so I enjoyed this book reviewing his life
587644
Robinson was one of my favorites, so I enjoyed this book reviewing his life. I only knew of a few of his movies. Now I know more and plan to check them out with Amazon Prime. Charles River Editors writes good biographies and this is one of them. The focused more on his career than on his personal life. But that was ok because I want to see more of his movies.
4533933
I devoured this book (pun intended).  Wasn't sure what to expect and read it only because it is on Amazon's list of 100 books to read in a lifetime, but  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I found the stories of his experiences and acquaintances to be highly entertaining, and I really like his writing style.  He is witty and seems to be open and honest.  I do like to cook, so that probably also fuels my interest, but I have no intention of ever becoming a chef/cook/restaurant owner. After having read this book, I may decide to give some of his others a try.
2491715
What contrasts there are in the life of this eminent NY Times columnist, and this memoir focuses primarily on the hardscrabble world of his childhood and adolescence. The clarity and melodiousness of his writing style puts us right into the center of the tiny northern Louisiana communities where he grew up. He does not shrink from describing family disfunctions--shootings and threats of shooting, affairs, effects of alcohol and drugs and all--but the honesty of his telling is riveting.

After a few traumatice experiences (a menacing cousin, his mother with a gun, deaths of those he loves), Blow resolves to change his life, and he turns from a withdrawn child to a leader at school. He moves on to Grambling and becomes incredibly successful in school (youngest frat president, class president) and then wins an internship at the New York Times, again getting a "youngest ever" title. After Grambling, his life up to the present is compressed into a relatively few short pages, probably a wise approach given his still young age, with much success still likely to come.

Yes, this is a book that I recommend, but I have several concerns with it that any potential reader should be aware of.

First, once Blow shares his decision to change to make something of himself, his narrative of his exploits and accomplishments becomes uncomfortably egotistical, to the point of leading this reader to begin questioning if he really was as "perfect" as he says. In the end, however, his rapid rise at the Times and his clearly accomplished writing style would seem to affirm all those plaudits he gives himself. Still, it was sometimes uncomfortable to read this unvarnished narcissism in some places. It does help in peering into Blow's personality to consider the two men he says he most admired in his youth. Martin Luther King is probably to be expected, and the rationale Blow shares is reasonable. But the other hero is a total surprise--Prince Charles of England? By the time I had finished the book, however, this choice of an aloof, arrogant, and egotistical man seems like a pretty reasonable choice. I will let other readers see if they see the similarities of the lives of the two Charles.

The other issue that I struggled with is the extended account of the hazing activities at Grambling while Blow was a student. The descriptions are harrowing and very difficult to read but I am glad he included them, to make sure we all understand why this is still a problem that needs to be addressed. Hardest for me to read, and to accept, was not just that Blow ended up tacitly supporting such a practice by becoming president of the fraternity. Though he did resign after two years, and though he does honestly admit to participating in some of the brutal aspects of the hazing routines, I ended the book still troubled by what seems to be too much acceptance by Blow of the entire ritual.

So be aware of these concerns, but still, read the book for its gritty picture of Blow's early life, for an understanding of the lifelong impact a single act of molestation, and for some background into the views that Blow expresses in his regular TImes columns.
1642220
Read it in a week which is pretty fast for me. Honest and unapologetic look at his life. I really enjoyed it.
519036
This is the first biography on D.H.Lawrence I have read and I enjoyed it very much.  Having not read anything else on him I can't say whether it is gossipy or not.  I did not get the impression of it being mean spirited but I think she was less kind to Frieda in the second half of the book. I feel the author did a great job of paralleling the author's life and work. Overall, I feel this was a good book for me start to learn about D.H. Lawrence and his amazing albeit short life.
1558462
What an interesting way of reading about someone's life, through a series of narrative poems. This was a first for me and I have to say I really enjoyed it! Besides making it an easy read, it really just gave you the parts in Leonard's life that he felt had the most impact on his life. When you read a memoir from someone it is usually filled with too many details and at times you get lost in the story. This had just the facts and told us about how his family dealt with certain events in American history. That is another thing I really enjoy about reading people's memoirs, how they were directly effected by certain events. It is one thing to read it in a history book but to read how great it was to finally have a TV or a car for the first time and how excited his family was, it means so much more. We take those things for granted because we see it as the norm but there was one time when these items didn't exist in homes.
Leonard really gave us an insight into how he became the man he is today. Starting with a serious surgery that now he knows were completely unnecessary to seeing his dad move up and make a better life for his little family of 3. Throughout his journey he had struggles with his spirituality and really didn't know where he stood. Even though he came from a Jewish religion his parents never really pushed him to be "religious" so to see him discover his spirituality on his own is really a great lesson for anyone who is struggling with their own being. Overall a really interesting read and everyone will find something to relate with in this book.
4178593
This was enjoyable for the most part. I think I would have enjoyed this more if he had written more about his present life.
911384
I enjoyed reading this book. Yes, my wonder years were far less eventful than Ali experienced, but it made me reminisce and realize how good it was. I will never experience the social aspect of Ali's life, but it was fun to live it through her words! Thanks Ali
3652123
This is a very enjoyable book about one mans life from where I came from, I remember a few of the places that is in the book
218716
Among Friends, by Father Jim Sichko, was an interesting and inspirational book. Father Jim provided some wonderful God stories and advice without being too preachy. I think this book would be a great way for a non-Christian to learn a little bit about Christianity while still being entertained by an amusing memoir. The book offers some insight into several well known bible verses and explores some basic tenets of Christianity. It's also a book that pretty much any Christian could easily learn from and appreciate. I enjoyed most of the stories Sichko told about some of the celebrities he met while doing fundraisers for his church. I also liked some of the  more general stories he told.

One thing that bothered me about the book was the tone with which he told his stories. Just when I thought he was sounding really arrogant and pompous (and not at all what I imagine a clergyman should be like), he would reel himself in and start sounding very humble. Then, just when I was finally getting the idea that he was actually a humble guy, he would say something else that made me think he was a little too full of himself. This truly annoyed me to no end. I felt like I never actually got to know the real Father Jim.

I was also quite bothered by the fact that he got kicked out of seminary, but he (and we) never knew why. Did he really, truly never find out why? Even if those in charge never told him why (and that fact alone is difficult for me to believe), I still wonder...did he honestly not have a clue about why this happened? The whole thing is just so incredibly hard for me to believe. If he made a mistake, he should just own up to it and include it in the book. We are all human, and we all make mistakes. But if they really never told him why he was getting kicked out of seminary...I can't imagine why he would still want to be a part of that religion. That is just how I feel personally, and so it was hard for me to really relate to some of his decisions.

For all the negative aspects of the book, there are at least as many positives. I read the book in one day on the beach. So it is a quick read, and fairly entertaining. I also think it could be read slowly and digested more fully and more carefully by those who choose to do so. This is, in fact, what the author recommends doing. The book provided some entertainment and enjoyment as well as some inspiration. I would give this book a solid three stars, and I would certainly be willing to read anything else Father Jim comes out with in the future. I would like to take another shot at learning who the real man behind the stories is.

*Many thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
2255760
Thoroughly enjoyed his views and an fast and easy read.
3321257
This book was a look at the life of Steve Jobs and his habits which made him a great man. The book was well organized into sections and in each section he gives explanation of a specific habit and how it aided or did not aid Steve Jobs. Overall, the book was an interesting read into the life of Steve Jobs and I found out some things I hadn't known previously to reading it. After reading this book I can say you will probably learn something new about Steve Jobs from it, so I recommend you read it.
2692138
Very informative about his life.  I enjoyed reading this book.
3856137
I enjoy reading about a person's life and IN VOICES IN THE MIRROR, the autobiography of Gordon Parks, I found his story interesting, edifying and at times inspirational.  Mr. Parks was born into a life where the world made differences in people based on the color of their skin and not their character.  However, instead of using their biases as a crutch to not succeed, he worked hard to make his dreams come to fruition.

Mr. Park's life spans many decades, wars and social climates in America.  At age 15, he was homeless and living a depressing existence.  He worked menial jobs to survive.  He persevered and went from working on the railroad to being the first African-American photographer for Life and Vogue magazines.  His life's adventures took him all over the world to cover some of the most politically disturbed countries, America's civil right's struggles, as well as Third World areas where poverty was rampant, all which were captured for posterity with his camera.  He also composed a musical concerto, wrote books and penned poetry.  His first novel, The Learning Tree was made into a motion picture, where he was the director and executive producer, which was an unknown anomaly during this period of time.  Let's not forget he was the director of Shaft. His stories and pictures touched the hearts of many Americans, and during his life he received many accolades for what he enjoyed doing.  So from the dirt roads of Kansas, Mr. Parks graduated from the school of hard knocks but lived a life that is and was so illustrious, fulfilling and awe-inspiring.

This autobiography presents itself as an honest rendition of Mr. Park's life.  He tells his story eloquently and allows readers to feel the emotions he was experiencing in each particular time of his life.  He tells readers how powerful a picture can be and the pictures interspersed throughout are a testament to this truth.  Readers get a glimpse into his marriages, children and even grandchildren and he shows us he is fallible as well.  I truly enjoyed every aspect of this autobiography from the private conversations with Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali; to showing the people in his hometown he indeed was successful, because his life is a history lesson.  He made great strides for African-Americans, and no matter how angry and depressed with the situations he faced, he continued to move forward.  When the final door shuts on his life, his legacy will always remain.

Reviewed by Cashana Seals

of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
3557226
Very interesting life story, with a very good synopsis of how Hitler came to power, and the reactions of people living under the influence of the Nazi ideology, particularly from someone of Jewish heritage.  Some very good application to the present day and how we can see "stateist utopianism" taking over our country with the support of the populace.  Beyond that, a very interesting memoir, from a man with a very interesting life, that most of us can't even fathom.  By the way, "YouTube" Peter Taussig, if you want to see some interesting piano comedy from the author and the son of the man whose story is told in the book.  The memoirs were translated from the original German by the son, and he did a great job.  In spite of a lot of grief and agony life threw at this man, the memoirs always have a humorous streak, which obviously carried over to  his son, who spent time as a popular Canadian comedian.  It's a memoir, so it may not read as concisely as a novel, but it's an accurate recounting of a man's very interesting life, as he remembered events.
3772075
Quite pleasant to review the life experiences of a non-famous person who has done so much with his life, given the early challenges he faced. Mr. Lee reminds us that there is a winner inside each and every one of us.
3238878
So I really enjoyed reading about his life. The trip Micah and he took together sounds great and made me envious.