Valley of the Dolls Review

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(More customer reviews)If you're like me, you never read romance novels, never watch soap operas, and shun editorial trash like Cosmopolitan. But in this age of girl-power books (i.e. Bridget Jones, et al), "Valley Of The Dolls" has become popular once again, and a whole new crowd (the twentysomething female market)is now exposed to this cult classic.
And you know what? It's intriguing. It's captivating. Set back in the 50s, you heark back to the days of glamour girls, Hollywood pictures, and dapper leading men. In each chapter, Susann fleshes out the character portraits of 3 girls who made it big, rags-to-riches style: Anne--a model, Jennifer--a starlet, and Neely--a singer. I hate to admit it, but I was entranced by their stories of sex, scandal, and downward spiral into prescription drug addiction. It's drama about drama queens. I would ordinarily dismiss this book as trashy romance genre--but like others, i can't. Why? well, Susann wrote this book as a groundbreaker--It was written almost 50 years ago but the tales are so incredibly modern you'd think Susann was writing about modern-day life. She paved the way for the tell-all expose, the behind-the-scenes scandals, the agony and ecstasy, the poor problems of the rich and famous. It was "Dynasty" before "Dynasty" was even invented. It was a shocker, and it's tragic. You're not going to find much humor in this novel at all, especially being that the "Dolls" that the book revolves around are drugs. An added benefit of reading "Valley of the Dolls" is that it transports the reader back into the yesteryear; I feel like I'm in a black-and-white movie with Garbo and Monroe--Susann's detail for creating ambience are very much appreciated.
If you think this book is flimsy beach reading--it's not. It really gave way to a whole new genre. Sure, it's no Shakespeare--but make this the one exception. Although it may be G-rated compared to today's fiction fare, Susann's subtle flair for storytelling is surprisingly solid, with twists and turns to keep you on your feet.

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Rome 360 (360 Degrees) Review

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(More customer reviews)the most beautiful and extraordinary book i've ever seen - an absolutely perfect gift for anyone who's ever been, wants to go, or plans to go to rome

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One of the most colorful cities in the world, Rome is exquisite material for photographs; its bustling streets and magnificent antiquities present spectacular panoramas. Attilio Boccazzi-Varotto has used a rotating camera to produce the unique large-format and multiple-page images--fifty-eight in all--that set this book and the previous volumes in theseries, New York 360 and Venice 360, apart from other volumes of photographs.In gorgeous detail, Rome 360 records the ruins, churches, palazzos, aerial cityscapes, and fountains of this awesome city. Through Boccazzi-Varotto's evocative images, we can reconstruct and marvel at the city's magisterial past: The Colosseum's might is undiminished by its crumbling walls; the Appian Way still stretches, unmarred by the centuries, into the horizon; the Spanish Steps possess the same inspirational power they did in more recent times, when Keats wrote there. The magic of these pictures is fully realized by their incredible presentation. The Trevi Fountain panorama covers six stunning pages, measuring a full six and a half feet; the heart of ancient Rome--Piazza Venezia, the Altar of theFatherland, the Ara Caeli, the Capitol, and the Teatrum Marcelli--is pictured across a four-page spread; and Piazza San Pietro is displayed, over four pages, during a Papal benediction. Journey through Rome while turning these pages: see the Pantheon, the Tiber Bridge, St. Peter's Basilica, Constantine's Arch, the Capitol, Trajan's Market, and more. Explanatory captions in the back of the book identify the landmarks pictured and provide an artistic and historical context. Rome 360 is a glorious window on this city's incomparable mystery.58 full-color photographs, including pull-out panoramas of Rome's greatest landmarks

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Mischling, Second Degree: My Childhood in Nazi Germany Review

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(More customer reviews)I must admit, I have not read this book for many years, in fact, not since I was in the third grade. A rather insightful teacher assigned me this book, and it has profoundly enriched my understanding of the holocaust, evil, and human nature, by allowing me to see a humanized portrait of NAZI society at a very early age. As I have been raised Jewish, I have been nearly bombarded with information about the holocaust from a Jewish perspective (not that I regret this). However, I feel that we can only come to understand such a great evil if we understand that its perpetrators were as human as its victims, motivated by the same kinds of fears, hopes, false rationalizations, etc. that in some small way motivate every human being from time to time. This book is an excellent way to introduce this humanizing element to a young reader, and it helps to make sense of a senseless event in our history.

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The memoirs of a German girl who became a leader among the Hitler Youth while her Social Democratic family kept from her the secret of her partial Jewish heritage.

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Six Degrees of Separation Review

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(More customer reviews)Based on the true story of a wealthy, well-meaning liberal couple in the upper echelons of New York society's upper crust, we have Flan or Flanders Kittredge and his wife Ouisa or Louisa; the former is a standoffish but deep down good-hearted art dealer in the private sector who has a penchant for the works of Kandinsky and Cezanne; the latter is his wife, articulate and intelligent who is in need of something of greater meaning and depth other than money, art, fancy restaurants and wealthy friends.
And so the evening commences with a friend from South Africa; they are discussing poverty, the downtrodden and the oppressed, overblown intellectual banter to elevate the ego and make the evening progress smoothly and divinely. But the night is anything but that, for it is dramatically interrupted by Paul - a young black homosexual flimflammer or Peter Funk man with a penchant for male street hustlers (only when he is happy - his words). He comes into the lives of these two unwitting victims after stabbing and passing himself off as a friend to their children who are at Harvard. And what else does her profess? You guessed it - that he is the son of you-know-who: Academy Award winner Sidney Poitier, the most eminent black actor of his generation, the hero that has been the catalyst for the lives of these socially and politically 'aware' forty-somethings.
Paul charms and bedazzles himself into the lives of those he encounters, using his wit, knowledge, ease and most importantly, his race, more specifically, Sidney Poitier's name. As the play intensifies, Paul promises the Kittredge's and future unsuspecting victims minor roles in the movie version of Cats, for which his 'father' is purportedly directing. The victims salivate over the prospect of being in a Poitier film, and they let their guards down, for their humdrum existence now has that depth and meaning that was missing at the beginning of the play; it has that structure that their kids, their careers, their money and their friends could not provide. It has a purpose. An assumed black actor's son is mugged in Central Park. And the kind Kittredges help him out. When life is not all that we want it to be, it is easy to have the wool pulled over our eyes. We believe because we want to believe. That is the meat of this play.
This play is complex because of the issues that are addressed; it is not just about race and economics, but it is about the purpose of existance in life. This work evolves and reveals so many layers, layers that are eventually reached, and thus, a truer gift of insight gained. Ironically, in the environment of the wealthy elite and the established intelligentsia, it was a sharpie who made this couple and others similar to them see the gift that life and living really is.

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