Will There Really Be a Morning?

Will There Really Be a Morning?
Average customer rating:

Engrossing memoir of a tortured, complicated woman

Five BIG Stars!!!

good but...

Civil Rights for the Mentally Ill

Great, but I think the author was an idiot

Will There Really Be a Morning?
Frances Farmer
Manufacturer: Dell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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Frances Frances

Come and Get It

Hollywood Babylon: The Legendary Underground Classic of Hollywood's Darkest and Best Kept Secrets

THE EYE OF DANVERS: A HISTORY OF DANVERS STATE HOSPITAL

The Lobotomist: A Maverick Medical Genius and His Tragic Quest to Rid the World of Mental Illness

ASIN: 0440192927
Release Date: 1973-06-15

Customer Reviews:

Engrossing memoir of a tortured, complicated woman.......2003-10-10

This book is not only my favorite autobiography, but it's also one of my favorite books of any genre. Francis Farmer, the infamous movie star who ended up institutionalized, was a tortured woman. This autobiography, which she wrote shortly before her death, is an extremely well-written, brutally honest, and mostly unflattering self-portrait. She tells of her relationship with her controlling and insane mother (who committed her), her unintentional rise to fame in Hollywood (she wanted to be a theater actress, and found Hollywood mostly empty), her emotional breakdowns, run-ins with the law, drinking problems, loveless marriages, and her time spent in a horrific state mental institution. Despite it all, Francis Farmer doesn't seem to feel a lot of self-pity, and she admirably takes responsibility for much of what happened to her. What really makes the book touching is Francis' description of what ultimately saved her: her friendship with Jean Radcliffe (who published the book after Francis died). Toward the end of her life Francis was able to find a lot of love and happiness, mostly due to the unconditional support she received from Jean and her family. This makes the book not only a juicy tale of a fallen Hollywood star and a disturbing memoir of a mental hospital, but an ultimately inspiring story about the healing power of love and friendship.

Five BIG Stars!!!.......2003-09-03

If you're looking for a book that will keep you interested from cover to cover, never able to put it down, this is the book for you! This is the autobiography of movie star, Frances Farmer, and her demise. It tells of her nightmarish mother (I found myself wanting to hurt her mother more than Frances herself wanted to), her tirades and outlandish temper, her many terrible years in a pit hole of mental institution where she was mistreated and abused and treated like an animal (literally), her struggle with drug and alcohol abuse and her experience with cancer. Whew! All in one book! There were times when I had to divert my eyes (which made it difficult to read) or set it down because I was ready to slap her mother around and my blood pressure was rising.

The most incredible thing about this story is, I believe, that Frances was fair. By that I mean that she told the story as it was and didn't make herself out to be completely blameless or less "violent" than she was. She told about her outbursts and her stupid behavior made from no-thought decisions. She never said, "Poor me," without adding something more justifiable to the pot.

The reading is incredibly easy. Her style (and that of the one who helped her write it) is very smooth and it seems as though everything she has to say is written in an interest-grabbing way.
So, if you want a good, heart-felt, blood stirring read, I HIGHLY recommend this book. It truly is one of the best I've been lucky enough to find. :o)

good but..........2003-05-22

I finished this book a couple of days ago. I enjoyed it. The portions of the book where she tries to raise public awareness of the conditions in asylums have not aged gracefully, they're simply preaching thats irrelevant to my life. Also, near the end of the book she's really gushy about her "turnaround", and she pushes her point way too much.

Besides those two minor complaints, it was the best autobiography I've ever read.

Civil Rights for the Mentally Ill.......2001-10-10

This is a very important work as it documents the abuses of the mental health industry in America during the time Frances Farmer stayed in a psyciatric institution in the 1940's. It is frightening as Frances tells us that anybody can declare someone is insane, and this person could be brought before an unsympathetic judge and sent to an insane asylum, and once you are declared mentally incompetent, all your civil rights are stripped from you, and you have no say so in the matter. Reading Frances's book, you see that perhaps she wasnt really insane but tired from overwork & in need of rest. By reading this book you will also be shocked of the methods of controlling the mentally ill at that time; endless shock treatments, hydrotherapy, insulin therapy - and you sometimes wonder who the insane people are, Frances or the people who are caring for her. A book like this is important because it chronicles how such a thing could have happened to a person, especially a person like Frances who was gifted & intelligent & had everything going for her. Thankfully, treatment of the mentally ill has much improved since then, but I still hear people say that the mentally ill homeless should be locked up. After reading this book you would have second thoughts about saying such a thing.

Great, but I think the author was an idiot.......2000-06-02

frances farmer was not insane. She was thrown into a nut house because her mother was vengefull and hated her daughter for being disobedient(even tough her daughter was 30 and under no obligation to obey her mother). It also brings to light the fact that anyone could have a family member commited simply by signing the commotment papres or paing a doctor to declare you insane. Nowadays its much more difficlt to force someone into a mental hospital. but I think that the author could have done something to get her self out of the nut house, and she was such an asshole that nobody wanted to help her. She spent her time getting drunk(when she could have been escaping into Canada, but she just wouldnt get in the lifeboat, as they say.

Average customer rating:

Will There Really Be A Morning
Frances Farmer
Manufacturer: Dell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OC4IZ2

Average customer rating:

Polly's Really Secret Diary
Frances Thomas
Manufacturer: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Humorous | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0385729022
Release Date: 2002-06-11

Book Description

Polly’s had enough: her hamster‘s gone missing, her best friend isn’t her best friend anymore, and the entire world is baby crazy! She’s going to run away once she’s saved up enough money and food. In the meantime, she’s got to cope with school, an annoying little sister, parents who think she’s going through a phase, and the fact that her ex-best friend is going to EuroDisney when Polly probably won’t get a holiday at all! Life just isn’t fair.

Really Rural: Authentic French Country Interiors

Average customer rating:

Appalling book design
Not depressing...at all!
Refreshingly Real
Either you'll love it or cry reading it..(see reviews below)
charming view of rustic life

Really Rural: Authentic French Country Interiors
Marie-France Boyer
Manufacturer: Thames & Hudson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0500017999

Book Description

At the end of the twentieth century, the sophisticated are turning from steel, plastic, and nylon to old rustic pans and pottery, furniture and textiles, tastefully displayed in urban apartment or second home in the country. There remain areas in France, far from the big cities and the tourist trails, where the realities of the old rural way of life can still be found, though it is fast disappearing. Marie-France Boyer, with her sensitivity for the extraordinary in the everyday, has traveled widely to seek out these interiors of genuine French country working life. She presents them, and the people who live in them, in a series of wonderful photographs--most taken especially for this book--of kitchens and stove corners, living rooms and bedrooms, odd souvenirs and family mementoes. The country people who follow the old traditions are now in their seventies and older. They use the bowls, baskets, and smoke-blackened pots that their parents and their grandparents used before them--they still call these objects by old local names, now forgotten by those who left the land. Their homes are working interiors, functional and mostly very frugal. Ancient family tables and wardrobes jostle with refrigerators and televisions, and plastic lace and fifties-style wallpaper are as popular as the traditional striped mattresses and flowery eiderdowns. Next to the family clock, candlesticks stand with oil lamps, both replaced by electric light in the 1940s. A fascinating record of old rural French ways of living, the book also provides information on places to buy the traditional furniture and objects, and on the regional museums that commemorate this disappearing lifestyle.

Customer Reviews:

Appalling book design.......2004-01-09

A very fascinating, original book with a thoughtful text and illuminating photographs. It was definitely not intended to help you design your French Country summer house! I would have given it five stars, except that I've never seen a book designed so poorly that it was almost impossible to read. The photographs and their captions were nowhere near the corresponding text. Often it was difficult to tell what caption went with what photograph. Some photographs were missing captions. I spent a lot of time flipping back and forth as I read, trying to find the photographs being described in the text or vice versa. There were several pages where the text was in a light color over a background of a photograph, only readable with a very strong light or a magnifying glass. A great deal of thought had obviously gone into the writing, the translation, and the selection of illustrations; it was a shame that the material was handled this way. I am surprised at Thames and Hudson.

Not depressing...at all!.......2003-09-12

Despite previous reviews, this book proved to be a lovely and heartwarming insight to French Rural Life. Beautifully illustrated, with enchanting essays, this book offers a glimpse into a life far removed from the everyday American existence. Part coffee table illustrations, part loving essay, this book captures a way of life totally alien to what most of us call day to day life. This is a lovely collection of life in rural France and is sure to make you smile and anticipate your next adventure there. Read it and be Happy!

Refreshingly Real.......2001-01-07

It is a sorrow that the reader from McLean, Virginia, was disappointed with this book. I found it to be a valuable connection to the past and a welcome reality check for the future. While we benefit from select technology, this book reinforced to me that not all modern "conveniences" have necessarily enriched our lives. This book is a look back to a time when the world moved more slowly; when the physical demands of country life sculpted muscular bodies, when a stubborn farm animal was more unforgiving than any personal trainer and when we could nestle into our beds at the end of the day to enjoy sound, unmedicated slumber. This book beautifully illustrates that "keeping it simple" is not just a magazine title or a lifestyle choice; that daily life woven in and around the rhythmic renewal of the seasons brings with it the unspoken awareness of one's place and one's purpose in the universe. This is not the urban, armchair tourist's source for "decorating ideas," nor the suburban, weekend farmer's guide to garden planning - you will not find the items celebrated within at Smith and Hawken. You will find an insightful look into the real lives of real people, all of whom I found to be far more dignified than depressing. Further, the respect that these people afford the animals and the land they depend on for their sustenance is a model we would all do well to study - no genetically-engineered or altered food on their tables. "Free-range" food before it was trendy. Making "your own" absolutely everything before Martha Stewart made a billion bucks off of selling the concept just for the bragging rights. I am grateful to the people who agreed to be interviewed for this book. In the society we live in now, experiencing simplicity without an agenda made this book a delight.

Either you'll love it or cry reading it..(see reviews below).......2000-05-12

Rural France is a perfect complement to "cafés" from the same author. Marie France Boyer is one of the most sensitive authors that I know. Her books are the best documented you might ever search for (see her book about Marie-Antoinette in Versailles asin:0500016909 ). She is a reference in terms of elegance, good taste and french etiquette. Most of all, she really loves people. If you really love people, you'll really love "Really rural". If your roots are rural or if you think your grand-grand mama came from a tiny village in Europe, buy this book. You might cry looking at these old women posing close to their Aga cooker in the center of their kitchen/living-room/bed-room. The most exciting feature of this book lies in the fact that you can still meet thousands of people and interiors like this in France, and spend good time with them. These peasants will allways be happy to meet you. You might be the only person who will have visited them since months. Within ten years, most of these houses and people will have disappeared. Because of new security regulations, all the items that make these interiors warmful will be removed: coal heater, wood chimneys, candle lights, dwells in the garden. Cheese will never be made anymore on the sink of the kitchen. Come and take pictures. Then send them to your new friends from France. They will frame them and fix them on the wall above the fireplace. Near Bois-Briand (Nantes) where we live, you can discover many of these wonderful, inspiring interiors and people. Come and visit us.

charming view of rustic life.......2000-02-17

The "review" below made me laugh out loud! Obviously the reader has the "french poodle" view of rustic life in France and little familiarity with the real thing. This is a fine book displaying an exquisite level of detail and an authentic view of agricultural life on ancient soil. Very, very nice, indeed, and a solid reference.

Will there really be a morning?: An autobiography

Average customer rating:

I love this book !!
moving but misleading
A Fantastic Book
Francis
Was this really written by Frances Farmer?

Will there really be a morning?: An autobiography
Frances Farmer
Manufacturer: Dell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: 0440190681

Customer Reviews:

I love this book !!.......2004-02-05

This is my favorite book ever. I first heard about Frances Farmer in high school. I lived about 10 miles away from the old mental instatute she was in. They have since tore it down but the rubble is still there, and I visited it a few times and became facinated with her life. This book is the best book I have ever read, well almost I also loved Shadowland!! These two books are a must read!!

moving but misleading.......2003-06-08

It is a definite fact that this book was not written by Frances Farmer at all, but by Jean Ratcliffe, whose close relationship with Farmer was chronicled in the final chapters of this book. For legal reasons subsequent pressings altered the subtitle from "an autobiography by frances farmer" to an "autobiography of frances farmer." It's very disappointing that there really is no definitive biography by or about Farmer. I was deeply moved & horrified every time I read this book, but since Farmer isn't the author, it gives credibility to the many disputes that have arisen regarding the book's veracity. The same can be said about "Shadowlands," on which the 1982 film "Frances" is based. Farmer's sister wrote a biography of Frances entitled "Look Back in Love," but she had as much of an agenda as Ratcliffe may have had, only hers was to exonerate the Farmer family from the beating they'd taken in "Morning" & "Shadowland." Keep this in mind when you read the book(s). Frances Farmer's life is ripe for authentic documentation. This just isn't it.

A Fantastic Book.......2002-08-09

In Frances Farmer's autobiography, Will There Really Be a Morning?, the firsthand account of her life in the asylum is terrifyingly brought to life. The filth, abuse by the staff, and therapy such as ice baths are clearly recounted. The reader should be warned, the book is graphic. The book recounts her life from childhood to shortly before she passed away in 1970.

Francis.......2002-04-09

This is my all-time favorite book. I've read it at least once
a year for the last 20 plus years. Miss Farmer was a brilliant
writer. A brutally honest book. Makes you ashamed to be part of
the human race at times. She was a true warrior and I pray she
has found the peace and joy that eluded her in this world.
The book always makes me cry...and I don't cry often enough.

Was this really written by Frances Farmer?.......2002-01-18

You can hear the voices change throughout the book. Many events of her life were sensationalized, presumably with a movie deal in mind. This book was partially written by Farmer, partially by Lois Kisbee, who was initially hired to write the book in conjunction with the actress. Frances' "best friend", Jeanira Ratcliffe, took over the project after her death. The result is a heavily edited work which lavishly praises Ratcliffe and her family. It is obvious that Ratcliffe was trying to mask her financial exploitation of Farmer (with both this book and two earlier failed business ventures). The last few chapters were needlessly devoted to Farmer's supposed friendship with Ratcliffe, which borders on boredom compared to the earlier chapters detailing her life.

Ratcliffe also uses the book to dispel rumors that she and Farmer were a lesbian couple. To do so she invented a crazy character, who tried to butcher Frances with an ax. When he couldn't succeed, he spread malicious gossip about Frances' relationship with Ratcliffe througout Indiana. No report to the police were made after his attempted assault. "Frances" claimed she was scared of the authorities.

The description of her life inside the asylum in Steilacoom, Washington, was grossly exaggerated as were her fights with her mother in Seattle. With the exception of Ratcliffe and her family, all of the characters are histrionic. Moreover, there are several errors in the book that Farmer could not have made, such as her uncle's name.

It's unfortunate that we can never know the truth, since the true author of this book and "Shadowland", written by William Arnold, both use Farmer for their own means. If you want to read something closer to the truth, read "Look Back in Love" written by Farmer's half-sister, Edith Farmer Elliot.

Dangerous De-Liaisons: What's Really Behind the War Between France and the U.S.
Average customer rating:

Good Read But . . .

Why Can't Our Politicians Get Along?

Excellent Content. Only Good English Edition.

Excellent analysis of the contrast in these two cultures.

Dangerous De-Liaisons: What's Really Behind the War Between France and the U.S.
Jean-Marie Colombani , and Walter Wells
Manufacturer: Melville House Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | 20th Century | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
21st Century | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Relations | International | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0974607851

Book Description

In the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks France's most prominent newspaper, Le Monde, ran the now famous headline, "We Are All Americans." Less than a year later, Franco-American relations had deteriorated into name-calling and public arguments at the United Nations. What happened? This fascinating look at the history of disputes between France and the United States explains how two countries with so much in common could see the world, and their respective places in it, so differently. Written as a series of increasingly tense and absorbing conversations between two experienced journalists, this work brings the issues that separate the two nations to life, throwing light on a variety of significant political and historical disputes. Particular attention is paid to growing pressures on Franco-American relations caused by European unification and the divergent paths France and the United States have taken in dealing with terrorism.

Customer Reviews:

Good Read But . . ........2005-07-22

Highly topical book providing a good discussion of the US/French divide with some good insights. Colombani's material generally fares better throughout, not because he is any more "right" or "wrong" in his observations, but his comments are more thoughtful and developed. Wells' perspectives often seem grounded in the repetition of cable news show cliches with a light flavoring of patrician insight from the NY Times or Washington Post, but little more. Overall Wells fares o.k. though. The book's format keeps the discussion moving and makes for very easy reading and well-worth the purchase price.

Why Can't Our Politicians Get Along?.......2005-01-09

Dangerous De-Liaisons, What's Really Behind the War Between France and the US by Jean-Marie Colombani and Walter Wells is very pertinent to read during this pre-election period in the United States. This book was written by two of the world's leading newspaper editors. Colombani is editor of Le Monde, the major French newspaper, and Wells is an American who is editor in chief of The International Herald Tribune. The book has the format of a friendly but very well informed conversation between the two editors. The reader learns much of the history of the two nations and the conflict over the US war in Iraq. These men focus on the reasons behind the deteriorated relationship between France and the US, the new world in which terrorism has become a chief concern worldwide, and the rapidly developing economic impact of the growing European Union. If you are remotely interested in the way the world views the US and the international concept of the US since the end of the Cold War, this book is vital to read. You will gain insights into why relationships have deteriorated and what is behind the scenes that the general public does not know. It is a fascinating read to learn and explore "the chilling question: Can our two nations once again unite to make the world a better place - or has our war only just begun?"

Excellent Content. Only Good English Edition........2004-06-01

An essential read for anyone who wonders why even French youth say they like Americans, but criticize almost everything Americans do. And anyone who wonders why, before Janaury 2003, Americans have generally considered France an ally, but generally think they are way too self-important.

The downside of the English edition? The translation gets at best 3 stars because of idiomatic shortcomings. And where were the editors? There are usage or syntax gaffes which cause one to read portions again with annoying frequency. Not always successfully.

Read the French edition if you can.

Still highly recommended, but only 4 stars for the English edition.

Excellent analysis of the contrast in these two cultures........2004-04-27

This is an excellent book that analyzes the reasons behind the French-American political rift. The writing is very lively, as it is structured as a debate between two very insightful journalists: Jean-Mari Colombani, editor of Le Monde, and Walter Wells, editor of the International Herald Tribune. Both live in Paris.

The two co-authors do an excellent job in contrasting the two cultures. This is not a third class political shouting match. Both of them are well versed in both cultures, and agree on as many points as they disagree. But, throughout, they educate you on the extensive differences between these two dominant cultures of the Western World.

It is no surprise that our governments clash. Both of them do not take well to being number two. In a sense, from an intellectual standpoint, both governments are as unilateral as the other. It happens one leads the number one power and attempts to lead the World; the other leads a second tier nation and attempts to lead the number one supranational governmental body. It is in their respective "attempts" that the French and American governments experience growing frustration.

In several ways, the two countries represent polar opposites of a Western style democracy.

France is really a technocracy much more than a democracy. The members of the power structure in both commerce and politics typically have graduated from the top universities with degrees in engineering, political science, law, or business. Within such an elitist system there is very little chance for entrepreneurship. The opportunity for self-made success American style are close to zero in France. In good part, this is because of France's hefty socialist safety net. It is nice for the unemployed, but it's heavy tax and regulatory structure makes it virtually impossible to start a business. The power is totally centralized. It is Paris or else. This was the way Napoleon Bonaparte structured France as a centralized Republic run by an elite. Two centuries later not a whole lot has changed.

The U.S. is a truer democracy with its own qualities and flaws. Our society is much more open. Individuals have a greater chance to succeed regardless of their educational background. As a result, the American labor markets are far more flexible, and the economy is far more productive than the French one. Similarly, the American rate of innovation and implementation of such innovations is much superior to France. On the other hand, intellectuals are often scorned. Elitism is sometimes dismissed to an excessive degree. Repercussions of this are many. Including a steady deterioration of the intellectual content of our entertainment culture that aims at the lowest common denominator within our society. This is because there are more bucks to be made with the masses, and the higher Nielsen ratings are there to prove it.

After reading this book, you will feel a lot more ambivalent about any preconceived ideas you had regarding the French-American tension. You may even feel that ideally Americans should be a bit more like French in terms of education, culture, insights, and intellect; and French more like Americans in terms of self-reliance, entrepreneurship, dynamism, optimism, and accountability. But, it is a bit like dogs and cats; they will always remain pretty dissimilar.

True Summit: What Really Happened on the Legendary Ascent of Annapurna
Average customer rating:

Atonishingly badly written book

Revealing glimpse of human nature

Annapurna, Considered

Corrects A Distorted Record

An amazing book

True Summit: What Really Happened on the Legendary Ascent of Annapurna
David Roberts
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | India | Asia | Travel | Subjects | Books
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Amazon.com

The climax of Maurice Herzog's mountaineering classic, Annapurna, is at the moment of descent, when Herzog and Louis Lachenal tumble from the 26,493-foot frozen summit. Herzog loses his gloves and the two barely reach camp with dead hands and feet. This is also the point where Herzog's tale falls apart, writes David Roberts, and it has taken nearly 50 years to uncover the real story behind the nationalist-tinged French expedition in 1950. Roberts, himself a climber of some accomplishment who admits to worshipping the heroics of the Annapurna team as a youth, traveled around the world interviewing friends and family of the team members (all deceased, save for Herzog), and chasing down original manuscripts and diaries of the three team members to get the story straight. His findings do not reveal the fearless, selfless leader Herzog painted himself to be in his famous book and subsequent writings.

Roberts reconstructs the trip to Annapurna beginning on the Heathrow runway: as the widowed Francoise Rebuffat recalls, Herzog required his highly experienced teammates--Louis Lachenal, Lionel Terray, and Gaston Rebuffat--to sign a contract that granted him full leadership of the expedition, along with rights to publish any and all accounts of the trip for five years following their return. Conflicting stories to Herzog's "official" account begin from that moment. Herzog writes of his team's indefatigable support and loyalty to their leader, but in reality discord nearly crippled the success of the climb. In order to preserve the reputation he built for himself in Annapurna, Herzog, throughout his life, censored any account of the trip authored by the other team members, even "editing" Lachenal's posthumously published climbing memoir, Carnets de Vertige.

While the dissection of Herzog's ego here is expected, Roberts discovers that none of his heroes are what he thought they were. "More rounded," he surmises, and ultimately better for it. Equal parts memoir, climbing lore, investigative journalism, and biography, Roberts provides the missing dimensions of the climb and the three extraordinary climber's lives--Lachenal, Terray, and Rebuffat--that Herzog so tirelessly strove to conceal. --Lolly Merrell

Book Description

The first conquest ever made of an 8,000-meter peak occurred in June 1950, when a French team reached the summit of Annapurna in the Himalaya. The achievement was a source of great pride in postwar France, and the expedition leader, Maurice Herzog, became a national hero. His account of the expedition, Annapurna, remains to this day the best-selling mountaineering book ever.

But there is more to this story than Herzog's book reveals. Annapurna is one man's version of a triumph that came at a tragic cost, as Herzog lost all his fingers and toes to frostbite, his partner Louis Lachenal all his toes. The book describes a valiant effort by a unified, self-sacrificing team. The reality, however, was otherwise. The expedition was torn by dissent. The honors heaped on Herzog were not shared by the other climbers, some of whom deserved them as much as their leader. In truth, the triumph of the expedition was all the more remarkable, and the story of what really happened is far richer than Annapurna suggests.

In place of Maurice Herzog's idealized version of the conquest, David Roberts offers in True Summit the real story of the Annapurna expedition. Drawing on original manuscripts and letters, some of them unpublished, as well as books recently published in France, he gives the three superb climbers who accompanied Herzog -- Lachenal, Lionel Terray, and Gaston Rébuffat -- long overdue recognition for their achievement. At the same time, he has interviewed Herzog, the lone survivor among the climbers, and puts his account of the climb in proper perspective.

Annapurna fired the imaginations of millions of readers, including thousands of young climbers, the author among them. Roberts writes about the effect that the book had on him and other climbers he knew. He explains why it has taken nearly fifty years for the full story of this famous expedition to emerge and how the revelations will change forever the way we think about this victory in the mountains and the climbers who achieved it.

Customer Reviews:

Atonishingly badly written book.......2002-10-29

The book is not true to its (sub)title. "What really happened after the legendary ascent and all the gossip" would be much closer to its contents.
As much as I was interested in the lives of members of the expedition, I had to force myself to go through clumsy, over-gallicized language and juicy details, unrelated to the subject. Why, pray, should one read about somebody's breasts being looked at after a car accident?

My advice is to go through the bibliography at the end, and to follow writings of the expedition members.

Revealing glimpse of human nature.......2001-12-04

I was pointed toward True Summit by a friend who previously loaned me his copy of Annapurna. Although Herzog made the occasional gracious nod to the contributions of his teammates in Annapurna, overall that account struck me as flat and highly impersonal, almost third-person (even though it was autobiographical!). I found Herzog's raptures on the summit more bizarre than uplifting.

True Summit added a whole new richness to the Annapurna story. To me, this book was not so much a "debunking" of Herzog's account, as much as filling out the missing dimension. Here, the climbers become real people with individual passions, foibles, and remarkable skills. Clearly Herzog's version diminished the accomplishments of his teammates, but might we say that the end (national pride and financial support for future expeditions) at least partially justified the means (a highly idealized account of the climb -- essentially a propaganda tool)? I particularly was fascinated by the differences between Herzog's initial rendition of the climb and his later "spiritual" retelling -- and both of those stories contrasted against the diaries and conversations of Lachenal, Terray, and Rebuffat. If one man (Herzog) could convince himself of a new version of "truth" -- even in the face of HIS OWN written account! -- then why should we be surprised that the four eyewitnesses have different stories?

Roberts' overlay of his own climbing history onto the Annapurna story sometimes struck me as self-congratulatory while I read the book. Would this have been as strong a book without Roberts' own story? Maybe so, but I think what he's trying to say is that Herzog was both a great man and a small man during the Annapurna climb... and so were the others. To worship any one of the Annapurna climbers (as Roberts did, one after another) is perhaps to blind ourselves to our own strengths and weaknesses.

I think the best way to sum up is to say that Herzog's Annapurna was a good story, but True Summit really made me think about teamwork, leadership, and the nature of the "truth" that we tell ourselves and the world.

Annapurna, Considered.......2001-08-20

"Annapurna" by Maurice Herzog, is the best-selling mountaineering book ever written. The feat of being the first man to climb an 8,000-meter mountain is a matter of great pride to France and to all the people of France. Now what if the story was not true? What if Mr. Herzog's tale was full of lies and deceits? What if you wrote a book exposing these falsities and set the record straight? If that is what you are expecting, you bought the wrong book.

Mr. Roberts, in this slim book, definitively shows that:

1. Maurice Herzog was a fine climber, an idealist, a leader of men, and a gracious individual who was very partial to publicity and glory.

2. Louis Lachenal, who summitted with Mr. Herzog, did not get his share of the credit.

3. The profits from "Annapurna" went to Club Alpin François. None of the team members, including Mr. Herzog, received any monetary benefits from the book's publication.

4. Fellow members Lionel Terray and Gaston Rebuffat were absolutely indispensable to the success of the climb. Their bravery and generosity were extraordinary.

Other reviewers have mentioned that one must read "Annapurna" before reading this book. I did so, and found it highly readable, spirited and Mr. Herzog's enthusiasm shows through every page. I thought a lot of the book was taken up by just finding a route to the mountain, but all in all, an interesting read. Most of the points Mr. Roberts makes are implied in "Annapurna." Though there is no denying Louis Lachenal is the forgotten man.

Mr. Roberts makes a large point of how all team members were forbidden by contract to write a book about the expedition for five years. These rights were given solely to Maurice Herzog. Such a contract is common to this day for large sponsored expeditions. The only reason we have had such a plethora of books starting with "Into Thin Air" about the 1996 Everest expedition is because there were no corporate or government sponsors for that trip.

The book leaves a bad taste. It smacks of profiteering by unfairly dragging down Maurice Herzog who does not deserve it. Not recommended.

Corrects A Distorted Record.......2001-03-06

I am not a climber and I enjoyed this book. The story that is shared is about human faults that can be applied to a variety of experiences, they are not limited to events on the world's great mountains. I was also drawn to the book, as it was a discussion of the first climbers to summit the mountain, and a climber on the fatal Everest 1996 died on the same mountain, Annapurna.

Mr. David Roberts did a nice job of bringing the reader along and sharing the climb and the distorted history that followed. More importantly he helped to reinforce what appears to be the truth about the climb, and to apportion credit as it should have been done so many decades ago.

I have read several accounts of the 1996 Everest expedition that caused so much loss of life, and to my surprise so much finger pointing by those who survived the ordeal. Many memories seemed to be influenced by the mental strain the mountain causes in climbers at the highest altitudes, but some seemed to persist even when photographs contradicted a given Author's statement. The climbers in 1996 had experienced guides and protective clothing that the first climbers on Annapurna would have thought to be the creation of science fiction. So, as Mr. Roberts began his story it seemed to be a case of memories created when badly injured bodies, and oxygen-deprived minds had left gaps. Even on the miserable trek back, people using morphine and suffering amputations, and dozens of other tortures recounted much of the originally published story.

Just as human nature was able to overcome hideous physical events, it too was able to distort the record for the benefit of one man at the expense of others who climbed with him, attained the summit with him, and saved his life. The beneficiary of the distortions was alive and interviewed for this book, and it was those interviews, combined with the evidence proving the true story that made this correcting of the historical record so important.

Mr. Maurice Herzog clearly intended for the historical outcome he contrived, and that nearly became the permanent record, to be the only record. From the oath he administered to his "teammates" to his continuing denial of the facts, and his refusal to allow access to records that further document the truth, Mr. Herzog took what was a group success that could have been nothing other than positive, and distorted it into a personal fantasy that provided him a lifetime of security which he had no more right to than the other men he climbed with. He would not allow the Author to print a picture of the other man who made the top with him, how vain, petty, and pathetic.

It would be convenient to say an old man's memory is faulty, but as he demonstrated himself, Mr. Herzog may indeed be advanced in years, but he is what he was, a pathetic self promoter that fictionalized an event that was extraordinary, it needed no embellishment, and the triumph certainly did not need to be the domain of one vain individual.

An amazing book.......2000-09-27

True Summit is an amazing book, both as a climbing book and as a work of historical scholarship. It exposes a web of dishonesty surrounding the classic account of the first ascent of Annapurna. Some scenes are provocative of outrage, as when Roberts describes the editorial notes -- "Wrong", "This must be changed" -- made by Herzog and Devies on Lachenal's diary. Throughout, Roberts intersperses scenes from his own mountaineering career, which add immediacy and human interest. One nitpick I had was that, as a writer of history, Roberts should really have given a definitive list of sources and referenced his quotes. More importantly, I felt that he never really sums up his arguments. Why was Herzog's Annapurna the whitewashed version that it apparently was? Were the reasons nationalistic, class (amateur versus guide), personal? What can these events tell us about mountaineering as a whole? These are questions which Roberts does not really address. Still, this is a fascinating book and I certainly recommend it.

Cataldo Uncorked: All You Really Need to Know About Wine to be "Pretentious" as well as "Obnoxious" and More ... France-Italy

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An enlightening wine book.
Comprehensive and Easy to Read

Cataldo Uncorked: All You Really Need to Know About Wine to be "Pretentious" as well as "Obnoxious" and More ... France-Italy
Angelo J. Cataldo
Manufacturer: The Wine Book, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Spirits | Drinks & Beverages | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

Reference | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0615122213

Book Description

This book dispels the mystery and intimidation a person may feel when purchasing wine or, more particularly, when ordering wine in a restaurant. It provides all the pertinent information about the important wine-producing regions of France: Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne and The Rhone Valley; and of Italy: Piedmont, Tuscany and Venice. It includes unique features such as Table Talk While Enjoying Your Wine, which contains 50 anecdotes that will stimulate conversation with dinner guests at a restaurant or when entertaining at home; there is also a region in France and Italy where good wines can be found and enjoyed at bargain prices; The Ceremonial Ordering of Wine with Wine Descriptions that will impress the sommelier, waiter and dinner guests; Suggested Wines to Accompany Your Dinner, and an extensive Glossary of Wine Terminology. The book is 7-1/4" by 4" so that it fits easily into a woman's purse or a man's jacket pocket.

Customer Reviews:

An enlightening wine book........2003-01-15

I have visited numerous book stores in an attempt to find a wine book that is easy to read and would provide me with the knowledge that I felt I needed to sound like a wine expert. I found it in Cataldo Uncorked: All You Really Need to Know About Wine to be "Pretentious" as well as "Obnoxious" and More.
I am now equally comfortable when ordering a bottle of wine in a restaurant or purchasing a bottle in a wine store. Also I can now describe the wine in terms that get the attention of people who are wine-savvy.

Comprehensive and Easy to Read.......2003-01-11

I bought this book because I new virtually nothing about choosing wine. I loved it because I found everything I needed to know quickly and easily - from how to order wine in a restaurant to speaking confidently about wine in conversations or at wine tastings. It includes a glossary and samples of wine descriptions, as well as suggestions on which wines to serve with which food. This is an excellent choice for anyone looking to increase their knowledge of wine.

Average customer rating:

Comedy Isn't Pretty--Especially Here
Not your typical book about France!

France...Really!!!
Dale Gershwin
Manufacturer: Mosaic Press (NY)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Essays | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

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Customer Reviews:

Comedy Isn't Pretty--Especially Here.......2004-10-17

By Bill Marsano. It was Dean Swift who memorably apologized for writing a long letter because "I haven't the wit to write a short one." That's not a problem with this book, whose 89 pages prove that brevity isn't always the soul of wit and prompt the question: How can the anyone miss a target the size of France? Even apart from recent unpleasantness over Iraq, France is a tempting target. The French are rule-bound, convinced of their country's superiority (while always complaining and frequently striking), and always patting themselves on the back for their splendidly civilized way of life (but last summer leaving 15,000 of their elderly relatives to die unattended at home during a heat wave). A perverse people, the French. Give 'em grapes and silk and they'll make wines and gowns that'll knock you flat. Give 'em sheet metal and they make cars that resemble vacuum cleaners. They think Napoleon was a hero.

In short, it's easy to spoof the French; you can make valid points and needn't be nasty about it either. So why can't Dale Gershman even lay a glove on them? She's strident, broad and off target even though she's lived there nearly 20 years, thus adding a factual basis to the old phrase "can't hit the side of a barn <from the inside.>" She's so desperate to be politically incorrect that she ends up a ranting loudmouth.

Did I say 89 pages? Well, subtract about 15 for some photos (all apparently taken the same day, mostly of the same person) that are almost uniquely un-illustrative. Then subtract about 8 more pages of blank space. What's left isn't much more than a magazine article. Gershman writes often in ALL CAPS, repeats herself frequently, uses lots of exclamation points! and interrupts herself with lots of parenthetical asides. She practices a 'smart-mouth' prose style, as in 'kinda' for 'kind of' and writin' gerunds without usin' the 'g' on the end, which she thinks is kinda funny (and is certain you're gonna think so too). Mostly she seems to be shouting. All in all, Gershman sounds like someone who learned English by watching television.

I will give a sample of her wit. Her chapter on politeness begins with a half page or so of franctic wondering where 'it' is. Could 'it' be here? Or there? Where should 'it' be? Maybe 'it' is in this place? Maybe that? All in all, a good impression of a neurotic in search of lost car keys. After listing numerous possible places (including on the person of Gerard Depardieu) that 'it' might be found, she commits the following:

"But no matter how reasonable those possibilities seem it didn't take me long to remember that it's at least two thousand years old and even though Planet Hollywood is looking a bit worse for wear (to say nothing of Monsieur Depardieu), there's certainly a big difference between a hundred generations and a half a decade so I discarded the conundrum theory altogether and just as I was wracking my brain trying to come up with another likely place it hit me total 'Eureka!'-style that it probably wasn't in one place at all--or, put it this way: the <original>, yeah, is in <one> place but it no longer was necessary trying to figure out where that one place is because it suddenly became joltingly obvious that a thousand years ago every monk in the country was drafted into service to make a copy of it for every family in the country which would pass it from descendant to descendant like the family bible but off [sic] course this is inestimably more sacred which is why I'm having so much trouble unearthing one because otherwise it'd be out there on the diningroom table or on the nightstand or at least in the top drawer of the armoire where the linens are kept."

That's 213 words--and a fair sample of the book as a whole. It is followed by about 600s words more in the same vein, and only then is the punch line revealed: 'It' is what Gershman calls the "Secret French-Politeness Code," which she doesn't understand. (Anyone rolling in the aisles is urged to pull himself together and ordery this book right away.)

So it's not a book and it's not a magazine article. Maybe it could be broken into segments for presentation at a comedy club where the audience does a lot of drinking.--Bill Marsano is a professional writer and editor who likes and dislikes the French as much as anyone else. And as often, too.

Not your typical book about France!.......2003-12-16

Given the transatlantic rift over the Iraq war & the fact that, for the past 200+ years, France & the U.S. have been "two countries which love to hate each other," this little (under 100 pages) book is a very timely historic, sociological and often witty view of the French. Most importantly, it may very well be the only book ever which-as the title implies-says it like it is, voicing UNprettified, UNembroidered, UNsugar-coated views about the French (in categories such as love, food, politics, religion, time, language, sports and many more!) which people have had for centuries but never dared utter (at least in public). A true treasure of a book, to read for enlightenment, for facts, for fun. (And a great gift!)

French Toast: a Humorous Tour of What Living in France is Really Like

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French Toast: a Humorous Tour of What Living in France is Really Like
Harriet Welty Rochefort
Manufacturer: Anglophone S.A.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KZCPLM

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