Book Description
Swanee Hunt’s life has lived up to her Texas-size childhood. Daughter of legendary oil magnate H. L. Hunt, she grew up in a household dominated by an arch-conservative patriarch who spawned a brood of colorful offspring. Her family was nothing if not zealous, and that zealâalbeit for more compassionate causesâpropelled her into a mission that reaches around the world.
Half-Life of a Zealot tells how the girl who spoke against âRedsâ alongside her father became a fierce advocate for progressive change in America and abroad, an innovative philanthropist, and Bill Clinton’s Ambassador to Austria. In captivating prose, Hunt describes the warmth and wear of Southern Baptist culture, which instilled in her a calling to help those who are vulnerable. The reader is drawn into her full-throttle professional life as it competes with critical family needs.
Hunt gives a remarkably frank account of her triumphs and shortcomings; her sorrows, including a miscarriage and the failure of a marriage; the joys and struggles of her second marriage; and her angst over the life-threatening illness of one of her three children. She is candid about the opportunities her fortune has created, as well as the challenge of life as an heiress.
Much of Swanee Hunt’s professional life is devoted to expanding women’s roles in making and shaping public policy. She is the founding director of Harvard’s Women and Public Policy Program at the Kennedy School of Government, chair of the Initiative for Inclusive Security, and president of the Hunt Alternatives Fund.
Swanee Hunt’s autobiography brims over with strong women: her mother, whose religious faith and optimism were an inspiration; her daughter, who fights the social stigma of mental disorders; the women of war-torn Bosnia, who transformed their grief into action; and friends like Hillary Clinton, who used her position as First Lady to strengthen the voices of others.
Hunt is one more strong woman. Half-Life of a Zealot is her storyâso far.
Customer Reviews:
A candid rendition of a zelots' life.......2007-09-03
I am just one-half way through this book but must say, at this point, it is probably one of the "best" books I have ever encountered. The factors contributing to this assessment are readibility, candor, lessons learned that I might use, subject matter and on and on. The author has led an unusual life, not just because she could because of her fortune and fame,but equally because she had the drive and desire to explore, explore and explore so many untested avenues and, in doing so, strengthened her own confidence in pushing even further. At one point she said that she was determined to take on one new challenge every year. She tends to defy the odds--pervailing all along. She climbed in Nepal, ran a marathon while not really in great shape, overcame her fears regarding being in leadership positions, etc., etc. To this point, her life gives me an inspiration that I have not gained from any other reading. I can't recommend it enough. I anticipate reading the section dealing with her diplomatic career. I was at the high end of my mid level employement at the State Department during that period. I am curious to see how we agree, or not, with situations at that time.
One of the Most Revealing Autobiographies You Will Ever Read.......2007-01-06
"Swanee Hunt has taken a phenomenal journey through life and written all about it in her new book and autobiography called 'Half-Life of a Zealot.' I found this book one of the most revealing autobiographies I have ever read. It takes an incredible amount of courage to strip herself bare the way she did so much of the time in this book, and I value that because I really felt I had an opportunity to get to know her. It was not just some kind of political exercise and that's rare -- particularly in politics." -- Barry Gordon on the progressive talk radio show "Barry Gordon From Left Field" (for which I am the producer)
Fabulous book!.......2007-01-03
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can't rave enough about it! Swanee, through her life's work, is an incredible inspiration.
Loung Ung.......2006-12-12
Half-Life of a Zealot is a remarkable book, and Swanee Hunt is a remarkable person. In her introduction, the author quotes Jill Ker Conway who wrote: "The woman autobiographer...cannot depart too dramatically from popularly accepted stereotypes, which affirm the man of action and the suffering or redemptive female. To do so is to risk losing persuasive power." A statement Ms. Hunt agrees with, but; she writes, "rather than feel reluctant about showing my vulnerability, I've wondered if it's safe to show strength." In those two sentences, Ms. Hunt beautifully sets the book's tone of the dualities of her life, one that was lived in isolation, and the other in public; one where love was given freely by her gentle mother, the other often held at bay by her powerful, famous father. With razor sharp intellect, openness, and candor, Ms. Hunt weaves her many lives as politician, daughter, sister, wife, mother, and peace maker into a wonderfully complex tapestry that pulls readers in deeper with each flip of the page. For even with her family's enormous wealth, Half-Life is a universal tale of a child's longings for family, love, and acceptance; and a triumphant story of a woman who grew into her own power and self-worth. Written in a casual and easy to read narrative, Half-Life is filled with unforgettable characters, fascinating events, and enough twists and turns that both mend and break the hearts to make it an engaging read.
The Remarkable Life of an Extraordinary Woman.......2006-11-27
Every person has multiple life themes, but few have so many, in such extreme form, so publicly exposed, and over time so effectively integrated into a life of service and beauty; fewer still are able to tell their story with such candor, vulnerability, generosity and hope.
The externals of Swanee Hunt's life are worthy topics for a library of works: growing up in a family which merged great wealth, religious conservatism, and anti-communist fervor; finding her own gifts as a theologian, composer, philanthropist, civic leader, author and diplomat; learning to trust her instincts and voice to shape a life of radical compassion; engaging the full range of her gifts and resources to lift up the needs and tremendous capabilities of women throughout the world. These stories are well-told and compelling and would be an exceptional work if they were told in the third person.
But this book is at its core the story of one woman's life journey as she has come to terms with those externals and with the joys and challenges of her own complex inner life, with family relations and responsibilities, with her loneliness and love, and with a deep awareness of her own strengths and searching. By revealing the inner and outer complexities of her life so boldly and honestly, Ambassador Hunt has created a work which will resonate deeply in the lives of many others.
I believe this work will have a lasting value, as the expression of a remarkable life, and as a witness and invitation to all who read it to live with similar passion and intentionality for a better world. By sharing her life, Swanee Hunt has helped blaze a pathway for countless other women and men. We can be very grateful for her wisdom and courage.
Book Description
An intimate and darkly comic memoir of a woman who does a 180 with her body.
When she was in her early forties, Frances Kuffel lost half her body weight. In Passing for Thin, Frances describes with unflinching honesty and a wickedly dark sense of humor her first fumbling introductions to her newly slender body, shining a light on the shared human experience of feeling uncomfortable in one’s own skin. She gradually moves from observer to player—enjoying for the first time flirting, exercising, and shopping–as she explores the terrain on the “Planet of Thin.” As Frances gradually comes to know—and love—the stranger in the mirror, she learns that her body does not define her, but enables her to become the woman she’s always wanted to be.
Customer Reviews:
Boring, non-motivational-DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY........2007-08-01
I have read several weight loss stories and this book was THE WORST! Most readers buy weight loss stories/books for encouragement and motivation..this book does neither. Ms. Kuffel starts the book in diary form telling of her feelings during her prior fat and boring life. Then she finds a support group (no detail), and voila, she's 168 lbs. She did not even cover ONE DAY on her diet...what foods she ate, her menu, her thoughts or tactics to keep her from straying, etc.. She did not divulge anything!! All she said was to "abstain from sugar & flour". To be honest, I was quite pee'd off. This book left me empty-DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY. If you'd like a couple great weight loss (motivational) books, I recommend "The Incredible Shrinking Critic" by Jami Bernard or "The Weight Loss Diaries" by Courtney Rubin. They are honest, funny and offer motivational insight.
More than weight loss.......2007-05-23
This book could have used a patient and nurturing editor. There were some sections which were vividly written (Frances' days on "Planet Fat") and other parts (the "work" of OA) which seemed to be hastily written. And, to discuss the weight loss rather than the book, I would speculate that one reason Frances has difficulty maintaining a healthier weight is that she may have something of an addiction to her prior identity as a "Fat Girl."
All this aside, I read this book as more than just one woman's journey from Planet Fat to the land of the average bodied. What I looked at was how someone was able to change their identity...or at least, work on changing their identity. In the author's case, she found the support to do so in the community of OA, in carefully and consciously restructuring her environment (the weighing and measuring of food, the daily calls). She then found that when she achieved her goal, there was still more work to be done...learning how to dress, relate, handle social rejection, to assimilate herself in middle age to the average sized world with its own issues and problems.
Would be inspiring if she hadn't gained the weight back.......2007-05-19
I read this book last summer when I was on vacation in Cape Cod. It takes a decent book to keep you glued to your beach chair instead of enjoying the ocean, but I was hooked. Then I got home from vacation and Googled "France Kuffel" only to discover that Frances was fat again. What a disappointment. It sort of negated all her efforts and my time. From what I can tell about her life today, she is walking dogs and obsessing about things, which leads me to conclude that the real root of her problems are mental and the fat is just a symptom. Nonetheless, her willingness to reveal all the personal details of her life is commendable, as many of them are very easy to relate to for those of us carrying extra pounds.
Humorous, Honest, and Compelling.......2006-12-28
This is a great book. Frances Kuffel bares her soul and hits the nail on the head describing the sadness and shame of obesity. She also reveals her charm and uniqueness that reminds us of the value of each soul. She did it - she lost the weight and has kept it off. It doesn't change the journey of the lessons of life, but it makes it much easier to move and breath, and be acceptable to society. Parts of this book made me laugh, and parts made me cry. Bravo!
Frances, one day at a time.......2006-10-27
I bought Frances's book about 5 years ago and have read it four times since. I keep going back to her story amongst all my "fat power" and "feminist issue" books. Frances has every right to boost herself up. Any reader who thinks that Frances is over-confident or arrogant in her self-description is completely off track. You see, those of us who have battled with food addiction and extra weight from early childhood are a distinct species, constantly assuaging our pain and insecurity with the comfort of food. No reader can tell me that they have no compulsions, addictions, absurdities or quirks that help them "feel better" in their daily lives. To call Frances ugly or plain or anything derogatory is only revealing your own insecurities, possibly of thinking those very same things about yourself, even if only subconsciously.
No, after reading and re-reading Frances's book, I feel her pain, understand her mentality completely and live the same inner battle every day of my life. Frances, I did find your web site and see that you've re-gained a lot of your weight. This is not the end. I too lost over 80 pounds at one point in my life by severe deprivation and gained all plus some back. Any addict can read your book and identify. Addicts are not quite right in the head and I fall into that category. Addiction runs in my family, both parents. To "beat" the addiction is coming to full awareness of your true nature and finally just letting go and accepting and loving yourself. Frances, I'm not there yet either but you are not alone in your journey.
I've had so many "Day One" days that finally, one of these days, "Day One" will be the first day of a lot of hard work to put the pieces back together inside of me and start healing. To all the women out there who know what I'm talking about...feel free to email me and we'll do this journey together. You too, Frances. I'll check into your blog regularly. Chin up.
Book Description
In 1975, at the age of forty, Richard Raskind, a renowned eye surgeon and highly ranked amateur tennis player, "died," and Renée Richards was "born," in what was to become the most public and highly scrutinized sex reassignment to date. It was not until Renée Richards was discovered playing in an amateur tennis tournament that the world took notice. Extensive media coverage and criticism thrust Renée reluctantly into the spotlight, sparking an intense public debate over her private life. Now, at seventy-two, Richards looks back and speaks frankly about all aspects of her complicated and often notorious life in this eye-opening, thought-provoking memoir.
Richards' honest and compelling narrative explores the dichotomy between the successful life she lived as Dr. Richard Raskind, who seemed to have everything (devoted friends, a beautiful wife and son, a stellar record of academic and professional achievement, and outstanding athletic ability), and a secret life of struggle with a drive that could not be suppressed, even by years of psychotherapy and the force of a considerable will.
Richards takes readers through her difficult decision to undergo surgery and the complex mixture of relief and continued frustration that came with the realization of her new identity. Discussing life after her transformation, Richards candidly relates the details, trials, and pleasures of her romantic life as well as fascinating stories about her tennis career, including her experiences as Martina Navratilova's coach. She also provides an intimate account of her difficult but rewarding relationship with her rebellious son: runaway teenager, high-stakes Vegas gambler, karate champion, and entrepreneur. She describes the deterioration of a once-loving marriage and the challenges of reclaiming her place at the forefront of her demanding medical specialty.
Having lived as a woman almost as long as she lived as a man, Richards draws on a personal history that illuminates thirty years of remarkable change in society's attitude toward gender issues. Her absorbing and inspiring story, at once heartbreaking and uplifting, is a testimony to how far we have progressed in our ability to discuss and accept sexuality in all its iterations, as well as a reminder of how far we still must travel.
Customer Reviews:
Not so interesting.......2007-05-14
The book is not so interesting.
She told us, only the things she wants but nothing more.
It' s very politically correct, but the book is not useful to understand the complex life of transgender people, and the real changement of roles, habits, and so on..that was I aspect from a person who lived 40 years as man and 30 as women.
"No Way Renee" - a very entertaining book........2007-05-14
I enjoyed the book very much. It gave a very insightful understanding into the life of an interesting and accomplished person. Along with with being good resding it made you laugh.
Honest Transgender Issues.......2007-05-10
This autobiography will help you understand the issues transgenders face in our society. This fun book is written openly and honestly.
Honest and engrossing.......2007-04-13
I grew up with the Renee Richards saga in the background and saw an article on this book in People magazine and decided to purchase it. Dr. Richards writes with honesty, humor and intelligence, and I could not put the book down. She has a very compelling story, and it helped me to understand better what transgendered individuals might go through in our society. It was fascinating to read not only about how she reacted to her ordeal but her family members and colleagues. I think she must be a very courageous person and I thank her for writing this and sharing it.
An accidental pioneer.......2007-03-22
"It's people like this who make you realize how little you've accomplished," said satirist Tom Lehrer.
Dr. Renée Richards (aka Dr. Richard Raskind) is a person who knew everybody, hung out in the same social set with millionaires, sports and movie stars, appeared on national talk shows, ... . So if you're looking for some inside, titillating gossip, her readable book No Way Renée covers that too, but she doesn't overkill the issue. She speaks openly and honestly.
During her adventuresome life, Renée Richards pissed away a small fortune on rescuing her son Nick from his own youthful peccadilloes (a bright young man who certainly inherited his father's [ i.e. Renée] absence of humility), and she also traveled the low-paying professional tennis circuit. In a way, you could say she dug her own holes and then made a career of climbing back out of them. She certainly made the whole idea of transsexualism more acceptable to the public. Since the 70s, the medical community has recanted on sexual reassignment policies, so today transsexuals don't capture the headlines the way they once did. She was most fortunate to have her professional medical career to fall back on.
About 1/3 of her book (also co-written by John Ames) is devoted to recapitulating the first 40 or so years of her life. A new generation has since grown up who have never heard of Dr. Renée Richards. So, to understand Renée Richards more thoroughly, I encourage you also to read her first book, Second Serve.
Along the way, she also became a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (no shabby achievement, and a fact not stated in her book). She also established a fine professional reputation and has published first-rate research articles on eye surgery. But for her transsexual distractions, I got the feeling she could have become a great surgeon, not just a damned good one.
Did Renée Richards really want to be the spokeswoman for transsexuals? I think not, but she still faced the challenge squarely. Given the choice, she would rather have been a successful surgeon who also happened to be a genetic female. Yet, as a most intelligent and rational man, in that one facet of gender she was driven purely by her emotions to -- above all -- become a woman.
Herein lies the greater question. Renée Richards clearly foresaw the public and private hazards of switching sexes, yet she was compelled to choose this path at the risk of torpedoing her own family and her career. So I don't think she came any closer to answering the question why? (I've had transsexual patients, and I'll be damned if I can come any closer to answering that big question.)
She never regretted having the surgery, yet, she sighs, she never found contentment either as a man with a "Miss Right" nor a "Mr. Right" as a woman. [ref. Interview "The Lady Regrets" in the February 1st , 2007 New York Times.] Even if you ignore her exterior, I still think you will find Renée Richards a fascinating person to know. Read the book.
Frederick Malmstrom, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist
Book Description
Essays celebrating Benedictine visionary Griffiths' blend of Christian belief and Hindu practice.
Customer Reviews:
A collections of perspectives as a tribute to Bede.......1998-02-13
Bede was a great inspiration. The difficulty I have with this book is that many of the writers have failed to fully grasp the beauty of Bede's simplicity. The analysis in the book are a little too academic and mental and do not generally match the shining clarity of Bede's work.
A tribute to the connectivity of the paths of East and West........1997-02-03
This is a wonderful guide to the understanding and teaching of truths which connect the pathway to the Supreme in both Eastern and Western traditions We meet a tender soul, Father Bede Griffiths, who realizes and teaches the global interrelations and understanding in the values and beliefs of Hinduism and Christianity. This is the type book which can bring real understanding for people of both religions. These are writings of peace and of great souls who can bring unity to our small world
A tribute to the connectivity of the paths of East and West........1997-02-03
This is a wonderful guide to the understanding and teaching of truths which connect the pathway to the Supreme in both Eastern and Western traditions We meet a tender soul, Father Bede Griffiths, who realizes and teaches the global interrelations and understanding in the values and beliefs of Hinduism and Christianity. This is the type book which can bring real understanding for people of both religions. These are writings of peace and of great souls who can bring unity to our small world
Average customer rating:
- A most moving account
- Angry, thoughtful, disheartening, and triumphant
- Taps into the rage many of us felt growing up gay
- Not incredibly written, but profoundly important
- Important text in gay literature
|
Becoming a Man: Half a Life Story (Perennial Classics)
Paul Monette
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Specific Groups
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Gay
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Gay & Lesbian
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Gay & Lesbian
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Nonfiction
| Gay & Lesbian
| Subjects
| Books
Human
| Sexuality
| Psychology & Counseling
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Biographies & Memoirs
| Book Clubs
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir
-
Last Watch of the Night: Essays Too Personal and Otherwise
-
The Best Little Boy in the World
-
The Language of Baklava
-
A Place to Stand
ASIN: 0060595647
Release Date: 2004-05-25 |
Amazon.com
Paul Monette first made a name for himself in 1978 with his debut novel, Taking Care of Mrs. Carroll, a comic romp with serious overtones. He established himself as a writer of popular fiction with three more novels before he and his lover were both diagnosed with HIV. In 1988 he wrote On Borrowed Time, a memoir of living with AIDS and of his lover's death. The passion and anger that fueled On Borrowed Time surfaces again in 1992's Becoming a Man: Half a Life Story, his National Book Award-winning autobiography. Although it follows the traditional structure of the autobiography and bildungsroman--early family life, education, reflections on how art influenced the subject's view of life--Becoming a Man also filters Monette's story through two central facts: the closet and AIDS. Monette writes of the pain of being closeted, the effect it had on his writing, and how it shaped (and often destroyed) his relationships. Monette's fear and fury at AIDS and homophobia heighten the same skill and imagination he put into his fiction. This vision--poetic yet highly political, angry yet infused with the love of life--is what transforms Becoming a Man from simple autobiography into an intense record of struggle and salvation. Paul Monette did not lead a life different from many gay men--he struggled courageously with his family, his sexuality, his AIDS diagnosis--but in bearing witness to his and others' pain, he creates a personal testimony that illuminates the darkest corners of our culture even as it finds unexpected reserves of hope.
Book Description
A child of the 1950s from a small New England town, "perfect Paul" earns straight A's and shines in social and literary pursuits, all the while keeping a secret -- from himself and the rest of the world. Struggling to be, or at least to imitate, a straight man, through Ivy League halls of privilege and bohemian travels abroad, loveless intimacy and unrequited passion, Paul Monette was haunted, and finally saved, by a dream of "the thing I'd never even seen: two men in love and laughing."
Searingly honest, witty, and humane, Becoming a Man is the definitive coming-out story in the classic coming-of-age genre.
Customer Reviews:
A most moving account.......2007-09-09
A frank, honest and very moving memoir, it is beautifully written (which makes the odd grammatical error all the more perplexing) with prose which flow almost seamlessly. The writer describes a varied and colourful life searching for Mr Right, and while he eventually finds fulfilment and happiness, the ultimate conclusion is nothing short of tear inducing. A most captivating read.
Angry, thoughtful, disheartening, and triumphant.......2006-12-28
The tone of this book is sometimes so overwhelmingly negative and self-deprecating that, if you don't know at least a little about the author, it would certainly overshadow the meaning and ultimate victory of this journey, chronicled here with such amazing detail as to transport a reader, almost, deep inside Paul Monette's head.
If you're reading the book, or would like to do so, know that Mr. Monette does find love, more than once, and that he finds his journey to have been both extraordinary and extraordinarily painful, I believe. Sadly, he is gone now.
Also keep in mind that Mr. Monette lived long before Will & Grace and Latter Days and anything that would counter his impression that the world was out to uncover his homosexuality and that it wasn't the greatest sin/evil that he could have imagined.
In another place and time, I see many parts of myself and my journey in his, although likely drastically less dramatic and with far fewer prep schools involved. (Like none.) His journey provides insight and detail that can assure countless masses that they are not alone and are not unworthy to find happiness and love despite not filling the traditional recipe for heterosexual roles.
SO READ THIS BOOK, and feel his pain. Relish his rich experiences, his amazing writing ability, feel his loss, and relish his ultimate victory, if not victory over AIDS, then the victory of finding love. Not easy reading, but highly recommended.
Taps into the rage many of us felt growing up gay.......2005-12-12
I give this book 5 stars because of the intimate way in which I related to the story told here. I am not sure if a non-gay person would enjoy this quite as much, although I'm sure they would find it a worthwhile read. An important read, really, for straight and gay alike, because it explains by example how many of us felt violated and suppressed growing up in a society that had little tolerance for homosexuality. True, things have changed now, (though not enough), but this book details the state of growing up gay in 20th century America, and all that it entailed, written lavishly and flowingly.
Not incredibly written, but profoundly important.......2005-11-02
As a twenty year old heterosexual male I found this book to very insightful. Monette illuminates both the sturglles and the shame of the homosexual community. I understood that it was hard to be gay, but this book has really helped to show me that this strife comes not from any inherent feeling attached to homosexuality but is a result instead of the prejudice and hate of the public, many of whom are supposed closet cases. I think that eventually America's continuing and blatant homophobia will be seen in the same light that we now view the cross burning and racial pogroms that dominated our contry for centuries. I wish you all strength and courage in your battle against these evil forces. Thank you.
Important text in gay literature.......2005-06-30
Becoming a Man is the National Book Award winning memoir by Paul Monette, and was a landmark text in the literature associated with HIV. This book was, in many ways, the "little book that could," beating out such non-fiction heavyweights as David McCullough for the NBA.
Monette is a fascinating character - shortly after reading this memoir, I saw the documentary about Monette's life. I have always enjoyed his novels...Taking Care of Mrs Carroll, The Longshot, and Halfway Home. This memoir is not only brilliantly written, it is well-suffused with the authors thoughts about being gay, suffering with HIV, and the experience of being "other."
When Monette passed away, literature lost a bright light.
Book Description
The compelling account of recklessness, tragedy, courage and rescue, a book whose sobering depiction of nature's danger is tempered by unforgettable portraits of the triumphant human spirit.
Customer Reviews:
Humanity at Its Best and Worst.......2007-09-30
To put my review in context, I have climbed Half Dome several times, and was a former member of National Ski Patrol, trained and experienced in search and rescue. I have a friend who was killed by lightning in Arizona and was almost struck myself in my back yard, 20 minutes after a storm had ended and the sky had turned clear blue. I am a confirmed hiker and back packer and have back packed in Yosemite and the High Sierra many times. I found this book deeply troubling and at the same time very rewarding. This recounts the story of what happened when foolhardy young people ignored the warnings of the lethal reality of lightning as they approach Half Dome so that they can "dance in the lightning" to prove their manhood. Two are killed and others are severely injured by being struck multiple times by lightning. I was horrified by their wanton disregard not only for their personal safety but also for their disgusting disregard for others. Their actions were offensive in the extreme. Contrast this with the actions of the rescuers! Despite being offended by the vulgar and crude actions of those who were struck by lightning on Half Dome, they recognized the value of human life, no matter how offensive the victims were, and exercise heroic efforts, at immense self sacrifice, to save their lives. I take my hat off to all involved in the rescue but particularly to Linda Crozier for her efforts to save the injured. She stands out as a stunning example of not only the best humanity has to offer but also did a superb job triaging and treating the injured under the most trying circumstances. Linda, God bless you! Thanks also to the pilots of the helicopter who risked landing on top of Half Dome several times as darkness fell to evacuate the injured! What heroes! Anyone reading this book will have a much better understanding of the dangers of lightning and of the inherent risks and difficulties involved in moutain rescues! This book has a lot to teach and will affect almost every reader for the rest of their lives!
great true story.......2007-09-22
I enjoyed this book because I have been to Yosemite although I did not climb Half Dome. It was interesting because the reader got to see what led up to the tragedy and how this should never have happened. It was also great to hear everyone's side of the story including the EM T's and others that helped save 2 lives.
Incredible!.......2007-06-06
This is a great change of pace book. The author does great research on the underachieving lives of some of the hikers in their early 20s who enjoy dope, beer and hiking to the top of Half Dome. These young men have yet to recognize their vulnerability but on this day in Yosemite Valley they not only would recognize their vulnerability, they would alter their lives forever by trying to beat a thunderstorm to the top of Half Dome. It's a 3 Act Play: set-up of the players, the incredible day and night on the mountain, and the aftermath. While the "action day" is incredibly engrossing, vs. other books this author has done a great job of making the set-up and aftermath very enjoyable. I highly recommend this book. For a similar read, try "The Last Season" by Eric Blehm.
Nature can erase arrogance in an instant.......2007-06-01
This is a well-written and compelling account of the kind of tragedy that can result when recklessness and arrogance are confronted with one of nature's most powerful and unpredictable forces: lightning.
It all happened July 27, 1985. That's when a group of free-spirited, risk-taking, party-animal hikers decided to climb Half Dome while lightning flashed and thunder rolled through Yosemite National Park in California. A few hours later, two of the hikers were dead and the lives of the rest had been changed forever.
Bob Madgic, the author of the book, does an excellent job of capturing the personalities, the quirks, the backgounds, and the fool-hardiness of the participants. In addition to the horrifying events that happened to the hikers, Madgic also weaves into the narrative numerous fascinating and frightening facts about the phenomenon of lightning. He also highlights other related topics such as mountain climbing techniques and equipment, the history of Yosemite and Half Dome, the development of hospital emergency rooms and trauma centers, EMT training, helicopter rescue, and the period of American history that we now call the 80s.
For any reader who respects the realities of the natural world, or enjoys peering into the heads of risk takers, or just loves reading about the rip-roaring, danger-filled adventures of Man versus Nature, Shattered Air is a sure-fire winner.
Russ Heitz
www.russheitz.com
OK Read.......2007-05-15
This was an ok book. A quicker read than I expected. Good retelling of the story of what happened on Half-Dome and background information on the key people. One of the problems of retelling a story such as this is that there are so many moving parts and story lines involved. The author did a good job of keeping it all focused.
It can be summarized by stay away from Half-Dome if there are dark clouds or you hear thunder.
Book Description
Remember that success requires half luck and half brains Kemmons Wilson likes to say. It is one of his 20 Tips of Success the rules by which he made it big. In his autobiography Wilson illustrates those 20 Tips through the various episodes that shaped his incredible life story. Wilson offered the public a brand name it could trust in roadside lodging as big green-and-yellow Holiday Inn signs lit up skylines from Texarkana to Tahiti from Hong Kong to Casablanca. Wilson goes far beyond the epic of the most successful hotel chain in history. For the first time Wilson recounts his entire larger-than-life rags-to-riches story.
Customer Reviews:
What Hershey Did For Chocolate.......2005-06-01
After spending seven nights in a Holiday Inn, I picked up a copy of this book in the hotel gift shop, where it was on sale for 79 cents. I wound up going back to the desk clerk and asking if I could extend my stay. Kemmons Wilson, the man who invented the idea of the "Holiday Inn" (or at any rate bought the rights from famed songwriter Irving Berlin), has written a book which rivals THE EDUCATION OF HENRY ADAMS for sheer insight and business acumen. Why are we drawn to the combination of green and yellow that makes up the HOLIDAY INN logo? You'll never guess! But that duotone color flash, with its "Vacancy" sign blinking underneath, lures travellers in the way flypaper lures a fly.
He was a wealthy man even before he coined the phrase (I mean leased it), "Holiday Inn," and making a lot of money hasn't changed his basic character. If people teased him about being called, "Kemmons," he did not take it personally but stored up the energy he might have devoted to getting even, and turned it around into a way to get rich. Okay, so the Holiday Inn isn't the Trump Plaza, still, it's a way for the ordinary person to experience a little bit of the comfort of home when they're out on the road or just looking to get lucky. Kemmons Wilson knows all these facts and lays them out in his now-famous "Twenty Tips" to prosperity.
Never underestimate the other fellow's taste. If you had thought of the green and yellow sign you too might be raking in the chips and clipping your coupons. He made it onto the cover of TIME magazine in 1972. What Milton Hershey did for chocolate, I think you will find, Kemmons did for the motel business. Thought of the customers first. Selling his life story is just part II. They were going like hot cakes in the revolving rack in the gift shop, the two clerks could barely keep them on the shelf. Well, 79 cents is quite a bargain even if the book was bad.
I can not put this book down.......2003-02-18
Excellent Read! This book starts with 20 tips for success. Kemmons' sucess examplifies those tips. He is so hardworking, never afraid of making mistakes. As he said, everyone makes mistakes only a fool makes the same mistakes twice but he himself made same mistakes twice. Even mistake pays.
He did not become rich in one night as those in the internet bubble. He was already a millionaire before the Hiliday Inn. Even after he retired from Holiday Inn, he was still creating enterprises.
Makes me want to act on my ideas.
You too can do anything you desire!.......2000-02-11
Excellent read! I enjoy good business bios, and this ranks up there with the best of them. After you read this book you'll know what the word persistance means!
EXCELLENT autobiography and business tome to boot!.......1999-05-02
This book not only chronicles the life of Kemmons, but expands upon the ideology behind the business of Holiday Inn and other ventures. Not only an enjoyable read, but an EXCELLENT guide for an entrepreneur such as myself. Exceptional in EVERY respect!
Book Description
The powerfully erotic memoir that inspired the legendary film with a forward by bestselling novelist Francine Prose.
Nine and a Half Weeks is a true story so unusual, so passionate, and so extreme in its psychology and sexuality that it will take your breath away.
Elizabeth McNeill was an executive for a large corporation when she began an affair with a man she met casually. Their sexual excitement depended on a pattern of domination and humiliation, and as their relationship progressed they played out ever more dangerous and elaborate variations on that pattern of sadomasochism. By the end, Elizabeth had relinquished all control over her body -- and her mind.
With a cool detachment that makes the experiences and sensations she describes all the more frightening in their intensity, Elizabeth McNeill deftly unfolds her story and invites you into the mesmerizing and dangerous world of Nine and a Half Weeks -- a world you won't soon forget.
Customer Reviews:
An exquisite book.......2006-04-13
I bought this at a supermarket years ago--surprising for the content inside. I remembered it as very, very sexy but when I read it again, there was nothing graphic about the nonetheless powerful sexuality; even more of an achievement.
The "love affair" eventually bounces up against the submissive author's limits. What happens after that makes me think the book is true, as she claims. I certainly hope 2 people experienced these adventures and I only hope to do as well in my life!
Haunting, and told me the story was real.......2006-02-06
This book satisfied the curiosity the film generated in me. It is an unusually stark description of the affair, like a diary. No apologies, no attempts on her part to change him, but it made it clear that even though her heart hurt from his treatment, her body exploded with pleasure, never to feel that way again.
It was one of the very few books I've read, where I could not come up with a different way for the story to go. Given their personalities, it could have only happened as Elizabeth McNeill wrote that it happend.
"There is no mistaking the power this man had over me".......2005-02-08
"Nine and a Half Weeks" chronicles the speedy decline of one woman into a relationship of S&M that goes beyond the bedroom and dominates her every action and emotion.
Told in the first person by the woman, you never discover the names of the two characters but you feel the passion, the love, and the pain both physical and especially emotional. It's disturbing to read complete submission between two people and you think to yourself you'd never turn over so much control to another person but you never really know until you live it.
The simplicity of this book is what really makes it complicated and even more compelling to read. So many books are packed with pages and pages of fluff but this book is exquisite by simply telling the story with out volumous pages of prose. Beautifully written.
girldiver:)
Private glimpse.......2004-11-14
This is a wonderful glimpse into the very private world of Dominance and submission. What is most shocking about this book is that McNeill wrote her story - and got it published - in the seventies, while this subject-matter is still controversial and hush-hush today.
Her prose is clean, unadorned, yet the book is titillating and thought-provoking. The writer tells her shocking tale in a matter-of-fact way, neither judging nor condoning anyone's behavior, nor making apologies for what is simply a seldom revealed side of human nature.
Those who have more than a passing interest in Erotic Power Exchange will enjoy McNeill's heartfelt account of what must have been - judging by the book's final words - the most important, intense relationship of her life - for better or for worse.
I highly recommend this book.
STRANGE.......2003-09-01
I loved the movie 9 1/2 weeks but after reading this book I realize that I love it because of Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger. I guess looking at the two of them is what makes the movie so appealing to me and not the whole S&M thing. If you're in to that then I guess you'll love this book. If not, stick to the movie!
Book Description
Inside stories, lurid tales, embarrassing incidents: soccer legend George Best has gathered together his favourite stories of his and his friends’ anecdotes and observations from their experiences in and out of the game over the last forty years.
Customer Reviews:
Fantastic Read!.......2007-03-20
This book is not an autobiography but a great look back on the experiences of the late great George Best among others. It was a captivating hilarious read which makes me wish I could have seen him in one of his after hours shows. The book is a show in itself and shows a side of what football (Soccer in N. America) was and still should be really all about...the good times. Sadly George did this to excess and eventually paid the price but then what a life. The stories are not all about George Best but collections of various football lore. Well worth the purchase price.
Brilliant.......2007-01-12
Captivating reading from cover to cover brought back memories of the golden age of football in the 60's and 70's. Great look at the life of one of the greatest players the game has ever seen. Fantastic insights into Bestie's life and the life of a professional footballer of the times. Also sheds some interesting and entertaining tidbits on some of the other football stars of the day.
Average customer rating:
- A memoir that parallels mine
- What's the point
- Very Enjoyable Memoir
- read it in one sitting
- Are you interested in serious writing?
|
Half a Life
Jill Ciment
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Authors
| Arts & Literature
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Women
| Specific Groups
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Memoirs
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
| 18th Century
| 19th Century
| 20th Century
| African American
| Asian American
| Classics
| Collections & Readers
| Drama
| General
| Hispanic
| History & Criticism
| Humor
| Jewish American
| Letters & Correspondence
| Native American
| Poetry
| Short Stories
| Women Writers
Similar Items:
-
Teeth of the Dog
-
The Tattoo Artist: A Novel
-
Back to Black
ASIN: 0385488912
Release Date: 1997-08-18 |
Book Description
Unflinchingly honest, moving, and funny, Half a Life shows how a girl without means or promise and with only a loving mother, chutzpah, a bit of fraud, and a lot of luck turned into somebody. In 1964 the Ciment family left middle-class Montreal for the fringe desert communities of Los Angeles, where their always unstable father lost the last vestiges of his sanity. Terrified and broke, in a world he could neither understand nor control, he came apart. When the family finally threw him out, he lived for weeks in his car at the foot of their driveway.
Ciment turned herself into a girl for whom a father is unnecessary-a tough girl who survived any way she could. She and her brother Jack helped support the family by working for a shady market researcher, quickly learning to supply their own answers to burning questions like, "Did we like Swanson TV dinners? If so, why? On a scale of one to ten, how would we rate the new Talking Barbie? Arrow wax? Dr. Ross's dog food?" She became a gang girl, a professional forger, and a Times Square porn model. Using a friend's SAT score she cheated her way into art school, and seduced and eventually married her art teacher, a married man thirty years her senior.
By turns comic, tragic, and heartrending, Half a Life is a bold, unsentimental portrait of the artist as a girl from nowhere, making herself up from scratch, acting up, and finally overcoming the consequences of being the child of a father incapable of love and responsibility.
Customer Reviews:
A memoir that parallels mine.......2006-01-15
Many of the accounts in her memoir parallel mine. Living in the San Fernando Valley, having a strange father, going to NY to be an artist, and going to art school. In fact, I took several of her creative writing classes while at art school and felt a connection with her artistic sensibilities but at the time she hadn't published any books yet. 20 years later her name pops in my head and I do a search and find she has several books under her belt. I am looking forward to reading her novels.
What's the point.......2000-12-18
I write this review to warn readers who may be misled by other reviews. This is an updated David Copperfield without the same zing.
I don't see the point of the book, just as a chronicle of one's sufferings. At the end of all this, jill makes it big by cheating.
In my opinion, in terms of the story itself either, there has to be something clever and funny, or there should be something deep, universal and touching. Unfortunately, this book fails on both counts.
I would advice others to go back to David Copperfield or Great expectations. They are far more enjoyable.
Very Enjoyable Memoir.......2000-07-08
I flew this book and felt very satisfied at the end. Ciment tells us just the right amount about her childhood to help us understand the sometimes bizarre and devious adventures she survived. Ciment did a great job, too, of throwing in appropiate historical and cultural markers. Worth reading!
read it in one sitting.......1998-08-03
I read this book in a single afternoon, devouring it. The words, visuals that Jill Ciment (sounds like concrete) uses are fantastic. So real. What a true voice. It DOES read like fiction. I had to keep remembering that this really happened to the face on the cover. A real person went through the hell that was her father and home-life. A disturbing childhood, disturbing pre-adulthood. But fabulous story. Read this one!.
Are you interested in serious writing?.......1997-04-01
While there are many reasons why this book might appeal to readers, the writing itself makes it de rigeur for everyone. It is a memoir but it is so highly structured that it at times reads like fiction. If you are interested in California, family histories, or just feeling like you are in the midst of something that you can't put down, I highly recommend this book
Books:
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)
- Harry Potter Schoolbooks Box Set: From the Library of Hogwarts: Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, Quidditch Through The Ages
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- Holding the Line: Women in the Great Arizona Mine Strike of 1983 (ILR Press Books)
- How Doctors Think
- How To Make Money In Stocks: A Winning System in Good Times or Bad, 3rd Edition
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Field Guide for Leaders, Managers, and Facilitators
- Clinton Anderson's Downunder Horsemanship
- The Ice Beneath You: A Novel
- The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neil's America
- Think and Grow Rich
- Don Quixote
- A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf
- Reaching Higher: A Handbook for Union Organizing Committee Members
- Transitions: A Guide on Moving From Law Enforcement or the Military into a Second Career
- Underneath New York
This Was Not Our War: Bosnian Women Reclaiming the Peace
The Foundation: A Great American Secret; How Private Wealth is Changing the World
The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics (BK Currents)
What Is the What (Vintage)
The Greek Way
