Family & Childhood Books - Page 6

Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress

Susan Jane Gilman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 62 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A better title might be, "Me, the Unique Rebel" 1 out of 5 stars.
2 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Really, everyone who has given this "author" one star has hit the nail on the head; she wants to be fascinating. I suppose there's nothing wrong with that................until you decide that you're such an ironic paradox and so profound that you should probably publish. There are so many wonderful books and amazing authors out there; don't waste your time.

It is just OK, nothing special. 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I found the chapters scattered and storyline pretty uneventful. The book was not a quick read. Pretty forgetable overall. Funny moments, some chapters were more entertaining than others, but def was not a page turner.

Third Times a Charm 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

It took me three attempts to get past the first twenty pages. Once I was into the heart of the first section it was laugh-out-loud funny. Well, that was until the second part of the book which was a bit dull and mind numbing. However, the optimism from the first section carried me through to the final section of the book. It was definately worth making it through the middle of the book.
This was an enjoyable read; the type of book to take to the beach for the day. There is about 100 unneccessary pages however, the remaining pages are witty, entertaining and enjoyable.

Editorial Review:

From the author of Kiss My Tiara comes a funny and poignant collection of true stories about women coming of age that for once isn't about finding a date.

My Brother's Voice: How a Young Hungarian Boy Survived the Holocaust: A True Story

Stephen Nasser

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 72 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Stephen "Pista" Nassar his TRUE story! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Before I begin..because this comment is long if you want a heartfelt personal account of the Holocaust READ THIS BOOK!!
On a recent trip to Poland I was fortunate (or unfortunate enough) to visit the Auschwitz concentration camp. The visit heigthened my interest in the Holocaust that we have all heard of, read books and saw pictures of. However, the impact of actually being there in the buildings that housed those that survived the gas chambers by being "strong" enough to work. The gas chambers and crematorium where hundreds of thousands of the weak, the sick, the old, most women and children too young to work, met a horrific end to their precious lives! This very camp is where 13 year old Steven "Pista" and his 16 year old brother Ardis, along with their family members, began their journey after being rounded up by the Nazis.

After visiting Auschwitz and returning home to Las Vegas, I became thirsty for knowledge to understand how such a horrific event could have occured right under our noses as WWII was in full bloom! I began reading and watching everything I could get my hands on, beginning with Schindler's List. I had seen the movie when it first came out, but it was far more impactful after actually visiting the factory, which is also being turned into a memorial much like Auschwitz. As I read book after book and watched movie after movie I still could not get my arms around the event. One morning I was reading our local paper, The Review Journal I came across an Ad about My Brothers Voice. I hurried to the nearest bookstore and bought the book. I began reading the book and could not put it down. I would read before I went to work.....worry about Pista and Ardis all day, hurrying to return home at the end of my day so I could read more, and to make sure they were OK. I read the book in 2 days!

Of all the books I had read, including the Diary of Anne Frank..all paled in comparison to the extremely well written account of Dear Pista and Ardis' horrific journey. As I read the book I felt like I was there with them, could see what they saw, and feel what they felt! At this point, I will add that I am an American Catholic with an unexplained ignorance of what really happened from 1939-1945....that ignorance no longer exists! After reading this book I felt I knew Pista and Ardis, that is how well written this book is. It also helped me to put some closure to my recent obsession...the Holocaust.

About one month after reading this wonderfully written book, I had the pleasure of meeting Pista, who it turns out lives right here in Las Vegas! I saw another Ad in the paper advertising his book and a phone number to call if interested in having him speak at schools, churches, and other organizations. I work for MGM Mirage which is a huge advocate of Diversity Training. I thought how wonderful if we could have him speak at some of our many Diversity Classes! I called the number and to my surprise it was PISTA that answered the phone. I was speechless, for a couple of seconds!!!! After a lengthy conversation with this wonderful man it turned out that he was having a book signing that very night. After work I rushed home to get my daughter and went to listen and learn more from Pista! He is such a sweet and passionate man, now fortunately much older than the 13 year old boy that endured what no child or adult should have to. He is not bitter, he is not predudiced, he has forgiven, but not forgotten what we must all learn more about. Not just to be better Americans and appreciate how lucky we are to be born in the US, but to be better human beings!! To love our families and our friends, to be grateful that we have good food and plenty of it to eat. We have a warm comfortable bed to sleep in and we work hard to have these things, not work because we are forced and beaten falling into "bed" starving, having eaten only a small piece of sawdust bread after a hard days work. Unimagenable...you bet, but TRUE! It would be impossible to write a book like My Brother's Voice without having lived through Pista's misfortune of being born to a family of Hungarian Jews! Same as my opening comment, my closing comment is the same.....READ THIS BOOK!!! I promise you, you will see the world through different eyes!

Denise Fillmore
Las Vegas, Nevada

Editorial Review:

Stephen "Pista" Nasser was 13 years old when the Nazis whisked him and his family away from their home in Hungary to Auschwitz. His memories of that terrifying experience are still vivid, and his love for his brother Andris still brings a husky tone to his voice when he remembers the terrible ordeal they endured together. Stephens account of the Holocaust, told in the refreshingly direct and optimistic language of a young boy, will help every reader to understand that the Holocaust was real, and that, if you have enough love, determination, and will power, there is always a better tomorrow!

G.I. Joe & Lillie: Remembering a Life of Love and Loyalty

JosephS. Bonsall

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A wonderful book! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I loved this book. My parents were also of this generation and dad in the Normandy Invasion, both from dysfunctional families. They built a long and happy marriage and gave us children a fine childhood. Today's generation can learn from this book. It's another great tribute to a the WWII generation.

Heart Warming 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book really hit home. It shows you what sacrafices were made to give all of us the Freedoms that we enjoy today in addition to being a beautifull love story. It brought tears to my eyes. Great Job Mr. Bonsall.

A son`s fond remembrance of G.I. Joe & Lillie will touch your soul..... 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Oak Ridge Boy Joe Bonsall is from very good people...and his
heart-warming account of his beloved parents,G.I. Joe & Lillie,
is ample proof of this.
Joseph S Bonsall has written one of the most inspiring books
that I have ever had the pleasure of reading.He provides the
moving story of their struggles and triumphs throughout their
lives.Read of their home life growing up,how they met and reared
their own children,their service to their country,and their unwavering
devotion to each other...
Joe and Lillie are the greatest of examples of those who lived the
American dream...they are the Greatest Generation.
I am proud to learn of the story of G.i. Joe and Lillie.I am proud to
be living in this great country.I am also proud of Joe Bonsall.....

Editorial Review:

• True account of life, love, war, and finally, peace
• Includes details and accounts of D-Day
• Author sings tenor for the world-famous Oak Ridge Boys
• Poignant slice of Americana

Magical Mystery Tours: My Life with the Beatles

Tony Bramwell, Rosemary Kingsland

List Price: $24.95 By: Thomas Dunne Books Amazon Marketplace: 77 new & used starting at $1.13

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 38 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

"If you want to know anything about the Beatles, ask Tony Bramwell. He remembers more than I do."- Sir Paul McCartney to Donovan in a January 2002 interview

Tony Bramwell's remarkable life began in a postwar Liverpool suburb, where he was childhood friends with three of the Beatles long before they were famous. And by the time he caught up with George Harrison on the top of a bus going to check out "The Beatles, direct from Hamburg"--one of whom George turned out to be--Tony was well on his way to staying by them for every step of their meteoric rise.

If anything needed taking care of, Tony Bramwell was the man the Beatles called, the man they knew they could trust. His story has been sought after for years, and now, here it is, full of untold stories and detailing with an insider's shrewd eye the Apple empire's incomparable rise, Brian Epstein's frolics, Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters, Phil Spector's eccentric behavior, and new stories about Yoko Ono, the Stones, and the life--his life.

From developing the first Beatle music videos to heading Apple Films, and from riding bikes and trading records with George Harrison to working and partying with everyone from the Beatles to Hendrix, Ray Charles, and The Who, Tony's life really did (and does) encompass a who's who of rock.

His story reveals fresh insights into the Beatles' childhoods and families, their early recordings and songwriting, the politics at Apple, and Yoko's pursuit of John and her growing influence over the Beatles' lives. And it uncovers new information about the Shea Stadium concert footage, John Lennon's late-night "escapes," and more. From the Cavern Club to the rooftop concert, from the first number one to the last, and from scraps of song lyrics to the discovery of the famous Mr. Kite circus poster, Tony Bramwell really did see it all.

Conversational, direct, and honest, the ultimate Beatles insider finally shares his own version of the frantic and glorious ascent of four boys from Liverpool lads to rock and roll kings.

Under a Wing (Isis Large Print Nonfiction)

Reeve Lindbergh

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

"We Lindberghs still know ourselves best as a tribe: close-knit, self-enclosed, and self-defining, always prepared to be besieged by invisible forces upwelling from the past...."

The world knew Charles Lindbergh as a daring aviator, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, and controversial isolationist in World War II.  His wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, was a bestselling author.  To their five children they were Father, never Daddy, and Mother.  Charles, a stern yet loving father, was surprisingly affectionate and playful; Anne provided a great, gentling love.  With remarkable candor, their youngest daughter provides a rare, intimate look at her legendary family...the pervasive impact of her brother's kidnapping and death...the complexity of her parents' long, loving marriage...the night her life and her mother's converged, as Reeve's own infant son died suddenly.  With grace and insight, Reeve Lindbergh appraises her remarkable parents, her unusual childhood, and the troubling questions that remain.  At once an eloquent reminiscence and a slice of American history, Under a Wing is, at its core, a heartfelt tribute to an extraordinary family.

On Hitler's Mountain: Overcoming the Legacy of a Nazi Childhood

Irmgard A. Hunt

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

On Hitler's Mountain is a powerful, intimate, riveting, and revealing account of a seemingly halcyon life lived mere paces from a center of evil and madness; a remarkable memoir of an "ordinary" childhood spent in an extraordinary time and place. Born in 1934, Irmgard Hunt grew up in the picturesque Bavarian village of Berchtesgaden, in the shadow of the Eagle's Nest and near Adolf Hitler's luxurious alpine retreat. The very model of blond Aryan "purity," Irmgard sat on the Fu hrer's knee for photographers, witnessed with excitement the comings and goings of all manner of famous personages, and with the blindness of a child accepted the Nazi doctrine that most of her family and everyone around her so eagerly embraced. Here, in a picture-postcard world untouched by the war and seemingly unblemished by the horrors Germany's master had wrought, she accepted the lies of her teachers and church and civic leaders, joined the Hitler Youth at age ten, and joyfully sang the songs extolling the virtues of National Socialism. But before the end -- when she and other children would be forced to cower in terror in dank bomb shelters and wartime deprivations would take a harrowing toll -- Irmgard's doubts about the "truths" she had been force-fed increased, fueled by the few brave souls who had not accepted Hitler and his abominations. After the fall of the brutal dictatorship and the suicide of its mad architect, many of her neighbors and loved ones still clung to their beliefs, prejudices, denial, and unacknowledged guilt. Irmgard, often feeling lonely in her quest, was determined to face the truth of her country's criminal past and to bear the responsibility for an almost unbearablereality that most of her elders were determined to forget. She resolved even then that the lessons of her youth would guide her actions and steel her commitment to defend the freedoms and democratic values that had been so easily dismissed by the German people. Provocative and astonishing, Irmgard A. Hunt's On Hitler's Mountain offers a unique, gripping, and vitally important first-person perspective on a tumultuous era in modern history, as viewed through the eyes of a child -- a candid and fascinating document, free of rationalization and whitewash, that chronicles the devastating moral collapse of a civilized nation.

Blackbird: A Childhood Lost And Found

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 118 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

With the startling emotional immediacy of a fractured family photo album, Jennifer Lauck's incandescent memoir is the story of an ordinary girl growing up at the turn of the 1970s and the truly extraordinary circumstances of a childhood lost. Wrenching and unforgettable, Blackbird will carry your heart away.

The house on Mary Street was home to Jennifer; her older brother B.J.; their hardworking father, who smelled like aftershave and read her Snow White; and their mother, who called her little daughter Sunshine and embraced Jackie Kennedy's sense of style. Through a child's eyes, the skies of Carson City were forever blue, and life was perfect -- a world of Barbies, Bewitched, and the Beatles.

Even her mother's pain from her mysterious illness could be patted away with hairspray, powder, and a kiss on the cheek...But soon, everything Jennifer has come to love and rely on begins to crumble, sending her on a roller coaster of loss and loneliness. In a world unhinged by tragedy, where beautiful mothers die and families are warped by more than they can bear, a young girl must transcend a landscape of pain and mistreatment to discover her richest resource: her own unshakable will to survive.

Not Even My Name: A True Story

Thea Halo

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 71 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Not Even My Name is a rare eyewitness account of the horrors of a little-known, often denied genocide, in which hundreds of thousands of Armenian and Pontic Greek minorities in Turkey were killed during and after World War I. As told by Sano Halo to her daughter, Thea, this is the story of her survival of the death march at age ten that annihilated her family, and the mother-daughter pilgrimage to Turkey in search of Sano's home seventy years after her exile. Sano, a Pontic Greek from a small village near the Black Sea, also recounts the end of her ancient, pastoral way of life in the Pontic Mountains.

In the spring of 1920, Turkish soldiers arrived in the village and shouted the proclamation issued by General Kemal Attatürk: "You are to leave this place. You are to take with you only what you can carry . . . " After surviving the march, Sano was sold into marriage at age fifteen to a man three times her age who brought her to America. Not Even My Name follows Sano's marriage, the raising of her ten children, and her transformation from an innocent girl who lived an ancient way of life in a remote place to a woman in twentieth-century New York City.

Although Turkey actively suppresses the truth about the murder of almost three million of its Christian minorities--Greek, Armenian, and Assyrian--during and after World War I, and the exile of millions of others, here is a first-hand account of the horrors of that genocide.

An Open Book: Chapters from a Reader's Life

Michael Dirda

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Charming, Erudite Memoir 5 out of 5 stars.
19 of 19 people found this review helpful.

Our book group was fortunate enough to have Michael Dirda attend our discussion of this memoir. He is delightful, witty and steeped in the pleasures of reading, just as his book is. It's the story of an insecure, highly intelligent boy from a family of limited means who engages the world through literature. He is guided by several inspiring teachers, but mostly is self-taught as to what makes good reading and the lessons in life to be gleaned from books. While his keen intelligence sets him apart from his family in many respects, he also lives an ordinary and in some respects idyllic boyhood in Ohio.

As Michael Dirda said of one of the books he recently reviewed for the Washington Post, "you really should read this book."

Editorial Review:

"AN OPEN BOOK is the exuberant, beautifully written story of how comics and adventure stories, poetry and Proust can change your life. Hailed by Morris Dickstein as "a glowing tribute to the world of books and the life of the mind," "An Open Book communicates--as Eudora Welty's "One Writer's Beginnings once did--the thrill of great reading to a new generation. In its pages, literary journalist Michael Dirda re-creates his boyhood in Ohio, recalling his colorful family, friends, and teachers as he celebrates the great writers and fictional characters who fueled his imagination.

The Horizontal World: Growing Up In the Middle of Nowhere: A Memoir

Debra Marquart

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Poetic sounding 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book sounds quite poetic in some chapters. I really enjoyed the last section of the book titled "signs and wonders" I do believe what the writer says in that part of the book. :) Quite a moving memoir..she credits various books that I now what to get a hold of to read as well.

Smart and Lovely 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book is simply lovely. Now that I'm done I find myself thinking of it, dwelling in it, savoring its sweetness. This is the very best kind of memoir, as I learned not just about Marquart's experience, but about the land and its history as well. Really, I learned about my history. I thought of my own father when I read of hers, wonder what earth and sky my own grandmothers worked to their graves. If I wrote a memoir, I'd like it to feel like this one, to leave the reader bronzed as this book has left me.

Editorial Review:

Debra Marquart grew up on a family farm in rural North Dakota--on land her family had worked for generations. From the earliest age she knew she wanted out; surely life had more to offer than this unyielding daily grind, she thought. But she was never able to abandon it completely.