Book Description
At seven years old, Martin Booth found himself with all of Hong Kong at his feet when his father was posted there in 1952. This is his memoir of that youth, a time when he had access to corners of the colony normally closed to a gweilo, a "pale fellow" like him. From the plink plonk man with his dancing monkey to Nagasaki Jim, and from a drunken child molester to the Queen of Kowloon (the crazed tramp who may have been a Romanov), Martin saw it all--but his memoir illustrates a deeper challenge in his warring parents. This is an intimate and powerful memory of a place and time now past.
Customer Reviews:
A "Golden" book for sure!.......2007-10-02
This book was recommended to me by a friend who said she was sad when it ended. Well, I am recommending it, and also sad when it ended. It is a delightful memoir of a blond 9 year old boy living in Hong Kong in the 1940ties. Blond means "luck" to the Chinese and everyone wanted to pat his head. He learned Chinese and was allowed into areas that no other "white" person could go.
Golden Throughout.......2007-01-14
I read this book because I love Hong Kong and its history. I was totally unprepared for Booth's parents and adored Joyce. How cannot you not like someone so lively, loving, accepting (except of Ken) and adventuresome?
While the family (Ken, Joyce and Martin) are exploring Algiers, Joyce buys some dates from a market stall, and Ken pitches a fit because they are probably unsanitary. He asks, 'How can you tell where they've been?' Joyce replies that they've been up a date tree. 'And they picked themselves I suppose?' 'No,' Joyce rplies, 'I expect they were plucked by a scrofulous urchin and thrown down to his tubercular aunt who wrapped them in her phlegm-stiffened handerchief.' I had a large mouthful of iced tea when I read that and spat the tea I didn't snort up my nose all over the page. I couldn't stop laughing. This was, I learned, pure Joyce.
'Golden Boy' is delightful, insightful and something more - a word or phrase that escapes these old brain cells. This is the first book by Booth I've read, and I'm eager to read more.
HongKong revisited.......2007-01-09
I had the pleasure of travelling to Asia in 2004 during Chinese New Year and have been to the places mentioned in this book. What a wonderful account of life in Honk Kong. Speaking with persons who have actually lived in this city and during that time I was assured that the descriptions are right down to the point. What a wonderful book.
Gweillo - Martin Booth.......2007-01-05
This book was originally published in the UK as 'Gweillo' (Foreign Devil) and is a delightful and colorful journey through the childhood of the author, Martin Booth who was a school friend of ours.
It is a must read for all who spent time in Hong Kong in the colonial days - it will bring back many fond memories.
It was written soon before Martin succumbed to brain cancer - he was deterined to finish it.
I love the book!
Perfect but pick up the English/HK edition "Gweilo" for a cover photo of the little boy.......2006-12-02
I wish I had ordered the earlier edition under the title Gweilo because this edition does not have a photo of the author as the young boy he was when he was in Hong Kong.
Book Description
From the brilliant author of The Long Ball comes an unforgettable account of the epic World Series clash between the celebrated Los Angeles Dodgers and the perennial underdog Baltimore Orioles. Nobody expected the Orioles to win; after all, by 1966, the Dodgers had replaced the Yankees as the dominant team in baseball, winning two of the previous three World Series. Few outside of Baltimore gave the Orioles more than a fighting chance. What transpired over four games astonished and mesmerized a nation in turmoil. Baltimores young pitchers shredded the veteran Dodgers lineup, setting Major League records along the way. Nobody had ever seen dominating pitching like this before: In the entire Series, the Dodgers scored only two runs and collected a mere 17 hits. Their team batting average was a lowly .142, andincrediblyfor the last 33 innings of the series, they were held scoreless.
Customer Reviews:
Poorly Researched Book.......2007-10-03
This book takes a wonderful story about major league baseball and a city and turns it into a minor league work. Adelman apparently never visited Baltimore, consulted a map or talked to anyone who was directly involved in the events he attempts to describe. He relies on second-hand sources and commits enough factual errors (Frank Robinson's Mother's Day home run off Luis Tiant, Baltimore as the capital of Maryland?, etc.)to be put into the DH role. If you are from Baltimore or have fond memories of the 1966 World Series, you'll want to read this book - but you'll be frustrated and angry once you do because the book is a slap at the intelligence of baseball fans everywhere.
BATS VERSUS ARMS.......2007-05-20
THIS IS BOOK IS ABOUT THE 1966 WORLD SERIES, ORIOLES VS DODGERS. IT WAS A CLASSIC MATCHUP OF THE HOMERUN POWER OF BALTIMORE AND THE BEST PITCHING STAFF IN BASEBALL, LOS ANGELES. IT TURNED OUT TO BE A VERY LOW SCORING AND BORING SERIES, IF YOU DON'T LIKE PITCHING DUELS. THIS SERIES WAS A DREAM COME TRUE FOR FRANK ROBINSON AND THEIR VERY YOUNG PITCHING STAFF OF THE ORIOLES. IT ALSO MARKED THE LAST GAME SANDY KOUFAX WOULD EVER PITCH. THE BOOK COVERS IN DETAIL EACH GAME AND ALSO GIVES US MUCH INSIGHT INTO SUCH PLAYERS AS BOOG POWELL, THE DAVIS BOYS AND THE TRUE STAR OF THE SERIES, FRANK ROBINSON. THEIR ARE SOME MINOR ERRORS IN THE BOOK BUT IF OVERLOOKED, IT IS WELL WORTH READING. I SUGGEST IT FOR ALL ORIOLE AND NOSTALIGIC FANS.
Where was the editor? The proofreader? Hmmm???.......2007-05-14
The subject of this book is one that resonates with me more than four decades later --- the year the O's finally broke through, launching 20 years of excellence.
That is why some of the factual errors are so annoying. Admittedly, most of you probably don't care that Frank Robinson's record-setting homer flew out of Memorial Stadium on May EIGHTH (rather than the 7th, as the author claims). However, it is important to me, for two reasons. One, you cannot change the calendar. And, two, I was there when it happened. (Also, F-Robby didn't homer on Luis Tiant's FIRST pitch. The count was 1-1.)
As some of you have stated, it is confusing for Oriole fans of that era if someone refers to "Robby", without clarifying which one ("B" or "F"). Frank was certainly better-known nationally, but, in Ballmer, "Robby" means "Brooks", and "F-Robby" means "Frank".
Finally --- come on --- Baltimore is NOT the capital of Maryland. (Annapolis is the capital. You know ... the city with the famous NAVAL ACADEMY?)
Great Book.......2006-11-06
I bought this book for my husband and he loved it! He talked about it so much that I later purchased it again for my brother.
Black and Blue, The Golden Arm, the Robinson Boys, and the 1966 World Series that Stunned America.......2006-09-18
The title is one mouthful. Being from Baltimore I was expecting a good read about my favorite baseball team and one I grew up watching and listening to. It is a shame the book was written by someone not at all familiar with Baltimore or one would assume baseball for that matter. Continually refering to "Jack Robinson" in the book instead of the name we all know him by as Jackie Robinson was an unbelievable gaff. Then calling Baltimore the capital of Maryland over and over again. Couple these with the other errors that pop out to anyone that lived through the 1966 season and lived in Baltimore and you gotta wonder about the research that actually went into this book and who was responsible at Little John for proofing it. One has to assume that the behind the scenes facts and the interviews were accurate but were they? I guess we will never know until someone writes another book about the 1966 season so that we can compare them. I enjoyed the book for the memories that it rekindled for me about the 1966 baseball season and the personalities on the Orioles team and those in Baltimore. The read for me was a nostalgic trip down memory lane for one that lived through it.
If you want to read a great Baltimore sports book, pick up a copy of Johnny U, The Life and Times of John Unitas by Tom Callahan. It will bring a tear to a true "Baltimoreon!"
Book Description
The paperback reprint of the stirring biography of a lonely, motherless adolescent whose once-in-a-generation talent has thrust him into the glaring spotlight of fortune and fame.
Customer Reviews:
Better than I expected . . . .......2006-03-10
Upon purchasing this book I expected a glossy, inch deep journey through the life of one of our generations most high profile non-heavyweight fighters. Much to my suprise and enjoyment, the writer, Tim Kawakami sifted through the carefully cultivated image that we have glimpsed from De La Hoya via his tv and other print appearances and uncovered what makes the fighter tick. The reader actually gets to witness the true insecurities and heartbreaks that fueled Oscar's rise to the top of the boxing food chain. While the prose is niether poetic or flashy, the author provides rare glimpses of an unfiltered Oscar during his formative years in boxing. Defintely a must read for any De La Hoya fan, but maybe not for the general reader.
Solid biography, missing Oscar's best years.......2005-09-20
Tim Kawakami turns in a decent re-telling of Oscar De la Hoya's rise to boxing fame & fortune, interviewing many of the prime movers & shakers to come in & out of the Golden Boy's orbit up until 1999. The author paces the tale well, giving the reader a real flavour of the personalities & their motivations & machinations within 'Oscar's World'.
Having said that, you sense from his writing Kawakami doesn't like his subject too much, either as a boxer or human being. He seems overly critical of De la Hoya both outside of & within the ring. In his reviews of some of the fighters' biggest tests during this period, he seems to constantly look for reasons other than being better than his opponent for De la Hoya to have triumphed. Maybe to some extent this is valid, but Kawakami seems more inclined to veer towards negative interpretations of events without exploring more positive possibilities.
The books biggest disappointment (though this can't be blamed on the writer) is in the timing of its conclusion. It ends abruptly just prior to De la Hoya's fight versus Ike Quartey; the Golden Boy's career reaching its most exciting period with big fights against the likes of Trinidad, Mosley & Vargas still to come. This time in Oscar's life also saw him getting married, becoming a successful boxing promoter & seemingly developing into a more rounded human being. Growing up, in other words.
I would be interested to read Kawakami's interpretation of these times in De la Hoya's life, maybe in an updated edition of this title or in a completely new book. That said, this is a good insight into the workings of both the business of boxing and the early career of the Golden Boy.
The Golden Brat.......2000-10-05
Kawakami writes reasonably well, and the book is a good read, but far from the best boxing book I've picked up.
The most interesting aspect is the nasty side of Oscar we get to read about - behind all the glossy marketing, the lad is a fighter after all, and his strained relationship with his father seems sourced as a pivotal aspect in his temperament.
Oscar seems to betray everyone who helps him along the way, and is painted as a ridiculously impressionable young man, desperately looking for people to tell him how to live his life. The book paints an interesting picture of America's Golden Boy, leaving him looking less than innocent at the end.
TWO GREAT CHAMPIONS:DE LA HOYA AND KAWAKAMI. Worth 100 stars.......1999-12-24
As an Oscar de la Hoya fan, I try to get my hands on anything that is written about this boxer who I consider to be my role model.This book truly didn't disappoint me. Kawakami goes into such detail in Oscar's life from the time the "Golden Boy" was just a shy little kid to the present rich and highly desired champion. Kawakami gives his reader in depth knowledge ranging from Oscar's private life, which he seems to totally know all the women in Oscar's life, to a side one is not accostumed to seeing and knowing of the Golden Boy like his leaving of managers to managers that payed the De la Hoya's more money and a sense of ruthlessness.In the end, this is what makes the Book so great because it says about both sides of the story: the good and the bad of Oscar de la hoya. A very unbiased book, that doesn't have information that makes Oscar look like a Saint or Satan, but makes Oscar look human.A must have for the hardcore Oscar de la Hoya fans like me or for any other person interested in a book that you will not put down until you finish reading it!
Coulda had more pictures!.......1999-09-01
Even though I like to look at Oscar, this book was well-written enough to counter my complaint with the lack of pictures.
Oscar's psyche is explained with an observant's P.O.W. which makes for an unbiased biography. The readers leaves with the understanding of the unfortuate shallowness, coldness, and (IMO)a little sympathetic.
Customer Reviews:
Underrated Actor.......2001-01-01
William Holden is one of the most underrated actors of Hollywood. Evidence by far is that this is the only book on his life. The book is a heartfelt tribute to what appears to be a caring, thoughtful and professional actor who always remembered the ensemble of people who helped him reach stardom. It is also a very sad tale of a person who never overcame his demons and was finally killed by them. His life and career were cut short and it is our loss.
driven by demons.......2000-01-19
golden boy digs deep into the torment of william holden's life.the rise of a bit part actor to oscar winner.the highs and lows of life in hollywood. achieving success in front of the cameras but ultimately failing in his personal life.this book is for any true fan of the golden age of tinsletown
Customer Reviews:
An Unfair Accounting.......2006-01-28
Although I was born about the time of Van Johnson's rising star, being a movie buff of ole films, I have enjoyed his movies so much through the years. His warmth and boy next door charm seemed to always add something very special to the movies he was in. Having read Ronald Davis's accounting of his life, however, left me feeling very frustrated at times over Mr. Davis' determination to state Van Johnson's sexual preference with the very slimmest of evidence to back it up. He begins the book and ends it with the same proposition, and because I did not find his book so well researched or definitive, I think the jury is still out on this one. Ronald Davis' writing often seemed like fan magazine articles pieced together. Having loved Van Johnson for many years as a screen star, I am sad that there is not more out there of greater quality to read on his life.
Van Johnson:MGM's Golden Boy.......2005-09-15
Having been of fan of this actor for years, it was a pleasure to read a book that was filled with information about his life. The book was a fair and balanced look at the actor's life. I learned a great deal about his early years in Rhode Island and how he became an actor. Since there are so few books about Van Johnson out there, this is a good one to read.
Not the Van I know - A hack job on a friend & good man .......2005-04-29
As a screenwriter and friend of Van Johnson, I have knowledge of this man in both professional & private settings. Now living on opposite ends of the country, we see very little of each other, but stay in contact by phone & e-mail. The last time my wife & I saw the Johnson's was in Las Vegas where Van had a showing of his paintings at the MGM Grand. First of all, rumors of homosexuality are false. Placing that tag on good looking actors is considered a Hollywood pasttime whose victims have been Cary Grant, Randolf Scott, Howard Hughes to Tom Cruise & Keanu Reeves. Van is a warm, non-judgmental, kind and humorous human being. All this and more besides being an outstanding actor when given the right role(Caine Mutiny). His personal and family problems are similiar to the crosses people in all walks of life have to bear. Yet, Van has always rebounded with hope & eternal optimism. This is a great guy with limitless good qualities. Approaching 90, that twinkle in his eyes remains ever present.
Don't spend a dime on this book~ AWFUL AND UNFAIR TREATMENT .......2004-09-27
I have to say I bought this book hoping to find at least an ounce of truth in it. I found none. It was slanted and very unfair. All the author does is dwell on the bad in no way remotley shows Van for the man he is. It's a shame it was published while he is alive but is what I would expect from the RELIGOUS FANATICS TODAY, WHO ARE BY THE WAY HYPOCRITES~ Don't buy the book-get his DVD's and watch his films. Shame on you Ronald Davis, biggot!
Astonishingly Homophobic and Boorish Book for 2002.......2002-12-10
First let me say I am in no way a fan of Van Johnson. At best, he was only a slightly talented actor, he was mainly as the author notes a bobby-soxer teen idol who girls of the 1940's briefly made one of the top three box-office draws in America. Teen idols, then as now, are rarely on anybody's list of great actors or of particular interest to anyone outside of contemporary teenaged girls. I only picked up this book because I enjoy reading movie star biographies but I am sorry I wasted my time on this little effort, the very definition of a hatchet job. The author reveals - shock, shock - Van Johnson was a homosexual. Actually, he only manages to be the author of the first biography on Johnson and states this, previous books (including one written by Johnson's stepson) have proclaimed this tidbit and in fact quoting those books is pretty much the limit of Mr. Davis' details on Johnson's homosexuality. Oh, that and a brief, unsourced report that Johnson once propositioned an man in a Texas store. Davis feigns journalistic impartiality but it seems clear his opinion of Johnson as one might expect from a professor at Southern Methodist University or author of book on John Wayne. Practically from the first page it's obvious Davis wants to paint Johnson's as a pathetic, empty life (he certainly gives no evidence on why anyone would be interested in Johnson today, dimissing his talent repeatedly.) Friends of Johnson seem to have been avoided to keep any good words about him out, other than Janet Leigh. One of Davis's main sources is Johnson's ex-wife, from whom he had a very bitter divorce. Davis seems to take everything she has to say as the undiluted truth. Davis keeps up his attack on Johnson right to the last page, proclaiming he is not a legendary figure like John Wayne or Marilyn Monroe (oh no! I thought Van Johnson was one of the five greatest stars ever!!) and as such presumably unworthy of future attention. So what's the point of the book?? He even insults Johnson down to his very last sentence, basically dismissing him as a worthless fake. I never dreamed I would ever have sympathy for a man who has cut off contact with his only child (one of the most unfortunate effects of the divorce) but Johnson's often incredibly sad and hollow life should move many people though clearly not Mr. Davis, who at no point seems to have compassion for Johnson and his life in the closet and the cost of it on him (though he does have sympathy for the other victims of Johnson's private life like his ex-wife and child.) Saddest of all is Van Johnson is still living and around to read this malicious effort. A final word: this book's design and size are appropiately ugly (it's scarcely bigger than a small softcover book, a strange size for a hardcover biography) for such a mean-spirited tome. This is allegedly the first in a series of books on "Hollywood Legends" edited or written by Mr. Davis, one hopes this series ends very soon.
Average customer rating:
- Ghettos, War, Angels, Jackboots, and a Boy named Stopthief.
- Perfect
- superbook!
- Milkweed was a Great Book!
- Milkweed
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Milkweed (Golden Kite Awards (Awards))
Jerry Spinelli
Manufacturer: Knopf Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Holocaust
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Spinelli, Jerry
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ASIN: 0375813748
Release Date: 2003-09-09 |
Amazon.com
Newbery Medal-winning author Jerry Spinelli (Maniac McGee, Stargirl) paints a vivid picture of the streets of the Nazi-occupied Warsaw during World War II, as seen through the eyes of a curious, kind, heartbreakingly naïve orphan with many names. His name is Stopthief when people shout "Stop! Thief!" as he flees with stolen bread. Or it's Jew, "filthy son of Abraham," depending on who's talking to him. Or, maybe he's a Gypsy, because his eyes are black, his skin is dark, and he wears a mysterious yellow stone around his neck. His new friend and protector Uri forces him to take the name Misha Pilsudski and to memorize a made-up story about his Gypsy background so that no one will mistake him for a Jew and kill him. Misha, a very young boy, is slow to understand what's happening around him. When he sees people running, he thinks it's a race. Nazis (Jackboots, as the children call them) marching through the streets appear to him as a delightful parade of magnificent boots. He wants to be a Jackboot! (Uri smacks him for saying this.) He compares bombs to sauerkraut kettles, machine guns to praying mantises, and tanks to "colossal gray long-snouted beetles." The story of Misha and his band of orphans trying to survive on their own would have a deliciously Dickensian quality, if it weren't for the devastation around them--people hurrying to dig trenches to stop Nazi tanks, shops exploding in flames, the wailing of sirens, buzzing airplanes, bombs, and human torture. Spinelli has written a powerfully moving story of survival--readers will love Misha the dreamer and his wonderfully poetic observations of the world around him, his instinct to befriend a Jewish girl and her family, his impulse to steal food for a local orphanage and his friends in the ghetto, and his ability to delight in small things even surrounded by the horror of the Holocaust. A remarkable achievement. (Ages 11 and older) --Karin Snelson
Book Description
He’s a boy called Jew. Gypsy. Stopthief. Runt. Happy. Fast. Filthy son of Abraham.
He’s a boy who lives in the streets of Warsaw. He’s a boy who steals food for himself and the other orphans. He’s a boy who believes in bread, and mothers, and angels. He’s a boy who wants to be a Nazi some day, with tall shiny jackboots and a gleaming Eagle hat of his own. Until the day that suddenly makes him change his mind. And when the trains come to empty the Jews from the ghetto of the damned, he’s a boy who realizes it’s safest of all to be nobody.
Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli takes us to one of the most devastating settings imaginable—Nazi-occupied Warsaw of World War II—and tells a tale of heartbreak, hope, and survival through the bright eyes of a young orphan.
Download Description
He's a boy called Jew. Gypsy. Stopthief. Runt. Happy. Fast. Filthy son of Abraham.
He's a boy who lives in the streets of Warsaw. He's a boy who steals food for himself and the other orphans. He's a boy who believes in bread, and mothers, and angels. He's a boy who wants to be a Nazi some day, with tall shiny jackboots and a gleaming Eagle hat of his own. Until the day that suddenly makes him change his mind. And when the trains come to empty the Jews from the ghetto of the damned, he's a boy who realizes it's safest of all to be nobody.
Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli takes us to one of the most devastating settings imaginable -- Nazi-occupied Warsaw of World War II -- and tells a tale of heartbreak, hope, and survival through the bright eyes of a young orphan.
Customer Reviews:
Ghettos, War, Angels, Jackboots, and a Boy named Stopthief........2007-08-27
Call him whatever you'd like. Everyone else does.
Stopthief. Jew. Gypsy. Fast. Happy. Runt. Filthy son of Abraham. Misha Pilsudski is the name that Uri, the leader of the street orphans, finally gives him, along with a made-up story about his past and his family history. It's the name that sticks. For a while.
This orphan boy from Warsaw, U.S.S.R., figures if someone calls him a name, it just might mean that it's true. Take "Fast," a name Uri calls him. If it wasn't true about him, how else would he explain how good he is at stealing bread from women walking on the street? Bread which he faithfully shares half with Doctor Korczak's orphans at the group home. He wouldn't be able to outrun the venders, the police, or the Jackboots. That's his name for the Nazi soldiers that can be seen marching around town. Someday, he'd like to be a Jackboot.
Then a Jewish girl named Janina from a poor neighborhood befriends him. With Janina, Misha feels he has a real family, a place he can belong. When families all over the city, Jewish families at first, start getting relocated into the walled-off ghettos, Misha moves in with her. Spinelli's sings the despair of the ghettos with a raw and tragic melody of characters. Outside the ghetto walls they call Heaven. Food is rotten and scarce. New bodies lie covered in the streets each day. And angels are everywhere, if you know how to look.
They call him Stopthief. Catch him if you can.
--- Reviewed by Jonathan Stephens
Perfect.......2007-06-19
Jerry Spinelli does a perfect job portraying the hardships and struggles of the Jewish people during the most unfortunate of times, the Holocaust, in a manner in which younger readers can relate. Appropriate for almost all ages [I wouldn't read it as a bedtime story], this book had me hooked. It entails the struggles of Misha Pilsudski [later Misha Milgrom, and finally Jack Milgrom] through the Nazi invasion of Warszawa [Warsaw] Poland. I recommend anyone looking for a good, quick read to buy this book. I read it for a book report assignment back in 7th, and it was definitly well worth it.
superbook!.......2007-04-18
Milkweed was the best! I didn't really like it for any particular reason. it was just a great book. It was very exciting! Milkweed was cool because it felt like I was in the book itself! If you don't like books that are sad, then I suggest that you don't read this book. Milkweed is a book about a boy who lives on the streets. He spends his days stealing food because that's the only way he could get it. He is an orphan and he doesn't have a name, but his friend gives him one. Misha. It was one of the best books I ever read!
Milkweed was a Great Book!.......2007-03-16
He had been called many things - Jew, stopthief, happy, runt, fast, filthy son of Abraham. He lived on the streets and steals food to survive. He believes in bread, mothers, and angels. He wanted to be a Nazi someday , with tall jackboots and an eagle cap - that is, until the day that suddenly made him change his mind. When the trains came to empty the ghetto, he's a boy who realized it is safest of all to be a nobody.
A young, swift orphan arrived on the streets of Warsaw with no recollection of his past - not so much as his name. He began living with another orphan in an abandoned barbershop, and together they stole everything they needed. The other orphan, who went by the name Uri, named the nameless child by the name of Misha Pilsudski. Misha and Uri had a decent life - they were never hungry, they hung out with other orphan folk, and Misha even had a rich friend (Janina) - until the day the jackboots came. The men in "jackboots" were actually Nazis, and they came to raid Warsaw. Soon the town was in shambles and they began to round up all the Jews to send to the ghetto. Misha claimed he was a Gypsy (although he had no idea whatsoever what he was), but went to the ghetto anyway because he thought it looked fun. He visited Janina's family many times while the wall was in the process of being built, because he could just step over it. However, once the wall was finished, Uri stayed out while Misha lived there full time. In the ghetto, the conditions rapidly degraded and soon, everyone was starving. Misha found a two-brick hole in the wall he could fit through, so every night he slipped through this miniature escape route and get food for Janina and her family. This system worked pretty well, and soon Janina would even come with him on his adventures. One night, at a hotel in Warsaw where Misha was trying to steal rations, he saw Uri for the first time in a long time, who worked for the Nazis. Uri warned Misha about the plan to send the Jews to the ovens, so he would have a heads up. Sure enough, the next day the soldiers began loading the Jews onto trains to the ovens. Janina's father warned Misha and Janina to get out and stay out, so the two left and ran towards the countryside. Janina, who was in an unstable mental state after the two years or so in the ghetto, ran away. Misha tried to follow her, but a farmer stopped him. The farmer kept Misha for three years, and at night, they would have to tie him up so he would not run away to the ovens, where he desperately wanted to see his friend. Then the war ended, and Misha came to America, where he married and then divorced. Misha kept a quiet life and did not meet his daughter, Katherine, until she had a child of her own. Katherine left her daughter Wendy's middle name blank for Misha to name. He chose Janina.
Milkweed was an excellent story. It had happiness, but some sad parts too. In addition, it's filled with historical references, even though it was a fictional book.
A few examples of happiness in Milkweed include the time when Misha has to play on the carousel, when Janina gave Misha a piece of his favorite candy, and when Misha saw Uri again. One time, before the jackboots came, a carousel with beautiful painted horses was built in Warsaw. Uri advised Misha to stay away, as "street filth" such as Misha was unwanted at places like that. However, one day, the temptation was just too much for Misha, so after hours (they kept the carousel running all the time) he climbed on and had the time of his life. Another example of happiness included the time when Janina snuck out of the ghetto using the petite hole in the wall and looked all over town for buttermilk creams with hazelnut hearts, Misha's favorite candy. She came back and gave a single piece to him, as that was all she could find, and Misha was delighted to taste that luscious candy after eating ghetto food for so long. The last good example of happiness was when Misha saw Uri in the fancy hotel. Misha ran up to him and asked if it was really Uri, with joy glittering in his eyes. Uri was not as happy as Misha was - he could have gotten in serious trouble if caught talking to him. Misha was even happier later when Uri's tip about the ovens saved his life.
Milkweed had its fair share of sadness, however. The saddest part was when Janina ran towards the ovens and Misha never saw him again. In fact, he wanted to see her so badly that the farmers he stayed with tied him to the barn every night for three years to prevent him from running to find her. Another sad part was when Misha's wife in America, Vivian, divorced him after a few short months because he was going crazy. The last significant sad part of the story was when Misha had to say goodbye to Janina's father before running away from the ghetto and the ovens.
Although Milkweed is a fictional book, it still has many examples of history tied into it. The whole time era was World War II, when the Nazis tried to win power and superiority. The book specifically mentioned the times when the Nazis marched into Poland and the bombing of Warsaw. Another historical reference were the Jewish ghettos, which were not uncommon in Europe at the time. The last major historical reference were the ovens where everyone in the ghetto was sent to die, which were a fixture in death camps at the time.
Milkweed was a really well written book and is perfect for anyone who like to read but does not mind a little grief. It had happiness, but there was some sadness as well, and it even mentioned some major points of history.
-Elizabeth H =]
Milkweed.......2007-03-15
Milkweed, by Jerry Spinelli, is book is the best book I have read all year. When I sat down to read milkweed I thought it was going to be another boring WWII story . Man was I wrong. Within the first 30 pages I realized Spinelli's book was going to be different. Milkweed tells the life of a young Gypsy boy, Misha, who is taken in by a Jewish family and lives with them in the ghetto created for them by the Nazis. As the story progresses Misha grows older and more knowledgeable of the world around him. He learns that the Nazis don't like him, that the people under the news paper are NOT sleeping, and that Mothers, Angels, and Oranges really do exist. The story of the life of Jewish people living during WWII are not uncommon, but none have captured it quite like Milkweed has. Having grown up as an orphan, Misha is ignorant to the world, but that is one of his wonderful qualities. When he learned what "Happy" was, during Hanukah, He tried to fill Janina's with the "Happy" that he had. My favorite part of Milkweed was when anyone would ever call Misha Jewish, he would turn around and angrily shout, " I'M NOT JEWISH! I'M A GYPSY!". In the end , After he was adopted by the Milgroms, when someone called him Jewish he just ran. At the end of the book, after WWII had ended, it told how Misha moved to America, was named Jack, and married and met his great granddaughter , Janina.
I believe anyone who is looking for a good read should read Milkweed, its like a Butter Milk chocolate in a box of chocolates.
Rose M.
Book Description
AS SEEN ON 48 HOURS -- AN EXPLOSIVE ACCOUNT OF LETHAL GREED AND TWISTED DESIRE, FROM THE FILES OF AMERICA'S #1 TRUE CRIME WRITER, ANN RULE
They were best friends, four talented and charismatic young men who lived charmed lives among the evergreens of Washington state: Kevin, the artist; Steve, the sculptor; Scott, the nature lover and unabashed ladies' man; and Mark, the musician and poet. With their stunning good looks, whip-sharp minds, athletic bodies -- and no lack of women who adored them -- none of them seemed slated for disaster.
But few knew the reality behind the leafy screen that surrounded Seven Cedars, Scott's woodland dream home -- a tree house equipped with every luxury. From this idyllic enclave, some of these trusted friends would become the quarry for a vigilant Seattle police detective and an FBI special agent, who unmasked clues to disturbing secrets that spawned murder, suicide, million-dollar bank robberies, drug-dealing, and heartbreaking betrayal. When the end came in a violent stand-off, the ringleader of the foursome -- the fugitive dubbed "Hollywood" for his ingenious disguises and flawless getaways; the persuasive talker who turned his friends into accomplices -- faced a final chapter no one could have predicted. In a blast of automatic gunfire, the highest and lowest motives of the human heart were, at last, revealed.
Along with four other true-crime tales, The End of the Dream is a masterful and compelling tour of the criminal mind from Ann Rule.
Customer Reviews:
The End of the Dream.......2007-06-27
I couldn't put this book down as I couldn't wait to find out what happened next and whose life Scott was going touch - be it in a good or bad way. I got really caught up in the brothers' story as well and felt compassion for them, even though one was an accompliace to Scott's bank robbing frenzy. A really interesting read.
Some new ideas about this lovey dovey book........2007-06-15
I found "The End of the Dream" to be one of Ann Rule's least interesting stories, because she dragged out a 25-page biography into a bloated 432-page sob story about a golden boy who done wrong.
Ann Rule, a former policewoman usually writes compassionately about crime victims, but this time she is half in love with the perp. She says, "As an author who never knew him, I found myself delaying the time when I had to write the end of Scott Scurlock's story...I didn't want him to die."
She certainly succeeded in her delaying tactics, but whether her readers will want to follow her to the end on Thanksgiving Day, 1996---speaking for myself, I can't believe I read the whole thing.
Some of the delaying tactics Rule used:
* Interviewed everyone who came into contact with Scott, and told their life stories, too.
* Included the biographies of the policeman and FBI agent who were instrumental in putting a stop to Scott's string of bank robberies.
* Interviewed the policemen's wives and colleagues, bank tellers, etc.
* Repeated herself over and over again about how beautiful and strong Scott was, how proud he was of his body, and how he could have been a movie star if only he had applied himself. There's a nude photo of Scott doing press-ups in a chair. You can judge for yourself.
Oh well, this book also includes three more cases from the author's early days as a true crime writer: "The Peeping Tom;" "The Girl Who Fell in Love with Her Killer;" and "The Least Likely Suspect." They at least are worth reading.
Never-Fail Rule does it again!.......2007-04-04
You can rely upon Ann Rule as surely as anything in this world...she always comes thru. Makes you see the victim(s), the criminals, and most particularly the investigators as clearly as your closest friend. Her books are engrossing, real and you come away fully satisfied with all your questions answered. What more could one ask of an author?
Scott Had It Made!.......2006-11-12
Scott Scurlock lived a good life in a treehouse in Olympia, Washington, as a handsome young man who had hair like Charles Manson. It was an architectural marvel, like a real cabin in the sky. He loved to stand atop a mountain where he felt close to God. When I went to Oneida, I felt that I could reach up and touch the sky, that it was the closest thing to Heaven on earth. But Scott was a playboy who lived the drug style of life and didn't have time to think about Heaven and Hell.
His name was in the papers constantly but the only clipping he saved was the feature showing the interior of his fabulous treehouse. He ived the good life, for a while. But he made headlines again on November 30, 1996, in The Seattle Times as the Hollywood bank robber. He was handsome enough to be an actor, that's true. He's had it made in the late'80s and early '90s with good friends like Scott, Mark and Steve (the later two were fathers of daughters) whom he rooked into a world of crime.
Scott was the perrential male who didn't want to grow up -- the the fellows in the move, 'Without A Paddle" also involving a spectacular tree house. Unlike most who chose Peter Pan, Scott pretended to be Robin Hood and had the illustration of said bandit tacked up over his bed in the treehouse.
Ann Rule is a master at explaining the intracicies of real crime in a manner which reads like fiction and is easy to understand. I have endorsed many of her real-crime books. This one also included 'An Unlikely Suspect,' 'The Girl Who Fell in Love with her Killer' and 'The Peeping Tom.' None of us are safe anymore for average or unstanding-looking males. And yet, there are women just as evil. She is the best storyteller to inform us of the most accomplished.
Engrossing,hard to put down!!.......2006-10-20
I first heard of this story watching the Court TV? Channel. It was hosted by Bill Kurtis of Investigative Reports fame. After hearing the entire story I was prompted to read what I did not learn in the two-hour segment Court TV presented me with. Here was a man so 'caught up' in having a lavish lifestyle that he successfully robbed banks, pocketing an estimated 2.5 million dollars! The story was so well-written that the characters literally come to life. I highly recommend this book.
Book Description
Paul Hornung was football's "Golden Boy" -- handsome, talented, and fabulously successful. He had a great career at Notre Dame, where he won the Heisman Trophy (the only player ever to win it on a team with a losing record). He was the #1 draft pick in the NFL and went to the Green Bay Packers, a terrible team soon transformed by a new head coach, Vince Lombardi. Hornung's Packer teams would become a dynasty, and ten of his teammates (as well as Lombardi) would eventually join him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Hornung led the NFL in scoring from 1959 to 1961, setting a single-season scoring record in 1960 that still stands. He was Player of the Year in 1960 and 1961.
Hornung always loved the good life. He had girlfriends all across the country, and he was a regular at Toots Shor's and at clubs in Chicago and Los Angeles. A frustrated Lombardi once asked him whether he wanted to be a player or a playboy, and his teammates joked about his Hollywood ambitions. On game days Hornung was always ready to play, but the night after a game -- and sometimes even the night before -- was a different story.
For Hornung, the good life came at a price: his gambling cost him a year's suspension from the NFL in 1963. He accepted his punishment, refusing to implicate anyone else, but in this autobiography he reveals just how widespread gambling was in the NFL.
However, on the playing field Hornung and his Packer teammates made football history. Bart Starr, Max McGee, Jim Taylor, Ray Nitschke, Jerry Kramer, Jim Ringo, Ron Kramer, Forrest Gregg, Fuzzy Thurston, Willie Davis, Herb Adderley, Willie Wood -- they're all here, and Hornung has great stories to tell about them and about some of their biggest games together.
Golden Boy is a must-read for football fans, a colorful, candid slice of pigskin history from one of the game's immortal legends.
Customer Reviews:
Shallow Man, Shallow Book.......2007-07-16
I agree with those who criticize the slipshod manner in which this book was written.
After reading Instant Replay and others about the Packers of the 60s, I was expecting more from Hornung's book. I just get the feeling that here is a man who never a had a rough day in his life and who never questioned himself once.
Hornung bio a mixed bag.......2006-11-24
"Golden Boy" delivers on a lot of levels. It communicates how it felt to have the whirlwind career on the football field while enjoying the high-life off the field. Hornung fans will enjoy some of the new tales of the life and times of the "Golden Boy" as he hangs in Vegas, LA and Miami, doing what's right and doin' in his way.
The overall tone of the book is conversational. You can tell Hornung got the beats of these stories down around the bar in countless conversations around the world. The "belly up to the bar" tone of the stories gives a good feeling when reading this book. It's a great read, many times I felt like pouring a scotch to "get in the spirit" of this snappy tome.
A previous reviewer noted that this book fails to give a lot of depth and I think that's true. Paul comes off as a pretty superficial guy at times, based on his own "testimony". I would've like more on his thoughts about both ND & GB, not just a re-reading of the record book with a few anecdotes tossed in. The blurb advertises that the book is the story of Games, Girls, and Gambling, & it seems Billy Reed stayed on those themes. I think they should have shined their beam a little wider and told us the whole story of the man and not focus on the narrow areas that they did.
I'd like to recommend this book to one person in particular... Paul Hornung. There's no doubt in my mind that Paul never glanced at the finished manuscript. Author Billy Reed is a basketball guy from "Louvil" and didn't know enough Packer football to properly edit this thing. It's fulla errors that any Packer fan can spot.
- Viking Cliff "Tongue" Livingston tore up your knee in '62, Paul. There is no Bill Livingston.
- Willie Wood is a HOF free safety, not a cornerback as states in "GB"
- Many have pointed out the error in the score of the first Super Bowl, (35 - 10, not 37 - 10)
Errors like this show some of the sloppiest editing I've ever seen.
On a positive note, Paul is a little shy about his credentials as a non-racist. I've personally spoken to African-American Packers who were stunned by Paul's graciousness and kindness when they came to the Packers. Green Bay was just a little South of the North Pole in the Mid-Sixties. For Blacks coming there it was a distant scary place. Many African-American players recall the first white Packer that approached them and started to make them feel at home was the big star, Paul Hornung. Anyone that reads this book knows Paul ain't too shy to brag. But when he recounts the bad times he had in 2004, he doesn't toot his own horn about being a proponent of civil rights or whatever ya wanna call it. That shows me that Paul is a nice guy, he took his poor treatment without trying to cry about it. Hey, Willie Wood, Herb Adderly, Bob Brown and the rest of the guys, remember when you were a lonely rookie and the big dog took out to dinner and then a night on the town? Well, pay a brother back and tell 'em The Horn ain't no redneck!
There's a lot more to this man that games, girls and gambling. Paul why don't ya write a book about it?, I'd be glad to read it.
Lots of free sex & booze. Throw in playing in the NFL........2006-01-26
Truly golden. Not Paul Hornung. He's a bit tarnished. His life is golden. Let's proceed as if this autobiography is not a piece of fiction. He truly had the luck of the Irish from the time he made it to Notre Dame, won the Heisman Trophy in a year that the Irish won only two games to landing on the Packers & being a pet of Vince Lombardi. No doubt about it, he was a great player, Hall of Fame caliber & Lombardi saw that. He was also a notrious bad boy & Vince made allowances for him. Even his most egregious error in judgement, gambling on games got him no more than a slap on the wrist. The year he sat out might have eroded his football skills but not his skill as a "player".
He continued to make more money outside of football with his good looks & product endorsement, Marlboro cigarettes probably being the most famous. Every body wanted to buy him dinner or drinks or women & he let them. It's all a good story & an entertaining book. That's probably what he wanted so many years after the fact & that what it is.
GOLDEN BOY A BIT TARNISHED.......2006-01-03
AFTER READING THIS BOOK, I SEE THAT MR HORNUNG IS NOT PERFECT. THE TELLING OF HIS GAMBLING, BOOZING AND WOMANING DOES ALOT TO SPOIL HIS IMAGE AS SOMEONE YOU WOULD WANT TO IDOLIZE. AS A BOY, PAUL WAS MY HERO. HE WAS THE COMPLETE PLAYER, AND PLAYED FOR THE BEST TEAM OF THE 1960'S. I NOW SEE THAT HE IS VERY FLAWED. I DID ENJOY THIS BOOK, I FOUND HIS HONESTY VERY REFRESHING. PAUL ISN'T A BAD GUY, PERHAPS ARROGANT AND SPOILED. BUT I DO RECOMMEND THIS BOOK. I FOUND IT TO BE VERY INTERESTING AND ENTERTAINING. FOR ALL PACKER FANS WHO LIKE TO READ ABOUT THE LOMBARDI ERA.
Great Golden Boy.......2005-09-24
I knew Paul a bit at Notre Dame in the 1950s, and this account of his life there and later is frank, true-to-life, and thoroughly readable. In a modest, conversational tone, he admits his errors, enjoys recalling the good times, and generally comes across as a charming rogue.
Average customer rating:
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Ghostfire (Outcast, Book 3)
Christopher Golden , and
Thomas E. Sniegoski
Manufacturer: Aladdin
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ASIN: 0689866631 |
Book Description
IS LEANDER THE ENEMY?
After shunning Timothy since his arrival in Arcanum, Parliament has finally turned to him for help. Raptus, the vicious leader of the Wurm, is determined to break through the magical barrier that separates his world from Sunderland and exact vengeance upon the mages. Parliament needs Timothy's kind of magic -- the magic of invention -- to prep are for the inevitable battle with the Wurm.
Timothy sets out with Leander and an exploratory team to the site of the barrier, but over the course of the trip Leander's behavior goes from erratic to dangerous -- so much so that Cassandra is named Grandmaster of the Order of Alhazred. Can Timothy and Cassandra find the source of Leander's transformation before it destroys them all?
The saga continues in Wurm War.
Customer Reviews:
Always Burning.......2006-04-05
"Anticipation crackled in the air. His expectations were so high that it tingled upon his skin like magic."
So begins Ghostfire, the third in the OutCast fantasy quartet by Christopher Golden and Thomas E. Sniegoski. In a world where everyone else can wield magic and weave spells, young Timothy has never had any magical powers. Instead, he's cultivated his skills in ways that are hands-on -- building robots, testing out his own inventions, creating blueprints, and more.
The bad guys are back with a vengeance in this installment. Arcanum is not only propelled by magic, but by power and politics as well. When a brownout weakens everyone else's magic, Timothy must figure out who is truly on his side - and who will be the thorn in his side instead.
There are twists and turns aplenty here. Fantasy enthusiasts will enjoy the mystery of just what or who is keeping the Ghostfire lit. If you and your family enjoyed the first two novels in the OutCast series, you will not be disappointed by this story.
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