Best Letters & Correspondence
We see a perspective of D Day which deserves to be added to the historical record, in which ordinary German troops struggled to make sense of the onslaught that was facing them, and emerged stunned at the weaponry and sheer determination of the Allied soldiers. 'D Day Through German Eyes' presents the transcripts of interviews which my grandfather carried out with German veterans in 1954, on the tenth anniversary of D Day.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"And then began the battleship bombardment, shells large enough to see coming in, that leave their bunkers cracked and broken and men deaf and bleeding from the eyes. Another soldier in a guard position away from the beach realizes an attack is on when in the night his partner is killed paratroopers. After regaining consciousness later in the morning, one soldier finds himself in a wire enclosure with fellow Germans being treated by an allied medic."
"It's a collection of interviews made with German soldiers who fought against the D-Day invasion of the Allies."
"This book is a series of interviews; remarkable interviews of remarkable and lucky people."
"Great stories from the side that lost."
"Interesting perspective on the Normandy invasion."
"This presentation of how "the enemy" saw one of the most important invasions in history also shows how propaganda can can confuse facts."
"Of most interest was the indoctrination they received and the concept of a "unified Europe" that sounded very much like the EU and the Socialist movement of nowadays."
"No frills, brutally honest accounts of the "second rate" German defenders in France."
An appealing memoir with inspirational advice, The Rainbow Comes and Goes is a beautiful and affectionate celebration of the universal bond between a parent and a child, and a thoughtful reflection on life, reminding us of the precious insight that remains to be shared, no matter our age. “Intriguing… an ideal Mother’s/Father’s Day gift, with the opening, ‘Let’s get to know each other better’…Affectionate, heartfelt, inspirational, and sometimes hilarious, the book’s message is that it is never too late to cultivate a new relationship with your family and break down those walls of silence.” (Bay Area Reporter). “A beautiful book that will resonate for all generations, especially mothers and their sons . Through greater openness, Cooper and Vanderbilt achieve a new closeness, demonstrating in this intimate and lively read that it’s never too late to have a rich relationship with family.” (Publishers Weekly). “Memoir readers (and Hollywood fans) will appreciate this book, especially those interested in relationships between mothers and sons. “Entertaining and thoughtful moments exchanged between a mother and son who have spent much of their lives in the spotlight.” (Kirkus). “Through greater openness, Cooper and Vanderbilt achieve a new closeness, demonstrating in this intimate and lively read that it’s never too late to have a rich relationship with family.” (Publishers Weekly). Both a son’s love letter to his mother and an unconventional mom’s life lessons for her grown son, The Rainbow Comes and Goes offers a rare window into their close relationship and fascinating life stories, including their tragedies and triumphs.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Gloria then gives frank answers about her thoughts on dying, and asks Anderson a favor: "I'd like you to place a handful of my ashes in your father's grave." There are long accounts of the fight, with Anderson asking his mother why it happened, "Why do you think she fought for custody?" "Lawyers were hired, a trial date was set, and both sides began preparing for a court fight unlike any the country had every seen." Anderson's grandmother started a court fight, "for custody of a child she barely knew." THE RAINBOW COMES AND GOES is really most valuable to the mother and her son, but I appreciate their willingness to share such poignant memories with the world."
"However, unlike situations in which Cooper simply asks questions and keeps moving, he discusses his own responses, his own feelings, and explores elements from his own background and experiences. There is also a slight element of mother’s give a damn being broken at 91 and even letting her son know about sex and the firs time she no longer had to fake an orgasm, which was one of the attractive aspects of who she dated. The responses of Cooper are often shorter, but pull in normal colloquialisms, something that shows a bit of a generational divide the two, such as YouTube; whereas his mother may respond with a quote, or just simply go off of the comment mentioned. Vanderbilt’s responses are much more elaborate, detailed, and a bit of a train of thought around an initial point Cooper asks and that his mother makes a winding way in telling a story, but this is for the best because it is in this portion you can see a lot of recollections about her life, where she has been, and her understanding in hindsight."
"After almost losing his very famous (and very illustrious) mother Gloria Vanderbilt just before her 91st birthday, news anchor Anderson Cooper embarks on his toughest interview via a year-long email exchange. They discuss everything (sometimes to the point of exhaustion): her very tough childhood (including the famous custody trial); her four marriages (Anderson was her last child by her last husband); his father’s sudden and tragic death when Anderson was 10 and how he and his mother began the process of forming a long-overdue mother-son relationship; Anderson’s sexuality (a subject totally missing from his original memoir); and most tragically his older brother’s suicide."
Described by The New York Times Book Review as "sermon, ultimatum, confession, deposition, testament, and chronicle...all presented in searing, brilliant prose," The Fire Next Time stands as a classic of our literature. Without this acceptance, he argues, the nation dooms itself to "sterility and decay" and to eventual destruction at the hands of the oppressed: "The Negroes of this country may never be able to rise to power, but they are very well placed indeed to precipitate chaos and ring down the curtain on the American dream." Baldwin's seething insights and directives, so disturbing to the white liberals and black moderates of his day, have become the starting point for discussions of American race relations: that debasement and oppression of one people by another is "a recipe for murder"; that "color is not a human or a personal reality; it is a political reality"; that whites can only truly liberate themselves when they liberate blacks, indeed when they "become black" symbolically and spiritually; that blacks and whites "deeply need each other here" in order for America to realize its identity as a nation. --David Laskin.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Baldwin touches upon the use of religion to control, and the belief that the white man is the marker to which the black man should aspire, and that is still very clear in the world... As black men and women are told that their natural hair should be tamed to make them more appropriate for the work place, that the vernacular of their homes and families is somehow uneducated, even as they are surrounded by people who code-switch from a redneck southern dialect or a tough talking New York slang at home, to proper grammar in the workplace."
"He discusses a hidden message telling black people to settle for mediocrity rather than striving for excellence. Baldwin believes that black people need to know their history and where they came from so that there will be “no limit to where you can go.”. "…We, with love, shall force our brothers to see themselves as they are, to cease fleeing from reality and begin to change it.""
"I wish I had read James Baldwin when I was younger."
"Very important book for all Americans to read regardless of race."
"brilliant essays from James Baldwin--a must read."
"Great read."
"Great book!"
"Just finishing it."
Best LGBT Anthologies & Collections
When Andrew and Julia have their baby, they quickly realize their daughter is very different from other children. Blackbird Fly is a masterful, intensely suspenseful novel from the Queen of Scream. Fans of Stephen King, Blake Crouch, Paula Hawkins, Kendra Elliot and Robert Dugoni will be gripped by this page-turning supernatural thriller, guaranteed to keep you reading till the next morning. Her style, story line, and characters are touched by no one.” (Amazon reviewer). “As always happens when you read Willow Rose books, you just can't stop.” (Amazon reviewer). “As an avid Willow Rose fan, I'm always excited when she has a new book.” (Amazon reviewer).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This book is their story."
"This is getting better and better.Willow Rose is being compared to Stephen King who is my all time favorite horror writer."
"A great back story to an awesome 1st book."
"I absolutely loved this book."
"I loved this book!"
"Can Anna stop Umbrella Man before he kills again?"
"I liked this second book and what really happened with Anna from the beginning."
"Willow Rose does a superb job on the second book in the Umbrella Man series."
Best Greek & Roman Literature
Homer’s great epic The Odyssey —one of Western literature’s most enduring and important works—translated by Richmond Lattimore. The most eloquent translation of Homer's epic chronicle of the Greek hero Odysseus and his arduous journey home after the Trojan War.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Peter Green states in the introduction that he is following in the footsteps of Lattimore, to preserve as much of the poem in Greek--wording, sentence structure, meter, and so on--in English, but to also make it declaimable. There is the Fagles translation, in modern free verse, is wonderful to read aloud. The Fagles Odyssey was on Selected Shorts once, and for a long time after I insisted that there was no other worthwhile contemporary translation of Homer. Lombardo's translation is pretty common in colleges because of the price and the slangy presentation. In the Greek, the Iliad has "μῆνιν ἄειδε θεὰ Πηληϊάδεω Ἀχιλῆος" Quite literally, "Rage! The first word is the theme of the poem, the way it is directed first against Agamemnon, then toward the Trojans, and then tempered for a common moment of humanity, is the internal trajectory of the whole epic. Make it into readable English, and you wind up with a host of compromises where thousands of close translations might do. Go far enough you wind up with Girardoux's "The Trojan War Will Not Take Place," worthwhile on its own, but not really a "translation." The introduction includes a plot summary of the whole Trojan War, of which the Iliad only covers a small portion. There is also a synopsis of the poem keyed to the poem in the back matter to help find your place, an enlightening glossary of names and concepts to help you through your first read, and footnotes to inform the reader of context that has since been lost."
"With many books, translations are negligible, with two obvious exceptions, one is the Bible, and surprisingly the other is The Iliad. -Translated by Robert Fagles, 1990. “Sing, O Goddess, the anger of Achilles, son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a heroes did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures for so were the counsels of Zeus fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles first fell out with one another.”. -Translated by Samuel Butler, 1888. “Rage: Sing, Goddess, Achilles’ rage, Black and murderous, that cost the Greeks. Incalculable pain pitched countless souls. Of heroes into Hades’ dark, And let their bodies rot as feasts. For dogs and birds, as Zeus’ will was done. Begin with the clash between Agamemnon—. The Greek Warlord—and godlike Achilles.”. -Translated by Stanley Lombardo, 1997. “Anger be now your song, immortal one, Akhilleus’ anger, doomed and ruinous, that caused the Akhaians loss on bitter loss. and crowded brave souls into the undergloom, leaving so many dead men—carrion. for dogs and birds; and the will of Zeus was done. Begin it when the two men first contending. broke with one another—. the Lord Marshal Agamémnon, Atreus’ son, and Prince Akhilleus.”. -Translated by Translated by Robert Fitzgerald, 1963. “Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus’ son of Achilleus and its devastation, which puts pains thousandfold upon the Achains, hurled in the multitudes to the house of Hades strong souls of heroes, but gave their bodies to be the delicate feasting of dogs, of all birds, and the will of Zeus was accomplished since that time when first there stood the division of conflict Atrecus’ son the lord of men and brilliant Achilleus.”. –Translated by Richmond Lattimore, 1951. “Sing, goddess, of Peleus’ son Achilles’ anger, ruinous, that caused the Greeks untold ordeals, consigned to Hades countless valiant souls, heroes, and left their bodies prey for dogs or feast for vultures. Zeus’s will was done from when those two first quarreled and split apart, the king, Agamemnon, and matchless Achilles.”. -Translated by Herbert Jordan, 2008. “An angry man-there is my story: the bitter rancor of Achillês, prince of the house of Peleus, which brought a thousand troubles upon the Achaian host. Many a strong soul it sent down to Hadês, and left the heroes themselves a prey to the dogs and carrion birds, while the will of God moved on to fulfillment.”. -Translated and transliterated by W.H.D. Rouse, 1950. “Achilles’ wrath, to Greece the direful spring. Of woes unnumber’d, heavenly goddess, sing! That wrath which hurl’d to Pluto’s gloomy reign. The souls of mighty chiefs untimely slain; Whose limbs unburied on the naked shore, Devouring dogs and hungry vultures tore. Peleus’ son; His wrath pernicious, who ten thousand woes. Caused to Achaia’s host, sent many a soul. Illustrious into Ades premature, And Heroes gave (so stood the will of Jove). To dogs and to all ravening fowls a prey, When fierce dispute had separated once. The noble Chief Achilles from the son. Of Atreus, Agamemnon, King of men.”. -Translated by William Cowper, London 1791. “Achilles’ baneful wrath – resound, O goddess – that impos’d. Infinite sorrow on the Greeks, and the brave souls loos’d. From beasts heroic; sent them far, to that invisible cave*. That no light comforts; and their limbs to dogs and vultures gave: To all which Jove’s will give effect; from whom the first strife begun. Betwixt Atrides, king of men, and Thetis’ godlike son*”. -Translated by George Chapman, 1616. “The Rage of Achilles—sing it now, goddess, sing through me. the deadly rage that caused the Achaeans such grief. and hurled down to Hades the souls of so many fighters, leaving their naked flesh to be eaten by dogs. and carrion birds, as the will of Zeus was accomplished. Begin at the time when bitter words first divided. that king of men, Agamemnon, and godlike Achilles.”. -Translated by Stephen Mitchell. “Sing now, goddess, the wrath of Achilles the scion of Peleus, ruinous rage which brought the Achaians uncounted afflictions; many of the powerful souls it sent to the dwelling of Hades, those of the heroes, and spoil for the dogs it made it their bodies, plunder for the birds, and the purpose of Zeus was accomplished__”. -Translated by Rodney Merrill. “Sing, goddess, the anger of Achilles, Peleus’ son, the accused anger which brought the Achaeans countless. agonies and hurled many mighty shades of heroes into Hades, causing them to become the prey of dogs. and all kinds of birds; and the plan of Zeus was fulfilled.”. -Translated by Anthony Verity. Antony does not attempt to be poetic. “Of Peleus’ son, Achilles, sing, O Muse, The vengeance, deep and deadly; whence to Greece. Unnumbered ills arose; which many a soul. Of mighty warriors to the viewless shades. Ultimately sent; they on the battle plain. Unburied lay, to rav’ning dogs, And carrion birds; but had Jove decreed,”. -Translated by Edward Smith-Stanly 1862. “Sing, Goddess of the rage of Achilles, son of Peleus-. that murderous anger witch condemned Achaeans. to countless agonies and threw many warrior souls. deep into Hades, leaving their dead bodies. carrion food for dogs and birds-. all in the fulfillment of the will of Zeus”. - Translated by Professor Ian Johnston, British Columbia 2006. “The rage, sing O goddess, of Achilles, son of Peleus, The destructive anger that brought ten-thousand pains to the. Achaeans and sent many brave souls of fighting men to the house. of Hades and made their bodies a feast for dogs. and all kinds of birds. For such was the will of Zeus.”. - Translated by Barry B. Powell. “Wrath, goddess, sing of Achilles Pēleus’s son’s calamitous wrath, which hit the Achaians countless ills many the valiant souls it saw off down to Hādēs, souls of heroes, their selves left as carrion for dogs and all birds of prey, and the plan of Zeus was fulfilled from the first moment those two men parted in fury, Atreus’s son, king of men, and the godlike Achilles.”. -Translated by Peter Green. “Sing, goddess, the wrath of Achilles Peleus' son, the ruinous wrath that brought on the Achaians woes innumerable, and hurled down into Hades many strong souls of heroes, and gave their bodies to be a prey to dogs and all winged fowls; and so the counsel of Zeus wrought out its accomplishment from the day when first strife parted Atreides king of men and noble Achilles.”. - Translated by Andrew Lang, M.A., Walter Leaf, Litt.D., And Ernest Myers, M.A. --------. Wrath–sing, goddess, of the ruinous wrath of Peleus’ son Achilles, that inflicted woes without number upon the Achaeans, hurled fourth to Hades many strong souls of warriors. and rendered their bodies prey for the dogs, for all birds, and the will of Zeus was accomplished; sing from when they to first stood in conflict-. Ateus’ son, lord of men, and godlike Achilles. We have the wide conflict between the Trojans and Achaeans over a matter of pride; the gods get to take sides and many times direct spears and shields. That of Achilles, son of Peleus and the greatest individual warrior and that of Agamemnon, lord of men, whose power comes form position."
Best Biographies, Diaries & True Accounts in Italian
Espressione di una nuova cultura e di una diversa attenzione per l'uomo, il suo libro del Cortegiano è un manuale della vita di corte.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Excellent version of this Italian classic that codified the essential qualities of the perfect Renaissance courtier."
Best Essays
David Sedaris's beloved holiday collection is new again with six more pieces, including a never before published story. Worth the price of the book alone is the hilarious "SantaLand Diaries," Sedaris's chronicle of his time working as an elf at Macy's, covering everything from the preliminary group lectures ("You are not a dancer. --Ali Davis For those dreading the holiday season, bestseller Sedaris (When You Are Engulfed in Flames) makes life a little easier with this re-release of his uproarious essay collection, newly expanded from the original 1997 edition. This updated version includes "The Monster Mash," poached from When You Are Engulfed, in which Sedaris spends Halloween at the morgue; and "The Cow and the Turkey," a new story featuring the Secret Santa woes of barnyard animals.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"As a humorist, you, the reader, must decide if his style appeals to you. I know some people who would be horrified by this book. So go ahead and get this book if you like, but don't expect me to say "I laughed out loud through the whole thing" or "I laughed so hard the tears were falling down my face" because, for me, that wasn't the case."
"What's Christmas without David Sedaris?"
"The first story is the money story where Sedaris talks about his time working as an elf in Macy's and the totally crazy people who come in to see Santa."
"Fun short stories, perfect for a quick read."
"Here is a fat Christmas stocking stuffed with off-plumb sugar plums, filled to overflowing with mordant and whack-a-doodle observation."
"Initially I heard this as an audiobook on mult CD’s read by David Sedaris which I would also recommend!"
"you have to like his humor-."
"Okay, so there's no way anyone can say this author doesn't possess that gusty type of humor. But I stopped cold with Season's Greetings... thank God it wasn't as long as SantaLand... which made it difficult to laugh getting through the Christmas Whore."