Showing posts with label authors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label authors. Show all posts

Ruark Remembered: By the Man Who Knew Him Best Review

Ruark Remembered: By the Man Who Knew Him Best
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I am a fan of Robert Ruark's writings. Seven years ago, I read "Horn of the Hunter" before embarking on an African hunting safari. I very much enjoyed the book and proceeded to read in rapid succession "Something of Value," "Uhuru," "Use Enough Gun," "Poor No More," "The Honey Badger," "The Old Man and the Boy," "Robert Ruark's Africa," "The Lost Classics" and "A View From a Tall Hill: Robert Ruark in Africa."
Many of Ruark's writings such as "Horn of the Hunter" are stories of his own hunts and experiences. And much of his fiction is semi-autobiographical, such as the main characters in "Poor No More" and "The Honey Badger." But one wonders to what extent Ruark has embellished. This book is great because the author, having worked as Ruark's secretary for twelve years, knew him well. This is a first hand account of Ruark's life including his great drive and his destructive faults.
The book "A View From a Tall Hill: Robert Ruark in Africa" is another recent biographical account, although it focuses mostly on Ruark's hunting and other adventures in Africa. It is also a good read for a Ruark fan. Its author, Terry Wieland is a hunter and gun aficionado, which gives him experience and insight that Ritchie does not have. But Wieland did not know Ruark, which is Ritchie's advantage. Both books are good and will be enjoyed by Ruark fans.


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Hans Christian Anderson: The Fan Dancer Review

Hans Christian Anderson: The Fan Dancer
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Biographies of authors always make good books for those who have already read them. Of course an easily accessible story teller like Han Christian Andersen is popular with both kids and their parents and rightly elevated into a cultural mascot by his country cousins,Danes. I spotted this well written book in an obscure corner labeled "Teaching aids" next to the Children's Books Section in the local Border's Books Store. Having visited and stayed in Denmark recently I was familiar with almost all the landmarks that were mentioned and hence could enjoy it better. It was interesting to note that he could not visit his mother in Odense for lack of money to pay the fare for ferry, while today a tourist takes less than an hour by high speed train to zoom there to visit Han Andersen's Childhood Home (preserved as a museum) from Copenhagen.Though his homosexuality recieves some sensitive appraisal that is not the focus of this biography. I was also amused to note the attempt of Danish establishment to claim this icon of Danish culture as one of their own by denying him his working class roots and floating rumours of him, being the illegitimate child of some unmarried Royal Princess !! Royal blood or no royal blood; timeless stories written by this master story teller of nineteenth century will continue to instill a reading habit in many boys and girls for centuries. This book certainly serves as a window into the times and circumstances of this creative genius who had his share of tyrannical teachers and devoted friends. His attempts to eke out a lunch or dinner invitation from wellwishers/friends to save on scholarship money reminded me the circumstances under which many poor South Indian Brahmin boys used to study when they were taking their meals in different households on different days of a week by turns out of sheer goodwill and/or pity that they could muster from their own compatriates. If one likes to read about books and authors another one that immediately comes to mind is: The Art of Fiction : An Introduction to Ten Novels and Their Authors by W. Somerset Maugham.

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John Muir: His Life and Letters and Other Writings Review

John Muir: His Life and Letters and Other Writings
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I bought this book after hearing a lecture by Edward Renehan at the Union League Club in NYC. Renehan is the biographer of Muir's friend and associate John Burroughs, and in the course of his lecture he recommended this edition as a good, solid, representative volume of Muir's prose. That it is, and I'm happy to join Renehan in recommending it. -- Alfred Roosein

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The Collected Autobiographies of Maya Angelou (Modern Library) Review

The Collected Autobiographies of Maya Angelou (Modern Library)
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This is the collection I've been waiting years for....
Simply put, this is the collection of a life time. The collected autobiographies of Maya Angelou is a must have for the diehard fan. I've always said that the only thing I truly envy about Oprah Winfrey is her beautiful relationship with this wise, brilliant woman. Dr. Angelou's life is an amazing story that has unfolded over decades through her series of six autobiographical books. From the very first book, "I know why the caged bird sings", which focused on the silenced young Maya growing up part-time in Arkansas with her grandmother, through the tales of the young independent woman who struck out to pursue her own destiny in the U.S. and abroad, all the way to the celebrated writer of today, this collection takes us along for the amazing journey that is Dr. Angelou's life.
Having read each of her autobiographical books over the past 20 years, I truly looked forward to the opportunity to relive these fascinating accounts again through this volume. As we traverse the terrain of her life, which contains many fascinating details including her international singing career, her struggle as a single mother, her sojourn to Africa and her involvement in the civil right's movement, we are reminded of the depth of experiences and wealth of knowledge that she possesses. I stood firmly once again in wonder of this phenomenal woman. To see a woman emerge from such a journey with the beautiful confidence and poise that Dr. Angelou possesses is nothing short of amazing and completely uplifting.
This collection is a dream come true for me and now one of my prized possessions. I was truly reminded that when it comes to writing and living life fully, for me no one does it better.

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