Best of Ann Landers: Her Favorite Letters of All Time

Book Description

"Getting advice from Ann Landers is like chatting with a neighbor across the back fence."
--Los Angeles Times

In a career spanning nearly half a century, Ann Landers has counseled millions of people with her comforting words, wise advice, and no-nonsense answers to some of life's most sensitive, personal, and compelling questions. Now in The Best of Ann Landers, she has chosen her favorite letters from her beloved column. Tackling such diverse topics as marital infidelity, teenage sex, the death of a loved one, and homosexuality, Ann Landers never minces words. So whether she's extending a hand or hauling someone on the carpet--here are the best of the best!


RECIPE FOR A ROTTEN KID
SEX AND THE INTERNET
HOW TO BEAT DEPRESSION
BYLAWS FOR IN-LAWS
THE OTHER WOMAN
NO SEX MARRIAGES
DEAD AT SEVENTEEN
IS IT SAFE TO DO YOUR HOUSEWORK IN THE NUDE?
HOMOSEXUALS, BORN NOT MADE
AND MANY, MANY MORE!

"Her comments carry the ring of wisdom that comes only with age."
-- Entertainment Weekly

Customer Reviews:

Solid advice!.......2007-10-02

Item a little more worn than described, but is still in good shape. Prompt shipping.

Entertainment and solid education.......1998-10-22

I initially picked this book up at the library because I enjoy her column. I found myself wanting to mark pages due to all the resources she mentions in the book. In fact, there were so many I decided it would be easier to just buy the book. I was impressed by her ability to adapt to changes in society without losing her sense of values. This one is a keeper.

Barbie Live: The World's Most Famous Doll Having the Time of Her Life!

Average customer rating:

Barbie Live: The World's Most Famous Doll Having the Time of Her Life!
Lisa Birnbach
Manufacturer: Universe
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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Book Description

Imagine Barbie as a nightclub singer, race-car driver, or presidential candidate. Picture her as a graceful ballet dancer on pointe, as a leather-clad biker babe on the back of a Harley, or as the great film icons-Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle, Judy Garland as Dorothy, Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra. In Barbie Live she is all of this and more.

Stepping into these delicious roles, Barbie acts out her fabulous dreams and aspirations, adopting a new persona on every page and having the time of her life. In spectacular designer clothing-by Bob Mackie, Vera Wang, Christian Dior, and others-she attends exciting Hollywood events and New York photo shoots. Around the world at such hot spots as St. Bart's, Paris, Malibu, and Martha's Vineyard, Barbie takes us on her quest for fame-as a rock star, as an artist, and ultimately as a movie star. But is fame and fortune all that Barbie dreamed it would be?

Nancy Ellison's gorgeous full-color photography taken expressly for this book is filled with vitality and emotion. Lisa Birnbach provides the voice of Barbie in her fun, playful text. Barbie Live is the ultimate Barbie collector's item for children and adults alike.

Emotionally Engaged: A Bride's Guide to Surviving the "Happiest" Time of Her Life
Average customer rating:

Whew, so I am normal!

A must-read for all brides and grooms too :)

Worth reading

Yumcarrilicious

ideal present for the bride (and to a degree the groom)

Emotionally Engaged: A Bride's Guide to Surviving the "Happiest" Time of Her Life
Allison Moir-Smith
Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Love & Romance | Relationships | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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The Engaged Groom: You're Getting Married. Read this Book.

A Handbook for Engaged Couples: A Communication Tool for Those About to Be Married

ASIN: 0452288037

Book Description

From the country's foremost expert on “cold feet,” a smart and compassionate guide for the bride-to-be who thinks she should be blissfully happy—but is freaking out instead

For most brides, the elation of engagement is accompanied by a cocktail of unexpected emotions: Anxiety about making a lifelong commitment. Sadness about leaving their single life behind. Confusion when even simple decisions—should we serve chicken cordon bleu or beef Wellington?—bring them to tears. Worst of all, since everyone around them expects them to be happy, few brides feel there's anyone to turn to with these conflicting feelings.

Written by one of Modern Bride's “25 Trendsetters of 2006”—and targeting the 2.5 million women who get engaged each year—Emotionally Engaged is the only book geared toward helping brides survive their engagements and emerge as stronger, happier, better- adjusted married women. In the book, Allison Moir-Smith shares her threestage, tried-and-true process from her workshops and individual therapy sessions, along with the stories of over a dozen brides-to-be and newlyweds, helping readers transform their bridal blues into bridal bliss.

Customer Reviews:

Whew, so I am normal!.......2007-07-31

This is a great book for every bride-to-be! While I am thrilled and cannot wait to marry the love of my life in front of family and friends, it is nonetheless a very emotional and scary time. This book made me laugh, made me cry, and most importantly, made me realize that all of my feelings and emotions are completely normal.

A must-read for all brides and grooms too :).......2007-07-27

i plan to give this as a gift to anyone i know that gets engaged. it explains the highs and lows of engagement and how to deal with it without the psychobabble. A+

Worth reading.......2007-01-19

This is a really good book. It's written in an easy to read, accessible style but addresses some really big issues. The content is good because it normalises the experience that so many brides go through, of feeling scared or anxious about their approaching wedding, despite a good relationship with their partner. And it gives hope for how this will improve. Definitely worth a read for all brides.

Yumcarrilicious.......2007-01-13

This book is a must read for any engaged female and her friends. When one of my best friends was married I practically mourned the fact that she was leaving singlehood with me. I couldn't understand these feelings when I was so happy that she found a wonderful man and I knew she was happy too. When I got engaged, I started feeling sad about leaving my family and my single friends behind. Even though I knew I'd have them both for life. I heard about this book and decided to buy it. It honestly helped me sort through all my feelings of sadness, dragging my feet, and why I was struggling with happy feelings regarding my future with my fiance. After I read the book, I was so excited to get married, I couldn't wait for the day to come. I had never felt that way before the book. At the same time, it helped me understand why I felt so sad when my best friend got married. I have 3 friends getting married this summer and this book will definitely make the rounds to them.

ideal present for the bride (and to a degree the groom) .......2006-12-30

With runaway brides making the news psychotherapist Allison Moir-Smith's reference book is timely as a guide to coping with the demands on emotionally engaged females starting with the lifetime commitment relationship while also keeping your day job. The book is easy to read while avoiding dumbing down or accusations. The opening two chapters set the tone for "The Happiest time of My Life" and "The Fantasy vs. the Reality of Being Engaged". Both debunk the mythos that everything comes up rosy for a future bride. The rest of the book is broken into the three stages of engagement starting with four sections involving the "Ending", three on "Bridging", and one on the "Beginning".

This tome is an ideal present for the bride (and to a degree the groom) as it intelligently guides the reader through reasonable and not so reasonable fears of what is a major life decision. Whereas everyone in the inner circle including those recently graduated from the engagement marathon expect the woman to be euphorically elated ignoring their own trepidations, trials and tribulations; this book wisely does not assume this must be happiest time of my life.

Harriet Klausner

Average customer rating:

BARBIE-FASHION ICON
The book that launched a million Barbie collections.
Billy Boy puts down facts and visuals, all very good!
A tribute from one of Barbie's most ardent admirers.

Barbie: Her Life & Times
BillyBoy
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Dolls | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

History | Fashion | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Book Description

BillyBoy, owner of the world's largest Barbie doll collection (20,000 dolls and counting), charts the history of this protean American dream girl in a good-humored and affectionate retrospective. Illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

BARBIE-FASHION ICON.......2001-08-21

Having met the author in Paris in the early nineties I can sincerely say that Billy Boy knows his subject well.He is an expert not only on Barbie but on Bleuette and various other fashion dolls.This book gives a fascinating account of Barbie's itineraries as fashion icon and pop phenomenon.It contains some very interesting photos of Barbie's best outfits from the late 50ies to the late 80ies as well as a great gallery of Barbie portraits dressed by every well known designer.Also,lots of information on Barbie family members.A must.

The book that launched a million Barbie collections........1999-10-23

Although more than a decade old, this book continues to fascinate me. Mattel owes a debt of gratitute to Billy Boy*, whose landmark coffee-table book inspired many, including myself, to start their own Barbie collections. I own three copies of this book, whose narrative is as fascinating as its photos (Twiggy and Malibu Christie are two of my favorite Barbie friends, and are given prominence in this book). The photography also captures the "fun" of Barbie, and are not merely dolls posed in a wire stand. "Great" says it all ...

Billy Boy puts down facts and visuals, all very good!.......1999-03-31

This book about one of the world's greatest doll really emphisises the fasion of Barbie. The photos are absolutly stunning; with shots of the original doll to the French, Italian, Brittish, and American designers to Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Chanel, etc! He covers all the fasions of the time periods, which starts from when she was first debuted to middle 80s, and especially mentions the Haute Couture. The history of Barbie is very good; I think out of all the books I read about her history, this one has the most, and also the most facts about things that you never really knew. It shows alot of things that weren't coresponded to Barbie and her fasions mainly; It has the Bild Lilli and Twiggy dolls (a brief page or two), old comics or books on her, and on a lot of pages, you will see someone who was famous back then, who he thinks the doll had some connection to (i.e., Brigette Bardot, Elizabeth Taylor, Kim Novak, Marilyn Monroe, Bettina, etc.). It covers the Barbies and accsessories, like Flirting Miss Barbie, the twist and turn era, Color Magic Barbie, Talking Barbie, and many of Barbie's pets. A very good book if you are intrested in knowing what actually made barbie famous and knowing her history and fasions.

A tribute from one of Barbie's most ardent admirers........1999-01-19

Most fans know Billy Boy as one of the "original" fashion designers who lent their skills to Barbie couture. Billy Boy was perhaps the most ardent admirer of the 11-1/2" fashion doll, and while his association with Mattel lasted for only two doll releases (1985's Le Nouveau Theatre de la Mode and her followup Feelin' Groovy), his tribute to the Fashion Queen Extraordinaire lives on in this book. If you are looking for a guide to identifying dolls or viewing a complete history of the most popular toy in the world, you'll be disappointed, but if you want a true tribute from one of her biggest fans loaded with pictures of one-of-a-kind dolls from the world's most well-known designers, then this is the book for you.

On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker (Lisa Drew Books)

Average customer rating:

On Her Own Ground - Review by Devonne Mckenzie
A fine biography of a fascinating woman
My Speech On Mrs. Walker
A wonderful story, beautifully written
On her Own Ground

On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker (Lisa Drew Books)
A'Lelia Bundles
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

African-American & Black | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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The Black Rose: The Dramatic Story of Madam C.J. Walker, America's First Black Female Millionaire
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Madame C J Walker (Black American Series)

ASIN: 0743431723

Amazon.com

She was the daughter of slaves, married at 14, a widow with a baby daughter at 20. But, by the time that she was 40, Madam C.J. Walker (1867-1919) was making as much money as a white corporate executive, thanks to her popular hair-care products for black women and her brilliance at marketing them. She created a workforce of sales agents that gave African American women job options other than being washerwomen or domestics. As her prominence and wealth increased, she became a generous benefactor of black educational institutions, and such a staunch supporter of the antilynching movement that the State Department labeled her a "race agitator" and denied her a passport in 1919. Yet, she had plenty of time for fun, too; she built a lavish mansion (near John D. Rockefeller's) in Irvington-on-Hudson, New York, and her daughter Lelia entertained the Harlem Renaissance elite in a spectacular Manhattan townhouse that was renovated with revenues from the company's New York branch. Author A'Lelia Bundles, a veteran television journalist and Madam Walker's descendant, reminds us that controversy over straightened hair has raged within the black community for a century, and that the businesswoman insisted that her aim never was to "de-kink" her customers' tresses, but instead to "grow" them through proper care, frequent washing, and improved nutrition. Bundles seamlessly weaves together her great-great-grandmother's remarkable personal odyssey with the broader outlines of African American struggle in the early 20th century, to create a colorful biography that's also a fascinating social history. --Wendy Smith

Book Description

On Her Own Ground is the first full-scale, definitive biography of Madam C. J. Walker -- the legendary African American entrepreneur and philanthropist -- by her great-great-granddaughter, A'Lelia Bundles.

The daughter of slaves, Madam C. J. Walker was orphaned at seven, married at fourteen and widowed at twenty. She spent the better part of the next two decades laboring as a washerwoman for $1.50 a week. Then -- with the discovery of a revolutionary hair care formula for black women -- everything changed. By her death in 1919, Walker managed to overcome astonishing odds: building a storied beauty empire from the ground up, amassing wealth unprecedented among black women and devoting her life to philanthropy and social activism. Along the way, she formed friendships with great early-twentieth-century politi-cal figures such as W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington.

On Her Own Ground is not only the first comprehensive biography of one of recent history's most amazing entrepreneurs and philanthropists, it is about a woman who is truly an African American icon. Drawn from more than two decades of exhaustive research, the book is enriched by the author's exclusive access to personal letters, records and never-before-seen photographs from the family collection. Bundles also showcases Walker's complex relationship with her daughter, A'Lelia Walker, a celebrated hostess of the Harlem Renaissance and renowned friend to both Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston. In chapters such as "Freedom Baby," "Motherless Child," "Bold Moves" and "Black Metropolis," Bundles traces her ancestor's improbable rise to the top of an international hair care empire that would be run by four generations of Walker women until its sale in 1985. Along the way, On Her Own Ground reveals surprising insights, tells fascinating stories and dispels many misconceptions.

Download Description

The daughter of slaves, Madam C. J. Walker was orphaned at seven, married at fourteen, and widowed at twenty. She spent the better part of the next two decades laboring as a washwoman for $1.50 a week. Then -- with the discovery of a revolutionary hair care formula for black women -- everything changed. By her death in 1919, Walker managed to overcome astonishing odds, building a storied beauty empire from the ground up, amassing a wealth unprecedented among black women, and devoting her life to philanthropy and social activism. Along the way, she formed friendships with such early twentieth-century figures as W. E. B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington. On Her Own Ground is the first truly comprehensive biography of one of recent history's most amazing entrepreneurs and philanthropists. Drawn from more than two decades of exhaustive research by A'Lelia Bundles, Walker's great-great-granddaughter, the book is enriched by the author's exclusive access to personal letters, records, and never-before-seen photographs from the family collection. Bundles reveals surprising insights into Walker's rise to the top of international business, dispels many misconceptions, and showcases Walker's complex relationship with her daughter, a celebrated hostess of the Harlem Renaissance, and renowned friend and patron to both Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston.

Customer Reviews:

On Her Own Ground - Review by Devonne Mckenzie .......2004-12-28

This a wonderfully written biography on Madam C.J. Walker's life. I felt uplifted and inspired by her success as a business woman, as a human rights activist and as a philanthropist. A'Lelia Bundles, Madam Walker's great-great granddaughter, did an excellent job of transporting readers to 1867-1919 to experience the politicial, social and economical issues during Madam Walker's life time.

A'Lelia Bundles was very clear and truthful regarding the fact that Madam Walker did not invent the hot comb. Madam Walker's business provided hair and skin care products to women of color not only in the U.S., also to women in the Caribbean and in Cuba. It is my strong opinion that Madam Walker was one of the first people to develop the concept of self-empowerment and financial independence for women of color because she provided the opportunity to become a Walker sales agent to thousands of women across the U.S. Madam C.J. Walker's work as a human rights activist and her contributions as a philanthropist, impacted a countless number of institutions, organizations and individuals. On Her Own Ground is powerful, moving, enlighting and it is filled with courage!

A fine biography of a fascinating woman.......2004-12-02

Before I read this book, I knew Madam C.J. Walker must have been one tough cookie! And she certainly was. But her story is more than just "daughter of slaves makes good."

Madam Walker was orphaned at 7, and went to live with her sister and brother-in-law in what was apparently an abusive household. She married at 14 to escape the situation and, at 20, was left a widow, with a child to support. Leaving Mississippi for St. Louis, she began an extraordinary journey, one that would lead her not merely to wealth and fame, but to a position of influence and importance in the affairs of her race and her nation. She overcame obstacles of race, gender and class to found a business that would help give independence and financial stability to thousands of women. From the very beginning of her success, she used her money to help others, not merely through employment, but by setting an example of charitable giving that lasted throughout her life.

As a woman rising from poverty, attempting to establish herself as a leader, she often met with resistance even in her own community (it took quite some time, for instance, for Booker T. Washington to acknowledge her as a leading businesswoman). But she persisted, and, even more to her credit, was able to walk a fine line between the supporters of Washington and those of W.E.B. DuBois, who took Washington to task as not aggressive enough in fighting for civil rights.

I was fascinated by the section discussing Madam Walker's involvement in the efforts of the African-American community to have the issue of race placed on the table at the Versailles Peace Conference after World War I. This was a part of our history that I had not been aware of before reading this book. It does not surprise me that the government was spying on prominent African - Americans and community organizations (plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose!). And anyone, black or white, whom the government perceived as not being completely behind the official point of view was denied a passport to travel to the conference. The issue never came to the table.

Unfortunately, as with a lot of strong, determined women, Madam Walker was not as successful in her choice of men (a difficulty her daughter also had!). But she did not hesitate to do what needed to be done in her personal life. Her daughter, Lelia (later A'Lelia), whom she raised with the usual mother-daughter conflicts, grew up to become an important part of the family business, though not an artist in any field herself, a key supporter of artists of the Harlem Renaissance.

The author, A'Lelia Bundles, is her subject's great-great-great-granddaughter, and is a journalist. Her experience in that field surely was a major factor in the quality of this book. The woman knows research and documentation! She has provided endnotes, as well as a lengthy bibliography. Madam Walker is fortunate in her biographer and Ms. Bundles is fortunate in her ancestors!

My Speech On Mrs. Walker.......2003-12-26

Mrs. Bundles,
I just wanted to let you know, I got an 'A' for my presentation on your great- great grandmother. My teacher told me that my speech was on a 2nd year speech class level and that I was like a piece of brass, I just needed some fine polishing. I may have a future in motivational speaking and I just had to thank you. The information in your book was not only factual and informative, but interesting to me as well as my mother and sisters. Our family history could be parallel to yours, except we have yet to find the key to financial success, but we will.
I have fully enjoyed your book and reading what you yourself have been able to accomplish has been an added inspiration to me.
Thank you for your time in guiding me to my 'A'

A wonderful story, beautifully written.......2003-11-11

The author tells the amazing rags to riches story of her great great grandmother, while at the same time providing a detailed account of a fascinating time in American history. This was a delight to read. Highly recommended!

On her Own Ground.......2003-01-07

This book helps you to appreciate our past generations and how their struggles were not that different from our own. Madam CJ Walker is more than a shinning example of what anyone with determination can accomplish. A'Lelia Bundles is truly blessed that her great-grandmother and grandmother left so much documentation her to quench her love of family history. The experiences and stories of those that knew them take you back in time. This book helped me to look at my grandmother's antiques differently. I used to view them as beautiful things I have grown up with and am comforted by, but now I realize that they hold the key to what I may have been searching for all of my life. Just as she was drawn to the her grandmother's dressing table so was I. We are blessed as black women to have such a rich heritage to share. A'Lelia carries with her the dignity and pride of her family that I wish all of our young people could express. I think reading this book will help everyone to look to their past in a quest for the future.

Across Time And Death: A Mother's Search For Her Past Life Children

Average customer rating:

One of the BEST books ever on reincarnation
Amazing.
A Love that Spanned the Gulf of Death
Emotionally Sophisticated & Convincing
Don't let 5 star reviews cloud your judgement

Across Time And Death: A Mother's Search For Her Past Life Children
Jenny Cockell
Manufacturer: Fireside
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0671889869

Customer Reviews:

One of the BEST books ever on reincarnation.......2007-02-12

This is a book I've read twice over the past years, which is rare for me. Usually I read a book once and move on to another. This book has had such an effect on me and I count it as my favorite of all time. This book can even have an effect on skeptics of reincarnation. After reading this book I came away with a new way I see life.. and life after life. Simply amazing.

Amazing........2006-12-03

Being born a "Druze" ( a religion in the Middle East,basically in Lebanon,Israel,Jordan), I totally understand this story & can relate as I had heard many true stories of previous memories of past lives of people. My parents come from "Mimes,Hasbaya" in South Lebanon & over there this belief is predominant since it a central belief in Druze's religion & parents of young children ie less than 5 years old,do encourage their young children to "Talk" about any previous memories rather than rediculing them & they do go to check whether these places,events,names etc are real or not & in many cases they are.Actually my grandfather was re-incarnated & told many of his previous life & documented as true. A very good book

A Love that Spanned the Gulf of Death.......2006-06-21

This is a very moving account of a woman who, even as a girl, experienced memories of a former life--where she had been a mother who died away from home, worrying about her children left behind. Jenny Cockell, an introvert by nature, had to grow beyond her innate reticence to investigate past-life impressions that called to her insistently. Through her research she found her former kids, self-understanding, and eventually, inner peace. Any parent would understand the feelings that motivated Jenny's efforts. And any reader cannot help but feel the utter sincerity of Ms. Cockell's report. Across Time and Death is one of the most convincing cases of reincarnation that I've read. And I've read a lot of them.

Emotionally Sophisticated & Convincing.......2005-07-28

The level of detail to Jenny Cockell's past life memories compared to the actual details that she was able to find in real life are convincing as a case of reincarnation. In that sense the book was very satisfying, but also a bit boring because comparing details to details doesn't make for particularly vibrant material. There is a slow meticulous quality to the book.

However, some of the most enjoyable parts of the book are her comments on her emotional state throughout this journey of discovery. She was able to describe emotions in a sophisticated way that I found inspiring.

I am grateful that she shared her story.

Don't let 5 star reviews cloud your judgement.......2005-06-14

After reading such glowing reviews, I sent for this book. When I saw that the only review on the back cover did not come from a publication I knew I had made a mistake. I did not like the book. The emotion of the author seemed genuine but I didn't get caught up in the story. Maybe if I had seen the T.V. program described by others it might have helped. If I had read the reviews more carefully I might have saved myself some money.

Belle Starr and Her Times: The Literature, the Facts, and the Legends

Average customer rating:

Comparing Fact and Folklore
Academic and dull. Demeans Belle. Boring.

Belle Starr and Her Times: The Literature, the Facts, and the Legends
Glenn Shirley
Manufacturer: University of Oklahoma Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Historical | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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

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ASIN: 0806122765

Customer Reviews:

Comparing Fact and Folklore.......2000-07-12

Many books have been written about Belle Starr, and Glenn Shirley's is the only one that reveals the known facts and leaves the rest to folklore. Living in Fort Smith, part of Belle's old stomping grounds, I've met many people who to this day still proclaim to know who Pearl Starr's father was, and at last who killed Belle Starr. Unless the bodies of Cole and Belle and Pearl and Jim Reed are dug up for DNA testing, the "truth" will never be known. And as for Belle's death, it will always remain one of the great mysteries of the Old West. Glenn Shirley does the best of any author in comparing fact and hearsay about this great legendary figure, and if anyone wants to read the best book on Belle Starr, this one is it. Steven Law, ReadWest.com.

Academic and dull. Demeans Belle. Boring........1999-05-28

As dull as a freshman thesis. The coincidence of the author's name being the same as Belle's maiden name (Shirley) might tend to establish him as an authority. However, no actual familial connection is established. The book seems to proclaim itself the final authority on Belle's life and claims to separate fact from fiction though there seems to be little proof that the book is any more factual than any other. The book's boring narrative turns one of America's most colorful female characters into nothing more than a one-dimensional criminal with no regard for the other aspects of her personality. By belittling other more interesting texts, it ignores the conflicts that were bound to have existed in a well educated Confederate woman who can only defend her family from the Union soldiers who have killed her brothers and destroyed her home in the only way a woman can fight -- with her feminine wiles. She probably fought in the only way the disorganized Confederates in Missouri could fight, by robbing and pilaging Union strongholds. Belle must surely have been confused by the depravity of war and its must surely have conflicted with her refined upbringing. She attended a fine finishing school and was an accomplished musician and singer as well as an expert equestrian. She used her education to defend the downtrodden American Indian in court and defended the Confederacy to the end of her life. She married men only to see them die in violent conflict. She provided for her children and according to the descendants of those who knew her in Southeastern Oklahoma, to the end she was a lady. By depicting her as nothing more than a one dimensional depraved specimen of criminality suitable only for academic study, the author has done exactly what the he criticizes other biographers of doing. He has mingled his own interpretations (fiction) with fact and used the facts to benefit only himself. Perhaps that's the tragedy of her life -- No one will ever know the facts and everyone will change them to their own advantage.

Average customer rating:

Toxic families

Time of Her Life
Robb Forman Dew
Manufacturer: William Morrow & Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Fortunate Lives: A Novel
Dale Loves Sophie to Death: A Novel
The Truth of the Matter
The Evidence Against Her: A Novel
The Family Heart: A Memoir of When Our Son Came Out

ASIN: 0688039189

Book Description

Now restored to print-the acclaimed second novel by the National Book Award-winning author of Dale Loves Sophie to Death and The Evidence Against Her. Claudia and Avery Parks, lovers since high school, are now in their thirties. Intelligent, charming, sympathetic, they seem to be the ideal couple, the perfect dinner-party guests, almost everything people should be-except responsible. They are casually yet cruelly oblivious to the ways in which their words and actions affect other people, most particularly their talented 11-year-old daughter, who suffers the misfortune of being treated by her parents not as a child but as an equal.

Customer Reviews:

Toxic families.......2006-01-24

As in all her novels, Dew shows a remarkable ability to get inside the minds of her main characters, letting us see the situation exactly as they see it. Here, she grapples with the effects of (unacknowledged) alcoholism on an attractive, intelligent family that should have everything going for it. She has accurately captured the juvenile narcissism and self-absorption of the addictive personality, whether it is the alcoholic or the partner who enables the problem. Even more impressive is her depiction of the daughter who has to become an adult long before she is ready and suffers acutely as a result. In this, she resembles most children growing up in alcoholic households who are forced into a premature adulthood because their parents, mired in their addictions, refuse to grow up. It is not an easy book to read, but definitely worthwhile if one wants to understand the dynamics motivating parents who make their children responsible for their own problems. Dew handles these circumstances deftly, without making judgments and letting the situation speak for itself.

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Writing a Woman's Life

Susan Glaspell: Her Life and Times
Linda Ben-Zvi
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Susan Glaspell: A Critical Biography
Plays
Fidelity
Midnight Assassin: A Murder in America's Heartland (Bur Oak Book)

ASIN: 0195115066

Book Description

"Venturesome feminist," historian Nancy Cott's term, perfectly describes Susan Glaspell (1876-1948), America's first important modern female playwright, winner of the 1931 Pulitzer Prize for drama, and one of the most respected novelists and short story writers of her time. In her life she explored uncharted regions and in her writing she created intrepid female characters who did the same. Born in Davenport, Iowa, just as America entered its second century, Glaspell took her cue from her pioneering grandparents as she sought to rekindle their spirit of adventure and purpose. A journalist by age eighteen, she worked her way through university as a reporter. In 1913 she and her husband, fellow Davenport iconoclast George Cram "Jig" Cook, joined the migration of writers from the Midwest to Greenwich Village, and were at the center of the first American avant-garde. Glaspell was a charter member of its important institutions--the Provincetown Players, the Liberal Club, Heterodoxy--and a close friend of John Reed, Mary Heaton Vorse, Max Eastman, Sinclair Lewis, and Eugene O'Neill. Her plays launched an indigenous American drama and addressed pressing topics such as women's suffrage, birth control, female sexuality, marriage equality, socialism, and pacifism. Although frail and ethereal, Glaspell was a determined rebel throughout her life, willing to speak out for those causes in which she believed and willing to risk societal approbation when she found love. At the age of thirty-five, she scandalized staid Davenport when she began an affair with then-married Jig Cook. After his death in Delphi, where they lived for two years, she began an eight-year relationship with a man seventeen years her junior. Youthful in appearance, she remained youthful and undaunted in spirit. "Out there--lies all that's not been touched--lies life that waits," Claire Archer says in The Verge, Glaspell's most experimental play. The biography of Susan Glaspell is the exciting story of her personal exploration of the same terrain.

Customer Reviews:

Writing a Woman's Life.......2005-06-11

Although little-known today, in her heyday (c. 1910-1940) Susan Glaspell was one of the most notable literary figures of her generation, a best-selling novelist, critically-acclaimed playwright, and a cultural leader of the modernist avant-garde, a legendary circle that shifted geographically from Chicago to New York to Paris, and included playwright Eugene O'Neill, novelists Theodore Dreiser and John Dos Passos, poets Djuna Barnes and Edna St. Vincent Millay, painter Georgia O'Keefe, labor journalists Jack Reed and Mary Heaton Vorse, anarchist activist Emma Goldman, and salon hostess Mabel Dodge Luhan.

In Susan Glaspell: Her Life and Times, author Linda Ben-Zvi provides a thoroughly researched, richly detailed, and imminently readable analysis of Susan Glaspell's professional rise from "society girl" reporting in her native Iowa to Pulitzer-prize winning playwright of international fame, and an equally rich exploration of Glaspell's private life, including her marriage to the charismatic and iconoclastic George Cram ("Jig") Cook and her eight year liaison with writer Norman Matson, seventeen years Glaspell's junior. Ben-Zvi offers critical summaries of all of Glaspell's major works, including her nine novels, eleven plays, and her fascinating, genre-blurring auto/biography, The Road to the Temple.

Born in Davenport, Iowa, in 1876, Susan Glaspell was, as Ben-Zvi writes, a "pioneer" and a "venturesome feminist" in art and life, one of the first generation of American women to embrace socialism, feminism, and self-realization as a woman and a citizen. Glaspell's fictional counterparts, in her novels, short stories, and plays were similarly strong women who "continually pushed against fixed boundaries."

Ben-Zvi, who has published extensively on Glaspell, brings to her analysis a thorough knowledge of the social and aesthetic context within which Glaspell lived and worked. She brings the story of Susan Glaspell to life, and her remarkable account of one woman's remarkable life is highly recommended for anyone interested in Glaspell, women's biography, or American social and cultural history.

Cheryl Black

Alcott in Her Own Time: A Biographical Chronicle of Her Life, Drawn from Recollections, Interviews, and Memoirs by Family, Friends, and Associates (Writers in Their Own Time)

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A portrait from life...
Alcott in Her Own Time By Daniel Shealy: redundant and yet still enjoyable
The Real Little Women
Carrots and Candlesticks

Alcott in Her Own Time: A Biographical Chronicle of Her Life, Drawn from Recollections, Interviews, and Memoirs by Family, Friends, and Associates (Writers in Their Own Time)

Manufacturer: University Of Iowa Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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American Bloomsbury: Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau: Their Lives, Their Loves, Their Work
The Peabody Sisters: Three Women Who Ignited American Romanticism

ASIN: 087745938X

Book Description

By 1888, twenty years after the publication of Little Women, Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) was one of the most popular and successful authors America had yet produced. In her pre-Little Women days, she concocted blood-and-thunder tales for low wages; post-Little Women, she specialized in domestic novels and short stories for children. Collected here for the first time are the reminiscences of people who knew her, the majority of which have not been published since their original appearance in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Many of the printed recollections in this book appeared after Alcott became famous and showcase her as a literary lion, but others focus on her teen years, when she was living the life of Jo March; these intimate glimpses into the life of the Alcott family lead the reader to one conclusion: the family was happy, fun, and entertaining, very much like the fictional Marches. The recollections about an older and wealthier Alcott show a kind and generous, albeit outspoken, woman little changed by her money and status. From Annie Sawyer Downs's description of life in Concord to Anna Alcott Pratt's recollections of the Alcott sisters' acting days to Julian Hawthorne's neighborly portrait of the Alcotts, the thirty-six recollections in this copiously illustrated volume tell the private and public story of a remarkable life.

Customer Reviews:

A portrait from life..........2007-03-25

I can't recall offhand any author who is so completely identified with one of her characters as Louisa May Alcott is with "Jo" of "Little Women," her most successful (and probably still her most beloved) work. It is therefore truly fascinating to read, as the book's subtitle says, "chronicles of her life, drawn from recollections, interviews, & memoirs by family, friends, & associates" (some quite short) in which we can detect ways in which Louisa does and doesn't resemble her most famous literary creation. She emerges as a fresh, funny, affectionate, morally indignant, struggling, ambitious, and totally appealing personality. While it is true that her father Bronson occupies rather more than his share of space, I think this accurately reflects the amount of airspace he took up in the Alcott family, and sheds a lot of light on Louisa's subsequent treatment of "Papa March" in her novels.

For people struggling with what to make of Susan Cheever's book on Louisa's Concord, "American Bloomsbury," this book is a wonderful compendium of primary sources on the subject, and the introductory paragraphs that head each of the 36 pieces are most informative. The Hawthorne, Emerson, and Thoreau families all make appearances amongst these pages, and one may judge for oneself the nature of their inter-relationships.

Alcott in Her Own Time By Daniel Shealy: redundant and yet still enjoyable.......2007-01-12

The book Alcott in Her Own Time is not just another biography of the famed author of Little Women, Louisa May Alcott and her incredible life. Nor was it written by some person living in our time who never knew Louisa May Alcott. No, this biography on Louisa May Alcott was written by many people and each and every one of them knew Louisa May Alcott or had a memorable encounter with her.
This biography is full of stories about the author and her "All-American" family; many of the stories have never been known to the public until now. This book delves deep into the lives of all the Alcotts with many funny stories and childhood friends mentioned. The book shows just how connected the Alcotts were, too, with family and with many important people from that time period.
Stories from family or close friends never fail to make the connections between the childhood of Louisa and the story about her family: Little Women. This is an interesting and enjoyable aspect of the book because it shows how important family was to the great author and it shows that great characters are found in real life too. Another component of the book that is enjoyable is the photos. There are photos of Louisa and her family, as well as a few drawings done by May Alcott, otherwise known as Amy March. It is also interesting to read the many comments on how the unforgettable character of Jo March is the absolute heart and soul of Louisa May Alcott, even down to the adventures and experiences she has. Like the ever memorable characters of Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, the Alcotts and Louisa's characters are some of the very few that will live on forever in books and in the minds of those who read about them.
The book is very good, but somewhat redundant at times. It often repeats stories or facts, even though they are written by a different person each time. It can get quite tiresome to read the same stories or family tree of the Alcotts seven or eight times. Overall, the book was sweet and interesting. This book is better suited for those who could ake it through the unabridged version of Little Women and all Alcott lovers. It portrayed the Alcotts as they were and as they were known to everyone who met them.

The Real Little Women.......2006-07-04

This book is a real gem. The editor did a marvelous job and I think it is a must have for anyone who is interested in Louisa May Alcott.

Within this book we have eyewitness accounts of people who knew Louisa May Alcott and her family, before and during her fame. The editor gives a brief biography of the person giving their account and this is very helpful because you have a greater understanding of how this person knew Louisa. I found some of the passages very moving especially those that spoke of Lizzy(Beth in Little Women). There was one part in the book where a person encountered Louisa sewing Lizzy's burial shroud and Louisa was so upset she ran from the room. These are the small glimpses that make the book priceless.

I will agree with the other reviewer that this book does cover a lot about Louisa's father. Although, to be fair, I found that he was mentioned when people were recalling the family. I do not recall any stand-alone essays on him.

Some of the entries found in this book maybe redundant if you are an avid Louisa May Alcott fan. For instance there are some journal snippets from Louisa May Alcott and a few other things that I have read before. However, this is an excellent addition to your Alcott collection.

Carrots and Candlesticks.......2006-03-15

Daniel Shealy, an expert on Louisa May Alcott who has edited or co-edited a dozen books about her and by her, turns his attention now to contemporary accounts of her life and personality. He has dug up old interviews from the nineteenth century, as well as scores of memorials published after her death, from the people who remembered her and loved her best; and, in a few cases, from people who barely knew her at all but who knew what star quality she had. Alcott was one of America's greatest novelists but her reputation suffered from the "stain" of being known primarily as a writer of "girls' literature." She hid the dozens of blood and thunder pulp stories she wrote under pseudonyms, publishing a few under her own name at the very end of her life as a kind of metafictional illustration of the kind of thing Jo March, LITTLE WOMEN's heroine, might have been writing during the years she was scrambling so for money.

The Alcotts' household is enchantingly Bohemian, up to a point. Edward Emerson, son of Ralph Waldo, credits the Concord circle with inventing all the famous childhood games that came into vogue later in the century. They put on their own plays, invented "Charades," wrote impromptu poems on set subjects in half an hour's time. He remembers a period when the Alcotts didn't even have enough money for candlesticks, but their inventive minds carved out niches for candles in the small ends of large orange carrots! These details really bring back a period of American history long lost to us.

Could the book be a litle bit longer than it has to? The only reason I wonder this is, if you pick up the book and flip to any page, you might not find any mention of Louisa herself. Many of the memoirists wrote as much about her father, Bronson Alcott, as they did about her. And believe me, he gets tiresome after awhile. A book more sharply focussed on Miss Alcott herself might be a welcome treat. However, on second thought, there's no getting arund the eternal mystery of Bronson Alcott, a man so transcendental he he believed, like Christ, in letting anyone come into his house. Thus the four daughters had often to give up their beds to literally the scum of the earth, and the quacks, and the sexually adventurous, and the "hippies" of the 1840s of which, it seems, there were plenty. LMA rarely complained but I can only imagine there must have been some resentment about the way Bronson A. forced his girls to encounter the lame and the halt? Maybe that's why she left him out of LITTLE WOMEN, shipped him off to fight the Civil War.

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