V-Bombs and Weathermaps: Reminiscences of World War II

Customer Reviews:

A unique history, by a unique man.......2004-10-29

I learned about this book during my undergraduate work at SUNY Potsdam, NY, where Brock, the author was a music professor. He'd also speak in various history classes about his experiences in the Canadian military, which this memoir focuses on.

A truly multi-talented man, he was an expert meteorologist during the period this book focuses on. He also was an observer of the development of plastic surgery, during his recovery from bomb injuries described here. Later, he worked as a music professor at the Crane School of Music, part of SUNY Potsdam, and one of the largest schools for music teachers. He conducted the orchestra at the Lake Placid Olympics, also described in this book.

If you've never had the chance to meet Brock, get to know him a little here.

Customer Reviews:

Parents' Persistence Pays Off.......2006-09-07

Stricken by a heart attack at the age of 37, Gary Abrahamson, Jr. suffered a severe brain injury due to oxygen deprivation. When his care became too overwhelming for his wife, his parents, Patt and Gary Abrahamson, Sr., stepped in. Since 1989 they have provided him with 24-hour loving and patient care.

This book is the story of Patt and Gary's extensive search for medical and financial help for their son. Patt doggedly explored all avenues available, and even found some unknown to the community at large. She traveled the country interviewing doctors, social workers, hospitals, trauma centers, politicians - any and every entity that could possibly be of help. Her travels through the bureaucratic labyrinth are astounding.

The Abrahamson's persistence and tenacity were finally justified with the awarding of a settlement by the doctors involved in Gary's initial heart attack treatment. They are now in their 70's and are still providing 24-hour care for Gary, but are secure in the knowledge that when they are no longer able to care for him, he will be well provided for.

This is a book that is well worth reading, whether or not your family is somehow involved in a similar situation. It's a story of faith and love, and devotion to one's family. I highly recommend it.

Outdated and biased.......2006-03-16

Although the book gives the unimaginable tough account of the unbearable journey of caring for a person with the type of brain injury Gary Jr. underwent, I found the author to be completely biased especially with respect to her obvious hatred towards her ex-daughter in law. Knowing the difficulty of caring for her son, one would expect complete understanding and forgiveness about the impossibility of a single mother of two to care for the victim. Trying to juggle finances, single motherhood, and 24 hour care is an impossible task and I particularly found very offensive the author's suggestion to her daughter in law to sell her possessions to pay for therapy. It is no body's business to be telling people what they should do or not, specially when they do not have to bear any consequences coming from implementing their suggestions. Afterwards, the parents ended up in the situation in which the wife was previously. Their clear resentment is obviously because they were forced to take the ultimate responsibility for Gary Jr. while it would probably be more comfortable for them to seat and criticize the wife while they did not have any responsibility (i.e. financial) towards their son. Although their caring for their son is very noble, I guess they did not really have a choice other than take over the responsibility. That is what is expected from parents, you can not really divorce your blood family.

The book also is misleading and outdated in the terminology used throughout. Gary Jr. had an Anoxic Brain Injury as a result of his cardiac arrest - and NOT a traumatic brain injury as she makes reference throughout the entire book. The prognosis and the type of injury are very distinct, and as far as factual information, there's more available throughout the Internet than in this book.

I speak based on my own experience of caring for a husband who had exactly the same brain injury - except that my own case is worsened by the fact that his level of care is such that requires 24 hr nursing care. We have a baby and not only dealing with the whole situation is very difficult, but listening to people who have the best intentions but do NOT really bear any responsibility nor are impacted by their good advise is most unwelcome. It is nobody's place to pass judgment - like this book does in each single page.

I can not think of any reason whatsoever to read this book. Do not waste your time and money.

A Labor of Love.......2003-06-12

Two years ago in 2001, my husband, Patrick and I met Patt & Gary Abrahamson and their son, Gary Jr. outside of our condominium in Ft. Myers, Fl. After introducing ourselves, we recognized that Gary Jr. was severely handicapped and needed the full assistance from both of his parents. At the time we didn't ask any questions but learned from other people in our building that he was brain-injured and needed 24-hour care. After we became more acquainted with them we realized what total care really meant. They are the most dedicated and unselfish parents we have ever known and that takes in a lot of territory. It was only after we had the opportunity to read this book (which we couldn't put down) did we realize the magnitude of sacrifice that this family has been through. They are truly an inspiration to all of us. Their whole life revolves around Gary Jr. each and every day from the time they awaken until the time they go to sleep. Gary Jr. is their life. They have accepted God's will and turned their family tragedy into a "Parents Labor of Love". This book is a must-read for all parents and children alike and especially for those of us who complain about the trivial things of life. It is our honor and extreme pleasure to call these people our friends.
Rita & Patrick Ryan

Well told; Written for the non-medical, "regular" people.......2003-06-10

I began to read this book with the idea of being able to learn to help myself (mildly brain injured due to a tumor), and, most especially, to be able to help a close friend who, is in NeuroICU (over 8 weeks as of this writing) from a TBI caused by an assault (still under investigation which is my reason for remaining anonymous). From my own experience I know that he will never be the same person he was. At this time, I don't know what he has been "left with" in terms of function - physical, emotional, or mental. I learned a lot from Mrs. Abrahamson's book, from her experiences as she has negotiated this mine field of so called services and experts..... there is a tremendous amount of misunderstanding and, yes, prejudice against the brain injured. People don't understand that it can't get "all better" with an operation or a medication. Perhaps it's too frightening to imagine and they don't WANT to understand. This is something that can happen to ANY of us. The fact that the injury is "invisible" leaves us open to the misunderstandings and cruelty - we're thought of as "crazy" or "stupid" etc.. A person with a VISIBLE disablity often has more chance of being understood and assisted - at least medically. There were many times, as I read this, that I recognized parts of "the new me" in Mrs. Abrahamson's writings - most especially the memories and loss of memories. I've had to relearn events (I have some missing years), I've learned about deaths in my family - and grieved well after the fact because the death was new to me - my body may have attended funerals but my mind, my brain did not.

I can see, from my own life, as well as what is happening to my friend and his family, the terrible strain on family members, family dynamics, the finances (I haven't found insurance companies to be all that helpful in covering the specialized neuro-psychological help and cognitive training that is desperately needed. It's a very hard thing for a relationship to survive, as evidenced by the breakup and breakdown of the Abrahmson family. I know of several families that have broken up over this type of injury (my experience mostly is with brain tumor injury but, in a lot of ways, the results and the attitudes are the same). My heart goes out to ALL of them -the injured as well as their families.

Please forgive my writing - I'm trying to be as clear and organized as I can. You see, I too have short-term memory issues (though mine are fairly mild all things considered) and also problems with executive functions. Staying focused and on task, and paying attention requires tremendous effort these days (and my insurance will not allow me to seek the help I need to overcome/learn to live with these issues). I have learned that the best way for me to communicate is in writing because I can come back to it, edit, re-edit and I have much difficulty with "finding" words.

Bless all of us - the brain injured, the families and please let's pray for more understanding and help. ellen

Informative and Inspiring.......2000-07-31

Brain Injury - A Family Tragedy is a must read. It gives good insight as to how devastating a brain injury is and its affect on relationships within the family.It shows the struggle that families go through trying to deal with our current health care system. And it shows how strong the parent/child bond really is- even when we are adults. I have been a small part of Gary's health care team for the past four winters in Florida, his parents are the big part and we share his good days, his laughs, his hard times and health concerns. This book is a very accurate portrayal of what brain injury can do - it also depicts an accurate account of the love Gary receives everyday. I have become part of their extended family because Gary Sr. and Patt are such warm and caring people and even though we do have a tough day, on occasion, I truly enjoy my time with Gary - his sense of humor still seeps through his dark world and he makes me laugh everyday.

Customer Reviews:

A Winner for Beginners.......2007-09-21

As someone who's followed a low-fat diet for almost 10 years, I'm always looking for new ideas. This book isn't it. However, I remember the struggles we went through when we were just starting out with low-fat eating, and I wish I'd had this book then. I especially liked the fact that it encouraged readers to work toward better eating habits slowly. The concept of adding a couple new habits each week for six weeks looks like a real winner to me. That said, I did get a couple good tips from the book, and I've just loaned my copy to a friend who's pre-diabetic. For someone who'd like to eat better and make the process as painless as possible, this is a good place to start.

American Heart Association 6 weeks to get out the fat:.......2007-09-07

Very good book to get one going on the subject of reducing fats in your daily eating habits. Highly recommend this book.

Book Description

(1)Who put the Minute in Minute Rice? (2)What, exactly, is Spam? (3)And why do Pringles come in a tennis ball can?

Discover the answers to all these questions and more in Better Than Homemade, a freewheeling illustrated history of the packaged foods industry. From Green Giant and Hamburger Helper to Jiffy Pop and Jell-O, syndicated columnist Carolyn Wyman reveals the fascinating origins of your favorite "food" products -- along with never-before published advertisements, innovative packaging (cheese in a can!?), and hilarious "unauthorized uses."
You'll learn that Birds Eye frozen foods were invented by an Arctic adventurer; Kool-Aid got its start from an 11-year-old entrepreneuer; and Twinkies were once used to capture a gang of escaped baboons. Perfect for fans of the Food Network's Unwrapped, this guide is the ultimate paean to processed pleasures!

(1) Afghan prince Attaullah Durrani, who brought the idea to General Foods.
(2) According to Spam's website, "Pork shoulder and ham, mostly." Mostly?!
(3) To answer consumer complaints that potato chips were greasy and broke too easily.

Customer Reviews:

Amazingly Entertaining - and Educational Too!.......2007-02-27

I like to collect pop culture "curio" books, and this is one of my favorites. It's lightly humorous while being very interesting, and I would recommend it to anyone casually interested in food, trivia, and pop culture. It's also great for people who take forever to poke through the asiles of the supermarket, reading all of the labels and product packaging out of interest more than anything else. Highly recommended, and also a great gift idea for children to discuss with parents or grandparents who "lived through it."

Light, thought-provoking read.......2006-05-21

This is such a fun read! It's a fresh change of pace from all the dieting, natural and healthy food cookbooks that crowd the shelves of the cookbook section. This is probably one of the best retro food books out there. Wyman aims to neither worships nor ridicule these `miracle foods' of postwar years but instead showcases these foods and their stories with lighthearted fun. She makes the reader both question their food choices (Jell-o is made out of what?!) as well as quell the guilt of so many who eat and enjoy these processed foods. For example, Velveeta was made to be a healthy alternative to milk and Cheese Wiz a way to free up time spent making cheese sauce. The histories behind the foods are a lot of fun to read, especially for anyone liking trivia.

While this book is a lighthearted, fun read, it does make you think more about food, the reasons behind buying and eating, and the social implications of how we eat. Food can signal a political leaning (potato flakes), an income (Hamburger Helper), a destruction of a way of life (the TV dinner and families eating around the dinner table) even teenage rebelliousness (Slim Jim). I like that Wyman focused so much on the way advertising affected the consumer. The more you know about the reasons why you eat the way you do leads to greater purchasing power or at least a heightened awareness of the food you buy. At any rate, this is a really fun book and would make a great gift to any food lover.

Fun food histories.......2005-09-05

Fans of the Food TV series "Unwrapped" will feel at home with this book. As does the TV series, this book tells the story of a parade of food products. Unlike the TV show, this book focuses exclusively on specific products invented by American food industry -- inventions such as SPAM, Kraft Mac & Cheese, Hawaiian Punch and Kellogg's Pop-Tarts.

In general, I'm not a big fan of pre-packaged food. Having said that, I've probably eaten just about everything Ms. Wyman chronicles at least once. And so it was fun learning the origins of foods like Tater Tots (designed to use the leftover potatoes from making Ore-Ida French Fries) and Redd-Wip whipped cream (which had to overcome the 1940s association of aerosol spray cans and insecticide).

The author seems vacillates between a genuine admiration and a healthy (pun intended) disdain for her subject. On the one hand, she says of Kraft's mac-and-cheese: "It's cheap, keeps nearly a year without refrigeration, and is quick and easy to make while still demanding enough to make you feel like you're cooking." On the other hand, she opens her chapter about Wonder Bread this way: "Bread is called the staff of life. What does it say about America that its best-selling bread is as soft as a pillow, as absorbent as a sponge, and as gaily dressed as a clown?"

The book is attractively laid out and filled with graphics including some of the original packaging and ads for the foods (see, for example, a young Frank Gifford reaching for a glass of Minute Maid Orange Juice from concentrate).

So if you can get past the schizophrenic editorial voice, it's a fun romp through the good, the bad, and the ugly of the American food industry.

Both old and young will enjoy this!.......2005-06-13

I'm in my 20's, a child of baby boomer parents. This book is both hysterical and comforting as I was raised on the vast majority of these "foods of the furture." If you remember eating Mom's special blue box Mac and cheese with cut up hot dogs, then this book is a must have. Nearly every deliciously disgusting processed food product ever made is chronicled in this colorful little book. My mother still makes a green bean cassarole every Thanksgiving that has more Campbell's soup and Velveeta in it than actual vegetables. She still owns and uses an original rectangular Tupperware Velveeta container introduced when Kraft merged with Tupperware. It must be 20+ years old. This book has plenty of product history, marketing successes (Kool-aid) and failures (Seafood Helper), and "fun fact" style notes in the margins (Dinty Moore stew was invented simply as something to fill $25 grand worth of war-surplus aluminium cans that were lying around in storage). I had a great time reading this, horrifying my "Whole Foods"-dedicated wife with stories and pictures of what I used to eat. Enjoy.

Cheesy as Velveeta.......2005-04-30

Writer Carolyn Wyman has previously written books about the history of Spam and Jell-O. She broadens her scope here by briefly tracing the stories of a multitude of convenience food products, from Hamburger Helper to Slim Jims to Tang. Wyman devotes about 3 pages to each food; these synopses typically include information about the invention of the product, how it's been marketed over the years, as well as other interesting tidbits. Some of these descriptions are quite interesting, such as the story behind the development of Swanson TV dinners. In addition, a few recipes are also scattered throughout the book, such as Queso Dip made with Velveeta -- the kinds of recipes usually featured on the back of the box.

Unfortunately, the tone of the book is inconsistent, veering from a tongue-in-cheek examination of cheesy food products to a seemingly sincere homage to American ingenuity. Perhaps as a result, the humor is very uneven; the author ends up trying far too hard to be funny and falls flat. I think part of the problem is that different audiences view these foods through their own perspectives, and Wyman seems to be trying to appeal to everyone. Most of these products were popularized in the 1950s, so Baby Boomers will probably have a sentimental view of products such as Wonder Bread and Tater Tots; whereas younger persons are likely to find these products a bit quaint or laughable.

The book is easy to digest for sure. However, like a twinkie, it's insubstantial and soon forgotten. "Better Than Homemade" goes down easily because of its format, but you shouldn't expect much.

Average customer rating:
Alwyn Crawshaw's Watercolour Painting Course
Alwyn Crawshaw
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Watercolor | Painting | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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You Can Paint Watercolors

Outdoors in Watercolour (Collins Learn to Paint)

Landscapes (Collins Learn to Paint)

Alwyn Crawshaw Paints on Holiday

The Half-Hour Painter: Paint a Successful Landscape in 30 Minutes

ASIN: 0007164033

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ALWYN CRAWSHAW'S WATERCOLOUR PAINTING COURSE A Step-by-step Guide to Success
Alwyn Crawshaw
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O8W74K

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Watercolour Painting Course
Alwyn Crawshaw
Manufacturer: HarperCollins Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O8Q9QW

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Reversible Quilts, and More Reversible Quilts

Indispensabile

More Reversible Quilts: 11 New Projects
Sharon Pederson
Manufacturer: Martingale and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Quilts & Quilting | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Reversible Quilts: Two at a Time

Block by Block: New Techniques for Machine Quilting and Assembly

Divide & Conquer: Quilt It Your Way

Cotton Theory Quilting: Quilt First--then Assemble (Cotton Theory Series)

Sensational Sashiko: Japanese Applique And Quilting by Machine (That Patchwork Place)

ASIN: 1564775569

Book Description

Sharon Pederson builds on the success of her first book, Reversible Quilts, with more ideas that are sure to double your quilting fun. Create an exciting design on the front and a completely different design on the back of quilts with all-new patterns and expanded techniques.

· Make twice the quilt in half the time with 10 projects that are quilted at the same time they are pieced

· Discover new reversible designs that feature fusible appliqué, hexagon shapes, and even a table runner that can be finished in six hours

· Join blocks with simple sashing strips—perfect for quilters short on time or space

Customer Reviews:

Reversible Quilts, and More Reversible Quilts.......2007-09-29

These books are great. I had seen the author on one program of Simply Quilts on HGTV, and I had attended a class about these quilts. Icouldn't resist when I saw them. I have already used some of the patterns.

Thanks so much

Indispensabile.......2005-10-25

Indispensabile per chi vuole approfondire questa tecnica, con modelli di quilts veramente straordinari. Grazie all'autrice.

Average customer rating:
The Illustrated Gertrude Jekyll: Colour Schemes for the Flower Garden
Gertrude Jekyll
Manufacturer: Little Brown & Co (T)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Landscape | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
Garden Design | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Landscape | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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The Gardener's Essential Gertrude Jekyll (Godine Country Classic)

Gertrude Jekyll's Colour Schemes for Flower Garden

ASIN: 0316306991

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The Illustrated Gertrude Jekyll: Colour Schemes For The Flower Garden
Gertrude JEKYLL
Manufacturer: Little Brown & Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OQGHA2

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Colour Schemes for the Flower Garden
Jekyll Gertrude
Manufacturer: The Country life Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NVBJJM

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Colour Schemes for the Flower Garden
Jekyll Gertrude
Manufacturer: The Country life Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NYBA1G

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The Illustrated Gertrude Jekyll. Colour Schemes for the Flower Garden.

Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000I375MK

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an excellent source of information

It really is the facts about AS

Ankylosing Spondylitis: The Facts (Facts Series)
Muhammad Asim Khan
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Medicine | Subjects | Books
Rheumatology | Internal Medicine | Medicine | Subjects | Books
General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
Rheumatology | Internal Medicine | Medicine | Medical | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
Orthopedics | Surgery | Medicine | Medical | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
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21st Century Complete Medical Guide to Ankylosing Spondylitis, Authoritative CDC, NIH, and FDA Documents, Clinical References, and Practical Information for Patients and Physicians (CD-ROM)

The IBS Low-Starch Diet

Arthritis Without Pain: The Miracle of TNF Blockers

Living Well with Autoimmune Disease: What Your Doctor Doesn't Tell You...That You Need to Know

The Inflammation Syndrome: The Complete Nutritional Program to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, Arthritis, Diabetes, Allergies, and Asthma

Accessories:

Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers

ASIN: 0192632825

Book Description

Ankylosing spondilitis is a chronic form of arthritis known to affect around 1 in 200 people (over 1 million sufferers in the USA alone). No cure has yet been found for the disease, however, early diagnosis and proper medical management can be important in reducing the risk of disability and deformity. Ankylosing spondilitis: the facts is the first mass market book to be published on this important disease. It provides clear and accessible information on treatment, diagnosis, genetic counselling, and daily life with this illness. Professor Khan is one of the leading experts in the world on AS, while also suffering from it. This combination of scientific knowledge and personal experience of a debilitating disorder results in a unique book which will prove invaluable for sufferers wishing to know more about their condition, and those that share their lives.

Customer Reviews:

an excellent source of information.......2006-08-08

I found this book to be a huge amount of knowledge on the subject of AS. I found information that led me to new understandings of the puzzling dissorder and I learned many things that I did not know.

It really is the facts about AS.......2005-08-27

If you're looking for an AS book with the facts then this is the one.
You will find the explanations clear.
Hopefully if you are an AS sufferer this will give you some relief. It explains that it might not be as bad for you as you first thought. It details exercises that will make real difference for most sufferers.
You should get this book if you suffer from AS or want to know more about it.

Ankylosing Spondylitis (Fast Facts Series)

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Ankylosing Spondylitis (Fast Facts Series)
Maxime Dougados , and Desiree, M.D. van der Heijde
Manufacturer: Health Press (UK)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Diseases | Medicine | Subjects | Books

General | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Family & General Practice | Specialties | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Rheumatology | Internal Medicine | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Musculoskeletal Diseases | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1903734444

Book Description

Before he vanished in the fog of San Francisco, Weldon Kees (1914–55) was a poet, storyteller, critic, painter, musician, and filmmaker. What remains is a body of work and a large collection of letters that shed light on Kees’s complex personality. Robert E. Knoll traces the odyssey of a Nebraska boy who made his way in a fiercely competitive national scene, befriending the movers and shakers of the art worlds on both coasts. Kees’s letters—satirical, witty, poetic, gossipy, intensely individual—provide the feel of lives being lived, of a career going forth, and finally, of the darkness that engulfed him when, in Knoll's phrase, he was "ten minutes from triumph."

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Kees Continues To Attract Scholars

Weldon Kees and the Arts at Midcentury

Manufacturer: University of Nebraska Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Book Description

Born in 1914 in Beatrice, Nebraska, and presumed dead in 1955 (when he apparently leapt from the Golden Gate Bridge), Weldon Kees has become one of the better-known “unknown” American poets of the twentieth century, his fiction and poetry largely kept alive by other poets. But Kees was also that rare artist who excelled in many genres and media: a skillful painter, filmmaker, jazz musician, and composer. He was a gifted critic as well, and his criticism bears the marks of his own deep and broad engagement with the arts.

Weldon Kees and the Arts at Midcentury is the first book to reflect the full range and reach of Kees’s artistic activities. Bringing together writers from various disciplines—art historians, poets, literary critics, curators, and cultural scholars, including Dore Ashton, James Reidel, Dana Gioia, and Stephen C. Foster—this volume offers a wide variety of perspectives through which to evaluate the meaning and significance of Kees’s achievement. Although the essays themselves partake of the diversity of Kees’s impact on the culture, all agree on one fundamental point: any history of postwar American culture that neglects Kees’s multifaceted contribution is ultimately incomplete.

Customer Reviews:

Kees Continues To Attract Scholars.......2005-01-03

This is a handsome volume timed to coincide with the new Kees biography "VANISHED ACT." The editor, Daniel A. Siedell, has contacted seven scholars (and himself) and gotten them to write what amount to quite insightful essays. The book could have been less skimpy and might have trawled its net a little wider, how many times do we have to hear from Gioia and Reidel again, for example? However what each of them writes is good, although reading Reidel's article about the place of film in Kees' life is a bit of deja vu since everything he says in it (or almost) is said better in the biography. Gioia contributes a nice straightforward account of the mysteries and revelations of Weldon Kees' posthumous reputation. A lovely touch to the book was its display (in black and white alas) of many of Kees' paintings and drawings, which go far towards confirming the idea that some people have that he is a painter more interesting than many in his New York group, the Irascibles. B H Friedman cites Kees as an example of a "polyartist," one who is good at more than one thing (and the things have to be from different disciplines, not just someone who can writer both poetry and fiction). All in all, it's a creditable survey of Kees' work in several fields, and places at least his artwork in context of other contemporary practitioners. More could have been done to help explain the ways in which his poetry differs from that of, say, Elizabeth Bishop or Robert Lowell, two poets to whom Kees kind of lost the race for fame. But in a way, moving to San Francisco rather sealed his fate, didn't it? All of a sudden he was out in the sticks, gone provincial, and it seems to a certain extent he had sort of left poetry behind to become more of an all-around showman in films and theater. Who knows what would have happened next had he not mysteriously vanished one night, apparently a suicide in 1955, jumping from our beautiful and melancholy Golden Gate Bridge?

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Weldon Kees and the Arts at Midcentury
Daniel A. (editor) Siedell
Manufacturer: Publisher Unknown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000VL8VL8

Customer Reviews:

Some gems of Irish short fiction.......2004-07-02

That realism has a natural humor which needs no embellishment or exaggeration seems to be the guiding principle of the fiction of Frank O'Connor, whose nearly seventy short stories of the lower and middle class in Ireland, many of which were originally published in the New Yorker at a time when the magazine was the authority for the best new short fiction, are gathered in this collection published by Vintage. His settings are localized to villages and towns; his stories, unlike the plays of Sean O'Casey, give little indication of the Irish political situation of the twentieth century, rarely even mentioning the World Wars, and instead focus primarily on religion, marriage, and childhood.

O'Connor's portrayals of the church and the clergy, ranging from the slyly satirical to the somberly sympathetic, illuminate the influence of Catholicism on the Irish mentality and the often strained relationships between priests and their parishioners. In "News for the Church," a teenage girl goes to confession for carnal intercourse with an older man, but the priest cynically guesses she is merely brandishing a badge of honor to prove her sexual maturity to her married older sister. O'Connor sees the unrewarding side to being a moral compass, but he never suggests that a priest's work is all in vain.

Many of the stories are about the confusion of youth and are narrated by a child with the voice of an adult. "The Man of the House," for example, struck me as a quasi-parable of the Fall, an adult-oriented parody of a morality tale that is told to children: A boy (the narrator) is entrusted by his sick mother to procure for her a bottle of cough syrup, but a bewitching girl he meets at the drug store tricks him into sharing the temptingly sweet medicine with her, leaving him to face the consequences of his mischief. These stories tend to culminate in poignant moments that, while not exactly equaling the Joycean epiphanies of "Dubliners," resonate with aching truthfulness.

One of the most pointed stories explores a curious contrast between the Irish and the English: In "The Sentry," an Irish priest with a Catholic parish in England during World War II discovers an English soldier stealing onions from his garden and challenges the man to a fistfight. When the priest later learns that the soldier--a sentry--could be shot for deserting his post, he tells this to an Irish nun, who replies, "Isn't that the English all out? The rich can do what they like, but a poor man can be shot for stealing a few onions!" Of course, the point is that the soldier would be shot for deserting his post, not for stealing onions; but the subtext of the nun's statement is that the Irish tend to see the bigger picture.

O'Connor is a natural dramatist with an uncommon ear for sincere, fluidly colloquial dialogue; he never overdoes a situation because he trusts the inherent strength and vitality of his characters to draw our interest. Here we have a collection of people who delineate the culture of their nation, always remaining fiercely individualistic, speaking the same language as the English but refusing to identify with them.

A Great Collection of Short Stories.......2004-05-08

In an interview published in THE PARIS REVIEW, Frank O?Connor stated that he wanted to be either an artist or a writer and chose writing because a pad of paper and pencils were less expensive than art supplies. O?Connor has an artist?s touch when he writes and this is evidenced in his many short stories, many of which can be found in this volume.

Most of the stories in this collection take place in Ireland in the years after the Southern Republic of Ireland became an independent nation. Some of the stories such as ?Guests of the Nation? which may be O?Connor?s best known story and ?The Martyr? have this struggle as a backdrop. Most of the stories are about ordinary people facing ordinary situations. The stories tell of people young and old, rich and poor, in a variety of situations, some enviable, others not. We find priests, some holy, others not, but all human. Parents and children face daily life. Some of the stories have tongue in cheek humor (?My Oedipus Complex?) whereas others such as ?An Act of Charity? deal with tragedy. In each of the stories, there is a dignity to the characters. The characters can be familiar, but are never clich?. While I admit to being biased in my praise of O?Connor?s works, since I love my Irish heritage, especially the great Irish writers, I believe that while O?Connor?s writing and characters are distinctly Irish, the emotions and struggles O?Connor writes of are universal and can find a spot in the heart of anyone who loves great writing.

a great storyteller.......2003-07-10

Generally, when it comes to literature, I'm fairly hard to please. That being said, I love this book without reservation. I've recommended it to and foisted it on friends for years now. Many of them react much the way I do: there isn't anyone else like Frank O'Connor.

The stories are lyrical, sharply and humorously observed, and told with elegance in an easy but precise idiomatic diction. O'Connor always gave his work the test of being read aloud, and this care for the sound and cadence of his prose shows on every page.

Then, there is O'Connor's feeling for people. Reading the stories, one gets the impression that he was an intelligent but fundamentally kindly, generous man. Even when a character in the stories does something that seems objectionable, O'Connor never loses sight of that character's humanity. There is no absence of modernist irony, and the irony can sting (as in "The Mad Lomasneys"), but it is never cruel.

O'Connor's stories take place in Ireland, but they are not circumscribed by a desire to depict Irish regional color or romantic notions about the place. He wrote what he knew and understood, and what he understood was the people he grew up with. If that makes him a regionalist, then so were Faulkner and John Millington Synge. In his own subtle way, O'Connor was a realist, and ultimately, these stories are universal: they touch places in the psyche and the human heart that are common to us all.

Any selection of one's "favorite" stories will be personal. To an interested reader, I would say, "Read them all." To friends who ask, I add that they should start with "Guests of the Nation" and "First Confession." These aren't his "best" stories, but I've always liked them both, they are typical of his best, and one must start somewhere.

When I've given 5 stars to a book, I've often had to argue with myself as to whether it deserved it. Not for this one.

The best short story writer in English.......2003-06-12

There is a line from William Trevor (no stranger to the short story) on the back of the book that I think is highest praise that one writer can give another: "without adornment, he simply tells the truth."

We don't demand things so weighty from books anymore, and are probably likely to dismiss a person or a book that promises it, but I think the word at least gets at O'Connor's idea of a short story. The truth, for him, is a live person on paper, going through a period of his or her life where they understand something about either themselves or the world. When he taught writing, he insisted that his students write a one-sentence theme for their story: what is it saying, demonstrating - what truth is it getting at?

This seems an old-fashioned idea of the story, but nothing about O'Connor's work seems either old-fashioned or excessively schematic - his stories are as alive as writing can be while still having unity and weight, and they carry their truth with humor and humanity. The Richard Ellman introduction, I'm afraid, misses this completely. Ellman was a friend of O'Connor's in later life, but I don't think he understands his work very well. The introduction makes O'Connor sound like some sort of genial provincial, with the primary virtue of his work being a portrait of a vanished society.

But no writer of fiction who is just a chronicler can survive: it doesn't matter that today Anna and Karenin could simply divorce. The book is relevant because Anna and Karenin are both real on the page, as so many of O'Connor's characters are. Ellman's lack of understanding influences his selection: too many of O'Connor's later less inspired work is here, and many wonders are missing. Why did he leave off In the Train, for example? Sadly, this is the only collection that's in print, but most of the great stories are here, and they are inexhaustible.

After discovering this book, I immediately went out and read everything of O'Connor's I could find, including a biography, and I copied down a passage that I think shows the way in which he looked at people and the world. He was writing to a friend who had been estranged from his wife, and was now feeling extreme remorse as she was dying:

"On occasions like this we all feel guilt and remorse; we all want to turn back time; but even if we were able, things would go on in precisely the same way because the mistakes we make are not in our judgements but in our natures. It is only when we do violence to our natures that we are justified in our regrets, and neither of us is capable of that. We are what we are and within our limitiations we have made our efforts. They may seem puny in the light of eternity but they didn't at the time, and they weren't."

This is his truth: to discover people's natures, to see the essential in even the smallest actions, and get across the moments when people see themselves whole. Read this book: it's one to keep for life.

Ireland's Premier Short Story Teller.......1999-07-07

The tradition of the Irish story teller has been reborn in this century in her marvelous short story writers. None was finer than Corkman, Frank O'Connor. All of O'Connor's classic stories are here. O'Connor truly captures Irish life in the early part of this century. The wit and humor that are legendary among Corkmen is present throughout this book. This is one of my favorite books ever. I have given it as a gift too many times to count. Every person that I gave it to came back raving about it!

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The Stories of Frank O'Connor
Frank O'Connor
Manufacturer: Random House Inc (T)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0394447328

Classic Irish Short Stories (Oxford Paperbacks)

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Classic Irish Short Stories (Oxford Paperbacks)
Frank O'Connor
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0192819186

Book Description

From its origins in the folk tale, through its evolution in response to changing social and political conditions to its current form, the Irish short story has retained its own distinct and unique form. The finest writers of their time are represented here by their best work, showing the variety of style and approach within the genre. From George Moore's masterpiece, `Homesickness', and the warmth and humour of James Stephens, to the romantic eloquence of Bryan MacMahon, these stories capture the Irish people, their way of life, mythology and history.

Bones of contention, and other stories (Short story index in reprint)

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Bones of contention, and other stories (Short story index in reprint)
Frank O'Connor
Manufacturer: Core Collection Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: 0848650042

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Frank O'Connor: A Life
James McKeon
Manufacturer: Mainstream Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

Frank O'Connor's enormous literary success is all the more remarkable given that he was born and brought up in the slums of Cork, his childhood marked by poverty and illness. In 1928, he set off for the excitement of Dublin, where he became great friends with W.B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, and George Russell. After the success of his first book, Guests of a Nation, O'Connor was unstoppable. As well as writing plays, short stories, criticism, and poetry, he became the director of the legendary Abbey Theatre. He continued to write, even when illness forced him to give up all else. Much of what he wrote, however, was banned due to Irish censorship laws, and so he decided to broaden his horizons in America. There, his success was huge but short-lived—illness forced his return to Ireland for good, where he died in 1966. Today, more than three decades after his death, Frank O'Connor's works are as popular as ever. Jim McKeon's thoughtful portrait will surely be welcomed by all admirers.

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A Life of Your Own and Other Stories
Frank O'Connor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UX259Q

Product Description

c1976. Withdrawn library book. 178 pages. Usual library markings. Pages are quite tanned. Otherwise nice condition.

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Solid offering but sags slighty in the middle
Thank god someone reissued this book

An Only Child (Irish Studies)
Frank O'Connor
Manufacturer: Syracuse University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0815604505

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Solid offering but sags slighty in the middle.......2005-12-31

Like Frank, I grew up Catholic, so I greatly enjoyed his account of his childhood and the deftness at which he relayed the characters and situations of his life in early 20th century Northern Ireland. The account of his father's alcoholism and mother's strength in her modesty evokes powerful sentiments that O'Connor is amazingly skilled at.

He overly criticizes the adolescent ideations and development out of his youth (bildungsroman), but it gives insight to his development as a writer (kunstlerroman), of which he is a candid and lucid artist.

I felt the novel creeping a bit in the middle (otherwise I would give it 4 or 5 stars), and the transition is a bit murky to his engaging recount of actions against the British occupation of Northern Ireland and surrounding religious strife. The ridiculous skirmishes and characters are painted with his masterful brush, however, and truly bring the era to life.

It is a story worth the read to the end on many levels.

Thank god someone reissued this book.......2003-06-12

O'Connor is rightly famous mostly for his short stories, but his criticism - both The Lonely Voice and A Mirror In the Roadway - along with this volume of his memoirs, well, they're all just really good. I found this book in a library many years ago and there are a hundred scenes that still spring instantly to life, and sentences that are always going to be part of how I look at the world. He betrays his greatest talent in the fact that the book reads like a collection of wonderful chapters rather than a coherent whole, but each is filled with the spirit of a generous, funny, humane man, one of those rare authors that you wish you could hang out with. The people that assure that books keep getting read seem to be forgetting about O'Connor a little, but the pages they keep alive rarely seem to stay in the blood and brain like his do.

OUTDOOR LIFE - Volume 113, number 104 - April 1954: Assault on Bowen; Tiger Bait; Devils in the Cactus; Fishing Off the Boom; Striped Bass in the Fir Trees; Boxed with a Bear; To Catch an Eland; Mystery Fish of Onondaga; The Fourth Bull; Carabao Crabwalk

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OUTDOOR LIFE - Volume 113, number 104 - April 1954: Assault on Bowen; Tiger Bait; Devils in the Cactus; Fishing Off the Boom; Striped Bass in the Fir Trees; Boxed with a Bear; To Catch an Eland; Mystery Fish of Onondaga; The Fourth Bull; Carabao Crabwalk
William E. (editor) (Frederic F. Van de Water; Charley Vorm; Charles Elliott; Wynn Davis; George Heinold; Frank Glaser; Jack O'Connor; E. L. Buck Rogers; Jim Bond; John Keats; Ward R. Betz; K. C. Randall; Emmett Gowen; Roger M. Latham; Ken Smith) Rae
Manufacturer: Popular Science Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NQ0S44

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The Right Choice: Pro-Life Sermons
Elizabeth Achtemeier , Connie Roland Alt , John B. Brown , Paul M. Clark , Edward Fehskens , Michael J. Gorman , Richard John Neuhaus , John Joseph Cardinal O'Connor , Frank A. Pavone , Terry Schlossberg , and Benjamin F. Sheldon
Manufacturer: Abingdon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Ethics | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0687050790

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