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Home: A Memoir of My Early Years

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Biographies and Memoirs
by: Julie Andrews

April 01, 2008
By now, most everyone who wishes to read this book knows many of the details. But to me, there are two extraordinary things that have become obvious about Dame Julie. First, she writes this book much like she speaks. It's as if she were reading it to me in her own special style. Refined, and with a well developed grasp of the English language. And yet, she has had virtually little, if any, formal education. Her mother put a halt to her tutoring by the age of 14, and she may have received an education that is barely the equivalent of junior high school! How did she manage that? Secondly, after reading about the performances for The Boy Friend, My Fair Lady, Cinderella, and Camelot, it is clear she had a work ethic that approached Herculean ... Read More:

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Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Biographies and Memoirs
by: Valerie Bertinelli

November 18, 2008
Valerie Bertinelli has always seemed the girl next door. She was married to rocker Eddie Van Halen, star of One Day at a Time, beautiful, funny. When we hear about the things she went through, it's like our best friend coming into our kitchen and sharing her troubles.

Bobby Brown, another compelling biography!!!
Imagine being in one of the most successful boy bands of all time, New Edition; Then leave the group to become one of the biggest pop stars in the world; Date some of the most world renown celebrities, such as Janet Jackson and Madonna.....Bobby Brown: The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nothing But...

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Her Last Death: A Memoir

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Biographies and Memoirs
by: Susanna Sonnenberg

October 07, 2008
I've thought about this book for days since I finished it. It's not happy or pleasant. It's disturbing, sort of like watching a car accident about to happen; you can't turn your head and look away.

Sonnenberg's mother was divorced, rich New York socialite who was obviously manic. She lied pathologically, was addicted to Demerol, snorted mountains of cocaine, and was obsessed with sex. She introduced Susanna to cocaine at 12, and gave her a warped understanding of sex.

The book has lots and lots of sex in it, for which some Amazon reviewers have criticized it. But there's nothing erotic about it, and I don't think she intended it to be sensationalist. Because her mother was such a liar, Susanna becomes brutally honest; honest to a fault, ... Read More:

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Samuel Adams: A Life

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Biographies and Memoirs
by: Ira Stoll

November 04, 2008
This book is a succinct and impressive study of Samuel Adams driven by a wonderful compilation of excerpts from historical documents. The story is told mainly by Mr. Stoll's knitting together of these. The attention to the religious and political arguments and motivations is interesting and kept in focus by the author. However, Mr. Stoll does little to develop the narrative in the way Mr. McCullough does but that doesn't make this book any less of a contribution to the record. This will certainly affect its commercial appeal.

There seems to be another purpose this book serves which may be to record Harvard's influence on the American Revolution.

There is an almost distracting amount of attention paid to mentioning when a person graduated from ... Read More:

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Led By Faith: Rising from the Ashes of the Rwandan Genocide

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Biographies and Memoirs
by: Immaculee Ilibagiza, Steve Erwin

September 16, 2008
This was an excellent read. I had already read her first book "Left to Tell." Immaculee is an inspiration to all who read her books. If you have the chance to hear her speak anywhere that is also an awesome experience. What a Love for the Lord she has, and the miracles that He gives us all daily if we but ask in prayer. Immaculee is proof of that in this book "Lead by Faith" and her other book too.

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Lincoln President-Elect: Abraham Lincoln and the Great Secession Winter 1860-1861

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Biographies and Memoirs
by: Harold Holzer

October 21, 2008
Holzer's work is thoroughly researched, thoughtfully structured and highly readable. Both lay and academic
audiences will find this volume to be a true delight. Many studies of Lincoln will appear during the bicentennial year of his birth. This volume sets the bar at level that is likely not to be exceeded. It is an outstanding piece
that all Lincoln scholars will cherish.

D. Duane Cummins

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Three Weeks with My Brother

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Biographies and Memoirs
by: Nicholas Sparks, Micah Sparks

January 03, 2006
I gave the book as a gift to the girlfriend of my son. She was so delighted and happy because she has been trying to find that book for a long time. I was glad that I made her happy. Thanks to Amazon! You can find things at Amazon.com that you dont find anywhere else.

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The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Biographies and Memoirs
by: Candice Millard

October 10, 2006
This is a tremendous book, retelling a significant voyage of discovery in the early 20th century involving the former president; his son Kermit and Brazil's foremost explorer Candido Rondon.

Following his resounding defeat in the election of 1912, when he ran as a third party candidate, and badly splintered the Republican Party, Roosevelt decided, as was his habit, to recuperate by throwing himself into a vigorous physical challenge.

Initially intended as a combination speaking tour/excursion, Theodore Roosevelt's impulsive decision to expand the trip to include exploring the uncharted River of Doubt, turned the journey into a life threatening experience. First time author Candice Millard does a great job of building suspense and defining the characters.

Brazil's ... Read More:

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The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Biographies and Memoirs
by: Jean-Dominique Bauby

June 23, 1998
At this point, mostly everyone knows the story of what happened to Jean-Dominique Bauby as well as the story of his life, so it's pointless to rehash what's already common knowledge, but one thing that needs to be said (or reiterated) is that it's absolutely amazing that the late Bauby dictated this book to his therapist by blinking one letter at a time.

"The Diving Bell and The Butterfly" is a pretty quick read, but what's contained within is, at the risk of sounding cliche, deeply moving and powerful. To think that someone was patient enough (in this day and age of minus zero patience and even shorter attention spans) to take the time to transcribe his thoughts one letter at a time defies description.

As always, some details were changed in the adaptation from the book to the movie, ... Read More:

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Inside Delta Force

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Biographies and Memoirs
by: Eric L. Haney

May 01, 2002
Shame on you Haney for blaming the Navy for that Desert 1 fiasco. There should have been Army mechanics servicing those choppers, not Navy guys who had never seen a sand filter before, after all not much sand when flying over water.For the casual reader, those were new helicopters with just enough hours on them to be broken in and be proven combat worthy.They were Army birds serviced by Navy mechanics aboard the carriers.They were getting "bad gas millage" compared to comparable Navy Helios.Wondering why? Navy mechanics searched for a reason for what was perceived to be a problem.The solution was to remove what seemed to be an unnecessary component,which unfortunately were sand filters.The helicopters, not all of them developed mechanical problems over the desert.At Desert 1 Army & Marine units mingled with no ... Read More: