Doctor Dealer: The Rise and Fall of an All-American Boy and His Multimillion-Dollar Cocaine Empire

Doctor Dealer: The Rise and Fall of an All-American Boy and His Multimillion-Dollar Cocaine Empire
Average customer rating:

a pretty goos read, VERY deep background, great Bowden

couldn't put it down

Good read

EXCELLENT

very good read

Doctor Dealer: The Rise and Fall of an All-American Boy and His Multimillion-Dollar Cocaine Empire
Mark Bowden
Manufacturer: Grove Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

True Crime | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Travel | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

BLOW: How a Small-Town Boy Made $100 Million with the Medellin Cocaine Cartel and Lost It All

Drug Lords: The Rise And Fall Of The Cali Cartel, the World's Richest Crime Syndicate

Drug Lord: The Life and Death of a Mexican Kingpin : A True Story

Snowblind: A Brief Career in the Cocaine Trade

Drug Smuggling: The Forbidden Book

ASIN: 0802137571

Book Description

Doctor Dealer is the story of Larry Lavin, a bright, charismatic young man who rose from his working-class upbringing to win a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school, earn Ivy League college and dental degrees, and buy his family a house in one of Philadelphia's most exclusive suburbs. But behind the facade of his success was a dark secret -- at every step of the way he was building the foundation for a cocaine empire that would grow to generate over $60 million in annual sales. Award-winning journalist Mark Bowden tells the saga of Lavin's rise and fall with the gripping, novelistic narrative style that won him international acclaim as the author of the New York Times best-seller Black Hawk Down. "Immensely readable . . . eye-popping . . . a smoothly crafted, exciting, can't-put-it-down book." -- Louisville New Voice

Customer Reviews:

a pretty goos read, VERY deep background, great Bowden.......2007-03-10

a good book to read, could have used that 30 page block of pictures you would find in most of these books, Bowdens writing is very visual, talking alot about people's looks, and mannerisms, so some pictures would have really tied it together I though... he did it in killing pablo, and it really sank home some of his points.

couldn't put it down.......2007-02-13

I think this book was better than Killing Pablo!! It is a great read. Don't miss it.

Good read.......2007-01-30

Not Bowden's best (I give that honor to Killing Pablo), but still a page-turner. I wanted to meet Larry Lavin after reading this. Has a bad guy ever been portrayed so well? He had charisma, intelligence, charm, and even worked in a job where he helped people. It doesn't even seem like Lavin was the type to intentionally hurt people through his "other" business. Bowden almost has you cheering on Larry as you progress through the pages. Perhaps it has something to do with how complex Larry is, and Bowden captures it magnificently.

They say "truth is stranger than fiction" and this book proves it. I can't believe they haven't made this into a movie yet.

If you're a fan of Bowden, this is a must-read.

EXCELLENT.......2007-01-03

FROM START TO FINISH YOU KNEW PRETTY MUCH WHAT THE OUTCOME WOULD BE BUT THIS DID NOT STOP ME FROM PUTTING THE BOOK DOWN. WAS AMAZED WITH ALL THE ACTUAL ACCOUNTS DETAILED WITHIN THE BOOK AND THE WORK THAT WENT INTO GATHERING ALL THE REQUIRED INFORMATION TO MAKE THIS BOOK A TRUELY GREAT READ..

very good read.......2006-11-07

an interesting look at the life of a drug dealer who really seems to have thought he did nthing wrong. the "everyone does it" mentality seems to have kept him going all the way to jail. good supporting cast of characters keep it interesting.

All the Wrong Men and One Perfect Boy: A Memoir

Average customer rating:

Wrong men? That depends on what you want from them
A Sad Story, but readable
very true - but very sad
vicious victim
A book-length pity party that gets old fast

All the Wrong Men and One Perfect Boy: A Memoir
Spike Gillespie
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Authors | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Journalism | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Surrender (But Don't Give Yourself Away): Old Cars, Found Hope, and Other Cheap Tricks
Pissed Off: On Women and Anger

ASIN: 0684839830

Amazon.com

With the same blunt honesty that characterizes her online journalism, Spike Gillespie chronicles her disastrous love life, a litany of abusive, alcoholic men she seems to have selected primarily to reexperience the unhappiness she felt in her relationship with her distant, hypercritical father. At 35, she managed to salvage three good things from the mess she made of her youth: a network of loving friends (she knew several good men, she just slept with all the bad ones); her writing career, based in large part on savagely intimate excavations of her personal affairs; and her son, Henry, with whom she finally found the joyous love that eluded her with father, husband, and countless lovers. If it weren't for Henry (born in 1990) and Gillespie's exuberantly X-rated prose, this would be a grim tale indeed, filled with heavy drinking, self-sabotage, and groveling self-abasement to a series of losers and nutcases, described with pitiless precision. Gillespie doesn't pretend to be objective--her second husband in particular is practically nailed to the page--and readers may sometimes find it hard to understand how the obviously intelligent author could have made the same mistakes over and over. But her candor is compelling, and her tender letters to Henry extremely moving. --Wendy Smith

Book Description

Some women have trouble with men. For Spike Gillespie, a widely followed online journalist, those problems started early with her father -- the first and most important man in any child's life. Spike's relationship with her emotionally distant parent was so flawed that she has had an unending series of disasters with men...from the day she first noticed them to the day she made one of her own -- her perfect little boy, Henry.

In a memoir of sometimes lacerating honesty, Spike Gillespie tells us the story of her life with men -- a blunt, moving, and profoundly revealing account that asks all the hardest questions about love between the sexes. All the Wrong Men and One Perfect Boy isn't a memoir of abuse or tragedy. But it is about the lack of connection -- to family, to lovers, to the world -- that defines much of modern life. Most importantly, however (and here Henry comes in), Gillespie also tells us a story of hope and resolution, of reaching out to touch the world with the newest tools, the computer and the Internet -- and in the oldest way -- through one's children. And it's about the deepest mysteries -- how we love the ones we love, and how we stop loving them when they're destroying us.

Spike Gillespie first began chronicling her thirty-year adventure of love and heartbreak in a weekly online column, and within a few months she was being described by USA Today as the queen of the online confessional. Gillespie has continued to feed her stream-of-consciousness biography to thousands of readers via her website. After years of publishing to the online community, now she is ready to tell the whole tale. Gillespie is a natural storyteller, a writer with a marvelous ability to immerse her readers in a flesh-and-blood world of her lovers, her family, her friends...and above all, her son. This is a writer unafraid to tell the truth -- about human nature, men, family, and motherhood. The result is a memoir of unadorned and refreshing power from a woman on the most intimate terms with passion, anger, love -- and herself.

Customer Reviews:

Wrong men? That depends on what you want from them.......2003-02-23

This memoir was not such a bad one as other reviewers condemned. The way she writes is so smooth that I actually could not stop although I found it a bit dull in the middle of the long series of her seemingly endless WRONG MEN tour. The biggest climax of the story, though, as told from her perspective was the point where she finally acknowldged that she had been unconsiously looking for all the wrongness in men, instead of goodness, as evidences to prove that ALL MEN are BAD, which was her life long hyperthesis originally drawn from an early relationship with her father that fatally formed her identity as a woman. That makes sense and sounds sensible enough. For this valuable recognition, the documentations of all the wrong men weren't useless. On the contrary, they are so important. However, the description of her drunk & one night stand session was unnecessarily interminable. It did not seem to be so essential to name all of them. That almost made the whole book pointless. (I know. She nailed them down even they looked too much.)
The other thing I found problematic was how she concluded the story; she actually sounded as if she hurriedly and forcefully made herself to have made a reconciliation with the haunting hate for her father. I was not quite convinced,though. It sounded as if she jumped to an easy solution because she had to put an end to the story just to close the draft.
It depends on what readers want from the book wheather they like it or not and if they finish the book with resentment or satisfaction. I found it OK. At least, that presented one grown up but confused female figure just like anyone else with almost brutal honesty. She did not even hesitate to reveal her weak points such as over self-pity and insecurity, just as a great number of typical young women today. That's what counts most when we read this.

A Sad Story, but readable.......2001-07-13

It's all true. She does not learn from her mistakes, so the reader may find themselves wanting to hurl the book at the wall when she once again falls into her own traps. There were many times while reading that I found myself saying out loud, "Oh Spike! Why?" Especially when the topic of Dad came up - poor Dad, who buys her cars, who provides her with a summer house; poor Dad who doesn't understand rebellion. If you like contemporary memoirs, and I do, I still found this a compelling read. I ignored the one star reviews, because while I agree that her constant missteps are tiresome, she is a good writer. She shares a lot about herself - could you be so open about your own mistakes?

very true - but very sad.......2000-07-12

I have never read any of Spike's work before but also born in Jersey - and by chance going to USF in Tampa - as she had - the book held a lot of promise... The beginning is great - the honesty and plain english makes it very easy to read. It also makes it easy to connect with and understand. Although I agree with other readers that she should not simply blame her father, complain about others drinking habits, and then go on binges herself - but... for some reason i could not stop reading (towards the end i really wanted to) but maybe that says more about my personality than it does about this book.

The beginning is filled with great "real" excerpts of Jersey life at the shore AND the relationships - but as the story goes on - all that is explained is her relationships - in sad - depressing detail.

I understand the need to be loved but - it doesn't take 276 pages to bash the idea into my head! I just feel bad that she had to go through all of this without resolving any of it.

Very readable - but overall frustrating - because she does not learn from her mistakes.

vicious victim.......1999-11-01

reading this chronicle of spike's life as a professional victim felt rather like watching a train wreck. true, it is a quick and engaging read, but i found that my patience for her endless poor choices and impulsive, irresponsible behavior wore thin quite quickly. rather than examining how she might work to create the self-esteem necessary to protect her from her bad choices (or addressing the hard-core substance abuse that paves the way for every one night stand, enables her to enter into highly dysfunctional long-term relationships, serves as an easy excuse for her lack of judgement with regard to her son, and does so much to further damages her already troubled relationship with her father), she spends her time viciously blaming everyone else for her unhappy experiences. yes, her life has been tough in a way that will ring true for many, and it is impressive that she has created a successful writing career by mining that source material, but it seems to me that all of her life's disasters were equally of her own making.

spike's life and the way she writes about it both seem chock full of the inconsistency and self-serving double standards so common in the pathologically self-absorbed. to cite just one example, she claims that her husband's drinking and use of xanax were primary factors in her decision to leave her husband, only to later detail yet another of her many drunken binges and her own use of prozac.

ultimately i was bored by her constant griping and desperate need for sympathy, and concerned by how little she actually seems to grow as a person during the course of her narrative. yes she has survived and, hopefully for her son's sake, is trying to create a healthier life for herself, but unfortunately i suspect that there are many more bad choices ahead for this woman.

A book-length pity party that gets old fast.......1999-10-31

The book isn't badly written, in the sense that the writing style is smooth and well-executed. However, the story itself is a flat tale of someone with a serious martyr complex. Some people seem to thrive on feeling sorry for themselves. Spike is one of these people. Her world is filled with one-dimensional characters, most of them evil, sick, crazy men. Reading Spike's tale, you get the feeling there's a lot more to the story than what she claims. The truly interesting book would be one where these "wrong men" had a chance to respond to her version of events. Some look at Spike as a "feminist". To me, she's everything feminism should be against: Ultimately weak, whiny, desperate for sympathy and approval...not to mention perpetually defining herself by the men in her life. Henry is the only sympathetic character in the whole sad tale. Too bad that by the time Spike has at last put her life in order, Henry will be the one writing whiny, self-deserving "confessions" about how his mother set him on the path to find "all the wrong women".

Average customer rating:

All American Boy, an all-American family
A dark and tragic departure for Mann
Depressing Yet Insightful
Worthwhile
Spare me ...

All American Boy
William Mann
Manufacturer: Kensington
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Gay | Mystery & Thrillers | Gay & Lesbian | Subjects | Books

Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Where The Boys Are
The Men from the Boys
The Brothers Bishop
You Can Say You Knew Me When
The Boys in the Brownstone

ASIN: 0758203284

Book Description

"Would you come home, Walter? Please?"

With these desperate words from the mysterious, distant mother he hasn't seen in ten years, Wally Day finds his carefully constructed world falling in on itself. For years, the handsome actor has made denial his own particular art form — from his stalled career to his emotionless embrace of the hard-edged boys who regularly traipse through his bedroom. But now, faced with this sudden intrusion from his past, Wally must confront the reasons he left his hometown of Brown's Mill in a cloud of anger, shame, and guilt. He must look face-to-face upon the ghosts of his past: his mother, who he once loved more than anyone else in the world; his abusive father, who never looked at Wally without contempt and suspicion; the life-affirming Miss Aletha, whose love had given Wally refuge; and most of all, Zandy — the man whose memory still haunts him, whose love for Wally had been called a crime. A crime that sent Zandy to jail.

But Wally isn't the only one who's confronting ghosts. His mother Regina had dreams too once, dreams corrupted by fate and circumstance. With her own world unraveling, with strange, confusing memories of a murder that may or may not have occurred, she turns to the son she barely knows for help.

As Wally unravels the dark side of his All-American family, he has a chance to make peace with the boy he was in order to become the man he needs to be. He is once more the 14-year-old living at Miss Aletha's house on the wrong side of town, the music of Saturday Night Fever providing the charged, erotic soundtrack to his life. The world was on the exuberant edge of change in those days, and Wally relives the thrill of discovery, the promise of forbidden sex — and the mistake that cost him everything.

It's a journey that will take both Wally and his mother back to their pasts — to a time when Regina was a starry-eyed girl and Wally the good son, the smartest boy in his class, the shining picture of the All-American Boy. It's a journey, too, that takes a chance on the future — for now, mirroring his own involvement with Zandy twenty years before, Wally finds he may have something to teach about love and self to a sixteen-year-old boy.

Bestselling author William J. Mann has written his most powerful work yet: a searing novel about the difference between going home and finding yourself there. Along the way, he asks tough, heartrending questions: What is the price of regret? Is love ever wrong? What does it mean to forgive? By turns poignant and sexy, harrowing and hopeful, All American Boy is a big, wise book filled with insight, humor, hurt, truth, and the ever-renewing hope of love.

Customer Reviews:

All American Boy, an all-American family.......2006-07-26

Wally Day was the All American Boy in Brown's Mill.
He had the stellar grades, good behavior and the title: the local paper wrote an article on him being voted the All American Boy in town.
But that all changed when he fell in love with 30something old Zandy who ended up in jail because of Wally's statements to the police. Everyone in this small pastoral town knew of the affair and its consequences.
Twenty years later, Wally, an actor, returns home when his mother calls him, believing she's losing her mind, thinking she killed his cousin Kyle. But when Wally returns, he is faced not only with the ghosts of his past but those of his present. He wants to face Zandy and apologize for sending him to jail while feeling obligated to help his emotionally-disturbed mom sort herself out and find his missing cousin.

Wally is the center of an emotional spider web in this novel.
The book revolves around his estranged relationship with his mother Regina; his long-ago first love with Zandy; his maternal love for his transexual guardian Miss Aletha; his all too familiar affections for a sixteen year-old Dee whom Miss Aletha cares for; and Wally's lack of love from his abusive and deceased military father.

It's a well-told, complex and layered story, often told through Regina's stream of consciousness. A week's worth of time takes the reader on a time-traveling journey through Wally's childhood during the Saturday Night Fever days and his mother's dreams of being a singer with her sister Rocky during the 1950s.

As I read this, I couldn't help but think the story was about love. Regina wants to be loved. Wally still yearns to be loved again the way Zandy showed him. Dee wants to experience what Wally felt for Zandy in some way, shape or form. Miss Aletha loves unconditionally by taking in troubled gay youth who aren't accepted in their own home but she loved with all her heart her partner who "has disappeared."

And I couldn't help but think the book was also about dreams and what happens when they're not realized. Regina wanted to be a singer but came home from the bright lights of the big city but daydreams of those days often. Wally leaves Brown's Mill to pursue acting and lives out his dream although he's not as successful as he'd like to be. Dee dreams of leaving the small town and seems to want to follow in Wally's path.

Although this was a dark story, it was written with power. It's definitely a page turner. It has an echo of the 1996 movie Dolores Claiborne in that an adult child returns to the New England home to help an emotional mother who seems to be thrust in the middle of a police investigation.
It was hard to put this book down, especially once you meet the All American Boy and his all American family.

A dark and tragic departure for Mann.......2006-05-15

What a change of pace this novel is from his circuit part boys shennanigans. This is a much more complex, dark and heartbreaking tale of a family - mostly mother and son - coming to terms with their demons and their mistakes in life. The mother's story and background unfolds as the main character moves the the present trying to figure out what he wants and why he's returned home after a call from his mother. Mom's background unfolds as an aching and epically tragic life. The son - really, has not fallen far from that tree. Not a happy, carefree story, but a haunting and moving one. Actually, a welcome change from his last novel.

Depressing Yet Insightful.......2006-03-30

Mr. Mann has written a novel that speaks of some of the very sad aspects of many gay lives. The main character, Wally, endures some dreadful encounters with his homophobic father, while his mother who is sickly has probably murdered his cousin. In addition, Wally returns home to visit the man who molested him when he was a child (with Wallys consent). Wally's dad has the guy locked-up. Turns out Wally loves the guy. While home he meets Dee, a younger guy with whom Wally becomes involved. Dee was a well-developed and interesting character and I would love to see him return in a future Mann novel. The book was an OK read, but a far cry from the author's previous works, "Men From the Boys" and "Where the Boys Are." These were outstanding in comparison to this new piece. This book was somewhat disappointing to me as Mr. Mann's earlier work was so, so good. Hence my rating of three stars.

Worthwhile.......2006-02-16

This is a decent and interesting novel to read. I got drawn into the characters almost immediately and found some of the literary devices pretty clever. However, the scene where the main character performs felatio on a corpse I could have done without. The conclusion was also not particularly satisfying.

Spare me ..........2005-12-25

Mann has really gone downhill with this one. It ranks right alongside the worst of Anne Rice for readability. The writing stinks, the story stinks. Was this really written by the author of Men from the Boys?

Comrade Rockstar: The Life and Mystery of Dean Reed, the All-American Boy Who Brought Rock 'N' Roll to the Soviet Union (Artie Cohen Mysteries)

Average customer rating:

COMRADE ROCKSTAR
The Rise and Fall of Dean Reed, American Communist Rock Star
The curious tale of "rock star" Dean Reed
A Truly Intriguing Story About a Rock Star More Americans Should Know
Three Chords That Shook The World

Comrade Rockstar: The Life and Mystery of Dean Reed, the All-American Boy Who Brought Rock 'N' Roll to the Soviet Union (Artie Cohen Mysteries)
Reggie Nadelson
Manufacturer: Walker & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

All Deals | Blowout Books | Stores | Books

Biographies & Memoirs | Blowout Books | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Rock 'n' Roll Radical: The Life & Mysterious Death of Dean Reed
AMERICAN REBEL: The Dean Reed Story
Crossing the River: A Memoir of the American Left, the Cold War, and Life in East Germany
Disturbed Earth: An Artie Cohen Mystery (Artie Cohen Mysteries)
Die Grossen Erfolge

ASIN: 0802715559
Release Date: 2006-06-13

Book Description

Dean Reed had one of the strangest careers in the history of popular culture. Failing to gain recognition for his music in his native United States, he achieved celebrity in South America in the early 1960s and then, unbelievably, became the biggest rock star in the Soviet Union, where he was awarded the Lenin Prize and his icons were sold alongside those of Josef Stalin. His albums went gold from Bulgaria to Berlin. He made highly successful movies and, naively earnest, was an unwitting acolyte for socialism; everywhere he went, he was mobbed by his fans. And then, in 1986, at the height of his fame, right after 60 Minutes had devoted a segment to him, finally giving him the recognition he had never attained at home, he drowned in mysterious circumstances in East Berlin.

Drawn magnetically to his story, Reggie Nadelson pursued the mystery of Dean Reed’s life and death across America and Eastern Europe, her own journey mirroring his. As she traveled, the Berlin Wall came down, the Soviet Union crumbled, and Reed became an increasingly alluring figure, his life an unrepeatable tale of the Cold War world. Encountering the characters— musicians and DJs, politicians and public figures, lovers and wives—who peopled Reed’s life, Nadelson was drawn further and further into a seedy, often hilarious subculture of sex, politics, and rock ’n’ roll. Part biography, part memoir and personal journey, Comrade Rockstar is an unforgettable chronicle of an utterly improbable life

Customer Reviews:

COMRADE ROCKSTAR.......2007-07-30

I read this book when it first appeared and wrote a damning letter to its author. It is little better than a smear job by someone who can not understand the sincere motivations which guided this talent and unfortunately led to his tragic end. Reed deserves much better!

The Rise and Fall of Dean Reed, American Communist Rock Star.......2007-01-22

The title got me the moment after I saw it. This book sketches out the life of Dean Reed, who went from being a potential star in LA of the 1950s and then moved to Chile to begin his rise to a superstar behind the Red Curtain in the 60s, 70s and into the 80s. Dean was a true believer in socialism and he fully supported the USSR and East Germany, and went so far as to defend the Berlin Wall and Communism during an interview with MIke Wallace for 60 Minutes. Finding that his career was sagging with Perestroika, he began to put together a movie about the Wounded Knee and had plans to return to the US. Then, in 1986 Dean died under very mysterious and strange circumstances, his death officially being ruled an accident.

Nadelson interviews all the main players in Dean's life and gives you a good taste of what it is. She also talks about what it was like to be in East Germany, USSR and the Czech Republic during the times she interviewed those people between 1988 and 1990. Weaving the threads of Dean's life between her travelogue, the book is very compelling and an interesting look into the fall of Communism and the rise and fall of Dean Reed. The book is well written and very easy to digest. I could hardly put it down since I wanted to know more about Dean. Some parts of Dean's life are skimmed over, especially his time in Latin America between 1960 and 1966, but the author admits she was more interested in Dean in the USSR and East Germany, where she was able to get more information and material for her book and where her main focus lies.

According to the book's last chapter, Tom Hanks has optioned it for a movie. So far, nothing has been done with it, although some of Dean's music is coming out in February 2007. If you want to read a look into a strange and fascinating life during some very interesting times, read this book.

The curious tale of "rock star" Dean Reed.......2006-09-03

I was immediately attracked by the premise of the book: how does American Dean Reed end up in the USSR and later East Germany, and become a huge "rock star" in the Communist zone during the 70s and early 80s? I am a pretty big rock music fan, and I had never heard of Dean Reed until I read this book.

In "Comrade Rockstar" (333 pages), author Reggie Nadelson brings the life story of Dean Reed, and also writes a travel book of what her experiences were traveling in those countries in the late 80s (before the Berlin Wall fell) while doing research for the book. It is the research part that I have some doubts about, as the suthor brushes over large parts of Reed's life. (Comparw this, for example, to the pain-staking reasearch done by Bob Spitz for his recent "The Beatles: The Biography" book...) That said, having visited the USSR myself in the mid-80s, I very much enjoyed the author's observations on how life was in the USSR and East Germany in the late 80s. My main criticism of the book is that it is never really clear to me how exactly Reed became such a big star in the communist block. Reed died in 1986 under mysterious circumstances: was it suicide? was it a KGB hit? some other sucpicious interference? The final conclusions on this from the author (which I won't spoil here) come across entirely reasonable and plausible.

Finally, it should be noted that this book was first published in England in 1991. Now 15 years later, it is released in the US as well. Why? Because none other than Tom Hanks has bought the movie rights to the book. We'll have to see if it ever does reach the silver screen, but in the meantime we now can at least enjoy the book for ourselves.

A Truly Intriguing Story About a Rock Star More Americans Should Know.......2006-07-26

'Comrade Rockstar' is a genuine page-turner. I literally couldn't put it down until I finished it. Ms. Nadelson paints a vivid picture of Eastern Europe & Russia during the Cold War. She likewise gives readers a glimpse of the world of Soviet rock and roll. Music fans and history fans alike should love this book.

On top of all this is the compelling figure of Dean Reed himself. A product of 1950s America, this cross between Frankie Avalon and John Denver ended up being the biggest rock star East of the Berlin wall. Through Nadelson's studied though accessible prose, I came to feel like I knew Dean Reed---warts and all. Was Reed a Communist turncoat or simply a politically naive sucker who ended up being Mother Russia's pet American? By the end of 'Comrade Rockstar', you'll have the answer to this question. And as hard as resisting the urge to read ahead was, the real-life "cliffhanger" ending was worth the wait.

Reggie Nadelson has written a fine, balanced biography of a musician more Americans should know. I recommend it highly.

Three Chords That Shook The World.......2006-07-19

Not very well written, this book was apparently written and published about 15 years back, and now reissued with some minor updating by the author, based on Tom Hanks' interest in producing a movie version of Dean Reed's life. Author Nadelson, in an engaging foreward, thanks Oscar winner Hanks for making it all happen for her. But others will feel they are paying 2006 prices for a 1991 book, that feels like it was written under water by s wildly imaginative journalist who thinks her every musing worth capturing in stone.

She did an okay job in tracking down many who had known Dean Reed, even his mother, and legendary rock figures from the 1950s who had known like Phil Everly, and folks beyond the Iron Curtain. The truth is that Dean Reed was hardly well known in the USA when he defected, and the scandal might have been bigger if he had been a bona fide star but basically he was a nothing, a never was, and it took the combined talents of the Politburo and the Russian film studios to push Dean Reed into the big time. Nadelson cleverly observes that his astonishing resemblance to US actor Kurt Russell helped his career in Russia and East Germany. Reed made eight or nine movies, hard to come by in the USA. Not all of them were propaganda pictures, some of them mere "spaghetti Westerns," but all of them -- at least the ones I've seen -- have a certain charm, for Reed had the fragile screen presence of a Brandon de Wilde, you wanted to shield him from the troubles of this world.

In real life he was a serial cheater and a man with a priapic libido who made love to four women every day. Nadelson's biography would have been much better if she had seen fit to leave out the details of her "Wuest for Corvo" investigation, for her observations about her travels in Perestroika era Moscow reveal she's no Rebecca West; it's like watching someone's endless home movies about visiting a grim place.

The All-American Boys: An Insider's Candid Look At The Space Program and The Myth of the Super Hero

Average customer rating:

A book that takes risks
Hearing it in Col. Cunningham's first person reading makes NASA space history come alive!
A 22 Disc Journey into America's Fascination with Space!
"Strange Mix of RAND Co. Scientist and Marine Fighter Pilot"
Outstanding!

The All-American Boys: An Insider's Candid Look At The Space Program and The Myth of the Super Hero
Walter Cunningham
Manufacturer: MacMillan Publishing Company.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Transportation | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

We Have Capture
For Spacious Skies: The Uncommon Journey Of A Mercury Astronaut
Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys
The Last Man on the Moon: Astronaut Eugene Cernan and America's Race in Space
Schirra's Space (Bluejacket Books)

ASIN: 0025292404

Book Description

The All-American Boys is a no-holds-barred candid memoir by a former Marine jet jockey and physicist who became NASA's second civilian astronaut. Walter Cunningham presents the astronauts in all their strengths and their weaknesses in this dramatically revised and totally updated edition of a book that was considered an instant classic in its first edition over two decades ago. From its insider's view of the pervasive "astropolitics" that guided the functioning of the astronaut corps to its thoughtful discussion of the Columbia tragedy, The All-American Boys resonates with Cunningham's passion for humanity's destiny in space which endures today. This is not just a "tell-all" book. It is also a story of the triumph of American heroes. Cunningham brings us into the NASA training program and reveals what it takes physically and mentally to be an astronaut. He poignantly relates the story of the devastating Apollo 1 fire that took the lives of astronauts Grissom, White, and Chaffee and his own later successful flight on Apollo 7. This new edition includes an update of the manned space program and his "tell it like it is" observation of NASA's successes and failures. It also includes commentary on the Shuttle disasters Of Challenger and Columbia and his views on what NASA should be doing to get back on track and to regain public support.

Customer Reviews:

A book that takes risks.......2007-09-24

The space race of the 1960's was a crossroads in time that will never be repeated.

Walt Cunningham had a crow's nest view of that period. As a member of Apollo 7, the first Apollo mission and the first successful flight after the catastrophic Apollo 1 fire that almost disbanded the space program, he was able to see the inner workings of the American space program. He has recorded this unique perspective in "The All-American Boys."

"The All-American Boys" is a rare document of what really happened in the early days of the space program. In my opinion, most other astronaut memoirs are cleaned up versions of the truth--all "flag waving" and "ballyhoo." One gets a sense in the All-American Boys that the space race is being presented warts and all, including the social and political quirks of being an astronaut.

This version is an unabridged audiobook of Walt's book, which was first published in 1977 but thoroughly updated for this version. It covers Mercury/Gemini/Apollo but also shuttle/MIR/ISS. Walt himself narrates the audiobook, which is a great bonus. His pleasant narration makes the 22 discs go by very quickly

Unlike most other astronaut memoirs, you get your money's worth with this book. Highly recommended.

Hearing it in Col. Cunningham's first person reading makes NASA space history come alive!.......2007-08-24

Col. Cunninghams's audio CD version of The All American Boys is, simply put a great listen! Having read the hardback, I thought that there would be little to gain in buying the CD version, but I was wrong. His carefully spoken rendition has laugh-out-loud moments, and his tough but thorough thought provoking commentary on the space race, NASA, the Russian's, the International Space Station, and the future of man's involvement in space is a must have. I don't know why, but hearing it 'first person' and in the spoken words of someone who was there, and who made this history, is a remarkable thing. Can't recommend it highly enough.

A 22 Disc Journey into America's Fascination with Space!.......2007-06-18

Absolutely Fantastic!
Walt's voice resonates through you as he recounts his life experiences before, during and after his NASA years. This is a wonderful way to learn about Americas Space Program from the ground up.
Whether you have read the AABoys or not, nothing matches hearing this incredible story with the true life passion only the author and main character, Walter Cunningham, can convey.
A great joy, and true and exciting find! A must have for anyone interested in space history and space exploration. What fun it was to replay parts to hear the subtle inflections in Walt's voice just to gain a greater insight into how this space hero must have felt during the space race years, through to the changes that are on the horizon today.
A most favorite addition to my space collection!

"Strange Mix of RAND Co. Scientist and Marine Fighter Pilot".......2007-02-13

I got the title of this review from Apollo 11 astronaut Mike Collins who described fellow astronaut Walt Cunningham this way. Only a few people have flown in space, and so we would expect astronaut auto-biographies to talk about this, but unfortunately, only Mike Collins book "Carrying the Fire" does it. After reading a few other autobiographies I finally came to the conclusion that it is not really worth the time and money to get their books, with them spending most of the pages discussing petty jealousies, practical jokes, celebrity golf tournaments, and their success or failure in the world of business.. Thus, I was somewhat reluctant to purchase Cunningham's, but the reviews convinced me to give it a try. Fortunately, it was worth it. Cunningham does share the flaw of the others in that he also doesn't describe his Apollo 7 flight in any detail, but the uniquness of his book is that he does give an interesting perspective on the American space program, and his fellow astronauts, not seen in the other autobiographies.
Part of the reason is, as Collins pointed out, that Cunningham received a rigorous scientific education and was involved in scientific research before going to work for NASA. This gave him a greater ability to objectively judge the qualities of his fellow astronauts.
The original Mercury astronauts were good pilots, but one of the most important qualitites that they were chosen for was ability to stand immense stress, because at that time, it was not known how spaceflight
would affect the astronauts, physically or mentally. After Project Mercury proved the stresses were not as bad a feared, new generations of astronauts were chosen who had better education, better ability to understand the increasingly complex Gemini and Apollo spacecraft and a greater appreciation of the importance of the exploration of space in a scientific sense, something the Mercury astronauts did not have so much.
Cunningham also shows that the grind of training took a toll on the Mercury astronauts, and he says frankly that the commander of his Apollo 7 mission, Wally Schirra, who flew outstanding missions in both Mercury and Gemini (piloting the first rendezvous mission with another vehicle) didn't really have his heart in his Apollo mission and it negatively influenced his performance. Schirra repeatedly lost his temper during the mission which gave his whole crew a bad reputation leading to both Donn Eisele and Cunningham being banned from further flights (everyone admits Cunningham got an unfair rap in this). Cunningham also frankly points out that although the crew indeed proved that Apollo spacecraft was flight worthy, they didn't really accomplish nearly as much as they could have during their relatively long-duration flight in a scientific sense.
Other interesting things I learned from this book was that, starting with the two-man Gemini flights, the Mission Commander was the astronaut who controlled the abort initiation sequence, so he had to be significantly better, and management required more confidence in him than in the other astronauts who flew along, and in borderline situations, he had to have the best "feel" for how the flight was going and the spacecraft was performing.
One surprising thing Cunningham reveals was the most astronauts felt that
in the Gemini 8 mission (first docking of a manned spacecraft), astronauts Neil Armstrong and Dave Scott made a serious mistake leading to their spacecraft to spin out of control. Fortunately, they got it back under control and made an emergency reentry. Most histories of the space program say it was a mechanical glitch and that Armstrong's cool response gave Deke Slayton the confidence in him to assign him to be the commander of the first landing on the Moon.
Cunningham feels that ultimately, although all the astronauts were talented and qualified, the flight crews were chose based on Slayton's
feelings of friendship
for the fellow (although it should be pointed out that the great success of the space program shows that Slayton did generally pick the best to fly) and this was more important than ability, physical fitness or other objective considerations. Famous examples was Slayton giving Alan Shepard the Apollo 14 mission without him having served as a back-up crewmember on a previous mission. Although Shepard did an excellent job landing the Lunar Module very close to the desired target, his subsequent performance during the lunar EVA left a lot to be desired and much possible scientific gain was lost. Another example was Gene Cernan crashing his helicopter while he was ogling sunbathing girls. Many people
thought this would wash him out of his Apollo 17 command position, but Slayton covered up for him (it should be pointed out that Cernan did an outstanding job both piloting and carrying out his scientific duties on that flight).

Finally, although he wrote the book before the Space Shuttle first flew,
he points out that many of the astronauts felt too many compromises were made in designing it and that it wasn't safe. Cunningham points out that fighter pilots and astronauts find taking life-endangering risks to be exhilirating IF THE RISK IS NOT TOO GREAT. However, they oppose taking foolhardy risks, and not a few astronauts felt the Shuttle fit into that
category. Subsequent history has unfortunately shows that was the case, and the new Orion spacecraft is going back to an Apollo-like design and getting away from the "space-plane" concept.
All-in-all, I found the book a good read and a pleasant reminder of the
glory days of the manned space program that led to man walking on the moon.

Outstanding!.......2005-06-14

This guy is one opinionated s.o.b. - but this book is all the better for it. Because Walt Cunningham is aware of his limitations, and has the virtue of being right in his strongly-held opinions.

I'd recommend this book even for those not interested in space flight. To see the cut-throat office politics behind a smooth veneer... it's something that relates so much to many walks of life. The fact that it is told here in the golden age of space flight makes it all the better. Wow! A great book.

Average customer rating:

A pleasure to read
insulting, to say the least.
Wonderful book.
A must for any gay person.
Well written . . . compelling . . . hard to put down

All-American Boy: A Memoir
Scott Peck
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Gay | Biographies & Memoirs | Gay & Lesbian | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Gay & Lesbian | Subjects | Books

General | Nonfiction | Gay & Lesbian | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0684870479

Book Description

"A survivor's tale that in its universal appeal brings to mind the most compelling aspects of "Gal" and "Shot in the Heart." Through the course of these scathing, inspiring, instructive pages, Scott Peck, writer and human being, grows into one hell of a terrific man."--Michael Dorris.

Customer Reviews:

A pleasure to read.......2001-09-26

Scott Peck is to be congratulated on a truly excellent piece of work. With a writing style that is surprisingly light, given the heavy, unpleasant subjects he is describing, he takes us through his life and details the problems gays growing up face, particularly in military families.

The British news magazine "The Economist" called this a "lovely book". I certainly don't disagree. Strongly recommended.

insulting, to say the least........2000-11-08

i admit, it was one of the most well-written books i have ever read. peck definately has a way with words (that's where the two stars come from). i just think he uses them for the wrong thing. one word that i can describe the book in is bitter. i could also add hateful, biast, judjemental, misleading... it made me angry and the only reason i read the whole dang thing is i kept thinking it might get better. he might actually open his eyes. fat chance. the whole book is one big complaint about his childhood and he runs over everybody in the process. and then all of a sudden at the end it gets all happy and touchy-feely and i can't figure out why. all he does is find any way he can to insult christians, giving himself excuses for his stupidity and making himself out to be God. i wouldn't be surprised if half of it was made up. and if it's not, this guy needs to find a better way to crucify people.

Wonderful book........2000-04-11

I read this book during a rough time in my own life and a friend who knew Scott Peck recommended it to me. This man's writing is so beautiful that I really didn't want it to end. I felt like I had come to know this boy. I think that every gay man and woman can identify with parts of this novel and that all parents of gay children should read this. Scott Peck has an incredible, heartfelt and painful story to tell and when he finishes the reader comes out feeling as triumphant at the writer.

A must for any gay person........1999-02-15

This is one of the best books on being gay I have read. It is up there with "The Front Runner." All-American Boy forces you to re-live the pain and isolation of growing up gay, helping you to confront it again and purge it. This is a great book both for gays and for their parents who are struggling with understanding.

Well written . . . compelling . . . hard to put down.......1998-12-29

Having dealt similarly with the author's religious issues, I was unable to close the book until sleep overtook my senses each night. A quick and pleasant read - good book for friends and family who want to understand the painful dynamics involved. Excellent support that homosexuality is not a choice as Peck shares his own failed attempts at heterosexuality and the ensuing self-hatred.

Book Description

Why did Fonzie hang around with all those high school boys?

Is the overwhelming boy-meets-girl content of popular teen movies, music, books, and TV just a cover for an undercurrent of same-sex desire? From the 1950s to the present, popular culture has involved teenage boys falling for, longing over, dreaming about, singing to, and fighting over, teenage girls. But Queering Teen Culture analyzes more than 200 movies and TV shows to uncover who Frankie Avalon's character was really in love with in those beach movies and why Leif Garrett became a teen idol in the 1970s.

In Top 40 songs, teen magazines, movies, TV soap operas and sitcoms, teenagers are defined by their pubescent "discovery" of the opposite sex, universally and without exception. Queering Teen Culture looks beyond the litany to find out when adults became so insistent about teenage sexual desire—and why—and finds evidence of same-sex desire, romantic interactions, and identities that, according to the dominant ideology, do not and cannot exist. This provocative book examines the careers of male performers whose teenage roles made them famous (including Ricky Nelson, Pat Boone, Fabian, and James Darren) and discusses examples of lesbian desire (including I Love Lucy and Lavern and Shirley).

Queering Teen Culture examines:

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriett, Father Knows Best, and Leave It to Beaver: Were Ricky, Bud, and Wally sufficiently straight?

the juvenile delinquent films of the 1950s: Why weren't the rebel-without-a-cause "bad boys" interested in girls?

horror, sci-fi, and zombies from outer space: "Body of a boy! Mind of a monster! Soul of an unearthly thing!"

teen idols—pretty, androgynous, and feminine: No wonder they were rumored to be "funny"

beach movies: She wants to plan their wedding but he wants to surf, sky-dive and go drag racing with the guys

Biker-hippies boys of the late 1960s: "I know your scene—don't think I don't!"

the 1950s nostalgia of the 1970s: Why does Fonzie spend all his time with high school boys?

teen gore: What makes the psycho-killer angry?

and much more, including the Brat Pack, buddy dramas, nerds, teen "operators,The Real World, and the incredible shrinking teenager Queering Teen Culture is an essential read for academics working in cultural and gay studies, and for anyone else with an interest in popular culture.

Customer Reviews:

Male bonding and the "gay coded" character in 50's-90's media.......2006-06-24

Like many of my generation, I can trace back some of my earliest same-sex attractions to teen characters I saw on TV shows or in films of the early 1960's. Frankie Avalon had Annette Funicello as a girlfriend, but why did he seem to be so much happier when he spent all of his time with his surfer buddies? Why was Dobie Gillis (Dwayne Hickman) always starting the show by telling the audience that "I really like girls", but then spent most of his time with his best buddy, Maynard (Bob Denver), and only chasing one girl, Thalia Menninger (Tuesday Weld) who obviously didn't like him? And why did I always prefer Ricky Nelson, even though he seemed to be a bit of a sissy compared to his athletic big brother David?

In his comprehensive study of homoeroticism and subtle portrayals of the (few and far between) "gay-coded" characters on the big and little screens in the last half of the 20th Century, Jeffrey P. Dennis explores the prevailing subliminal trends and intentional messages made by writers, directors and agents of the time. He explores how masculinity was portrayed and protected in each genre of teen films over the years: films about juvenile delinquents, monster movies, hippie-biker films, psycho-slasher flicks, and all the way to the Brat Pack. He also explores the filmography of popular teen idols, putting in perspective his take on why certain roles were taken, perhaps to quash rumors of his sexuality. Lots of background on popular sitcoms of the periods, from "Father Knows Best" (Did you know there was a whole series of episodes where teenager Bud's lack of masculinity or interest in girls was a concern for his family?), through "Happy Days" (Why did Fonzie seem to always prefer the company of teen boys?) and all the way past "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (Xander confronts a character he suspected of hiding the fact that he is actually a werewolf, but is more unnerved when he finds out his secret is that he is actually gay!)

The content is not just the author's theories, but indexed with source footnotes in most cases. (I found more than a half dozen films with gay content I never knew about, which I intend to explore on cable or via DVD.) I also found out about long-forgotten films TV series that were made to play up the masculine charms of aging teen idols (such as 1965's "Never Too Young" in which Tony Dow played an auto mechanic who never seemed to have a shirt on, after having never appeared shirtless in 6+ seasons as big brother Wally in "Leave It To Beaver".)

Recommended reading for all ages, though "baby boomers" who remember early TV shows will especially get a kick out of the revelations about their favorite shows. I give it four stars out of five.

Little Bear's outdoor adventure guide for the all-American boy

Average customer rating:

Little Bear's outdoor adventure guide for the all-American boy
Richard Wheeler
Manufacturer: MANTLE MINISTRIES
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Survival Skills | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1889128619

Average customer rating:

Great Book!

I Am Rene, the Boy/ Soy Rene, El Nino
Rene Colato Lainez
Manufacturer: Arte Publico Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

School | Issues | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Waiting for Papá / Esperando a Papá
Playing Loteria / El juego de la loteria
My Family and I/Mi familia y yo (English and Spanish Foundation Series) (Book #4) (Bilingual)
My Diary from Here to There/Mi diario de aqui hasta alla (Pura Belpre Honor Book Narrative (Awards))
When I Am/Cuando estoy (English and Spanish Foundation Series) (Book #12) (Bilingual)

ASIN: 1558853782

Book Description

Young René's teacher is calling role one morning, and René is dismayed to hear someone else answer to his name. It's not only that he thought he was the only person with that name, but also that the new student who answers is a girl. That afternoon his classmates tease, "René has a girl's name."

After discussing it with Mamá and Papá, René decides, "My name is so beautiful that a girl copied it from me," not the other way around. But the next day the new girl sits next to him…is behind him every time they line up…shares her apple with him…and at recess tells him she wants to be his best friend. . . everywhere he turns, there's René the girl.

One day at the library, René discovers a book called The Meaning of Names. With the book tucked under his arm, René endeavors to win the first writing contest of the school year.

Complimented by playful illustrations, this bilingual picture book follows Colato Laínez's own experiences, when he was faced with a challenge to his own name as a child. This witty story about a young boy's odyssey to find out the meaning of his name will challenge readers aged 3 to 7 to chart cross-cultural differences by gaining an understanding about themselves and the people around them.

Customer Reviews:

Great Book!.......2007-03-20

Great book my kids loved it even though they don't speak Spanish - I used the Spanish to translate some words for them. The pictures are very well done and the story was interesting enough that when I was interrupted a few times they reminded me to continue with the story.

This is a book we will take care of and keep for a long time ---

Average customer rating:

Martin's Quest
Diane M. Moore
Manufacturer: Blue Heron Press (LA)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature & Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1884725058

Book Description

Several of Martin Romeros Chitimacha and Cajun ancestors were traiteurs or healers. One had even been murdered because of this special gift of healing. In this story for young adult readers, Martins Grandmother Eulalie tells him he has the gift to heal and he must learn to use it wisely. Set along Bayou Teche in south Louisiana, the story weaves Martins school life, where he learns to be proud of his heritage, with a troubled home life. A pirogue race tests Martins belief in himself. This coming of age story draws from contemporary life and the rich culture of the Teche area

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books