Father Joe: The Man Who Saved My Soul

Father Joe: The Man Who Saved My Soul
Average customer rating:

I think Father Joe Saved my soul too!

A Great Book: Beyond Judgment and Revisionism

Father Joe--a disappointment

The long-lasting relationship of a layman and his spiritual mentor

Disgusted with the lie.

Father Joe: The Man Who Saved My Soul
Tony Hendra
Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Religious | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Messiah of Morris Avenue: A Novel

How to Cook Your Daughter: A Memoir

This Great Unknowing

Father Joe: A Year of Wisdom, Wit and Warmth

An Infinity of Little Hours: Five Young Men and Their Trial of Faith in the Western World's Most Austere Monastic Order

ASIN: 0812972341
Release Date: 2005-05-31

Amazon.com

How I met Father Joe. I was fourteen and having an affair with a married woman. These are the opening lines to the first chapter of this outstanding memoir by former National Lampoon Editor Tony Hendra. How could we resist diving into this deliciously satisfying story about a lifelong mentorship with Dom Joseph Warrilow, a.k.a. Father Joe? After the devout Catholic husband catches the illicit couple in the kitchen, the husband does not attack Hendra. Instead he decides the young boy needs salvation. Amazingly, the husband leads Hendra to the one man who could save his soul: Father Joe. This is a tribute to a spiritual mentor, written in an easygoing, guy-talk style. It is no small feat to be brilliantly funny, ruthlessly honest, and spiritually profound at the same time, but Hendra has the winning combo. For more than 40 years Hendra would return to this mesmerizing old soul to tell him everything---from the details of his first sexual encounter, through questioning the social value of satire, to his crisis in faith after losing two children through miscarriages. But it's not just the North Star wisdom of Father Joe that captivates readers; it is the chance to follow Hendra as he gradually matures into a humble and spiritually solid man who can still crack a wicked good joke. Such a gift. Thank you, Tony Hendra. --Gail Hudson

Book Description

A key comic writer of the past three decades has created his most heartfelt and hard-hitting book. Father Joe is Tony Hendra’s inspiring true story of finding faith, friendship, and family through the decades-long influence of a surpassingly wise Benedictine monk named Father Joseph Warrillow.

Like everything human, it started with sex. In 1955, fourteen-year-old Tony found himself entangled with a married Catholic woman. In Cold War England, where Catholicism was the subject of news stories and Graham Greene bestsellers, Tony was whisked off by the woman’s husband to see a priest and be saved.

Yet what he found was a far cry from the priests he’d known at Catholic school, where boys were beaten with belts or set upon by dogs. Instead, he met Father Joe, a gentle, stammering, ungainly Benedictine who never used the words “wrong” or “guilt,” who believed that God was in everyone and that “the only sin was selfishness.” During the next forty years, as his life and career drastically ebbed and flowed, Tony discovered that his visits to Father Joe remained the one constant in his life—the relationship that, in the most serious sense, saved it.

From the fifties and his adolescent desire to join an abbey himself; to the sixties, when attending Cambridge and seeing the satire of Beyond the Fringe convinced him to change the world with laughter, not prayer; to the seventies and successful stints as an original editor of National Lampoon and a writer of Lemmings, the off-Broadway smash that introduced John Belushi and Chevy Chase; to professional disaster after co-creating the legendary English series Spitting Image; from drinking to drugs, from a failed first marriage to a successful second and the miracle of parenthood—the years only deepened Tony’s need for the wisdom of his other and more real father, creating a bond that could not be broken, even by death.

A startling departure for this acclaimed satirist, Father Joe is a sincere account of how Tony Hendra learned to love. It’s the story of a whole generation looking for a way back from mockery and irony, looking for its own Father Joe, and a testament to one of the most charismatic mentors in modern literature.

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

I think Father Joe Saved my soul too!.......2007-09-01

The Pope's Private Prayer Book : Words of Inspiration from Pope John Paul II
An Invitation to Prayer (Private Prayers of Pope John Paul II (Audio))
I think Father Joe Saved my soul too!

This audio book is a great listen.The difference between other books about religion is it is not about religion.Tony like many people growing up was searching for the meaning of life.The seven deadly sins effected Tony,lust being his first attack on his mortal soul,led him to confession to Father Joe.This first confession led Tony to
have a lifelong confessor in Father Joe.Tony believed as a boy that he was going to join the Benedictine Monstery.
St.Benedict was the Founder of Western Monasticism,he
founded a collection of rules in which became known as the Benedictine Rule.These rules are used to guide the monks who follow St.Benedict.The rules are loosely based on the old saying "a person not busy is the devils workshop".
Father Joe did not think Tony should be a monk, and guided him to be in the Arts.Tony went on to write theatrical stories in hopes to make people laugh.Tony was told at the end of Father Joe's life,by father joe why he sent him to school an guided him thw way he did.
The biggest thing a person can get out of this story is everyone serves God in his
or her way.A priest serves God, no less then a dad or a mom and or visa versa.We are all in vocation that serves the creator, the way the creator created us to be.This is a very good book,read, Father Joe: the Man Who Saved My Soul, by Tony Hendra...
Work Cited
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintb02.htm

A Great Book: Beyond Judgment and Revisionism .......2007-04-01

I came to Father Joe recently as an innocent, and I loved it. It's the true story of an all-too-human soul and his rocky-road journey. I knew nothing of the later scandal and controversy involving his daughter's accusations of molestation--accusations that have clearly skewed the more recent reactions to this wonderful work. Not "perfect," but nonetheless wonderful. What I would ask the now-judgmental and harsh critics of this work is this: are you willing to allow that people who do "bad things" actually can change, which does not imply that they/we then become perfect? For the quibblers, the book is called Father Joe, though it's Hendra's memoir, precisely because the monk's profoundly simple, sublimely wise and supremely compassionate presence casts such a long shadow over the entire work--and Hendra's life. As a memoir, it is funny, poignant, moving, honest....and at times exasperating, as we read about Hendra's descent into narcissism and his ill-treatment of others. That he does not discuss his first marriage and the children thereof in great deal may well be due to a deep sense of shame and a desire to protect, not just his own back, but all of his family. Of course he is responsible for his actions. But given the drug-and-alcohol haze in which he spent many years, his recollection of events is no doubt impaired. Be that as it may, God bless him, and all of his children, particularly those from the neglected first marriage. And may the Father Joes and "everyday angels" of this world continue to bless all of us with forgiveness and acceptance despite our failings.

Father Joe--a disappointment.......2007-03-23

This book is more about Tony Hendra than Father Joe. The few times Father Joe appears in the book might be said to be "inspirational" in how he interprets or views certain situations. However Tony's "soul" is not "saved" until his middle age years--the time when many of us reflect on how we have progressed in life. A major disappointment...

The long-lasting relationship of a layman and his spiritual mentor.......2007-03-09

I absolutely adored the first part of Father Joe, centering on the likable narrator's childhood and the beginning of his religious awakening as a Catholic in England. The second part I despised. The 'saint-child' who so wanted to become a monk like his mentor Fr. Joe turned into an incredibly selfish and depressed person who even in his highest successes was nowhere near as interesting as the boy he once was. But for the second part of this work, It would likely have given this book the highest rating. I understand the purpose of the latter half was showing Tony's fall from faith into secularism and then an ultimate return, but I really had to push myself to finish the book. Still, worth reading even if the title character is far more intriguing than his sad, corrupted friend.

Disgusted with the lie........2007-01-15

I just finished reading this book this evening, and I loved it for the reasons mentioned by other people, but then I went online and found out about his daughter's accusations of sexual abuse. I read articles about that and became convinced of the veracity of the allegations. If this truth wasn't so heinous and immense it could be deflected as not being pertinent to a well-written book, but the reality gives the lie to the whole book, and completely ruins it. If Hendra still so callously lies about that, even to the point of slandering his daughter, no fabrication is beyond him.

Average customer rating:

My Life With The Chimpanzees
Excellent autobiography for young people as well as adults.
A Heart-warming Adventure
Boring!
never forgotten!

My Life with the Chimpanzees
Jane Goodall
Manufacturer: Aladdin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Science & Technology | Teens | Subjects | Books

Ecology | Science & Technology | Teens | Subjects | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Chimpanzees I Love: Saving Their World And Ours (Byron Preiss Book)
In the Shadow of Man
Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey
Africa in My Blood: An Autobiography in Letters: The Early Years
Through a Window

ASIN: 0671562711

Book Description

From the time she was a girl, Jane Goodall dreamed of a life spent working with animals. Finally she had her wish. When she was twenty-six years old, she ventured into the forests of Africa to observe chimpanzees in the wild. On her expeditions she braved the dangers with leopards and lions in the African bush. And she got to know an amazing group of wild chimpanzees -- intelligent animals whose lives, in work and play and family relationships, bear a surprising resemblance to our own.

Customer Reviews:

My Life With The Chimpanzees.......2007-07-29

This book is a great introduction to Dr. Goodall, physical anthropology, and primatology. Because it is written by Jane, the insight into the lives of the chimpanzees and the environment in general gives us her own personal message of hope and preservation for all creatures and places.

Excellent autobiography for young people as well as adults........2004-03-12

My 8 year old was assigned to do her monthly book report on a biography. She wanted to read about Abraham Lincoln... until she found out she had to dress up as the book's subject! Regrouping with a week to go and a driving vacation looming, I rushed to ...to find a children's biography available in audio download... and stumbled upon this gem. We all listened to the (abridged) audio version on the trip, and I do think that hearing it read by the author added a great deal. My daughter read the unabridged book with fascination when we got home, though I suspect she might have had more difficulty relating to the book had she not heard Jane Goodall speak her own words first. At any rate, the report (outfitted with khakis, a notebook, and a velcro-handed stuffed chimp) was a great success, and my daughter has met a role model of determination, compassion, and wisdom.

A Heart-warming Adventure.......2004-01-22

An excellent book! Reading about the extraordinary life Jane Goodall has led is fascinating in itself. Add to it the personalities of the chimps you get to know as you read the book and the adventures Jane Goodall has experienced, and you have a fascinating read. Other reviews recommend this book to children, I recommend it for adults as well. I am thirty-something years young and cried when I read parts of this. Dr. Goodall's love for these animals really comes through.

Boring!.......2001-11-13

This book was so broing I couldn't even get through the whole thing. She was putting me to sleep!

never forgotten!.......2000-06-08

This is a beautiful book, grasping your atention and holding your hand thru a fantastic journey into Africa, and into the chimpanzes of the Gombe. You will get to meet all of them, and even see how they are like, observing the individual diferences of their behaviour. Parents: please purchase it for your kids! Kids: get your parents to buy it for you! Inspiring! I am now 22, but I must have been 10 when I first read this book (not this edition of course!). I still purchase Jane Goodall's books...and I'm following the dream she helped inspire: to go to a place no one can pronounce to study an animal few people care about...

The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of My Father

Average customer rating:

The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of My Father
Herriot Family Story
This book reminds me how much Herriot is missed
Not a cliffhanger
It made me laugh, and it made me cry. What higher praise can I give?

The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of My Father
James Wight
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Medical | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

James Herriot's Yorkshire: A Guided Tour With the Beloved Veterinarian Through the Land of All Creatures Great And Small And Every Living Thing, Gloriously Photographed and Memorably Described
Every Living Thing
All Things Wise and Wonderful
The Lord God Made Them All (All Creatures Great & Small)
All Things Bright and Beautiful

ASIN: 0345434900
Release Date: 2001-05-01

Amazon.com

The name Alf Wight may not ring too many bells, but as James Herriot--the author who brought the British countryside into millions of homes--Wight certainly made an impressive mark. He grew up in Glasgow and enjoyed a boisterous childhood before deciding to embark on many years of training at the Glasgow Veterinary College. Wight finally qualified as a vet in 1939 and moved to the Yorkshire town of Thirsk to accept a position as assistant to Dr. Donald Sinclair--the man known to millions of readers as Siegfried Farnan.

The story of the young vet travelling to Thirsk (a.k.a. Darrowby) was immortalized in Herriot's bestselling books. But The Real James Herriot, Jim Wight's affectionate biography of his father, tells the story of the man behind the nom de plume, who worked in the same practice for over 50 years and was relatively untouched and unimpressed by his fame as an author. Wight the younger (who followed in his father's footsteps and later joined the practice in Thirsk), is undoubtedly the best person to reveal the depths of a man whose public persona was as respected and trusted as the real man who tended to animals in and around the small Yorkshire village where he lived until the day he died. Written with a tenderness that does nothing to detract from the honesty of the book, The Real James Herriot is a fitting, poignant, and often gently humorous portrait of a man who brought so much pleasure through his writing while remaining consistently faithful to the profession that was, ultimately, his first and last love. --Susan Harrison, Amazon.co.uk

Book Description

No one is better poised to write the biography of James Herriot than the son who worked alongside him in the Yorkshire veterinary practice when Herriot became an internationally bestselling author. Now, in this warm and poignant biography, Jim Wight ventures beyond his father's life as a veterinarian to reveal the man behind the stories--the private individual who refused to allow fame and wealth to interfere with his practice or his family. With access to all of his father's papers, correspondence, manuscripts, and photographs--and intimate recollections of the farmers, locals, and friends who populate the James Herriot books--only Jim Wight could write this definitive biography of the man who was not only his father but his best friend.

Customer Reviews:

The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of My Father.......2007-06-15

If it weren't for Amazon.com, I never would have known that this book even existed. I am thoroughly pleased with my purchase.

Barbara Noble

Herriot Family Story.......2007-05-18

I have been an avid reader of all the Herriot books, this one by the son certainly lives up to the high standard set by the father ( James)
The writer sticks to pure facts about his father,I particulary enjoyed the way he delved into the more intimate stories of his fathers early partnership problems.
The Wight family came thru' to me as friends, in no way was the family pictured as anything else than those of a country vet.
A book I would have no hesitation in recomending to anyone who has an interest in British country life.

This book reminds me how much Herriot is missed.......2007-04-09

If you enjoyed the Herriot stories and television shows, you need to add this to your library. Truly, it is a good book; and a really special part of this book is the inclusion of photographs. Too bad there weren't more, the photos were a nice way of connecting characters with faces and places. My favorite is the "partners in more sense than one" which has actor Christopher Timothy standing behind Alf, Robert Hardy behind Donald Sinclair, and Peter Davison behind Brian Sinclair. A Memoir of My Father only reminded me how much I miss Herriot and crew. I actually bought this book because I've read all of Herriot's books (and seen all the films) and I just wish there were more. It was fun getting to know the real people behind the memorable and cherished stories. I could go on and on, but this space is for comments about the Memoir. Gee whiz, I sure do wish there'd been more books. Go ahead and get this one. You'll enjoy it for the memories, which is all we have left of the remarkable vet, and I am so very sad about that.

Not a cliffhanger.......2007-03-09

But to a Herriott "nut" like me, it was worth all five stars. If you are not a Herriott fan, then you probably won't learn anything here to change your mind. I think it is fantastic that a country vet could become such a good writer, and keep his feet on the ground (which was most often a barnyard).
He was just such a likeable man. This book brought the real man closer.

It made me laugh, and it made me cry. What higher praise can I give?.......2006-11-18

In the paperback section of my college's bookstore, in 1975, I bought what I intended as a Christmas gift for an elderly lady who'd been kind to me in a strange city. Luckily I read its first chapter before I wrapped it, and I wound up keeping the book as a result. I couldn't imagine my sweet elderly friend reacting to a graphic calving except by turning green - but I fell in love with All Things Bright and Beautiful, by James Herriot.

I wasn't alone. Readers all over the world, and in the United States especially, fell in love with the writing of a Yorkshire veterinarian who had nothing published until after his 25th wedding anniversary. I knew vaguely that "James Herriot" was a pseudonym, and that his books - while presented as fiction - were solidly based on real-life characters and events. But that's all I knew, going into this biography of James Alfred "Alf" Wight that's authored by his son Jim. Yes, "Jimmy" from the books, who took on this task at the urging of his father's publisher after Alf Wight's death.

Jim Wight doesn't profess to be a writer. He's simply a son telling his father's life story, based on considerable research as well as on his own memories. The result is a loving but honest portrait of a wonderful but far from perfect man, who always - even after writing made him a millionaire - thought of himself first, last, and always as a practicing veterinarian. It's a marvelous character study that no Herriot fan should miss.

Average customer rating:

Don't bother

Cross My Heart & Hope to Die
Sheila Radley
Manufacturer: Charles Scribner's Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Mystery & Thriller Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

A Quiet Road to Death
The Chief Inspector's Daughter (Felony & Mayhem Mysteries)
This Way Out (Penguin crime fiction)
Death in the Morning (Felony & Mayhem Mysteries) (Inspector Quantrill Mysteries)
Out of the Blackout

ASIN: 0684194104

Customer Reviews:

Don't bother.......2002-04-30

I just read one of her previous books, A Talent for Destruction. I wasn't really crazy about that one, but I love discovering new authors, or new to me, so I read this one too. I should have stopped when I was ahead.

The "plot" involves the disappearance of a reclusive elderly couple following a bad storm. The local police almost immediately suspect the son and a former neighbor. Just when the investigation is getting rolling, a detective steals a script of the neighbors autobiography. (Which would be against any police procedure) The next 150 pages are that book! What's up with that? If you wanted to write that book, write that book. I was expecting a detective story. It was very frustrating and disappointing. I am going to avoid this author in the future.

Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life
Average customer rating:

Interesting look into the life of an interesting man

Surprised by Joy !

Kicking and Screaming!

Lewis's early life and his intellectual journey

Intellectual Anecdotes

Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life
C.S. Lewis
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Authors | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Religious | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Christian Living | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Lewis, C.S. | ( L ) | Authors, A-Z | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Lewis, C.S. | ( L ) | Authors & Illustrators, A-Z | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Look Inside Children's Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Four Loves

A Grief Observed

The Problem of Pain

Mere Christianity

Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold

ASIN: 0156870118

Book Description

In this book Lewis tells of his search for joy, a spiritual journey that led him from the Christianity of his early youth into atheism and then back to Christianity.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting look into the life of an interesting man.......2007-06-26

A very interesting look into the early life and later conversion of C.S. Lewis. The book is not at all typical Lewis - this is much more of a personal examination of his family life and education and ultimately his pursuit of joy or meaning in life. It was very interesting to see the path of his life and those individuals that clearly helped shape his thinking and understanding along the way - most importantly his relationship with his brother and his father (his mother passed away while he was a youth). Lewis is such a gifted writer and communicator - many times throughout the book he was able to transport my imagination to the hills of Ireland or the boarding house in England with his vivid descriptions of places and people. Lewis was a very diligent student, dedicated to learning and obviously gifted with an incredible mind that has greatly been used by the Lord to challenge and encourage countless others following his conversion.

The book is not at all an easy read, but for those Lewis admirers, the book is semi-autobiographical and well worth the time and effort. Plus, if you read Surprised by Joy, I guarantee that your vocabulary will increase by at least a dozen words!

Surprised by Joy !.......2007-06-10

This is an incredible book. Another winner by C.S. Lewis. Anything he writes is worth reading, especially today.

Kicking and Screaming!.......2007-03-25

I continue to hear the memorable phrase as only C.S Lewis could have penned it, "Kicking and Screaming..." from the lips of many. This books touched my life.

Reader, let CS Lewis guide you along to your wonderful Savior of whom the heart stands in constant rebillion.

Lewis's early life and his intellectual journey.......2007-03-12

"Surprised by joy--impatient as the wind" is the Wordsworth quote that Lewis chose for the title page. The whole book is about what Lewis calls "joy" or "sehnsucht," which is a German word which very roughly translates to "longing." This use of the word "joy" is confusing because he is not referring to a satisfaction; when Lewis uses the word "joy," he is referring to a desire that is itself better than any satisfaction. It is pleasurable yet painful, and Lewis says that we prefer this pain to any other pleasure. (If this is confusing, you need to read the book.) Lewis writes about this desire in many of his books (e.g., "The Weight of Glory" and the preface to "Pilgrim's Regress"), and if you are like me and are very intrigued by this desire, "Surprised by Joy" is a must read.

The book spends the first twelve chapters building up to the last three. Lewis's life as a child, a boy, and a young man are covered in the first 12 or so chapters. It is clear the Lewis and his brother Warnie were thick as thieves, and there are some funny and charming stories about their days as kids. There is a lot of time spent on Lewis's school days; he had some real characters for teachers.

In the book, Lewis always comes back around to explaining the evolution of his thought; he never strays too far from that. Basically, the reader rides the wave of Lewis's intellectual maturing process. The last three chapters are totally focused on how the dam finally broke on his long-standing atheism, how he turned to philosophical Idealism, then Theism, and then Christianity. The great thing about the book is that by the time the reader reaches the last three chapters he knows exactly why Lewis is an atheist; and then, in reading those last three chapters, the reader clearly understands how Lewis slowly and reluctantly becomes a Christian.

It is a beautifully written book. In fact, I have read it a few times; and I discovered things on the second reading that I somehow missed during the first. That's the sign of a great book--that it grows as you grow.

Intellectual Anecdotes.......2007-03-12

C.S.Lewis always amazes me with his wonderful use of language. His open storytelling is filled with great wisdom and fun. You will learn much about Lewis's development through childhood and through his conversion. An excellent read!

The Sun in the Morning: My Early Years in India and England (Kaye, M. M. Share of Summer, 1st Pt.)

Average customer rating:

A childhood in India early this century
A great read - I couldnt put it down

The Sun in the Morning: My Early Years in India and England (Kaye, M. M. Share of Summer, 1st Pt.)
M. M. Kaye
Manufacturer: St Martins Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Enchanted Evening: Volume III of the Autobiography of M. M. Kaye (Kaye, M. M. Autobiography of M.M. Kaye, V. 3.)
Golden Afternoon : Volume II of the Autobiography of M. M. Kaye
The Far Pavilions
Death in the Andamans
Death in Kashmir: A Mystery

ASIN: 0312049994

Customer Reviews:

A childhood in India early this century.......2002-08-16

M M Kaye bought India alive for me in her two novel's "The Far Pavillions" and "Shadow of the Moon" - in her autobiography I can see where her love of India came from .

She also brings to this, the first volume of her three volume autobiography, the same beautiful writing that she has used in her novels. She has a very easy and light writing style which brings her memoirs and her fiction alive. This first book takes us up to 1925 and her return to India after some time away back in England.

This is for those of you who love India, love MM Kaye - (better known as Mollie by her family) or are interested in the times of India under the Raj.

A great read - I couldnt put it down.......1999-05-24

This is the story of a childhood filled with wonder and excitement of growing up in India as well as the sadness of leaving home and loved ones behind for schooling in England. The historical aspects were equally interesting to one who hasnt any been exposed to them before. The social attitudes in M M Kayes times to the people working in India were an eye opener - this book should be read by anyone with an interest in India and especially as Kaye says to counter balance the views of India in books such as Passage to India.

With a Little Help from My Friends: The Making of Sgt. Pepper

Average customer rating:

A Treasure
A must read for all music producers
You place your bets, you takes your chances
Read "All You Need Is [ouch!] Ears" instead.
crudely written, redundant, and of questionable authenticity

With a Little Help from My Friends: The Making of Sgt. Pepper
George Martin , and William Pearson
Manufacturer: Little Brown & Co (T)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

All You Need Is Ears: The inside personal story of the genius who created The Beatles
Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles
The Beatles As Musicians: Revolver through the Anthology
Memory Almost Full [Deluxe Limited Edition]
Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me

ASIN: 0316547832

Customer Reviews:

A Treasure.......2004-04-07

I'm pretty surprised about the few people here who have actually bashed this book. As a big Beatle fan and one who's read tons of books about them, I don't recall any inconsistancy's in this book whatsoever. Though short, this is probably one of the most prized Beatle books in my collection. My only complaint is I wish George Martin would do the same thing he's done here with Sgt. Pepper and write books about the sessions for the White Album, Revolver and Abby Rd. : ) A treasure to own. A book to read and re-read over and over.

A must read for all music producers.......2001-01-22

It is a well accepted fact that two of the best produced pop/rock albums to date are Sgt. Peppers and Pet Shop. The reason for owning this album is to gain an inside look into the master mind of one of these most important albums. It may be true that our recording equipment has improved our flexability but nothing can replace a truly great producer and great musicianship. George Martin is one of the truly great hero's of our ART and this book gives us a wonderful look into one of his master pieces. I am a big Beatles fan but this book is really directed to producers rather than The Beatles fan base...and I love it. This book has become very hard to get a hold of but it is a MUST HAVE for the library of every producer.

You place your bets, you takes your chances.......2000-03-17

This book isn't perfect. As a previous reviewer has remarked, it's inconsistent with Martin's previous books, not to mention other books that have been written about the Beatles. Still, it provides a contrasting point of view, and as such is worth looking over. Nobody's perfect, and Martin admits in so many words that his memory isn't ironclad. Just don't bet the ranch on what Martin has to say.

Read "All You Need Is [ouch!] Ears" instead........1999-10-14

There is very little here that isn't also in George Martin's earlier and much superior (and ungrammatically entitled, alas) "All You Need is Ears". The stories retold are altered, seemingly to jibe with Paul McCartney's relentless post-Lennon rewriting of Beatle history. Veracity aside, this tends to make them banal and humorless.

Recommended: PENTATONIC SCALES FOR THE JAZZ-ROCK KEYBOARDIST by Jeff Burns.

crudely written, redundant, and of questionable authenticity.......1999-10-11

It's amazing to think the author needed the services of a ghostwriter to write this badly. You'd think a reasonably intelligent twelve-year-old could have accomplished it by himself. Those who "[assume] the TRUTH [sic] will be 'good enough' [sic] entertainment for any sensible reader" may appreciate the Andy Warhol documentary in which the exterior of a building is filmed for twenty-four hours (the film lasts twenty-four hours). The art of the memoir is knowing what to leave out. McCartney's habitual trick is to damn John Lennon with faint praise. He loves to tell (and retell and retell again) how John Lennon contributed to his "It's Getting Better" the line "It can't get no worse", while completely ignoring the sophisticated and innovative harmony of "Julia" and "Because", etc. Rather a coincidence then that George Martin treats us to here to yet another rehearsal of this insipid story. (John Lennon was murdered December 1980. Interviews with John Lennon appeared in the December issues of "Playboy" and "Rolling Stone". In neither of these interviews does John Lennon attribute any bit of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" to Paul McCartney. In 1965, on the other hand, the Beatles were still pretending that the attribution "Lennon-McCartney" necessarily implied a collaboration.) I can't help suspecting that in this case "research"--in contradistinction to believing your own eyes and ears--meant letting your book be edited by Paul McCartney's propensity for dissimulation and enormous ego.

Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About: A Novel

Average customer rating:

"Thing My Girlfriend And I Have Fought About"
Mil
FUNNIEST BOOK EVER
Highly Recommended
Entertaining

Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About: A Novel
Mil Millington
Manufacturer: Villard
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Comic | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Love and Other Near-Death Experiences: A Novel
A Certain Chemistry: A Novel
Joe College: A Novel
Girlfriend 44
The Wishbones

ASIN: 081296666X
Release Date: 2003-01-14

Book Description

Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About concerns a guy named Pel who lives with his German girlfriend, Ursula. Pel leads an uneventful life—quietly bluffing his way through his job and discovering new things to argue about with Ursula. But when his boss mysteriously disappears, Pel steps innocently into his shoes and his life spirals out of control in a chaotic whirl of stolen money, missing colleagues, and Chinese mafiosi.

Its fractured thriller plot punctuated by blazingly hilarious set-piece arguments between the hapless Pel and the unflappable Ursula, Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About is a brilliant comic novel examining the unique warfare in long-term relationships.

Download Description

Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About concerns a guy named Pel who lives with his German girlfriend, Ursula. Pel leads an uneventful life -- quietly bluffing his way through his job and discovering new things to argue about with Ursula. But when his boss mysteriously disappears, Pel steps innocently into his shoes and his life spirals out of control in a chaotic whirl of stolen money, missing colleagues, and Chinese mafiosi.

Its fractured thriller plot punctuated by blazingly hilarious set-piece arguments between the hapless Pel and the unflappable Ursula, Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About is a brilliant comic novel examining the unique warfare in long-term relationships.

"[A] brilliantly-written comedy... both funny and affectionate."
   THE GUARDIAN

"There is little to say about coupledom that is not wittily and often movingly explored here. Sharply-written, brilliantly-observed and absolutely hilarious."
   DAILY MAIL

"A funny and heart-warming comedy about love, fatherhood and being in the wrong places at all the wrong times."
   ESSENTIALS

Customer Reviews:

"Thing My Girlfriend And I Have Fought About".......2007-09-27

A voice drifts up from below. "What are you doing?" My girlfriend asks.
"Nothing." I reply.
"Then you can help me with the dishes," she says.
"I'm busy." I yell downstairs.
I'm sitting in front of a blank computer screen, thinking and writing about nothing. I stare into the abyss and the abyss stares back. It's ok. I'm a man and we do that sometimes. It's Zen in the art of being a guy. I am a whirlwind at rest, serenity in action. I am in the zone. I am zenned. Sure, I could be striving for that cherished Pulitzer. Writing about world hunger, of mans inhumanity to man, of kinder and gentler political regimes, even how to grill the perfect steak, but I'm in the moment, at one with the keyboard. The perfect lead into my next column will come, because you can't step into the same river twice, and my fuzzy bunny slippers are still dry.
"Take out the trash, if you aren't doing anything!" hollers my girlfriend.
Damn, my bubble of tranquility has burst, and I have nothing, nothing at all...

Nothing keeps a relationship on its toes so much as lively debate. Fortunately, my girlfriend and I agree on nothing, nothing at all. Nobody knows the dynamics of long-term relationships better than Mil Millington, author of Things My Girlfriend And I Have Argued About.

Mil started out writing his column for the British paper, The Guardian. The column, it turns out, is about things that Mil and his girlfriend Margaret argue about. They argue about the remote, the proper way to cut a kiwi, and even argue about arguments.

Things My Girlfriend And I Have Argued About, the novel, begins with our protagonist, Pel, his German girlfriend Ursula, and their two children. Pel works in the IT department of a university library (or "Learning Centre"-- he is a British writer after all). Pel receives an odd call from his boss, TSR, who quizzes him about extradition treaties; within a week he has vanished without a trace, and Pel is promoted to TSR's former position, CTASATM- "Computer Team Administration, Software Acquisition and Training Manager". Have to love those acronyms.
The story follows both Pel's home and work lives. At home, there are the arguments with Ursula over the search for a new home, after the latest burglary of their current home; defrosting the fridge during the moving preparations; Ursula terrifying the builders working on the repairs of the new house; a skiing accident, leaving Ursula with a torn tendon in her shoulder.
At work, Pel finds that taking on TSR's job involves more than it seemed at first; he has to pay off student recruiters from the Pacific Rim, who happen to be members of The Triads, the oriental version of organized crime. He has to take care of the details of the building of a new Learning Centre building, which involves hiding the fact that skeletons from an ancient burial ground have been illegally moved from the site, and a dangerous neurotoxin is to be buried under the new addition--a dual semester science project by an unsupervised student.
These details lead him to become closely involved with the permanently hung over Vice Chancellor of the university, which leads to his receiving another promotion, to Learning Centre Manager. The previous holder of that position having left to pursue his fetish website, and well things just get stranger from there.
This is Mil's first novel and he does tend to hang a more-or-less useless plot on the concept of "things". In many places in seems to be a collection of his columns inserted into a novel. But he has great comic timing and his turn of phrasing will keep you entertained. He's so deft and downright funny that it'll get you kicked out of bed and probably start another one of those "arguments". His humor is distinctly English.
If you don't mind your humor peppered with bollocks, tossers, and the odd wanker, than Mil Millington is your man. Check him out...

Mil .......2007-02-09

This is by far an original. I encourage anybody with a witty sense of humor to start thier Mil Millington collection of novels with this book. I wish he could write faster so I could get a novel every month from him.

FUNNIEST BOOK EVER.......2007-02-08

I stumbled across this book on amazon, and could not stop reading - and laughing out loud. I have never laughed so much while reading a book!

Highly Recommended.......2007-01-10

If you like a razor sharp British wit, then this is the book for you. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Entertaining.......2007-01-09

I don't read a lot, but I bought this book after stumbling onto Mil Millington's website. I thought it was very entertaining with various small episodes at the character's home and work. The plot did a good job of linking these together that kept me reading. The ending wasn't the type where everything gets solved, but that wouldn't necessaily make the book better. I would recommend the book to anyone who liked the little insights on the ThingsMy... website.

Counting My Chickens . . .: And Other Home Thoughts

Average customer rating:

a Mitford Memoir, but a little thin, interesting though
Lovely Book By A Wonderful Woman
A Small Jewel From the Last Mitford Girl
Delightful
Delightful read

Counting My Chickens . . .: And Other Home Thoughts
The Duchess of Devonshire
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Authors | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Family & Childhood | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Hons and Rebels (New York Review Books Classics)
Round and About Chatsworth
The House of Mitford
The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family
Life in a Cold Climate: A Portrait of a Contradictory Woman

ASIN: 0374130299

Book Description

A unique window on an extraordinary life lived with tremendous zest, discrimination, and intelligence

The Duchess of Devonshire is the youngest of the Mitford siblings, the famous brood that includes the writers Nancy and Jessica. Like them, she has lived an unusually full and remarkable life, and like them she has an inimitable expressive gift. In Counting My Chickens, she has gathered extracts from her diaries and other writings to create a multifaceted portrait of her life at Chatsworth, the home of the Dukes of Devonshire, that is pithy, hilarious, wise, and always richly rewarding.

Under the Duchess's inspired supervision, Chatsworth has become one of England's most frequently visited great houses, welcoming over 400,000 visitors a year. The Duchess reveals what it takes to keep such an establishment alive and prospering, tells of transporting a goat by train from the Scottish island of Mull to London, discusses having her portrait painted by Lucian Freud, and provides rich reminisces of growing up a Mitford--along with telling anecdotes about friends from Evelyn Waugh to John F. Kennedy. From Tom Stoppard's adoring Introduction to the author's meditation on the beauty of Elvis Presley's voice, COUNTING MY CHICKENS offers continuous surprise and delight.

Customer Reviews:

a Mitford Memoir, but a little thin, interesting though.......2005-07-25

The Duchess of Devonshire is of course the youngest of the 6 Brilliant Mitford sisters born early in the twentieth century, and she is the only surviving one now. This book is really two things, a collection of her various writings and collection of her memories both of friends and of family.

I got this at the same time as I bought her Chatsworth Cookbook, and I have to say I think the other was a better buy - maybe in food I find more relevance, but the anecdotes relating to food and people seemed more real and interesting. I don't think the Duchess is a naturally good writer. When talking about herself I found I was interested - she revealed things like her favourte books (including Beattrix Potters Ginger and Pickles) to her love of chickens and hwo they are looked after. I found the anecdotes about her friends and family less easy to read. It wasn't like she was name dropping - these people really were her friends and family - but I found the writing felt more stilted, more formal and less easy to read. Her various writings for papers have been reprinted in collection here and are of interest for their subject rather than for their eloquence.

There have been better memoirs of the Mitford family, and better writing, but I have never seen a memoir of the latest Ducehss of Devonshire and given her acheivements and interests I think one is long overdue.

Personally while this was 'nice' I would be more inclined to purchase the Chatsworth cookbook which has lots of nice stories in it and seems to flow better - but if you are a hardened Mitrodite then don't walk past this, it is enlightening and I really would like to know more about this youngest mitford's life.

Lovely Book By A Wonderful Woman.......2005-01-12

Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire, shows to the world the emotional warmth and range of interests which have endeared her to her family and friends for over eighty years. Extolled by James Lees-Milne throughout his life, Debo, the people at Hatchards tell me, is their favorite author when it comes to book-signings. When I bought a copy of this book there the clerk remarked "Ah, the Duchess, bless her." And so she has been, and is, by all.

A Small Jewel From the Last Mitford Girl.......2004-10-18

Counting My Chickens is a collection of newspaper and magazine columns by Deborah Freeman-Mitford Cavendish, the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire. "Debo" is the youngest and only surviving Mitford Girl, the fabulous daughters of Lord and Lady Redesdale who scandalized and delighted the British and the world from the 1930s onward.

Although this is a very short book cut into many small, fairly unconnected segments, there is nevertheless much that charms. The celebrated Mitford wit,most clearly displayed by Debo's sisters Nancy and Jessica, is in evidence, particularly in the sections that deal with Debo's childhood and early adult years (she once traveled by train from Scotland with a goat, milking it in first class waiting rooms on the way.)

Also in evidence is the extraordinariness of Debo's life as wife of a Duke and as chatelaine of one of England's great mansions, Chatsworth House. She casually drops names like Harold Macmillan and John Kennedy (both of whom were indirectly related to her husband) and at the same time records some of the merriments and aggravations that come with having your home on display to tourists several months each year. Occasionally Debo will drop a barbed comment or two on the silliness of some politicians and visitors, but for the most part she is soft spoken and accomodating.

Few Duchesses have written or revealed much about their lives, so its nice that one has done so now, at a time when the House of Lords is being democratized and the aristocracy must seem more anachronistic than ever.

Delightful.......2004-07-12

For someone who claims to be the "illiterate" Mitford, this charming little book is a well-crafted lark into the world of a 21st century Duchess. It is very light and entertaining, filled with anecdotes about her and her life. Also featured are stories about her family, but this is not the book to read if you are interested in a tell-all expose of the Mitfords. Most of the book concentrates on the Duchess's family, and home. Chatsworth is one of the finest home in England, and one of the first to become a self-sustaining tourist destination. Anyone who has visited Chatsworth would enjoy reading about the "other side" of that house.

Fans of the Mitford family will be delighted by the stories, most of which don't appear in other Mitford books and biographies. Even if you're not familiar with the Mitford family, this book provides a fascinating picture of the worldview of someone who has lived a long and extremely interesting life. I really hope to see more from Debo.

Delightful read.......2003-03-02

This book is homey and comforting. I loved her piece on being
discovered talking to yourself! There is so much that is so wise,
human and to the point. Maybe the negative reviewers are too young to appreciate the subtle joy of this book. It certainly is one volume that I will reread from time to time and keep for the guest room. Anyone who is old enough to remember civility in daily life, service in shops and neither voice mail nor cell phones impinging on your daily life will really enjoy this COUNTING MY CHICKENS.

Myself My Enemy (Queens of England Series, Book 1)

Average customer rating:

Nice Perspective on Henrietta Maria
Disappointing
THE ROAD THAT LED TO REGICIDE...

Myself My Enemy (Queens of England Series, Book 1)
Jean Plaidy
Manufacturer: Putnam Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Historical | Romance | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Romance Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

William's Wife (The Queens of England Series , Vol 9)
The Queen's Secret: A Novel (Queens of England)
Queen of This Realm: The Tudor Queens
The Prince and the Quakeress
The Pleasures of Love (Queens of England, Vol 9)

ASIN: 0399128778

Customer Reviews:

Nice Perspective on Henrietta Maria.......2006-12-01

I got on an English Civil War kick a little while ago, and when I started to look around for some novels to read, one of the first I came across was Myself My Enemy, Jean Plaidy's 1983 novel about Henrietta Maria, wife to Charles I.

Myself My Enemy is written in the first person, and traces Henrietta Maria's growth from a headstrong young girl to a more reflective older woman, one with many regrets.

This isn't the best novel about the English Civil War I've ever read. Plaidy's prose isn't particularly memorable, and she always tends to tell more than to show. Nonetheless, Plaidy has a gift for getting inside her characters' heads and making the reader care for them, and I thought she did that well with Henrietta. Fiercely loyal to her husband, deeply committed to her Catholic faith, suffering myriad tragedies, and just as often doing the wrong thing as the right one, Henrietta is an interesting heroine, and Plaidy succeeds in making her an appealing one despite her manifest flaws, of which Henrietta is all too aware despite her best efforts to rationalize her actions to herself. Her wavering between self-knowledge and self-justification is depicted particularly well in the scene where Henrietta mourns her son Henry, whom she had alienated before his untimely death by attempting to convert to Catholicism.

Plaidy depicts Charles I sympathetically, without idealizing him, and the relationship between him and Henrietta is moving. Charles II, blithely ignoring his mother's advice, and not without good reason, is also well drawn.

Judging from the reading I've done since about Henrietta Maria, Plaidy seems to have researched Henrietta's life thoroughly and stuck to historical fact, a refreshing contrast to some more recent novels I've read about other historical figures.

All in all, an interesting introduction to a beleaguered queen, and one that got me scouring the library to learn more about Henrietta.

Disappointing.......2006-07-11

I've really enjoyed Jean Plaidy's books over the years, but hadn't read one in quite a while. Since they've begun to be re-published I decided to see what the library had to offer. I picked this up because I knew very little about the English Civil War and its principal players.

Jean Plaidy usually excels at drawing the reader into a specific historical period through excellent research and detailed description, but I found this book lacking. It felt like a first draft. Written in the first person, Henrietta Marie's voice is repetitious. All of the historical events presented feel shallow due to a lack of detail. King Charles' presence is barely felt as are her feelings toward him. The relationship--supposedly a great love match--never feels fully fleshed out. There's a lack of physical description that makes it hard to feel part of the scene. None of the other characters register as real people either.

Overall, it was a rather boring read. I did finish the book, because I was actually interested in the subject. This is the only fictional account of Henrietta Marie I've been able to find. I give it two stars for that alone.

Read this if you're curious, but I'd recommend any other of Jean Plaidy's books especially The Queen's Confession about Marie Antoinette (written under her Victoria Holt nom de plume) or The Lady in the Tower about Anne Boleyn.

THE ROAD THAT LED TO REGICIDE..........2002-08-27

This is the first volume in the Queens of England series of books by Jean Plaidy, who is also known to her legion of fans as Victoria Holt. It is a well written work of historical fiction that tells the story of the daughter of King Henry IV of France, Henrietta Maria, who went on to marry King Charles I of England.

Henrietta Maria, a Catholic, found herself married to Charles, a Protestant, living in a Protestant country, among a Protestant people. The English, at the time, viewed Catholics with deep suspicion, as the excesses of the Catholic Queen Mary, "Bloody Mary", the daughter of Henry VIII, were still not forgotten. A fervent Catholic, however, Henrietta would not put aside her religion, nor was she particularly discreet about her devotion to Catholicism, and, as such, was never fully accepted by the English people.

Henrietta Maria was an impetuous and pretty, young woman, fond of musical revels, fashionable clothes, and gossip. Her husband, Charles, a family man of principle and integrity, was devoted to her, and together they would go on to have a number of children. Their marriage of state, made for the purpose of maintaining a Franco-English alliance, turned out to be a true love match.

Henrietta Maria was also, however, a puppet of Rome, charged with leading Protestant England back to Catholicism. This was to cloud her judgment, at times, and cause much trouble down the road, and, ultimately, serve to pave the way for the rise of Cromwell and his Puritans. They would make her devotion to her religion and her influence over her husband a focal point for turbulence and civil war. Her loyalty and love for her husband was legendary, but not even she could keep him from the road that led to regicide.

Written in the first person, this is a wonderfully told tale of an enigmatic, little known Queen, who wielded great influence over her beloved husband. Rich with historical detail, it is an enormously entertaining novel that is rife with the political intrigues of the day. All those who love reading well written, historical fiction should enjoy it.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books