fonda divides her life into three acts: her childhood, early films, and first marriage make up act one; her growing career in film, marriage to Ted Turner, and involvement in the Vietnam War belong to act two; and the third act belongs to the future, in which she hopes to "begin living consciously," and inspire others who can learn from her experiences. Fonda reveals intimate details and universal truths that she hopes "can provide a lens through which others can see their lives and how they can live them a little differently."

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Book Description

She is one of the most recognizable women of our time. America knows Jane Fonda as an actress and an activist, a feminist and a wife, a workout guru and a role model. Now, in this extraordinary memoir, Fonda reveals that she is so much more. From her youth among Hollywood’s elite and her early film career to the challenges and triumphs of her life today, Jane Fonda reveals intimate details and universal truths that she hopes “can provide a lens through which others can see their lives and how they can live them a little differently.”

Fonda divides her “life so far” into three “acts,” writing about her childhood, first films, and marriage to Roger Vadim in Act One. At once a picture emerges: a child born to the acting legend Henry Fonda and the glamorous society princess Frances Seymour. But these early years are also marked by profound sadness: her mother’s mental illness and suicide when Jane is twelve years old, her father’s emotional distance, and her personal struggle to find her way in the world as a young woman.

By her second act, Fonda lays the foundation for her activism, even as her career takes flight. She highlights her struggle to live consciously and authentically while remaining in the public eye as she recounts her marriages to Tom Hayden and Ted Turner, and examines her controversial and defining involvement with the Vietnam War. As her film career grows, Fonda learns to incorporate her roles into a larger vision of what matters most in her life–and in the process she wins two Academy Awards, for Klute and for Coming Home.

In Fonda’s third act, she is prepared to do the work of a lifetime–to begin living consciously in a way that might inspire others who can learn from her experiences. Surprising, candid, and wonderfully written, Jane Fonda’s My Life So Far is filled with universal insights into the personal struggles of women living full and engaged lives.

Download Description

JANE FONDA was born in New York City in 1937. She attended the Emma Willard School in Troy, New York, and Vassar College. Fonda later studied with renowned acting coach Lee Strasberg and became a member of the Actors Studio in New York. Her subsequent work on stage and screen earned numerous honors, including two Best Actress Academy Awards–Klute (1971) and Coming Home (1978)–and an Emmy Award for her performance in The Dollmaker. Fonda was also a successful producer, whose credits include The China Syndrome, Nine to Five, On Golden Pond, and The Morning After.

Fonda revolutionized the fitness industry with the release of Jane Fonda’s Workout in 1982, which remains the top-grossing home video of all time. She then produced twenty-three home exercise videos, thirteen audio recordings, and five bestselling books. She now focuses her time on activism and philanthropy, in such areas as adolescent reproductive health, pregnancy prevention, school reform through arts, and building resiliency in girls and boys by addressing destructive gender stereotypes. In 1995 she founded the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (G-CAPP), which she chairs. In 2002, she opened the Jane Fonda Center for Adolescent Reproductive Health at Emory University's School of Medicine. She lives in Atlanta.

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

Hands down...one of the BEST EVER.......2007-08-15

This is one of the best-ever show biz (but any biz!) autobiographies I've ever read. Ms. Fonda has delivered her readers a real treat -- a thorough re-telling of her already familiar story with wit, pathos and a real desire to get to the truth and share them with her readers.

If life is a journey, she's taken a hell of a trip and it's to her credit that she pushes on and continues to fight the good fight.

She doesn't skirt around the controversy or try to shirk away her actions or culpability for any mistakes she made. She confronts it all -- head-on without fear or denial. She's to be commended for her honesty and for her uniquely American life and the truth she's pursued relentlessly all these years.

Many people are still mad about Vietnam (and but for her moment in the gun turret, wasn't she right about the whole sad affair?) but those are the same folks who think we're doing right by Iraq right now, so there's no winning that crowd over. They'll simply stay mad forever, even though she's the one who really shows her love for this country by trying to make it better and to hold its leaders accountable to the people who give them their power.

She's a remarkable human being and she can be extremely proud of this book.

I love Jane Fonda.......2007-08-11

This book is exceptional and explains in detail the life of Jane Fonda. Any fan of hers must have this book. A wonderful DVD is also included in the paperback edition.

WOW!.......2007-07-25

WOW! Sometimes, that's the only word that comes to mind when one's jaw drops.

I've watched a dozen of Jane Fonda's movies over the years (I was born in 1964) and a number of her father Henry's and brother Peter's and niece Bridget's films as well. But I never really took much interest in her beyond that - didn't know much about her personal life.

However, an interview in the L.A. Weekly recently in connection with the release of her latest film "Georgia Rule" (which I haven't yet seen) made me interested in her as a person. I then remembered that she had a autobiography out and I checked it out from the library this month and began reading it yesterday.

579 pages, with many b/w photos, most of which I had never seen before. Her developement can clearly be seen in these pictures: she went from tomboy to bombshell - talk about a late bloomer! The text is divided into three chapters/acts: a clever idea.

An important note: Fonda did not write this with someone else - she wrote it herself, which is rare these days for stars of her caliber. She is an excellent writer and very personal - it felt like she was talking to me directly. She reveals aspects and incidents in her life that few would have guessed, but she does it with grace. It is one of the most moving and fascinating autobios I have read, right up there with "Cash" by Johnny Cash, another big favorite autobio.

Her psychological insight is remarkable, her wit a joy, and her pain very real. Her story is proof that wealth and fame is no guard against misery, but unlike Paris Hilton and the likes, who are sadly famous for just being famous, the reader will care deeply about Jane Fonda.

She doesn't hate and has immense compassion and understanding for her family, for her three famous ex-husbands and even for her critics. She loves her now-grown kids and is doing much to help other kids with self-esteem issues. This book is a real eye opener - I had always viewed Jane Fonda as a strong and capable woman with no skeletons in the closet. I now know that she is indeed a strong woman - precisely because she has dealt with the skeletons and has overcome her troubles. This book is stunning and so is Jane by the way - she turns 70 on December 21. (She looks like Henry Fonda in drag, but in a good way, - the resemblance is uncanny!)

I'm on page 113 and I can't wait to get back to the rest of it. (the audio book version sounds fantastic - gotta get my little paws on that too).

Pardon my gushing, but thank you for writing this book, Jane - only you could have done the job so well. You state that you hope that by telling your story, you can help others. In that you have succeeded.

This book should be a Oprah's Bookclub pick so that it can reach even more people - especially women.

Good Read.......2007-06-09

After reading this book, I have an even stronger regard for Jane Fonda. I love that she has constantly evolved through her life and how she takes responsibility for her choices. I bet I would like her very much if I ever truly knew her.

The only thing about the book is that I wish there had been more in-depth information on the making of her films. She glosses over most of her films, and that was disappointing. But still very much a worthwhile read.

Jane Fonda's life is an open book.......2007-05-11

I always liked Jane Fonda, but after reading her autobiography, I now have a deep and sincere appreciation for her and her body of work, including her activism. I loved the brutal honesty she infused in the book. My Life So Far allowed the reader into some of the deepest corners of her life, which resulted in Jane allowing herself to heal. An added benefit was that the reader had the chance to learn some valuable lessons from Jane's experiences. Her life is a lesson for girls and women dealing with parental issues, sexual issues, relationship issues, career issues, motherhood issues, aging issues and more. Jane was able to capture her life so far in such an unapologetic and matter-of-fact manner that she became human and much less iconic. Great read. I highly recommend it.

Average customer rating:

Based on her old memory, some are not corrent, though.
Please read this book from the beginning to the end carefully.
Trash
Excellent Book
I am simply confused by these comments by "kid's review" and "a reader"

So Far from the Bamboo Grove (rpkg)
Yoko Kawashawa Watkins
Manufacturer: HarperTrophy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0688131158

Book Description

Though Japanese, eleven-year-old Yoko has lived with her family in northern Korea near the border with China all her life. But when the Second World War comes to an end, Japanese on the Korean peninsula are suddenly in terrible danger; the Korean people want control of their homeland and they want to punish the Japanese, who have occupied their nation for many years. Yoko, her mother and sister are forced to flee from their beautiful house with its peaceful bamboo grove. Their journey is terrifying -- and remarkable. It's a true story of courage and survival.

Customer Reviews:

Based on her old memory, some are not corrent, though........2007-09-08

Her writing is both attractive and shocking even to adults. Even though there are diputes regarding distorting the historical fact, her story is touching and also good.
One thing I feel sympathy is that the setting she described is far from truth. Were it not for the odd setting, this story could be more attractive even in Asians who had had terrible memories toward Japanese army during the World War II.

Due to the severe weather, bamboo has not been growing up in northern part in Korea. Besides, Korea was divided into North and South Korea in 1948. Since the setting is 1945, Japanese ruled in Korea, which means there were no organized communist army at that time in northern part in Korea.

Despite those flaws, this book is worth for discussions among people especially who are aware of Asian history.

Please read this book from the beginning to the end carefully........2007-08-20

I purchased this book after I had heard an argue over this book between Koreans and this author. Koreans said this book is showing fabricated history, and this author said it is the true story. Koreans even kicked this book out of libraries in the U. S. The author said sorry for misunderstanding.
I have parents, who are the same age with this author. To tell you the truth, this book is the part of true history.
My parents, one is from North Korea and the other is from South Korea. My parents had told me so many times about WWII and Korean war, how they survived. That is the reason why I am saying this book is the real history. Koreans, please read this book carefully from the beginning to the end. This author was appreciating to Koreans, who helped her big brother to escape from North Korea. The rape incidents are true. My parents told me that there were so many mad Koreans to try to revenge Japanese. In North Korea, there were Russian soldiers raping any age Korean women. In South Korea, it was chaos. Yes, it is true that Japanese took Korean girls to sexually serve Japanese soldiers. However, because of that reason,after WWII, a few mad Koreans tried to kill Japanese, who were in Korea. In Japan, a few mad Japanese tried to kill Koreans, who were in Japan, too. Please, peple. This it the real tragic story behind war. There are innocent people. Even though the country started the war, still there are so many other nice people behind of this bad decision.
Back in before 1945, there were a lot of Japanese and Koreans, who leanred each other's languages. But also, there were some people, who only knew how to speak the other language. One of my mom's friend, who had been in Japan before 1945, came back to Korea after WWII ended, but did not know how to speak Korean. She was misunderstood as a Japanese to Koreans. She and her family were almost beaten to dead by Koreans.
Hatred is making people to be blind. There are no perfect people. Even nice people can make mistakes.
Please no more fighting... It does not help anything.
To know each other, to understand each other, please read this book carefully. And please do not judge anyone because some of those bad people's mistakes.

Trash.......2007-05-29

Don't waste your time on this book. It's full of lies and distorts the truth. The japanese still refuse to apologize for their horrific war crimes/crimes against humanity.

Excellent Book.......2007-04-28

So far, this book has been the best I've read. It wasn't a boring book about somebody's life, but it described every little detail that Yoko experienced during her frightening journey. This book was graphic, but I believe that's why I enjoyed this book. I like reading novels that tell you stuff like that because it makes it easy to picture how difficult and stressful this trip was for Yoko and her family. I definitely recommend this book! *****

I am simply confused by these comments by "kid's review" and "a reader".......2007-04-22

This might be a "well written" book, but it is completely distorting the truth about the Japanese WW2 aggressions and atrocies. It makes as if atrocies were committed by the victims rather than the aggressor. If you knew even a bit of history, you would have some misgivings and the second thoughts about why the author wrote this book and why she is trying so hard for this book to be adopted by the elementary schools around the U.S. Depiction of mindless rapes and atrocies committed by the Koreans and Russians in this book could have happened, however what does she say about those close to half million comfort girls and women who were forcefully removed from their homes and brutally raped by Japanese soliders day after day and had to live as sex slaves for the duration of the war. Most of these women were never compensated for the crimes committed by Japanese government and people to this day. On top of that, Japanese government continually denies the atrocities by their soliders and civilians during the war (although it's partially due to lawsuits which may result from their admissions). You might say that this is a story about a Japanese girl and writing her memoir about WW2 although I seriously question whether this book is suitable for the elementary school kids considering the level of violence depicted in this book.

If Anne Frank were a German and she were still alive to this day and if she wrote about the mindless rapes committed by Jewish resistance fighters and Jewish American soliders after WW2 and no mention was made about the Holocaust during WW2. Wouldn't you think that is a DISTORTION of history?

If they were going to adopt this book as the textbook for the elementary school kids, they should at least adopt another book written by a Chinese or Korean author talking about a girl who was amidst of Nanking Massacre or a girl kidnapped by Japanese soldiers during WW2 to serve as sex slaves. That should give a balanced view of what really happened during WW2 and should mitigate unfounded stereotypes about certain ethnicities or racial groups.

And who are these "kid's review" and "a reader"? They are writing unanimous praise of this book. Somehow, the same person is writing two dozen reviews and trying to promote this book. Do you smell something fishy here?

Average customer rating:

Untroubled
Delightful "Magical Realism" Novel
So Far From GOOD!
Thinly Disguised Attack on Catholicism
The Poetry of Life and the World Beyond.....

So Far from God: A Novel
Ana Castillo
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0393326934

Book Description

"A delightful novel...impossible to resist."—Barbara Kingsolver, Los Angeles Times Book Review

Sofia and her fated daughters, Fe, Esperanza, Caridad, and la Loca, endure hardship and enjoy love in the sleepy New Mexico hamlet of Tome, a town teeming with marvels where the comic and the horrific, the real and the supernatural, reside.

Customer Reviews:

Untroubled.......2007-08-04

Just a little background of New Mexico's history and you will be ready to understand why the connection of the people to the land is different from those of other Native Indians. 'So far from God' shows how having moved away from the land of their ancestors, people fail to connect to it in the same way as their predecessors.
Although it deals with serious issues, it does not fail to make you laugh out loud when weird things happen to Sofi's children and she's still one piece. And all this when you thought you were beginning to feel pity for Sofi beset with troubles for children.

Delightful "Magical Realism" Novel.......2006-04-18

Hugely entertaining! Castillo does an excellent job of bringing to life the images of the Southwest. I grew up in Texas, and have traveled extensively through the Southwest. Castillo's book and its vibrant characters feel like "home" to me (even though I'm not Hispanic). Definitely a "must-read"!!

So Far From GOOD!.......2006-02-16

This novel was required for an English Writing class, and I must say that the novel serves no practical purpose what-so-ever.
By the novels end I was left wondering to what intention the author had in mind, but more-so to what reason did readers have to keep reading? Life is short and time is valuable, and so I only choose to read novels in which something can be gained. Okay, life is not always fair, yet the show must go on...got it. But this novel's all-too-obvious moral comes at a painfully high price; one must leave their common sense on page nineteen, only to find the storyline to be too dark, too dramatic, and a tad too driven by blind faith.
The absurd storyline is only surpassed by the countless missed opportunities to offer readers something real, something tangible, something useful. Basically anybody can write a piece of nonsensical overkill, but who has the want or the time to read it?
So Far From God, more like So Far From Good!

Thinly Disguised Attack on Catholicism.......2004-11-22

I read this book as a part of a Chicano Literature course during my undergrad studies. While I found the first 140 or so pages okay, I found the overall story a bit boring (educational, but boring). Lest you think I am being unfair, let me note that the story did pick up again at the end and I do not recall ever having fallen asleep while reading it. (2 stars so far)

I really liked the use of language in creating the voice of the narrator. It gave me the feeling that I was sitting with an elder aunt or grandmother who was telling the story to me. (Make it 3 stars, bordering on 4).

So, why the 1 star? Mainly because I did not like what I interpreted to be a thinly disguised attack on a straw man version of Catholicism and I can't rate it a zero.

I found many of the incidents in the story and especially the commentary of the narrator to be very critical of Catholicism. I find it unfortunate that, like most critics of Catholicism, Castillo critizes/attacks a straw man version of Catholicism rather than the real thing. In an interview the author was asked about fact checking in works of fiction (specifically in her book "Massacre of the Dreamers"), Castillo answered:

"No. There isn't any point in it. It's your opinion. It's your reflection, your reaction, your own opinion. When you write a critical -- and this isn't personal essays, these are critical essays -- then you have to prove ever single thing you say."

Maybe that's why she chose to attack a straw man rather than the real thing.

The Poetry of Life and the World Beyond............2004-06-10

Ana Castillo truly takes us for an unforgettable trip as we take a glimpse into the lives of Sofi, a Chicana woman, and her four daughters, Esperanza (Hope), Caridad (Charity), Fe (Faith), and La Loca (The Crazy One). The story reads like an epic parable about life, death, sexuality and the bridge between the world of the living and the afterlife. It also raises very important questions about the division between heaven and hell and whether is really such a bad place after all in comparison with the life that we come to accept.

Each woman in this story is touched by fate in unexpected, and (sometimes) supernatural ways. While Esperanza, the successful, upwardly mobile sister acts on her name and is relocated to Iraq as part of her journalism work, her sister Caridad becomes a faith healer, Fe loses her voice after a fit of desperate screaming, and La Loca cheats death as a young toddler only to become the subject of social scrutiny in their community as an isolated loner with a sixth sense only understandable to her mother, Sofi.

Customer Reviews:

MUST, MUST, MUST reading!.......1999-06-14

Well, a tad bit overstated, but I'd give it ten stars if I could.

Essays by 25 women on subjects of growing up and growing old(er). All told wonderfully in very accessible and memorable language. I'm buying more to give as gifts.

Customer Reviews:

A genius.......2007-05-21

One of the best books showcasing a terrific artist's work! Just a complaint: the DVD included would have been much better with sound...

EXCELLENT.......2007-01-18

This book Is a Must Have for all FASHIONISTAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great PICTURES. Comesa with a DVD, which is EXCELLENT

so goude, almost excellent.......2007-01-11

This beautifuly produced book is a must for all advertising creatives.
Includeed CD contains Goude's famous TV spots, but unfortunatelly not full lenght.

Fantastic book!.......2006-03-19

JP Goude is known for his amazing photos of Grace Jones, but this book is full of many great shots, advertisements, graphics. A must for creative people. This book is "So Goude"!!!

So Far From Home: The Diary of Mary Driscoll, An Irish Mill Girl, Lowell, Massachusetts 1847 (Dear America Series)

Average customer rating:

good book
a book to read
So Far From Home
Going to America
Not Best Dear America Book

So Far From Home: The Diary of Mary Driscoll, An Irish Mill Girl, Lowell, Massachusetts 1847 (Dear America Series)
Barry Denenberg
Manufacturer: Scholastic Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 043955506X

Customer Reviews:

good book.......2007-03-06

'voyag of the great tittanic' was about a girl who travels to new york on the tittanic. while she is abord she meets new people and she says what she did while on abourd. later in to the book when the ship is sinking it tels how everyone is trying to make it out.
i would recemend this book because i learned something from the book that i did not know befor. it was also intresting to know things from first person.

a book to read.......2007-03-06

"so far from home" is about a 13 year old girl who travels to america from irland. while she is their she works in sweat shop to earn money for he rpearrents so they can come to. this book also shows how tough the irish had it back then and how mistreated they were by the yankees
i would recemend this book becuase it is intresting looking at thing from the way those poeople lived back then.

So Far From Home.......2006-08-15

Mary Driscol, or "Quiet One" as her sentimental aunt calls her, lives in a land of tragedy and gloom, starvtion and fear. Ireland, 1847. Not only the potatoe famine afflicts the Irish people: They are persecuted by unreasonable Eglish land lords who ought to be helping them in their time of need. Desperate to start a new life for her family, Mary ventures to America, where she hopes to earn money to pay for her parents' voyage by working in a mill in Massechusetts. She gets a job, stays with her aunt, who is a school teacher, and makes a friend named Annie, who is an American girl. But her struggles are not over. She has an overbearing boss, a prejudiced co-worker, and the hardships of daily life to contend with. But she finds contentment in making the most of her blessings, in prayer, in singing her mother's old lullabye to herself, and in the hopes that, one day, she will be re-united with her family. A touching, poignant story of a brave Irish girl who made her little world a better place. I highly reccomend.

Going to America.......2006-05-22

So Far From Home is about a girl (Mary) who moves from Ireland to America to live with her aunt and to work at a mill. On the ship when she is traveling to America, she meets the O'Donalds and a boy named Sean. The O' Donalds have a daughter already in America (her name is Alice). While on the ship the O' Donald's end up dying from black fever. So Mary decides to go find Alice. When she finds Alice, Sean's uncle decides to take her in. After a while Mr. Quinn (Sean's uncle) sends Alice to a convent. There was a group of people who didn't like the Irish so they started a mob. Sean goes to the convent to keep Alice out of danger and brings her to his uncle. Then he goes back to the convent to stop the mob. He ends up getting arrested and Mary goes on a quest to save him.
I really liked this book because it is emotional and easy to read. I say it's emotional because when she is on the ship the O'Donalds die. Also Later in the book when she is with her aunt, she finds out that her parents are dying and won't be able to come to America. Like I said this book is easy to read I read it in two hours. As you can see I really liked So Far From Home and I think you would, too.

Not Best Dear America Book.......2005-08-25

I must say, when I read So Far From Home, I was a little disappointed. It was surely not as good as other Dear America books, and not very good period. I felt the story line was far too rushed, and could have been longer, it also ended too abruptly. The epilogues was weird too, and not as complete as other epilogues in the series. The characters I felt were not relatable as other Dear America characters. Overall, the book was alright, but surely not my favorite in the series.

The Stories (So Far) of Deborah Eisenberg

Average customer rating:

Nobody Writes Like Deborah Eisenberg
hilarious and melancholy
Wonderful
Closer to the heart of life's mysteries
Our Greatest Short Story Writer

The Stories (So Far) of Deborah Eisenberg
Deborah Eisenberg
Manufacturer: Farrar Straus Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0374524920

Amazon.com

Avid short-story readers are probably familiar with Deborah Eisenberg's work, fictional chronicles of modern life in Manhattan and elsewhere, that has been published in magazines and in her two previous collections. But both of those earlier books--Transactions in a Foreign Currency and Under the 82nd Airborne--have fallen undeservedly out of print. This new publication corrects that omission, reprinting the stories from those books in one volume, including such titles as "Flotsam," "Rafe's Coat," and "A Cautionary Tale."

Customer Reviews:

Nobody Writes Like Deborah Eisenberg.......2007-01-15

Deborah Eisenberg is an exquisite writer. She is quirky and unique and certainly not to everyone's taste. However, if her modern, idiosyncratic voice appeals to you, you will relish her stories. I haven't found another short story writer (except for Alice Munro, whom I adore) who satifies like DE. This is a volume containing the stories of her first 2 books of stories.

hilarious and melancholy.......2005-07-03

Eisenberg's range is so lovely and satisfying. In every story, one finds sentences imbued with brittle wit and deep sadness. She's a lot like Lorrie Moore, whom I also love.

Wonderful.......2001-02-28

Honest, daring, funny, and smart, perfectly calibrated, perfectly observed. No short story writer today is better than Eisenberg at conveying the shifting nuances of self-doubt, self-consciousness, and self-deception.

Closer to the heart of life's mysteries.......1999-09-07

There is something delicious and maddening about D.E's stories. Delicious because her prose is so cool and lucid, her take on emotional subtext in the interaction between people so accute. Maddening because she brings you so close to people's souls. There is something infuriating about knowing people like that and then having them vanish. In a way it's an argument for novels, though satiation always makes youa little ill.

I think D.E. is a brilliant realist. I've just surfed around the Amazon reader reviews for the first time. It's amazing, but worrisom, all those voices, because so many seem enthralled by fantasy. Eisenberg is about the real. That she is able to elucidate often painful situations with such beauty and wit is our good fortune.

Our Greatest Short Story Writer.......1999-05-05

I can think of no contemporary writer as underappreciated and brilliant as Deborah Eisenberg. Eisenberg plumbs emotional depths few writers dare even approach and yet never at the expense of the heart. I highly reccomend all of her work to anyone who appreciates excellent, brave writing.

This Fine Place So Far from Home: Voices of Academics from the Working Class

Average customer rating:

Voices to be heard

This Fine Place So Far from Home: Voices of Academics from the Working Class

Manufacturer: Temple University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1566392918

Book Description

These autobiographical and analytical essays by a diverse group of professors and graduate students from working-class families reveal an academic world in which "blue-collar work is invisible." Describing conflict and frustration, the contributors expose a divisive middle-class bias in the university setting. Many talk openly about how little they understood about the hierarchy and processes of higher education, while others explore how their experiences now affect their relationships with their own students. They all have in common the anguish of choosing to hide their working-class background, to keep the language of home out of the classroom and the ideas of school away from home. These startlingly personal stories highlight the fissure between a working-class upbringing and the more privileged values of the institution.

Customer Reviews:

Voices to be heard.......2001-05-02

I read a selection from this book for a class, which prompted me to read the rest of the book. Really interesting narratives written by a number of first generation university students from a number of races and cultures, all from working class backgrounds.

A common theme is the feeling of living in two worlds - home and school - worlds which seldom intersect. Students speak of trying to fit in with peers who were more well off, explaining why they didn't have money to go out on the weekend, or why they couldn't attend various events or spring break flings because they had to work.

Entitlement - not quite feeling like they belonged at the university... watching peers walk around like they owned the place and were born to it.

Identity - being changed by the college experience, and wondering how the experience would change their relationship with family/community who seemed, by comparison, so unchanged. Several spoke of becoming bi-lingual - speaking one way at the university and another at home. Communication styles that were vital to being understood and accepted both places.

The irony of higher education being such a point of pride for the family, who made huge sacrifices for the student to be the first in the family - not knowing that the college experience would potentially pull the student away from identifying with that family/community working-class culture.

University values - While schools are at least talking about racial unity, there was less attention given to class unity. Many struggled with the idea that the whole purpose of getting a university education was to "get a brighter future", a "better opportunity", to "escape" having to work a blue collar job. If blue collar is who I am and who my famliy is, why is that something to escape? These were conflicting messages for many... be inclusive and sensitive to differences, but the white collar world is a higher, more worthy pursuit.

The only reason I gave it 4 out of 5 stars is the length of the book. The narrative format is engaging, but I felt the collection was a little lengthy to hold my interest through the entire book because the themes were repeated quite often in each narrative. Still worth the read, this perspective needs to be heard!

Average customer rating:

A light in a dark point of United States history

Understanding US and Mexican Relations Today

a book about the wonderful US Army

Al fin algo de verdad....

Good Overview

So Far from God
John S.D. Eisenhower
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Mexico | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
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Intervention!: The United States and the Mexican Revolution, 1913-1917

The Spanish War: An American Epic--1898

Mr. Polk's Army: American Military Experience in the Mexican War (Texas a&M University Military History Series, 51)

1812: The War That Forged a Nation (P.S.)

The Mexican War (The Chicago History of American Civilization)

ASIN: 0385412142
Release Date: 1990-03-01

Book Description

Eminent military historian John S.D. Eisenhower has written a highly readable and expert account of a war which--though frequently overlooked--tumed out to be the training ground for the American Civil War.

Customer Reviews:

A light in a dark point of United States history.......2006-07-11

I think that this is a good book about the yankee-mexican war. It shows the political and military problems in both sides, USA and Mexican, and also writes about personal histories, always interesting. It shows clearly also evident, that it's bad business to be neighbour of United States if your are not strong. The different ways of conduct of United States with England ( in Canada and Oregon problem) and with Mexico shows it clearly. Some things are difficult to believe , by example , that in a fight hand to hand only a yankee died and almost three hundred mexican did. but in general, I think that it's a good book for a first sight of that conquest war.
I remember a film of John Wayne which when he travels to mexican lands and a mexican in a horse come to give him wellcome, John Wayne shoot him and kill. That's the way the yankees ( not americans, because all habitants of America are americans, mexicans too ) did with every country that they can do it, Mexico, Spain ( Puerto Rico, Cuba , Filipinas, etc ), Colombia with Panama Channel, etc.
And it's very curious how this war is hide of United States films . If one see westerns films and about California, it seems a empty land and nobody knows that it was stealed to mexicans. Fortunately the time is changing and every year more and more mexican people live in that States and, who knows ? When United Stated would be not so strong, another countries made him like he did with others.
Anyway a good book that respect both fighters, only I miss a complete map with all the land stealed to Mexico ( almost a third of the country ) that reach Canada.

Understanding US and Mexican Relations Today.......2006-06-07

This book is a must for anyone trying to understand US and Mexican relations today. It is very well reserched yet readable. This period in US history was not one of our finer moments. We are doomed to regret and pay for the actions of our imperialism, in the name of Manifest Destiny, for generations to come.This book helps us understand why we still have a price to pay in 2006.

a book about the wonderful US Army.......2006-02-09

I had read other reviews about how this book is such a concise and accurate portrait of the US-Mexican American War but I thought it lopsided. He does describe in great detail the movements, strategies and people surrounding the U.S. Army but beyond this there is not much information. There is not much account of the Mexican side and for the most part the Mexican Army comes across as incompetent. Mexican victories in the war are barely examined. US Army conduct seems to be very civil when in fact there was much contempt for the Mexicans by some and many atrocities and civilian casualties. The US soldiers seem to develop a respect for the Mexicans and their cutlture if one judges from this book, enjoying the many "fandangos" along the way to the next battle. Motivations for the war are only shallowly examined. There is no mention of the valuable ports to be won in California, which Polk had set his eyes on. There is one sentence that refers casually to the San Patricio battalion of deserters who fought for the Mexican Army but there is no discussion as to why they deserted or a look at Army moral. He discusses occasionally lack of discipline in the troops but never the causes, except perhaps weariness. Apaches are described as "killing" and "raiding" but Eisenhower seems to show a great deal of compassion on the next page when a US officer must "subdue" the Apaches and manages to have them "brought to the point where they are willing to sign a peace treaty" as if the Apaches only reservation to peace were their beligerence (Andrew Jackson broke between 80-90 treaties with the Native Americans during his presidency.) In this same passage Eisenhower describes how the US soldiers could only "shudder to think" what the fate of captured women might have been, but upon bringing the Apaches out of the mountains he never tells what their actual fate was. We are left shuddering in our imaginations. And the list goes on. The problem is not so much what Eisenhower tells but what he doesn't tell. He gives a famous quote of Ulysses Grant describing the war as " the most unjust war ever waged by a stronger nation against a weaker" but we never see the war Grant saw. The worst fatalities encountered in this book are the ones suffered by soldiers during battle. There is no record of the inhumanity that this war brought out in both countries. In the end it is simply a matter of a strong country pitted against an unfortunate weaker country, and the U.S. of course is fortunate enough to be the stronger. Injustice is not in this picture and if it is it is glossed over. If half the detail exercised in describing the geography of battle was given to the examination of politics, or to Mexico's understanding of the war and its battles then this would be a wonderful book. If you are interested in precisely where certain battalions and infantries of the US Army where and when then this is a super book. The physical description is detailed (although not particularly interesting) but the deeper issues that describe the real nature and character of war are virtually untouched and only lightly treated.

Al fin algo de verdad...........2005-10-28

Tenia que ser alquien como este reconocido historiador, una persona bien nacida, descendiente nada menos que del legendario Ike, quien les empieza a revelar a los norteamericanos la penosa historia de como se robaron, no encuentro otra palabra peor, la mitad del territorio que en ese entonces era propiedad de la republica mexicana, la cual siendo presa de desordenes internos, atizados por su perfido vecino del norte a traves del alevoso Joel. R. Poinsett, el que hasta el nombre de la flor de nochebuena se robo, fue facil presa del ave de presa que como vecino tenia al norte, yo quiero a los actuales ciudadanos de los estados unidos de norteamerica, me duele en el alma cuando los hieren a los matan,ya sea en Irak o en otro lado, me encantan los Bush, padre e hijo, Reagan, Kennedy y por supuesto, I like Ike, pero aquello que nos hicieron de 1821 a 1847 y en Veracruz con el lunatico de Woodrow Wilson, no tiene perdon de Dios.

Good Overview.......2005-02-24

This title compares well to the handful of other War History Books I've read.

Eisenhower does a good job of reviewing each significant battle in the right amount of detail, and the book provides decent maps and terrain descriptions (obvious musts). He also does a good job of describing the involvement of the various Generals (from both sides), and lower-ranked officers who would later play signicant roles in the American Civil War that would follow a bit more than a decade from the end of this confict.

Well done is the description of the psyche of the Mexican soldiers and populace, and the role it played in the course of the war.

While there are some descriptions of the lives of the American enlisted men (who obviously far outnumber the officers), Eisenhower doesn't really make as much as an effort as could have been made in this area... I also felt he was a bit pompous when he would question why men would follow certain leaders (like John Fremont, for example).

One area of the Mexican War, that any War History buff should not miss is the sub-story of the San Patricio (or St. Patrick's) Regiment of Irish "deserters" from the American side - which I first learned by reading this book... Knowing this story (and being half-Irish myself), I sometimes will get too many beers under my belt in a TJ bar, and say in spanish that the Irish fought harder for Mexico than the Mexicans did (they were actually forced to), and it always draws crys of "No es Cierto!" (It isn't True!)... and I say SI, ES CIERTO!

Average customer rating:

5 Stars just not enough
A Children's Book that Is So Much More
So Close to Us
Manzanar story for children
Check this book out...

So Far from the Sea
Eve Bunting
Manufacturer: Clarion Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0395720958

Book Description

Laura Iwasaki and her family are paying what may be their last visit to Laura's grandfather's grave. The grave is at Manzanar, where thousands of Americans of Japanese heritage were interned during World War II. Among those rounded up and taken to the internment camp were Laura's father, then a small boy, and his parents. Now Laura says goodbye to Grandfather in her own special way, with a gesture that crosses generational lines and bears witness to the patriotism that survived a shameful episode in America's history. Eve Bunting's poignant text and Chris K. Soentpiet's detailed, evocative paintings make the story of this family's visit to Manzanar, and of the memories stirred by the experience, one that will linger in readers' minds and hearts. Afterword.

Customer Reviews:

5 Stars just not enough.......2006-10-07

My daughter got this from the library at school this week and immediately my husband and I decided this is a book she should have. In the 5th grade living in Missoula, Montana, I was told by my Japanese-American teacher that Missoula had been the site of such a camp. I didn't want to believe her because I thought of the prison camps in Germany and immediately equated the two. Though the history of the American prison camps has been all-but buried, it's works like this that will allow us to teach our children and hopefully they will learn from the mistakes made. This heart-wrenching tale is of a family forced away from the sea where the grandfather had his boat and his fishing business to the camp in the Sierra Nevadas. The small boy at the camp later took his own family to the site to leave offerings at his father's grave at the camp. During this time, his daughter, Laura, left his cub scout scarf - an acknowledgement of a childhood stolen and that they were no less American than those who had imprisoned them there. The lessons of empathy and love are needed now more than ever. I would HIGHLY suggest this book to anyone able to read. My first grader has checked it out two weeks in a row - this is one book worth owning!

A Children's Book that Is So Much More.......2002-11-04

Wonderful, chilling book about the imprisonment(more euphemistically called internment by the governmeny) of Japanese-Americans during world war too, told from the point of view of a child who goes to visit one of the prisons(more euphemistically called "camps"), where her grandfather died, so far from the sea, where he had lived before his life was interrupted. It is sad and engulfing, with snippets of irony, that gets the message across with the help of bright pictures.

So Close to Us.......2002-04-04

Every time I read this story to the children in the library I worked at I cried. A year later I still remember it vividly. The book showed the atrocity of what we did simply by showing the emotions of Japanese-Americans 50 years later. One truly feels for the father uprooted from his life and culture; the grandfather uprooted from the sea and his fishing. I can relate to the tragedy of being removed from the water. Eve Bunting builds to a dramatic, emotional climax- which is not easy to do in a short children's book. Chris Soetpiet's illustrations are beautiful, with excellent use of both color and black and white. And the short historical synopsis at the end provides opportunity to discuss with children the reality behind the story.

Manzanar story for children.......2002-01-01

The site of the Manzanar Relocation Center is found on Hwy 395 South in the Owens Valley of California at the foothills of the Sierras. I have stopped there on several occasions and imagined life as it might have been for the Japanese held there during WWII. Also, I have seen the display of artifacts and photographs at the Eastern California Museum in nearby Independence, CA. It is worth visiting.
I had read stories written for adults on this topic, but Eve Bunting's story for children truly captured my heart. It is beautifully written and well illustrated and moved me to tears. It seemed especially poignant now in the light of the recent events resulting from terrorism; thank God we no longer suspect every one. I will always remember reading this book.

Check this book out..........2000-06-08

This story is told through the eyes of a little girl, Laura, who is going to visit her grandfather's grave one last time before the family moves out of the area. The grandfather's grave is located in the abandoned Manzanar Relocation Camp.

Laura's parents tell of their struggles and their lives inside of the relocation camps. Laura listens of the injustices and trys to understand.

This is a wonderful story, with a message of hope and moving on told as only Eve Bunting can.

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