Mood:  happy

Don't Phunk with My Heart

Get this book right here

Posted by Fashionista Shopping Analyst at 7:23 PM

Updated: Wednesday, 25 January 2006 8:12 PM

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Get Author's discounts by ordering a copy now. Once you have completed the purchasing process through Paypal.com, e-mail the author to speed up the process.

This book is an eclectic collection of poems and short essays on California's people and landscape, wine, beach and car culture. Wordsworth summarizes Mr. Charles's poetic affinity, "Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings; it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility."

"California Blossoms and Harvest Delights" deals with this expansive, rich and fertile landscape in a way that readers will quickly recognize the important landmarks, features and attributes of the Golden state. It pinpoints areas of appreciation and highlights important cultural contributions and activities of the various ethnic and minority groups forming this new frontier, Central California. The Silicon Valley's high-tech boom is soon followd by the housing market boom up and down the state and specifically in Central Valley places such as Fresno County, Clovis, Madera county, Visalia, Modesto, Turlock, Sacramento, Tulare etc. This may be why an astute observer of the Valley once said, "Our hills and farmland are blooming with new houses and commercial buildings bordering fields of grazing cows." This is an uplifting, eye-opening and thought-provoking work.

Book Sample

Temporary Troubles, Eternal Glory

Christmas time is the time to be together with loved ones and with those who matter to us a lot. This year's Christmas season will be more meaningful for many of us in this country and around the world. It's a time when we can truly count our blessings in light of all the conflicts, acts of violence, war, diseases, the terrorist spread of anthrax in our mail system, talks of WMD and bioterrorism.

The tragedy of Sept. 11 is still fresh on our collective minds. There is no way we can't forget those who laid their lives at the great altar of service. The first celebration of Christmas after those horrible acts finds us more meditative and mindful of our position in the larger community. Many other Christmas celebrations will follow in the years ahead. We are the keepers of our brothers and sisters. We become more united than ever before despite all the things that existed out there to divide us. The enemies might have tried to divide us, but we did not get into their traps. We stood tall and united in the midst of our calamities and tribulations.

The temporary troubles of our lives are nothing in comparison with the eternal glory we are called to have in the Father of all comfort (2 Corinthians 2:3-4). In these days of tremendous pain, it is good to go back to the things that bring us comfort, the things we are familiar with. Family, friendship, religion, strong sense of community, flag, storytelling and patriotism are all the things that become important in our lives since Sept. 11. This is why our officials encouraged us to go back to our normal routine despite all the changes that suddenly became part of our world. Our world changed on 9-11. Now we can talk about pre-911 and post-911. They will be for ever known as historical markers or landmarks.

No matter how much change we have lately witnessed, we want to stick to the constant points of our life. There is no doubt that we were truly shaken by the anthrax scare. We knew that we had to be careful with something that has become part of our lives. For far too long, we have taken our snail mail for granted. When we saw that our mail men and women start becoming victims of the terrorist acts, we knew that those changes would affect us personally. This is why we need to be more appreciative and thankful for these people in our lives. How many times have we taken the time to purposefully say a few words of thanks to these brave men and women who deliver our mail to us in good and bad times? How many times have we personally thanked our dry cleaner workers? How about the men in uniform, the firefighters, rescue workers, police officers, emergency medical workers and even the rescue dogs? It makes sense that these people did not think twice to rush to the burning towers to help, guide, comfort others who were facing certain death? They rushed in to humanize and diminish the suffering of complete strangers. They REACHED out to them. They did something to alleviate their excruciating pain. As a grateful society, we respond by recognizing their heroic acts. In a matter of minutes, days and months, they have reclaimed the title that surely belongs to them.

These ordinary men and women did not become our heroes because of their excellent beauty (even though most of them are beautiful), they became our heroes for their unselfish, altruistic acts on behalf of thousands. Even on earth, their recognition and rewards are greater than most others.

From the smoldering rubbles rose goodness. It's true that the hearts of many people in this country and all over the world ache, they have become witnesses of history. It has been history in the making ever since these tragic, horrific days befell our country. Goodness surely germinated and rose from the ruins of such major losses of lives and property. Grief took over our mind. The level of atrocity is unimaginable. Men have become their own fiercest enemies. They are bent on destroying themselves for each time a man dies, a part of another man also dies. If anything, the heinous acts of Sept. 11 make us realize the value of being connected to our community and the value of interdependence.

All over the world, prayer vigils were held. Churches saw an upsurge in attendance. Neighbors who never said hi to each other finally realized that they had so much to share. They are talking. Even major cities' crime rates decline for the few days after the tragedy. Once for all, people matter. Relationships matter. It's ok to grieve. It's ok to look for public comfort and inspirational or spiritual matters. The stock market becomes less relevant. Our materialistic ambitions are set aside for a while. Our selfish ways become the antithesis to this kind of 1-for-all sense of community.

Compassion becomes more than a simple word. Seize the day. Live today and forget the past and even the future. How many of us wouldn't like to sustain this kind of spirit of America at its best? Even on busy streets, complete strangers take time to say hi. They don't seem to be peering down your throats without even nodding your way or recognizing you are around. Our hearts become open to the needs of our neighbors. That's how it should have been all along! We may have finally realized that we are all on the same boat of life. Life is too short for us to waste it. Let's use it to contribute to our world and matter to others. Our life is like a flower. Job 14:2. No matter what may have come our way, we know that victory, glory awaits in the near future. 2 Corinthians 4:1, 7-8, 17-18;

Please meditate over this passage: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.." Psalm 46: 1-2. Let's sustain the spirit of America at its best! We are a nation of strong faith, conviction and determination

Mr. Charles's first book "The Long Lost Garden of Eden" was well-received.
It can be purchased below:

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ShoppingNetwork Bookshop

www.shopnowshop.com

Posted by Fashionista Shopping Analyst at 11:01 PM

Updated: Wednesday, 25 January 2006 8:23 PM

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Mood:  cheeky

It just seems right that the best contemporary intellectuals that the Golden State has recently produced are from the land. The same land that is the foundation of the $ multi-billion agriculture industry. Whether we are talking about David Masumoto [Epitaph For A Peach] or Victor D. Hanson, we are talking about men who grew up on the farm, left for a short while to study at some of our best institutions of higher learning and ended up returning to farm and think. Think they do! They are men who are familiar with what it takes to grow produce that will feed the rest of the nation and the world. It's fitting that these men use their mind to escape the rigors of daily farming labor. Growing up, they knew what it takes to be exposed to the sultry sun and heat of the Central Valley of California. There is one common point between them: They value hard work, education and family. These values have attracted me to their work. The characteristics of their works are hard work, sweat and ideas.

I had the pleasure to read one of Victor D. Hanson's previous works titled, "Carnage and ure." It was released right before the September 11 attacks on our nation. All of us needed to hear this type of reassuring messages contained in the book. It was somewhat an avant-coureur, a precursor, a prophecy to the events that would follow 9-11. In that book, he looked at nine military battles between Western and non-Western armies. He states that the ural values of the West based mostly on consensual government, free enterprise, freedom of speech, individualism produce far superior forces.

It makes sense that I was waiting for the release of this book, Mexifornia: A State of Becoming.

Book Background: How To Understand The Author's Views and Ideas

This humble, down-to-earth author is a professor of Classics at CSU, Fresno State. In fact, a colleague of his and he are the founders of the Classical Studies department at the university. Despite his new found fame, he has not let it get to his head. He knows that fame is futile. He used to grow grapes and other fruits on his Selma, CA farms. The discipline of working with his hands has been serving him very well these days. He writes a column for the National Review Online and contributes essays to major newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. What is worth remembering here is that he still lives on his family farm. Even though he does not farm any more (leasing the land to farmers), he remains close to the land. That's why his views on labor issues involving illegal immigrants in the fertile San Joaquin Valley are important.

Author Speaks his mind: He says what others can only whisper about massive, uncontrolled illegal immigration in the U.S.

Some critics may call him nativist, racist or conservative, others may see some old farmer's grandson who is trying to offer suggestions and solutions to one of the problems facing California. Illegal immigration is rampant. There does not seem to be any control in sight. The Classics professor would counterattack by saying he grew up with Mexicans and Americans of Mexican ancestry. He saw how his parents and grandparents hired and treated them. He himself provides them with employment on his farms. He knows very well about the situation of interdependent relationship. That's why he said in a column to the Los Angeles Times, "It isn't healthy for a citizenry to feel one thing and then say another---Nursing frustrations in private that one day will explode when tapped by demagogues of both right and left." Why is that the case? The author acknowledges that employers in agribusiness, construction, hotels, restaurants and manufacturing welcome cheap labor. He made the following comments about why illegal immigration continues. "...our own citizens find collecting entitlements more lucrative "work" than the backbreaking labor offered to illegal immigrants.

What's clear in this book is that the author does not mince words. He offers his straight talk. That's what a farmer does. In addition, he is an intellectual who has risen beyond the confines of the classroom. He has become the face of the public professor. While revealing the causes of the California's problems in this book, he does not do it without compassion. He shows the plight of the Mexican workers and other immigrants. Writing about he knows, Victor Hanson writes about his experience with workers from Mexico. This is not a local problem. All the western states are impacted by illegal immigration. While it has downsides, in terms of contribution the state's economy, illegal immigration which farmers readily exploit through contractors offers some benefits to the rest of us. Who would pick up our fruits, peaches, nectarines in 100+ temperatures? Native-born Americans would not want to do this type of heavy-duty type of work. Illegal immigration will continue to flourish with that kind of mentality.

It's not something new to the rest of the nation. Most Americans or people living in rich countries have always had poor people, countryside workers picking their fruit, mowing their lawns, baby-sitting their kids and busing tables.

The author suggests that if we continue down the current path, we'll have a Mexifornia

Who should be interested in this book?

Everybody who has ever complained in silence about illegal immigration should take a look at it. It will provoke deep thoughts.

What are some of the solutions the author proposes?

I would encourage everybody to buy this book. It's a very interesting book.

Posted by Fashionista Shopping Analyst at 4:21 PM

Updated: Monday, 30 May 2005 7:16 PM

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Mood:  energetic

How exciting and exhilarating must it be to know what's going to happen in the future! No I am not talking about predictors of the future. I am talking about the events of pre-tribulation Rapture or Rapture as revealed and described in passages such as 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-52. The term "rapture" is taken from the Latin word "rapiemur," used by St. Jerome for the Greek word in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 meaning "caught up" or "snatch away." For Christian denominations and believers, these are very important events accompanying the Second Coming. Now you can appreciate the basis for the discomfort felt by many Roman Catholics and conservative Protestants with the views and content expressed by the widely popular 'Left Behind' series.

We have now come to appreciate the premises of the counterattack launched by the Catholic bishops of Illinois who allege that the content of the novels by Tim Lahaye and Co cast them in an unfavorable corner. The point of their discontent is based on the fact that the novels present a future pope who establishes a false liberal religion linked with the Antichrist. The bishops of Illinois contend that these books have rejected the traditional Christian beliefs bout the End of Times.

Who Believes in the Rapture? Who is well-informed enough to lead the counterattack at Left Behind?

Carl E. Olson, a convert from the 'dispensationalist' protestantism and Envoy Magazine Editor is ready to cast the first stone condemning the current interpretation of End Times suggesting a pre-rapture of many years preceding the Second Coming. "Will Catholics Be 'Left Behind'?: A Catholic Critique of the Rapture and Today's Prophecy Preachers" is his first swing at the series. No one can tell whether this new book will cause the Left Behind's throng of followers to question the spin on the End Times by these famous preachers.

Now the question to ask is whether or not Catholics believe in the Rapture.

For all of you who had any doubt about Catholics' beliefs in this matter, I will let Carl Olson give his answer. "Catholics, along with the members of the Eastern Orthodox Church and most Protestants, believe that those alive at the Second Coming will be caught up to meet Christ in the air. They do believe in a rapture event, if by that we are referring to believers being caught up to meet Christ at the Second Coming, or Parousia -- not several years prior."

I imagine that you will have lots of fun reading this thought-provoking book that purports to shed light on these murky issues of End Times. If you are a believer, all that should matter is that if you are still alive, you will be caught up to meet Christ at the Second Coming. For sure, he is returning to take his church, you and me, to Heavens with him. As noted above, here's the text of the quoted passages: 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 "Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, int he twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed."

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 "For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are still alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever."

All of these quotes show that the Second Coming does not happen in two phases as suggested by the Left Behind Series. Carl E. Olson who did his theological studies at Briercrest Bible College in Caronport, Saskatchewan, takes a look at the history of dispensationalism's popularity in the New World.

"Vague notions of such an event have been around for about three centuries, but the form that is so popular in North America originated in the 1830s in England with an ex-Anglican priest, John Nelson Darby [1800-1882].

Darby created an entire system of theology called pre-millennial dispensationalism, based on a radical separation between Old Testament Israel, described as God's "earthly" people, and the New Testament Church, his "heavenly" people. The Rapture is the means by which God will remove the heavenly people from the world so that he can finish the work begun with his earthly people.

Darby's ideas spread to North America in the late 1800s and were developed and systematized by a number of American fundamentalists, notably C.I. Scofield, Lewis Sperry Chafer and Charles Ryrie.

Dispensationalism's popularity grew enormously in 1970 with the publication of Hal Lindsey's best-selling "The Late Great Planet Earth," and that popularity continues today, as evidenced by the "Left Behind" novels, created by noted fundamentalist Tim LaHaye, which have now sold about 50 million copies."

It's worth noting that "Will Catholics Be 'Left Behind'" is heavily footnoted. This way, readers can embark on their research. The point of all these footnotes is to corner the proponents of the dispensationalist contemporary preachers.

Is this book interesting and captivating?

I will be the first one to say that it is. I will quickly point out in defense of the 'Left Behind' series that the books are novels. As such, one can expect that some characterizations are loosely based on the sources. If anything, these books cause many believers and non-believers to think about the End Times. By the same token, Olson's book is more of a call for the Catholic leadership to be more proactive in their teaching. The truth about the Second Coming was revealed.

Jesus will return for you and me. Are we ready? Or are you ready to go with him?

Posted by Fashionista Shopping Analyst at 8:34 PM

Updated: Saturday, 23 October 2004 6:28 AM

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It's not too often that I read a book in just one seating. After devouring all its 272 pages, I was ready for more. Cultivating Delight: A Natural History of My Garden by Diane Ackerman is now featured among some of the best books that all readers should have on their bookshelves. She pays such attention to details that some critics are led to say that she approaches her subject matter not only with a poet's intensity but also with a naturalist's curiosity. Others are saying that she is a true sensualist. After receiving a recommendation from a friend of mine to read this book, so far, it's one of the best things that could have happened to me this month. In fact, it's such an uplifting book that even in matters of leaves decaying, falling and death, Diane has managed to show the beauty of life.

A Challenge To Discover Her Senses

It's my opinion that reading this book will set the mood to be able to appreciate the small things of life. Once you do that, you will open the door to happiness. Happiness is what Diane found among her possession of more than five hundred plants. As you read the pages of this book, you will realize that once Diane enters her garden, she finds serenity and tranquility. It's as if she had stepped into some sort of trance-like metamorphosis. Her senses become brighter. She becomes enlightened. For about three years, she dedicated her time to working in her garden while documenting every aspect of growth, transformation and death among her living organisms. At some point in the book, you will realize that she enters into communication with the plants. She talks to them and calls them by name. Diane Ackerman's garden appears to be very interactive. It's a garden that is teeming with life and activities. "In the garden, I leave all the mind theater behind, all the worries (of the world), all the expectations, all the conversations that get replayed endlessly. I just bliss out," she once said. That's what most of us should feel as you enter her garden through the reading of her book. Transitions From Gardening To Life Situations Are Excellent

It's clear that while reading this book you won't be able to ask questions about the author's interest in both nature itself and human nature. Every lesson she finds, Diane tries to see what's in it for us, human beings. While she introduces the reader to her garden weeds (The marvelous is weed species that grows everywhere even in your own backyard," she once said), she also makes it a point to show the connection between plants and people. She shows the impact of gardening on the human soul in various passages. "For children, flurring leaves are just one of the older figments of nature, like hailstones and snowflakes. They love to plunge into soft, unruly mattresses of leaves, tunnel through leaf mounds and hurl leaves into the air. Walking down a lane overhung with trees in the paint-splatter of autumn, one forgets about time and death, lost in the sheer delicious spill of color."

Diane Ackerman is a writer who has done her research. You will be able to tell that she is a Science book reader. She is as comfortable describing the fine points of biology and botany as resourceful about her use of the English language. Let's take a look at her description. "Dawn frost sits heavily on the grass and turns metal fencing into a string of stars...Seasoned trackers, we stand still and squint heard, looking for signs....Autumn is stealing into town, on schedule, with its entourage of chilly nights, macabre holidays and spectacular, heart-stoppingly beautiful trees. Soon the leaves will start cringing and roll up in clenched fists before they actually fall off."

Lots of symbolisms and simili given to make her points

Vivid memory, sense of smell and attraction of the sites in the book

Cultivating Delight is truly a gem in that it's book that plays on your senses. There is no falling asleep when reading this book. You will stay awake with the various appeals to your five senses. For example, find out how she describes the transition to the Fall season. "The vast green leaf-castles of Summer will vanish like a mirage. But first there will be weeks of hypnotic colors so sensuous, shrieking and confettilike that people will travel for many miles just to stare at them--a whole season of gemlike leaves." To me, reading this book is like reading a long poem. It's true poetic measures can enhance the prose of fictions and non-fiction.

Who said it is not sexy to talk, write about trees?

Diane writes about colors in a way that shows her education and preparation. "Why do the colors form? They don't, they undress. Soon after the Summer soltice (june 21), when days begin to shorten, a tree reconsiders its leaves. All Summer it fed them and they processed sunlight, but as the days shorten, the tree gradually chokes off its leaves by pulling nutrients down to the trunk and roots, storing them there for winter. Spongy cells form at the leaves' slender petioles, then scar over. With little nourishment, the leaves stop manufacturing the green pigment, chlorophyll, and photosynthesis stops...Camouflage gone, reds and oranges seem to arrive from somewhere, but they were always present, a vivid secret hidden beneath the green plasma of summer..."

Final words

Cultivating Delight is a very sensuous book that you will read with great satisfaction. At least, that's what I felt when I read it a few months ago. I hope you have the same pleasure. I just want to leave you with these fine points and observations recorded by Diane in her book. "We've always called the season fall from the Old English faellan, to fall down, which leads back through time to the Indo-European, phol, to fall. The word hasn't really changed since the first of our kind needed a name for its metamorphosis. Then there is that other fall, the one in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve concealed their nakedness with fig leaves, remember? Leaves have always hidden our awkward secrets. Fall is the time when leaves fall from the trees, just as spring is when flowers spring up, summer is when we simmer, and winter is when we whine from the cold."

Enjoy your reading of this excellent book.

Posted by Fashionista Shopping Analyst at 4:47 PM

Updated: Monday, 30 May 2005 7:22 PM

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Mood:  happy

Prayer, faith and healing. By faith but not by sight.

Prayer and medicine save many people's lives. They once saved mine. That's why I am a true believer in the combined power of these practices. That's one of the reasons I was attracted to the cover of this book at my local Christian bookstore. I wanted to go beyond the cover. What I found inside ended up pinning me to a chair for a good two hours among various cups of mocha. I have learned the hidden power of these words told years ago, "If ye shall ask anything in my name, that will I do." John 14:14

Written by Larry Dossey, Healing Words: The Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine is one of these books that most people should read. He adds that medical schools across the nation now teach students to treat whole patients, their bodies and their souls. The question to ask is whether prayers can heal. Just think for an instant about the power of words, just negative words to inflict pain and wound others. Now apply that same energy to say a prayer for others. In this book, I found out that those who pray for others tend to have their own prayers answered.

Oh,how beautiful it is to pray and pray for others: Pray to heal thyself!

My parents pray for me everyday. Prayers can relieve stress

Is the feeling or the knowledge that someone somewhere cares about you? The very act of praying has a calming effect. Whether you are saying the rosary in the case of catholics, prayer-rocking in the case of the Jews or dancing to the rythm of drum-based rich music in the case of aborigenes, Native Americans, Sharmanism, Voodoo, Santeria, Candomble etc, and breathing "om" in the case of the buddhists, you will be reaping the benefits. Research has shown that prayer can cure certain stress-related ailments. Pray to heal thyself. Prayers reduce blood pressure, lower the heart rate and give you a feeling of well-being. Just think for a moment of the effect of The Spirituals on the slaves of the New World during the slavery era and various succeeding movements?

As I was reading this book, I could not help but thinking about the story of a young man who was suffering from leukemia. As his mother was telling me the story, she could not stop crying and showing me the true power of prayers. When all the attending physicians told her to contact other family members because there was no more chance for her son, she did not listen to them. She cried out to God asking for a miracle. She prayed for a sign. Then, tired of staying up with the son the whole night, she fell asleep. She woke up about 1 hour later and felt hungry. She left the hospital to buy some food at a nearby restaurant. While she was there, she called her husband to inform him that their son was going to be fine. In her sleep, she had received the sign she wanted. She saw that God laid his hands on her son and healed. When she returned to the hospital, her son was sitting up in bed eating and drinking. In two months, that was the first time he ever did anything like that!

Just experience the healing powers of prayer to feel empowered. Find purpose and meaning in your life. Pray! Whether you get on your knees, whether you rock or walk around, whether you close your eyes and postrate in front of something, whether you meditate, experience the power of healing. That's what I found out when I fell sick with Valley Fever which I caught while in college. Thanks to prayer and good medicine, I beat the odds. Another student from Japan died from the complications of the same airborne, soil-based disease two years earlier.

A few instances of miraculous prayers

The prayer of Jabez

Jesus prayed and bread and fish multiplied

Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife. She bore him a son

King David prayed and God gave him wisdom to render justice in the case of two mother etc

If you want to tap into that secret weapon, start praying today. Buy a copy of Healing Words to get started.

Posted by Fashionista Shopping Analyst at 4:44 PM

Updated: Monday, 30 May 2005 7:47 PM

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Understanding the 9/11 Commission Report & Safety Assessments

Posted by Fashionista Shopping Analyst at 3:15 AM

Updated: Friday, 23 July 2004 3:22 AM

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Mood:  bright

Scattered Nuggets of Policy, Wisdom But More Confessional Mode

It pays to be president of the Unitied States of America. We must quickly admit that while the salary of a sitting president may not be more than that--let's say- a baseball, basketball or Football player or a Hollywood/action star, Silicon Valley entrepreneur, any president stands to make lots of money once he leaves office. Now we are not talking about the ego boost that comes from being the top male, alpha male in the world. In a few terms, the office of the president does pay through special speeches, presentations, fund-raising events, book publications and memoirs. Such is the case for the brilliant mind, great speaker former President Bill Clinton.

How many people can receive a $12 million advance on a book way before anything is written? More interestingly is speed at which the same book is made a bestseller list from New York to San Francisco and anywhere else in between.

Clinton's presidency was greatly marked by many years of peace and prosperity. As we look back on the 1990s, we can say that his tenure benefitted from the collapse of the Soviet Union or the end of the Cold War, the economic wealth created by the computer and Internet and the various forms of businesses they spawned. With lots of pressures from his party members and Republicans, the Clinton administration managed to balance the budget and start the welfare reform.

If Clinton was not a politician, he could have been a good marketer. He knows how to gauge the public's needs. He appears to like numbers. Well, let's say with 957 pages, My Life covers lots of interesting topics and events that took place under his guard. One reader of the book even suggested that Clinton may have had time to watch the Oprah Winfrey Show. He knows what the readers want. Just like any American of these times, Clinton knows about the power of the confessional mode. It sells books especially if they are full with tidbits from his personal life indiscretion.

My Life is not a dry book: Clinton accepts the blame for his affair with Monica Lewinsky

(His joke is that the impeachment brought him closer to his wife who had initially sent him to the dog house -couch-). As I go through the various pages of this tome, I get to understand the President's greatness and weaknesses. Look, he'll tell you he's just like us. He can rise and fall all at once. He is not a fool who does not recognize his mistakes.

Clinton is too smart to have written a dry book about policies. He did not want the book to be about setting scores with his opponents in the "Right Wing Conspiracy." Ken Starr and his impeachers are on top of the list. He knew he had to come clean first to his wife and then to the nation. Didn't we see this type of emotional tragedies in the French and English literature and history? He will be greatly sorry for the rift he created in his own family. He admitted that his daughter and his wife became distant. He admitted to being pained by the sorrow and shame of his beloved daughter who was at a crucial time in her own life.

My Life shows Clinton loves himself. He uses the confessional mode to tell his story. It's a form of storytelling popularized mostly by the talk shows of which Oprah champions. He volunteers information that has been in the public domain for years. He also makes some revelations about his mother who was married five times to four men. To connect with the average reader in Middle America, he writes about his hardship growing up in Arkansas in a home where his stepfather and his mother did not always get along. He reveals that man had an alcohol problem. Clinton also writes about his tendency to hide things away from those who love him the most. A man with a good and bad side. A real man. A complete man. In the book, he wants to side with those who defend sexual privacy. He also becomes contrite writing about the details of the affair and its impact on his wife and daughter.

This time, Bill Clinton does not need a poll to tell him that Americans like reading about the intimate details of powerful and famous people. Even if they had heard the story from prosecutor Ken Star and his group, the average American readers want to read the story of the affair from the main actor, the most powerful man of his time.

My Life is an interesting book that will shed more light on the man who is Bill Clinton, his administration and his aspirations. If you thought you knew this intellectual, Bill Clinton, read this book. You'll find out that he does not like to be called "slick bill." Clinton is a survivor. He knows how to turn the misfortunes and defeats of his life into great stories of triumph.

Posted by Fashionista Shopping Analyst at 3:07 PM

Updated: Wednesday, 25 January 2006 8:10 PM

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