Franz Lidz's life is like a painting, some parts sad and lonley, sometimes happy and exciting! I have never heard of a book so truly moving. If you read this book Iam sure you will be crying the whole way. Sometimes crying from laufter, sometimes with sadness.

The funny, touching, unflinching memoir was totally eviscerated by Hollywood hacks. The book is full of whimsy and gentle irony; the film trades on sentiment and Rodeo Drive wisdom. The book is a small-scale Dostoyevsky novel in which the awful thing is that beauty is mysterious as well as it is terrible. The film is a cliched dying-mother tearjerker that panders to its Disney audience. The book brings to life a whole gallery of people; people of bone, flesh and blood all caught in a web of circumstance. It engulfs its characters in dramatic situations and drives them headlong with passionate desperation. In the film, these characters are cartoons who walk through predictable paces and have the most banal of revelations. In the book, their blood is warm, red and their hearts beat on.

Unstrung Heroes is one of the most touching and simutaneously disturbing books I've read in quite a while. In an unforgettable series of memoirs, Lidz succeeds in retelling the astonishing events of his life in an affecting and heartfelt manner. Somehow, through all of this, he keeps you rolling on the floor in laughter.

Having never read a book that talked about a personal experience with Traumatic Brain Injury, I found myself unable to put the book down. My god-daughter recently sustained a head injury from being thrown from an All Terraine Vehicle (ATV) and I found so much of Cathy Crimmins' story right on the mark. This book can be a difficult book to read because of the deeply emotional subject, but is a touching memoir told with a great deal of humor, and most of all... honesty.

Reading this book will touch anyone who has ever known someone who has sustained a TBI. It's also a book that should be shared after reading it. I congratulate the author for sharing her story; one that shares the heartache and explores the mystery of dealing with a loved one who survives a serious head injury. It's a world that I hope my family is spared from ever knowing firsthand.

I guess we never know how we will respond to a life changing event, and Cathy Crimmins shows the human side - the ups and downs with a rare openess. This is not anything like the Harrison Ford movie, Regarding Henry, where he wakes up a sweet guy afer a serious accident. This is what really happens! This is a must read.

This is a wonderful book. I read it in one sitting and found myself moved to tears many times. The book shares the experience of coping with a loved one's severe brain injury and recovery process. It deals with what it's like to be with someone whose personality, whose "self," has been altered and in many ways diminished. The book explores the question: What does it mean to love someone? We have the idea that we love another person, particularly our spouse, based on the totality of who that person is: character, personality, our shared experiences with them, etc. This memoir gives lie to that notion. In reality, loving is the process we go through in being with and caring for another person. I am grateful to Cathy Crimmins for allowing me to be reminded of this truth without having to experience the lesson first-hand.

In her no holds barred book, Where Is The Mango Princess? Cathy Crimmins takes the reader on a candid journey of courage, determination and humor, as she struggles to rebuild her life following a senseless accident which leaves her husband Alan with severe traumatic brain injury. In the weeks and months after the accident, Cathy shares the challenges she and her family face as Alan survives coma, completes rehab,and re-enters the workforce.

Cathy's take charge and 'take no prisoners' attitude as she battles her HMO with a razor sharp wit, is indicative of the conversations many of us have in our heads, but would never dare verbalize. As a traumatic brain injury survivor, I found her story touching, bold and brilliantly executed.

I remember watching Greg Louganis in 1988 and his last dive that gave him his fourth Olympic gold medal. I was only 7 years old and had no idea about what a struggle he had. When I found out that he was HIV-positive and gay, I was shocked. I don't know why. I read the book during my junior year in high school and enjoyed it. The information on diving was informative and I enjoyed that part. The part that surprised me the most was the way he talked openly and frankly about his lovers and his feelings for them. It was the first time I had ever read anything like that and it shocked me but then I got used to it. Sure, I've seen "Philadelphia" and the dancing scene but I always figured that they're actors and it was part of their jobs to do stuff like that. Call me naive; I was. But this, the things in the book, happened to a real person, one who is a vivid part of my childhood memories. In many parts, I was crying, trying to picture what Greg's life must have been like all those years and how it hurt him-all the teasing, taunts, rumors and other things he must have endured. I think he has a lot of courage to come out and write this book; to me it shows a person who is confident of where he is now in life and wants others to accept him for who he is.

The first time ever I heard about Greg Louganis was when a friend of mine told me he had bought Greg's autobiography back in 1995. Early this year I learned more about him on the Discovery Channel during a documentary about the Olympics. I could say I was impressed by his achievements, other than getting to know that he was a diver and the best of his kind (hey!...I was 12 at the time of his retirement and in my country diving is not much of a hit). Later on I got to see the movie based on his book, which really struck me. My interest grew so much that the first time I surfed by at Amazon, "Breaking the surface" was the first book I decided to pick up. This opus is not only another ordinary autobiography, because it's at the same time a learning about human life and qualities. The book starts describing that well-known accident he had on the springboard back in 1988 and goes on with his childhood up to his current days. Each chapter is a challenge because each one not only narrates an achievement, in some way, in his life, but also an amalgam of feelings all of which relates the reader to the writer. The book is far beyond a recount of Greg's accomplishments as a diver, but it's a story that digs deeply into his personality revealing the most traumatic episodes of his life. It's not only a story about AIDS and homosexuality, since it also deals with discrimination, dyslexia and Greg's so impeding moodiness. This biography is hard to get through, not because it's boring or flat, but because there are so much emotions involved. "Breaking the surface" is a book destined to make changes, changes in your look at valuable things that will help you to cast prejudices away. "Breaking..." is unforgettable as well as a book worthy of reading. An enjoyable experience that will make you love Greg because of who he is rather than what his celebrity means. Oh, by the way, tears tend to drop.

Greg has written a book that is touching the hearts of so many people. As a young college student, I myself have had to overcome my sexuality and my HIV status. I finally met Greg on February 15th at the University of Miami, and it reinforced the idea of what a wonderful person he is. Greg's book is definitely one in a million. It's a must read for gays and straights, and people who are HIV positive and negative. His strength is capable of helping all of us live a more productive life... and to be happy with ourselves.

I first heard about this book on the CBS Sunday Morning program, telecast just before Christmas 2000 (write to CBS for a copy of that tape, if you missed it. It features the book's authors and some of the women they photographed. You won't regret it!) I fought Christmas crowds to go to the nearest bookstore to see it firsthand. I was blown away! I'm getting to "that age" when the mothers of the church are wondering when Miss Esteen's girl is finally going to start wearing hats to church. This book is pushing me closer to that day! Don't let the fact that the photos are in black & white, not color, deter you from buying this book. In a lot of ways, the black & white photography helps bring out the true beauty; I think color photography might have actually been a distraction from that. The only thing more beautiful than the hats in this book are the women that are wearing them! Pride, dignity and strength are on each page. If it were only about fashion, I wouldn't recommend this book so highly; it's the women who wear the hats, their spirit and their thoughts and that make this book. To the ladies photographed, I have only one thing to say: I want to be just like you when I grow up!

I am called the "Hat Lady". I relate to the queens in the book. In fact, some of the ladies made comments that I found to be very profound, i.e, wearing a hat in a coffin. I wear hats and love them. Like the ladies, when I put on a hat I stand taller, walk with a strut, and feel I am invincible. It's something about a hat that seems to add to my stature. "Crowns" gives a lot of insight into why we look so good in hats. It's true it's all about attitude and self-esteem. I try to wear them at all times. "Crowns" is relative. I felt so good about myself after reading it. The queens really put hats in their proper perspective in relation to African-American women. I always get a compliment like, "Girl, you're wearing that hat" from one of my sisters and from strangers I hear, "That's a bad hat you got on." (Mostly males) Several times I saw myself in those. I smiled and shook my head at the comments. It is a story that needed to be told. I commend the author & photographer, for I found no fault with "Crowns". A good read.

I live in Atlanta and for years I have driven by African-American Churches getting out on Sunday morning. When I pass these churches I often slow down and gaze at the uniquely dressed women coming out the doors -- all dressed to the nines, and most of them are wearing their crowns. For the African-American churchgoing women hats are not mere fashion statements they are integral expression of faith and cultural identity. The Apostle Paul should be thanked daily by all milliners for Paul furthered the fashion of wearing hats to church by writing "Every woman who prays or prophecies with her head unveiled dishonors her head" (I Cor. 11:5).

The hats in this book are as unique and alive as the women that wear them. Michael Cunningham, using black & white film, has beautifully captured the panache that these women and their chapeau's express. Just as every hat in this book has a woman, so every woman in this book has a story about her hats, and I think you will love their stories. This is a refreshing, original book that is not only is captivating but anthropological educational. Highly recommended.

Transformational change addresses the problem of how to deal with change when moving from a mass production oriented business to a customer centered customized production business. One of the truly unique perspectives of this book is that it discusses and details the process of such a change. Many similar books effectively argue the need for change but then provide no direction on how to make the change. Thomas Wentz' book provides detailed discussion and processes for creating that complete transformation of your business

In the past most businesses were based on a mass production focus. Success and management were evaluated on a numbers basis. How much has sales increased? How many items were produced during this period last year? This numbers orientation tends to cause people to work hard to meet the numbers as their primary focus. In this scenario employees typically don't go beyond what is expected of them. There is no motivation to create a unique world-class organization. Add to that the fact that times have changed and customers now require a solution or product that is customized to their specific needs. If you can't provide a customized solution or product then they will simply go to a competitor that can. Is this just another business direction change? Thomas Wentz argues that it is more than just a directional change, it requires a complete transformation of the business from one form to another completely different form.

A nice extra to the book are the numerous "Key points" scattered throughout the text. By summarizing the prior information in just one or two sentences and making it stand out from the text it is easy to quickly read over the key points of the book and refresh your memory on an ongoing basis. An excellent book on business and change that also has some applicability to personal change, it is a recommended read.

This book finally provides the process to address how leaders can transform their company. Many other books defined the need to rethink the "business of the business" but none actually outlined a process. I have not only read the book but also participated in several of Tom's Simulation exercises. With this experiential background, I can honestly express to readers that you will actually understand what Tom is trying to convey only after having experienced the Simulation in conjunction with reading the book. We all have seen managers who were trying to "fix" an organization into a level of performance desired by customers, stockholders, and employees. Given the changes in consumers' demands for customized solutions, organizations that were built within the context of Mass Production cannot be "fixed" into a new existence. Organizations must be transformed and created to compete within the new reality of Mass Customization and the required thinking of a "market of one."

The Simulation allows team members to "feel" the transformational change process and thereby it becomes more meaningful and alive than simply understanding the intellectual issues documented within Transformational Change. In particular, it becomes critical that a collection of individuals become aligned on the outcome the organization is trying to "create"; i. e., the Vision. More importantly, the individual boss can no longer "tell" the organization what the Vision should be. In today's world, team members must collectively create the Vision and enroll in that creation procss. Subsequent to alignment on Vision, then the Structural Framework becomes the documented process for leading the organization through transformation.

If you read this book and participate within a Simulation, you will not believe how you will be equipped to transform your organization and be prepared to deal with the realtiy of Mass Customization. This is a very important book that all leaders should read, and read again.

Written by the Thomas K. Wentz (President of Corporate Performance Systems Inc.), Transformational Change: How To Transform Mass Production Thinking To Meet The Challenge Of Mass Customization is a solid and deftly presented guide for adapting to the new and evolving demands and realities of a globalized marketplace where merely churning out vast quantities of a product is simply not enough to be profitable. Now, more and more, customers want goods and services uniquely tailored to their tastes, and they are willing to pay for it - so much so as to change the shape of international businesses worldwide. Learning how to incorporate customization for maximum consumer satisfaction and profit is a rocky road, but individual chapters of Transformational Change address a range of relevant problems including corporate restructuring, gathering appropriate intelligence, competitive advantages and disadvantages, and a great deal more. Transformational Change is a truly excellent resource and a highly motivational reading for business managers at all corporate levels of responsibility.

Let me start this review by confessing that I am biased. One of my letters from Vietnam is included in the book. I therefore view the book differently from the average reader.

I also got an advance copy of the book a week before the official release date, and have been able to read it.

Andrew Carroll produced this book by reading through almost 50,000 letters and selected roughly 200 that best show what everyday life in the military - and in war - are like from the viewpoint of the average soldier, sailor, marine, and airman.

Andy was able to get these letters by persuading Dear Abby to publish an appeal in her column on Veteran's Day in 1998. The column urged readers to contribute these letters so that the sacrifices of the writers would not be forgotten. The result was a flood of 50,000 letters - some faded, some muddy, some blood-stained, and one pierced by a bullet. One letter was written on Hitler's personal stationary by an American sergeant who worked in Hitler's personal quarters in Germany just after WW II. What could be a better symbol of justice?

The letter writers' views are very different than the views you will get by reading the memoirs of a general or an admiral. When I was in the Army, there was a wonderful comment that explained life in the Infantry:

"The general gets the glory, The family gets the body, and We get another mission."

Your view of the military - and of war - changes depending on your position in this food chain.

Overcoming an enemy machine gun is an interesting technical problem when you are circling a firefight in a helicopter at 1,000 feet. You take a very different view of the problem when you are so close to the machine gun that your body pulses from the shock wave of the muzzle blast.

These letters were written by soldiers while they were in the military. They are describing events that happened that day, the pervious day, or the previous week. Their memories are very fresh. Their views also are very different from the views that someone might have when writing his memoirs thirty years later. In thirty years the everyday pains, problems, and terrors could very well be forgotten or become humorous.

The book groups these letters by war or police action. There are sections for letters from the Civil War, WW I (the war to end wars), WW II, Vietnam War, Desert Storm, and Somolia/Bosnia/Kosovo.

Some things never change. The Civil War letter writers grumble about poor food, tiresome marches, mindless sergeants and incompetent officers. The Vietnam letter writers (myself included) grumbled about the same things.

One anguished letter was from an officer in Vietnam who was torn by his need to hide his opposition to the war for fear of demoralizing his men. At the end of the letter is a brief comment explaining that the officer stepped on a mine and died shortly after writing this letter.

Welcome to life in the military. Welcome to war.

You should read this book if you want to see what life was like and is like in the military and in war.

Let me start this review by confessing that I am biased. One of my letters from Vietnam is included in the book. I therefore view the book differently from the average reader.

I also got an advance copy of the book a week before the official release date, and have been able to read it.

Andrew Carroll produced this book by reading through almost 50,000 letters and selected roughly 200 that best show what everyday life in the military - and in war - are like from the viewpoint of the average soldier, sailor, marine, and airman.

Andy was able to get these letters by persuading Dear Abby to publish an appeal in her column on Veteran's Day in 1998. The column urged readers to contribute these letters so that the sacrifices of the writers would not be forgotten. The result was a flood of 50,000 letters - some faded, some muddy, some blood-stained, and one pierced by a bullet. One letter was written on Hitler's personal stationary by an American sergeant who worked in Hitler's personal quarters in Germany just after WW II. What could be a better symbol of justice?

The letter writers' views are very different than the views you will get by reading the memoirs of a general or an admiral. When I was in the Army, there was a wonderful comment that explained life in the Infantry:

"The general gets the glory, The family gets the body, and We get another mission."

Your view of the military - and of war - changes depending on your position in this food chain.

Overcoming an enemy machine gun is an interesting technical problem when you are circling a firefight in a helicopter at 1,000 feet. You take a very different view of the problem when you are so close to the machine gun that your body pulses from the shock wave of the muzzle blast.

These letters were written by soldiers while they were in the military. They are describing events that happened that day, the pervious day, or the previous week. Their memories are very fresh. Their views also are very different from the views that someone might have when writing his memoirs thirty years later. In thirty years the everyday pains, problems, and terrors could very well be forgotten or become humorous.

The book groups these letters by war or police action. There are sections for letters from the Civil War, WW I (the war to end wars), WW II, Vietnam War, Desert Storm, and Somolia/Bosnia/Kosovo.

Some things never change. The Civil War letter writers grumble about poor food, tiresome marches, mindless sergeants and incompetent officers. The Vietnam letter writers (myself included) grumbled about the same things.

One anguished letter was from an officer in Vietnam who was torn by his need to hide his opposition to the war for fear of demoralizing his men. At the end of the letter is a brief comment explaining that the officer stepped on a mine and died shortly after writing this letter.

Welcome to life in the military. Welcome to war.

You should read this book if you want to see what life was like and is like in the military and in war.

This book, War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars, by Andrew Carroll (Editor) is a touching book. With the recent release of the movie Pearl Harbor, the questions that my generation wants to ask the veterans of war are rising out of the ashes once again. Carroll did an excellent job of putting together a collage of soldier's letters which portrays the true emotions of our freedom fighters. Recently having studied many of the wars included in this book, War Letters pulled everything into one book; from the Civil War all the way through Bosnia/Kosovo. The letters in WWI and WWII seemed more hopeful, and 'the great generation' seemed more patriotic. While the soldiers fighting Vietnam had more of a sense of urgency, kind of 'get this over with already' attitude. A common theme with all the letters was they were writing to loved ones, and would claim they would see them soon. Unfortunately, many of these letters were the 'last letters' to the families, some even written on backs of photographs, on scratch paper, or on Hitler's personal stationary. Also, these letters are written a few hours, days, or weeks after the events happened. The soldier has no opportunity to hear what the media said, or how the nation reacted to such a horrific event. They write with their souls, spilling their guts to their families, and shedding their blood for their nation. Granted, having just completed one year of US History helps me understand these events just that much more, but all in all, this book was everything from terrifying to heart warming.

This one caught me by surprise. It's not the stuffy this-is-all-the-bad-stuff-that-happened textbook I expected, but rather a fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable study of LSD and the CIA's role in the cultural and political maelstrom of the 1960s. Over the past thirty years, from Watergate to Zippergate, Americans have learned that their government is capable of some pretty amazing shenanigans. That helps what we read in this book seem more plausible. What Lee and Shlain document in Acid Dreams, with an impressive volume of research, is the CIA's enormous effort to develop mind-control methods. These included various psychedelic drugs--with LSD topping the list--hypnosis, and more. The potential uses of such control range from military to civilian--and to downright bizarre. For example, they discuss the unresolved question--in some minds--of whether Sirhan Sirhan was actually a CIA-created murdering automaton, a drug-and-hypnosis-induced killer, programmed to kill Robert Kennedy.

Some the things they reveal are far-fetched and may be impossible to ever prove one way or another, but there's plenty more that is incontrovertible. And everything in the book is interesting. Acid Dreams adds a fresh and wonderful perspective on this aspect of our recent history. A more recent book called "Hepcats, Narcs, and Pipe Dreams," provides a complimentary education on this topic, covering a broader history of illegal drugs throughout America's past. Readers who enjoy Acid Dreams may want to follow up with this one.--Christopher Bonn Jonnes, author of Wake Up Dead.

Let me jump on the hype-this-book bandwagon...
Amazing! It's been said, "If you can remember the 60's you weren't there." Well, Lee and Shlain in _Acid Dreams_ not only take us back but provide an accurate, entertaining, and well-documented chronicle of government abuse of power and, once more, of the CIA's sinister involvement.
In these post-9-11 times when the current administration wants to unleash bureaucratic watchdogs on its citizens in the name of the "war on terror" this history book should alert us to what can happen when government agencies are set upon us unrestrained by checks and balances.
This history of "the CIA, LSD and the Sixites rebellion" is nothing less than a kaleidoscopic tour that not only names, but documents the outrageous actions of, the major players of the day from CIA Director Richard Helms to Timothy Leary to the messianic street alchemists who wished to bring instant enlightenment to the masses.
Whereas the CIA wished to conduct mind-control experiments on unsuspecting human guinea pigs, the underground rebels simply wished to expand minds.
Although many many infamous and not so infamous individuals are interwoven in this highly readable narrative from Dr. Albert Hoffman to Captain Alfred M. Hubbard to Abbie Hoffman to Charles Manson to Ken Kesey and Tim Scully the real characters are the CIA, LSD itself, and the Sixties! What a concept!
According to this richly documented and indexed (wow-the other reviewers are right-on;a hell of a reading list in its own right!) book, nothing of significance in the 60's was untouched for better or for worse by acid:The Free Speech Movement, the Vietnam war, campus demonstrations, the Nixon presidency, Ginsberg, Dylan, and the Beatles.
For instance, it's ghastly to read that Nixon seriously considered nuking North Vietnam but reconsidered due to the acid(?) energized youth that marched, protested, demonstrated, and risked violent police rioting to stop the war. Did LSD prevent another Hiroshima?
It's disgusting to read the elitist condescension by the very influential Clare Booth Luce (yes, of Time-Life) a tripper who believed acid should remain 'in the ruling class' and explained, "we wouldn't want everyone doing too much of a good thing."
It is, however, a pleasure and refreshing to read a book that debunks quite a few myths, distortions and outright lies about LSD spread by the government and other unscientific sources.
Only one other history book has excited me as much as _Acid Dreams_, William H. McNeill's slender volume _The Shape of European History._
Were it up to me I, too, would urge every single high school student to read _Acid Dreams_. It is a cautionary history that deserves to be not just read but preserved and remembered. I am 51, I think I was there, and the memory of some of the events still sends shivers down my spine.
Somebody was THERE, Martin A Lee and Bruce Shlain tell all, and _Acid Dreams_ eliminates page by page any excuses for historical amnesia.

This is surprisingly one of the best books I have read. The authors give a colorfully accurate account of the events that occured decades ago, all of which still echo into our current era. It covers the origin of LSD, as a drug the CIA funded research on for use as a tool for mind control applications using civilians and military personnel as test subjects. At the very outset, it was obvious that the CIA was well aware of the potential power of this substance in its ability to wreak havoc on the collective psyche, to shatter current assumptions and threaten cherished ego boundaries. Yet, eventually it became available to the masses who would come to extol it's use religiously and otherwise.....giving rise to the groundswell of counterculture in the 60's. This book, more than any other source I have encountered, explores the underlying causes of the demise of the cultural/political/self re-evolution of that time and gives us pause to reflect on the politics of consciousness - to see who really won The War Of The Mind. Proof again that truth is stranger than fiction. Be informed.........read this book.

This is the perfect Shelby Foote sampler if the three volume, "The Civil War: A Narrative" seems either too daunting or you haven't the time.
It's the entire "Stars in Their Courses" Chapter and part of "Unvexed to the Sea" from "Fredericksburg to Meridian," the second volume of the trilogy.
Simply put, it's the best and most concise account of the Gettysburg campaign you're ever likely to find. Foote doesn't overwhelm the reader the details, but instead, and with careful literary design, catches the ebb and flow of a great battle as it opens and occurs.
If you've read the trilogy, then you probably don't need this, but it certainly is a lot easier to tote around than the rather ponderous size of the others. Also, if you're quite familiar with Gettysburg, then Foote may not be anything new, but I do think his mastery of the language eclipses most of what's out there (how historians drain the life out of such an exciting subject I'll never know).
If you enjoyed this, I heartily recommend you pick up "Stars in Their Courses" in the audio where Foote reads the book himself. You listen to his voice and I'd hazard a guess that it's like listening to Homer read the Iliad or the Odyssey. Foote's melodious voice is mesmerizing and becomes a performance in itself.

Foote deserves a 21 gun salute.

No one has written about the Civil War with the lyricism and eloquence of Foote. As anyone who has read his delightful three volume history of the Civil War can attest, his novelist background combined with thorough research to produce a classic of American literature and history.

This book is an excerpt from the history focusing on the Gettysburg campaign. As perhaps the most dramatic episode of our national four year drama (and tragedy), this breakout survives its separation from the whole very well.

Foote traces the reasons Davis allowed Lee to march north and the ensuing battle thoroughly. Although not given the breadth of Coddington's description in his classic "Gettysburg: A Study in Command," Foote does his job extremely well over 290 (small sized) pages. This is a factual yet at the same time romantic telling of the great battle of American history.

A student (yes, I'm a history major) of the Civil War, and having grown up believing that the holy land was a certain battlefield in Pennsylvania, I read Shelby Foote's The Stars in Their Courses as part of a research paper. I had gotten the copy for my father that past Christmas. It was well worn by the time I borrowed it in April.
In reading his work on the Gettysburg campaign, as he described the places about the enormous battlefield, I could see myself in those places once again. It was like reading an old journal entry, or seeing a picture of a childhood home; such is the power of Foote's work that it can transport you to the place you are reading about. Both my father and I read this book with great enjoyment, for this was written in a style of prose much more beautiful and approachable than many other writers on the subject.
To this day, Shelby Foote's work remains a staple in the bookcases of the Lacey household, and will remain that way for a long long time.

I almost don't want to write a review of The Waiting Child because I feel like I could never do the book justice. But I am writing this because I want you to read it. Simply put, this book is a story of the human spirit. In a time where we are constantly reminded of the hatred in this world, we need to hear more about people, especially children, who are motivated by love. Unbelievably, Jaclyn never gave up. Even in the face of almost impossible odds. If you have ever doubted the viability of love changing this world, you will be awed by Jaclyn.
Besides the theme of love and hope, the story of adoption is tremendous. I felt like this was an honest, powerful look at how tough but ultimately, how rewarding, adoption is for a parent and the family. The emotion is openly laid out on the page and you will not be able to forget it.
Having been to China, I can vouch for the accuracy of the description of the country. Although beautiful, many facilities are in bad repair.
Definitely a top ten book on my list.

Cindy Champnella writes on her dedication page, "For Jaclyn....my light, my love, my sorrow, my joy....my child." Thus begins the most beautiful story you will ever read. It's the story of 4 year old Jaclyn, adopted from a Chinese orphanage, and her never-ending determination and yearning to bring home the 2 year old boy she loved and "mothered" there. I have known Cindy for a number of years now, and have known the story of Jaclyn and Lee. Yet reading this incredible story in its entirity was so moving I couldn't put it down. Being an adoptive Mom myself, I was very glad to read Cindy's truthful tale of adoption...tremendous joys coupled with moments of raw grief. This is a must-read for anyone who loves children, and is willing to be inspired by the love of a 4 year old, and inspired by her parents who dared to believe that dreams really can come true.

This is a must read for anyone who is considering international (or domestic) adoption, has already completed an adoption, or who is simply drawn to a powerful story of love, faith, and tenacity. Cindy Champnella begins her moving tale with a tender letter that she writes to her soon to be daughter who is still in China. She ends this letter, "Come, begin the wonderful adventure of your future. I will be right beside you every step of the way. Take my hand." And so Cindy "takes the reader's hand" on a wonderful, sometimes challenging, often emotional journey as she first enfolds her new daughter into her family, and then as they both courageously and tenaciously attempt to save a small boy from the same orphanage. Cindy's multiple trips to China give plenty of fascinating details of the adoption process and insight into the unimaginable life for children growing up in an institution. This is a book as much about the universality of the human spirit as it is about adoption. A gem of a book.

Although I am an avid reader of American military history, I read few first-person accounts of war because I tend to prefer books about geopolitics, grand strategy, and decisive weapons systems. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this book about a marine officer's experience during the Korean War. It was easy reading, its narrative was straightforward, informative, and, I believe, honest, and it provided some valuable insights into the harsh realities of the first of the Cold War's regional conflicts.

The United States' "forgotten war" began on June 25, 1950, when the People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) invaded the Republic of Korea (South Korea). At the time, Author Joseph Owen was a Marine Corps lieutenant stationed in North Carolina, living with his wife and their two young children. According to Owen: "Nobody at Camp Lejeune had expected a shooting war. Nor were we ready for one." A captain who had been an adviser to the South Korean Marine Corps predicted Korea would be "[o]ne lousy place to fight a war. Too hot in summer, too cold in winter, and straight up and down mountain terrains all year round. Except for those stinking rice paddies down in the valleys. Human manure they use. Worst stink in the world." Nevertheless, according to Owen: "The possibility of American Marines in a combat role excited us." Owen writes: "The North Koreans continued to overpower the meager resistance offered by the South Korean soldiers....Seoul, the South Korean capital, fell with hardly a fight, and the Red blitzkrieg rolled southward. In response, President Truman escalated American involvement in the war. He ordered General MacArthur, America's supreme commander in the Far East, to use U.S. Army troops stationed in Japan to stem the invaders." And: "General MacArthur called for a full division of Marines to help him turn back the North Koreans. According to Owen: "The Marine Corps welcomed the call, but we did not have a full division to put in the field;" and "More than seven thousand of us at Camp Lejeune received orders to proceed by rail to Camp Pendleton. There they would form into companies and embark for Korea." Owen's unit, "Baker-One-Seven became one of three rifle companies if the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment....Our ranks were filled by 215 men and 7 officers who had never before served together....Many of [the privates] were beardless teenagers with little training beyond the basics of shouldering a rifle and marching in step." While training, there was much concern about the readiness of the Marines for combat. At one point, after a sergeant remarks that the troops need more training in boot camp, Owen succinctly invokes reality: "They are not going to boot camp. They are going aboard ship. And they are going to fight." On September 1, the company boarded a Navy transport for the three-week voyage to east Asia. According to Owen: "Ready or not, we were on the way to war." And, according to Owen, the 1st Marine Division's orders were "to go for the Yalu River," North Korea's border with China. At one point, a veteran officer provides this paraphrase of William Tecumseh Sherman's famous dictum: "War is hell, but you never know what particular kind of hell it's going to be." The Korean War hell was cold and barren. Owen writes: "We were chilled through and bone tired as we slogged our way back to battalion....The bivouac was lumpy with rocks and boulders;" "The cold weather was as formidable an enemy as the Chinese;" and "Rarely did the [daily action] reports exceed zero degrees, and there were lows of twenty below."

By the time Owen's outfit arrived in Korea, he writes, "we were making bets that the war would be over before we got into it." Owen's Marines could not have been more wrong. While Owen is inspecting his men's weapons, a private asks: "Think we'll get shot at today, Lieutenant?" Owen replies: "We're taking the point for the regiment. If the gooks are there, they'll be shooting at us." A few pages later, after the outfit's first experience in combat, Owen comments: "We were fortunate that the enemy had not chosen a "fight-to-the-death" defense of this hill, as they would when we advanced farther north." But some fighting was hand-to-hand. At one point, Owen writes: "Judging from the noise they were making, and the direction of their grenades, the North Koreans were preparing to attack, not more than thirty yards away." The Captain tells Owen and the other subordinate officers: "The Chinese have committed themselves to this war....The people we will fight are the 124th Division of the Regular Chinese Army....They're tough, well-trained soldiers, ten thousand of them. And all of their officers are combat experienced, their very best....A few hours from now we'll have the Chinese army in our gunsights. We'll be in their gunsights. You damn well better have our people ready for some serious fighting." The combat was, indeed, brutal. According to Owen: "The Chinese attacked in massive numbers, an overwhelming weight, but they also endured terrible casualties." Owen recalls that, while waiting for one Chinese attack, the "men stacked Chinese bodies in front of the holes for greater protection." And the fighting around the frozen Chosin Reservoir may have been the most brutal of the war. Owen ultimately suffered wounds requiring 17 months of treatment, and he never regained full use of one arm.

A few months ago, I reviewed James Brady's wonderful The Coldest War: A Memoir of Korea here. This book has different charms. Whereas Brady is a gifted professional writer, there is no elegant prose here. But Owen provides an equally vivid account of this ugly war. Big, sophisticated studies of military history focusing on geopolitical principles and grand strategy rarely offer narrative moments like the ones in this book. Reader are unlikely to forget the Korean War after reading Joseph Owen's Colder than Hell.

Colder than Hell: A Marine Rifle Company at Chosin Reservoir. By Joseph R. Owen. Reviewed by Mike Davino

Army Korean War expert Lieutenant Colonel Roy Appleman has called the 1st Marine Division of the Chosin Reservoir campaign "one of the most magnificent fighting organizations that ever served in the United States Armed Forces." The remarkable and inspiring story of the division at the Chosin Reservoir has been the subject of numerous books and several films. During their fighting withdrawal, the Marines decimated several divisions of the Chinese People's Liberation Army while at the same time fighting an exceptionally harsh winter environment.

Joseph Owen's new book on the subject tells the story from the cutting edge perspective of a rifle company. The author served as a mortar section leader and rifle platoon commander in Baker Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines from its activation in August 1950 through the Inchon-Seoul and Chosin fighting where he was severely wounded.

There are many reasons given for the outstanding performance of the Marines in northeast Korea during the winter of 1950. It is clear from this book that a large measure of the credit goes to the Marines and their leaders at the small unit and rifle company level.

Owen's narrative covers the hasty activation and training of the company, its brief participation in the fighting north of Seoul after the amphibious assault at Inchon and the details of its intense fighting at Chosin. He candidly discusses the mistakes made by the leaders and Marines of Baker Company, to include his own. More importantly, Owen covers what they learned from these mistakes and how they used that knowledge to defeat the Chinese in a series of intense actions.

Although focused at the company level, the author frames his story with the overall conduct of the campaign. Refreshingly, unlike many books about the Chosin campaign, it is free of partisan sniping about the contributions made by the various services involved. Owen gives credit to the Army units that fought at Chosin as well as the contributions of naval and air forces and our British allies.

This book is rich in lessons about small unit leadership, training and combat operations. It is an excellent addition to the personal narratives on the Korea War.

When preparing to travel to an Asian country on business, I seek context by reading of the wars the U.S. has fought there. When I look in those Japanese, Chinese and Korean eyes, I see the children of old enemies and old friends. While plowing through Fehrenbach's canonical Korean War history, "This Kind of War", I took a break and lost a weekend of yard work to "Colder Than Hell" which I ordered based on the praise given by my fellow Amazon reviewers. My thanks to the other reviewers, for this is a superb first person account of a Marine company fighting it's way up and then back down the Korean peninsula in 1950. Marines of Baker one-seven fought and froze to the death too often, but their sacrifice has let 47 million Koreans in the South build a democracy and learn the meaning of freedom. The price of freedom was huge for Baker one-seven, but the esprit de corps so crisply described by ex-Second Lt. Owen carried his Marines from hill to hill. This is an excellent book and a must read for fans of first person stories of war and sacrifice.