Average customer rating:
- --Interesting glimpse of old Hollywood--
- Mr. Dunne, I adore you!
- Dominick Dunne is fascinating
- Beautiful collection of photos
- THE WAY WE LIVED THEN
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The Way We Lived Then : Recollections of a Well-Known Name Dropper
Dominick Dunne
Manufacturer: Crown
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ASIN: 0609603884
Release Date: 1999-09-28 |
Amazon.com
In a previous incarnation, writer Dominick Dunne was the toast of Hollywood--entertaining movie stars and socialites and invited by moguls to clambakes and black-tie dances. Long before he started churning out his romans à clef set in the private recesses of Hollywood and penthouses of New York City and his dispatches from notorious murder trials, he spent his days on movie sets, producing films like Ash Wednesday and working as an executive at various studios. In the off-hours, he and his wife Lenny ate dinner with Vincente Minnelli, Jack Benny, Rock Hudson, and Elizabeth Montgomery. They went to beach parties hosted by Jane Fonda and Roddy McDowall--and threw not a few bashes of their own, attended by, well, everyone and often photographed for Vogue magazine. Dunne seemed to carry his camera with him everywhere and "was always sticking [it] into someone's face." Kirk Douglas biting into an oversized hotdog, a scantily clad Paul Newman perusing a picnic table, Princess Margaret smoking, Mia Farrow dancing, and Natalie Wood hamming. Each weekend he carefully arranged his snapshots along with the week's invitations, telegrams, and news-clippings into a set of scrapbooks.
The Way We Lived Then closely resembles those scrapbooks, filled as it is with images culled from them. Dunne sews the scraps together with a loose memoir that moves from the mundane (how the house was decorated for a certain party, how the subjects of a given photo were feeling about one another at the time) to the grand (meditations on his marriage and his children). All of these famous friends, glittery parties, and cozy evenings did add up to a picture-perfect life for a time. But by the mid '60s, Dunne was drinking hard, insulting acquaintances in public, and being a perfectly terrible husband to the lovely Lenny. He was soon arrested carrying drugs into the country from Mexico, divorced, nearly poverty-stricken, and living in a cabin in Oregon. But he lived to tell about it, and though his story is something of a cautionary tale about the dangers of success and excess, punctuated as it is by his dreamy photos, one can't help but wonder if he'd happily go back to the way he lived then. --Jordana Moskowitz
Book Description
Mesmerizing, revelatory text combines with more than two hundred photographs -- most of them taken by the author -- in a startling illustrated memoir that will both astonish and move you.
When Dominick Dunne lived and worked in Hollywood, he had it all: a beautiful family, a glamorous career, and the friendship of the talented and powerful. He also had a camera and loved to take pictures. These photographs, which Dunne carefully preserved in more than a dozen leatherbound scrapbooks -- along with invitations, telegrams, personal notes, and other memorabilia -- record the parties, the glittering receptions, the society weddings, and scenes from the everyday lives of the Dunnes and those they knew, including Jane Fonda, Frank Sinatra, Paul Newman, Roddy McDowall, Elizabeth Taylor, Natalie Wood, Brooke Hayward, Jennifer Jones, and David Selznick. You'll meet them all in this fascinating book -- captured in snapshots as these celebrities relax at poolside barbecues, gossip at cozy get-togethers and dance at the Dunnes' dazzling black-and-white ball. And you will meet Dominick Dunne's beautiful wife, Lenny, and his children, Griffin, Alex, and Dominique, as they celebrate Christmases, birthdays, and graduations. But, most of all, you will meet Dominick Dunne and learn about the peaks and valleys of his years in Hollywood, the disastrous turn his life took, and the long road back that led to his triumphant career as a writer. With its engaging photographs and candid text,
The Way We Lived Then is a riveting and unvarnished account of a life among the stars and a life almost lost.
Customer Reviews:
--Interesting glimpse of old Hollywood--.......2005-08-18
THE WAY WE LIVED THEN is a look at the lives and personalities of some of the most famous entertainers in the world.
I've been aware of the author, Dominick Dunne for a long time, but until reading this book, I had no idea what kind of background he had or what made him so knowledgeable about so many celebrities. Dunne was a director and producer of various TV shows and apparently was good at his job. People enjoyed working with him and he and his wife gave wonderful parties and were invited everywhere.
The book is as much about Dunne and his family as it is about the people that he socialized with. His story is rather sad because he ended up losing his wife because he became addicted to drugs and the fast Hollywood lifestyle. There are more than a few moving stories in the book. One pitiful entry has Dunne and Peter Lawford sharing drugs at a party. Years before, they had been friends and neighbors, but at this low point in their lives, they were both broke and seemingly without friends.
You can also read about Elizabeth Montgomery, Gig Young, Natalie Wood, George Hamilton, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Fonda and dozens of other Hollywood "big" names. Dunne took a lot of photographs and I think that I enjoyed the snapshots as much as I did the text of the book.
Mr. Dunne, I adore you!.......2004-02-03
I think I was probably one of the very first people who purchased this book...and I loved every page and every minute of it! Some of the earlier reviewers I read below simply don't seem to "get" this book. It is not meant to be great literature. It is meant to be a great read with one-of-a-kind photos, and it delivers both in spades! Also, I believe it is meant to be somewhat of a love letter, both to the parts of Mr. Dunne's ealier life that were happy and held great promise, AND perhaps to the fans of his books...giving all of us glimpses into what was an incredibly fascinating "Hollywood existence" and giving us a peek at the REAL people that he has thinly veiled, completely disguised, or combined to create the fascinating characters that populate his terrific books. Mr. Dunne, if you read these reviews (I know that I probably would!!), please know that I eagerly await everything you publish, including your monthly "Diarist" articles in Vanity Fair. Your writings are so incredibly enjoyable, fascinating, and provide a much-needed escape for me. You must feel very blessed to have finally found your calling - so many never do.
Dominick Dunne is fascinating.......2002-11-05
It is easy to see why celebrities, criminals and perfect strangers have told Mr. Dunne their secrets. He is so interesting in a gossipy, name-dropping but sweet way. His Hollywood life makes an engrossing tale, much more entertaining than fiction.
Beautiful collection of photos.......2001-10-06
This book is filled with beautiful photographs of almost every star imaginable with personal anecdotes from Mr. Dunne to go with them. There are beautiful photos of Natalie Wood and a young (brunette) Elizabeth Montgomery. Mr. Dunne's life has certainly had its ups and downs, but this is NOT another celebrity pity party...he writes of the bad times he has faced, as well as the good, in a very matter of fact style, which is (thankfully) not at all whiny. But, again, the real treasure here are all the beautiful photographs of beautiful people in beautiful places. Thanks, Mr. Dunne, for sharing them with us.
THE WAY WE LIVED THEN.......2001-06-27
Mr. Dunne can work the room no matter where he is, no matter what social strata. I would have had an anxiety attack had I been face-to-face with Betsy Bloomingdale. Yet, this why I love Mr. Dunne. Reading about Betsy, she retained the warm, kind, classy image that I imagined her to have from various books and magazines. I loved being a fly-on-the-wall when Mr. Dunne was in Washington since I knew so little about politics. It was fun the way he scribed it in the pages. I feel safe reading Dominick's stories - although I feel like I am there, I don't have the real fear!
Book Description
Born and raised in Greenville, Mississippi, within the shelter of old traditions, aristocratic in the best sense, William Alexander Percy in his lifetime (1885-1942) was brought face to face with the convulsions of a changing world. Lanterns on the Levee is his memorial to the South of his youth and young manhood. In describing life in the Mississippi Delta, Percy bridges the interval between the semifeudal South of the 1800s and the anxious South of the early 1940s. The rare qualities of this classic memoir lie not in what Will Percy did in his life—although his life was exciting and varied—but rather in the intimate, honest, and soul-probing record of how he brought himself to contemplate unflinchingly a new and unstable era. The 1973 introduction by Walker Percy—Will's nephew and adopted son—recalls the strong character and easy grace of "the most extraordinary man I have ever known." AUTHOR BIO: William Alexander Percy was the author of four books of poetry, and he practiced law in Greenville until his death, one year after the publication of his autobiography. Awarded the Croix de Guerre with gold star for his service in World War I, he also was one of the leaders in the succesful 1922 fight against the Ku Klux Klan in Greenville and headed the local Red Cross unit during the disastrous Mississippi River flooding of 1927.
Customer Reviews:
Over hyped.......2007-06-30
I've heard great things about this book, but it simply doesn't live up to the reviews. It isn't vivid, isn't absorbing, isn't all that interesting. It is a decent piece of period biography, and if you're interested in the Percy family or the region or time period, it might be worthwhile. Otherwise, give this one a pass.
Not Impressed.......2006-02-06
This is my first book about planters and plantation life. It was my expectation that the author would give more specific information about plantation finances and management. This subject is hardly touched upon. He does briefly give his opinions about slavery, but there is nothing unique about it. Basically, this is a nice, slow look back at a bygone time, but it left me wondering how the heck did these people come about, and maintain or eventually lose their wealth.
Elusive find: an autobiography of literary quality.......2005-10-09
Percy's approach to life can be summed up by a quote from the book: "It is a very nice world-that is, if you remember that while morals are all-important between the Lord and His creatures, what counts between one creature and another is good manners." Percy's book is a rare member of that most elusive category of books - the autobiography of true literary quality. Percy's touch is honest without being journalistic; poetic without appearing over-embroidered; and in his own eccentric person he provides the subject matter which is required to make such a work interesting. He steps out of the late 19th/early 20th century Mississippi delta as a character that could not have existed anywhere else. Affected, genteel, kind, elitist, romantic and with a view of race more in keeping with British Imperial "white man's burden" line of thought than anything American in origin - Percy the character remains fascinating even as the modern reader disagrees with his positions. A clearly and well told tale of an extinct breed (the gentrified southern aristocrat), a lost land (the Mississippi delta of the turn of the 20th century), and a buried epoch (the pre desegregation era). An excellent book - well worth reading not only to better understand a particular aspect of American history but for the pleasure of reading a well written book, regardless of the subject matter.
Perceptions of a Southern Artistocrat.......2004-01-23
It is true that this book attempts to explain the South, in both its physical and social aspects, from the point of view of the "landed gentry." However, a more accurate description of "Lanterns on the Levee" is that of an autobiography of William A. Percy, in which he reflects upon his life and the interesting times in which he lived. I found this book very inciteful into the mind of a southerner, and believe that Mr. Percy did a fine job of bringing his broad experiences with different cultures and social climates into this book, and using these to produce a cogent analysis of his homeland. Though not completely objective (and often bigoted by today's standards), I think that Mr. Percy did his best to "tell it as he saw it," and often admits his biases as a precursor to his analysis. The book is very poetic and philosophical in places, and includes both the subjective and emotional sentiments that one must understand in order to come to terms with "a southerner's love for the south." Additionally, I feel that Mr. Percy (especially in his last few chapters) provides the reader with thought-provoking and highly articulate observations about life, time, and human-nature. I think this book is excellent, and believe it to be a "must read" for anybody with an open-minded interest in the Missisippi Delta region, or the South in general.
A Lost Voice Of A Lost Cause.......2002-12-14
This is one of those books that is almost impossible to objectively review. The writing is elegant and evocative of an era in the South that died almost in tandem with Mr. Percy and yet I find some parts of it so arrogant and condescending that I feel myself grinding my teeth. You see, I am descended from those Mississippi hill people Percy so despised and, even after all this time, I can almost see the languid gaze and soft, drawling voice. My people came to the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta after the Flood of '27 and we build and earned what we got without the benefit of the massive slave labor that built Mr. Percy's fortune.
But this is a book review and I'll put aside old feelings to say that this is a literary gem that brings to life a way of life on which so many stereotypes of the South are built. And Will Percy is amazingly honest in his descriptions of his society. However, a society this simple and yet this complex takes more than just one book to grasp.
Thus, I also recommend "Rising Tide" by John Barry and "The Most Southern Place on Earth: The Mississippi Delta and the Roots of Regional Identity" by James Cobb to balance your view of this time and place in history.
Bottom line: This is a wonderful, beautifully written story that is refreshingly candid with none of the defensiveness and politically correct breast beating of many of the works of southern writers of recent years.
Book Description
This book is now limited to an existing stock after which it will go out of print. All copies purchased new directly from Amazon.com will be AUTOGRAPHED by the co-author/editor, Glenn G. Boyer. The combination of going out of print and the autograph, will make this publication a rare collectors' item. (In a short interim period until Amazon's small current inventory is exhausted, some copies will be unautographed, but may be sent to publisher, HRA, at 1702 E. Lind Road, Tucson, Arizona, 85719, and such copies will be returned autographed, postpaid.) This is the memoir of a woman who saw the raw life of the last frontier as the consort of a man who is today the best known Western character of them all. The text of this book is totally attributable to Wyatt Earp's third and last wife, who lived with him from April 1882 when he left Tombstone until his death in Los Angeles, California in January 1929. The sources are what Mrs. Earp said personally, wrote, or are based upon documentation of events with which she was thorougly cognizant as an observer or participant. It is a memoir in the "traditional" definition: that memoirs are most often written by someone other than the subject. (Webster's New World Dictionary. 2d Edition, c. 1970: "a biographical notice usually written by a relative or personal friend of the subject.") That holds true with this book, but though not entirely written by the subject personally, it was prepared by someone who had met her during her lifetime, and became thoroughly familiar from intimate sources with what the subject did and said. This accepted memoir preparation tradition naturally arose from the need for one with writing ability to assemble memoirs in publishable form. Notwithstanding, this work is most largely based directly on dictated interviews of the subject or first person recollections of what she said or wrote to others she trusted. In view of the modern fame of Wyatt Earp as a folk hero, the insights of the one who knew him best make the book absolutely unique.
Customer Reviews:
Very Intriguing. Great history and personal outlook........2007-10-08
I was glued to this book. I even read all of the research notes. This was truly a remarkable work of history and a great perspective on an event that has been over dramatized and blown out of such proportion by Hollywood.
Non Fiction.......2007-09-03
Josephine Earp, Wyatt's wife, looks back on her life in her later years, and the time spent with her husband.
Josie's Adventure, March 29, 2007 .......2007-05-18
Josephine Marcus Earp was born with a sense of adventure, she ran away from a prosperous and loving home in San Francisco not to join the circus, but a theatrical troupe playing Gilbert and Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore that was bound for Tombstone.
Young, attractive and impressionable is a prescription for trouble in a mining town. Josie accepted Johnny Behan's offer of marriage before she had time to look over the whole field, and it came back to haunt her. Behan bought her a ring but put off the wedding. Wyatt Earp caught Josie's eye and opened up a classic love triangle. Then to further complicate matters both suitors were in a race to become the next sheriff of Cochise County.
Josie's accounts of Tombstone are right on the mark and two of her best friends Addie Bourland and Marietta Spencer had first hand knowledge regarding two of Tombstone's major happenings - the shootout at the OK Corral and the murder of Morgan Earp.
Josie tells about the bloodletting after the shootout and how in order to get out of the line of fire Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday along with several allies leave Tombstone and go to Colorado. Josie followed Wyatt a short time later and they soon got married. While they were in Colorado they spent time with Doc Holliday and Bat Masterson and did some mining in the Gunnison area.
Then it was on to the silver strike at Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and the gold fields of Alaska. Back in the states Wells Fargo hired Wyatt to do some detective work in Texas. When that job was finished they traveled to San Diego, California in search of business opportunities. The two dined out, went to parties, attended the theatre and saw the famous Lily Langtry perform in Shakespeare's "As You Like It." Wyatt made a number of profitable investments in both saloons and real estate. He also won a fine trotting racehorse in a poker game. That one horse peaked Wyatt's interest in racing and he eventually bought and raced a sizeable stable of horses. Following those days on the racing circuit and a stint as a boxing promoter Wyatt and Josie settled in and lived out their lives in Los Angeles entertaining and being entertained by stars that were part of Hollywood's burgeoning motion picture community.
Wyatt died in 1929 and Josie lived until 1944.
Josephine Marcus Earp tells a compelling story of an era filled with colorful characters and fascinating events.
Tom Barnes Author of "Doc Holliday's Road to Tombstone"
Also "The Hurricane Hunters and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle."
The Hurricane Hunters And Lost in the Bermuda Triangle
Doc Holliday's Road to Tombstone: The Life and Times of John Henry Holliday
Thank you!.......2007-04-12
Enjoyed the book very much. A lot of interesting information and facts from the time period. I would recommend the book to anyone with interest in this era.
Josie's Adventure.......2007-03-29
Josephine Marcus Earp was born with a sense of adventure, she ran away from a prosperous and loving home in San Francisco not to join the circus, but a theatrical troupe playing Gilbert and Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore that was bound for Tombstone.
Young, attractive and impressionable is a prescription for trouble in a mining town. Josie accepted Johnny Behan's offer of marriage before she had time to look over the whole field, and it came back to haunt her. Behan bought her a ring but put off the wedding. Wyatt Earp caught Josie's eye and opened up a classic love triangle. Then to further complicate matters both suitors were in a race to become the next sheriff of Cochise County.
Josie's accounts of Tombstone are right on the mark and two of her best friends Addie Bourland and Marietta Spencer had first hand knowledge regarding two of Tombstone's major happenings - the shootout at the OK Corral and the murder of Morgan Earp.
Josie tells about the bloodletting after the shootout and how in order to get out of the line of fire Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday along with several allies leave Tombstone and go to Colorado. Josie followed Wyatt a short time later and they soon got married. While they were in Colorado they spent time with Doc Holliday and Bat Masterson and did some mining in the Gunnison area.
Then it was on to the silver strike at Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and the gold fields of Alaska. Back in the states Wells Fargo hired Wyatt to do some detective work in Texas. When that job was finished they traveled to San Diego, California in search of business opportunities. The two dined out, went to parties, attended the theatre and saw the famous Lily Langtry perform in Shakespeare's "As You Like It." Wyatt made a number of profitable investments in both saloons and real estate. He also won a fine trotting racehorse in a poker game. That one horse peaked Wyatt's interest in racing and he eventually bought and raced a sizeable stable of horses. Following those days on the racing circuit and a stint as a boxing promoter Wyatt and Josie settled in and lived out their lives in Los Angeles entertaining and being entertained by stars that were part of Hollywood's burgeoning motion picture community.
Wyatt died in 1929 and Josie lived until 1944.
Josephine Marcus Earp tells a compelling story of an era filled with colorful characters and fascinating events.
Tom Barnes Author of "Doc Holliday's Road to Tombstone"
Book Description
'I doubt whether it would be possible to mention any author of note, whose personal obscurity was so complete.' James Edward Austen-Leigh's Memoir of his aunt Jane Austen was published in 1870, over fifty years after her death. Together with the shorter recollections of James Edward's two sisters, Anna Lefroy and Caroline Austen, the Memoir remains the prime authority for her life and continues to inform all subsequent accounts. These are family memories, the record of Jane Austen's life shaped and limited by the loyalties, reserve, and affection of nieces and nephews recovering in old age the outlines of the young aunt they had each known. They still remembered the shape of her bonnet and the tone of her voice, and their first-hand accounts bring her vividly before us. Their declared partiality also raises fascinating issues concerning biographical truth, and the terms in which all biography functions. This edition brings together for the first time these three memoirs, and also includes Jane's brother Henry Austen's 'Biographical Notice' of 1818 and his lesser known 'Memoir' of 1833, making a unique biographical record.
Customer Reviews:
Enjoying Jane.......2007-09-08
If you enjoy Jane Austen novels, you really should read this memoir from her nephew. It is like meeting his aunt and adds a special touch to the reading of her novels.
Not what I hoped it would be.......2007-04-26
I've read this book three times (all three times while the electricity was out and only a lantern or flashlight at hand) and all three times I've been totally disappointed. This book gives no insight. Nothing interesting crops up. It's boring. But I give it three stars because at least it exists. I suggest if forced to read by candlelight, you turn to the Bronte bios.
All Personal memoirs brought together, nice to read with the letters.......2005-10-08
Primary sources to Jane Austen's life are few and far between. This version includes the few personal family accounts which were published. James Edward Austen-Leighs is the largest of these, although still not very substantial. His two sisters also published them.
This includes four memoirs of Aunt Jane, all written much after her death by Caroline Austen, Anna Lefroy, James Austen_leigh and Henry Austen. Some are better reads than others but they add to the sparse amount of biographical and family information on Austen.
Handily, there is a family tree provided as well as a chronology. There are also useful explanatory notes.
I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone but a keen Austen fan - one of the excellent biographies available are much more readable and entertaining. For an avid Janeite this book provides a substantial source of primary information. I would highly recommend reading this with the collected letters which have been collected and edited by Claire Tomalin.
It is a nice collection and it is great to see all these published, as they ought to be together in one volume.
Book Description
"One of the great personal memoirs of the Second World War" (John Keegan) by the creator of the Flashman books.
Customer Reviews:
Made Me Feel at Home.......2007-04-26
This is not your so called war stories. It is about a man and the men he served with without any liberal gibberish (see his references to more modern times)and the fact that wars happen and will happen, just or unjust depending on one's views. But, they won't go away like some Utopian dreamers think just because other "Utopians" weren't up to it. There were so many pages that hit me in the gut because one could so readily identify with things on the page. I never expected such a great book from a journalist / media person which proves that there is good in every crowd. I salute Fraser and I wish I could tell him so in person.
A pure delight.......2006-08-10
I read this entire book with a smile on my face, punctuated by frequent outbursts of laughter. George MacDonald Fraser's memories of his WWII service with the British Commonwealth Army in the Burma campaign was the first of his non-Flashman works I've read. Although it's impossible to really compare two completely different literary genres, I'll just say that "Quartered Safe Out Here" was-in its own unique way- as hilarious, if not more so, than the best of the Flashman novels. The difference is that in the Flashman novels, Fraser's obvious respect for the sacrifices and achievements of the British soldier had to be viewed as a backdrop to the foreground humor while the opposite is true in this work, where the humor plays a supporting role to his tribute, which is explicit.
Unlike his Flashman creation, Fraser was an honest-to-goodness war hero- courageous, honorable, and immensely proud of his country, regiment and platoon section. Like old Flashie though, Fraser cuts through the B.S. and shows no tolerance for armchair generals, civilian second guessing, and the nattering classes' politically correct sympathizing for Britain's enemies, so long as they were black, brown or yellow. It was amusing how Fraser's account of his argument with a bleeding-heart over the atomic bombing of Japan exactly echoes Flashman's dustup with a supercilious academic at the beginning of "Flashman and the Redskins". The alert reader will notice other such episodes in this memoir that seem to have found life in that series, but as Fraser noted, sometimes real life in Burma was so bizarre that he would have been laughed out of town if he had tried to slip some of those stories or dialogue into his fictional novels or screenplays. That's why I'm glad he finally got around to writing this book. It would have been a real shame if this story had not been told.
Fraser details his time as a 19 year old soldier in Burma during the last months of the war. His writing is brilliant, as usual, his stories engrossing, his attention to detail is fascinating, and the characters we meet, from the lovably obscene Cumbrians to the unbelievable Captain Grief, are unforgettable, the more so for being real. Apart from the entertainment value, which is considerable, Fraser's insights into the nature of war and the warrior are poignant and valuable as a historical record of, and paean to, a lost Britain. He bemoans the fact that that Britain (not to mention America) has been replaced by a therapeutic society of hypersensitive p.c. twits who have been severed from the warrior tradition and stoic ethos which made their existence possible in the first place. As with most of Fraser's books, it's not for someone who thinks that the world has improved much in the last 50 years. What else is there to say? This is simply a great book. Read it and love it.
George Fraser's Excellent Recounting Of A Burma Grunt. .......2006-07-23
This book had been brought to my attention by the author John McKinna ("The Sen-Toku Raid" and others) when it was learned we both had been combat infantry. And a great recommendation it was. The name of the book was taken from a Rudyard Kipling phrase in "Gunga Din", and outlines the infantryman's life during the final days of WWII as the Black Cat Division pushed down the Burma road towards Rangoon.
His book is unique in that it recounts the perspective of the war-fighter on the ground, who's entire knowledge of a world conflict is about 300 yards. At one point, he described every piece of equipment on his person, a bit of historical information I found of great interest.
Interspersed with this narrative however, was Fraser's meticulous research of after action reports of the units involved to weave a mosaic for the reader that helped round out the full picture of the campaign itself.
Overall, a great read.
Extraordinary Memoir of "The Forgotten Army".......2006-06-27
George MacDonald Fraser, best known for his Flashman novels, and, in my opinion, one of our best writers, gives us here his nearly fifty-year-old memories of his service in Burma in 1945.
There is so much to like about this book that it's difficult to know where to begin. There is Fraser's absolute honesty about his fears, his mistakes, his attitude toward the Japanese, and the virtues and vices of his comrades. There is his ability to place his unit's activities within the context of larger campaigns and yet give a vivid impression of what fighting with his unit must have been like. There is his brief but compelling portrait of General William Slim, for whom he has an unabashed admiration. There are moments of low humor, of heroism, and of tragic loss of life, and there is an unapologetic pride in what he, his comrades, and the rest of the British and Allied forces accomplished.
This is one of the best books that I have ever read, and I recommend that you make it one of yours.
A Great Book about a forgotten war & now vanished great Army.......2005-06-20
GMF has outdone himself with this book about his part in the Horrific war in Burma during War II. He tells of his time as a junior enlist then junior NCO with the Border Regiment. He spins his tale extremely well about the story of the last great War fought by the Old Anglo-Indian Army of the Raj. So if you want to get a feel for a bygone Army, its various & exotic troops, weapons and some great characters like the Iron Duke and the Impressive FM Slim then this is the place for you.
Book Description
Recollections and Letters shows all the varying facets of Lee's character. His letters reveal his personal warmth, bravery and concern for the South during and after the war. No other collection of source materials gives such a whole and rewarding picture of one of the South's greatest sons and heroes.
Customer Reviews:
A Measure of the Marble Man.......2004-12-23
Robert E. Lee never had the chance to pen his own autobiography as U.S. Grant did. He meant to, but kept holding it off until heart disease claimed his life five years after the surrender of Appomattox.
Many of those who served under him during the Civil War wrote biographies of the great Confederate General, claiming to know how he felt, and what he thought. But only two of them really came close. The ponderous but solidly written "Memoirs of Robert E. Lee" by his Aide, Colonel Long, and this volume, comprised of letters actually written by Lee, and the remembrances of those who knew him well, and none more so than the author of the book, his own son, Captain Robert E.Lee, Jr.
Captain Lee describes his childhood in the Lee household, of General Lee's love of animals, especially horses. He describes a man who smiled, was warm, as compared to the austere, solemn descriptions and illustrations of him once the Civil War commenced. He writes how Lee agonized within his own family of the decision to leave the U.S. Army, and then join the Confederacy, even though wishing for a quiet, neutral life, and of Lee's personal losses during the war - a daughter who passed on, a son wounded and captured, the son's frail wife also passing on, and the known loss of their dearly beloved home in Arlington, which was turned into the national cemetery of the same name.
Captain Lee studiously avoids the controversial sides of Lee, his stand on slavery or the rights of the South, concentrating mainly on the personality of man and how he dealt with others.
This is a volume that belongs on the shelf of any Civil War buff, especially those interested in the life of Robert E. Lee.
I recommend this book, and Burke Davis' "Gray Fox" be purchased together.
Book Description
Mansur Abdulin fought in the front ranks of the Soviet infantry against the German invaders at Stalingrad, Kursk and on the banks of the Dnieper. This is his extraordinary story.
His vivid inside view of a ruthless war on the Eastern Front gives a rare insight into the reality of the fighting and into the tactics and mentality of the Red Army's soldiers. In his own words, and with a remarkable clarity of recall, he describes what combat was like on the ground, face to face with a skilled, deadly and increasingly desperate enemy. The terrifying moments of action, the discomfort of existence at the front, the humorous moments, the absurdities and cruelties of army organization, and the sheer physical and psychological harshness of the campaign - all these aspects of a Soviet soldier's experience during the Great Patriotic War are brought dramatically to life in Mansur Abdulin's memoirs.
Of special interest is the insight he offers into ordinary operations and daily life in the lower ranks of the Soviet army. As he tells his story he reveals much about the thinking of the men, their attitude to the war and their loyalties. He also sheds light on the tense relationships between the disparate national groups that were thrown together to create a huge fighting force. But most memorable are his honest, horrifying descriptions of combat, of being bombed and shelled, of trench warfare, of enduring tank attacks and friendly fire, and of coping with the wounded and the dead. The Author Mansur Gizzatulovich Abdulin was born a Tatar in Anzhero-Sudzhensk, near Tomsk in central Siberia, in 1923. He worked as a miner before volunteering to fight for the Red Army in June 1942. After completing his course at the Tashkent infantry school, he fought on the Stalingrad front, during the encirclement of the German 6th Army, participated in the bitter, decisive battle at Kursk and harried the Germans as they retreated across the Steppes to the banks of the Dnieper river where he was seriously wounded. After the war he returned to his work as a miner and he now lives in retirement at Novotroitsk near Orenburg in the Urals.
Customer Reviews:
Deep breath.......2007-04-14
I enjoyed this book. Better yet, "I'm sorry I finished this book." I read this before I went to sleep every night. I could have gone on reading it right up to the present. NOTE: it didn't go on to April 13, 2007. There is a very human and humble quality to this book which I appreciated. I have read the German accounts of the various battles and got a better appreciation of the hardships. Is this the difference between "winner" and "loser" I don't know? Maybe you do?
Excellent view of the common Soviet Soldier.......2007-02-07
This is an excellent account of the war as seen by a mortarman attached to a Soviet infantry division. It is very moving to read of the hardships Abdulin and his comrades experienced in this most brutal of wars. I was particularly struck by one story, in which the author and his friends feel overjoyed to immerse themselves in human excrement in an old latrine that had been forgotten and covered by snow. Compared to the -50 degree temperatures they had experienced, the feces were like a warm blanket. This really brings home just how unfathomably horrible the Eastern Front could be. Abdulin also gives us a view of the take-no-prisoners mindset that characterized both sides on the Eastern Front. He boasts of an incident where he and his men shoot several wounded Germans after overrunning their positions. As anyone who has studied the Eastern Front knows, this was an unfortunate, but common, practice on both sides. It makes the reader hope quite fervently that war will never reach this level of cruelty again. It should also be remembered that it already has, many times even if on a smaller scale, since the last shot rang out in Berlin.
One of Russia's Greatest Generation Remembers.......2006-07-31
A series of new World War II memoirs by soldiers of the Red Army provide fresh and valuable insights into the Soviet armed forces of the Great Patriotic War. Readers will find Mansur Abdulin's "Red Road From Stalingrad" among the best written, compelling and moving works recently published.
Abdulin reminds us that Ivan, the Red Army soldier, was a living, breathing being, who cherished life as much as his counterparts in the West and who was willing to defend his family and his homeland fanatically and lay down his life dearly for all that he loved. This stands in stark contract to the myth of the Soviet soldier - savage, unfeeling, and following orders unquestioningly - embedded in the military culture of the West by the officers of the defeated Wehrmacht seeking to exploit the growing rift between the West and the Soviet Union after the war.
In the first months of his invasion of the Soviet Union, Hitler's Wehrmacht inflicted catastrophic losses on Stalin's Red Army, causing many to wonder how it was Russia managed to survive. By December 1941, or only six months after the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, the Red Army had lost 177 divisions, comprising some five million men, including almost three and a half million, which had been captured by the Germans. Gone too were tens of thousands of combat aircraft, tanks and artillery pieces. Abdulin's book makes it clear that by 1942 Russia's strategic situation was already stabilizing, although much hard fighting and further defeats lay ahead. Still, in 1942 and 1943 Soviet Russia and the Red Army were fighting to survive a Wehrmacht bent on nothing less than the complete annihilation and enslavement of the Jews and Slavs and winning Lebensraum [living space] for Hitler's Third Reich. Liberation of the wide expanses of the Soviet Union captured by the Germans seemed a distant hope in 1942. It was only through the heroic efforts of tens of millions of Red Army soldiers like Mansur Abdulin that Hitler and the Wehrmacht found only defeat in Russia.
Born a Tartar in central Siberia in 1925, at a time when the newborn Soviet state was suffering from prolonged famine and disease, Abdulin experienced a hard childhood. "My mother would sometimes get hysterical from constant starvation and despair, screaming madly," he remembers. Abdulin went to work at a young age as a miner alongside his father. In June 1942 he volunteered to fight for the Red Army. After completing his course at the Tashkent Infantry School, he fought as mortar man on the Stalingrad Front during the Soviet counter-offensive, which crushed Field Marshal Paulus' Sixth German Army in the city between November 1942 and January 1943, killing and capturing hundreds of thousands of German and Romanian soldiers. Later, in July 1943, Abdulin took part in the battle of Kursk, where the Red Army held its ground against an unprecedented German onslaught led by Hitler's most elite divisions and supported by hundreds of new Tiger and Panther tanks. The Wehrmacht and the German panzer force were gutted during the battle and the Red Army followed up with a stinging counteroffensive, which hurled the Germans back across the Steppes all the way to the banks of the Dnieper River. It was there that Abudlin was seriously wounded.
Throughout his book Abdulin describes the small delights as well as the agonies of being a soldier in the Red Army during the war. "It was a great joy for us to receive a letter, a note, or a parcel from home," he writes. "Also, in each box containing shells, bombs or cartridges, we found pleasant surprises: a piece of paper bearing the address of an unknown girl, so that we could write her, or tobacco pouches filled with makhorka [strong Russian tobacco]." These small joys, however, were overshadowed by the death of friends and family, which dogged every Red Army soldier with each step westward. "I cried, like women cry, beside the dead boy of their beloved," admits Abdulin, poetically, as only a Russian can, on the death of a close friend in January 1943. "I howled, like little children howl, when they are greatly and unfairly offended by someone." The author also details the atrocities uncovered by Red Army soldiers as they advanced westward, liberating Russian villages and towns. "We entered a concentration camp for Soviet prisoners. Some of the men were on the verge of death; they were speedily evacuated to hospital," he remembers. "Several thousand corpses were stacked in an open field. One horror followed another. How can I survive this nightmare? If a bullet doesn't find me, surely I'll lose my mind..." Indeed. In all, more than three million of the almost five million Soviet prisoners held by the Wehrmacht died in such camps during the course of the war. Such atrocities fed Ivan's hatred for the Germans, prompting the Soviet solder to attack even more attack fanatically and defend even more tenaciously than before. More ominously, such massacres also fed Ivan's thirst for revenge. The author admits that at one point he ordered the execution of more than two hundred German prisoners held by his unit. "By nature I am a tender and sensitive person," writes the author. "I was never a hooligan or a brawler. But when I went to war I wanted to destroy the Fritzes; `Kill or be killed.' This was my message to the newcomers. I was consumed by the idea that while alive, I would have my revenge on the Germans in advance: for I never expected to survive that slaughter."
In January 1943, Abdulin's 293rd Rifle Division was redesignated the 66th Guards Rifle Division for its role in the battle of Stalingrad. "Fighting for our Soviet Motherland against the German invaders, the 293rd Rifle Division proved to be a model of bravery, courage, discipline and order," noted the order signed by Joseph Stalin, designating the unit an elite formation. "Engaged in continuous combat...the division inflicted heavy casualties on the Fascist forces and with its shattering blows destroyed enemy manpower and equipment, mercilessly crushing the German invaders." Abdulin was one of the fortunate few to have survived the war. Having done his part to defeat Hitler's armies, he returned to his work as a miner. He lives in retirement near Orenburg in the Urals, one of Russia's Greatest Generation.
Pretty good, but..........2006-05-02
Overall this is a pretty good book. It shows the very hard life of a Soviet soldier in WWII. One does, however, have reason to question the accuracy of the author's memory. For example, he tells us that just prior to the battle of Kursk he and other veterans told inexperienced soldiers about the strengths and weakness of various German tanks, including the Ferdinand. Since that particular tank made its debut at Kursk, his claim is hard to believe.
Honesty and Objectivity Trump Literary Value.......2006-04-27
If the reader approaches this memoir as literature, he'll learn quickly enough that Red Road from Stalingrad is no War and Peace - hence my three-star rating.
BUT - if the reader is interested in real history, in raw "data", in developing a feel for what it took to beat into pulp the greatest Army the world has ever seen, this book and its ilk are invaluable resources: the simple records of simple men.
Customer Reviews:
A Fascinating Diary.......2004-03-23
This book is a fascinating voyage through one of the great 19th Century Southern political minds; perhaps second only to John C. Calhoun. Alexander H. Stephens was a strange little man, never weighing more than 100 pounds, and standing only 5' 7" tall; but "Little Aleck" had the heart of a lion. He was possessed of a small head with protruding ears and piercing black eyes. Trained as a lawyer, with a frail almost boyish figure, he never married and was totally devoted to his half-brother, Linton, who served in the Georgia Legislature, on the Georgia Supreme Court and as a Confederate officer, and whose family Alexander Stephens adopted as his own.
This diary covers Stephens experiences as a prisoner after the War Between the States had ended. The War basically ended in April, 1865, but Stephens who had served as the Vice President of the Confederacy, had already gone home to Crawfordville, Georgia, his home town. On May 11, 1865, Tim, one of his servants, came running into the parlor saying: "Master! Yankees have come! a whole heap are in town, galloping all about with guns." Thus Stephens, who unlike other Confederate cabinet officials had never attempted to flee to the sanctuary of another country, came to be a prisoner. He was transported to Fort Warren in Boston Harbor and thus begins this diary.
Throughout the diary, Stephens was indignant that he was even a prisoner, for in his mind (he was probably right) he had done nothing wrong. He had always acted according to the principles of the United States Constitution to which he was totally devoted. He had served 16 years in Congress and had retired in 1859, and when the War started in 1861 he was called upon to serve the Confederacy. As he repeatedly points out the States created the Federal Government, not the other way around. The Federal Government's rights were limited. He had served as a Whig in Congress in the beginning of his career and served with Lincoln who also served as a Whig in the 30th Congress in 1847, when Lincoln served his only term in Congress before becoming president in 1861. Stephens felt he knew Lincoln well and this may be one of the reasons he was elected vice president of the Confederacy, in addition to the fact that he cautioned against secession and for this reason it was felt perhaps he may have had gained some influence with Lincoln.
In any case, the diary covers everything about his life at Fort Warren, where after an initial period of discomfort and apprehension (there was the possibility he may be hanged), he was treated rather kindly by his captors. Stephens read and discusses such books as the Bible, Prescott's Conquest of Mexico, Swedenborg's Doctrine Concerning the Lord, Cicero on Duties, Cicero on Oratory, Aristotle on Economics, Aristotle on Politics, and so forth demonstrating that he was a true intellectual. He discusses the food he ate, his living conditions, and people he met and dealt with such as his guards, other prisoners, and even the little girl who was the daughter of one of his wardens who would bring him flowers and thrust her little hand through the bars to put them in a little flower pot in his cell. Stephens only spent four months and nineteen days in prison. His treatment was much less harsh than that of Jefferson Davis who served two years at Fort Monroe. In the end, like Jefferson Davis and others, he was released and not prosecuted for any offenses. It has been said this was because in truth they had committed no offenses and acted against the Federal Government in much the same way the leaders of the 13 Colonies had acted against the Crown when the 13 Colonies sought their independence from England and thus could not have been convicted of anything.
All in all, a wonderful diary; I have not enjoyed reading a diary as much since I read James Boswell's London Journal 40 years ago.
Fort Warren's last prisoner.......2002-11-19
This is a reprint of the original diary kept by Stephens while at the fort. It is the only book still in print that was written at Fort Warren. If you had a Confederate relative imprisoned at Fort Warren, this gives a terrific insight to the daily routine at the famous bastille.
Book Description
"A surgeon can kill you...and you'll sleep right through it."
The most dramatic—and seemingly glamorous—of medical fields, surgery captivates the public's imagination. Written for inquisitive laymen as well as anyone in the medical profession, this fascinating first-person account documents the career of one of America's top surgeons. Readers accompany Sidney Schwab through medical school at Case Western Reserve University; an internship; junior and senior residencies (with a detour to Vietnam, where he won a Purple Heart); and finally his chief residency years in San Francisco. With humor and poignancy—and sometimes graphic detail—Schwab recalls memorable surgeries, surgeons, and patients. He takes care to explain, in understandable and interesting fashion, a variety of diseases, medical issues, and surgical techniques. More than just a memoir, Cutting Remarks offers a compelling look at how trauma and surgery are handled at a major hospital, and provides valuable insight into a surgeon's relationship with both peers and patients.
Customer Reviews:
Every medical student should read.......2007-08-19
Every medical student should read this before starting third year. Above all, this gives insights into the mindset of a first rate surgeon. The culture and work ethic of surgeons has not changed much since the 70's when I trained as a pathologist. As a bonus, the book has beautifully written explanations of the surgical details. And unforgettable humor. This will leave you a lot more inspired than "The House of God". Hospital administrators, RN's and surgeon's spouses would also benefit from this book.
Hilarious Read!.......2007-01-22
This book is hysterical. There were parts when I could not stop laughing. It gives a nice, well-rounded view of this surgeon's life. Interesting read.
Good.......2007-01-10
I found this book to be interesting for the fact he tells what surgery and the medical field was like back in the seventies. You can see how far things have come since then. He sounds like an awesome and insightful doctor. Wish there were more like him instead of some of the ones he describes in this book.
The best of this genre.......2006-12-13
Known for their arrogance, surgeons on the whole are a breed of doctors some people love to hate. The fact is, however, that it does take stones and a steel will, forged on the anvil of years of training, to open someone up someone's belly, fix the problem, and get out before anything worse happens. It is the first few years of this training that Dr. Schwab writes about, and any aspiring surgeon would be thrilled and truly educated in reading his experiences at UCSF.
However, this book surprised me because in spite of the fact that it obviously deals with a surgery residency, the beauty of the book is Dr. Schwab's obvious heart for his patients, the dedication to his craft, and the humility (right there tires should be screeching talking about a surgeon!) that is regularly shown about how much he has to learn. There is a simple honesty to Dr. Schwab's writing that is devoid of pompous declarations or pithy statements so unfortunately found in other surgeons' writings. There is an exquisitely crafted balance between the serious and the funny, finding that sweet spot where something strikes the reader as profound yet on the whole, one doesn't feel like he takes himself too seriously. In spite of decades of surgery practice, Dr. Schwab still captures (and I'm convinced, has) that youthful energy and optimism of his formative surgical years and reads more like a conversation with an old friend than a "memoir."
I think the biggest and most honest testament to this book is the following: I'm a 2nd year medical student and I came to this page to buy my 2nd copy of this book, because after reading the 1st one, I've lent it to so many classmates and friends, it's barely holding together--in fact, I don't even know who has it anymore. This next copy is mine, all mine, and I look forward to re-reading every word. [...]
The more things change the more they stay the same........2006-11-10
Being a practicing surgeon who went through training before work hour limitations, this book brings back the good and the bad of that era. Dr. Schwab is a talented writer who does his best to translate the emotions of a surgeon in training into words. He does attempt to bring the layman in with cutout descriptions of medical terms, but I think books such as these are most enjoyable for insiders. As someone who is in academic practice, I especially enjoyed his descriptions of several of the icons of American surgery who took part in his training. A very enjoyable and quick read for surgeons.
Book Description
Originally published by UNC Press in 1989, Fighting for the Confederacy is one of the richest personal accounts in all of the vast literature on the Civil War. Alexander was involved in nearly all of the great battles of the East, from First Manassas through Appomattox, and his duties brought him into frequent contact with most of the high command of the Army of Northern Virginia, including Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and James Longstreet. No other Civil War veteran of his stature matched Alexander's ability to discuss operations in penetrating detail—this is especially true of his description of Gettysburg. His narrative is also remarkable for its utterly candid appraisals of leaders on both sides.
Customer Reviews:
Best in personal accounts of the civil war.......2006-01-24
I have read many books of self accounts of the civil war. This book tops all others in the details and extra touch of personal feelings that where experenced by this brave man and all his fellow soldiers that fought this conflict. If you enjoy accounts of the civil war this book is a must read!!!!!
The best memoir by a Confederate.......2005-12-02
While there may be debate what is the best Civil War memoir overall (many would likely pick Grant's), E.P. Alexander's memoir is easily the best written by a Confederate. The book is candid (he was writing it for his family) and pulls no punches about what it was like to serve for the Confederacy. Alexander also led an interesting career, seeing service in both the Eastern and Western Theaters so that makes the book all the more interesting. I could write pages about how good this book is, how well it is written, and what a page turner it is, but several other reviewers have done that so I'll just say--Go read this book. You won't be disappointed.
Doesnt get better than this.......2004-12-11
Outstanding recount and introspective of the motivation and character of the Confederate officer. Alexander does not preach politics but provides a treasury of the chronology and mindset of those serving for the Army of Northern Virginia in the eastern campaigns. Possibly the best book of its kind since Lee, Jackson, A.P. Hill, JEB Stuart never wrote their own memoirs.
Insights into Life during the Civil War.......2004-12-02
Edward Alexander wrote his recollections as a gift to his family well after the fact while serving in a government post in Central America. Of particular interest to me were his stories of life in the Confederate capitol and the day-to-day life experiences of a soldier of the Confederacy during the war. For much of the war he was a colonel/general of artillery. He comments on the battles in which he fought from this limited perspective. Happily, such "technical" commentary is also limited in his work. The book is well written, easy to read; and, for the most part entertaining and informative while at the same time historically accurate.
A Must-Read for anyone interested in the Civil War.......2003-09-22
General Alexander's "Military Memoirs" saw great commercial and critical success when it was published shortly after the turn of the century. His children were constantly asking him for more of a "what it was like" memoir, without all the scholarly overtones. To satisfy them, he drafted a 1200 page manuscript while away on a job in Nicaragua. It disappeared over the years, and was only rediscovered about 10 years ago. With some excellent editing to fill in the blanks in the author's memory, "Fighting for the Confederacy" should be required reading for every Civil War enthusiast.
Compared to his other work, this book is much more personal and informal. He includes some great detail on what military service was like in Utah Territory and California immediately before the war. Like his other book though, he is neither a romantic about the Confederacy (or apologetic for that matter), nor sparing of his views of commanders North or South. If you have an interest in the Civil War, but not especially details of the campaigns, this is probably the better book by Alexander-praise indeed. However, the military historian would benefit from this book as well as "Military Memoirs". Highly Recommended.
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