American Mourning: The Intimate Story of Two Families Joined by War, Torn by Beliefs

American Mourning: The Intimate Story of Two Families Joined by War, Torn by Beliefs
Average customer rating:

Loss and hatred on opposite paths

Unfair to both sides

American Mourning was a great book

American Mourning

A picture of the real heart of Americans.

American Mourning: The Intimate Story of Two Families Joined by War, Torn by Beliefs
Catherine Moy , and Melanie Morgan
Manufacturer: WND Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America

ASIN: 1581825404
Release Date: 2006-10-16

Book Description

American Mourning is the story of two American families whose sons died in the war on terror. Casey Sheehan and Justin Johnson had been best friends since they first met at Fort Hood in Texas; they were killed within five days of each other in separate ambushes in Sadr City, Iraq, during Holy Week of 2004.

As the Sheehan and Johnson families have mourned their unimaginable loss, they have had little else in common and have taken entirely different paths as they mourned. Justin's father, Joe Johnson, followed his son to Baghdad, slogging through the open sewers of Iraqi slums to see where Justin had died and to avenge his death.

Cindy Sheehan wanted another kind of revenge. Blaming President Bush for Casey's death, she called the Muslim radicals who killer her son "freedom fighters" and brought an entourage of antiwar activists and a coalition of the willing press to the president's ranch outside Crawford, Texas. Demanding that the president meet with her in the sweltering Texas summer, she became a media phenomenon and America's best-known antiwar activist since Jane Fonda.

The Sheehans and the Johnsons represent the extremes of grief-stricken parents in war, both families reflecting the gap in how Americans view the war on terror. The Johnson family has bonded closer. Justin's parents have grown nearer; their faith has been strengthened; and their support for the war is stronger than ever. Meanwhile, the Sheehan family has fractured, and Casey's parents have divorced. Cindy says she is no longer a Christian, and her opposition to the war is deeper an dmore bitter than ever.

The bodies of Casey Sheehan and Justin Johnson lie in their hometown graves. Justin's final resting place is decorated with handmade flags and miniature Uncle Sams. Casey's had no marker for two years to tell the world that he lived, fought, and died a hero.

Both Joe and Cindy are shooting at ghosts. Cindy still is. This is their story. The story of American Mourning.

Customer Reviews:

Loss and hatred on opposite paths.......2007-03-22

Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (2/07)

Justin Johnson was raised in Georgia where boys are taught how to use a gun from an early age. Justin enlisted after 9/11. "Mom, things aren't good. It's scary. You wouldn't believe this place. It's messing with our heads. Mom, you just never know. There are kids, ten- to-twelve year-olds and they got machine guns. You don't know: are they friendly or are they the enemy."

Casey Sheehan was raised in California. Casey's mother discouraged her son from enlisting in the army. He was loyal and loved his country. She offered to take him to Canada so that he could avoid Iraq, but he declined.

Casey and Justin met at Fort Hood, Texas. The two became quick friends although they didn't have a lot in common. "Both were quiet, strong, patriotic, and God-loving young men." "Both young men prayed to God and hoped they would make it home to their moms and dads, sisters and brothers."

Justin and Casey were both killed by radical Muslims.

Joe Johnson wanted revenge on the terrorists. He signed up with a unit shipping to Iraq and "swore to God and to Justin that I would go to Iraq and kill as many of them as I could." Joe was filled with hatred. "I could kill all the insurgents and it would never bring Justin back, I don't think I'll really get anything out of it except for maybe that one moment of satisfaction when I finally kill somebody. But as far as long-lasting feelings of satisfaction, I don't think I'll find it in Iraq. There's hardly a day goes by that I don't wish I hadn't a spent more time with him."

Cindy Sheehan was also filled with hatred but she took it a different direction. "She blamed President George W. Bush for Casey's death and called the Muslim radicals who killed Casey and Just "freedom fighters." "Cindy posted herself outside the president's Crawford ranch. She became a media phenomenon, thanks to a campaign by well-paid media experts from the Left." Her grief and the media destroyed her family.

"A parent should never have to bury a child."

Catherine Moy & Melanie Morgan expressively share the tragic story of two young men killed in Iraq, two families torn apart. Moy and Morgan capture and convey the pain and anguish the families are suffering. I found myself in tears as I read this book. The bravery of Justin and Casey is celebrated on these pages. I want to be careful not to state an opinion of the actions of the families for I would not add to their pain. After reading this book, the deaths become more than a news story. This book gives Justin and Casey a face and brings them into you heart. This book describes the divide in American opinion concerning the War on Terror. Regardless of which side of the divide you stand we must never forget the young men and women who are fighting this war. Ms Moy and Morgan are to be commended on their presentation of the heroic lives of these two young men. I highly recommend "America Mourning" to all.

Unfair to both sides.......2007-03-02

This book is one of the saddest pieces of "journalism" I have ever read. It is a smear job on both families. Not just Sheehan, but the ridiculous amount of personal stuff thrown out there on the Jackson's makes the reader wonder: What does any of this have to do with argument? All in all, a book that appears to be profiting from the death of two brave men. I am thoroughly appalled by the words and tactics of the authors. I am apolitical, so maybe I didn't enter this book with the frame of mind necessary to feel good about the dragging through the mud of two brave and decent soldiers families. Is this what they fought and died for? Flat ridiculous.

American Mourning was a great book.......2007-01-10

I mostly read just Stephen King books, but this book was one that I had heard about and decided to purchase. I was very glad to read about one family that cared so much for their son that his father enlisted to avenge his son's death. Unfortunatly, reading about Cindy Sheehan only wanted me to get a gun and shoot her. She did nothing but lie and kept her family from mourning their son's death. I really enjoyed this book.

American Mourning.......2007-01-10

If the authores would of just stuck with the story it would of been a 5 star for me. It had too many political judgements but all in all it was a good story. I heard they are thinking of making a movie out of this book. That I would like to see but I hope they focus more on the Soldiers and not so much on the politics.

A picture of the real heart of Americans........2007-01-10

A 'must read' for those who are only hearing the anti-America retoric of the liberal minority. There are still Americans who are proud of what our country still stands for. GP

With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa

Average customer rating:

Gutted
BEST WW2 BOOK EVER!!! ....so far.....
This is the best book ever written by an American Combat Veteran
My father on cover of later editions aiming weapon
With The Old Breed

With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa
E. B. Sledge
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Accessories:

Rising Sun

ASIN: 0195067142

Book Description

In his own book, Wartime, Paul Fussell called With the Old Breed "one of the finest memoirs to emerge from any war." John Keegan referred to it in The Second World War as "one of the most arresting documents in war literature." And Studs Terkel was so fascinated with the story he interviewed its author for his book, "The Good War." What has made E.B. Sledge's memoir of his experience fighting in the South Pacific during World War II so devastatingly powerful is its sheer honest simplicity and compassion. Now including a new introduction by Paul Fussell, With the Old Breed presents a stirring, personal account of the vitality and bravery of the Marines in the battles at Peleliu and Okinawa. Born in Mobile, Alabama in 1923 and raised on riding, hunting, fishing, and a respect for history and legendary heroes such as George Washington and Daniel Boone, Eugene Bondurant Sledge (later called "Sledgehammer" by his Marine Corps buddies) joined the Marines the year after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and from 1943 to 1946 endured the events recorded in this book. In those years, he passed, often painfully, from innocence to experience. Sledge enlisted out of patriotism, idealism, and youthful courage, but once he landed on the beach at Peleliu, it was purely a struggle for survival. Based on the notes he kept on slips of paper tucked secretly away in his New Testament, he simply and directly recalls those long months, mincing no words and sparing no pain. The reality of battle meant unbearable heat, deafening gunfire, unimaginable brutality and cruelty, the stench of death, and, above all, constant fear. Sledge still has nightmares about "the bloody, muddy month of May on Okinawa." But, as he also tellingly reveals, the bonds of friendship formed then will never be severed. Sledge's honesty and compassion for the other marines, even complete strangers, sets him apart as a memoirist of war. Read as sobering history or as high adventure, With the Old Breed is a moving chronicle of action and courage.

Customer Reviews:

Gutted.......2007-10-08

I watched much of The War this weekend on PBS. Ken Burns leans heavily on Eugene Sledge's account of war, and that tells me that Burns at least knows genius writing when he reads it.

Sledge may be the best writer from the 20th century that most people have never heard of. His language is harrowing and detailed and does not spare any details about the chaos and misery and ineffable singular experience that is war. I truly believe that he lived through Peleliu and Okinawa, so he could compile his writings and share them with the world. How else can you explain the same person living through two of the nastiest battles of the 20th century?

Buy this book. Share it with everyone you know.

BEST WW2 BOOK EVER!!! ....so far............2007-10-04

This book was a pleasure to read. Not that I find pleasure in the horrors of war, I do not, but this book is so well written. I gets into the real nitty-gritties of every day life at war fighting a fearsome enemy. This book was the first book to ever give me a real glimpse of the totality of war on the foot soldier. There are many great books on WW2 out there, this definetly has to be one of the best! GET THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW!!! you wont regret it.

This is the best book ever written by an American Combat Veteran.......2007-10-04

This book is about combat. Nothing more. It is horrifying. It is well written. It is too well written. If you read this book, you will understand combat. Not "war", but combat. That's Mr. Sledge's goal. He wants the rest of us to understand the horror of combat. This is the best book on combat by an American combat veteran. The only combat book that is better is "The Forgotten Soldier" by Guy Sajer, a German soldier on the Russian front during WWII. Both of these books will make you cry like a baby. Read them back to back & I promise that you will have nightmares.

My father on cover of later editions aiming weapon.......2007-10-03

I read the old copy of this twice. Imagine my surprise when my son sent me a blown up photo of the cover and I am staring at my father aiming his weapon as I remember him when he was young! He fought at Okinawa and out of his entire battalion only he and five others came back (& wounded at that). When I was little after the War, and Daddy was drinking, he used to describe some of war's horrors to my mother and his friends when he thought I wasn't listening. He would talk about a man named Sledge who was nicknamed, "Sledgehammer." Although my father kept his sense of humor about some of war's crazy happenings, he never recovered fully and drank when it became too much. He lost all of his buddies in battle. When Daddy died in 1981, I thought, "Well, he is with them, now." Sledge's accounts exactly match my father's from the late 1940s.

With The Old Breed.......2007-08-17

Wow!!! Sledge eloquently exposes the misery and ultimate madness of war. We owe much to our brave soldiers. All politicians should read this book to gain a sense of the sacrifice that our soldiers,past and present, have endured.

Average customer rating:

candid memoir of 70-80's American food in the midwest
Is it more a problem of poverty or lack of substance?
Awesome Book
Great book!
a fun, educational and interesting read

Stealing Buddha's Dinner: A Memoir
Bich Minh Nguyen
Manufacturer: Viking Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0670038326

Book Description

A vivid, funny, and viscerally powerful memoir about childhood, assimilation, food, and growing up in the 1980s

As a Vietnamese girl coming of age in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Bich Nguyen is filled with a rapacious hunger for American identity. In the pre-PC era Midwest, where the devoutly Christian blond-haired, blue-eyed Jennifers and Tiffanys reign supreme, Nguyen's barely conscious desire to belong transmutes into a passion for American food. More exotic seeming than her Buddhist grandmother's traditional specialties—spring rolls, delicate pancakes stuffed with meats, fried shrimp cakes—the campy, preservative-filled “delicacies” of mainstream America capture her imagination. And in this remarkable book, the glossy branded allure of such American foods as Pringles, Kit Kats, and Toll House cookies become an ingenious metaphor for her struggle to fit in, to become a “real” American.

Beginning with Nguyen's family's harrowing migration from Saigon in 1975, Stealing Buddha's Dinner is nostalgic and candid, deeply satisfying and minutely observed, and stands as a unique vision of the immigrant experience and a lyrical ode to how identity is often shaped by the things we long for.

Customer Reviews:

candid memoir of 70-80's American food in the midwest.......2007-09-11

"Stealing Buddha's Dinner" is as much Ms. Nguyen's story as it is mine. Ms. Nguyen reflects back on her childhood memories of TV commericials of Kool Aid, Carnation Instant Breakfast, and Hamburger Helper; her Dutch neighborhood of pork chops and shepard's pie; her grandmother's canh chua and bo xao voi hanh; and as if that wasn't enough, her stepmother Rosa's sopas. Throughout it all, Ms. Nguyen tries to find her identity in all these clashing cultures, desperately wanting to fit in, only to find solace in solitude, TV, and books. But perhaps the greatest mystery is what happened to her real mother.

It's truly a touching story of what it means to be an American with Asian eyes and black hair.

Is it more a problem of poverty or lack of substance?.......2007-08-29

This book is non-commital yet oddly angry and unsympathetic toward the narrator's kin: an ill-fitting immigrant step-mother, her ill-suited marraige and their whole patchwork family hold much potential for warmth and growth...but achieve none. Through the book I hoped for some grace, beauty or forgiveness - that the young narrator might find a connection to her family, her community or her nation(s).

At times there are glimpes of a connection, but in the end all of her self-pitiful assessments remain: her sisters were mean, father was distant, step-mother was an overly ambitious, class-confused control freak.

I'd hoped to learn that these fabulous, interesting people- her father, sisters, step-mother, and so-called friends (nothing more to her than ineffective stepping-stones to social success) actually had valid motives and had made valiant efforts, but in the end it was simple: they had not understood her and she had not understood them.

Most importantly, I learned that through her young life she'd been miserable. She'd wanted a lot of foods and other things she couldn't have, which was startlingly familiar to me because I was a kid at this time and I was poor too! I wanted all of those fabulous things like potato chips and soda-pop and barbie dolls, and I didn't get any of it either.

So perhaps this book is most eloquent as a story about growing up poor in America. Perhaps the difference between being a second generation immigrant and a fourth generation immigrant isn't so great as the difference between being poor and not being poor.

Or perhaps I read too much into this book, which may in fact just be about an angry girl who didn't know or get what she wanted.

If you're looking for an introduction into this time period and into an overlooked American population, or if you want an overview/example of the history and experience of Vietnamese/American refugee/immigrants, this is a good start...very simple and skimming the surface.

But for some really excellent and available Vietnamese literature, try "Novel without a Name" or "Paradise of the Blind" and for the Vietnamese-American experience, consider Le Ly Hayslip's "When Heaven & Earth Changed Places", for starters...for those who want to start with a little depth.

Awesome Book.......2007-08-23

This is an excellent book about growing up as a first generation american. I really identified witht the authors story. I also really enjoyed her style and all the awesome discriptions of food. Every time I finished a chapter, I wanted to get some pringles or a hostess cupcake. However, the thing I liked the most was that after reading this book, I realized that I was not alone. As a child I always felt different, but now that I am college I have learned to embrace who I am because being different is ok. Buy this book! Its great!

Great book!.......2007-07-05

I thought this book was excellent! Bich's memories of food, books and life in the 80s brought a ton of my own memories back to me. I may go back and read the Little House series again! :-) Very well written and compelling. I immediately passed it on to my mom who enjoyed it as well.

a fun, educational and interesting read.......2007-06-09

Growing up in Wisconsin I remember very well when many Vietnamese came to live in and around our city. Bich Ninh Nguyen brings her experience to life from the immigrants perspective and I felt as if I was there with her all along the way. This is an excellently writen book.

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

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Calculations are only as good as your numbers
Pants on fire?
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Very Interesting
History as Science Fiction

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
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ASIN: 2913621058

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Ugly Americans: The True Story of the Ivy League Cowboys Who Raided the Asian Markets for Millions

Average customer rating:

Great book
An Exciting Read and Look into the Asian "Wall St"
Not even that interesting
Much ado about not so much
A story of the people, not of the business

Ugly Americans: The True Story of the Ivy League Cowboys Who Raided the Asian Markets for Millions
Ben Mezrich
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Release Date: 2005-04-26

Amazon.com

Ugly Americans documents the "Wild East" of the mid-1990s, where young, brilliant, and hypercompetitive traders became "hedge fund cowboys," manipulating loopholes in an outdated and inefficient Asian financial system to rake in millions. Using a concept called arbitrage, they made their fortunes mainly on minute shifts in stocks being sold on the Nikkei, the Japanese stock market, collapsing banks and nearly bankrupting the Japanese economy in the process. Other schemes were also concocted, most of which were technically legal, though certainly unethical. This true story revolves around "John Malcolm," who, in exchange for anonymity, agreed to give Ben Mezrich all the access and information he needed to write this book. As a recent Princeton graduate in the mid-1990s, Malcolm accepted an undefined job offer from an American expatriate in Japan to work in the investments field. Though he had no prior experience, he facilitated 25 million dollars worth of trades on his first day on the job, and it just got more exciting from there. He soon joined a small group of expatriates, all in their twenties and mostly Ivy League graduates, who lived like rock stars, thriving on the stress and excitement of their jobs to create their own steroid versions of the American Dream half a world away. Mezrich tells this riveting story well, incorporating elements of the culture into his narrative, including the infamous and pervasive Japanese "Water Trade," or sex business, romantic intrigue, and even run-ins with the Yakuza, the Japanese mafia. Though there is little real analysis of their financial dealings and how they ultimately changed the rules of finance in Asia, this entertaining page turner does offer a glimpse into a world little explored in print until now. --Shawn Carkonen

Book Description

Ben Mezrich, author of the New York Times bestseller Bringing Down the House, returns with an astonishing story of Ivy League hedge-fund cowboys, high stakes, and the Asian underworld.

John Malcolm was the ultimate gunslinger in the Wild East, prepared to take on any level of risk in making mind-boggling sums of money. He and his friends were hedge-fund cowboys, living life on the adrenaline-, sex-, and drugs-fueled edge—kids running billion-dollar portfolios, trading information in the back rooms of high-class brothels and at VIP tables in nightclubs across the Far East.

Malcolm and his Ivy League-schooled twenty-something colleagues, with their warped sense of morality, created their own economic theory that would culminate in a single deal the likes of which had never been seen before—or since.

Ugly Americans is a story of extremes, charged with wealth, nerve, excess, and glamour. A real-life mixture of Liar's Poker and Wall Street, brimming with intense action, romance, underground sex, vivid locales, and exotic characters, Ugly Americans is the untold true story that rocked the financial community.

Customer Reviews:

Great book.......2007-10-19

Another of Ben Mezrich's books which does not evolve around card-counting. It has a similar structure to his other books, which I find very interesting - a story which would take place somewhere in the past is followed up by an interview today. Very high-paced read when you can't wait to find out what happens next. Also gives a very vivid insight into Japanese business ethics and way of life. I have enjoyed every page of it.

An Exciting Read and Look into the Asian "Wall St".......2007-09-12

For those who enjoyed the movie "Boiler Room," this book is a must-read. Mezrich tells the tale of wannabe big-time US investors who use the opening of the Japanese stock market to weasel in and stretch the law and their own morality to make deals and steals. It's an honest, gritty portrayal of the Asian nightlife and the ex-pat's who work hard by day and play hard after the bell signals close. You don't need to be a swing-trader to enjoy it; this is a great book for those who either want to learn about big stock trading or just read an adventure about a ex-football player who got roped into a shady, billion-dollar enterprise.
The characters are as real as they can get on paper. The protagonist is trying to make the one big score and get out and the antagonists are just reprehensible enough to remind you of business folks you know in your life. Add in Yakuza (Japanese Mafia), black market plotlines, and the urban backdrops of Osaka and Tokyo and you have a real grabber. It was tough to put this one down and the ending does not dissappoint.

Not even that interesting.......2007-07-31

I really enjoyed the author's other two works, which I read quite quickly. Whether they were totally factual or not was immaterial...they were fun and interesting reads. This book disappoints. I didn't find the story interesting or fast moving. The "danger" element seemed forced, almost as if it was added in to "spice things up".

If you're looking for a fast reading "true" story of big money makers, try Mezrich's other books. Avoid this one, whether you're a Mezrich fan or not.

Much ado about not so much.......2007-07-21

This book had a very similar tone to the "Breaking Vegas" book, which is not unexpected given that the books were written by the same author-- however, too much stylistic overlap is still too much.

On the good side:

1. The writing was fast, light, and easy to follow. Not needing of too much concentration, and something that can be picked right up and settled into.
2. There was some explanation about the concept of arbitrage.
3. There was interesting insight into the sex-for-sale culture of Japan. This alone could have spun off and made a whole new book.

On the bad side:

1. The explanation of the nuts and bolts of trading was too thin. It might have only taken one extra chapter to give us the details that many of us who bought the book were looking for.
2. I wonder how much the author *really* knew, given that he used the word "farang" to describe foreigners-- even though that word is 100% Thai. Was he throwing in technical terms to make it *look* like he had done his homework? And if he made that mistake, how many others did he make that we might not have recognized?
3. It might also have been interesting to get a better idea of just how much the Japanese government and Yakuza were in bed together. Is this really the case? Or is this poetic license? There were more than a few topics in this book that just weren't covered as much as a reader might have liked-- though I can appreciate that this is done for the sake of brevity. (An extra bit here and an extra bit there, and the next thing you know you have a book that is as overwrought with detail and most of what Ayn Rand has written.)

A story of the people, not of the business.......2007-07-15

This book is clearly written to entertain rather than inform, as it orders the exposition of events to maximize suspense rather than efficiency of information presentation. Additionally, it is a very shallow read, revealing absolutely nothing about the mechanics of trading or the business operations of the financial world, focusing instead on the lavish and crazy lifestyles of the rich and tasteless who run this world. For example, the author constantly refers to Nikkei trades done by the people in this book but never explains what it is about the trades that these men made that makes them so special. As an entertaining read, this book gets 3 stars, but as an exposition on hedge funds or stock trading this book gets 0 stars.

Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter (Laurel-Leaf Books)

Average customer rating:

Was it that bad?
I could not put it down
Chinese Cinderella
Great book for a pre-teen
Amazing Efforts

Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter (Laurel-Leaf Books)
Adeline Yen Mah
Manufacturer: Laurel Leaf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0440228654
Release Date: 2001-03-13

Amazon.com

Chinese Cinderella is the perfect title for Adeline Yen Mah's compelling autobiography in which, like the fairy-tale maiden, her childhood was ruled by a cruel stepmother. "Fifth Younger Sister" or "Wu Mei," as Yen Mah was called, is only an infant when her father remarries after her mother's death. As the youngest of her five siblings, Wu Mei suffers the worst at the hands of her stepmother Niang. She is denied carfare, frequently forgotten at school at the end of the day, and whipped for daring to attend a classmate's birthday party against Niang's wishes. Her father even forgets the spelling of her name when filling out her school enrollment record. In her loneliness, Wu Mei turns to books for company: "I was alone with my beloved books. What bliss! To be left in peace with Cordelia, Regan, Gonoril, and Lear himself--characters more real than my family... What happiness! What comfort!" Even though Wu Mei is repeatedly moved up to grades above those of her peers, it is only when she wins an international play-writing contest in high school that her father finally takes notice and grants her wish to attend college in England. Despite her parent's heartbreaking neglect, she eventually becomes a doctor and realizes her dream of being a writer.

Teens, with their passionate convictions and strong sense of fair play, will be immediately enveloped in the gross injustice of Adeline Yen Mah's story. A complete glossary, historical notes on the state of Chinese society and politics during Yen Mah's childhood, and the legend of the original Chinese Cinderella round out this stirring testimony to the strength of human character and the power of education. (Ages 10 to 15) --Jennifer Hubert

Book Description

A riveting memoir of a girl's painful coming-of-age in a wealthy Chinese family during the 1940s.

A Chinese proverb says, "Falling leaves return to their roots." In Chinese Cinderella, Adeline Yen Mah returns to her roots to tell the story of her painful childhood and her ultimate triumph and courage in the face of despair. Adeline's affluent, powerful family considers her bad luck after her mother dies giving birth to her. Life does not get any easier when her father remarries. She and her siblings are subjected to the disdain of her stepmother, while her stepbrother and stepsister are spoiled. Although Adeline wins prizes at school, they are not enough to compensate for what she really yearns for -- the love and understanding of her family.

Following the success of the critically acclaimed adult bestseller Falling Leaves, this memoir is a moving telling of the classic Cinderella story, with Adeline Yen Mah providing her own courageous voice.

Customer Reviews:

Was it that bad?.......2007-07-24

This is a better written book than Falling Leaves, the author's first book. It detailed the childhood of the unwanted daughter with better mix of "good and bad" and less bitterness came through the book.

While I shared the pain of being rejected and unaccepted by her parents, the author should appreciate and be thankful of what she had....loving Grandparents, Aunt Baba and good education which was the foundation of her success.

Think about tens and thousands of unwanted daughters in China who are abandoned by their parents daily.....they don't know who their parents are and have no sightline of their basic needs. The chance of being sent to prestige schools and study oversea is nil...I bet those unwanted daughters will trade the author's place at a heartbeat.

I could not put it down.......2007-07-02

I simply could not put this book down. I was absorbed the entire time. A story of miraculous courage and triumph, it reminds its readers that the love of human relationships is essential in this life, for without it one does not have much. I am excited to order it as a classroom novel for my 7th grade reading class!!! It is truly worth one's time.

Chinese Cinderella.......2007-05-19

Have you ever felt like you were unwanted? Have you have felt hated like nobody likes or wants you? Well if you know this felling you would have close ties to this book. Also for the record Adeline Yen Mah has felt like that since she was born. So I haven't thought that it couldn't get worse because it really can get worse.
The book is a biography of her life while she was in China. The book covers most of her life but it is more of her childhood not her most recent life. It describes the sadness that Adeline has been through. It in the first chapter It says everyone hated her because three days after she was born her mother came down with a high fever and died two weeks after she was born. So she never got to now her real mother. Her father remarries and all his children didn't like her but they were forced to call her niang (which in Chinese means mother) which none of them think of her as their real mother they all didn't like her. Her stepmother always abused her and never liked her she only liked the kids that she had gave life to. So she always abused her younger and older siblings.
I actually could compare this book a little to my own life. I haven't felt as unwanted or as hated as she has. I also haven't been abused like she has. I haven't actually really been abused all that much. But I have felt unwanted before. I haven't been abused like had been I haven't ever been abused that much.
Over all I would give this book a 10 out of 10. It only has 200 pages altogether so it won't take you a very long time. It is a very good read. It would take you maybe a weekend or two to read it. That is why I gave it a 10 out of 10.
I would recommend this book to anyone but it would be more of an adult book. It has way too much sadness for a young child. Also if it for an adult one of them people that are always happy and peppy and think that nothing can ever happen too them. It will be a real eye opener because they will realize it could really happen to them. So then they won't be going around saying "my life can't get any worse".

Great book for a pre-teen.......2007-04-24

I picked up this book the other week for my 12-year-old daughter after browsing thru the bookstores for something outta the norm for her. I bought it solely on the back-cover synopsis -- mine being an only child and doted on for the most part. I kind of expected her to glance at the cover and half-heartedly browse thru it. I was so wrong! She read it in a few days! She's always been into books -- but of her own choosing: Harry Potter and/or Lemony Snickett, fantasies and the like. After she put it down each night, she would tell me a bit about what she just read. Believe me, she's NEVER done that before. She said it truly was a cinderella story, and wondered why no one would help the little girl more. She showed alot of empathy for Adeline as a child. What I think I'm trying to convey is that it is a book written to touch the soul of the young reader -- something the author succeeded so well at.

Amazing Efforts.......2007-03-29

I strongly recommend the book Chinese Cinderella to people who do not mind a book that might make them cry. This book was a page-turner because while reading it, you just have to find out what happens next. Anyone with a strong heart will enjoy this book because it is so amazing what this little girl went through. While reading this book, there were some parts I felt like I was about to break down and cry, but there were others where I wanted to meet Adeline Yen Mah and congratulate her for her amazing efforts.

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations One School at a Time

Average customer rating:

READ THIS BOOK TODAY!
Three Cups of Tea
Couldn't put it down
Great Book
Three Cups of Tea

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations One School at a Time

Manufacturer: Tantor Media
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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Suite Francaise

ASIN: 1400102510

Book Description

RunTime: 14 hrs, 12 CDs. The inspiring account of one man's campaign to build schools in the most dangerous, remote, and anti- American reaches of Asia.

Customer Reviews:

READ THIS BOOK TODAY!.......2007-10-20

As a little girl, my dad used to tell me there were only two things that I needed to do in this world. I needed to save my soul and I needed to make the world a better place for others to live. To this date i've been struggling with what this means and how I am to go about applying these principles in my day to day life. After reading this book I have never felt more inspired to take action. Greg Mortenson's story shows us how with vision and perseverance one can make a difference. It has the power to encourage you to do more, to question how little you've done to date and urges you to think globally and act now. This book should be mandatory reading and I will go above and beyond in recommending it to every single person I know. Without a doubt, the key to peace is sound education, in providing the opportunity of knowledge and encouraging children to think for themselves. There couldn't be a better book on the shelf today. READ THIS.

Three Cups of Tea.......2007-10-19

The book was very timely & well written. I was a pleasure to read about the good that was done for the children.

Couldn't put it down.......2007-10-18

This amazing story will capture your heart and keep you glued to your chair turing page after page. Hats off to Dr. Greg and all who help allieviate the worlds problems one person at a time.

Great Book.......2007-10-18

This is a great novel, I also recommend "Detained Differences" by J. Robert Rowe. That is also a great Afghanistan novel as well.

Three Cups of Tea.......2007-10-17

It was a book required to read in an English class. The book has a good message.

Happy Birthday or Whatever: Track Suits, Kim Chee, and Other Family Disasters

Average customer rating:

pretty awesome esp. if you grew up with a crazy asian mom
A bucket of laughs and gems :)
Annie is so Good
I wish I had written this!
Funny!

Happy Birthday or Whatever: Track Suits, Kim Chee, and Other Family Disasters
Annie Choi
Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

African-American & Black | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0061132225
Release Date: 2007-04-03

Book Description

Meet Annie Choi. She fears cable cars and refuses to eat anything that casts a shadow. Her brother thinks chicken is a vegetable. Her father occasionally starts fires at work. Her mother collects Jesus trading cards and wears plaid like it's a job. No matter how hard Annie and her family try to understand one another, they often come up hilariously short.

But in the midst of a family crisis, Annie comes to realize that the only way to survive one another is to stick together . . . as difficult as that might be. Annie Choi's Happy Birthday or Whatever is a sidesplitting, eye-opening, and transcendent tale of coping with an infuriating, demanding, but ultimately loving Korean family.

Customer Reviews:

pretty awesome esp. if you grew up with a crazy asian mom.......2007-10-02

hilarious and heartfelt, Annie Choi's book made me laugh out loud, and explained to the rest of the world what it's like to grow up Asian American or specifically, with nutty but loving parents who can barely communicate with you. Except in "Engrish" that is. However, the funniest thing she has written in my opinion was her "Open Letter To Architects" which is not in this collection. Good stuff though.

A bucket of laughs and gems :).......2007-07-31

What a great read! Almost every other page of Annie Choi's "Happy Birthday of Whatever" got me laughing to tears. Annie Choi does a wonderful job of putting humor and a little exaggerated drama in describing her relationship w/ her parents, especially that with her mother. Pick it up - you won't be disappointed!

Annie is so Good.......2007-06-20

The book is funny. The writer is so clean in her prose, so elegant in her descriptions, and so honest in her feelings. The book is moving. It is the story of a daughter with a blueprint to her mother's heart and roads that will lead beyond it. I highly recommend this book: because it is pertinently funny and universally accurate as a work on how we learn from the women who believe: will always be.

I wish I had written this!.......2007-05-29

Touching, sweet, and best of all, funny! As a first generation Korean- American, I thought many of the scenes could have been lifted from my own childhood. I look forward to Ms. Choi's future work.

Funny!.......2007-05-15

Very funny book -- crazy/real situations and Choi has a good turn of phrase. More than a few parts had me laughing out loud like a crazy woman. Definitely looking forward to what she writes next.

On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family

Average customer rating:

Made a nice gift
Incredible Book
generational story
Engaging and educational...
Fascinating

On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family
Lisa See
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Chinese | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0679768521
Release Date: 1996-08-27

Book Description

Out of the stories heard in her childhood in Los Angeles's Chinatown and years of research, See has constructed this sweeping chronicle of her Chinese-American family, a work that takes in stories of racism and romance, entrepreneurial genius and domestic heartache, secret marriages and sibling rivalries, in a powerful history of two cultures meeting in a new world. 82 photos.

Customer Reviews:

Made a nice gift.......2007-09-21

The person I gave this to thought it was a very nice read and recommends it.

Incredible Book.......2007-07-31

I am a new fan of Lisa See and I have to say that this is one of the best books I have ever read. It is a fascinating story. There were times I had to remind myself that this was a work of non-fiction. I only wish there were more photographs. A great read and hard to put down.

generational story.......2006-11-10

I like Lisa See's books and this is another example of her fine writing. This time, however, her focus is the story of her own family and their impact on their new country.

Engaging and educational..........2006-11-07

Lisa See is one of those rare authors that can draw you into and keep you engaged in a story weaved with historial significance as well as personal emotions. A must read for any first or second generation immigrant who has always been curious about the lives and struggles of our ancestors who first settled into this new "free" land called America.

Fascinating.......2006-08-27

This is a most interesting book. I am 75 years old and grew up in Los Angeles, visiting Chinatown many times, and knew nothing of the people who lived there, so it was particularly interesting to me. I have read other books by Lisa See and find her to be an excellent writer. I highly recommend this book, especially to people interested in the history of California.

Lipstick Jihad: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America And American in Iran

Average customer rating:

Interesting, but not captivating
Interesting, but somewhat narrow in outlook
vividly forgettable
One Woman's Story
An excellent cultural study

Lipstick Jihad: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America And American in Iran
Azadeh Moaveni
Manufacturer: PublicAffairs
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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We Are Iran: The Persian Blogs

ASIN: 1586483781

Book Description

Now in trade paperback with a Reader's Guide inside: A "compelling...guided tour through the underground youth culture in Tehran...an illuminating book." (The New York Times)

A favorite of readers and critics nationwide, Lipstick Jihad is now available in the format most likely to appeal to its natural market-and it now includes a wealth of new material to interest readers and reading groups. Azadeh Moaveni was born in Palo Alto, California, into the lap of an Iranian diaspora community longing for an Iran many thousands of miles away. As far back as she can remember she felt at odds with her tangled identity. College magnified the clash between Iran and America, and after graduating, she moved to Tehran as a journalist. Immediately, Azadeh's exile fantasies dissolved.

Azadeh finds a country that is culturally confused, politically deadlocked, and emotionally anguished. In order to unlock the fundamental mystery of Iran-how nothing perceptibly alters, but everything changes--she must delve deep into Tehran's edgy underground. Lipstick Jihad is a rare portrait of Tehran, populated by a cast of young people whose exuberance and despair bring the modern reality of Iran to vivid life. Azadeh also reveals her private struggle to build a life in a dark country--the struggle of a young woman of the diaspora, searching for a homeland that may not exist.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting, but not captivating.......2007-07-06

Azadeh Moaveni's "Lipstick Jihad" is interesting and well-written, but not captivating. Much of the criticism from other reviewers revolves around her well-to-do social status and her focus on the young, upper- and middle-class generation with which she seems to have spent her time. Is this an "authentic" description of contemporary Iran? Were this a work of journalism, this critique might be valid, for the book is fully absorbed in the Islamic Republic-style perversions of the otherwise recognizable drama of being a young adult. And one can hardly charge her with misleading the reader on this account, as I can't think of a more apt description of this book's focus than the subtitle itself: "A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America and American in Iran."

The appropriate question to ask is not what the subject of her book is, but how well she has captured it. It is for this that I only give three stars. She rides from interesting anecdote to interesting anecdote, and when discussing her sense of being suspended between Iranian and American identities she can really shine. But her attempts to draw perspective often left me skeptical. She's fully capable of viewing her environment critically, but I'm not convinced she ever transcended it, looked back and encapsulated it for her audience.

When I finished each chapter I was not compelled to start the next and only rarely found myself lost in its pages. I am glad I read the book, and learned much about the political and social dimensions of life in contemporary Iran. But a memoirist's role is larger - even, in some ways, dishonest. For a memoir must universalize the personal, must order and narrate a life that rarely comes with either. In Moaveni's abstraction of her experience she only puts forward an interesting read, not a great one.

Interesting, but somewhat narrow in outlook.......2007-06-09

I enjoyed this book and found it somewhat enlightening about Iran and it was interesting to read how the younger set manages to socialize despite the constant repression by their government. Before going to Iran to live for a time, the author has an idyllic remembrance of a visit there, coupled with the reminicenses of her family. Once she gets there she gets an education of what it's like to live in a society that is in no way free and is governed by religious fanatics.

I was annoyed that she still felt so torn throughout the book - she wanted Iran to be so different, and seemed to consider herself Iranian, never once acknowledging her great good fortune of having been born an American. She never mentioned an appreciation for America, only yearning for a better Iran so she could stay there, and ultimately went to live in Beirut but doesn't say why. She could not have a fulfilled life in America?

Another thing that bothered me was the narrow perspective. She wrote about how the people she socialized with didn't care at all about Islam and weren't religious, thus giving the impression that the only religious fanatics in Iran are the people running the government. She seemed to think that if Iran could go back to a secular government that Islam would no longer be a problem for Iranians. Also I would have liked more depth pertaining to the problems women experience in this type of environment.

vividly forgettable.......2007-05-25

I have no business writing this review, for I read Moaveni's "Lipstick Jihad" over eight months ago, and can recall little about it.

Then why, you may ask, are you writing a review? If you can remember nothing about the characters sketched, the episodes related, the lessons learned, the style employed, etc. -- if none of these things has stuck in your mind, what could you possibly have to say about the book?

My point exactly.

One Woman's Story.......2007-04-21

So many of the reviews I've read focus on the author's upper-middle class status or her secularism as if these things make her less Iranian and therefore less suitable to write a book about being Iranian. Let us not forget that this book is a memoir, it is one woman's story of living in Iran but never really feeling like an Iranian. It's not a history book nor is it political commentary, though it does delve into both subjects. It is, however, an incredibly honest depiction of an American-born journalist's life in Iran during Khatami's presidency.
I know the reason I loved this book so much is because of all the parallels I can draw between the author's life and my own. "Lipstick Jihad" is the book I would write if I ever had the opportunity. It's almost eerie reading someone else's words all the while thinking they could be your own. No book, no picture, no film has ever made me ache for Iran like this book has. And I know this book won't and can't affect everyone the way it has me, but it is definitely worth reading to find out.

An excellent cultural study.......2007-03-31

I dare say that Azadeh Moaveni's book "Lipstick Jihad" will enter into the classics of cultural studies. Unlike its derisive title, the book is probably one of the most insightful of its kind. Moaveni is no doubt a skillful writer, and to have been able to write with such wisdom and clarity at such young age smacks of brilliance. As a diasporic Iranian living in the US for the past thirty years, I resonate to her work in absolute understanding, sentence by sentence, although I belong to her father's generation. Moaveni manages to trespass boundaries and generations. There are so many great statements in the book that it could be called a book of proverbs. My favorites? I found statements on every page that bedazzled me with her wit, satire, bitterness, sarcasm, and perceptiveness. Here are a few:

On fatwa against poodles: "Iranians felt a harsh contempt for the clerics, who had taken over an oil-rich country in the name of Islam, sunk its economy, and now spent their days railing against poodles."

On the difference between expressing herself in Farsi and English: "I tried to explain, dismayed to see notions like "I need space" evaporate into meaninglessness in Farsi. It was as though the soft, soap-opera lighting of English had been witched off, and replaced by harsh, fluorescent glare of Farsi."

About her favorite caf in Tehran: "It was the only caf in Tehran designed with innovative elegance and attracted young people starved for aesthetic beauty - the artists, writers, and musicians whose sensibilities suffered acutely in a city draped with grim billboards of war martyrs."

On the prohibition of mingling of genders, and its results for Islamization of the Iranian society: "The Tehran of the revolution was one of the most sexualized milieus I had ever encountered...the constant exposure to covered flesh brought to mind, well, flesh."

On the harassment of women by men for their lack of proper Islamic attire: "This is how the regime eased its burden of repression: by conditioning people to police one another. If you had conducted a national referendum that very day, the vast majority of Iranians - men and women alike - would have voted to abolish the mandatory veil. But accustomed to being watched in public, people internalized the minding gaze of the regime, and turned it back outward. "

About the Iranian culture: "Here is [a] culture liberal with affection but stingy with tolerance."

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