Book Description
In this memoir and call to arms, Erin Gruwell, the dynamic young teacher who nurtured a remarkable group of high school students from Long Beach, California, who called themselves the Freedom Writers, picks up where The Freedom Writers Diary (and the movie The Freedom Writers) end and catches the reader up to where they are today. Teach with Your Heart will include the Freedom Writers’ unforgettable trip to Auschwitz, where they met with Holocaust survivors; toured the attic of their beloved Anne Frank (Gruwell had the kids read Anne’s Diary in The Freedom Writers Diary); visited Bosnia with their friend Zlata Filipovich, and more. The book also includes what happened with the Freedom Writers as they made their way through college and graduation. Along the way, Gruwell includes lessons for parents and teachers about what she learned from her remarkable band of students.
In this passionate, poignant, and deeply personal memoir, Gruwell tells the tale of her journey through the emotional peaks and valleys on the front lines of our nation’s educational system and her commitment to awaken personal power in students and people everyone else discounts. Teach with Your Heart is a mesmerizing story of one young woman’s personal odyssey and of her remarkable ability to encourage others to follow in her footsteps.
Teach with Your Heart is marked by the enviable radiance and irrepressible force of nature that is Erin Gruwell and her unbelievable determination to ensure that education in the United States truly meets the needs of every student.
Customer Reviews:
Teach With Your Heart.......2007-09-22
A must read for educators. Soft-hearts you will cry. A book you will not be able to put down!
Inspiring Read.......2007-09-19
Erin Gruwell's book motivates teachers to take action. Her persistance is a key to her success. I know many teachers who are just as successful as her in teaching "at-risk" teens. Her story is famous because she turned her class into a product "The Freedom Writers" and marketed them to the world. This allowed her to get funds to finance their educational trips and college years. She was very business savy and a hustler! One of my old college professors (who taught high school English) would constantly ask corporations and local churches for support. It is true the sweaky wheel always gets the grease! Thus, if you are an extremely motivated teacher who works hard in the classroom and networks outside the classroom there are no limits.
Super Read.......2007-08-31
I purchased this book and picked it up to read out of obligation for a graduate class. However, once I began reading I could hardly bear to put it down. I could not wait to see what Erin was going to be able to accomplish next. As a high school teacher I was amazed by how dedicated this teacher was. BRAVO
The BEST book on Education!.......2007-08-27
I read the Freedom Writer's Diary, watched the movie, and then read Erin Gruwell's "Teach with Your Heart." I have to say that, by far, this book is the best book I've read on an education related topic! Having taught High School students in California for 4 years and reading countless literature (journals, articles, newspaper, and books), this is one for the ages.
Erin Gruwell's passion, energy, and enthusiasm are extremely contagious. Her commitment to working with and caring for her students is what helped her earned her stripes and gain credibility, for they had become acustomed to being called "stupid" or "worthless" and being brushed off as problem children who many other teachers refused to teach.
The book chronicles her start in education with her student teaching stint, up until her Freedom Writers graduated from Wilson H.S. whereby she then went on to work for the University of California as a professor in the Education training program.
Imagine if each and every teacher emulated the qualities "Ms. G," as she is affectionately called by her former students, possess - what a change there would be in our educational outcomes and learning potentials!!
This is a book which reinforces the belief that every single person can make a difference in this world!
We need more teachers like Erin........2007-08-27
Erin Gruwell shows the world how everyone can make a difference in another's life by just using some imagination and a lot of hard work. Despite her inexperience as a teacher, she had the determination to change her student's lives and did all she could to achieve this goal. A must read for all.
Book Description
Every day, 2,600 Americans die of cardiovascular disease -- and despite remarkable interventional and surgical procedures, over 650,000 new heart attacks occur annually. In The Heart Speaks, Dr. Mimi Guarneri reveals groundbreaking new research that the heart is a multilayered, complex organ, possessing intelligence, memory, and decision-making abilities independent from the mind -- and that healing the heart can have more to do with healing the mind and soul than we ever knew.
From childhood in a family riddled with heart disease to a medical career facing the pounding heartbeats of cardiac emergencies, Dr. Guarneri draws us into the intimate moments of life and death, and leads us on a riveting exploration of the heart's many mysteries. Through her compelling memoir we see that it is only by knowing the whole heart -- its mental, emotional, spiritual, and universal aspects -- that we can truly heal.
Download Description
"WEAVING MEDICAL NARRATIVE AND CUTTING-EDGE SCIENCE, DR. MIMI GUARNERI EXPLORES THE FRONTIERS BEYOND THE PHYSICAL HEART. Every day, 2,600 Americans die of cardiovascular disease -- one person every thirty-three seconds. Ten times more women die of heart disease than breast cancer. Despite remarkable interventional and surgical procedures, over 650,000 new heart attacks occur annually. With groundbreaking new research, Dr. Guarneri skillfully blends the science and drama of the heart's unfolding. She reveals the heart as a multilayered, complex organ and explores the new science that indicates the heart acts as a powerhouse of its own, possessing intelligence, memory, and decision-making abilities that are separate from the mind.
Customer Reviews:
Excellant Book........2007-10-01
A friend borrowed me her book. It was an excellant book. It demonstrated through the stories, that the heart is a unique organ. I found myself at times crying because of people's successful stories and well as laugh at others. I love the idea of having doctors listen to their patients. I intend to send copies to my doctors for Christmas and give them a reading assignment. After all, it isn't only the patient who must learn, doctor should also learn through their patients.
Great info in a quick read.......2007-09-26
A winning combination of this cardiologist's memoir together with great information about heart disease and all that influences it. Compelling stories from her own practice and examples of each facet discussed.
valuable reading.......2007-08-08
Heart Speaks was recommended by a friend who is a health professional. I am glad that I took the advice and purchased the book. I have since loaned it out to several other friends. Since the book is written in a flowing easy to read format it can be read in 2 days. The scientific evidence is presented in laymans terms. The book contains invaluable information on the connection between our hearts, brains, emotions and thereby teaching the reader how to take care of the whole self and live a fuller healthier happy life.
Excellent, but not groundbreaking (see similar ideas in Yogananda's books).......2007-01-10
What an enjoyable read! It's great to see a bona-fide MD come into thinking that is appropriate to the 21st century. Science and forward-thinking practitioners such as Guameri clearly are learning what the Yogi's have known since 1500 BC. I highly recommend this book, but it should be followed by the more profound understanding available from Yogananda or other seer.
Recommended.......2006-12-25
I had no idea that this book was going to be more about alternative medicine methods. I had been skeptical before, but I read this book with an open mind, and it really opened my eyes to the medical world.
I am entering college next year, and hopefully medical school four years after that, and this book just gave me a perfect picture of the kind of doctor I can be - one with compassion who actually listens to the patient, rather than one hurrying from patient to patient, angry and bitter.
I recommend this with 5 stars.
Average customer rating:
- Full of integrity and guts
- Wonderful bio of Taylor
- Taylor Hicks- My American Idol.
- Heart Full of Soul and Taylor has it!!
- Like the rest of Taylor's career: soon to be in a bargain bin
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Heart Full of Soul: An Inspirational Memoir About Finding Your Voice and Finding Your Way
Taylor Hicks
Manufacturer: Crown
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Taylor Hicks
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ASIN: 0307382435
Release Date: 2007-07-10 |
Book Description
For the longest time, during some rough boyhood years in Alabama and the grind of performing on the road, the odds against me were discouraging. But there was always a voice inside telling me it was going to get better.
Mom and Dad certainly started out with good intentions, but early on, as their marriage went south and I went in whatever direction was necessary to avoid the fallout, I realized my life was going to be up to me.
Thinking back, my first step toward singing for a living was stealing an Otis Redding album when I was nine. What I heard on that platter was life-changing, and pretty soon I was learning to play the harmonica, which, I can assure you, didn’t attract many female fans—in fact, any fans at all.
I eventually decided that not being taken seriously can be a good thing. It stokes the fires. Maybe the reason I like soul music so much is that it inspires with its pain. The best artists, like Ray Charles, reach out and say, “You’re not alone, brother.”
In all my years on the road—trying to make it in Nashville and those Southern honky-tonks known as the “Chitlin Circuit”—I never thought it would take an act of God to push my destiny into the right groove. But as you’ll hear, it was nearly getting washed away by Hurricane Katrina that led to my Idol tryout. And what happened next was a little bit like when Alice dropped down that rabbit hole—just substitute Simon Cowell for the Mad Hatter.
In Heart Full of Soul, I share some life stories that will hopefully inspire you—give you a sense of my philosophy and how it drove me. For example, I talk about my good friend who died in a tragic accident and the prediction he made that tugged at my thoughts throughout Idol’s qualifying rounds. I also discuss what it was like when I realized Eminem has it right: when you only have one shot, you’d better lose yourself in the music.
A lot of great fans lined up behind me the night of the Idol finale. This book is about the strange path that led me to that pop-culture moment, and the sharp directional changes that occurred after that phenomenal night, including touring America, producing an album, and experiencing that two-sided gig known as American celebrity.
I hope that some of the lessons I’ve learned along the way will help you, especially if the shot you’ve been yearning for is just around the corner.
Customer Reviews:
Full of integrity and guts.......2007-09-26
Taylor Hicks book was so heartwarming to me. He has true moxie because he made it on his own without much support in his childhood. I loved him on American Idol and I am happy to know him better through his book.
Wonderful bio of Taylor .......2007-09-23
This book was well written with many humorus lines, giving a real insight to who Taylor Hicks really is and what he has endured to follow his dream. We, who are avid fans, are glad that he never gave up. He is truly unique and inspiring, both musically and personally. Oh, and lest I forget, he is most definitely easy on the eyes and seeing him live in person is an unforgetable experience.
Taylor Hicks- My American Idol........2007-09-07
I was real excited to read this book as it had been a year since I had read any book due to loss of vision. Now that I have my "Reader" I chose this book. It was an easy read and moved right along. I really enjoyed hearing about his life and all the things that went on during his ride to be the American Idol. There was some good photos in it also.
Heart Full of Soul and Taylor has it!!.......2007-09-03
I loved Taylor's book in both the hardback and audio versions. Hearing Taylor's voice telling his own story is amazing. Taylor's life journey to this point is incredible. He has certainly "paid his dues" and is very deserving of all of the good things that are coming his way since he was discovered! Anyone reading this book would be inspired to never give up because you never know what the future holds. I for one have been uplifted by his message.
Like the rest of Taylor's career: soon to be in a bargain bin.......2007-09-01
It's obvious that the majority of reviews written for this skimpy and hollow book are written by Taylor's fans. That's fine. People who are really into their AI faves usually have no sense of blind fanboyism and will highly rate anything that their idol puts out. The fact of the matter, however, is that Hicks' career has been a flop, both in terms of comparing it to other AI contestants (save for Justin Guarini's and Corey Clark's) and on its very own. The guy couldn't eke out a career before Idol, and now in the aftermath of winning it, it looks like he's still not making any headway.
This book attempts to wring out any last popularity the guy may have. The problem is, only the fans are going to buy it and declare it as wonderful, while everyone else will simply pass it by, knowing full well that the story inside will well be forgotten a few months from now. Hicks may well have been AI's biggest anomaly as far as its grand prize winners went, but it looks like it was all for naught. So don't be surprised when you start seeing this book being dumped by the truckloads into bargain book warehouse stores and the like. While Hicks may have had honest and noble intentions behind his AI career, the fact is the young and ever-fickle audience the show is geared towards just aren't interested in the long haul.
Amazon.com
John O'Brien's scrupulous, exactingly honest memoir opens in 1995 on the day of his father's funeral in Philadelphia, which he will not attend because "eighteen years of silence stand between us [and] my presence would only add to family stress." Instead, he chooses to visit his father's birthplace in Piedmont, West Virginia, and consider the roots of their estrangement in the region that indelibly shaped them both. In a subtle, ruminative text, the author interweaves his memories with a history of Appalachia that debunks many myths. (The Hatfield-McCoy "feud," for example, had more to do with dislocation caused by the coal and timber industries than any native blood lust.) Much of the book limns O'Brien's first few years in Franklin, a small town two hours south of Piedmont where he and his family settled in 1984. A bitter conflict involving the Woodlands Institute, an educational establishment that locals feared was trying to "take over" their school system, becomes a paradigm for O'Brien of the way affluent outsiders have always stereotyped Appalachia as a primitive backwater peopled by hillbillies, while the residents resisted attempts by strangers to "improve" their home ground with a stubborn fatalism about the possibility of (or need for) change. The author's own conflicts with his parents--who were skeptical when he went to college and horrified when he admitted to seeing a psychiatrist--reveal a provincialism and narrow-mindedness he does not deny are common in the region. At the same time, he affirms the joy of living close to nature and honors the "plainspoken, empathetic, and genuine" native character. Because his complex work doesn't trade in stock nostrums or easy sentimentality, the portrait that emerges of a people and a place rings deeply true. --Wendy Smith
Book Description
John O’Brien’s deeply evocative book re- veals a place and a way of life—and the lives of an estranged father and son whose differences rest, ironically, in their own powerful bonds to Appalachia.
John O’Brien was born in Philadelphia, his father having left his beloved home in the West Virginia mountains after an impoverished childhood made all the more painful by family tragedy. Struggling to escape a father defeated by disappointment, displacement, and poverty, John too left home. When John decided to settle near his father’s birthplace in West Virginia, he hoped to comprehend the elder O’Brien’s attachment to the land, as well as the disabling fatalism he had carried north.
What he discovered is hardly the mythic Appalachia most Americans imagine, but a world of extravagant beauty—lush with green mountains, deep forests, ice-cold trout streams, and small hill farms. The people we meet who inhabit this land are for the most part unpretentious, working class, straightforward, open, commonsensical, and easygoing. They tend to look back more than most Americans do, defining themselves by how they fit into an extended family that includes their ancestors. We are in a mountain culture that feels old and deeply rooted, that follows a traditional way of life. It is a world the author would finally love and call his own.
We also come face-to-face with provincialism, intolerance, and—perhaps Appalachia’s defining legacy—the horrors of the coalfields and chemical plants. We see clearly what rapacious greed and exploitation have done for generations to much of
the landscape and to the lives of the people. And we learn of the stream of reformers and missionaries, ever ready to show Appalachia the way, whose real contributions tend to be negligible or absurd.
In this clear-eyed, beautifully rendered telling of his story and his father’s, John O’Brien gives us, as well, the history and true heart of Appalachia.
Customer Reviews:
History.......2007-03-11
This book contains a lot of historical observation about West Virginia from a native son. The author makes the culture of Appalachia come alive, dispeling the stereotypes. I enjoyed the author's personal journey - leaving the area and returning again to address the questions that we all have about how our home towns have influence on our lives. In addressing the issue of "hillbillys" he reminds us that we can all be victims of others' perceptions. He makes me want to add West Virginia, specifically Appalachia to my travel plans.
Closure.......2007-01-22
I hope the John found the closure he was looking for through the writing of this book. May he rest in peace.
A la William Faulkner, but ..........2007-01-10
The author is trying to emulate the stylist Faulkner, but with little success. In architectonics, O'Brien's work is but a poor copy of the fascinating monologues one finds in Faulkner's "Light in August."
He has better watch out his un-English sentences(e.g. pp. 122, 134, 181 of the 2001 Anchor Books edition).
Beautiful, Piognant .......2004-12-16
I love to read, but im not much of a writer. However, i was so moved after reading this book that i had to share my thoughts. For years I have struggled with labels while traveling outside of the my home state of WV. If people even know that the state exists i get comments such as "Are you married to your Uncle? Ha, Ha" I would get so frustrated because these people have absolutely no idea what they are talking about, Where do they get this?!? O'Brian does an excellent job of explaining where the stereotypes of our region origiate and how some people then unknowingly act the part of the stereotype.
I had to read this book for a college course, but i could not put it down. First, it is interesting in that I am from the area his book describes and I can identify with so many of his feelings about his home. Second, unlike many reviews at this site, I believe that his life story is essential to the book. His dads relationship is described to aid in the understanding of the region and the people, and i personally found his introspection honest and refreshing, instead of trying to remove himself from the book he put his soul in it.
West Virginia is more than a depression attempt at writing.......2004-04-28
John O'Brien's At Home in the Heart of Appalachia is neither inspring, uplifting, or well written. His book is filled with overindulgent excuses for his father's racism while perpetuating stereotypes of Appalachia. His writing is aimless. In some areas, he seems too engrossed in self pity, and in others he just seems to be building on an image of a man he obviously created for himself in college. Attempts to strip his ego are shallow and unconvincing. At times, I really saw, or felt I saw, O'Brien trying to get a book out by deadline. If this was a writing that glorified the Appalachian experience or its people, he would have had an excuse. John O'Brien had some fuel to work with, if this was the case. The Woodland's Institute would have been suited for a book of this nature. His returning "home" may also have been a great journey, if it truly was his home. It wasn't. New Jersey was his home and John happened to have relatives in West Virginia.
Book Description
In the wake of the successful film Hotel Rwanda, a personal and inspiring story of a young boy’s survival of genocide.
Customer Reviews:
MUST READ.......2007-08-15
I truly enjoyed this book.
It meant a lot to me because I was able to see Gilbert speak at the Oklahoma City Marathon.
He is an inspiration!
Reflection.......2007-08-10
Pause a bit in your busy life and read this amazing book. The writing style is unique. The message of hope is clear. Genocide on a large scale is a subject we don't understand here in America. Gilbert's story will enlighten you, force you to count your blessings, and make you ponder.
The story of early explorations of Africa by David Livingstone is a helpful introduction to this continent. Gilbert's description of his country is very modern - his ordeal began only fourteen years ago. It provides a whole new way of thinking about how Africans lived and now live.
I am grateful to my friend in Pa. who shared a copy (signed by Gilbert) of the book with me. It's an unforgettable story about a place in Africa (Burundi) I had never heard of; about running competitions and how qualified runners in developing countries can acquire training, and about a terrible tragedy. Gilbert, a gifted runner, being the lone survivor to give the account.Gilbert details his life, his education, his experience in international running competitions, and his present life in Austin, Texas.
Best wishes, Gilbert, for success in the 2008 Olympics. May your story reach every nation. May genocide in Africa and everywhere else in our world be banned. May God continue to bless you and your efforts to build of bridge of understanding and love between nations.
Reviewed by Carianne Carleo-Evangelist.......2007-01-26
This Voice in My Heart by Gilbert Tuhabonye (Amistad--May 2006) is a heart wrenching account of what one young man, Mr. Tuhabonye, who, at the time, went by his birth name of Tuhabonyemana--Child of God--went through at a time of extreme political upheaval in his homeland of Burundi. This book is a must-read for those interested in history as well as those who want to know more about what can drive a young man to overcome and not only survive, but make a name for himself.
Early on in his story, Mr. Tuhabonye writes, "If you were to read the history of Burundi in a schoolbook, it would tell a story very different from the story of my early years. You would read words like war-torn, genocide, impoverished and sanctions. Despite all the violence and unrest that has plagued the country since it first achieved independence in 1962, for me, growing up on its southern hillsides and deep valleys, Burundi was truly a paradise." I imagine this was placed where it was to set the contrast in motion in the reader's mind--that what we get on the news--especially the Western News--is not necessarily what people are experiencing, however it had a different effect to me. Burundi, whether painted in a positive or negative light, hadn't made much of an impact on me. I don't recall spending more than a few moments glossing over the country in history and geography classes so this insider's look told me more than I could ever have expected to know. And though he wrote it as an adult, we got the point of view of a young child peering out at the world from the safety of his campus and trying to make sense of a world gone seemingly mad. An idea that most people born and raised in the relative safety of the USA cannot even begin to imagine.
The author also focuses on the little things, which serve as a reminder that material things are not necessary in order to remember times in our lives. If you fix something that's broken there's a chance that you'll lose the story of why it was broken in the first place. And what's more important? The story of the homeland to pass on to future generations or a perfect smile? A smile can always be addressed but a story once gone is lost forever. Mr. Tuhabonye's work with this story is key to making sure the story of the Burundi genocide is not lost. A reminder to the West that we must remember if we're going to avoid repeating history.
The story's pace kept the reader engaged in the story--we learned some details of the country's history while at the same time learned the small details of the life of a normal teenage boy--a life seriously interrupted by a snowballing series of events in October 1993.
From his recollections of his early days, how he longed to follow his older siblings in both their chores and going to school to the day when his life changed in seemingly an instant, Mr. Tuhabonye covered it all with a voice that seemed more as if he was talking to a few friends rather than such a large audience. It all started on a normal day: a young boy worrying about exams and thinking about a race--never realizing the next race he'd be facing was one to save his own life--to prove he was a true survivor.
I cannot imagine what it must have been like to be in a room where your classmates and teachers were dying around me. Dying at the hands of people I'd lived along side of. I cannot imagine having the foresight to use a classmate's bone to free myself, but Mr. Tuhabonye showed us that he has what is needed to succeed.
That drive will take him far, whether it's to Beijing in 2008 or to the next location where he speaks of the atrocities he faced, but it will help him to succeed in whatever path he pursues. He's already shown what he's made of.
Inspring Story.......2007-01-24
This is a very nice and quick read. First, it deals with Barundi and the killing of Tutsi's there, which is lesser known than what happened in Rwanda. Second, Gilbert tells his story in a very self effacing and humble manner. He does not describe himself in any sort of falsely heroic way, but neither as a victim. It is a heartfelt testimony to his village life in Barundi, his love of running and the life he is rebuilding her as an Asylee. Welcome to Texas Gilbert. We're proud to have you!
A Tale of Hope and Forgiveness.......2006-11-10
If you want to read a story about a person who has experienced such great tragedy but has used the experience to love and forgive and to help end the cycle of hate and educate us to this effect, then this book is for you. The book alternates through stories of school boy life in Burundi, running, and genocide. I am a runner in Austin Texas who hears great things about Gilbert Tuhabonye (now a running coach in Austin), but this is not a running book. This is a book about a man's dream to do well in school in order to get a U.S. college track scholarship. Despite being a victim of unthinkable horror he succeeds in doing so. But his greatest success is his ability to teach forgiveness and the book is a vehicle for doing so. The book is an easy read of a worthwhile tale.
Average customer rating:
- Shot in the heart
- The Best Book I have EVER read!
- Heartbreaking in the best possible way.
- A tale told without pity, but with love
- A Riveting Tale
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Shot in the Heart
Mikal Gilmore
Manufacturer: Anchor
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The Executioner's Song
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ASIN: 0385478003
Release Date: 1995-08-01 |
Amazon.com
"I have a story to tell. It is a story of murder told from inside the house where murder is born. It is the house where I grew up, a house that, in some ways, I have never been able to leave."
Mikal Gilmore is a Rolling Stone writer and the youngest brother of murderer Gary Gilmore, who became, in 1977, the first person to be executed in the United States after a 10-year hiatus, a case which was subsequently recounted in Norman Mailer's The Executioner's Song. This brave and eloquent book is the story that only Mikal Gilmore knows: the violence in multiple generations of his family, what the Gilmore house was like as he was growing up, his relationship with his brother, and his experience of the dramatic events surrounding Gary Gilmore's determination to be executed as planned, without appeal. Shot in the Heart pulls off the rare feat of conveying intense emotion without sentimentality or self-pity. The author's struggle is to set himself apart from the lurid true-crime fraternity of his father and brothers yet remain able to understand why he feels both guilty and lonely over his exclusion from his family's violent history. --Fiona Webster
Book Description
Gary Gilmore, the infamous murderer immortalized by Norman Mailer in
The Executioner's Song, campaigned for his own death and was executed by firing squad in 1977. Writer Mikal Gilmore is his younger brother. In
Shot in the Heart, he tells the stunning story of their wildly dysfunctional family: their mother, a blacksheep daughter of unforgiving Mormon farmers; their father, a drunk, thief, and con man. It was a family destroyed by a multigenerational history of child abuse, alcoholism, crime, adultery, and murder. Mikal, burdened with the guilt of being his father's favorite and the shame of being Gary's brother, gracefully and painfully relates a murder tale "from inside the house where murder is born... a house that, in some ways, [he has] never been able to leave."
Shot in the Heart is the history of an American family inextricably tied up with violence, and the story of how the children of this family committed murder and murdered themselves in payment for a long lineage of ruin. Haunting, harrowing, and profoundly affecting,
Shot in the Heart exposes and explores a dark vein of American life that most of us would rather ignore. It is a book that will leave no reader unchanged.
Customer Reviews:
Shot in the heart.......2007-03-08
This is an extraordinary book. Gives tremendous insite in to why some crimals lead the path they do. Phenominal read.
The Best Book I have EVER read!.......2006-11-25
Unbelievably well written. This is the best book I have ever read. The story is gripping Mikal Gilmore seems to capture the reader from the first sentence and never lets go. I found myself trying to read less pages as I finished the book in fear of ACTUALLY finishing the book:) Immediately after I read the last page, I went back to the first page and started reading it again. I would suggest reading it twice, it is better the second time around.
Heartbreaking in the best possible way........2006-10-05
This book stays with you. In telling the story of his own troubled family Mikal Gilmore manages to tell a story about families themselves- all the love, guilt, loyalty and anger that define them. This is a book about searching for meaning, about the toll poverty takes on the human spirit, about broken dreams, the violence of faith, and our terrible hunger for something to believe in. It's uniquely American in the same way books like Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" or Jean Stein's "Edie: an American Biography"
are- as much about the society around its subjects as the subjects themselves. I wholeheartedly consider this book a masterpiece.
A tale told without pity, but with love.......2006-06-12
I first heard about Shot in the heart several years ago, on a tv show. The last thing I wanted to read was an apologist for Gary Gilmore making excuses. That's about the last thing Shot in the Heart is. Instead, Mikal Gilmore explores how family myths and mysteries shape our sense of self and of our family, and how this affects our vision of our place in this world. He also explores how you can love someone, even if they are incredibly dysfunctional. Gilmore writes with tenderness and courage about his family, the kind of family that made mine seem relatively normal. They were wretched, miserable people, in many ways, but they were his family.
I have always been puzzled by the editing problems I noticed in the book, however. It's not just the mixup on when Bessie Gilmore died. There are two other date discrepancies, one of which has to do with Gary's execution. I'm from Utah, and I picked up on that error right away.
My sister lives in Portland, and Mikal Gilmore's description of a Northwest Portland neighborhood is dead on. Gilmore knows what he's talking about-- he just needed a better editor, I think
A Riveting Tale.......2005-12-17
Shot in the Heart is a harrowing tale of growing up in the dysfunctional family that produced the infamous killer Gary Gilmore. It's a riveting tale that will remain with the reader long after he or she has finished the book.
There is, however, a strange discrepancy in this work. The author, who wrote for Rolling Stone magazine, touches on the tragic death of John Lennon and how this senseless killing affected him. He then says that his mother, knowing that the author greatly admired Lennon, telephoned him the day after Lennon's death to offer some words of comfort. A few pages later, however, the author mentioned that his mother died in June 1980-almost six months before Lennon was killed.
Is this a mere typographical error, or is something weirder going on? Much earlier in the book, the author relates how his mother told him that she was traumatized as a young girl because her father once forced her to view a public hanging in Utah-in fact, his mother told her sons many stories about executions. The author goes on to say, however, that his mother could not have witnessed this hanging because "(t)here were no semi-public executions in Utah after about 1919, when (his) mother would have been six years old." And it should also be noted that nightmares, ghosts, and a Ouija board make appearances in Shot in the Heart.
Is the past being repeated here? Does Mikal Gilmore believe he spoke to his mother six months after her death-or are we just dealing with a careless editor?
Editing notwithstanding, Shot in the Heart is a compelling memoir. It could be read as a companion piece to Jon Krakauer's Under the Banner of Heaven-also an outstanding read.
Average customer rating:
- It Shouldn't Matter
- Pickin Up the Pieces
- richie furay ROCKS!!
- Easy Interesting Reading
- Enjoyable
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Pickin' Up the Pieces: The Heart and Soul of Country Rock Pioneer Richie Furay
Richie Furay , and
Michael Roberts
Manufacturer: WaterBrook Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1578569575
Release Date: 2006-04-18 |
Book Description
When a young Richie Furay moved to New York hoping to make it big in folk music, God wasn’t one of his concerns. But destiny was.
Later, when he started Buffalo Springfield with Neil Young and Stephen Stills, it seemed Furay’s destiny had finally arrived. Although the band recorded only three albums, it remains a touchstone of sixties rock music–with all five band members now enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Furay remained a musical pioneer, forming Poco and recording some of the first–and best–country rock music of the sixties and seventies. His work was a major influence on the Eagles and innumerable other bands. But he still had not found his destiny.
It wasn’t until his marriage almost disintegrated that Furay confronted his need for God. After co-founding two legendary bands and recording with a rock super-group, Richie Furay finally found his destiny. The long journey took him from sold-out arena concerts to the pulpit of a Colorado church, from rock royalty to the Rock of Ages.
Destiny is often found in the places where we’re not looking. As you follow the twists and turns in Richie Furay’s inspiring journey, you’ll gain fresh insight into your own.
Customer Reviews:
It Shouldn't Matter.......2007-03-08
I want to admit this right off... I have a very big bias about Richie Furay. I saw him perform live in Buffalo Springfield when I was in high school, live with Poco when I was in college and live at a church fellowship with my family when I was in my 40's. In other words, I am a big fan. And I will read just about anything about him written by just about anybody.
That said, I would be hard pressed to say which story impresses me most... his tales of being a music icon or the story of his acceptance of Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, which didn't lead to the instant rewards that so many "born again" Christians would lead you to believe is the result. The struggle to put back together a failed marriage by faith in the Lord and the story of dealing with a skeptical audience not ready for a Christian music legend is worth the purchase price. Pastor Furay's early emergence as a Christian songwriter predates the "Amy Grant" era by years and as Furay fought his own demons to bring his voice forward, his entire life was changed. But it took lots of time and lots of patience and lots of prayers.
I am not sure where I would catalogue this book if I owned a bookstore. It could fit in music, religion, inpsirational or self-improvement. The message is there for you to see. And Pastor Furay pulls no punches. Being a servant of the Lord, a husband, a father and a muse to the music industry is no easy row to hoe. But Furay's example of perseverance and faith makes this book a no brainer. It should be on your shelf and read multiple times. It is a story of faith, kindness and love that will reach those that understand... and hopefully those that are looking for an answer to life's huge complexities.
Pickin Up the Pieces.......2007-01-13
A good picture of early country rock and the people/groups involved.
richie furay ROCKS!!.......2006-08-27
I have been a fan of Richie's since Buffalo Springfield and Poco. I was fortunate enough to correspond with him a few years ago and got a glimmer of the man. This book takes you with Richie on a wonderful ride, from folk to rock to country (always the pioneer)to his present position of Pastor, Calvery Chapel, Boulder, CO and a true child of God.
This may be a disappointment to your average rock fan (see John Einarson's book for that) but for a glimpse into Richie's life and work, this is absolutely a Wonder!!
Easy Interesting Reading.......2006-08-04
The book read quickly and was an interesting story of a full life. The writing was not poetic, but factual. I learned much about the folk scene and early roots of southern rock. The point of view was a bit self-centered and there appeared to be some pointed commentary. Overall, enjoyable.
Enjoyable.......2006-07-14
this story was told with so much honesty and love for music
and faith that I could not put it down. thoroughly enjoyable!
thank you, Richie for sharing your joys and heartaches with
your fans! may you continue to create great music!
Book Description
On sale 1/20/04! In this honest, hilarious, fiercely intelligent memoir, journalist Susan Shapiro dares to do what every woman dreams of: track down the five men who'd broken her heart and find out what really went wrong. Between the ages of thirteen and thirty-five, Susan had plunged into love, heart-first, five times. One bad breakup was more hurtful and humiliating than the next.
With insight and daring, Susan chronicles her six-month-long journey back down a road strewn with romantic regret. Although for years she'd blamed her boyfriends for their flagrant infidelity, ludicrous faults, and immature foibles, to her shock she can now suddenly pinpoint the exact moment where she herself screwed up each relationship.
A successful freelance writer living in Manhattan, Susan Shapiro was in the midst of a midlife crisis she called her “no-book-no-baby summer.” Married for five years to Aaron, a workaholic TV comedy writer always on the road, she was beginning to wonder if she'd remain book- and babyless forever. Then the phone rang, and it was Brad, a college flame who'd become a Harvard scientist with a book coming out. Susan offers to interview him, and she winds up launching into all the intense, invasive questions she'd always wanted to ask him. To her surprise, he answers them! This ignites a spark that sends her on a cross-country jaunt back through her lust-littered past.
While Brad is still single, she finds that Heartbreaks Number Two, Three, and Four are not. George, a theater professor, and Richard, a music biographer, are happily married with children. Tom, a handsome blond lawyer in L.A., is getting divorced. Just as it's becoming easy to worm her way back into her exes' good graces, she crashes head-on with David, a wry Canadian root canal specialist. ("It’s the equivalent of what you did to me emotionally," she tells him.) She then gut-wrenchingly relives the agony of splitting up with her first love all over again. Yet somewhere between the tantalizing what-ifs and bittersweet might-have-beens, she finds what she's been searching for all along.
Part relationship manifesto, part confessional, and part valentine to the males in her life she adores,
Five Men Who Broke My Heart is for anyone who has ever wondered what became of their first love. Or second, third, fourth, or fifth…
Customer Reviews:
Reading this book made me review my own realtionships.......2005-03-17
I could not stop reading this book, i did not want to put it down. The whole time it made me think about my own life and review my past and present relationships. She is a great writter who speaks about real life issues. I loved this book and it has inspired me to read more of her writtings.
Brave!.......2005-02-04
An awesomely brave woman, this Susan Shapiro. And to write it all down and splay it all out for the public; bravery at its finest. This is the kind of book that I just did not want to end.
What you bring to the table.......2005-01-25
So much of what you find in a book is what you bring to it when you read it. I liked this book a whole lot--enough to recommend it to several friends because I thought it was a good example of looking honestly at your past to see how you got where you are now. Several times I wanted to shout at the young Susan, "Grow up and quit being so melodramatic!" But that's what I wish I could shout back through time at my own young self, as well. In the end, you are what you are, and what you've done has made you into the person you are today. I identified with Susan's propensity for choosing the wrong man and for shutting down good relationships for bad ones. She does grow up, though, and this walk through her youth was honest. She doesn't pull any punches, even for herself. It was very well written, if sometimes a little frustrating (it's really hard to watch people make mistakes in slow motion). If I had a daughter, I'd give her this and "He's Just Not That Into You" as good instruction manuals.
Author revisits exes and probes why's of relationships.......2004-08-24
What a wonderfully zany idea--revisit your exes to probe the why's of your regret-filled relationships. I thoroughly enjoyed this book--laughing often, appreciating Ms. Shapiro's skipping along, witty style, and looking forward to her next roller coaster escapade.
Ms. Shapiro demonstrates exceptional emotional courage by revisiting her past loves in the first place, and then revealing the unraveling of her dilemmas in public. She is a gifted storyteller, artfully narrating the intimate, analytic story of her mid-life crises in a series of engaging, seriocomic vignettes.
Like most guys, I seldom read this type of book, so I can't make comparisons. But the premise sounds totally original and Susan Shapiro's candidness is remarkable. "Five Men..." is a treat, and seems a natural for a film.
Frank Schwartz
Fiercely funny and honest .......2004-08-01
Susan Shapiro is as fiercely funny as she is honest. In her re-visits with ex-lovers, she takes us on a journey we all have fantasized, but few would have the guts or emotional stamina to actually pursue. In reconsidering how the the men in her life jive with who she's become, what really emerges is a portrait of how we are all the sum of who and why we love. I began reading this book late one night and could not stop. FIVE MEN WHO BROKE MY HEART flows like an urgent, late-night phone call. Shapiro confides heartfelt dilemmas as if you're her most trusted friend, whom she'd rather cheer than burden. I highly recommend this lively tale of an indefatigable young romantic as she goes reeling towards maturity.
Book Description
Contract bridge—the version of the game we play today—and Sandy Balfour’s father were both conceived in 1925 and thrust, blinking uncertainly, into the fractured world of 1926. But while Balfour’s father was the child of a bank clerk and a schoolteacher and was born in a modest apartment in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, the game he came to love had an altogether more distinguished lineage.
Vulnerable in Hearts chronicles the eight decades of Balfour’s father’s life and the same period in the history and development of bridge, a game that has enticed players from Winston Churchill and Dwight Eisenhower to Bill Gates and Clint Eastwood. First taught the game as a child by his mildly eccentric father, Balfour is drawn to bridge as a means to try to understand him, but soon discovers the global empire of the game itself. As the narrative moves from the bridge clubs of Moscow to the World Bridge Olympiad in Istanbul, Balfour explores the complex relationships of bridge and history, rules and empire, father and son.
Part memoir, part history, part game, Vulnerable in Hearts is a wryly entertaining account of how we communicate with one another, why we play games, and how we love.
Customer Reviews:
A sweet deal, well played.......2006-12-06
Sandy Balfour's family memoir, with emphasis on his father, is a charming and unusual book, and an easy read at only 200 pages. Bridge was the anchor for Dad's life, which otherwise was a disappointment in several ways, compared to his potential. Dad could shine at the bridge table and let his personality come through. Lessons in bidding, playing the hand, and relating to your partner and opponents also were proxies for life.
The title comes from a comment near the end: "to be alive is always and everywhere to be vulnerable in hearts," recounted as he waited for father's imminent death. The title is simply a wonderful play on words and suited for a memoir that combines the complex game of contract bridge and similarly complex life in general. To some degree, to understand bridge is to understand the father.
The book opens and closes with the death of the author's father. In between is a combination of the author's memories, a recounting of his father's life, and the history of contract bridge. The connection, besides the importance of the game in his father's life, is that contract bridge was invented the same year as his father was born.
Father and his brothers were shipped from Scotland to South Africa as youths in advance of World War II, presumably to avoid service. Father ended up serving anyway and returned to South Africa permanently, although never completely leaving his native Scotland.
The history of bridge, blended with the story in small doses as well as more extended sections, was very well done. I will assume it is accurate. It flows briskly, with a nice mixture of overview and detail, aided by several colorful personalities, such as Culbertson, and big names, such as Goren.
Knowledge of bridge is not required, although it is helpful. I have played a little, so that the re-telling of various hands and the evolution of different bidding systems was not foreign. Players will no doubt enjoy some specific hands shown and speculate on what they might have done, just as in a bridge column.
My only slightly negative comment is that the book lacks for action; not a lot happens. Perhaps some more anecdotes would have been appropriate. The family wasn't quite interesting enough, as presented, to take the book to the next level.
I highly recommend the book for readers looking for an unusual memoir, and especially for bridge fans of middle age and beyond who can appreciate the bonus view of contract bridge over their own lives.
Grand Slam.......2006-10-29
You don't have to be a bridge lover to enjoy this story of a young man's experiences in pre World War II Scotland, England and South Africa. But it helps! As the author's father says "Everyone likes bridge, they just don't know it yet." I highly recommend this wonderful memoir.
Plenty of teens will find the father, son and game interrelationships intriguing.......2006-09-15
While Vulnerable In Hearts easily reaches an adult audience, this memoir is reviewed here for its special interest to young adults as well, telling of a father, a son, and contract bridge, which binds their worlds. Eight decades of Balfour's father's life and the same period in the history of bridge are provided in an intriguing world history of the game. Plenty of teens will find the father, son and game interrelationships intriguing.
Product Description
Hudson survived his perilous maiden voyage to his beloved China. With his heart set in determined obedience to God, and trusting the provision of the One who had called, Hudson overcame persecution and almost overwhelming personal losses to bring to bring God's truth to the "ripe harvest fields" of China.
Today, Hudson Taylor's story continues to challenge and inspire believers young and old to carry the anchoring gospel message, regardless of personal trial or hardships, to those who are adrift and without hope.
Customer Reviews:
It's up to you if..........2005-11-17
It's up to you if you want to get a picture of the struggles of Hudson Taylor on several fronts. He had to hear from God himself to endure the pressures of his calling. "Back to Jersusalem" is a movement that has it's roots in Hudson's ministry.
Contemporary Value.......2003-01-31
An adventure story about an early unconventional missionary!!This is a great read aloud book for older elementary age children and up. Although the setting is middle 1800s, the lessons are timeless. A great way to teach your children the difficulties faced by early missionaries, (5 1/2 dangerous months at sea just to get to China) and their complete reliance upon God to surmount seemingly impossible challenges. Although Taylor's faith is great, even he is surprised by the continual rescues and provisions that are clearly God orchestrated. My children thought it started slowly, but got more exciting when he finally reached China! Even adults will enjoy listening. I highly recommend it.
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