Good first-hand account of the amazing and often-told story of the Uruguayan rugby team's ordeals in the Andes.Good first-hand account of the amazing and often-told story of the Uruguayan rugby team's ordeals in the Andes....more
I read this on our trip to Guatemala, mostly on buses. I found it an enjoyable story of adventure with some good general life lessons. I am not, howevI read this on our trip to Guatemala, mostly on buses. I found it an enjoyable story of adventure with some good general life lessons. I am not, however, intrigued enough to read any of the Lord of the Rings books that follow. Having seen the movies of those books, I thought it was interesting that the movies are sort of known for their battle scenes, but in this book (and I am assuming the others. Again I haven't read them) the battles are not described in great detail and were generally only a page or two long. I guess they make for good movie filler though. A fun, fast read....more
I鈥檝e read two of Kingsolver鈥檚 books (Prodigal Summer and The Poisonwood Bible) down here and really liked them both. So when I saw this I picked it upI鈥檝e read two of Kingsolver鈥檚 books (Prodigal Summer and The Poisonwood Bible) down here and really liked them both. So when I saw this I picked it up. I enjoyed it, but I don鈥檛 think it compares to either of the other two. Part of it may be that I am not a woman and this book is all about women. There is only one male character and he is relatively minor. The book is about a young woman from Kentucky who has only two goals, not to get pregnant and to get away from Kentucky. A few years after High School, she saves up enough to buy a car and drive away. Along her journey, she is given a small child. It just sort of happens like that. So now she has this kid to decide what to do with. She eventually makes it to Tuscon and decides to settle down there with the little one. The story follows her ups and downs and relationships with friends and neighbors. She encounters a few memorable characters and makes a couple of huge decisions that change her life and the lives of others around her. Its good and a fast read, but I think it is more recommendable for women than for men. ...more
The first-hand account of growing up in Cambodia during Pol Pot's reign of genocide. The author was 5 when the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia and forceThe first-hand account of growing up in Cambodia during Pol Pot's reign of genocide. The author was 5 when the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia and forced her and her family out of Phnom Pehn. She describes in detail their lives over the following years in painful detail. The killings were indiscriminate and barbarous. Obviously, she survived to tell the tale, but the things she lived through are horrific. Definitely not a happy, upbeat read, but it is well worth it to check this book out....more
I've heard this guy on the Diane Rehm show and on Talk of the Nation. I really like what he says about balancing global economics with the environment.I've heard this guy on the Diane Rehm show and on Talk of the Nation. I really like what he says about balancing global economics with the environment. I think he and E.O. Wilson would get along....more
Somehow, I never read this in school. I think it may be good that I was never assigned it because I rarely read the books assigned in school. I am reaSomehow, I never read this in school. I think it may be good that I was never assigned it because I rarely read the books assigned in school. I am really glad I read this now. Steinbeck is obviously a great writer and I have come to enjoy his books a lot, although the only other one I have read is East of Eden. The book follows the Joads, a family of Oklahoma sharecroppers who have been forced off of their land and decided to move to California to the promise of plentiful jobs and a better future. They are plagued with hardships along the journey and once they get there as they realize that not everything they have heard is true. Like so many others, they are forced to desperately search for work for ever-declining wages. Throughout it all, they stay positive (mostly) more out of necessity than of choice. The way the characters are developed is great and the reader comes to know them well. Steinbeck injects plenty of his own opinions and life lessons and, I thought, used each character and each situation faced as a metaphor for life鈥檚 challenges. Like the Joads, we all have to keep moving beyond what life throws at us, always looking toward a better future. ...more
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