I am not a fan of the Clintons and I emphatically voted against Hillary in the recent New York senatorial election. Nonetheless, I must say that this is a beautifully illustrated, tastefully written book about the White House and the Clintons' life in it. The book is chock full of excellent photographs and the glitter and style of America's most famous address is well covered. The book does not rate a fifth star for one reason: daily life in the Clinton White House is not well covered. If there was a book about the Ford White House, for example, you would have probably seen the photos of Ford preparing waffles for breakfast and daughter Susan, in shorts, tee shirt and bare feet, washing her car. Such personal glimpses of the Clintons are not in this book. Still, this is a wonderful book that belongs on your coffee table. I may not like Hillary but, I like this book.

Loved this book! Fabulously illustrated celebration of the White House's 200th. Annv. Nice variety of behind-the-scenes photos of the First Family and the White House staff, and a sneak-peek into the private places (once not allowed) hidden from the watchful-eye of the "JQ Public," historic treaures now ours to look at for as long as we like and to enjoy! Thank You, Hillary!

For many of us, the White House is a fascinating topic. There are never enough books to read. Hillary Rodham Clinton has given what I love to see: a book that is genuinely democratic, that is, featuring the butlers and stolling musicians alongside the statesmen and superstars (even to giving us the names of tree-decorating volunteers shown in the photographs). Like no other book on the President's House, this one makes it clear that this is the people's house. Of course it is much more. Within my lifetime it has become a magnificent museum of American History. And take note, not just an archive: the book clearly indicates that visitors will see objects received as the legacy of previous presidents and their families. I remember my once-only walk tour of the White House. It went so fast! While many rooms are a kind of blur, I will never forget leaving by the front door and walking down the curved drive to the street! What a rush. If you can't get to Washington or don't know the president well enough to get his personal guided tour, Mrs. Clinton's book is the next best thing.

this, my first novel by henry james, was recommended to me by a trusted friend privy to my affection for the work of austen, the brontes, wharton, bowen and hall. i must admit to having had reservations about a victorian novel with a female protragonist written by a man, but was pleasantly surprised to find that james had depicted the female perspective, in isabel archer, with notable aplomb. i was a little disappointed that, in spite of the book's length, i felt there was a huge leap from the first half of the book, which firmly establishes the young miss archer as a woman intent to never marry and the second half, which finds her rather abruptly married to the third of three men who have made the appeal to her. still, this is a classic work of literature that deserves all the praise it has received. it is far more dense than works by the aforementioned authors and, as such, makes awful subway reading--unless, of course, your train breaks down and there are no crying children or blaring boom boxes in your car.

Henry James is one of my favorite authors and "The Portrait of a Lady" is one of my favorite books. James is the only author who can begin a sentence and still have my complete attention when he finishes it two or even three pages later.

"The Portrait of a Lady" is filled with the long, rambling sentences for which James is so famous, but, as in his other books, these sentences remain interesting from the first word to the last. This is, however, definitely 19th century prose and the book is filled with sentences that begin with, "Dear Reader," or "Our heroine." While this might be very tiresome to some readers, in the hands of a writer as skillful as James, it has never bothered me one bit.

James loved to write about the wealthy people of the world, more specifically, those who needn't bother working for a living. He loved studying the way in which an excess of free time affected the choices they made. The characters created in "The Portrait of a Lady," are excellent examples of people who, perhaps, have too much time on their hands. Isobel Archer, in particular, makes some very questionable choices, then does nothing to correct them. Although likeable, she seems to be a character possessed of an ennui that's virtually unshakeable. Isobel not only refuses to to take action to correct her mistakes, she refuses to take responsibility for them at all. It seems as though the more time (and money) James' characters have, the less they make good use of either one.

If you're a reader who's not discouraged by 19th century literature and all its intricacies and convolutions, I think you'll find both Henry James and "The Portrait of a Lady" fascinating. I know I did.

Henry James is one of my favorite authors and The Portrait of a Lady is one of his greatest works. In it, he creates a unique and unforgettable heroine, Isabel Archer, and then proceeds to let her make all the mistakes the young are capable of making. In fact, Isabel is so sure of herself that, at times, I found it difficult to have much sympathy for her poor choices. But one thing I never felt for Isabel Archer was indifference, all to James' credit.

The Portrait of a Lady is truly 19th Century literature at its finest, but that means it also contains elements that might be distracting for the modern reader. There are lengthy descriptions, the pace is rather slow and James never lets us forget we are reading a book. He makes liberal use of phrases such as "our heroine," and "Dear Reader." While all of this was expected in the 19th Century, some readers today might find it annoying.

Those who don't however, will find themselves entranced by a beautiful story of love and loss, unforgettable characters (there are many more besides Isabel, most notably the enigmatic Madame Merle) and gorgeous description, all rendered in James' flawless prose.

Anyone who loves classics or who wants a truly well-rounded background in literature cannot afford to pass this up.

Having read and thoroughly enjoyed "On Mystic Lake" & "Angel Falls", both of which I would rate with 5 stars, I had high expectations of "Summer Island". Instead, I found this book to be rather schmaltzy with a predictable ending.

Mother and Daughter are estranged for several years. Mother is a high-profile radio personality. Daughter is down in her luck. Mother gets injured in a car accident soon after her career goes down the tubes. Mother and Daughter spend a week together at the family's summer home breaking the ice and revealing their true colors and feelings to one another. In the mean time, Daughter's first love is nearby at his summer home spending the last few days with his dying brother. The outcome of Daughter's & estranged boyfriend's relationship is predictable, too.

I gave this book 2 stars because of the heartfelt storyline between the two brothers. But overall, I felt the characters were right out of Soap Opera Digest.

Enjoyable story with characters that are so real. I love every book I've ever read by this author because she is such a great adjective artist that I feel the surroundings that she describes as well as the people in the story. This book is about a woman that starts her young life married to a man she thinks she can help and lets him have the excuse of being a war veteran to explain why he's not-quite-the-man he could be. Nora isn't the perfect mother that she wanted to be and her one daughter, Ruby, rubs salt in that wound any chance she gets. This story is so relatable for any family member because we all have done things while raising our children or to our spouse that hind-sight would've saved a lot of hurt feelings. I certainly think this is a wonderful book to read and I guaranty will be enjoyed. The setting of Summer Island is so refreshing and peaceful---a great place for Eric to be as well as Nora and Dean and Ruby; all for their own special needs.

Kristin Hannah is one of my favorite authors, and she once again delivers the kind of book I expect from her. Summer Island is the story of Nora Bridge, and her decision to leave her husband and children. The repercussions of that action are the basis for this book. Nora has become a radio personality, famous for her advice on love and family relationships. But her world come crumbling down when her past is revealed.
Kristin Hannah obviously loves the Pacific North West and her descriptions of the San Juan Islands is beautiful. She has a way of making you empathize with her characters even when you don't agree with what they are doing. Her depiction of the two Bridge daughters, Ruby and Caroline, and their very different reaction to their mother's betrayal rings true. I enjoyed the way she portrays sibling love in the two sister's, and the two Sloan brother's, whose lives are central to the Bridge family.
This book made me laugh, made me cry and made me think about my own family and their place in my life. I recommend it to all Kristin Hannah fans.

"If on a Winter's Night a Traveler" is one of the most original and engaging books I have read. Like the title, the books is a group of unfinished stories bound together by one continuous story. The protgonist is desperate to finish the book he has, but finds that each successive copy he gets has a different story that ends abruptly as if there were pages missing. This resembles the magic realism of Marquez (except that Calvino's protagonist has a more plausible story) or the outlandish stories of Kafka, except that Calvino's outlook is romantic and positive. While the idea of a book with a bunch of unfinished stories seems to be torture to read, Calvino keeps it together (and the reader engrossed) with his delicate and readable style.

When I read some of the simple and uninteresting fiction that I come across, lately, I think of Calvino's unusual little book and think there is still hope for creativity and imagination.

Italo Calvino's work is truly a masterpiece about the process of reading. But, more importantly, and watch out -- here's where I get metaphysical -- it is a meditation on human existence. Reading the novel is a journey, and I believe the reason why some people (particular other reviewers displayed here) find it annoying or unsatisfying, or even pretentious is because they are unwilling to explore.

Calvino's work is not linear like other books. It is craggy, six-dimensional (if you will), complex, irritatingly cliff-hangish, and parallels the common human traits of indecision and want effortlessly. It takes reading and uses it, with subtlety mind you, to express theories about why we tick. Why we read is why we discover, in Calvino's eyes (whoops, there i go putting words in an author's mouth).

I think it is very rash and displays an obvious lack of comprehension -- dare I say humanity, or even intellectual curiosity and capability -- on the part of the reader to call this book boring, or "cute" or "bad." Particularly, to complain about the lack of resolution in the novel has two negative effects for the complainer: 1)it demonstrates a total misinterpretation of one of the largest themes of the novel (the fact that maybe traditional "resolution" is not really what we're after as human beings, and perhaps that it just might not be of dire importance) & 2)a person who whines about Calvino not "tying up loose ends" at the end of the work must be someone who did not read the final page of the book! There is resolution; in fact, the end of the novel is the only perfect and fitting ending that could have occurred, for it stays inline with every other example of Calvino's ideas (which I will not enumerate here, for it will ruin the reading experience of anyone who has not yet read the novel). Calvino is completely consistent, and he is a master at making competent readers pleasantly confused at whether they are satisfied with their lives and not with the novel, or whether it is the opposite. I would argue that those who didn't think the ending was appropriate might just be trying to shield themselves from the realization that the novel has drudged up the fact that they are dissatisfied with themselves, not the work!

The book, as I said in the title, is more of a journey, an experience than it is a normal novel, with plot, theme, setting, etc. It must be read with a few grains of salt, I grant you, and I will also admit to being frustrated with the novel's density more than once during my exploration of Calvino's world. However, this book is certainly unique enough to hold its own in a sea of mediocre fiction, unidimensional characters who never think beyond their own bodies, plots that are either so far-fetched or so flat that they predict themselves on page one, and themes that have been overexplained a thousand times.

If nothing else, Calvino offers his Readers the chance to discover themselves for better or for worse and to analyze what it is within them that allows them the ability to communicate with others and form some inkling of understanding of their own soul and its minute impact on the cosmos.

You have to read this fascinating treatise on reading and writing. I've seen others complain about the weak ending and the lack of structure, but for chrissakes, it's not a Dragonlance novel- it's avant-garde prose. But that doesn't mean it's not accessible. Unlike Andre Breton's shoelace knots of words that you have to dwell on endlessly to untie, Italo Calvino is so easy to read that the prose slips past you a little too quickly. But that doesn't mean it's not worth reading in the first place- Originally I checked this out at my college library and when I finished it, I bought a copy for myself and another copy for a friend. It's extremely hard to describe the book appropriately, but I'm hoping my enthusiasm for it will get my message across- Calvino's insights are worth the price of the book alone, and this fragmented narrative marked by stretches of crystalline, dreamlike beauty make what would normally be a dry work of literature philosophy into a vivid sensual book that I'll probably continue to re-read for the rest of my life.

It says a lot about the character of Richard Nixon - his suspicion bordering on paranoia, his bitterness, his self-pity, and his intransigent resentment toward everybody who he perceives as an enemy (which was probably almost everybody), that he had to rubber-stamp the commitment of a crime in order to win an election he could never have lost anyway, by approving the break-in of the Democratic national headquarters in Washington in the summer of 1972.

A black night-watchman finds a door lock suspiciously taped over and calls the police. The police notify the press. And two young reporters from the Washington Post begin to investigate what looks like a third-class, amateurish crime and end up ripping the lid off the biggest can of worms in American history.

We watch in fascination as Woodward and Bernstein follow their mentor Ben Bradlee's precept of "If you can't find a woman in the story, look for the dough". We follow them as they chase the trail of laundered "dough" all the way into the White House. And along with them, we peel off the outer leaves of the artichoke one by one - the underlings who committed the crime, their superiors who planned it, the higher-ups who authorized it, until the ugly center stands exposed: the Chief Executive as Thief in Chief. Whether or not Nixon knew about the break-in in advance is irrelevant. What matters is that once the news was out, he did everything possible to cover it up, and by doing so, sank himself irreversibly in a morass of crime and deception.

The book reads like a classic detective novel, with the intangible presence of Deep Throat looming over all. Did he really exist, and if so, who was he? The question still puzzles us. Woodward and Bernstein have been playing cat-and-mouse with us over his identity for the last three decades. It's just one of the threads in this story that will be left dangling for years to come.

Woodward and Bernstein emerged from the Watergate scandal as American heroes. To say they brought down the Nixon administration may be overdoing it; but they certainly tore the cover off a malodorous snake pit and brought it kicking and screaming into daylight.

It has been 31 years since a small group of men entered the Watergate office building on the banks of the Potomac River for the purpose of gathering intelligence to be used against the Democrats in the 1972 election. There are many young adults who were not around then, and this is all the more reason to give a very high recommendation.

This is the story of two young reporters at the Washington Post, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, whose reportage of the Watergate break-in and the subsequent cover up led to the resignation of President Nixon on August 9, 1974.

These two journalists, so dissimilar in may ways, forged a trusting and cooperative relationship born out of initial competitiveness (and disrespect for each other). The book is written in the "third person" which, from a standpoint of style, was probably the best way to proceed instead of bouncing back and forth from one person to the other.

We know quite a bit more about Watergate today than we knew three decades ago, but this is the book that really brought the main story into focus. The people who inhabit the book are all memorable: The two reporters; Hugh Sloan, a man whose integrity made him leave the Committee to Re-Elect the President rather than be a party to what was going on; the female accountant (whose name is not mentioned in the book but who has since gone public) who reluctantly helps Bernsetin while he drinks numerous cups of coffee; the men and women who were too frightened to help.

And, of course, there is "Deep Throat," the mysterious source who helped keep Woodward on track and whose identity is speculated about even today, so many years after these events.

If you haven't read this book, please do before you read any other book on the Watergate affair (the movie of the same name is also wonderful -- with the cinematographer choosing shots which emphasized the massive government buildings as a backdrop against the insignificant looking figures of Woodward and Bernstein -- played by Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman, respectively).

What is largely forgotten is that in the summer of 1972, Bob Woodward and Carl Berstein were two young but complete nobody reporters assigned not to political reporting but the Washington Post's Metro section. When they were assigned to cover a "fourth rate burglary" at the Watergate Hotel, it changed the course of their careers and of American History. It is no exaggeration that had more conventional Washington political reporters been assigned to the Watergate story, it might never have been exposed in enough detail to bring down Richard Nixon. This book is an American classic. Though it lacks historical perspective on the Watergate affair, it is vital to anyone who wants to understand the greatest American political crisis of the Post World War Two era.

Ann Rule is my favorite author, but I was greatly disappointed in this book. I enjoy reading about the intricacies of how a crime is solved - the forensic science, the finding and deciphering of clues. These criminals leave no clues, and end up being apprehended nearly by random luck. This book focuses on bank robbery. I found it hard to care as much about the loss of replaceable material things from a corporation as I have cared about the victims in other Ann Rule books about personally devastating crimes against an individual, such as rape or murder. However, despite the uninteresting topic, the writing is excellent, and you do learn about the way the characters think. The short crime stories were far more interesting than the book. "The Girl Who Fell in Love..." story is one that I would have liked to know more about. Not a bad book overall, but not in this author's usual league.

Ann Rule can do no wrong; her stories are always interesting, however, not quite as complex as the ones the late Thomas Thompson wrote (who is my favorite author for true crime).

If you want to know how to get started robbing banks read this book. No...better yet pay attention to what happens at the end so you know what you would get yourself into by robbing banks.

The evolution of a criminal is prominent in this story and should keep you glued to the book 'til finished. A lot of things happen in this story and the author makes it easy to keep track of everything. A grand read!

I'm a big fan of True Crime books, and Ann Rule's in particular. This is one of her best. It was so interesting that I read it in two days, which is really unusual for me. The main story is well paced and never boring. It doesn't cover the trial, which is a nice change from many true crime stories that devote half the book to excruciating trial detail. My only criticism is the author's depiction of Scot Scurlock as just a spirited boy, so talented and handsome. He was an arrogant, extremely self-centered jerk who had no intention of ever making an honest living. I am sure his family described him as brilliant and maybe a little eccentric, but he was a world-class loser. He abused his friendships and was loyal to no one. In the end, he got exactly what he deserved, although the end came far too late.

The book is good at keeping your attention. It is the second Patterson novel I've read (both in the last three weeks). The first was Kiss the Girls and Jack and Jill is not as intense. The Truth School Killer storyline reveals the author's need to infuse the life of black low income Washington D.C. residents into his novels. In Kiss the Girls, you had some description of Alex Cross's home and neighborhood. Although good background for that novel, Patterson goes too far with the Truth School Killer storyline. He should have stuck with Jack and Jill as a solo storyline. The ending was too abrupt and cliche'd in dealing with the conspiracy angle, perhaps because of the overall length of the book. I was disappointed when he cut off the story in the last few chapters. The entire novel would have been much better off focusing solely on Jack and Jill and their killing spree. In fact, more development of their motivation would have been better.

Overall I enjoyed the book very much. Throughout I kept wondering why child murders were needed and how they interfaced with a plot to assassinate the president. Still not sure of the answer, but I guess Patterson was trying to bring to the forefront how humans are valued or de-valued based on race and societal standing. I think Dr. Cross should have had a larger role in solving each crime. He had very little involvement in the child murders and only played a part in the Jack and Jill case late in the book

First let me start by saying I love Patterson. I have read 4 so far and am looking for his older books. I think Jack and Jill is the best yet. It is an original story line that keeps you glued to the book. I couldn't wait to see what happened next. Both stories going at the same time keep me reading through the each chapter to get to the next. I thought they should have made a movie out of this book. I agree the Denzel Washington would have made a better Alex Cross or maybe Larence Fishborne! I can't wait to see who will be Samson.

I bought Something's Wrong With Your Scale! because I read Beeperless Remote, and really liked it. When I first started reading SWWYS! I didn't think I was going to like it. But after about the first chapter, I started to warm up to the book. And I really started to feel for Sonny and Kayla, especially in the scenes where other people treated them like they weren't even human just because they were overweight. I have never had a weight problem myself, but I think Whitfield did an excellent job of showing me what it feels like to have a "battle of the bulge." I particularly liked the scene where Sonny, Chet, and E got drunk, and Sonny finally told them about themselves! They had bigger personal problems than Sonny, yet they had the nerve to treat him like some kind of outcast because of his weight, and because he was dating an overweight woman. Even though Whitfield told Sonny's story in a rather comical, lighthearted manner, he made some pretty serious points about the level of disrespect shown to overweight people, and about the need to lose weight because of internal factors, instead of external ones. Even in Sonny's relationship with Kayla, Whitfield was making a BIG statement in showing us how even an overweight man has problems with dating and being seen in public with an overweight woman. Big GUYS definitely get cut more slack than big GIRLS in this society. I think that may be why Kayla appears to never really win her battle with the bulge. It seems like she was almost rebelling against everyone else's insistence that she lose weight. She was a pretty good woman (smart, doing well financially, funny, witty, bold, and just an all-round nice person), yet she was treated like a leper because of her weight (especially in the clothing store scene). Well, as you can see, I got a lot out of the book, even though it's a light easy read. I see some of the criticism of other reviewers of this book, but I find Whitfield's writing to be different from the standard popular African-American authors out today, so I enjoy reading his books. He's different, and after all, variety is the spice of life.

I wasn't that impressed with Beeperless Remote, but the cover of this book caught my eye. I promised myself that I'd only read a chapter before work but I could hardly put it down. From the beginning, this book caught my attention & made me laugh out loud. The characters are well developed; the author does an excellent job of introducing a serious subject (our attitudes about weight challenged people and food) without preaching. These characters are alive (and funny). Sonny and Kayla's dinner at Leon's is hilarious as is Sonny's attempt to redefine himself and his body. Who among us, in an attempt to reach a goal, hasn't slipped up once or twice? Another thing I really enjoyed about this book was the relationship between Sonny, Chet, and E; three men who were long-time friends and could hold a conversation (even when drunk) without a bunch of vulgarity and cursing. It was nice to read about a beautiful, strong, intelligent woman who just happens to be overweight; Kayla would put many thin women to shame. Mr. Whitfield did a fantastic job on this book & I highly recommend it.

As a full figured woman struggling with my own weight issues and the prejudice that goes along with it, I thoroughly enjoyed this book that caught my eye and attention from the first paragraph. The scene in Leon's, the relationship with KJ and the mail box scam were my favorites. I was reading on the train when KJ's character was introduced. I unsuccessfully tried to contain the laughter while tears were running down my face and eventually gave up. I laughed so loud and hard that people around me started laughing and in turn wanted to know what I was reading!!! I have then passed the book around and told everyone I know to read it. I respect the way Van took a sensitive subject that needed to be addressed and presented it in a way that all can emphathize with. I also enjoyed the way Van developed Kayla and Sonny's relationship. The way the relationship grew and evolved was very realistic. I also wanted to note that there are many "Kayla's" out there - Beautiful full figured women who are together and have it "going on". I can't wait to read "Beeperless" and look forward to more of Van's books. (P.S. - I really feel a movie should be made from this book).