Fascinating Story; Lousy Editing
587025
I do not recognize the publisher, but from some disgruntled folks on the web, it appears that Advances Press is owned and operated by Anne Speckhard.  I do not know if this is true, but it would explain the very poor editing of an otherwise remarkable story.  Having an MD as a Psychiatrist does not guarantee a well-put together book, and this effort is a confirmation that editing and ghost writing should be left to the professional writers and editors.  The fuzzy cover photo is emblematic of the unfocused narration.  Chris/Kris and Anne always talking about themselves in the thrid person is also quite jarring, and tends to create a weird feeling like they are pretending that some expert, third-party observer is writing this very personal biography.  This book has all the hallmarks of something being rushed to print to cash in on the momentary phenomenon of a SEAL coming out as transgender, and that is too bad.

Most of the chapters last 2 pages or thereabouts.  Only a few chapters continue for 4 or 5, and they are among the best ones, because it is hard to do much more than present a few headlines in two pages on experiences that probably deserved 15 to 20 in order to understand the background, the emotions, the conflicts and the consequences.

So why did I rate this book 4 stars?  Because the story itself is one of courage, and a story that can inspire anyone who struggles with trying to live a coherent and meaningful life in the face of great odds.  It also touched my soul, as I had to endure a lot of what Kris had to endure and struggle with as I too decided to come out in a male-dominated, macho profession.  I, too, was once in such despair that I had no fear of doing some things that might lead to my death (not so noble as defending our country, as Kris did), because it seemed like a good solution for me and my family.  I figured them receiving a nice life insurance settlement and me being gone would be a good ending, much like Kris felt.  Her feelings are very genuine and ring very true to my ears, and coming out can be both the most liberating and scary thing imaginable.  I liked the comment by one of her fellow SEALS who wrote that the BUDs training was probably easier than transitioning to becoming a woman.  It is remarkably tough, and this book captures those struggles very honestly and very transparently, if not in literary elegance.  It is really a very powerful book once you get beyond the writing flaws, and I find it to be an extremely honest portrayal that rings true.  Like when Kris challenged the fake SEAL in the bar, a real transgendered woman knows when someone is faking or not faking it, and Kris is the real deal, not a fake.

If you or anyone else whom you know is transgender, out or not, I recommend this book.  It will give you an insight into the condition of begin transgendered, and how this person is still the same person, but even more so, and more importantly, not to fear what we don't understand or have experienced, but to see it for what it is.  It is a guide for all of us to lead a richer and fuller life, and I hope that Kris writes a follow-up book with a better ghost-writer and editor in the future.
426845
A terrific narrative regarding the initial campaigns of allied warfare in WW2, in particular the invasion of Sicily. The author presents an enormous amount of information as a result of intensive research.  As a reader, I gained great insight.  The editing of this e-book, however, is dismal and not up to the standards of the author's excellent work.  There seem to be misspellings on most pages, perhaps from optical scanning of the original. Surely if I could read this, a proof reader could do the same and fix the many errors. All in all, a great read and highly recommended. Just don't get hung up on the typos.
2170088
Being a descendant of JNB, I loved the story which was, for the most part, accurate. I can't help but wonder who edited the book, however. I have never read a book with so many spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors. I'm sure that's not all Jimmy Clay's fault, but someone should have proof-read the book and caught all these mistakes. Example: Early on in the book, I did not know if Holland Coffee traded in furs or firs (trees) because the word was spelled both ways repeatedly. BTW, Holland Coffee was the name of JNB's first child who only lived a short time. I thought that should have been pointed out. And the crowning blow to me was that my great-grandfather's name was spelled Lather in the book. His name was Alexander Luther Bryan, and he went by Luther.
I could give you many more examples, but I don't want to take away from the value of the book as an interesting historical story, even though it is a novel. I'm grateful to Jimmy Clay for getting the book published at all.
3747394
Excellent story, particularly the focus on female "magical persons" in contrast to the Harry Potter universe.  So 5 stars to the author, but only one to the publishers, since this edition is desperately in need of proofreading.  (And the same was true of the first book in the series, "Bethany."). Just running the text through spellcheck really doesn't cut it. Really frustrating to keep tripping over things like "too" when "to" is obviously what was meant.  And many other errors.  Really a shame to spoil a very entertaining story.  I very much hope a better job is done with the remaining books in the series.
1153736
The story itself was riveting but many times throughout the book grammar errors would make it hard to understand what was going on
4180349
A fascinating and compelling story that has relevancy for our times but very poorly organized.  Could have used a good editor.  Clearly very well researched but author appears compelled to prove that point by inserting every single piece of research that he uncovered in the book, often slowing and sometimes detracting from the narrative.  Occasional verbatim quotes from original letters is a good thing, with occasional being the operative word.  The author, on the other hand, relies ways too much on quotes and a big chunk of the book consists of quotes in all it's old English glory.  This story is primarily about one English/Indian couple.  He does touch on other's but it is primarily about the Kirkpatricks.  Finally, there is very little analysis on why there was a difference between the earlier English who assimilated and the later ones who didn't.  What triggered the change?  Was it the mutiny?  But according to the book, the changes in the relationship between the English and Indians started two decades earlier.  Was it the arrival of the English wives to India?  A compelling story that does need to be told but by a historian who can write, not a researcher.
1519233
I found the story and history fascinating, but a couple of things kept this book from a 5 star review. First, the repeated misspelling of chapter. Frankly, that is just sloppy. Second, a poor and awkward word choice, possibly due to mistranslation? Someone who is FATALLY wounded will die from their injuries, so Jacob using that phrase when discussing William of Orange's first attack makes no sense. A better word would be severely.
1137247
The content is, of course, excellent, and deserves 5 stars.  The editing, however, is shoddy and annoying.  It's a pity Fitch couldn't see a professional copy of his classic work before he died.
There are misspelled words: "ideed" vs. "indeed," p 13; "pressence" vs. "presence," p 55;  "centure" vs. "century," p247; "Sienna" vs. "Siena," p 329, and others).  Wrong dates are given: "...completely reconstructed to an assumed date of 1976" vs. 1776, p 275.  Different information is given regarding the same process: ("flourescent dyes had to be added," p 338 vs. "had to be stamped with a metal die," p 342).  LeMoyne is referred to as "LeMoyne" and as "Lemoyne," pp 17 & 18; Anne Cunningham is referred to as both "Anne" and "Ann," pp ix, x, 89, 90.  Comma and semicolon use is weak, the use of italics with foreign words is inconsistent.
4285737
Great book!  Wonderful story!  Needs better editing.
4378400
First off, let me just say that I loved the story. I felt like it gave me an insider's look into addiction and mental illness, as well as what happens to shelter animals.  In fact, after reading this book, I think adopting a shelter dog may be in my future. The problem I had with this book was the poor editing (kindle version, downloaded in May). There was bad word choice--using "live" instead of "life" a couple of times was mentioned in a previous review.  But there were also things like "it's" instead of "its".  There was also a lack of punctuation at the end of a couple of sentences.  And there was a confusing instance in chapter 28 where one character, James, was referred to as another character, Tom. These and lots of other word choice, grammatical and punctuation errors continuously took me out of the story.  I kept reading--when normally I would have stopped--because I really did like the characters and the world that the author created. With a good editor, I think it could have been a five star book.

Edited to add:  Turns out there's a second edition of this book that was released after the copy I read, and that's the one that's available for download now.  Looks like grammatical and other errors I complained about before have been fixed--which is great because it's a powerful story that I can now wholeheartedly recommend. Thanks to author for sending me the new version.
1549148
What an interesting story with intriguing characters.  It's obvious that Mr. Suastegui is a gifted storyteller.  It is also obvious that this book desperately needs the help of a good editor.  Some of the grammatical errors are so egregious that my 8th grade students wouldn't make them.  (A woman waiving her hand, hair color due to a bad die job, apostrophes on most of the plurals)  If you can read past the stuff that makes you want to call the grammar police and just enjoy the story this book would be an easy 5.
1484006
A good book on a fascinating subject.  One of the things I got from this case history is that a few committed bureaucrats and lawyers can massage the system in such a way as to turn a couple hundred folks with a very tenuous link to the First Nations into fairly powerful and semi-rich people.
I feel that the First Nations were the victims of a massive injustice and deserve any break they can get.  What shocks me is that the Pequots who run Foxwoods are raking it in without really being victims of anything.
Anyway, a fascinating book told in a pedestrian style.  But one of the sloppiest editing jobs I've ever seen.  Typos and repeated phrases are inexcusable in a pricey hardcover release.
1860041
Good narrative, strong storytelling and demonstrable mastery of history marred by very weak editing.  It is sad when a tale this good must suffer because of abysmal editing, but there you are.  I really enjoyed the story, both conceptually and in the telling, but it is rife with spelling and punctuation errors that often distract from the story.  PLEASE find a good editor.  This could easily be a five with just a modicum of editing.
3945416
I am really enjoying the story, and the characters.  They are definitely on a par with the previous books in this series. But...the editing leaves a lot to be desired, and is rather spoiling an excellent book.  Sentences that are choppy, or don't make sense.  Incorrect words, or a word missing, such as "did" instead of "didn't".  I've only read about a third of the book and frequently finding myself re-reading a sentence to figure out what it should have said.  Irritating, but the story is so good I will ignore the errors and finish the book.  I believe the author should have some serious words with her publisher for allowing such poor quality editing.
4554584
This comprehensive telling of the Royal Navy's roles throughout the world in WW2 is researched and retold well enough, but all this is severely compromised by terrible, unprofessional editing.  Redundancies appear from the get-go - what were the three names of Germany's navy between 1914 and 1940, again? - and syntax and style are often awkwards.  This is a shame, because the poor editing completely destroys the flow of the narrative, requiring the reader to double back and reread passages and sometimes whole pages in order to understand them.  Misplaced modifiers and mismatched pronouns and antecedents come and go like, ... ships in the night.  With a thorough and professional
re-edit, this could be an excellent book, but as it is now, it's a hulk much in need of a refit.
3227264
This is a compelling story from a different point of view and as I got more and more involved in the telling of it, I found it hard to put the book down.  The one huge negative is that the editing is the worst I've ever seen.  In fact it doesn't appear to have been edited by anyone.  Spelling, grammar, sentence structure - all are just terrible.  Some sentences are just a bunch of words and make no sense; there is no thought to it.  A hard criticism but it hasn't stopped me from finishing the book.  Have a good detailed map available; it's interesting to see all the locations taking part in the story.
1575488
While I appreciate Miss Mason's superb research--she followed the path of this historic storm with her children in tow and interviewed survivors in each stricken town--the writing, unfortunately, is amateurish.  Where was her editor?  I had to wade through pages of ill-written passages full of incidental detail that was of no interest to me, thus the three-stars rating.

Of most interest are the riveting interviews, the survivors stories in their own words.  Absolutely fascinating, and so moving.  These alone are worth the purchase price.

But for heaven's sake, find this lady an editor for her next book.