I Am My Brother's Keeper, Journal of a Gunny in Iraq

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Not very good

SIMPLY THE TRUTH, UNEDITED

Simple but Clean and Crisp

Amazing

Awesome

I Am My Brother's Keeper, Journal of a Gunny in Iraq
Jason Doran , and J. K. Doran
Manufacturer: Caisson Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Fallujah, with Honor; First Battalion, Eighth Marine's Role in Operation Phantom Fury; Expanded 2nd Edition

Ambush Alley: The Most Extraordinary Battle of the Iraq War

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ASIN: 1928724051
Release Date: 2005-01-02

Book Description

This is one of the first books published that was written by a Camp Lejeune Marine who fought in Operation Iraqi Freedom. In this first hand graphic account, GySgt Jason K. Doran, a Silver Star recipient, shares his experiences of his tour of duty during the Iraqi War. The book covers the journey of 1st Battalion, 2nd Regiment, a part of Task Force Tarawa, from the ship ride over through the Suez Canal, to the bloody battle for the bridges at An Nasiriyah and then home again. This book allows the reader to share in the day-to-day experiences and personal account of a Marine's tour of duty. This is the real thing. Gunny Sergeant Doran was there.

Customer Reviews:

Not very good.......2006-02-12

The author is a real hero, but this is a mediocre book. Not reccomended.

SIMPLY THE TRUTH, UNEDITED.......2005-12-31

I wasn't even into the first chapter before I had tears in my eyes. This Gunny has it all right. He sees the military exactly as it is, and explains it perfectly. He has seen so much in his short 41 years, and it has effected him greatly in his personal life - yet he continued to ask for the tough assignments. ALL MILITARY MEMBERS WILL LAUGH at his picture perfect descriptions of military life. ALL CIVILIANS NEED TO READ this book to truly understand the War in Iraq.
Jason tells the sometimes gory truth, but it is a truth that more people should know. He paints a blow-by-blow, gunshot-by-gunshot picture of the war without losing the reader. It is captivating from the Foreward through to the last page. He is a Marine's Marine. One rough, tough, Texan who is still a caring, loving man and father. Buy the book.

Simple but Clean and Crisp.......2005-09-20

Writing was not the best but I enjoyed this story by a fellow Marine and praise him fr sitting down and knocking out this story of combat, something I hope to do in the future. Nice job mixing intr-unit relations with external threats.

Amazing.......2005-09-15

Why more out there don't know of this book is beyond me. Far surpasses even "Generation Kill" and, dare I say, "The March Up" simply on the fact that is a Gunny who knows where his heart, his head, and his loyalty is, without question. Inspiring and motivating, this is a book that I've given to my fellow Marines and that I continue to recommend at all times. Lets you know what it was, and is, really like...something even different than those of us who went over in 1991 saw. Get this, and realize that what you are seeing on your CNN and even your FOX, and reading about in your newspapers and magazines, is largely a ruse. I just can't recommend this enough and truly can't put into words the measure of this book (or for that matter, this Gunny). Semper Fi brothers.

Awesome.......2005-09-09

This was an awesome book! Very difficult to put down. Author writes as he speaks - unedited for profanity. When reading a book on the lastest war written by an Active Duty member you shouldn't expect sensorship and there is none in this book. If your delicate eyes can't handle profanity from someone getting shot at, don't read it!

My America: My Brother's Keeper: Virginia's Civil War Diary, Book One (My America)

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Witness to the Battle of Gettysburg
My Brother's Keeper
THE COOL BOOK
My Brothers Keeper
A Promise at Gettysburg. . .

My America: My Brother's Keeper: Virginia's Civil War Diary, Book One (My America)
Mary Pope Osborne
Manufacturer: Scholastic Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0439369037

Amazon.com

Virginia Dickens is angry. Her father and brother Jed have left her behind while they go off to Uncle Jack's farm to help him hide his horses from Confederate raiders. It's the summer of 1863 and Pa and Jed believe 9-year-old Virginia will be out of harm's way in the sleepy little town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Too soon they all discover how wrong they are, as Union and Confederate soldiers descend on Gettysburg for the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. Virginia has front-row seats to this horrific episode of history, and she records every incident and feeling she experiences in her journal (which is actually Jed's; he entrusted it to her when he went away, asking her to be his "eyes and ears in Gettysburg").

Mary Pope Osborne's gripping story is a welcome addition to the popular My America historical-fiction series. Neither Osborne nor Virginia shy away from telling the truth, brutal and painful though it may be. This lends a certain depth, appeal, and integrity to the book that a history textbook could never match. Real players in the Civil War, including Robert E. Lee and Abe Lincoln, make cameo appearances, while the fictional characters seem just as authentic. Osborne has written a wide variety of other engaging stories, including Adaline Falling Star. (Ages 8 to 11) --Emilie Coulter

Book Description

Virginia Dickens has promised to keep a journal for her older brother Jed. And Ginny finds plenty to write about: Pennsylvania Volunteers arrive in the town square reporting a big battle in Virginia and calling for more men to join their ranks. Rumors fly that the Rebs are headed to Gettysburg, and the Battle of Gettysburg ensues. Suddenly, Ginny's quiet town is filled with the injured. Ginny's brother Jed has joined the Union army, and they find him wounded in a makeshift hospital. With Ginny's nursing, he recovers, and Ginny is is able to witness the President's Gettysburg Address.

Customer Reviews:

Witness to the Battle of Gettysburg.......2006-05-13

Young Virginia, named after the state, shares her emotional journey through the Civil War, missing her dead mother, worriying constantly about her brother and father, and being afraid so often.
Living in Gettysburg isn't exactly safe - especially when one of the most famous Civil War battles is fought right there. Virginia witnesses it all, and writes it all down in the journal her brother gave to her.
But when she finds out what ahs happened to her brother, she must gather up all her courage and face the world as best as she can.

My Brother's Keeper.......2005-12-15

My America: My Brother's Keeper: Virginia's Civil War Diary, Mary Pope Osborne, 4 stars.
I thought that My Brother's Keeper was a very good book. It was about a girl named Virginia Dickens. She lives in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in the year 1863. Her father and brother, Jed, have gone to Uncle Jack's house to help hide his horses from the Conferate soldiers. She is staying with Reverend McCully and his family while they are away. The whole time she is scared for her brother and father and wants them to come home.

I gave this book four stars because, even though it was a very good book, there were some parts that were very boring/confusing. Sometimes Virginia would be talking about something, then she would start talking about something else and it would be very confusing and hard to follow. Sometimes she just was rambling on and it got boring.

The book, overall, was very good though. It had some very suspenseful parts where I was on the edge of my seat. For example, when Virginia was sitting in the tree while the Confederate soldiers were passing, I wasn't sure whether she would get caught or not and I was anxious to find out.

Some other books I would recommend are: The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Picking Up the Pieces, and Nicola and the Viscount. (...)

THE COOL BOOK .......2005-10-18

I thing this book was good because it had a iot of detait about the character. People should read this book if they like the Civil War and if they would like to know about the Civil War this book would be good to read. A reader that would like to read about the Civil War would read this book. My favorite part was when Jed told them that he was going to get married to Jane Ellen. It was my favorite part because it made me feel very happy that they were going to get married. My favorite character was Virginia because they talk abouÝ her a lot and how she had to keep Jed's diary for him. I hope that the next book is as good as this book was. I love these books.

My Brothers Keeper.......2002-12-14

Hi I am Glenna Miller my book is My brothers keeper .The auther is Mary Pope Osborne.There are a 107 pages. The setting is Gettisburg in 1863.The Genre is fiction. The plot is her brother and dad go to her uncles to help hide his horses from the rebs. So she has to stay with Reverand Mcullys family.Jane Ellen Reverand Mcully daughter likes Jed her brother but she only saw him once.The rebs came and yelled "have the union came"I like the place and I like the way it goes in 1863 it is pretty cool. I like her name it is Virginia cause it is my home town.I hope you like this book the way I did. So pick up this book My brothers keeper

A Promise at Gettysburg. . ........2002-12-01

Nine-year-old Virginia Dickens is left in the care of Reverend and Mrs. McCully while her father and brother help her uncle hide his horses from the Confederate raiders and fight. She promises to keep a journal for Jed, her brother. Her family thinks she'll be safe but they are wronged when Gettysburg is ambushed. After the battle, she and her father find her brother in a makeshift hospital. The book ends as the town slowly recovers and Virginia hears President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.

Mrs. Osborne has successfully creates individual characters, and she poses difficult questions about war and the waste of human life. There is a lyrical quality to several passages, and the author slowly builds suspense and release.

Book Description

What responsibility do the Polish people share for the mass murder of the Jews, which took place largely on Polish soil? In this major contribution to the history of the Holocaust, Antony Polonsky brings together in translation the most important arguments in this very public and controversial debate. The volume's contributors grapple with the complex moral issues and painful questions which are history's legacy: What could the Polish people have done, and what were they willing to do? Many have argued their innocence and utter helplessness before the Nazis, while others resolutely refuse excuses for standing by, or even aiding, the slaughter. b /b b i My Brother's Keeper? /i /b meets these dilemmas head-on, in a tough and troubling debate.

Customer Reviews:

Blonski's New Judeocentrically-Framed Morality and its Implications.......2007-04-18

Jan Blonski has invented a new form of morality, in which indifference to a murder now makes one morally (though not legally) guilty of the murder. How creative! Not surprisingly, Blonski's "new morality" is entirely one-sided. Not a single one of the following questions is answered in this volume: Should those Jews who were indifferent to Polish deaths also share in moral guilt for them? In fact, how often did Jews include Poles in THEIR universe of moral obligations? Had Poles disappeared instead, wouldn't there have been some Jews delighted at this outcome? Should Jews also be enjoined to stop searching for attenuating circumstances behind their conduct, and admit fault for their complicity in Polish sufferings (as from the Zydokomuna)? Should the endless discussions on the Church's traditional negative view of Jews be expanded to include Judaism's historically negative view of Christianity? Or are there different moral standards now in existence for Poles and Jews?

Polonsky (p. 11), Blonski (p. 46), and Bryk (p. 176) portray Polish defensive reactions against Jewish accusations as tacit admissions of Polish guilt. Oh, really? Using the same reasoning, when Jews likewise react against falsifications of their history (e. g., by the Holocaust Deniers), should one conclude that the Deniers may be on to something?

What purpose does Blonski's "new morality" serve? Kazimierz Kakol (p. 146) sees it as yet another dilution of German guilt (however subtly, in this case). Otherwise, it is, not surprisingly, all about Holocaust uniqueness. Andrzej Bryk writes: "The Polish side has had difficulty in grasping that Jews have been struggling for the acceptance of the uniqueness of the Holocaust very often by indirect means, even through libelous accusations, bordering on the irrational. Yet it has to be added that faced with moral insensitivity toward's one's suffering, one fights with anything at hand, very often with shock." (p. 176). Taking Bryk to his logical conclusion, one could exonerate the Holocaust Deniers by treating their views as an irrational but somewhat understandable reaction against the chauvinistic exultation of Jewish sufferings over those of all others!

Blonski repeats the myth of the 10,000-strong Kielce mob (p. 39; actually 200-300 at its peak, with no more than 150 at 4 Planty Street) and the myth of equivalency in risk to life from participating in the Underground and from rescuing Jews (p. 38; Actually, one search by a dog-wielding German was usually sufficient to uncover a hidden Jew). Bryk (p. 170) complains that the AK was planning a desperate, suicidal uprising in the event of wholesale German extermination of Poles, but not for the 3 million Polish Jews (p. 170). What he conveniently forgets is that the AK also didn't launch an uprising for the 2-3 million murdered Poles.

Teresa Prekerowa (p. 74) presents an oft-quoted computation of only 1-2.5% percent of Poles ever helping Jews. Her computations are invalid because they do not factor the tiny number of Jews ever potentially AVAILABLE to be rescued. (The vast majority of the Jews remained trapped in ghettos until their journeys to the death camps). Owing to this fact, the vast majority of potential Polish rescuers never had access to a single Jew during the entire German occupation (Turowicz, p. 139)!

Poles are repeatedly berated (pp. 22-23, 77-80, 142) for discussing "Jewish passivity", when unmentioned is the fact that many Jewish authors (e. g., Bruno Bettelheim, Yitzhak Zuckerman, Leon Poliakov, Hannah Arendt) also shared this view. In attempting to create a Polish counterpart to "Jewish passivity", Prekerowa asks: "But was every Pole a conspirator? The enormous majority of the population even in Warsaw, in this heart of underground Poland, to say nothing of the inhabitants of the tens of smaller cities and towns and hundreds of villages, thought only about ways to survive the war, to stay alive...Their everyday lives were filled by commonplace activities which helped to make living under the occupation bearable." (p. 78). Ironically, by hinting that most Poles were afraid to participate in Underground activities, Prekerowa weakens the argument about Polish risk-taking in this activity but not in the hiding of Jews. And, ironically, by admitting the harrowing experiences of Poles, Prekerowa demolishes the usual portrayal of Poles as "spectators" of the Jewish catastrophe.

Salmonowicz (pp. 56-57) identifies Russian and Prussian Jews as 19th-century disseminators of anti-Polish writings. Rymanowski (p. 156) points out that few Jews were involved in the 19th-century Polish insurrections against foreign rule. Jan Karski (p. 86) confirms the shortage of arms faced by the AK at the time of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, and the disbelief of Judge Felix Frankfurter to his testimony (p. 88). Yisrael Gutman (p. 202) again repudiates the notion that the German [...] death camps were set up in occupied Poland because of Polish attitudes. He also recognizes the difference between traditional anti-Semitism of the Polish type, and the racist and exterminationist [...] anti-Semitism.

The informed reader understands that this book is part of the same old genre of Judeocentric selective moralizing against Poles--which continues to this day. After the recent publications of NEIGHBORS and FEAR by Jan Tomasz Gross, there was the predictable media fascination about the moral issues and responsibilities that Poles now must face, but not a trace of interest in any of the unsavory aspects of past Jewish conduct against Poles.

My Brother's Keeper: Faith-Based Units in Prisons

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My Brother's Keeper: Faith-Based Units in Prisons
Jonathan Burnside , Nancy Loucks , Joanna R. Adler , and Gerry Rose
Manufacturer: Willan Publishing (UK)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1843920611

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More than 5 stars!
An impressive first novel
it was ok
You decide!
Enjoyable journey!

My Sister's Keeper
Bill Benners
Manufacturer: McBryde Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Perfect Paperback

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ASIN: 0975870033
Release Date: 2007-03-01

Product Description

This riveting suspense thriller explores the special bond between a brother and sister when Richard Baimbridge rushes back to his coastal hometown of Wilmington, NC, to assist with his sister's recovery after she's brutally attacked and crippled investigating the rape of a 13-year-old. Coming face to face with his tormented past and a dark family secret, he fights to stay above the flood of childhood trauma and, serving as his sister's legs, is drawn into the dark underside of this quiet coastal community where he, himself, becomes the primary suspect in the murders of Wilmington's young girls.

Customer Reviews:

More than 5 stars!.......2007-10-01

This is absolutely a 10 star book!! This is THE best book I've read and I read about 2-3 books a week!! It was fast paced...I loved that the chapters are no more than 2-3 pages long. Every chapter had a twist that made this book IMPOSSIBLE to put down! The writing was superb...not a lot of chatty descriptions...it's a very TO THE POINT style of writing..his grip on the emotions of the characters is right on target and pulls you right in...whether it be fear, anxiety or compassion....one of the key characters is a paraplegic young woman...being one myself I can tell you the character as he wrote her was totally true to form...to read this book was like being a fly on the wall and watching the entire story unfold...a wonderful experience and the story was gripping and real...
Do yourself a favor and don't miss this one...Bill Benners is the new James Patterson!!

An impressive first novel.......2007-09-23

My Sister's Keeper is full of suspense and it kept my attention from page one through the very end. Being a coastie, I enjoyed the author's descriptions of Wilmington and the Cape Fear area. Richard Baimbridge, the lead character, is a complex but naive man who ends up over his head (literally) as he attempts to bring down the bad guy. When the book began, I questioned the level of Richard's devotion to his sister, even though she is crippled and needs his support. Fortunately, he stumbles upon Sydney, an almost eligible woman who keeps his love interest throughout the novel. The author chose the younger sister of a former girlfriend, which created a good twist in the old versus new love knot. The conflict between Richard and his father is a bit overdone, but his mother is well-depicted as the silent-sufferer and peace-maker in a family torn by tragedy. Richard is set up for a big fall by Ashleigh Matthews, a love/hate character who tries to help her own suffering sibling. Some connections are not as mysterious as the author intended i.e. Winston. Voilence is pervasive throughout the story, but it ends with a high note despite the demise of many innocent victims.

If you enjoy suspense and romance in the southeast coastal area, check out Flashback: A Low Country Novel

it was ok.......2007-08-28

this book is a very quick light read. not much depth but entertaining for a one day read. if you need a break from better authors, then i suggest this for an inbetweener. good first try.

You decide!.......2007-08-20

Here is a typical chunk of prose from "My Sister's Keeper." If you like this sample, you will love this book:

"She pulled me stumbling into a nearby bedroom, shoved me onto my back, and took control [control in italics] of my mind and body. Falling on top me, she redirected the storm raging inside me re-channeling my pain and fury into passion and desire. Icy hatred [italics] melted into flaming love [italics]. For the next hour the fire and the cold swirled through me ripping me apart as she held me down, kissed me, and took me to a final release that shattered every obstacle I had left to becoming the man I was born to be."

Enjoyable journey!.......2007-07-23

This is a book with a lot going on! It is definitely one you don't want to put down. It is also one you want to own so you can read it again in the event you overlooked something that was going on the first time around. I would definitly recommend if you want a mystery novel that gives the reader a suprise at every turn.

Average customer rating:

Shows good real world problems
Courtesy of Teens Read Too
touching and likeable but lacks depth
Book Review on My Brother's Keeper
Book Review

My Brother's Keeper
Patricia Mccormick
Manufacturer: Hyperion
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0786851740
Release Date: 2006-09-12

Book Description

Toby Malone looks up to his brother Jake.Everyone does.He is the cool one, the one who is good at baseball.Even Mr. Furry, the unfortunately named family cat, seems to prefer him to everyone else.Toby and Jake and their little brother have always had an easy, jostling friendship, in which it is them against the rest of the world. But ever since Toby's father left, things have been off balance. Toby's mother seems deflated and resigned.And his little brother is exhibiting odd signs of stress.Toby struggles to keep his family together even as things are falling apart.Despite his efforts, though, Jake is drifting farther and farther away, and Toby knows it is because he is becoming increasingly dependent on drugs.Toby tries to cover up for Jake, to spare his mother yet another disappointment.But his attempts to protect Jake and his mother backfire, only adding to the growing tension between the brothers+until Jake finally goes much too far.With great warmth and wry humor, Patricia McCormick draws a portrait of a typical family that is struggling to reconnect after a crisis.

Customer Reviews:

Shows good real world problems.......2007-04-23

Imagine that your brother one of the most prominant young athletes throws it all away for drugs. That is the problem that Toby faces in My Brothers Keeper. Jake is the best athlete in town and maybe even in the city, he is great at baseball and other sports but Toby becomes suspicious when he hangs out with the wrong people and he starts changing. He does not care about anything anymore and gets all mopey. When Toby flushes a bag of Jakes Marijuana down the toilet Jake sells Tobys most prized posession to get money for the drugs back. To see if Toby can help Jake go back to his old self you have to read this good book.
I thought that this book was good because it showed very good real world problems that can be happening every day. Having your stuff stolen and then sold is something many people have to go through because of how addictive drugs can be. People are careless about everything else when it comes to drugs and this book is a great example of how careless they can really be. This book is such a great example of how people can change because of such a silly thing like drugs and I believe that people whould put time aside to read it
I would reccomend this book to teenagers because it can help show them how dangerous experimenting with drugs can be. The book shows what a person will do to get drug money and also the repercussions of what happens after your able to get the money. I think that if teens who are thinking about using drugs read this they will choose to stay away from them because of what happens. I would also reccomend this book to people that like dramas and people that like books where a family member has to help another overcome a bad time of their life.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too.......2007-02-04

A brother's love is a brother's love: one of the many truths to life and family. In MY BROTHER'S KEEPER, Patricia McCormick tells a sharp tale of the often too-complex relationships between brothers, and the unspoken feelings and subtleties of such a fragile thing.

Toby idolizes his big brother Jake. Jake's the typical big brother figure; cool, funny, charming, and the school baseball team stud. But things don't always turn out to be as great as they appear on the surface. Internally, there are struggles. Toby's father has left their family to search his fortune elsewhere and has seemed to cease all contact with them. His mother is distant and has taken a stance of resignation. And to complicate the situation even more so, inevitably past Toby's endurance, Jake has fallen into a rut he cannot get out of. The world of drugs.

Now Jake doesn't seem to be around as much anymore. He leaves the house, returning in the middle of the night faded and disillusioned, leaving the responsibility up to Toby to clean things up, make everything seem fine, and to smooth away the creases.

But when Jake finally goes too far, will it be up to Toby to decided how to handle things? Will he rat his brother out, breaking the cardinal rule of the big-brother/little-brother relationship, trespassing on regions of brotherhood Toby has never touched upon?

McCormick creates a completely believable and down-to-earth narrative of internal struggles in the mind of a growing boy's problems in not only the broader family unit, but also the profound nuances of the complicated structure of kinship between siblings. Not only that, but she manages to keep it lighthearted at the right moments, as well as comedic at others.

Cheers to P.M.

Reviewed by: Long Nguyen

touching and likeable but lacks depth.......2006-01-04

My Brother's Keeper is the story of a single parent family consisting of mom and her three sons: Eli who is slightly strange, has a bike called Tonto and a female cat called Mr. Furry; Jake, who has fallen into "bad company," decided that his beloved baseball is uncool and started using drugs; and finally Toby, a 13-year-old with grey hair and whose best friend is the local shopkeeper called Mr. D (who also happens to be a pensioner).

It is Toby who takes it upon himself to try and hold his family together after his alcoholic father left. He does so by covering up for his older brother Jake and hiding his mom's bill because he knows she can't afford to pay them. Unfortunately Toby's best intentions don't always work out quite to plan and before too long, the family nearly enters meltdown.

Patricia McCormick has succeeded in bringing to the fore the problems faced by teens today with regard to the availability of drugs and the hassles they can bring to a family. She also manages to touch upon the breakdown that can occur when one parent leaves, with no regard for the rest of the family and the emotional turmoil and the further problems it can lead to.

However, as good as the story was and as touching and likeable Toby appeared, the book seemed to be lacking a depth that would have allowed the reader to get more inside the world of the disintegrating family.

The book is aimed at younger teenagers, so this may be the reason for the apparent surface nature of the drug abuse, but a great opportunity was missed to investigate and explore the sheer destructive nature of the problem at hand. I feel that the message could have been put across more clearly if the story had continued with "what happened next."

Armchair Interviews says: Overall My Brother's Keeper was an easy, likeable and touching read, but it was lacking some depth.

Book Review on My Brother's Keeper.......2005-12-17

"My Brother's Keeper," is written by the best selling author of "Cut", Patricia McCormick. This book is about a young boy named Toby that goes through a lot; he is 13 years old and already has gray hairs. He goes from having a loving family that is always there for each other to having only his mother who starts going out every night, his big brother, Jake, who smokes pot and goes out all the time, and his little brother, Eli, who Toby isn't around very often.
Most of Toby's time is spent with Mr. D who has a store that Toby helps him with. Toby doesn't always understand what Mr. D's advice is telling him sometimes, but he always figures it out later in the book. This is a quote that I liked that Mr. D had said, "Living is all about letting go." Mr. D and Toby love to collect Pirates baseball cards. Mr. D had given him a card that Toby really loved and that he had wanted all his life, the Stargell.
This year Toby had tried out for baseball and had made the team. He plays catcher. Toby also likes a girl named Martha MacDowell and he had talked to her about baseball and found out that she also plays as catcher. Knowing that Jake is a very good baseball player Toby later finds out that his older brother Jake is not trying out for baseball this year, when last year he had helped their team win their division.
Toby ends up having to always have to lie and cover up for his brother to their mom. Like why he isn't home or why he feels sick. One night Toby's life all starts falling apart. And there is a surprising ending to the story.
I would recommend this book to people that have family problems and to people who don't. For the people who don't have family problems, they can see how a family acts and what goes on. It also shows you how good of a family you may have compared to Toby's family. And this book will help you appreciate what you have. The book also makes you want to read on to see what Toby is going to do next and if their family problems will ever get solved.

Book Review.......2005-10-18

By:Eric Evans
Once again Toby is cleaning up all the mess his brother and his friends make when they're high off drugs. This time they ate all the food in the cupboard. Toby cleans it all up and sprays Magic Citrus to kill the smell. This isn't the first time that they have made a wreck of the house after being high. Sometimes Toby's brother Jake has come home high at eleven `o clock. Not only this but Toby `s mom has had a depression or "constant headache" mood every since they're father left. Toby has a little brother named Eli that he constantly watches. One day Toby can't take his family sinking lower and lower every day so he steals the bag his brother keeps his drugs in and flushes them down the toilet. When Jake finds out he steals Toby's prized possession. He steals his Stargell Pittsburgh Pirates rookie card. After this Eli goes missing. Now everything comes together again. There are some cops that come to Toby's house that drop off Eli and say they found him near the highway. Just as Toby's mom is being informed by the cops about Eli the phone rings and a man says Jake has been caught with drugs. Jake has a day out of juvenile for court and that night Toby and their family have the orange meal which is this dinner Toby and Jake thought of it is made of mandarin oranges, macaroni n cheese, and Cheetos. I would recommend this book to a lot of people because it is so close to reality. Think of all the little brothers who have big brothers whom do drugs, but don't get their brothers help because they are scared.
One reason I like this book was because of how realistic it was. Toby in the story loves his brother, but is fearful of telling someone because he knows the consequences and doesn't want to do that to his brother. Also at the same time he has another little brother he has to watch over all the time because their mom works a lot. This is because their dad left their mom a while back to go to California. Now their mom is trying to find another guy to fall in love with. The reason I call this book realistic is because you can see that this situation is a combination of everyday problems for children growing up.
For some reason you can't put this book down; it isn't left at suspense at the end of the chapter, but it keeps you into the book. You want to know if on the next page Jake gets caught, if Toby tells on him or if he gets away with it. Then not only do you want to know about that, but you want to know what is going on with Toby's personal life for example if he makes the baseball team. Another reason the book is hard to put down is because tension builds and builds on Toby between all these issues then everything falls apart and brings the family closer together.
Another thing I like about the book is the ending and how things from the beginning piece together with things from the ending. For example how they mentioned old hobbies of Jake that Toby is now interested in. Also how they mentioned the orange meal. I thought these were all just mentioned for nothing, but at the end Toby and Jake spend the afternoon together and have the orange meal for dinner.
I would recommend this realistic, hard to put down novel by Patricia McCormick to anyone. It is touching to watch Toby struggle with everyday life in his house. Read My Brother's Keeper to find out what everyday life is like for a boy named Toby and how it all comes crashing down in the end.

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author on the rise (she made it)
Oh Brother!
My Brother's Keeper
A very good read
Letting go of past anger to have a future

My Brother's Keeper
ReShonda Tate Billingsley
Manufacturer: Pocket Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 1416514503

Book Description

Aja James has a sordid family history. It's full of painful memories. However, she's managed to leave her troubled past behind and begin again.

But her brother, Eric, a promising NBA prospect, is unable to get past it. His uncontrollable rage and inner turmoil sideline his basketball career and wreak havoc on his own personal relationships. When Aja sees her brother heading down the same violent path that destroyed their family, she makes it her business to stop the cycle - even if it means putting her own life, and love, on hold.

My Brother's Keeper is a captivating novel that takes a poignant look at how deep childhood issues can run. Both humorous and heart-wrenching, this debut novel will leave you wanting more.

Customer Reviews:

author on the rise (she made it).......2007-07-24

this was a very good debut novel by this author even though this is a older book than the time of this post i only writing this post because i just read this after reading a few other of her books. but it was a well written stories althou i started remebering some of the characters from her other book i like the way she allow them to grown within her writing cant wait for her next book a pastor's wife

Oh Brother!.......2006-08-25

The author could have found a better title for this book. Aja's focus on her deranged brother was just a small element of the emotional battles she suffered. I continued to wonder what Charles even saw in her. It would have been a skillful twist had he really cheated on her with his ex-girlfriend Candice. The scene at the bar was so believable. I was disappointed to learn it was all just an act. What was up with Aja's one night with Troy to never hear from him in the book again? It's very rare for an ex-boyfriend who still has feelings for you to "give you what you want" and afterwards suggest you work things out with your current boyfriend with such sincerity. And the pregnancy scare was a waste of pages since nothing ever developed from it.

And Elise...what type of woman was she? She basically nurtured Eric's destructive behavior by standing calmly by his side. She footed the bills and cared for their child while he did nothing but drink and feel sorry for himself. He was so weak it was ugly. I wondered why Elise never put her foot down with an ultimatum - "Get help or I'm out". It's like the author tried to reenact the relationship of his parents through Eric and Elise. What a coincidence Elise would turn out to be just like his mother!

Wasn't it strange that Jada had been in her frozen mental state for over a decade but snapped out it immediately upon receiving a letter from Daddy Gerald? Why did it take him so long to write her? I didn't get it.

The end of the book left me curious. I wondered what would become of Daddy Gerald. I wondered if Elise would ever recover. I wondered if Jada would ever get her mind right. I wondered if Aja could ever love healthy and release those poisonous memories that tormented her even in the final chapters of the book. Too many questions. Not enough answers.

I've been known to shed tears while reading books that are designed to tug at your emotions. For some reason, this book didn't touch me like that at all.

My Brother's Keeper.......2006-08-18

great storyline. Wish the author would have written more about Jada. her story could be a book of its own.

A very good read.......2006-07-20

I read this book in one day. It was a compelling story with a truly plausible story line. It was well written and descriptive. I cared about the characters and what they were going through. The ending was believable without the melodrama. All in all a good read. I srongly recommend it!

Letting go of past anger to have a future.......2006-05-31

This book was a good illustration of how unresolved anger can limited one's future. Overall, I thought the book was good, but wished the author wrote more about Jada and her struggle with the family crisis. Definitely recommend.

Our Brother's Keeper: My Family's Journey Through Vietnam, to Hell and Back

Average customer rating:

Excellent and unique look into the effects of the Vietnam War
Our Brother'sKeeper: My Family's Journey through Vietnam to
Vietnam: One family's war
Gut-wrenching yet remarkable book

Our Brother's Keeper: My Family's Journey Through Vietnam, to Hell and Back
Jedwin Smith
Manufacturer: John WIley & Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0471467596

Book Description

Advance Praise for Our Brother's Keeper

"Beautifully written and extraordinarily poignant, Our Brother's Keeper is a Vietnam book like none other. The ghosts of Vietnam are finally starting to circle home, and this remarkable writer has given them voice with passion and resonance. I love Jedwin Smith's Fatal Treasure; Our Brother's Keeper is even closer to the heart."
— Jeff Long, New York Times bestselling author of The Descent and The Reckoning

"Our experience in Vietnam has been searingly recorded in both fiction and nonfiction, but no book about those years is quite like this one. Jedwin Smith's Our Brother's Keeper tells the story of one family that has lived with death by remembrance, and of a man who found redemption when he wanted revenge. It will break your heart, but change it, too."
— Michael Skube, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in criticism

"I read Our Brother's Keeper in the span of an evening and found it deeply affecting and totally enthralling. This book is a haunting, gut-wrenching, and ultimately redemptive journey through time and the human heart. Magnificent."
—Jack Kerley, author of The Hundredth Man

Customer Reviews:

Excellent and unique look into the effects of the Vietnam War.......2005-08-28

I am a military history buff. I especially love to read books written by people who were there, or in this case a person who was greatly effected by the events described. I picked this book up on a whim from a book store and the writing style dragged me into the story. It is truly unique in that it is written by the brother of a Marine that died in Vietnam and that it really does not focus too much on the war. It does cover the basics of that era, but more focuses on the effects the war had back home, as well as the lasting effects on his family.

I am glad that Mr. Smith finally found a start to his healing and was able to write this book to share with the public.

Our Brother'sKeeper: My Family's Journey through Vietnam to .......2005-06-16

About six weeks ago I was told I HAD to read this book for a book club that I am in. I am a romance/mystery junkie and put off reading what I felt would be a depressing WAR book...How wrong was I? This book, which reads like a great story instead of nonfiction, was riveting and inspiring with as much to say about family and interpersonal relations as it does about the Vietnam war. I laughed at Mr. Smith's memories of a very human warrior as well as cried at the manifestations of sorrow and guilt. I am a 31 year old woman who is as far removed from this war as one can get and yet the book brought home the personal and very unpolitical side of this very confusing part of our history. I was extremely thankful that Mr. Smith could share his experiences with me.

Vietnam: One family's war.......2005-05-13

Jedwin Smith (no relation, but I was once his boss at the Atlanta newspaper where we both worked) has written a spellbinding account of how his brother's death in Vietnam (remember that war?) impacted his family and fueled his own decline into alcohol and depression. Without bitterness or animosity, he relates the unraveling of his family and eventually tells of how he and his siblings came to cope with their brother's death, and to mend their lives and relationships with each other. Part and parcel of the story is his climb from the depths, aided by Vietnam War vets who knew his brother in the field and as always, by the love and strength of his devoted wife, June. Don't think of this as a "war" book. It's not. Rather, this is the story of human relationships, told with insight won the hard way, that will send you to Vietnam War Web sites/books to knock the dust off your memories of that era. Jedwin's a natural-born storyteller and this book will grab you from the first page.

Gut-wrenching yet remarkable book.......2005-04-17

This is the kind of well-written book you'll read in 24 hours but think about for weeks. Its the gut-wrenching story of a family suffering through the loss of a beloved son/brother to the Vietnam War. The author, Jedwin Smith, gives us a rare insight into the long-term effects a family endures and also allows us to go along on his painful and emotional journey toward some sense of healing. Without disclosing elements of the book, be advised there is a reconciliation late in the book that is unique, remarkable and inspirational.
We must never forget the sacrifices veterans made for our country, but this book also reminds us to never forget the sacrifices the families of these veterans made as well.

Average customer rating:

A Collection of Some Amazing Stories
Praising Treachery
Could not put this one down. A facinating book !
FANTASTIC, THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ.

I Am My Brother's Keeper
Jeffrey Weiss , and Craig Weiss
Manufacturer: Schiffer Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Customer Reviews:

A Collection of Some Amazing Stories.......2005-09-03

I don't know if i've ever read a book that was just so jam packed with so many amazing stories about how dedicated the Jewish people were to obtaining a hold on part of the land of Israel. This book is a refreshing read of commitment to a cause, putting oneself aside to serve the greater cause. This book is so well written, it is incredibly difficult to put down and you'll be telling everyone the amazing stories found within. The authors do a great job of weaving the interviews together, taking the reader all the way through the battle for the Land of Israel. This is a compilation of the stories of so many people who were fighting for a people that were not their own, too. From a Native American to normal Americans struck with the plight of the displaced Jews throughout Europe.

A must read for anyone with an interest in the subject or just someone who likes some amazing stories.

Praising Treachery.......2004-07-16

I found this book while browsing through the shelves of my local Border's. Flipping through the pages I was utterly disgusted at how the Weiss' portrayed the numerous Jews who went to fight for Israel's right to steal land from the arabs as patriots of both Israel and their "respective countries".

The book presents many interviews and stories with these so called patriots who came from around the globe to fight off the arabs forces ( who were so wrong in invading to keep recently arrived European Jews from taking the lands of their brethern arabs, the Palestinians). One of the most prominent of this was Col. Mickey Marcus, a West Point Grad, and American Jew who rose to the rank of Brig. General in the respectable Haganah (the illegal underground jewish militia/terrorist group that has killed numerous innocents). We learn that the United States Government actually allowed Col. Marcus to travel to Palestine and commit his murders against the arabs, so long as he used the false name of David Stone. Ironically in the end, Mr. Stone, I mean Mr. Marcus met his end through the hands, or should I say gun barrel of a fellow Jew.

In 1948, Jews from the US, Canada, Russia and even South Africa came to fight for the rebirth of the Jewish Nation. However most of these "seeds of Abraham" did not find the desert surrounding too appealing and returned to their host countries in swarms, after ofcoarse, killing scores of arabs, and destroying their villages. Most countries turned a blind eye, overlooking the atrocities their citizens had commited abroad.

I give this book 1 star on account that luckily it wasnt very long or deep, and I was able to read it at the store, and did not have to pay money to buy it.

One question I had after reading this book was this; if the vast majority of Jews are white, why are they claiming land in the heart of the Mid-East as their homeland? But I guess small minds are only capable of small thoughts.

Could not put this one down. A facinating book !.......1998-10-15

True stories about Americans who volunteered to serve Israel at the time of her struggle for Independance. Americans can be proud of the military contributions they made to the fledgling zionist state with extremely limited military resources struggling against powerful Arab countries.

FANTASTIC, THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ........1998-10-07

EVERY ONE IN THE WORLD SHOULD READ THIS BOOK. YOU CANNOT PUT IT DOWN ONCE YOU START IT. THE AUTHORS HAVE DONE A SUPER JOB IN RESEARCH. ANY ONE THAT HAS EVER BEEN IN AVIATION SHOUL HAVE A GREAT INTEREST IN READING THIS BOOK. SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE NEVER KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT THE WAR IN ISRAEL AND SHOULD KNOW ALL THE FRUSTRATIONS AND FACTS. THE AUTHORS HAVE A TENDENCY TO WANDER BUT THEY HAVE CREATED AN EXCELLENT BOOK.

Average customer rating:

One of my favorites as a kid

My Sister's Keeper
Beverly Butler
Manufacturer: Dodd Mead
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0396087442

Customer Reviews:

One of my favorites as a kid.......2006-11-11

I read this book more times than I can count as a girl growing up in Wisconsin. The fact that it was set in the state where I lived helped connect me to it, but it's also just a good story for anyone who, like me, loves historical fiction.

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