tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post6682944250727246166..comments2024-03-29T07:00:46.755-04:00Comments on Patricia Abbott (pattinase): What is Your Favorite Biography?pattinase (abbott)http://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-31649673459512128292012-08-28T11:21:01.864-04:002012-08-28T11:21:01.864-04:00I have not, Patti.I have not, Patti.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10070278104646895235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-59343614626346668082012-08-28T11:18:34.799-04:002012-08-28T11:18:34.799-04:00Have you ever read the Thomas Lynch ones about bei...Have you ever read the Thomas Lynch ones about being an undertaker. Fabulous.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-23834765819459904772012-08-28T11:17:02.831-04:002012-08-28T11:17:02.831-04:00I've recently read Kingdom Under Glass by Jay ...I've recently read <i>Kingdom Under Glass</i> by Jay Kirk, a kind of biography of the taxidermist Carl Akeley. It was fascinating.<br /><br />Next up is <i>Wolf</i> by James L. Haley, about Jack London. Have high hopes for that one.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10070278104646895235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-52638342353935844552012-08-28T01:04:11.640-04:002012-08-28T01:04:11.640-04:00Son of the Morning Star (Custer). Son of the Morning Star (Custer). Cap'n Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11783977137812876489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-86754342236552087792012-08-27T15:52:18.437-04:002012-08-27T15:52:18.437-04:00"I guess there are no heroes in this life and..."I guess there are no heroes in this life and we are foolish to expect otherwise."<br /><br />Only if you want a hero to be a perfect person, or someone who's talented in one way and therefore should be a good person because of that. Certainly those are prescriptions for self-delusion. Look closely at Mohandas Gandhi sometime, and the halo vanishes; Mother Teresa emphatically as well. There have been no presidents of this country who haven't been utter SOBs at times in office, etc.Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-88247541464875494302012-08-27T10:34:54.284-04:002012-08-27T10:34:54.284-04:00Very memorable for me was A.M. Sperber's MURRO...Very memorable for me was A.M. Sperber's MURROW: HIS LIFE AND TIMES. Edward R. Murrow has long fascinated me. Also seems to me I read a good biography of Churchill, but can't recall the title or author.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-65604553803786961312012-08-27T10:26:54.387-04:002012-08-27T10:26:54.387-04:00Very few books made a bigger impact on me than SIL...Very few books made a bigger impact on me than SILENT SPRING. <br />I have heard the Alice Shelden one is fascinating. Certainly her life was. pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-10180909799108875402012-08-27T09:56:06.752-04:002012-08-27T09:56:06.752-04:00Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature (Linda Lear) and...Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature (Linda Lear) and James Tiptree Jr.: The Double Life of Alice Sheldon (can't remember the author). In the second case, it's more for the fascination I have with the subject than for the writing (which becomes excessively academic and/or psychological at times).Olivia V. Ambrogiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14009379233200729384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-30976708868431672262012-08-27T09:49:58.580-04:002012-08-27T09:49:58.580-04:00That sounds refreshingly different, Al. That sounds refreshingly different, Al. pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-35947422308366973452012-08-27T06:16:21.306-04:002012-08-27T06:16:21.306-04:00I did it as a FFB a couple of years ago- Rat Pack ...I did it as a FFB a couple of years ago- Rat Pack Confidential is just great writing.<br /><br />http://13shotsofgrit.wordpress.com/2010/02/05/fridays-forgotten-book-rat-pack-confidential-by-shawn-levy/Paul D Brazillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12881642426845398389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-30450262774521738832012-08-26T18:51:43.497-04:002012-08-26T18:51:43.497-04:00Two great writers. I will see in the WSU library h...Two great writers. I will see in the WSU library has the Aquin book. pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-54616945955939271512012-08-26T18:16:31.738-04:002012-08-26T18:16:31.738-04:00Gerald Clarke's Capote and Kim Townsend's ...Gerald Clarke's <i>Capote</i> and Kim Townsend's <i>Sherwood Anderson</i> are two favourites, but the one that has stayed with me the most is <i>HA! A Self-Murder Mystery</i>, Gordon Shepherd's book on the life of Quebec writer Hubert Aquin. Unconventional, it's at once a biography and a long meditation on suicide (Aquin shot himself on the grounds of a Montreal school for girls). Friends who knew nothing of Aquin and his work have liked it - the very sign of a good biography, I think.Brian Busbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04120341319506205062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-45420854212210247002012-08-26T17:47:22.738-04:002012-08-26T17:47:22.738-04:00Yeah, doubt we will go. I haven't even told yo...Yeah, doubt we will go. I haven't even told you about the year they had fires in southern Ca and we were due to fly into San Diego. Or the year DC had 26 inches of snow and we were stuck there for days. There have been many more. pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-26304358055721539762012-08-26T17:32:01.213-04:002012-08-26T17:32:01.213-04:00Boy Patti, Jackie just said that you have the wors...Boy Patti, Jackie just said that you have the worst luck of anyone she can remember with trips. We were concerned about you and hope it works out with the airline. There is no logical way they should be flying into New Orleans.<br /><br />Good luck.<br /><br /><br />Jeff M.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-57182311183801946292012-08-26T17:23:25.297-04:002012-08-26T17:23:25.297-04:00The mayor of N.O. is giving a press conference as ...The mayor of N.O. is giving a press conference as we speak and he said that once wind speeds reach 40 mph, airlines will begin cancelling flights. Good luck!Debnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-22693074237666091392012-08-26T16:35:00.097-04:002012-08-26T16:35:00.097-04:00No. I am hoping the airline will cancel so we get ...No. I am hoping the airline will cancel so we get our money back. After our disastrous trip to DC, which cost us an extra $500 to return early, yikes! We are cursed. Watch out Ireland. pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-13063514652757423072012-08-26T16:07:10.736-04:002012-08-26T16:07:10.736-04:00Patti--have you cancelled your trip yet? N.O. has ...Patti--have you cancelled your trip yet? N.O. has declared a state of emergency. We're waiting to see if they cancel schools in St. Tammany Parish tomorrow and then we're getting' the hell outta Dodge. Seven years to the day since Katrina (with an assist from my neighbor's pine tree) took the roof off my house. Sigh.Debnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-72105744647954221792012-08-26T14:02:54.346-04:002012-08-26T14:02:54.346-04:00Two by Byron Rogers: The Last Englishman, a life o...Two by Byron Rogers: The Last Englishman, a life of J.L. Carr, publisher,eccentric, novelist and (very brief) biographer and The Man Who Went into the West, about R. S. Thomas, poet, priest, bird-watcher and ardent Welsh nationalist with a cut-glass English accent.<br />And A.J.A. Symons' wonderful The Quest for Corvo.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-71731301327454068272012-08-26T13:31:03.525-04:002012-08-26T13:31:03.525-04:00Yeah, memoirs can be fun. Been meaning to read the...Yeah, memoirs can be fun. Been meaning to read the Patti Smith.<br />Are you really my husband, Terrie? If we hadn't met, I would think he had a nom de plume. pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-71940758008716774092012-08-26T13:27:08.546-04:002012-08-26T13:27:08.546-04:00Plain Speaking by Merle Miller, a bio of Harry Tru...Plain Speaking by Merle Miller, a bio of Harry Truman I did a FBF post on it years ago: http://www.womenofmystery.net/2009/01/02/america-needs-you-harry-truman/<br /><br />Adams vs. Jefferson, the Tumultuous Election of 1800 by John Ferling. MY FBF on this book can be found here: http://www.womenofmystery.net/2008/08/08/adams-vs-jefferson/ <br /><br />Adams is my favorite US President. Truman my second favorite.<br />Terrie Farley Moranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04980849018232866773noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-39788114286324899952012-08-26T13:13:06.107-04:002012-08-26T13:13:06.107-04:00I'm more of a slice-of-life memoir guy myself....I'm more of a slice-of-life memoir guy myself. A to Z biographies, phew, they're tough.Kieran Sheahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16681787953865476304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-84179981089685183232012-08-26T12:46:25.758-04:002012-08-26T12:46:25.758-04:00THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN by Benjamin...THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN by Benjamin Franklin is a very good read. A truly multifaceted personality....Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-61728764853219558842012-08-26T12:21:31.984-04:002012-08-26T12:21:31.984-04:00I read that as a teenager. Probably need to revisi...I read that as a teenager. Probably need to revisit it. pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-44197083144531380382012-08-26T11:00:31.881-04:002012-08-26T11:00:31.881-04:00Good question. Most of the biographies I read are ...Good question. Most of the biographies I read are of writers. However, although not just a biography, the book "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" by Shirer contained essentially a biography of Hitler. That book really affected me deeply. The horror, the sadness, the strangeness of Hitler and his political rule. The book was really powerful.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-18660058767538179842012-08-26T10:29:26.163-04:002012-08-26T10:29:26.163-04:00I have seen so many of his plays over the years, I...I have seen so many of his plays over the years, I should read it. He seems like a tragic figure for sure. pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.com