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An Excellent Audiobook

Reviewed: 01-15-24

I thoroughly loved the audiobook of Jonathan Darman's "Becoming FDR," and paired the experience with following along at times with the hardcover book I borrowed from the public library. Darman's story is masterful of how FDR's personal crisis in dealing with polio shaped him as a person and President.

The author skillfully weaves FDR's personal experiences with his public and political life. His writing is insightful about Eleanor Roosevelt and her marriage and partnership with FDR. Darman captures how both Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt were amazing and flawed people.

I came away from the book with a much fuller understanding of Warm Springs and the importance of this place and the polio patients to FDR. This part was moving.

The narrator was excellent!

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Excellent, Inspiring

Reviewed: 06-19-23

Early on, I almost quit reading, but I am glad I was persistent and finished it. The characters, especially Etta, were incredible and suitably nuanced. At times, the story jumped and felt disjointed. At times, some comments about people's characteristics then and now were too global and oversimplified. Yet, overall, this is a fascinating novel of time travel and love, family, and community. The audio performances were great. Bravo to the author and all!

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A Riveting Life Story

Reviewed: 08-15-22

An incredible, very moving novel, and very excellently narrated. Shirley Dickson draw out the complexities of her characters vividly. The audiobook certainly put the listener right within the context of World War II, and was suspenseful. I felt very invested in how things would turn out for the sisters. I would highly recommend it.

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Welcome Truth-Telling about Trump's GOP

Reviewed: 12-19-20

Stuart Stevens' book, It Was All a Lie, is one of the important publications that a previous GOP insider has written. With his long-time experience and knowledge of the interior of party campaigns, he is very honest about some of the truly corrosive falsehoods, racist dog whistles, and vote-suppressing tactics that the GOP has employed and put on steroids due to Donald Trump's terrible takeover of the party.

Stevens does a good job of bringing in the long history of these terrible-for-our-democracy practices and approaches. He then shows how the party has, since Trump emerged and won the 2016 primary and then general election, largely enabled this disturbed, narcissistic wannabe-autocrat and bowed to Trump's subversion of the rule of law. In effect, the Republican Party has signed off on this President's disgusting, unethical behavior; his many, many lies; and threatening, destructive actions - from his signing checks to pay off a porn star for her silence to his embracing white supremacists, and much more.

One of the strongest points of the book is posing the question of what the GOP party will become and why it doesn't support more center-right moderate leaders. Much of the GOP has become married to the conspiracy theorists, extreme right-wing propaganda outlets, and the Trump family grifting.

Stevens ultimately cites the tenets of how democracy gives way to authoritarianism, as found in the book The Death of Democracy. He then shows how each of these is present in Trump's actions and Trumpism, as enabled by the Republican Party. This is very concerning, and certainly these are warning signals that many of us have observed since Trump's rise of 2015-2016. We must guard our democracy. Along those lines, I would have liked to understand what Stevens recommends for the true principles of a center-right party that would make for a strong, fair, and just democratic republic. So often, the Republican Party has been on the wrong side of major issues, from opposing labor unions that help working people advance to dealing with climate change (the party is all-in on fossil fuels). Stevens offers insightful diagnoses of the wrongs, but what does a center-right party offer in solutions?

All in all, this is a very worthwhile audiobook, well-written and insightful.

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An Excellent, Compelling Book

Reviewed: 12-12-20

I wasn't sure what I would find when I decided to purchase and download this book. However, I am happy that I did. I first heard Peter Strzok interviewed on a news show and had read in newspapers about the developments that preceded his being dismissed from the FBI. This book is excellent and offers a much more complete picture, one that is telling (as others have been) in the Trump era.

From his recollections of his childhood in various international places with his family to his early work as an agent to his very important investigative efforts for the FBI, Strzok's book is compelling, fascinating, and intricately told. Ultimately, he became one of the casualties of Donald Trump's war on truth, competence, and integrity within the U.S. government. Strzok's situation mirrored that of other civil servants during the term of this President, tragically for dedicated persons and for our government.

The way Strzok tells his story and his professional observations about Donald Trump as one who is compromised are important, particularly in the day-to-day developments that ultimately led to Trump's and the Department of Justice's undercutting of the investigations about Trump and Russia. One understands just how this President has trampled on the norms and rules that govern a democratic republic, the executive branch, and the rule of law. While Strzok at times goes into bureaucratic details, this actually provides a greater understanding and an appreciation for the way the FBI usually operates, albeit at times flawed and wanting. However, Strzok and colleagues were seeking to protect the U.S. from a malevolent force infiltrating U.S. elections. I will recommend this audiobook to others.

Strzok's narration is clear and well-done.

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The Snowy Day

Reviewed: 01-14-20

The Snowy Day is a wonder to listen to, and picture our beloved New York City covered in snow as Peter explores. The narrator is great!

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Profound, Beautiful, Comforting

Reviewed: 12-25-19

This teaching of Thich Nhat Hanh of no birth, no death is very profound, wise, beautiful, and accessible. It has made the Buddhist concept very real and comforting. The writing is elegant and well-organized. I will keep this book and return to it again and again.

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Bringing One To Nowughgg7gughjjhu th8ygyuy

Reviewed: 08-30-18

I have read and listened to a good number of Thich Nhat Hanh's books oand consider them a spiritual foundation of my life. This one amazes me (like his others) with its own fresh perspective. Two c9rŕ4h4ompelling threads are: coming back to ourselves in THIS moment - the one we truly have - and its meditations on the true nature of being that is not a dualism of bodily birth and death.

This book helped me to go beyond the thoughts sometimes racing in my mind, to BE in this now moment, looking at the wonder of evergreen tops or hummingbirds, or appreciating a dear one's love today. Its stories are compelling.

The book has a brisk, clear pace, and its9u writing is beautiful and rich. The narrator's crisp, strong reading of it is a good kuumatch. I will return to its meditations as I often do with Thay's works. 7u uh huh uhhi lllk hi lol 8and iui99mm it 5555m to 766it5888iui uhkym44 ye uh uhuykkujy uh uh 9u9uu ugh 8h uh thi uh huh 9u9uu uhu r 888888li888 said jo9 lk hi k

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2 people found this helpful

Affirming and Beautiful

Reviewed: 04-08-18

I have made Thich Nhat Hanh's writings and principles on mindfulness and living in the present moment a core of my life for many years. Peace Is Every Step is a life bible to me, and informs my daily living and work. So I turned to this book as a relatively recent one, and it is exquisite.

The key meditations (such as aimlessness, impermanence, and signlessness) are explained so well and beautifully. I sense how truly transformative each is, in terms of aging, appreciating the wonders around us, dealing with feelings of fear, understanding interbeing, and living with true joy and compassion. Life presents challenges, difficulties, and losses, yet these teachings can sustain us, help in dealing with the myriad challenges, and shape our perspectives and experiences.

While it contains the ideas he has shared lifelong, I always find it amazing how Thich Nhat Hanh composes and expresses these teachings in new, brilliant, and fresh ways. The prose is accessible, clear, and inspiring. In the midst of the world's turbulent times, this book brings both deep inner peace and guiding precepts for action in our daily lives. I will turn to this book again and again.

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115 people found this helpful