David

Bob Spitz got it right! While I loved, "My Life in France", it was more of a family rememberance. "Dearie" is not a fluff piece. It's not a damning piece. This is a good, honest look At Julia Child. A peek behind the curtain at private moments that will melt your heart, and some the will make you wince. Julia Child changed the way America looked at food, and she almost single handedly got PBS off the ground. And along the way she didn't just step on some toes, sometimes she made sure she broke them in the prosese. In "Dearie" you'll find the Julia you didn't know, and by the end of "Dearie" you find she's still the Julia you wish you had known. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to listen to it again. Please forgive the cliché, Bon Appetite!

This book is a must for any Dick Van Dyke fan. From the wonderful back stories of the Dick Van Dyke show, Mary Poppins, Chitty-Chitty, Bang-Bang. To the parts that you might be unfamiliar with. it's hard to stop listening.
There is something new in every chapter. Like how he got his start in show business. His brief run in with the Mob. Almost getting fired from his job at an Atlanta TV station. His political activism, and his struggle with alcoholism.
I am so glad the Dick Van Dyke narrates this book himself. I felt as if I were a relative of his, and asked him what his life was like? "Well pull up a chair, and I'll tell you all about it".
There are so many performers. Dick Van Dyke is truly an entertainer.

David Sedaris', "Me Talk Pretty One Day", is an eclectic hit or miss bundling of personal life story essays. The hits I feel are his comedic essay. While listening to the bit about his Elementary School speech therapist, and the essay on the history of his family pets, you do not want to be drinking fluids. You'll get a sinus rinse. Where is book falls short in my opinion is Sedaris' more serious essays. I found them a little dark, and far less interesting. I kept hoping he would hurry up and finish with these, and move on to something else. Is, "Me Talk Pretty One Day", credit worthy? Hmmm. In my opinion, if you have an spare credit, or Audible puts it in the half price sale, pull the trigger.

This is a really good book! I may be bias, because like the main character Franny, I grew up in Maryland. My father was in the Air Force. And I can remember having complicated relationships with my friends. Because I love history, and history is so intertwined into this story. But it's more then that. It's a great story about a young girl who finds her faith in her family, and herself. I'm 49 years old, and I loved this book. I'm going to make sure I get a copy to my granddaughter. Kids of all ages will love "Countdown".

Great read, or in my case listen to, "Freedom Summer" by Bruce Watson. 700 people going into Mississippi to draught attention to Jim Crow laws in the south in '64. Many were abused. Several lost their lives. This pales in comparison to the black population in Mississippi who were abused, and lost their lives under Jim Crow. Freedom Summer wasn't the beginning of the Civil Rights movement, nor was it the end. In My opinion Freedom Summer turned a candle into a spotlight. Change had to come

Wonderfully cerebral, incredibly humorous. Julia Sweeney takes you on her intrepid journey to find God. Through the Catholic Church, Buddhism, transcendental meditation, each time learning something new about God, and more importantly, about herself. "The Kingdom of God is within you". "Scathing brilliant". I've had this audio book for just over a week, and have listened to four times already. It's one short coming is that it is too short. This one is a must listen.

If you love Steampunk, the Civil War era, science fiction and the macob, and a bit of mystery, you will love Boneshaker. If you can believe in the probable, and not the possible. Subterranean boring machines. Gases from the earth that cause deformities. Airships, zombies, and gadgets reminiscent of the Wild, Wild West. And one of those great endings that is left for you to write for yourself. If you love all of this, you wil love Boneshaker.

Poignant, funny, tragic, triumphant. E. B. Sledge's account of his service with the Marine First Division during WWII is nothing less than a must read, um, listen to. Sledge makes you feel as if you are seated directly in front of him, and he is talking directly to you. Sledge makes the ordinary, sound extraordinary, and the extraordinary, sound fantastic. Sledge not only explains the glory of war, but the gruesome realities of war as well. This is not a John Wayne movie, but an accurate account of what really happened. Some lost their lives. Some lost parts of their bodies. And some lost parts of their souls. Sledge is like an accountant. Adding up the true cost of war. This book is a must for any library.

Perception, the Nixon administration was political success. The reality, the Nixon administration was a moral failure. Martin Luther King, after meeting Nixon, in '56 said he felt that he was a sincere man. But added "if was wasn't sincere, he was the most dangerous man in America". Most Americans think that Watergate was the explosion. Woodward and Bernstein show in All The President's Men, that Watergate was the match that lit the fuse. Money laundering, extortion, dirty politics. That was the explosion. King was right. Nixon was the most dangerous man in America.