Book Description
This beautiful four-color book opens the eyes of women to see themselves the way God sees them. Many don't even know that they are daughters of the King - chosen to be His Princess. Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, they trade in their fairy-tale dreams of being cherished for a tarnished identity fashioned by their own insecurities and the mixed-up messages of the media. Now, these tenderly adoring letters written from God's persepective demonstrate that every woman is beautiful just the way she is. Walking in confidence toward her God-given purpose, every woman can bless others - even future generations.
Customer Reviews:
Something everyone needs!.......2007-01-25
I enjoyed the passages from this book in my bible study class and I am so pleased now to own my own copy for enjoyment everyday. Very Beautifully written.
His Princess.......2007-01-12
This book is so touching. A friend gave me a copy and I loved it so much I ordered 7 more to give as Christmas gifts. I've read one or two letters every night before going to sleep. These letters are written as if God is writing to each woman personally, father to daughter. Each letter is based on a Bible verse that is included. The letters are so loving and personal. I will read this book over and over.
Pass it on!!.......2006-10-21
Within these pages you will truly find words of love and encouragement from your God and King. God sees us with such loving and forgiving eyes and He desires for us to see ourselves through His eyes. May each Princess find herself through this wonderful little book.
My good friend and mentor gave this book to me and it has been a great encouragement. I have since given this book as a gift to friends. It is a book you will not want to keep to yourself - Pass it on!
Awesome...definitely a blessing.......2006-07-17
This book has been a huge encouragement to me in times of trials. I would definitely recommend it. It would also be a great gift.
I Shared This Book before reading it.......2006-05-22
I read a few of the letters and then shared it with my aunt, who loved it. I so recommend this to every woman - I have hundreds and hundreds of books, and I think this is one I will buy for all my friends. There is only one "drawback" - it is so beautiful, so lovely that I don't want to underline or highlight the book. This makes a gorgeous gift!
Average customer rating:
- Not my most favorite Lewis book
- We need this today, more than ever before.
- like being one of his students at Cambridge
- Three kinds of love and how to sanctify them with a Fourth
- Listen to Lewis
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The Four Loves
C.S. Lewis
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
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ASIN: 0156329301 |
Amazon.com
The Four Loves summarizes four kinds of human love--affection, friendship, erotic love, and the love of God. Masterful without being magisterial, this book's wise, gentle, candid reflections on the virtues and dangers of love draw on sources from Jane Austen to St. Augustine. The chapter on charity (love of God) may be the best thing Lewis ever wrote about Christianity. Consider his reflection on Augustine's teaching that one must love only God, because only God is eternal, and all earthly love will someday pass away:
Who could conceivably begin to love God on such a prudential ground--because the security (so to speak) is better? Who could even include it among the grounds for loving? Would you choose a wife or a Friend--if it comes to that, would you choose a dog--in this spirit? One must be outside the world of love, of all loves, before one thus calculates.
His description of Christianity here is no less forceful and opinionated than in Mere Christianity or The Problem of Pain, but it is far less anxious about its reader's response--and therefore more persuasive than any of his apologetics. When he begins to describe the nature of faith, Lewis writes: "Take it as one man's reverie, almost one man's myth. If anything in it is useful to you, use it; if anything is not, never give it a second thought." --Michael Joseph Gross
Book Description
A candid, wise, and warmly personal book in which Lewis explores the possibilities and problems of the four basic kinds of human love- affection, friendship, erotic love, and the love of God. “Immensely worthwhile for its simplicity...a rare and memorable book” (Sydney J. Harris).
Customer Reviews:
Not my most favorite Lewis book.......2007-10-18
I think most of the people who purchase Lewis' non-fiction do so because they are interested in his take on Christianity. One of the odd things about this book is that Lewis doesn't make it clear how he decided on these four Greek words. It turns out that the New Testament doesn't use the word eros or storge. This means that the New Testament usage is actually closer to colloquial English usage that you might guess from this book. I assume he chose these words because classical Greek philosophers classified love in this four-fold way.
When Lewis discusses friendship in this book, he gives it a rather odd definition that no longer seems appropriate in today's world, and probably even in his time almost no one except a university professor have. Lewis' concept is that a friend is someone with whom you share an arcane interest. It is an interest so rare that when you meet someone with a similar interest, your reaction is "What? You too?" Now that most people live in large cities and many have access to the internet, finding someone with an interest in say Wagnerian Opera isn't nearly so hard as it might have been for Lewis, who hated London and large cities. I think for most urban dwellers today, the people whom we consider friends are not so much those with whom we share a rare hobby, but people whose company we like and whose lives we are interested in hearing about.
If you are a hard core Lewis fan, you will probably enjoy this book, but if you are new to Lewis, you might have more fun reading something else like Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, or The Great Divorce.
We need this today, more than ever before........2007-08-23
Supposedly this is the only existing audio of the voice of C.S. Lewis. Originally, I was hoping to find audio of his famous radio talks which later became his book "Mere Christianity". Even though this wasn't exactly what I was looking for, it is phenomenal to hear the voice of C.S. Lewis. The Four Loves should be recommended reading/listening for every engaged couple. For those of us who have been married for some time, his book sheds beautiful light on what our relationships should look like.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
like being one of his students at Cambridge.......2007-07-22
One of the things I like most about college are the lectures of a really erudite professor. It's such a joy to hear someone with a dazzling array of experiences and insights speak on his subject of expertise. These 4 talks are the closest most of us will ever come to sitting in a Cambridge classroom and hearing the one and only C.S. Lewis talk and talk about a subject of intense and intimate interest to just about all of us: love. While perhaps of lesser aesthetic quality than Plato's "Symposium", it is, nonetheless, far more insightful and USEFUL (That's not to say Plato is not useful; far from it! It is precisely BECAUSE Plato is so eminently insightful and useful that I consider this to be just about the highest compliment one could pay Lewis's work, and a compliment which is richly deserved!). Lewis's unparalleled understanding of human nature; his ability to illustrate the true significance of often overlooked, seemingly trivial things; his use of disparate and always apt illustrations from literature, history, psychology, life, philosophy, and religion; the way in which the highest and the lowest are always placed in right relation in his account of things; all these hallmarks of Lewis's genius are on full display in these lectures on the four types of love: domestic affection, friendship, erotic love, and Christian charity.
In fact, Lewis's understanding that these various types of love differ not only in degree but in kind enable him to avoid many of the apparent problems of Plato's account. I would recommend that Lewis's "Four Loves" and Plato's "Symposium" be read back-to-back and then criticized in light of each other, and then reread back-to-back again. Listening to them both (there is an excellent line of dramatic readings of Plato's works by Naxos audio-books) is very helpful, for one gets something different from hearing a lecture than from just reading notes (even if they are an exact transcript of the lecture). Also, Lewis's talks differ slightly in content from the book, and the differences, while slight, are somewhat instructive.
One can truly listen with rapt interest and amazement to these talks over, and over, and over, and over, and...
Three kinds of love and how to sanctify them with a Fourth.......2007-06-24
In the introduction, Lewis discusses the differences between Gift-love and Need-love. He explains that although our Need-loves may be demanding and greedy, they are good and necessary because there is little danger that they can be made into gods. They are not near enough to God, by likeness, to be twisted like that. The highest does not exist without the lowest and a plant has roots below as well as sunlight above.
Chapter 2: Likings And Loves For The Sub-Human, is a discussion of Pleasures of Need versus Pleasures of Appreciation. The types of love explored here include patriotism and love of nature. The next chapter: Affection, deals with the humblest love as Lewis calls it. He refers to literary works like The Wind In The Willows, Tristram Shandy, Emma and others to demonstrate the good and the bad manifestations of this kind of love.
Friendship is explored in Chapter 4, again with reference to literature, including inter alia Ralph Waldo Emerson. This section includes an interesting discussion of the word "spiritual" - which is nowadays often used as substitute for "religious". Lewis reminds us that there is spiritual evil as well as spiritual good. The next chapter deals with Eros and he points out its aspects of glory and its playfullness, with reference to books like Anna Karenina and 1984, and certain passages from scripture.
The final chapter is titled Charity and includes an interesting view of a passage from the Confessions by St Augustine. Lewis notes that the Gift-loves are natural images of God whilst the Need-loves are correlatives (not opposites) of the love that God is. When God is admitted to the human heart, He transforms our Gift-love and our Need-love. Conversion is necessary for our natural loves to enter the heavenly life.
The main lesson of the book is the importance of Charity. Without it, all three of the aforementioned types of love may become distorted and even dangerous. Although this little book provides great insight, I have not found it to be as accessible as his masterpiece Mere Christianity or his comforting book titled The Problem of Pain.
Sometimes his arguments are hard to follow and his views and examples of certain types of love are coloured by the English culture of the period in which he lived, thus not always universally applicable. The book would also have been a better reference source if an index had been provided. Besides these minor comlaints, The Four Loves is still a great read that provides valuable insight into the human condition.
Listen to Lewis.......2007-06-06
If you have only read "The Four Loves," you haven't heard all that Lewis had to say on the subject. The audio version, read by Lewis himself is shorter than the print version of this book, but it includes material not in print. It takes a few minutes to get used to Lewis' voice, but soon you feel that you are sitting in a room with him as he tells stories and talks about what he has learned from his experiences of the four loves.
Book Description
description: ìutterly consumed with dread.î) I was trying to convince myself that my feelings were customary, despite all evidence to the contraryósuch as the acquaintance Iíd run into last week whoíd just discovered that she was pregnant for the first time, after spending two years and a kingís ransom in fertility treatments. She was ecstatic. She had wanted to be a mother forever, she told me. She admitted sheíd been secretly buying baby clothes for years and hiding them under the bed, where her husband wouldnít find them. I saw the joy in her face and I recognized it. This was the exact joy my own face had radiated last spring, the day I discovered that the magazine I worked for was going to send me on assignment to New Zealand, to write an article about the search for giant squid. And I thought, ìUntil I can feel as ecstatic about having a baby as I felt about going to New Zealand to search for a giant squid, I cannot have a baby.î
I donít want to be married anymore.
In daylight hours, I refused that thought, but at night it would consume me. What a catastrophe. How could I be such a criminal jerk as to proceed this deep into a marriage, only to leave it? Weíd only just bought this house a year ago. Hadnít I wanted this nice house? Hadnít I loved it? So why was I haunting its halls every night now, howling like Medea? Wasnít I proud of all weíd accumulatedóthe prestigious home in the Hudson Valley, the apartment in Manhattan, the eight phone lines, the friends and the picnics and the parties, the weekends spent roaming the aisles of some box-shaped superstore of our choice, buying ever more appliances on credit? I had actively participated in every moment of the creation of this lifeóso why did I feel like none of it resembled me? Why did I feel so overwhelmed with duty, tired of being the primary breadwinner and the housekeeper and the social coordinator and the dog-walker and the wife and the soon-to- be mother, andósomewhere in my stolen momentsóa writer ...?
I donít want to be married anymore.
My husband was sleeping in the other room, in our bed. I equal parts loved him and could not stand him. I couldnít wake him to share in my distressówhat would be the point? Heíd already been watching me fall apart for months now, watching me behave like a madwoman (we both agreed on that word), and I only exhausted him. We both knew there was something wrong with me, and heíd been losing patience with it. Weíd been fighting and crying, and we were weary in that way that only a couple whose marriage is collapsing can be weary. We had the eyes of refugees.
The many reasons I didnít want to be this manís wife anymore are too personal and too sad to share here. Much of it had to do with my problems, but a good portion of our troubles were related to his issues, as well. Thatís only natural; there are always two figures in a marriage, after allótwo votes, two opinions, two conflicting sets of decisions, desires and limitations. But I donít think itís appropriate for me to discuss his issues in my book. Nor would I ask anyone to believe that I am capable of reporting an unbiased version of our story, and therefore the chronicle of our marriageís failure will remain untold here. I also will not discuss here all the reasons why I did still want to be his wife, or all his wonderfulness, or why I loved him and why I had married him and why I was unable to imagine life without him. I wonít open any of that. Let it be sufficient to say that, on this night, he was still my lighthouse and my albatross in equal measure. The only thing more unthinkable than leaving was staying; the only thing more impossible than staying was leaving. I didnít want to destroy anything or anybody. I just wanted to slip quietly out the back door, without causing any fuss or consequences, and then not stop running until I reached Greenland.
This part of my story is not a happy one, I know. But I share it here because something was about to occur on that bathroom floor that would change forever the progression of my lifeóalmost like one of those crazy astronomical super-events when a planet flips over in outer space for no reason whatsoever, and its molten core shifts, relocating its poles and altering its shape radically, such that the whole mass of the planet suddenly becomes oblong instead of spherical. Something like that.
What happened was that I started to pray.
You knowólike, to God.
3 Now, this was a first for me. And since this is the first time I have introduced that loaded wordóGODóinto my book, and since this is a word which will appear many times again throughout these pages, it seems only fair that I pause here for a moment to explain exactly what I mean when I say that word, just so people can decide right away how offended they need to get.
Saving for later the argument about whether God exists at all (noóhereís a better idea: letís skip that argument completely), let me first explain why I use the word God, when I could just as easily use the words Jehovah, Allah, Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu or Zeus. Alternatively, I could call God ìThat,î which is how the ancient Sanskrit scriptures say it, and which I think comes close to the all-inclusive and unspeakable entity I have sometimes experienced. But that ìThatî feels impersonal to meóa thing, not a beingóand I myself cannot pray to a That. I need a proper name, in order to fully sense a personal attendance. For this same reason, when I pray, I do not address my prayers to The Universe, The Great Void, The Force, The Supreme Self, The Whole, The Creator, The Light, The Higher Power, or even the most poetic manifestation of Godís name, taken, I believe, from the Gnostic gospels: ìThe Shadow of the Turning.î
I have nothing against any of these terms. I feel they are all equal because they are all equally adequate and inadequate descriptions of the indescribable. But we each do need a functional name for this indescribability, and ìGodî is the name that feels the most warm to me, so thatís what I use. I should also confess that I generally refer to God as ìHim,î which doesnít bother me because, to my mind, itís just a convenient personalizing pronoun, not a precise anatomical description or a cause for revolution. Of course, I donít mind if people call God ìHer,î and I understand the urge to do so. Againóto me, these are both equal terms, equally adequate and inadequate. Though I do think the capitalization of either pronoun is a nice touch, a small politeness in the presence of the divine.
Culturally, though not theologically, Iím a Christian. I was born a Protestant of the white Anglo- Saxon persuasion. And while I do love that great teacher of peace who was called Jesus, and while I do reserve the right to ask myself in certain trying situations what indeed He would do, I canít swallow that one fixed rule of Christianity insisting that Christ is the only path to God. Strictly speaking, then, I cannot call myself a Christian. Most of the Christians I know accept my feelings on this with grace and open-mindedness. Then again, most of the Christians I know donít speak very strictly. To those who do speak (and think) strictly, all I can do here is offer my regrets for any hurt feelings and now excuse myself from their business.
Traditionally, I have responded to the transcendent mystics of all religions. I have always responded with breathless excitement to anyone who has ever said that God does not live in a dogmatic scripture or in a distant throne in the sky, but instead abides very close to us indeedó much closer than we can imagine, breathing right through our own hearts. I respond with gratitude to anyone who has ever voyaged to the center of that heart, and who has then returned to the world with a report for the rest of us that God is an experience of supreme love. In every religious tradition on earth, there have always been mystical saints and transcendents who report exactly this experience. Unfortunately many of them have ended up arrested and killed. Still, I think very highly of them.
In the end, what I have come to believe about God is simple. Itís like thisóI used to have this really great dog. She came from the pound. She was a mixture of about ten different breeds, but seemed to have inherited the finest features of them all. She was brown. When people asked me, ìWhat kind of dog is that?î I would always give the same answer: ìSheís a brown dog.î Similarly, when the question is raised, ìWhat kind of God do you believe in?î my answer is easy: ìI believe in a magnificent God.î
4 Of course, Iíve had a lot of time to formulate my opinions about divinity since that night on the bathroom floor when I spoke to God directly for the first time. In the middle of that dark November crisis, though, I was not interested in formulating my views on theology. I was interested only in saving my life. I had finally noticed that I seemed to have reached a state of hopeless and life-threatening despair, and it occurred to me that sometimes people in this state will approach God for help. I think Iíd read that in a book somewhere.
What I said to God through my gasping sobs was something like this: ìHello, God. How are you? Iím Liz. Itís nice to meet you.î
Thatís rightóI was speaking to the creator of the universe as though weíd just been introduced at a cocktail party. But we work with what we know in this life, and these are the words I always use at the beginning of a relationship. In fact, it was all I could do to stop myself from saying, ìIíve always been a big fan of your work ...î
ìIím sorry to bother you so late at night,î I continued. ìBut Iím in serious trouble. And Iím sorry I havenít ever spoken directly to you before, but I do hope I have always expressed ample gratitude for all the blessings that youíve given me in my life.î
This thought caused me to sob even harder. God waited me out. I pulled myself together enough to go on: ìI am not an expert at praying, as you know. But can you please help me? I am in desperate need of h...
Customer Reviews:
Absolutely Worth It.......2007-10-18
I really enjoyed this book and while envied the authors' ability to travel at length, agree that the search for self-love and acceptance is, in actuality, the opposite of selfish. I am thrilled that this author found limitless compassion and understanding for herself through her spiritual practice as she then was able to extend that same compassion and understanding to those around her. In her courageous honesty about her own feelings of superiority, judgment, lonliness, anger and despair she allows her reader to relate without shame. And if we let ourselves, we can all relate. We are all human beings.
Read - Travel - Grow.......2007-10-18
Who among us hasn't come to know on a somewhat intimate basis our bathroom floor, or whatever other surface has served to collect our tears. That's where we join Elizabeth Gilbert. Where we separate from her is in what we do about the circumstances that bring us to tears. Gilbert's solution was to look for herself through food and friendship in Italy, fellowship and spirituality in India, and growth and love in Indonesia. While most of us don't have the means to take a year off to find ourselves, the path Gilbert travels in her mind, heart and body can serve as a road map for many even if you travel no further than the bounds of your own home town.
The book is an easy read, written in a combination journal/travel log format. A bit more complex are the stages and changes through which Gilbert transcends. Her sense of humor is glorious and significantly adds to the enjoyment of her adventure - for both herself and her readers.
If nothing else, Gilbert's book serves as a reminder to women everywhere (perhaps men as well, although I see this as a she-book) that you can move beyond staying trapped in an unhappy situation, even if it does come with all the right trappings. This is a book that you read and then pass along to that friend we all have who needs a little help packing her suitcase and filling out those change of address cards. Personally, I've already wrapped two copies as Christmas presents for my daughters because I can't think of a better gift for any mother to give than encouragement to eat, pray and love!
More like a magazine article than a novel.......2007-10-18
After forcing myself to finish the book, I can't really call myself a fan. Eat, Pray, Love starts out great in Italy, but by the time Liz hit India I was struggling to get through the chapters. I think I was so uninterested because I couldn't relate to her. I've never experienced Yoga or meditations or any Indian beliefs, so I couldn't understand what she was doing. I was also getting annoyed by her descriptions of herself--blonde, thin, perky, easily able to make friends...even her problems and "faults" turn out to be okay and accepted by her in the end. I can't relate to a Homecoming Queen. I was also rolling my eyes at her heartbreak over David. You would think she would be upset and broken hearted about her ex-husband, not a fling she had afterward. But, she doesn't give us enough background on either of them to understand why she is so heartbroken, so you can't sympathize with her.
That being said, I admire her for putting so much of herself out there in a book, and her feelings and struggles ring true. She is very brave for describing such a personal journey to find a relationship with God. But the whole book probably could have been condensed into a long magazine article, and I can't believe her published paid for her trip and her book IN ADVANCE. Where do I sign up???
After all of her travels, it seems the only thing Liz learns is to love herself, and that's great. All in all, it's an okay book, but don't waste your money on it. Check it out of the library and keep your $15.
A book that touches my heart!.......2007-10-18
I came across this book through the New York Times book review section in 2006. Being an avid traveler, I was immediately captured by its title. When the book arrived, I could not put it down until I finished reading in two days. I found myself laughing and crying all the way through Elizabeth Gilbert's world journey. I am a yogi who goes through the same struggles that Gilbert experienced in the ashram. I could see myself in her shoes. Gilbert is hilarious, emotional and sensitive. Her self-discovery is courageous and inspiring. My take home message with book is that, get out of your comfort zone, there are many unexpected surprises await you!
Loved it!!.......2007-10-18
I simply could not put this book down. She writes beautifully, and this story is so wonderful. Kudos to Ms Gilbert.
Erica Black
Author of "The Call Girl Actress, Confessions of a Lesbian Escort"
Average customer rating:
- Good to know we all have the same issues
- Straight Talk About Marriage
- The Honeymoon's Over
- Great Book
- BRUTALLY HONEST
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The Honeymoon's Over: True Stories of Love, Marriage, and Divorce
Andrea Chapin , and
Sally Wofford-Girand
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
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ASIN: 0446580007 |
Book Description
Isabel Rose saw red flags before her marriage, but everyonethought she'd made a perfect match. Ann Hood's relationship with herhusband had the usual bumps, until the tragic death of her young daughterforged their bond for life. When Terry McMillan went through her publicdivorce, the trauma affected everyone in her life. While Joyce Maynardcared for her dying mother, her children's babysitter took even better careof her husband. Andrea Chapin, after years of money battles with hermusician husband, realized she had to become the mogul in the family. AnnieEchols found her marriage on the rocks when an unexpected pregnancy upsether family's delicate balance. In THE HONEYMOON'S OVER, women candidlydiscuss the good times, the bad times, and what makes or breaks a marriagein essays that will resonate with readers--married, single, or divorced.
Customer Reviews:
Good to know we all have the same issues.......2007-08-01
Short stories that are well presented and represent a host of situations - so one (or more) of them should apply to everyone who's been married. Nice to help you keep perspective, lots of different writing styles. Good to read 1-2 stories at a time and process what they have to offer.
Straight Talk About Marriage.......2007-07-02
Love, marriage, divorce. For those of us who have loved or are still
loving, have been married or still married, been divorced or are going
through a divorce, we have our own love, marriage, and divorce stories
to tell. However, In The Honeymoon's Over, Chapman and Wofford-Grand
have carefully edited and compiled some of the best stories on these
three issues.
Reading each of these stories is like listening to your sisterfriend
while sipping coffee or tea. The authors are storytellers, telling
their stories in a very fluid and conversational style. Easy to read
and understand, these stories are well-written, emotional and very
revealing. You can almost feel their pain, cry their tears, and
rejoice in their decisions. After you have read these stories,
you can think about each author's perspective of love, herself,
relationships and her future. You may even think about which story
applies to you.
Although each story is distinctive in terms of the author, her story
and her writing style, the themes and the storytelling style unite
these stories into this unique book. At least one story will appeal
to every reader. The reader may be able to even identify with an
author or two. These women are sharing their stories, and
telling ours, too. I recommend reading this book.
Karen Lemmons
APOOO Bookclub
The Honeymoon's Over.......2007-05-20
This was not what I thought it would be. Although, there were some interesting stories, I was somewhat dissapointed.
Great Book.......2007-04-10
This book is very well written. Definitely speaks volumes about relationships. But be ready to have the tissues on hand. :)
BRUTALLY HONEST.......2007-03-03
I absolutely loved this book, and I am keeping it becauseI know I will read it again. As I approach my 27th wedding anniversary I feel as though I know quite a bit about what makes a marriage worth hanging on to. Nobody is married for a long time without going through major bumps in the road but many of the stories in this collection illustrate how rewarding it is to stick it out - what you end up with is so special that it is difficult to describe. Of course, not every relationship has a happy ending and I enjoyed those essays also. My personal favorite? The Electric Husband - hilarious.
P.S. Terry McMillan's rage is hurting her MUCH, MUCH more than her ex-husband - anger is human but if you don't let go of it you will be poisoned by it.
Book Description
In an attempt to gather what wisdom he could to guide his son into adulthood, Kent Nerburn published a powerful collection of essays that touched the hearts of parents and children everywhere. In this beautiful revised edition, Nerburn refines his advice and expands his thoughts.
Customer Reviews:
Best book I've ever read of things that should be said........2007-02-04
In my 61 years of male life experiences, this is my favorite book, for it puts to words human ideals that are so beneficial for people of all ages to understand.
I found this book by chance in a used book store and bought it to read, to reflect on my experiences with my two sons and two step-children. Immediately I realized that Kent had put to words the things I had wanted to say to my children, but didn't know how to express it.
I then bought 30 copies, giving them to my children and friends with children. I read it again, this time calling Kent and thanking him for writing his thoughts for me to share with others whom I love.
I'm here at Amazon again, sending a link to Kent's Letters to a friend, who's husband has died, leaving their teenage son so alone. I'm constantly recommending this book, as well as quoting from it to share thoughts with others. When my brother-in-law died a couple months ago, Kent's thoughts on Tragedy and Suffering were most comforting to my sister and her in-laws. I know Kent's thoughts on Falling In Love I've shared with others has mended many a broken hearts.
Kent's dedication page statement - "We are born male. We must learn to be men." implies it's a book for guys to read, but I know many gals who have found it a valuable read.
I was just on a lengthy trip, with a number of extended layovers. Knowing this, of all I could have chosen to bring to read to make that time most worthwhile, I brought Letters to my Son. And I'll read it again and again.
For years I've thought that too often people read one book after another, searching for something very meaningful to be made know to them. Here is a book I believe, if read a number of times in a thoughtful way, and taken to heart, it will be the most satisfying read ever. I've become certain that it's good enough to last my lifetime.
Father to Son to..............2006-02-28
I gave this book to my husband to give to our older son.
My husband liked it so much that he asked that I get
another for our younger son.
All seem to enjoy it very much.
Rae
a new father's best gift.......2004-11-17
I am 26 and I just became a father. I still feel like a kid myself. Someone gave me this book for a birthday present. I read it to see if these were letters I would send my son. They are not really letters but more like essays or thoughts. This man says so many things I wish I could say. He helps me understand what is important in my life, what is important to teach my boy when he gets old enough. I don't always agree with Kent Nerburn's thinking. But I think he is very wise. I wish my dad was like him. I hope I can be a dad like him. He knows what is important in life. He doesn't just preach or lecture. He unfolds his thinking with stories from his own life. Sometimes he made mistakes and he tells us. He learned. Now he is teaching me so I can teach my son.
Thanks, Kent Nerburn. You tell a good truth.
Disappointed.......2004-10-18
This book is nice, sweet, and somewhat insightful. But I wanted a book that spoke more of the relationship between a father and a son. The vast majority of essays/chapters in this book could have been written by anyone for anyone. For example, Nerburn warns of the dangers of drugs and alcohol, and extols the virtues of giving. But those lessons could have been taught by a mother to her daughter, a priest to a parishioner, or an uncle to a nephew. Many other essays in the book are similar in that they contain no unique perspective on the father-son relationship. (What does the "Power of Art" have to do with fatherhood?) This book reads like Chicken Soup for the Soul. In my opinion, the other reviews overrate this book.
The perfect gift.......2004-07-24
Over the years I have had read numerous books of this nature, but always find myself returning to read a section, a paragraph or a few pages. A wonderful book that I have had the opportunity to share with numerous friends. I think I have purchased at least 20 copies a gifts.
A must read.
Book Description
For a generation of teenage girls, Sassy magazine was nothing short of revolutionary—so much so that its audience, which stretched from tweens to twentysomething women, remains obsessed with it to this day and back issues are sold for hefty sums on the Internet. For its brief but brilliant run from 1988 to 1994, Sassy was the arbiter of all that was hip and cool, inspiring a dogged devotion from its readers while almost single-handedly bringing the idea of girl culture to the mainstream. In the process, Sassy changed the face of teen magazines in the United States, paved the way for the unedited voice of blogs, and influenced the current crop of smart women’s zines, such as Bust and Bitch, that currently hold sway.
How Sassy Changed My Life will present for the first time the inside story of the magazine’s rise and fall while celebrating its unique vision and lasting impact. Through interviews with the staff, columnists, and favorite personalities we are brought behind the scenes from its launch to its final issue and witness its unique fusion of feminism and femininity, its frank commentary on taboo topics like teen sex and suicide, its battles with advertisers and the religious right, and the ascension of its writers from anonymous staffers to celebrities in their own right.
Customer Reviews:
Brilliant concept, but not the memory lane I was looking for........2007-10-05
Seriously... I *CHERISH* Sassy Magazine.. all of the back issues, xeroxes of back issues... It did change my life...and when I got this book, there was no pictures, except for some on-the-cover-spineline-shots, and artsy rolled magazine shots... I really wanted to reminice, and I got gossip, and analysis and it kinda made me sad. For such a visual magazine... there's nothing to look at in this book.
Once Upon A Time.......2007-07-27
Long, long ago (not really, just the early 1990's, but it feels like forever!), there was the most fantastic teen magazine ever: SASSY!!! For girls like myself (this is William's wife Jen writing, by the way, in case anyone is wondering "Huh?") who were not the upper class WASPs of America with money to burn, perfect tans and bleached hair and New Kids lust, Sassy was such an amazing outlit for our social, political, and emotional frustrations. I was a girl who didn't gave a darn about 90210, Debbie Gibson, Prada, Calvin Klein, social conformity, and Sassy really helped to open up a whole nother world. The staff at Sassy became like our cooler older sisters in the hip underground: they knew all of the cool bands, fashions, actors, etc before the mainstream media had a clue. Also, I must add, that Sassy was the first place where I had read about Wicca which is now my spiritual path in life. In a time which I was an outcast demiJew interested in paganism and Buddhism but forced to going to a very Conservative Catholic school full of the standard cheerleader types (their solution to life was just to follow whatever nonsense the nuns and their parents proclaimed, no matter how braindead, and never to think for themselves), Sassy was literally a Goddess send where I finally felt connected.
On another note, I was very happy to see that they added a bit about how many girls felt alienated by the ultra- underground and alternative aspects of Sassy. Towards the end of the magazine, it seemed to me (and after reading, I'm glad I'm not the only one) that if you liked any song that managed to get on the radio, any show that had appeared in TV Guide, or wanted to dye your hair with Clairol instead of funky Kool Aid colours, then you were deemed terminally uphip (I remember as if it were yesterday how they trashed my then favourite band Roxette). I think that that exclusiveness, rather than any boycotts about the sex columns, were the cause of Sassy's demise. Still, it was an amazing magazine and so uplift and often soulsearching for its readers and sadly no magazine has come close to filling that void for today's young women (although B*tch is great. Check it out if you can).
Media Revolution Girl Style.......2007-07-01
Before female adolescents in America had Oakland/Portland's Bitch or Chicago's VenusZine for feminism 101, there was New York City's Sassy. In How Sassy Changed My Life, readers are given a magazine-size book that reads like a nostalgic love letter chronicling one of women's crucial marks in journalism's history. Known as the 80s lovechild of founder Sandra Yates of Australia's Dolly and then 24-year-old Jane Pratt, the youngest editor-in-chief of a magazine, Sassy shunned the "come get me boys" themes of teen publications with blonde, blue-eyed, bulimic models. For the first time, two female writers carefully analyze Sassy's impact on insecure, teenage girls seeking refuge from YM and Seventeen through interviews with former staff members and the many readers that created an online cult following.
How Sassy Changed My Life starts off by answering the frequently-asked question: why would anyone write a book about a teen magazine? While Jesella and Meltzer give a brief, but convincing explanation for exploring Sassy's rich, cultural history in American media, the chapters remain faithful in giving an in-depth look behind the magazine's main competitor. With Seventeen's "Where to Spy Guys" and "Learn How to Be a Secretary" ads, Walter Anneberg, the publication's owner (who had a gold-plated toilet seat in his private plane), surely wasn't risking his sales with features on homosexuality, AIDS and premarital sex. Yet, when Sassy arrived at 1 Times Square in 1988, they covered "The Dirty Scummy Truth on Spring Break (or, Where The Jerks Are)," included ads for Doc Martens and featured pixie-haired models with bandanas. Jesella and Meltzer manage to successfully show with crisp, tight language, the staff's many personalities that collectively provided a voice for those wanting to learn about their inner girl power with "13 Reasons Not to Diet." Former reader Sarah Kowalski commented, "The magazine was so personal it felt like a community, like people that you hung out with-that was very important. I was kind of an outsider type. I didn't have a lot of friends in school. You wanted to find your people."
One of the major concerns in How Sassy Changed My Life was Pratt's portrayal in the magazine's birth and downfall. Pratt, initially viewed as "the extremely charismatic leader," who made her writers "go through as many as 15 story drafts," was detested by Sassyites for the betrayal known as Jane magazine. Jesella and Meltzer spoke with Jane's arch-nemesis, Lisa Jervis from Bitch, who retaliated against Pratt's vision for a more girl-friendly periodical that even included a column by Pamela Anderson. In responding to Bitch's "10 Things I Hate About Jane," Jervis explained, "Those of us salivating in front of the newsstand were hoping for something that took Sassy's early vision of self-confident girl power and critical thinking a step forward." Ultimately, How Sassy Changed My Life concluded with Pratt being a pretentious publisher whose feud with Bitch magazine seems more appealing than her celebrity-fueled glossy. While the conclusion leaves readers torn, Jesella and Meltzer lets their audience decide whether Pratt should be celebrated for her role in leading Sassy or hated for her false promise in keeping the dream alive.
Whether you grew up reading Sassy or are just discovering its famous April 1992 cover of grunge's Sid and Nancy, How Sassy Changed My Life is a cultural tour de force that embodies the best of modern feminist writing. Readers will finish Jesella's and Meltzer's testimonial feeling confident about their femininity and hopeful for womankind's future, just as Sassy did for six years.
One to check out from the library.......2007-06-04
Read it in two sittings - it's fast, with more gossip in it than I expected. It was surprisingly balanced in terms of pointing out how Sassy may have just promoted a new alterna-girl conformism with their backlash against the Seventeen ethos.
I am sort of surprised that there was no mention that lots of readers' political views matured beyond the ones pushed by Sassy. Perhaps that's because the authors' views are still stuck in teenage years, too? (The tone of approval given by the authors to Ian Svenonius's Marxism was another cringe-worthy moment.)
My only wish: A scrapbook of clippings from various issues, or at least pictures of the staff, and a where-are-they-now? chapter. Okay, that was three wishes. With those features, the book would have been worth purchasing. Now I just wish I'd sent the money to charity instead.
A celebration of the magazine which influenced a generation of liberal, activist young women.......2007-05-21
The central thesis of How Sassy Changed My Life is that the one-of-a-kind teen magazine created a club of kindred spirits during its short 6-year tenure, and that it has had a lasting effect on a generation (or two) of American women. Authors Jesella and Meltzer write "Upon meeting a fellow Sassy fan, we feel like we understand something essential about that person: their life philosophy, what their politics might be like, what their artistic preferences are, what they were like in high school, what kind of person they wanted to grow up to be. (By contrast, we find non-fans of a certain age slightly suspect.)"
Since this title is about how Sassy changed our lives, it is necessary for me to reflect on my own Sassy readership. I picked it up for the first time at age eleven, when the magazine was just two years old. My best friend and I were immediate converts, and even created our own short-lived dozen-wide-circulation `zine in the Sassy tradition. I have all my Sassy back issues. When the magazine was sold to the owners of Teen magazine in 1994, the editorial staff was fired, and the name was repackaged as standard bubblegum fare, I never knew why my magazine died such a horrible death. I cancelled my subscription to the "Stepford Sassy" and every time I got a renewal notice, I would write an angry letter about my disgust with the new magazine (my boyfriend at the time could never understand why I had such passionate distaste for renewal notices).
Finally, the story of the rise and untimely death of Sassy is told, in this fine collection with chapters about the conception of the magazine, its rise, its relationship to the competitors, the lives of the staffers, the feminism of the publication, and its catastrophic fall from grace.
Sassy was the first magazine in which I read bylines, in which I reflected on what I knew about the writer of each piece, and how his or her personality and life experience played into the end product. Sassy poked fun at the celebrity worship and body-flaw fixing so central to other teen magazines. It talked frankly about sex in a voice completely opposite from that of your curmudgeonly gym teacher. Jesella and Meltzer's book is not only a delightful trip down memory lane, it also reveals important behind-the-scenes tensions and political maneuverings, as well as the cultural significance of the periodical. Highly recommended.
Average customer rating:
- Absolutely Fascinating Voyeurism
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Letters to Penthouse XXVIII: Threesomes, Foursomes, and Moresomes (Letters to Penthouse)
Penthouse International
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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ASIN: 0446613142 |
Book Description
In the sensual, sizzling world of Penthouse, a threesome is hotter than a twosome, foursomes are a scorcher, and more is a dream come true! Readers of the world?s greatest forum on sexuality can't help but agree, and their letters burn with all-true tales of husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends, lovers and strangers mixed and matched in every possible combination. Follow them as they party and please, grope and tease on the patio and pool tables, on picnic benches and massage mattresses, on fishing trips and in birthday orgies. The fun just multiplies!
Customer Reviews:
Absolutely Fascinating Voyeurism.......2007-09-01
This is great; I love this kind of stuff. I bought it for my husband's birthday, but I had to check it out and sample a few letters myself, but ended up reading them all. (Well I didn't want him to have something that was unsuitable) So his brand new book was a bit thumbed when he received it.
I find this multiple sex fascinating, although I don't think I would have the courage to suggest it to my husband, it does make fascinating reading. In some ways it is very voyeuristic, but hey, there's nothing wrong with that or lets face it, the erotic film industry would grind to a halt. I'm also sure that the people who pen these letters are really exhibitionists who enjoy their sexual antics being enjoyed by others, again there's nothing wrong with that either.
If you like erotica involving multiple sex have a look at 100 Percent Erotica by Suzie Van Aartman, or if you just like sex have a look at it anyway, it is extremely explicit and raunchy, you almost feel as though you are there watching.100 Percent Erotica But back to Penthouse, brilliant, if you enjoyed its predecessor you'll enjoy this one. Absolutely fascinating voyeurism.
Book Description
Veteran reporter Richard Ehrlich and Dave Walker unfold a tale of love and lust in Bangkok's notorious red-light district. These interviews and correspondence with prostitutes and their patrons draw an intimate and touching portrait amidst the blaring lights and pounding music of Bangkok.
Customer Reviews:
Not Great But A Classic.......2007-09-29
I first visited and fell in love with Thailand when I was 19. It was not till 1994 when I was 30 that I decided to go native. While helping out at my friend's travel agency, I discovered an interesting letter translation service that was offered in almost every other travel agency. When tour guides had no work, they translated "love letters" for Thai women who had foreign boyfriends. All letters told virtually the same story. Mother sick, brother in jail, buffalo died ... these are the bargirls. In the case of students and office workers, course fees, computer went caput, want to set up own business because boss is abusive and exploitative ...
It takes an insider to appreciate the size of this love letter industry. People who say that it's the same everywhere else in the world ain't seen nothing yet. It's quite amazing that authors Dave Walker and Richard Ehrlich dared to make these embarrasing letters public. I nearly tripped over my own toes when I saw this book in the bookstore back then.
Highly controversial but totally honest, this book reproduces the letters that bargirls sent to their foreign boyfriends. It's definitely a project that took more legwork than keyboard hours, but the authors did include interviews with insiders and also a foreward by a Thai sociologist.
The moral of the story? The line between true love and mercenary prostitution is sometimes blurred in the Land of Smiles. Prostitutes don't just charge a fee for service. They create an illusion of romance. It would be good if the suckers could read this book. It would be even better if they could watch a video of a Thai woman weeping in the phone booth telling her Western boyfriend how much she misses him and then smiles to her Thai boyfriend beside her immediately after hanging up. Still, those who think with the wrong "head" are often impervious to reason.
But anyone who has dated traditional Thai women would also have noticed that even good girls will ask for money. The root of the conflict lies in the difference in "money culture". The Westerner thinks that a woman who truly loves him will not ask him for money. The Thai woman thinks that a man who truly loves her will show it with money.
It's not a great book, but at a time when there was no other material on this subject, I thought it was a very good and courageous attempt by the authors.
Confessions of a Bangkok Private Eye: True stories from the case files of Warren Olson
Thai Girl
Wondering into Thai culture, or, Thai whys, and otherwise
great read.......2007-03-12
This one a must if your going to Thailand for R and R or I&I. The interviews with the woman are the best, wish they would have had more.
Hello My Big Big honey.......2006-06-28
A very well written book which is an excellent insight into the letters written by foreigners to thia ladies, primarily bar girls.
This book also includes the thai girls point of view in interview form.
Plus a few bar owners experiances.
A must for all travelers to Thailands bangkok streets, particularly Patpong but also relates to Nana and soi Cowboy with some referances to Pattaya.
Maybe if you travel to these areas of Thailand you will see something of your self in this book, you will surely see something of those you know whe travel there.
MISLEADING.......2006-05-09
Having been to Thailand on a number of occassions, I can say that this book is completley biased, and most of all, without any humanity whatsoever.
Rather than just parody or riducule the extreme of romantic or sexual attachement (which you can find in Los Angeles or Kansas as easily as Bangkok), it would have been useful to actually look at the people, their hopes, fears, joys.
Stereotypes are quite useless and misleading in this regard. There is a very wide range of people, both working girls and their customers. But in general I found the former to be very sweet, honest and good-hearted woman. And the later to be generally polite, respectful men, seeking care and affection. For both, there is suffering and sadness, as their is in married life, single life and geriatric life! The authors are so shallow and unintelligent themselves, that no real insight into the people and their liffe struggles and victories ever emerges...
truly one of the strangest and most telling documents of our time.......2005-09-26
Romance, pathos, despair...all these and more human frailties are on parade in the incredible, weirdly moving, sometimes pathetic and utterly unputdownable collection of love letters from customers to Bangkok bar girls.
At the core of this amazing document are the interviews with the bar girls themselves, whose attitudes toward their clients range from the rankist capitalist contempt to the most tender compassion.
Witness this sample from a 29-year-old veteran wearing bright white lingerie inside a Patpong bar. Question: Do you ever say to the men that you love them? Answer: "I say, 'Love! Love! Love! But not. I feel nothing. I say 'love,' but in my heart, nothing."
..."Hello My Big Big Honey!" is truly one of the strangest and most telling documents of our time.
-- Jerry Stahl's first book, the dope fiend memoir Permanent Midnight, was made into a movie starring Ben Stiller. His 1999 novel, Perv -- A Love Story is now available in paperback. His latest novel, Plain Clothes Naked (William Morrow), was recently released.
Customer Reviews:
Penthouse XV.......2007-01-04
These were sent to a friend of mine whom said he liked the book completely
Highly recomends
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