Biographies & Memoirs Books - Page 3

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

Roald Dahl

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( D ) -> Dahl, Roald

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 51 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Classic Dahl 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I read this book years ago, as a child, and was thrilled to find I could still get a copy years (ok, decades *cringes*) later. Yet the book is certainly one both children and adults can enjoy.

The main stories (in my humble opinion) to read are "The Wonderful Story Of Henry Sugar" and "The Hitchhiker". I've never been a great fan of his non-fiction...that is not to say that he's a lousy non-fiction writer, but his fiction appeals to my imagination and sense of humour.

The "Henry Sugar" tale is about a greedy rich bachelor who discovers a book in a friend's library about a man in India who can see without using his eyes, and can even see through playing cards. It doesn't take Henry long to decide to steal the book, and to practise the technique so that he can cheat at gambling. Yet though he starts out mean-spirited and focussed solely on personal gain, through the long, arduous dedication to these yoga exercises, Henry makes his own journey of self-discovery, and finds at the end that he no longer cares about money. Instead, he decides to use his money for good, as a modern-day Robin Hood - winning money from casinos with his ability, yet using the winnings to set up orphanages in different countries around the world.

"The Hitchhiker" is told from the point of view of the author who is driving a brand new car and picks up a hitchhiker, who turns out to be a most unusual fellow with an extraordinary skill.

While Dahl is best known for his children's stories, he also wrote a lot of adult fiction...if memory serves, he wrote a number of Tales Of The Unexpected books - short stories which were usually thrillers, often full of surprise twists and sometimes with a touch of the paranormal. This book showcases the best of Dahl's short story writing ability, creating 3-D characters we feel sad to leave at the end, and giving us tales that mystify, delight and inspire.

I highly recommend this book.

Editorial Review:

Seven tales of fantasy and fun "are told with the special wit, the unexpected twists that have made Roald Dahl's short stories and children's books so popular with readers of all ages."--Book-of-the-Month Club News.

Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt! (Unforgettable Americans)

Jean Fritz

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Unacceptable historical errors 3 out of 5 stars.
12 of 20 people found this review helpful.

Although Jean Fritz is an award winning author of history books, she makes some serious errors in this book making it unacceptable for school libraries. I love her writing style and the way she relates many humorous stories of Teddy Roosevelt's childhood, but when she relates his western adventures her historical research is seriously lacking. She refers to how the Sioux Indians killed 10,000 buffalo a feat which would have been impossible since the tribe was totally defeated, low in numbers, and relegated to reservations in the time period she described, the late 1880s. White buffalo hunters, not Native Americans slaughtered buffalo for their tongues and left their carcasses to rot. The Sioux had a tremendous respect for nature and only hunted a few buffalo at a time, just enough to feed their tribal group.

These egregious fallacies make this book totally unacceptable. Children should be given historical sources that are accurate, not ones that perpetuate myths. It is unfortunate since the rest of the book is wonderful and with some judicious editing, this would be one of the best children's biographies of Roosevelt.

Editorial Review:

Today's preeminent biographer for young people brings to life our colorful 26th president. Conservationist, hunter, family man, and politician, Teddy Roosevelt commanded the respect and admiration of many who marveled at his energy, drive and achievements. An ALA Notable Book. A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year.

The Endless Steppe (rack): Growing Up in Siberia

Esther Hautzig

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> History & Historical Fiction -> Modern

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 70 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In the bitter desolation of Siberia, Esther and her family fight to stay alive.

It is June 1941. The Rudomin family has been arrested by the Russians. They are "capitalists--enemies of the people." Forced from their home and friends in Vilna, Poland, they are herded into crowded cattle cars. Their destination: the endless steppe of Siberia.

For five years, Esther and her family live in exile, weeding potato fields and working in the mines, struggling for enough food and clothing to stay alive. Only the strength of family sustains them and gives them hope for the future.

Notable Children's Books of 1968 (ALA)
1968 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Honor Book
Outstanding Children's Books of 1968 (NYT)
1969 Jane Addams Award
1971 Lewis Carroll Shelf Award
Nominee, 1969 National Book Award for Children's Literature
1969 Shirley Kravitz Children's Book Award
1987 Deutsche Jugenliteraturpreis (German Youth Literature Prize) "Honorable List"
1969 Fanfare Honor List (The Horn Book)

Beyond the Myth: The Story of Joan of Arc

Polly Schoyer Brooks

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Detailed biographical study garnered from intense research. 5 out of 5 stars.
18 of 21 people found this review helpful.

Like many females, I enjoy learning about female historical figures. I want to know as much truth as I can find. The author does exactly that for the reader. This book is a detailed account of the events that triggered Joan d'Arc's dedication to her country and its rightful king. The author traces the history based on documents and other works that have been carefully researched. She provides the reader with the personality traits and beliefs of the time which drove the events that led to Joan's trial and death. Accusations of witchcraft and sorcery were used by church and secular leaders to destroy the young life of a heroic woman because of jealousy, superstition, and shady business surrounding the church and state. In addition, health and medical issues of the times are revealed that are shocking and entertaining. Read this book to learn about Joan, but also about the way people lived. Just learning about the reasons for the need for all those castles made the read worth the time.

Editorial Review:

The king was going mad . . . So begins Polly Schoyer Brooks's account of one of history's most compelling stories and one of the world's most popular heroines-Joan of Arc. Brooks tells us of a fifteenth-century France ravaged by war, plague, and religious conflict; of a king who suffered fits of madness and his weak son who made a disappointing successor; and of a peasant girl from the countryside who accomplished what appeared to be miracles by rallying the dispirited French nation with her desire to see the rightful king rule. Little more than a year after her astounding triumphs-uniting the nation and securing the throne for Charles VII with her victory over the English at Orlean-nineteen-year-old Joan was imprisoned on charges of witchcraft and sorcery, tried for heresy, and burned at the stake. Polly Schoyer Brooks's detailed narrative unveils the spirited young woman who became a patron saint and continues to inspire courage and faith.

The Seuss, the Whole Seuss and Nothing But the Seuss: A Visual Biography of Theodor Seuss Geisel

Charles D. Cohen

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A Grown-up Biography of a Children's Hero 4 out of 5 stars.
30 of 31 people found this review helpful.

With the awful, distorted, contrived pile of wasted film, conjured up in the form of Mike Myers' take on the "Cat in the Hat," it would be nice to know why, in the beginning of it all, Dr. Seuss was ever popular at all. He was a great writer and cartoonist before his famous cat's striped hat became chic fashion among post-grunge era teenagers.

In "The Seuss, the Whole Seuss and Nothing But the Seuss: A Visual Biography of Theodor Seuss Geisel" by Charles Cohen, we are shown the greatness of Seuss -- of Theodor Geisel, through drawings, paintings and text. We get to learn about his early days at Dartmouth, as he toyed with hybridic animals, wit and satire.

Not every idea worked. Seuss, an experimenter, evolved from being a talented but rustic styler of odd creatures into a sophisticated artist of odd, if not bizarre beasts that had genuine identity.

Before he write and drew books about green eggs, grinches, and elephants named Horton, he was an editorial cartoonist. His language in many of the cartoons was far from being politically correct, but his social commentary decrying racism was right on. He hard-handed racist thought with no evidence of his sweet children's characters kindness.

Cohen has produced an array of research. Samples of Seuss' art grace most pages. We also get a look at the vast merchandising, parodies, and unlicensed knock-offs.

This is not a children's book. Don't be fooled by the name of the publisher. It is for someone interested in reading a serious look at the history of one of America's beloved cartoonists.

I fully recommend "The Seuss, the Whole Seuss and Nothing But the Seuss: A Visual Biography of Theodor Seuss Geisel." by Charles D. Cohen.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

Editorial Review:

Theodor Seuss Geisel, creator of Horton the Elephant, the Grinch, the Cat in the Hat, and a madcap menagerie of the best-loved children’s characters of all time, stands alone as the preeminent figure of children’s literature. But Geisel was a private man who was happier at the drawing table than he was across from any reporter or would-be biographer. Under the thoughtful scrutiny of Charles D. Cohen, Geisel’s lesser known works yield valuable insights into the imaginative and creative processes of one of the 20th century’s most original thinkers.

The Tree of Life

Peter Sis

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In this brilliant presentation of a revolutionary thinker's life, the picture book becomes an art form

As far as I can judge, I am not apt to follow blindly the lead of other men . . .

Charles Darwin was, above all else, an independent thinker who continues even now to influence the way we look at the natural world. His endless curiosity and passion for detail resulted in a wealth of notebooks, diaries, correspondence, and published writings that Peter Sís transforms into a visual treasure trove. A multilayered journey through Darwin’s world, The Tree of Life begins with his childhood and traces the arc of his life through university and career, following him around the globe on the voyage of the Beagle, and home to a quiet but momentous life devoted to science and family. Sís uses his own singular vision to create a gloriously detailed panorama of a genius’s trajectory through investigating and understanding the mysteries of nature. In pictures executed in fine pen and ink and lush watercolors – cameo portraits, illustrated pages of diary, cutaway views of the Beagle, as well as charts, maps, and a gatefold spread – Peter Sís has shaped a wondrous introduction to Charles Darwin.

Beware, Princess Elizabeth: A Young Royals Book

Carolyn Meyer

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> People & Places -> Royalty

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 62 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

SUSAN'S ONLINE REVIEW 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

King Henry the 8th dies leaving Edward the throne. Edward dies after 6 years of ruling. Edward leaves the throne to Jane Dudley (that's another story called 9 days a queen.) Jane knows that Mary is the rightful ruler of Englang but is forced to be queen. Most of England wanted mary as Queen so to prevent a rebellion they took the throne from Jane and gave it to Mary after nine days of rule. Mary had Jane and her husband beheaded. Elizabeth has many spies watching her every move to prevent he from causing an rebellion. Elizabeth is sent to the same tower as her mother was sent to many years ago and beheaded. will she have the same fate as her mother read the book and find out. i'm bad at writting so the book is way better than its sounds.

Editorial Review:

Elizabeth Tudor's teenage years are hardly those of a fairy-tale princess. Her father has beheaded her mother; her jealous half sister has her locked away in the Tower of London; and her only love has betrayed her in his own quest for the throne.
Told in the voice of the young Elizabeth and ending when she is crowned queen, this is the second novel in the exciting Young Royals series.

Mary, Bloody Mary: A Young Royals Book

Carolyn Meyer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 122 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Good book (MARY, BLOODY MARY) 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 3 people found this review helpful.

IN England 1400-1500 Mary Tudor is King Henry VIII and Cathrine Tudor's (Cathirine queen of Aragon,) Daughter, Mary was crowned Princess of Wale sand is also the Heir to the throne. In this novelMary's father King Henry VIII falls in love with a girl from spain named Anne Boleyn. Anne is accusedof being a witch and has a spell over King Henry VIII. King Henry was having a affair with Anne and that started a fight with Cathrine. King Henry weas saying that there marage was invalid because he married his brothers ex wife. So he wanted a divorse. The priest wont let him. So Anne gets pregnant and Mary moves to another castle with her lady in wating named salsburry. Maryt soon ends up being a servant in her fathers castle and stays in a dark wet room that she didn't evan know they had. Mary had been specifically orderd to change Elisebeths dipers and stuff. soon Elisebeths be comes Princess of wales and new Heir to the throne

Editorial Review:

The story of Mary Tudor's childhood is a classic fairy tale: A princess who is to
inherit the throne of England is separated from her mother; abused by an evil
stepmother who has enchanted her father; stripped of her title; and forced to
care for her baby stepsister, who inherits Mary's rights to the throne. Believe it
or not, it's all true.
Told in the voice of the young Mary, this novel explores the history and intrigue
of the dramatic rule of Henry VIII, his outrageous affair with and marriage to the
bewitching Anne Boleyn, and the consequences of that relationship for his
firstborn daughter. Carolyn Meyer has written a compassionate historical novel about love and loss, jealousy and fear--and a girl's struggle with forces far
beyond her control.

Diary of an Anorexic Girl

Morgan Menzie

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Talk About Real!!! 5 out of 5 stars.
12 of 13 people found this review helpful.

Morgan Menzie's book was the first diary of an eating disorder I read, and is the reason why I continue to read more ED books. She unlike many ED authors talked about things other that just her eating disorder, such as relationships with friends, family and boyfriends. It's not a book that's all about anorexia but does emphasize more so than other subjects in her diary.

In her book, I believe she cover about mmm... three or four years, I really can't remember. Anyway it's a long period of time. One thing that she does that annoys the heck out of me is that she'll skip a whole month of entries but I guess that's the author's way of cutting out insignificant things.

Basically a girl named Blythe, which I think maybe be her middle name, becomes anorexic in middle school because of a friend. On of her friends begins to loose weight and Blythe decides she wants to loose to. But it goes beyond loosing weight it becomes a desire for thinness, and a fear of food.

Another thing I love about this book is Morgan keeps it so real. She said one of the- the truest thing EVER published about our human ways. It's on page 49 and is the...um... 4th paragraph I believe since the book is copy written I don't want to post it without permission. But what she says in that paragraph is so overwhelmingly true that I had to put down the book and think about my life. Although what she says is completely irrelevant to her eating disorder I couldn't write this review without reference to that paragraph.

Would I recommend it? Heck yeah! To anyone, even if you're not anorexic or never have been, even if you think the disease is stupid, anyone should get this book. Recoverees, havebeens, thinking about its and neverwillbees, get the book. You'll understand what it's like to have the disease for this one girl and may have a whole new outlook on anorexia.

Editorial Review:

Morgan Menzie takes readers through a harrowing but ultimately hopeful and inspiring account of her eating disorder. Her amazing story is told through the journals she kept during her daily struggle with this addiction and disease. Her triumphs and tragedies all unfold together in this beautiful story of God's grace.

Features include: daily eating schedule, journal entries, prayers to God, poems, and what she wished she knew at the time. It's the true story of victory over a disease that is killing America's youth.

Teen Angst? Naaahà: A Quasi-autobiography

Ned Vizzini

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 31 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Teen Angst? 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

I read this book the summer before I started high school at Stuyvesant in Manhattan, which happens to be the school that Ned went to (go Stuy!). His book was very accurate and insightful about the school, and I was able to relate to some things he felt. Even though he graduated when I was still in elementary school, things have stayed the same. Things like the Magic Card gang on the 6th floor are still real for my grade. It was a funny read and I literally couldn't put it down until I finished.

Editorial Review:

The events in these stories are real. Some names have been changed so I don’t get yelled at.

Ned Vizzini writes about the weird, funny, and sometimes mortifying moments that made up his teen years. With wit, irony, and honesty, Teen Angst? Naaah . . . invites you into his world of school, parents, street people, rock bands, friends, fame, camp, sex (sort of), Cancun (almost), prom, beer, Nintendo, the cool (and almost cool), and more. A Holden Caulfield for Generation Y, Ned Vizzini is an original voice to be reckoned with, read, and enjoyed.