Jeffrey

compelling interesting important

Killing Kennedy

Emotion

This One

Even if you are not a history buff, you will learn a lot, while on the edge of your seat

An excellent writer. When she is telling her story, she is wonderful. When she is discussing the history of marriage or editorializing, I found myself losing interest.

The books you can't put down, or the audio books you don't want to turn off, are the best. This is just such a book; a book about life, faith, perspective and purpose. Simply enjoyable.

Was it worthwhile using a credit on my account for this book?
In 10 minutes I found it interesting, but no great epiphany. Think about decisions and possible consequences in both the short and long term to weigh gravity. In 10 months I will most likely recall the name but not the author. In 10 years I will most likely not recall either. The irony here is that this idea, which Welch seems to think is an earth-shattering process of decision making clarification, originally appeared in a magazine article for O. And the reason why is that a magazine article essay is all the space you need, and then some. Book-length its not, unless you want to hear endless stories of women and decision making moments.

I wish this were a better review, I really dp. The book happens to be extremely well written; it is compelling, powerful and moving.
So why not 5 stars?
The answer, in short, is that its too good; the recollection of what happened in first and second grade etc. is too vivid, and too exact. Can you recall verbatim dialogue from when you were 9? Maybe here or there, maybe once in a while, but day after day? And by extension, the recall of sequence of very specific events, sounds, smells, gestures, movements are presented in perfectly accurate detail...as if they just happened yesterday.

While I do not want to suggest that Pelzer did not go through hell, I am equally convinced that we live in a day and age when embellishment is confused for non-fiction, and we buy pretending its all real. This seems to also be the conclusion of a July 2002 NY Times Magazine article about Pelzer and his story.
I am therefore left sad; sad for his experience, and equally sad of the way we sometimes look to make money.

Why did I love "A Million Little Pieces" but felt so blah about this book? It took a while for me to realize, as the access to someone who suffers from bi-polar is interesting and rare. The answer, I found, was that in A Million Little PIeces, the author's life - even if exaggerated - was incredibly interesting. Here, the dieses is interesting, and the knowledge of discovery is interesting, but her actual life is incredibly ordinary. Finally, the reader for the first two hours was flat, and abook like this needs a voice with feeling, inflection, a sense of timing and life. She read it like a cookbook.

Foreskin's Lament is the James Frey's "Million Little Pieces" for the Jewish world. It is extremely well written, and narrated. It is a serious, intense, incredibly funny and thoughtful book. The difference between the two books is largely accessibilty: a strong Jewish background is necessary to fully appreciate the references, language and context. By in large, I found it compelling. However, the author seems to cross the line of privacy, with regard to his mother, which did not add to the literary value and, I felt, was unecessarily cruel.

very interesting view into the whitehouse; my only criticism - a small one - was that at one point the book seemd more about Nixon than Graham, as it seemed to go on and on about this one President.

Sam Harris has written a very thoughtful book. Although he does seem to over-exploit the histoty of torture and violence among men to build his thesis, I will gve him the benefit of the doubt that he believes (no punn) that he is making a credible argument.
And, in a way, that is exactly how I heard / read his book: it felt like he was in court, making an argument before the "bench" for the air-tight case against God and faith. He is very convincing and thorough.
So why do I, a God believer before, remain a God believer?
My difference with Harris is that not everything in my life is a matter of logic or rationale. If so, I would let my teenage daughter go her merry way, and call it quits.
Sometimes its a feeling; a feeling that can not be proven the same way that we can show that a2 + b2 = c2. My belief in God escapes logic. Perhaps that's why they call it a "leap." And I feel sad that Harris, among many many others, do not feel the same. But, I do respect, and admire, the length he goes to explain himself.

Peggy Noonan was an excellent speech writer for President Ronal Reagan. But speech writing, in its rhetoric, flare, and oratorical devices is entirely different than writing literature. And in no small manner does Noonan prove the point. The Case Against Hillary is like an Op Ed, that simply doesn't end. Between a few interesting anecdotes, and smidegon of research, is an endless diatribe of all that she believes is wrong with the Clintons. I simply do not know why Peggy Noonan, a speech writer, is any more qualified to talk about the merits of someone's political candidacy, than you or me? Don't make my mistake and use your credit elsewhere.