This is laugh-out-loud funny in spots, but basically the story of her life (up to 2011), with more serious comments about continuing inequality in theThis is laugh-out-loud funny in spots, but basically the story of her life (up to 2011), with more serious comments about continuing inequality in the treatment of women. There are some interesting insights on the production of Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock....more
This is an excellent group biography, although the subtitle stretches things a bit. Saying "remade England" would be closer to the truth. Many of the This is an excellent group biography, although the subtitle stretches things a bit. Saying "remade England" would be closer to the truth. Many of the group were lifelong friends of DLS....more
This Pulitzer-Prize-winning, third-person autobiography by the grandson and great-grandson of U.S. Presidents shows him to have been an intellectual'sThis Pulitzer-Prize-winning, third-person autobiography by the grandson and great-grandson of U.S. Presidents shows him to have been an intellectual's intellectual. Oddly, he omitted the years 1872-1891, during which he married, his wife Clover committed suicide, and Adams commissioned his friend Augustus St. Gaudens to create a now-famous statue in her memory....more
Frank and touching. He had not just a "year of magical thinking" but almost a decade of believing that his mother, Princess Diana, might be alive and Frank and touching. He had not just a "year of magical thinking" but almost a decade of believing that his mother, Princess Diana, might be alive and in hiding from the paparazzi who caused her car crash. He also suffered from PTSD after his service in Afghanistan. His father and brother and especially their staffs behaved rather poorly....more
This contains the edited diaries from June 13, 1993, until a final entry Dec. 12, 2015, before Alan Rickman's death from pancreatic cancer on Jan. 14,This contains the edited diaries from June 13, 1993, until a final entry Dec. 12, 2015, before Alan Rickman's death from pancreatic cancer on Jan. 14, 2016. He traveled mind-bogglingly extensively for business and pleasure and knew so many people in the theatre/show business world, as well as music, literature, and politics. Quite fascinating!...more
What a beautiful book! It brought back so many great memories of reading to my children such favorites as Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm and A What a beautiful book! It brought back so many great memories of reading to my children such favorites as Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm and A Visit to William Blake's Inn. It also informed me that the Provensens had illustrated a personal favorite of my own, The Fireside Book of Folk Songs. This book did not garner a 5-star rating because, as a former editor, I found the many spelling and grammatical errors distressing.
An engaging blend of history, travel, and biography, this follows George Washington's footsteps (and those of his horse, and the tracks of his carriagAn engaging blend of history, travel, and biography, this follows George Washington's footsteps (and those of his horse, and the tracks of his carriage) from Mount Vernon to his NYC inauguration and then on the trips he made during his presidency, ranging from Kittery, Maine (then MA), to Savannah, Georgia, and lots of Washington-slept-here sites in between. ...more
While painful to read, this gives stunning voice to the cruelty, still almost unbelievable, of the Holocaust. One keeps asking oneself how "civilized"While painful to read, this gives stunning voice to the cruelty, still almost unbelievable, of the Holocaust. One keeps asking oneself how "civilized" people could do such barbarous things....more
Well written, thoroughly researched and documented, this biography even has a chapter after the epilogue to explain why certain claims made in other bWell written, thoroughly researched and documented, this biography even has a chapter after the epilogue to explain why certain claims made in other biographies of Vivien Leigh and her longtime husband Laurence Olivier do not appear in the main text. It's fascinating because she seems to have known or worked with everyone, from Noel Coward and Tennessee Williams to Katherine Hepburn and Patrick Stewart....more
Quite nice pictures soften the story of Orundellico, a boy of Tierra del Fuego, bought from his parents for a mother-of-pearl button and taken on the Quite nice pictures soften the story of Orundellico, a boy of Tierra del Fuego, bought from his parents for a mother-of-pearl button and taken on the HMS Beagle to England to be "civilized." About 15 years later, on Darwin's famous voyage, the Beagle returned the young man, now called Jemmy Button, to his home, where he had to relearn his native language. There aren't too many lines to read between, but doing so reveals a sad view of colonialism and race relations....more
His writing is full of aphorisms and great quotes, and very informative about cafe' intellectual life in Vienna between the wars.His writing is full of aphorisms and great quotes, and very informative about cafe' intellectual life in Vienna between the wars....more
Poorly researched. Poorly written. Poorly edited--although there is actually no evidence that it was copy-edited at all. Poorly proofread. So why did Poorly researched. Poorly written. Poorly edited--although there is actually no evidence that it was copy-edited at all. Poorly proofread. So why did I finish reading it? It is mainly about criminals in my hometown of Quincy, IL, and some of the people and places were familiar....more
I expected more landscape than figures from this well-known travel writer, but actually the balance was in favor of biographical essays and literary cI expected more landscape than figures from this well-known travel writer, but actually the balance was in favor of biographical essays and literary criticism, ranging from Thoreau and Conrad to Hunter Thompson and Harper Lee....more
Homeschooled in a dysfunctional survivalist family, the author battled her way through heart-breaking obstacles to earn a PhD from Cambridge UniversitHomeschooled in a dysfunctional survivalist family, the author battled her way through heart-breaking obstacles to earn a PhD from Cambridge University. The suspenseful twists and turns of her life drawn the reader along as she achieves insights into herself and her family....more
Loading...
