1990 Books

I truly enjoyed this book. It is somewhat parochial regarding the air force, but not awful about it. Some of the personal anecdotes were quite interesting, especially the description of the Saudi officers. I laughed out loud at the anecdote of "you are now leaving Saudi Arabia, please set your watches ahead 600 years".

This book assumes the reader has something of a military background, which isn't an issue to me but I can imagine some people struggling w/the story. If your interested in military history in the mideast, you can easily afford the day or two it will take to read this.

Boy, I certainly enjoyed this book. It really keeps you on the edge of your seat as you relive his experiences in Iraq and with GEN Schwarzkopf during the Gulf War.

With his unique first-hand experiences in Iraq and the Middle East and being fluent in Arabic, Col. Francona has certainly had a most exciting career. I'm sure he must still be an extremely valuable consultant to the Bush administration in Washington.

This is the best book I've read in quite some time!

He was right in the middle of the Iraq war with eyeball accounts of things that were happening. Great if you like behind the scenes info. Well written.

If you were an intelligence officer fluent in speaking Arabic and served in Iraq during its war with Iran and later as General Schwarzkopf's interpreter during Desert Shield and Desert Storm you would have a lot to tell that could not be found in American news reports--and Rick Francona does just that in Ally To Adversary.

This book takes you into Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, where you will come away with a better understanding of the political, military, and cultural mishmash of the region.

The book is full of revealing tidbits, such as:
--Government Control - In order to mail a letter outside of the country of Iraq, one must get government permission to buy postage stamps. A woman "sobbing quietly" told the author that she had a sister in the United States but could not correspond with her.
--Bunker Opulence - The Saudi king's bunker deep below the palace is itself an underground palace with kitchen, living areas and medical clinic, "opulent beyond description."
--Allies? - When the first Iraqi missiles hit Israeli soil, inside the coalition operations center every Saudi officer was on his feet applauding and cheering the attack.
--Monster Marines - The fighting ferocity of a small group of U.S. Marines surrounded and greatly outnumbered by Iraqi soldiers spread through the Iraqi army spawning wild perceptions about American marines. Among them: each marine had to have killed a member of his own family as a condition of entering the corps; and that marines practiced cannibalism on the bodies of their foes.

Find out why Iraq did not use chemical and biological weapons against the coalition forces.

At a time when many Americans want to understand Arab and Islamic influences and their effect on current events, Rick Francona's book is an excellent and enduring source.
As an Air Force intelligence officer, a Middle East veteran, and a fluent Arabic speaker, Rick had seen the Iraqis, first as an ally, and later as an adversary, as the title suggests. Early in the book he tells us about visiting Iraq during its long war with Iran. He visited areas of grinding combat around Al-Basrah and observed, as an ally, the army we would later face in the Persian Gulf War. His unique, first-hand observations would be invaluable later. He also entertains us with stories of life in Baghdad, once even escaping his Iraqi escort and conversing in Arabic with surprised ordinary Iraqis in the marketplace.
Later in the book, he gives us an insider's view as General Schwarzkopf's interpreter at the meeting at Safwan where Iraq was to receive surrender terms. Asked to translate instructions to the senior Iraqi representative, Rick tells us, "I translated the words into Arabic; the Iraqi interpreter, a brigadier who had spent several years living in Michigan, nodded to Sultan Hashim that my translation was correct." He ties many of his experiences together at a meeting later in the book when he finds himself facing an Iraqi major with whom he had worked during the Iran-Iraq war. "I was stunned to be now face-to-face with Majid Al-Hilawi, whom I had not seen since my last night in Baghdad at the end of the US-Iraq military relationship in 1988. I simply walked over to where Majid was sitting and offered my hand which he took warmly."
Rick Francona makes us feel like a personal witness to all these events. This is a great story from an observant eyewitness. It is all the more compelling because we saw the highlights on CNN and many of the observations will probably be relevant far into the future.

I must say up-front that this is an incredible book, unmatched by any other photo documentary for the greatest band of all-time...or any other. As others have said, it is a MUST for any serious admiring fan of U2. I do want to make everyone aware, however, that when this book first came out, it measured approx. 14"-15" tall and was a true coffee-table book. I just received a copy I ordered for a friend who is also a huge fan and, upon opening the smiling Amazon box, found myself frowning when I was holding a 8"-9" version of the same book I have. The advertised list price of $60 was "slashed" by Amazon down to $38. Now I see why, and want to make sure you know this before purchasing.

Brilliantly put together coffee table book - i recommend this to U2 fans - fantastic collection of photography- great variety covering each band member and even some family photos- loads of unseen photos - great idea with the hand written notes .... worth every cent

This book have new photographs that not has been seen about U2, and they have very good quality. This is not another book about U2, in my point this is a essential book for fans of U2.

Gorgeous pictures! Must have for true fanatic fans. A little pricey for the casual or average fan unless you have a crush on one of the band members. Anton's handwritten comments are a wonderful touch. They make you feel like you're part of the family. Definitely worth the money to me.

No words can describe the beauty, quality and detailed work of this book; you can really tell the dedication Anton Corbijn put into it, as well as his loyalty to the band through all these years. It's not only a masterpiece describing through pictures and notes the history of the greatest rock band in the world, but also a must have for any major U2 fan. It's personalized album type format makes it a wonderful experience both to read and look, and the quality and art work of all the pictures is out of this world; it's almost like you grow closer to the band! I loved it and can't get enough of it!! It's worth every cent. Really!!

The book was in great price, and it arrived in great condition. The best thing was, however, the promptness of the delivery!! Thank you very much.

Another in a collection of zany, wonderful episodes brought to us by a cartooning master. Keeps us in touch with sanity and makes us laugh because we need it! Good job, Bill!

The commentary provided by the author on each of the Sunday cominc cartoon included in the collection in itself is worth the book. Each cartoon is presented twice, though. The left panel is similar to the sketches and the right hand presents the same cartoon in color. Each of the two pages provide a narrative related to the specific cartoon - explaining the artistic characteristics and inspiration for the cartoon....All in all, an excellent addition to any Calvin fan (and which intelligent reader isnt!)

For the eleven years that it ran (1985-1995), Waterson's "Calvin and Hobbes" comic strip was one of the greatest ever. His genius is reflected in a combination of brilliant images, imaginative story lines, unpredictable situations, and just the fun, love, and silliness of a little boy and his stuffed tiger. I have a few of the large format books, and I get a bit tired by Watterson's gassy forewords, in which he never fails to yak on and on about the cruel cartoon industry with its shrinking sizes, loss of artistic greatness, and insistence on merchandising every successful strip. Whatever. He does it again in this book, so you'll have to skip past that. The book doubled as the exhibit catalog for a showing of Watterson's works at Ohio State a few years ago. The interesting pages are dozens of Sunday strips with his personal comments under most of them. They appear in both the original draft and the final colored form (though personally, I didn't see much value added in running the same strip twice --in black-and-white and then in color). But it is fun to page through and laugh again at some of the most creative, clever, humorous, and well-drawn strips ever.

Calvin & Hobbes was much more than a really good newspaper comic strip.

Created by Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes will be hailed among the greatest ever created, right alongside Peanuts and Krazy Kat for its creativity, scope of influence and the enjoyment it offered the reader. It was a strip capable of being all things gleeful and all things sad, all things goofy and all things serious.

Bill Watterson's genius cannot be overstated. He was a master of the comic form. He somehow managed to be funny, clever, touching, insightful, warm, cynical, uplifting, devious, nostalgic, and mischievous, all in the space of a little three- or four-panel comic strip.

And his Sunday strips? A feast. His use of space and color, especially in the strip's later years, was masterful. He knew how to work a page like no other.

In this collection, some of the best Sunday strips are collected in glorious color. Each is amended with footnotes and annotations by the creator himself, along with early pre-newspaper versions of the strips. While many of these can be found elsewhere, this collection is a nice look back at some favorites, made even better by the insight and observations of the man who drew them. Even those intimately familiar with these cartoons will learn something new about the craft of comic creation through his annotations.

Each comic strip is a story - and for longtime Calvin & Hobbes readers, a memory. That final strip, with its clean slate of white snow into which Calvin and Hobbes disappear, talking of discovery and exploring ... just fantastic.

If you're a fan of Watterson's work and Calvin & Hobbes, you owe it to yourself to pick this up.

I must admit that I am not usually into celebrity type cookbooks and am a little bit hesitant to get things that are associated with "Jackie O." My mother purchased this book years ago when it came out.(and I purchased my own copy thereafter) We tried the brownies in this book and they are beyond fabulous. There is no recipe that ever even comes close to these brownies they are the most perfect brownies in the world. The only thing I changed is that I do not add the chunks of chocolate to them, but that is a matter of taste. I just like soft Brownies with no chunks inside. They are pretty easy and straightforward. Marta Sgubin is an absolute wonderful chef. She made all sorts of great dishes for this family and there are wonderful menus and pictures. I also enjoyed seeing the notes with little pictures on them written by Jackie O. It was cute. Although I am not really very interested in viewing other people I do not know in pictures, it was nice to see John John and Caroline growing up in a simple and what appears to be relaxed atmosphere.

This book is like a glimpse into LIFE ON THE OTHER SIDE..! What elegance!! Mrs. Onassis....what a lady..After perusing the recipes..I wonder how my diet is...(not good) I don't think much of us put the time and effort into the COOKING like the author does..Wow! What a book!

Marta was with Jackie and the children for more than 20 years (I believe she is now working for Caroline and her family). Her recipes are very fresh, healthy, and sophisticated. Yet they are relatively simple and straightforward. The memories she shares with us, along with family photographs, provide a glimpse into the life of this very private family, and show happy times, like birthday parties and summertime meals at Jackie's home on Martha's Vineyard. She tells us about some favorite family dishes, and comes across as very unpretentious, loving, and loyal. Thanks to Marta, I now know how Jackie stayed so thin: most days, when not entertaining, she had a simple lunch of roasted chicken, cottage cheese, and sliced tomatoes. Now where else are you going to find out something like that? The photographs of the food are lovely, too.

This is an amazing book. You feel like you're right there in the home with them. The public Mrs. Onassis was a very graceful and dignified lady. This book gives you a little peek at another side. I really enjoyed reading that she enjoyed looking at Marta's seed catalogs every spring. Because of these 2 ladies, John and Caroline grew into some very nice adults. The food pictures are so lovely...you want to try each and every recipe. This is such a good format mixing the recipes and memories and telling the stories behind the dishes. This is one book I don't loan to anyone.

like most everyone else i bought this book hoping for more of an inside glimpse into jacqueline kennedy onassis' life wondering what kind of food someone who had been everywhere and experienced almost everything life has to offer would have at home. what a pleasant surprise to find she enjoyed foods all of us can prepare at home without too much muss or fuss. who would have thought shepherds pie or brownies! what i found made the book a must for me though, is the antedote about aristotle onassis and the chocolate cake. i actually laughed. i can see why ms. sgubin fit into this family so nicely because she herself is so charming and kind. i think you'll enjoy "cooking for madame" even if you don't cook simply because it revisites someone we liked having in the world community so much. kudos marta!

Every question is answered with clarity and right to the point. For those who would like to learn about our present Pope and his beliefs this is the book to buy. The church and the world should feel blessed to have a man as Joseph Ratzinger . Tremendous insight into the church and his own life before he became Pope. Peter seewald is a great writer and Ratzinger really comes through in this interview. Catholics around the world should thank God that this man speaks on behalf of us.

Without a doubt, this new Pope Benedict XVI is the most brilliant man in the world!

That probably does not need to be said, does it? What is more important than being brilliant is that the "then" Cardinal Ratzinger, is seen as one who can and does communicate with the people. We are those people! Anyone can understand what Cardinal Ratzinger means when he answers Peter Seewald's questions - one would never go away saying, "What did He mean by THAT!" Brilliant!

Peter Seewald asks great questions - for a starter, "Do you pray when you and the Pope (then Pope John Paul II) meet?" "What do you wear?" Silly? Maybe, but we learn about the setting of the meeting of the Pope and the Prefect - we see the picture - we ARE there with them! You seem to take a chair here with Seewald and the "then" Cardinal Ratzinger, now Holy Father - who is also fondly called the German Shepherd and/or B16. You can take him anywhere! Later Peter Seewald's questions become deeper and more profound, but never more profound that the answers.

I swooned over the first 20 pages. I began putting green stars to mark things that were amazing - then green exclamation points to help me locate great comments - then began to underline - now I have a book that is almost totally green in ink! What a heart for God this Cardinal had in 1996 and to think that 10 years later he was our new Pope. Get out your markers!

Purchase this book and, at the same time, order God and the World: A Conversation With Peter Seewald - the next book dated 2000. At least, put these books on your Wish List for Mothers' Day or Fathers' Day. Actually begin by adding everything Pope Benedict XVI has ever written to your library.

I believe Mr. Seewald went "Home" to the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church shortly after this book. They were a great team!

After all the costly legal expenditures (and the lack thereof) have, in the majority of cases, been accounted for, Ratzinger now no longer feels pressured to provide us with the keys to the Kingdom of Secrecy relegated above. Is this "upper surface" really all that remains of his famous sight outside, or is it nothing more than a considerable reputation that has been established for reliable books? And how can such an author hope for so long that Ratzinger's new book, by its absence, will have cultivated anything like it? Seldom, the beginner thinks, will the work of such an author--lacking the reserve or the aesthetic control of the above-mentioned colonels--be captured immediately. Nor will it be completely convincing. But that, of course, was precisely the experiment that was forced on them after Ratzinger's consideration was ceded in 1960. The impact of this first impression shows the entire direction of the book. In the library, after which I was completely in agreement with his single new worldview, one could see signs that it would soon disperse. With the relative lack of English letters on Ratzinger, I, for one, would like to gather a summary and a consideration of Ratzinger's body of work, under one flag, as completely as possible. And on the general topic of any official meetings, if each report made a first impression as written, then what prospect does the neophyte have, when he comes for the first time to these books. The catch is that, as a unit, I can only hope that these pieces will be useful as an inspiration, mostly so that our readers will freely choose the work of an author who has spent too a long time in negligence.

Read this book.

There are so many things that are wonderful about this book; it is hard to know where to begin. First and foremost, this is a fantastic comprehensive synthesis of Ratzinger's views regarding much of the current concerns of the Church and of the world.

Additionally, the question and answer format makes this book extremely accessible, even for those who might think they are too busy to read about the new Pope. I would even say that the topics that are discussed in this interview are of interest to everybody as they do not necessarily revolve around interior Church issues.

Like I said earlier, I suggest that you read this book. It's a great way to start learning more about what Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) is like and how he thinks.

Contrasted to Vittorio Messori's breakthrough interview of Cardinal Ratzinger, the famous Ratzinger Report, this book at first glance does not seem to stand up as well. Messori is Catholic, prepared, and focused. The interviewer here, Peter Seewald, is a contemporary journalist and while obviously a man of good will, comes on too often with cliched assumptions about Catholicism. The gracious Ratzinger sidesteps this as consistently as Lou Gehrig could hit singles, but the overall result can become monotonous, tedious, and diffuse.

Yet many will doubtless prefer this book as an introduction to the new pope's thinking. The reason, simply, is that for all its flaws the book is more human, intimate. It often looks just like straight transcription of a conversation about the faith between two men, who for whatever different reasons do care about the subject and the answers. There is a thus, finally, a certain glow of Christian fellowship to the whole undertaking. The Ratzinger Report, in contrast, now begins to betray something of the hand of the editor -- on both sides. Thus however stumbling and sometimes clumsy, this book is more than a "semi-official" report: it is something that might even convert somebody -- as the meetings apparently did Seewald.

The focus here is less on the Catholic Church as an institution, more on the burden of Christianity and belief at this precise moment of history. Seewald stands for the contemporary mind. Ratzinger's replies both exhibet a bounty of patience and a dogged persistence to be understood with as much accuracy as his questioner can glean. For once, the theologian is out of his skin, and must become catechist -- to a most unlikely candidate. As perfectly chiseled as the Ratzinger Report was, one suspects that this book, then, will for now on find the wider audience, perhaps even endure.

Simply, when the voice of the modern man is modulated, as befits an interview -- and not screaming in protest or assault -- the Cardinal's responsive voice, densely civil, jam-packed with informed response in defense of belief -- and poignant questions of its own for the modern man -- levels the field like a superhighway. Disarmingly, while Ratzinger seems to play a long hand, at the end one is no longer even listening to modern man's wailing. The man of quiet belief has known all along it was a but a feisty baby's howl for real food.

Mandatory reading for humans, along with Jorge Masetti's In the Pirate's Den, which allows to see the other side: the middle-class, comfortable punk turned communist, the appropriate accolyte for Castro's genocide.

This book is a victory of faith and resistance against totalitarianism. Castro deceived the poor, the peasants of Cuba, he perverted the revolution those humble people were expecting. Castro had declared a thousand times that he was not a communist and that the revolution was "greener than palm trees", but when he got the power he proclaimed unashamedly the true nature of his beast.

This books stands as an invaluable monument to the Cubans whom Castro broke but never bent. Those who refused to say: "Yes, Commissar, I have done wrong. I accept Political Rehabilitation because I see now that communism is the only just system, and it alone can bring happiness to humanity" (p.358).

Notes on communism: "The authorities thought, moreover, that weeding out the cabecillas (leaders) would leave the less educated, less 'dangerous' prisoners, lacking leadership, easier to manipulate ... but if there is any ideology based completely on a misunderstanding of human behavior and the workings of men's psyche, their motivations, that ideology is without doubt marxism ... time would show that every man's conscience, system of values, and personal pride were what led him to resist. No man needed another to show him the way" (p.219).

"A communist always seems to prefer an angry, blurted, uncontrolled manner (of speech from their opponents). The truth, spoken calmly to his face always exasperates him. As what I said was unarguable, the two men turned angrily and walked away." (p.477).

I have to encourage the reader to get hold of this astounding book if only for the story of Alfredo Izaguirre (pp.239-242): "The only prisoner I know of who never performed any forced labor for his jailers -not even a minute's. It is fitting that his name go down in the history of the rebellion of the Cuban political prisons."

On Castro's true revolutionary companions: (Eloy Gutiérrez Menoyo) "led the bloody fighting against Batista's Army (in the mountains of Escambray), he had the sympathy of every peasant there -but Eloy had fought to establish a truly democratic system in Cuba, not another dictatorship. Therefore when he saw that Castro was becoming a tyrant, he fled the country; a while later he came back with a small group of armed men who tried to reach the mountains to continue the struggle. But he was trapped, captured and sentenced to 30 years in prison".

"Rafael del Pino had been one of Castro's closest allies when Castro was in Mexico preparing the Granma landing. One night Castro confided his plans for Cuba to Rafael, and Rafael was so shocked at their totalitarian aspect that he abandoned Fidel. Castro never forgave Rafael that 'betrayal' ... Rafael was jailed". In 1977 he died in jail. "No one ever saw the body. The Ministry of the Interior flatly refused to turn it over to his family."

"Ex-commander Mario Chaves, who had assaulted the Moncada barracks with Castro, been in prison with him, and accompanied him on the Granma landing, was brutally beaten (in jail) and literally dragged to the punishment cells" (p.458)

Pierre Golendorf, a French marxist intellectual who had come to Cuba and worked for the Cuban government ... realized that the island was one big farm that Castro ran like a slave plantation ... he wrote letters about the lie the revolution had turned into ... the political police accused him, like everyone who stood up to the revolution, of being an agent of the CIA. He got 3 years and 2 months in prison. "The tribunals do nothing but read sentences (imposed by politicians)". Spain is not very different today. See how judge Gómez de Liaño was disposed of his toga for sentencing a big pro-government media shot (the El País media group).

Children of the Devil: "One would naturally assume him to be a doctor, but he wasn't. He had been a traveling salesman for medical supply companies. This man, "Dr" Herrera Sotolongo, a Spanish communist, had fled to Cuba because of the civil war in Spain, and thanks to the solidarity of the Cuban revolution with Spanish communism, he had become chief of all medical services of all jails and prisons in Cuba. And you always had to call him doctor, or he wouldn't answer you. He knew nothing at all about medicine, of course, but he was a man the leader could trust." (p.233-234)

The Western world's ignominious role: Conversation between Martha, Valladares' wife, and Pierr Schori, social-democrat big shot in Sweden: "-So if you know there's an implacable dictatorship in Cuba, if you know all liberties have been suspended, why don't you speak out? -Because that would be giving the Americans a publicity weapon." (!!) "Schori warned her not to speak to the press about this interview. Perhaps he didn't want to provoke Fidel."

This undescribable book by Valladares, who should be the president of Cuba and give Castro a tour of his own jails and lacks, ends by remembering one of the anonymous victims in this genocide, a Christian martyr at his moment of death: "a heart overflowing with love, raising his arms to the invisible heaven and pleading for mercy for his executioners. 'Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.' And a burst of machine-gun fire ripping open his breast."

Valladares writes beautifully, and even through all the horrors od more than 20 years of torture described here he keeps a tone of hope, of mysterious sanity and confidence all along, and which assures him that what he's doing is write, according to his conscience and to the power the Almighty God sustains him with. Why is this book unpublished in Spanish-speaking countries or so hard to find? That's another ignominy.

A beautiful and terrifying memoir of Castro's Cuba. This man suffered unspeakable injustices at the hands of Castro's servants. The honesty and heartfelt memories of this man persecuted by the Communists is one of the best memoirs I have ever read. Wonderful testimony to the bravery and courage of the human spirit in the face of horrible odds.

I read this book in Spanish, in condensed form, when I was fourteen years old. (1987, to be exact) Twenty-one years later, I still think about it. It made an anti-Communist out of me, and made me absolutely abhor what Fidel and Raul have done to such a beautiful island as Cuba, and to its people, for almost fifty years.

Sure, you might say they have "free health care". Trust me: they have paid a terrible price for "free."

It should be a must-read, together with Vaclav Havel's essays, for those who need to know what Communism really is: the rottenness of the soul, and an ideology borne out of the bowels of hell itself. Nothing else can describe it.

Viva Cuba Libre! (And this from a boricua.)

Give a copy of this book to all your friends wearing Che t-shirts. After so many descriptions of beatings and hunger strikes, you become numb to the next ones. I recall the AI campaigns in the 70s-80s to send letters and postcards to the Cuban and Soviet embassies just to remind them that the world was watching. Sadly today AI has degenerated into just another wacko outfit. The UN comes in for a beating of its own in this book, as it just sat back and closed its eyes, passing resolutions against Israel and other nonsense instead of putting pressure on Cuba. This continues today with Zimbabwe, NK, and others.

Take a look at "The Aquariums of Pyongyang" for a look at the same song, different verse.

Another Amazon reviewer got it right when he wrote that this book should be given to all one's deluded friends sporting hip "Che" T-shirts. This eye-opening, stomach-churning account of the author's 22 years in Cuban prisons, the conditions of which make Shawshank seem like a Club Med, demolishes the romanticized memory of "freedom fighters" like Che and exposes the lie that Castro's Revolution created a socialist paradise. And it highlights Communism's inability to understand or erase one of the most important traits of human nature: our hunger for individual freedom and personal dignity.

Valladares wastes no time plunging us into a hell Dante himself could barely have imagined - on page one he is abducted in the middle of the night by the political police on trumped-up charges (having been denounced, he feels, by a jealous coworker for his disapproval of Castro's embrace of Communism), and before his prison odyssey is over, he endures and observes the worst extremes of totalitarian repression. The tension and the drama never let up, and often reach the breaking point. The litany of sadistic human rights abuses goes on page after page, every page; the degree of physical and psychological cruelty is so incomprehensible as to nearly defy belief. And yet Valladares and others maintain an almost superhuman strength of character and will to live that are inspirational and humbling. Amazingly, there are even flashes of humor and an ultimate triumph in this maddening and disturbing memoir.

Against All Hope is one of the most gripping books you will ever read. It has a compelling social conscience and an inspirational message of hope, faith, courage, determination, and even love, and it will leave you with a changed perspective on yourself and the world.

This documentary of Kim Dozier's experience as a CBS correspondent in Iraq is revealing; not only does she discuss the experience of wounded soldiers but she herself becomes wounded in a bomb blast in Iraq.

From discussing frankly what it is like to be a woman correspondent with a major news network to the treatment as patient, first in Landstuhl in Germany, then in the US, Dozier learns the hard way about the medical system and about terrible wounds and pain. You'll get very angry about her treatment in the US hospital (but from stories people I know here tell me, some of what she experienced is what happens day to day to anyone --from call buttons put out of reach, no one answering alarms on equipment to having her complaints--valid, ignored.)

This is an unusual memoir--not only eyewitness to events in Iraq and the US but firsthand experience of being wounded. Though Dozier "becomes the story" rather than reporting the story, I think you can insert "any soldier" into her experience minus, perhaps, the experience of being a soldier sent into battle with a mission, and learn just a small amount about the terrible price our men and women are paying for volunteering for this duty. None of them will tell you about the pain and suffering but Kimberly Dozier can. A must read.

This is a great read. It brings another perspective on the war in Iraq.

First off, full disclosure. I have met Kimberly, and we have exchanged emails. I respect her as a journalist, and now as an author.

Her book is a quick read, but not always a pleasant one. In her brisk style honed as a broadcast writer conveys a candid and authoritative narrative. I found three themes of particular interest.

Her description of military medical practices is fascinating. She gives a detailed yet comprehensible explanation of the life-saving methods practiced by corpsmen and medics on the battlefield. Procedures immediately after the explosion are clearly spelled out, and I think that has to be a comfort to anyone who has a friend or relative in harm's way.

She also tells us about the long and agonizing rehabilitation process from start to finish. Too often we only hear about the tragic incident and then the outcome, whether it's happy or bittersweet. The gut-wrenching middle gets left out or short-changed. But Kimberly clarifies the recovery process without being maudlin or grotesque. This book is highly recommended for anyone facing long recovery from serious injury (and for their family and friends).

Kimberly's decision regarding the choice of psychotropic drugs versus counseling is instructive and can be a guide to others in similar situations. She recognized, or perhaps just sensed, that she did not need drugs. Of the three states of mental health problems -- stress, distress and disorder - she was battling the first two, but not the third.

Her counseling references also are in stark contrast to the situation for many active military personnel. DOD recognizes other mental health professions for independent insurance reimbursement, but not certified counselors. This is a disturbing disincentive, particularly at a time when the shortage of mental health care services for military personnel and their families is well documented. Maybe her book will prod (or shame) the military establishment into making counselors more readily available to service personnel and their families.

Her editors let her down in a few places (dropped words, redundant passages), but otherwise "Breathing the Fire" is a good story told well, with interesting information and revelations for just about any reader.

This is an excellent book, contemplative and moving in its detailed descriptions of a U.S. news reporter's first hand experience of war. Dozier's discussion of her near death and recovery from severe injury and loss is as captivating as it is frightening. Written in the prose style of a scrupulous reporter but with the rhythm of fiction, the book brings the reader into places of desire, anticipation, shock, betrayal, anger and triumph.
Breathing the Fire is recommended for anyone concerned about the Iraq war -- a real war that permanently affects the lives of journalists and photographers, soldiers, translators, health care workers and their families.

I read this book thinking, "I am not sure if I can relate to this". War stories are not my reading genre of choice. But, I had met Kim over the phone one day and so received an e-mail from her letting me and all her address book addressees that her book had been published. So, I ordered one from Amazon not quite knowing what to expect. This book is so NOT a war story. It is the courageous story of a woman with a goal who achieved that goal, a goal which led her into combat where a life-changing event changed her life forever, as well as so many other lives. I was drawn in the moment I started reading. Kim's writing is clear, concise, factual, with just the right amount of emotion and personality. She lets people in to her very personal yet very public experience without a hint of self pity or any reference to a "poor me" attitude. The book is an inspiring one about a woman of intelligence, bravery, dedication, and love who dared to follow her dream, went through a nightmare, and is today a source of strength to people chasing a dream or living with their own struggle.

I have tried many diets. I have lost weight but gained it back with a surplus. I'm on winter break right now and started the program on Saturday. Today is Wednesday and I have lost an average of 1 pound a day! I see the results instantly. I'm not tired nor am I hungry. The foods are all ones I will eat and I keep buying regular food. I will return to work in another week and a half, I plan to have this program ingrained into my brain to make it work with work and school. Thank you, Dr. Miller!!!!!

I purchased the earlier version in 1991 after I gained the "Freshman 15+" and my doctor recommended it. I followed it exactly for one month and dropped all the weight+. My workout consisted of jumping/dancing around my dorm room for 20 minutes while listening to the Footloose soundtrack! This was awesome and I never gained it back! I think it is also great for reminding you what a healthy meal and healthy portions look like in our supersize world. Good luck meeting the new you!!!

This diet works wonders. I went on it after having each of my children. In 1997 I lost 40 lbs in two months. In 1998, I lost 47 lbs in two and a half months. The meals are extremely simple, and if you need to substitute you can just swap one day for another. I felt like I was really hungry for the first week, but I definitely felt great. The dinner makes you full. Every doctor (the last one was a midwife) I have asked if I could go on this while breastfeeding has said absolutely. I did increase the diet by having three extra glasses of milk per day, because I was breastfeeding and still had great results. My husband did this diet, but went off of it too early and gained all of his weight back. He lost so much more than I did, the same amount in half the time it took me. (of course he was in his early thirties). I think if he would have just kept to the diet he would have the same results I have, not gaining it all back. If your looking for some fad diet that is going to make it easy, there is not one. Losing weight takes self control and determination. If you do not want to actually lose the weight, this book is not for you. If you do, its going to take work the first week, at least. If your faithful to this the weight is coming off and you will feel wonderful.

The beauty of this book and plan is how quickly you see results. Sure, you're pretty hungry while you get used to the reduction in calories, but it's easy to manage since you know you'll be eating soon anyway (you eat 5 times a day). The walks are something you'll need to be very disciplined with, but once you get results, you won't want to skip a walk!

The menus can get a little overwhelming, so what I did was I made a list of the breakfasts, lunches and dinners that appealed to me, and were simple - and posted them on the fridge. I often ended up eating a lot of the same stuff day after day, but that made it easier for me to go grocery shopping and prepare foods for the day. I needed convenience.

The best thing of all is I feel this diet has permanentely affected my metabolism! I did this diet for about a month or two, lost about 12 lbs in the first week and 20 lbs total and have been able to keep it off for nearly a year. I haven't remained that active and often eat a lot, so it was a pleasant surprise. If I ever need to shed some weight (and quickly!) in the future, this is the book I will reach for, no doubt.

16 years ago as I prepared for my wedding, I was faced with losing 70 lbs. I had put that weight on in college and thanks to just bad eating habits (eating late at night, eating the wrong foods, beer, etc).

My mother gave me this book because a friend of hers had read it and used it to lose weight. With nothing to lose (except fat), I decided to give it my all. Well, within a year, I had lost that 70 lbs and looked great for my wedding. I ate well exercized and changed my behaviors.

I kept that weight off for over 12 years, and only recently, thanks to my slowing metabolism, have gained weight back. And you know what, I am buying this book again and starting over. This book makes buying food simple (and the food won't put you in the poor house) and makes doing what you need to simple, in order to jump start your metabolism to lose weight.

I intend to lose 50 lbs and keep it off!

Good luck to you!

Beautifully descriptive, Broken Paradise truly captures the essence of life in Cuba before Castro. And, through our author's careful research, what it was like afterward. Through the eyes of two little girls of privilege, you experience the familial warmth in their lives in what was then, an enchanted paradise. How quickly it fell apart. Out of virtually nowhere, came this charismatic individual, promising to lift the bonds of the tyrannical Batista - the answer to making Cuba the perfect paradise. We're led through the confusion of those times - understanding why there were those who believed everything they wanted to hear, and there were those who were suspicious. Soon it became clear where this leader intended to take their country, and the exodus began. This was an engrossing story; so much of it was grounded in truth. It was easy to walk side by side with the characters, whose hopes and fears quickly became your own. This was a page turner for me - I sat up late to see how it would end. There were a few stretches of the imagination, but, all in all, this was a great story!

Have you been to Cuba? If you have, then you MUST read it, as Broken Paradise will take you back and allow you to see the expanses of silky, white sand, the turquoise waters, the forever blue skies and the lazy palms. Everyone should experience Cuba - and this book will take you there!

This book has it all: historical and cultural insight, suspense, vivid imagery, characters that become real and a story that engages you from beginning to end. I was so incredibly disappointed for the book to end. I hated not being able to spend more time with these characters.

Be sure to read this author's second novel (Tarnished Beauty) as well. If you're not reading Cecilia Samartin you should be!

The book is captivating from beginning to end. I have also finished the author's second novel, Tarnished Beauty, and am now officially a fan of the author. This is a must read!

Crys McKinley, Real Ladies Read Book club

This story was fanfreakintastic!!! The story is one that all can relate too. With each chapter you are emerged into life, the love, and the culture. Not only will you be enlightened by the story, but it will further your compassion for the next man. Highly recommend for all!!!

Kenae
Real Ladies Read Book Club

This is a terrific book. I learned a lot about Cuba during the takeover by Castro. I also deeply cared about the characters of the book. My book group has 12 members in it and we all loved the book. That is a rare situation.
I thought that the book was well written and kept interest level at a high.
You will not be disappointed

As stated in most of the reviews of this book, Kapuscinski is a great writer. If you have not read him allready, read this book and understand why. If you allready have read him, you are going to read this book based on what you allready have learned to know.

Having given Kapuscinski the credit he obviously deserves for his writing, I believe there is some points that should be done.

-First Kapuscinski stands on the shoulders of giants. His writing is to a great extent the result of the local people that he meets on his journeys and agrees to open their region and their lifes to him.

-Kapuscinski is a very gifted writer endeed, that have read a lot about the places and peoples that he visits. On one hand this is what always makes his writing so alive, something to go back to and read agian, so informative. On the other hand gret litterature sometimes can serve as a way of getting away with having little or nothing to really report from the battleground when his plan fails or when he does not get what he intended out of a trip. Striking examples of this is his journey at the Trans-siberian railway where he only observes the Soviet Union through the train window or to Nagarno Karabakh where he is stuck inside an airport, a car and a flat. That his stories is as intriguing, even when he hardly experience "what the war looks like on the ground" is a clear sign that his capabilities as dramaturg and writer can make up for a rather thin story. Even when he gets the chance to write the story he intended from a place he visits, the timeframe and the difficulties he worked under limits his insights compared to the writers that have covered the area afer him.

-Some paragraphs in the book makes me a bit uncertain about how good the translation is (my review is based upon the Norwegian translation). In the first chapter - Pinsk '39 the comment of a NKVD officer visiting their house "Muzh kuda?" is traslated "where is your husband" instead of the correct "Where have your husband gone", meaning that the NKVD officer allready knows that he has recently been in the house, meaning someone has infomed the NKVD that Kapuscinski's father (a hunted partisan) has recently been in the house. Things like this is not a big deal, but it makes you start thinking about the quality of the translation in general and if it can be the case that the author underplays the role of ordinary people as informers in the terror.

-In his story about the war in Pinsk 1939, his memory of the events as a child probably is an important expalianation behind the qualities of the stories. In the memory of a child events that would probably be described as horrorful and sad by a grown up, in the eyes of a smal shild gets exciting, intriguing, colorful and down to earth.

All in all, Kapuscinski is good reading and Imperium is a great intruduciton to the former Soviet Republics. To get true insight in the contemporary former Soviet Republics, you will need further reading though.

Perhaps history will never be told better than through the eye of this travelling writer (or is it a writing traveller?). Read and be awed by the staggering proportions of recent history in the vast empire that is no more, the Sovjet Union. And be chilled to the bones by the unimaginable amounts of suffering inflicted by the sovjet leaders on their own people. And be astonished that in the midst of the most utter despair, poverty, and enslavement, Kapuscinski can find optimism, humor, and love of life.

This is a great book, all of Kapuscinski`s books are great. It takes you for a journey you don`t expect. Great style and I always regret it`s over, after I finish to read his book.

I purchased this book after reading about the author in the Wall Street Journal. He died earlier this year. The author, a journalist, kept two notebooks while on assignments throughout the world, one for his assignment and one for himself. In this book he combined his observations from several trips he took within Russia and its states over a span of many decades. At times his writing style can be quite poetic, and the book is not unlike a travel book, although Soviet Russia was not a friendly place at the times of his visits. I intend to read his other books, and highly recommend this one.

A lyrical masterpiece by this superlative writer! Nowhere have I found a dissection of the Evil Empire done with such fluid verse. He goes from the periphery into the heart of the beast and everywhere he discovers that appearances deceive and what seems to signal change is really a re-hash of old. Kapuczinski's sharp analysis and trenchant comments will be sorely missed!