Very Much a Lady: The Untold Story of Jean Harris and Dr. Herman Tarnower

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A Brilliant and Accomplished Woman under a Spell.......2006-11-10

I didn't come to this book "cold." I have seen interviews with and documentary TV programs about Mrs. Harris, read another book about her, and viewed both HBO's "Mrs. Harris" and an earlier, excellent TV movie about her trial which utilized trial transcripts for the dialogue. Shana Alexander's detailed, nuanced book about the life of the woman whom she quickly came to admire and sympathize with gets my vote, however, for how Mrs. Harris should be remembered. Being mesmerized by need and wonderful memories into continuing in an increasingly unrewarding, even degrading, relationship is a phenomenon which both men and women, uneducated or as impressively literate as Jean Harris, can understand. Things can go terribly wrong, particularly when one partner in the relationship seemingly is incapable of true commitment or even of empathy (Dr. T), and the other is under the spell of not only of lost love remembered but of sudden forced withdrawal from mood-altering, inappropriately prescribed medication. Ms. Alexander's book gives a fascinating, multi-faceted look at an uber-capable, extremely responsible adult female who goes through the windshield one appropriately dark and stormy night after long-term endurance of disrespect, flagrant cheating, and neglect and short-term drug-induced crashing depression and panic. Before being released from prison, Jean Harris spent years helping her fellow inmates and their children and writing lucid, compassionate books about this experience; much to her credit, her excellent biographer includes this information in this book. I hope Mrs. Harris, whenever she passes away, lives through the admiration and love of her own children, whom she cared for more than herself, as well as that of a wider audience introduced to her in this work. As for Dr. Tarnower, I hope he is remembered as what Mrs. Harris feared he would be: a "diet Doc."

A CSI of Psychology.......2002-10-23

Shana Alexander's Very Much a Lady and Diana Trilling's Mrs. Harris: The Death of the Scarsdale Diet Doctor are complementary books about a fascinating case: the murder of Dr. Tarnower by his lover Jean Harris.

It is Jean Harris' motive in killing Dr. Tarnower that interests these two writers. Jean Harris was neither psychotic nor particularly violent. In some ways, she seemed the classic example of the woman wronged. In other ways, she seemed the classic example of the 1950s woman coping uneasily and unsuccessfully in the changed world of the 1980s and in still other ways, she seemed the eternal victim of circumstance.

Both writers agree that the punishment did not fit the crime. Mrs. Harris did not intend to kill Dr. Tarnower and in law, intent does matter. Shana Alexander spends more time than Diana Trilling in exploring the mistakes made by the defense (such as their refusal to plead to a lesser charge), and she is more critical of the prosecution. Both writers, however, are primarily interested in Jean Harris' character. Their differing approaches regarding the latter are at the heart of these similar, yet ultimately distinct, books.

Shana Alexander is an objective partisan. She is honest about Jean Harris' flaws, but it is clear both from her tone and the accumulation of biographical information that she considers Jean Harris not as a victim but as a basically sane and not unlikable human being pushed beyond her limits by her culture, her background, her medical history and her own psychology. She doesn't exculpate Jean Harris but neither does she condemn her.

Diana Trilling, on the other hand, is far less partisan and far more critical. She sees in Jean Harris a woman who sacrificed her intellectual integrity for a sordid affair. She is disgusted by Mrs. Harris' behavior during the trial and appalled by the letter written by Mrs. Harris to Dr Tarnower before the killing (and never actually read by him). Shana Alexander, on the other hand, while agreeing that the letter condemned Mrs. Harris in the eyes of the jury (even in the evidence did not) bemoans the lack of prescience by Jean Harris' defense in presenting the letter in court. Her defense, Shana Alexander argues, did not understand Jean Harris and were therefore unable to successfully present the problems of the case both to Jean Harris herself and to the jury.

The similarities and differences between Shana Alexander and Diana Trilling make their two books excellent complements. I recommend reading Diana Trillling's book first since it is the "outsider's" take on the case. Shana Alexander's book then will give the reader a closer look at a troubled woman and a bizarre, perhaps avoidable, tragedy.

An excellent book about a why-dunnit.......1998-07-28

Very Much a Lady by Shana Alexander is the immensely readable story of Jean Harris. For anyone who has lost track of yesterday's headlines, Harris is the headmistress of a girls' school who shot and killed her lover, Herman Tarnower, a respected cardiologist who authored the best-selling Complete Scarsdale Diet Book. To this day, Harris maintains that the fatal shooting of Dr. Tarnower was an accident that occurred when the doctor fought with her over the gun she planned to use to kill herself. Alexander traces of the lives of Harris and Tarnower from childhood on and sees the seeds of destruction planted early on. The same character traits which brought them together as lovers doomed them to a terrible ending. Harris's relationship with her impossible-to-please father formed her early identity as a "good girl" and led to her need for a dominant male image to shore up her shaky sense of self. The classic overachiever, Harris had to excel in any project! she tackled. She craved stimulation which she failed to get from her brief first marriage to a decent but unexciting man. Harris divorced him and began a fourteen-year-long love affair with Dr. Tarnower. The latter was a dedicated physician with old-fashioned attitudes toward women. There is one puzzling aspect to the tale that deserves fuller attention than Alexander gives it: Harris's religious background. According to Alexander, Jean Harris's Mom was a devout Christian Scientist. The irony of Jean's passion for a doctor should have been examined in light of the Christian Science beliefs into which she had been indoctrinated during her childhood--but this is ignored by Alexander. The jury rejected Harris's version of events and found her guilty of murder. Alexander, who is unabashadly Harris's partisan, brilliantly dissects the defense errors which led to conviction. Amongst the chief of these were her attorney's misguided interpretation of the explosive Scarsdale ! Letter, the distance between the accused and the jury in cl! a** and background, and the failure of her attorney to understand the personality of this brittle, high-strung "lady." In a story laced with ironies, the greatest is that in the version of events told by the prosecutor and accepted by the jury, Herman Tarnower is just another murder victim whereas according to Harris's defense Tarnower died a heroic death, tragically jeopardizing his life to save hers,

Book Description

In West Africa's War-Ravaged Sierra Leone No On e Was Getting Out Alive.

It Took the Courage of One Man to Change the Odds.

By 1990, Sierra Leone, once hailed as the 'Athens of West Africa', had degenerated into a savage battlefield, overtaken by rebel forces in a devastating civil war. Assigned to spearhead the mission as UN peacekeeper was Major Phil Ashby. But by 2000, the rebel occupation he had worked so diligently to disarm rose again to control an astounding two-thirds of the country. The enemy's mission: get rid of the outside opposition first. A number of Ashby's colleagues were tortured and finally butchered, and more than 500 were taken as hostages. Among the hostages was Phil Ashby. Miles from civilization, with no rescue in sight, Ashby and three of his men knew that their fate was up to them alone. Lost deep inside the rebels' heartland, unarmed, and outnumbered 20-to-1, Ashby devised a plan to escape from the hostile jungles that would test fate and challenge all reason. They should have been doomed.

Against All Odds is the incredible true story of that escape-and of the heart-pounding courage of Major Phil Ashby who defeated the rebel forces of Sierra Leone and became a living testament to the power of the human spirit and the sheer determination to survive.

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Violence and escape from the RUF in Sierra Leone........2005-05-25

I disagree with the previous two reviewers on this book. At best, this is only an average read. The author and main character in this book, Major Phil Ashby was one of the youngest majors in the British Army when he assigned to the UN Peace Force in the African nation of Sierra Leone. I expected to read a long book about the conflict in Sierra Leone, but clearly half of this book was about the author's experience in his physical conditioning in the Royal Marines. After a hundred pages, one gets the idea this guy is tough. Then he details his experiences in Sierra Leone and his escape from the brutal RUF rebel faction who controlled the diamond mining area. This part was the most interesting.
I felt the author could have devoted a chapter to an explanation of the different factions in Sierra Leone and why they are fighting. A little history of this nation would also have been nice to throw in. A little more of this info, and a little less of his physical exploits would have made this book a more interesting read.

A MUST READ!!.......2003-08-28

"Against All Odds" is really two books in one. The first half of the book focuses on John Ashby's personal adventures and training as a Royal Marine Commando. The second half of the book takes place in Sierra Leonne, where John's UN peace-keeping mission takes a horrible turn for the worse.

Since I (and presumably most readers) know nothing about Royal Marine Commando training or the civil war in Sierra Leonne, you will find this fighting Brit and his experiences very interesting and suspenseful. You really get to know "John Ashby" well...in spirit as well as skill. John does a good job of "setting the stage" for the reader, by describing the different warring factions and the horrible atrocities performed in Sierra Leonne.

This is a true story by the way.

John's writing style isn't as eloquent as let's say... Stephen King, but his limitations in writing give the book a more personal and realistic feel.

Modern Day Adventure Story.......2003-08-22

This book is very interesting and enveloping. The book isn't good because it captures the reader's imagination through exquisite detail of events and scenes;instead you get to know the main character "Phil Ashby" very well and the interesting adventures he's been through.

The first half of the book covers Phil's adventures and Marine Commando training. The second half of the book takes place in Sierra Leonne where Phil is assigned as a UN Peacekeeper. Phil does a good job at getting the reader "oriented" about the civil war in Sierra Leonne and the unthinkable brutality of the combatants.

The book all comes together as this Marine has to use all his skills and bravery to escape a nightmarish turn of events in Sierra Leonne. A must read!!

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Against All Odds: Escape From Sierra Leone
Phil Ashby
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTGZEC

Book Description

This revised edition of the number-one bestseller and winner of the 1989 National Book Award includes the Pulitzer Prize Winning author's new, updated epilogue.

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Winner of the National Book Award for nonfiction, this extraordinary bestseller is still the most incisive, thought-provoking book ever written about the Middle East. Thomas L. Friedman, three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and Foreign Affairs Columnist for The New York Times, drew on his extensive experience in the region to write a book that The Wall Street Journal called "a sparkling intellectual guidebook . . . an engrossing journey not to be missed." As the conflict in the Middle East continues unabated, this seminal historical work reaffirms both its timeliness and its timelessness.

Customer Reviews:

From Beirut to Jerusalem.......2007-09-17

Best intellectual book on the Middle East that exists. Friedman is an experienced, thoughtful genius. A must read.

Still relevant.......2007-08-29

Tom Friedman occupies a unique place in the American Foreign Policy establishment elite. Not since Walter Lippman has the voice of a journalist been more influential in Washington DC. "From Beirut to Jerusalem" was his first foray into full-length treatment on critical international issues -- and it is still his best. Moreover, although it was written two decades ago and during a very different time, it is still incredibly relevant to current events.

What makes Friedman's narrative so powerful is his liberal use of personal anecdotes from his time as a New York Times coorespondent in the Middle East in the early 1980s. The story crackles with life as Friedman reconstructs the events of the Lebanonese civil war and Palestinian intifada from a broad spectrum of perspectives, from ultra-ortodox rabbis to American Jewish peace activists, Yasir Arafat and Palestinian schoolchildren, Washington policymakers and enlisted Marines. Friedman's description of life as a journalist at Beirut's Commodore Hotel is especially noteworthy and, on occasion, hilarious.

At the core of Friedman's analysis is the contrast between American naivete and the almost primordial savagery of tribal relations endemic to the Middle East. Friedman uses "Hama Rules" (after Syrian president Hafez al-Assad's brutal 1982 repression of a nascent Muslim Brotherhood insurgency in the Syrian city of Hama) as short-hand for the nature of power politics that shaped the flow of events in the region during his time there. The common demoninator in group identification is religion (by sect and by clan) and the gravest sin is to show weakness to your enemies. Friedman argues that the Reagan administration completely failed to understand this fundamental nature to life in Lebanon in the early 1980s when they committed Marines to help bolster the newly elected Maronite Christian president Gemayel, who was, in fact, more the leader of the Phalangist militia than true representative leader of the polyglot country.

Interestingly, Friedman writes that Israeli leaders often make the same mistakes as the US about the region, although some Israelis, such as Ariel Sharon, understand Hama Rules and act accordingly. Friedman describes the Israeli army reaction to the kaleidoscopic factional environment they found in Lebanon after their 1982 invasion as quite similar to the US army experience upon entering Baghdad in 2003.

Indeed, comparisons to Iraq are what struck me most when reading this book. After reading "From Beirut to Lebanon," I was amazed how optimistic Friedman was about the Iraq invasion in early 2003. He was relatively supportive of the war -- a position most likely held out of a deep desire and hope that it would succeed in bringing democracy to the Middle East, a position he passionately promotes, rather than any reasoned belief that the mixed Iraqi population would welcome a new US-installed regime. The civil war in Lebanon in many ways mirrors the intense factionalism of warfare in Iraq where religious identification -- Maronite, Druse, Shiite -- defines the membership of warring militias and undermines any attempt to use a national army to provide stability and bolster a central regime.

Many of the details about the war in Lebanon or the intifada make the book feel outdated, but the central underpinnings of conflict and discord in the region so lucidly explained by Friedman will not change anytime soon. The reader gets a sense of division and pure hatred that divides the people of that troubled land and seem to guarantee that the "peace process" is a meaningless charade.

Friedman's habitual "cuteness" thankfully absent here.......2007-06-28

As of this writing, 168 reviewers have reviewed this book, so I will be brief. Thomas Friedman, for all his real acumen and gifts with language (both spoken and written) tends to be cute or trite too much for comfort. That said, this book suffers from precious little of this. It is definitely in the genre of "New Journalism" now quite old, where the reporter is part of the story, maybe even the story itself at times, but this does not detract from the boldness of this work in the form of its written style, which is free, easy, yet complex, handling each topic with a certain grace and style and formal beauty. Friedman brings a complex topic to a general audience without sacrificing nuance (in fact, this is his main thrust) to show both Lebanon and Israel as cultures of almost impossibly subtle nuance, where small difference of sects and creeds can be the difference between war and peace, bliss and pain

Just not very good at all........2007-06-08

The writing wasn't terrible, but it certainly wasn't good either. Much of the book read as if it was filler and stories he heard from someone else. The author's account of his time in Beirut was not informative and rather bland. I have read other accounts that really go in depth into either the political, military or personal experiences of those on the ground, but this book did not add anything to what's been written. His analysis of the Beirut conflicts left much to be desired.

I remember a part of the book where Friedman writes about his time in the Commodore Hotel and how this hotel was the place to be for any journalist in Beirut, and then reading Robert Fisk's Pity the Nation where he talks about all the hack journalists hiding out in the Commodore writing their stories from second hand accounts instead of going out and reporting the story with their own accounts. I don't know if Fisk was right, but I thought his book was much better than Friedman's.

I did find his writing on Israel to be informative (still bland though). His analysis of the psychology of the Israeli people I found to be highly insightful, and it gave me a perspective which I had never seen before. The only way to understand the Israeli people is to try and understand how the Holocaust and being surrounded by hostile people has affected their national psyche. The Israeli perspective was the best thing I took away from this book, but not even this was able to redeem the work for me.

One of the reasons I like reading reporter's books is that they are usually well written, entertaining and written with a passion or flare that the academics usually lack. This book had none of that. I felt bored and found myself having to concentrate pretty hard to stay in touch with what I was reading. I would have been fine with the shoddy writing had the analysis or the history been better but it just wasn't. There are just many books out there that treat the subject with much more competency.

If you're looking for a good book to learn more about this topic, keep looking.

The Middle East Illuminated.......2007-06-05

Tom Friedman is a master at using charming, funny and fascinating anecdotes to illustrate broad historic events and cultural phenomena. His grasp of history is profound, and his observations are always spot on. The events he describes in this book may, indeed, be limited to only a very small part of the planet, but the human dynamics involved are universal and have profound implications for us all.

Product Description

Color photographs of birds from around the world. Ideal for the younger reader.

Sacred Songs Of The Hermit Thrush: A Native American Legend

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Sacred Songs Of The Hermit Thrush: A Native American Legend
Tehanetorens
Manufacturer: BOOK PUBLISHING COMPANY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0913990361

Book Description

The hermit thrush, a shy bird with an enchanting song, usually hides deep in the forest and reveals his song only to the lucky few. Tehanetorens, a master storyteller steeped in Mohawk tradition, presents the legendary tale of this bird. Beautifully illustrated with line drawings by Jerry Lee Hutchens.

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THE SONG OF A THRUSH
Katherine Wigmore Eyre
Manufacturer: Henry Z. Walck
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0000CICG8

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Song of a Thrush
Eyre
Manufacturer: Hill & Wang Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: School & Library Binding
ASIN: 0809830027

Song of the Hermit Thrush: An Iroquois Legend (Native American Legends)

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An Iroquois legend to explain the sweet song of the Hermit Thrush

Song of the Hermit Thrush: An Iroquois Legend (Native American Legends)
Dominic
Manufacturer: Troll Communications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0816745102

Book Description

This Iroquois legend tells what happens when the animals of the forest hold a contest to choose which will sing a song to greet the new day.

The Legends of the World opens readers' minds to the diverse cultures of Native America, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, and the Americas through enchanting tales passed down through countless generations. Each book in the series features geographical, historical, and cultural information. Illustrated in full color.

Customer Reviews:

An Iroquois legend to explain the sweet song of the Hermit Thrush.......2005-08-29

A long, long time ago the birds and animals made an agreement to live peacefully together by dividing the forest. The birds would live in the trees and the rest of the creatures would live on the ground. This worked well until the morning came, an which point all of the animals that were grateful for the sunrise and wanted to praise the day started screeching, squawking, growling, and bellowing. At the next meeting it was decided that while a song to give thanks for the day was a good idea the sound of their collective voices was not. So they decided to have a contest to see which animal had the song best suited for this great honor.

The title of this Iroquois legend, retold by Gloria Dominic with illustrations by Charles Reasoner, gives away to young readers which animal is going to come up with the sweetest sounding song. But how the Hermit Thrush comes up with the song and when he sings it will come as a surprise. One of the interesting things about ancient myths and legends is how they explain aspects of nature, such as the sweet song of the Hermit Thrush. As the quotation at the beginning of the book points out: "It may be thought that the memory of things may be lost with us. We nevertheless have methods of transmitting from father to son an account of all these things." Young students have a tendency to ask "why" a lot and this book will answer that question, even though they have never asked this specific variation on that constant theme.

As is the case with all of the books in this series the back of the volume looks at the history of the Iroquois. A map lays out the Iroquois homeland across what is now New York State as this section describes the culture and daily life of these Native Americans. There are photographs and drawings that show the food and clothing of the Iroquois, as well as a look at where the Iroquois live today. This is followed by a Glossary of terms from "buckskin" to "wampum," and a list of Important Dates from Columbus landing in the Americans in 1492 up to 1988-89 when the sacred wampum belts of the Six Nations were returned to them from a couple of museums. There is also a photography of a Hermit Thrush in the back so that you can judge how well of a job Reasoner did. One of his fortes as an artist is the authentic detail he provides for the people in these stories, but except for the grandmother who tells this story to her grandchildren as the framing device for "Song of the Hermit Thrush." But in this one the best watercolor paintings are ones where does the elk or any animal with lots of brown, because the variant shadings are quite compelling.

I have some concerns regarding the historical details provided in the back of these books, but they are only intended as an introduction to these cultures. A bibliography is provided specific to the Iroquois, so there are plenty of opportunities for young students and their teachers (or parents) to find out more. For more examples of Native American Lore & Legend you can check out these other books by Dominic and Reasoner: "First Woman and the Strawberry: A Cherokee Legend," "Coyote and the Grasshoppers: A Pomo Legend," "Brave Bear and the Ghosts: A Sioux Legend," "Sunflower's Promise: A Zuni Legend," and "Red Hawk and the Sky Sisters: A Shawnee Legend."

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THE SONG OF THE THRUSH
Katherine Wigmore Eyre
Manufacturer: Henry Z. Walck
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000RZPTNQ

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The Song Thrush (Shire Natural History)
Eric SIMMs
Manufacturer: Shire Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0747800235

Seasonal response of Wood Thrushes to taped-playback songs.: An article from: Wilson Bulletin

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Seasonal response of Wood Thrushes to taped-playback songs.: An article from: Wilson Bulletin

Manufacturer: Wilson Ornithological Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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ASIN: B00093T9QE
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Wilson Bulletin, published by Wilson Ornithological Society on December 1, 1995. The length of the article is 2098 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Seasonal response of Wood Thrushes to taped-playback songs.
Publication: Wilson Bulletin (Refereed)
Date: December 1, 1995
Publisher: Wilson Ornithological Society
Volume: v107 Issue: n4 Page: p738(4)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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The Song Of The Wood Thrush
Lajoyce Martin
Manufacturer: Word Aflame Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1567226450

Product Description

Pampered Jeri Wedgewood travels from her Virginia home to the rough lands of the Oregon Territory to find and marry her childhood sweetheart. She takes with her a little wind-up singing bird, a gift from her deceased mother and a family symbol of marital bliss. When she arrives, her plans are derailed by unexpected circumstances. A rugged frontiersman tests her loyalty and tragedy seems to lurk around every corner. Will the bird every sing for her?

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